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fanficcprompts · 1 year

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Prompt #1: A Simpler Peace

Fandom: The Untamed/MDZS

Pairings: Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji/Mo Xuanyu

Prompt Description: A few years after the death of Wei Wuxian, the Jins discover that Hanguang Jun is raising the last living member of the Wen Sect. Eager to use this information to better control the Cloud Recesses, Jin Guangshan orders Jin Guangyao to come up with a plan. The result? The Wedding of Hanguang Jun and Jin Guangshan’s bastard, Mo Xuanyu.

What I’ve Written:

Mo Xuanyu marries Second Young Master Lan in a farce of a ceremony. He chokes on the cloying incense, and the red veil, and the flower blossoms of the Cold Mountains that drift down and crown their unholy matrimony. He chokes on the very idea that any of this could ever lead to happiness, but perhaps they could find a simpler peace in their marriage, a simpler peace than one built on love. One day, Mo Xuanyu might wake up an old man at the end of a pleasant life. He found that he could live a life beside Lan Wangji, so long as it would not be a loveless life. They might not ever be each other’s soulmates, might not ever be the half of each other’s soul, but they could be partners, the half of the other’s life on earth.

Mo Xuanyu keeps this hope in his heart every time he thinks of the sixteen year old boy delivered up to Hanguang Jun on a wedding night that was no consummated. He remembers it every time he thinks of Hanguang Jun’s kindness and care, especially toward A-Yuan. The memory of it is enough to make him smile.

In such circumstances, this was as good as being in love.

Or: Mo Xuanyu is an interloper in the tragedy of HanguangJun. An outgrowth of weeds at the foot of a tomb of something great and beautiful. Lan Wangji and Mo Xuanyu are not part of some great love story, and if they ever kiss, it is merely the barest of touches. They are not the passionate kisses between lovers. There is no smooth glide of tongues. There are no breathless gasps.

But sometimes, Wangji simply places a rabbit in his hands and a kiss on his forehead. It is a light thing. The barest trace of skin, and the cool feeling of its absence. It reminds Mo Xuanyu of the truth.

This is not a love story.

And if it were, it would not be his.

Mo Xuanyu lives in the ghost of Wei Wuxian.

General Notes: I have no time to write this or to rewatch The Untamed to get things right and compliant with at least one fandom so I’m dropping this here. Someone pls write this. I’m leaving it open ended as to whether or not Wei Wuxian ever returns into this AU, or how it would even happen if he did. Maybe eventual happiness for Lan Wangji is just him, his son, and his husband from an arranged marriage whom he loves but is not in love with… or is he?

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satans-helper · 2 years

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Thank you for the tag, @wonhakwoon ❤

Last song: Hollywood by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Last show: Bob’s Burgers

Currently watching: I’m rewatching David Paulides’ Missing 411: The Hunted documentary...lol

Currently reading: The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

Last movie: This Much I Know To Be True with Nick Cave & Warren Ellis (amazing!!)

Thank you for the tag, @ina90sstateofmind ❤

Favorite band: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Radiohead will always be top tier

Favorite Musician: Nick Cave, Thom Yorke, Warren Ellis, Johnny Greenwood, all of Greta Van Fleet lol, Jason Newsted, there are lots of others

Favorite Song: right now, it’s gotta be the song Ghosteen, from the album of the same name, by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. I watched his new movie last night so I’m having a revival of that album. Also Hexie Mountain by Orville Peck.

Favorite Genre: I’m really not good with truly knowing the genres I like the most, they’re all so varied?

Favorite Instrument: I can’t play anything, but I love percussion and strings

Favorite Era of Music: can’t choose!

Favorite Years of Music: this doesn’t fully answer the question, but I will always have a special love for the 90s years of Radiohead

Least Favorite Genre: probably R&B. No shade, I just can’t ever get into it

Been To Any Concerts?: Many!

Favorite Broadcasted Concert?: I don’t watch a lot of live concert footage, honestly

Favorite Album?: Let Love In by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds; The Bends by Radiohead; Anthem of the Peaceful Army by Greta Van Fleet; S&M by Metallica; Astral Weeks by Van Morrison

Any Upcoming Concerts?: I’m going to see Alison Krauss & Robert Plant next month!

In A Band? (In or out of school): no musical talent lol

Play Any Instruments?: sadly, no

Thank you for the tag, @rocknrollsoul76 💕

Best album of the 80s: Hysteria by Def Leppard, Master of Puppets by Metallica, Moving Pictures by Rush, Hounds of Love by Kate Bush, Ride the Lightning by Metallica, Pyromania by Def Leppard

Best album of the 90s: The Bends by Radiohead, OK Computer by Radiohead, Let Love In by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The Boatman’s Call by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Ten by Pearl Jam, Nevermind by Nirvana

I tag all three of y'all if you wanna do the other tags here; @bruxasolta @tanyakross @defkisshalen @x-video-vixen-x @torchythompson @downtown1999 @crashdiet @dreams-madeof-strawberrylemonade @your-local-rockstar-simp @langdonsluxiouslocks @ian-gillans @a-land-of-infinite-wonders @xmetalupyourassx if ya want 🌲

#tagged #long post

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canary3d-obsessed · 4 years

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Restless Rewatch: The Untamed - Episode 02

Warning: Spoilers for all 50 episodes!

(Masterpost ) (Previous Episode) (Next Episode)

Donkey Riding

way ho and away we go, donkey riding donkey riding way ho and away we go, riding on a donkey

Wei Wuxian and Apple are doing their best for the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Xiao Zhan had trouble riding the donkey sitting side-saddle, so the Department of Questionable Practical Effects made him a fake leg to wear while riding regular style.

Can you spot it? It’s very hard to spot. It is very convincing.

Simple Pleasures

Wei Wuxian takes his time wandering up the nearest mountain, and half of the cultivators in the land also wander up this mountain because...Night Hunting! The cultivators are hot and thirsty from walking because they forgot that they all know how to fly.

Wei Wuxian relaxes by a well and listens to people stanning him.

Also

I’m going to say it: Wei Wuxian never met a drinking vessel he couldn’t blow.

Everything is Beautiful at the Ballet

The actress who plays A-Yan is named Zhang Linran. She probably has studied dance since she was 4 and now she gets her big break which turns out to be feeding an apple to a donkey. So let’s pause for a second to look at how beautifully she moves.

Reunions are Awkward, Part 1

Wei Wuxian meets up with one of his family members and it goes super well.

I...like Jin Ling? He’s much less of a douchebag than his dad, his uncles Jin, Jiang, and Mo (the three stooges), and every damn one of his Jin cousins. He’s genuinely brave (his Dad’s primary good quality) and his hair is on fleek. He’s still a whiny diaper baby, but I like him.

(much more after the cut!)

Then Jiang Cheng shows up, looking fine as hell and radiating peak arrogant-prick energy.

When he discovers that ‘Mo Xuanyu” stuck a piece of paper to Jin Ling, he tells the child to literally murder him. Excellent uncleing! A+++++ would recommend.

“In fact, literally murder anyone who uses Yiling Laozu’s tools, like talismans, lure flags, or spirit compasses - basically murder everyone in the Lan Clan plus those other fanboys we saw coming up the hill. Then get out there and make some friends, goddamn it!”

These nets full of cultivators on this daytime night hunt are the only time we ever see anything in a net during a night hunt. In fact dudes constantly go night hunting and the only prey we ever see is rock lady, murder turtle, and a couple of rag mops in the lake.

You Are Not Qualified to Speak to Me

Also radiating arrogant-prick energy on this occasion is Lan Wangji. He has been using pettiness as a weapon since long before he met this Jiang Cheng turkey, and he *brings it* when Jiang Cheng tries to have a conversation with him.

Letting your eyes wander everywhere except to his punchable face while you ignore his passive-aggressive questions? Quality work.

Dropping a silence spell on his child and then letting your own child explain it to him? Golden.

Lan Wangji is never ever going to forgive Jiang Cheng for what he did on cliff day, and his silence here is as pointed as an ice pick. I suspect the last words Lan Wangji actually spoke to him were “Jiang Wanyin, stop it,” sixteen years ago.

Jiang Cheng is actually the bigger person in this particular interaction, visibly mastering his temper and telling Jin Ling to take his medicine.

Reflecting

Wei Wuxian hangs out by a beautiful river and hallucinates for a while. River Jiang Yanli is nurturing and River Jiang Cheng is pissed off, so there are no surprises there. River Jiang Cheng thinks that Wei Wuxian is a promise-breaking douchebag. He’s not exactly wrong.

Courtesy of convenient gossiping cultivators, Wei Wuxian discovers that the 16 year old arrogant kid from the Jin clan who his brother from the Jiang clan has custody of is actually and quite obviously Jin Rulan.

Well fuck I guess now I care about something, that’s inconvenient.

Needing to help parent the child of the sister who parented him is what draws Wei Wuxian fully into his new life.

As soon as he has this realization, Apple comes back from roaming around, and never gives him any trouble after this for the rest of the story. Which...probably doesn’t mean anything.

Wen Gravesite

Does Wen Ning hang out here because it’s where he and his (dead) people came from? Oh great, now I am sad.

Judging by all the leaves on this grave thingy I’m going to say that this grave tender dude is, ah, not very good at his job.

Get him, Jingyi!

I feel like maybe we all focus too much on how Lan Jingyi is so hilarious and sardonic and not enough on how he is a such a biscuit.

Soul Grass

As mentioned in the previous post, Chinese spiritual concepts don’t always translate well into English. Soul grass? Sure, why not.

This is where Wei Wuxian’s Sherlock Holmes brain starts to work, although he still doesn’t remember really basic stuff about Dafan Mountain. Dying and changing bodies is rough on the old neurochemistry. This creates more opportunities for flashbacks, however, and if there’s one thing The Untamed deffo needs more of, it’s kissing flashbacks.

Temple Statue

Presumably grave-tender dude is also in charge of clearing away spiderwebs at the temple, because it’s not getting done.

Jin Ling walks into the temple blaspheming at full volume.

Since this isn’t a Greek story, he isn’t immediately struck blind for this. Then when he wishes for the statue to come alive, it obligingly does. Everything’s coming up Rulan!

Wei Wuxian shows up to rescue all the kids by throwing talismans at the monster which does not tip anyone off to who he is.

Baby Cultivator Babysitting

Lan Wangji chills out in the cultivators’ pavilion with Jiang Cheng and their mutual hate boners.

Meanwhile, Wei Wuxian forgets all about his nephew and turns into cool professor guy, explaining the basics of soul-eating to the baby cultivators and gleefully encouraging their fear of Hanguang-Jun’s punishments.

Because the Lan babies are good filial children they are super respectful and engaged with this random adult who is lecturing them. They also - like their own Hanguang-Jun at their age - see and admire Wei Wuxian’s intellect. It’s easy to forget how extremely smart Wei Wuxian is, because of how extremely dumb Wei Wuxian is.

Lan Jingyi suddenly figures out Wei Wuxian is not crazy.

Bis. Kit.

Then Rock Lady shows up and Jin Ling sticks 6 arrows into her while Lans Jingyi and Sizhui stand around not bothering to draw their swords.

I see a lot of comments about the bad effects in the statue sequences but I think Rock Lady is all right. The figure animation is decent and the lighting is no worse on her than on everything else in the scene. Her hair is nice, for a rock person.

Admittedly I just finished watching Guardian which has CGI monsters so bad they may have injured my retinas and possibly also my DNA, so the bar, for me, is pretty low. Rock lady clears it with room to spare.

Note: Wei Wuxian’s flute playing does zippity towards controlling the statue. Not sure what his plan was here.

Wen Ning Kicks Ass

Now we get to meet Wen Ning, who appears to be a stone-cold badass. Later we will discover how hilariously inaccurate that assessment is.

While all versions of Wen Ning are delightful, this version of Wen Ning is also...strangely attractive? He’s got a Patti-Smith-Horses-Era vibe here, instead of his more usual lost-baby-dork vibe. And his dreamy “I have nails in my head” expression is intriguing.

I mean, he’s not a total snack like zombie Song Lan or pre-zombie Song Lan or blind Song Lan or post-zombie Song Lan, but this look is a good one for Wen Ning, is what I’m saying.

Reunions are Awkward, Part 2

Lan Wangji, who has 99% already recognized Wei Wuxian because of the haunted sword and the fierce jawline and beautiful neck and tiny tiny waist, is summoned by his flute playing as inexorably as the Ghost General was.

Jiang Cheng also recognizes Wei Wuxian and goes into full beatdown mode, thwarted (silently) by Lan Wangji. Wei Wuxian attempts to preserve his incognito by sassing Jiang Cheng in as sibling-like a manner as possible.

Hanguang-Jun’s Pro-Ghost Agenda Has Been Clear for Some Time

This Jiang/Lan fight is hilarious when you consider the implications.

Macroexpression vs. Microexpression

Mo Xuanyu brought Wei Wuxian back using sacrifice summons, a dark ritual invented by Wei Wuxian that he, most likely, did NOT show to Lan Wangji back in the day. So it’s a pretty safe bet that Lan Wangji doesn’t know that Wei Wuxian was gifted a body, rather than stealing one.

when your brother turns around, you must whip him you will never live it down unless you whip him

When Jiang Cheng lets loose with Zidian, it’s not just because he’s angry. He’s using purple power to force Wei Wuxian’s ghost out of the body he’s apparently possessed. And Lan Wangji instantly STOPS him from doing that.

Clan Leader Jiang: this person has been possessed, against their will, by an evil ghost

Future Chief Cultivator Lan: Counterpoint: I am banging the ghost

Flashback Time

Welcome to your 30-episode flashback!

Once I used to join in Every boy and girl was my friend Now there's revolution, but they don't know What they're fighting

Let us close our eyes Outside their lives go on much faster Oh, we won't give in We'll keep living in the past

Road Tripping to Summer School

Gosh I’m looking forward to younger, kinder, more relatable Jiang Cheng.

...prick.

Incidentally, until now this episode didn’t know that Jiang Cheng has smile muscles, and neither did the person who glued his wig on for him.

I Like Rabbits

Here we have our first rabbit in a large collection of rabbit iconography that appears in The Untamed.

Instead of sending everyone to the Wikipedia page for Tu'er Shen I’m going to take this opportunity to rec the short film Kiss of the Rabbit God by Andrew Thomas Huang (tw: blood, tw:body-mod cutting) which you can read about and watch over at Nowness.com

Particularly if you are a queer person of Chinese heritage, check it out.

So. What the fuck are these? Are they food?

Are they made from wax? Or corn starch? or pig intestines?

Wei Wuxian runs off to get laid drunk and Jiang Cheng grumps about it. Jiang Yanli reminds him that being free is a Jiang Clan Rule, so really Wei Wuxian is following the rules by not following the rules. Does that mean he’s not free? My head hurts.

Jiang Cheng: yes but grump grump grump

Jiang Yanli: Nothing bad will ever happen because of A-Xian’s choices, trust me

Outro

Wei Wuxian faint tally: one Caught by: the cold hard ground

Soundtrack: 1. Donkey Riding by Great Big Sea 2. Living in the Past by Jethro Tull 3. Whip It by Devo

Fic prompt: Lan Wangji’s internal monologue while he sits in the pavilion with Jiang Cheng

If you write a fic from this prompt and want to share, please post a link in comments!

Bonus: Wang Zuocheng, macro-expression king

Episode 03 Restless Rewatch coming soon!

#the untamed #fytheuntamed #the untamed spoilers #the untamed gifs #the untamed stills #my gifs #my stills #restless rewatch #restless rewatch the untamed #canary3d-original #wei wuxian #jiang cheng #lan wangji #lan jingyi #c-drama #bl drama #the untamed memes

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flowercrownjay · 3 years

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i rank ninjago seasons because i said so:

SONS OF GARMADON (s8) I think this is probably my favorite season because it’s so much darker than the rest of them? Also, it’s the first really Lloyd centric season since s2 (I know Possession was kind of his season but it was Morro in his body so it wasn’t really him?). I absolutely love the vibe of this one as well and the angst is amazing too. Also it kind of starts a storyline that continues through to the next few seasons which is what I love about it.

POSSESSION (s5) I’m sure I’m not the only person who thinks this but I love this season so. freaking. much. I was never a fan of Nya before this season just because I felt like she was always reduced to this basic stereotype of “girl wants to fight but guys won’t let her but she’s actually a genius” and it kind of bothered me. But her being the Water Ninja was definitely a step up and I really started to like her after this season (although I’m still salty because I was the Water Ninja long before s5 came out but whatever). Also, another reason I love this season is because of the implications and the extra character building you can do behind the scenes, especially for Lloyd since he himself isn’t in the season as much.

LEGACY OF THE GREEN NINJA (s2) I don’t think it should surprise you that my top seasons are all Lloyd-centric but I’m biased towards him, obviously. I’m big on nostalgia so this season kind of just hits different for me (listen, hearing “way of the ninja” makes me cry so this is nothing). I know in terms of plot this season kind of sidelined the rest of the characters but I just... the final battle absolutely makes up for all of that. Also! Darreth. And the Garmadon + Lloyd relationship that I absolutely live for.

MASTER OF THE MOUNTAIN (s13) COLE CENTRIC SEASON COLE CENTRIC SEASON- other than this one being the first season Cole really got to himself it was just a beautiful season overall. It flowed really nicely plotwise and the ninjas, even though they were split up for a lot of the season the way they came together in the end was *chef’s kiss*. Anyway Cole Brookston-

TOURNAMENT OF ELEMENTS (s4) I love the vibe of this one. It’s such a light hearted season for the most part, unlike its successor, Possession. Also, Skylor and the rest of the Elemental Masters were amazing as well. And I kinda vibe with the whole “only one can remain” tournament thing. There are only I few times I actually cried in the whole series and the Corridor of Elders was one of those points (of course, when I rewatch I cry over every little thing).

HUNTED (s9) Hunted was a very good story plot-wise and continuation-wise, my only complaint was that the ninja were split up during most of it. But this season definitely let some of the background characters like Dareth and Skylor shine on the Ninjago side while introducing some more history on the Oni and the Dragon side. And young Wu! I love him. A lot. And the whole revolution-vibe was very well done.

RISE OF THE SNAKES (s1) I honestly can’t remember what this one was called but I think that was it. This one is only this high-up for nostalgia’s sake. I felt like it was a pretty decent season but it definitely wasn’t the best. The standout moments were definitely episodes 7-10 where they were unlocking their true potentials. (Those shaped my childhood LMAO).

PRIME EMPIRE (s12) I’m honestly not sure what the later seasons are called because Netflix doesn’t have the same names most of the time but I really vibe with this one. Also the idea of being in Prime Empire sounds appealing as fuck but whatever lol. I think this was a Jay-heavy season, as far as I can tell and it was pretty good. There could have been more Zane but that’s alright. Also bringing Harumi back was a solid 10/10 move.

SKYBOUND (s6) I know a lot of people like this season but I just cannot. It was probably the absence of the rest of the ninja for a lot of the season and having it be really Jay-centric, which of course I don’t mind at all, but still. The whole Nadakhan-sky-pirates thing I just did not like. But other than that it wasn’t the absolute WORST season. I did like the first three-ish episodes and the last one but I hated the ones where the ninja were disappearing I NEED THE GANG BACK TOGETHER.

MARCH OF THE ONI (s10) THIS SEASON HAD SO MUCH POTENTIAL AND THE ONLY REASON IT’S DOWN HERE IS BECAUSE OF THE LENGTH. They only used four episodes to cover that huge plotline and I hated that. I did not cry when Cole fell because I watched it over the summer when I knew he got a season later on. (Yeah, when I stopped I had only watched till s7). Jay and Nya were pretty cute and so were Cole and Kai. Garmadon supremacy as usual.

REBOOTED (s3) I spent an hour arguing with my little brother last night on why this was one of the worst seasons and he just. Would not listen. There are so many problems with this season, the least of them being the digital Overlord bullshit they wrote in. (This is no hate to the writers as I understand they were pressed for time writing this one since the show was renewed). My main complaint is the JayxColexNya crap they wrote in and it completely ruined all three of their characters. Cole had never been remotely interested in Nya until this season and Jay was just. Upset? Over what a machine said? I’m 100% convinced the Overlord did that on purpose to divide their team. OH AND NYA WAS *LITERALLY* REDUCED TO AN OBJECT. BASICALLY. I didn’t even watch this season all the way through because it was so BAD. The only redeeming factor was the Titanium Ninja where Zane dies because I sobbed like a little bitch during it.

HANDS OF TIME (s7) There are so many things wrong with this season. I cannot think of single good episode. Honestly. They completely wrecked Lloyd’s character by making him sound like a whiny baby (I know he’s a kid but STILL). The ninja were just RUDE through the entire thing and maybe the only decent episode was Out of the Fire, Into the Boiling Sea. MAYBE. Lloyd not knowing how to make an energy dragon in midair? I thought he conquered his fear?? Yeah I just hate this season for so many reasons.

SECRETS OF THE FORBIDDEN SPINJITZU(?) (s11) I’m not sure what this season is called and I really don’t care enough to find out so we’re calling it this for now. I hated the Fire Chapter of this season with a *burning* passion (get it lol). Kai lost his powers, which is fine, but he was such a bitch about it. I hated it. Hated. It. In the past Kai has been known to be irrational but this was a whole different level? He wasn’t being irrational, he was just being straight up rude. Especially to Wu, who I know deserved it but it doesn’t sound like a very Kai think to do? And then the Never-Realm part was OKAY at BEST. The only good episodes were the first few, I don’t make the rules. (Also, LloydxAkita bothers me for many reasons. Akita’s probably like way older than him. And she just... reminds me of a furry. I don’t hate Akita I just don’t like them together.)

Okay yeah so that’s my ranking, it changes a lot but this is it for the most part. I don’t think anyone read all the way here but if you did thanks.

#my post #ninjago #reviews #ninjago s1 #ninjago s2 #ninjago s3 #kai ninjago #jay ninjago #lloyd ninjago

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treethymes · 4 years

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february 2020 watchlist

*favorite rewatch

death in the land of encantos (2007, dir. lav diaz) the favourite (2018, dir. yorgos lanthimos) we are your friends (2015, dir. max joseph) melancholia (2008, dir. lav diaz)* holy motors (2012, dir. leos carax) the holy mountain (1973, dir. alejandro jodorowsky) the color of pomegranates (1969, dir. sergei parajanov) asako i & ii (2018, dir. ryusuke hamaguchi) the go master (2006, dir. tian zhuangzhuang) sympathy for the devil (1968, dir. jean-luc godard) black panthers (1968, dir. agnes varda) ivan's childhood (1962, dir. andrei tarkovsky)* raise the red lantern (1991, dir. zhang yimou) andrei rublev (1966, dir. andrei tarkovsky) touch of evil (1958, dir. orson welles) remembrance: a portrait study (1967, dir. edward owens)* dreams are colder than death (2013, dir. arthur jafa) mysteries of lisbon (2010, dir. raul ruiz) prologue to the great desaparecido (2013, dir. lav diaz) the wind will carry us (1999, dir. abbas kiarostami) the world of us (2016, dir. yoon ga-eun)* female prisoner #701: scorpion (1972, dir. shunya ito) i am not a witch (2017, dir. rungano nyoni) mother of george (2013, dir. andrew dosunmu)* timbuktu (2014, dir. abderrahmane sissako) lovetrue (2016, dir. alma har'el)* jane b. for agnes v. (1988, dir. agnes varda) whores' glory (2011, dir. michael glawogger) 10 (2002, dir. abbas kiarostami) shirin (2008, dir. abbas kiarostami) butterflies have no memories (2009, dir. lav diaz) the sacrifice (1986, dir. andrei tarkovsky) the turin horse (2011, dir. bela tarr) satantango (1994, dir. bela tarr) an investigation on the night that won't forget (2012, dir. lav diaz) altiplano (2018, dir. malena szlam) high and low (1963, dir. akira kurosawa) the lighthouse (2019, dir. robert eggers) bombay beach (2011, dir. alma har'el) arrival (2016, dir. denis villeneuve) phantom thread (2017, dir. paul thomas anderson) uncut gems (2019, dir. josh & benny safdie) the last black man in san francisco (2019, dir. joe talbot) jojo rabbit (2019, dir. taika waititi) under the silver lake (2018, dir. david robert mitchell) take care of my cat (2001, dir. jeong jae-eun) roma (2018, dir. alfonso cuaron) long day's journey into night (2018, dir. bi gan)* a city of sadness (1989, dir. hou hsiao-hsien) the puppetmaster (1993, dir. hou hsiao-hsien) good men, good women (1995, dir. hou hsiao-hsien) goodbye south, goodbye (1996, dir. hou hsiao-hsien) flowers of shanghai (1998, dir. hou hsiao-hsien) millennium mambo (2001, dir. hou hsiao-hsien) cafe lumiere (2003, dir. hou hsiao-hsien) three times (2005, dir. hou hsiao-hsien) flight of the red balloon (2007, dir. hou hsiao-hsien) the assassin (2015, dir. hou hsiao-hsien) children of the sea (2019, dir. ayumu watanabe) the boys from fengkuei (1983, dir. hou hsiao-hsien) a summer at grandpa's (1984, dir. hou hsiao-hsien) the time to live and the time to die (1985, dir. hou hsiao-hsien) dust in the wind (1986, dir. hou hsiao-hsien) daughter of the nile (1987, dir. hou hsiao-hsien) a borrowed life (1994, dir. wu nien-jen) in the mood for love (2000, dir. wong kar-wai) sansho the bailiff (1954, dir. kenji mizoguchi) suspiria (1977, dir. dario argento) silence has no wings (1966, dir. kazuo kuroki)

---

the ones i mark as “favorite” just have some aspect of them that im especially drawn to; like the forest scene in ivan’s childhood or the cinnamon toffee of mother of george. my favorite overall was maybe the world of us, which reminded me a lot of my own childhood; and i liked the way the camera stuck to the main character in certain scenes. i also liked long day’s journey into night bc all it takes to impress me is a floaty camera and long takes.

all the movies i rewatched i already liked, except for touch of evil, which i watched bc the opportunity presented itself to me and i wanted to see if i still found it as boring as the first time i saw it nearly ten years ago in my high school film class, and the answer is yes i still don’t like it lmao. take care of my cat was still a nice watch though; i also watched jeong jae-eun’s 2017 film butterfly sleep, but it’s not listed bc i stopped watching after 15 minutes; it was a nope from me.

watching a borrowed life and early hou, i could guess a little what wu nien-jen wanted dust in the wind to be: the personal voice-over hou did for the time to live and the time to die; the relatively straightforward adaptation of chu tien-wen’s script for a summer at grandpa’s. in the mood for love is still a juggernaut lol; i like it for many of the same reasons i like the assassin.

#watchlist #i don't think these lists will be as long after this

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meryton-etc · 4 years

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name: etc. meryton-etc.

star sign: gemini bitch, tho my moon is in sagittarius and that’s more important than u fuckers realise

height: 5′5 babey im an average person in every way :)

middle name: i leave this officially blank. my confirmation name was rose tho.

put your itunes/spotify/googleplay music on shuffle. what are the first 6 songs that popped up?

Single Ladies (Homecoming live) - Beyoncé

Mars is no Fun - Camille

Sicilian Crest - The Mountain Goats

Oh My Violence - Lady Lamb

Stranger - Vampire Weekend

Mama, you been on my mind - Jeff Buckley

grab one book nearest to you and turn to page 23. what’s line 17?

“But a cloak was put over my shoulders, and a rug across my knees, and the driver said in excellent German: “The night is chill, mein Herr, and my master the Count bade me take all care of you.”

Dracula, Bram Stoker.

ever had a poem or a song written about you?

yes. god bless you mark, you’re great, it would not have worked out between us.

when was the last time you played air guitar?

to a girls aloud song last week.

who is your celebrity crush?

the marlboro cowboy.

what’s a sound you hate; sound you love?

sound i hate:my mother shouting down the phone at 8 am in the morning

sound i love: orange peel being torn

do you believe in ghosts?

my nana saw some once

how about aliens?

yes, but we’re never gonna see ‘em

do you drive?

if yes, have you ever crashed?

no but ive been knocked off my bike on dame street before - what a rush

what was the last book you read?

shockaholic by carrie fisher

do you like the smell of gasoline?

“Just because we have chiseled abs and stunning features, it doesn't mean that we, too, can't not die in a freak gasoline fight accident”

what was the last movie you saw?

Only Yesterday...... when i tell you i wept

what’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?

i fucked up my knee ice-skating in barcelona

do you have any obsessions right now?

“you’ve been knitting and watching and then rewatching deep space nine for six weeks now it’s time to get a job”

do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?

who has the energy.

in a relationship?

it’s not for lack of trying . tagged by votsalot and tagging anyone who wants to do it but actually do it cos i like to spy on peoples spoteefie

#personal

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kristallioness · 6 years

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A heavy arrow to bear

Summary: Aang finds out that his and Katara's fates are more intertwined than he thought.

Word count: 1,249

Author's note: For me, this prompt only gave one specific theme to dwell on, namely how similar the destiny of these two characters is. It was hard to come up with something sweet, but eventually (after thinking about the first episodes since I'm gonna start my rewatch tonight) I imagined a dialogue like this taking place at the beginning of their journey. Set between "The Southern Air Temple" and "The Warriors of Kyoshi". 3 days late, sorry!

----------x----------

The campfire sizzled in the chilly air of the Patola Mountain range, the smell of burning blubbered seal jerky being a pleasant reminder from yesterday. Aang had accidentally used it to start the campfire last time, hence Sokka had gathered some real firewood for tonight. He didn't trust the airbender enough to look after his meat.

Katara was sitting near the source of warmth and light together with her brother. With the peak of winter approaching, the days were shorter as well as colder, hence they couldn't take off their parkas at night. She bit into one of the leftover apples, which Momo had gathered for her hungry brother so he wouldn't eat him. Sokka was nomming on some moon peaches, the winged lemur trying to steal a few from the pile next to him when he wasn't looking.

Katara glanced behind over her shoulder, where Appa was resting. They'd left the Southern Air Temple in the evening and decided to make a pit stop on one of the islands that belonged to the air nomads before continuing their journey to the Earth Kingdom tomorrow. It was going to be a long ride across the ocean to reach Kyoshi Island.

Aang was curled up on the sky bison's left front leg, his back turned towards the Water Tribe siblings. He'd claimed that he wanted to go to bed early, but sleep was the last thing on his mind that night. He ran his hand through the soft fur on Appa's paw. He just wanted some time for himself since he had a lot to take in after such an emotional day.

He still didn't wanna believe it - he was the last airbender in the whole world. All of his friends were gone, he couldn't play airball with them ever again. Despite being the youngest airbending master in history, he still had so much to learn and now there was nobody around who could teach him. The nuns, the monks.. Monk Gyatso.

He gripped Appa's fur for a moment. His fingers relaxed to continue combing through the white sea of fluff. If the air nomads were gone, what happened to the sky bison, and the lemurs? His grey eyes grew wide when Momo landed right in front of him, a moon peach he'd stolen from Sokka hanging between his small sharp fangs.

"Thanks, Momo!"

Aang gifted his new companion with a few pats on his head and strokes down his back before taking a bite of the snack he'd brought him. Momo leaped closer to his face and began licking his cheeks. Aang tried to brush him away so he could eat in peace, until something wet rubbed off against the back of his hand. He didn't even realize that he'd been crying.

"Aang? Are you okay?"

A shiver ran down his spine and he nearly dropped the moon peach as he turned around to look at Katara. She'd snuck up from behind without him noticing. He averted his gaze and stared at the snowy ground. He hid his frown behind his hand as he attempted to wipe away the last of his tears. She crawled closer to him on Appa's paw, tenderly running her glove over his cheek.

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way."

Hearing her empathetic voice helped wash away some of his sorrow, even for a little bit. Aang sniffed, lifting his head to look her in the eye.

"K-Katara?"

"Hmm?"

She tilted her head and sat back on her knees, giving him time to gather himself and let him speak. He liked that about her, that she didn't put pressure on him.

"When we were at the Southern Air Temple and I was so mad that I entered the Avatar State, you yelled something to me. Something about your mother."

It was Katara's turn to frown. Unlike him, she didn't look away. Instead, her hand came up to her neck, her fingertips touching the carving in her necklace.

"Yes. I was trying to calm you down. I wanted you to understand that you're not the only one hurting. I yelled that I lost my mom.."

She gulped and hung her head a bit, releasing a heavy sigh.

"I was only 8 years old. The Fire Nation raided our village and killed my mother."

So he'd heard right. She was telling the truth. His people weren't the only ones who'd suffered at the hands of the Fire Nation. This war must've spread really far during these hundred years if they were going after the South Pole, too.

Aang reached out a hand and laid it on hers, the one that remained in her lap.

"I'm so sorry, Katara."

She grabbed it in her own gloves, running her fingers over his to warm them up. She still didn't understand how he didn't feel cold in those light airbender robes of his. She gave him a warm smile.

"Thanks."

Aang started giggling a little since she was tickling his palms while rubbing them together. He stared into her diamond blue eyes while she was busy doing that. There was some kind of a consoling warmth in them, some fondness in her caring smile. His grey eyes stopped at her neck, admiring the Water Tribe symbol carved into the necklace as it shined in the light that came from the campfire further away from them.

"Is that your mother's necklace?"

Katara's eyes grew wide and she looked down to her chest, grabbing the carving in one of her hands as if she was seeing it for the first time in her life.

"How did you know?"

"You kept your hand near it when you talked about her."

Katara didn't know what to say to that. He sure was an observant young man. She ensued a longer pause as she finished warming up his hands. She tucked them under his chin, close to his chest to help him keep warm. Aang's curiosity got the better of him.

"I know I'm the last airbender now, but.. how are you the last southern waterbender?"

"The Fire Nation began capturing our waterbenders long before I was born. The last time they came to hunt them down was decades ago."

Aang pouted and began pondering as all the guilt came rushing back. Maybe if he stayed put, some of the air nomads would still be alive. Katara's mother would still be alive. He could've done something to prevent the war from happening, from escalating this far. He wished he hadn't disappeared in the first place.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect your tribe."

She leaned closer and cupped his cheek, the soft fabric of her glove caressing his skin.

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault."

Aang averted his gaze in shame. If only she knew the truth, she wouldn't be so kind to him. He began worrying so much he didn't even notice when Katara wrapped her arms around him to give him a hug.

"Good night, Aang!" she murmured into his ear before releasing her embrace, after which she climbed off Appa's leg. He swallowed the lump in his throat and forced a small smile.

"Good night, Katara!"

She smiled back at him, her brows furrowed. Katara gave him a wave with her fingers before she walked away to join Sokka near the campfire. With the Water Tribe siblings, his new family keeping an eye on him, Aang felt a little bit safer and he managed to fall asleep.

#Kataang Week #intertwined #Kataangtag #Kataang #the original Gaang #Team Avatar #Aang #Katara #Sokka #Appa #Momo #ATLA 1.03 #my fanfiction #mine #shards of Kristal

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hopemustneverdie · 6 years

Text

Rooftop Conversations

I finally finished it!

I started this shortly after I finished watching The New Legends of Monkey, which was only last month. Quite a long time for a piece that’s only nine pages long in Word and not high quality. These characters are amazing to watch, and they give extra depth to rewatches, but wow, are they tricky to write! I’m not entirely happy with the finished work, but it’s done, and I want to get in the habit of both writing stuff and finishing it. Constructive criticism is welcomed!

Rooftop Conversations

Summary: After Davari’s defeat, the memories of everything that’s happened so far has hit Tripitaka. Fortunately, she isn’t quite alone in this.

Rating: T

Warnings: Death mention, food mention, grief

Characters: Tripitaka, Monkey, Sandy, Pigsy

Pairings: Minor Tripkey

Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with The New Legends of Monkey. With the amount of time it takes me to write anything, this is for the best.

“Thank you for letting us stay the night,” Tripitaka said to the married couple and their children. After everything the family had done to help them, offering them a place to stay was going above and beyond any expectations.

“It’s the least we could do,” Lusio said. “You rid this town of demons, deposed Davari–” she paused as Silver and Oak spat “–and brought hope to Jade Mountain.”

“And saved our children,” Shamai said. She saw on his face relief that she’d seen a lot of since the news spread about Davari’s downfall.

“We don’t know how we could ever thank you enough,” Lusio added.

“Well, letting us stay the night here is a good gesture,” Pigsy added, a little irreverently.

Sandy gently nudged his side with an elbow. “There’s no need to thank us,” she said. Still, Tripitaka could see the small grin of happiness on her face.

“We just need a place to stay while we mop up the rest of the demons here,” Monkey said. He was tapping his fingers on his staff as he leaned against it. No doubt he’d still be out there right now, trying to find out where Davari’s supporters crawled off to, had it not been sunset, and if everyone hadn’t been awake and active from the previous day to that evening.

“Don’t worry about it,” Lusio said. “You’ll always be welcome in this house.”

The room they stayed in was small, with most of the walls hidden by crates of supplies for the family’s store. But there was enough room to spread out blankets, and after weeks out on the road that was a dream come true.

With assurances that this was perfect, and promises that they would call if they needed anything, the family bade them good night and left.

Tripitaka laid down on her area of floor, clutching the blanket close to her. In the dark, it was harder to see her friends, but slowly they stopped shifting around as much, and breaths slowed and softened, until she was confident that she was the only one left awake in the room, if not the whole house.

She tried to follow their example, slowing her own breathing and closing her eyes. Her mind was more rebellious than her lungs and eyes, however.

Beforehand, she’d had plenty of distractions to keep it from lingering like this. Plotting out the best path from scroll to scroll, trying hard not to wince whenever she heard someone say “he” or describe her as a man, yet fear for the moment they didn’t, worry about what if something happened to her friends and it was her fault, her fault for not being good enough and for being the wrong person.

Now, in the quiet and relative safety of a room with all those worries, at least for the moment, neatly tied away, she was free to prod at injuries caused before she’d freed Monkey.

She had no home to go to, no family. The scholar was dead. Her home was gone. Not even a wall left standing. She didn’t even have the letter her mother had written.

Tripitaka realized that tears were starting force themselves out from between her eyelids, and her nose was starting to run. She was trying to keep her breathing quiet and even, but she couldn’t keep it up forever. And if she went downstairs, she might wake their hosts. Which left her no place to go but up.

She slowly sat up and glanced around. No one seemed awake. She felt relieved; she didn’t want to wake anyone up to this. She slid out from under her blankets and crept to the window. She slowly opened the window, occasionally glancing behind her. No one was sitting up, or even moving beyond breathing.

She opened the window just wide enough to shimmy out, and after she was on the roof closed it so that only her hand could fit under there. If her friends woke up in the middle of the night to a breeze and found her missing… Sandy did say even Monkey was upset by the last time she’d left.

I’ll be quiet, she told herself, and make sure to get back in before anyone wakes up.

She scaled the roof slowly, though she was confident in her footholds. If she got too overconfident, she might fall, and she doubted her friends would want to wake up and see her hurt. More importantly, it would delay their quest, unless she managed to convince them to go on without her.

Even picking her way up, it didn’t take her long to reach the top of the roof. She slowly lowered herself onto the spine. Once she was settled and somewhat comfortable, she turned her gaze onto the city’s silhouettes.

The view from her perch was quite stunning. The torches that lit the streets weren’t visible, since Shamai’s and Lusio’s shop was the height of most other buildings. However, the flickering light they gave off was visible, tickling the roofs’ eaves, occasionally casting the shadow of a person on their business.

In a way, Tripitaka thought, wiping a tear away with her sleeve, this was like she was upset back home. Something the scholar taught her just wasn’t clicking, or she learned of a branch of the resistance failing, or one of her books had a sad ending. She’d climb the nearby cliffs, throwing herself into a state of thinking of nothing but the next foot or hand hold, until she reached the top. She’d then sit at the cliff’s lip, dangling her feet, watching the tops of the trees sway and feel the wind in her hair.

The scholar would rarely remark on these excursions, but Tripitaka knew he knew about them. Quite often, she’d return to see he’d set aside one of her favorite fruits for her, or he’d assign her to reread and analyze a text she’d enjoyed in the past.

She realized her vision was blurred, and wiped away her tears a little rougher than needed.

“Tripitaka?”

Tripitaka nearly fell off the roof at the unexpected voice. Her next feeling was guilt, and a little embarrassment.

“Sorry, Monkey,” she whispered. She’d been sure she hadn’t woken anyone up on her ascent, but maybe the roof was a little thinner than she’d thought.

Not that it mattered now, as Monkey was climbing up the roof, a little more confidently than she had. He sat down next to her, squinting at her in the darkness.

“What are you doing up here?” he asked. He tilted his head a little more to the side, his nose twitching for a second.

“Trying not to wake anyone.” Not that she’d succeeded.

The answer seemed to make Monkey more confused than anything. He leaned back, face furrowed and eyes narrowed as he seemed to try and figure out what she said. “Yeah, but why are you trying not to wake anyone on the roof?” He gave the roof a small gesture.

“I needed some fresh air.” Tripitaka drew her knees up so she could set her chin on them.

She heard Monkey shift in his seat next to her. “Well, so do I.”

Tripitaka quickly glanced at him. He was facing the direction of the street, chin raised in that way that meant that he definitely wasn’t going to go back in anytime soon.

She quickly glanced away before he could look at her again.

For a moment, there was silence. Tripitaka didn’t want to upset Monkey or risk waking anyone else up, and Monkey clearly didn’t want to be the first to speak. Eventually, though, Monkey began to tap his foot against the shingles slowly, twirling his hairpin carelessly in the dark. She pretended not to see him glancing at her, and he seemed to avoid mentioning anything about her doing the same.

Finally, he gave a soft sigh. “I’m guessing you came out here because you were upset.” He sounded more confident than if he was just making a guess.

“Yeah.” She tried to pretend her voice wasn’t as hoarse as it sounded to her.

“And how can I help?”

As selfish as it was, Tripitaka wanted him to stay. But at the same time, she didn’t want him to stay up all night because of her.

“Tell you what,” Monkey said as he slipped his hairpin back in a pocket, “I wasn’t able to sleep, either, so we can just sit here in silence until we’re ready to go back in.”

Tripitaka blinked. “You couldn’t sleep?” She’d been so sure everyone had been sleeping when she’d gone onto the roof.

Monkey nodded. He didn’t seem to want to share the reason why, which was fair. She didn’t particularly feel like talking about why she was up there, either.

There was a pause in the conversation. It didn’t feel awkward, at least not for Tripitaka. She glanced at Monkey, but it often was hard to tell what he was thinking even in the light.

“I thought this place would’ve changed since the last time I’d been here.” If it hadn’t been for how quiet Monkey’s voice was, Tripitaka might’ve jumped. As it was, hearing him sound subdued nearly made her skin crawl with how unnatural it was. If she’d learned one thing about him in the weeks they’d traveled together, it was that if Monkey wasn’t full of energy, something was seriously wrong.

“It looked like this before…” She let herself trail off, realizing she was probably going to territory he wouldn’t want to discuss. Her peek into his past had distressed her, and not just because the Master had reminded her of the Scholar.

If Monkey had been upset by this, he didn’t show it, or at least she didn’t see it. He just nodded and scanned the rooftops surrounding them. It was if they were giants, sitting in the middle of a mountain range. “A little less rundown, maybe.” He pointed off toward the distance, on the verge of sight. “There used to be a monastery there. Guess Davari wasn’t too keen on having monks nearby.”

Tripitaka thought back to a monk she’d once met standing in a doorway. “Yeah.” She blinked and hoped that Monkey hadn’t noticed the extra tears.

From the corner of her eye, she saw him turn to glance at her. So much for that hope.

“Or maybe they just moved,” he suggested, sounding more like he was offering that out of desperation to cheer her up, not that he actually thought it. “Hard to meditate with demons around.” His nose twitched. “They stink.”

Something in the way he said the last word made Tripitaka smile, just a bit.

Monkey must’ve noticed, because he jumped back in. “They really do. They smell like…” He twisted his face up as if he were smelling one right then. “They smell like that awful cactus you tried to feed us. Worse, even.”

That made Tripitaka smile, a little more, even if the motion made her shed a couple more tears. “That’s hard to believe.”

Monkey leaned back, a very good approximation of his offended posture on his face. “Do you think I’m joking? I’d never joke about just how awful demons reek.” He shook his head. “No matter where I go, I just can’t stop smelling it.” He reached over and patted her shoulder. “You humans have it better in that regard, for the moment.”

Tripitaka tried to wipe her eyes on her sleeve as discreetly as possible. “Thanks, Monkey.”

Monkey opened his mouth to say something.

“I knew I heard voices.”

Tripitaka glanced over where she heard the voice. It was Sandy, scrambling up onto the roof. Her guilt only increased when Pigsy’s curls poked up over the rooftop’s lip.

“Why’d you have to choose the hardest places to get to when you can’t sleep?” Pigsy grunted, hoisting himself up onto the roof. “You’d better have an easier way down.”

“Sorry,” she whispered.

“Don’t be,” Pigsy muttered, and waved his hand like the apology was an annoying fly.

“If you were upset, you could’ve come to us, you know.” Sandy didn’t really sound that accusing, more gentle, as she settled down next to Tripitaka. “We’re your friends; we could’ve helped.”

“Because she’s as stubborn as Monkey.” Pigsy sat down next to Sandy.

Monkey leaned over to look past Tripitaka. “I’m not that stubborn!” He sounded ready to pick an argument, but at least he’d lowered his voice.

“Getting you to do something is like herding cats,” Sandy said. She winked at Tripitaka.

Monkey’s reaction–sitting up straight, shoulders tensing–reminded Tripitaka of the two cats the Scholar had once owned when she was young. They’d got along all right, most of the time, but sometimes the older one got annoyed by the younger one’s antics. More than once she’d caught the older cat, sitting tensely, glaring down at the younger one laying down at his paws.

“Did you come up here to cheer up Tripitaka, or make fun of me?” he asked.

“We can manage both.” Pigsy adjusted his seat. “So, what were you guys talking about?”

Tripitaka shrugged. “Monkey was telling me how much demons smelled, and how the world changed.” Or didn’t, sometimes.

“Two strange topics to be discussing together,” Sandy said. She sounded incredibly cheerful for someone woken up in the middle of the night.

They talked for a while, until finally Tripitaka only shed tears when she yawned.

“Think I’m going back in,” she said, feeling her eyes try to shut without her noticing. “We have a busy day tomorrow.”

She glanced around and saw everyone start to smile, but try to hide it.

“Think I will, too,” Sandy said casually, and stretched as she stood up. She turned to Monkey and Pigsy. “How about you?”

“Might try getting back to sleep,” Monkey mentioned.

“I won’t even have to try.” Pigsy dusted himself off as he, too, rose from his perch.

Sandy and Pigsy had left the window open, so it was easy to climb down and reenter the room. As Monkey swung down and into the house after Pigsy, attempting to start a small and muted argument over Pigsy getting back into the room first, Sandy turned to Tripitaka and put her hand on her shoulder.

“You feeling better?” she asked.

Tripitaka nodded and mustered a smile. It wasn’t so much a fight against her previous grief as against exhaustion, at least for the moment. “Yeah. Sorry for waking you up.”

“No need to apologize. Remember that we’re your friends.” Sandy’s voice was kind and gentle, barely a rebuke. “You can wake us up whenever you like. Isn’t that what friends do?”

Tripitaka nodded. “Yeah.”

Tripitaka settled back on her spot on the floor, and this time, she fell asleep to the sounds her friends made as they too settled back into slumber.

#the new legends of monkey #tnlom #the new legends of monkey spoilers #tnlom spoilers #spoilers #tnlom fanfiction #death mention cw #food mention cw #tripitaka #monkey king #sandy #pigsy

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jesuisdorii · 4 years

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10 Questions Tag

I was tagged by two of my favorite studyblrs: @tulipteastudies and @winterbearstudies (hi guys!) This is a long one so I’ll put answers under the cut

what’s your favourite film and why? // Oh gosh this is a hard one. I’m gonna go with Bring it On it’s been one of my favorites since I was a kid. I watched it so often that I decided to start cheerleading in middle school!

which languages do you/would you like to speak? // My mother tongue is English and I’m currently studying both Korean and French. I’d love to master those and maybe pick up Japanese one day!

what’s a song or music artist that you’re in love with right now? // I am absolutely head over heels for 5SOS’s newest album. My favorite track is Wildflower, I could listen to it forever

is your workspace well-organised or a chaotic mess? (no judgement, mine is a mountain held together by hope and delicate balancing) // You asked this question at the best time, I finally cleared up my desk and she is SO organized!

did you have a favourite fairy tale or folktale growing up? what was it? if not, what was your favourite childhood book? // I didn’t read a lot of folktales growing up, but I loved nursery rhymes! My favorite was Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

if you could only wear clothes in three colours for the rest of your life, which colours would you choose? // Black, brown, and grey! I’m a neutral kinda gal

do you have any pets? if not, would you like any in the future? // I don’t currently have any pets but I’m very excited to adopt a cat once I move by myself

have you had enough to eat and drink today? (yes this is a self-care checkpoint, go have a snack and a glass of water u study legends) // I have! I ate three meals today, which I honestly can’t remember the last time I did. I’m quite proud of myself

what’s your favourite season? // Autumn!!!! I love the weather, the colors, the start of a new school year. It’s the perfect season

what is your current goal in life? any and all sizes and scales count, it doesn’t have to be a monumental, long-term goal // My current short-term goal is to stop biting my nails. It’s such a bad habit and I managed to get over it once but I fell off the wagon :( My main long-term goal is to teach ESL in South Korea!

What’s your favorite memory with your friends? // One of my favorite memories is going to prom with my two best friends, we all looked so pretty and had the time of our lives

If you could live in any fictional universe, where would you choose? // I would love to live in the Zoey 101 universe. It’s basically real life but I dreamed of going to PCA when I was little

What show do you watch over and over again? // I constantly rewatch Adventure Time, it’s my comfort show!

What does your ideal day look like? // My ideal day is sleeping in a bit before getting up to have a nice breakfast. Then spending all day in a nice park with my friends before coming home :)

City or country life? Why? // I’d say city life, I love when things are in walking distance and there’s too much going on to ever be bored

Best meal you’ve ever had? // I had chicken and broccoli at this little restaurant in Chinatown, I’ve never had a better meal and it was totally worth the walk

What are you most looking forward to right now? // Starting the fall semester! I have two classes with my favorite professor and I can’t wait to see her again

Favorite memory from this year? // All the zoom movie nights I’ve had with my friends! We’re all scattered across different states so it’s nice to see them again knowing we won’t be on campus together for a few more months

What’s your favorite thing you own? // One of my favorite things is the little stuffed elephant I got from one of my friends freshman year, his name is Snort and he brings good vibes to my study space :)

What’s something you want to do this year? // One of my goals is to make the Dean’s List! I’m pretty confident that I can do it this time

Since I have a few more tag games to do I won’t tag anyone this time. But I’d love for anyone to answer these questions as well! Please tag me if you do :)

#mine #tag game #i literally love these so much #please always send me tag games

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ameliette · 7 years

Text

0: Prologue - or more of a preface

I'm one of those who likes to ramble and publish the ramble without editing it, so these will be messy!

'prologue' Middle English: from Old French, via Latin from Greek prologos, from pro- ‘before’ + logos ‘saying’.

And before anything is said about the book, I want to give context to this all. I didn't participate in the Hobbit group-read - mostly because I wasn't in this fandom at the time - so I'm not 100% sure what everything should be in these posts. Also I'm very bad at doing actual thoughtful commentary, especially on books. It's easier on visual media, but my "commentary" is still usually half sentences that don't make any sense. I have two hobbit trilogies worth of notes to testify that. - Or, like seen here, I read fifteen levels into each word.

Should be mostly spoiler free, since I don't even know what happens past mid-point of The Two Towers in the books.

Reading this with a close eye (I have to, otherwise I might just skim everything), I noticed the wording "seldom now reach three feet". Hobbits used to vary between two and four feet, huh? So even though the films portrayed the hobbits all about four feet tall (Bilbo's listed as being 4'2'' in the art book so I'm going off that), that was more the upper limit for "normal" height. And then a few sentences later there's this: "[Bullroarer] was surpassed [in height] -- only by two famous characters of old; *but that curious matter is dealt with in this book*." I'm probably reading too much into it, but does it suggest that Frodo and Sam are especially tall for Hobbits, even in their time?

On feet: I'm a writer and research random things sometimes. Last night I was reading through nanowrimo's research forum, checking everything that sounded interesting, and stumbled upon a topic on barefoot running. From what I read, it's more likely that hobbits actually walk more on the balls of their feet than on heels, as it's easier on knees and hips. Not a detail that would get much notice in a book, but could be explored in art. (Maybe not so much in film, given the limitation of feet prosthetics used.) Walking like that consumes more energy than walking on heels, so if they're walking tip-toe all day, no wonder hobbits eat more!

On pipeweed: "tobacco of the Southfarthing play[s] a part in the history that follows" I still don't have the full context for this one (recall my words that I'm in Chapter X of Book III?) but I recall being absolutely confused by this the first time. How could tobacco play a part in world history? Well, I know a bit now, (again, Chapter X) but still not much. (And well I've read portions of the Atlas so that was a few spoilers *shrug* but spoilers are still not full context!)

Given how idyllic the Shire is portrayed in the movies, I'm actually surprised not all Hobbits can read!

"who reached a hundred as often as not" means 50% of hobbits reach 100 years of age, right? I'm no mathmagician, and median is not mean, but does that suggest hobbits have a life expectancy of 100 years? Given the lack of modern technology in Middle-Earth, I'm rather surprised. How long might hobbits live if they lived in modern times? (In visible populations, with modern tech)

On the finding of the Ring: "the party was assailed by orcs in -- the Misty Mountains" nitpicking and grammar-filing, but I actually discussed at length with a friend about the difference between orcs and goblins, since in the Hobbit movies, only the ones under Misty Mountains are called goblins, and Azog and his army are called orcs. Of course it would be repetitive to repeat the discussion here, but I find it interesting that the switch from English 'goblin' to Westron 'orc' was here applied "retroactively" so to speak. (And also, 'goblin' will always say to me 'funny little creature under a mountain', whereas 'orc' is 'dangerous thing do not approach')

"the ring slipped quietly on to his finger" and given what I know of the ring, it was all deliberate by it. Ring wants to go back to its master, and it cannot achieve that goal by staying with Gollum. Making Bilbo invisible will help the ring out of the cave. ... I suddenly wonder if there are fics written in the Ring's POV? (Too bad the ring didn't know Hobbits are not so easily influenced by it) "the ring, secured by a fine chain --" which we never saw in the films! I wanted to see the ring on a chain like a pocket watch!

Regarding the last few sentences of the chapter. (I've quoted so much directly by now that I think I'll pass, esp. for this long an excerpt) I didn't really notice it last time, but this really makes it sound more like a preface to a historical novel than a work of fiction - which was the idea, I suppose, given this is meant to be the English translation of Red Book of Westmarch. In any case, detailing events so far into the book and past the scope of its prose section is certainly a different approach to fiction! (It also explained a few things I was left wondering about regarding movie's Gray Havens scene.)

I also want to detail how I got into this fandom, because it ties into the prologue a bit.

I tried watching the LotR movies back in 2014 (I wanted to watch the Hobbit films, so maybe I could go see BoFA in theatre, but knew I should start with LotR), but kinda fell asleep (or something) during FotR (like I did watch it through but didn't really focus on it) so I let that plan be (even though I had all three films borrowed from the library so honestly I could have just rewatched it the following day), and didn't come back to it until this summer (2016 July in case I someday have a theme that doesn't have time stamps) when YLE (Finnish national radio/tv broadcaster) showed them on tv and they were also available online for a few weeks. Did the traditional method of marathoning all three in a row, didn't finish till 4am. I have a friend who joked about me being the one to learn Sindarin once I'd read the books, but after LotR, I said something to the effect of "well I'm not that much into this" - like, for me, back then, it was still "a film classic I must watch to be a proper young adult" type of deal.

Then I got the Hobbit trilogy from the library, and this is where I need to get into detail. I had a new computer ("new", it's over five years old, but it used to be my brother's so it's new to me), so I wanted to watch the DVDs on that, but I couldn't find AUJ on DVD in the library so had to take Blu-Ray. I swear this is relevant. DoS and BoFA I did get on DVD. So I watched AUJ on tv screen, and then next tday DoS on computer. And half of BoFA.

... Not because of the movie itself. It was my computer that fucked up. You see, it's that old and has a bad processor, so it couldn't handle me watching 4+ hours of DVD straight. Cut it off twice in the Dale scenes. I got mad and didn't get that it was because the computer was overheating. Anyway, now I'm getting to the point.

I mentioned I got the films from the library? Well, I also got FotR and The Hobbit books at the same time, and because I was still in the middle of BoFA, I started with FotR. Can you see where this is going? Well, I had been spoiled back in 2014 so technically I knew, but I had forgotten it, and then "On the Finding of the Ring" had to mention it. Killed my mood for a while, but I pressed on with the book. A few days later I finished BoFA, dug up the hobbit tags of those I followed, started following more people, read basically all meta I could find, and here I am. I'm still definitely more Hobbit person than LotR person (definitely more dwarf person than elf person!), but that may or may not change during this read-though. I'm in the middle of TTT, (After reading through FotR in a month...) so I don't know if I'll continue with that, or just re-read FotR and then have initial reactions to books 3-6. (I read the appendixes a lot for reference purposes so I don't count them here) In either case, this should be fun! It's sometimes scary to be in this fandom because I'm only a very tiny person who hasn't read everything yet, but frick, fandoms should be welcoming, I doubt you're as bad as the old SW fandom was joked to be. (I recall a text post that listed quizzing on Wedge's shoelaces or something)

Said friend? Well, she wasn't *wrong*... I took up Khuzdul.

#mine #text post #silmread #lotr: prologue #/#//#lotr #amy liveblogs everything #long post #for gods sake tumble don't mess up my formatting #shorter post now that i moved the readmore a lot higher

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jondalars · 7 years

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movies, tv shows, and books of 2017

((as before, * is a rewatch/reread; currently watching; can’t get through))

Skam (s3, s4)

The OA (s1)

Misfits (s1*, s2*, s3*)

My Mad Fat Diary (s1*, s2*)

A Series of Unfortunate Events (s1)

Smallville (s4*)

Don’t Breathe (2016)

The Eric Andre Show (s1, s2, s3, s4)

How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid

Hidden Figures (2016) & *

Schindler’s List (1993)

Sophie’s Choice (1982)

Timeless (s1)

Shadowhunters (s2)

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

The Imposter (2012)

Tickled (2016)

Riverdale (s1)

Jenny and the Jaws of Life by Jincy Willett

In the Flesh (s1*, s2*)

Till We Have Faces by CS Lewis

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)

Doctored Images by Robert Sherrier

Moonlight (2016)

The Happening (2008)

Love & Friendship (2016)

The Office (s4*, s5*)

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

Cléo de 5 à 7 (1962)

The Wind Done Gone by Alice Randall

The Witch (2015)

Girls on Fire by Robin Wasserman

Grey Gardens (1975)

Holy Motors (2012)

Lion (2016) & *

Plein Soleil (1960)

On Beauty by Zadie Smith

Becoming Native to This Place by Wes Jackson

Moana (2016) & *

Arrival (2016)

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemmingway

We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

Confirmation (2016)

Get Out (2017)

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan

Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan

Roswell (s1*)

Pride and Prejudice (2005) ****

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

The Ultimate Gift (2006)

Cold Magic by Kate Elliott

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

Men in the Off Hours by Anne Carson

Pain & Gain (2013)

Cold Fire by Kate Elliott

If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho by Anne Carson

The Rules of Attraction by Bret Easton Ellis

The Plays of Oscar Wilde by Oscar Wilde (LWF, S, WNI, AIH, IBE*)

Degrassi: Next Class (s3, s4)

Big Little Lies (s1)

The Importance of Being Earnest (2002)

Face/Off (1997) *

Degrassi (s10*)

Death Becomes Her (1992)

Garth Marenghi's Darkplace (s1)

Cold Steel by Kate Elliott

To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf *

Feud (s1)

13 Reasons Why (s1)

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

The Social Network (2010) *

Bowling for Columbine (2002)

Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

Extras (s1)

Chewing Gum (s2)

The Virgin Suicides (1999) *

And Then There Were None (s1*)

My Cousin Vinny (1992) *

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin *

Vineland by Thomas Pynchon

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017)

The Handmaid’s Tale (s1)

Personal Shopper (2016)

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

The Handmaid’s Tale (1990)

My Own Private Idaho (1991)

Gosford Park (2001)

Kynodontas (2009)

The Island (2005)

Notorious (2009)

Busanhaeng (2016)

Last Night I Sang to the Monster by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

The Girl on the Train (2016)

Law & Order: SVU (s18)

Rize (2005) *

Phoenix (2014) *

American Gods (s1)

The Bank Dick (1940)

Gentlemen Broncos (2009)

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Play It as It Lays by Joan Didion

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (s3)

Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson

The People Look Like Flowers At Last by Charles Bukowski

North & South (2004) *

The Beauty of the Husband by Anne Carson & *

The Keepers (s1)

The Girls by Emma Cline

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) *

Clue (1985) *

Finding Dory (2016) *

The Secret Life of Pets (2016)

The Great Gatsby (1974)

The Great British Baking Show (s3)

The End of Everything by Megan Abbott

Suite Française (2014)

Across the Universe (2007)

Casting JonBenet (2017)

Life (2015)

Blindness by Jose Saramago *

The Iron Giant (1999)

Freaks & Geeks (s1*)

Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

Jurassic Park (1993) *

Habibi by Craig Thompson

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) *

Jurassic Park III (2001) *

Jurassic World (2015) *

Children of Men (2006)

Oh, Hello on Broadway (2017)

Queen of Katwe (2016)

Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins

Testament of Youth (2014)

The Final Girls (2015)

Wandafuru raifu (1998)

Updraft by Fran Wilde

Okja (2017)

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle *

Unbreakable (2000)

Dunkirk (2017)

A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L’Engle

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015) *

War & Peace (s1)

Stage Beauty (2004)

Defending Your Life (1991)

Sleepers (1996)

Game of Thrones (s7)

Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

Odd Thomas (2013)

Spirited Away (2001)

In Bruges (2008) *

12 Years a Slave (2013) *

Elvis & Annabelle (2007)

Showgirls (1995)

The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill

Almost Famous (2000) *

Princess Mononoke (1997)

Kill Your Darlings (2013) *

Francis Ha (2012)

Much Ado About Nothing (2012) *

Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)

Iris (2015)

My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

Tiny Furniture (2010)

Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead

Following (1998) *

Meet the Blacks (2016)

The Falling (2014)

Amélie (2001) *

Death Note (2017)

Anastasia (1997) *

A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin *

The Good Place (s1)

Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente *

The Red and the Black by Stendhal

To the Bone (2017)

Experimenter (2015)

The Land Before Time (1988) *

A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L’Engle *

Wonder Woman (2017)

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood *

It (1990)

I, Claudius by Robert Graves *

The Reader (2008)

Bojack Horseman (s4)

It (2017)

Love Songs (2007)

Girl Asleep (2015)

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn *

The Squid and the Whale (2005)

Sing Street (2016)

White Noise by Don DeLillo *

The Beguiled (2017)

Def Comedy Jam 25 (2017)

Shameless (s1, s2, s3, s4, s5, s6, s7)

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton *

Goon (2011)

The Breakfast Club (1985) *

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

American Vandal (s1)

Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold (2017)

Stranger Things (s2)

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell *

Free Fire (2016)

You Instead (2011)

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

Factory Girl (2006) *

Girls Trip (2017)

The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers

Sense and Sensibility (1995) *

Emma (1996) *

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen *

Amnesiac (2015)

What Happened, Miss Simone? (2015)

The 100 (s1, s2, s3, s4)

Emma by Jane Austen *

Dark (s1)

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

The Edge of Seventeen (2016)

Miss Stevens (2016)

Mudbound (2017)

Logan (2017)

Ex Machina (2015)

The Love Witch (2016)

Matilda by Roald Dahl

The Walking Dead (s1*, s2*, s3*, s4*)

Just Kids by Patti Smith

X-Me (2000) *

X2 (2003) *

Democracy by Joan Didion

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) *

Dancer (2016)

Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw

Lady Bird (2017)

X-Men: First Class (2011) *

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) *

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

Lady Macbeth (2016)

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

#2017 #4 years now lets hit it #p&p&z was... much worse than i thought it would be...#grey gardens was wild #i had so much fun laughing at shdaowhunters last season its weird how not fun that show is now rip #13 reasons why was so like boring and annoying lmao took fucking forever to get anywhere #and then it still like.. didnt #dogtooth was a lot..#is the island the worst moviee ver??? sources say yes #across the universe is so boring #and i knew i would hate it which is why i never watched it #but its truly... uninteresting lmao whoops #its only june and ive already watched p&p 2005 3 times..... whoops #showgirls was incredible lmao #red and black took me... like an entire year #and i hated it up until like the last hundred pages #which were pretty entertaining #esp the random a/n's which i dont remember from the first 400 pages ever being there #ahwosg is.. awful #loved lady bird tbh

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i-watch-too-many-movies · 3 years

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5 Favorite First Watches of May 2021

All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001) (dir. Shunji Iwai)

I came across this film after falling in love with Parannoul’s emo shoegaze masterpiece album To See the Next Part of the Dream. The first few seconds of the album sampled the movie, and after hearing about how the film was a big influence on Parannoul themself, I had to check it out. And what a fantastic decision that was. It’s one of the most gorgeously shot and blocked films I’ve seen, with its shots set in the present looking like paintings, and the summer vacation scene shot on VHS having its own gritty beauty to it. It’s a fantastic slice-of-life film that looks at the nature of early stan culture obsessing over a pop musician as well as friends growing apart from each other the older they get and the worse one of them gets. The ending is simultaneously satisfying and heartbreaking, and Lily Chou-Chou’s music that songwriter Takeshi Kobayashi had written is just gorgeous and gut-wrenching.

Bound (1996) (dir. Lana and Lily Wachowski)

Holy shit, watching the Wachowskis Sisters’ debut was the equivalent of watching the film of two veteran masters who had been making films for years. The shot composition, lighting, and blocking was all just too good to be true for a debut film. The chemistry between actresses Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon is pure fucking Hollywood romance and glamour, and each scene they’re in feels like the beginnings of a sex scene that they are only going to act out using their eyes or the movement of their bodies. A film that shows suspense on each corner, anytime that the characters are out of their situation, they get trapped in a brand new one, making each new scene even more intense than the last. The contrast between the two only highlights how perfect they are for each other. Tilly, Gershon, and the Wachowskis forever.

Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971) (dir. Yoshimitsu Banno)

This was the first movie I watched after watching several Saw movies in a row, so maybe the reason why I was so excited and happy to watch this was that I didn’t have to look at muted color schemes for hours upon hours. But even beyond that, this is without a doubt my favorite of the Godzilla films thus far. The design of Hedorah is freaky, it has absolutely brutal battle scenes, the music is jazzy and cool, the way it handles its messaging is excellent, showing that pollution isn’t caused by the individual, but the big corporations that allow pollution to happen. There’s trippiness, experimentation with animated sequences, and Godzilla does a fucking 7 page muda at the end. Cinema, baby!

Hail the Conquering Hero (1944) (dir. Preston Sturges)

I made it my mission this month to watch all of the Preston Sturges films before they left the Criterion Channel. I failed miserably. But I’m so glad I watched this, because this was absolute genius. Kind of a pitch-perfect satire on American heroism at the time, and how eager we are to award any chud in the military the title of hero. Woodrow is somebody who wants to be a soldier, and yet is discharged due to a medical disorder (it’s just seasonal allergies). Soldiers he meets in a shipyard convince him to go back home playing the part of a war hero, who killed hundreds of men. Much like people in the United States Army, Woodrow does not belong to himself, he belongs to either the people of the town, the mayoral election committee, to his family, anybody but himself. Eddie Bracken’s acting is incredible, playing a scared, nervous man with comedic ease, slowly turning into a bitter, hardened man wanting to exit the world and the situation he’s created for himself. I love his eyes, how his usage of his facial muscles alone indicate a changed man. And I love how the ones who want him to continue the charade most are the US Marines themselves, because they have their golden boy. A clean-cut man with no PTSD, no trauma, just an “honest, heroic man”. Great movie, now aboard the Preston Sturges train. Choo choo!

Liz and the Blue Bird (2018) (dir. Naoko Yamada)

When I watched this, it cheered me the hell up after a night of stress and sadness. A small, simple story, but that’s what makes it work as a piece of melodrama, especially through the complex, rocky friendship and hopefully possible relationship between the introverted Mizore and the outgoing Nozomi. I love the themes of falling in love and trying to maintain that love but having to put yourself first. Beautiful animation, pure emotion from the characters, and gorgeous, spellbinding music. The film’s climactic scene where the two leads play their song together in the rehearsal was thrilling, romantic, and yet saddening. Another great film from Naoko Yamada, I'm going to have to check out the Sound! Euphonium series now.

Other viewings I liked:

The Bling Ring (2013) (dir. Sofia Coppola)

Brokeback Mountain (2005) (dir. Ang Lee) (rewatch)

Christmas in July (1940) (dir. Preston Sturges)

Demon Slayer: Mugen Train (2020) (dir. Haruo Sotozaki)

Dont Look Back (1967) (dir. DA Pennebaker)

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) (dir. Wes Anderson) (rewatch)

I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978) (dir. Robert Zemeckis) (rewatch)

Inside (2021) (dir. Bo Burnham)

Moonrise Kingdom (2012) (dir. Wes Anderson) (rewatch)

Nine Inch Nails: Broken (1993) (dir. Peter Christopherson)

Paddington 2 (2017) (dir. Paul King) (rewatch)

Ratatouille (2007) (dir. Brad Bird) (rewatch)

#movies #favorite first watches #all about lily chou chou #shunji iwai #bound #wachowski sisters #godzilla vs hedorah #hail the conquering hero #preston sturges #liz and the blue bird #naoko yamada

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lavadog · 6 years

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SRMTHFG 20 Day Challenge: Day 3: Least Favorite Character

Okay, so here's the thing. When I saw today's challenge, I thought "Oh! That's easy. I've always disliked Jinmay and hated it when she showed up." But I wasn't just going to say so without explaining why, and I hadn't seen Chiro's Girl since a year or so after the show was canceled when Disney still had reruns of the episodes playing. So I rewatched it to refresh my memory.

But watching it again some ten years later, I found that the episode wasn't as bad as I remembered it being. The episode still has several things wrong with it, of course. But most of those mistakes can be attributed to the fact that it’s the first episode, and as with any show, it’s marked by the Characterization Marches On/Early Installment Weirdness tropes. We have "We can't activate the robot without Chiro" even though it is later established the whole team doesn't need to be there to pilot the robot (They can, just with suboptimal results), and "We don't keep secrets from the team" even though nobody told Chiro about Mandarin or Antauri's masters (And so on). We also have the first instance of the writers trying to balance Chiro the hero, and Chiro the teenage boy, and what better way to distract at teenage boy than a pretty girl? Chiro comes off as uncharacteristically dismissive of the monkeys in this episode, which is honestly pretty jarring compared to later episodes (Hence the Characterization Marches On trope), but also carries the tone of stereotypical teenage rebellion that the writers thankfully moved on from. We also have the the beginning of the off and on again weirdness of just how necessary each member of the team is at any given point in time. The monkeys are shown to be in trouble in this episode without Chiro there to help them out, and this is later reinforced by episodes like Magnetic Menace where Sprx not being there put the team off their game. But then we have episodes like Pit of Doom where the team apparently works just fine without Chiro there to help them out (Granted, there weren't as many formless in Pit of Doom for them to fight at once, but the point still stands).

Chiro and Jinmay's romance in this episode is filled with almost painfully cliche dialogue, and we have that horribly contrived moment where Chiro is apparently so absorbed in staring at her that he can't hear Antauri calling him for help or see the formless driving by outside of the window, but it isn't as bad as it could have been. Chiro meeting Jinmay is a pretty cute scene, and so is their subsequent shyness when they first start hanging out with each other directly afterwards. The betrayal on Chiro's face when he thinks Jinmay was only hanging out with him to get into the robot hit me pretty hard too. Overall, Jinmay is pretty harmless in this episode, and there isn't really all that much to dislike about her.

But here's the thing. Chiro and Jinmay's romance doesn't age well. Their relationship starts off as a cliche. Chiro sees Jinmay and is instantly in love because Jinmay is a cute girl his age. They hang out for maybe an afternoon or so, and then have no truly significant interactions until perhaps Ghosts of Shuggazoom. And even then, they spend what little time they have together fighting Valina. Afterwards, we have the Hills have 5, but that's ruined by Jinmay being brainwashed for the majority of the episode and the two of them only interacting with each other for less than 30 seconds in the entire episode (When she's not brainwashed). Chiro and Jinmay obviously care about one another, but the majority of their relationship seems to operate on tell rather than show. We get the implication that Chiro and Jinmay hang out a lot off screen, but we don't personally get to see any real relationship form between them. And as such, none of it really counts. How am I supposed to believe in their relationship if I barely see them spend any time together?

Because they don't show it, a lot of the writers attempts to prove to us just how much Chiro and Jinmay care about each other feels presumptuous, especially when the monkeys are on hand. Two specific examples that come to mind are in Savage Lands and Ghosts of Shuggazoom. In Savage Lands, the monkeys finally catch up to Chiro as he is trying to rebuild Antauri, and try to get him to come home because in their minds Antauri is gone and Chiro isn't in his right mind. When they initially fail to convince him, they try to contact Jinmay, like just seeing her is going to make him abandon Antauri and go with them because hormones or something. In Ghosts of Shuggazoom, Jinmay is the one to get through to him once he is turned into a wraith, and it's treated like she was perhaps the only one that could have done it because true love or something (Yes, I'm aware that the monkeys were all passed out at the time, but we've seen them power though this when the situation has called for it in the past). Never mind that the monkeys are there. Never mind that the monkeys are his family and that it’s been repeatedly shown just how much they love each other. Never mind that Chiro would literally move mountains for them and what we've seen them go through time and time again for each other. No, clearly only Jinmay could do it because of that one afternoon they shared with each other that one time.

Back to the matter at hand though. Is Jinmay my least favorite character? Ultimately, no. I think they could have done a way better job developing her relationship with Chiro and her as a character (Like Chiro, we know nothing of her past), and I think she mostly exists to be a plot device (I've gone into this in a previous post), but I don't think she's the worst the show has to offer. I can't even really find it in myself to dislike her all that much.

So who is my least favorite character, then? After thinking about it for some time, I'd have to say that it's Valina, and perhaps Ma and Pa Shinko by extension. Ma and Pa Shinko have to be the most contrived villains the show has ever offered us. I mean really. A cult in Shuggazoom City that worships the Skeleton King, the same guy who has repeatedly tried to wipe them from existence in some way or another? Who did horrible things to them like make them dig the Pit of Doom or turned them into mindless zombies? It doesn't make any sense. The best motivation the writers offer us is that Ma and Pa Shinko want power for some reason. Which, again, they wouldn't have gotten if the Skeleton King had managed to succeed in his plans at any point in time. At best, the only excuse I can think of for this so called Secret Society to exist is to inform the Hyper Force about plans to resurrect the Skeleton King, which kicks off the plot of the last three episodes. But the writers could have done this a number of other ways that didn't involve something this ridiculous.

Valina herself isn't that bad of a character or villain. But she makes for a very weak main villain compared to what we've had in previous seasons. In Seasons 1 & 2, we had the Skeleton King. He has an interesting backstory as the once good Alchemist who created the monkeys to stop the evil being that he was becoming, and is clever/dangerous enough to actually succeed in his ultimate plan despite our heroes best efforts. Said plan is to awaken a Dark One, a member of the same ancient evil race that corrupted him to begin with, and although he ultimately dies in the process of doing so (Or at least, loses his individuality), his success gives us the awakened Dark One as the new main villain of the series for Season 3. After Season 3, I couldn't help but wonder how they were going to top having an ancient evil as the main villain. I imagined something even worse happening, like a portal to the Dark One Dimension being opened and multiplying last season's problem 1000x fold. But instead, we got the seemingly one-shot villain from Savage Lands, and despite being the main villain, she seems to almost be an after thought in her own season. She only appears in 5/13 episodes, and she's only a legitimate threat in 4/5 of those episodes (Mandarin is the one using her powers in Night of Fear). Of these remaining four episodes, only 1/4 has her enacting some evil plan that isn't directly related to her ultimate goal of resurrecting the Skeleton King. When we do finally get to resurrecting the Skeleton King (Which was foreshadowed back when Mandarin managed to save the skull in Season 3), she can't even actually accomplish it on her own without the BS that is Sprx turning evil and basically doing it for her (Which by itself is jarring because it's suddenly as if Sprx is stronger than the rest of the team combined).

As a whole, Valina is a villain that is built up as being very threatening, but in practice is easily defeated when it comes down to a direct confrontation, usually by Chiro. This can be seen in both Savage Lands and Ghosts of Shuggazoom, where Chiro basically has enough of her shit and beats her in one or two shots (Heck, in Night of Fear she's still trapped in her medallion from Ghosts of Shuggazoom). In the end, she was apparently so insignificant that the Skeleton King killed her off, supposedly never to appear in Season 5.

If she wasn't the main villain of the season, I think she would have made for a good regular villain. But as the main villain she's disappointing and leads to a lack of focus in Season 4. Being connected to the most contrived villains of the series doesn't help her, and I can't help but wonder if the lack of focus she brought was what helped get the show canceled before we could get a satisfying conclusion.

#srmthfg #20 day challenge #chiro #jinmay #valina #ma and pa shinko

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