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jeremys-blogs · 4 years

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Lumity: A Well-Made Bond

The Owl House has a lot of good things going for it, and I covered a great deal of those things in my last post about it. But there is one aspect about the show that I've come to enjoy possibly more than anything else, and that's the relationship between its central protagonist, Luz Noceda, and supporting character Amity Blight. And before anyone wonders, no, I'm not going to spend this entire thing just fawning over the two and gushing over how adorable I think they are together. But believe me, I am seriously tempted to do exactly that, because hey, just look at that image above. No, as much as all that stuff is true, I truly like this growing bond between the two and how it's developed over the course of the series, with them having started out as being at odds with one another to winding up as so much more. It's been an incredible journey seeing their relationship change in the way that it has, and along the way it's served as an excellent showcase for the character of Amity herself, who is unquestionably one of my favourites in this show's cast. So without further ado, allow me to explain why I feel this relationship is one of the highlights of the show for me.

When Amity is first introduced to us, her very first scene makes us think we know exactly who this girl is going to be for us. She's the typical school bully character. The one who will rival Luz and her friends and push them around whenever they meet. The girl that we'll cheer whenever she faces defeat. Yet despite Amity showing the traits of that character, even in this earliest of moments we see that there's more to her. Yes, she's unkind to Willow, but she's also someone who greatly values hard work, and utterly despises cheaters. And as the episode progresses we may find ourselves siding with her, if only out of principal. Luz and Willow were cheating and lying about what they were doing in order to make the latter look better at her classes than she really was, and no matter how you slice it, Amity losing her spot as top student to someone who only succeed through deception is an unfair thing. Amity's anger was justified, even if we were given nothing else to like about her just now. So while expectations had been set up for her to be an unlikable character, there were already shades of more beneath the surface, and that's something we'd get a lot more of as time went on.

In her next couple of appearances, we started to see Amity outside of the competitive environment of Hexside, and again this brought to light sides of her that wouldn't have been expected. We learn of her ambition to join the Emperor's Coven and her utter glee at the thought of actually succeeding at it. We see her reading to children and actually enjoy doing so, even if she protested at her reasons for doing it. In short, we started to see a great deal of positive traits from her. True, she was still bitter towards Luz, and actions like stepping on King's cupcake certainly weren't called for, but this was definitely the start of her growing out of the bully role she'd been set up for, which is especially interesting considering she'd only had one episode in that spot. Yet her time with Luz in both episodes, Covention and Lost in Language, shows them both growing closer, with Amity acknowledging that there's more to her than just being a cheat in the former, and recognising and appreciating that she herself hadn't been the nicest of people in the latter. The two weren't friends by this point, but it definitely laid the groundwork for them to become such later on.

Then, after the long hiatus of the show, we got Adventures in the Elements, where the connection between Amity and Luz has apparently blossomed into a full-blown friendship. Whatever animosity had been between them had gone by this point, and they were both excited at the prospect of actually going to the same school together. Amity had come to recognise by now that Luz works just as hard as she does when it comes to learning magic, even if she wasn't as far along in her skills as she was, and the fact that they shared common interests, most notably their love for the Azura book series, gave Amity possibly the first genuine friend she's had in a very long time. But there were still bumps in the road for her and Luz, especially then the latter stole her training wand for her own purposes. And on a side note, I understand that Luz was likely frustrated with her own training, but that was still the most disappointed I'd ever been in her by that point. Still, those problems were worked through, and much like with the "library incident" the two worked together to successfully overcome the big danger of the episode, resulting in Luz learning her second spell and Amity looking forward to their time as classmates.

After this, we wouldn't see much of Amity during Luz's early time in Hexside, but her next big inclusion in the story came in one of the season's best episodes, Understanding Willow, where we're given not only another great instance of Amity and Luz working together, but also giving us a full explanation as to why Amity was the way she was towards Willow during their first appearance. It is revealed that Amity distancing herself from her was the result of an apparently abusive household, where the Blight's family status pressured her to associate only with more powerful witches. Her parents even went so far as to threaten to keep Willow out of school should Amity continue to be friends with her. So in the end, it turns out that Amity's cruelty was done so Willow actually had a chance of getting into Hexside in the first place. Now, this is a terrible thing for children to go through, both Willow and Amity, and the latter's parents rightly deserve a good smack for treating their daughter that way. But while Amity's words and actions towards Willow were bad, they became understandable, as they were hiding a greater cruelty behind them. It doesn't excuse Amity for how she was with Willow at the start of the show, but it does put it in a new light. And additionally, I appreciate how this didn't automatically become a renewed friendship with Willow when all was said and done, as such things take time to heal.

And then, we came to the big one. Enchanting Grom Fright. This was it, the big Lumity moment that had the fandom screaming and squealing with joy over finally seeing those two cinnamon rolls get together. And I'd be dishonest if I said I wasn't wearing the biggest smile on my face when I saw that episode play out. Luz and Amity's moments together, especially that now-famous dance sequence, were immediately enjoyable to watch and have likely been re-watched over a dozen times now. But it also served as a pretty definitive marker that Amity's feelings towards Luz had developed far beyond friendship by this point. So much so that her greatest fear was being rejected by her, either in general or for the dance specifically. There had been hints of that liking before this, but this episode confirmed it. And what I love about it is that a lot of groundwork had been established beforehand to make it work. It wasn't just them being friends after the library and then instant crush. Time had been taken to bring us to this point, so that when they finally went together in that incredible dance, it was a moment that the show had fully earned for itself.

Now, before, I go any further with what happens with Amity in the show, I feel like I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the point of LGBT representation in this show. Now, I am by no means someone who is qualified to speak on matters like this, but if I'm going to talk about a same-sex relationship like this I feel it's sort of unavoidable. Obviously I'm happy that Disney is doing this, regardless of whether or not it's their first such relationship on-screen. I have no idea if it is, given all the news I've heard of other "firsts" in Disney media. But I think what's especially interesting about this is that it's taking place in a story where the themes and ideas sort of align with those kinds of relationships. Remember, as I mentioned in my last Owl House discussion, one of the big ideas of the Boiling Isles is that it's a society where those who deviate from the norm are looked down on or punished severely, and I don't think I'm wrong in saying that that's a situation that a lot of LGBT people can identify with. So having this relationship take place against that sort of backdrop seems like an ideal match, though I'm not sure if that's a specific idea the writers had for it.

Once we got Grom out of the way, Amity continued to be a good and enjoyable character, but her development, it had to be said, wasn't as profound after the big dance. Outside of learning that she had past regrets from hurting her former grudgby teammates, the only things new with her is that her feelings for Luz have reached such a point that she's driven to an almost blubbering, incoherent state whenever she's close to her. Naturally, this is as hilarious and endearing as you'd expect, and was easily one of the more entertaining aspects of the Wing it Like Witches episode. However, it also showed a rather unfortunate point about this crush she has on Luz, and that's that Luz herself seems oblivious to it. Sure, that's great for comedy, but it does present the worry that Amity's romantic leanings towards her might not be fully reciprocated. As a shipper myself, this is troublesome, but objectively speaking I can't say it's a real problem with the episode or the relationship. Indeed, having it turn out that Luz doesn't feel the same way, and then Amity having to deal with it with the two still maintaining a friendship has the potential for a good episode down the line, so on that note we'll likely just have to wait and see.

When that was over, we reached pretty much the end of Amity's inclusion in season one. Aside from a few cameo appearances showing her recovering from her grudgby injury, she wouldn't make another appearance in the story. Now, as someone who very much likes this character, this was disappointing, but I do understand wanting to downplay her. She had, after all, pretty much dominated the story for the last few episodes, so I can appreciate wanting to ease off her for a while and get back to the main cast. As far as her relationship to Luz is concerned, we'll have to wait until the show's second season to see where it goes, though I can predict some interesting things between them given how the season ended. Luz is now officially an enemy of Emperor Belos, the leader Amity has spent her life trying to enter into the service of, and that, coupled with Luz's likely dislike of the man, with probably lead to some conflicted feelings between the two girls. I truly hope this doesn't sour the connection they've established, but like with a lot of things brought on by the season finale, that's all up in the air right now. I've known the struggle of waiting for new season before, and I can go through it again.

The Owl House has a lot of great things to talk about, and while I may feel differently about it as time goes on, for now I really do enjoy the character of Amity a lot. The way she's written, the way she breaks out of the expectations we might have started out for her, the way she slowly grew closer to the rest of the cast, to finally developing feelings for our main heroine, it was all a delight to watch. I might even go so far as to say that, when it comes to school rival characters, she may be among the best I've ever seen, if only by virtue of how enjoyable she's been. Like with everyone else in this cast, Amity has been a stellar inclusion, and though I worry about how she'll be handled when the Owl House eventually returns to us, for now I'm very satisfied with what we've seen of her thus far. Lumity may not, as I may have indicated earlier, be the objective best thing about this show, but it continues to bring a smile to my face. And I think we can all agree that, in times like this, finding something that makes us feel happy should be treasured as much as possible 🥰

#essay #writing #my stuff #disney #the owl house #shipping #luz noceda #amity blight #lumity

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agentnico · 3 years

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The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (2021) Review

So, let’s talk about the elephant in the room....where is Mephisto? And also, what is Mephisto??

Plot: Falcon and the Winter Soldier are a mismatched duo who team up for a global adventure that will test their survival skills -- as well as their patience.

I have been a dedicated viewer of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Yes, I’m usually one of the first ones to complain about the boring entries, but I also admire a lot of the projects they come out with, with the recent WandaVision impressing me to good measure due to its unconventional approach to the superhero genre. That being said, it was the superheroic finale of that show that was its weakest spot. Nevertheless, now we have the second MCU Disney+ show in the shape of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and unlike WandaVision’s sitcom antics we are given more straightforward Marvel action that is a direct continuation of the tone set out by the Captain America films. Here’s the thing though, personally for me the Captain America films were always the weakest of the MCU collection. And no, its not because I’m Russian and anything that has the word America in it makes me gag. That being said if there was a Captain Russia I’d watch that in a heartbeat!! In reality though, the reason the Captain America films never clicked for me was due to the fact that I found them to be dull. Especially The Winter Soldier attempted to be a spy thriller but moved at such a nauseating speed that I lost interest by the time the end credits rolled. And Civil War, well, let’s be honest, it was basically Avengers 2.5. Wasn’t really that much of a Cap film, however that movie also suffered from being overstuffed and overall messy. And in terms of the first Captain America: The First Avenger flick, don’t even remember what happens in that one. It’s set during one of the World Wars, I remember that much. Is Stanley Tucci in that one? Maybe. I like Stanley Tucci. Not in romantic way, more in a comradery way. He’d be someone I’d want to enjoy a glass of a fine Sauvignon Blanc with whilst we contemplate and discuss high end fashion designs and how in the heck Tucci gets all those fine cut suits? And those glasses....soooo dreamy.....

But anyway, I digress. So The Falcon and The Winter Soldier picks up straight after Avengers Endgame, and in a nutshell is about the Falcon accepting the responsibility of Captain America. At the end of Endgame old Steve Rogers gives Sam Wilson his shield before heading to a care home or wherever he buggers off to, and you’d assume that that’s it, Sam is Captain America now. Well not exactly. The thing is, the Falcon was always no more than a side character in these movies. He was enjoyable in his moments but overall wasn’t someone we could yet see in the role of Captain America. We needed to get to know the guy more and see some sort of justification for him taking on the mantle of such a hero, besides simply the fact that he’s best buds with Steve. That’s why this show exists. Oh, and Bucky is also there because everyone likes Bucky.

This show is okay. It serves its purpose. It gets our characters from point A to B and we get the result we expect. To be honest I’d say the show itself is actually nothing special. The main story thread is our heroes are after these terrorists that aren’t terrorists but are referred to as terrorists however to some they are not, but basically they are. But aren’t. But also are..... you get me? In any case, these terrorists-not-terrorists are the main focus of the story and honestly they were such uninteresting ‘villains’ that the fact the show gave so much focus to them was disappointing. The only reason this story even exists is cause the writers just needed a reason to allow the Falcon to feel his inner Captain America groove. I agree that they needed that character development for him, but I wish they went about it in a more interesting way. Also the action sequences offer nothing special and overall I found myself unengaged throughout. The whole thing was way too predictable. That being said this show does have its positives too. Mainly through the inclusion of two characters of Wyatt Russell’s John Walker and the return of Civil War villain Zemo, played by Daniel Bruhl respectively. Wyatt Russell’s John Walker is there as a counterpart to the Falcon. He’s there to emphasise that not everyone can be Captain America, even if they do have the good intentions for it. John Walker is not a bad guy per se. In fact he’s an military hero who’s proven himself many times in service and he becomes Captain America temporarily in this show to try and do good. But he doesn’t go about it the right way, not because he’s a bad person, but because he doesn’t understand the meaning behind the figure he poses as. This entire character arc was really fascinating if not a bit rushed. And in terms of the return of Zemo, in Civil War he had hardly anything to do, but here Daniel Bruhl is allowed to stretch his arms a bit and have more fun with the character, making for Zemo becoming the main piece of entertainment in this series. He’s clever and villainous but also mischievous and witty. He’s kind of like the German Loki. He can’t be trusted and he is a bad guy after all, but you can’t help but like the guy. Especially when you see him boosting dance moves like this:

And this:

And then this:

Basically Zemo is a proper top lad in this, that is all. His character is fleshed out more and also Daniel Bruhl’s performance is strong. Here’s a toast to Zemo!

All in all, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier serves its purpose in the MCU timeline, and is necessary for its central character, however as a show lacks the urgency nor the entertainment value of Marvel’s other works. Also yet again another Marvel project and no Mephisto in sight. We want Mephisto! I don’t even know who or what Mephisto is, but the Marvel fandom have been clamouring on about it ever since WandaVision came out, so now I’m joining this fight. This cause. This important political movement. We want Mephisto. Is it a coffee? A Cafe Mephisto anyone?

Overall score: 5/10

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itsmyregularcat · 3 years

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You want Cats questions to answer? Here's my collection 😌 answer as many as you want!

1. What's your favourite song from the show?

2. If you could change anything about the show, what would it be?

3. Which character is the most underrated?

4. If you could be cast as any character in the show, (magically gaining all the abilities required lol), which character would you be?

5. What is an underappreciated moment in the show?

6. What is your favourite ship? Least favourite ship? Most over/underrated ship?

7. If you could give a character another song, who would you give it to?

8. How did you get into Cats?

9. If you were swept into the world of Cats, what would your relationships be with the other Jellicles? Where would you put yourself in the story?

10. What is the most overrated song in the show?

Thank you for this!

1. My favourite song without vocals would be the Jellicle Ball, due to the orchestral arrangements and level of dance skill needed to participate.

With vocals, probably Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, because Rumple is my first Cats love and I am loyal to her. Otherwise, I have always enjoyed Jellicle Songs because it introduces the musical, and can allow a bit of personality from each actor to shine through.

2. I cannot really think of anything at the moment. I have always thought the show was very well tailored for what it is.

The (sort of) recent removal of Growltiger's Last Stand in US based productions / the rework in international productions is understandable, but I think it should be done the same way as certain shows, like the Mexican productions, where they sing the aria, but there are no mention of the Siamese. Same effect, no baked in racism.

Also, bring back Etcetera.

3. If you have been following along, I really like Electra, so I would say she is the most underrated. Given she is not present in all productions, my other answer would be Tantomile.

4. Excellent question. I am not really sure who I would be. I would probably say Coricopat or Admetus. Maybe Munkustrap? Someone who is not necessarily the center of attention. Also, sorry for picking the most hetero cats. Sometimes being a straight male in this fandom feels odd.

5. During the end of Journey To Heaviside Layer, where the backing music stops after the crescendo, and it just has the vocals 'Life to the Everlasting Cat' sung by the company.

Also have to give a shout out to the revised Gumbie tap sequence in the Broadway Revival, as I really like the way it was done. Also, light-up Cassandra during Magical Mr. Mistoffelees in the recent US based shows is amazing.

6. I am not really invested in shipping any characters. The verging on crack-ship Victeazer and Tantoteazer appeal to me due to the dynamics between Rumpleteazer and a more serious queen like Victoria or Tantomile.

As long as they are not predatory in nature, I am open to whichever interpretations people want to see. Some ships I do not really get, but I will abstain from mentioning them. I am glad Cats has no strictly canon couples, so people are free to delve in as they please. I do however say that Bustopher Jones and Jennyanydots are probably the one I accept the most. Fat cats need to stick together.

7. Another excellent question, but I honestly have no idea. The song cats are all covered well, and the ensemble cats are not really developed enough for their own song.

8. I got into Cats through the 2019 movie. It did not strike me at first, but the songs and arrangements are what pulled me in slowly. A very insidious manner indeed. I definitely love(d) Zizi Strallen's vocal register as Tantomile in that movie, and she remains my favourite character from the movie. Kept coming back for more, watched the 1998 film, and boom, became enamored with Jo Gibb as Rumpleteazer and it took off even more.

9. Honestly, I would just be a potato of a cat in the background hiding in the bushes simping Rumpleteazer or Tantomile or Cassandra, or even Victoria (if she is older than a kitten). I would be 100% okay with that.

10. All the songs are great, and serve their purpose. I cannot say any are overrated. I will also defend (most of) the choices used in the 2019 movie, including Beautiful Ghosts. That song is really good, and is unfairly targeted.

#cats the musical #cats musical #asks #this one is a long bitch #thanks for this #send me more asks people this is time consuming but fun

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poewingsdameron · 4 years

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LISTEN

I just had a Galaxy Brain TM moment so y’all gonna suffer this with me but

I know we see Jedi kiddos training their lightsaber skills with those little floaty droids which shoot little blaster shots at you and that’s all fine and dandy and really cool but hear me out on this:

Beat Saber style training rooms in the Jedi Temple would have absolutely also been a thing!

Like, it’s only logical, and I am wondering why the hell it took me so long to realize this but LOOK, you put a kid there, saber (or two) in hand, and you throw holos at them and voila, intense lightsaber practice! And I say holograms because we don’t really see (as far as I know) any VR sort of technology in Star Wars but if you ask me, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for some kind of it to exist. But even if not - we have that extra well developed holograms tech which could basically serve as the same purpose for this sort of thing.

So one day, some padawan determined to train his reflexes and have fun while at it digs in the program, adds his favourite song, programs the attacks to match the rhythm and a fantastic pastime activity is born! Some older masters squint at it, some are happy for the padawans finding a hobby that at the same time hones their skills.

It never really makes it into official training regimes (or does it?), but that’s not it’s purpose really: it’s just something the padawans do for fun, they create more and more ‘songs’, easier, difficult, terribly complex. Some are impossible to perform and every new generation still tries to accomplish such feat. In it’s most complex form, it’s really a combat sort of dance, the attacks coming from all sides, requiring twirls and jumps and other clever techniques - and everyone can come up with their own. After a while, sequences for two, or more, are made as well. Knights and masters who grew up with the tradition pass it on to their padawans - and enjoy it with them as well, because it strengthens their bond and understanding of each other in the same way regular lightsaber practice does. There are annual tournaments organised by the padwans where they test their skills against one another and it’s a healthy kind of competitiveness because they are all just doing this for fun anyway.

So I’m calling this Saber Dance and adding it to my pile of world building because I absolutely believe the Jedi were a happy people on top of being kind, compassionate, virtuous, and tasked with great responsibilities.

#jedi #jedi order #star wars #now i wish i had a headcanon tag lol #maybe i have to come up with one again #feel free to comment/reblog and add your thoguhts!

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kimvvantae · 5 years

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Umbra; 14

➜ being ruled by an ancient commandment, your sole purpose is to serve. you were born to protect the king with your life, tied by an everlasting oath; you are nothing but a shadow, a silent and insignificant being. he appears to you like the sun, the warmest and brightest star in the sky, and gives you a chance to live. it is then that your entire universe starts to orbit around this sun, and you decide that you are truly willing to die for him.

pairing: King!Taehyung x (f) hybrid!reader

genre: royalty au, fantasy, angst

warnings: descriptions of violence, blood and death that might be triggering.

rating: 18+

word count: 8k

➜ Chapters: check up masterlist in bio!

”You should be resting!"

I rolled my eyes as Chuu repeated the sentence for the hundredth time since I left my bedroom. I walked at a fast pace, rushing through the palace's long corridors, holding the hem of my skirt to make things easier.

Yes. A skirt.

I don't know whose idea it was and it surprised me when the maid brought some clothes to my bedroom this morning. Of course, my outfit was still way simpler and humbler compared to the fancy and elegant attires royal women usually wear, however it still bothered me. How can women run without tripping on their own feet while wearing these things? My shirt also felt too tight. Not that I wasn't used to tightness - armors are unbelievably tight -, but this is not an armor and there is no reason for it to be tight whatsoever. Casual clothes are supposed to be comfortable, right? Why in the world did women wear this type of thing on their daily life?

There were many strange aspects about being a "normal" woman I still didn't understand. I had no idea that they take so long to get dressed. And that they spend so much time doing their hair and makeup. And that they tend to use those horrible shoes with high heels. I'm sure that whoever created this type of shoe didn't want women to walk at all. I refused to wear it, and to let the maids do my hair, and to let them touch my face with those weird brushes to "color"my face.

But, unfortunately, I couldn't run away from the skirt.

Deep down, I knew that it made me mad because I was still not used to it. The clothes were made of the softest type of fabric I have ever worn - much softer than my usual uniforms. I was not used to maids bringing me clothes and food (good food) and cleaning my room and asking me if I needed something from time to time - which was senseless to me; I can do these things by myself, why would I need a maid to do it for me? It was uncomfortable.

The fact that every Royal Guard that passed by me stopped to greet me was also uncomfortable. And confusing.

Sure, I wasn't hiding my presence all the time anymore (what was hard to do since I was so used to being invisible) but still… why were they greeting me? I didn't even know these guards remembered my name.

Did Taehyung tell them to do so?

"Y/N, you're not fully healed yet-"

"Yes I am, Chuu," I said, still walking. "I'm fine and tired to be locked in that bedroom all the time."

I was not lying, for I felt way better than days ago. My wounds were healing, my bones were back in place and my body didn't ache anymore. I knew I wasn't fully healed yet, but I was no longer sick. There was no need to be resting anymore.

"But His Majesty said you should rest!"

"Taehyung knows nothing. He's just being overly concerned. Which is stupid, because I am a dragon."

I didn't know exactly why I was mad at him, either.

Chuu chuckled. I looked at her and furrowed my eyebrows, confused. "What?"

"It's just funny how you talk about him. You used to respect him so much… now, you just called him stupid. Not that His Majesty cares. I think you could spit on his face and he'd still love it-"

"Don't start with this again," I warned her, feeling my cheeks get hot. Chuu laughed.

"It's cute to see you getting shy! I never thought I'd see it!"

I rolled my eyes again, but I couldn't say that seeing Chuu this happy didn't make me happy as well. She was now sleeping in a bedroom beside mine at the royal zone of the palace and was wearing a blue dress she bought herself with her own money (she liked it point it out everytime). Not only her, but all the workers from the palace were happier now that they didn't have to work exhaustive hours and be disrespected on top of that.

The times were not of happiness, though.

And that's why I wanted to talk to Taehyung.

I stopped in front of his office.

As usual, there were two guards protecting the doors. I would usually have to explain myself formally, telling them what I wanted to do with the King - what I was about to do out of instinct -, but as I was about to speak, the two guards simply stepped to the side, giving me permission to walk in.

Strange.

I opened the door without knocking first - and what I saw surprised me.

Taehyung and Yoongi looked up at me at the same time. They were both standing in front of the desk; there were many papers and books on it. It seems that they were immersed in a conversation before I interrupted.

I raised my hand before they could speak.

"If anyone says 'you should be resting' again, I will get really mad."

Taehyung furrowed his eyebrows. "I was about to say 'you're wearing a skirt'", he said, looking at me from head to toe with a puzzled expression, "but 'you should be resting' is also important."

"I'm fine! I don't need to rest anymore." I crossed my arms, trying to show how mad I was.

Yoongi ran his eyes from me to Taehyung quickly. Just like Chuu, Yoongi was wearing better clothes than his old uniforms. I still didn't understand what he was doing here. I didn't know he and Taehyung were getting this close.

"Well, we can talk more later," Yoongi said, already walking towards the door. "Chuu, let's go."

"But, brother-"

"Let's go."

He almost dragged her by the arm and closed the door, leaving us alone.

"I know you don't want to hear it, but you should be resting." Taehyung said, taking some papers and moving them to a pile on the desk. It seems that he was organizing the documents.

"I'm tired of not knowing what's happening!" I complained. "There are so many things to do! The situation with Athena, the obsidian soldiers…"

"Well, that's why I didn't touch the subject yet. You get too anxious. And, as you so stubbornly like to deny, you are not healed."

"I'm fine!"

"I am the healer here. I tell if you're fine or not. And both of us know you're not strong enough to transform or use too much power - which means you're not fine."

This is one of the moments I really consider killing him.

"And both of us know that I am still a high ranked member of the Royal Guard, so I have the right to act! I'm tired of being in that room doing nothing all day! You can't keep me there forever!"

Taehyung finally looked up at me, confused. "Y/N, you're not locked. I didn't say you couldn't leave your room."

I was about to keep complaining, but stopped.

He actually never told me to stay in my room. He just said I should rest. Did I unconsciously take it as an order? Was my brain so used to following orders that I was "obeying" him without any choice?

Oh...

Instead of mad, I got embarrassed.

"B-But… I still want to help," I tried to stay composed, but honestly, Taehyung could read me like an open book. He stared at me in silence for some moments, making me more embarrassed. "Stop it."

"What?"

"What you're doing."

"What exactly am I doing?"

"Looking at me like this. As if… as if I'm a lost cub."

The King chuckled and stepped closer, forgetting the documents for a moment. "This is called affection, Y/N."

"I don't like affection."

"Everyone likes affection."

"Well, I don't." It was hard to pretend I was still mad as he came closer and took my hand in his.

"You like my affection, though." He said arrogantly, smirking and tilting his head. He really enjoyed making me flustered - some kind of sadistic.

I looked at him, confused, as Taehyung guided me to the balcony by the hand. "What?"

"Nothing. The breeze just feels nice here," that suspicious little smile adorned his features.

The view from up there was indeed beautiful; we could see the gardens and the city. The afternoon was calm considering the odds. I could hear the distant voices and noises coming from far.

Taehyung looked around, serene eyes and posture. I knew he was worried about everything, but in that moment, he just looked calm. The breeze touched his dark hair softly. A peaceful silence surrounded us.

Slowly, he put his hand on the small of my back, pushing me closer to his body gently.

"What are you doing?" I got more confused as Taehyung made me place my left hand on his shoulder, while still holding my right hand.

"This is called 'dancing', darling."

I widened my eyes and my body immediately stiffened - I don't know if because he called me "darling" or because he was trying to dance with me.

"N-No, I can't dance-"

"Yes, you can."

"But, Taehyung-"

"If you can battle against two meter tall demonic creatures conjured from Helheim, you can certainly dance as well, Y/N." He smiled sweetly and nodded, encouraging me. "It's just the two of us. Nothing to be ashamed of."

"But there is no music."

"There is, if you listen well enough."

Frowning, I paid attention to my surroundings. Indeed, there was music coming from somewhere - a faint song carried by the wind, probably from a tavern at the city.

Taehyung started to guide me gently - one step ahead, one step to the side, then one step back. It was confusing because I didn't know where to step. "Y/N, there is no need to be so tense."

"This is difficult. I'm focusing." I said, eyes glued on our feet, trying to memorize the sequence of steps.

"First rule when dancing: never look at your feet." He held my chin and made me look at his face instead. "You have to look at your partner. Let's be honest, I'm a better view."

I had to roll my eyes. "I always knew you were too full of yourself, but not like this."

"Am I lying, though?" He tilted his head. No, he was not, but I was too shy to agree.

Trying to follow his advice, I relaxed my body a little bit. I was too ungainly compared to Taehyung; he had the perfect posture and his movements were natural, as expected of a royal.

"I have to admit… when I watched people dancing at royal balls, I didn't expect it to be so difficult," I murmured. At royal balls, all dancers are in synch and lined up, which now I could understand how impressive it was.

"The first official royal ball I attended was of my fifteenth birthday ceremony. I had to train the choreography for hours with Sana. I stepped on her toes so much they got swollen." Us both giggled for a moment. "God, I hated these royal ceremonies. Everything is so fake, even the dance. I preferred to escape to the city during the holidays and enjoy it with normal people."

"Well, I'm sure Princess Sana was a better partner than I am at the moment."

"Of course not. I danced with Sana because I had to; I dance with you now because I want to." A man good with words, that is. My cheeks felt hot as usual. "Although I have to admit that Sana is more talented than you on this matter."

"Hey!"

"What? You're good at so many things! You had to fail at something, right?"

When I was about to complain, Taehyung twirled me around suddenly, his hand falling back in place in a moment. I liked to see him relaxed like this, even though I knew he wasn't that calm.

"King Satoshi will arrive here today, right?" I asked. Taehyung nodded.

"We're going to officially tell him we're not getting married. I already know he's outraged."

"Do you think he will end the relations between the Kingdoms?" Just the idea made my stomach twirl. It would be so bad for Ëlv'en to lose its biggest allie.

"Perhaps. I'm not sure. I just hope Satoshi will listen to his daughter, because he definitely won't listen to me anymore." Taehyung sighed. His eyes became darker, his posture wasn’t as relaxed anymore. “I am more worried about King Hugo at the moment.”

A brief, heavy silence.

“He declared war.” I said. It wasn’t a question. Everyone already knew about this.

“Hugo not only believes that I killed his daughter, but now he thinks I “stole” his guardian and interrupted a combat, which is considered the biggest of the disrespects.”

“Did he prepare the army already?”

“Yes. The sentinels told me that Athena’s army is almost ready, but they didn't send anyone yet. I sent soldiers to protect the cities on the frontier and evacuate the population if necessary.”

Our movements around the balcony slowed down, although the song did not slower its pace. We weren't listening to it anymore at this point.

"What are you going to do?" I asked quietly.

Taehyung sighed again. There it was: the fragility he tended to hide from anyone else but me. The uncertainty. The uneasiness. "I'm not sure yet. Many people told me to attack first. Others suggested me to ask for another combat, which is completely out of question. I don't like to be pessimistic, but… I don't know if we'll be able to find a pacific solution." The wind touched his hair, making the strands fall over his eyes. His hair was always messy these days. It seems that he was almost giving up on keeping his good image. "Not to mention the fact that there's a rebellion planning to kill me and we still don't know who conjured the obsidian soldiers."

I wish I had an answer to his questions. Seeing Taehyung looking lost was shocking to me.

"We need to do something," I said. Taehyung chuckled, what made me look up at him, confused. "What?"

"Nothing. I just like how you changed." He noticed I didn't understand. I also noticed how he was pushing me closer until our bodies were glued. My blood got hot - what always happened whenever Taehyung got too close. "We need to do something. You would never include yourself before."

He was right; I would always put myself behind him, not next to him.

"But you still get as shy as always, which is something I appreciate."

Taehyung giggled again when I avoided his gaze. I definitely had to learn how to be more confident around him.

"What about Hoseok?" I changed the subject out of sudden to avoid his attention on me - and Taehyung didn't quite like it. That was my purpose.

He shrugged. "He's here at the palace. He didn't leave since that day, but we hadn't talked. I regret bringing him. What if he decides to attack us?"

"He won't," I reassured. I could feel Hoseok as well (it was impossible not to feel him when he was this close), and his aura was painted in confusion. His life changed suddenly and wildly; of course he would feel confused and worried. "I don't feel any aggressiveness coming from him. He needs help and guidance. I will talk to him later. There are also some other people I need to talk to…"

The King nodded. We swayed from side to side, slowly and calmly.

"Do you know what shocks me the most after all?" He asked seriously. "Your skirt."

I snorted and rolled my eyes in annoyance, what made Taehyung laugh. "I hate it. It's uncomfortable, I can't run, I can't move freely and I feel too much wind on my legs. How can women wear this all the time?!"

He laughed again, looking at me with joyful eyes. "You know you could've asked the maids to bring you pants instead, right?"

I furrowed.

This thought did not cross my mind.

"Oh." I couldn't hide my confusion, which - again - made him giggle (apparently, Taehyung thought my confusion was "cute". I just don't know exactly what it means). "I could. Hm… I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

I shook my head. "Old habits. I… I'm still not used to it all."

All my life, I was not taught to choose things; I was taught to just obey and accept whatever clothes, food and activities my superiors gave me. This new life where I could choose or ask for the most ordinary things was strange. I wasn't used to being heard or seen. I wasn't used to people greeting me or taking my opinions into consideration. Sometimes I still acted out of instinct, like the trained animal they wanted me to be.

Taehyung nodded softly and looked at me like that again. Affection, apparently. "It's okay. You'll get used to it all."

It's incredible how Taehyung could read me the same way I could read him, because he knew I was not talking about clothes only.

I wasn't used to him, too.

Intimacy and proximity were strictly forbidden during my whole life. Being so close to another person felt good, but uncomfortable sometimes. I still didn't like to be touched so freely… and Taehyung has been physically close to me the past few days. It was hard for me to deal with it. I decided to leave his bedroom and stay in another one because being in the same space as him was suffocating at times. Taehyung was overwhelming at times, even when he wasn't doing anything - and the fact that there was no "barrier" between us anymore (the barrier that existed when I was his guardian) made things difficult.

I did not understand my feelings very well. I did not understand why my body heated in weird places when he was too close or why my heartbeat increased or why I felt weak at the slightest of his touches. Although it felt good, it also worried me, because being too close and too exposed to anyone was scary. I still had to get used to this idea. It would still take some time to let Taehyung get too close.

And he understood.

"Getting used to good things is easy," he said softly. I loved when he spoke like that; a deep, velvety voice. "I'll help you."

My skin felt as hot as lava when his hand held my neck and his lips touched my forehead sweetly, then my cheek, and finally, my own lips. It was as good and as soft and as delicate as always. Things were always good like this with Taehyung. The way he'd hold me in place, the way he'd kiss me slowly. Never too much. Never forcing himself on me.

Helping me getting used to it.

"You lied," he whispered when he broke the kiss. I tilted my head.

"Huh?"

The playful smirk grew on his lips. "You like affection a lot."

"I don't know." I shrugged, trying to hide my smile. "Perhaps."

"And you say I am too full of myself…"

The world seemed to be crumbling around us - wars, evil magic, murders… but there we were. Laughing and dancing with no music.

A spark of peace in the middle of the chaos.

There were really some people I needed to talk to.

Getting out of my bedroom for the first time in a while felt good. Although I was in better conditions, I couldn’t deny that Taehyung was right - I was not fully recovered yet. Other than my physical conditions, I still struggled to reach my powers and I knew very well that I was not able to transform. Feeling auras, however, is something natural and I don’t need to concentrate to do it, so I could feel everyone’s auras very well.

That’s why I got shocked when I went down the principal stairs and saw so many people in the front hall.

What happened? I asked myself. Confusion grew even more when I realized they were all from the Royal Guard, as well as some soldiers from the army…

The soldiers…

I remembered.

All of them were present during the attack.

Something serious must have happened, I supposed, and it already made me anxious. What if Athena's army reached Ëlv'en? Did they attack already…?

General Seokjin was leading them all. As soon as he realized I was walking down the stairs, he immediately straightened his posture.

The hall went silent.

They were all looking at me.

I got more confused.

"Did something happen, Sir General?" I asked, tense.

"I have gathered the entire Royal Guard here to make an announcement," he said. There was something different in his voice… General Seokjin always talked to me in a tone of superiority, treating me like a subordinate - worse. Not that time.

"What is it?" I questioned, frowning.

General Seokjin turned around to the rest of the soldiers again.

"His Majesty the King has already announced that Y/N is no longer the Royal Guardian," he proceeded to speak, his voice echoing loudly in the hall. His sentence made me widen my eyes for some reason. "Therefore, Y/N should not be called by the Guardian title anymore…"

For a moment, I felt a cold shiver of fear. Was General Seokjin discharging me? Although I was not a guardian anymore, I didn't intend to leave the military life. I was still a warrior; I did not know what life outside of the military was…

But then, Seokjin completed his sentence.

"...but by her second official title of First Commander of the Royal Guard. As the First Commander, all of you must respect and obey her orders."

"Yes, sir!" All of the guards said in unison.

...what?

Of course, I always knew my place in the hierarchy. I knew that I was just below the General. However, it was always simply a title, for I was treated like a nobody within the Royal Guard; I couldn't give orders, not even opinions. Add this to my past - the fact that I accidentally killed an army hero, what gave me a terrible reputation within the military. I was nothing.

Now, though…

"As the tradition asks, from now on, you must use the ring that indicates your position," Seokjin proceeded to speak, showing me a beautiful however simple ring made of pure gold. The symbol of an eagle - the animal that represents the Royal Guard, for we should always intently watch for the royal family - was crafted on it.

The General himself took my right hand carefully (with a type of gentleness that felt unknown) and placed the ring on my pointer finger. As if alive, the enchanted piece of gold adjusted itself to the size of my finger, tightening around my skin until it fitted perfectly.

I stared at my own hand in silence, dazzled.

The entire situation was so unexpected that I forgot to keep my posture for one second. Coughing, I straightened my back and looked up at the General, nodding.

"It is an honor, Sir General. I will accomplish my duties with pride." My voice was as hard and formal as I could.

Seokjin nodded as well, but there was something else on his gaze which I could not understand.

"There is yet another reason why I gathered them all here," he said. His voice was less formal. I could see that he was struggling somehow. "I… we, the Royal Guard, as well as the army, want to thank you for your actions during the attack, days ago."

This caught off guard.

The hundreds of men in front of me moved at the same time, putting their right hands over the left side of their chests - over their hearts. A sign of recognition. A sign of respect.

For me.

"You saved not only the King, but all of us, as well as this entire city. You went beyond your duty and protected us all. You are a true honored warrior, Y/N."

My chest filled with something I didn't know how to name.

All these high ranked guards and soldiers that always despised me, that treated me as if I was nothing, as if I was a shadow. They were all saluting me.

More than that. I could feel that they weren't doing it because someone told them to. Their auras were colored white…

Respect.

They respected me.

For some reason, it became hard to breathe.

"Personally, I… I would like to apologize," Seokjin said, low enough so only I could hear. His shoulders were heavy with something similar to shame. "I think we were all wrong about you."

I looked at Seokjin in the eye.

He, better than anyone else, knew the unfair way I was always treated. If I were vengeful enough, I wouldn't have helped them that day. I would have let them die in the hands of the obsidian soldiers. Yet, I didn't do it. I could see that he himself didn't understand why I protected them.

And I could understand something about Seokjin, too.

His entire life, he was also taught to hate hybrids. He didn't have a choice: everyone around him told him to do so. But, if someone like him - and all the others - could change their minds and respect someone they were taught hate, it could happen with the rest of the world, too.

Hearts can change.

Tears would be inappropriate in this situation. Because of that, I held back the joy tears that wanted to fall down my cheeks, saluting them back instead.

The world was changing.

I was happy about it.

"What's wrong with the horses?" General Seokjin asked, frowning. The guard tried to calm the animal down, holding the reins. He, too, looked confused.

"I don't know either, Sir General. They've been acting like this since this morning…"

Crossing the forest on the horses was a difficult task. The animals didn't want to obey; they kept neighing, getting out of the track, and a guard almost fell from his horse at some point.

I knew horses well enough to tell they were scared.

Usually, I'd suppose it was my fault. My presence might fright some animals. However… this time, something told me they weren't scared of me.

I could not tell why.

This was concerning. Animals can sometimes sense things - such as danger - even better than trained magicians.

But I had other things to focus.

"Open the doors," Seokjin ordered, and the heavy wooden doors in front of us opened with a loud noise.

The entrance to the dungeon.

I gulped before entering the place.

This dark, cold and damp place was so familiar. I was locked down there so many times in my life. As I walked down the stairs, my steps echoing loudly through the great structure, my guts twirled and I felt shivers. How many times I was dragged forcefully down these same stairs, ever since I was just a kid?

The walls smelled like wet earth, iron and dry blood. No one really bothered to clean the dungeon, so the deeper it was, more unpleasant the smell became. Hundreds - if not thousands - of people were tortured and killed within these walls throughout the years. Fifty years ago, a law was stablished to forbid torture by the military forces, but I (better than anyone else) knew how the Kim Dynasty simply ignored this law. As long as the common population didn't know how they controlled the kingdom with iron fists, everything would be fine. They'd kill whoever bothered their supremacy.

And I was nearly killed here, too.

However, I couldn't deny that, at the same time that this place brought my ugliest memories back and made my blood freeze in repulse - I could almost feel old scars burning again -, the dungeon also became special. The place where my life changed. The place where I met Taehyung.

The situation was so different now.

This time, I was standing out of the cell: I was clean, healthy and free. The person locked inside the iron bars, however…

Sitting on the cold floor, Gilliard looked up at me.

The great Leader of the Council was now a prisoner.

His eyes were burning with anger.

The old man's clothes were so far from the luxurious attires he'd usually wear. No gold, no diamond rings, no silk tunic - he wore old, ragged brown clothes, which made him look even older than he actually was. But the first thing I noticed about him was the deep purple mark around his left eye; the eyelid was glued, the area was swollen. An injury… a punch in the eye.

That was strange. Other than that, he didn't look hurt anywhere. It didn't matter how angry Taehyung was, he would never tell the guards to beat up an old man. Who punched his face, then?

A low, acid laugh echoed.

"I… I always saw you as a beast, Y/N… but it seems that you're more human than I thought." He said. I hated his voice. "You came to see my disgrace, isn't it? This vengeful, mean feeling… it is very human."

I silently watched him. If I didn't know him, I'd feel bad to see an elder in such situation. But he tried to kill many times. He always despised me, treated me like an irrational animal, made my life feel like hell. Back then, I tried to suppress these feelings - nothing but following my "master" bothered me, and I'd usually always blame myself - but now I could understand how much I hated that man.

Yes, seeing him like that was pleasant. As wrong as it sounds.

"You're right," I finally said. "I can't deny that this is being enjoyable. But I'd rather never see your face again, so it's too arrogant of you to think I'd come all this way just to laugh at your state."

Again, Gilliard laughed.

"Why did you come, then?"

"We didn't talk enough last time. You'll tell me what were your intentions."

"I don't think there's anything you still don't know at this point, kid." He said acidly.

"I know there is someone behind you. Behind all of you. Who's responsible for the attack? I know you're not the person that conjured obsidian soldiers."

If it wasn't Ehmerald nor Gilliard, who could it be? I was sure that the conjurer might be connected to the shapeshifter - maybe, they were the same person. Gilliard should know who this person was.

Slowly and struggling, he got up and stood in front of me.

We stared at each other through the iron bars.

"It's foolish of you to assume I'll just tell everything."

My eyes narrowed.

"And it is foolish of you to assume I am just asking. Why did you kill Petrus?"

The last sentence was pronounced in dragon language.

Gilliard widened his eyes, surprised, and his entire body stiffened. It looked like he was choking for a moment, his face getting red and the veins on his forehead becoming more apparent with the struggle.

"What did you… do to me…?!" He stuttered.

It was yet another thing concerning me. Taehyung's master must have been killed for a reason. Knowing that he was a past Royal Mage made everything more suspicious. Gilliard must've know about it as well - and his struggle just proved I was right. He was fighting not to speak, to swallow the words, but my order in dragon language was stronger than his will.

"H-He… knew too much… h-he intervened." Gilliard started panting after blurting out these words, breathing heavily and massaging his own neck. The man looked confused and angry at himself.

"He intervened in what?" I asked, again, in dragon language.

Gilliard's eyes seemed about to pop out of his face. From the way his muscles were tense and his body was shaking, it looked like he was being electrocuted, but I knew he was not feeling any actual physical pain. Gilliard was still trying to fight my order, and honestly, he was being very brave. I couldn't expect less of someone as obstinate as him.

"P-Petrus… he found out about the plan…" Gilliard was drooling at this point. "He went after the alchemist… h-he… gave his m-memories… back…"

Gilliard fell to the ground. He was breathing heavily as if he was underwater all this time, shaking.

I was confused for a moment. Alchemist…?

Then I remembered: Tristan. The alchemist from Vanaheim that conjured the cursed rock to kill me. When I interrogated him months ago, he told me that a wolf - the shapeshifter - ordered that cursed rock. However, me and Taehyung concluded that it was strange of Tristan to remember about the shapeshifter. If the real culprit wanted to blame Tristan for the attack, then they would have erased his mind…

He gave his memories back.

I widened my eyes.

"So you did erase Tristan's mind," I said quietly. "You erased every memory about your involvement. But Petrus found out about your plan and gave Tristan's memories back, that's why he remembered about the wolf shapeshifter. Petrus saved that man's life… you executed him because of it?"

Gilliard's lack of response was the answer I needed.

"You're all monsters," I couldn't hide the disgust in my voice.

"You're the only monster here." Gilliard said in a raspy voice, looking up at me with eyes full of hatred. "Y-You… force people to do what you want. You enter people's minds. Y-You're a perversion of nature, just like all the hybrids…"

My hand grabbed the collar of his shirt and I forced him up, shocking his body against the iron bars.

Gilliard let an evil, low chuckle.

"Y-You… you think you have the King's sympathy now. Look at you… wearing good clothes, giving orders…" he laughed until his laughter died on coughs. He looked right into my eyes, our faces only centimeters apart. I could only feel evilness coming from him.

Then, he whispered:

"Do you think you know everything about Taehyung, Y/N? You think he told you everything he hides?" Gilliard laughed lowly again. "You… you have no idea… of who he actually is."

The man laughed even more at my confused expression. What did he mean? Taehyung told me everything there was to know. He said he wouldn't keep secrets from me anymore, right?

He… he meant it, right?

I blinked, coming back to my senses. Gilliard was trying to confuse me, that is. There was no time to let myself be affected by his words; I had to enter his mind and find out who the shapeshifter and the conjurer were…

Until I realised Gilliard was actually choking.

I was not holding his neck.

I let go of his shirt, confused for a moment, until I realised Gilliard couldn't breathe. His widened eyes and his panicked expression told me he was desperate for air.

"Guard, open the cell!" I called. The men behind me moved. Was he having a heart attack?

"What's happening?" Seokjin, who was standing quietly behind me all this time, approached hurriedly.

"I don't know…"

The moment the guard finally unlocked the cell, I finally realised.

Gilliard's hands were becoming black. As well as his feet. The black mark was spreading through his skin…

"Don't touch him!" I screamed and grabbed the guard's arm, pulling him back as he was about to reach Gilliard. I shoved the confused guard out of the cell and shut the door again.

The air became colder - so cold that a thin layer of ice cold me seen on the floor, walls, and the iron bars. Gilliard fell, his body convulsing, his eyes full of fear, until his whole body was covered by the black mark and he looked like a piece of coal…

But, differently from the people that died being touched by the obsidian soldiers, Gilliard didn't crumble to a pile of ashes. We could just watch in horror as he yelled in agony until, finally, his body stopped moving completely.

Silence fell over us.

Gilliard, the ex-Leader of the Council, was dead.

"How… how did it happen?" Seokjin whispered, too shocked to even move.

"Someone knew I was about to enter his mind." I said quietly. Death was not unfamiliar to me, and I saw people dying in horrible ways before, but this… this was way too cruel. "They… they put a trigger on his mind that would kill him if anyone tried to take the truth out of him…"

"But who could be powerful enough to do it, Y/N?!" The General exclaimed. "The dungeon is filled with protective magic!"

"Someone powerful enough to break any kind of protection. Someone powerful enough to conjure obsidian soldiers and enter my mind…"

A faint idea started to grow in my head.

I turned around.

"I need to go now. Sir General, I hope I'm not right, but if it means what I think it means, we're all in danger. We should prepare the troops and protect the city."

Without question, Seokjin nodded. "I will find Namjoon and tell him to prepare his soldiers as well."

"Don't touch the body!" I advised the guards before leaving. "Until we find out how to remove it in a safe way, don't even approach the cell. Understood?"

"Yes, Commander!"

The commander title made my stomach twirl for a moment, but I brushed this feeling off and ran towards the stairs. Adrenaline made my brain rush and my instincts alert; the way Gilliard died, the type of magic I felt… it was similar to the magic used to conjure obsidian soldiers. It was wrong and wicked and unnatural. More than that…

It was ancient.

I had to talk to Taehyung before jumping to conclusions. He might've had the information I needed.

Something told me we were running out of time.

The horse was starting to concern me even more.

I've ridden that horse several times before. It should be already used to me at this point. Why was it so scared, then? The way back was difficult because I almost couldn't control it. I had to whisper some calming words in dragon language so the animal could finally calm down a little.

As soon as I arrived at the palace, I jumped off of the horse before it even stopped and started to run, heading to the entrance-

But I saw someone sitting on the roof of one of the towers.

I stopped.

He was there… lonely.

My heart clenched.

Taehyung would have to wait a little bit.

I have memorized every corridor, room and corner of this palace. Getting at the tower he was took some time (if I could still fly, it would have been way faster). Finally, I managed to climb the roof and sit by his side, hesitantly, over the tiles.

He didn't seem bothered by me.

We stayed in silence for several minutes, watching the horizon.

"How are you feeling?" I asked and finally looked at him.

Hoseok's red hair waved at the touch of the wind. He had his arms rested on his bended knees. Hoseok looked… small - and that's something I never thought I'd see. So different from his usual proud, confident self.

Hoseok was entirely lost. Not only his aura, but his eyes told me so.

I knew exactly how he felt.

"I… I don't know." He admitted quietly, almost whispering. His voice was also completely different. It was the first time Hoseok was showing some type of fragility and uncertainty. It was somehow scary.

I knew that standing against his "master" and betraying him must have been the hardest thing Hoseok has ever done in his life. I myself never had the guts to stand against Taejun. That act changed him; it broke him. He must have been feeling guilty, a traitor.

Maybe finding out the truth would ease his feelings.

I was glad to be the one to tell him, because no one could understand him but me.

I tried to keep my voice calm and controlled as I started to explain everything about our race, about the past, about the lies. Hoseok kept silent the whole time, he never interrupted me. I saw his muscles getting tense, his aura becoming a twirl of different feelings.

When I finished, he still kept silent for several moments.

"You're not lying." He whispered.

It wasn't a question. I said all that in our mother language. One can't lie when speaking the dragon language - at least, they won't lie if they respect our culture. Hoseok knew how much I respected it.

Slowly, he hid his face behind his palms.

"So… it means it was all a lie. Our life was a lie. I am a lie."

"No, Hoseok." I was quick to say. "None of it is our fault."

His breathing got heavier.

"I… I want to kill him." The rage on his voice made shivers crawl over my skin. "That man… I devoted my life for him. All because of a lie?!"

My heart clenched even more. Hoseok's situation was worse than mine. At least, I had Taehyung, who taught that life is much more than serving pointlessly. Hoseok didn't have this knowledge; he received the raw truth without any preparation. The truth was painful and brutal. He was feeling worthless, useless, empty.

I understood that I'd have to help him the way Taehyung helped me.

"Hoseok. We can't change the past. What matters now is what we'll do." Hoseok side eyed me. "Millions of hybrids are being fooled and enslaved just the way we were. The difference between us and them, though, is that we can do something about it. We can change the way things are, Hoseok. Not just here in Ëlv'en, but in the whole world."

Hoseok sniffled. "You mean that rebellion? But you just told me they want to establish the "Council"... to do so, they need to kill the King, right?"

"The rebellion is just aiming their hatred on the wrong person. This will change, too."

The red-haired man nodded slowly. "Taehyung… he is a good man. He let me stay here after all. He is… different. He doesn't deserve to die."

Hoseok looked down and went silent again for long moments.

"I… I don't know what to do." He whispered in the most fragile voice I've ever heard.

He widened his eyes when, delicately, I touched his cheek to wipe his tears away.

"It's alright. Take your time." A comforting smile appeared in my lips. "But know that you're not alone in this, Hoseok."

It seems that he was about to cry even harder after I said this.

However… he didn't have time to.

The first thing we noticed were the birds.

"What's wrong?" Hoseok murmured to himself, swallowing his tears and looking at the horizon again.

A great number of birds were coming from the west. It wasn't just a normal flock; I widened my eyes when the sky seemed to be stained in black, thousands of birds of all species coming together and flying above the city and the palace. We had to lower our heads to avoid being hit by some of them. The noise of their flapping wings and their cries was so loud and uncommon that many citizens down there went out of their houses to watch, all of them as confused as us.

But the birds were not the only apparent sound. Dogs started to bark, while their owners tried to calm them down. Cats running at the speed of light. Everything added to a chaotic symphony of… of...

Another shiver crawled on the back of my neck.

Animals are sensitive. Their instincts might be better than that of a trained magician.

The horses… the birds…

They were scared of something.

They were trying to run away.

I got up in a jump. "Hoseok-"

That's when I felt the most terrifying, intense and evil sensation in my entire life.

My legs and fingers started to shake. It felt like witnessing an explosion and being hit by the impact radius; I saw as all the trees swaying at the same time, kilometers and kilometers away. Several windows breaking down there at the city and at the palace. My instincts yelled angrily; all I could feel was danger.

It was similar to what I felt at Gilliard's cell and the attack day, but one thousand times worse.

Something so wrong and unnatural that made me want to throw up, I felt dizzy. Terribly wicked, terribly corrupted.

Hoseok got up to his feet as well, eyes widened, trembling.

"W-What…?"

We looked at the same direction.

West. Where the birds were escaping from.

From that direction, kilometers away, we saw the sky getting strangely dark; heavy storm clouds grew there at a scary speed. Lightning strikes could be seen inside that enormous cloud.

...west…

The Styx River.

I almost felt that I couldn't breathe anymore.

Legends say that the Styx River is the entrance to Helheim.

"We need to go down there!" I said, already sliding down the tiles and jumping inside the window again, Hoseok following me shortly.

As we ran through the corridors of the palace, I realised that we weren't the only ones who felt the impact; it was so unnatural that even those who had no knowledge of magic felt it. Workers, guards - all of them were confused, asking themselves why some windows broke like this all of sudden, looking up at the sky worriedly. Soldiers didn't know what to do; they could feel the danger, but they didn't know what was the danger.

Finally, I found Taehyung outside of the palace, near the front gates, surrounded by officials.

His expression told me he felt the same thing.

"It came from the West," was the first thing I said when we got close enough. Taehyung's worried expression intensified.

"The Styx River," he whispered. "Do you really think…?"

"They already killed Gilliard," this information made him widen his eyes. "As I was about to enter Gilliard's mind, they killed him using wicked energy. B-But it was much worse, Taehyung, it was… it was energy from Helheim."

The King swiped his hand over his face.

Looking around, I could see that the city was already in chaos. Pretty much everyone was on the streets, looking up at the sky and the approaching storm clouds. Young children were crying nonstop, animals were still yelling. Every living being could feel that something was wrong.

"We can try and interrogate other ex-counselors. They must know who the responsible is," Taehyung suggested.

"The culprit must have put that trigger inside their minds, too." I said. Taehyung nodded, thinking.

"We have to calm down. We don't know exactly what's happening yet nor if there's actual danger. Let's-"

"Your Majesty!"

His words were interrupted by a voice louder than all the others.

All of us watched as a young soldier ran towards the King; he was sweating and looked completely frightened. He bowed respectfully before gulping and saying:

"Your Majesty, I was doing the sentinel as ordered to watch over Athena's army," he started. His trembling voice told me how scared he was. "Until we felt something strange at West. I sent my eagle in that direction and… and…"

"What did you see, soldier?" Taehyung asked impatiently when he stuttered.

"S-Something is happening at the Styx River," he continued. "The forest around it is dead, as if it was burned down. The destruction goes kilometers down the river and seems to be spreading like a plague. And… it's like the day of the attack here in the capital," he gulped. "Obsidian soldiers, Majesty. Thousands of obsidian soldiers emerging from the river. It's an army."

A row of surprised exclaims. Taehyung seemed frozen in place.

"Are you sure of what you saw, soldier?" He asked. The man nodded.

"I've never seen anything like this in my life. They keep emerging from the river. It's too many, Your Majesty."

"And what are they doing?"

"They just come into some type of formation, but don't move. They're not marching… not yet."

The officials started to discuss. Taehyung crossed his arms, deep in thoughts.

"Do you think it's Athena's fault?" One of them asked.

"No. Athena already has an army of humans. They wouldn't do something like this; no one would."

"Do you think they will attack Ëlv'en?" I asked hesitantly.

Tension filled the air as we waited for Taehyung's response.

"Yes." The fear grew even more. "And our army won't be enough to hold them back."

"We couldn't even overpower a small attack, an entire army will kill the whole kingdom! Who is doing this?!" Another official exclaimed.

"I think I know," I said, holding Taehyung's arm. He looked down at me as I lowered my voice. "Who's the organization that's involved with all the kingdoms, helping them and giving opinions? Who's the people that should supposedly help the royal houses with their powers, high trained magicians?"

Realisations slowly hit Taehyung.

He nodded his head, surprised. "Of course. How didn't I realise this before?" He murmured to himself. "You must be right, Y/N, but we must check out first."

He turned around the officials and soldiers around him.

"All of you!" He called, making all of them go silent at the same time. "Our main priority is to protect the people. Prepare troops to the West immediately to evacuate the villages! Every soldier in this kingdom must be ready to protect the people, so spread the news as soon as possible! Athena is not a problem anymore; bring the army back from the frontier and send them all to watch over the Styx River, but just act when extremely necessary! Do not have any type of contact with the obsidian soldiers and don't put yourselves in unnecessary danger, we can't afford to lose any men. Go, now!"

"Yes, Majesty!"

Everyone started to move after hearing his orders.

"Just our army won't be enough," Taehyung said. "We need help."

"Should we call the allies, Majesty?" One of his assistants asked. The King shook his head.

"Yes, but they won't be able to prepare their forces in time. We need someone that might help us immediately…"

That's when Taehyung finally noticed Hoseok.

His eyes brightened up in that way that tells me he had an idea.

"We need to go to Athena."

"What?! Taehyung, they want to kill you there!" I exclaimed.

"I'll have to change their mind, then. If I don't do this, millions will die."

As much as I wanted to argue, I knew there was no time to. Instead, I nodded. "I'm going with you, then."

"But how will Your Majesty get there in time? Athena is two weeks away from here!" The assistant said again.

"Not if we go flying."

The King looked up at the sky and put two fingers inside his mouth, whistling loudly as if to call a dog.

But what answered was much bigger than a dog.

Screams of fear and admiration were heard everywhere as Alpha approached, flying at the speed of light. People ran away when he came close to the ground, spreading his beautiful snow-white wings and landing right in front of Taehyung.

The King put his hand over the griffin's head. "I'll need your help again, my friend." Just like the rest of the animals, Alpha looked uneasy and scared. He screeched as if trying to tell Taehyung the danger he felt.

"I'll go to Athena, too," Hoseok said, stepping closer. He seemed uncomfortable to be seen by so many people - he used to be "invisible", after all.

"That's not a good idea. King Hugo might see it with bad eyes. Can you please stay here and protect the city while Y/N is away?"

Hoseok looked surprised when he heard Taehyung asking something of him, not ordering. Again, I knew exactly how he felt. Instead of what I thought (Hoseok has always been stubborn), he nodded accordingly.

"Y/N, we need to go now." Taehyung said. I understood the hurry; there was no time to discuss or to do anything at all. A danger bigger than any other was closer; someone has awakened forbidden powers that might destroy the whole kingdom, just because Taehyung wanted to fight for those who couldn't.

Now, the lives of millions were in our hands. We wouldn't be protecting just hybrids, but everyone as well. Those who deserved protection and those who didn't.

That's the role of a guardian after all. Protect.

However, before walking towards Alpha, Taehyung looked at my clothes and frowned. "But before…" he looked around searching for a maid. "Someone give this woman a pair of pants!"

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jenner-benjamin · 4 years

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Seen as Read

Parietal Poem written with acrylic paint on Moleskine sketchbook paper.

Seen as Read was a seven week online course hosted by SJ Fowler and offered the chance to explore a variety of visual poetry processes. Each week we were sent a presentation of source material, ideas and inspiration for the week ahead. We would then use this as a basis for investigation and offer our thoughts, outcomes and works in progress on a blog forum for everyone to share and comment on.

The course introduced us to the study of visual poetry which I found extremely enlightening. There were aspects of the history of aesthetic linguistics that I had not considered until starting this course. On offering a definition of poetry Fowler explained that it was ‘language referent which doesn’t posit communication or information as its primary purpose’ - therefore a haiku and a scrawled note on the back of a receipt are both forms of poetry.

In the first week we were taught about the difference between phonograms and logograms; phonograms use individual written characters to represent sounds, whereas logograms are written characters that represent whole words. Examples of logograms would include; ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics and Mayan scripts. I found the historical detail of this week to be very beneficial. I was not naive to how widespread visual poetry is around the globe, but had not considered how far back in time one could come across it. We were introduced to a plethora of artists and reference points that included the likes of Henri Michaux, Cy Twombly, The Voynich Manuscript and the Rosetta Stone (as well as some more obscure points of interest).

As an ode to the parietal poetry on cave walls, the first activity I indulged in was making my own poems with my finger tips. I explained how there was an acute closeness to the material when applying it directly with your fingers. This way of working mirrored the close-to-hand ethos that I explored during the three month lockdown earlier in the year.

Parietal Poem written with an ink stamp pad on Moleskine sketchbook paper.

After this exercise I chose to make my own sequence of logograms, taking inspiration from things found in my bedroom. I wrote these on exercise book paper and began practicing my invented glyphs. The rhythmic repitition of scrawling the glyphs over and over reminded me of my childhood when I was learning to write the alphabet on lined paper. The reiteration of writing the same character allows for delicate differences inferred by it being handwritten that the eye becomes drawn to. I intended to compose these glyphs in to poetry during the week but for now I quite enjoy them as they are.

An example of a repeated logogram on exercise book paper.

The second week was beneficial in encouraging me ask questions about the nature of writing. I do often fear that the work I make runs the risk of becoming relentless and contrived so this was particularly useful.

We were asked to ponder what is the visual character of writing? What is writing without semantic meaning? What is the capacity for an imagined language to mean beyond the representational or referential? This served as an excellent starting point for the week ahead. With reference to what Fowler posited in the first week’s presentation I would reiterate that writing without semantic meaning is pure poetry - it does not seek to communicate information as its primary purpose. I would also argue that an asemic written language can still ‘mean’ despite it being non representational or referential. The meaning might be entirely aesthetic, or it might be emotionally expressive, it might even exist as a means of translating a pre-existing language.

As a printmaker I have wrestled with where the process fits in the world of printmaking. Is asemic writing to be drawn or written only? Would repeating the writing through a print process detract from its agency as a handwritten process? I was stimulated by the prompt in the slides about formulating an alphabetical system that is pictorial or logogrammatic. Encouraged by this and my previous research into typography I decided to make my own asemic font. I felt the exercise would be a good way of marrying asemic writing with printmaking - my thinking being the font could be physically made and printed in a typesetter.

A translation of the first five letters in the first draft of my asemic typeface.

My starting point was going through my sketchbooks and portfolio to locate certain asemic characters that I had repeated over the months. It was this set of characters that I then digitised on my phone, attributing each character form to existing letters, numbers and punctuation marks.

Overall I found this exercise to be very successful as my first attempt at digitising my asemic language. Now that I have the app saved to my phone I can experiment with it further and design a cohesive body of abstract letterforms to print from when university reopens. I feel that this is the first step in potentially creating publications and artist books that find a common ground between asemic writing and printmaking.

‘Pangram’ - a sentence that uses every letter in the alphabet - first draft of my asemic typeface.

A selection of letters written in the second draft of my asemic typeface.

There is much scope for experimentation and a playfulness around the idea of the typeface being decoded. I could explore the dialogue between asemic writing being solely abstract and yet decipherable. I might be tempted to play on this in the same way Luigi Serafini did in his Codex Seraphinianus. With the existence of caesar cyphers and cypher wheels there is a wealth of opportunity for further consideration.

I came across weeks that I struggled with more so than others, in particular those based on art poetry and concrete poetry. I think that because the lines are so blurred between the subjects of each week I found that I was a little unsure as to how to approach them for fear of what I make not falling under the ‘correct’ umbrella. In hindsight I think the most fruitful approach would have been to read and research more and put less emphasis on creating, after all this was a learning experience and not a deadline for the next great work of art.

I took a selection of lyrics from Enter Shikari’s most recent album ‘Nothing is True & Everything is Possible’ and made a series of monoprints on newsprint that I initially thought could be pasted on to a wall but in actual fact work quite well as a poem in book form. The lyrics work as individual loose leaves but when coupled with the repetition of the word ‘meanwhile’ they become quite powerful and moving. The poem reads as follows:

Meanwhile,

Masking weakness, masking woe.

We'll disobey our Frankenstein.

Meanwhile,

It's primal, it's tribal.

And I'll die.

Red sky at night, a shepherd's flashlight,

This isn't what I planned.

We orbit fast.

Meanwhile,

Search and seek,

I'm gonna track you down,

Search and seek,

A cosmic dance.

Now I see you,

I can't walk away.

Meanwhile,

I wish this was over, after dark.

Meanwhile,

Nothing is true,

You're not really here.

Meanwhile,

Give me a sign,

Why?

Meanwhile,

I no longer want to hide,

I am the judge,

I can hear alarm bells,

A crisis of creativity.

‘You’re not really here’ - monoprint on newsprint.

‘A crisis of creativity’ - monoprint on newsprint.

‘A cosmic dance’ - monoprint on newsprint.

‘We’ll disobey our Frankenstein’ - monoprint on newsprint.

Concrete poetry found me very much outside my comfort zone, my work tends to be more loose and free and I found myself thinking a bit more rigidly. I am used to working with a bit more expression and gesture, so this was quite the challenge. Nevertheless I made an attempt at some concrete poems of the many plants I have dotted around the place. These were made whilst isolating at home, I found that in times where I felt unsettled and uneasy it was good to have some positive growth in the form of plant-life keeping me company. These ideas are very basic and leave much room for improvement, should I wish to return to this method of working.

‘Plant Pot’ - letraset on Moleskine sketchbook paper.

‘Cactus Pot’ - letraset on Moleskine sketchbook paper.

‘Ivy Ivy Ivy’ - letraset on Moleskine sketchbook paper.

‘Cactus’ - letraset on Moleskine sketchbook paper.

One of the later weeks of the course prompted the notion of scale. What would be the consequence of making poetry for a billboard wall? I have briefly discussed how my work tends to be quite intimate, typically taking the form of smaller tactile prints or books. The prospect of poster art seemed a bit daunting at first. What sentiment would the text offer when not only enlarged for all to see, but also in the public domain as opposed to the sometimes solitary book format?

I composed some poetry earlier on in the year as part of an artist residency at Bower Ashton Library that will be bound in to small poetry anthologies when the university studios re-open. For the purpose of this week’s prompts I made an installation in my bedroom studio, projecting these poems and corresponding drawings on to the walls at various angles. The results aren’t quite as I’d hoped or imagined but the chance to experiment with the concept was a welcome one, I am keen to return to this and develop it further. This week highlighted that there a multitude of ways we might interact with our audience and the value of looking at your work with fresh eyes.

‘Your Mouth’ - poem projected onto an interior wall.

‘Black, White and Grey’ - poem projected onto an interior wall.

‘Two Men’ - poem projected onto an interior wall.

The final output I made during the course was an edition of artist’s books inspired by monostich poetry. I hadn’t heard of it before and wondered how I could make a book with just one line of text. I made monoprints of a line from the Spin Doctors' song, ‘Two Princes’ that reads, ‘if you would like to talk for hours, just go ahead now’. This varied edition of concertina books is a dialogue of sorts between the ‘two princes’, each side being a line spoken.

‘Two Princes’ - accordion folded artist’s book with monoprinted pages.

Participation on the Seen as Read course has been extremely beneficial. I have been tempted out of my creative comfort zone on more than one occasion, which is always a valuable tool as an artist. It teaches you to not rest on your laurels and even though you will most likely return to your favoured processes, you might bring with you a method of creating that you had not before. The most worthwhile aspect to take away is the contacts I have made. A handful of participants have agreed to continue our correspondence beyond the confines of the seven weeks and will proceed to critique and support each other on a similar online forum to that which we have used for Seen as Read. I hope that this is the beginning of an active role in joining in the global conversation regarding visual poetry.

#practice #poetry #visual poetry #vispo #asemic art #asemic #asemia #asemic writing #concrete poetry #book art #abstract art #artistsbook #artists book #monoprint #printmaking #masters #mamdp

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enchantedbyhiddles · 5 years

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Tom Hiddleston smells amazing—overwhelmingly so—as I walk into his hotel room on the 10th floor of the Crosby Hotel in New York City. I can't quite pick out his cologne, but I later described it as "heaven" to everyone I know. "Hello! Tea?" he chirps in his charming British accent as he opens the door for me. Hiddleston has that kind of presence where it's hard to formulate words around him. "Ha ha, it's 4:20 on 4/20 and your fans are called Hiddlestoners," is the first thing I blurt out. I've been waiting to make that joke to him all day, but it falls flatter than I expected. He laughs to be polite, or maybe just out of pity.

The 35-year-old actor is wearing an exceptionally well-fitted blue suit that Wednesday afternoon and gray-framed glasses that add even more allure. Most actors turn out to be smaller in person, but Hiddleston's 6'2" frame—with seemingly mile-long legs—looks even more slender in person. While he's the epitome of dashing, his room is kind of a mess. Fed-Ex boxes are littered all over the place, suitcases are scattered, open, and half-stuffed with half-folded clothes. "Sorry, it's a mess," he apologizes as I navigate my way to the couch. "I'm packing up. I've been traveling for about 10 years." Hiddleston really has been all over the place lately. He's solidified himself in the Marvel Universe as Thor villain Loki (a role he will reprise in 2017's Thor: Ragnarok), just starred as Hank Williams in the biopic I Saw the Light, starred opposite Jessica Chastain in Guillermo del Toro's fantastical period horror Crimson Peak last year, plays a hotel manager-turned-spy in AMC's new TV series The Night Manager, and next year will appear in the new King Kong movie (Kong: Skull Island) with Oscar-winner Brie Larson. So yeah, he's got a lot on his plate.

When we talked, he was floating through Tribeca Film Festival to promote yet another new film of his, High-Rise, director Ben Wheatley's stylish dystopian adaptation of J.G. Ballard's 1975 novel. In the film, Hiddleston plays the middle-class Dr. Robert Laing, who lives in a society where the poor live on the lower levels of a high-rise building while the rich live on top. Laing gets caught in the middle of a class war with his neighbors, played by Sienna Miller, Elisabeth Moss, Luke Evans, and Jeremy Irons, who portrays the building's rich architect and penthouse resident. We talked plenty about High-Rise, but also about his famous Hiddlebum (which serves a symbolic purpose in High-Rise), his love for dancing, and the stomach-churning preparation he had to do for the movie.

You play a doctor in the film. The scene where you tear apart flesh from a skull was kind of hard to watch. You had some horrifying scenes in Crimson Peak as well. Do you get squeamish watching those scenes? No, but I got squeamish when I was doing my research. I actually attended an autopsy because I knew I was going to have to perform a dissection. I simply had no frame of reference and I wanted to do it properly. I didn't know how to make incisions, so I went to see a forensic pathologist who showed me how to do it, which was quite stomach-churning. But it was fascinating, listening to him talk about the biomechanics of our engineering. As human beings, we often forget that we are machines, made up of machine parts, and if certain things are broken then that will have an effect on our behavior.

I think that scene's a declaration of intent by Ben [Wheatley]. You see Dr. Laing peeling the facial tissue off her head to reveal the blood and the bones beneath. I think that's sort of what Ballard is doing to society. He's saying, "Let me take away the surface and show you the flesh and blood beneath."

Speaking of this movie and Crimson Peak, directors seem to love shooting your bare butt. I'm sure you know the nickname you've been given: Hiddlebum. It's there. [Points to butt.] And there it is.

It's an Internet sensation. It's one of those things that I've never really thought about because the nudity has always been part of the story and it's never felt gratuitous. It's always felt as if it's in service of something. In High-Rise, it's quite symbolic. Laing moves into the building to get away from the entanglements of real life. And the first thing he does in this new clean, clinical space is take all his clothes off and sunbathe. And within seconds, that peace and freedom is interrupted. And then he never takes his clothes off again. And that's in the novel. I felt it was kind of important, and honestly, you don't see anything more than you would see if I was just walking down the beach, so I didn't have a problem with it.

The party scenes in this movie are so intoxicating. Did the parties ever go on after the cameras stopped rolling? The parties were so fun because we would set them up and, of course, there's no real alcohol, but there is real music and Ben would put on music and we'd start dancing. The camera would stay rolling, and he would say, "Crazy, go crazy, dance more crazy, more crazy dancing." He would gently encourage everybody to get a little more wild, but there was something very safe about it.

We're all familiar with your amazing dancing skills. I've got to know if that dream sequence where you're dancing with those flight attendants was your idea. It actually was my idea. But it wasn't my idea to dance. We shot it at the end of our first day. We were due to wrap at 6 p.m. and at 5:45 they started doing that scene. These flight attendants were walking down the corridor and I was watching it and I said to Ben, "Do you think that Laing should be a participant in his own dream?" And he said, "Well, yeah, it'd be nice to have the option." I asked, "What do you think he should be doing? Is he walking in front of them or behind them?" And then he said, "He should be dancing with them." So we did it, and we did it once. We put on Sister Sledge's "Lost in Music" and we danced down the corridor. It was great.

Do you remember the first moment you fell in love with dancing? When I first danced ever?

Yeah, when did you discover the rhythm of your body? [Laughs.] I don't know, actually. I have a very happy memory. My mom used to play the piano for me and my older sister when we were very, very small, about 3 or 4. There was no furniture in the living room of the new house that we had moved into so my sister and I would dance around the living room. It's one of my earliest memories and it's a very happy one. I was just dancing to my mom playing the piano and she had these three things she used to play. And then beyond that, I don't remember dancing or enjoying dancing until I was about 15. I started to go out to parties and playing music and being introduced to girls and wanting to impress them.

If you're a good dancer, it's much easier to get girls... I couldn't possibly attest to that.

Please. [Laughs].

You do these stylistic British films and then you're Loki from the Marvel movies. Do you notice the different ways people receive you in different places? The Marvel films have an extraordinary reach. Loki is the most well-known character I've ever played. But when I was in Louisiana, people had seen me in Coriolauns onstage in London and people have already seen my new TV show, The Night Manager.

You're such a unique chameleon of an actor. I get huge pleasure from challenging myself and surprising an audience by doing different things. But that's partly because I think all human beings contain enormous range and complexity. We're capable of huge courage, and love, and kindness, but we're also capable of cruelty and inconsistency, and solitude and loneliness, and all these things that we all suffer as much as the next person. My pleasure is trying to express that.

Have you seen that Reductress article about yourself? It's a satirical women's site. I have to show you this article: "9 Times Tom Hiddleston Left You Breathless and Alone in the Woods." [Scrolls through phone, laughs.] Wow, is it good to leave someone breathless and alone in the woods? I feel like that's a very unkind thing to do to somebody.

#link #tom hiddleston #high rise #interview #high rise promo #can't remember seeing this #oldie but goldie

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ducktracy · 4 years

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92. buddy’s adventures (1934)

release date: november 17th, 1934

series: looney tunes

director: ben hardaway

starring: jack carr (buddy), bernice hansen (cookie), billy bletcher (king/cop)

ahhh, a promising start, right? anything telling you that buddy is on an adventure means it is just going to be CHOCK FULL of action packed fun! actually, the buddy cartoons WOULD take more of an adventurer turn, a trend adopted by some of the porky cartoons (most notably porky in wackyland). in an ill-fated hot air balloon ride, buddy and cookie end up in “sourtown”, where the residents aren’t nearly as open to accepting buddy’s optimism.

a good start to the cartoon: buddy dumping sand bags off an ascending hot air balloon, accompanied by an anxious cookie. buddy has gotten his final redesign—i like it a lot! i think it looks much better than his earl duvall version. he appears much more likable and cute. cookie’s also gotten another redesign, both reverting to their tom palmer roots in a way.

buddy exercises his genius by remarking “look, cookie! in a few minutes we’ll be on mars!” cookie laments “you and your dirty inventions, i wish i hadn’t come along! i’m afraid!” initially, i didn’t think much of the opening. i laughed at the ridiculousness of buddy suggesting they’ll go to mars—but now that i think about it, it’s a good opening. opening right in the middle of some “action”, establishing some personality. buddy makes inventions and has dreams of exploring, unflappable optimism benefitting him and him only. i think that’s cute! maybe i’m just desperate for any shred of personality in these darn characters.

buddy laughs in dismissal, saying “what’s there to be afraid of?” a lightning crack and boom of thunder put him in his place as he sinks in the basket, laughing sheepishly “must’ve been something i ate.” i think this is the most we’ve ever heard buddy talk in a cartoon. well, maybe not, but some cartoons he only says one word! it’s refreshing.

anthropomorphic storm clouds further put an end to buddy’s optimism, a cloud blowing the balloon around and another boxing it like a punching bag. there’s a strange scene as the surroundings around buddy and cookie melt, like a dream sequence. i was REALLY thrown off—is this the wizard of oz? another porky’s romance? wholly smoke? or the great piggy bank robbery? is it a cartoon surrounded by a demented dream? evidently it was just a jab at some cinematography, as everything focuses back to normal. i applaud them for trying something different, but it doesn’t deliver and comes off as vague and confused, motive muddled in time.

some snake storm clouds spit lightning at the balloon, snapping the lines to the balloon. buddy and cookie tumble in the air, the falling basket thankfully scooping them to relative safety. the basket slide across a few cliffs like a sled, and the couple skids past a sign that reads “TO LEMONIA — THE SOUR DOMAIN”. they narrowly skid under a bird (a dodo? buddy in wackyland?) who laughs as they whiz by... quickly eating his guffaws as an anchor hooks on the bird’s foot and drags it along.

an anthropomorphic castle swallows up buddy and cookie as they slide into their new domain, the sled breaking against a sign. buddy’s optimism is endearingly amusing as he announces “...well, here we are!”, refuted with a “alright, buddy, where are we??” from cookie. a sign welcoming them to SOURTOWN answers cookie’s inquiry. perhaps a neighboring town to the one in the rankin bass santa claus is coming to town special. rules include: NO LAUGHING, NO SINGING, NO DANCING, and NO JAZZ MUSIC. the past 92 cartoons broke down to their bare essentials!

of course, buddy laughs off the arbitrary rules, already setting himself up for danger. cookie scowls at him and points offscreen—a great gag of laurel and hardy in stocks, imprisoned for smiling and laughing respectively, laurel sniveling incomprehensibly.

nevertheless, buddy is undeterred as he leads cookie through the town, the two of them pausing to watch a trio of men saunter through the streets, accompanied by furtive music. the men gather in front of “YE PESSIMISTS CLUB” (relevant today, huh? and drink some vinegar, just to show us how really sour they are. it’s certainly coy but amusing. they sing about how they never laugh or smile, life just a bowl of lemons. i thought one of the laws was no singing, and yet they’re singing about how they hate singing?

good hearted buddy interrupts their groveling, correcting in a sing song voice “pardon me, but you’re all wrong. life is much more cheerful! that’s no way to sing a song, listen and get an earful!” he grabs the spare mandolin one of the curmudgeons had been using and sings a song of his own (haven’t found any indication as to what it is he’s singing). buddy is still pretty bland, but this is the most personality we’ve seen yet, and i enjoy it! i love my optimistic characters, so maybe that’s it. various animals and plants scat along with buddy, an angry woman closing her shutters and silencing any form of singing from the wildlife.

an amusing gag as a police officer takes off his hat and peers inside, a note reminding him that the laws include no dancing and no singing. hard to remember, ain’t it? he approaches buddy and cookie, the pessimists scramming at the sight of the cop. he tells him that they’re headed for the “sour pen”... that’s a new one! he rides away on his scooter, buddy and cookie shanghaied in a little box behind him.

we finally meet the king of sourtown, a man who sequences lemons on his head and drinks the juice. a beverage fit for a crabby king! i love how asinine this entire cartoon is. it reminds me not even of disney, but like a pseudo willy wonka setting. it’s nice that we actually have some story structure and plot, and that buddy and cookie converse with each other as have a sliver of personality to them.

the king spots buddy and cookie, insisting they’ll “be sentenced to the spanking hand.” sure enough, YE OLDE SPANKING MACHINE awaits. absurdly strange, but good! i suppose. this isn’t phenomenal, or great, even, but it’s a refreshing change from the monotony we’ve been seeing as of late. cookie asks “what do we do?”, to which buddy whispers back “leave it to me!” and whips out a harmonica from his pocket.

highly amusing to watch buddy blare the harmonica in the king’s face, running around to all sides of him and making sure to get up in his business. it reminds me of the droopy cartoons by tex at mgm, a little pest you can’t get rid of. tex’s the blow out would also serve as a precursor to those cartoons, porky in droopy’s place, and tortoise beats hare would be an expansion of the blow out. fascinating! anyway, buddy’s is delightfully annoying, on purpose this time. cookie dances to the harmonica music as a line of knights observe, the king exerting every effort not to succumb.

gradually, various knights themselves become inflicted with the jitterbug, one of the knights using a leg from a suit of armor as a saxophone. the king’s beard dances, as do his legs snapping together... finally, he admits defeat, declaring “it’s got me, pal! it’s got me!”

cookie conducts the knights, who join in on a chorus, and the whole town becomes enthralled with the power of music! the king shows off his slick moves, animation jaunty and appealing. he even slips off the rug and lands straight into YE OLDE SPANKING MACHINE (i love the YE OLDE), breaking into a fit of hysterics. back to buddy and cookie, who are sitting on the king’s throne, cookie sporting buddy’s hat. iris out as the two of them embrace.

with every review, i watch the cartoons twice. once for the initial reaction, and once when i’m going back and typing the whole shebang. first watch, i didn’t like it very much at all. i thought it was boring and coy, the ending where they all dance being the true highlight. but thank god for the second watch—this is now one of my favorite buddy cartoons, if not favorite. it’s not a fantastic cartoon by any means, it still leaves a lot to be desired, but it also fills SOME holes. buddy’s design is much more tolerable, boyish and cute. his optimism, albeit pretty one-dimensional, is very uplifting and endearing. the absurdity of the whole cartoon was very refreshing, and i’m glad we actually had some plot this time. it felt like a very subtle, subdued, distant relative to porky in wackyland. maybe because of the dodo bird in the beginning? it was an enjoyable cartoon, and i recommend it! it still isn’t perfect, the first half dragged on for quite awhile, but it actually stands out as a cartoon i can recognize and look back on in future reviews. the 1934 season has seldom been memorable.

link!

#lt #buddy’s adventures #reviews #long post

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atamascolily · 4 years

Text

One of the exercises in Julia Cameron’s The Vein of Gold is to compile a list of favorite movies--or ones with images that resonate with you--and note any patterns that arise. Here are some of mine, with observations below.

(For the purposes of this exercise, I’m sticking with live-action films, but there’s no reason why there couldn’t be animated films.)

1. Star Wars Original Trilogy (Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi)

(Yes, I know this is technically three films, with three different directors and independent histories, but I didn’t feel like listing them all separately.)

2. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Ironically, I love the first Peter Jackson movie, but not any of the subsequent ones. Which is not to say they’re necessarily bad movies, but they’re not the ones I’d want on endless loop. (Part of this is because The Two Towers and The Return of the King are essentially war movies, and also because I have to watch Faramir act OOC, which hurts my soul.)

3. The Secret Garden

4. The Matrix

I actually don’t have strong feelings about Reloaded and Revolutions--like, the actual plot is weird, but I am so not watching these films for plot.

5. Return to Oz

6. Inception

7. Labyrinth

8. The Terminator

Don’t get me wrong, Terminator 2 has a lot going for it, but it’s not the one that I can’t stop thinking about (except for that one deleted scene with Michael Biehn, which is a totally different story).

Thoughts and Themes:

So at first glance, it seems like I have two separate categories: ‘80s and ‘90s-’00s films. Or maybe it’s sci-fi and fantasy? The Secret Garden is the only one that even approaches some kind of realism, and even that is a pastoral kind of world that would not be out of place in the more peaceful parts of, say, Middle-Earth (especially Fourth Age). How about high-tech vs. low-tech, or cyberpunk vs. fairy tale? Or, even better, what about reality vs. illusion (or story vs. truth if you prefer)--which is also a major tension within every film on this list?

I’ll also note that most of these films have an epic color palette, with memorable landscapes that either serve as characters in and of themselves, or symbolize the mental states of various characters. These films are beautiful works of art, reveling in The Aesthetic, whether that’s the idyllic peacefulness of the Shire or the grimy back alleys of 1980s Los Angeles.

The thing that really got me when I laid it out like this--the thing I hadn’t noticed before--was that all of these involve a (sometimes literal) rebirth, transition, or journey from darkness to light (or light to darkness to light again, depending on the work). You could also substitute life and death here, and not change much.

This is, again, often quite literal: Sarah moves underground in Labyrinth, the Fellowship descends into the Mines of Moria, the secret garden comes to life with the spring, Dorothy confronts the Nome King in his underground lair. Neo wakes up to find himself naked and soaked to the skin, and flushed down the tubes like garbage, in a literal hellscape where the machines destroyed the sun (a motif that also appears in Terminator’s dystopian future), then literally dies and is resurrected at the end of the film. Luke goes underground to confront his own double--another recurring theme!--on Dagobah.

Duality and the exploration of one’s soul through another world is HUGE big theme--or, to put it another way, The internal mirrors the external. This is a huge motif of Inception, which is a literal inward journey into a character’s psyche; and you could also make the argument that both Return to Oz and Labyrinth cover similar territory. Is Oz real, or is it in Dorothy’s head? Is Ozma a part of her, or is Ozma a separate entity? Is Jareth a real foe or is he the embodiment of Sarah’s fears and desires, a fantasy she concocts based on a story in a book? And Frodo realizes he’s not so different from Gollum, that the sad shriveled creature is what he could become if he fails at his task--and, ironically, his kindness to Gollum is what allows the quest to succeed when Frodo finally succumbs to temptation.

Frodo in the The Fellowship of the Ring sees the world differently when he wears the One Ring, and it’s terrifying. Sarah Connor realizes that she’s left her ordinary world behind and crossed into Kyle and the Terminator’s reality in a moving speech, and The Matrix doesn’t even try to be subtle. Even The Secret Garden uses the eponymous garden as a metaphor for the blossoming of Mary’s own soul, and the souls of those around her (especially her uncle and cousin, but also Ben Weatherstaff).

These stories are also concerned with ecology, though it’s usually a background motif, since the main focus is on saving the world (or what’s left of it, i.e, humans). The Shire is paradise; Mordor is a desolate hellscape, dominated by a giant volcano. Kyle Reese breaks down over the beauty of the world, and Mary Lennox seeks to bring the lost garden back to life. Dorothy retreats elsewhere after the grey grimness of Kansas/the mental hospital.

There’s also a real tension concerning humans’ relationship to technology in these films. The Matrix is an illusion, and machines control the earth. Or the machines don’t even bother farming humans and aim to kill ‘em all. Saruman literally transforms Isengard from a tree-lined field to an industrial hellscape. The mental institution uses that freaky electrical machine on Dorothy. Star Wars is more accepting of droids and technology, but even there, there’s tension: Obi-wan calls Darth Vader “more machine than man,” and it’s not a compliment; the Death Star is built to obliterate entire planets and must be stopped twice.

I’d argue this theme goes deeper than human/tech--it’s really human/other, with technology providing one kind of other. There’s human-alien interactions in Star Wars and Labyrinth, not to mention Mary’s relationship with the robin in The Secret Garden, Dorothy’s friendship with Jack Pumpkinhead and the Gump. On a less friendly note, Frodo’s relationship with Gollum is the emotional crux of the Lord of the Rings.

These films also feature the classic hero’s journey, but often through a female lens. The protagonist usually has no special skills other than their strong moral character and determination--or even if they do have skills (like Ariadne*), they still serve as an audience surrogate or substitute, a stranger to the new worlds they visit. The protagonist has at least one faithful friend/companion/love interest to help them (sometimes even a team/found family), and often a mentor as well (who may or may not be a crusty eccentric). In the end, the characters must take control of their own destiny--Frodo chooses to leave the Fellowship, Luke throws away his lightsaber rather than kill his father, Sarah declares to Jareth “You have no power over me”. Sarah Connor yells, “On your feet, soldier!” and keeps going to the bitter end, and Mary Lennox is unafraid of her bratty cousin’s wrath and puts a stop to it when everyone else enables him.

*(As an aside, I know Ariadne’s not the main character in Inception, but I find the actual main character way less interesting, so she’s the one I focus on, just like I find Trinity far more compelling than Neo.)

Characters often have Meaningful Names: Morpheus, Trinity, Neo; Ariadne; Luke Skywalker, Han Solo. These films also feature a question of fate and inevitability - Luke has precognitive visions, Neo consults the Oracle, Sarah is told “there is no fate but what we make for ourselves,” with Kyle serving as an oracle of sorts with messages from the future to come. The Mirror of Galadriel shows possible futures for the Shire, too.

Another theme is that the protagonist must suffer and/or work hard for their transformation. Mary has to do the actual work of gardening; Luke has to sweat and do handstands (beautifully, I might add); Frodo has to walk to Mount Doom; Sarah has to walk the labyrinth, and Sarah Connor has to survive a fucking nightmare. Dorothy has to rescue the royal family of Ev and free Ozma; Ariadne has to design a dream-puzzle for the heist to work. Even Neo has to train with Morpheus--though he’s able to use cheat codes to download martial arts directly into his brain without having to sweat for it; his real journey is in self-confidence.

In keeping with the stunning visuals, impossible feats are regularly featured, and excellent, cutting-edge-for-their-time special effects are prominent. Many also feature stunning fight scenes--the classic Luke vs. Vader duel on Cloud City; the “I know Kung fu” sequence in The Matrix; the clashes in The Fellowship of the Ring. Jareth has some excellent moves in Labyrinth, too, although he’s more inclined to dance than traditional battles.

I couldn’t resist contrasting my favorite moment in Return to Oz--rescuing Ozma from the mirror prison--with Ariadne shattering her own reflection in Inception, because that is such a moment for me, encapsulating all of the reality/illusion, internal/external, self/other dichotomies I mentioned above. (See also the Mirror of Galadriel above.) Inception and Labyrinth also share the motif of impossible Escher staircases, which I freakin’ adore.

It will probably come as no surprise to note that I also enjoyed films like The Dark Crystal, The Neverending Story, and What Dreams May Come, which tap into similar themes and imagery. You’ll probably be able to guess that The Sword in the Stone is my favorite animated Disney film, too.

I also love a number of Asian films like Hero, House of Flying Daggers, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, all of which feature beautiful landscapes and color palettes, stunning fight scenes and special effects, along with a healthy dose of the fantastic, and a focus on story vs. reality (often with a plot twist or surprise reveal at the end). This is unsurprising when you consider the strong debt both Star Wars and The Matrix owe to Asian cinema in terms of style, plot, and aesthetic. In those films, the tension is more society vs. self, but duality is still very strongly present.

If you notice any other patterns or recurring themes, let me know; I’d love to hear them! Also, if you can think of any other movies I might enjoy based on this, let me know.

#writing exercises #personal writing meta #favorite gifs #vein of gold

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lil-area-sfw · 5 years

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soooo, about the latest episode of star vs....

Well, let’s take the opportunity and retake the rantswith this, shall we? ^ ^

Remember that of course this have spoilers ahead and it’s my personal opinion . That said, let’s start ^ ^

Yep, yep, I watched the last episodes and well, theywere fine overall but I have to say that, as always, I have mixed opinions hereand there.

Okay, the list starts with out of business. Ehm, whatcan I say about this ep?It was random, it was kind of fun but for me that wasall and it let me with a question: What’s with the show and the “Thisfrequented place is closing for good” thingy? ._.

I’ve heard some viewers commenting about the episodehaving some meaning, that it is more that it seems to be, and theories likethose. If that’s true, well, it’s fine but I don’t want cryptic content, I wantthe plot to advance. Wanna see what’s with Eclipsa or Star and Marco. For alast season this was a total random filler ^ ^’. And hey, not saying filler isalways bad, I love well done filler because it’s like taking a pause from allthe craziness of a plot and it even helps to develop characters while doingrandom unrelated things but this one was, well, very random?

Janna is Back, good ^ ^… but they don’t even botherto explain how is she there. We have just to accept it because, youknow… she’s Janna. That leads me to my next comment and plz don’t get madJanna fans. I like Janna and I’ve always said she has so much potential sinceS1 and that’s the reason why I don’t like much Janna this season. Pretty muchlike past season, she serves no other purpose than the weird stalker girl whois the comic relief. Done. I mean, jokes are fine but her interactions with theother characters don’t go further than “Yeah, I’m cool”, “Look, acreepy thing, cool”, “I’m going to Make fun of Marco, lol”.

Well, good thing about the ep is that it even gives usa message at the end. I don’t even know what was the point of Marco reactingthat way, but the thing is that they went out of there.

Next one is Kelly’s world. Where can Istart for this one? Well, it was nice to know about Kelly’s background…Finally! For a character that appears in the title sequence and that wasincluded in so many relevant episodes and situations, they took their time.So, her kind solves everything with kicks and punches? Marco, beware! X)

You know, in Lava Lake, when Kelly and Marco spent time together, I never getthe memo about them being “a thing”. For me it was all too quick. Well, itlooks like they noticed it and ‘fixed’ it this season along with moredevelopment of Kelly and her world and family.

Final battle moment was nice but it wasjust me or that felt like S1 Star and Marco fight 2.0? It made me miss thosemore. We don’t have that since a long while now.

And well, now Marco and Kelly areofficially rebound buddies whatever that means but well, now they can cheek kissand hold hands. It’s a bit weird that they keep introducing relationships inthe last season. Maybe it’s me annoying with the same thing but, wasn’t Jackiegood enough for the other girl? As I see, they get rid of her and then got theidea for the new plotline where Marco needed a girlfriend… but it was alreadytoo late, so they chose the girl who was available so that’s why it felt it a bitout of the blue. Oh, well, nothing we can do now and it’s not like they don’tlook cute together anyway :3

Aaand last but not least isCurse of the Blood moon. Nice episode but for me it was a bit weaker than Iexpected it to be. We start retaking Star and Marco situation that has beenkind of ignored past eps: Marco and Star having a crush on each other and soulbounded.

All starts when Marco can’t take it anymore anddecides to speak out his feelings to Star. Thing is Tom’s there too but he doesit anyway. Here we learn that well, duh, Star still have feelings for Marco andalso that… the Blood Moon is… just a curse. Uhm, I didn’t get too bothered withit but it felt it a bit underwhelming. Yeah, I know there are been a lot of discussionsabout them not being in love for real and blah, blah, so, I have a big hunchthat the staff did that to make Star and Marco´s love more natural if they aregoing for Starco but still. I think that I can say that the original idea ofthe blood moon was not this at all but as people started to decontextualize it,they just changed it. Now this has so many implications, starting by the timeMarco and Jackie were kissing. That friggin moon just messed with them, itdoesn’t mean anything more ^ ^’

Oh, also, Janna was there too… eh, again beingthe random character ^ ^’ Also, that invincible character who is just there to messwith everyone. Yes, I know this is a comedic show but I don’t like how herreactions with everyone else are always stale and about the snarky girl whodoesn’t care about anything. For me she barely interacts. Remember when we all thoughtshe will have really good interactions with Tom since she likes demons? Well, I’mnot waiting for that anymore as I see how things are, and I’m not even talkingabout shipping! Yes, I think they are under utilizing a great chara but, oh well.

Well, this is the part where Tom’s great grandpa told themthat they can severe their souls with a stone that is in the underworld, sothey go in that quest.

At the end of the ep, they foreshadowed a battle thatnever happened… I miss the action driven scenes.

Now, it’s me or is the show using too much the “slow mo” jokes scenes? We hadthe sloth in Quest buy sucking the juice, Tom talking about his pa pa pa pa pa,again Tom in the elevator, then Marco talking and talking about that couch plusthe other dude that came drinking juice… I think they must do those more carefully.

Okay, back to the plot. The scene where they arrivedhad so many subtle messages. Tom’s Grandpa was shown regretting using thecrystal for example. From this point, anything can happen.We have a really endearing dancing scene, retaking the bloodmoon dance but thistime Star and Marco being aware of their feelings. When Star admits beingafraid and Marco follows her was heartbreaking indeed. Yeah “What if it wasnever the Blood moon?” ^ ^

Weeell, to close, I would say that yeah, I know thisone is probably one of the rants where I actually ranted the most. It’s just anopinion so be free to have a different one. The episodes were not bad to meand I enjoyed them, especially the last part of the last one but I hope nexteps escalate a bit more in the level of emotions. Let every… or almost everyscene be at the level of the final dance of the las ep :3

Talking about that final dance, I’ve heard several Starco soldiers being sad and saying that this looks like the end of Starco. Uhm, I don’t know, did we watched the same episode? This for me sounds like the complete opposite so, cheer up people :3

That’s all I have to say for now. Feels nice to beback after a long time. I hope you enjoy all my blabbering and I hope I cankeep doing them as regularly as before ^ ^

See you in the next rant, soldiers!

#arearants #im back baby #areartsfw

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vinylexams · 4 years

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A very special fireside interview with XUXA SANTAMARIA

Check Insta for our thoughts on this landmark album from Oakland duo XUXA SANTAMARIA. Stay right where you are to read a really fun interview I scored with the band this week. They’ve just released Chancletas D’Oro on Ratskin Records out of Oakland and Michael blessed me with my very own copy. It was so good I knew I needed to tell you all about it and I wanted to pick their brains a little bit, too. Without further ado, please enjoy:

//INTERVIEW

You’re still breaking into indie world at large, but you’ve already got a huge following back in California and your home-base in Oakland. What has it been like to be featured in major outlets like The Fader?

SC: We are a funny project; we ebb and flow from being total hermits to having periods of relatively high visibility (relative to aforementioned hermit state). I wouldn’t say we have a huuuge following in CA but I do think that the ‘fandom’ we’ve developed here is really genuine because we don’t play shows out of an obligation to remain visible but instead do so because we feel super passionate about the work and the audience and I think people respond to that energy. I for one, and perhaps this is because of my background in performance, have a hard time performing the same stuff over and over without change which accounts for us being selective with our playing live. That’s also why videos are such an important part of what we’re about. The piece in The Fader was important to the launch of this album because it established some of the themes and, to an extent, the aesthetics of this album in a way that can be experienced outside of a live setting. None of this is to say we don’t like playing live, in fact we love it, we just like to make our sets pleasurable to ourselves and to our audience by constantly reworking it. We strike a weird balance for sure but we’ve made peace with it. If we ever ‘make it’ (lol) it’ll be on these terms.

Chancletas D'Oro is a pretty incredible record and while it reminds me of a few bands here or there, it’s got a really fresh and unique style that merges dance with all sorts of flavors. How would you describe your music to someone who is curious to listen?

MGK: Haha, we generally struggle to describe our music in a short, neat way (not because we make some kind of impossible-to-categorize music, but just because it’s the synthesis of a ton of different influences and it’s hard for US to perceive clearly). But with that caveat in mind - IDK, bilingual art-punk influenced dance/electronic music?

SC: Thank you for saying so, we’re pretty into it :) Like Matt says, we struggle to pin it down which I think is in part to what he says – our particular taste being all over the place, from Drexciya to The Kinks to Hector Lavoe- but I think this slipperiness has a relationship to our concept making and world building. As creative people we make and intake culture like sharks, always moving, never staying in one place too long. Maybe it’s because we’re both so severely ADHD (a boon in this instance tbh) that we don’t sit still in terms of what we consume and I think naturally that results in an output that is similarly traveling. Point is, the instance a set of words - ‘electronic’, ‘dance’, ‘punk’- feel right for the music is the same instance they are not sufficient. I propose something like: the sound of a rainforest on the edge of a city, breathy but bombastic, music made by machines to dance to, pleasurably, while also feeling some of the sensual pathos of late capitalism as seen from the bottom of the hill.

The internet tells me you’ve been making music as Xuxa Santamaria for a decade now. What has the evolution and development of your songwriting been like over those ten years?

MGK: Well, when we first started out as a band we were so new to making electronic music (Sofia’s background was in the art world and mine was in more guitar-based ‘indie rock’ I guess - lots of smoking weed and making 4 track tapes haha), so we legit forgot to put bass parts on like half the songs on our first album LOL. We’ve learned a lot since then! But in seriousness, we’ve definitely gotten better at bouncing ideas back and forth, at putting in a ton of different parts and then pulling stuff back, and the process is really dynamic and entertaining for both of us.

SC: This project started out somewhat unusually: I was in graduate school and beginning what would become a performance practice. I had hit a creative roadblock working with photography - the medium I was in school to develop- and after reading Frank Kogan’s Real Punks Don’t Wear Black felt this urge to make music as a document of experience following Kogan’s excellent essay on how punk and disco served as spatial receptacles for a wealth of experiences not present in the mainstream of the time. I extrapolated from this notion the idea that popular dance genres like Salsa, early Hip Hop, and Latin Freestyle among many others, had served a similar purpose for protagonists of a myriad Caribbean diasporas. These genres in turn served as sonic spaces to record, even if indirectly, the lived experiences of the coming and going from one’s native island to the mainland US wherein new colonial identities are placed upon you. From this I decided to create an alter ego (ChuCha Santamaria, where our band name originally stems from) to narrate a fantastical version of the history of Puerto Rico post 1492 via dance music. We had absolutely no idea what we were doing but I look back on that album (ChuCha Santamaria y Usted - on vinyl from Young Cubs Records) fondly. It’s rough and strange and we’ve come so far from that sound but it’s a key part of our trajectory. Though my songwriting has evolved to move beyond the subjective scope of this first album - I want to be more inclusive of other marginalized spaces- , it was key that we cut our teeth making it. We are proud to be in the grand tradition of making an album with limited resources and no experience :P

We’re a big community of vinyl enthusiasts and record collectors so first and foremost, thanks for making this available on vinyl. What does the vinyl medium mean to you as individuals and/or as a band?

MGK: I think for us, it’s the combination of the following: A. The experience of listening in a more considered way, a side at a time. B. Tons of real estate for graphics and design and details. C. The sound, duh!

SC: In addition to Matt’s list, I would just say that I approach making an album that will exist in record form as though we were honing a talisman. Its objecthood is very important. It contains a lot of possibility and energy meant to zap you the moment you see it/ hold it. I imagine the encounter with it as having a sequence: first, the graphics - given ample space unlike any other musical medium/substrate- begin to tell a story, vaguely at first. Then, the experience of the music being segmented into Side A and Side B dictate a use of time that is impervious to - at the risk of sounding like an oldie - our contemporary habit of hitting ‘shuffle’ or ‘skip’. Sequencing is thus super important to us (this album has very distinct dynamics at play between sides a/b ). We rarely work outside of a concept so while I take no issue with the current mode of music dissemination, that of prioritizing singles, it doesn’t really work for how we write music.

MGK: We definitely both remain in love with the ‘album as art object/cohesive work’ ideal, so I would say definitely - we care a lot about track sequencing, always think in terms of “Side A/Side B” (each one should be a distinct experience), and details like album art/inserts/LP labels etc matter a lot to us.

What records or albums were most important to you growing up? Which ones do you feel influenced your music the most?

SC: I know they’re canceled cus of that one guy but I listened to Ace of Base’s The Sign a lot as a kid and I think that sorta stuff has a way of sticking with you. I always point to the slippery role language plays in them being a Swedish band singing in English being consumed by a not-yet-English speaking Sofía in Puerto Rico in the mid 90s. Other influences from childhood include Garbage, Spice Girls, Brandy + Monica’s The Boy is Mine, Aaliyah, Gloria Trevi, Olga Tañon etc etc. In terms of who influences me now, that’s a moving target but I’d say for this album I thought a lot about the sound and style of Kate Bush, Technotronic, Black Box, Steely Dan, ‘Ray of Light’-era Madonna plus a million things I’m forgetting.

MGK: Idk, probably a mix of 70-80s art rock/punk/postpunk (Stooges, Roxy Music, John Cale, Eno, Kate Bush, Talking Heads, Wire, Buzzcocks, etc etc), disco/post-disco R&B and dance music (Prince, George Clinton, Chic, Kid Creole), 90s pop + R&B + hip hop (Missy & Timbaland, Outkast/Dungeon Family production-wise are obviously awe-inspiring, So So Def comps, Jock Jams comps, Garbage & Hole & Massive Attack & so on), and unloved pop trash of all eras and styles.

Do you have any “white whale” records that you’ve yet to find?

MGK: Ha - the truth is that we’re both much more of a “what weird shit that we’ve never heard of can we find in the bargain bin” type of record buyer than “I have a custom list of $50 plus records on my discogs account that I lust over”.

SC: Not really, I’m wary of collectorship. That sort of ownership might have an appeal in the hunt, once you have it do you really use it, enjoy it? Funnily, I have a massive collection of salsa records that has entries a lot of music nerds would cry over (though they’re far from good condition, the spines were destroyed by my Abuela’s cat, Misita lol, but some are first pressings in small runs). For me its value however, comes from its link to family, as documents from another time and as an amazing capsule of some of the best music out of the Caribbean. I’m glad I am their guardian (a lot of this stuff is hard to find elsewhere, even digitally) but I live with those records, they’re not hidden away in archival sleeves, in fact, I use some of that music in my other work. Other than that, the records I covet are either those of friends or copies of albums that hold significance but which are likely readily available, Kate Bush’s The Dreaming or Love’s Forever Changes, or The Byrds Sweetheart of The Rodeo as random examples

Finally, is there a piece of interesting band trivia you’ve never shared in another interview?

SC: haha, not really? Maybe that we just had a baby together?

Congrats on your new baby, and also for this wonderful new album. It was a pleasure chatting with you and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for you and your music!

#xuxasantamaria #interview #oakland #music #electronic #electronicmusic #ratskin #ratskinrecords

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anvils-and-dynamite · 5 years

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Hey, Felix! - A Review of The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat - Guardian Idiot

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Viewing the series as a whole, we could say that Twisted Tales is a mixed bag: not only in the sense of “the ratio of good to bad episodes is like a 50/50″, but, since it suffered from too many cooks in the kitchen during its production, we can see episodes taking entirely different directions.

The current plan is to review the three first episodes of the series: these were the very first ones I’ve watched and the ones that made me fall in love with the series, and we’re going to attempt to pinpoint exactly why. At first, I wanted to approach all three at once, but I think it will be better if I tackle them one by one. Still, I’ll keep this video that has all three because it’s got the best quality I could find.

GUARDIAN IDIOT

- 1:09-2:17 - We start not with Felix himself, but with the villain of this episode! And a pretty memorable one to boot! You just can’t go wrong with the morbidity of the meat industry, especially in a setting where animals are sapient.

Highlights of the Butcher’s presentation are:

(1:09-1:17) introduces us to the main subject and the place the villain operates in: a fast food restaurant where people are chowing down burgers in a rather gross and even brutal manner (pay close attention to the background lady)

One of my personal highlights of the Butcher’s presentation is the dialogue with the lady who asked for salad (1:17-1:31). I’m not an expert on comedic timing, but I like how he politely follows her request with “And what kind would you like?”, to prompt her to say “What kind do you have?”, only to deliver that brief, explosive “NONE!”.

Look at his face. He was trying to lead the conversation to that point all along. Whoever was acting his voice was having a blast.

(1:31-2:02) L I S T E N T O M E N O W

Ok we get to the Butcher’s proper musical number, which give us a taste (HAH) of what to expect from Twisted Tales:

Things appearing where they don’t belong (like the beefed-up steer (HAAH) inside the banana)

Objects coming to life (I know, it’s weird to classify meat as an “object”)

And a tinge of the disturbing (animals being turned into pies/sausages yet still singing, a roast pork being fed to a family of pigs)

- 2:02-2:17 Somehow, the Butcher has run out of supplies. I like how the guy spends 5 good seconds pondering until he reaches the conclusion he has to get more meat. The cricket providing the sounds to signal an “empty” room is a nice touch, and so is the Butcher noticing it, picking it up and just chucking it aside like “naah that won’t do”

- 2:18- 2:28 And here he is, the star of the show! I love Felix as a street artist here, and how everyone runs away when he removes the top of his head as a hat to ask for tips. Yes, it could be interpreted as nobody wanting to pony up some pennies for the poor cat, but I really prefer the “body horror” route better (we’ll see a more extreme case of this in a later episode). This, coupled with Felix’s main issue (”Man, am I hungry”), portrays him as someone who tends to get the shorter stick in life, which makes him especially sympathetic to the audience and especially vulnerable to the villain.

- 2:28-3:04 These next scenes are brief, and the purpose of that is to take us to the kicker of the episode: Felix meets Butcher, Butcher lures Felix inside his restaurant/slaughterhouse with the promise of free food.

Seems that the Butcher is making things up as he continues with his plan, at least as I see it when he says “I’ve... got something for you!”. Observe how he looks up, thinking, and then, when he comes up with the rest of the sentence, his face stretches up in a smile and rolls his eyes, denoting his weirdo mannerism. It’s the small details like these what makes this character so fun to watch. And Felix’s enthusiastic “Oh boy!” while the Butcher prepares a cleaver behind his back!

We get some more old school cartoon weirdness with the Butcher sniffing Felix with his elongated eyes, what I assume is a string of meat-related puns (I’m sorry, my hearing is not that good) and some more subtle silliness, such as the Butcher giving Felix the menu in the shape of a playing card.

I really like the Butcher’s joyous glee he takes in murdering innocent animals. You know, the kind of stuff you could really enjoy in fiction. Or maybe it’s just me and my love for cackling, over-the-top maniacs.

-3:04-3:29 So this is the situation: our MC is about to be slaughtered alive by a sentient meat grinder (which by the way it’s a pretty good reflection of our villain’s cruelty). It’s interesting to put Felix in such a helpless situation right at the start of the series, but it’s pretty much done for the purpose to give way to the real meat (HAAAH) of this episode. Felix’s scream for help takes over the whole screen and reaches heaven...

- 3:29-3:46 ...and a guardian angel apprentice is tasked to help him. I’d like to point out the queue of taller, more muscular, arguably more handsome angels: they are there to contrast with and underline the goofiness of the one Felix gets assigned to (complete with buttwings and straight up falling from heaven hollering). It’s nice to also get a motivation for him (”If I do good, I can get rid of these... training wings”)

We’re mostly focusing on scenes and how they work in these reviews, but I’d like to point out the background for heaven. I like sunset-like gradients that much.

- 3:47-4:16 The eponymous Guardian Idiot presents himself to Felix (not before getting a reminder of the trouble the cat is facing) and tells him he can take him anywhere he wants. This is where you realize the whole Butcher plot’s purpose is to take Felix to wacky places and have mini-adventures in them. Here is also where we can see better that Felix’s guardian angel might be... somewhat incompetent, with his ”Uh-oh, I’m thinking, but I’m not hearing anything!!” bit and him checking on a tourist guide, taking his sweet time while Felix inches closer to the meat grinder. But he finally does his magic and...

- 4:16-5:21 The reveal of Felix being underwater is done like the following: First, Felix takes some time to chill on a hammock and lazily gaze at a fish swimming above him... then he realizes something’s fishy (HAAAAH) and then it zooms out to reveal that he’s on a sunken ship! And he’s not alone: there’s a crew of skeleton pirates who also want to make mincemeat (HAAAAAH) out of him! Look at that wild take Felix does (4:31), that’s another tinge of the disturbing I like so much.

We also get the first instance of Felix using his tail as a tool or a weapon, in this case a sabre to fend himself off the pirates. We get some more lovely cartoon shenanigans as Felix finishes his confrontation with the skelepirates (like the bone unicycle and the gossipy ship figures), but it abruptly ends when Felix gets trapped inside a clam and asks for help again. This, in turn, makes his guardian angel appear again. Felix is not happy at all with his wish and asks him to put him “on dry land”

- 5:21-6:35 “...It sure is dry”. The water joke falls a bit flat to me, and I don’t quite get what’s going on with the snowing log cabin (is it a reference? or just for the sake of randomness?).

And because you can’t be a Toon and not be in the desert without seeing some mirages, here we have Felix suffering from double vision and dancing cacti. I really like the gag of his pupils multiplying because he’s seeing double, as well as the “deserty” version of the can-can.

(5:58-6:19) Is our boy Felix learning from a certain someone or what

Again, Felix gets in another life threatening situation and happens to stumble across his angel again, who is building a sandcastle in the desert. I really like it when Toons engage into casual activities in life-threatening environments. Felix requests to be put somewhere else (not before getting a shot of the vultures chasing him) and...

- 6:35-6:58 We get a short string of sequences of Felix being put in increasingly ludicrous scenarios (seriously, what’s going on with the cult and the clown chase). Fed up, Felix asks the angel to put him back where he was, even if he’s supposed to save him. Reluctantly, the eponymous Guardian Idiot does so, and comes to watch Felix’s fate

- 6:58-7:35 Back to the slaughter house, the guardian angel mourns Felix beforehand, feeling bad that his incompetence did not help him at all. We get a shot of Felix on the edge of death and then the Butcher enters the scene, eager to get some fresh meat for the restaurant. I really like how he notices the “fairy” weeping and straight up goes like “GRANT ME A WISH”. He’s so unfazed, like screw it, awe is for weenies. And yes, the angel is so heartbroken he’s willing to serve the bad guy, but then...

Well, it goes as well as you expect with a wish such as “make me that fattest, greasiest sausage in the world””. Was it incompetence or that the Angel finally realized this is his chance to save Felix? You decide.

- 7:35-7:55 So we get a happy ending with Felix congratulating his guardian angel (”What do you know? You’ve saved me, after all!”) and we even get to see him getting his new wings (airplane wings because of course we gotta crank up the silliness whenever possible). And just in case the villain being turned into a sausage wasn’t disturbing enough for you, as the iris closes out on Felix, he pulls out a burger that might or might not be made out of the Butcher...

And that’s it for now! I’m glad I started this review because it made me notice things I haven’t noticed about my favourite series before, what makes it what it is, and what makes me love it so much. I think the two next episodes follow the same formula, so we’ll check on them sometime. Stay tooned!

#felix the cat #the twisted tales of felix the cat #anvils presents #toon #cartoon review

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incorrectmlpquotes · 5 years

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My Thoughts on Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks

Or: Are we sure this didn’t come out in 2004 rather than 2014? Because the “battle of the bands” story line feels super dated for some reason. I feel like almost every early 2000s cartoon had some sort of music contest episode, and I never liked them. I blame American Idol for making those popular.

Some History:

I’m under the impression that everything in this movie I dislike is a completely subjective thing that wouldn’t bother someone else. I know that, from a movie standpoint, this is much better than the first, but I just don’t like it as much. Everything that warrants complaint comes from a personal hangup that I have (such as: my lack of any musical ability causes me to not care at all whether their band is successful), so if you disagree, I completely understand. These are all my opinions, and I’m aware that this is probably the best of the four movies. (As stated on a previous post, I haven’t watched any of the shorts from 2017 or 2018 as of this entry)

There were a series of promotional shorts released before the movie debuted that explains how the members of the Main 5 came to play their instruments in Rainbow Dash’s band, and some other random stuff. Here’s the link to the playlist on youtube. Here’s a quick rundown of what I think:

Music to My Ears : meh

Guitar Centered : funny, but kind of mean spirited

Hamstocalypse Now : Hilarious.

Pinkie on the One : exactly what you’d expect it to be

Player Piano: a masterpiece

A Case for the Bass: Applejack is one word, why would she have AJ embroidered on the strap? I know people call her that but those aren’t her initials

Life is a Runway: There’s a reason they didn’t let Rarity write the songs

Shake Your Tale: Bad.

This was a pretty clever way to establish some musical background within the group without taking up time in the movie. It also is some sneaky foreshadowing with Trixie, which I appreciate.

In the actual movie: My nitpicks are going to be less Why is no one in class? Why is doesn’t anyone have homework? Because I realize this is a movie and depicting high school as it actually is would be boring to watch. Besides, there are plenty of other things to complain about.

We open on a scene of this film’s villains. And yes I am going to refer to them as villains instead of antagonists because 1) they are actually a threat and we see them doing bad things, and 2) other people will serve as antagonists. A villain is different from an antagonist, even though the terms are often used interchangeably.

The Dazzlings are so cool, they make a cameo four years later. Either this is some really deep foreshadowing, or by season seven the writers were so desperate for an ongoing arc, they looked to other properties. But we now know that the guardians banished them over 1,000 years ago. So they really are ancient magic. And now they have to go to high school. Talk about eternal torment…

Way to take all the credit, Starswirl

We are shown how they are a sort of siren, who feed off of people’s negativity and discord and use their beautiful enchanted voices to cause mayhem. Kind of like a mix between Ursula the sea witch and Spectra from Danny Phantom. Oh my gosh, this is the second one of these reviews that I’ve brought up Danny Phantom. Maybe this is why Butch thinks he’s so popular.

The Dazzlings, we can infer, have been exiled to the EQG-verse from Equestria. So apparently this universe is like the pony version of colonial Australia, where they send all their criminals and miscreants. A solid plan that couldn’t have any negative repercussions. The sirens see a beam of light that must be the one from the last movie. This is good news for them, but bad news for me because now I have no idea how much time has passed the two films. Has it been a couple days? Weeks? Moons? This will make a difference in regards to why people still don’t trust Sunset. But why waste time setting up the story when we can get right into the remix title card?

At this point, I can only assume that principal Celestia threatened to expel students if they told the news or the FBI about the magical winged demon that attacked the school, because no one seems too concerned about that incident.

But they have plenty of time to hurt my baby’s feelings

I’m going to be honest, when I first watched EQG I thought that Sunset was faking her remorseful act after being defeated. As cool as that would have been, she makes a much better reformed bad guy than an antagonist, because she really wasn’t in the last movie that much.

List of “evil” things Sunset Shimmer has done: send fraudulent text messages and emails that honestly could have been pretty easily disproved, made fun of Fluttershy, made fun of the steamers in the gym, somehow divided the school into cliques, ran a mostly unsuccessful smear campaign against Twilight’s bid for dance princess, threatened to destroy the portal to Equestria, transformed into a demon to hypnotize the students, and she dissed the Apple cider.

Ok, that last one is pretty evil. But what really makes this and all subsequent movies great is that we get to see her learn and grow and change from the experience into a real friend.

I am glad to see that the Main 5 have forgiven her, but no one is quite ready to absolve her of guilt. Like, I might not think she did all that much bad junk, but the students of Canterlot High seem to think she was one tier below Mussolini in terms of maniacal dictators, so I don’t blame them for being cautious. It takes a lot to earn back trust.

Back in Equestria proper, the Mane six plus Spike are sitting around waiting for the plot to affect them. They kindly provide some exposition and once again setup the fact that only Twilight can go through the portal, because the others can’t interact with themselves. So we think. I will be bringing this up when we get to The Friendship Games.

Back through the portal, Twilight gets looped into the fact that Sunset has changed her ways. It’s fair to be a little apprehensive to trust someone who, the last time you saw them, was an actual literal demon. (Don’t worry though, Twi, you’ve still got two more unicorns to reform. It’s kind of your thing.)

Don’t reject her love Twilight, it’s all I have to live for

And now it’s time to discuss the small blue elephant in the room. I feel like I really need to explain why I dislike the addition of Flash to any of the plots. He’s kind of a waste of a potential. You want to add a male character: fine. But make them an actual real fleshed-out character. The show has proven that they can do it and do it well. Sunburst and Thorax are great characters who feel like a good addition to the story. And we got a real sense of who they were in one or two twenty minute episodes. I have no clue what this guy’s purpose is except to be a love interest, and this is not the show to do that with. With very few exceptions, the main characters of MLP have not sought out romantic partners, Twilight included. Why would she choose to do so now? I mean, I get why he’s into Twilight: she’s taken the form of a cute teenage girl. But he’s a species that doesn’t even exist in Equestria. She just fell through a portal and instantly got the hots for some weird otherworldly creature…

Wait a minute. Wait just a minute. Perhaps this isn’t compulsory heterosexuality. Perhaps Twilight Sparkle is just a Monster Lover™. I can respect that.

Moving on.

It was so very smart of the writers to have the Dazzlings brainwash the principals in order to get away with this scheme. That makes so much more sense and covers any plot holes that could arise (such as, someone claiming to be a new student despite having no transcript, no grades, and no knowledge of how to hold a pen).

Does time work differently between these two universes? Has it been months in Equestria but only a week in this world? (It really threw me off that the first four season of MLP took place over one year, and these movies don’t help that). And the sad thing is, this could be easily hand-waved away by a single throw away line, but it isn’t.

The Dazzlings are already better villains than Sunset, even from a character standpoint. We know their powers, we know their motivation, and we know they are capable of bringing about an actually believable rift between friends.

Then the best song, best montage, and possibly best scene in any of these films happen: the Dazzling come into the lunchroom and hypnotize everyone. This song is beautiful and eerie and exactly what you would expect a magic spell to sound like. I also enjoy the visual representation of the bands competing (and not just because I didn’t want to hear any of them perform) that we’ll see later. To give credit where credit is due, this movies has some great visual sequences.

Give ‘em the o’l razzle dazzle

At first I thought it was unrealistic that this many kids had bands, but I realized it was probably an effect of the spell. But I might not be the best judge: I think I know maybe three people, plus myself, who don’t play an instrument. I’ll just assume that the Disney channel exists in this universe, and all these children just really want to be famous.

It’s worth sitting through this movie just to see everyone’s pajamas. That’s not weird, right? No really, the scene of them all having a big slumber party is everything I ever wanted from this series. They managed to capture everyone’s personality from an article of clothing. Now THAT’s good character design.

I get the distinct impression that the writers of this don’t like Rainbow Dash.

Oh good, references to technology that couldn’t possibly date this movie in the slightest. Wait… this is Pinkie’s house. Aren’t the Pies supposed to be like Amish or resembling Amish-type folk? What is the human equivalent of rock farmers? Not actual farmers because those exist in the pony-verse. This really confuses me, but Maude’s cameo is fantastic.

The scene with Twilight and Sunset is one of those really well-done moments that reminds me why I love the show so much. It feels really genuine, and supports my argument that it was worth having Sunset as a crappy villain just to reform her.

Ah yes, the sweet, lingering glances that totally platonic female friends share with each other late at night. I know them well.

Our girl Twily seems to be having trouble writing a spell that can double as a catchy pop song (She’s no Lana Del Rey), so they go with an old set list. How long has this band been operational? Weren’t they in a huge feud for several years?

Mac is a close second for best cameo

So we get to watch the band audition, and it goes about as well an actual high school talent show. The CMC are in the outfits from Showstoppers (which is hilarious) and Snips and Snails rap (which is disturbing). In order to keep my goblin brain from exploding while trying to figure out the ages of everyone, I’m just going to assume that this is a combination Middle School and High School. So, if Sunset won fall dance princess four years in a row, she would be in the tenth grade now, so they would be about 15-16. The Equestria Girls Holiday Comic shows Rarity driving a car, so that could be a possibility.

A. Daft. Punk. Reference. Wow. Just wow. (Note: this was more shocking before season five, when there was a character that was basically Lady Gaga. And by basically, I mean very obviously Lady Gaga. Remember when the pop culture references in this show were subtle?)

Dash’s song is quite possibly the most cringeworthy thing I have ever heard. The only defense is it does sound like something a high schooler would write.

On that note, why is Rainbow Dash the lead singer of the group? I mean, I know why, but WHY? (and yes, I am aware that her voice actress is a singer. But Ashleigh Ball uses her normal voice when she performs. Think back to all the songs RD has sung in the previous four seasons before this aired. There are not a lot of solos or high notes. When she sings as Applejack, it is beautiful, but Dash’s voice is grating sometimes)

Really? A battle of the bands is the greatest thing you’ve done at the school? That whole “stopping an actual demon with magic” was just a regular Friday for you? I’ll chalk that up to the brainwashing, otherwise I might go full on rage and throw my laptop out a window.

I guess our merry band of protagonists weren’t paying attention to big cafeteria scene, because they just now figured something suspicious is going on.

Still haven’t fixed the lights in that dim corner of lockers. Fortunately, there are many dramatic confrontations to be had.

I think we’re supposed to see Rarity’s obsession with the outfits as a ridiculous thing, but I think it’s important to distinguish this universe from the one with the professional seamstress who has unicorn magic at her disposal. This is a teenager who has school, extracurriculars, and parents to contend with. If I went through the trouble to hand-make seven costumes for my friends, then found out no one would wear them, I’d be pretty ticked off as well.

Now this is how you montage. We get to play a fun game of “guess which characters are in which band,” and seeing their “humanized” designs. Lotta bootcut pants in this show.

I’m just going to leave this here...

This is some actually effective villainy. The whole school has turned against each other. Maybe they need to learn about the magic of friendship. Unfortunately, the gang is too busy squabbling over band stuff, and Twilight is too distracted to give an overly emotional speech.

No one in the rule book does it say magically turning into a pony is grounds for disqualification...I would assume.

If we’re being honest here, the Dazzlings are better performers than the Rainbooms.

And we’ve come to the crux of things. The scene where they’re locked under the stage is the perfect example of my biggest issue with this movie. I do not like to see Mane 6 fight. I don’t like Trade Ya, I don’t like Putting Your Hoof Down, and I despise Look Before You Sleep. Seeing this otherwise close group of friends constantly have petty arguments, even if it’s for completely valid plot reasons, make me want to turn the movie off. This isn’t a criticism of the screenwriting, it is just a reason why I personally dislike Rainbow Rocks more than the other films.

Of course, they make up because this is about the magic of friendship and what not, but notice how no one actually apologizes for their behavior. No, “I’m sorry that I minimized your contribution to the group or made fun of something you were passionate about.” I realize they were under the influence of magic, but they also knew that! They knew the Dazzlings had the power to turn people against each other! An apology is just a preamble to fundamental behavior change, and if they don’t realize why they were being bad friends, how can they learn from anything?

And the real kicker is, they knew what the Dazzlings were capable of. Twilight read a book about them immediately before going through the portal. It’s not they they just learned that they spread chaos. Why are we fighting? Gee, I don’t know.

DJ-ex-machina. I’m ok with this.

To the movie’s credit, the finale really has one of the best song of the movie. And by that, I of course mean Trixie’s song. Trixie is the most fun addition to the cast. She makes for a fun antagonist, on her own and as a Pawn to the Dazzlings.

Fight scene! Fight scene! We’re gonna have a fight scene!

Now that they’ve put their petty squabbles behind them, it’s time for a big music battle. The Dazzlings pony up harness the energy of the audience to project their Equestrian selves to...I don’t know. Take over the world or something.

This isn’t even their final form

Oh. This design looked better in book form

Sunset is Magic. That’s the show.

So the stones auto-tuned them, and that made everyone mindlessly antagonistic. I’m sure there’s some clever commentary there.

T’was the magic of friendship that killed the beast.

No, you don’t get to just rejoin the plot

Thank you, Trixie.

The real story here is how Principal Celestia will pay off the press.

Thus Twilight goes back to the land of horses, Starlight has been truly forgiven, and my Netflix suggestions will never been the same again.

I want to give a big shout out to the person who put all the captions on the image gallery for this movie’s wikia page. They are funnier than I could ever hope to be.

Some general thoughts:

The scene of Twilight awkwardly yelling “Friendship is magic!” to a room of confused teenagers is the cringiest thing I’ve ever seen, but it got a good laugh out of me. Look at the Dazzlings faces in this scene. “Ok, we legitimately didn’t see that coming.”

One of the reasons that I am so drawn to the show is that they are able to create conflict and drama without being mean-spirited. I have to deal with that kind of nonsense so much in my daily life, I just don’t want to subject myself to eighty minutes of it. But i get it: from a narrative standpoint, this is the most cohesive. There’s some good set up and pay off, and an actually intimidating villain who is actually present in the plot.

I love Trixie so much, I should be dead. She really is the star of the show. I forgot how little we saw of her before season six.

The stinger, oh the stinger. Forget what I said about the pajama party; it was worth sitting through this for the promise of an interesting sequel.

We’ll get to you soon, you marvelous lesbian disaster.

Starlight’s redemption is the best part of this franchise, and it’s worth all the nonsense to hear Rebecca Shoichet’s angelic voice.

From a purely film standpoint, this is probably the best one of the bunch. It has a clear structure, everyone’s motivations check out, there’s an actual climax that feels earned. I just don’t enjoy it. There are worse ways to spend eighty minutes 3.7/5

The worst thing to come from this, however, is the terrifying merchandise:

What Fresh Hell is This?

#MLP:FiM #MLP Equestria Girls #equestrian girls review #equestria girls #rainbow rocks #more of my opinions

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