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supernaturallyginger · 9 months

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One Piece Live Action Review

Now that I've had time to watch and digest all the episodes it's time to discuss how I feel about the adaptation. This break down will be full of spoilers, so read at your own risk.

One Piece Live Action is good, actually.

Live action anime adaptations have a tendency to be soulless cash grabs that either don't give a shit about the source material or bank too much on just showing things the fans recognizes in place of an actual story.

OPLA loves the source material. It is clear that this production is a celebration of the manga series. The easter eggs and small nods to the series are not just there to make you point at the screen and say "There's the Thing!" They are apart of the world. Taking a note from Oda's writing to make the world of OPLA fill just as rich as the manga.

However, it is not a one for one recreation of the East Blue saga. How could it be? It would be impossible to take ~100 chapters of story and cram it into an 8 hour tv show season without it being a powerpoint of Luffy's Greatest Hits.

The story had to be changed to fit the medium and the pacing. Overall, I think the pacing is good and the changes made are for the better. But it's not perfect.

Episode 1 (aka mostly Zoro's intro):

Of the entire season, this was the weakest episode in my opinion. It had the most to introduce which is quite a challenge and it does so fairly well, but there are changes made here that I'm just not a fan of and I believe make the story weaker.

Zoro's introduction being changed to his face off with Mr. 7 is fine. It shows us him praying for Kuina, him being sassy to a bad guy, and ultimately him killing Mr. 7. Awesome start!

Unfortunately, we suffer when we cut to Zoro at Shells Town. He's only tied and imprisoned for a day, if that. And that's not even where Luffy first sees him. Instead, Luffy first sees Zoro at a bar starting a fight. Taking away the impact of him seeing Zoro's strong will after being tied up for days.

And it gets worse... Luffy just let's Zoro out, no strings attached and Zoro fetches his own swords. It takes away from the charm of the original scene where Luffy (a little bastard) blackmails Zoro into joining his crew to get his swords back. This change takes away two things: a showcase that Luffy is willing to be a stubborn shit to get what he wants and Zoro's willingness to give up his resolve because Luffy kept his word and brought him his swords.

While we're here, time for a Zoro tangent;

I'm really not a fan of how the character was adapted. This is not Zoro, this is some smug, emotionless samurai. All the beats were there. There were references to him being lost and a few jokey moments, but they are all delivered in the same monotone. Rarely is this Zoro shown to emote. Nor does he ever get to be goofy because YES! Roronoa Zoro can goofy. He's just a teenager in the East Blue saga, and yet OPLA plays him like he's alcoholic Batman.

Episode 2:

Oooh boy, give it up for episode 2! And Buggy, my little meow meow Buggy! I love him <3

As for the episode, the change from having Buggy being some shitty pirate just camped nearby and annoying the village to being a pirate who enslaved the village into being his audience was excellent! It's so fucked up and campy and even more fucked up.

Buggy's desires are for attention and fame. He wants what Shanks has and yet he's still stuck in the East Blue, desperate for a map that he can't get his own greedy hands on.

Buggy was such a stand out character in OPLA. I love Buggy in general and this version is a bit different than the pathetic Buggy we love from the manga, but he is like a evil cartoon villain chewing the scenery! I'm so glad they roped him into the plot to keep him throughout the season.

Episodes 3 & 4:

These are fine. Some people aren't fans of the changes and yeah, I agree taking away a lot of Usopp's agency sucks. It really doesn't feel like this is Usopp's arc, more like that he's just some guy who happens to be there.

But I was never a huge fan of the Syrup Village arc. I felt like it was poorly paced in the anime and the changes made at least kept the story condensed and Kuro's plan seemed more well thought out.

Biggest highlight of these episodes was Usopp! Jacob Romero does an amazing job at bringing the character to screen. He has so much charisma that it's hard not to smile when he's in a scene.

Episodes 5 & 6:

Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE the Baratie arc! And this adaptation... is fine. Much like how Usopp is an after thought in his arc, Sanji is sidelined here to make room for PLOT.

Changing the Big Bad who threatens Baratie from Don Krieg to Arlong is a great choice. Don Krieg was always a lame, forgettable villain, so having Arlong show up to help push the plot towards the next arc is smart.

Much like Zoro's introduction, I'm not happy with Sanji's either. Specifically with how he meet Luffy. The scene where Sanji is the crew's waiter and has to fight some rowdy pirates is charming. But then Luffy say, "He's a great fighter." and UGGGHHHHHH

Luffy does NOT recruit Sanji for his strength. Nor does he recruit him for his cooking abilities. He recruits him because he is KIND. This is the same gripe I have with the Zoro intro. Luffy sees Zoro fight before recruiting him. When really he's supposed to want Zoro after seeing him tied up and learning that Zoro was captured because he saved a little girl from Helmeppo's dog. While Zoro and Sanji are the two strongest fighters on Luffy's crew, he never recruited them because they could fight.

ANYWAY

Luffy does see Sanji's kindness, only after seeing him fight and trying his food, and the two actors have great chemistry on screen. It's easy to believe that they are becoming fast friends and you can see in Taz Skylar's acting how much Sanji admires Luffy right off the bat. It's cute!

Unfortunately while Sanji is sidelined in his own arc, so two are the reveal of his backstory and the famous All Blue dream talk. His backstory is revealed in a random trauma dump to the crew which is only used to further the Zoro losing to Mihawk story. And the All Blue talk is just dropped randomly and has nothing to do with Sanji learning to pursue his own dreams. That's just done with a short shouting match between him and Zeff. Whatever.

Episodes 7 & 8:

Arlong Park was a good place to end the season. And the adaption of the arc is once again fine. Nami's backstory is rushed and the change to having no one in the town knowing her true intentions is a weird one.

BUT! Something I hadn't mentioned before, the sets are really fun! Arlong Park is a good example of this because it takes the design from the manga/anime and adds its own twist. The twist? Making Arlong Park look like a fairway at an amusement park. Which is a fun (horribly depressing) nod to something fans of the series can pick up on.

Other notable sets are Buggy's circus tent, Kaya's Tim Burton themed mansion, and the Baratie. God the Baratie is an amazing set! The detail of the lighthouse on top is *chefs kiss*

Something else I didn't mention before, is that there is a B plot throughout all 8 episodes following Garp in pursuit of Luffy while training Koby and Helmeppo. It's loosely based on a cover story the manga ran early on and it's fine.

The characterization of Garp is a little odd, as he seems more strict and book smart than his manga counterpart. (I cheered when we saw him finally throw some canon balls!!) But it all lead up to a moment of him meeting Zeff. Two men of the older generation. A former pirate and a marine sitting down over a glass of wine and steaks. And they discuss having to accept the changing world when really the conversation is about accepting their boys moving on follow their dreams. It's a simple scene, but it's one of my favorites.

NOW the Arlong Park battle is good, if not a little short because they have to make time for the Garp stuff. There is one line in particular that really bothers me. There is a moment where Luffy agrees with Arlong and says something like, "Maybe I can't defeat you." and... that's not Luffy.

Arlong Park has one of Luffy's most iconic moments. A moment that defines his character and the entire series.

And I think that's how I feel about the OPLA as a whole.

It's good, but it's not One Piece. Well- it's not the One Piece we already know.

This Luffy is different. OPLA Luffy has a moral compass. He has snappy lines and has maybe even read a book in his life time. He's not the same Luffy from the manga, and that's okay. Inaki Godoy is a joy to watch on screen and his version of Luffy is just as wonderful in his own way.

One Piece Live Action is witty and very charming. Filled with great action scenes, lively sets & costumes, and actors who are giving it their all in every scene.

Despite some changes I disagree with, this was an amazing adaption that is a celebration of the fans and an introduction to the wacky world of One Piece to new viewers.

#one piece #opla #opla spoilers #one piece live action #my writing

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imaginesandbandfiction · 1 year

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Story of Our Life

A Harry Styles Imagine

Pairing: Harry Styles x Reader

Word Count: 4.1k

Warnings: None

A/N: This is something a little different that was inspired by a dream I had where I was singing Story of My Life with 1D in a car... Also, I made some cover art on procreate plz don't judge my mediocre art skills lmao. Hope you like it!!!!!

Masterlist

Excerpts from

STORY OF OUR LIFE

Y/N Styles

To Louis, the best chauffeur I’ve ever had.

To Liam, who keeps us all sane. Steady on, mate.

To Zayn, who always offers a shoulder to cry on (and a cigarette).

To Niall, the king of late-night chats (and snacks).

To Harry, for everything, forever.

Introduction by Harry Styles

Before she was my wife, Y/N Styles was Y/N Y/L/N. We met in 2011, six months before we would be setting out on the Up All Night tour. Even though I had been on TV, in recording studios, and performed live on the X Factor Live Tour 2011, I was still just a shy kid from Holmes Chapel who couldn’t quite believe his luck. I think I spent that whole year in a state of disbelief, afraid that at any moment, someone would tell me that it was all a joke and I wasn’t very good at singing, actually. Every time I took a shower, I half-expected Ashton Kutcher to jump out at me from behind the shower curtain. Y/N, on the other hand, walked into the conference room at Columbia Records, sat down at the head of the table, folded her arms across her chest, and asked us each, individually, if we had read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and, if so, how did we feel about it? Immediately, I knew that this girl was going to be someone special.

Her dad, Greg Y/L/N, was going to be our tour manager. When it was time for the label to put a team together, he was at the top of the list: a goofy dad with a daughter around our age who had toured with some of the biggest musicians of the 90s. He was the perfect choice for a bunch of kids who didn’t really know what they were doing: industry experience to make sure the day-to-day operations went smoothly, and the paternal instinct to protect us as best he could (we called him Papa Bear, which he pretended to hate, but we all knew he secretly loved it).

We grew up together, spent months on end traveling the world, learning algebra on private planes and sneaking out of hotel rooms to wander foreign cities in the middle of the night. Fast forward to today. While Y/N was pregnant with Willa, our second child, she spent the whole third trimester on bed rest. Eventually, she got so bored that she scrolled all the way back on iCloud. Our older daughter, Hazel, was fascinated by the pictures of me and the band, and Y/N spent hours recounting our days on tour. I told her that she should write a book, but she refused at first. We have enough money, she said. People will think I’m making a cash grab. I told her that was bollocks, but if she really felt that way, she could donate all the profits to charity. It’s perfect, really, I said. The 20-year anniversary of One Direction is coming up, and it would be cool to give the fans a peek behind the scenes. Really, there’s no one better than you, darling, because you know the real us. She agreed, but only if all five of us were okay with it, and if all of the proceeds could go to The Trevor Project. So really, it’s actually me you should be thanking for convincing her to do this in the first place.

Anyways, here it is. The Story of Our Life: Growing Up With the World’s Biggest Boy Band, written by my amazing wife, Y/N Styles.

Chapter 5

Out of all the One Direction boys, Louis was the first one to get his driver's license in America. He spent the few months leading up to the Where We Are tour with his girlfriend in California, and wanted to buy a fancy car to drive her around in. Hence, the license. So, when the tour made its way to North America, he somehow managed to convince my dad and the security team to let him drive us from the hotel to the venue a few times. Of course, the windows were tinted (and we were not allowed to open them), we were surrounded by a security detail, and there was always a bodyguard in the backseat, but it didn’t matter.

On the night of the second show in Detroit, we all piled into a tricked-out Toyota Sienna, the best minivan on the market in 2011. Louis and Liam sat up front, I was squished between Harry and Niall in the middle, and Zayn and the bodyguard sat in the way back. We had the radio blasting and were singing along to some absolute bangers, like Party Rock Anthem and Super Bass, when the first few notes of Story of My Life started playing. Louis groaned and reached over to change the station, but I leaned forwards and slapped his hand out of the way before he could, turning the volume up a few notches.

“Written in these walls are the stories that I can’t explain,” I sang along with Harry’s voice, turning to look at him with a mischievous smirk. He was mouthing along but bit his lip as soon as I caught him. Liam piped up with his part and I shook my head, laughing.

“Do you guys seriously only ever sing your parts?” I asked. Next to me, I felt Niall shrug.

“Feels wrong to sing someone else’s, even off stage,” he said, before chiming in on the background vocals as Zayn jumped in on his part.

“Well, you should do it anyway, just for fun.” Liam turns around and lifts his eyebrows in a silent challenge. Harry and Niall jumped in, and soon we were all belting out the words to every part.

When the final chorus came up, I turned to rest my head on Harry’s shoulder, singing his part back to him. He was usually the shameless one, but his cheeks were tinted pink and he stopped singing for a few seconds. His green eyes were wide, but they never once left my own. I felt his chest rise and fall in a deep, steadying breath before he began singing again.

From that moment on, Story of My Life was our song. Every time they performed it, he turned towards the side of the stage during the last chorus, where I sang along. On the rare occasions that I sat in the audience, his eyes always managed to find mine. We sang lines to each other all the time. Our favorite thing to do, much to everyone else’s dismay, was yell Zayn’s pre-chorus to each other from across a room.

“And I’ll be gone, gone, tonight,” one of us would start.

“The ground beneath my feet is open wide,” the other would respond.

“The way that I’ve been holding on too tight,” the first person would say, before we both shouted, “With nothing in betweeeeeeeen!” That line was always the loudest, and we always dragged out the last syllable until we couldn’t breathe anymore.

Chapter 9

When Harry’s solo album dropped, I was in class, taking my Algebra 101 final. My test-taking nerves were multiplied tenfold by the fact that I knew people were listening to it right now, and I wasn’t. We had kept in touch after One Direction broke up, mostly over text but occasionally, when he was in LA, he came to my house to have dinner with me and my Grandma (and Dad, if he was home).

I listened to it all the way through on the drive back home to Pasadena after I finished my exam, and as soon as I pulled into the driveway, I texted him.

I signed up for a presale code, and refreshed my laptop continuously for five straight minutes in order to get tickets for his LA show. Harry was furious with me. When I texted him that I was officially coming to the show, he called me in the middle of a meeting with his tour team to yell at me. Something along the lines of, “I put you on the VIP list, you dumbass! And invites to the afterparty were just sent out yesterday!”

To be fair, I just wanted to support my friend, and to this day I still feel uncomfortable asking for free tickets from anyone when I have the means to pay for them. I think it’s all the guilt from five years of attending One Direction concerts for free. But anyways, that next fall, I found myself backstage at the Greek Theater with a VIP badge around my neck, feeling intense deja vu as security led me to Harry’s dressing room.

“Y/N!” He yelled as soon as the door opened. I had no time to react; I was nearly knocked over by the force of his hug. His mom and sister were there, too, and I was passed around for more hugs before settling next to Harry on the couch.

“So, how’s it going? How’s school?” he asked, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. That’s one of the things I love most about Harry; no matter how long it’s been since he’s seen someone, he always picks back up like no time has passed. He is scary good at keeping up with what everyone else is doing, even when his own life

“Kicking my ass already and it’s only been three weeks,” I said with a chuckle. “But better than last year, that’s for sure!” Harry’s brows furrowed and he waited expectantly. “Did I not tell you that my original roommate was psycho?”

“No, I don’t think that’s come up before.” I pulled up a photo on my phone and handed it over to him without a word, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen his eyes wider than they were in that moment.

“Holy shit,” she said.

“I wanna see!” Gemma whined, leaning across the coffee table to snatch the phone from him. “Oh my god, Mum, look!” She handed the phone to Anne, who frowned down at it.

“This was your dorm?”

“For all of three days, yes,” you answered. “I’m not sure what creeped me out more, the life-sized cardboard cutout of Harry watching my every move, or the fact that she threatened to blackmail me if I didn’t introduce her to you.” Harry was doubled over with laughter with tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.

“What are the chances of you, of all people, rooming with a crazy One Direction fan in college?” he asked, struggling to breathe enough to support his vocal chords.

“The school investigated and they found an invoice for a private investigator on her computer in a folder with a bunch of my personal information and photos of me that looked like they were taken from behind bushes and trash cans. Apparently, she gave him that paparazzi photo from the week we were in London during On the Road Again and he was able to track me down.”

“He was able to figure out your identity from that photo?” I nodded, and Harry looked impressed, yet mildly disturbed. “She must’ve paid a fortune.” The photo in question features all five members of One Direction on their way into the O2 arena, and in the background, you can see the blurry back of my head as I slipped into the back door ahead of them.

When it was time for Harry to get ready, a security guard led Anne, Gemma, and I to the VIP section and we settled in for the show. He killed it on stage, and it was great to see him back in his element, joking with the fans between songs and waving to everyone he made eye contact with. He performed What Makes You Beautiful and the cheers were so loud, even in the small-theater setting, that I knew I would probably have trouble hearing tomorrow.

“Alright, now normally I’d go straight into Kiwi, but there’s someone special in the audience today and this next song means a lot to the both of us, and she was the one who told me to sing all of the parts even though it feels weird, I hope you’ll forgive me for making you wait a few more minutes,” he said with a smirk, knowing that no one was going to complain about an extra song. My smile widened and Anne wrapped an arm around me, squeezing my shoulder, to acknowledge how special this moment was about to be. Just like old times, Harry looked straight at me as the intro music started to play.

“Written in these walls are the stories that I can’t explain,” he began, and immediately tears started welling up behind my eyes. I joined in, leaning my head on Anne’s shoulder for support. When he got to the second pre-chorus, he yelled out “And I’ll be gone, gone, tonight!” and held out his mic for the audience to sing the next line, but I caught an almost-imperceptible wink as he smiled up at me and I knew that he could care less if anyone else chimed in.

“The fire beneath my feet is burning bright,” Anne, Gemma, and I screamed, hoping that we were loud enough for him to pick our voices out of the crowd.

He sang the next line, and so did the audience, but I kept my mouth shut and joined in on the last line. He dragged out “between” so long that he had to jump back in on “I take her home.” I was the only one still singing along with him at that point, and the audience let out confused laughter, looking back and forth trying to figure out why he wasn’t moving on yet.

Chapter 11

We’ve never talked about how we got together, and once the gossip magazines found out that I was the daughter of One Direction’s former tour manager, they just filled in the blanks themselves. I try not to read those things, but I do remember seeing a few headlines like “CHILDHOOD SWEETHEARTS RECONNECTED!” over that grainy paparazzi photo of us in Holmes Chapel before the Manchester Love on Tour stops. Others spun the fact that I was doing PR on the tour into a fake “HARRY STYLES KISSES EMPLOYEE” scandal, and it just spiraled out of control from there. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

When the pandemic hit, I was at home in Pasadena with my dad and grandma. We had no other “bubble” because my grandma was immunocompromised. Needless to say, I got very bored very quickly. It got to the point that I would cycle through the contacts on my phone, Facetiming everyone in alphabetical order by last name until someone picked up. Harry was one of the only people who answered every single time. We ended up calling each other almost every day, sometimes to chat, or just to have someone there, in the background, while we went about our days. He was with his band, working on what would eventually become Harry’s House, and I spent many days listening to them work through different lyric and melody combinations while curled up in my childhood bedroom with my work laptop. He even interrupted a Zoom meeting I was in, once, excited to play part of “Music for a Sushi Restaurant” for me.

I was working remotely for a PR firm, after graduating college in 2020, my options were limited and, in the end, the place only gave me an offer because they worked with Columbia Records and knew my dad. I mostly wrote copy about movies to be put on Wikipedia or IMDB, which was super boring, so Harry seriously saved my life by letting me listen in on his studio sessions, or to the audio of whatever show he was watching and his commentary.

By the time he was able to start prepping for Love on Tour, I was working at the firm’s office building on Sunset, just about ready to quit my job and sell foot pics online.

“Come on tour with me,” he said, (seemingly) impulsively, during one of our Facetime sessions in which he patiently listened to me complain about how Mark from accounting wouldn’t stop coming over to my desk to “chat” every hour on the hour.

“What?” I answered, laughing a little.

“Seriously, Y/N, it’ll be just like old times! We can race on the dolleys they use to bring the speakers in, and I’ll even let you win this time.” I rolled my eyes.

“It’s not really winning, then, is it?”

“Okay, fine, I won’t let you win. But I am serious, Y/N. You should join me on tour.”

“What am I supposed to do, just follow you around the world like some sad, desperate groupie?”

“I mean, you are a bit sad and desperate.” I flipped him off, to which he responded by cackling with laughter.

“I’m sad because my job sucks, and desperate to get away from Mark, not to get into your pants.”

“Well, you wouldn’t be my mistress, you’d be doing PR for the tour, obviously.” Harry’s cheeks flushed with the slightest hint of pink,

“Well, maybe you should have led with that!” I started laughing, too, and it took a while for either of us to be able to speak again.

“Okay, sorry, I’ll start over.” He took a deep breath to calm his giggles, but still couldn’t manage to keep a straight face. “Y/N Y/L/N, I would like to formally request that you join me as my PR Manager for Love on Tour. My publicist is about to give birth, like, any day now so she obviously can’t go gallivanting around the world. Really, you’d be doing me a favor, and who better than someone who already has my dressing room requests memorized since half of them are actually yours.”

“You still have the same dressing room requests?” I gave him a skeptical look.

“Old habits die hard.” He shrugged. “And even though I don’t drink Diet Coke, having it in the fridge makes it feel like you’re there with me.” The pink was now red and I bit my lip to keep myself from smiling too wide.

“Alright, Mr. Styles, you have a deal.”

Like he said, old habits die hard, so even though we were now adults and my dad wasn’t on tour with us, we still fell into our old routines. Back in the day, I was never allowed to be alone in a room with one of the boys, but we had our ways around it. Usually by walking through the hallways of the floor of the hotel everyone was staying on, checking in with the guards stationed at either side on every loop. So while we could have hung out in our rooms, more often than not, we walked through the hotel hallways in circles just like we used to.

The night before the Pittsburgh show, Harry showed up at my door at 10pm with a bag of sour gummy worms.

“It’s not Haribo, but it’s close enough,” he said with a shrug, flashing me his trademark “Harry Styles” grin. And just like that, we were off to wear a hole in the carpet, or so I thought. We hadn’t even made it through one full loop before he pulled me through a random door marked “Employees Only” and dragged me up three flights of stairs.

“Are you taking me somewhere private so you can murder me?” I asked as we trudged through the dirty stairwell.

“Something like that,” he answered. But when we reached the top, he opened another door and we were on the roof.

The view was gorgeous, the moon was bright and cast a cool glow on the Pittsburgh skyline. I turned to Harry with wide eyes.

“Scoped it out earlier,” he said with a sheepish smile on his lips. “Just thought we could use a change of scenery.”

“It’s perfect,” I said, reaching out to squeeze his hand in thanks. “As much as I love hotel hallways, this is better.”

We sat on the edge of the roof, dangling our legs over the top of the building next door, and passed the bag of gummy worms back and forth as we talked. We were out there for so long that my eyelids started to get heavy and our conversation slowed down. I leaned my head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around me, huddling closer for warmth (or so I thought).

“Wanna listen to some music?” He asked. I nodded and he pulled his Airpods out, sticking one in my ear and the other in his own.

Story of My Life started playing and my heart rate sped up, pulsing adrenaline through my body. Suddenly, I was wide awake and hyper aware of every place our bodies were touching (thighs, hips, my shoulder to his chest, his shoulder to my head, his arm on my bicep).

I lifted my head up and turned to look at him.

“Do you ever get sick of this song?” I asked. My voice was quiet because I wasn’t sure I actually wanted to know the answer.

“No,” he replied. His voice was low and raspy and it made my stomach flutter. I felt myself leaning in, unconsciously, as he continued. “It reminds me of you, and I could never get sick of you.”

He brought his free hand up to my face and rubbed his thumb in soft circles on my cheekbone, and his eyes flickered down to my lips. The distance between us closed as if we were replaying something that had already happened in slow motion. Eventually, I could just barely feel the soft brush of his lips against mine. My mouth fell open just a bit in anticipation of what was to come, but Harry paused.

“It’s you, Y/N,” he whispered.”It’s always been you.”

Feel free to cross my name out and write in your own, I won’t be mad. I get it; what really happened was better than any self-insert fanfiction.

Chapter 17

I’m going to keep most of the details of our wedding private, but I will tell you about our first dance, because it ties into a lot of the other stories that I’ve written about. If you haven’t noticed by now, Story of My Life is sort of the underlying theme of this book, and that’s because it’s been the underlying theme of my life, the soundtrack to my relationship with Harry.

After dinner, and some absolutely mental toasts, Harry and I were eager to get the party started. Even though he’s not the best dancer, I have never met anyone who dances with as much joy as Harry does, and I love getting pulled into his wild, spontaneous routines. But our first dance was different. The fairy lights surrounding the garden were twinkling in the moonlight, and Niall, Liam, Louis, and Zayn stood on the sidelines to sing, you guessed it, Story of My Life. We swayed in circles, gently, without trying to put on a show or impress anyone else. It was a beautiful, full circle moment, and the boys even dragged out “between” just a little bit to tease us.

Life is funny. One minute, you’re sixteen and screaming “The fire beneath my feet is burning bright,” at your best friend and you think that this is it, you will be touring the world with your friends forever, and the next you’re twenty-seven and in a wedding dress, leaving mascara stains on the shoulder of his suit. But I wouldn’t change a thing, because I think it was written in the walls all along.

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entropiceye1342 · 9 months

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Spoiler free review for Netflix's live action One Piece!

WOW.

A lot of stuff to love! I absolutely ADORE this take on the adventure of the Straw Hat Pirates!

The Straw Hats are all cast perfectly, the supporting cast is spot on. Everyone NAILS their characters!

Give the man a crown!

Iñaki Godoy as Luffy is goofy and oblivious in all the right ways. He sticks the perfect landing of the emotional intelligence that was crucial to bring the deeper side of Luffy to life, and doesn't neglect the hyperactive child side either! Seeing him gleefully bounce around - both in and out of fights- was special. The CGI was pretty good! Better than I expected, really. I appreciate making Luffy a little more level-headed, it's a good choice to tone down the chaos goblin for live action 🤣

It was magnificent to see Luffy grow into a "real" pirate in this arc, and he will be the KING!

Mackenyu as Zoro is a bit "too cool" but honestly I expected it to happen, people tend to overlook the fact that 90% of the time he's just as dumb as Luffy 🤷 but MAN is he cool. He really surpassed my expectations for the fight scenes, and did not skip on the brutality! 3 Sword Style was stunningly realized and incredible fun to watch- even without drawing a single blade!

His one liners and sarcasm are on point, ESPECIALLY regarding Sanji 🤣

Emily Rudd as Nami is INCREDIBLE. Smart as a whip and wily as ever, this cat burglar lands on her feet! In and out of combat, Nami is quick on her feet and with her wit. One Piece passes the Bechdel test once again, and her story is every bit the emotional powerhouse as its manga and anime counterparts- better in some moments! 'Nuff said.

Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp is delightful, though unfortunately he doesn't get as much time to shine as the others. When he does though, it's fantastic!

He really got the little things down about the character without needing to be as over the top as his counterparts- a bullseye from the sniper!

Sanji is perfect as well, you can SEE the training Taz Skylar went through for the part, from the mouth watering food to the killer martial arts. Every bit as fun to watch as the rest of the Monster Trio! My expectations for him were already high, and he kicked them into the stratosphere.

I'm glad they toned down the flirting, they found the right balance and played it well. Sanji matches Zoro in the bickering spectacularly, an absolute must that exceeded my hopes in both of their performances.

I'm not gonna list everyone but because I love this stupid fucking clown:

Jeff Ward as Buggy is an absolute TREAT, I am a huge fan of this take on the character. The perfect storm of bumbling dipshit who wants to be taken seriously, but still pretty intimidating at times. LOVE it. His jokes are GOLD.

Speaking of! Gold Roger, the man who started it all! *mwah!* Dazzling performances from him AND the Marines.

The few nitpicks I have are minor, the childhood acting ranges from ok to abysmal, Lily Fisher as young Nami is a notable standout. Some of the "minor" characters suffer from wooden acting, but honestly that's about the worst of it.

The Fishmen look a little low budget in their early appearances, but are absolutely PERFECT when they are the ones in the spotlight. Absolutely phenomenal work from McKinley Belcher III, my biggest fear from this was Arlong being done wrong and he CRUSHED IT!

The soundtrack was rousing, it truly felt like a call to adventure! And above all the SET DESIGN 😭

They TRULY brought the world that Oda Senseii has been drawing for us all these years, to life.

And now, anime One Piece is trending on Netflix.

THE GREAT PIRATE ERA IS HERE!

Here's to hoping Netflix doesn't Netflix it 🍻

What did you think?

Especially if this is your introduction to One Piece, I would LOVE to hear your thoughts!

#one piece live action #iñaki godoy #straw hat luffy #one piece #emily rudd #nami #mackenyu #roronoa zoro #jacob romero gibson #usopp #taz skylar #vinsmoke sanji #jeff ward #buggy the clown #mckinley belcher iii #arlong #one piece anime

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littleeyesofpallas · 1 month

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Digging up these early scenes just reminds me how disappointing it was, not just that the whole Failsafe plot turned out stupid and drawnout and nonsense gibberish, but that it started off with SO MUCH potential.

Like, I actually do love the idea of Batman's Tower of Babel continency plan being brought back up to address the idea of what his own failsafe is. I love the idea that the whole scenario is actually a manufactured false positive on Failsafe's activation; that Bruce has been tricked into thinking he killed someone, and thus Failsafe has come online on the assumption that Batman has gone out of control.

Because if it weren't for the stupid introduction of Zur into this equation, I love that there should be a difference between the a real Bruce who is actually still abiding his code but has been implicated in a murder, vs the 12-move-ahead/5D-chess phantom of a purely hypothetical renegade Batman that Failsafe was supposedly programmed to take down.

Like, it could have been a great excuse to try and draw lines around how bad Batman is/isn't, because he's always going to be written such that goofy unaccounted for implications, bad writing, and fridge logic will make him out to be some kind of Frank Miller masked super fascist. But Batman having to outline for himself and for others what he would or wouldn't do, and how that defines what Failsafe's profiling, tactics, and capabilities are is a great excuse to address those things directly.

But more importantly, Failsafe's entire M.O. should have been very very clear. It doesn't need to be a fucking invulnerable super robot that can singlehandedly beat the JL; it doesn't need to have all of Tower of Babel rolled into it. It only needs to beat Batman, and by extension it needs to be built to keep the fight only between itself and Batman.

Like, after being immediately fought to a standstill in hand to hand, in gadgets and other hardware neutralized, and his navigation of Gotham either matched or cut off, Batman's next move should have been the contact the batfam, and he should have found his commlink blocked and hijacked by Failsafe. He should have made the move to contact Clark, and then the reset of the JL and found his emergency beacon, again neutralized. He should have been confident that the batfam or Supes would be able to deduce or detect that something was wrong when he went radio silent, only for Failsafe to be accurately mimicking his communications and life signatures. So not only can Bruce not ask for help, but everyone who tries to do any routine check ins only sees signs that everything is fine and normal.

The key to the entire fight shouldn't be Bruce thinking his way out on the fly, or having a plan, or being prepared, it should emphasize all the ways that once Failsafe is one step ahead, Bruce's only real plan B is his support network, and Failsafe should have cut him off from it. Because THAT's Batman's real weakness, that for all his planning and scheming, he's still just one guy and he knows it, and he trusts and relies on so many other people close to him to make up for that. And that as a theme is such a perfect antithesis to the Tower of Babel. The entire conflict should have been this game of cat and mouse of how Bruce survives without his teams, because in the situation where Batman would have to turn on the JL, that's the situation he'd be left in: without his team.

And more over, as the Most Dangerous Game routine drags on, it should also shed light on how, both in the past and the future, Gotham operates without a Batman.

But the real twist to the whole thing should have been Batman having to turn to Gotham's villains for help, not only because they know how to fight him, but because they're the only people Failsafe wouldn't have been designed to cut him off from. And other than just making for some fun team ups, ultimately his ability to communicate, negotiate, and empathize with villains is the thing that would prove he wasn't the heartless fanatical murderer that Failsafe was designed to stop in the first place.

#dc comics #batman #failsafe

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fanfic-inator795 · 1 month

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Why I love Ansel Beauregard

I originally wrote this a couple months back - back when Michael was still making my Ansel plush and was curious about both the movie he came from and why I liked Ansel so much, whiiiich led to me just kinda going on a page-long rant asdfghjkl. I wasn't originally going to post this on Tumblr but screw it, it's Arlo's anniversary and I still have ATAB/Ansel brainrot so: Enjoy!

Beyond his really great and really charming design (love characters with big wings) and vocal performance (really want his VA, Vincent Rodriguez III, to do more animated musicals now. Like- seriously put this man in the next SING movie or something), what really grabbed me about Ansel is that he’s just such a flawed but still really fascinating and fun character.

I feel like his introduction scene does a good job of demonstrating this, as even when you see him denying his fatherhood and struggling with both his guilt and his hidden truth, he still goes out of his way to help Arlo. Yes it’s done in a somewhat shallow way and he gives him some pretty terrible advice… but it’s also the only advice Ansel knows - advice that is self-taught and that he truly believes is in Arlo’s best interest, because he himself believes that the only way to survive and thrive in a cruel world is to hide the flaws, change yourself and be ‘better’ than what you are. (Though, even if it is a bit harsher in retrospect given Arlo’s heartbreak afterwards, the song itself is still a bop, ngl)

My friend who originally recommended this movie to me (thanks again Toondandy) pointed out how Ansel’s story is very much one of assimilation - how, for as successful and rich as he ended up, hiding and changing himself to fit the mold of ‘normal’ not only negatively affected him (his so-called high society ‘friends’ only cared about his money, as seen in the Met Gala scene, and he himself admitted he was lonely despite his success, not to mention all the pressure that comes with constantly trying to hide your true self) but also put him in a position to potentially continue perpetuating the societal cycle of hurting and rejecting others who are just like him (like abandoning baby Arlo or like how he was going to gentrify Seaside, both for petty revenge against his childhood bullies and because he thought it was the best option - because ‘beautiful’ is ‘better’).

Additionally, because he’s so focused on and weighed down by his own hang-ups, I don’t think Ansel fully realized just how much he was harming ‘not-normal’ people like Arlo and Arlo’s friends (people like himself) until he saw not only how far Arlo was going to go to learn the truth but also just how much he’d hurt Arlo/put him in danger by continuing to reject him, which is what finally pushes him to confront his fear, guilt and self-shame. (Sidepoint: I really REALLY love the double-shadow imagery that goes along with Ansel’s “what have I become?” line. It’s simple but still really effective).

But yeah, it makes sense that him growing up bullied then isolated and then becoming crazy rich at a young age made him more than a little oblivious and out of touch (though these parts of his personality are still funny/endearing instead of being annoying imo) but what keeps him a positive character even when he’s at his ‘worst’ and most selfish/self-conscious is that he still genuinely cares and I really do love the interactions he has with Arlo.

Beyond all the juicy character drama stuff, there’s a lot of fun aspects I like about Ansel too. I like how, for as flawed as he is, he isn’t your typical rich jerk that you see in a lot of cartoons and can still be a bit goofy and flamboyant at times (his song “Better Life” is a perfect example of this). I also really like all his bird-like mannerisms and how awkward and skittish he can be at times too, that’s also really endearing imo. And I also love how even with all his flaws, he tries to make up for them, even if it took him a while to fully own up to his mistakes.

Finally, I love the subtle foreshadowing to him being a bird-man (him saying things like “like a phoenix” and “my perch” during his song, the bird logo on his piano, and the feather he gives Arlo are some examples). His subtle similarities with Arlo - like a love of music/singing and the shared desire to find a community of sorts (even if they both went about it in totally different ways) - are also fun character details ^v^ plus hearing them harmonize in “Something’s Missing” is just SO GOOD!

So yeah... Lots of things I like about this character ^v^

#ansel beauregard #arlo the alligator boy #i heart arlo #character analysis #tl;dr I have a type and the type is sad but super endearing dads

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blueberry-macaron · 10 months

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Watched the movie and honestly it was fine. No groundbreaking cinematic masterpiece. No disasturous dumpster fire. Just an ok movie that felt like a fanfiction from s1

Here's some more thoughts I have. There's no structure it's a little chaotic. Also spoilers (duh)

The stuff I liked:

The music was good

THE ANIMATION IS GORGEOUS. The lighting in every scene is perfect, the city actually feels populated and the colors overall are so much prettier than in the show

I loved the akuma designs

They do a good job of establishing how Marinette, in the beginning, is very anxious, affected by Chloe's bullying and how she doesn't have friends. That works better than what the show tried to establish, about how Marinette had no friends but still being popular for some reason

Alya being a good friend

The way Adrien deals with the loss of his mother and how playing the piano brings him comfort and makes him feel close to her. Imo the show went overboard with how literally everything Adrien does is dictated by his dad and never something he might genuinely enjoy doing. The fact that he had this hobby made him feel like he was more than just a sad boi

Adrien also seems to struggle with not having many friends outside Nino. Works pretty well with the characterization that he's socially awkward after being homeschooled for most of his life

Generally this Adrien has more PV vibes? I‘m digging it ngl

Marinette's dad is the best

Fu's introduction to Marinette sure was something xD

Gabriel was a good villain character. The show version is just some weird ass goof who is a huge ass to his son and everyone, yet the show wants you to feel for him without giving us a reason to care. This version actually has complexity. He’s still an ass, but now the pain over loosing Emilie feels real. You also have him hesitating to use the butterfly but ultimately spiraling completely into an actually threatening villain.

the fight scenes looked great

Marinette is still clumsy and awkward towards Adrien but without being too cringe about it and doing stupid shit. It‘s just heart eyes and day dreams and some stuttering. She‘s still nervous but I never felt like Adrien brought oit her worst side like in the show. She was simply a girl in love. This was wholesome to watch and so much better than... whatever the fuck the show did with the fucking dating trauma to use for """comedy""" bc the show runners have zero respect for her seriously I'll never get over how fucking stupid that was Marinette honey you deserve so much better

I honestly think this is a better version of the square. Still heavily flawed, but their dynamic feels so much more natural. Ladynoir stuff was sweet

The end where Marinette looses the earrings and then saves Chat without the costume was a good scene

Most of their moments were just quiet moments between just the two without any outside forces and characters constantly pushing them together. This bothers me in the show so much and is another major reason I cant get behind the ship, but for the most part the movie has some gentle pushing here and there but no convoluted and stupid cringy plans. In that regard movie love square is superior

Nino had a thing for Alya from the start pretty much, unlike in the show where he was crushing on Mari five minutes before getting with Alya. I like them in both the show and the movie, but the way they got together in the show was a little meh

Nino getting screentime in general

The stuff I don't know how to feel about:

Careless whisper. It was silly goofy but especially the second time when Paris is on fire and we skip to Adrien's room where he sulks... yeah that tome switch really threw me off

Two different voice actors for singing an talking. The difference was very jarring and while good for Bryce, Cristina has the voice of an angel like cmon I need her to do at least a cover from one song

Gabriel's redemption. Ok so I'm a little torn because the way they did it ties in very well with the the "power of love" theme that his love for Adrien makes him realize his mistakes bla bla, but he still terrorized a city and yet faces zero consequences, and Adrien forgives him, which are all thing that really rub me the wrong way. Idk the franchise is so obsessed with painting this man in a sympathetic light and in order for this to feel truly satisfying Gabriel shouldn't have tried to destroy Paris like 5 minutes earlier. I see what they went for and thematically it worked but I just need Gabriel to be put in prison

Speaking of Gabriel, the Adrien Gabe relationship isn't as abusive as in the show. This isn't good or bad, but I still think (very unpopular opinion) the show doesn't handle abuse well at all bc the only point of the abuse is pity points in oder to get the fans to care about the characters. So taking that out of the movie where you have limited time to wrap this whole thing up might've been a smart decision

With the ending they sort of hinted at a sequel

The cut off kiss at the end. They still act like a love square kiss is something sacred that they can‘t just give their fans. Commit to it already

The stuff I didn't like:

The dialogue was… something. Marinette just asking her mom over breakfast how to make her dreams come true. Babe just just woke up, that deep convos are for late nights

Generally the dialogue in both the movie and the show is a little weird

Lika Alya‘s „people try really hard to fail as hard as you“ Marinette spilled some coffee it‘s not that hard

Even though I liked the portrayel of Marinette‘s anxiety, at times the went overboard with it

Going back to the Gabriel redemption, just let Adrien have negative feeling about Gabriel already. The s5 finale have him idolize him and here he just instantly forgives and forget

So the butterfly is a villainous tool by default? They could've fixed their messy lore but noooo

The scene where Marinette gets her miraculous feels rushed.

The way Adrien receives his miraculous. He was chilling in his room and suddenly a black cat shows up. He doesn't even have to proove himself like Mari when she almost got hit by a truck. The moment in the show was already weak but this is just fucking stupid

the first akuma was just some random dude. They should've used someone the main duo has a connection to

Chat being a lil bitch about Ladybug rejecting him. Hated it in the show, hate it here. They could've used the movie to fix Adrien and they didn't. Other than that being a dick move as so many people have explained millions of times now, I find this such a boring source of conflict for the climax of the movie? They worked well before and they both know they care for each other as partners and even if being rejected hurts, Chat acts like LB just threw their friendship away or something with how strongly he reacts to it. In the show it felt blown out of proportion and it does here as well. I think they should've had a different kind of conflict which actively hurt their partnership or Chat stops treating LB unfairly just because to her he‘s not a romantic partner.

The fart jokes. Though tbf this is a kids movie

The way Marinette falls for Adrien was extremely underwhelming. Adrien smiles at her and helps her get up and then just walks out of the library all like „she‘s so weird“. Could‘ve been fixed if he and Mari stayed in the library and had a little conversation

Also Adrien‘s introduction in general? He just chills in the library and… yeah that‘s it. I blame this on the writers of the movie cutting character introductions short because they assume the audience already knows the characters and therefore doesn‘t have to introduce them. I don‘t think that was a good choice

The Adrienette stuff was just a montage. Would've been nice to actually see them connect (though that was probably a time issue)

Also they didn't give any spotlight to Marinette's good qualities like selflessness and intelligence. Would've been nice to see her be more willing to be there for people and help them out with things as a result of her gaining more confidence

Seriously the montage was a big mistake and takes away a lot from what could've made the movie stand out

The reveal felt a lot like Adrien only loving Marinette because she's LB, which was a big reason for me to not ship Adrienette prior to the flip (not that I did after). Something like this would‘ve been believable in a setting where they didn‘t know each other as civilians I guess, but that doesn‘t work for the square. Had they actually shown Adrienette develop outside of a montage this would'be been way more believable and touching.

I think a reverse love square from the beginning would've worked better here, or they should've made the Ladynoir side canon

Adrien tells Marinette about his dead mom. Chat noir tells Ladybug about his dead mom. How does she not make the connection?

The "power of love" theme fell flat with Marinette. she doesn't have her moment of "oh I have to protect the people I love" like Tikki's dialogue suggests. There were multiple people at the theme park she could've spotted being in danger and that should've made her want to save them. Tom being there was literally the perfect set-up. The show does this with Alya being trapped under a car or something and Marinette seeing her

I also think the jump from anxious Mari to brave Mari didn't work. In both the show and the movie it just feels like she just decides to be confident now without really getting there through hard work. The motivation was there in the show (see previous point) but in both instances it just happened too fast. Let Marinette have time to really adjust to her new role

This would've worked if the movie didn't try to keep the show's formula of "villain of the week". Why are we getting a montage about that when there's already a whole ass show with five seasons where we already see that? This montage took up time that could've been used more effectively. The movie should've tried to be more of it's own thing, really shoud've tried to flesh out the characters more in a way the show doesn't. They didn't need LB and CN immediately competent and loved by the public after the theme park fiasco. Just use the run time of the movie to get adjusted to fighting crime on a weekly basis, have them fail to then fix their mistakes and learn from them. Why not do a training montage with the point of becoming better instead of flirting? The movie tries too hard to keep up the show formula and it takes away the quality the story could've had

Also in Marinette's case it felt like the only "power of love" that mattered was her partnership with Chat. Her family and friends weren't completely unimportant but definetely underutilized in that regard. Romantic love is not the only important love you know

Their powers of cataclysm and miraculous ladybug only came in at the very end. The built up could've worked if they spent more time showing how they become good and experienced heroes over time

Generally the climax was underwhelming. Gabriel learns Chat‘s identity and the damage is made undone like 10 seconds later

Adrien being like "yeah I didn't really get close to people after my mom died" what's with the Nino erasure smh

Luka wasn't important

Kagami wasn't even there

I think the end scene hinted at the sentimonster stuff and I wished they would've just not include that

Final thoughts

There are things the movie did better than the show and some things it didn't. They don't waste much time on establishing who the characters are because they expect viewers to already know that from watching the show. But like the show, they fail to use the concepts they've set up in an effective way. The movie not only tries to stay true to the show but is almost dependent on the audience knowing the series.

But yeah, the movie atmosphere was nice. Nothing extraordinary but also not super bad. It had s1 vibes and despite the problems I listed, I had a good time for the most part. Not a must watch but still fine

4/10

#ml movie #ml movie spoilers #ml review #long post #ml salt #about the movie and the show

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sugarqueen-katara · 3 months

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Netflix Avatar: the Last Airbender review

So, I just got around to watching ep 1 and I wanted to share my thoughts. I'll probably do this after each episode, but I am slow at watching things so this might take a while.

To make this more fair, I'll review the show as a seperate show and then review it as an avatar fan.

Maybe minor spoilers ahead so be aware!

As an individual show:

The context was repeated many times in different ways - it was a bit overkill but as "a new viewer" it makes the situation very clear

the genocide was such an emotional scene and very well done, but a little "convenient" (Aang leaving to clear his head at the perfect time and all the airbenders being in one location at the same moment that the fire nation arrives)

the characters seem cool maybe? Don't know much about them ~ yet

The bending looks epic

Overall a good and entertaining introduction episode, interested to see where this goes.

As an avatar fan

the intro sequence being done by Kyoshi is an interesting choice. I love Kyoshi as a character, but what is her relevance to Aang's story. If they wanted to do an avatar wouldn't Roku make more sense? Also the narration no longer being Katara reflects the changes of how important her role is to the story (will talk about more later)

No major complaints about the scenes at the air temple found the whole a great addition to the story.

Ok let's address Aang's flying. So first we can all agree that it goes against LOK lore. However, the other thing that bothers me is it is not clear when he needs a glider and when he doesn't. If he could fly why does he need a glider at all?

Now for the water tribe siblings! Let's start with Sokka. Some of his jokes were good some were meh... He is just kind of a jerk ~ which obviously is also the case in the animation ~ so I guess it depends on how the other episodes explore his character and develop his arc

Now for my poor girl Katara. They fail to show her complex character. We don't get any Katara sass or anger. All we get is caring Katara. There is not this duality that we usually see with her. She was also robbed of narrator and basically main or second main character to the show. The animation sets her up as the driving force of the show, now she's just kind of there. ~ Also I wanted to address everyone complaining about Katara's actress being the weakest. So first of all please don't send hate to Kiawentiio (I saw really awful comments under her instgram post which is really no ok) - I'm not saying your not allowed to think this, but maybe don't spam it under her posts. Next, I personally haven't had an issue with her acting so far, if anything the writing probably needs to be improved. And for anyone who says she can't show emotions go watch Anne with an E to see that she can act and the issues in the LA might be with directing (maybe I'm just biased because I love that show)

Aang is ok... his fear of responsibly shows but his goofiness is absent.

Now I am not the biggest Zuko stan ( don't get me wrong his character and arc is so well done in the animation he is just not my favourite), but I feel like he is the one character that I enjoy and have no complaints about so far in the LA

There’s something off with Iroh can’t really put it into words, but he just doesn’t have the same effect with the lines he delivers (this is only the first episode so I’ll have to see if it gets better)

Now, since I am largely a kataang blog ~ yes I am disappointed with the lack of penguin sledding but more in a sense that it removes Aang’s goofy behaviour. Then again, this isn't that big of a deal. Also I enjoyed the change of gyasto helping Aang out of the avatar state (it gives a different vibe but I’m not against it).

Overall, it is 100x better than the movie. Is it perfect? Not at all. So far,I think the main problem is that they tell instead of show. If you are able to detach it from the original (which is hard for me as you can probably tell from the review) and not think about what's missing it can be really enjoyable.

These are just my opinions. If you don't agree no need to hate or argue✨✨ (I hope this isn't an issue since it is not on Twitter)

#atla #natla #netflix atla #netflix avatar #netflix atla review #avatar the last airbender #natla spoilers #honestly I just went justice for katara

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elcorhamletlive · 4 months

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no one asked but here are some of my thoughts on the one piece live action show

the things I didn't like:

Nojiko not knowing about Nami's scheme and plan. I get that it was probably a way to raise the odds and emphasize Nami's loneliness, but to me it cheapened their relationship and took away one of the most touching moments in the manga, when the reason for Nojiko's tattoos is revealed.

humorless, stoic, sexy man Zoro. of all the characters it was the one adaptation that didn't work for me, and Zoro is one of my favorites so it was a bit frustrating. the actor gives a good performance, but whereas the rest of the crew is a perfect translation of their manga selves to the screen, Zoro feels like a fundamentally different character. which is unfortunately because the mix of goofiness and badassery is what makes Zoro so engaging. here's hoping that he's allowed to emote more in season two.

in a similar vein as the previous point, I wasn't a fan of all the "Zoro and Nami exhasperated over Luffy" scenes. imo making Zoro so mature changed the dynamic of the crew and made his relationship with Luffy ring a bit hollow, even when the show wanted me to be emotionally invested in their bond.

Mihawk's introduction makes him come across as way less of threat than in the manga. I get cutting Krieg because they had less time and ultimately I don't think it was a massive loss, but having Gin show up destroyed and hyping Mihawk up is sooo much more effective than just showing him in the middle of a battle.

Nami was also a bit too serious for my taste, but I'll chalk that up to East Blue being when she's still not fully comfortable with the crew yet.

this is the most nitpicky annoying thing but. Arlong was too small. like obviously realistically speaking the actor is jacked but he does not give off the same threatening air that he does in the manga when he's towering over everyone.

the things I liked (most of it!):

from a plot perspective I think they were very smart and strategic about what to cut, they managed to trim everything to make it fit in eight hours and it worked. having Koby and Helmeppo throughout the season was a great way to keep the story from feeling too episodic, and they're both really well cast and I loved watching them. They are in love

removing the jokes on Alvida's appearance: yes. Overall I think they did a good job translating the humor, keeping the absurdness and silliness while also removing what wouldn't fly very well in live action.

Luffy should have been Brazilian but Iñaki Godoy is truly a finding, his performance is top notch and I can't imagine anyone else playing the role. Also in the "might have been created in a lab specifically to play their role" category are: Jacob Romero (there was not a second Usopp was on screen that didn't fill my heart with joy), Craig Fairbrass, Peter Gadiot, Aidan Scott.

special bullet point for Buggy because yeah. you have already heard that but my god he is THAT GOOD. SO much fun to watch.

another special bullet point for Taz Skylar. I didn't mention him in the list above because I guess you can say that technically Sanji is significantly different in the LA than in the mange, but tbh the change was for the better. amping up his charm and giving him a wannabe womanizer vibe was the perfect choice. his chemistry with Zeff was amazing (that one second in which they're fighting and you can see Sanji mouthing along to what he's saying because they've had this fight so many times before? CINEMA). their goodbye broke my heart.

Baratie might have been my favorite arc. and it's a really good arc in the manga so I'm amazed by how much they got it right.

Usopp/Kaya kiss!!!

obsessed with the absolutely random flirting between Zeff and Garp. old men yaoi stays winning

Koby and Luffy's hug was everything I didn't know I needed. also Koby getting drunk. just... Koby.

usually I'd find "omg they did it exactly like the manga panels" kind of a meaningless compliment but the scene where Nami asks for Luffy's help hit me like a brick. it was perfect.

their vows at the ending of the season gave me chills. Watching this show was so much fun and made me relive the excitement this story gave me as a child; a lot is said about an adaption having to capture "the essence" of the original which is of course super vague, but however you interpret it, I think it happened here. This show has so much heart and passion and is just a joyful, fun thing to experience. I can't wait for next season

#opla spoilers #clawing at netflix's windows foaming at the mouth whispering “robin. give me robin.”

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wellntruly · 1 year

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The problem with just giving my whole M*A*S*H Season 1 viewguide a watch, is that I think I might have been good at this. Because now I’m like, hmm Season 1, best season? Cannot possibly be!! But! !

Anyway I never posted my backstage notes on the first season because I didn’t take any notes on the first season, because I’d just had a minor surgery and was, a little bit rather medicated. Just enough to be like, peaceful dismissive flomp of the hand, wrist Very loose.

But I have thoughts now.

M*A*S*H Season 1 Notes Finally (Deluxe Episode Selection)

1x15 ‘Tuttle’

Phasing out the bits of original score laying over the start of the cold opens was a mistake, this is so worn-in & cozy I could cry

I had missed Hawkeye promptly swooping up this nun’s hand—to clean the engine oil off it with the bottom of his jacket. Overwhelmed that this would be his introduction to anyone following my list.

Also hadn’t realized I’d kicked off with an episode where Hawkeye starts talking about a man getting pregnant within the first three minutes. Starting strong for our BOY (gender neutral)

I’m just so happy. I was right, 'Tuttle' best first episode. 'Tuttle' best episode? I am also so happy watching the laugh track version again, I don’t know! I really can't figure out why I feel it highlights somehow how the early seasons were soooo Catch-22, the idiotic and painful absurdism of the military, and the surreal blitheness that those who can see it take refuge in.

Have I not noticed before that Radar’s cot is just one the beds from post-op, with that cross bar across the head of it

WAIT WE SAW SPARKY HERE???? ‘Tuttle’ perfect intro wow

Hawkeye does not frequently tent his eyebrows like this and good on it as we might be in a 'some dead, many injured' situation otherwise

Hehe I’d missed early seasons Radar, this sweet but entire little freak...

1x09 ‘Henry, Please Come Home’

They are all SO scruffy (even Radar!!!), yet Hawkeye also has his shirt tucked in. Disorienting visual moments to come back to. (Don’t hate it!)

I think about the physical dialogue of this wordless bit of Frank trying to get Hawkeye & Trapper to salute him all the time

I cannot figure why Hawkeye and Trapper are staying sooo low in the bath, up to their ears, besides that maybe they just happened into it on the day and found that it was extremely funny, because it is.

Okay and now I want to know why they are wearing kimonos over full Class A uniforms, with tie. They look so handsome and silly.

Really remembering now why this was my second up: the sequence where Henry takes charge is one of the more interesting and rewarding character bits of early Season 1. It’s important to know early on that Henry can step up, and really cares about his people, as he’s gonna be such a goofy buffoon a lot of the time, but will be called upon for gravity and pathos in certain moments. Seeing him in this episode bolsters those moments so much when they come later.

he literally seduced him

Fun I had just meant to stylize that with a hashtag and Tumblr did this to it. Leaving it!

1x06 ‘Yankee Doodle Doctor’

They really talked to generals a whole lot more in the early days huh

Lol wait, he’s only a brigadier general

The scene of Hawkeye & Trapper dancing in each other's arms around their tent is just….they are Together. This was the sixth episode.

TRAPPER JOHN, YOUR GOLDEN RETRIEVER BOYFRIEND: Hawkeye: “Oh, that’s my bad side.” Trapper: “You looked good to me.” Hawkeye: “Oh-oh-oh, you were good in that place! Isn’t that good?” Trapper: [laughs delightedly, beaming]

Trapper, literally, stepping in between them as Hawkeye's bodyguard, Hawkeye playing up the leading lady, “Save your voice, my darling”—THEM IN THIS EPISODE.

It’s funny that this is also our first & only glimpse of Alan Alda, Future Actual Director

Wait, is his name Crandle?? Oh lord I looked this up later: yes. Brigadier Gen. Crandell Clayton. Naming Awards.

Gary laughing when Wayne bonks him on the head with this prop mallet for “anesthesia” as powerful a painkiller as one ibuprofen

It’s just a good little monologue, huh. It gets me every time. Part of it is those haunted silver eyes, and we have the black & white to thank for that, but it’s just a nice bit of writing too, and a nice choice to play it almost calmly (tiredly) direct. He is Looking.

1x07 ‘Bananas, Crackers, and Nuts’

This muted, meandering riff on the theme is so so pleasing

Trapper asleep on a bed in the OR, welcome

Oh my god, this episode was their “Our first fight” moment. My babies…<3 Why does Alan keep Hawkeye’s bent knuckle resting against Trapper’s bare arm for half of this vacation planning…<3

Trapper: “I’m worried about Hawkeye.” Frank: “Well I wouldn’t be. He does very well looking after himself.” Margaret: “Very well.” Trapper: “That’s exactly the point, he’s not himself.” Frank: “What’s that supposed to mean?” Trapper: “He seems to be losing touch with reality.” Henry: “I think the last person we have to worry about is Hawkeye Pierce!” Margaret: “I second that.”

You know what. This episode is destroying the scraps that remained of my own sanity. I’m ruined maybe most by Trapper jumping on the idea of “he looks after himself” as a worrying sign of self-editing. I’m reading into that but also, as Frank asks, what's that supposed to mean? If not something like that?

Ah this shot of the moon beyond the PA speaker…!

His like, James Dean look up through the forelock of his hair talking about the man he’s in love with…fucking hell, Hawkeye

“You know she dyes her hair blonde? That’s why I died my hair black. I think Frank should have a clear choice.” This joke has always killed me. That’s such good bonkers logic, and also a bit custom-made for Tumblr.

Absolutely adore Frank & Margaret silently conferring with each other just upstage, actually. Something that is really well rendered with them is the co-conspirator angle of being a couple.

“This is the Army, no one can do the best they can!” See I did miss this kind of thing later. This is a whole nuanced essay I need to write about Lt. Colonel Blake to Col. Potter, and it will be so much about the Vietnam War.

I think I’m starting to figure out the difference in early Radar, and it’s that he was still super innocent but simultaneously, crafty. He is constantly, or at least every episode in my list so far, roped into schemes by Hawkeye & Trapper as like their inside man, which he tends to perform well, for a comedic value of well.

The ‘Bananas, Crackers, and Nuts’ rewrite where the psychologist is Sidney Freedman. Everything goes the same, except of course, Sidney has no previous connection to Margaret. But they still send Radar in trying to make this scheme happen, and Sidney is just so amused watching Radar try to pull something off, sipping his soup surreptitiously, that he goes along with it. He just keeps going along with it, cheerily makes the same burnt-out bulb joke about how “my profession is helping people find their way in the dark,” and then when he finally figures it out of course tries to stop Margaret from undressing, and she flips, but then cracks up at the idea that she’d be trying to sleep with HIM, the opposite of her general type (pun inteeeended), and she actually makes this joke, which cracks Sidney up, partly just imagining himself as a general, so when the boys rush in to catch him they’re just cackling together, and Sidney’s like you know what, this has been entertaining. I’m not taking Pierce right now as it’s clear he has a support system (cut to Trapper and Radar), but I’m gonna be back, to check in on ALL of you. Margaret’s like, I’d like that. :) Frank is like, Margaret?! This is my vision.

(And then the Wouldn’t Actually Happen In Real M*A*S*H But I’d Like It final button is Sidney having breakfast with them all in the mess tent the next morning before he heads out, seeing how they all are together under what passes for normal conditions, and then as he’s clearing his tray outside with Hawkeye just mildly asks, “So, Frank was it?” And Hawkeye’s fork stills over his tray, but already Sidney is just smiling at him and saying “Good choice—I really could have thought you were crazy.” And Hawkeye grins, and Frank comes outside, and they both laugh, and Larry Linville does that little sort of shifting stomp thing that he does over how he keeps walking into spaces where the psychiatrist is laughing and he doesn’t know why. FIN.)

Anyway trying to figure out why this scene with the not-Sidney psychiatrist and Margaret, in real M*A*S*H, didn’t bother me as much as it seems to have bothered lots of others. I think maybe it’s partly because it was never going to get very far, as they were already waiting outside to stop it as soon as it started? So it plays without an air of actual threat. And also that we’re supposed to hate this guy, he’s the episodic enemy, so Margaret’s fury against him is all framed as right & justified & him getting his just desserts. Unlike, sadly, a number of other “jokes” these early seasons, this episode positions a man trying to take advantage of a woman as wrong, punishable even. I think that’s why I was weirdly kinda okay with it. Though on the whole I mean I would have preferred we just, not. If we have to, would prefer the Sidney version I already laid out, OF COURSE.

1x11 ‘Germ Warfare’

Hey Oliver Jones was still here in this one too! Godspeed fella, your stay at the 4077 was too short.

Hawkeye, sleeping in a chair so the wounded North Korean soldier can have his cot, whispering “Trap?” without opening his eyes. No note I just like it.

The fucking theremin cue when they start stealing Frank's blood while doing their Dracula bit

“In the morning he will be one of my brides!” Alright.

Larry’s little meow in his sleep, omfg

Hawk stop trying to seduce Frank while he sleeps, this psychological torture is so…subliminal

Truly what makes incorrigible flirt Hawkeye work is that in just so many of his ceaseless attempts to seduce Nurse Cutler and Lieutenant this blonde babe, the joke is on him. He has no sense of shame or self-preservation.

“I’m only paranoid ‘cause everyone is against me.” I’D MISSED FRANK.

They walked back a little Radar being so, so psychic as well

The thing about Frank & Margaret is that while we hate Frank for Margaret (because we know later Margaret), it’s also extremely good that they fully are set up as the counter couple to Hawkeye & Trapper. Like 1000%. Those are the two couples. Constantly engaged in battle.

Was briefly considering if this should have gone before ‘Bananas, Crackers, and Nuts’ in my viewguide, but have decided it’s funnier if Hawkeye hits on Frank so much after the one where he pretends to be in love with him, like it puts the idea into his head.

Wait the boys brought Frank daisies???! Huge Frederick Chilton visiting Will Graham in the hospital tbh

1x12 ‘Dear Dad’

‘The Longjohn Flap’ is the first true And They Were All So Cold episode in that it’s the plot, but I was loathe to forget that this one invented being bundled. Hawkeye in his scarf writing this letter to his dad....my absolute origin story.

I MISS GINGER. Her vibes with Hawkeye and Trapper were so good.

Father Mulcahy is So Cute, look at him!

Henry stressfully cajoling his unruly audience, “Let’s just can the jokes, I’d like to get right down to the sex,” did make me laugh

A whole interlude about how Trapper is the strapping sweetie-pie of the outfit, wow

WAIT this was the first time you would have seen Klinger!!??! And he was so rowdy!!! Wow wild intro for him

“Attention all personnel: when filling out GI insurance forms, be sure to state your age and sex at the time of your last birthday.” Innncredible.

What do you think a snail smells like anyway

I’d forgotten that the first time Hawkeye kissed Margaret, just out in the middle of camp as a bit, he then promptly volunteered to go down on her, in so many words. Y’know this is the other thing that makes his pursuit of all the nurses (slash everyone) work: he’s extremely keen on making sure they have a good time. “I’ve certainly done my share to keep up [the nurses] morale,” he wrote earlier, “but I’ve only got two hands.” This apparently is the perfect cocktail for an incorrigible flirt: 1 part complete willingness to embarrass yourself, 1 part complete willingness to be a service anything.

And then of course that scene is immediate followed by one where he makes a joke that Trapper is getting him pregnant. ~HAWKEYE PIERCE~

Hmmm. Hawkeye paused before getting on the chopper and tried to say goodbye to Trapper just in case, and Trapper went “Tell me when you see me!” Aw Trap…

“All the ladies of the ensemble” oh my god...<3

1x19 ‘The Longjohn Flap’

I love Radar and Henry so much

It’s actually all of the cots, they’re all taken from post-OP supply huh

Trapper dealing cards into the stove one by one…

It’s just soooo goooood watching Hawkeye comically cave to poor shivering sneezing Trapper, he’s so resistant and such a soft touch at once

Have I ever mentioned in public how much I love Radar's makeshift ear-muffs---surgical gauze layered under his radio headphones---that he uses for multiple season's worth of cold episodes. Man...Now That's Television

‘The Longjohn Flap’ is so perfect. Hawkeye listing out all the descriptors of the long underwear Trapper has just lost (“double weave! semi-woolen!”) while he just sits there in shock, Radar already trying to unbutton them off his chest.

Trapper: “Hey. Look what the giant rodent has on his body.” Why is this line killing me.

Loretta’s bizarre little cold voice is just the greatest, wtf

Y’know, this transition from Klinger, in a bandana but fatigues, trying to blow Frank up with a grenade, to now being outside in a dress in the cold and saying “I’m crazy, ask anybody. Crazy Klinger,” kind of works?

Hawkeye: “Only God knows where they are now…” [Cut to Father Mulcahy bringing a sentry coffee] Alan I want to kiss you on the cheek

It also works as a second Klinger episode that once again his closest relationship seems to be with Father Mulcahy. Incidentally, I’m also seeing where the Klinger & Mulcahy truthers are coming from lately.

“—which we own” Oh so now the 'johns are collective property of the two of you

Hawkeye’s sweet overwhelmed joy when he gets them back, oh my gOD

What is this!!!!!!!!!

1x17 ‘Sometimes You Hear the Bullet’

Loretta Swit’s “trying to figure out how to grab crouched-over Frank to move him out of her tent” acting is so, so funny

Loretta Swit’s “pointing where Frank was coming from” acting is, you guessed it, so, so funny

Admittedly, the way Tommy fully seems like Hawkeye’s wild gay friend, is incredible. McLean Stevenson’s reaction to Tommy kissing him though is just the bee’s knees & all the rest of her.

But…this episode does still throw me off a little! Not for nothing is I think their only homophobic joke from Hawkeye? Unless we want to count “If you kiss me I’ll throw up,” but he says that while eyeing Trapper over a sip of his drink so it still just feels flirty ultimately.

“I’d give you a kiss but I…can’t move my head” is just quite good as a line I’ll give you

God I’m so sorry ‘Sometime You Hear the Bullet’, but look at that I’ve just come right back down on you again. It just doesn’t work for me! It’s too quick, you can’t introduce a character I’ve never heard of before, tell me he’s one of Hawkeye’s best friends, and kill him 10 minutes later, and not have me just looking at all the brush strokes and not the picture.

1x21 ‘Sticky Wicket’

“You go right to Major Houlihan, you set your jaw firmly, and you look into those cool, killer eyes of hers and you tell her I’ll be right there.” McLeeaaaaan

Radar waking up Hawkeye is always the cutest. I’m injured.

Sorry sorry to just bag again on ‘Sometimes You Hear the Bullet’, but really, I just feel like its relative emotional depth is shown up in sophistication by even just a few of these other S1 episodes. Margaret going from threatening Hawkeye with a formal complaint in one scene to the two of them working seamlessly together in the operating room in the next, and that’s the point, is so much more real about the nature of living in a surgical hospital camp during a war, if that’s what it is that 'Sometimes You Hear' is supposed to be giving.

Hawkeye, operating: “What’s the score, John?” John, minding the patient’s vital signs: “He’s doing pretty well, considering what you’re doing to him.” I can’t really explain exactly what emotion this inspires in me, but it sure does it

Putting this one right after the episode where he loses Tommy does give Hawkeye’s behavior in this one a specific interpretive flavor. Not sure if I prefer that though; there doesn’t always have to be reasons, you know?

Trapper hauls Hawkeye away from trying to murder Frank by the waist. Just FYI.

Ah and yes also the first time we see Trapper just physically steer him out of the hospital. Hawkeye is upset and Trapper has gone hands-on. Hmm I was probably going to rest easier before I noticed this.

The “I told you to leave me alone, Trapper,” bit, TRULY ...truly

Wait then Trapper ACTUALLY SHOWS UP, with booze. And literally is like, so is she helping? Wow? Wow.

Was this the first one that started on how Margaret is very good at her job

Y’know what, one of S1’s hottest episodes is: ‘Sticky Wicket’. This episode has everything: The very beginnings of Hawkeye & Margaret, Besties. Operating on war victims feeling like it has Consequences. Trapper jilted that Hawkeye left him for two nights, then relenting and being like [literally chucking his cheek] baby at least you came back. :) The first shower scene in my viewguide. McLean Stevensen sleep mask acting. And what's that? Why, it's Radar O’Reilly.

1x20 ‘The Army-Navy Game’

I do love how open Hawkeye always is with his fear. It’s nice.

Had missed before that Margaret is fully just leaning on Trapper as they cower near Henry comma concussed

“Yeah yeah, don’t panic, I’m doing that for everybody. Go inside.” LOVE Leadership Pierce, when it kicks in.

Army brass: “Call me at half-time, will ya Captain?” Hawkeye, amazed, mockingly polite-society: “Certainly.” Army brass: “If I don’t hear from you, I’ll understand.” This Catch-22 shit in this episode is SO GOOD

Wait so was S1 just entirely the Klinger/Mulcahy hours and I just never noticed the pattern

Henry: “One foot, can you imagine!” Radar: “Twelve inches!” Literal lol

Henry: “….It’s whose?” [scene cut] Hawkeye: “The CIA!?” Sublime.

Reading off the flyer: “Give yourselves up. You can’t win. - Douglas MacArthur” It's perfect.

*****

Viewguides (selected episodes for each season; M*A*S*H reduced like a gravy)

Misc. MASH (formless notes from my watches)

#M*A*S*H hours (all this & More)

#“S1 revisited” is here #Misc. MASH #M*A*S*H hours #M*A*S*H

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nintooner · 1 year

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I finally watched the Mario movie 😭 The drive-in we went to was a little bit crappy (the audio had this crackling in the background), and there was a little bit of rain in the middle of the movie but none of that ruined the experience

(Obviously this post contains Mario movie spoilers, if you haven't seen it yet)

As a lifelong Mario fan, I was literally smiling like an idiot throughout the whole thing, because of course I was 😆

I kinda wish I had some Mario fan friends to watch it with so we could have gushed about all the references together haha (I watched it with my parents, and they're Mario fans too, but not as intensely as me, so they only picked up on some of the references)

Let me tell you I internally popped off when they had the Captain Toad theme playing during Toad's introduction scene. My boy Captain Toad got a reference 😎

Also Gusty Garden in the credits had me humming along, I always can't help but sing along to that song (If I was in the car by myself, I would have been singing it out loud lol)

My favourite part of the movie was just the brotherly love between Mario and Luigi, that shit was so wholesome 😭 It really reminded me of their bond in the Mario & Luigi games

Peach was a bit of a girlboss as I feared, but I feel it ended up being justified since she's been living in this world her whole life, while Mario is brand new to it and has no clue what's going on at first. And by the end she and Mario (and the rest of the gang) are working together as a team

Speaking of, I was pleasantly surprised to see a tiny bit of Peach backstory 😳 The implication that she's from the "real world" too... I feel like they could explore that more in a sequel. Also I loved how protective she was of the Toads, since they pretty much raised her... More wholesome shit

And it was bizarre but cool to see Mario and Luigi's family! I knew going into the movie that their dad was voiced by Charles Martinet, and I could immediately tell when I heard his voice. Eternal respect to the absolute chad Charles 🫡

Obviously Bowser slapped, but you don't need me to tell you that, you already know it 😆 He was the perfect combination of intimidating and goofy. And the wedding outfit from Odyssey...! The king of fashion... And that Peach love song... He's so multitalented!

And of course, since my favourite Mario character is... well, Mario himself, I just loved him throughout the whole movie. They portrayed him pretty much perfectly. He's so funny and cute and determined and just a loveable everyman. That's kinda the whole appeal of his character; that he's a regular working man in this crazy fantasy setting, and despite his ordinary-ness he always gives it his all and saves the day! And Chris Pratt did a really good job on the voice, contrary to what we all feared upon hearing the voice cast announcement – it's obviously different to what we're used to, but a great alternate take on Mario imo

I really liked the bickering relationship between Mario and Donkey Kong, that was really funny 😆

I also popped off a little when they had that quick Diddy, Dixie & Chunky Kong cameo. Just completely unexpected lol (Sad Kiddy wasn't there though 😔 They left him at home 😔😔😔)

This movie was a love letter to Mario fans! And apparently kids really love it too from what I've heard, so it hit the mark for both of its main target audiences: kids and Mario fans

My mum had but a single complaint: No Waluigi (He's her favourite character)

I assured her that he'll probably show up in one of the inevitable sequels 😆

#And now I'm gonna go to bed and conk out #And probably dream about Mario 😆#personal crap #Btw we are now officially Covid negative 😎😎😎

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canadiancryptid · 11 months

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Just watched Across the Spiderverse! That was amazing! Now I can stop avoiding spoilers like the plague!

Definitely gonna want to watch that again soon. There was a lot to take in, and a combination of a late show and a poor sleep schedule left me less than 100% awake, sadly. Not that I mind an excuse to see it nore than once! Gonna love that when I wake up.

Loved the combination of all the animation styles for the different universes.

Since I've had to dodge spoilers left and right, let me put more of my tired thoughts below the cut, for anyone who hasn't seen it yet. They're probably not gonna be in chronological order, but whatever.

- Renaissance Vulture had such a cool animation style. Loved him. Want to see more of the DaVinci notes style animation. That's awesome.

- The Spot is just... *chef's kiss.* He's the perfect blend of goofy joke villain and genuinely terrifying. And he looks like he's a living scetch covered in ink blots, which was such a cool design.

- "Being Spider-Man is easy!" The confidence of this man is unreal. Pavitr is in for a rough time and he has no idea. He does not seem to realize how badly the universe wants to kick him in the nuts because of his new job. Once it stops collapsing like a whiney 3 year old because it didn't get to murder a cop. That's still a thing that never got fully resolved. Hope that works out at some point.

- Peter B. is such a proud dad. Mayday is adorable. Him showing baby pics to everyone with a pair of eyes and trying to get Miles to hold his little bundle of joy was the most wholesome thing. Probably shouldn't be taking your baby to somewhere like that, but she seemed happy. And adorable.

- If all these Spider-Men are just... hanging out in the Spider Society, are they just leaving their universe without its Spider-Man? How is that not causing problems? How often do they have to go home? Gwen says she's been gone for months... and clearly didn't want to go back.

- Spider-Punk was... a lot. Loved him, but honestly had a hard time keeping track of everything during his introduction. There was just a lot going on on there, so my overtired brain had trouble taking it all in. One of the reasons I want to see it again. His whole visual effect was super cool, but... again, want to take it all in when I'm more awake. Think I read somewhere that he overthrew the government? Anyways, loved his vibe, but his colage-like effects did a number on my brain. Hobie seems cool.

- Miguel seems a little... not okay. He looked like he was gonna just straight-up EAT the Vulture instead of sending him home. And he keeps blaming Miles for starting everything, as if he CHOSE to get biten by that spider. Love him, even if he's seemingly starting to lose it.

I just found out there was a post credits scene with him in the first movie when I was trying to double check everyone's names. How did I not know this? He seemed a lot more well-ajusted there. Or at least less crazy. Taking that much weight onto his shoulders must have done quite the number on him.

- Canon Events leave me with so many questions. Since her dad is still alive, Gwen clearly hasn't had the whole "police capitan dies saving a child" event yet, and if he's gonna quit... does that mean that event won't happen? Is that enough to keep him safe? Is she gonna get close to the new captain and have them die? Is her dad still gonna die? Did she just accidentally skip that Canon Event, dooming her entire universe? Or is it not that big a deal?

- How much of the damage we saw was done by Miles saving the captain and not by the Spot? It looked more like the Spot's portals than it did glitchy multiverse rules. Or did Miles just amplify what was already there? If the Spot WASN'T messing everything up, would the damage have been nearly as bad?

- Wait, if the Spot was an anomaly, then how was that a Canon Event? Was something else supposed to happen? Or does the universe just take whatever excuse it can get to force these things to happen and throw a hissy fit if something stops it from happening?

- If Earth 42 doesn't have a Spider-Man, it can't have Canon Events. How is it still in one piece? Is having a Spider-Man created by a spider from that universe enough to keep it together? Or did Miles' dad dying happen as a Canon Event dispite the lack of a Spider-Man to screw with?

- If there wasn't supposed to be two Spider-Men in his universe, and the original Peter died, why does Miles still get forced into Canon Events? I feel like most of the questions I'm asking are either answered with a simple "because that's how the plot works", or it's gonna be super relivent in the next movie. I like overthinking stuff, it helps me sleep!

- Speaking of overthinking stuff to help me sleep, I'm gonna go do that. I'll probably update this with more thoughts in the morning, but its already a miracle I'm still awake.

#across the spiderverse #spiderverse #spiderverse spoilers #cryptid says stuff #animation #way to tired to articulate my thoughts well

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dreamtofswallowingcoins · 1 year

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all this talk and nostalgia about the Cecil polls reminded me of this draft I never got around to finishing and posting

tw for trans and queer phobia and discussion of a violent scene in a movie (nothing visual shown)

so I'm not saying that we’re finished or we’ve made it and we’re done. but in the midst of a project I couldn’t stop myself from crying a little because queer characters either didn’t appear or were used for fear-mongering and demonizing us to hell and back. I am not saying it’s all perfect now, but we have come so far.

Silence of the Lambs has a scene where a character who tortures, murders, and skins women to make a “woman suit” puts on makeup, jewelry, and a victim’s scalp and hair before tucking their penis between their legs and dancing with full frontal nudity. This scene is shown INTERSPLICED with a victim screaming and begging for her life from a literal torture chamber.

*putting on makeup*

*camera cuts to the victim crying*

*putting on and touching jewelry*

*she is sobbing for her mother*

and that was recent! The book was from 1988 and the movie came out in 1991. guys that was 32 years ago!

I know it’s a horror movie, I know, but it’s not like there was a lot out there! Certainly not for weak-stomached audiences just looking for casual viewing. I’m reminded of reading about Horror as a genre often being a reflection of what a majority of people fear at a given time.

I don’t want to get all blorbo-y about taz but just. Lup is a trans woman and she’s so good. Her trans-ness is mentioned a whopping one time and it’s not even done in the narrative. Just a quick aside during her introduction so the players and audience would know she was there. She’s played just the same afterward- she’s powerful, driven, funny, goofy and charismatic, capable, opinionated, and caring--she fought the team to save the robots! And, guys, she’s SO loved!!! They all love her so much.

Barry just adores her. They spent 50 years slowly falling for each other and then he spends his time as a lich just working to find his way back to her and bring their group together again.

Taako, upon remembering her, feels her absence SO MUCH. It’s overwhelming how much he misses her, how hollowed and hopeless he is without her.

And when she does come back, Griffin Describes her as “phantasmal and resplendent.” He speaks to Taako, describing how he finally hears his sister’s voice again. And the moment is a little silly but it has a lot of weight to it. She’s been with him this whole time, she’s missed him so much, and they’re finally back together. She’s finally out.

Gah, just. I was having feelings and they’re back again.

Taz is a pretty niche example. Unlike 30 years ago, we now have shows and cartoons and books and, yes, podcasts, and they’re not rated “mature” (for simply having queer characters) or canceled by the network for deigning to show two girls holding hands and imply something (Korra is not to be blamed, the creators worked hard, helped future representation, and the decision was out of their control).

My first podcast ever was Welcome to Night Vale. And Cecil, within the first episode, swoons over Carlos and his perfect hair the moment he shows up in town and doesn’t ever really stop. (spoilers, okay) They get married! They have a kid! They’re still together! They love each other!

Night Vale, the town, is full of all sorts of other characters, and (as far as I remember of the episodes I listened to) they’re all made with care and tact. Cecil talking about Sam was one of the first times I had ever heard of someone being referred to with they/them. I don’t remember really liking the character all that much, especially at first, but I always got a little thrill in my chest when Cecil talked about them. I used to rewind and re-listen to Cecil talk about them several times over. I use they/them now, myself.

The first episode of Night Vale came out in mid-2012. That’s a mere 24 years after Silence of the Lambs decided a trans-coded character would make a smashing serial-murderer on the big screen.

And we’re fighting and we’re growing. We’re making progress. Think about how many people are seeing and understanding themselves and others so much better. Beyond those of us who seek it out and know about obscure background characters and decide podcasts about DND and strange purple towns are worth listening to over and over-- I mean kids! Award fanatics! general viewers! We’ve made our way across genres, across mediums!

Everything Everywhere has a mother trying to reach her daughter, who happens to be queer, and it’s had eleven (11)! Oscar nominations.

Blue’s Clues, which has been around since 1996, put on a pride parade hosted by a drag queen! This is a preschool show!

Heartstopper is a staple in (some) middle school and high school reading and viewing. How fucking cool is that?!

My list can go on and on. 32 years is not a lot of time, and look how far we’ve come. Look how much we’ve made. Not without a fight, of course, but by golly, we’re fighting. And looking back through recent years, as far as I can see, we’re winning.

I don’t really have a big conclusion to this, I mainly just want to put down somewhere that I started tearing up over how much they were allowed to openly hate us and how much better it has gotten. ‘S pretty cool

#queer stuff #taz #wtnv #cecilsweep #eeaao #blues clues #Heartstopper #movies #shows #jitter jabbers #punk

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