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cryptids-and-muses · 1 year

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I watched return of the jedi for the first time in 4 years and here are my thoughts:

I know the line between sci-fi and fantasy is already super blurry but Star Wars truly feels like a fantasy movie. It’s in the costumes, the worldbuilding, the vibe, the odd encounters, palpatine’s entire character. And while there is futuristic tech the world of Star Wars doesn’t feel particularly Futuristic™️, if that makes sense.

There’s this one imperial officer Bacar interacts with at the start of the movie who acts his ASS off. Seriously give this man an Oscar. The fear!! The subtly!! The little gulp he does before facing Vadar!!! The palpable terror at the idea of the emperor coming there!!! This dude single handedly sets up palpatine as a threat

PRACTICAL SETS!!! All the practical sets!!! There’s so many sequences, especially in jabba’s palace but they’re throughout, where the characters casually interact with the world around them, and it’s such a small detail but it means so much to me. They really feel like they’re part of the world. My favorites were the Hall of Horrors C-3PO walks through in Jabba’s palace and Luke interacting with his x-wing on dagoba

It’s not all this great though, the green screen to the sarlack pit was awful. I found it endearing.

Also I love how there’s so much this movie doesn’t explain to you. There’s this weird robot spider thing in Jabba’s palace that we see when R2 and C-3PO walk in!!! What does it do!!! There’s a guy who’s super upset when Luke kills that monster!!! Who is he!!! And a bunch of other weird little things that just aren’t elaborated on. On top of that there’s just all these strange aliens just chilling, living their lives, some of which I don’t think we see again. It all comes together to make the world feel so much bigger than what we see.

I’d heard the analysis that Luke wears black in return of the Jedi to allude to a possible fall to the dark side, but that analysis hadn’t really clicked for me until this watch through. Like dude’s introduction was him force choking someone

Honestly like has this kind of subdued confidence this whole movie and I love it. He knows he’s good but doesn’t need to flaunt it.

Like his grin when he says “you should have bargained jabba. It’s the last mistake you’ll ever make” I love it

Luke is actually really subdued this entire movie, which tracks with all the internal conflict he’s dealing with. The biggest displays of emotion we see from him are when he’s reuniting with friends or when he goes OFF on Vadar at the end for threatening leia

Chewbacca and Han’s reunion 😭, they care so much about each other, chewy pets his head

In general everyone is so happy to see each other in this movie, every time someone shows up after being separated everyone is so excited to see them. There’s so many hugs. You can really tell they care about each other.

Due to some of the framing, I don’t think leia slaughtering Jabba was part of the plan. I think she just saw an opportunity and took it. Girlboss.

I noticed Luke’s fighting style with his lightsaber is much tougher around the edges, it’s less elegant, which tracks with him having much less official training with it. I like it

Yoda trying to use dying as a way to avoid Luke’s questions. Iconic.

Yoda’s choked out dying words of “there is another skywalker” become so much funnier when you remember he becomes a force ghost. The man could just peacefully pass then come back 10 minutes later and continue the conversation, he doesn’t need to try this hard to get the words out. Then again that would take some of the drama out of it.

Han is just so great in this movie, he’s got a reputation for being this suave sarcastic outlaw, which to be fair he kind of was in new hope, but here he’s just so sweet. He’s the one telling Luke to be more optimistic! When lando gets his promotion to general he doesn’t tell him about his own, and looks genuinely bashful when it’s brought up in front of the group! He goes to check on leia after she talks with Luke! He gives lando the falcon because he knows it’ll help him even though the ship means so much to him and is scared of it getting destroyed! When he thinks leia has feelings for Luke he offers to step aside and not get in the way! This man cares about his friends!

Speaking of that moment with leia after Luke leaves, that’s the one moment we see him being a dick, he lashes out with “but you could tell Luke? Is that who you could tell?!” But then immediately apologizes and comforts her when she asks for it. He loves leia so much and it’s so obvious the entire time

My man thought he was in this love triangle and was doing his best, and was fully prepared to step aside and let leia be happy with Luke. And the face journey he goes on when leia tells him luke is her brother. It’s gold. It’s that math meme but even better.

For the mission to endor, Luke and leia are both in these camo space ponchos and helmets but apparently Han’s outfit was to iconic to change because he just puts on a camo trench coat over his usual outfit

The first speeder chase through the woods of endor struck me as much more low key then it would have been if it was made today. This isn’t a bad thing, but I know if it was made today it would have been much more dramatic, a set piece

When leia goes missing Han, Luke, and chewy immediately peel off from the group to go find her. Good friends but you are LEADING THE MISSION

Leia meeting the ewok is a fun sequence and it’s funny how she just rolls with it. She does not question it, just accepts this little guy is here now and starts following him. It’s funny to contrast this with when Luke, Han, and chewy rescued her in a new hope and she fought every step of the way

In general the Ewoks are such a strange and whimsical inclusion. Like this is part 3 in a space opera and a huge chunk of it has these little furry dudes who live and fight like the lost boys from Peter Pan that we’ve literally never seen before. It’s weird

Luke is so delighted by the Ewoks, from his little smile when the first surround them to trying to hide his laughter at them thinking C-3PO is a god

Also we should not ignore how hilarious his idea to scare the Ewoks into listening was. And the man knew it too, you could tell from his smile. The little shit.

The storytelling sequence!!! I love it!! I love how C-3PO uses the sound effects! I love how everyone is huddled together! I love how we the audience can tell what’s being said from context clues even if we don’t understand all the words!!

Luke peacing out like “it’s time to angst😔”

I do think the bridge scene between luke and leia could have been done a bit better but it wasn’t bad, just a bit flat for the gravity of what was being revealed. Leia and Han are great though

I love luke and vadar’s back and forths even if they can get repetitive

The writers really used “search your feelings” or “your feelings betray you” as shortcuts to avoid hard writing huh

The emperor was such a little gremlin, he did nothing but talk about how luke was going to fall to him, how he knew everything was gonna happen and it’s all according to his plan, he really didn’t do anything but talk shit until the very end with the force lightning

To be fair, Vadar didn’t do anything until the force lightning either

Neither of these points are complaints, palpatine is supposed to be a shadowy scheming villain that others do the dirty work for and the really pull it off. And vadar’s passivity in this movie I think demonstrates the conflict he’s feeling. Despite his words about how he must do his emperor’s will, he’s not really doing that right now, is he? He’s not really defying orders either but something is different

Something I noticed!!! When Han’s team first make it in to the back door, off in the corner as they go inside we see a storm trooper adjusting his armor and taking his position again. One of the rebels stole the storm troopers armor and took their place. This doesn’t lead up to anything but it’s SUCH a cool detail

The true hero’s of this movie are the Ewoks, palpatine had Han’s team captured and the air fleet on the ropes before the Ewoks stepped in and saved Han and co. Palpatine would probably have won if it weren’t for them. It’s great.

I really love luke so much, he’s just so compassionate. For his friends, for his father, for everyone. This is the trait that makes him a hero. It’s literally what palpatine tried to use to turn him, the anger he’d feel at watching his friends die because he loves them so much

“No, you’re wrong. I am a Jedi, like my father before me” not gonna lie, this was kinda hot. It’s that quiet confidence I was talking about earlier. Also the way he nods towards vadar when he mentions his father

“….so be it, Jedi” THIS!!!! THIS!!!! I love this so much!! Because the entire movie palpatine has been talking about how Luke is going to fall to him, how it’s inevitable, how Luke is foolish to think otherwise. But this moment right here, is him acknowledging he’s wrong. He won’t be able to turn Luke, he failed. Luke truly is a Jedi and even palpatine cannot away him. It’s so fucking good

When vadar lifts up palpatine to stop him, we get a reaction shot for Luke who just looks so confused. Appropriate reaction.

As luke is dragging vadar to his ship we see imperial officers and storm troopers running around to try and escape and I just want to know what the fuck was going through their heads when they saw Luke and vadar

I know the falcon surviving doesn’t make sense but it makes me happy

Something important I realized towards the end: AT NO POINT IN THIS MOVIE DID ANYONE TELL HAN VADAR WAS LUKE’S DAD

CHEWY AND LANDO WEREN’T TOLD EITHER FOR THAT MATTER

THEY DON’T KNOW

Presumably they were told later but holy fuck why is no one talking about this.

Again….those reunions, hugs all around, everyone is so happy and relieved and I love it

I know it doesn’t end here, which makes be kinda sad, because this is such a beautiful and hopeful ending

All in all, with all the Star Wars fatigue and what Disney has been doing, this really reminded me what I love about Star Wars. I felt like I could appreciate the movie a lot more on this watch through and had a wonderful time

#star wars #the return of the jedi #may 4th #may the fourth be with you #luke skywalker #leia organa #princess leia #han solo #chewbacca #darth vader #anakin skywalker #emperor palpatine

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denimbex1986 · 2 months

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'...Over the last 15 years, Göransson has cemented himself as one of the best music-making millennials in the business, along the way picking up an Oscar for the sick Afrofuturistic beats of his "Black Panther" soundtrack (although his Oscar-nominated score for "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" was just as impressive). He's now landed a well-deserved second Academy Award for his electrifying work on "Oppenheimer," placing him in some reputable company when it comes to the Oscars.

Specifically, this gives Göransson just as many Oscars as Hans Zimmer. It's actually kind of mind-boggling that the legendary composer doesn't have more than that, considering just how many iconic movie scores he's crafted since the 1980s (including his own collaborations with "Oppenheimer" director Christopher Nolan). Yet, for as much as his leitmotifs for "The Thin Red Line" and the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films are now permanently burned into our collective consciousness, Zimmer's only ever taken home the Oscar gold for "The Lion King" and "Dune: Part One."...

The fact that Göransson has already tied Zimmer for Oscar wins at this point in his career is a testament to just how much further he could end up going professionally. It's even more remarkable when you remember that Göransson has so far divided his efforts between TV and film, scoring "Community" and the long-running sitcom "New Girl" on top of establishing the Samurai-adventure-meets-space-Western vibes of "The Mandalorian" (plus the epic blend of mythic humming and cowboy music that is the "Book of Boba Fett" theme). That makes him a little like the modern Bernard Hermann, the Alfred Hitchcock maestro who also composed part of "The Twilight Zone" and "Rawhide" (among other television classics).

...it's clear that Göransson is only getting started. Whatever the future holds for him, we're excited to see what he does next.'

#Ludwig Goransson #Oppenheimer #Hans Zimmer #New Girl #Community #The Mandalorian #Black Panther #Oscars

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cajon-desastre · 3 years

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FYI...again

Lo que voy a decir me costará bloqueos y anon gilipollas pero a estas alturas me da igual.

Si, teníais razón, es real ¿Estáis felices? Por supuesto que no, queréis vernos retorcernos de tristeza y lamentarnos por las esquinas. Veo lo que hacéis y veo la pornografía del dolor en vuestras formas de vanagloriaros de la existencia de un papel y las burlas que eso trae para reafirmaros en vuestro gran pedestal de la verdad.

Pero un papel sólo certifica una boda, un papel no garantiza un matrimonio real. Es un contrato vigente a partir de esa fecha. La convivencia y los gestos son los que hacen que sea real y ella tuvo su oportunidad en la convivencia pandémica pero ella siempre parecía estar sola. Sólo hubo ruidos extraños e insinuaciones verbales y un anillo que parece la lámpara de Aladino porque, a falta de una imagen real, el marido estaba metido dentro.

¿Y qué opino de la relación Tait? Que es un contrato, como el certificado de boda. Ningún troll y Tait me va a convencer de que él es el exitoso hombre de negocios que quieren hacernos creer. Lo dije en su momento en conversaciones privadas con otros ex-shipper y lo mantengo: Es el típico amigo sanguijuela que siempre está intentando aparentar algo que no es, viviendo un tren de vida que no puede permitirse por sus propios medios y que ha vivido siempre al amparo de lo que otros le han ayudado a conseguir, ya sea su hermano o su jefa-esposa. Sus deudas lo delatan, las empresas conjuntas sin actividad y las reales bien diferenciadas y separadas económicamente. Ella no es tonta y él puede ser el apoyo de una narrativa conveniente pero no está demostrando una confianza ciega en él y sus finanzas, manifestando una y otra vez su dejadez e incompetencia: quejoso en los eventos de Oscars e indiferente a su esposa en un momento etílico. Su sonrisa de suficiencia en la fotos de Henley también es muy significativa (y una de las pocas veces que lo vemos sonreír en fotos con ella). Sabía lo que llegaba en unas semanas, su gran triunfo, conseguir su mamá de azúcar.

La relación Tait es extraña y muy fria, ella era más cariñosa con él cuando no eran oficialmente pareja mientras que con Sam sigue habiendo destellos, incluso cuando la boda ya había tenido lugar y todavía nos cuestionábamos si fue cierta. Y no me cuenten la excusa de que ella no podría hacer una boda católica y no respetar sus creencias. Por favor, el hermano mayor de Tony no duró un año con su esposa, casados en la misma iglesia, y ya están divorciados.

La imagen actual que se está vendiendo en todas partes es fácil de identificar sólo con una simple búsqueda en Google, es lo que es y no podemos negar la evidencia. Sam y Cait no pueden estar juntos porque ella está casada. El valor real de ese matrimonio no se plantea porque el fan y el espectador medio no conocen lo que sabe el fandom.

Sigo manteniendo lo que dije, soy fan de los dos y ellos actúan según su carácter y circunstancias. SM no es la biblia y las insinuaciones siguen siendo eso, insinuaciones. Para quien le resulta inconcebible que siga siendo fan de personas que no son perfectas según sus parámetros que se miren en el espejo y piensen cuán alto es su estándar con las personas que le rodean. No es mi primer fandom y he visto de todo, los actores no son santos y la vida de glamour y Hollywood tienen un precio.

A ojos de los poseedores de la verdad soy un Extreme Shipper aunque nunca he estado convencida del tren de bebés (cosa que quisieron hacerme creer ex-shipper ahora muy beligerantes) y la boda en otros países.

Entonces, ¿cual ha sido siempre mi postura sobre todo este circo? Soy creyente de su relación y Sam y Cait están juntos en todo esto. Sam utiliza el apartamento como plató de tv, la dirección tan conocida por el fandom sólo hace que sea más fácil tener engañados a los acechadores que sólo irán a mirar allí, en realidad no sabemos dónde vive, eso es sólo una cueva útil. Igual que los seguimientos en SM, el eterno mira aquí y no mires allí. Cuando quieren ser privados lo son y nunca sabrás dónde están y con quien. La muy pública relación se muestra en todas partes, la privada sólo es para ellos. Hacer interpretaciones literales de todo lo que se ve y hacen público sólo refuerza las teclas que saben tocar para que la gente baile a su son. Una foto, un seguimiento, un like y el resto escribe el fic.

Y sé que los juegos van a seguir, con fotos posadas-robadas y publicaciones en sitios de clickbait.

También sé que seguiremos siendo monitoreados con capturas de pantalla de todo lo que decimos y comentamos en blog amigos para poder tener contenido en blogs que lo único que publican son sus burlas de un sector del fandom. Por mucho que os moleste y cabree somos creadores de contenido y celebraremos las cosas buenas que nos hacen felices.

Resumiendo.

Se necesitan dos para bailar el tango. En este caso, tres...alguno tiene que tocar el bandoneón.

Y, después de quedarme a gusto, seguimos con la programación habitual.

Gracias a todos.

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FYI...again

What I'm going to say will cost me block and anon asshole but at this point I don't care.

Yes, you were right, it's real. Are you happy? Of course not, you want to see us writhe in sadness and lament around the corners. I see what you do and I see the pornography of pain in your ways of boasting about the existence of a role and the mockery that it brings to reaffirm you on your great pedestal of truth.

But a paper only certifies a wedding, a paper does not guarantee a real marriage. It is a contract in force as of that date. The coexistence and the gestures are what make it real and she had the opportunity of her in the pandemic coexistence but she always seemed to be alone. There were only strange noises and verbal hints and a ring that looks like Aladdin's lamp because, in the absence of a real image, her husband was tucked inside it.

And what do I think of the Tait relationship? What is a contract, like the wedding certificate. No troll or Tait will convince me that he is the successful businessman they want us to believe. I said it at the time in private conversations with other ex-shippers and I maintain it: He is the typical leech friend who is always trying to pretend something he is not, living a way of life that he cannot afford on his own and that has always lived under the protection of what others have helped him to achieve, be it his brother or his boss-wife. His debts betray him, the joint ventures without activity and the real ones that are well differentiated and economically separated. She is not stupid and he may be the support of a convenient narrative but she is not displaying blind trust in himself and his finances, manifesting again and again his slovenliness and incompetence: complaining at Oscars events and indifferent to his wife in a ethyl moment. Him smirk in Henley's photos is also very significant (and one of the few times we see him smile in photos of him with her). He knew what was coming in a few weeks, his great triumph, getting his sugar mama.

The relationship Tait is strange and very cold, she was more affectionate with him when they were not officially a couple while with Sam there are still flashes, even when the wedding had already taken place and we still questioned if it was true. And don't give me the excuse that she couldn't have a Catholic wedding and not respect her beliefs. Please save it, Tony's older brother didn't last a year with his wife, married in the same church, and they're already divorced.

The current image that is being sold everywhere is easy to identify with just a simple Google search, it is what it is and we cannot deny the evidence. Sam and Cait cannot be together because she is married. The real value of that marriage does not arise because the fan and the average viewer do not know what the fandom knows.

I still maintain what I said, I am a fan of both and they act according to their character and circumstances. SM is not the Bible and innuendo is still that, innuendo. For those who find it inconceivable that they continue to be a fan of people who are not perfect by their parameters, they look in the mirror and think how high their standard is with the people around them. It is not my first fandom and I have seen everything, the actors are not saints and the life of glamor and Hollywood have a price.

In the eyes of those who have the truth, I am an Extreme Shipper, although I have never been convinced of the baby train (which they wanted me to believe now very belligerent ex-shippers) and the wedding in other countries.

So... what has always been my stance on this whole circus? I am a believer in their relationship and Sam and Cait are together in all of this. Sam uses the apartment as a tv set, the address so well known to the fandom only makes it easier to have the stalkers fooled who will just go look there, we don't really know where he lives, that's just a useful cave. Like the follow in SM, the eternal look here and don't look there. When they want to be private they are and you will never know where they are and with whom. The very public relationship is shown everywhere, the private one is only for them. Making literal interpretations of everything that is seen and made public only reinforces the keys that you can play so that people dance to your song. A photo, a follow, a like and the rest write the fic.

And I know the games will continue, with posed-stolen photos and posts on clickbait sites.

I also know that we will continue to be monitored with screenshots of everything we say and comment on blog friends to be able to have content on blogs that the only thing they publish is their mockery of a sector of the fandom. As much as it bothers and piss you off, we are content creators and we will celebrate the good things that make us happy.

Summarizing.

It takes two to tango. In this case, three ... someone has to play the bandoneon.

And, after this verbiage, I continue with the usual programming.

Thank you all.

#SamCait #The hard life of shippers #Tait #this #this fandom #my thoughts

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aion-rsa · 2 years

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Doc Ock Is Still the Best Spider-Man Villain On-Screen

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It’s the trailer that broke the internet. The first Spider-Man: No Way Home sizzle footage, which ended with the familiar sight of Alfred Molina strapped to four mechanical arms, was viewed more than 355 million times in its first 24 hours on the web, setting a Guinness world record. When Molina’s iconic Doctor Octopus (or Doc Ock) smiled, “Hello, Peter,” the whole world smiled right back.

Despite it being nearly 20 years since Molina last played Doc Ock in a movie—way back when Tobey Maguire was still Spider-Man and George W. Bush was only in his first term as President of the United States—the excitement audiences had at seeing the not-so-good doctor up to no damn good was palpable. Part of this, of course, is due to the fan theory that if Molina is coming back, then Maguire probably will too (although that isn’t confirmed). But even without Maguire, there’s something just remarkable about seeing Molina as Ock again. After all, he remains the greatest Spider-Man movie villain to this day.

It’d be easy to dismiss such a thought as mere nostalgia, rose-tinted memories of long gone times. Yet if that’s the case, Sony and Marvel Studios are keenly aware that most folks share that wistfulness about the Spider-Man 2 heavy since the new trailer greeted his return with all the reverence of Harrison Ford showing up again as Han Solo at the end of the first The Force Awakens trailer, or seeing a proton pack fire again at the end of Sony’s own Ghostbusters: Afterlife trailer. Clearly, Marvel is banking on most folks being thrilled to see Spidey’s greatest cinematic foe returned to their universe, despite Marvel themselves already taking a stab at multiple classic Spidey villains to date, including Vulture, Mysterio, and the Shocker.

No matter the continuity, or “Spider-Verse,” or even in our modern blockbuster era where Sony is giving Venom and every other Spider-Man villain their own spinoff movie…. there’s still just something about dear old Otto.

It certainly wasn’t planned that way. When Alfred Molina was cast as Otto Octavius two decades ago, he was following in the emerging Sony and Sam Raimi pattern of casting respected character actors who just received awards attention a year or two ago as the next big bad. In 2001 that meant casting Willem Dafoe—who was about to have a career renaissance after receiving his second Oscar nomination for Shadow of the Vampire (2000)—and a few years later, it was Molina’s turn fresh off the Oscar winning Frida (2002). Even so, it’s arguable that the studio which also wanted the Lizard and Black Cat in the sequel—and which would soon get its wish to overstuff a Spidey follow-up a few years later—never fully realized just how special having Doctor Octopus could be.

Director Raimi and the final screenwriter, Alvin Sargent, certainly did though. Jettisoning the other extraneous villains, as well as an awful studio note about having Doc Ock crush on college co-ed Mary Jane Watson, they returned Otto to some semblance of his comic book roots. And, just as importantly for Raimi, they took full advantage of what might be Spidey’s most visually dynamic villain.

Often drawn to be a pudgy and middle-aged introvert who hides behind sunglasses and a bowl cut, Otto Octavius has never been a “cool” looking character in the traditional sense. It’s why on the page, many young fans might gravitate toward the oily nightmare of Venom, or the demonic menace of Spidey’s technical arch-nemesis, the Green Goblin. But whereas both of those characters present a greater hurdle to make tactile onscreen, Doctor Octopus’ mechanical arms create a visual symphony of spectacle and danger. Simply put, watching the balletic movements of an agile wallcrawler dodging a litany of moving arms just looks wildly fun, especially in motion.

Raimi got the memo in that regard, relying on extensive puppeteering for close-ups and CGI for wide shots to give alternating weight and fluidity to Doc Ock’s appearances. He also made Ock the first comic book movie villain to actually be able to participate in comic book action. Dafoe’s Green Goblin from a few years earlier, while a campy delight, was somewhat hindered by that film’s smaller budget and the still nascent development of digital effects in superhero action.

But in Spider-Man 2? Doc Ock and Spider-Man could battle vertically on the side of a building for one set-piece and on top of a moving elevated train in another. Digital effects were still early enough along that Raimi didn’t feel the need to shove as much muddled carnage onscreen as possible. He thus had the relative freedom to bask in his images, savoring the vertigo of Spidey and Ock eyeballing each other while looking 40 stories down, or in the horror of just one car (and an actual car, not a CGI blob) being thrown through a window as opposed to a fleet of them. Sometimes less is more.

Yet it was more than just the visual splendor of Ock that made him a great villain. The Spider-Man movies, and superhero films in general, are littered with visually cool big bads who rely on massive amounts of computer generated effects, all of which are used to paper over how thin and disengaging they really are. Which again, brings us back to how intelligently Molina and Raimi presented this character.

Doctor Octopus is not what one would consider a “grounded” villain. There’s unlikely to be any Martin Scorsese-emulated origin stories made about his sad childhood. He’s a megalomaniacal fiend who despite building four mechanical sci-fi arms—and which are also revealed to have artificial intelligence and are resistant to magnetism and intense heat in Spider-Man 2—is still inexplicably searching for a creation that will justify his genius and get him worldwide acclaim.

Yet Molina and Raimi sharply underplay all that jazz, teasing out great depths beneath waters Molina keeps conspicuously still. This was a counterintuitive move after the first Spider-Man. Dafoe is, again, a delicious joy of scenery-chewing as the Green Goblin. But while playing Spider-Man’s greatest comic book villain, Dafoe was saddled with a ridiculous costume and ludicrous motivations, both of which were in-keeping with most comic book movie villains not played by Ian McKellen during the previous 25 years.

Molina, by contrast, played Doctor Octopus completely straight and also with undaunted conviction. The movie would poke some fun at the character’s absurdities, at times, with J.K. Simmons’ J. Jonah Jameson snarking the obvious: “A guy named Otto Octavius winds up with eight limbs. What are the odds?” Nevertheless, no character dares laugh or crack wise in Doc Ock’s actual presence. Since the beginning of his career, Raimi has been a cheeky director, turning his gorefest debut, The Evil Dead, into a dark comedy. But he knows when to dial back and he always films Octavius with an operatic sense of pathos and grandeur.

Molina comports himself similarly onscreen. When we first meet him, his Octavius is slightly more dynamic than the megalomaniac on the comic book page. He has a wife Rosalie (Donna Murphy), and a life that existed before he became a supervillain. He and Rosie share sweet memories of studying poetry in college with Peter, and both display a genuine interest in another character’s personal life—an element which has gone largely by the wayside in the superhero movie genre, before and sense.

It’s not exactly Ibsen, but it’s enough to give the accident which welds the mechanical arms to his spine and drives him insane some emotional weight. And it gives Molina enough to chew on to make the character both tragic and, eventually, menacing as he gives in to his madness.

Movies

Tom Holland Says Spider-Man: No Way Home Introduces ‘Raimi Camera’ Style in MCU

By David Crow

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Why Spider-Man 2’s Train Fight is Superhero Cinema’s Greatest Action Scene

By Mark Harrison

In the 17 years since Spider-Man 2 was released, supervillains have tended to be increasingly written as glib and self-aware as the heroes, particularly when appearing in the Marvel Studios canon. There has been a clear calculation made that these movies go down easier if the films frequently make winking asides to the audience not to take it too seriously, not to engage too critically, and just generally not to worry about it. There are exceptions of course, but ever since Loki was turned into the Hulk’s yo-yo in The Avengers, this has been closer to the rule than the exception, even for straight-faced villains like Ronan the Accuser in Guardians of the Galaxy, whose self-seriousness makes him a figure prime for ridicule when he’s baffled by the concept of a “dance off.”

In Jon Watts’ Spider-Man films there have been attempts to get away from this, with Michael Keaton’s Vulture coming the closest to replicating the generational tension created by Doc Ock. Once again we had a father figure doing battle with “the kid” who won’t accept his authority. Nonetheless, the Vulture’s beef persistently being left with Iron Man, and not Spider-Man, never let that rivalry fully blossom. Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio, meanwhile, returned to the typical self-referential glibness of traditional Marvel Studios villainy, with Mysterio being more concerned with how his cape is ironed before he meets the Queen of England than he is with the fight at hand against Spidey.

There is no tension-deflating bathos humor to Doc Ock’s scenes in Spider-Man 2. When Ock’s arms first awaken from their AI slumber and slaughter a room full of surgeons, it’s nightmarish, with Raimi repeating many of the horror movie tricks he learned in the Evil Dead films. When Otto awakens and finds the dead bodies, he doesn’t make a lighthearted joke which trivializes the sequence. He lives with it.

Molina plays all his scenes with this level of conviction, which is why there has never been a better onscreen dynamic between Spidey and one of his villains. Peter Parker, even Tobey Maguire’s more earnest interpretation of the character, is just a kid often in over his head who compensates with a smart mouth. Ock is a curt professional who doesn’t have time or interest in engaging with such juvenilia. Their odd couple energy makes the potential violence increasingly bitter as the movie goes along.

Take for instance the bank scene. The dialogue between the two characters is almost perfunctory, and could be found as quickly inserted filler on any CW show. Doc Ock says, “You’re getting on my nerves,” and the Web-Head retorts, “I have a knack for that.” But the cold, almost clinical way, Molina responds, “Not for long,” has such confidence it’s almost thrilling to watch his anger boil.

Molina also brings in his choices to moments where Ock is also having fun. The instinct to have him look back and forth, twice, between two passengers before picking which to toss first off a train is a clever character moment. And when the rest of the passengers on said train gather to stand up to Ock as “New Yorkers,” there is an almost infectious glee in Molina’s smile as he gets to hurt all of them in one brusque motion.

Moments like these are couched in action movie eye candy which still holds up not because of the dated CGI but due to Raimi’s intuitive understanding of film composition and using action to tell a story as opposed to just overwhelm the senses and clutter the frame. Molina likewise gives all his moments a regal sense of superiority that elevates his character and performance above even the dialogue. Like the mechanical arms attached to his spine, this is a perfect melding of director and star. And it’s created a villain who has us all at “hello.”

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redrascal1 · 2 years

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Why TROS didn’t just kill off Ben Solo..

I’ve probably already said this but...TROS didn’t just kill the last Skywalker...it also killed off my affection for the other characters.

First of all: Poe. Poe was likeable in TFA, chiefly because of his chemistry with Finn, but the character wasn’t really written well as originally he was intended to be a cameo role. But in TLJ, Rian Johnson actually reinvented him.

Poe was often compared to Han Solo, but they were actually very different. Han was a mercenary, grew up an orphan and was used to putting himself first. Poe had a loving family; he lost his mother at a young age, and then grew up with a mother substitute in Leia (ironic, isn’t it?) But, most of all, Poe was a rebel soldier. To him, the cause meant everything. He was wiling to die for it, but he was also quite willing to sacrifice everything for the ‘greater good’.

Poe was very close to a fanatic....and far more akin to Saw Guerrera than to Leia.

RJ saw this and gave him a splendid character arc in TLJ. At the end Poe had proven he had the necessary qualities to be a leader...but would he be the same kind of leader as Leia - or Holdo.

I think not.

‘We are the spark that will ignite hope in the galaxy’ - Amlyn Holdo

‘We are the spark that will light the fire that will burn the FO to the ground’ - Poe Dameron, at the end of TLJ.

Does this make Poe a bad man? Of course not.

Does it make him a man who would have accepted Ben surrendering to him, presumably which is what Rey wanted him to do? No way.

Poe would have in all likelihood had him executed for war crimes..in fact, he would probably have done it himself. Poe would have been a good leader, but far more ruthless than Holdo, or even Leia. Oscar himself loved his character arc in TLJ.

TROS Poe wasn’t the same person. Instead, he was reinvented yet again...as a Han Solo wannabe, with an excruciating past history as a drug runner. No mention of his mother Shara, no mention of his normal childhood. The only time I saw a spark of TLJ Poe was when he shot Hux. It’s telling that Oscar Isaac admitted he wished the character had been killed off as planned. He was as disappointed as the rest of us.

Secondly: Finn. This character had plenty of potential but his tragic background as a child soldier was never really explored in TFA, so RJ had very little to go on with him. But he gave him far more of a role than Abrams, despite Boyega’s hero worship of the man. Abrams created him as Rey’s sidekick, nothing more. RJ gave him his own love interest, a story where he developed as his own person instead of following Rey around like a lovesick puppy, but most of all...set him up for the role he was born to play - the man who would lead the stormtroopers from rebellion from within.

Abrams and Terrio gave that role to Janna, who was completely superfluous as a character, although I’ve nothing against Naomi. And Finn was once more reduced to Rey’s sidekick, with even his newly acquired FS serving zero purpose except for him knowing Rey was alive at the end.

Third: Rey.

Words cannot express my disappointment at TROS Rey. I loved TLJ, but I DID NOT like how she behaved at the end. Nevertheless, the scene where she gazes longingly at Finn tending Rose went in some part to endearing her to me again, especially as there was plenty of scope for her in the last film...the struggle with the ‘dark side’ of her nature, she and Kylo rebuilding their unique relationship, Rey realising that as a Jedi she would have to give up her desire for a family...

But what we got was...a stranger. Who was this coldhearted young woman who repeatedly attacked Kylo/Ben when he was unarmed - Very AGAINST the Jedi code of ‘using the Force for knowledge and defense, never attack’ - stabbed him as he was grieving for his mother, and worst of all....walked away from Exegol WITHOUT ONCE acknowledging what he did for her. She did not tell either of her friends he’d died for her. There was no memorial service, no tears...nothing. She cried more for Han who’d she’d known for five minutes, than she did for Ben, who was supposedly the ‘other half’ of her soul. Even Rae Carson’s attempt to add at least some emotion to her in the novel fell flat. The final straw was that smirking creature on Tattooine...one tumblr poster described her as a ‘creepy Stepford smiler’, but to me she came across as a sociopath who no longer resembled the character I liked so much in TFA.

But the character they destroyed the most for me wasn’t any of these...believe it or not, it was Leia.

As a kid, Leia was my hero. I’d never seen such an amazing female lead. But, I also acknowledged, as did Carrie, bless her, that Leia had flaws. The ‘greater good’ always came first. She found it difficult to bond with her only child because unlike her brother, she never saw ‘redeemed Anakin’ - only Darth Vader, so any childish tantrums to her weren’t simply a kid’s behaviour, but signs that her son was taking after her father. Her worst mistake was sending him away...but to a degree, this could be understandable if she genuinely meant well and thought Luke, as a Jedi master, was better handled to teach Ben to use the Force for good.

But TROS...TROS ruined Leia.

And it did it by showing she had had Jedi training herself.

This completely altered her as a character. It showed her not as a loving but flawed mum who made mistakes, but as a selfish uncaring fembot who could easily have trained her son, but chose not to, instead sending him to ‘someone else’ while she focused on her career. And then this...’monster’ mother chose to train Sheev Palpatine’s granddaughter to...do what?

Kill him?

Apparently yes, according to an incoherent prophecy subplot in TROS which gave a weird garbled ‘excuse’ for Leia not finishing her Jedi training by saying her son would die if she did. And as we all know...he did.

Even worse...she was fine with it. And we get that revolting scene post Ben’s death, where her body vanishes into the Force while Maz grins at the camera as if to say;’ See, Ben fans? Everything is okay, Ben is dead but that’s fine because Leia doesn’t mind. Leia has found her ‘real’ heir....REEEEY’.

Ugh.

This has left me wondering if the real reason ‘Leia’ gave up her life force to contact her son was to save him...or Rey? Because the more I think about it, the more I am absolutely sure it was the latter, as he’d won the fight and disarmed Rey. And this very scene is yet another nail in the coffin of my affection for Rey, as Ben froze before he killed her - but Rey meanwhile, picked up his fallen weapon and impaled him with it....without hesitation. Even her healing of him was more to save her own soul than because she was ashamed of almost killing this man, who had once offered her the galaxy, helped her after her unhappy experience at the mirror cave, and had had ample opportunity to kill her but chose not to.

The supreme irony is that Abrams, who apparently has great affection for Rey, and Terrio, a huge fan of the Twins, have permanently damaged both Rey and Leia as characters. Bad enough to do this with Rey...but Leia? I’m sorry, but that is almost as unforgivable as killing off Ben.

At the end of the day, it was a huge mistake to try and ‘resurrect’ Carrie to play Leia in the final film. Carrie, I’m sure, would never have played Leia Organa like this. Far better for her death to be explained as due to her injuries suffered on the Raddus, start TROS with a memorial service for her, and have Carrie’s deleted scenes used and carefully edited as a holographic message she sends to Ben, which is one of the reasons he returns to the light. Luke’s FG could easily have trained Rey. Or, even better...how about Ben returning to the Light earlier in the film, and taking over Rey’s training?

I’m sorry. I’m sure to a degree they meant well, but their handling of Leia demonised her character far more than anything Rian did with Luke. TROS has forever stained my memories of the OT as well as destroying the ST. And I doubt if I’m the only one who feels like this?

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rwbyvein · 3 years

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Firen Lhain: Chapter 604: Four: Part I/III

Dong Han handed out the last of letters-patent and Nora saluted him. The collection of bureaucrats held a round of applause. "You have all fought admirably! You have well earned your status of Huntsmen and Huntresses. Now, before we depart, is there anything we can do to help you?!"

"A lot -" Qrow stated, "of wine."

"You have certainly earned an evening of repose." Dong Han stated, "I would ask your preferences, but since this is your first legal drink..."

"I could provide details of their pallets." Aurora stated.

"Since when?" Yang asked.

"I have watched you all react to the cuisine."

"What, really?" Yang asked.

"Your pallet for cuisine is complimentary to your pallet for wine." Aurora added.

"Sweet." Yang said.

"You don't know how happy I am," Qrow voiced, "to finally be drinking with my nieces."

"I suppose..." Blake voiced, "drinking is important to you."

"That's.... one of of saying it..." Qrow voiced, as Aurora walked up to Dong Han.

* * * Aurora stood in front the table that seemed to have every order of wine, with a bright smile upon her face. "I would ask you all to allow me to be your somelier tonight."

"And?.." Yang asked, "for those who don't know what it is?.."

"Wine stewart." Jaune stated.

"Oh, yeah, you're the boss." Yang said, and then narrowed her eyes, "Maybe not the best way to say that."

A burst of rose petals appeared in front of Yang, and Ruby then walked towards Aurora, "We all know who you want to be the boss." Ruby chided.

Yang instictively tensed up and then breathed out to relax. "In light of the party, I'll overlook you budging in line."

Ruby then turned around to stick her tongue out at Yang.

* * *

Jaune sat on the couch as Yang flopped down beside him. RWB looking at her jealously. "Alright, in light of us finally making it, what with us all back together and finally being Huntsmen and all..." she said, and everyone was paying rapt attention to her. "...I say we come up with new nicknames!"

"Hm?" Weiss asked.

"Or you're saying you like being known as an Ice Queen?" Yang asked her, and she lightly scoffed, turning a light blue hue.

"Snow Angel." Jaune stated.

"Oh, I've got one better." Yang stated, "Guess what he called me?"

"What?" Jaune asked.

"Summer Princess." Yang said with glee. "Eat that, Snow Angel."

"If you are the Summer Princess." Blake voiced, "That should make Weiss the Winter Princess."

"Shit..." Yang voiced, "That's good... But still..."

"Hoping to be his only princess?" Blake asked.

"...maybe?.." Yang asked.

"Fall," Jaune said, pointing at Ruby, "Spring." he said, pointing at Blake.

"Why am I spring?" Blake asked him.

"Because you seem dour and depressive, but are probably the most passionate person here." Jaune added. Blake nervously looked down and blushed and smiled.

"What about me?!" Ruby eagerly asked.

"You are bubbly and adorable, and pretty much hope incarnate." Jaune said, and Ruby swooned. "Aanndd..." Jaune said, causing her to stare at him with bated breath, "your primary weapon is a scythe, which is designed to decapitate giant Grimm in a single swing."

"She is pretty cool like that." Yang added, and Qrow added an affirmative hmph.

Nora raised her hand, "What's my nickname?"

"You can be NORA." Qrow stated, "It's easy to remember because it sounds like your name."

"I like it." Nora added.

"We can't exactly call everyone princess..." Weiss stated.

"We could keep calling you Ice Queen," Yang voiced, "as it seems to melt your heart every time we say it."

Weiss nervously looked about, unsure of what to say. Her light blue tone deepened, however, proving she was at the very least enjoying it.

"Blake can be kitty-cat." Yang stated.

"But, what if I?.." Blake tried to ask.

"No." Jaune stated, "You're not going back to wearing your bow. We just got you to finally accept who you are; you aren't going back."

Yang shuddered as he said this. "I LOVED how he said that."

"Are you saying that Blake can't wear a bow?" Nora asked.

"Well, yes," Jaune said, "she can wear a bow, just not over her ears."

"That makes sense." Nora stated.

"And," Weiss asked, "just because Jaune says it, that's good enough for you?" she asked, and Nora nodded. Weiss sat back, hands together in front of her face, unsure of how to respond to that.

Jaune then looked at Yang, "You can be goldilocks." he stated, and reached for her hair. Her hand caught his and her eyes started to glow. "Are you going to use your Semblance on me for touching your hair?" he asked her, and Yang stared at him, glared at him. Her breathing was haggard as she looked at him, stunned, completely unsure of what to say. She let go of his hand and it slowly started moving towards her hair once again. Her breathing deep, and her eyes still glew, but she made no move to stop it. "It's - so - beautiful..." he said, and she seemed to slip back to normalcy as he delicatedly lifted it.

"She does spend a LOT of time on it." Blake stated.

"Doesn't make it any less beautiful." Jaune said, daintily touching Yang's hair, looking her in the eyes. The two simply stared at each other.

A burst of rose petals stopped in front of Jaune. "Don't fall for her feminine wiles!"

Yang shook her head before turning to look at her sister, "More like babelicious wiles."

"Yeah, whatever!" Ruby shouted.

"Ruby..." Weiss admonished her.

"But..." Ruby said to her, pointing at Jaune.

"We all have our chance." Weiss continued.

"But?" Ruby asked, and then visibly sighed.

"Ruby?" Jaune said to her, and she looked up at him. "I'm not falling for her feminine wiles." he voiced, and then looked at Yang, "Babelicious wiles." He then looked at Ruby.

"But?.." Ruby asked, "Googly eyes!"

"If you've been paying attention," Blake voiced, "he's been making googly eyes at all of us."

"He has?" Ruby asked, and Jaune sighed. He took another sip of his wine and handed it to Yang, whom leaned forward to put it on the coffee table.

"You can't seduce him," Nora stated.

"As he's already seduced." Ren added.

"Is that true?" Ruby asked him.

Jaune breathed in deeply before replying, "If I pick one of you, I'm hurting the other three." A pregnant pause followed, as they all traded deep looks between each other. "That's why it doesn't matter how much you seduce me; I can't hurt the rest of you." Another pregnant pause followed.

"I see what you said..." Oscar whispered to Qrow.

"They need to work this out on their own..." Qrow whispered back, "but I could use some more wine." he said, and stood up, walking over to Aurora.

"But!" Ruby shouted at him, "I - love - you!"

Yang quickly reached over to grab Jaune's hand. "Uh-un." Yang said to her, "No you don't, sis."

"We can't fight over him." Blake stated.

"Then," Ren added, "you will need to resolve this diplomatically."

"You guys are way too important to me," Jaune said to them, "to pick between you."

"Then?" Yang asked, "How about this? He doesn't pick."

Weiss immediately scoffed, Blake made no visible response at all, and Ruby just stared at her sister.

"But?.." Ruby asked, "If he doesn't pick, how do we know who won?!"

"You dolt." Weiss stated, and grabbed Ruby's hand. The two momentarily got lost in each other's eyes. "We'll all be winning." Weiss said to her.

"Wait, what?" Ruby asked.

"We'd be his concubines," Blake stated, "or handmaidens, or something."

Jaune looked around between the four. "I'm... not getting any objections?" he asked, and the four started looking between each other. He then looked to Weiss, "Ice Queen?"

"I thought I was your Snow Angel?" she asked.

"But wait, there's more," Yang said, and stood up, "by doing this, we get each other as well, and I have to say you girls give me a ladyboner. Weiss, I 100% see what Jaune sees in you, and Blake..." Yang said, and the two just locked eyes and stared.

"What about me?" Ruby asked, and Jaune reached forward, pulling her into his lap. He then wrapped his arms around her.

"How do you feel?" he whispered into her ear.

"I really don't know... I mean..."

"I've seen you kiss Weiss..." Jaune voiced, "How did it feel?"

"Like everything I thought it would..." she uttered.

"And how do you feel about Blake?" Jaune voiced.

"I don't know..." Ruby said as she looked at Blake, "I mean, Blake's always been really quiet... and cute... and adorable... and the ears... are even more adorable..."

"I know." Jaune said, which echoed about the dead-silent lounge.

"What about kissing Yang?" Nora asked. Ren reached around her and pulled her into a hug.

"Let's find out." Jaune said, and shifted Ruby to look towards her sister.

"What does that m..." Yang asked, but got lost in Jaune's eyes. Jaune grabbed her hand and pulled her towards them. He pulled Yang in and pushed Ruby towards her, and they stared into each other's eyes and they slowly moved together. When they reached each other the two kissed for a moment before pausing, and paused a moment before pulling away.

"What was that?" Ruby and Yang asked at the same time, still looking in each other's eyes.

* * *

Ren and Nora sat on a bed, looking into each other's eyes. "You are a Huntress," Ren soulfully said to her, "I am a Huntsman... do you know what this means?" he asked, and Nora could not reply, "It means I no longer have to hold back." He then gently leaned into Nora and gently kissed her on the lips.

#rwby #firen lhain #faunus au #pollinated knight

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blackhakumen · 3 years

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Mini Fanfic #610: Calm After an Intense Training (RWBY)

2:00 a.m. Outside of Ruby's House......

'THUNDER BOOM'

Cerise: (Tiredly Walks Outside) ('Yawn') What's with all the- ('GASPS') Oscar?! What do you think you're doing?!

Oscar: (Slowly Turns Around, Already Exhausted and a bit Bruised) ('Pants') Oh....('Pants') Hey....('Pants') Ms.....('Pants') Branswick......('Pants').... Didn't see you....t..here- (Immediately Falls Down on the Ground)

'Thud'

Cerise: (Gasps Once More Before Immediately Rushes Over to Oscar's Side) Oscar?! OSCAR!!!!!

Few Minutes Later.......

Cerise: (Carefully Covers Oscar's Training Bruises on his Arms While Giving him a Worried, Disappointed Look) I cannot believe you, Oscar Everlynn Pine. Why on green Earth did you have to push yourself hard like that?! Let alone training all by yourself at all?! And on a midnight of all times!

Oscar: (Already Felt Bad) I'm really sorry about that, Ms. Branswick. I never meant to worry you or anything...

Cerise: And yet here we are! (Frowns Sadly and Worryingly) Honestly. You almost had me in tears when I saw drop down like that....You scared me...

Oscar: I know.... And I'm really am sorry. I-It's just that.....Well....('Sigh') Can I ask you something?

Cerise: What's wrong?

Oscar: Am I......Dead weight to all of you guys? A liability?

Cerise: (Eyes Widened in Complete Shock) Honey, no! (Gently Hold Both of Oscar's Hands) We never think of you like that at all! D-Did someone told you that you are? (Glares a Little) Was it Salem? Ironwood before he shot you?

Oscar: I-It's no one. Really! I....('Sigh') thought of all of that myself.

Cerise: What? B-But why?

Oscar: (Looks Down on the Ground) I dunno. I just.....('Sigh') I only wanted to keep up with everyone of you guys. I have Oz's magic powers now. I have step it up in my combat training sooner or later. Plus......I don't like see you guys getting yourselves hurt, trying to look after me. So.....

Cerise: ('Sigh') Oscar, we did all of that because we love you and we want you to be safe. (Gently Squeezes Oscar's Hands) Seeing you get hurt or taken away from us like that... really hurts us, you know?

Oscar: I know.....

Cerise: But I understand completely on where you're coming from in all of this. You just wanted to better yourself for our future missions together, am I right?

Oscar: (Gives Cerisa a Determined Look on His Face) Exactly! I wanna at least try to get strong enough to be able to look after you guys too!

Cerise: (Giggles Softly at How Adorable Oscar's Determination Face Truly is) I know you do, kiddo. But I really don't think you should pushing yourself hard to do so. (Gives Oscar Motherly Pout While Wiggling her Finger) And I certainly don't think you should train all by yourself at midnight. Do have any idea what time it is right now, mister?

Oscar: Uhhhhhhhhh.........(Shrugged While Giving Cerise a Awkward Smile) 1:00am?

Cerise: Wrong. It's actually 2:15 and counting.

Oscar: (Eyes Widened in Genuine Shock) Oh god. I trained for that long?

Cerise: What do you.mean by- Wait....What time did you start training?

Oscar: 12:00am.

Cerise: (Eyes Widened Yet Again) YOU PUSH YOURSELF IN TRAINING FOR TWO HOURS?! HONEY, HOW COULD YOU?!

Oscar: I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I guess I wanted to better myself that badly that I got up at the time. I know it doesn't excuse things, but it's the truth.

Cerise: ('Sighs Heavily') (What am I going to with this precious child?) Look, we can start training together tomorrow. With everyine else joining along and stuff. That way, we can all better ourselves in future missions. How does that sound?

Oscar: Yeah....(Smiles a Little) That sounds great actually.

Cerise: Right? That's clearly a better alternative than staying up all night to train. Am I right?

Oscar: (Chuckles Lightly) Yeah. Yeah. I know. I promise I won't scare you like anymore, Mrs. Branswick. You have my word.

Cerise: (Gently Pulls Oscar into a Loving Hug) You better or we're gonna have some problems.

Oscar: Roger. (Smiles Softly in Cerise's Arms) I never got the chance to tell you this, but.... thanks for doing whatever you can to look out for me. I really appreciate it.

Cerise: (Smiles Softly While Giving Oscar a Peck on the Cheek) You're always welcome, sweetheart. Thank you for being our precious baby.

Oscar: (Blush a Little) Uh....No problem.

The next morning, after Cerise told her about what happened last night, Nora, like any loving mother would, scolds Oscar for pushing himself hard in training. And during the middle of midnight of all times.

Wasn't long before Ruby and Tai joins in as well.

Cerisa Han Branswick Belongs to @mcmystery

@keyenuta

@miki-13

@albion-93

@ma-lemons

@neale-47-rwby

@toriwest

#rwby #oscar pine #cerise han branswick #nora valkyrie (mentioned)#lots and lots of fluff here #nora is lowkey best mom #again cerise belongs to mcmystery

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eternalthenas · 4 years

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what bothers me the most about tros and what i’m most unable to accept is how jj managed to destroy and disrespect EVERY single character. even the ones who technically had “happy endings”🤡

ben - i feel like this one doesn’t even need to be said, but i’ll say it anyways. after years of emotional abuse from palpatine, it’s disheartening to see that jj gave no explanation as to why palpatine wanted ben (personal vendetta against the skywalkers i guess??) when it semed like he only needed rey AND that ben never really triumphed over palpatine in any way. it hurts to know that leia straight up had a vision about her son’s death but that she still seemingly gave up on him despite knowing that he was struggling and that she sent him off to train to be jedi with a luke, when apparently she could’ve done that herself. it’s disheartening that luke who believed even vader could be turned back to the light also gave up on his nephew, when he was just a boy no less. it’s disheartening that although he was the last skywalker (a fact only palpatine acknowledged!), none of his family nor his namesake reached out to help him. instead of telling the last skywalker to rise, they ignored him (as they had apparently done his whole life) in favor of a palpatine. ok. even though as the last skywalker, he really should’ve been the one to have the final kill against palpatine since it was HIS family that palpatine destroyed, he doesn’t. he’s motionless in a pit for the whole final battle. ok. that will never not leave a bad taste in my mouth. his whole family (except for han apparently i love him) gave up on him and clearly so did the writers. as a fan of the skywalkers and their story, this isn’t the ending i wanted for them. especially when luke and leia and han had given their lives to see him turn to the light. and for what? so he could be used as a plot device to conveniently bring rey back to life and then promptly die (even though they’re a force dryad and, according to jj’s own fucking canon, supposedly one) without any fanfare, emotional reaction whatsoever, or later mention? wtf? it’s disrespectful not only to ben solo, who is easily the best character in the sequel trilogy and one of the best characters in ALL of star wars, but it’s disrespectful to the entire skywalker line!! (and to adam driver, who deserved so much better than this shit. go get that oscar)

rey - by making her a palpatine, jj completely disregarded her arc. whatever your opinions about rey nobody, once they went with it, they never should’ve retconned it and turned her into a legacy character in the final film. it felt cheap. in my theater, there was no cheering about this reveal. because jj had never properly set it up and he didn’t even bother to reveal it an impactful way. but what’s most annoying about rey suddenly being a legacy character is that it completely disregards the fact that she was powerful on her OWN, without any famous blood making her that way. furthermore, by turning her into the chosen one and giving her the entire skywalker legacy (which felt like a slap in the face to the skywalkers imo), she did turn into a mary sue, one of the biggest complaints about her since day 1. she was overpowered, morally perfect, and never faced any failure. i struggled to root for her as the “hero” because i felt everything was handed to her on a silver platter. so not only did jj turn her into a mary sue and take her power away from her by turning her into a legacy, but he also destroyed the fact that her whole arc had been “seeking belonging” and a family. rather than having her final scenes be with her new found family, she ends the movie with her canon soulmate dead and no one but a droid by her side on a desert planet of all places. to add further insult to injury, she also disregards her family name even though they supposedly loved her and sacrificed themselves for her (despite the fact that they sold her but whatever) in favor of a last name of a guy she had barely known. she had more emotional connection to han or leia, but she didn’t take their last name. she took luke’s, the guy who had refused to teach her and who she had come to view in a more negative light towards the end of tlj. in this house i will not EVER be calling her rey sky- i can’t even say it🤢

finn - in all honestly, they screwed finn’s character arc in episode 1 when jj turned him into a lovesick sidekick who served as comedic relief. as a deserted stormtrooper, he could’ve had the most interesting storylines. and he should have. but apparently the writers forgot about him. although they mention his past BRIEFLY, it’s paid no real weight or attention. instead, he spends the whole movie once again trying to (possibly) confess his feeling for rey. and for what? probably just to bait finnrey fans and prove the character’s heterosexuality bc it goes absolutely nowhere. although we find out he’s force sensitive, that too is glossed over and has no lasting effect. he’s also made co general, which okay cool, but then he does nothing?? so while finn could have and should have been a main character with an interesting storyline, they turn him into your average run of the mill action hero with an occasional quip. john boyega, sweetie, i’m so sorry (but i guess that’s kind of what he wanted since he hated tlj, the only movie where he actually had a main role with any character growth?? idk)

poe - it’s once again evident that they originally intended to kill off poe bc he has no arc whatsoever. he gets a little backstory as a drug smuggler now ig, which really came out of left field considering the already established canon with his past as a pilot. he’s more of the same in this movie, except more unlikable than usual (imo). he’s still stubborn, occasionally funny, but mostly he just bickers with rey, which isn’t funny, at all necessary, and doesn’t add anything to the “trio’s” dynamic. he’s at his best when he’s with finn but then, of course, jj has to remind us of how straight he is every single scene so. another character like finn who could have been great, but with the lazy writing, he has no arc, no backstory, no character growth, so he’s just mediocrity personified and just kind of there.

zorii & jannah - both could’ve been awesome. both are just there for a brief introduction and to help the heroes with maybe one thing and that’s it. both deserved better.

the skywalkers - yeah jj really said a big fuck you to luke, leia, and anakin most of all. the WORST part of tros is the fact that it basically makes the previous six episodes useless. anakin’s redemption arc? what does it matter now? he didn’t successfully bring balance to the force. he didn’t successfully kill palpatine. and now his entire bloodline is dead. ok cool😎 thank you jj!!!! what a hopeful end to the skywalker saga!!!! i love seeing that anakin failed and wasn’t REALLY the chosen one. i love that luke and leia gave their legacy to a descendant of the guy who tried to tear apart and terrorized their family. that’s really nice. i love that anakin NEVER reached out to help his grandson who struggled with the dark just like he did. but that he came in just in time to tell palp’s granddaughter to rise😍 really hopeful, lovely ending. thanks again jj! thanks for making leia seem like a bad mother who sees visions about her son but just throws in the towel and doesn’t really try to help him?? wtf??? not my princess leia. also tros luke? truly the worst luke. i really have no other words, i’m just disappointed. jj let me down in every single way possible and ones i didn’t even realize he could.

palpatine - jj also managed to ruin the best star wars villain, a feat i didn’t even think possible. palpatine had always seemed scary to me because of his inhuman qualities. but in this one, he’s back with no explanation whatsoever. he just is. he somehow managed to survive (ok🙄) and furthermore he had a kid. what in the fuck? jj clearly read harry potter and the cursed child, but he clearly also forgot to read the reviews. NOBODY LIKES IT WHEN THE PREVIOUSLY UNTOUCHABLE/SCARY VILLAIN HAS A KID OUT OF NOWHERE. NOBODY. i seriously spent the entire movie wondering who the heck would sleep with him? that’s it. he didn’t seem menacing or at all like a threat. this movie genuinely had no stakes whatsoever (that’s why ben’s death feels so out of left field bc literally for what?! but i digress) also the final “fight” where rey kills him??? very lame. he supposedly survived all those years to be taken out like that?? no thank you, i’d like a refund.

in conclusion, thank you to jj for ruining my favorite franchise by killing off every last one of my favorite characters, destroying the skywalker legacy (& killing them off), ruining seriously every character, and leaving me with despair!!! while i’ll continue to watch star wars without including episode 9, it sucks that some of my joy is zapped from my favorite series. because this is how future generations will know star wars. with this shitty ending. and any future movies will have this canon. and that really fricking sucks. thanks, i hate it.

anyways feel free to message if you’re also in the depths of despair about how this all ended!! bc the more i think about it, the sadder/angrier i get.

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fruit-teeth · 3 years

Text

The Doctor

He was fifteen, and in his mind, he was destined for nothing short of greatness.

Hans combed his hair in the mirror, whistling to himself as he thought about what he was going to do that day. He’d recently been accepted into a medical program at his school, and to celebrate, he would attend a party held by one of his classmates. Excitement flared within him at the thought of finally being invited to a party, and as he pulled on his day clothes, he felt as though he could take on the world.

“Hans!” His sister called from downstairs. “Hans, are you ever coming down? Your breakfast is getting cold!”

Hans huffed, stepping down the stairs. “Here I come, Johanna! It hasn’t even been that long...”

Johanna was seated at the table, drinking her hot tea as Hans approached. “Oh, you dressed up,” she noticed, quirking an eyebrow. “What for?”

“What else?” Hans accepted his bowl of porridge, taking a seat. “To celebrate getting into the medical program, of course!” He grinned, his eyes shining with excitement. “Oh, I’m so happy! This will get me into a good college, just like mother says!”

Johanna looked Hans up and down, before going back to her porridge. “Whatever you say...”

Hans pouted at his sister’s reaction. “You’ll see!” He insisted. “I’ll do great things— I’ll prove myself!”

“Hans,” Johanna set her spoon down, giving her brother a look. “You failed all of your science classes, so how you even managed to get into that program is a miracle. Once they realize you don’t know what you’re doing, they’re gonna kick you out,”

“You don’t know that!” Hans countered, taking a big bite of porridge. “I might do really well— I might get a job from it!”

Johanna rolled her eyes, standing up and clearing her dishes. “Whatever you say...” she repeated. “You might just end up being a bartender, like mother,”

Hans grunted in annoyance. “No...you’re wrong,”

Despite this, Hans went to school that day with a spring in his step. He did not have many friends, but he met up with the other medical students during the lunch hour to discuss the party that night.

“My parents will be out,” Stephan, the boy who was hosting the party, explained. “So we will have the house to ourselves. I have fresh sausage and bread to eat, but we cannot get into my father’s liquor cabinet,”

Ivan, a broad-shouldered boy with a thin mustache above his lip, just smirked. “Your father doesn’t need to know— he won’t notice there’s a little bit missing!”

Laughter rippled through the group, and Hans piped up, “He’ll notice! My mother noticed when I used some of her perfume, parents always know...”

The laughter died down, and there was an awkward silence. After a moment, Elisa, the only girl in the group, asked, “Will you need a ride, Hans? Or will you walk?”

“I will walk,” Hans affirmed. “Stephan’s house is not far from where I live!” He grinned, elbowing Stephan a little. “I see you out in the fields sometimes,”

“Oh— yes, I help my father with the wheat,” Stephan chuckled, clearing his throat and looking to the clock. “We should get back to class...”

As everyone dispersed, Hans called out to the others, “I will see you all tonight! We’ll have fun, I know it!”

The day ended, and Hans went home to get ready for the party. As he put on a fine vest and combed his hair again, his mother, Mila, stepped into the bathroom, getting his attention by knocking on the wall.

“Oh,” Hans turned around, glancing up at his mother. “Mother? You’re back early!”

“I wanted to say hello to you before you go off to your party,” Mila explained, tucking some hair behind his ear. “Oh, look at you...you are so handsome,”

Hans smiled, looking away a little. “Mama...”

“You are,” Mila insisted with a chuckle. She looked him up and down for a moment, clearing her throat. “Are you...sure you want to go to this tonight, son?”

“Huh?” Hans tilted his head, confused. “What do you mean? Of course I’m sure...”

“Well...” Mila wrung her hands a bit, taking a breath. “It’s just that...you don’t know these people. They’re not...” she shook her head, composing herself. “Maybe I’m being silly, but I just have a bad feeling,”

“Mama,” Hans took his mother’s hand into his own, giving it a squeeze. “I will be fine! I’ve never been to a party before, and I’ve never really had friends until now...I just want to have fun, to celebrate!”

Mila sighed, but she smiled, squeezing her son’s hand in return. “Well...all right, son. I know you’ll do well...”

As Hans walked along to Stephan’s house, he felt a strong sense of giddiness and pride. For most of his young life, he had been ignored and shoved to the sidelines in social settings. He’d had friendships before, but they had been fleeting, and it wasn’t often that he could have friend groups or even a best friend. But now, he knew that would change— not only that, but he would prove his family wrong. This group and program were his ticket to medical school: never again would he have to worry about not being able to succeed.

That was why he never could have anticipated what would happen that night.

When Hans first arrived, things seemed all well and good. There were snacks on the table, games to play with the others, and the atmosphere felt warm and relaxed. As he took a bite of sausage while playing a game of Bridge, he felt as though nothing could go wrong, like it was everything he dreamed and more.

As the radio played commercials, the games and laughter subsided for the time being as everyone relaxed in the living room. It was then, though, that Ivan looked at Hans, scanned him up and down, and then asked a question.

“How did you get into this program?” He wanted to know, propping himself up on his elbows.

Hans glanced up in surprise, not expecting the question. “Oh! Well...” he shrugged. “I just applied. They had the form, and I filled it out,”

“We know that, but...” Elisa tried to phrase it nicely. “How did the teachers let you?”

Hans paused, his brow furrowing. “What...what do you mean?”

Stephan sighed. “Listen...Hans, we’ve heard the teachers talk. You’re failing everything.”

Another boy, Oscar, spoke up as well. “We didn’t want to listen in, but we did. We heard you dissected a frog wrong,”

“Yeah!” Ivan affirmed. “How do you dissect a frog wrong?”

Hans groaned, covering his face. “No, no! I am smart, I am!” He let his hands drop, taking a breath. “I’ve just...wanted this for a long time,”

When everyone else went silent, Hans continued. “My father died when I was very young, and my mother had to work hard to provide for us,” he paused, listening to the ramblings of the commercials on the radio, feeling his heart ache. “I...did not like seeing her struggle. So, I wanted to be a doctor, because I know doctors make lots of money. Also, I just...” his eyes glinted with excitement for a brief moment. “I like to learn about bodies, how they work, what they do...everything! So, I want to be a doctor,”

There was a hush among the group. After a moment, Elisa spoke up again. “You want to be a doctor just so you can make money?”

“And so you can study bodies?” Oscar asked with a grimace.

The others murmured amongst themselves, though Hans did not understand what the issue was.

“What?” He asked, his brow furrowing. “Doesn’t everyone want money?”

“Don’t you want to help people?” Ivan questioned, suddenly seeming annoyed. “Don’t you want to make a change?”

Hans frowned, thinking about it. “Well...yes, of course I do. But—“

Stephan suddenly wanted to change the subject. “Hey, everyone! I forgot, my mother left us a cake in the icebox! Let’s go cut some slices, yeah?”

The others agreed, getting up and following Stephan to the kitchen. Hans stayed behind, though, watching them, before sighing and getting up.

He headed to the back porch, closing the door behind him to have some time alone. He hugged his arms, already feeling as though he’d made a mistake...but what had he even done?

Hans stayed outside for a few minutes, trying to calm down, when he heard the door behind him open. He turned around, seeing Ivan standing there.

“Oh...” Hans gave a little wave and nodded. “Did you get cake?”

“No.” Ivan replied, approaching Hans, crossing his arms. “What was the reason you said you wanted to be a doctor?”

“Uh...” Hans swallowed, looking down. “To...make money? And...to...explore—“

Ivan cut him off. “That’s what I thought. You don’t want to be here for the right reasons, you just want money!”

Hans glanced back up in alarm. “What? Right reasons?”

“I’m in this program because I want to be a helper,” Ivan informed Hans, jabbing a finger into his chest. “I want to help others and save lives, I want to be known as a hero! That’s what we all want! You just want money and to play with organs like they’re toys!”

Hans suddenly felt anger bubbling up within him, and despite being significantly smaller than Ivan, he stood up to him. “That isn’t true! I never said I did not want to help anyone!”

“Please,” Ivan scoffed. “We know you, Hans— you never hand in work on time, and you have no idea what you’re doing! I’ve heard what the teachers say about you. You’re just lazy, and you’re using this program to take a shortcut!”

“I’m not lazy!” Hans snapped, his hands balled into fists. “Shut up!”

All of the sudden, Ivan raised his hand and slapped Hans across the face. “You know I’m right! Don’t tell me to shut up!”

Hans flinched when Ivan’s palm made contact with his skin, and he stood there for a moment, unsure of how to process what had just happened. He felt his body tense up, and tears started to prick at his eyes as Ivan began to taunt him.

“What’s the matter?” Ivan shoved him, glaring daggers down at Hans. “Are you crying? Are you crying because I’m right? Is that it?”

Hans clenched his fists tighter, and feeling the anger fill him more and more. He thought about his sister, how she had told him she didn’t understand how he’d made it into this program. He thought about his mother, having to work a job she couldn’t stand just to provide for her family. He thought about the teachers, who never gave him a chance or actually listened to why he was failing their classes— it infuriated him, all that was within him at that moment was pure, unfiltered rage. Ivan shoved him again, and without thinking, Hans leapt up and tackled him.

As Hans began to beat him, Ivan yelled and struggled to his feet, trying to pry the smaller boy off of him. He managed to shove Hans to the ground, but Hans jumped up again and pounced on Ivan, only to knock him down the porch stairs this time, winding up on top of him as the two fell to the dirt in a heap.

Hans caught his breath, sitting up, only to realize that Ivan was still laying there, not moving. After a brief pause, Medic leaned over to look at him, only to pull away with a horrified gasp. Ivan’s eyes were wide-open, and a quick feel of his pulse confirmed that he was dead.

Hans just sat there in the dirt, feeling shock and panic. He looked all around, glancing up the porch steps to the house, realizing that no one had seen them as they hadn’t come to check. After taking a few deep breaths, Hans stood up, trying to plan his next move— he could run home, act like this never happened, but of course the others would find Ivan eventually. What then? Hans would surely be found out, since they had both been outside at the same time...oh, how stupid this was! A fight of all things, leading to a death! If only there was some way to just reverse death—

Wait a moment.

Hans stared down at Ivan’s body, his mind reeling. Could he do it? Could he bring back the dead? He hated Ivan, but he didn’t want to get into any trouble, and this had been an accident...

After confirming that no one had seen the altercation, Hans grabbed Ivan and dragged him into the garage, setting to work.

He checked Ivan’s neck, finding that it had been broken on the way down. There was no way to fix that...or was there? Hans got up and looked around the garage, trying to find something, anything that would give him some kind of answer.

Finally, after opening a drawer, he discovered things that could be of use: a motor, jumper cables, and a canister of lighter fluid. He also gathered some water out of the bathroom sink, which he managed to sneak into while the others were busy playing games inside.

With everything assembled, Hans poured the water and lighter fluid into the motor and hooked it up the jumper cables. He then hooked the cables up to Ivan’s body, hooking one to his finger and one to his ear. However, when he started up the motor, nothing happened.

Hans cursed to himself, frantically searching for something else. He then spotted a wrapped-up, half-eaten sandwich on the garage bench, and somehow, he knew that was the missing piece. Hans snatched up the sandwich, shoving it into the motor and turning it back on again.

This time, something miraculous happened: electricity flowed from the motor and down the jumper cables, accompanied by a hazy red light that seemed to fill the room. Hans watched in awe as the light seemingly popped Ivan’s neck back into place, and the sparks of electricity flickered just above his chest. The light faded after a moment, but before Hans could even do anything, Ivan suddenly sat up and gasped, his eyes wide with terror.

Hans nearly dropped the motor in shock, and he ran over to feel Ivan’s pulse. “You’re alive!” He exclaimed, laughing from the overwhelming shock and triumph of it all. “You’re alive— you were dead, you were dead but I brought you back and you’re alive!”

Ivan, however, did not share the same excitement. He trembled, his eyes filled with fear, and after a moment he started to sob, curling up into a ball onto the table. Hans watched him in confusion, before realizing that the whole experience probably shook him up in a way nothing else would for a long time.

The garage door opened, and Hans felt himself jolt with alarm when he heard Stephan’s voice. “Hey— what’s going on in here!? Ivan? Ivan, are you crying? Hans, why do you have our lawnmower motor?”

Without thinking, Hans bolted, escaping the house and rushing away into the fields behind Stephan’s house. He ran as fast as he could, the motor and jumper cables still in his hands as he followed the path and eventually ended up at his own house.

It was late at night by this point, and Hans entered through the back door, his body thrumming with anxiety. He slammed the door behind him, catching his breath and sinking to the floor.

He’d killed someone, but...he’d also brought him back. He looked down at the contraption in his hands, wondering if all of this was a dream. He didn’t even know what to make of what just happened...in any case, though, he knew he had to keep it a secret.

Hans went upstairs, shoving the device beneath his bed as he cleaned up and got ready for bed. Somehow, he managed to fall asleep, though it was a feverish and anxious sleep, one that was accompanied by fits of nightmares and strange mental images of battles...

The phone rang, startling Hans out of his sleep. It was still early in the morning, and when the phone rang a few more times, Hans knew he would have to be the one to answer.

His hands shaking, he walked into the adjacent hallway and picked up the receiver, swallowing. “H...hello?”

A woman was on the other end, though she spoke in an unfamiliar accent. “Hello. Is this Hans Ludwig-Humbolt?”

Hans froze. Not many people knew his full name...

Despite his panic, he responded, “Yes?”

“Hello, Hans,” the woman greeted. “My apologies for calling at such an unusual hour of the day, but I wanted to let you know that I saw what you did last night,”

Hans felt his heart thudding against his chest. “D...did you? But...how did you—?”

“Don’t worry about that, that’s none of your concern,” the woman insisted. “What I’d like to know is what you did with that contraption you put together, that device you used to bring your classmate back to life,”

“Oh...” Hans shifted nervously from one foot to the other. “I...I have it, it’s with me,”

The woman sounded relieved to hear that. “Oh, good. Well, keep it with you in a safe place, all right? My associates and I would like to stop by tomorrow and take a look at it,”

“Associates...” Hans repeated, confused. “But...but why?”

“Hans,” the woman began. “I work for a company called Mann Co., which is stationed in America. We have interest in purchasing this formula of yours, and if we like it, you will have an opportunity to come and work for us someday,”

Hans felt everything stop for a moment. He considered this offer...it sounded far too good to reject, though he was still scared.

“How much money would you give me for it?” Hans wanted to know, fiddling with the hem of his pajama shirt.

“We will work out a price once we all meet,” the woman explained. “But, rest assured, this company will pay handsomely for such a formula,” she cleared her throat. “So...what do you say?”

Hans turned over the offer in his mind a few times. He could hear his mother snoring down the hallway, blissfully unaware of what was taking place. She would have to get up in a few hours to go to work, to that job she hated...Hans did not want that for her, and he did not want that for himself, either.

“Yes,” he agreed. “Yes, I’ll sell it to you...but I want to work for you, one day,”

Hans could almost hear the grin in the woman’s voice. “Good...I think you will find that you’ve made the right choice today, young man...”

#HAHAH OMG I ACTUALLY DID IT #i finally got medic’s origin written!!!!#I’m so proud of myself #I dunno if its as good as the others but still #aaaaa #gotta go to bed now tho cause I’m tired #my writing #writing #tf2 #tf2 fanfiction #tf2 medic #tf2 administrator #death tw #food mention #ask to tag #just cause this is pretty dark #origins #long post

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calliecat93 · 4 years

Text

Callie’s Disney Princess Retrospective: The Little Mermaid

(Snow White) (Cinderella) (Sleeping Beauty)

By the time of 1989, The Walt Disney Company was in it’s Dark Age. Walt had passed, the Nine Old Men were retiring, and their films were viewed as jokes. The Dark Age tends to get what I feel is an overly harsh reputation, but that’s not what we’re here for. The cold hard truth is Disney was a shadow of its former self. Their films just weren’t getting the same praise as they once did, and now with Don Bluth gaining success, with films like An American Tale and The Land Before Time, they weren’t even the top studio anymore. Their lowest point was the colossal failure of The Black Cauldron and while films like The Great Mouse Detective earned some praise, it was just never enough. They’d start getting some steam with Who Framed Roger Rabbit? but considering that they commissioned Richard William’s studio in England over Disney’s own animation studio, it seemed that even the company itself was losing faith in their own talents.

That all changed, however, with the release of their 28th animated feature. This would be the film that changed everything. It brought Disney back into prominence after years of being laughing stocks. It would enter the animation medium into its Renaissance, a time still fondly remembered by many. And for the purposes of this series, it is the film that both resurrected and revitalized the Disney Princess franchise. All of this would be due to 1989’s The Little Mermaid.

Overview

Ariel is a mermaid, but she dreams of one day being able to be part of the human world. Always collecting whatever surface world treasures she can find, to her father’s disapproval, Ariel one day stumbles upon a ship celebrating the birthday of the handsome Prince Eric. It’s love at first sight, but as he is a human, her father King Triton reacts negatively. Hurt, Ariel goes to the sea witch Ursula, who grants her human legs at the cost of her voice. To remain human, Ariel has three days to get Eric to fall in love with her and kiss her. But Ursula has her own wicked plans for Ariel, plans that will endanger both land and sea. Will Ariel be able to get Eric to fall in love with her and become part of his world? Or will Ursula triumph?

Review

youtube

I have been waiting for this day for SO LONG. Do you want to know why I decided to do this series, to begin with? Aside from 2020 driving me to insanity? It’s because while the complaints against the Disney Princesses in general have frustrated me for as long as I can remember, there were two in particular that always made my blood boil because they made no sense. Cinderella was the first one, which I already covered. The other? Ariel. I think you all know what I’m referring to here, but let’s put a pin in it for now. We have a LOT to discuss before we get to analyzing Ariel herself. First, let's go over the film.

The film is based on the story of the same name by Hans Christian Anderson. Walt himself had actually planned it long before, but sadly was never able to make it a reality. When the directors pitched it, at first it was denied due to Disney having already releasing a mermaid film called Splash not too long ago. But it was allowed to continue to be worked on as a future project and after a great deal of tweaking, expansion, and reworking, it was approved as a feature film to come out after Oliver and Company. There were a LOT of changes from the original story. The sea witch went from neutral to the villain, characters were expanded and added, and of course the story of unrequited love that ended with the little mermaid committing suicide was thrown out all together. A lot of the story basis was still there, but Disney was taking it and making it their own arguably even moreso than with the Classic Three.

The animation is fantastic. Many of the films prior like The Rescuers and Oliver and Company, while they looked nice, had this… roughness to it. I mean they were outright recycling animation for a good while, with Robin Hood being the biggest example. But the animation here is some of the nicest, most fluid that they’ve had in quite a long time. It’s colorful, expressive, and grand in feel. This is especially true with the musical numbers. I mean Under the Sea has SO much going on, and it is a true spectacle! It’s especially prominent when Ariel is mute. Since she can’t express herself with words, the animation had to be on point so that we could still understand her thoughts and feelings. They did an amazing job. From things like her visual glee at being human when going to bed the first night, to her annoyingly blowing her bangs during the canoe ride, turning into excited glee when Eric guesses her name. It helps Ariel feel more like a three-dimensional character and illustrates everything to us that words couldn’t at that point.

The biggest animation challenge for this film would be to convincingly portray the illusion of being under water. They had to convince us that Ariel was living under the sea, and I’d say they did a pretty good job. It is no easy task and trying to describe it is… hard. But I never had any doubt that they were underwater, especially compared to the scenes that were on the surface/ just look at how Ariel's hair is constantly flowing compared to how it sits when on the surface. It’s that attention to detail that I always appreciate. The opening especially, seeing the underwater landscape thriving as we see the silhouetted merpeople until the grand reveal of King Triton’s castle. Not to mention the seashore setting of Eric’s own castle and kingdom, a perfect match for this sort of movie. As someone who loves water/seaside settings, it’s always a joy to see!

While several of these people worked on the Dark Age films, this is really the first film that allows the then-new talent of Disney to shine. The directors were John Musker and Ron Clements, who are VERY important names to the Princess line. They not only gave us Ariel but also Jasmine, Tiana, and Moana. They’ve been attached to many of Disney’s most beloved films and event cult classics like The Great Mouse Detective and Treasure Planet (both of which you should watch). You also have animators such as Glen Keane, who would go on to animate Pocahontas and Rapunzel and work on some of the future princes (The Beast and Aladdin), and Mark Henn who would animate Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas (alongside Keane), Mulan, and Tiana. They both would be the supervising animators for Ariel, and go on to have very successful careers in future productions.

But this film also gave us what may have been the best decision that the new management ever made. For the music, they hired lyricist Howard Ashman, who chose composer Alan Menken to collaborate with him. I cannot stress enough how important these two’s contributions were for this (and the next film we’ll be discussing) production, especially the former. Ashman became very passionate about this project and was very influential on it’s direction to the point of being credited as a producer. Menken of course would go on to have a LONG, successful career as a composer on many of the Renaissance films. Many of which we’ll be touching on in this retrospective. These guys won two Oscars for The Little Mermaid for a reason.

I haven’t talked a whole lot about the music in these films outside a little bit about the main song. That’s because while not unimportant, the music didn’t really move the story along. Like Someday My Prince Will Come/ is cute, but does it really drive anything forward? Or tell us anything about Snow White that we didn’t already know from I’m Wishing? Not really. Ashman, using his stage musical experience, wanted to use that kind of styling with The Little Mermaid. To use music to add depth to both the characters and to the story. We’re all used to most Disney films being this Broadway-esque spectacle nowadays, but this film was the first to truly do so. Considering how this formula is still being used to this day, I think it’s safe to say that it was VERY successful. Again, the music won two Oscars for a reason. Heck for a LONG time, the music was all that Disney was able to win from The Academy, so that says a LOT as to how good this was.

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So now that we’ve made it here, I’m going to discuss the vocal tracks individually and give my thoughts on each of the major ones:

Fathoms Below: Might be the most underrated song of the bunch. It’s in the style of a sea-shanty discussing the legends of what is below the sea. It’s a great intro to the film, letting us know right off the bat what kind of movie we are in for. I know that it sure had me invested~

Part of Your World/Reprise: I’m gonna go more into depth on the song’s meanings when we analyze Ariel, but this song is perfect. It’s the song that tells us Ariel’s wants and dreams and Jodi Benson does such a great job putting so many different emotions into it. The animators also did a fantastic job with the expressions, fully showcasing Ariel’s longing, sadness, and desperation to be part of a world that she cannot. The reprise equally does a great job showcasing her evolving revolve, going from ‘longing’ to ‘determined’. The song is fondly remembered for a reason… and it almost didn’t make it into the film. During screen testings, Jeffrey Katzenberg (the studio head at the time) wanted the sequence cut as the kid audience was ‘bored’ and ‘restless’. The directors and Ashman HEAVILY disagreed and argued back, with Glen Keane ultimately being the one to convince Katzenberg to keep the scene. Thank God for it because this adds such a strong, emotional core to both the story and to Ariel’s character and it would have taken so much away if removed. I love it~

Under the Sea: This was the number that won the Oscar. I… find it the most overrated track tbh. Not that it’s bad, FAR from it. It’s probably the best animation-wise with how much is going on. Sebastian somehow managed to conduct… all the sea life into a mass spectacle that certainly had me convinced to living under the sea. The calypso style is very fitting and fun, and Samuel E Wright sings it with so much passion. I guess that I find it overrated because I just like other songs more, but this is still a true showstopper that’s worth revisiting.

Poor Unfortunate Souls: Aside from I think Cruella DeVille (and even then Roger’s the one singing it), I think that this is the first true villain song in a Disney film. If so, then they started on a GLORIOUS note. I love this song! It was THE perfect song for Ursula. The first half with her fake reformed villain act but with this condescending air to it (Pat Carroll’s delivery with the ‘Pathetic’ line is perfection) was already grand, but the second half? Pat Carroll just lets loose and goes utterly insane. It is AMAZING and has so much charisma to it that you can’t help but be invested. It’s also very creepy, especially in the end with Ursula's cauldron bubbling and especially how she takes Ariel’s voice. This would inspire many great villain songs in the future and to this day remains one of the all-time greats.

Les Poissons: I never thought that seeing a chef cook would be so horrifying… the song is fine. It’s a silly sequence, albeit morbid from poor Sebastian’s perspective, and Rene Auberjonois did a fantastic job despite the song being pretty short. It’s my least favorite track, mainly because it doesn’t really add or enhance anything. But it was fun… poor Senastian though XD

Kiss the Girl: The love song of the film. I love the animation for this one. I mean what’s more romantic than taking a canoe out on the lake? That’s where I’d want my first date to end! The mood is set so well with the use of shadows and once more, Sebastian is able to conduct a spectacle effortlessly. Once more Samuel E Wright does a fabulous job singing, this time with a serenade style. Even if poor Scuttle didn’t get the appreciation that he deserved. Let the seagull sing, dang it! The only thing that ruins it is the eels capsizing the canoe, jerks! But yeah a beautiful serenade that is bound to convince anyone to… well, kiss the girl XD

And that’s not even getting into Alan Menken’s score! Alan Menken is my favorite composer of all time, so I love everything that he has ever done. I still remember the opening, hearing the instrumental of Part of Your World and immediately became invested in this film. The man is an EGOT for a reason, and this is only one of the many fantastic soundtracks that we’ll be discussing in this review. He also did some additional music for the Broadway version of the film, and there’s a whole body of demo work that he and Ashman did that you can probably find on Youtube, Spotify, or whatever music streaming service you use. Listen to Ashman’s rendition of Part of Your World, you WILL be driven to tears.

So now we get to characters… and HO BOY do we have a lot. For the sake of this review we will be going over King Triton, Sebastian, Flounder, Scuttle, Ursula, Prince Eric, and as per usual Ariel will have her own section at the end.

King Triton, while not evil, serves as an antagonist early on in the film. By all appearances, Triton is a capable ruler who wields a great deal of power due to his triton. He appears just, and for the most part he is as well as a caring father. The only problem is… well, his anger issues. Triton HATES humans and the surface world. We’re never told why aside from him calling them ‘fish-eaters’ (the DTV prequel suggests it’s due to the death of his wife, but the canonicity is debatable), but considering that his youngest daughter’s greatest passion is learning about the surface world… yeah. Needless to say, they have issues between them. But he is otherwise loving and was even excited that Ariel may have found love until he found out about their species. With how overprotective he is, that was a nice subversion despite how brief it was.

Triton often gets the ‘abusive’ label thrown against him and while I do think that that’s a little too strong, there is no denying that his hatred and anger affects Ariel emotionally. He may have seen destroying Ariel’s grotto as for her own good and is likely the culmination of however long Ariel’s been going to the surface finally boiling over. But to do this right in front of her when she is begging him to stop and outright ridiculing her for saving Eric’s life… yeah. It’s… it’s a horrifying scene that does NOT make Triton look good and is what pushes Ariel into seeing Ursula. It doesn’t matter the reason, destroying your children’s things is something that WILL scar them emotionally. To be far, the moment Ariel breaks down Triton clearly realizes that he crossed the line, but he just leaves because… yeah there was NO WAY that they were reaching a reconciliation at that moment.

Triton has a lot of issues, but the reason I don’t call him abusive and like him as a character is because after the grotto scene, he was clearly remorseful. After Ariel goes missing, he outright says ‘What have I done?” and his demeanor expresses a lot of remorse. If that wasn’t enough, I think that him both selling his soul to free Ariel AND turning her human after realizing how much she loved Eric more than showed that he has learned his lesson. Triton had to learn to allow Ariel to grow up and choose her own direction in life, even if he didn’t like said direction. It’s very relatable to how some parents struggle to let go of their children as they grow up. My only real complaint is, as I said, we don’t know why Triton hates humans so much. If we did and saw him work through it, it may have helped us understand why he was so against Ariel’s passions and not come off as needlessly cruel as he did. Nevertheless, he realized his wrongs and made it right. His hug with Ariel at the end is one that gets me every time.

The sidekicks of the film are Flounder, Scuttle, and Sebastian. IDK why they named Flounder Flounder because he isn’t… well, a flounder. He looks like some kind of tropical fish. Flounder is kind of the kid appeal character, even being voiced by a child in all incarnations except Return to the Sea since he had grown up. He is Ariel’s best friend who goes with her on her adventures, despite almost always being easily frightened. He’s well-meaning, but can cause more trouble like when he accidentally exposed Ariel’s excursion during the concert. But he’s also a sweet little guy and very loyal to Ariel. The kid outright went out of his way to somehow recover the Eric statue, which is ten times his size, and deliver it to her grotto to make her happy. That is friendship. He doesn’t really develop, but he’s a nice supporting character.

Scuttle is… well, dumb. But a fun dumb. He’s a surface creature and thus has more knowledge about surface world items than Ariel does… except he doesn’t. He’s not smart, but they manage to keep him entertaining because he’s so sure that he knows what he’s talking about. Imo, dinglehoppers are a MUCH better name for forks than forks, dang it! He tries to help, like it was his idea to try the serenade during the canoe ride… too bad that he can’t hold a note. Poor bird tried. They also DO allow him to be useful at the end, discovering that Ursula had tricked Eric and he amassed one heck of an army to humiliate her long enough for Ariel to reach the ship. It is one of the funniest AND most awesome moments in the whole film. Scuttle is just fun comedic relief who doesn’t overstay his welcome and his VA Buddy Hackett did such a great job~

But if there’s any character aside from Ariel that we remember from this film, it’s Sebastian. This Jamaican crab is the royal musical conductor and Triton’s advisor. He’s often the one who has to watch over Ariel, which clearly frustrates him on multiple occasions. Tbh, Sebastian probably has the most character development in the film. In the beginning, while understandably upset that Ariel being a no-show ruined his conducting debut (though tbf… NO ONE bothered to make sure she was in place? Really?), he’s mainly upset that /he/ looked bad. After the storm, he’s more concerned about getting into trouble with Triton than about Ariel herself. He knows how much the human world means to her, and while one can argue that Ariel /should/ be more aware of how her actions affect others, Sebastian isn’t much better. He only discourages her to save his own shell, not for her own good. Which eventually leads to him breaking and exposing what happened during the storm when he should know damn well that Triton will explode. Yeah it was because he misunderstood, but still.

However, Sebastian isn’t a bad crab. After the grotto's destruction, he immediately feels guilty and tries to apologize to Ariel, but she angrily dismisses him. He tries to convince Ariel to not go to Ursula, but as she’s still upset she bitterly brushes him off and tells him to get her father since he’s good at that. He therefore follows with only Flounder and at first, panics after Ariel is human. It’s understandable because… yeah, that’s bad. His first reaction is to get Triton to fix this, with Ariel trying to stop him. Once he sees the heartbroken look on her face, Sebastian realizes just how miserable Ariel would be back home. At this point, it's reasonable to assume that Triton will only be stricter about letting her have her ventures, and thus she’d be stuck in an unhappy life. This, along with the situation at least being partially his fault, convinces Sebastian to hold off and help Ariel win Eric over. Which he certainly tries his best.

One of my favorite scenes is Ariel going to bed and being so excited to experience these new things as Sebastian tries to advise her on getting Eric to kiss her. But he stops when he sees that Ariel has fallen asleep with the biggest smile on her face, and he just affectionately calls her a ‘hopeless child’. The affection in his expressions and Samuel E Wright’s delivery is just so sincere and it really shows that for all his bluster, Sebastian does care for Ariel. The crab is also a seriously talented conductor. Like I said, he put together both Under the Sea AND Kiss the Girl in zero time and they’re both amazing numbers because of it. He really tries hard to help Ariel and once Ursula strikes again, he decides it’s finally been long enough and gets King Triton. Sure that doesn’t go well, but at that point it was absolutely the right call. He also helps fight off Flotsam and Jetsam, willing to put himself in harm’s way to help both Ariel and Eric.

Sebastian became a much more understanding, more selfless crab over the course of the film, realizing that he needs to care less about saving his own skin and to understand why Ariel does what she does. It’s especially notable at the end. In the beginning, he advised Triton to keep a firm grip on Ariel when he asks if he was too harsh. At the end? He advises him that children have to be free to lead their own lives, which is what convinces Triton to grant Ariel legs. It’s a really nice character arc and this along with Sebastian’s two spectacular musical numbers leaves no question as to why he’s so beloved.

But what’s a great film without a great villain? For that we get one of the best, Ursula the Sea Witch. She is a fantastic villainess. She’s a large octopus woman who used to work in the palace, but for reasons unknown got banished. In early versions, she was going to be Triton’s sister which would have added a VERY twisted dynamic to the whole thing. Maybe that’s where they got the idea for Scar in The Lion King… anyways! Her design was based on Drag Queen Divine who was also going to be the VA for Ursula, but she sadly passed away of an enlarged heart before any recording to be done. After going through various performers, the production staff settled on actress Pat Carroll, who did a spectacular job. You can just tell that she is loving every single second of this role, and she has always happily returned whenever they need new Ursula material like in House of Mouse or in the parks. Just listen as she goes off the chain in Poor Unfortunate Souls that is some amazing acting.

Ursula is confident, manipulative, and a true actress. Her entire gimmick is manipulating vulnerable, insecure people into making deals with her. Deals that are pretty much impossible to keep and thus, she claims them as hers and adds them to her ‘garden’. She targets Ariel specifically because of her passion for the surface world and since she likely knows of Triton’s hatred for it AND of his anger problems, she’s just waiting for the day he screws up and Ariel is vulnerable. I’m gonna go MUCH more in depth with this when we get to Ariel, but this is SO important to note. Ursula struck when Ariel was hurt, emotional, and not thinking straight. It shows just how manipulative she can be. This is who she preys on. She knows how to sway them to act how she wants them to. She’s a saleswoman, and BOY does she sell it. It doesn't help that she gives Ariel very little personal space and manipulates her feelings for Eric to be further swayed. Yet Ariel is the stupid one because she was manipulated by a master manipulator… patience Callie, you’re gonna be able to let it out soon enough…

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Ursula works so well as a villain because of how smart and manipulative she is. Like I said, she knows how to prey on the vulnerable and insecure. But she also knows when to get herself involved. After Ariel almost kisses Eric on the second day, Ursula disguises herself and uses Ariel’s voice to hypnotize Eric. And even though Scuttle and his undersea army humiliate her and Ariel gets her voice back, she bought just enough time for the sun to set and the spell breaks. Ursula won. She captured Ariel, forced Triton to sell himself to save his daughter, and claimed ultimate power. It was a truly methodical plan that ultimately succeeded. You gotta give her props for that.

Don’t make any mistakes though. While Ursula is intelligent and confident, she /is/ still evil. I’ve seen people say that she should have won just because they don’t like the ‘abusive tyrant’ Triton. Aside from what I already said about Triton above, Ursula is shown to be far, FAR worse. I mean… I hate to use the term, but she essentially s***-shames Ariel throughout Poor Unfortunate Souls. I mean she outright calls her a ‘little tramp’ after the canoe scene, which in this context is a G-Rated way of calling her a s***. To a sixteen year old. Yeah… plus we saw how power-mad she went once she got the triton, and it didn’t bode well for either land or sea. Triton’s temperamental, but he isn’t a tyrant. Ursula’s only redeeming trait is that she DOES care for her henchmen Flotsam and Jetsam, and their death at Ariel’s hand is what provoked her to go mad with power. This was ultimately her undoing as she was so focused on tormenting Ariel that it allowed Eric to take his ship and kill her. It’s a pretty gruesome Disney Villain Death (we outright see her SKELETON FLASHING at one point), but she brought it upon herself.

If you asked me what villain helped shape many of the ones we got during the Renaissance… I’d say Professor Ratigan from The Great Mouse Detective. But Ursula was the first Renaissance villain, and she started it off right. She’s enjoyable enough that we love it when she’s on screen, but still detestable enough that we want her to lose. Many complain about doing ‘purely evil’ villains. That villains HAVE to be sympathetic or nuanced, otherwise they are poorly written. While there’s nothing wrong with sympathetic, or even redeemable villains, having a purely evil one is also perfectly fine. Disney is the master of this. Ursula’s motivation is strictly to gain power, but it works because they give her character so much personality and charisma. Petty motivation, but excellent character writing that makes us not mind. I’d say if you want to learn how to do a Pure Evil character right, study Ursula in particular along with Jafar and Hades. They’re all great examples of how to do it right.

Finally we come to our leading man, Prince Eric. So far the Disney Princes have acted more as a necessity than anything. It’s as I said in the Sleeping Beauty Review, Florian and Charming fill out a plot point and while he was more proactive in comparison, Phillip fell into the same trap. Did Eric finally break the curse? Well… yes and no. He's a firm middle ground between ‘necessity’ and ‘actual character’. He’s allowed FAR more than any of the other princes thus far. Eric is a seasman, he loves going out on the ocean in his ships. He’s adventurous, good-looking, and an overall nice guy. We see that he isn’t really into fancy stuff, outright cringing when Grimsby unveils the statue. He also isn’t interested in Grimsby trying to set him up with various noble women. Like Jasmine and to a degree Prince Charming, he wants to find love for love, but on his own time. These are the traits that attract Ariel to him. Plus he’s also heroic, going back to a BURNING SHIP in order to save his dog Max… yeah I’d fall in love with him too.

After Ariel saves him, Eric becomes determined to find her. But he only briefly saw her face and heard her voice. Funny how NO ONE gets on Eric for this while hating on Ariel, but again we’ll get to that soon enough. When he meets Ariel he recognizes her face… but since she can’t talk, assumes that she can’t be the mystery girl. Still, being a good person, he takes her back to the palace to give her shelter. It’s not long before he becomes endeared by her though. She’s pretty, sweet, and even though she can’t talk he has a good time showing her around the kingdom. It's so clear by /Kiss the Girl/ that he has fallen for her, to the point that even Grimsby points it out to him. It gets him to give up on the mystery girl which is VERY important. It shows us that Eric didn’t fall for Ariel because she happened to be the girl he was looking for, but because of who she is as a person. It shows the audience that his feelings are genuine which makes us further root for him and Ariel… too bad that Ursula goes and ruins it.

As far as personality goes, Eric is more fun than his predecessors, but he’s still stuck with the standard prince-like personality. He’s given more lines than all of them combined and has a real charm to him. You can see why Ariel would like a guy like him. He’s kind, fun, adventurous, and even a little rebellious. He is her ideal vision of what humans are like. The end of the film lets him prove himself as well, going out to help Ariel despite the danger and of course using his own ship to kill Ursula. It does cause Ariel to be a bit of a Damsel in Distress, but she DID save him much earlier and she stops Ursula from blasting him to smithereens, so it balances out. It was enough to prove himself to Triton, at least. So Eric is a nice step up as far as princes go, but we’re not quite out of the well with them yet. But it won’t be much longer, heehee XD

There’s other supporting characters that I really don't have much to say about. Ariel’s sisters are nicely designed, but ultimately bland. I think the series and Ariel’s Beginning did more with them, but otherwise there’s not anything to discuss. Grimsby is fine enough, being the closest thing that Eric has to a parental figure (where ARE Eric’s parents in all of this anyways?) and is stuffy, but otherwise a decent guy. Chef Louie is… crazy. That’s all that I can say. This film has a lot of characters, let’s put it that way. But of course, we have one more to go over. The titular little mermaid herself. I’ve been hinting at this throughout the review, so I think you all know exactly how this will go…

Ariel Analysis

I cannot stress enough how massive a step Ariel was for the Disney Princess line. As much as I have defended the Classic Three and standby all of that, there is certainly some repetition going one with them. All three are beautiful, passive, and can’t directly do much to accomplish their dreams. And at least two of them are dreaming mainly about a man, which is NOT a bad thing, but it was certainly getting old. Feminism has also been evolving since 1959, the last time a Disney Princess film came out. A lot had changed in those thirty years. Women in media could now be more proactive, take matters into their own hands, and have their own hopes and dreams that weren’t just about love while still being allowed to find love. Simply put, as much as I love Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora, the times had changed and it was time for Disney to get with those times. Thus we got Ariel, and she was exactly the right princess to take the line into a whole new direction.

The beginning of the film is a pretty clever way to set her up. The Classic Three are known for being angelic singers, and for good reason. It’s pretty much the first thing they do when we meet them (well, as an adult in Aurora’s case) so the concert sets this up. It’s Ariel’s ‘debut” and her sisters all have the looks and angelic voices that fit the archetypal Disney Princess. But then the shell opens up… and is empty. Then we cut to Ariel, who is about to go inside a sunken ship to look for surface world artifacts. It is an excellent subversion, setting up a Classic Princess move and flipping it on it’s head. It’s shown very quickly that Ariel is adventurous and actively seeking out her dreams despite her situation instead of trying to just make do with the way things were and hoping for the best. We also get a fun sequence of her and Flounder escaping a shark, so first time a Princess got an action scene as well.

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The film very quickly establishes Ariel’s love and fascination with the surface world. Exploring sunken ships, going to Scuttle to get more information, later we see her grotto that is filled with so many items that we would consider standard, but that she considers treasures. These mean so much to her. She finds the surface world ‘wonderful’. But there are setbacks and consequences for her actions, in this case her forgetting about the concert. She didn't mean to and feels bad about it, and Flounder mentioning the reason why didn’t help. It’s clear that Ariel and Triton have been arguing about this for a long time, the latter failing to understand how much this means to Ariel and is at his wit’s end. His demands for her to stop upset her, causing her to storm out of the throne room and head for her grotto.

This leads to Part of Your World. This song/sequence is vital to understand Ariel’s character. This is the song where she expresses all her hopes and dreams. How she wants to be human. How she wants to learn more about the surface world. How she wants to experience things like walking down a street or finding out how a fire can burn. Throughout the film, we never learn how Ariel got so interested in human culture and just why she’s so passionate about it. But we really don’t need an in-depth explanation because this song conveys so much sincerity and emotion that it makes us believe in her passion. We understand how much this matters to her, and in turn it makes it matter to us. It’s why if it had gotten removed, it would have robbed Ariel of this depth and in turn, rob the film of something essential to its story. Thank God it remained intact.

This is a good time to talk about Ariel’s voice actress, Jodi Benson. Having originally been in Howard Ashman’s failed musical Smile, she was brought in originally as Ariel’s singing voice before being promoted to also doing the speaking the lines. This was not only her voice acting debut, but as far as I can tell her film debut as well. She did such a lovely job in the role. She perfectly conveys Ariel’s passion, drive, and sincerity while still coming off as a sixteen year old girl. Her singing voice has been rightfully praised, and to this day Ariel is often considered the best singer among the princesses. Benson has gone on to do other voice roles such as Barbie in the Toy Story films, Patsy and Ms. Doe in Camp Lazlo, and Aquagirl in Batman Beyond. She has continued to reprise Ariel to this day when needed and has always expressed so much love and gratitude for the film and her part in it, She’s also supported others who have done the role like Auli’i Cravallho (aka Moana) for the ABC Musical and Halle Bailey for the upcoming live-action remake. She’s a lovely woman and may she continue to do well~

Going back to the film, Ariel finds herself at a ship and this is where she sees Eric for the first time. It’s love at first sight. Of the Renaissance Era Princesses, Ariel is the one who gets the ‘love at first sight’ critique levied at her the most. Belle and Mulan of course didn’t have that issue and I usually see Jasmine and Pocahontas be given a free pass in this regard. Now of the five, The Little Mermaid IS the most blatant with the trope, but let’s look at it through Ariel’s POV. This is the first time that she’s seen so many humans up close. Eric is around her age (to my knowledge, at least. His VA was 16 at the time IIRC). It is very quickly established that Eric is jovial, uninterested in things like statues in his image, rebellious as he has rejected all the women Grimsby has arranged him with, and wants to find love for himself. He has many of the traits that Ariel herself has, being a rebellious, free-spirit teen herself. But most of all he is heroic, as demonstrated when he goes back to his burning ship to save his dog.

In other words, Eric is Ariel’s ideal vision of what people are like. She saves him from drowning, the first time that a Princess has saved her Prince, and is able to look at him more closely. She is clearly infatuated and seeing this man, this good-hearted, handsome young man who is everything that she ever dreamed of. This is what pushes her from just dreaming about being human to swearing that somehow she /will/ be human. Yes, she gets motivated by love, but the goal was there before this moment. It just became a solidified goal. One that she is going to make a reality someway, somehow. She even notes in the Part of Your World Reprise that she doesn’t know when or how, but it doesn’t matter. Compared to how fleeting her hopes were in the main song, the reprise is so much more triumphant and determined and continues to show just how important this truly is to Ariel.

Sadly however she still has one obstacle in between her and her dream; her father. The next day she is so happy and lovesick and it’s really cute, but Sebastian knows that this is going to cause major issues with her father. His big Under the Sea plea goes ignored, and Ariel is led to her grotto by Flounder, who has brought her the Eric statue. She’s so happy and acting like… well, a teenager in love. But unfortunately due to Sebastian jumping the gun, Triton finds out and he is enraged. Not only is he angry that Ariel again went to the surface, but she both saved and fell in love with a human. Thus we get the dark scene of Triton, in his rage, destroying the grotto. Every item, treasure, and relic that Ariel has gathered for who knows how long has become nothing but a pile of dust. Including the statue of the man she loves.

Say what you want about ‘love at first sight’ or Ariel being a lovesick dummy, but this is outright traumatizing. This sixteen year old girl, a girl who aside from forgetting a few engagements has done nothing wrong, had all of her hopes and dreams shattered by her own father all because of his own blind hatred. Imagine being a teenager and your parents destroying everything you love all because they hated something that you loved. Even if Triton regretted it, it doesn’t change the pain that he inflicted upon his own daughter as she breaks down. She’s so upset that she rejects Sebastian trying to apologize and just tells him and Flounder to go away. They comply, leaving Ariel to cry in her now bare grotto… that is, until Flotsam and Jetsam appear.

So.. let’s now talk about Ariel going to Ursula and accepting the deal. First, her going in the first place. When Flotsam and Jetsam bring Ursula up, Ariel… /refuses/ to go. She is aware that Ursula is bad news. She had no intention of going to her at first and outright tells the eels to leave. What makes her agree? The two knocking the remains of the Eric statue in front of her. At this point, Ariel’s pretty much been rejected by her father and all of her treasures that kept her seabound are gone, so… what’s she got left to lose? She follows and naturally Sebastian tries to stop her, but she just angrily tells him to get her father since he’s good at that.

Ariel enters Ursula’s domain, and we come to the scene. Ursula declares to have changed, demonstrates her power, and offers Ariel the deal to become human for three days and it’ll be permanent if Eric kisses her. If Ariel fails, she not only becomes a mermaid again, but she belongs to Ursula. She also has to give up her voice as payment. Now we all know the big criticism against this, that being Ariel selling her voice and leaving behind her family and all that she ever knew and loved… for some prince that she hasn’t even really met yet, let alone spoken to. Now do I see why people dislike this? Yes. It’s a very rash, very stupid decision not just for those factors, but the fact that Ariel is essentially selling herself to the devil for this one thing. None of this is a good thing… but here is the big question, does the film do enough that this makes sense for Ariel’s character? Is this something that I can see her doing?

Yes, yes I can.

Let’s look at this piece by piece. First, Ariel is clearly uncomfortable the entire time that she is in Ursula’s lair. Ursula continuously gets into her personal space, laying on the manipulation at every step. When she lays out the deal, Ariel is at first hesitant. She herself brings up that if she takes it, she’ll likely never see her family again. She’s also hesitant when Ursula lays out the terms of payment, not just because she has no idea how she’d woo Eric without it, but just the concept of losing her voice clearly unnerves her. Look at her face when she grabs at her own throat, she is NOT okay with this. Even when Ursula begins to create the brew and poof sup the contract, Ariel isn’t excited or just jumps to it without thinking. She is VERY CLEARLY hesitant and unnerved about everything.

So… why does she do it then? Well remember, she’s still emotional after her confrontation with her father. Her father has rejected her in her eyes and destroyed everything that she had worked for. At this point, her dreams and feelings for Eric are all that she has. She is hurt, emotional, and desperate and when we are hurt, emotional, and desperate we tend to make rash, even outright stupid decisions. Especially when we’re teenagers. Ursula waited to strike at this very moment for this exact reason; so that Ariel wouldn’t be thinking rationally. These are the exact kind of people that Ursula preys on, and as I said above, she knows how to manipulate them to act how she wants. She gives Ariel the offer of her dreams, assures her that she can woo Eric without talking, poofs Eric’s image up at one point, and makes it clear that she’s giving her very little time to think it over.

With absolutely nothing left to lose and it being clear that her father will never support her dreams, Ariel reluctantly signs the contract. She outright turns her head away when she signs. She KNOWS that she’s making a big choice and she isn’t 100% okay with it. She didn’t just give up her life callously for a man like some like to make out. It was a rash choice, but she had reluctance and fears about it. But it’s the only chance she’ll get to get her dream of being human and being happy, which is what ultimately drives her to make her choice. Given how she risked her life already against a shark, this is in-character for her and shows how far she’ll go for her dreams. And as we’ll see, this is going to have consequences as we near the end of the film.

So the deal is made. Ariel loses her voice and is transformed into a human. Once she makes it to shore, she gets to see her new legs, and for the first time since the confrontation, is happy. She has legs. She is human. The one thing that she had wanted for so, so long has finally come true. Naturally Sebastian wants to get Triton, but she stops him and gives him the saddest, most pleading look that I think I’ve ever seen. This is Ariel’s one and only chance to get what she dreamed of. Triton would not only stop her, but considering what happened before, who knows what else he’d do if he saw her as a human. It is 10% understandable why Ariel doesn't want him involved, especially once it would just lead her back to a life of misery. Sebastian realizes this and agrees to help her, which pretty much gets her to forgive him for what happened before.

Thus, we get to the first true meeting between Ariel and Eric. Of course, Ariel can’t explain who she is because of her voice being gone, so Eric assumes that she can’t be the same girl he saw despite her looking like her. But he sees her in the makeshift dress that Scuttle got her into and assumes that she’s shipwrecked, especially since she can’t walk well. So he takes her to the palace, and Ariel is able to get refreshed and get used to walking on legs. She is clearly delighted by everything. She is now part of the world that she longed for,, and she is loving every second of it. Sure she quickly finds out that forks aren’t combs, but hey she’s learning exactly what she wanted to learn. She is in utter bliss throughout the two days that she’s on the surface, doing thinks like learn to dance and ride a horse-drawn carriage. It’s all she ever hopes it would be.

But of course, Ariel still needs to get Eric to kiss her, or all of her dreams will end. She almost makes it with Kiss the Girl, which despite not being able to talk she made it pretty clear that she was willing and ready for Eric to kiss her. Ursula ruins that, but Ariel HAS endeared herself to Eric and he even prepares to go to her after giving up on the mystery mermaid. But of course, Ursula disguises herself as Vanessa via Ariel’s voice and hypnotizes Eric into marrying her. It’s sad because when Scuttle informs her of the proposal, Ariel is elated. She runs down the stairs, excited and gleeful… then she sees Eric and Vanessa, and you can see her heart break in two. It especially hits hard as she watches the ship take off, broken-hearted. She’s lost the man she loves, in moments she will be a mermaid again, and she will belong to Ursula fair and square. She pursued her dream, and it all seemed for naught.

But once Scuttle finds out about Ursula, Ariel quickly springs into action. With her friend's help, she reaches the ship just as Ursula’s necklace gets broken. This is a nitpick but I don’t like how Ariel ultimately wasn’t very active in helping rescuer Eric. Tbf IDK what she could have done, but I’d have liked to see her stand against Ursula before things go downhill. Otherwise it feels like this and the other events after… kind if feel handed to her by convenience and luck. But regardless she gets her voice back… but she fails to kiss Eric before the sun sets. That’s right folks, the so-called selfish, stupid deal that Ariel made? She failed to uphold it. She reverts to a Mermaid and now belongs to Ursula, and Triton can’t break it as it’s legally binding. So even if you DO think that Ariel made a bad choice, the film shows that yes, it WAS bad and she is now paying the consequences. Sure Triton sacrifices himself to take her place, but that still means that Ursula not only gets power, but her father is now a husk.

Ariel is enraged at this. Despite everything, I don’t think there’s any doubt that Ariel still loves her daddy. She was reluctant about never seeing him again before, and now seeing how her deal has lead to his fate upsets her. One big issue with Ariel is how… well, the film doesn’t make it clear that Ariel grew or learned anything. Sure there are consequences to her actions, but we don’t see her ponder over them. This is the closest we get to her showing regret as she tries to apologize to Triton and outright attacks Ursula for what she did to him. But she doesn’t express true regret for her actions. She doesn’t have a true reconciliation with her father so that the two can reach a resolution. I guess we can blame timing since we’re in the final ten or so minutes here, but it makes the end feel… convenient.

Eric saves Ariel from getting blasted by Ursula, and she manages to save him from Flotst and Jetsam. How? Bu yanking Ursula back and causing her to kill her own minions. Sure it’s not the Big Bad, but again Ariel marks a First in Disney Princess History by indirectly killing a villain. This provokes Ursula to go kaiju and essentially torment Ariel, who is unable to do anything at this point as she’s caught in a raging whirlpool. While one CAN say she’s a Damsel-in-Distress here (hence why I suggested Ariel should have gotten to do more in the wedding crash), she HAS saved Eric twice now. Plus by allowing Eric to kill Ursula, he essentially proves his worth by saving both the ocean AND the surface, and it contributes to Triton’s ultimate decision.

So yeah, Ursula dies, Triton corrects his wrongs by making Ariel human, and Ariel and Eric can live happily ever after. As I said, it /does/ kind of hurt Ariel’s character as she doesn’t really learn a lesson and it feels like she got incredibly lucky at the end. But at the same time Ariel is still a good character, and she marks a LOT of progression for the Disney Princess line. Sure she is a little selfish (though she usually means no harm), but she’s also someone who actively goes after her dreams. She doesn’t have to wait for it, nor does it center on love. Sure Eric is the catalyst, but that’s it. A catalyst. She’s allowed to rescue her prince. She’s allowed to fight against the villain. Sure she’s still emotional, falls in love, and needs her friends help. But she is also a very proactive, curious, and ambitious girl. Her dream was by far the most impossible of the Princesses thus far, but she still managed to achieve it.

Ariel is divisive, and I get why. The film DOES have some narrative problems (minor, but still) and I get why Ariel may rub some the wrong way. Me personally? I love her. She was a refreshing breath of air in the Princess line. She’s different from the Classic Three. She’s a bit more bratty and far less classy, but she also feels the most like a teenager and she follows her dreams in a very different manner. She’s still a good-hearted person, but she’s a flawed person. That’s what I love about her, she’s imperfect. Could more have been done to develop her? Maybe. But her flaws aren’t so bad that she’s a bad character or unlikeable. Her actions make sense and stay true to her character. I understand why she does what she does. I care for her because I see the sincerity in her. I relate to her longing for something that seems out of reach. And while it was nowhere near as conflicted, I know what it’s like to be in conflict with my father who loved me, but never truly understood who I was. But I loved him, he loved me, he ultimately would have let me lead the life I wanted, and in the end that’s what matters. It’s why Ariel and Triton at the wedding always makes me cry. Yeah, watching this two years after my dad passed… really hit hard.

The point is, I cared about Ariel. I related to Ariel. I did when I was a child, and I still do as an adult. Anyone who loves something or someone despite everyone around you not understanding or being against it I think can relate to Ariel and her position. Plus again, she set forward a new direction for the Disney Princesses. It’s a precedent that stands strong to this day. I’ve done my best to shed light onto Ariel, but it won’t convince everyone. If you hate her, fine. I can’t change your mind and tour free to make all the arguments you want. But I’m allowed to stand by my argument, and I am. Ariel is one of my favorites. She inspires kids to follow their curiosity and their ambitions. It teachers parents to accept their children and who/what they love, and to let them go forward in their lives. One can even argue that her film teaches kids to be careful when emotional to avoid the mistakes that she made, but still achieve a happy ending as well. Either way, I think that the hate against this little mermaid is far too harsh and it ALWAYS centers on the deal without taking anything else into account. It’s time we change that.

Final Thoughts

I love this film. The animation is lovely, the music fantastic, and despite a few issues here and there the story is sound. I don’t remember when I first saw it (it came out four years before I was born so not then), but I’ve loved it since that first time. I’m pretty sure I love the ocean and mermaids in general because of this film. Sure it diverts a good deal from the original Hans Christian Anderson story, but honestly? As someone who found that story unnecessarily cruel? I will take this version any day (no offense to those who like the original story, this is just me talking). It is a masterpiece that changed the game for Disney, for animation, and for the Disney Princesses. Ariel was very much a huge inspiration for many of her successors, and I am grateful for all that this little mermaid did.

Upon its release, Disney was FINALLY able to step into the light after spending over 20 years stuck in the dark. The film was a monumental success. The biggest success that Feature Animation had had since Walt’s days. They also finally beat Don Bluth, winning in the box office over All Dogs Go to Heaven, and returned to the top of the animation world. The Disney Renaissance had officially begun, and it wasn’t even close to slowing down. Just two years later, another Disney Princess film would be released. One that would achieve greatness, but also face great tragedy. So come and be our guest as when we return, we discuss a tale as old as time with 1991’s Beauty and the Beast.

Image Sources: Disney Wiki, Animation Screencaps Other Sources: The Making of The Little Mermaid: Treasures Untold

#disney princess #disney princess reviews #callie reviews #the little mermaid

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radiorenjun · 4 years

Text

Lavender Antics.

→ Pairing: Han Jisung x Reader

→ Summary: Shooting in a drama with him was your absolute nightmare. Working with your enemy and pretending that you were love interests has been the most frustrating experience of your life. Though, after saying your farewells, the scent of lavender never leaves.

→ Genre:enemies to lovers au, idol au, romance, angst, slowburn.

→ Warnings: Very hurtful words. Antics. Mentions of insecurity. Alcohol, Swearing, Making out. Suggestive?

→ Word Count: 3.5k

→ Credits to: @c-sanshine for giving me reference photos

→ Chapter: 1, 2

As you ran your fingers through the soft petals of the lavender standing up right in the pot before you, you gazed up at the soft colours of the plant, admiring how calming they look basking underneathe the ray of sunshine.

"Hey!" a voice called out, tearing your gaze away from the plant towards the voice, you spotted a familiar male with a bright smile on his face. He showed that silly toothy smile of his, waving from the window of your bedroom, his other hand gripped the bike in his hands tightly to keep it steady.

It seems as if the world had stopped moving whenever the scent of lavender reaches your nose. "Ready for school?" the sound of his honey-smooth voice barely made through the glass. The scent of lavender never left you as you picked up your bag from your bag, slinging it over your shoulder with a soft grunt before walking out of your room.

You walked out of the house with a soft smile on your face at the sight of the boy, "you know, you didn't have to wait all day for me," you sighed, pushing his shoulder gently with your hand. "Oh I know. I'm just doing this so you could give me those delicious omelettes you usually prepare for me." he chuckled, earning a hard punch from you.

You ignored your friend's dramatic groans of pain as you went inside your garage where your dad was working to fix his car, grabbing your own bike and getting on with ease as you rode down the streets with nothing but the sound of the strong wind hitting your cheeks and the sound of the paddles of the bike.

"And cut! Take 10 people!" the director announced through his megaphone. You sighed, rubbing your eyes in exhaustion with your hands as you found the director's disappointed eyes glaring down at you from afar. You knew what was about to come with that look.

"Y/N, you forgot your line. Again." the director stated as he marched towards you. You took a deep breath, looking down at the floor in shame. "I know, I know. I'm sorry," you groaned, your voice evident of exhaustion. "It's just-" you tried to reason before the director cuts you off with a sigh, rubbing his temples with his fingers.

"Listen, take a break and go home. You're done for the day anyway, you look as if you had slept for decades. Maybe that'll help you get back to your senses," he suggests with a small smile. "But-" you tried to reason, gripping your script in your palms only to have it snatched away from your grip. "Na-uh, Y/n. Mr. Director is always right!" the boy from earlier, your best friend in the whole studio, Yang Jeongin, tutted with a shake of his head.

"Go rest or eat, you look like you're about to faint. We can't have you, the star of the show, become the next Sleeping Beauty, can we?" Jeongin joked. "Was that suppose to be a joke or an offer? You know very well I wouldn't miss the chance to just collapse on a bed and be willing to sleep 1000 years." you rolled your eyes sarcastically, erupting a laugh from the director.

"You should recite your lines with someone who's equal to your levels of acting, y/n. It might help you and them improve at acting," the director suggested, looking at your script once he struggled to get it out of Jeongin's grip.

"Oh yeah? And who would that be?" you asked, unbothered as you grabbed your cup of cold milk and brought it to your dry lips. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe Jisung?" he spoke with such calmness that you couldn't help but widen your eyes as you choke out the milk.

"What? Han Jisung?" you croaked in a hoarse voice. "You two are love interests in this drama, you might as well recite lines with each other to help each other improve and to get a better outcome for the drama" he said with a shrug. How could he suggest something so vile with a casual tone?

Jeongin couldnt contain his laughter as his gaze to your shocked, open-mouthed expression laced with 'are you serious?' all over it. He howled with laughter as the director looked at the both of you in confusion, not knowing what was the problem.

"What's wrong?" he asked, finally looking up from the script. "Sir, are you serious? That man hates me! I hate him! We both hate each other! I swear I'd rather go crying and bawling my eyes out in public!" you exclaimed. "That delirious donkey from Shrek couldn't even hold his hatred towards me to save his life!"

"I'm right here, L/N. I'm not deaf, I can hear your dying whale of a voice from Pluto." a familiar voice hissed behind you. You gasped silently in alarm, turning your body to come face to face with Han Jisung and all of his amazing glory.

"Jesus Christ, what are you, a sasaeng fan? Don't creep up on people like that, it's rude!" you exclaimed angrily as Jisung calmly sips his expresso, glaring down at you with pure boredom in his eyes. With a raise of his eyebrows, he let out a smirk, "Jesus Christ, what are you, a shallow snob? Don't talk trash bout people behind their backs like that, it's rude." he mocked, showing his pearly white teeth.

"See!" you turned towards the manager who was looking at you two with an unamused expression. "He hates me!" you exclaimed, "says the girl who talked trash about me first!" Jisung hissed in response.

Jeongin, during your bickering, was having the time of his life, laughing at all of the drama that was happening before him. "Oh my God, you two deserve an Oscar. You two act so lovey dovey when you're in that 'platonic state' on set while here in real life you're bickering like an old married couple, it's priceless!"

"Jeongin!" the two of your exclaimed angrily. The director gave out a soft sigh before walking away from the whole arguement, not wanting to cause some trouble since he had other errands to do.

"By the way. In a week, we're going to shoot somewhere in Tokyo for the camping scenes since you guys are gonna have more screen time there. I already informed your managers bout it, therefore you just need to go over the details of the scripts I gave you this morning." the director spoke in a serious tone as he walked away.

"What? For how long?!" Jisung whined loudly, making the director sigh and look back at the boy with an unamused expression. "It's only a month, then we'll be back to shoot here for the last few episodes," he replied shortly before bolting off somewhere to answer his ringing phone.

"You kidding me?" you mumbled to yourself, scratching your neck. "A whole month with you? I barely last 10 hours!" you groaned as Jisung rolled his eyes at you. "Shut up, y/n. I'm as thrilled as you are bout being stuck with your whiny ass for 30 days straight." he spat, his head turning to give you a death glare.

"Whatever, you ass. I'm going to my trailer and get my stuff so I can squeeze in some practice before Kiyeon locks me out from the dorm from the inside again." you huffed, grabbing your jacket which you placed hanging on the chair nearby.

"No one asked, y/n." Jisung replied, a small smile appearing on his face. You muttered incoherent swear words under your breath as you stretched to put on your jacket and head to the makeup room. "What did you say?" he asked with a smirk. You look back at him with half lidded tired eyes, giving him the middle finger before turning to walk away.

"Shut it, donkey"

Since you were a part of a girl group named Mythical Refrain in SM Entertainment, you still had to practice for your upcoming comeback for a few hours. God, can life get any tiring? You went out of the car after you parked it right outside of your dorm.

After a whole 6 hours of practice and 8 hours of filming, you felt like you could sleep through the whole decade. Your feet ached with every step you take, your muscles were sore from all the dancing and your voice was hoarse from the loud singing.

Your hand twisted the doorknob and your body came in contact with the fresh air conditioned room. As you entered, you slipped off your shoes and tossed your jacket to the sofa. You collapsed onto the soft cushions with a loud exhausted groan, ignoring the sound of your leader, Cheonsa, typing away on her laptop.

"Yeah, but you should get some rest if you ever want to perform again." your eyes glanced over to her bandaged ankle laying on a pillow on the floor. "Says the person who smells and looks like shit," she laughs, finally taking a break from the typing to look at your messy figure.

"Welcome back! How's your day?" she greeted, taking a sip of her coffee. "It's like 1 Am why are you drinking coffee?" you asked, looking up as you lay your chin on the pillow. "Wow. Not even a 'hello' or 'my day went absolutely shit and tiring'? Also, just because my ankle is injured, doesn't mean I get to slack off and not produce more music, Y/n." she chuckled, not tearing her gaze away from her laptop.

"Wouldn't want that boy to ruin your pretty mane, huh?" she teased, going back to her endless typing. "Shut up! You better go fucking rest or else I'll tell manager-nim that you stayed up writing and making songs again." you laughed, moving to the fridge to grab a cold bottle of water.

"You look as if you just dug yourself out of a graveyard. What did that director made you do?" she jokes. "It wasn't me, that terrible bastard couldn't stop bothering me I almost pulled my hair out" you complained, finally getting up to grab a towel.

"That cute rapper from Stray Kids? What was his name, again? Jinseul?" she asked with a comforting smile on her exhausted face. "It's Jisung and he's a fucking donkey. But, yeah, it is because of him." you grumbled, clutching the pillow in your fists at the thought of him. "He's really pretty though," Cheonsa chuckled.

"Excuse you, Ms. I-have-a-secret-boyfriend." I added in a sarcastic tone, making her laugh. "Oh hush, I'm 23. I wouldn't be dating someone younger than me, I feel old enough when fans call me noona during fansigns." she jokes, making you giggle at the memories you had. "But still, I look like shit when he ruffled my hair when I was on the way to the dance studio" you complained.

You entered your shared room to see your roommate, Haneul, playing on her nintendo switch. "Hey, you're back! How was the shoot?" she said, sticking her tongue out in concentration. "Stressful" you replied, turned on the shower and laying your hand under the running water to test the temperature.

"As your leader, the Mythical Refrain's most trusted, I'm doing what's best for the group and our fans. Therefore, you are not going to get rid of me that easily and go take a shower you piece of shit!" she exclaimed, throwing a pillow at you. You laughed as you ran for your life to miss that one single pillow that was thrown at you.

"You know. In a week, I'm going to be flying to Tokyo for a shoot. Wouldn't be back in a month, so don't miss me too much." you joke, grabbing the pillow on the floor and placing it back on the couch. "Trust me, we wouldn't even think about you for those 30 days of freedom. Have you told PD-nim yet?" she asked with a laugh.

"I don't think so. But the director and manager-nim said they'll take care of it. They'll announce that I'll be on hiatus during our promotions for the following month," you picked the dirt off of your nails as you spoke, hearing Cheonsa let out a hum in response.

"A hiatus announcement? Isn't that a bit too far? I mean, Park Jinyoung from Got7 and D.O from EXO didn't go on breaks when they shot their dramas." she asked with furrowed brows. "It's a pretty long drama. With three idols in the same drama!" you exclaimed, stretching your arms out as you collapsed once again into the cushions. "I see. Now go sleep and take a shower," Cheonsa nodded her head towards the direction of your room.

You huffed at her stern tone, pushing yourself up as you glared at your leader who was typing aggressively on the keyboard l with no intentions of stopping anytime soon. You sighed before walking away.

"Is it because of that boy?" she yelled through the sound of running water. You felt your blood boil at the sound of his name being mentioned, your mind replaying the many insults and arguements that happened today. All because of that donkey.

"That boy, or in my case, donkey, is the reason why Im losing hair!" you exclaimed in a dramatically angry tone. "No wonder, I thought you were just bleaching your hair too much that it burned off" she laughed. "Very funny, Haneul. Could you pass me my phone? It's in my dufflebag." you asked.

"Chill out, y/n. Boys are wierd anyways. But like, he's your sunbaenim. Shouldn't you at least, attempt to be nice?" she chuckled, walking into the bathroom to hand you your phone. "Im always nice to him. He started the arguements, anyways!" you shot back.

"You're no different, y/n. You called him a donkey less than 30 seconds ago." she chuckled, crossing her arms on her chest. "Well he is a donkey. Very accurate to the one in the Shrek movie!" you laughed.

"What? I'm just stating facts, who knows, it might actually happen in real life. Plus, I'm disgusted at their public display of affection. Ten is actually a good dude to hang out with," she grinned, leaning her head against her palm. "Hanuel. I have a toothbrush nearby and I will not hesitate to shove it down your throat! I shoved a paintbrush down someones mouth and I'm not afraid to do it again!" you threatened.

"This is ridiculous. Sooner or later you will have to do some lovey-dovey stuff with him on set, since you know-" she taunted with a smirk. "Don't even say it." you clenched your jaw at the thought. Sooner or later you'd have to kiss Han Jisung, you'd rather lick the bathroom floor.

Haneul couldn't stop staring at you with wiggling eyebrows and that annoying smirk across her face. "God, you're disgusted whenever Cheonsa brings her boyfriend in the dorm but you're, somehow, not disgusted bout shipping me with a guy I hate?" you complained.

Hanuel giggled, waving off your small threat with her hand. "Sure, go shower. You reek of boys," she chuckled with a raise of her eyebrow, exiting the bathroom. . "I'm going to go sleep. And I advise you to do the same after you shower, considering you have a photoshoot tomorrow." Her head popped out from the door way. "What photoshoot?" you asked with a slightly raised voice. "You know, that photoshoot for our next comeback concept?" she stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "That's tomorrow? I thought I'd finally have half the day off" you groaned, running a hand through your hair in frustration.

You let out a loud scoff for her to hear before shutting the bathroom door and proceeded to take a cold shower.

"Bitch, you thought. It's only a couple of hours. Plus it's near the set so you could immediately head to there after you're done," she shrugged. "Oh my god," you groaned, rubbing your eyes. "How many episodes have you shot? The whole group wants to watch and 'clown you'. Cheonsa's words, not mine," she teased.

"Probably not much. Since I have to go to Tokyo next week!" you snapped, clenching your fists. "Woah, Tokyo? I wanna come!" Haneul exclaimed in astonishment. "You've been there, why are you acting as if you're a child locked up in some prison cell? We debuted a year ago and just finished our tour, for fucks sake!" you exclaimed.

"Why though?" she asked, ignoring your statements. You gave out a big exasperated sigh, "I have to shoot some scenes there for a month. So I won't be joining Mythical Refrain's promotions this month," you rubbed your face in frustration.

,"Oh. Well look on the bright side! At least you get to go sightseeing in Tokyo. The last time we were there, we barely had time to go around." Hanuel exclaimed with a bright smile. You grabbed the nearest toothbrush and raised it over your head angrily, causing Haneul to let out a small squeak and running to her bed.

Tomorrow was gonna be a heavy day.

"You're late, y/n." Jisung chuckled as you sat down on a chair in front of the mirror in the make up room. "I am aware of that, Jisung. It's not like I don't know how to tell time." you spat angrily as a make up artist approached you with brushes in hand.

"I know. Just thought that I'd remind you," he grinned. You rolled your eyes at him as the soft brush slide against the skin under your eye, covering up your eye bags with foundation. You grabbed your script and started reading, ignoring Jisung's eyes on you.

"What do you want now?" you sighed, looking away from your paper to give him a half lidded stare. "You look like shit, even with makeup on. No offense Eunbi, you're doing a great job" Jisung smiled at the makeup artist who just chuckled and continued on with her job.

"God, why didnt I just get my make up done in the trailer?" you mumbled to yourself, feeling soft pats on your shoulder given by your makeup artist. "Yeah, why didn't you? I lost my appetite just breathing the same air as you," Jisung mumbled loud enough for you to hear.

"Can it, you dick-" you growled, about to say some random comeback when the director came in with a wide smile. "Jisung! Y/N! Be out in 5, alright?" he exclaimed before shutting the door.

Your makeup artist bowed at you before exiting as well to catch up with the other makeup artists. "Great. See you there, y/n." Jisung laughed at your pouty expression after being cut off.

You groaned in annoyance as you watched his figure skipping out of the make up room, sticking your tongue out at him despite his back turned to you. You read through your script once again before getting up to walk through the door.

You jogged towards the set, highfiving your co-stars who gave you encouragement to do well on the next scenes, making you smile. Of course, that smile faltered when you remembered it was a scene you had to do with Jisung and you being friendly.

Your eye twitched at the thought as the staff gave you the school bag you were suppose to use for this scene since you played the roll of a young highschool girl. You gave Jeongin a thumbs up who responded with a salute as you walked up with a stem of lavender in hand.

You stood on the sidewalk as a few people came up to retouch your make up. You sighed, looking back at Jisung who was playing his phone to wait for his appearance on camera. Once you felt the soft feeling of sponges caressing your skin, you took a deep breath and clapped.

"You ready?" the director yelled through his speaker. "Hell yeah!" Jisung exclaimed from afar, tucking his phone into his pocket as he waved his hand with a thumbs up. "Let's get it! " you clapped enthusiastically before getting into position.

"Lights."

You see the lights being adjusted to get a better lighting of your surroundings to give it an aesthetic vibe. You cracked your knuckles and took deep breathes, reciting your lines to yourself in your head.

"Camera." You heard the sounds of camera being moved to your position, carefully recording your movements, your mistakes, and your acting. You gave a little smile at the staff who gave you a thumbs up.

"And action!"

#stray kids han #han jisung x reader #stray kids han jisung #han jisung imagines #han jisung #stray kids imagine #stray kids imagines #stray kids x reader #stray kids #stray kids smut #skz scenarios #skz au #skz fluff #lavender antics

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softtofustew · 3 years

Text

an odyssey | afterword

rating: T

pairing: Hwang Hyunjin/Han Jisung

summary: Somewhere in the galaxy of the Stella Primum, Lieutenant Han is the best fighter on his team, a real ace shooter, with five gold stars to show. Too bad Second Lieutenant Hwang is not only great at battling the Ordinem, he’s also got disgustingly perfect looks to match, and now Jisung’s stuck in the same spaceship with him for possibly the most impossible task of their lives. Or the one where a rivalry is brewed across the skies and stars, until Jisung realises what there is to flying beside Hyunjin on a mission to save the galaxy.

if you haven’t read it yet, read here.

this is an afterword to ‘an odyssey’, where i write about the origin of the story, the characters, and my struggles of writing :’)

(i) The Origin

I’ve had this work in my WIPs since, believe it or not, January of this year. I’ve had this idea for so, so long. I wrote it intermittently throughout this year, with a scene or two in September, then October.

Due to my exams, though, I couldn’t write as much as I wanted to. That’s why I only really started writing ‘an odyssey’ back in mid-November. The good thing was that I had more time to plan this out, because frankly, this is perhaps the heaviest fic I’ve written in terms of plot so far.

I can’t for the life of me remember where this story idea planted itself in my head. All I knew was that I like space AUs, I adore Hyunjin and Jisung’s friendship, and I love enemies to lovers. Realising there weren’t any fics out there that combined the three, I knew it was my time to shine. Or something.

(ii) The Plot

The plot was the trickiest to pull off. I’ve written an urban fantasy here and there, but I’m pretty sure if I reread them thoroughly, I’m bound to find a couple of plot holes.

There were a lot of elements to cover: the Prophecy. The five gems. The push-pull relationship between Jisung and Hyunjin. The journey to discovering the whereabouts of the last Gemma. The last boss fight with a Governor who could wield the Force. There was!!!! So!!!! Much!!!! Going!!!! On!!!!!

Perhaps if I reread ‘an odyssey’, I might find another plot hole or two; who knows? For now, though, I feel quite contented with this work of mine. Considering it’s my first time writing something as long as this (50K+ are you kidding me?), I feel this is a first step for me to continue expanding my horizons when it comes to writing, to continue to challenge myself to write something different, something bold. Something new.

(iii) The Characters

I rewatched the Two Kids Room and One Kid Room episodes so many times, over and over again. There’s a reason why this story is centred around Jisung and Hyunjin, and why it’s written from Jisung’s perspective.

Their relationship is, after all, something coherently interesting. They really said “enemies to friends but make it irl”. I guess I took that concept and sort of exaggerated the extent of their ‘hate’ for each other, which isn’t exactly hate to begin with. The further you read on, the more you’ll realise that they don’t exactly hate each other — they just got off on the wrong footing, and have never tried turning back to start over once more.

It’s written from Jisung’s perspective because personally, I wanted the story to be told from the eyes of someone who was prideful, who was eager and determined, and who wanted to show his worth to everyone else. I feel like perhaps I didn’t expand on characterising Jisung to the fullest advantage possible, though, which remains a slight regret of mine.

Another reason why I wanted this to be written from Jisung’s POV is because we can find out how Jisung feels about Hyunjin throughout the story. When he realises whose son Hyunjin is, he’s torn between wanting to pity Hyunjin and keeping things between them the same as they always have. (If I were in his position, though, I don’t know what I would have done lol.) It was hard to try and interpret his emotions, but there’s that.

Someone commented once asking if we’d ever get Hyunjin’s POV. Sadly, one of my biggest turn-offs is the switching of POVs in stories when it’s not entirely necessary haha. As much as I would want to know what Hyunjin is thinking when they’re arguing, or when they’re fighting, I like to keep on the suspension line. It gives you the feeling of immersing yourself as the Jisung in the story, of only seeing things from one perspective.

As for the other characters, there wasn’t enough time to expand on all of them (for example, I mentioned Seungmin several times throughout the story, but really, he speaks only once haha). And as your fellow StayDay, it was definitely fun for me to include a few members of Day6. (please don’t ask me why I thought of ‘PJ and Honey’ while writing. I was probably hungry.)

I don’t know if I’ll continue to expand on the characters in this same universe, but it would be fun to think of the other relationships, for example Chan and Felix, or Changbin with Minho and Seungmin. (someone please save the seungbinho tag!!!!!!)

As far as characterisation goes, I’ve still got so much to learn. For now, though, I hope you enjoyed the dynamics between the characters and how Jisung and Hyunjin learnt to grow within a span of six chapters.

(iv) The Writing Process

Granted, the writing bit was a little easier in the beginning, but as I delved myself deeper into the story, I found it harder and harder to express the emotions I wanted to deliver in the story. One of the hardest chapters for me to write by far was the last chapter. I wrote two versions of the last chapter, simply because I felt the first version was too lacklustre for the ending of such a long story haha.

I had a clear outline of my story, but I did end up extending it from the initial 5 chapters to 6. For the first time, though, I didn’t add any random elements to the story, unlike how i wrote this story last year haha. The lesson I’ve learnt is that I should ALWAYS have a brief outline of the plot — detailed enough to cover the entire story, but brief enough to give me some creative freedom mid-writing.

The excitement of writing honestly wore off near the last few chapters. I’ve realised the importance of reading unfinished works in this way. Writers really need some form of motivation to keep them writing their chaptered works. So if you’re one of the real ones who started reading this even before it was completed, kudos to you. I really appreciate it.

Overall, writing this was fun. Hopefully I don’t need to do this again though; I absolutely hate writing chaptered fics because of all the time and effort put into them. I’d much rather be a ‘One-Shot Hotshot’ lol.

(v) The End (?)

I left a bit of wondering for the readers in the last chapter. If Atkins was able to wield the Force despite the false pretence that there was no longer any Force-wielders left in the universe, how many more of them could there be?

That leaves an opening for me if I ever wish to return to this alternate universe sometime in the future. The Universe is ever-expanding, and so is our imagination.

(vi) The Inspiration

Obviously, I need to thank Star Wars. I also need to apologise because I absolutely butchered their universe. Fun fact: there was one huge plot hole I had to cover up halfway through writing.

If you’re observant, you might remember the scene where Hyunjin asks Jisung why they didn’t just jump into hyperspace to reach Ilsanis. That’s because I was watching an episode of The Mandalorian where the Mando was forced to fly a ship without a hyperdrive engine, and I almost freaked out right there in the middle of the living room realising how weird that would be if I left the issue unattended in my own work (yikes).

Long story short, I drew elements from the Star Wars universe and created a story of my own. I’ve been asked how I came up with the idea of the Prophecy. Frankly, I don’t know. My brain farts sometimes, I guess. Brain Farts = weird ideas that somehow make sense sometimes.

(vii) Lastly

If you have any more questions you’d like to ask (or plot holes to tell me about *shudders*), do leave me a question in my CC, or holler at me on Twitter (I’m hardly alive here on Tumblr haha). To anyone and everyone who has read ‘an odyssey’, I thank you.

This year has been a funky year, and even worse, it’s the year I had to take my IGCSEs. Writing has always been a way for me to create my own universe and release my tension and emotions, so not being able to write as much as I used to was a little tough.

Writing will continue to be a medium for me to express my emotions and my thoughts while creating stories of my own, so simply by giving my fics a read, you’ve already fuelled my reason to continue to write. Thank you for all the support in ‘an odyssey’!

(why did i write this entire monologue like i’m giving a speech at the Oscars or something lol im so dramatic :”))

#mycommentary

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ahtohallan-calling · 4 years

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chapter 24 of don’t read the last page is here!

masterpost

[kristanna / m / multichap / modern au with actress!anna and vetstudent!kristoff]

They all crowded around Anna’s shoulder, waiting with bated breath as she finished choosing a filter for the photo. “Wait,” Kristoff said suddenly, “should we check with Lena about this?”

Anna rolled her eyes. “Fuck Lena,” she said cheerfully, and pressed post.

---

It was, all things considered, not a particularly interesting day when it happened; it had been a scorcher of a late-July afternoon, and when Kristoff came home from the clinic he found Anna in the backyard lounging in a beach chair she’d finally caved and bought at Target when she could no longer get comfortable lying on a towel spread over the grass.

“Hi, honey,” she said around a mouthful of an orange push pop; the empty box had fallen over by her chair.

He laughed and leaned down to kiss her, setting his palm against the swell of her stomach. “Good thing I bought another box of those on my way home.

Anna thought nothing of it when the baby kicked in response; he’d done so for a while now at the sound of his father’s voice, but Kristoff froze, his face only an inch away from hers as his eyes widened.

Worried, she tilted her head. “Is everything alright?”

He swallowed hard. “Did you feel that?”

“Well, yeah, I’ve been feeling a lot of-- wait. Did you?”

He nodded, slowly, and as they stared at each other, stunned, another kick came, sharp enough this time that Anna yelped in surprise. “Okay, you had to have felt that one,” she groused.

Kristoff nodded again, faster this time, as a laugh spilled from his lips. “It’s him,” he said, his eyes still wide. “I-- that’s him, Anna.”

Her eyes softened. “You know, we really ought to think of something to call him. I’m worried he’s going to get offended.”

A third kick came in response, and they both took it as a sign of agreement.

---

Sources say Westergaard has spent the past six weeks hiding out in his summer home in the Hamptons. When asked for comment, his representative told Buzzfeed, “Mr. Westergaard’s previous remarks were taken out of context and twisted by the media. He will be starting an anti cyberbullying foundation in his name. He asks that you respect his privacy during this difficult time.”

Sven looked up from the article Kristoff had printed and handed to him. “Shit, how the hell can anybody have a difficult time at a mansion in the Hamptons?”

“Show a little sympathy. The man’s just had to face the consequences of his actions for the first time in his life,” Kristoff said with a smirk.

“Ought to hang out with a pregnant woman more often, he’d learn his lesson really quickly about the consequences of-- oh, hey, Anna,” Sven said with a grimace. “You, uh, you forgiven me yet for getting onions on the pizza?”

She scowled and crossed her arms, her eyes shooting daggers at him across the room, and he sighed and picked up his phone to order a new one.

---

“Anna?”

She yelped in surprise and tugged the shower curtain back, coming face to face with a frowning Kristoff. “Jesus, you scared me. What’s wrong?”

“Sorry-- it’s just…” He frowned and held up his phone. “How does Twitter know I’m a vet?”

The bubbles in her hair forgotten, she leaned forward and squinted at the screen. “What? It’s just a picture of us leaving Chipotle.”

“Huh? Oh-- shit, sorry, let me scroll down to the replies.”

He pushed his glasses further up his nose as he did so before raising the phone screen again. “Look, they’re all sending me hamsters.”

She knew he was genuinely worried, and she was sympathetic, really she was, but Anna burst into laughter. “A hamster eating a banana.”

“Yeah, and they’re not supposed to even eat that much, so the bad pet ownership is bad enough already, but-- anyway, that’s beside the point, I--” He scowled. “Anna, I really don’t think this is funny.”

“It’s just a meme, Kristoff.”

“But I don’t get it.”

“Look at the picture of us again, and then the hamster, and then get back to me,” she said, yanking the shower curtain closed again.

“But--”

“If you still haven’t gotten the joke by the time I figure out how to shave my ankles, then I’ll come explain.”

Twenty minutes later, when she emerged wrapped in a towel, she peered into the bedroom and saw Kristoff sitting on the bed, his face bright red, as he stared down at his phone. “Solve the mystery yet?” she asked drily as she dug through his t-shirt drawer for something to wear.

“My, uh, my little brother, he uh...he knows about memes, so I texted him, and I...uh…”

She laughed again as she finished getting dressed. “Did he laugh at you, too?”

He groaned and ran a hand over his face. “Pretty sure he’s still laughing.”

---

“Anna! Anna! Miss Arendelle!” She rolled her eyes and tightened the drawstring of her hoodie. Kristoff put an arm protectively over her shoulders as they continued hurrying out of the doctor’s office. “Miss Arendelle, please, if I could just--”

“You can not.”

“We just want to know if it’s a boy or a--”

She turned on her heel and said drily, “It’s a mountain troll, obviously.” She gestured irritably at Kristoff. “See? Takes after his father.”

The next morning, she woke up to the ding of a text from Sam. Maybe you really are better off being your own PR person.

A link to another Buzzfeed article was attached. Curious, she tapped it.

Watch Anna Arendelle’s Hilarious Comeback To A Nosy Photographer!

“Would you look at that,” she mumbled under her breath.

Next to her, Kristoff stirred and rolled over. “Look at what?” he mumbled.

“Nothing. Go back to sleep, mountain man.”

---

Anna came home from a meeting one night and caught Kristoff piled up in the recliner reading one of her pregnancy books. To her surprise, his face was ghost-white. “Kris,” she asked, concerned, “what’s wrong? You look like you’re going to be sick.”

“Just, you know, reading about the labor part.”

“Is it grossing you out that bad?” She couldn’t help but giggle. “You’re a vet, I’m sure you’ve seen worse. Especially with this stuff.”

He looked up then, and to her surprise, his eyes were solemn behind his glasses. “It’s different when you’re picturing your fiancee.”

All the air in her lungs escaped her in a quiet oh. She crossed quickly to the bed and climbed up, crawling towards him. He set the book on the nightstand and looked up at her, worry still in his eyes, as she settled her knees on either side of his lap. Out of habit, he set one hand on the swell of her stomach, the faintest of smiles appearing on his face when a little foot nudged against his hand.

“It’s gonna be okay, sweetheart,” she said softly, settling her own hands on his shoulders. “It’ll all be fine.”

“Sometimes it’s not, though.”

She winced, and immediately he was apologetic. “I-- shit, sorry, I’m not trying to scare you, it’s just--”

“No, no, you’re right,” she reassured him, gently squeezing his shoulders. “Sometimes it’s not. But it will be. You know me, I’m too stubborn to let anything go wrong.”

“I don’t think it works like that.”

She bit her lip; she had never seen him like this, never known him to be so nervous he couldn’t be comforted. She leaned forward, resting her forehead against his. “What part is scaring you?” she asked, her voice low.

“I don’t want to see you hurting. Especially when I know I can’t do anything to help.”

“You can help. Just having you in there will do so much.”

“But it won’t stop it,” he said, his voice forlorn, and she kissed his cheek, letting her lips linger there as she nuzzled her nose against his temple.

“No. But that’s what epidurals are for.”

“What if--” he said before trailing off, not daring to even give voice to the words.

“Kristoff Bjorgman, you listen to me,” she said, pulling back and waiting to continue until he reluctantly met her gaze. “I have no doubt in my mind that everything will be fine. Okay? I just-- I just won’t let anything bad happen.”

“But you can’t--”

“Have you ever seen anything stop me from doing what I want before?”

She felt him shake his head no.

“So nothing will stop me this time. I’m going to have this baby-- our baby-- and we’re both going to be fine, and you will too, and when we get to hold him, then you’ll forget you were ever worried about this at all.”

---

Anna and the interviewer both threw back their heads with a laugh as Mattias finished telling them both about his first time at the Oscars and how he’d failed to recognize the man who’d just won Best Actor-- twice.

“How about you, Miss Arendelle?” the interviewer asked as Anna finished wiping the last tear of laughter from her eye. “How do you feel about going to your first Oscars next year?”

She felt her cheeks coloring. “Oh, well, we’ll see if we even get there.”

The interviewer laughed. “Modest as always. There’s already lots of Oscar buzz around the movie and your performance in particular.”

Anna shifted awkwardly in her seat. “Um. Sort of like puking, if I’m honest.”

That got them both laughing again. “Speaking of puking, though,” the interviewer said cheerfully, “what’s it like being a first-time mother and a first-time movie star simultaneously?”

“Amazing and terrifying and wonderful and just...so many things all at once,” she admitted. “I really couldn’t do it without my support network, especially my fiance. It’s just...yeah. I can’t thank everybody enough.”

“Speaking of your fiance...are you willing to share your thoughts on where in the world Hans Westergaard has run off to?”

Her lips curled up into a smirk.

---

“Remind me to get more tomato juice at Trader Joe’s today,” Anna called as she pored through another script that had been sent her way-- another period drama, but this one, at least, wouldn’t involve squeezing her recently-pregnant body into a corset.

“We don’t need to,” he replied as he came into the kitchen carrying a basket of freshly dried towels. “You’ve been going through it so fast this week I set up one of those Amazon weekly delivery things. There’ll be three gallons of it on the porch in--” He glanced at his watch. “An hour. Wanna help me fold all this shit and watch HGTV?”

She stared at him for a long moment as he passed her, absentmindedly whistling one of the songs she’d driven him crazy with that winter, and walked into the living room.

It occurred to her, all of a sudden, that some things were worth waiting for-- but that sometimes, there was no longer any worth in waiting.

“Kris?” she said as he set the basket down.

“Yeah, baby?” he asked, raising an eyebrow as she crossed over to him and stood between his knees.

She cupped his face in her hands, studying his expression as he smiled softly and set his own hands on her hips. “Can I say something crazy?”

“You usually don’t bother asking.”

Under normal circumstances, she would have laughed and leaned down to kiss him, but instead she broke into a wide smile. “What if we just got married?”

#olivia this chapter is the reasson me and gabi pisssed ourseslves over your hamster meme hahahahaa #(sorry something is wrong w my s key)#kristanna #drtlp #my fics

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phantomofthepairofdice · 3 years

Text

The Rosscars 2020

Wow. It’s that time of year again, only this time it’s different because it’s on a blog that no one will read! (hold for applause) Welcome to the first annual online publication for the Rosscars (hold for applause while the reader acknowledges how positively droll it is that I combined my name with “Oscars”). Who can forget such indelible Rosscar memories like when Steven Soderbergh surprised us all and won Best Director for Out of Sight or Bill Irwin’s beautiful speech upon winning Best Supporting Actor for Rachel Getting Married?! The Rosscars mean something different to everyone, but we all know that they mean quality choices made by a committee of one schmuck. This year’s Rosscars are bizarre because in an effort to be more like the Academy guidelines, film’s nominated have been released between January 1, 2020 and February 28, 2021. As usual, theatrical windows be damned, streamers are welcome. Of course, I have my gripes. I like categorizing movies by release year – specifically, when they become available to the plain old public like yours truly – not at festivals, limited runs in NYC and LA. Well, the Oscars are still weeks away and I feel like everybody wants to forget about last year and move onto this one that we’re already three months into - So here are my awards for the films, performers, and craftspeople that stood out in a pretty exceptional year for movies even though distribution was stranger than ever.

**A few caveats and guidelines to Rosscar newcomers (which I imagine is just a formality since we all know the Rosscars so well)**

The rules and categories are a little different around here. First, not every category is honored directly. That’s for a few reasons, chiefly that I don’t feel qualified to reward the technical categories properly – I suppose I should say that I feel less qualified to do so than the “above the line” categories. In keeping with the Academy standard, there are five nominees in each category, except for Best Picture, Best Non-Fiction/Documentary Feature, and Best Ensemble Cast which allow up to ten. Every category, save those three, will have the possibility of honorable mentions, because I want to highlight some things that just barely missed the cut. The narrowing down of a lot of these categories was awfully tough.

Nominees are listed alphabetically, and the winners are in bold and italics.

Also, it’s important to keep in mind that I couldn’t see everything (this isn’t a job and it’s still $20 to rent The Father, y’all) and that these are just the opinions of one (self-described) “bozo on the internet.” If you’re a reader and have different picks, feel free to share!

Special Commendations for some things that I want to recognize: • Ludwig Goransson for his Tenet score which is an absolute banger • The costumes of Emma. (Alexandra Byrne), Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Ann Roth), and Small Axe (Jaqueline Durran, Sinéad Kidao, and Lisa Duncan) all struck me as exceptional • Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross with their scores for both Soul and Mank. Crazy that Pixar is working with the guy who made “Closer” • The cinematography of Da 5 Bloods (Newton Thomas Sigel), First Cow (Christopher Blauvelt), Beanpole (Kseniya Sereda), and A White, White Day (Maria von Hausswolff)

The Rosscars red carpet was, as usual, a bizarre affair. People filed into the theater and it seemed like the only encounters were awkward ones. Vin Diesel showed up in character as Bloodshot, Aaron Sorkin started getting really verbose about what a lovely night it was, and it became clear that most of the celebrities in attendance didn’t read their invitations closely enough to realize that this was not, in fact, the Academy Awards.

Everyone’s seated, and the show is under way. After a medley about the nominees this year by Common and Seth McFarlane that was more corny but clever than it was funny, the first official category is here, and the presenter is none other than... Ross!

Best Supporting Actor:

1. Chadwick Boseman for Da 5 Bloods

2. Matthew Macfadyen for The Assistant

3. Jesse Plemmons for Judas and the Black Messiah

4. Paul Raci for Sound of Metal

5. Glynn Turman for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Honorable Mentions:

• Lucas Hedges for Let Them All Talk

• Orion Lee for First Cow

• Bill Murray for On the Rocks

Best Supporting Actress:

1. Vanessa Bayer for Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar

2. Candice Bergen for Let Them All Talk

3. Gina Rodriguez for Kajillionaire

4. Amanda Seyfried for Mank

5. Yuon Yuh-jung for Minari

Honorable Mentions:

• Jane Adams for She Dies Tomorrow

• Charin Alvarez for Saint Frances

• Talia Ryder for Never Rarely Sometimes Always

• Debra Winger for Kajillionaire

Everyone loves a montage. The audience gets comfortable in their seats as the video screens start to show a montage of some of the most famous moments from Hollywood’s most magical movies. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers waltz, gliding across a dance floor like two hovering angels. There’s a clip of Leo declaring himself king of the world in Titanic, the flying bicycles in ET, Bogart stares longingly into Bacall’s eyes, and then there’s some scene where Tom Cruise rides a motorcycle from 2010′s Knight and Day. The audience all seems confused how that last one got in there. The John Williams music swells as little Kevin McAllister screams when puts on aftershave. We see clips of Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver, Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia embrace Harrison Ford’s Han Solo, Bruce Lee smoothly declares that boards don’t hit back and... wait... was that a clip from Michel Gondry’s Green Hornet with Seth Rogen? And that’s a clip from What Happens in Vegas... Bad Teacher... Vanilla Sky... Shrek 2... Any Given Sunday... Everyone is flummoxed. The last clip fades out and a sole editing credit appears: Cameron Diaz. The lights come up and there’s some applause, but mostly confused murmurs.

The ceremony has had a bit of a misstep, but nothing it can’t recover from, especially as the next category is announced over the PA, and it looks like the presenter is... Ross!

Best Ensemble Cast:

1. Bacurau

2. Da 5 Bloods

3. Kajillionaire

4. Let Them All Talk

5. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

6. Minari

7. Nomadland

8. Pieces of a Woman

9. Small Axe

Best Original Screenplay:

1. Danny Bilson and Paul Dameo & Spike Lee and Kevin Wilmott for Da 5 Bloods

2. Lee Isaac Chung for Minari

3. Brandon Cronenberg for Possessor

4. Sean Durkin for The Nest

5. Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles for Bacurau

Honorable Mentions – a very difficult task to weed this down to five.

• Shaka King and Will Berson for Judas and the Black Messiah, from a story by Kenny and Keith Lucas

• Steve McQueen, Alastair Siddons, and Courttia Newland for Small Axe

• Kelly O'Sullivan for Saint Frances

• Thomas Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm for Another Round

Best Actor:

1. Ben Affleck for The Way Back

2. Chadwick Boseman for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

3. Delroy Lindo for Da 5 Bloods

4. John Magaro for First Cow

5. Mads Mikkelsen for Another Round

Honorable Mentions:

• Riz Ahmed for Sound of Metal

• John Boyega for Small Axe

• Daniel Kaluuya for Judas and the Black Messiah

• Hugh Jackman for Bad Education

• Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson for A White, White Day

We have a break in the action and it looks like Darius Rucker has showed up to perform what he would have nominated for Best Original Song. The crowd is absolutely furious as he starts playing a song that apparently was in Trial of the Chicago Seven. An ocean of sonorous boos and curses overtakes the the once docile crowd. The Rock just ripped his chair from out of the ground. Jane Lynch somehow smuggled in a civil war era flintlock pistol that she’s now pointing at the stage! Suddenly, the crowd unifies around what started as a confident chant of one lone audience member - John C Reilly. It’s growing... Ja Ja Ding Dong, Ja Ja Ding Dong, Ja Ja Ding Dong - it’s like the macabre circus performers from Tod Browning’s Freaks, but instead of chanting “Gooble Gobble” they’re clearly pining for Darius to change his tune to the silly and delightful jam from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. Darius, scared for his life, leaves the stage, but here come Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams to deliver the goods. Busy Philips and Michelle Williams burst into tears. Tom Hanks nods in approval. A segment saved by brave artists placating a toxic group of fans... we’ve just witnessed a live version of the Snyder Cut, folks.

Jack Nicholson seems completely unfazed, giving a thumbs up to the camera and blowing a kiss to the next presenter. Coming to the stage is... Ross... again...

Best Actress:

1. Jessie Buckley for i’m thinking of ending things

2. Carrie Coon for The Nest

3. Han Ye-ri for Minari

4. Sidney Flanagan for Never Rarely Sometimes Always

5. Vasilisa Perelygina for Beanpole

Honorable Mentions – these cuts were especially painful

• Haley Bennet for Swallow

• Morfydd Clark for Saint Maud

• Frances McDormand for Nomadland

• Christin Milioti for Palm Springs

• Geraldine Viswanathan for Bad Education

Best Adapted Screenplay:

1. Charlie Kaufman for i'm thinking of ending things from Iain Reed's novel

2. Sarah Gubbins for Shirley from Susan Scarf Merrell's novel

3. Kelly Reichardt and John Raymond for First Cow

4. Simon Rich for American Pickle from his short story "Sell Out"

5. Mike Makowsky for Bad Education from Robert Kolker's "The Bad Superintendent"

Best Non-Fiction/Documentary Feature:

1. Boys State

2. Collective

3. David Byrne’s American Utopia

4. Dick Johnson is Dead

5. Feels Good Man

6. In & Of Itself

7. The Painter and the Thief

8. Time

Jimmy Fallon has come out on stage to do a bit about the pandemic and watching movies at home. People are just absolutely not having it. He tries not to laugh at his own jokes while doing what I guess is technically a pretty good impression of Dr. Fauci interviewing James Corden as Martin Scorsese (the less said of this impression, the better) on what is or isn’t cinema. The bit doesn’t track and Fallon is absolutely tanking. The producers cut away from the stage to spare the viewers at home from this monstrosity. We see crowd shots of Millie Bobby Brown shaking her head in dismay, Colin Firth is simultaneously grimacing and trying to stave off laughter, Cynthia Erivo is texting, and director Tom Hooper is taking notes for his next film. Corden yells, “Carpool Karaoke! Remember?!” Ron Howard has fainted. This thing is almost completely off the rails.

Coming back to the stage is the next presenter, a clearly embarrassed... Ross! He’s in a total flop sweat, but stumbles his way through a joke about how Fallon should try co-hosting the Oscars with James Franco sometime. There are scant chuckles throughout a crowd that mostly just wants to see who won and go home.

Best Director:

1. Christopher Nolan for Tenet

2. Spike Lee for Da 5 Bloods

3. Steve McQueen for Small Axe

4. Kelly Reichardt for First Cow

5. Chloé Zhao for Nomadland

Honorable Mentions:

• Kitty Green for The Assistant

• Eliza Hittman for Never Rarely Sometimes Always

• Charlie Kaufman for i'm thinking of ending things

• Thomas Vinterberg for Another Round

Best Picture

1. Bacurau

2. Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar

3. Da 5 Bloods

4. First Cow

5. i'm thinking of ending things

6. Judas and the Black Messiah

7. Never Rarely Sometimes Always

8. Nomadland

9. Small Axe

10. Tenet

Accepting the award for best picture is none other than Eve, the cow actor who played the titular First Cow! The audience is enamored with how graceful she looks in her cow gown, and her speech, though indecipherable, is likely simple, observational, and deeply profound for those who speak cow.

Wow, what a ceremony! Hearts were broken, property was damaged, dreams were fulfilled... blood was shed? Damn it, Meryl Streep came in and mugged Charlie Kaufman before absconding with the trophy. Oddly, she’s a previous winner, so the attack isn’t out of need for hardware. People are reading through articles about production on Adaptation for potential motives. Streep made time for a photo opportunity, but remains at large.

I could go on ad infinitum about all of these nominees and winners themselves and why they did or didn’t make the cut, but that’d be better served in a different piece. For now, my thoughts on most of these can be found on the Best of 2020 write-up and over on my Letterboxd. And, as always, these awards can be revoked and redistributed at will, so don’t get too cozy with that statue, Danny Bilson!

On behalf of the RAOGL (Rosscars Association of One Guy at a Laptop), thanks for reading, and stay tuned as we’re establishing a tip line for anyone has seen Ms. Streep or her stolen valor Rosscar. We’ll see you next year. Keep watching movies, and keep arbitrarily quantifying them in terms of subjective quality!

#awards #movies #film #Rosscars

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