#Infamous for traumatising Twitter :)

[silverinia]

I came for Baranski, I stayed for Baranski - a quick Christmas On The Square review someone* actually asked for

(* thank you, anon)

Disclaimer: I am in no way a professional of any sorts when it comes to film and I'm not a journalist either. The last movie review I've written was probably for a school assignment in eighth grade. I didn't do research for this and I've watched the movie exactly one time, so this is just for fun.

It was a Sunday, Sunday the 22nd of November, nearing the end of the train wreck of a year that is 2020. I woke up on an air mattress around seven am, my head aching, my throat itching with pyrosis and light nausea, it was still dark outside behind the closed blinds in front of the windows, when I slowly realised where I was, one of my best girlfriends sleeping next to me in her bed. I had crashed at her place after a warm, fuzzy evening of mulled wine, tacky Christmas movies I would never watch alone (Christmas Chronicles and Holiday Calendar, which I quite honestly didn't enjoy at all, but the company made it fun anyway), doing our nails, wearing the fun kind of face masks for a change and smoking too many cigarettes, as the soft pain in my head informed me right now. She woke up an hour later and the morning went by with coffee and reheated pizza for breakfast, when we decided to watch another movie and I realised that it was THE Sunday I'd been waiting for through Zoom interviews and Dolly Parton twitter memes and the infamous wig gate that will be briefly discussed in the following, and so we clicked on the small icon in the Netflix menu that said "Christmas On The Square".

And oh boy, was it a ride.

To start off, I should mention that I have a hard time watching most modern day American Christmas movies, as I noticed quite vividly again when I watched the two aforementioned Netflix productions last night. The character development is always foreseeable to say the least, the plot lines are plain clichés hunting each other like they're the kids in The Hunger Games, and the writing is generally so bad that you can join the actors in reciting the entire scripts on your first watch. I watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas once a year while I'm gift wrapping and pause every fifteen minutes to shamelessly stare at forties Christine Baranski (I think we should all turn away from the birth of Jesus and instead count our years based on Christine Baranski's date of birth) in flamboyant nightgowns and short Christmas themed dresses, looking so fabulous that every interpreter of Santa Baby ever could only dream of it, I watch Love Actually at least five times a year to lust over Hugh Grant, cry with Emma Thompson and miss Alan Rickman, I enjoy Bridget Jones, which I would definitely consider a Christmas movie, and that's it. That's my yearly Christmas time entertainment routine and I can barely tolerate anything beyond, because I'm still traumatised from the time when I was around five years old and on a holiday family visit where had to sit through National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, the dumbest movie I have ever seen (my apologies if you like it but also, who hurt you?), with my cousins. I hated it. I hated every minute of it. And it scarred me for life.

But this was a Christine Baranski movie, I knew she was going to play the lead and so I was pretty much as excited about this as I could. And the fact that Dolly Parton wrote the whole thing didn't hurt either. As I said earlier to my friend I was watching it with, I have the pop cultural taste of a fifty year old gay man, a quality I am most proud of, and this simply ticked off all my boxes.

I expected something similar to a Mamma Mia experience that wouldn't cause me to crave packing my bags, give Covid the finger and run off to Greece. Light-hearted entertainment, easy to stomach, uplifting music and so little plot that the simplicity feels like a creative choice. That's what my pained, hungover brain knew it could cope with and that's not what I got.

The movie started and I was immediately in the zone. I saw Christine Baranski's name in the front credits (an experience that never fails to make me scream "Yass Queen" at the screen, regardless of where I am and who I'm with, as if I'm the sobering result that pops out of the package when you order Jonathan Van Ness on Wish), the setting was wonderfully corny (I grew up watching Gilmore Girls once a week, so give me warm fairy lights and a gazebo and I'm perfectly happy) and as my friend wondered whether Dolly Parton, in her exaggerated homeless attire that didn't make her look shabby at all, was green-screened into the setting because she stood out so much (which she was because the background dancers were dancing in slow motion, but to be fair, we were probably still a little too drunk to notice that from the start) and I told her I thought that it was just the natural glow someone who's Dolly Parton simply carries with them everywhere they go, I was happy. This was the movie I was prepared for. A movie in which the most problematic thing would be stereotypical characters and the wig they hid Christine's real, flawlessly handmade by God herself hair under.

And then, around five minutes in, Christine Baranski's childhood love interest was revealed as she pressed her perfect pointy nose against the window of his shop and sang about her unrequited love.

And suddenly, things started taking turns at a pace I was still way too sleep-deprived for.

Suddenly, in the middle of my general amazement at seeing Christine Baranski do literally anything and laughing loud at her impeccable comedic delivery, there were unresolved daddy issues, hanging prominently at the wall in her marvellously designed house (she literally says "Daddy" at one point and I couldn't help but think that only someone with her vocal skills could keep from making it sound cringe-worthily kinky). One moment, I was clutching my chest above my heart while she was bonding with little bartender Violet and munching on pretzels while downing some whiskey in that elegant way only Christine Baranski can bond with ten year olds who had it rough, eat pretzels and down whiskey, and the next she felt responsible for said girl's mother's death (which she kinda was too, but I'm not the boss of her). I was still busy making fun of how the very annoyingly, but when you're snacking on pizza with extra cheese at nine in the morning also highly funny, slow talking pastor's name was Christian, and suddenly there was a cancer scare.

It was a lot, a hasty sprint from major issue to major issue with a hint of comedic relief every now and then, and it didn't get any less until the very, rather poorly resolved, end.

The entire, constant up and down was followed by the movie's peak of suspense, the near death of precious Violet, something I couldn't even get too invested in because I was still so busy worrying about Christine's MRT results (I was truly fucking worried), not to mention that I hadn't even started to really process the sudden revelation of the love child and how it had affected her character's actions until this point. Was her constant tendency of pushing people away, as we've seen most clearly with her angel in training assistant who's name I cannot recall right now, the result of her broken trust in her father who practically ripped her son away from her after she had just given birth to him? Was it a result of her never getting the closure she needed with plaid flannel wearing Carl she was clearly still in love with? Maybe both? And what of the many issues was it that made her so incredibly shaken up when Violet blamed herself for her mother's death? Was it 'just' due to the fact that the closed pharmacy was on her, or was there more to it? Was it because she had grown up without a mother herself? Or did I miss a major piece of information because I was momentarily distracted, dumbfoundedly staring at Christine's very blue eyes? No time to ponder on that, little Silverinia, because here comes unconscious Violet in an ambulance, WEE WOO WEE WOO WEE WOO!

I'm not going to go in depth about what plot lines I thought were especially carelessly handled and why, real standouts were the sudden forgiveness towards her father who had still acted like a shitty asshole even though he might have had his reasons, because giving the baby up for adoption just wasn't his choice to make, and the fact that I kind of didn't buy how quickly Regina managed to forgive herself, especially for Violet's mother's passing, considering how deeply her tall, slim, dare I say angelic and entrancing figure was buried beneath the weight of all her issues. It felt rushed and incomplete, but that's as detailed as it gets because my major point is something else.

I think this movie made the great mistake of trying to be more than your average, flat, happy ending Christmas movie. I think no one involved thought it was possible to make it a big hit if the only real plot would've been great Dolly Parton music, fun ensemble dance choreographies, Christine Baranski's outstanding acting skills, fun settings and costumes and a redemption arch with as little plot as it could possibly take to make Christine likable to those who aren't already lost forever in the rabbit hole of being obsessed with her (poor fuckers, can't relate). They didn't notice that with the legends that were involved, they could've easily gone the Mamma Mia way. And I think that's why they tried to include heavier plot lines than most creators would've chosen, experiencing loss at an early age, struggling to find closure, dealing with sickness, teenage pregnancy, parents forcing their choices on their children when they affect their childrens' lives first, adoption, and the fear of losing your kid.

It was a lot and I don't want to say that it didn't work because my friend was crying, like, pretty hard and I questioned my entire existence all through the movie in not the worst way, and I did enjoy it a lot while watching. The "grief is love with nowhere to go" line was a real standout, for example, where the attempt of complexity DID work. It positively gave me fleabag season two, "I don't know what to do with it now, with all the love I have for her." - "I'll take it. It sounds lovely. You have to give it to me." feels, and that's about the biggest praise I can come up with. BUT (and this is written in capital letters because it's the big but) I'm also totally convinced that I wouldn't have enjoyed it if they hadn't cast Christine Baranski for the lead role. In my humble opinion, the hasty, not really at all resolved plot of this movie only worked because Christine Baranski is just a fantastic actress. She quirks a mocking eyebrow and you laugh. She parts her perfectly painted red lips and you immediately hang on them because you don't want to miss a single breath she, a literal goddess, graces us mere peasants of people with. She smiles and you're happy. She laughs and even while she's still laughing, you can't wait to hear her do it again. Her eyes fill with tears and you feel goosebumps on your arms, her voice slightly trembles, a breath hitches in her throat and you feel your heart shattering to pieces. As Chuck Lorre once said, this woman could read you the phone book and you would end up laughing tears because she just gets the job done. She knows what she's doing, she's an absolute pro in her game, and it doesn't matter, not even a little bit, what she's working with, because the work she eventually delivers with it is always at a minimum of 200%. I forced my friend to watch this movie with me because I adore this woman, and I felt for this movie because I felt for her. It wasn't the plot that sadly brutally overestimated itself, it wasn't the songs that I obviously enjoyed, nor the comedic elements that truly made me laugh a lot, it was all her. I came for Baranski, and I stayed for Baranski. This woman can do anything. She can even look graceful in a terrible wig job.

(side note / unpopular opinion: I actually didn't think the wig was all too bad. It wasn't good, actually far from good, but for me, nothing can match the awful wig game of Mamma Mia 2. I loathed that wig, I absolutely cannot stand it. So this didn't feel all that terrible. It definitely wasn't the most problematic part about the movie.)

I enjoyed watching this. It was a nice distraction from all the bullshit in the world. Watching it today was the first thing this year that actually brought me something close to excitement about the holiday season, even though everything will be very different and probably not quite as jolly this year. But it just gave me good vibes and as someone who did not watch this as a film reviewer, that's the biggest part of what leads me to enjoy a movie.

Will I watch this again? For sure. Will I enjoy it when I'm not hungover, having freshly done nails and munching delicious pizza for breakfast? Probably not as much, but it'll still have Christine Baranski in it. Would I recommend watching this? If you share my obsession with Queen B, one hundo. If you don't, probably not.

#Christine Baranski #Christmas On The Square #dolly parton #shitty movie reviews by yours truly

[tatarafuji]

Twitter doesn't have enough word limit for the ramble I'm about to go so let me just talk about it here.

Alright, about Sukuna - I very much doubt he knows what's going on with infamous sorcerer clans as of right now in the timeline but he definitely fought some of the sorcerers from these clans and he knows the Zen'in clan.

It's a theory I've seen but it does make sense on why Sukuna is fixated on Megumi and isn't even that interest in the one-in-a-million vessel he got in Yuuji - Megumi's Cursed Technique. As it is a technique which originated from the Zen'in family, no doubt Sukuna knows about what they can do as I'm pretty sure he fought a few back when he was still fully alive.

Now I exactly forgot what the words Sukuna said was but he knows that the Ten Shadows Technique can be used to bring back someone from the dead. Now I don't know how much Megumi knows but Sukuna definitely and thus, if there's anyone who can bring Sukuna fully back - he knows it has to be Megumi.

Now the easiest route for Sukuna will be to use Yuuji as a bait to make Megumi do what he wants but that's easier said than done cause Yuuji has a strong base of justice (I guess? There's another word but I can't remember) and he won't let Sukuna easily throw him off.

Bear with me - I have a hard time gathering my own thoughts - Megumi, essentially, has a very weak self esteem. [Spoilers] He even used and summoned Mahoraga which is basically another way of just asking to d*e. He has been lonely from the start (also felt lonely) and he thinks he will also probably d*e alone. He brought Yuuji into the Jujutsu World he WANTED to keep him safe.

In the recent chapters, we have seen how weak Yuuji has become mentally because of what happened in Shibuya to the point his fear of becoming the person he hated the most has become to come true - with almost some characteristics of Sukuna showing up in Yuuji.

And this is how I think Sukuna might trick Megumi into reviving him again - by causing Yuuji and Megumi to clash. Yuuji already feels guilty because of what happened in Shibuya and I'm sure Megumi will not be happy either to see what happened - all of that happened because he wanted Yuuji to live.

I don't know for sure what will happen next arc but I can't imagine anything good will happen with Yuuji - the poor boy is traumatised - but I think by the end, Megumi will still feel the pull towards saving Yuuji because to him, it isn't fair that everyone is suffering for something he wanted (Yuuji living) and Yuuji doesn't deserve to bear the responsibilities for all the destruction when Megumi could have just let him get ex*cuted the night after they met instead of asking Gojo to do him a favour by keeping Yuuji alive.

At the end, he will feel guilty for what he did to Yuuji and try to revive Sukuna to finish him off himself.

Again, this is just a theory. I read half part of the manga in one day and the other half the next day so I might be missing out on like A LOT of things but that last paragraph is what I think everything will boil into.

We still don't know about Yuuji's actual strength (which he's said to have) or anything about his parents (where I feel like we'll get the explanation for why Yuuji is so strong to begin with) and there might be a deeper reason as to why Sukuna has taken a liking to Megumi which is more that to use him as a way to come back - but let's see where the story flows. I'm excited!!

#whew i'm tired now #that was a lot #jujutsu kaisen #mine #jj #tagging it in case anyone wants to share their thoughts with me ✌️

[mercyrius]

LFC - Black Corsage

my entire mac crashed while i was writing this a few hours ago and nothing was saved anyway hi im back

the basics

NAME: Black Corsage

AGE: 19

RACE: Miqo’te, Keeper of the Moon

GENDER: Male (eunuch)

SEXUALITY: Homoromantic

MARITAL STATUS: SIngle

ALIGNMENT: neutral????????? good?????????????

physical appearance 

HAIR: soot black, short, soft

EYES: pitch black, 

HEIGHT: 170cm

BUILD: pls refer to the most average gay dude you have ever met in your life

DISTINGUISHING MARKS: face tattoos on either cheeks, slight limp when he walks

COMMON ACCESSORIES: large gold earrings

personal

PROFESSION: hairstylist/informant

HOBBIES: alchemy, people-judging 

LANGUAGES: Eorzean

RESIDENCE: Lavender Beds

BIRTHPLACE: West Shroud

PATRON DEITY: Nophica

FEARS: female keepers, the West Shroud

relationships

SPOUSE: n/a

CHILDREN: n/a

PARENTS: Redd and Lilac Corsage (adoptive)

SIBLINGS: n/a

OTHER RELATIVES: n/a

PETS: Ayam the chocobo

traits

extroverted / introverted / in between

disorganized / organized / in between

close minded / open-minded / in between

calm / anxious / in between

disagreeable / agreeable / in between

cautious / reckless / in between

patient / impatient / in between

outspoken / reserved / in between

leader / follower / in between

empathetic / unemphatic / in between

optimistic / pessimistic / in between

traditional / modern / in between

hard-working / lazy / in between

cultured / un-cultured / in between

loyal / disloyal / in between

faithful / unfaithful / in between

additional information

SMOKING HABIT: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess.

DRUGS: never / sometimes /frequently / to excess.

ALCOHOL: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess.

RP Hooks 

You're wealthy, vain and/or from Ul’dah.  Then your little gossipy popoto friends may have mentioned this young and good-looking and talented stylist who coloured their hair and painted their nails over tea. Or maybe you heard about this dark and creepy and disgusting man cutting off the hair of unsuspecting maidens. 

You like to get some sensitive knowledge from a person who have no idea how to rp an information broker but does it anyway because sneaky people are cool. (?) if you provide enough money or human hair he can tell you what you want to know. he like long and light coloured hair best

He’s really, really scared of female keepers. Imagine a cockroach flying towards you. It’s about that level of fear.

You're gay. Same.

His mother, Sizh Jaab. She was pretty infamous for having betrayed her clan by selling information of them to Gridania. If you've been in the Shroud prior the incident that claimed her life you might know of her. Why do you think Black doesn't use his birth name. 

OOC Information

I’m something akin to a baby when it comes to rp.Kinda new. Very inexperienced. Only ever RP’d on twitter with 140 characters for about a year so I tend to write very short paragraphs.

I frankly don’t have a lot of things I’m not ok with except erp... pls ask me before you dismember/decapitate/traumatise my character though. 

Currently I’m looking for..... uh.... friends? Some drama? Maybe a little romance? Pre-established relationships yadda yadda.... 

I’m GMT +8. For reference If you’re EST you just need to turn that AM into PM and vice versa.

I’m on discord as lyquid#5350 or on twitter at lyquid_parade. I’m about five times more active on twitter

plotting???? plotting. let’s do plotting. 

#if you can't tell i'm Very Tired of Apple #ffxiv #ffxiv rp #mateus rp #mateus #miqo'te #catboy #black corsage