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thedragonsfate · 20 days

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FHJY thoughts under the cut bc I gotta sort my brain and can't be succinct to save my life

I think there's something interesting in acknowledge like

of COURSE Kipperlily underestimated the bad kids.

She's hated these kids from day 1. I know a lot of people want to acknowledge that it's not unreasonable for Kipperlily and the rat grinders to think the school is run unfairly (and you're right! it's a fair conclusion)

-- but we also gotta consider that this is something that took root in her VERY EARLY. Before the bad kids got really very good. Two bad kids die on the first day of school, they spend a significant amount of their second semester freshman year just. In Prison.

Of course what follows I'm sure spurs that hatred, but she all but declared Riz to be her nemesis with Jawbone freshman year.

She's probably got some good ideas of how stuff should change, but also she saw this random Goblin boy with a briefcase in rogue class and decided she Hates Him, for a reason none of us can fathom when several of the other bad kids give off worst first impressiona

She's a teenager, a kid, with anger issues. As much as their can be important nuggets at the core of her motives, she's a teenager without emotional regulation skills. That combination is BUILT to breed resentment and feelings of entitlement. and it's built to actively ignore any evidence of a different perspective.

We talk about how she doesn't understand them, takes Kristen as entirely uncaring, doesn't expect the bad kids to do so well in the Last Stand

and OF COURSE she doesn't. some of this because she of course is not privy to all of the bad kids interactions that we are as an audience. but a lot of it is probably because she's a teenager who's decided she's being slighted and as a result is never going to take the bad kids actions on good faith. she's doubled down and while I have a feeling she's extremely perceptive, she's also in an emotional place that means she probably is ACTIVELY ignoring any evidence to the fact that maybe the bad kids are just ALSO working very hard, and that the school itself may also work against them sometimes.

Add to that a god corrupted into rage (negative in this case) and conquest, and a nefarious faculty member as a potentially directly manipulative adult in her life trying to make something big and destructive happen. Kipperlily strikes me as the kind of person who knows she's smart, and knows she's clever, but is so blinded by her emotion that she is probably missing some of whats clearly in front of her as far as all the Jace business goes. She certainly is about the bad kids.

Jawbone can only do so much to help her in her sessions if he's being actively worked against. Emotional regulation is hard to learn from zero AS AN ADULT and she's probably coming from the negatives if my impression is correct, and is doing so as a teenager.

I guess what I'm trying to say is like

In a vacuum? Sure augeforts comment about trying being stupid or whatever does seem like another slap in the face for Kipperlily, one that justifies some of her feelings.

But not about the bad kids. and not to the extent she has taken them.

And to take that at its word feels weird to me because. To anybody paying attention? The bad kids are and have been trying SO SO hard in class. Them having to take the last stand in the FIRST place is specifically because the school system is treating Kristen unfairly DESPITE her best, GOOD efforts. I'm certain the rat grinders are on some level aware of Gorgugs EXTREMELY uphill battle with schoolwork this season, even if it's just Maryann catching part of a convo with Porter or Ruben hearing about it from his uncle. I HIGHLY doubt that Oisin was oblivious to the way that Adaines academics were affected by her not having the money for the correct materials - she still was able to excel mostly but the effects of that roll being at disadvantage for so long are still THERE. Jawbone pinned down and mentioned to Riz his similarities to Kipperlily within maybe 2 seconds - there is 0% chance he hasn't brought something similar up in Kipperlilys sessions. She may not like it, she may not have the emotional intelligence to see it this way, but his efforts almost certainly mirror hers in a way that makes them equally hard workers, absolutely determined to keep themselves afloat despite it being an uphill battle. Something that she feels she deserves to be rewarded for, and to an extent implies that if just a few circumstances were different she would be able to see equal value in his work.

And sure you can say she may be able to see that and be angry that their work is rewarded and hers isn't, but we see time and time again that she and her party don't always put that same level of work in? Mary Ann at blood rush, absolutely uncaring but doing well specifically because she's got some magical enhancements. The suspicious circumstances of Kipperlily finding the Rogue teacher. Even just the natural advantage of Oisin having more than the funds he needs to excel in wizard class.

But even regardless of that, she seems to refuse to see that any scenario in which others are praised for the same thing she's done, while she is ignored etc, is the sole responsibility of the school here. the bad kids are not her enemies in that fight - augefort is. The bad kids are not going around being consistently given advantages from the school, they're earning the things they get and hitting their own academic road blocks, and they aren't acting better than other people in a way that goes beyond like. Teen stuff. And yet her sights are trained so unblinking on them.

I can see Fabian and Kristen's popularity and personalities coming off like it supports that they're being treated better or feel some superiority. And it's teen stuff to quietly hate those ppl at your school! it's p normal!

But it always brings me back to her SPECIFICALLY hating Riz. Bc Riz isn't a rich kid throwing parties that everyone loves. Hes not sniping out comebacks the way Kristen does, sometimes without even thinking. In a lot of ways he's the/one of the least abrasive of the group to an outsider. Which makes me SO much more inclined to call bullshit that this is truly, honestly rooted in an acknowledgement of any of the REAL problems that come up with their school system.

It's complex, but I feel like we can't exalt their perspective as a Truth of the world like it seems some folks do when these characters themselves do not play fairly. What is fair about the way they interfered with the exam. What is fair about what she did so easily to Buddy Dawn. What is fair about the murder of the couple that owned that farm. Depending on what happened - what is fair from them about Lucy's murder. Certainly what is fair about their hand in Yolandas.

This idea that things are unfair isn't untrue. But not in the ways she thinks, and shes moved so far beyond that notion at this point. Kipperlily probably DOES believe that she's uniquely a victim of this system, or at least that everyone but the bad kids is. But she's moved so far beyond that. Whatever divine rage magic is involved has ensured that, as well as probably some Adult manipulation, and severely underdeveloped emotional regulation skills. and for me that means like. obviously she is unjustified in her actions.

Augefort is absolutely unhinged. his school has never been run in a manner that rewards buckling down in the classroom and the classroom only. It's an adventuring school in truly the most chaotic and violence rewarding sense, and that information is given freely by Arthur augefort at maybe any turn

Saw something about the theoretical being just as important as the practical. and yes! absolutely! a very good point that I'm glad was brought up - going to the classes is important and I think this season has really emphasized the ways in which that's true at least in terms of Staying in School and Honing your Skills

I do think, in the same breath, that that STILL means that the practical is ALSO just as important as the theoretical. It CAN'T be one or the other, it HAS to be both.

and the bad kids are DOING both. regardless of what it may count for, the rat grinders xp leveling by continuing to do freshman level combat in order to excel more on paper ISN'T them really doing the practical part of what theyre learning in their higher level classes. And the bad kids do not get credit for their saving of the world REGARDLESS. Not on its own merit, and to get the credit they'd have to jump a hefty academic bar that sort of invalidates the point of practical efforts in the first place, not to mention works against students like Fig and Kristen.

The school is actively rewarding Kipperlily and her party's cheat code practical use of their skills, over the bad kids putting just as much if not more effort into their LITERALLY WORLD SAVING missions. whatever favoritism shes seeing, or that there may be occasionally, Kipperlily fundamentally takes the bad kids in bad faith. It's not ABOUT what is ACTUALLY unfair to her at this point.

from her perspective every accolade or accomplishment from them HAS to come from favoritism in order to fit how her view of whats actually unfair has been warped. for her it doesn't MATTER that they've been trying because they MUST not be trying as hard as she is. it doesn't matter that they visibly saved the world three times, one of which was livestreamed and included several party members dropping, successfully because surely it's a fluke, or they were given better opportunities than others for no reason, or they're being falsely worshipped for what MUST be a less dangerous quest than it seems (despite us seeing clearly on the first day of school that nobody is putting a pedestal up for their night yorb win)

What could have been a justified spark of frustration with a system has shifted into a vengeful sense of entitlement that to me? fully abandons the good of wanting to change a school system actively working against some (/all?) students.

idk maybe this all sounds like jibberish I just

Kipperlily in her current state is INCAPABLE of not underestimating the bad kids bc that would require some acknowledgement that they have worked and bled and died to reach the level they're at.

You cannot separate the girl who sneaks in to the Last Stand to sabotage another party's chances of passing, of staying at school, of continuing school, of one of them from potentially keeping their god alive, and of being brought back from what she assumes is certain death - from the slighted teenager running for class president to make things "more fair"

you cannot separate the girl who easily slits her own party clerics throat without second thought from the girl who thinks she's been slighted by an unjust system

What she means by unfair is inherently colored by her being that same person

Augefort can say whatever nonsense he wants, and it doesn't really justify her current frustrations at this point because her version of fair is fundamentally unfair now.

Shes a child who's become corrupted, just like Buddy. but unlike him - she's become genuinely nefarious and vengeful. Unlike buddy she is actively plotting. Harming others with full knowledge of it. We don't know how much of it comes from her on her own, or the rage baking underground, or Stardiamonds direct involvement - but I think this most recent episode should make it clear that like

Whatever truth there is to the school being run in a way that is unfair to its students, and regardless of what she says or thinks

Kipperlily Copperkettle is not operating from that grounded perspective. and I don't think she has been for a long time

#fhjy #kipperlilly copperkettle #thats all I'm gonna tag #anyway hopefully you can tell that I'm not like. pro everything at augefort #we've seen so clearly teachers / faculty / rules / lack of rules work against the students #ESPECIALLY we've seen how that's effected the bad kids #but Kipperlily is not. on that page anymore.#I won't call her names that's just not how I feel abt.her as a character #I do think a lot of this may still just b EXTREMELY misguided #and ALSO #you're responsible for your actions #thrilled that she is / was??? in some form of therapy #devastated that whatever is going on here big picture has completely warped her perspective #to see her actions as the viable option for her to reach her goals #also this is SO rambling and opinionated I'm down to agree to disagree I'm just #I just needed to vent some abt it and like #explore KLCKs character a little bit #welcome to ignore but I am gonna tag it a LITTLE in case someone wants to chat abt this #long post

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adainesfroggieboggy · 4 months

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i want to share my future bad kids bc that i came up with for a fic. i love them dearly. Below the cut bc its so long.

Adaine goes to Fallinel for a while and goes into politics after college, but after quite a few years of working her ass off to fix the country, she leaves because Jawbone’s lycanthropy becomes very difficult for him to live alone. He has Sandra Lynn but they’re both getting old and he’s sick. She comes home for him, takes a job as the divination teacher at Augefort, and settles back into Elmville peacefully. I also think she dates a hell of a lot and I hc pan Adaine. I feel like with immortality, sexuality becomes pretty fluid, and Adaine very much leans into that. When she moves back to Elmville, she puts dating on pause and just teaches and cares for Jawbone (the principal of Augefort).

Fig and Ayda tour together for years. Fig loves playing and she never wants to stop. Not even when in their 30’s, Ayda decides she wants to settle down. They break up pretty amicably and Fig tours for a long time afterwards. She slows down when she hits her 40s and ends up living in Bastion City, still a rock star, but she doesn't tour quite so often or go quite so far, but she never quite stops. She's happy, and pulls tons of chicks when she wants to, but doesn't really date seriously? Even in her 40s, she's so young for an archdevil. Her friends have decades, she has centuries. She lives her young soul life for a long ass time.

Kristen spreads the gospel of Cassandra for a long time. She leaves the party to run the church and just gets too busy to continue the frequent traveling. She gets married and divorced, has a couple kids, and lives in Bastion City. She has a very amicable tradeoff with the kids and shares custody but spends the majority of her time running the church. Her kids are sweet and loved, and so is she. Her life is mundane and easy now, which she learns to really love. She just settles down and learns to channel her chaos. She becomes a very great mom, pastor, and person, doing a lot of volunteer and outreach work, loving the world, her life, and her family. I think she ends up having a very serious long-term relationship but keeps her very separate from her kids. it's a quiet life.

Riz is absolutely an investigative reporter! Murph says this in one of his fireside chats, and I wholeheartedly agree! He leaves the party first because he didn't ever want the adventuring life, he wants the detective, crime-solving part of it. He goes to school and ends up with a law degree (bc he's just cool and would absolutely take lawyer classes to make sure he was able to cite laws) and a really badass job as a reporter, kicking ass and taking names, but with words as his weapon! He stays in Bastion City, makes friends, and just is happy. He doesn't get married or have kids, but he has so much platonic love and familial love! He's so happy and cool and very effective. He likes to enlist Adaine for arcane cases, and she definitely heads over every time and stays over in his apartment and they're super close. He's also super close with fabian, but their lives are so different that it's a different kind of closeness.

Gorgug's life is super chill and simple He doesn't marry Zelda bc they're children, but he does fall head-over-heels for a woman and gets married. He leaves because he suffers a pretty severe head injury, but also because his wife is pregnant! He has a son his parents are so sweet and excited. He's a tinkerer, but also a professor at Augefort! Zac said that Gorgug may help people who are multiclassing, and I like the idea that Jawbone opens a completely new section of the school that focuses specifically on multiclassing, and Gorgug teaches both barbarian and artificer classes! He really chills out and his rage is very rare and almost always in defense of his family. Chill, happy, relaxed Gorgug just vibes with me.

FABIAN! My favorite most hc. He's a dad. He has two daughters and they're his whole entire world. Leaving the party was absolutely not his choice, but he lost his leg in a brutal battle and his body no longer cooperates with the way he needs to move. He's got chronic pain and just can't adventure any longer, so he ends up moving to a seaside town and becoming a stay-at-home dad. At some point during his recovery, his first wife leaves him and the girls and Cathilda moves in. The girls call her their Dida and she's like their other grandma. He's a stay-at-home dad and loves it! He and Aelwyn reconnect as adults and end up getting married now that they're no longer so toxic in each other's lives, and Aelwyn is an absolutely amazing stepmom. She'd never imagined having her own kids, but she loves the girls so much and they're all so happy together. Aelwyn is still a researcher and an abjurative wizard, so he happily stays at home. They might have a mansion in the sky because it's a bit in one of the fireside chats and I love to commit to a bit. They're so cute! Domestic, toxic masculinity is dead, stay-at-home dad and his smart, hot, kind, caring wife.

Also, bonus one, I am so tempted to kill Gilear. A lot of my hcs are based on actual things the cast has said, and Brennan says, "As the person who plays Gilear, I'd like to see him dead in the fucking ground." I am not a Gilear lover, I find him funny and entertaining, but there is something about that sad elf man that makes me wanna kill him. Like if we were in Spyre and I knew Gilear, I might just kill him. Straight up. (Kidding, kidding. I wouldn't kill him, but in a campaign? I'd probably attack him for fun so often bc i wouldn't have Emily at my table.) If he doesn't end up just straight-up dead, he's vice principal. It's much better to have his ex-wife's new boyfriend as his boss for the rest of his sad little life. No happiness for him. I love Emily, I love Fig. Gilear? Dead to me.

#dimension 20 #adaine abernant #fabian seacaster #riz gukgak #kristen applebees #gorgug thistlespring #fig faeth #aelwyn abernant #i hate gilear and don't know why #it started as a bit and now it's very real #gilear faeth hatepage ig

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couldyouspeakmyname · 3 years

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Okay, we know what shishigumi's husbands and fathers will be like. But what about Reese? What kind of husband and father would he be (then when he comes out of darkness). I sincerely sympathize with this guy.

Y'all made me start liking Riz

How dare you, I already have too many problematic faves

-Maeve

As a Husband

Riz is attentive and loving

He likes to listen to you when you talk, but never really speaks much himself.

He counts his blessing every day he gets to be with someone who loves him, despite knowing about his record and what he did

Riz often has nightmares. He has dreams where he kills you and wakes up in a panic over it. When he sees you're still there, he snuggles you close and just watches you sleep, until he's calm enough to fall back asleep himself

With a record, it's hard for him to get a job. It's very likely Riz would become a house husband

Riz is very clean, and cooks like no one's business. He may even write his own cook book, or have a small online video channel where he cooks for people.

Cooks for you all the time to show how much he cares about you

Loves to snuggle at night

Riz doesn't like kissing, he always worries he's going to bite you. As time goes on, he gets better

Riz hates going out in public where there's lots of animals around, and would rather go shopping in areas where there's just carnivores. If he does go out during the day, he'll call Pina or Legoshi to help with his new found social anxiety.

This Song

As a father

Riz refuses to make his child take the strength suppressors. He'd even go as far as to try and use his connection with Legoshi to get his child a pass from Yafya on them. Riz firmly believes if he had been able to know his strength, and been able to learn how to control his instincts instead of suppressing them mentally and physically with his pills, Tem may still be alive

Riz is very supportive of his child, and takes videos and pictures of every milestone

Hangs every drawing on the fridge

Riz wants to be involved with his child's school, but doesn't want them to be bullied for having a criminal as a father. He may eventually join the PTA.

Riz reads to his kid every night before bed.

Riz may actually get over his phobias once he has a child. He doesn't want his child to ever feel how he did/does. He takes them in social situations, and makes sure they know their strength and how to control it. It's his job as a parent to make sure they don't make the same mistakes he did

Goes out of his way to have play dates with herbivores. He actually becomes popular with many of the single herbivore parents, since they feel safe having a big, strong, bear with them.

Pina is the official uncle who babysits when Riz isn't there.

Riz has anxiety when he can't be with his child. He needs to know they're safe. They're the center of his universe.

Teaching his child how to cook, and being extremely patient and calm

Riz and his child greeting you at the door once you come home.

"Welcome back!"

#rizxreader #riz x reader #wholesome Riz is good for my heart #beastars imagine

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tazatouille · 3 years

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this is how the story goes

word count: 4249

warnings: mentions of death, disassociation, alcoholism and small mention of toxic masculinity

ao3 link

summary: In which Fabian deals with the fact that he doesn't always have to be the hero.

“Let me read to you tonight, my darling.” Mama says to him, holding out her hand. Fabian, being the small boy he is, lets out a giggle and runs over to her, taking it excitedly. She smiles down at him and he sees his own dimples on her cheeks. Fabian can’t help but think that she must be the most beautiful lady to ever live, because of course that would be his Mama. Her silver hair falls like waves down her shoulders and he wonders if one day his hair will grow as long as hers.

She leads him to their library, hoisting him up briefly so he can pick out a book. He can’t quite read all the titles yet, so he picks the one he can reach, which is a small picture book. Mama brings him close to her chest, holding him with one arm. “Ah, that’s a fine choice, Fabian.”

“What’s it about, Mama?” He asks her, letting her flip the book over in his hands.

“Hmm… let’s see.” She says softly. “It looks like you’ve picked an Elven tale tonight, one about a handsome adventurer who sails the seas in search of a great sea monster.”

“That sounds like Papa!” This earns a laugh from his mother, who kisses him on the cheek.

“It does, doesn’t it?” Mama lets go of the book, letting Fabian press it to his chest. Then she carries him out of the library and towards the stairs. “It’s time to get you to bed now, Fabian.”

---

Fabian recalls that day as one of the last days that his Mama ever read to him before bed.

But that was alright, because he’s been fine with that for a while now. He knew even then when little boys grow up, their mamas don’t read them to bed anymore.

When Fabian gets up for school that morning, he sees her when he glances out his window. Cathilda is patiently watering the rose bushes as she always does in the mornings and Mama is sitting in one of her kimonos, beautiful as always, but carrying with her the heavy weight of time. Time that has caused bags to form under her eyes, her frame to grow thinner and dull her eyes each passing day. Time that has aged her, with every sip of wine she takes from the glass in her hand.

He turns away from the window.

Fabian’s morning routine is easy. It’s about a half hour of dancing, then he takes a cold shower to wake himself up. Usually, he would go straight to training afterwards, but his Mama has allowed him this single day without morning training. He takes another hour to do his hair and then his makeup. It’s nothing too fancy, just a bit of eyeliner and the tiniest amount of concealer. If it was too heavy, he would sweat it off during practice and Fabian Aramais Seacaster does not let his makeup run.

By the time Fabian heads downstairs, Cathilda is now cooking in the kitchen. She’s humming an old sea shanty, one that she’s sung for him time and time again as a child. When he walks by, he hums along with her, dancing around her to grab his green smoothie.

“Good morning, Master Fabian!” Cathilda greets him, shaking the frying pan. “Do you mind taking this plate to yer mother? She’s waitin' in the dining room.”

“Good morning, Cathilda!” Fabian says proudly, placing a kiss on her cheek. “Of course, I can.” He scoops the plate up off the counter, carrying it to the dining room. Mama sits at the head of the table, where Papa used to sit. To her right is none other than Gilear, thankfully not in his father's robes again. Fabian tries hard not to fling the dish right at his head and keeps his shoulders up.

"Oh Fabian, my baby boy, how are you this morning? Off to that little adventuring academy again are we?" Mama says, nurturing a glass in her hand.

"Morning Mama," Fabian greets, setting her plate in front of her. Mama puts down her drink to lovingly pinch his cheeks. He laughs, hoping she doesn't notice when he slides it further away. "I believe me and the boys are going to meet at Basrar's this morning before school, since we aren't training today."

"We stop training for one day and you're already eating ice cream for breakfast? Whatever will we do with you?" Mama teases with a wave of her hand. He takes the seat to her left, purposely not making eye contact with Gilear.

Here's the thing about Gilear. He may be the Chosen One, something that Fabian is willing to admit and even defend, however, Gilear is still Gilear, and Gilear is a sad, pathetic little man who did not deserve his Mama.

Fabian could admit that his Mama and Gilear did have some similarities, as they seem to be both inept at the simplest of tasks. That being said, Hallariel Seacaster was an accomplished and renowned fencer, who dashingly took his father's own eye. Gilear Faeth was an ex-diplomat who couldn't get the yogurt stains out of his shirt even with the highest levels of magic money could provide.

This isn’t how the story is supposed to go. After Fabian heroically killed his own father, his mother was supposed to find another adventurous and even in some ways, more deserving man. In the story, Mama does not end up with a man like Gilear, but with a man far better than maybe even his father ever was. Or perhaps, she remains a widow, vowing never to remarry because her love for her deceased husband is so strong.

And in the story, Fabian is supposed to feel proud for killing his father, laying the final blow that his Papa craved so adamantly. But all Fabian is left with is a vacancy, the same vacancy that still rests in his mother's heart.

At times, it almost feels hereditary.

He stares down at his smoothie and thinks he hears Gilear say something to him, but it goes unaddressed.

Fabian thought it would get easier after sophomore year. Seeing his Papa was a treat, surely. Knowing his father is having such a good time in Hell helps him sleep a little easier, but it’s not enough to snuff out the flames of guilt that still burn in his chest.

Ever since his Papa died, his mother used the sensory deprivation egg less and less. To Fabian’s surprise, it was his mother’s decision, with Cathilda helping her steadily ease out of it. Cathilda told him that if they were able to get her out of the egg, they might be able to move onto her sobriety. He still holds onto that hope, even on the harder days when his mother can only greet him after school and then retire to her room soon after.

“You know she loves you with all her heart, Master Fabian.” Cathilda said to him one night. “People are complicated, ya see… Just because she’s struggling doesn’t mean she loves you any less.”

Fabian comes back to reality when he hears his mother’s laughter. He downs the rest of his smoothie, a little too warm now, to distract himself. He pulls out his crystal to check the Boyz’ group chat. “Well Mama, I think I’ll be off!” Fabian says, getting up from his chair.

“Off already, darling?” Mama asks him, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. She’s barely touched her food. “Come here.”

He leans down and lets her place a kiss on his cheek. “You have a good day, my boy.” She tells him.

“Of course, Mama.” Fabian smiles at her, then nods his head. “Gilear.”

Gilear nods back. “I wish you a good day, Fabian.”

He walks out of the dining room, giving Cathilda a wave before heading towards the front door.

“Hangman,” Fabian thinks. “Ready for the day?”

He hears the purr of the engine start up as soon as he closes his front door. “I am ready for anything, sire. Where shall we go?”

“Head to the Ball’s apartment. I’m picking him up this morning.”

“Hangman...” Fabian warns, watching him roll out of the garage in front of him. The Hangman revs in response. “We are picking up the Ball.”

“Master, I remind you that the Ball no longer needs a ride to school.”

Fabian is sure if the Hangman could, it would sigh in disappointment. “Of course, sire.” He leans slightly to let him climb on. Then, Fabian revs the engine himself and tears down the street towards Strongtower Luxury Apartments.

---

“Fabian, for the last time.” Riz starts, walking out of the apartment building. “I’m never gonna get enough driving hours if you keep giving me rides to school.”

Riz lost his hat after sophomore year, and thank goodness because Fabian didn’t have the heart to tell him it wasn’t going to work forever. He wouldn’t admit it to Riz, but he was quite fond of the way his hair fell. It seemed impossible to Fabian that Riz didn’t style it in any way, but one day while they were hanging out, Fabian spotted a bottle of all in one shampoo and conditioner and chucked it into the garbage can.

Fabian laughs, putting a hand on his chest. “As if you would prefer to drive your mother’s car over a ride on the Hangman?” The Hangman revs underneath him for emphasis. He can see the smile creeping on Riz’s lips, so he keeps going. “Besides, everyone lies about their driving hours anyway. Who has the time to drive a whole forty hours both night and day? I certainly don’t.”

Riz looks like he’s about to protest, but instead his face spreads into a big smile. Fabian pats the Hangman’s seat victoriously. “Come on, The Ball. To Basrar’s.”

With a roll of his eyes, Riz climbs onto the Hangman, situating his briefcase against his chest. Then, his arms wrap around Fabian’s torso tightly. “You aren’t always gonna be around to give me rides, you know. I should-- uh, probably learn how to drive at some point.” He says. It’s supposed to be casual, but in reality, Riz just dropped a whale sized weight on Fabian’s chest. It threatens to leave him breathless and not in a good way.

Fabian revs the engine instead, letting the purr drown out his thoughts. “Don’t say stuff like that, Riz.” He says under his breath, before taking off down the road. He isn’t going to start thinking about this right now.

They are almost to Basrar’s when Riz shouts over the wind, “Oh hey, Fabian! Do you want to come over to the office after practice?”

Fabian smiles. “Cracking another case, The Ball?”

“You know it!” Fabian can practically hear the smile in his voice. “I always need someone to hold my string.”

Fabian feels the laughter bubble from his chest. “Yes, one of my many talents. Fabian Aramais Seacaster, holder of string!”

“It’s extremely crucial to my casework!” Riz adds. “I couldn’t solve them without it!”

Fabian feels Riz’s arms tighten around him and he lets out another laugh, pulling into Basrar’s.

---

They walk into the cool air of the shop and see Gorgug sitting at a booth in the corner. He waves to them as they approach.

“Hey guys!” Gorgug greets, giving them a toothy grin. He’s hunching over, like always, with a pink milkshake in his hand. He always ordered strawberry with extra whipped cream.

“Hey Gorgug!” Riz greets, letting Fabian take the window seat. “Dude, I gotta tell you about this show I’ve been watching. It’s awesome.”

“Oh yeah?” Gorgug says, sipping his milkshake. “Zelda’s been looking for more shows to watch, cause you know, all her parents watch is like those crazy reality TV shows.”

Fabian watches as Basrar floats over to their table. “Boys! Good to see you, and so early in the morning too. What can I get you?”

Riz orders a weird concoction of chocolate mint, coffee, and pistachio ice cream topped with gummy bears and chocolate drizzle. Fabian never understood why the gummy bears had to be added to it, something that Riz no doubt picked up from Fig. The gummy bears become hard as rocks because the ice cream makes them too cold, but he’s been friends with Riz long enough to know he would eat almost anything. And so, Fabian orders a simple banana split with caramel sauce.

By the time their ice cream gets here, Riz is already waist deep in the intricate world building of the tv show he’s been watching. The thing about Riz is that whenever he got really excited about something, he’d explain it so fast he’d have to keep back tracking and then return to his previous thought. It could get a bit confusing at times, but the Bad Kidz, at least Fabian, didn’t mind. They just made sure to ask a lot of questions.

"Here's the real catch, though. It wasn't the butler, but it was actually--" Riz gets cut off by his crystal ringtone buzz loudly on the table. He grabs it immediately and presses it to his ear. A few moments pass before he says, "Mom? What's going on?"

Fabian immediately sits up straighter before Riz holds his hand out. "I'll be right back." He mouths to them, scooting out of the booth. Fabian watches as he walks out of Basrar's.

Gorgug plays with the straw of his milkshake for a moment."So… how are you and Aelwyn doing?" He asks innocently, because Gorgug would never ask a question he didn't want the answer to. Fabian suddenly feels a little sick, putting his spoon down.

"It-- uh, well--" Fabian is tripping over himself now. He hates when he gets like this. His thoughts race through his head and try to force themselves out his mouth all at once before he can even think of what to say.

"I--I get it, if that's like--" Gorgug stumbles a bit. "Too private or something, I just, you know, was wondering."

"No, no, it's fine, Gorgug. We just… broke up a few weeks ago."

"Oh." He says simply. "Why didn't you…"

"Say anything?" Fabian finishes for him. "I guess it was somewhat embarrassing."

"Embarrassing? Did she break up with you?"

Fabian shrugs. "No, it was more mutual, if anything." He starts playing with his ice cream now, getting spoonfuls of caramel sauce and pouring it back into the bowl over and over again.

"Then why would you be embarrassed?" Gorgug presses. "I mean, my parents would say that's pretty mature."

"It just wasn't what I-- We? Expected it to be." Fabian admits. It feels weird to say it out loud after it's been rattling in his head for weeks. "I guess, maybe I expected it to be like you and Zelda. Two matches made in nerd heaven."

"You know, not every relationship is gonna be perfect, Fabian." Gorgug reminds him. "Zelda and I get along great, sure, but that doesn't mean I don't fuck up every now and then or that I never get upset with her." He shrugs. "But that's a part of like, I don't know, loving someone. You guys kinda just get to figure stuff out together."

"I guess Aelwyn and I never really tried figuring anything out together."

"Maybe you just expected too much from each other." Gorgug shrugs again. "Cause, you can't only love the best version of someone, you know?"

Fabian opens his mouth to speak, but before he can, the front door jingles and Riz makes his way back to the booth.

"Sorry about that guys." Riz says, sitting back in the booth next to Fabian. "My mom needed to know where I put the law books I borrowed from her last weekend. Where was I?"

Gorgug responds, but not before casting a reassuring glance at Fabian. "Uh… I think you were about to tell us who the killer was, right?"

Fabian can't tell if Riz notices and adds, "Oh yes, something about how it wasn't the butler?"

"Right, right!" He says excitedly. "Okay, so…"

He continues telling them about the tv show, which Fabian doesn’t mean to tune out of, but he can’t stop himself from thinking about Aelwyn.

Their breakup had been mutual. They quickly realized that they simply weren’t compatible with one another. Fabian wishes he didn’t take it hard, but Aelwyn was technically the first girlfriend he ever had, and his first kiss.

Fabian was supposed to go straight to Fallinel, take on the Elven army and break Aelwyn out of imprisonment in a feat of gorgeous heroism. Which, if you left some parts out and moved a few things around, he did, technically. But then Aelwyn was supposed to be so impressed with his prowess that they would start dating, eventually get married out on the sea and then have beautiful children, born out of both Aelwyn and his exceptional talents.

At least, that’s what he told himself.

But when they actually got together, Fabian realized that he didn’t understand Aelwyn at all, and she didn’t understand him. They had both been through copious amounts of stress during sophomore year, with Aelwyn having to adjust to a new life without her parents, and Fabian having to grapple with the events of Leviathan and his own residual fears. It was just too much for them to sort out together, too many parts of themselves that they didn’t understand, so how could they ask the other to?

“You have this version of me built in your head, Fabian.” Aelwyn said to him. “Maybe, before all of this, I could have been that person for you. But, I’m not even sure who I am right now.”

And he agreed with her, and that was that.

Their crystals all buzz on their table, and Fabian reaches over to check the message.

figgy pudding: Hey losers, where you guys at?

He types back.

fabian: Basrar’s, be there soon.

“I guess that’s our cue, huh.” Gorgug says, gathering the dishes onto the table, like he always does. “Make sure to text me the name of that show, Riz, so I won't forget.”

“Will do.” Riz replies, already sending the text to Gorgug. He gets up from the booth to let Fabian out and turns to him. “You ready to go?”

From the way Riz is looking at him, he can’t help but feel like he’s asking a different question, but he brushes past it. “Yeah, of course.”

---

"Is something wrong?" Riz asks that night, because Riz is too perceptive for his own good and Fabian acknowledges that he hasn't said a word to him in over 10 minutes. “You were kinda acting weird today.”

"Hm? Oh it's nothing, The Ball. Don't worry about it. What were you saying?" Fabian replies, sitting up a little straighter.

They are sitting in Riz's office, with it's stale mugs of coffee and scattered evidence. If this was anyone else's office, Fabian would hate being here. Sometimes, Riz is so deep in a mystery it becomes cramped with case files and boxes, but it always feels good to be in a space that is truly lived in. It’s nothing like home, and maybe that’s why Fabian likes it.

"You can talk to me, you know." Riz says, taking the red string Fabian's been playing with out of his hands. He pins a photo up on his corkboard.

Fabian doesn't respond. He knows he should, but at this moment, talking to his best friend seems like one of the hardest things he can do.

Riz notices this, and looks at him. "I know how you get. We don't have to talk about it." He runs a hand through his hair. "You, uh-- wanna watch a movie, maybe?"

Fabian blinks at him for a moment before replying, "You want to take a break?"

Riz laughs at that. "Come on, Fabian. I'm not that bad."

Fabian scoffs. "Please, you almost missed homecoming because you were here piecing together your clues." He gestures to the corkboard.

"And then I closed that case the same weekend." Riz says proudly, puffing up his chest a bit.

Fabian smiles, then makes the mistake of looking down at the floor beneath them. He runs his fingers over the scratch marks carved into the wood.

He tried to call and Riz didn’t pick up. Riz never ever misses his calls and his ringer is always on, so why wasn’t he--

Riz’s eyes go from soft to panicked almost immediately. “Hey, don’t do that.” He tells Fabian, pushing his hands away from the floor. “I, uh-- still need to get someone to fix those.”

“I could get someone to do it.” Fabian says immediately. Riz shakes his head.

“You know I wouldn’t let you.”

“But I could.”

“Fabian, it wasn’t your fault.”

And when Riz says this, Fabian lets out a breath of air.

Because he knows, deep down, the situation with Riz last year wasn’t his fault. But maybe if he had been a better friend and called more, or came around the office more, or had just been there when it happened... then Riz wouldn’t have to pay someone to replace his floorboards. Maybe, he wouldn’t have such a hard time looking at himself in the mirror.

“You aren’t the only one who fails, Fabian.” Riz continues, seemingly reading his thoughts. He sighs. “Y--You do this thing where you think you are the only person in the world who can do anything. The only person who can save the princess in the tower, the only person who can kill your father’s rival, like you are trying to hold the whole world up on your shoulders because you are Fabian Aramais Seacaster. And I get it, you know? I’ve had some pretty big shoes to fill myself.” He lets out a short laugh. “But, you don’t have to… prove yourself to me. Or to-- uh, anyone, really.”

“Riz, I--” Fabian’s words fail him, because figuring things out was always Riz’s job. He knows he will pay to get Riz’s floors done, because maybe Fabian didn’t have to prove himself to anyone, but as well as being a Seacaster, he was also Riz Gukgak’s best friend, and that he needed people to know.

“It’s okay, Fabian, really it is.” Riz says, interrupting him. “I’m not gonna lie, you haven’t always been-- uh, a perfect friend. I know I haven’t either.” He shrugs. “But you always try to be, and that means more to me than you probably know.”

Fabian reaches over and pulls Riz into the tightest hug he’s given since he got out of the Forest of the Nightmare King. He feels Riz tense up at first, but then his arms wrap around his neck.

“You are my best friend.” Fabian says into Riz’s shirt, because if he doesn’t say this now the flames that stir inside his chest will burn the words to ash before they reach his mouth. It was easier to say when Riz wasn’t staring back at him, picking him apart. A habit that Riz could never shake, but sometimes, Fabian welcomed it. He didn’t have to say much, because Riz always just seemed to understand.

Fabian has never had a best friend before. His family sailed so often when he was younger that it was hard to make friends with any of the kids. He was constantly being pulled out of school and thrown into the next. Every time he did so he would play his little charade of being Fabian Aramais Seacaster, impressing the children in his class, and then his family set sail once again.

Near the end of freshman year, Riz pulled Fabian aside to thank him for the briefcase and the business cards. Fabian had brushed it off, saying it wasn’t that big of a deal, but it took him hours to hand write all those business cards. Something that, to this day, Fabian still hasn’t told Riz.

After that, Riz never stopped calling him his best friend, and Fabian quickly realized that Riz is one of the only people who had ever really tried to be his friend. He denied it at first, but eventually he came to accept it as a fact.

And maybe it was the same for Riz too. Like Fabian, he didn’t like talking about personal issues. It wasn’t until sophomore year when Riz was finally able to talk about his dad in front of everyone. And much like Fabian and his own charade, he much preferred his role as a detective versus a teenage boy trying to figure the world out.

But that was just it, wasn’t it? Because maybe, they could be two teenage boys trying to figure out the world together.

And so, Fabian may not write his name upon the world. Every living being in Spyre may not know the name Fabian Aramais Seacaster, but he is okay with this.

Because Fabian doesn’t always need to be the hero, the knight who saves the princess, or the son who kills his father’s rival. Because even when he’s not the hero, there are people who still love him. And to be a part of a story that continues to write itself, that is bigger than his own, with Riz and the rest of the Bad Kidz?

Fabian couldn’t think of anything else he would rather do.

#fabian aramais seacaster #dimension 20 #fantasy high #riz gukgak #gorgug thistlespring #this took a lot out of me #but i hope someone enjoys it #its a fabian character study!!#my writing #d20 #d20 fic

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dashboardcat · 3 years

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season 2 finale, baybee

Interesting choice to open with the closing credits. I suppose it does a better job setting the mood for Ibuki's death, but I personally feel like with everything else this ep could have covered they maybe should have just done a cold open with no credits. Even though I still feel like this season didn't do as great of a job characterizing Ibuki or the rest of the Shishigumi, I still feel like Ibuki's death still had some weight to it. Until Free started gloating, that is, he delivery there didn't seem quite right. Louis' reaction to watching his new dad die was pretty much spot on tho

As for Riz and Legosi's showdown, idk, maybe it's because Beastars has never really been about the action for me, or maybe it's because the whole point is to show how one-sided this fight is supposed to be, but the whole thing sorta fell flat for me. Even the moth scene, which I was really excited for, just kinda... happened with no buildup. But they did leave in Lounge-gosi, tho, so that's good.

I feel like in the manga, it was easier to ignore Riz's motivations as "lol that's fucked up" but here you can almost feel for him.

Seeing Louis cry legit made me cry... is VA was really giving his all this ep. And did any of the anime-onlys see Legosi eating Louis' foot coming? (one minor nitpick, at one point it looks like Legosi is grabbing the wrong foot) I'm not sure how I feel about the meated-out Legosi effects, tho. They're really leaning into the shonen anime thing with the spikey hair lmao. That doofy grin after he wipes the blood off his face? Perfection.

Haven't done any digging re: whether or not season 3 is confirmed yet, and honestly its hard for me to say if I really want it at this point. While obviously they did everything to tie up the end of the Riz arc, I still feel like where we're left with regarding Legosi and Haru's relationship wouldnt be appropriate for a series finale. On the other hand, it's not like that ever gets tied up in the manga, either. While the manga from hereon out has a lot of great things yet to come, it also has A LOT of problems as executive meddling tried to turn the series into something it wasn't supposed to be. On the other OTHER hand, im a simp for Melon, and, frankly, he's such a stereotypically perfect anime villain the studios would be fools to not take advantage of all the money they could make off of him. (On the other other OTHER hand, the easter egg last episode might mean that someone at the studios already knew it wasn't going to happen, so they threw him in there as a consolation prize? I could go in circles like this for hours at this point yall)

But as I predicted, "You're not trying to reduce me to a flashback character, are you?" didnt make the cut, nor did Legosi not being able to stop licking the blood off his face in front of the police. I mean, I get it, I guess. They're both too funny for what's supposed to be a serious moment. Although the fight is almost immediately followed by Legosi telling Haru he's gonna drop out of school, and her threatening to dump him, so so much for that I guess. I suppose what is funny, tho, is Riz thinking about how Legosi and Louis are the perfect carnivore/herbivore duo, then cutting Legosi and Haru's rocky relationship. Legosi just go back to your boyfriend this isnt that complicated

The site I watch on didn't have the "bonus scene" so idk if that means that uploader just didnt include it or if it didn't happen at all? Again I only heard about it from one person and I dont know what his source was so im not especially disappointed.

Ultimately, I feel like this season did I really good job of adapting and, in some ways even expanding, Legosi's arc, but at the cost of sacrificing Louis'. They spent a lot of time earlier in the season setting up (or, rather re-introducing) the murder mystery plot, and added the bit with the gym clothes thief to make Legosi's detective skills seem less like they came out of nowhere. But I can't help but feel like all that time they spent dragging their feet building up to Rokume (who, yes, anime-onlys, really has nothing to do with anything after her one scene) could have been better spent fleshing out Louis and the Shishigumi. (Although, to be honest, it may be because i was sort of rushing to get through reading it all, but im actually starting to doubt just how "well developed" the Shishigumi were at this point in the story, and then got flanderized into the lovable goofballs we know them as later on...) Sure , Legosi IS the main character, but the dynamic between these 2 means that Louis deserves more time in the spotlight too.

ugh... im gonna have to start reading fanfiction arent i

#beastars #beastars spoilers

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ysolts · 4 years

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weekendwarriorblog · 3 years

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The Weekend Warrior 9/3/21: SHANG-CHI, CINDERELLA, WORTH, MOGUL MOWGLI, YAKUZA PRINCESS, YEAR OF THE EVERLASTING STORM, and More

There’s only one new wide release this week but I’m not gonna say this movie title five times, because it’s so freakin’ long, that I can only really say it once. But it’s a good one! There’s also so many limited releases that as always, I just couldn’t get to all of them. (Word of warning: This column was finished under the influence of Churches' excellent new record, Screen Violence.)

Marvel Studios’ second movie of 2021, SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS (Marvel/Disney) stars Simu Liu as the “Master of Kung-Fu” from the comics, making his very first appearance in any live-action form that I know of. I have to say that I loved the comics as a kid and was truly bummed when I sold my whole collection, knowing that a lot of the great run of the comics from the ‘70s and ‘80s that have never been reprinted. That being said, this is Marvel’s first solo character introduction going all the way back to Brie Larson as Captain Marvel back in March, 2019, and before that, you’d have to go back November, 2016 for Doctor Strange, since Black Panther was introduced in Captain America: Winter Soldier.

Shang-Chi is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, who broke onto the scene with indie films like I Am Not a Hipster and the better-received Short Term 12, which also introduced much of the world to Larson, and then the two of them made an adaptation of The Glass House. Cretton then directed Michael B. Jordan, and again, Larson, in Just Mercy for Warner Bros., which grossed $36 million in early 2020 but never quite achieved the Oscar hopes some were expecting. Still, all that work with Larson paid off, because it got him a meeting with Kevin Feige and Marvel for him to pitch this.

Granted, Simu Liu is a bit of an unknown quantity, having not made too many movies and being best known for the sitcom, Kim’s Convenience. On the other hand, his co-star Awkwafina has been building quite an impressive career from her roles in the 2018 hits, Crazy Rich Asians and Ocean’s 8, plus her starring role in the indie, The Farewell, for which she won a Golden Globe (but really should have gotten an Oscar nomination). She’s taken that success to put it into her Comedy Central show, Nora from Queens, while also providing her voice for lots of animated movies, including this year’s Disney animated movie, Raya and the Last Dragon. Most who have seen the movie early have mentioned that her comic chemistry with Lu has stolen the movie and oddly, her “best friend” character Katy seems to be heading towards a larger part in the MCU.

If we look at movies based around characters who received solo films before appearing anywhere else in the MCU, we get the aforementioned Captain Marvel movie, which had an insane $153 million opening weekend, doing even better than the Distinguished Competition’s own solo female movie, Wonder Woman, even though the latter was definitely better known. Captain Marvel ended up grossing over $400 million domestic and over a billion worldwide. The Doctor Strange movie that preceded it, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, didn’t do quite well but still opened with $85 million and made $232 million domestic. A year earlier, Marvel Studios’ attempt to make Ant-Man a thing led to one of their bigger disappointments with that opening with “just” $57 million and grossing $180 million domestic. (That also cost $30 million less than Doctor Strange and $45 million less than Captain Marvel, but when you get to those budgets over $100 million, every dollar counts to making back that budget.)

As with many MCU movies, Shang-Chi has been receiving rave reviews with a strong 92% on Rotten Tomatoes from over 140 reviews (at this writing). My review of this is over at Below the Line, and I loved it, too. The big selling point for Shang-Chi is that like Black Panther was to African-Americans, this character is to Asian-Americans, being able to see the first Marvel movie starring an Asian-American, as well as a mostly Asian cast that includes the great Tony Leung and Michelle Yeoh (who also starred in Crazy Rich Asians).

There are a few factors to bear in mind, and not just the COVID Delta variant one that we’ve been hearing so much about -- there’s no denying that things are getting worse, and hopefully this can be quelled before there’s another shutdown. This weekend is the four-day weekend with Labor Day on Monday, which has never been a great weekend at the movies, partially because schools have either started or are about to start and people just stop going to movies, despite there having been plenty of early September hits like Warner Bros’ It. September is definitely a new month for Marvel to release a movie, but with all the delays due to COVID, it’s a good (I’m not gonna use the term “experiment) to see if Marvel really can withstand the proverbial 12-month release calendar rather than their movies needing to be released over the summer or holidays or any other month.

Unlike the recent Black Widow, which had a substantial $80 million opening, Shang-Chi is not being released simultaneously on Disney+ via Premier Access, which presumably will mean more people will have to go see the movie in theaters during its 45-day run before heading home, but the question really is “Will they?” Besides Crazy Rich Asians, which did incredibly well among non-Asians, there haven’t been a ton of movies with Asian casts that have done well just due to the fact -- I mean, look at the recent Snake Eyes from Paramount Pictures. It didn’t get nearly as good reviews, but it’s another superhero movie with a mostly Asian cast, and that community didn’t get behind it at all. Maybe we can say the same about Raya but that also was released much earlier in the pandemic.

With that in mind, I do think Shang-Chi is good for a four-day opening between $53 million and $57 million, although I don’t think we can expect this to have the same impact as a Marvel movie with a well-known character or actor in the lead.

This weekend’s four-day box office should look something like this:

1. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Marvel/Disney) - $55.6 million N/A

2. Candyman (Universal) - $13.2 million -40%

3. Free Guy (20th Century/Disney) - $11 million -16%

4. Paw Patrol: The Movie (Paramount) - $7 million +6%

5. Jungle Cruise (Walt Disney Pictures) - $4.5 million -10%

6. Don’t Breathe 2 (Sony/Screen Gems) - $2 million -30%

7. Respect (MGM) - $1.8 million -20%

8. The Suicide Squad (Warner Bros.) - $1.3 million -35%

9. The Protégé (Lionsgate) - $1.4 million -43%

10. The Night House (Searchlight) - $800k -39%

Hitting Amazon Prime Video on Friday (as well as select theaters in New York and L.A.) is Kay Cannon’s musical CINDERELLA (Amazon), which was originally going to be released theatrically by Sony Pictures in January, but it then became one of the first movies to have its production be shut down by COVID, so everything was delayed, and then Sony just decided to sell it off to Amazon, but considering everything going on, that may have been the wise choice, since I have a feeling more people will see this on Amazon then would have gone out to theaters with COVID, school starting, etc. Either way, you can read my interview with Kay Cannon over at Below the Line.

The movie stars pop star Camila Cabello In the title role of the musical was the brainchild of James Corden, who is no stranger to musicals. In fact, he seems to appear in almost every single one, or is that me? The nice thing is that you already know the story, as that hasn’t changed much, although Cannon definitely gives it a more modern spin in terms of Ella being far more feisty and a truly modern woman despite living in times where women aren’t allowed to do their own thing. Ella wants to be a designer, and she’s already making progress as she sews beautiful dresses in the basement where she’s kept by her stepmother (Idina Menzel) and taunted by her stepsisters (Maddie Baillio and Charlotte Spencer). One day, she meets the Prince Robert (Nicholas Galzitine) in the woods and has such an effect on him that he decides to hold a ball and invite all the women in the land in order to find a princess.

Like I said, pretty much the same story that we’ve seen in so many adaptations and quite a few musicals, and really, what probably will stand out more than anything is how talented Cabello is, considering that this is her first acting role in a major feature, and she kills it. I wouldn’t say that I love all the song choices, but I did love most of the arrangements, and there are so many great standout moments like “Shining Star” performed by Billy Porter as Cinderella’s “Fab G” (replacing and gender-switching her Fairy Godmother) and Menzel’s performance of her own song she wrote for the movie is a definite showstopper.

Obviously, casting the likes of Menzel and Porter means you have a couple ringers, but Minnie Driver is also great and even Pierce Brosnan kind of makes up for his horrific singing performance in Mamma Mia! This time, he gets something more in his range. And James Corden is in it, but it's such a small role that even those who truly hate him don't have enough time to do so.

It’s probably a cliché to say that this Cinderella won’t be for everyone, and I’m sure many critics had their knives out for it sight unseen. Personally, I know tons of fans of musicals and movies like Into the Woods, and yes, the Pitch Perfect movies, who will really enjoy what Kay Cannon and her talented cast and crew have done with the story. Kay Cannon’s Cinderella is a movie that’s more about fun entertainment than anything particularly cerebral, and in days like these, maybe that’s all that is needed sometimes.

There's a ton of other interesting indie films out this week… some of them are even good!

A movie that many (hopefully) will view with interest is Bassam Tariq’s MOGUL MOWGLI (Strand Releasing), co-written by and starring Riz Ahmed, which premiered all the way back at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2020. Besides it being of interest due to Ahmed’s presence, Tariq is also rumored to be directing the new Blade movie for Marvel Studios, starring Mahershala Ali, so many will (hopefully) be checking out this movie for that reason alone. (It certainly grabbed my interest.)

In the movie, Ahmed plays Zaheer who raps under the pseudonym of Zed, but he’s a Pakistani living in London at odds with his parents and the Muslim traditions put upon him. Just as he’s about to go on a major tour that could give his career a much-needed push, he suddenly loses the ability to walk and is diagnosed with a muscular disease that will involve stem cell therapy.

Okay, yes, this is another movie involving Ahmed as a performer who is hit by a debilitating condition much like his Oscar-nominated turn in Sound of Metal, but this is a very different movie that also deals with culture and religion and other things that just had much of an impact on me. Zaheer is told by his doctor that after the procedure, he would be unable to have kids, so he should freeze his sperm, and there’s a scene that I personally experienced when I was told the same before my stem cell transplant.

As much as this is very much a family drama, there’s also an interesting almost horror element to Mogul Mowgli as Zameer is constantly being plagued by hallucinations and nightmares, but there’s also some light humor in the fact that his main competition, another Pakistani rapper named “RPG,” is a bit of an idiot. But this really is Ahmed’s show, and heck, I might go so far to say that I think Ahmed’s performance in this movie is even better than his performance in Sound of Metal if you can believe that.

Mogul Mowgli proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that Riz Ahmed’s Oscar nomination was no fluke. He is clearly one of the best actors we have today, and he also shows that lacking the right material, he’s just going to write his own. It's opening at New York's Film Forum on Friday, and I'm not sure where else.

Brazilian filmmaker Vicente Amorim’s action-thriller YAKUZA PRINCESS (Magnet) -- which has played a couple recent genre festivals like Fantasia in Montreal -- really should be my kind of movie. Based on the Manga of the same name, it’s set in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where I used to live as a kid, believe it or not, but it’s also one of the largest Japanese communities outside Japan. In this environment comes newcomer Masumi as Akemi, who was orphaned as a child and left in Sao Paulo, but she later learns she’s the heiress to the Yakuza crime syndicate. She ends up meeting a badly scarred-up stranger with amnesia (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) who believes an ancient katana sword might bind their fates.

Like I said, this should be my kind of movie, because I love Yakuza films and crime films set in the world of Japanese crime, and as I said, I lived in Brazil, so that country still hold a place in my heart. Unfortunately, I’ve seen a lot of amazing Yakuza films from the great Takashi Miike, and this one is just so erratic in terms of pacing and tone that it really took me quite some time to really get into it.

Unfortunately, this movie at its core feels like another Kill Bill wannabe where Amorim relies so much on being super-stylish and throwing in lots of fast editing to make up for the lack of originality or any real substance.

The writing in the movie isn’t great, at least at first, but it’s also far too obvious how new and green Masumi is as an actor, because she delivers her lines and swordplay with very little charisma, and Rhys Meyers isn’t much better. In fact, the film’s best parts are the ones in Japanese, but that’s in the second half where the movie slows down considerably. There is the expected amount of gory swordplay and people being shot in the head, but there’s also way too much unnecessary exposition, much of it in bad English.

There’s just no way around that this is a movie that tries to jump on a genre bandwagon that has been handled so much better by Japanese filmmakers, while this just fails to keep the viewer interested beyond its soundtrack and the score by Lucas Marcier and Fabiano Krieger, which is pretty fantastic. Sure, it’s pretty violent and gory, but at times, it relies too much on viewers really only being on board for that. Other times, it feels like a patchwork of elements that don’t necessarily work together but also feels so derivative of so many better films.

Essentially, Yakuza Princess is yet another overly stylish action movie that’s better when everyone is fighting rather than talking. I had a hard time staying interested, and I’m not sure if that would have been exacerbated if I saw this on the big screen vs. a screener. Unfortunately, you'll only get to see on the big screen in certain regions, because it's mainly being released VOD.

Hitting Netflix on Friday after a week at New York’s Paris Theater is Sara Colangelo’s drama WORTH (Netflix), starring Michael Keaton, Stanley Tucci, and Amy Ryan, which premiered all the way back in January 2020 at the Sundance Film Festival. In the movie, Keaton plays Kenneth Feinberg, an opera loving lawyer and college professor who is commissioned to start the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, which has to come up with the amount of money that the families of those who died in the terrorist attacks will receive.

As you can probably expect, this movie is a laugh a minute… no, I’m kidding, this is a well-written and acted, but also often rather dry drama that’s about a serous topic, but it also feels like it comes so late after 9/11 that it doesn’t feel as relevant anymore, even with the anniversary coming up soon.

The movie is very much a spotlight for Keaton, who sports a heavy Massachusetts accent but still delivers a solid performance as the man with the unenviable task of trying to calculate the payouts for the people who lost loved ones in the 9/11 attacks. But Keaton doesn’t just deliver himself, he also brings out the best from everyone else in the cast, not too surprising from Ryan or Tucci, but there are also lots of pleasant surprises, including Shunori Ramathan and some of the actors playing the people who lost family members.

More than anything else, the movie is very much about the excellent script by Max Borenstein (who mostly has written a bunch of Godzilla and King Kong movies, oddly enough), and in that sense, it reminds me of Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight or the recent The Report, which are both solid movies but also very dialogue-driven ensemble dramas. Colangelo does a fine job with the film's pacing, which much have been a difficult task.

The only real problem with Worth is that it's so filled with crying and drama it's pretty hard to take for two hours straight. Basically, it’s one of those very good movies that you really have to be in the right headspace to get through it.

Michelle Civata's THE GATEWAY (Lionsgate) is a crime-thriller set in rural St. Louis with Shea Whigham playing Parker, a social worker who is trying to protect his client, a single mother (Olivia Munn) with a young daughter, whose husband was just paroled from jail with a drugdealer (Frank Grillo) trying to get him back on the payroll.

I wasn't sure about this one at least as it started, even with such a solid cast, which includes Bruce Dern as Park's estranged father, and it certainly started out a bit erratic with some scenes and characters working better than others. What works in the movie's favor is Whigham is such a good actor who rarely gets juicy roles like this one where he can be at the center of the story, and The Gateway shows that maybe this shouldn't be.

Despite a woman as director and co-writer, the whole thing comes off as fairly macho, clearly influenced by filmmakers like Scorses, but the fact that there's heart and real characters at the center of the movie that doesn't offer some degree of action -- gunfights, car chases and such -- does make The Gateway far better than it could have been.

Unfortunately, things start to fall a bit in the last act, although there are some great scenes between Whigham and Dern, and I generally like what the movie is trying to say about family. Because of that, The Gateway ends up being a decent indie crime thriller that doesn't veer too far from others but gives Wigham a long-deserved leading role to show his stuff.

The Gateway will open in select theaters, and be available via Apple TV and other digital platforms Friday and then be available on DVD and Blu-ray on Tuesday, September 7.

Sean King O’Grady’s thriller WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING (IFC Midnight) stars Sierra McCormick as teenager Melissa, who ends up trapped with her family in a house after trying to shelter from a storm… and boy, did this movie remind me of this awful recent movie called John and the Hole that IFC released last month. And this one really isn’t much better, despite starring great actors like Vinessa Shaw and Pat Healy.

Honestly, I have no idea why anyone would read the script by Max Booth III (based on his own novella, no less) and think, “Boy, this would make an interesting movie,” but this is the age we live in where everyone is trying to make something cool and woke for the kiddies, and in this case that comes in the form of Melissa’s goth girlfriend Amy (Lisette Alexis) who shows up (in flashback) as so that they can do some incantations which may be causing all the weirdness. It’s as if the filmmakers thought that throwing in a bit of The Craft might save it.

I probably was most disappointed by Healy, since I’m such a fan of his work, but he isn’t given much to do except rant and rave and yell a lot, and he really comes off like an asshole, which is not a great look for him.

O’Grady throws all sorts of things at the family like a not particularly scary stupid looking rattlesnake that has them screaming horribly and some kind of… werewolf or something? (I don’t know ‘cause we never see it. We just see its tongue which Melissa rips out.) Honestly, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen worse acting, which just makes the family even more annoying.

With a really stupid premise that is barely able to carry a movie, if you’re gonna call your movie We Need to Do Something, then for EFF’s sake, DO SOMETHING! Man, this movie frustrated the hell out of me.

Also out on Friday is the anthology film, YEAR OF THE EVERLASTING STORM (NEON), which features an amazing roster of filmmakers, including David Lowery, director of the recent The Green Knight, Jafar Panahi, Anthony Chen, Laura Poitras (CITIZEN4), Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and others, taking a semi-documentary approach to share their thoughts on living in a pandemic… I watched the Panahi and Chen segments but never got to the rest, but if I do, I'll add my thoughts on the film as a whole when I have a chance. The movie opens at the IFC Center in New York this Friday and then in Los Angeles at the Laemlle Royal next Friday.

I wasn’t able to get to Safy Nebbou’s WHO YOU THINK I AM (Cohen Media), based on the best-selling novel from Camille Laurens, but it stars the great Juliette Binoche, a single mom and middle-aged professor who is ghosted her 20-something lover so she creates a fake Facebook profile for 24-year-old avatar named “Clara” who is friended by her ex’s roommate. This opens at the Quad Cinema in New York on Friday as well as in L.A. at the Landmark, and I hope to get to watch it soon.

Another movie I’ve been looking forward to seeing since it premiered at Sundance but just haven’t found the time is Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr.’s WILD INDIAN (Vertical), starring the great Michael Greyeyes as a native American man who decades earlier covered up a classmate's murder, but now has to deal with a man who wants vengeance for the secret he's trying to keep as he tries to protect his wife (Kate Bosworth) and boss (Jesse Eisenberg) from that secret. Sounds pretty amazing and man, I wish I could just fit in more movies with everything I have going on right now.

Chad Michael Murray plays the title role in Daniel Farrands' TED BUNDY: AMERICAN BOOGIEMAN (Voltage/Dark Star PIctures), which hits VOD and DVD this Friday, but unlike last week's No Man of God, which deals with Bundy already in prison, it deals with Bundy still on the prowl and the law enforcement agents who eventually brought him down including detective Kathleen McChesney (Holland Roden) and rookie FBI profiler Robert Ressler (Jake Hays). I haven't had a chance to watch this yet, but it would have been nice if they released the two movies in chronological order, no?

A great doc that played at the Tribeca Festival a couple months back and will hit Showtime this Friday is Sacha Jenkins’ BITCHIN’: THE SOUND AND FURY OF RICK JAMES (Showtime), an absolutely fascinating look at the controversial funk and soul star whose catchy dance music of the '70s led to drugs and worse offenses in subsequent years. This is a fantastic doc that I wish I could watch again, but I don't have Showtime. Waugh waugh...

Others that came out this week or weekend:

AFTERLIFE OF THE PARTY (Netflix)

STEEL SONG (Gravitas Ventures)

SAVING PARADISE (Vertical)

Next week, the new horror movie from James Wan, Malignant, as well as Paul Schrader's The Card Counter, which I think might be going wide next week, too.

#The Weekend Warrior #movies #reviews #cinderella #shang-chi #box office #yakuza princess #worth #mogul mowgli

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knowthyselfrp · 6 years

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AGE RANGE: 25 // OCCUPATION: BARTENDER @ LUCKY LEPRECHAUN // PRONOUNS: HE/HIM

It makes sense that you work at The Lucky Leprechaun since your nonsensical words make the others feel like they’re going to get lucky when they speak to you. But you’re more than your funny little sayings and quick wit, aren’t you? Whatever traumatic event that haunts you from the past must’ve stuck with you if you’re so hell bent on this persona of yours. Sometimes you wonder if you’re more of an idea than a person and while you were the thought of someone else, you very much are real (as far as you know). You are an intellectual, however. Your words may seem like nonsense, but they have a much deeper meaning to you despite what anyone else might think. Your thoughts go a mile a minute, but they make sense to you. Maybe one day everyone will understand what you’re all about, but the good thing is that you don’t care if they do.

Alice- What a peculiar friend of yours. They’re so curious, a little too curious if you ask. But still, you like them. They understand what you’re trying to say and that you’re more than just the silly person in the town. Somehow, you two fit together like two peas in a pod. A strange pod, indeed, but it works. They make sense of what you’re trying to communicate and you appreciate their questions and their yearn for knowledge since you weren’t sure if there were any people like them left in the world. They’re not content with just what they were given, and you love that about her because you feel the same way. You may be a mystery of a person to them, but you like that you know what they’re all about. You keep them on their toes and in return, they can bring you back out of your head when things get too tough. So you decided to help their search for all these answers because what else do you have to lose?

Red Queen- Indeed they are cruel, but the two of your have a history. One that the both of you don’t like to talk about, and neither of you are going to tell Alice since quite frankly it’s no one’s business. You’re too quick for them, and you know too much so they can’t hurt you, not yet. Your little tea sessions and confessional meetings are something the both of you want to keep under wraps since both of you have dirt on one another. It’s only fair if neither of you act, staying in a Cold War standstill rather than unleashing whatever nuclear weapon you may have on each other. Their threats of cutting off your head are meaningless, you could destroy them too if you cared enough. So the antagonism the two of you possess with one another works, since Alice doesn’t need to ask why you don’t like them and it appears that the lovely queen simply despises everyone. It’s better this way.

He’s glad you make no sense all of the time because if you did, people would start to suspect. And people suspecting and asking questions means that His control over people in in jeopardy. Simply put, he does not like you. You always are too close to the truth and then flip it around like you have no idea what’s going on. He has a feeling you suspect the truth of Maurice, and he’s waiting for the right time to flip the eraser on you or a loved one of yours. Be careful, you do not want to make an enemy out of Him do you?

Riz Ahmed

“Why is the sky blue? Why isn’t it a new color each day?” he once asked, merely a young child filled with endless questions. His mother smiled at him, knowing he had been a curious soul. Always wondering about things, pondering. She encouraged him to seek the truth, to find the silver lining. Of course, in all her efforts, there were still dark clouds lurking in the distance.

An unpleasant household, an unhealthy marriage.

She tried to hide it from him, urged him to spend more time outside ( to make sense of this world ). It’s mad, you see. The skies remain the same color, never warning of the dangers that might lay ahead. His teachers called him special, the other school children never understanding.

“Why don’t you shut up, Markus?” they mocked. Giggling at his mismatched clothes and wild hair. The teachers never stopped it, they never noticed. But they were always quick to reassure of his place in school, of his talent ( spoon-feeding his mother such vague narratives ).

“Why don’t you shut up, Markus!” repeated his father later that evening, hissing. He was drunk again, louder than usual. There were bangs coming from the kitchen, his father slamming the cabinets, searching for where the liquor had been hidden. His mother refused to tell the truth, insisting that he could be cured. Markus couldn’t help but stare, the small television across from him suddenly offering no comfort.

He knew where the bottles were hidden, he knew it.

So he offered a riddle, a clue of sorts – wondering if his father would take the bait. Hoping the situation wouldn’t escalate. Yet the drunken man snapped, the brute force of his hand landing on his mother. Her skin changed colors … but the sky remained the same.

He exceled in school, his grades perfectly deceptive of the reality painted before him. No friends. No games. No one to play with, except his mind and imagination. Things had been quiet in the house, his estranged father only appearing on bad days. Except circumstances weren’t getting any better if his mother’s injuries healed slowly, painfully.

“Is it possible to break a human?” he asked one day in class. The entire room stared at him, unsure of what to make of the unexpected question.

“You’re mad, Markus,” whispered the student next to him.

His mother had gotten a gun. She kept it hidden underneath her pillow. Of course, that fateful day, it had been out of her reach. She kept yelling for it to stop, her father refusing to listening. Markus couldn’t stay locked inside the bathroom anymore, he couldn’t bear it.

The sky wasn’t even blue that day, it was dark and ominous. It screamed for vengeance.

He grabbed the weapon, pointing it haphazardly. Amongst all the screaming, there was finally a lock, a pop, and a drop. The body fell without any movement – the gun clenched securely between his hands.

Is it possible to break a human? Oh, how the answer laid in plain sight. As the sounds of incoming sirens spun into white noise.

His mother wasn’t the same. Not like the sky.

They called it grieving, he learned. There was the burden of guilt sitting on his shoulders, growing heavier each day. He killed his father … even if it had been a mistake. The students whispered around him, finally cornering him as planned.

“Did you do it?” they asked. He suddenly found himself preferring the other questions, ones that probed the madness of his mind ( not his actions ). Markus didn’t want to be labeled for his wrongdoings, he wanted to break free from the reality of them. Of himself.

He shook his head, insisting, “no, never, I’m innocent. Innocent like the little bunnies in the bushes. The ones you chase.” More prey than predator – such loose lips demonstrating no risk ( because no one would ever listen to him ).

Markus stared in the mirror the following night. Making a decision that would drastically change his life. He had chosen that day to encompass an elaborate, whimsical mask. Portraying an odd persona to cope, mope, hope? Perhaps it was a penance of sorts, atoning for his sins.

More importantly: could the Creator forgive him?

It’s present time. Present day.

The past filters through his mind, memories appearing to be little facets of the truth. Hermosa is heaven, Hermosa is hell. The customer sits in front of him, requesting for another drink. He offers a riddle, a spin of words. The truth sits at the bottom of the glass as his hands pour the next concoction ( yet no one suspects a thing )

Tea cups.- What’s a tea party without any tableware? These cups are porcelain, fragile in nature. Yet they are able to withstand the boiling temperatures of hot tea, proving their worth in usage every day. These little trinkets require a certain level of care, turning the overall situation rather bizarre. Such delicacies in the hands of a madman? Surely, something isn’t right. There is too much contradiction happening, too much paradox – oh, but they were merely a gift from his mother.

#lsrpg #skeleton rp #lsrp #dark rp #disney rpg #mad hatter #alice in wonderland #taken #takenskel #mad hatterskel

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noespensaressentir · 4 years

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QUE OCURRE EN ABOBO, CUANDO APARECE EL COVID 19?

Para cada uno de nosotros, estos meses de pandemia los hemos vivido de maneras muy diferentes, sobre todo atendiendo al momento personal que atraviesa cada uno. Muchos hemos sentido agobio, otros hemos sentido que aparecía una oportunidad de hacer otras cosas, otros muchos nos hemos conocido un poco mejor, otros hemos conocido mas a nuestros hijos, parejas…, pero por un momento imaginaros que puede ser en un contexto donde no tienes absolutamente nada y con el añadido de que son 58 personas en una casa de dos habitaciones.

Pero claro, siempre suelen decir que las desgracias no vienen solas y que todo puede ir un poco peor cuando se pone difícil la situación y eso es lo que ocurre en un barrio como Abobo en plena pandemia.

Es aquí donde estos pequeños los cuales nunca querían salir de Abobo, por ser lo que conocen y dominan, es justo en este periodo donde se dan realmente cuenta de que tienen que salir de ese barrio para poder conservar la vida.

“Nuestros niñ@s” durante este tiempo han sufrido las acusaciones de sus vecinos, siendo estos mismos (los propios vecinos) quienes llamaban a la Policía para decirles que había un número muy elevado de personas y que tendrían que tomar medidas contra ellos por ser un foco potencial de contagios.

Estos niños y niñas han sido atracados por sus vecinos si sentían que recibían apoyo por nuestra parte (en forma económica) para poder comprar comida. Si éstos, veían que de alguna manera “nuestros niños ”llegaban con arroz, aceite, leche…

Estos niños y niñas han vivido lo que es tener que esconderse 30 de ellos todos los días en un sistema rotatorio para que si durante el día iba la Policía a casa, no vieran que estaban los 55 niños y los tres adultos.

Estos niños y niñas han tenido que estar expuesto a sufrir ataques durante este periodo para poder esconderse de la Policía en lugares abandonados u ocupados por gente que no tiene hogar y que no vienen a ser más que esa parte de la población que está en la calle, con adicciones…

Estos niños y niñas no solo han luchado contra el COVID 19, han tenido que luchar contra muchas circunstancias colaterales que han afectado a esta crisis mundial, que cuando llega en África la convierte en una crisis mucho mayor.

Es por todo ello, que tras pasar casi dos meses en esta situación donde poder ayudarles, podía ser la consecuencia de su muerte, donde ser tantos, podía provocar su muerte, donde esconderse, podía provocar su muerte… Es por ello que en mayo tanto Eli como yo, decidimos empujarles a que tenían que buscar otra aldea en donde pudieran empezar una nueva vida, cumpliendo esta aldea con criterios indispensables para poder salir de Abobo, como: tener un colegio cerca , la posibilidad de trabajar alrededor de esa aldea y un campo de fútbol cerca para poder seguir cultivando sus sueños.

Qué ha sido lo más positivo de estos meses de pandemia? Que les sirvió para ver que no estaban en el lugar adecuado y tras casi dos meses de sufrimiento permanente se atrevieron a tomar la decisión de volver a visitar aquellos sitios que en nuestro viaje en diciembre habíamos visto, para poder trasladarse y salir de la pesadilla en la que estaban inmersos.

Hoy agosto de 2020, siguen trabajando en ello, seguimos ayudándoles humildemente como podemos para comer, porque siguen sin poder salir a trabajar, pero estamos muy felices de que se atrevieran a dar el paso de salir de su zona de acomodo, no de la de confort.

Namaste.🌸🙏🏻

Eli y Antonio.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/no-es-pensar-es-sentir

WHAT HAPPENS IN ABOBO, WHEN DOES COVID 19 APPEAR?

For each of us, we have experienced these months of pandemic in very different ways, especially considering the personal moment that each one goes through. Many of us have felt overwhelmed, others have felt that there was an opportunity to do other things, many others have gotten to know each other a little better, others have gotten to know our children, couples ..., but for a moment imagine that it may be in a context where we do not you have absolutely nothing and with the addition that there are 58 people in a two-bedroom house.

But of course, they always say that misfortunes do not come alone and that everything can get a little worse when the situation gets difficult and that is what happens in a neighborhood like Abobo in the middle of a pandemic.

It is here where these little ones who never wanted to leave Abobo, because they are what they know and dominate, it is precisely in this period where they really realize that they have to leave that neighborhood in order to preserve their lives.

“Our children” during this time have suffered accusations from their neighbors, being the same (the neighbors themselves) who called the Police to tell them that there was a very high number of people and that they would have to take measures against them for being a potential source of contagion.

These boys and girls have been robbed by their neighbors if they felt that they received support from us (financially) to be able to buy food. If they saw that somehow "our children" arrived with rice, oil, milk ...

These children have experienced what it is like to have to hide 30 of them every day in a rotating system so that if the police went home during the day, they would not see that the 55 children and the three adults were there.

These children have had to be exposed to attacks during this period in order to be able to hide from the Police in places abandoned or occupied by people who are homeless and who are no more than that part of the population that is on the street. , with addictions ...

These children have not only fought against COVID 19, they have had to fight against many collateral circumstances that have affected this global crisis, which when it arrives in Africa turns it into a much greater crisis.

It is for all this, that after spending almost two months in this situation where being able to help them, it could be the consequence of their death, where there were so many, it could cause their death, where to hide, it could cause their death ... That is why in May both Eli, like me, decided to push them to find another village where they could start a new life, fulfilling this village with essential criteria to be able to leave Abobo, such as: having a school nearby, the possibility of working around that village and a soccer field nearby to continue cultivating your dreams.

What has been the most positive of these months of pandemic? That helped them to see that they were not in the right place and after almost two months of permanent suffering they dared to make the decision to revisit those places that we had seen on our trip in December, to be able to move and get out of the nightmare in the one they were immersed in.

Today August 2020, they continue working on it, we continue to humbly help them as we can to eat, because they still cannot go out to work, but we are very happy that they dared to take the step of leaving their accommodation area, not that of comfort.

Namaste.🌸🙏🏻

Eli and Antonio.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/no-es-pensar-es-sentir

QUE SE PASSE-T-IL À ABOBO, QUAND COVID 19 APPARAÎT-IL?

Pour chacun de nous, nous avons vécu ces mois de pandémie de manières très différentes, surtout compte tenu du moment personnel que chacun traverse. Beaucoup d'entre nous se sont sentis dépassés, d'autres ont senti qu'il y avait une opportunité de faire autre chose, beaucoup d'autres ont appris à se connaître un peu mieux, d'autres ont appris à connaître nos enfants, partenaires ..., mais un instant imaginez que cela peut être dans un contexte où nous ne le faisons pas. vous n'avez absolument rien et en plus il y a 58 personnes dans une maison de deux chambres.

Mais bien sûr, ils disent toujours que les malheurs ne viennent pas seuls et que tout peut empirer un peu lorsque la situation devient difficile et c'est ce qui se passe dans un quartier comme Abobo en pleine pandémie.

C'est ici que ces petits qui n'ont jamais voulu quitter Abobo, parce qu'ils sont ce qu'ils connaissent et dominent, c'est précisément dans cette période où ils se rendent vraiment compte qu'ils doivent quitter ce quartier pour préserver leur vie.

«Nos enfants» pendant cette période ont subi les accusations de leurs voisins, étant les mêmes (les voisins eux-mêmes) qui ont appelé la police pour leur dire qu'il y avait un très grand nombre de personnes et qu'ils devraient prendre des mesures contre eux pour être une source potentielle de contagion.

Ces garçons et filles ont été volés par leurs voisins s'ils sentaient qu'ils recevaient de notre soutien (financièrement) pour pouvoir acheter de la nourriture. S'ils voyaient cela d'une manière ou d'une autre, "nos enfants" sont arrivés avec du riz, de l'huile, du lait ...

Ces enfants ont vécu ce que c'est que d'avoir à cacher 30 d'entre eux chaque jour dans un système de rotation pour que si la police rentrait chez eux pendant la journée, ils ne verraient pas que les 55 enfants et les trois adultes étaient là.

Ces enfants ont dû être exposés à des agressions pendant cette période afin de pouvoir se cacher de la police dans des endroits abandonnés ou occupés par des personnes sans domicile et qui ne sont pas plus que la partie de la population qui se trouve dans la rue. , avec des addictions ...

Ces enfants ne se sont pas seulement battus contre le COVID 19, ils ont dû se battre contre de nombreuses circonstances collatérales qui ont affecté cette crise mondiale qui, lorsqu'elle arrive en Afrique, la transforme en une crise beaucoup plus grave.

C'est pour tout ça, qu'après avoir passé près de deux mois dans cette situation où pouvoir les aider, ça pourrait être la conséquence de leur mort, là où il y en avait tant, ça pourrait causer leur mort, où se cacher, ça pourrait causer leur mort ... C'est pourquoi en mai les deux Eli, comme moi, a décidé de les pousser à trouver un autre village où ils pourraient recommencer une nouvelle vie, remplissant ce village avec des critères essentiels pour pouvoir quitter Abobo, tels que: avoir une école à proximité, la possibilité de travailler autour de ce village et un terrain de football à proximité pour continuer à cultiver vos rêves.

Quel a été le plus positif de ces mois de pandémie? Ce qui les a aidés à voir qu'ils n'étaient pas au bon endroit et après presque deux mois de souffrance permanente ils ont osé prendre la décision de revisiter ces endroits que nous avions vus lors de notre voyage en décembre, pour pouvoir bouger et sortir du cauchemar en celui dans lequel ils étaient immergés.

Aujourd'hui août 2020, ils continuent à y travailler, nous continuons à les aider humblement à manger, car ils ne peuvent toujours pas sortir travailler, mais nous sommes très heureux qu'ils aient osé faire le pas de quitter leur lieu d'hébergement, pas celui de confort.

Namaste.🌸🙏🏻

Eli et Antonio.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/no-es-pensar-es-sentir

#noespensaressentir

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phneatellswords · 4 years

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The love that never started (One Shot)

"Who is it this time that's been calling you? " Eric asked

I don't know. I didn’t even bother answering, but I do know it’s an international call. Maybe from some guy i met when i went to New Zealand.

"When are you going to settle down Rizza you are already on late 20's and your still on the go of your games"

"I don't know I might never even settle down, i might just grow old single. i think being single suits me, maybe it’s my calling.” i joked

"You have lots of guys. You can just choose any one of them. Don't get me wrong, I’m not saying you should play on them, my point is get serious Riz you’re not getting any younger." he continued nagging.

He still doesn’t get how I can’t fall in love with any of them, they are all fun and made me feel real special, but they can’t lure me in. No one from them that can.

Since I'm the type of person who doesn’t fall in love easily, but when I set my eyes on someone, I love that someone so much that I can’t see myself to fall out of love nor give up on that person so easily. I get glued.

"Well I should get going, I left the invitation on the table. Be sure not to be late on my wedding day. Okay?" He said and left immediately.

He must be pretty busy these days since he's been preparing a lot for his wedding day. Such an asshole for leaving me behind and decided to settle down already, that he tries to let me settle down as well. Duh.

He should know I still can't right now. We might have promised before, that we’d get married on the same day for best friend goal shits. Unluckily I haven’t found someone that is for me and he was in a hurry to settle down.

He kept on questioning me why I broke up with Henry not long ago, when he thought we were going well. Henry was such a great guy, he was too good for me and it would be awful keeping a great guy to someone like me who can’t reciprocate his feelings.

Eric thought I was heartbroken to Henry and that was the reason why I went back on hooking up with different guys. He knew that if I’m having a trouble in love, I tend to see different guys as if it some kind of hobby. It is my way of moving on if he’ll say it.

What he doesn’t know is, I was never out of this phase, the phase of trying to move on from someone. I’ve been in this phase for so long, way back before when there was Henry in my life. What he didn’t know that the person that I’ve been trying to stop loving was him and it won't be easy to move on from him.

To someone you have loved almost all your life.

This will be hard. It will take a long while.

Especially I thought it would be him, that it would be us in the end. No matter how many other person we see individually. I hoped we'll eventually find ourselves back to each other, since to be honest he was the only guy I loved since we we're in our high school. Even if he doesn’t have any idea of my feelings, because I was too afraid to lose our friendship, so I didn’t tell him.

I just silently waited till the day will come that he'll come to love me, but it seems like it won't ever happen anymore, now that he’s getting married.

It hurts Eric Timothy Loreno. I never got to say I love you so much my bestest friend.

_____

Wedding day

Eric's point of view

"How was the night going Riz? where is your escort?" i asked when i saw Rizza alone in the veranda

"He went to get some glass of wine" she plainly replied"You look stunning tonight. When were you not stunning any way."

"Already cheating on your wife Eric, I knew it, you really love me. Do want to run away with me?" she kidded and we both laughed. Typical Rizza, she always like to pull that kind of joke.

"What? You're my best friend after all. You’re always worth the hype" I replied and silence enveloped us after that.

"So, you're really married now..." she trailed, acting all serious suddenly

I scratched my head feeling quite awkward " Well yeah, new life awaits." I said while smiling

"You know Eric... I really love you." It might be one of her jokes again, but hearing that took few breaths away from me as the way she said it while staring into my eyes with full seriousness.

"What are you talking about, you don't need to spell it out. I already know that way before, we're best friends after all Riz" I replied trying not to get so serious, I don’t want to get the wrong idea of what she really meant by her sudden seriousness.

"No, what I mean love... Is I love you romantically." she said and that caught me off guard.I didn't know about that, i was used to her saying it was a joke that i somehow can't believe hearing it right now.

I tried to wear my best smile hoping it didn't look awkward while I slowly patted her head.

"Me too..." I replied "as best friend." I added and she chuckled while nodding

"I know." she softly answered that I couldn't almost hear it. Again we fell into silence good thing that guy, her escort Tristan arrived. I bid her goodbye, came up with an excuse that I need to interact with the other guests as soon as possible.

The truth is I can’t stay there any longer the atmosphere was pretty heavy to handle, I am still processing what she said and I want to clear my mind as soon as possible.

The words she said somehow tasted bitter.

Because actually there was a lie I told her back there...

I love her too. Not just as best friend.I just chose not to tell her since there was no point in telling her now.

What we were supposed to be was such a waste knowing we felt the same, I have regretted it a bit learning only now and she may have regretted it too, as we chose not to be honest with our feelings about each other.

By the turn of events, I know we are just meant to be each other’s best friend and never lovers, since the path we chose was to treasure our friendship over anything. I’m married now. Today was my wedding, everything was too late to be said.

I hope one day I will to be able to tell what I felt about her. That I love her more than friends, way back when we were still in high school. But that day is not yet today, maybe soon when things are better for her, so we could laugh about our stupidity, where there will be no regrets that will be left. When that day comes, i want only pure laughter and happiness will be our emotions of how everything turned out.

I chose not to tell her about it today because I know that her knowing, will kill her out of regrets.

Let’s be honest it was such a waste, knowing there was supposed to be me and her. We ended before we even started. Now, I will bury to treasure about the fact that I love my best friend.

Before I will completely forget what I felt for her I just want to say once more to myself like how I used to.

I love you Rizza Andrea Vinosha. I loved you. I said under my breath

"Hon?" I looked to where the voice came from and saw Pauline, I can't help but smile seeing my wife.

There, realizations hit me. That I may have love you Riz, but seeing this woman in front of me is everything. I know that this woman is my end game no matter what and you were nothing but someone that isn't meant for me, a mere puppy love that I carried throughout my youth.

I even think that even if we ever did try to express our feelings, it won't get to this point and that's how our story will always be. Not ending together.

"Where were you?" Pauline asked

“I had small talk with Rizza, more like a closure." I said honestly and she held my cheeks and my heart started to melt. I just love every inch of this woman.

"I don't know if it's appropriate, but I want to say you did great even if I have no idea how it went" I can't help but chuckle about what she said.

I slowly held her hands on my cheeks and closed my eyes

"You do know I love you right? I just want you to know again that it is you that I’ll ever love until the end. The one that I will be running to as my shelter. You’re my wife and my only shelter Pauline." I said assuring her for my feelings and locked her around my arms.

We went through a lot. She knew how I felt about Rizza when we were still dating, I thought she’ll leave and give up. What took me by surprise was she stayed despite of how I made her feel so insecure and as if she’s not good enough, just because I was blinded by my love for Rizza before. But instead of leaving me, she even trusted me more and loved me more and I would be an idiot letting someone like Pauline go.

Though she’s the only one in this world.

"I know. And I have and will always trust you. I love you too. So much."

#unrequited love #love #short reads #bestfriend #oneshot #almost #frienship #marriage

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thedeviantsrp-blog · 7 years

Photo

Congrats Maranda! We are so excited to have you apply as another character! Your application was great and so detailed and we cannot wait to see your FC of Riz Ahemd as Demetri Rahim come to life on the dash! You know what to do: please follow the checklist and send in your account within 24 hours! And don’t forget to submit an AU description if you want him to be included in our next leg of the AU event!

OOC Information

Name: Maranda

Age: 20

Preferred Pronouns: She/Her

Timezone: EST

Any Triggers: RFP

Level of Activity: I’m still at about a 7 out of 10. But now things have mellowed out for the time, I can be active most evenings for a few hours unless something has come up. But even then I’m going to be on for a while each day.

Anything Else?: Would it be okay if I were to use Riz Ahmed as his face claim instead of the suggested ones?

IC Information

Character’s Given Codename: Astir Real Name: Demetri Rahim Faceclaim: Riz Ahmed, Matthew Daddario, Ansel Elgort,Nico Tortorella Age: 30 Hometown: London, England, United Kingdom Previous Occupation: Trauma Surgeon Ability: Telekinesis

Description:

Since he was young, Demetri dreamed of a life better than the one he had. Growing up in the slums of London, he was grateful for all he’d been given. His father, a brilliant man, worked three jobs to keep the lights on and food on the table. His mother did odd jobs, unable to get a career because back in her home country she was not allowed to finish school. In this new life, his parents fought to give them everything they could want. To give them the opportunity they had never had. The oldest of the three, Demetri seemed to grow up fast. Helping his mother the best he could even from a young age. He may have never understood what was going–not fully, but he wanted to help. As he grew, he took on more to help out–watching his younger siblings, keeping the house tidy, making dinner, etc. He knew his parents hated that he’d taken this world upon his shoulders, but he never minded it.

Demetri a model student in class. He ached to learn as much as he could, spending hours in the library reading and studying. He would leave with a backpack full of books in hopes of learning all he could of what they studied and then some.He was willing to do whatever he could to save himself and this seemed to be the best way out. Sadly, his behavior outside of school was not quite as promising. He hung out with social pariahs– kids down on their luck and taught to fight for what they have. Kids like himself who grew up in the slums and forced to live a life they never wanted. But unlike Demetri they had become a casualties of the slums. They would be caught out late, picking fights with each other, underage drinking, and petty theft was often a past time. Demetri loved the thrill of it even if he was only a bystander–at least to the thievery. He kept his hands mostly clean, but often bruised. His mother cursed him for his fighting, but it never phased him. He lived for the thrill and if no one, but him got hurt where was the harm? His father never said a word about it. He claimed it his son’s way of breaking free from having to grow up so fast and to get girls–he wasn’t wrong. By the time he was sixteen he had joined one of the local gyms and had taken up boxing–mostly to ease his mother’s worry. Still it didn’t stop him from sneaking out and causing a disruption when he could get the lads together. When he could find the time between the life he lived, the one he helped move along at him, and the one he witnessed with his friends–he would draw. His note books would be bubbling over with drawing that were carefully planned in a passionate drive to create. And by the time he was seventeen–he’d taken to the side of buildings as canvases when the couldn’t afford the money for a new book–borrowing his neighbor’s spray paint to leave his mark on the city and continuing his streak as a public menace.

As the weight of reality began to set in, he found himself falling away from the life he’d created on the streets and focusing more on what awaited him. Demetri graduated with high honors and planned to drive head first into university as quickly as they’d allow. He was the first in his family to go to college, the first to make something of his life and lead the way for future generations. Most of his friends hadn’t graduated–and one never lived to see it. Demetri never learned of the death of his best friend until he was packing his things over the summer. He’d known he’d gone to visit his brother in Ireland, but didn’t know he never made it there. His mother promised it was to protect him, save him from the pain. She knew this pain would keep him from leaving and she couldn’t allow that. But even with as clear of a head as he had–he couldn’t forgive her for that, not yet.

He carried the pain with him as he went to university–part of him wondering what had he’d done if he’d know. He tried not to dwell; what mattered was what he did next. Knowing that is what his best friend would’ve wanted for him. He always encouraged him to not let anything stop him, this is how he’d honor him. Helping someone had been engraved in his bones so it almost seemed natural for him to go into the medical field. He didn’t want to be the one to find the cure for cancer or work in a simple office–no, he wanted to work with the cases that were often more than met the eye and would give him the chance to help those most couldn’t. Which is what drove him to what to become a surgeon. It was far harder than the shows made it look, for four years he study tirelessly when he wasn’t bouncing between classes, labs, and his part time job. He was run thin most of the time, running on coffee and cheap food–it wasn’t the life he wanted, but it would get him there. And when the opportunity for him to go to grad school in America–he jumped at the chance. In the land of Freedom and new dreams, he would make his stand.

It was painful to leave the only home he’d ever known behind, swearing to write every chance he got and would call when possible–he somehow survived the long goodbyes at the airport. His new life at Harvard Medical School awaited him. Finally, he was free and life never looked brighter. But the land of milk and honey had gone sour. While he never experienced any trouble at school, the world waiting outside was a much different place. People would stare at him with a glare in their eye, muffled words would fall before he could catch them as strangers “bumped” into him, and other times people were far more blunt with their words. In a country founded up on the ideas of freedom from all that ailed you–he was nothing more to them than an immigrant. A word that stood for hope meant terror to those around him. It was a new world, but the fight inside of him was greater than ever. He was better than their ignorance and stronger than the hate.

The next four years were far from easy, but he never gave up and after being in the country for five years–Demetri become an American citizen and moved to New York to begin his residency. He made his new home in Brooklyn, a small overpriced studio apartment, the neighbourhood reminding him of the home he left behind. It pushed him harder to make this all work out. When he wasn’t at the hospital, Demetri would fill his time with the friends he’d made at the hospital. He would fall in and out of relationships with girls who never seemed to want more than someone waste a night on, and when he found the time–he’d pick up a book to read or his paints and create. He fell into this flow and found happiness in it. A long term girlfriend, a cat named Chewie, three guys who he would risk his life for, and the long phone calls home to his family. Things seemed to be going right for once and shaping up to be his own American dream.

A year later, he’d finished up his residency and taken the open position as a trauma surgeon at the hospital. But three months into his dream–it’d become a nightmare. The explosion rattled the city, the ER over flowed with people and he spent what felt like days working to help those injured. He knew it would never be simple, but he never signed up for this. When he finally was able to catch a moment to himself, he’d sat in his office. His mind swimming with thoughts. He let his body relax for the first time–he felt weightless. But the moment crashed when his phone rang–and so did he. He opened his eyes to himself floating in his office chair–the whole room, every piece of furniture was floating as if it were tossed out to sea. But as the panic set in–he crashed to the ground along with everything else. In that moment he knew, the nightmare had only just begun.

Ethos:

Demetri is of a very caring nature. He is very selfless, but that seems to often hurt him instead. He will put others needs before his own. He doesn’t take very good care of himself. He will often forget to eat or sleep, but he does all he can to make sure the ones around him are taken care of and in good health. He doesn’t realize he’s taken such a toll upon himself until it is too late. Demetri has always been very ambitious. He will stop at nothing, do whatever had can to succeed not matter the cost. Even he as his limitations though. When he fails, he doesn’t take it well and often will take it out on others. He will push people away and often start arguments he can’t win to feel he regain some kind of control in these situations. Instead, he often breaks relationships and shuts himself away for a time. He has been called a control freak in the past. It is something he’s working, but when the whole world feels as if it’s waiting for him to fail–he can’t always keep a clear head about himself.

#open rp #new rp #active rp #new roleplay #roleplay gorup #accepted #accepted application #devaccepted #astir

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jasperwoke · 6 years

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The faults in my friends

I have some friends. As of now. I consider them friends. I believe they put up with me, deal with me, and offer company voluntarily with no intentions of repayment behind their amicability.

Sebastian the Eagle

Independent And dashing. He’s tall, tower over others, and always watching. He is observant, but not for the motive of protecting himself, but rather to capsize on opportunities. There are always moments to be chanced upon, and Sebastian’s watchfulness allows him to take advantage of openings. He dresses in a rugged, but not dirty or unruly manner. He does not dress for opinions of wealth nor high fashion, he does not billboard colors and slogans and logos. Rather, his dull combination of patterns and colors make him feel rustic, and very sure of the world. Knowing what he has to offer, what he must do to offer such insights, as well as what others may offer him.

Like an eagle he soars over others. He in incredibly smart, ignoring race, gender, as other social economic statuses. He has been granted many benefits and where others may waste them or flex them, he is very humble, knowing he already stands high above others, and seeks only to ascend more upwards, rather than constantly watching below. His father had a good position for his early schooling, his college as well as athletic history grants him many opportunities that others may not have the motivation or ability to achieve, let alone combine together. His coloration is also much like an eagle. Earthen tones as well as earthen patterns are compose his normal attire, but he does wear flares, of colors or graphics. He is independent like an eagle in the sense he is sure of himself, and knows that for his improvements, only he can achieve it. No matter how much assistance or leverage he may receive, it is only his ability to utilize it that ultimately helps him go higher.

My opinions on Sebastian may be limited, I only know the surface of him, with occasional glimpses into his inner mind. He is very driven, however. Fierce. He does not frown or sneer in intimidation, but rather, focuses. His eyes are always determined, never shifting in suspicion or accusation. Perhaps that is what strikes the most respect and awe for all his peers and onlookers, not his size, appearance, nor intellect, but his composure.

Sebastian does not surface many fears. Like an eagle, he soars above and always watches. Watches for himself, and watches for others. In a spectrum of watching out and watching for. In our limited conversations, he indicates a different persona underneath. I feel he has insecurities he never surfaces or shows, perhaps the opportunity never arises. All his masks that he wears during the day govern him respect, he is rarely put in the position of seeking help. But even eagles return to nests at night, to nurture, and to rest. In our conversations, he sometimes stumbles over his words, or misconstrues the words of others. Perhaps it is prolonged independence that has strewed his communication in ways he is not used to. He does have friends, a team, and fits in well, but I believe it is rare he gets to open up. It is important to not confuse independence with isolation.

fear of insecurities

Aaron the monkey

Smart. He has the mind for wealth, enjoys the pursuit and promise of higher position and opportunity. He is artful, enjoys many sorts of music, very composed and analytical and accepting.

He is very submissive. I feel he elopes for acceptance. I believe his brother’s leaving may have damaged him in some way, leaving him with a scar of dissonance or nonacceptance. He enjoys losing himself through drugs, as well as hooking up with females, forming severable connections.

Perhaps this is his method to cope. By fantasizing himself with different females, which he has a very solid and real ability to do so, he justifies to himself his acceptance of a male figure. He dresses to flex, though more calmly than many other counterparts of his age. Perhaps it too is for acceptance within multitudes of communities. Sectors of wealth, age, physical attraction.

Handy like a monkey. But also must feel inclusive to the group. Wielding strong intellect, but also acknowledging the preference in power and company.

seeks acceptance

Kendy the lion

He is proud, easy going, open minded. Sometimes he is too lax, but that is not an immediate flaw. He has good intellect and intuition, values money well, and has a very strong grasp on economics and the development of wealth.

He has become too content. He is in a powerful position in life, with many open opportunities. He compares himself to a lion. He even has a mane, his hair resembles one. He is boastful and proud, important trails, but only when balanced with humility.

Proud like a lion. Pompous like the mane. Wields strength within himself, but has also become lax like a resting lion.

too prideful

Kenny the duck

Kenny is big. He dresses in a masculine manner, is rough, boisterous, but also humorous. He is calm, keeps to himself, and knows his own worth, but is not pompous.

Kenny is very simple. He can keep company, or be company, and can hold his own in any scenario. He is good among friends. However, he is simple. Not a high business man, but a man of his word. He is smart, but his decisions are simple decisions. Others flock to him.

Like a duck, he can be aggressive. He puffs his chest and hisses, fending off through intimidation. But he is just him. He can entertain, enjoy, and stand his own. He flies, swims, walks on all terrain. But he is a duck, a fowl. Not the makes of a hawk, a lion, or a shark.

lacks development

Denis the bear

Denis is very attractive. He has a button nose, like a bear. He is cute, and attractive, but also somewhat fierce. He is dominant, and can impose himself upon lower groups. He is big too, a nice physique with his face, complimenting his inner content.

He hibernates. Many times, he feels lack of motivation, or perhaps a greater power inhibiting him. He will do what needs to be done, take aggression when needed. But like a bear in headlights, or perhaps a bear being hunted, sometimes he does not know how to act, or acts inappropriately.

His face and size impose like a bear. He is dominant, masculine, and powerful. But like a bear, inside, he enjoys sleep more than work. He can put himself into much higher positions, but seeks to avoid aggression, even if small, when possible. He enjoys his territory, the cubs he has made. He does not seek to take on others. Confident in his own skin, he does not seek to grow larger. Perhaps for the sake of his own comfort.

self inhibition

Riz the chameleon

Riz, likewise, is also quite attractive. He has a nice jaw, nice hair, and colorful and artful aesthetics. Much like a chameleon. He can adapt to many situations, wearing his appearance, voice, and personality as camouflage. He takes life one step at a time, enjoying the moment with good company.

He uses his traits as camouflage, as aforementioned. He wears colors boldly, wields himself proudly. But he can still be hurt. He is attentive like the chameleon, always watching and adapting. Fitting in but also standing out. His hair standing up also somewhat resembles the spines you’d see on a lizard’s head. Big eyes and gorgeous colors, he is beautiful.

Like a chameleon, he constantly shifts, and watches, and readjusts to blend in. Yet within the setting, he stands out boldly and proudly. Like a chameleon, he is fast and cunning. He can wait or he can lash out, with both traits equivalently strong. However, he does not stand out in a pompous manner. He too can get hurt, can be preyed on, and though camouflage and attentiveness are defenses, there are many things he can not protect himself against. He enjoys life in the moment, and takes unforeseen losses as they come. Analytical, and quick to adjust, he is the essence, but not the center of a party.

does not stand out

Anushtup the chinchilla

petite and cute, with plump cheeks, Anushtup is much like a domesticated pet. However, he is exotic. He is definitely smart, being able to squeeze through conundrums that may befall him. However, he is inhibited by many factors as well, some out of his control. He finds joy and sorrow in life, but understand there are greater forces behind veils of reality. He feels, and reacts to these circumstances, but merely accepts them as they come. like a house pet, he has become content, unwinding in afternoon slivers of sun, rather than prowling on savannas or taking arbitrary risks.

Anushtup’s small size allows him to blend in to many situations. I feel he wants to stand out but for many factors, simply can not. Likewise, he dresses subtly, though not in a bad manner. His clothing, though quite expensive, is a studied taste, and though they do not call for attention, they can very much incite thought and invoke deeper emotions behind them. Easily over looked due to his normality, his attire blending in, it is an art form how he wields and acts, a sort of studied negligence.

I do not know Anushtup well. Often times, I find myself misconstruing his meanings and connotations to his words. He is playful and energetic, often cunning and mischievous. However, he understands his hand was not a one that wins the game. Where others crush obstacles, asserting themselves, he maneuvers around. Higher powers do help him often, as he tries to make sense of the mazes that befall him. Yet each day, he finds time to enjoy his predicament. The beauty in overlooked moments of life. Perhaps this is because he himself, is often overlooked. He seeks to make connections but unlike the rat, he is timid and exotic.

Sophisticated and exotic, yet small and overlooked, like a chinchilla. It is an obstacle that may be out of his hands, to assert and overcome in not just size. But he has made good company, loyal connections are superior to vasts networks. He knows himself more than anyone else. I think it is for the better he does not call attention to himself. Like fine art, he is best admired from a distance, and truly appreciated by a select few.

depressed

#confession

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weekendwarriorblog · 4 years

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The Weekend Warrior Home Edition April 10, 2020 – Trolls World Tour, Sea Fever, We Summon the Darkness

Yeah, there isn’t a ton of stuff coming out this week that I’m particularly excited about, but lots of stuff to watch at home.

The world is still reeling with the decision by Universal and DreamWorks Animation to release their animated sequel, TROLLS WORLD TOUR, directly to digital and home download (although it might play in the dozen or so drive-in theaters still open nationwide, presumably). The original movie made $348.9 million nationwide, so it’s an odd decision to release the sequel in a format that almost guarantees piracy and little chance of further international expansion later. It’s also a choice that has annoyed a lot of theater owners who had been expecting for the movie to do well over this coming Easter weekend. I wasn’t considered one of the “chosen ones” that were allowed to see this movie before its release on Friday to review it, so this will probably be all I write about it.

Other limited releases that didn’t get a fair shake in theaters before the rolling nationwide lockdown include Sally Potter’s The Roads Not Taken, starring Javier Bardem and Elle Fanning, will be available digitally this Friday. I wrote a little about it in my last full Weekend Warrior column.

Before we get to the new movies on Digital and On Demand, I just want to mention that this Saturday, April 11, will be the first ever “Film Festival Day” with the participation of 30 film festivals associated with the Film Festival Alliance (including my beloved Oxford Film Festival). They’ll collectively be premiering Gary Lundgren’s Phoenix, Oregon, starring James Le Gros and Jesse Borrego as two friends experiencing their midlife who find an opportunity to reinvent themselves by restoring an old bowling alley and serving “the world’s greatest pizza.” Lundgren’s film was supposed to open on March 20, but a lot of film festivals were cancelled due to Covid-19 and weren’t able to get a proper theatrical showing, so you can buy a ticket to Film Festival Day here, and it will start on Saturday at 12AM Eastern and be available for 48 hours with a special QnA (hosted by Oxford’s executive director, Melanie Addington) on Saturday at 5pm PT/8pm ET.

The movie hitting digital airwaves this Friday I would probably recommend is Neasa Hardimann’s at-sea thriller SEA FEVER (Dust/Gunpowder and Sky), starring Hermione Corfield as Siobhán, a marine biology lab-rat, who has to spend a week on a fishing trawler with a tightly-knit crew, including Connie Nielsen. When something very big attaches itself to their boat, each of them begin to get infected with nowhere to go but the open waters. I generally like claustrophobic creature features like this, with Ridley Scott’s Alien and John Carpenter’s remake of The Thing being two of the best. I might need a few more years before I decide if Hardimann’s film is quite on par, but it’s pretty solid. I definitely like the way things build slowly as you try to figure out what is happening. Sure, there’s a few bits that are a bit too much like homages to those other two films, but Hermione Corfield is a great find, and Hardimann does a fine job with her second feature that really uses the environment quite effectively. I kind of wish I had a chance to see this in theaters but like Saban’s other films, it was always gonna be a VOD special.

There will be a very special live stream premiere of the movie on Thursday night at 5pm Pacific that you can watch for a fee here.

Just two short weeks after his last film Human Capital hit digital, director Marc Meyers is back with his second movie of the year, WE SUMMON THE DARKNESS (Saban Films). This one stars Alexandra Daddario as Alexis, a young woman attending a heavy metal concert with her friends where they meet three guys who they invite to party at the estate of Alexis’ fire-and-brimstone preacher father (Johnny Knoxville). That party quickly turns dark. The movie also stars Keean Johnson, Amy Forsyth and Austin Swift.

I really wanted to like this more, because it was nice seeing Meyers doing something different, and it once again shows how good he is with younger actors -- okay, Daddario is 32 now, so I’m not sure why she’s still playing girls nearly half her age -- but the first thirty minutes feels very by the books in terms of it being a ‘80s movie. Yes, this is Meyers’ third period piece in a row, so he gets to play with lots of fun references, but he didn’t write this script (as he did with the excellent My Friend Dahmer), and it’s such a straight-ahead premise that you can kind of know where it’s going at any time. I guess I just don’t like movies like this where it seems violent for the sake of violence, and you never really like any of the characters much or understand their motivations. I mean, I’ve seen worse, but this is just kind of bleh compared to Sea Fever (and Meyers’ previous work). This movie just wasn’t for me, and the worst part was that the Johnny Knoxville role that seemed so promising? He doesn’t show up for an hour into the movie.

There’s also Sonejuhi Sinha’s Stray Dolls, a mix of cultures (oddly similar in terms of premise as Netflix’s Tigertail – see below) as it follows Geentanjali Thapa’s Riz who arrives in the United States to take a housekeeping job at the Tides Plaza Motel. There, he must contend with Cynthia Nixon’s Una, who hires other people who need help including Oliva DeJonge’s Dallas, Riz’s new roommate. Oh, she’s also the motel’s resident drugdealer. I haven’t watched this yet, so I’ not sure if it’s a comedy or a drama, but it’s another movie available digitally this weekend.

There’s also the documentary, The Mindfulness Movement (Abramorama / Mangurama) from Rob Beemer and exec. produced by Deepak Chopra and my mortal enemy, Jewel. It looks at how the use of “mindfulness” – a type of meditation that makes one focus on the present moment in a non-judgmental way – is the root to creating a happier world. There’s a lot of talk now about using meditation to deal with the stress, pressure and fears that go along with the current pandemic, so this doc couldn’t be better-timed! It will be available to rent via VOD starting Friday.

STREAMING AND CABLE

This week’s Netflix premiere film is TIGERTAIL, the new film from Alan Yang, who some may know from his collaboration with Aziz Ansari on their Netflix show, Master of None. This one stars Hong-Chi Lee as impoverished Taiwanese factory worker, Pin-Jui, who decides to leave his homeland and the woman he loves in the ‘50s to seek opportunities in America. Decades later, the older Pin-Jui (played by Tzi Ma) has been worn down by his work, a loveless arranged marriage and a daughter Angela (Christine Ko) who he can’t connect with. This will debut on Netflix Friday but unfortunately, I’ve been embargoed until then, so nope… not reviewing.

Also on Netflix is the debut of THE MAIN EVENT, the network’s first collaboration with WWE Films, which I couldn’t get a screener quickly enough to include in this column. It stars Seth Carr as 11-year-old Leo Thompson who discovers a magic wrestling mask that gives him super-strenth, which he uses to try to become a WWE Superstar. Directed by Jay Karas (Break Point), it also stars Adam Pally, Ken Marrino and WWE Superstars, Kofi Kingston, The Miz and Sheamus. Should be a fun kids’ movie, but I’m not so sure about The Big Show Show, a new sitcom starring Paul Wight, aka WWE Superstar The Big Show, because it looks pretty stupid. Remember when The Big Show (once known as “The Giant”) was absolutely intimidating? (To be fair, this also seems to be meant for kids.)

Now playing on Amazon Prime is Hanan Harchol’s About a Teacher (Amazon Prime), following the journey of an inner-city high school film teacher (Dov Tiefenbach), who starts the job not realizing what is demanded of him as a teacher. Many of Harchol’s own former students are a part of the cast and crew of this film, which looks at the difficulties of being a teacher in New York City.

I’m super-excited that Sunday is the third season of Killing Eve on BBC America, but I still have to watch all of Season 2… plus most of Season 2 of Westworld… and rewatch Season 4 of Better Call Saul. So yeah, I’m glad there’s lots of stuff to watch, but I still just don’t have the inclination to watch all or any of it.

I guess Amazon Prime premiered the first season of the sci-fi series Tales from the Loop last Friday, and that’s another thing I’m hoping to get to soon.

Next week, more movies not in theaters!

By the way, if you read this week’s column and have read this far down, feel free to drop me some thoughts at Edward dot Douglas at Gmail dot Com or send me a note on Twitter. I love hearing from readers!

#Streaming Cable Movies Reviews TheWeekendWarrior SeaFever WeSummonTheDarkness TrollsWorldTour

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