Week 6: Favorite WLW movies / shows

15-week Sapphic challenge

PS: I didn’t include shows or movies that have sapphics as side characters or side storylines with little screentime

Shows

Orange Is The New Black (2013-2019)

Torrent :)

Not only the best WLW show, but it’s one of the best shows of all genre and all time. I mean, they are the reason that Netflix became successful (Ungrateful MFs).  If you haven’t watched it yet, you’re missing a lot, i swear. I’m not exaggerating when i say this show changed me and made me grow as a person. 

A League Of Their Own (2022-)

Prime Video

It’s character complexities, queer majority, diversity, intersectional stories, heart and sense of humor reminds me a lot of Orange is the new black so if you like the latter, watch this and vise versa. + Women in sports, duh! 

The Sex Lives Of College Girls (2021-)

HBO Max

Mean (but not really a bad person u know) lesbian lead, let’s go! This show is f*cking hilarious like you won’t just love the show for the lesbian representation, but all of the leads! It’s more than its title! 

Dickinson (2019-2021)

Apple TV

Haven’t finished it yet, but it’s already on my top 5. Not every show can pull off a modern interpretation of period pieces. And thank you, Apple TV for letting the show wrap up in the middle of lesbian cancellations. Thank you for the bare minimum. 

Gentlemen Jack (2019-2022)

HBO

Haven’t watched the show yet, but I KNOW, i know it would be one of my favorites. I love badass lesbian historical figures especially when they are gender-nonconforming

Movies

But I’m a Cheerleader (1999)

Hulu

Classic. Historical. I think this is the 1st lesbian movie i’ve watched after i came out? It also helped me became more aware of my compulsory heterosexuality. 

Ang Huling Cha-Cha ni Anita / Anita’s Last Cha-Cha (2013)

Juanflix (DM me if you’re outside Philippines)

Unfortunately, only few people know about this movie, but it’s really one of the best WLW movies in the Philippines AND in the world. And just so you know, the older woman and the girl didn’t have any weird romantic or sexual relationship, this is just all about the lesbian girl’s first childhood crush. A very wholesome story! 

Rafiki (2019)

Hulu 

This is not hyped enough and we all know the reason why. :) Very beautiful film with amazing cinematography, chemistry and soundtrack. It’s banned in Kenya so make sure to support this movie. 

TRIGGER WARNING: Blatant and violent Homophobia scene near the end

NECESSARY SPOILER: It has a good ending so don’t worry

Saving Face (2004)

Prime Video or Apple TV 

Cutest WLW movie ever! It felt very warm the whole time i’m watching it. Another Sapphic classic and Lesbian 101 for baby gays. 

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

Hulu 

A masterpiece and a great take on Female gaze. Art and Lesbianism really are partners. 

"Oh Scrooge is hot!" "Oh Later Never Comes is amazing!!!" I'd like to see someone talk about the fact that Netflix straight up made the Ghosts freaking Disney characters???

Past is Rafiki, Present is Genie/Cave of Wonders and Future very loosely reminded me of Te Ka (and the little fire gremlins looked so much like Stitch it probably wasn't a coincidence)

Ghosts 1X3 (See 4X4, also written by Ben Willbond)

Written by: Ben Willbond

Robin reminds me of Rafiki in "The Lion King." Not to mention the Elton John reference in season four. Just saying.  Maybe I am too Millennial.  ...

TLG: The Summoning

Hours had passed since the Royals arrived at the chaotic scene. The sun was setting soon, and crickets began their songs. Luckily the disorder had died down as most of the herbivores causing the issues were diurnal, but this was not going to be the most peaceful of nights anyhow. The Guard was told by Simba to meet in the Lair for an important talk. This was not going to be fun...

Vitani was the quickest to approach the King, eager to explain what happened with honesty as she was conditioned to do by other authority figures in her life once before, yet she was still very nervous at the potential unpredictable reaction -- another trait ingrained into her. She glanced up at Simba politely to appease him, preparing her explanation, but was given an unreadably cold look. He was not having it. "I-" "I get it." Simba quickly cut her off, "Leaving the Pridelands to you and your Guard for a while was a lot of pressure for you. Perhaps I expected too much of you..." Vitani's body ran cold, she stood with her tail tucked between her legs. She was just given this duty. No one saw her nor her Guard's potential lately, now not even the King. "King Simba, it wasn't her fault." Imara spoke up, "The herds wouldn't listen. We couldn't just fight them or anything. We couldn't do anything." "Yeah, just so you know how aware of our reputation we are." Shabaha bitterly added before receiving a nudge by the Strongest. "I have to start all over. I would need to gather what I can of a Savannah Summit, if there are any herd leaders willing to even look a predator in the face after what happened today..." Simba stopped pacing and straightened his posture, "I have no more to say, but just... keep out of things until I can sort it all out." Vitani's breathing became stiff. Feeling unwanted. "Vitani, are you okay?" Kasi leaned to get a better look at Vitani's face. She knew how nervous talks with authority figures made her young friend. "I'm fine." Vitani swiftly spun to exit the Lair, not looking anyone in the eye, not allowing anyone to see the frustrated tears forming. Rafiki, watching the ordeal with observant silence, sighed and shook his head as he gripped his Bakora Staff tightly. He glanced at the staff with sentimentality and a heavy heart, knowing this new Lion Guard leader was in need of great help. ___ Vitani ran. Simba's cutting words continued to echo through Vitani's mind. Other recently frustrating memories flooded her brain as she made for a place she knew no animal would ever go. She was at the Elephant Graveyard. The scent and sounds of the steam that shot from the geysers were an immediate trigger for her memories of her mother's plan to destroy the Pridelands she now watched over, and worst of all, reminded her of her deceased brother, which hurt her the most. The anger, sorrow, and frustration at the thoughts that couldn't escape Vitani's mind compelled her to give out a loud, heartfelt, Dark Roar. The Lions of the Past heard her desperate cry. The ground cracked and shook, the pressure of the soundwaves of the divine roars in the sky forced steam and fire to skyrocket from the geysers that surrounded the Leader of the Guard. Unbeknownst to Vitani, one of the geysers behind her sent off a large, blinding blast, extinguishing the others. It made a peculiar leonine sound. Vitani was knocked from her paws. "Huh... who woke me up...?" said a groggy voice, the owner of said voice looked down. "Vitani? What are you doing here, and why are you so small?!" No, that couldn't be... Vitani swiftly got up and turned the other way. It was... "Nuka..." Vitani finally addressed and identified the ghastly form. She said it the same way she did last time she saw him. The ghost smiled softly, "Hi'ya, Vitani..." Vitani wiped her tears with her paws, astonished that Nuka was here before her very eyes. It was either a gift from the Great Kings or she was losing it from her brief panic attack. But, this spirit looked... scary... this was no lion of the clouds like she thought he would be, this was... After an eerie silence, she finally spoke up, "Nuka... you're... you're..." "ON FIRE! AHH!" Nuka spun around to no avail, "Oh... Oh... it doesn't hurt... I mean, why would it? I-" "Why are you made of fire? You're not evil! Only evil lions come back as fire spirits!" "Guess the Lions of the Past don't really like that I tried to kill Simba, huh?" Vitani's eyes nearly bulged out, "Wait, you know about the Lions of the Past? Can you talk to them? What do they say?" Nuka glanced upwards, his ears perking up attentively. Incoherent whispers echoed across the graveyard. "Uhh... I think they're saying that they don't know where to put me. I did an evil thing, but they don't think I'm totally evil..." "So you're in purgatory?" Vitani asked, feeling a slight chill. "Ehh, pretty much." Nuka perked up again as the whispers came back. "Well?" Vitani leaned in. "They say I have a chance to determine my fate. Seeing as you summoned me, I can redeem myself by helping you and giving you advice as you lead the Lion Guard." "How long can I talk to you? Can't be forever, can it?" "Ah, not too long. Got maybe a couple of minutes per session. But! If you ever need me, just start a fire, and say the words; Roho ya Moto!" "Roho ya Moto...?" "Yep! All part of the ritual summoning stuff!" "Man... I can't believe any of this is real, Vitani shook her head, still amazed, "who would ever believe it? You'd have to be the craziest animal in the Pridelands..." Just then, a devious idea popped into her head. Vitani smiled at Nuka with determination. "Have I got the perfect first task for you..." ___ (We finally get to meet Fire Spirit Nuka after a long three-year wait! Can't believe it's been that long since I've drawn him. Wonder what plan Vitani has for Nuka?)

Sometimes our childhood favorites really are that good.

Script below the break

Hello and welcome back to The Rewatch Rewind! My name is Jane, and this is the podcast where I count down my top 40 most rewatched movies in a 20-year period. Today I will be talking about number 25 on my list: Disney’s 1994 animated musical The Lion King, directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton, featuring the voice talents of Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, and James Earl Jones.

Desperate for power, Scar (voiced by Jeremy Irons) murders his brother, King Mufasa (voiced by James Earl Jones), then blames and exiles his nephew Simba (voiced by Jonathan Taylor Thomas as a cub and by Matthew Broderick as an adult). Simba grows up in the wilderness with the help of a meerkat named Timon (voiced by Nathan Lane) and a warthog named Pumbaa (voiced by Ernie Sabella), whose motto is “Hakuna Matata” or “no worries.” But after Scar and his hyena henchmen destroy the pridelands, royal advisor mandrill Rafiki (Robert Guillaume), Simba’s childhood friend and adulthood lover Nala (voiced by Niketa Calame and Moira Kelly), and the ghost of Mufasa all remind Simba that he actually does have some worries, and convince him to return home to challenge his uncle.

Apparently the first movie I ever saw in a theater was a re-release of Pinocchio, but the first movie I actually remember seeing in a theater is The Lion King. My aunt took me to see it first, and while I don’t have many specific memories of that experience (I was four), I do remember being overwhelmed with awe. I loved the characters, I loved the gorgeous animation, I loved the music, I loved the intense emotions – everything about it spoke to me. Later that year, I visited Disneyland for the first time, and the main things I remember from that trip are watching a Lion King themed parade and visiting a gift shop at the end of the day to get a Simba stuffed animal, which I still have. After we got back home, my mom took my sister and me to see the movie at a second-run theater, and I was very excited to be able to bring my Simba to see it with me. My sister also brought a stuffed animal of her own. I have a very distinct memory of being in the bathroom of that particular theater after watching this movie and saying, “Simba was very brave,” and when my sister commented that her stuffed animal was brave too, I said, “No, I mean in the MOVIE!” Why that has stuck with me for almost three decades I have no idea, but that exchange is indicative of how much I wanted to talk about this movie for my entire childhood.

As I mentioned in the Sound of Music episode, to my friend Christina’s shock, despite growing up in the 90s, I did not have a VCR until I was about 10 or 11 years old, which was around when most people started replacing their VCRs with DVD players. But my grandparents, who lived about a thousand miles away, had one, so I got to watch videos whenever we went to visit them, which was usually for several weeks once or twice a year. My grandma is not much of a movie person, and she only very rarely watches something more than once, so she has always been baffled and slightly amused by my penchant for rewatching. Before The Lion King, my favorite thing to watch over and over at their house was a video of four old cartoon shorts, two of which featured Humpty Dumpty, but after The Lion King was available for home viewing, that was what I wanted to watch the most. Whenever I put it on, my grandma would teasingly inquire, “How many times have you watched it now, Jane?” and for a while I could answer precisely, but I lost track somewhere around 10, 11, or 12 views, and that’s part of what eventually led me to start keeping track of my movie watching in 2003. So if this podcast was based on total rewatches throughout my life, The Lion King would be much higher in this ranking.

Eventually we did get a VCR and a DVD player, and we got a special edition DVD of The Lion King around 2004. We also got The Lion King 1 ½, which I very much enjoyed for a time, but haven’t revisited since 2005. I remember watching The Lion King II a few times, but apparently they were all before 2003, so I don’t remember much about it. But as far as the original Lion King, since keeping track, I saw it three times in 2003, twice each in 2004, 2005, and 2006, once each in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, and 2019, twice in 2020, and once in 2022. When my brother and I watched through all the theatrically released animated Disney films and ranked them in 2020, we knew we would be biased toward our childhood favorites, but I think we were both unprepared for just how clear it would be why the Disney Renaissance is so named. The striking, exponential increase in quality over the films immediately preceding this era cannot be overstated. But while the early Renaissance masterpieces The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast are incredible, we noticed that some of the animation sequences left something to be desired. Aladdin was much improved in that sense, with some breath-taking scenes – seriously, re-watch Aladdin’s attempted escape from the collapsing Cave of Wonders. And then The Lion King. Nearly 30 years after it came out, The Lion King is still one of the most gorgeous movies I’ve ever seen. I knew going into that project that it would probably end up pretty high on the list, but even I was kind of shocked to find that, at least based on the specific criteria we were looking at, there was no contest. The Lion King was number one. We definitely had differences of opinion throughout the project, but on that we were in complete agreement.

One thing that I particularly noticed while we were doing that project is that The Lion King’s voice cast was one of if not the most racially diverse of all animated Disney movies up to that point, which shows just how incredibly low the bar was, since most of the main cast is white. Robert Guillaume was put in a similar position as Samuel E. Wright in The Little Mermaid in having to adopt a rather stereotypical accent, but despite that, his is an excellent performance. The main hyenas were at one point going to be voiced by Cheech and Chong, and Cheech does voice one of them, but Chong had to drop out and was ultimately replaced by Whoopi Goldberg, which worked perfectly because hyenas are matriarchal, and because there really needed to be more female characters in this movie. Sarabi, Simba’s mother, was voiced by Madge Sinclair, in her final feature film, and definitely deserved a bigger role. Nala is really the only other female character who is at all important, and for some reason while young Nala is voiced by black actress Niketa Calame, adult Nala is voiced by white actress Moira Kelly. Not that she does a bad job or anything, I just don’t understand why they couldn’t have cast another black actress. But at least they cast James Earl Jones as Mufasa. His voice and acting were so perfect that he played Mufasa again in the 2019 remake – which, despite having an iconic and much less white cast, I will never voluntarily watch because the few clips I’ve seen look like they were made by a group of internet trolls as a bad joke, but I digress. All of the voice acting in this movie is fabulous, but James Earl Jones’s performance is unquestionably in the top two, along with Jeremy Irons’s portrayal of Scar.

I absolutely love Disney villains, and Scar has always been one of my favorites. I remember once when I was fairly young trying to articulate to my parents how much it delighted me that when he tells Simba that Mufasa’s death is Simba’s fault, his exact wording of “If it weren’t for you, he’d still be alive” was technically true on multiple levels, because not only did Mufasa die trying to rescue Simba, but it was also Simba’s birth that made Scar desperate to kill both of them, since before Simba was born he was first in line for the throne. But Scar was neglecting to mention that he was the one who had arranged the stampede. And I thought that was SO CLEVER and it blew my child mind. In more recent years, it has occurred to me that part of why I’m so drawn to villains is because they rarely have romantic partners. Sometimes that’s because of the painful stereotype that the hero wins romance and the villain is punished with singleness, but often the villain shows no interest in romance, and that is the case with Scar – or at least, the version of him that ended up in the movie. At one point he was going to hit on Nala and prompt her to leave the Pridelands, which is a storyline that was added back in for the Broadway musical. I appreciate that the creators of the musical wanted to expand the female characters, but I feel like there were better ways of doing that than showing Nala being sexually harassed. Anyway, movie Scar, like many if not most animated Disney villains, is very queer-coded and could potentially be aroace, and even though he is very evil, I’ll take any representation I can get. The way his ultimate downfall is that he betrayed his friends emphasizes the importance of maintaining trust in non-romantic relationships at a level that most stories wouldn’t dare approach.

Speaking of queerness, Timon and Pumbaa are the closest a Disney animated feature has come to showing a gay couple raising a child together. Personally I like to think of their partnership as a QPR, or queer-platonic relationship, which is a committed intimate relationship that is not romantic but is also different from a friendship, but that is entirely the aromantic in me projecting. To anyone out there who reads them as being in romantic love, that is a 100% valid interpretation. As is the interpretation that they’re friends. Their relationship is ambiguous, and I kind of love that. I wish that the movie hadn’t forced Simba and Nala into a friends-to-lovers path. Their friendship as kids makes me so happy, and their romance as adults has always confused me. For a long time I assumed that it was normal to eventually fall in love with a friend of the opposite sex, and that there was something wrong with me for not doing that. But it got to the point where now I’m just annoyed at that part. Not that Can You Feel the Love Tonight? isn’t an excellent song – it is! I just…don’t really think it belongs in this movie. And I get that they wanted the story to end as it began with a baby lion to emphasize the Circle of Life theme, but still. It would have been nice to have ONE Disney Renaissance film that wasn’t steeped in romance (besides The Rescuers Down Under, which doesn’t really count).

So yeah, there are things about this movie I don’t love, but they are so overshadowed by the aspects I do love that I don’t usually dwell on them. Even after all these rewatches, there are still scenes that give me chills. That opening, when the sun and Lebo M’s voice break through at the exact same moment, and all the animals are heading to Pride Rock through the fog and the intro to Circle of Life – ugh, it’s so beautiful! And the wildebeest stampede! Apparently it took over two years just to animate that two-and-a-half-minute stampede scene, using and innovating new computer programs and systems, and man, did that work pay off! As with the opening, the score and choir greatly enhance the stampede scene as well. Even if I didn’t love the story and the characters – which I do – the gorgeous animation and music would be enough to convince me to keep rewatching this movie. Which is particularly interesting given that most of Disney’s top animators at the time, along with Disney Renaissance music superstar Alan Menken, were working on Pocahontas instead because the studio wasn’t really taking this lion movie seriously. So the visuals were created by relatively inexperienced animators, and the score was by Hans Zimmer, who had never worked on an animated film before. The story itself went through a staggering number of concept changes and rewrites. Three people are officially credited as screenwriters, but then there are 17 people credited with contributing to the story, an additional eight people credited under “additional story material,” plus a story supervisor. At one point it was going to be a story about lions vs baboons, and the original title was King of the Jungle before somebody realized that lions don’t actually live in the jungle. Eventually the pitch became “Bambi in Africa meets Hamlet” and everyone just ran with that. Somehow, seemingly by accident, exactly the right people with exactly the right talent and dedication managed to create a masterpiece out of what by all logic should have been a disaster, and learning all of this over the years has made me appreciate it even more.

The Lion King is also full of difficult lessons that I still find relevant as an adult. Hakuna Matata is a good motto to apply to things you truly have no control over, but should never be used as an excuse not to work on problems you can do something about. Often it’s hard to tell which is which, and that’s why we all need friends and mentors like Nala and Rafiki to help. This movie also provides a deep and profound portrayal of grief through the eyes of a child, and how it stays with him through adulthood. Many other Disney protagonists have deceased or absent parents, but there’s no other moment in the Disney canon anywhere near as devastating as Mufasa’s death. It’s not exactly the same situation, but my aunt who first took me to see this movie died of cancer when I was 11. That was the first real loss of my life, and I think the fact that I will always associate The Lion King with her has significantly deepened my appreciation for this movie. My first viewing in 2020, before my brother and I embarked on our Disney project, was in honor of the 18th anniversary of her death, and I sobbed through most of the movie. It was very cathartic. I know that The Lion King is widely beloved and acclaimed – it’s the highest grossing 2D animated film of all time, it won two Oscars, it has 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it’s currently ranked #37 on IMDb’s top 250 movies – but it still feels incredibly personal to me. It was the first movie that I ever fell truly, deeply in love with, so it will always be one of my favorites.

Thank you for listening to me discuss another of my most frequently rewatched movies. Stay tuned for next week, when I will be talking about another Disney film that I’ve seen 19 times. As always, I will leave you with a quote from that next movie: “Darling. Could you, like, chill for a sec?”

Rafiki

In Wanuri Kahiu’s Rafiki, we are left longing for something more, a world where queer utopia is not just an occasional pocket of safety and a breath of fresh air, but something real, as Ziki says. 

Within the scene on the rooftop, we find this desire come to a blossom. Kena and Ziki make a pact to “be something”, not to be like “any of them down there”. Ziki’s confidence in the notion that their relationship could become a “real” and socially accepted one propels the message of hope forward. Alongside the beautiful nature of this scene, the message of hope for a better future comes to a head here, with sunlight shining through Ziki’s hair and forming a beautiful halo around her head. The camera pans to the sky at a certain point, and we see the clouds radiating with pinks and blues in a pastel tone. The aesthetic building of the scene relates back to Johnstone’s mention of “Afrobubblegum” philosophy held by the director. The pastel colors of the sky remind me of the name itself (bubblegum) and the presence of fluttering laundry of many colors relates back to the philosophy itself, which is the creation of art that portrays Africans as “vibrant and loving and thriving and living a vibrant life” (Kahiu, 2017). This scene was definitely one of the most vibrant to me, and the narrative content of their conversation pushes forward the message once again, that their love can very much become “real”, and doesn’t have to simply exist in this pocket. The ephemeral nature of the scene ultimately cements this, as love is just that, ephemeral and beyond any limitations of others. 

@theuncannyprofessoro

Viewing Response 3: Rafiki

In the movie "Rafiki," the director uses a myriad of cinematic elements to bring that support Johnstone's analysis. One scene that particularly captivates me is the scene when Kena and Ziki escape the ran to the abandoned car. Mise-en-scène has a role here as outside of the car there is a vibrant and natural background while in the car its a darker, calmer vibe that portrays the forbidden love they hold. Cinematography and lighting choices also play a role although in side the car it is dark, there is enough light to see both characaters facial expressions and they to figure out their emotions. This use of lighting helps viewers understand the brightness their love holds eve in dark places. The cinematic elements and aspects used amplify the scene's emotional resonance overall contributing to the film's message of love's resilience. In this car although they were unsure what to do it seemed like sort of a safe space for them, which reminds me of Johnstone's, “queer utopia”. They use this space during the movie again as it is a place where they can be open about their feelings, and together safely (for the most part).

Is it just me or could there be more gay-movies with boys than with girls? 🤔 I realised that I already watched few movies with boys/men love but never actually watched a good movie with girls love (at least nothing I would remember * ).

My choice was: Friend / Rafiki (2018, dir. Wanuri Kahiu)

[photo source pinknews.com.uk]

First of all I have to warn you that I am going to compare that movie to And Then We Danced / და ჩვენ ვიცეკვეთ (2019, dir. Levan Akin) - mainly because I love it so much that for me it's like a model-of-a-meter-from-Sevres in gay cinema😉 But also because that one movie was in fact a key reason why I chose another...

...because ATWD and Rafiki are alike in many aspects: main characters are very young adults (about 20 - and those girls just finished school so I guess they are even younger than boys in ATWD), still living with their parents (divorced parents even), in a rather poor country with huge homophobia (not as severe as in islamic countries but still). Okey, I'm not sure if people in Kenya are as poor society as the one in Georgia but those old blocks of flats seemed oddly familiar

...and Kena wears a hoodie!😆 with short sleeves but still😋 (ATWD fans will understand😉)

Now about the aesthetics (least important, I know, but I am visual artist and I can't just ignore it): all those vibrant colours and patterns in every scene are mesmerising!!!🤩

Yet I feel like the movie kind of lacks a music... I mean there sure is some music in the background but it did not left any memory in my mind after end credits. Maybe it's just my fault, maybe it was not "my kind" of music so my brain not paying enough attention? I mean I remember they were dancing with those colourful lights so there must have been some music, why do I not remember that music at all? Well, okey, I get it's not And Then We Danced with it's soundtrack (and dances) leaving me enchanted and wanting more **, bringing back all the movie emotions every time I hear it and provoking me to dig for hidden message in the lyrics and dance moves many months after first watching... (yes people, And Then We Danced is a masterpeace that does it all!). But at least I'd love to have that one song that would stuck in my head, that I could add to my playlist as a movie reminder... There was no such thing in Rafiki or I did not notice

[photo source sbs.com.au]

I loved that relationship!!!😍 I can confess now, that I was a bit afraid of what I may see and how my brain would react to that (don't get me wrong here - no matter if it's LGBT or cis-het movie I just simply don't like to see any shocking scenes! And my fear of seeing such thing has been rooted in a fact that polish and generally european "ambitious" movies seem to assume that without drug taking, doing something disgusting, raping or braking the law the movie is "not ambitious enough"🤦). But the way it was shown was very subtle, gradual and felt so natural, simply organic thus very convincing to me. It also reminded me of And Then We Danced. It's when I see them together (Kena with Ziki or Merab with Irakli) I have that feeling of warmth and comfort... I don't have any awkward revelation of "seeing gays/lesbians"... It feels as if none of them were any longer woman or man to me - I can only see two people in love... And any words to name what is between them are needless or utterly wrong and vulgar.

It's worth to mention that both characters are really "good girls": with good grades, going to study and their greatest rebellion act is staying out at night - those girls are definitely someone easy to relate to.

Girls in Rafiki talks about their relationship quite a lot while boys in ATWD do not at all (they mostly communicate with dance - but OMG what dance it is...). I guess girls are generally more likely to talk about feelings. Georgian guys might not even have words to describe what they were experiencing

And there's even religion issue. Nuff said...

[photo source es.unifrance.org]

Now for the sad part: --------------[SPOILERS AHEAD!]------------ I was naive enough to think two girls are more safe from violence than two boys would be... Yes, there is violence.

...and thinking of which parent would be more supporting, compassionate or at least the less judging you? Like I would expect that when you're living with your mom and women are meant to be more compassionate from definition, and you do not even want to talk to your dad who left you both for another woman... and when the hour of trial comes - you are just heartlessly rejected by that "closer" parent with no respect to the fact you were almost killed, I mean... People are like this FOR REAL?! I can't believe it, I don't want to believe it, yet I guess people are just fucked up more than I thought they were and that's just how they work... Maybe it's even a cliche LGBT movie trope, I have no idea...

And then there's the part that I'm crying my eyes out and if it was not enough it is followed by that another scene (as if the movie makers saying: "hold on a second don't put your box of tissues yet!") - when that guy sits... Just sits near. It may not seem like any start for the community, I mean it's not that they ever even talk - they don't even look at each other. Yet they are... together. Just silently together in this. (And I suddently wish I knew that background boy character better and I want to hear his story so so much...)

I wonder about the woman in the end telling Kena not to touch her... yet as the very next thing she throws that certain information for her. Why? While watching I thought it was just another provocation from that gossiping bitch but after the film I thought maybe that was some kind of poor trial of making amend? She was definitelly a bitch and she still kind of despised Kena even now - yet I suppose all she ever wished for Kena was humuliation and not the actual severe death-threatening violence that occured - and for that she might wanted to make amend by giving the information (most probably not realising that Kena already knew)

The end is not straightforward happy but it is promising so I am satisfied ❤

__________

* Ok, there is one girl couple in Wet Sand / სველი ქვიშა (2021, dir. Elene Naveriani) but that relationship is not it's main topic and also it is more complicated than just "lesbian couple" as one person is suggested to be trans or maybe nonbinary ("born in wrong body") and the other seemed demisexual to me (if not asexual even).

** It is actually the very moment I hear the accordion of Ra Lamazia Tusheti in the beggining of End Credits of And Then We Danced and then the title appears, and... I just know I have to watch it again right this instant, and hell I know it's 2 a.m. already, and it will be another 2 hours, but who the heck would need to sleep at all when you can just rewatch your favorite movie over and over again?! So I found myself sleepless drug addict to the movie because of its soundtrack - why, thank you Levan Akin, that's exactly what I needed in my life...

Scars by Mr. PoetAll

I want you to

Be prepared

For the scars that I'm about to puncture. I want you to

Be prepared

For the scars that I may reopen.

Every day I look at this scar on my elbow.a scar I've had for as long as I can remember; though

My pain may be subsided in that area

My pain and these scars remind me

That even superman can get hurt.

I don't need kryptonite or an arthritis bite

Of lunging over in agony. Might comes from loss love. From

Finding it and then having the S

Ripped from my chest.

These scars are deeper than a mental anxiety.

Gloomier than depression on fire.

More crazed than any schizophrenic phase I've been through.

No.

This pain has an anguish I'd never been through.

A suffering I'd not know how to breathe through.

This chuckle of wheezing is the teasing of a lion playing with a mouse.

A challenge is what it tastes.

A fear I've never faced.

Like a Bob Marley song.i find myself asking could I be loved?

I don't know that answer

All I know is these scars haunt me

Like a lion king living longly.

Long live this kjbg and I hope

Not

Long live this absence.

I hope that

Like Simblove comes back to restore balance.

And I hope that these scars fill with tissue clotting bandaids

As loves' laughter and language shakes like

Timon & Pumbaa changes

The atmosphere.

I hope that these scars see these tear like rain drops

Not as loneliness

But as the respect, loyalty, and friendliness of

Zazu and Rafiki

Because in upendi

I know there is errors.

But don't let upendo

Be the terror

That scares your heart and soul away.

Because no amount of pain

Can change

The fear of being afraid

Of mind, body, and emotions dying

Alone.

So again I say

Be prepared

Because these scars

Can be teared. Yes; not torn

When your less aware.

So pounce on love when stricken

From above.

Because these scars

Do not prepare

You

For betrayal.

@roarofancients:

"Part of why we're here, and... if you've seen some stories about a Maleficent, then I already know her... Shari. One time in our adventure myself and then Donald and Goofy got surrounded overwhelmed, as we were in a rush it would still have taken us too long to get through. She helped us then..." Sora shared the pounce-hug nuzzle also with a kind laugh, "Guess you're like a father to me, so that'd make me your adopted son."

"Tree of Life situation and tales is a bit trickier, and I don't mean Narbe or Scar having had control of it first before Narbe claimed it. As that tree really is the Tree of Life there, to not confuse those lands with Rafiki's tree who some here still call also the Tree of Life, Life Lands. As here is the Pride Lands, just makes sense. Now, that out of the way..." Stepping into the shallow water, with the crew sans Simba and Alpha, each facing Pride Rock. After a moment, the light of Sora's keypower gleamed, beam pinpoint touching on the part jutting out that they often walked upon for ceremonies and such. Kion and Vitani using their respective roars, the rock accepting the boost as bright like shown from it, before the land shifted. Looked much the same, lush but definitely they were seeing another time. "We can't do anything here, but it will show us what the history was. While it does want to go further back, it decided to start here. The grass, the air, the soil; all of it remembers everything that happened... Not just those of the stars, bright ones we can see and the stars we can never see; called dark stars..."

Alpha nudge Simba with his nose, "Seems it wants us two to get closer to Pride Rock to see something."

@thepaststillhurts:

As Simba looked at the beam of light from Sora's keyblade and heard the roars, he was amazed and got reminded again what a great power it both had. He was glad these supernatural powers were on their side in good hands paws.

The others were already heading towards Pride Rock when Alpha nudged him - probably he noticed Simba was lost in his thoughts for a moment, not really realizing the others already started off.

"Is there something at Pride Rock that can tell us a story helpful against Scar and Zira?" This was a question for Sora.

To me, Nala is a symbol of strength.

Not just because she's a lion. Though that is definitely part of it.

Nala is a Savior. A hero. A comfort in times of trouble.

She helped me through so much.

The lion king will always have a special place in my heart. It's been my favorite movie since before I could walk and talk. My family has even said so.

I want to do something special. Something to remind me just how strong I am. And I got the perfect idea.

Someone on Etsy is selling a necklace that says Remember who you are. And it has Rafiki's Simba logo in the middle. It's beautiful.

I messaged the seller to see if they could put Nala in the middle instead of Simba. They said they could try for me. I'm so excited!

I can't wait to see what they come up with.

I just hope Oma will allow me to get it.

My necklace chain from Zales broke yesterday so it'd be cool to have a new necklace to wear.

This is one that means more than anything to me.

I'll explain why I love Nala so much in a separate post as soon as I finish this one.

Cant wait to ask Oma when the seller messages me back!!

Z.L.H. 08/04/2023

New Post has been published on Andy Bondurant

New Post has been published on https://andybondurant.com/2023/04/11/meditation-renew-your-mind/

Meditation: Renew Your Mind.

In 1994, The Lion King was released in movie theaters. It was an instant hit, grossing nearly $250 million at the box office alone (to date, it’s made over $1.6 billion!), making it the second most successful movie release of all time and the most successful animated movie of all time. Those records have been eclipsed, but The Lion King is still the best-selling home movie of all time. 

I was one of those people who contributed to its success through my ticket purchase.

I remember sitting in the theater, at about 20 years old, in awe of the storytelling – through animation, song, and voice acting. It was more than just a kid’s movie. It was an epic for all ages.

Rafiki lifts Simba up in The Lion King

Specifically, I remember my feelings from the opening scene (mirrored by the closing scene). It opens with the sun rising over the savannah and pans across the various animals awaking to a new day. It moves to birds, then giraffes, elephants and more migrating to Pride Rock where they where sits the Lion King, Mufasa.  He is greeted by his close advisor, Zazu, and then the old priest, Rafiki, who immediately goes to the prince, lion cub, Simba. This is when it gets really good.

At this point in the scene, the music is quieted, but it begins to swell again as Rafiki takes Simba from his mother’s paws. He turns and slowly walks to the top of Pride Rock. When he arrives, Rafiki triumphantly lifts Simba to the air. The animals react with pride – the elephants blow their trunks, the monkeys jump up and down screaming their approval, the zebras stamp the ground. Then they all bow to the future king of the savannah.

I saw God in a movie theater

The scene was grand – especially watching it on a massive movie screen (one of the largest in Kansas City at that time). As I watched the animals bow to Simba who was lifted before them, I was reminded of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. As Jesus entered into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the people shouted and sang to greet him. They greeted him as the long-awaited king. The Pharisees confronted Jesus, and commanded him to tell the people to stop. Jesus response is simple:

“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”  ‭‭

Luke‬ ‭19‬:‭40‬ ‭NIV‬‬

In a movie theater, I experienced God. I saw a version of Jesus’ promise — creation crying out to praise it’s King. A movie, having nothing to do with ‘Christianity’ pointed me to God.

The ancients would call this experience ‘contemplation.’ In other words, I saw God in the world around me – specifically in culture. In a movie made by people of all beliefs and faiths (most not aligned with my faith), God embedded himself, and God allowed me to see him in it. 

A Renewed Mind: How to see God.

Recently, I’ve rediscovered a key to hearing God through contemplation in my own life. Like most things in the spiritual world, the principle is simple but not easy to put into practice. 

The first couple of verses of Romans 12 is well known to followers of Jesus:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” 

Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV

I highlighted that middle sentence, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” because I’ve found it to the key to seeing God more clearly in the world around me.

Your mind WILL be conformed to something.

Here is the amazing truth about that statement, it’s just as true today as it was 2,000 years ago. The world around me is attempting to conform me to its shape. More than ever, media in all its different forms (print, television, internet, social platforms) is turning us into its disciples. We are spending hours daily on social media alone – the average is 2.5 hours daily for a working-age adult (another study suggested it is as high as 3.5 hours daily).

How do I battle the natural conformity my spirit and soul want to make to the world’s standards? First, I reduce the time I am using media. Simple…not easy, but you can do it. Access the tools you have on your phone, tablet. Read more books. Take up hobbies.

Second, begin the process of renewing your mind. Over the last several years, I’ve been building habits to renew my mind – reading Scripture, journaling, praying, meditating. If you are a follower of Jesus, these concepts may not be new to you, but are you actively walking them out? In honesty, I was not walking many of these practices out. I would read my bible, but I didn’t allow it to transform me.

Again, they are simple ideas, but not always easy to walk out regularly.

Let me dive deep into the discipline of meditation which I’ve just begun daily practicing this year. Meditation is an act of renewing my mind. It teaches me to quiet my own thoughts, and to put all of my focus on God, his Word and how it impacts my life. If you are interested in learning more about what I share below, I encourage you to read Resilient by John Eldredge. I’ve taken his thoughts and found a practice that works for me.

How to Biblically Meditate

Historically, meditation is a discipline practiced by followers of Jesus, but meditation was used by God’s faithful long before Jesus. Psalm 1 is a foundation for the entire book. It imparts wisdom similar to what we find in the book of Proverbs. A vital part to this foundation is meditation:

“Blessed is the one  who does not walk in step with the wicked  or stand in the way that sinners take  or sit in the company of mockers,  but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,  and who meditates on his law day and night.  That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,  which yields its fruit in season  and whose leaf does not wither—  whatever they do prospers.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

In recent church history, a fear of meditation has arisen. The fear has come from the popularity of eastern meditation which teaches to empty the mind of all conscious thought. The Psalmist makes clear it’s not just knowing the truth of God which develops and strengthens us. We become strong and capable followers of Jesus by meditating on God’s truth too.

The practice outlined below will teach to to actively fill your mind with God’s truth and meditate on it. Here are the steps I take in my discipline of meditation:

1. Pair Meditation with Scripture + Journaling

Let me begin by encouraging you to pair this practice with reading the Bible. As I just showed, a key to Biblical meditation is not emptying yourself of thoughts, but focusing on the things of God. To do this, you must have something of God to think about. A part of my meditation process is focusing on the things I’ve just read during my daily Bible reading. 

I’ve shared this in my post How to Understand the Bible, but part of my Bible reading process is to journal the things that “jump off the page” at me. When I write these things down, it’s easier for me to recall them as I meditate. 

So journaling helps me to recall what I’ve just read, but journaling after mediation can be helpful too. It’s very possible God will begin to show you new pictures, thoughts or ideas about what you’ve read and meditated on. Write these things down, so you can recall them in the days and years to come.

2. Set a timer, but give yourself grace.

I’ve learned lots of lessons about this process, but the first thing I’ve learned is meditation is hard. Quieting all of the things that roll through your mind is not easy — work demands, family commitments, bills to be paid all want to invade your thoughts. A timer helps you work toward a goal.

This is a habit you are creating, so begin small. Start with just a couple of minutes. I was brave (maybe too brave?), and started with ten minutes. However, I haven’t progressed beyond that in the several months I’ve been regular meditating. Many days, I fail at a solid ten minutes.

So have a goal each day, but be easy on yourself. Some days the time will fly by, and other days it will be a real challenge. If you fail, give yourself grace. Meditation is a spiritual muscle you are building, and to begin it most likely is atrophied and weak. Just like with a physical workout, the true win is showing up again the next day.

3. Quiet Your Body: posture yourself to receive.

I meditate in the place I read, journal and pray – my kitchen table. It’s a physically comfortable place for me, and I can hear the nature not far from me in my backyard. I begin by closing my eyes, so I am not distracted by any of my surroundings. I also put my arms on the armrests of the chair palms open and up.

There is spiritual significance to the physical action of opening your hands to God. First, opening my hands is a sign of surrender. In mediation, I want to surrender all of my own thoughts and feelings to what God wants to show me. Second, I want to release anything I am holding onto – emotionally, mentally, even physically. I don’t want to enter into my time of mediation holding onto things that will keep me from hearing God.

My posture physically shows I belong to God.

4. Meditation: Quiet Your Mind.

All meditation share this common denominator – pushing out unwanted thoughts from your mind. The difference with biblical meditation is you are choosing to think on the Bible (as opposed to emptying yourself of all conscious thought). Paul in multiple places talks about the inward spiritual war we wage against both the enemy of our soul and our own sin nature. 

In 2 Corinthians 10, Paul writes about this spiritual warfare of the mind like this (emphasis mine):

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 

2 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

As you meditate, push out all those thoughts of your to-do list, social media posts and bills to pay that come flooding into your mind. This is what it means by taking them captive. You push those thoughts out, so you think only on the things of God. There will be a time and place for those (important and unimportant) things, but now is not the time.

5. I choose You. 

I begin my meditation by making these three statements:

God, I choose you.

Jesus, I choose you.

Holy Spirit, I choose you.

This is a slow, step-by-step process. I start with God, and I mentally walk through all it means for me to choose God. I choose him over my goals and dreams: it means I lay down my own honor and glory. Meditation means creating mental pictures of what it is you are thinking. So see myself bowing down to God.

Then I turn my thoughts to choosing Jesus. I see him at the right hand of the Father — that is his place, not mine. I tell Jesus I choose to abide or be in him. Jesus tells us in John 15 he is a vine and we are the branches, and we are to be in him. So I picture myself as a branch connected to the vine of Jesus. I tell Jesus I am willing to be pruned (a scary thought if I am honest). 

I finish by choosing the Holy Spirt. It’s important to note we worship the trinity, and the Holy Spirit is often forgotten. However, it is the Holy Spirit who truly allows me to renew mind (remember, this is the final outcome). As this process is a lot of mental images, I see myself stepping into a pool of water — the Spirit. I ask Him to fill me, and I see my body being filled with Him beginning with my feet (as I’m standing in the pool) and working its way to the top of my head. I ask the Holy Spirit to anoint my eyes, ears, mouth, heart, hands and feet.

6. Word of the Year

That portion I just described typically takes about half of my time (4-6 minutes), so when I finish I turn my attention in different directions. One place I go is my 2023 Word of the Year: PEACE. 

At the end of 2022, I kept reading Jesus’ promise to his followers:

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” ‬‬

‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭27‬ ‭NIV

It has become my focus for my year, so many times I meditate on peace in all it’s different aspects. I again, see myself stepping into a pool of peace. It is a promise from Jesus, so it is available for me to step into at any point. I then picture myself walking into the world as God’s agent of peace.

7. End Meditation with Scripture

At this point, I still have a few minutes left on my timer (yes, I check…ten minutes is a long time!). So I will begin to think about different bible passages I’ve read that day. Again, journaling makes this easier for me to recall. For instance, just today I read, highlighted and journaled this verse from 2 Timothy:

“But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you.” ‬‬

2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭14‬ ‭NLT

I meditated on being a person who is trustworthy. I prayed and meditated about my children having people in their lives they can trust with the things they are taught. Again, this is an act of developing mental pictures, so I saw people I’ve trusted over the years with God’s Word in my life.

Meditation: Renewed to See God

That is my practice of meditating. Some days it flies by, but many days I check my watch multiple times. Other days I can’t make it through all ten minutes. However, as I build this discipline in my life, I’ve found the promise of Psalm 1:3 being fulfilled. 

I am seeing fruit. My roots are growing deeper and wider in the soil of God. I find myself having less dry or desert seasons. Most noticeable are the daily sin struggles I couldn’t seem to overcome becoming less pronounced. I am finding wins in those areas of my life.

In short, my mind is being renewed. My soul is transformed by the Spirit of God by intentionally focusing on the things of God for just a few minutes each day. As my mind is renewed, my spirit is transformed, I hear God through contemplation. I see God in the world around me.

To be honest with you, what’s the reason why I became obsessed with crossover for Timon and Pumbaa in any multifandom. It all started when I was a kid, I watch some TV and this is where I have autism. I really love The Lion King so much because I was introduced by my parents since I was a baby. Here’s my top ten multifandom for Timon and Pumbaa.

The Land Before Time: When I watch an animation dinosaur movie, I was talking to myself in my imagination and I thought it would be funny since Timon was stalking by Tyrannosaurus Rex from one of its episodes “Timon Alone”.

Lilo and Stitch: Ever since I saw one of the commercial on TV, it was when Stitch took over and replaced Simba. After Rafiki holding Stitch in the air, Timon and Pumbaa made cameo and says “Hey, that’s not Simba”. When Rafiki looked up and see Stitch. He was shocked as the animals started to get panicked and ran off as Rafiki dropped Stitch. Now that Stitch has become a popular character, he made a cameo in any Disney franchise including “The Lion King 1 1/2” and “Timon and Pumbaa: Virtual Safari 2.0. Later on when I was watching “Leroy and Stitch” in the final battle when one of my sister spotted Timon and Pumbaa in crowds of Stitch’s cousins and I was surprised.

Digimon: When I looked on the internet, it got me attention when someone made a crossover between The Lion King and Digimon by Xavier Antonio. We became friends since I joined Disney Fanon Wiki and he promoted me as an administrator. That’s when I started to make my own fanfiction story back in 2014 and I successfully made four chapters, but unfortunately my first fan story was on hold because I’m out of idea. So that’s when I have decided to rewrite my fan story when I get my new computer.

Phineas and Ferb: Ever since I started to like Phineas and Ferb because they have so many songs and funny moments. By the time when a special episode called “Where’s Perry” premiered, Phineas, and Ferb went on their vacation trip to Africa with Candace, Isabella, Baljeet, Buford, and their parents. But sadly, Perry has to stay behind by pretending to be sick because Doofenshmirtz is up to his old tricks again to be more smarter than clumsy. Back in Africa where it shows all of the animals in the savanna including lion, elephant, giraffe, and warthog?! There were some warthogs in that scene and they reminded me of Pumbaa. Speaking of which, that’s when I started to became obsessed with crossover and I went to PnF Fanon wiki where I made some pages for Timon and Pumbaa meeting Phineas and Ferb. Some users like this, but some others they aren’t interested. But luckily, there was this person from DeviantArt had been following my footsteps and started making a fan video for Phineas and Ferb in The Lion King, but it didn’t worked out on YouTube.

Sleeping Beauty: This is the only character that I was obsessed for crossover which is Maleficent. She made a cameo as a dragon in one of Timon and Pumbaa episodes called “Guatemala Malarkey” when she rises from the trap with fire all over. Coincidence, I think not!

Pokémon: When I looked up on DeviantArt to search Disney in Pokémon and that’s when I looked at the art and see Simba, Timon, and Pumbaa as Litleo, Watchog, and Pignite. I really love Pokémon since I was a kid and when Pokémon was relocated from Cartoon Network to Disney XD back in 2016.

Gravity Falls: I started to like to watch Gravity Falls since my younger brother is watching on TV. It got me idea when I decided to make a crossover between The Lion King and Gravity Falls, but unfortunately I had to rewrite two of my stories because I started to make no sense. Don’t worry, I’ll figure something out when the time is right.

Jurassic Park: I remember when I looked up on Google to search for it’s logo and that picture was hilarious. Back in 2015, I made my own video where Timon and Pumbaa distract the Raptor Squad from “Jurassic World” when he dressed up for hula and I uploaded on YouTube. I’ve got a lot of views and everybody loved it!

Tarzan: Ever since some people made a crossover between The Lion King and Tarzan since they’re both from Africa, I looked up on DeviantArt where a photoshop artist made a friendship bonding for Tarzan as a child with Timon and Pumbaa. I also read one of the fanfiction where Tarzan was raised by lions instead of gorillas.

Amphibia: Finally, the one and only best cartoon series in 2019. It all started when I was watching Disney Theme Song Takeover on YouTube, I started to pretend when Timon and Pumbaa are taking over theme songs for Ducktales, Milo Murphy’s Law, Tangled Series, and Amphibia. It was when I started to make a fanfiction crossover between The Lion King and Amphibia in three separate ways.

One is for “The Calamity War” an alternative universe where Anne and the Plantars ended up being transported back to earth, but instead of highway traffic, they ended up on Toontown where they encountered with Mickey and his friends. During for season 3, that’s where I’m going to add the part where Timon and Pumbaa sings Hakuna Matata to Anne, Sprig, and Polly when they gotta put their past behind them since Newtopia. Later on, Timon and Pumbaa will join Mickey and Anne’s team to stop King Andrias invasion.

The second part is another alternative universe called “Animorphia” where Timon and Pumbaa have discovered two magical stones that can turn themselves into humans from an ancient temple. Later on they went to Los Angeles for spending so much fun together until they have found a five year old girl, Marcy Wu who ran away from the orphanage due to some bullying. They brought her back to the orphanage and they’ll come over to visit her everyday. By a week after their visit, they decided to adopt Marcy and became family. Timon will be her adopted father and Pumbaa will be her new uncle. 8 years later on Anne’s birthday, Marcy is hanging out with Anne and Sasha at her house for birthday plan. When they played truth or dare, Sasha dared Anne to steal the music box from the attic since Marcy accidentally spilled the beans to them. Once Anne was forced to steal the music box, she put it inside her backpack until they went to her house for her birthday party. Later that evening after the party, they went outside to her backyard and open the music box when it magically transport them to the world of Amphibia. For Timon and Pumbaa, they discovered that the box was stolen until they realized that the girls took it for what they didn’t know that was magic. Could they keep searching all night for finding the girls? Or they will forced to go to another world to find the girls and bring them home?

And now for the third part of alternative universe where Timon and Pumbaa have travel around the world and make some new friends for over decades from Lilo & Stitch to Phineas & Ferb. They also time travel to the past from the age of the dinosaurs to a magical fairytale. By 2019 in Los Angeles, Timon and Pumbaa have already put out some flyers for invitations to celebrate “The Lion King’s 25th Anniversary”. Later that evening when Timon and Pumbaa were about to get some rest, but they heard a commotion when they looked through the bushes and see three teenage girls looking at the music box. One of the girl on the bench opened the box and it turned out to be something that is magically transported them to another world, but dragging Timon and Pumbaa with them. Once they recovered themselves, they were transported into the jungle with large mushrooms where is called Amphibia and there’s no sign of any girls or the music box. Timon and Pumbaa are enjoying themselves by having so many grubs and some relaxation until they bumped into one of the missing girls, Anne Boonchuy and her frog friend, Sprig Plantar as they help each other out. Together on their incredible journey is to find Anne’s friends and bring them back home.

And that’s for everything. See what I mean when I was addicted to crossover for multifandom like you guys? I don’t know if you guys are busy or not active, but let me know when you ask me or replied to me. Thanks for reading!

Yet another fan tweaks up TLK 2 and TLG: The Squeakel.

Im bored and in a lil pain. time to jot down all my personal ideas/headcanons for how I'd polish up TLK 2 and TLG to fit with the first movie a bit better, and create something more cohesive since like only about 3 people on the TLK2 and TLG teams paid attention to the first movie. I've seen a lot of hedcanons and AUS and whatnot in my day so I've kinda got a good idea of what i like and what I think might work better. Veteran TLK creators please interact with me and gib feedeback on my sick tricks

Uhhh TW for abuse and cub death

So...while there's TECHNICALLY nothing I'd change about the first movie, as it's pretty much done and solid, I wanted to play with my ideas for Zira's backstory.

YES in my version it'd be a one-sided love, kinda like how DemiiDee on dA and Silver-Wolf-17/@mask-of-prime see it, Scar knew she was obsessed with him since the day she met him as a cub, and took advantage of that. After he became king, he wanted loyal lionesses just in case Sarabi, Nala, Sarafina and the others got wise and rebelled. Zira and her pride sisters were all starving, and he knew that. He welcomed them in, promising food and comfort in return for their loyalty. Zira didn't hesitate to agree, and Scar loved her blind adoration of him. He WOULD have liked it if someone like Sarafina was so blindly in love with him (Scar had a gross unrequited obsessive crush on Sarafina growing up, and he constantly held it against her after she chose to be with Nala's father Mega instead. This is another reason why he was so hard on the hunting parties. He used his position as king to get petty revenge on childhood bullies and the like). Scar decided Zira would be his queen but like...ONLY because Sarafina had already made her choice. Zira didn't care, and knew she'd make Scar proud and produce a lot of wonderful heirs for him, in order to repay him for ''all he'd done for her'' (A very thin and insincere ''all'' if you ask me). So, Zira gets pregnant with who will eventually be Nuka, but...Rafiki takes a look at her and sees she's very weak and will probably only have one cub. Oh well. Let's just hope this one son is a suitable heir in Scar's eyes.

....Well-

Nuka's born. Weak, unfocused, and not at all what Scar wanted or was hoping for. He TRIES to teach Nuka and raise him as an Heir, but...it just doesn't work. Scar believes he was destined for greatness and for a prosperous, strong lineage. Nuka is none of those things, and it seems Zira will never be able to give him another heir (I KNOW the ''This woman can't have kids'' trope is icky but HOLD ON wait until you see where I'm going with this) Scar disowns Nuka and scolds Zira for disappointing him. Zira begs for his forgiveness, and swears on her life she'll find a way to make things worth Scar's while.

During this time, several of the male cubs who were born around the same time as Simba are being exiled. Scar doesn't want any males around to threaten overtaking him, and nips the problem in the bud before it ever becomes an issue. Many pride sister saw him doing this, and while they disagreed with it...it DID offer one bonus: Trustworthy males were leaving for better lands. They could take the new young cubs with them, since none of the sisters wanted their children to be raised in Scar's Pridelands.

Surprisingly, one of these lionesses trying to save her cubs...was Zira. Within the last few months, she'd...began to realize perhaps she was looking at Scar with rose-colored glasses. She was beginning to wonder if perhaps she was wrong to worship him the way she did. The thoughts were still kinda...new, and she wasn't sure what to do. But, during all her confusion, she DID happen to meet another male lion. Mpendwa, (Swahili for ''Honey'') was an old friend from her teenage years who was a wanderer by nature. Zira was VERY happy to see him again, after all these years. She met with him in secret, when Scar and the Hyenas weren't looking, and began to fall in love with him. REAL love. Mutual good love, where he loved her for who she was, and NOT what she could give him. Even Nuka seemed to like him, too! And...by some miracle, Zira and Mpendwa had a secret litter together! Four beautiful, healthy little cubs! It was perfect. SO perfect. Perhaps the problem had lain not in Zira, but in Scar the entire time. It served as more confirmation to Zira that...perhaps she was in the wrong to love him. Mpendwa asked her if she and their four cubs would come with him. Somewhere far and somewhere safe, where they could be happy together. Zira...was hesitant, afraid of disappointing Scar further, and even more afraid to leave her pride sisters behind. They were in this because of her, and...there were so many of them that it'd be impossible to get all of them out without Scar seeing something was up. Nevertheless, she knew she had to think about the future of her cubs, and NOT about Scar. She agreed, and plans were made for Zira and Nuka to meet Mpendwa at the border with her four cubs. In the dead of night, they'd leave using the rest of the evacuating males as a cover so they could make a clean getaway.

....Well...to make a very heartbreaking and gruesome story short...Scar knew about Mpendwa the entire time. And of course he saw Zira was pregnant. He overheard their plains to escape, and prepared accordingly. Mpendwa and three of Zira's cubs were killed as punishment for her disloyalty and attempt at mutiny. He lets her keep the youngest one alive as a reminder of her shortcomings, but ONLY if she'll swear her loyalty to him once more. With nothing else left to do, she swore her allegiance to him, and returned to the Pridelands with only Vitani and Nuka left of her family. In the coming days and months, Scar turns up the charm to further entice Zira, making sure she and Vitani are given the best of everything and taken care of, to ensure she feels terrible about what she did and she never acts out again. Sadly, it works, and Zira falls back in love with him, realizing SHE was the one in the wrong, and was an utter fool to betray Scar. Things are....steady for a while. Not bad, not good, but...steady for Zira and Scar. He of course ignores both cubs, and Zira has to reach out to him pleadingly if she wants to connect with him. Zira works as a willing mouthpiece to spout propaganda tot he rest of the pride, assuring then Scar is a GREAT king, their ONLY king, and that he will usher in a new golden age for them all. It pleases Scar and he is sure to...ever so slightly reciprocate his gratitude to her. If only to keep her totally convinced to stay with him. Zira can see he's...flaky and not too sure about her, and decides she MUST act fast to show him she is worthy.

She MUST somehow produce him a viable heir. And quickly. But with all the other males gone, there's not a whole lot of cubs being born. And her beloved Mpendwa is long dead. So...she has to figure something else out. One day, while hunting for Vitani and Nuka on her own, she runs across a skinny dark brown lone lioness taking a dead zebra somewhere. She tells Nuke and Vitani to wait, and begins to stalk this female, named Jibu (''Answer'') Jibu takes her kill to a secluded spot, and Zira notices she's having trouble catching her breath. It doesn't take Zira long to see...Jibu is pregnant. VERY pregnant, and close to giving birth. GIVING birth, actually! She's going into labor. Jibu cries out for mercy, knowing she is alone and there is no one around to help her. Zira, in a moment of maternal instinct and compassion, helps her. She, along with Nuka and Vitani, stay by Jubi's side as she gives birth to one little brown cub. Then, Zira gets...a really really REALLY terrible idea, just looking at the little cub. Calmly, she tells Vitani and Nuka that Jibu will need some water, and that they need to bring some back for her in some fresh moss. It's a big job, and the cubs are BOTH very willing to help. Vitani and Nuka leave on their big mission, and then Zira, Jibu, and the new cub are left alone.

Zira is quick about it. Merciful, even. By the time Nuka and Vitani get back, Jibu is dead. Zira sorrowfully tells the cubs that...the birthing process was simply too much for a weak and skinny loner like her, and that there was nothing at all that could have been done. Nuka asks what they're going to do with the cub, and Zira says she SUPPOSES they could take it back to the pride, as well as the zebra Jibu just killed. They return to the pridelands with food, and...Zira presents the cub to Scar. She tells him that his mother gave birth on the edge of the territory, before succumbing to her dehydration and fatigue. Scar looks the cub over, and is overjoyed. He declares THIS cub, this Kovu, WILL be his heir.

So, time passes, and before you know it, Simba returns. The TRUE Pridelanders rise up and reclaim their land. In the wake of his return, Zira's pride sisters see the error of their ways, and oppose the hyenas in battle. Scar is overthrown, and Simba takes his place as King. Zira is of course horrified, outraged, and...filled with a turmoil of emotions about it. Some part of her feels...free that Scar is gone, but the rest of her was so twisted by his words that she doesn't want to admit she's happy he's dead. She chokes those feelings down, trying to sit still and look pretty for Simba as he moves in. Nuka, Vitani, and little Kovu are doing well, and...as a mother that's all she should care about, really. But...deep down inside, there's a growing, growling, burning need for revenge in her soul.

As Kovu grows a little bigger and the pridelands heal more, Simba and Nala announce the birth of their OWN heir.....Kopa. Yep. Yes. That's right, I'm a Kopa theorist. Upsetting, I know. But like....it makes sense. Look at how overprotective and suffocating Simba was to Kiara in TLK 2. Almost like he'd dealt with tragedy in relation to a cub before, and vowed to never let it happen again. Huh. If YOU'RE reading this and you have no idea who Kopa is and the drama behind his very existence, first of all God I wish I was you, secondly, go here to learn what then entire TLK fandom is divided over:

https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Kopa

Anyway, Kopa is begins to grow and learn as the next king of Pride Rock, good friends with Nuka and Vitani, and even their cute little brother Kovu. He's not...VERY old right now, but he'll grow and be able to play with them one day! Their mom, Zira, seems....a little upset about stuff. She always watches them from afar, never engages with the rest of the Pride, and doesn't seem to like Simba. Kopa, as a young kid determined to be a great king, takes a note to keep an eye on this. She might be really old, but she's part of his father's kingdom. Everyone else is happy and healthy, she should be too, right? Simba and Nala seem...worried about her as well. For different reasons, but yeah.

Ever the hunter and woman scorned, Zira has been...studying Kopa. He's young and naive, but...eager to learn and take over for his father. He's studious and intuitive, often finding trouble without meaning to, because he was trying to solve a problem or get involved in pride politics. Of course, all the other lions and creatures love him, and are eager to see him grow into a fine future king. There s NO doubt he's a jewel in his family's crown. But...he is still a cub. Zira remembers how devastated she was to lose Vitani's three siblings, and knows that Simba and Nala will be equally devastated if....something happens to Kopa. She knows exactly how she's going to avenge Scar now.

Simba and Nala were out on a little moonlight hunt together one night, like they enjoyed to do together. They were coming back to Pride Rock afterwards, only to hear a terrible commotion. Zazu rushed to meet them, telling of something terrible that had just happened: Zira tried to assassinate the young prince. Her pride sisters were now in arms against Sarabi and her pride sisters, trying to stop an attempted uprising. Simba and Nala quickly joined in to fight, Simba finding Zira with Kopa in her jaws. He stops her, and Timon and Pumbaa are quick to get Kopa to Rafiki for healing. Simba and Nala face off against Zira while she gives her side of the story. telling about how she's tired of being docile and pretending her heart isn't broken after Simba and Nala both took everything from her. Simba and Nala both see she's still...terribly twisted by Scar's words, trying to be patient but firm with her as they attempt to talk her down. She won't have it, and leaps at Simba, Nala gets involved, and they fight her off. Simba calls for her banishment, and she is thrown out of the Pridelands with the rest of her followers, and her three cubs.

During all of this, Rafiki is attending to Kopa and his injuries. They're...bad, but not fatal. With time, he'll be just fine. Zira left him blind in one eye, gave him a terribly ripped ear, nearly tore his tail off, and he's got a deep throat scar that will alter his voice quite a bit. With time he'll be alright physically, but...I'm not so sure about mentally. Kopa has...a LOT of PTSD over it. blaming himself for how he thought Zira was a friend he could help, wondering if he was stupid for never seeing her anger sooner. He begins to question his abilities as a future king. Yes, he's still young, and accidents happen, but...this event has left him a bit jaded all the same. Simba and Nala see it, and...want to do the best for their son. They can see the enthusiasm in his eyes to one day be king fading. It's devastating. And...while Simba isn't about to give up on him, he doesn't want to force Kopa into something he...clearly doesn't want to do anymore. On top of that...Simba fears Kopa may not be safe in the Pridelands anymore. Zira and her followers ARE in the Outlands, but...Zira is bold and full of hate. There's no telling what she could do next. After a lot of deliberation, meeting with Zazu, Nala, and Kopa...the king comes to a conclusion. He strips Kopa of his title as an heir, and sends him to live in the Oasis with Ma, Uncle Max, and the rest of Timon's family. He'll be safe and well-fed there, far away from Zira. It'll only be for a while, until the trouble with the outlanders settles down, and until Kopa is ready to return home. Kopa agrees to the idea whole-heartledy, and departs for the Oasis as soon as he's fit to travel. It's...painful and hard, but it's the best option for their son's mental health. Simba and Nala do visit often, and are glad to see it DOES seem to be working.

Okay. So Zira tried to kill Kopa in the name of Scar, got herself booted, and the origins of her three cubs have been dealt with. That's all the Zira/Scar and Kopa backstory stuff done and dealt with. I'm gonna cut it right here since this is gettin awful lengthy, and continue with TLK 2 and The Lion Guard in a part 2. Keep an eye out for that one.

You know Draftingteacups, this just occurred to me when I was looking into the Pokémon for my fanfiction author friend’s upcoming TWST & Pokémon crossover story in Quotev. For the Episode 2 based on the Disney movie Lion King, Oranguru is what caught my attention in which when I read its entry info, it reminds me of Rafiki, the mandrill that happened to be a shaman and Oranguru is the Sage Pokémon. Would it be possible it make its appearance in the Savanaclaw dorm, watching everything unfold?

Perhaps or perhaps not ☕

I'm not gonna say anything because I don't want to spoil 🤫