#aka best boy plays a prominent role

[justalittleobsessedhere]

Parents, Teachers, and Siblings in Heartstopper

Being a little older than the target audience for heartstopper, one of the parts of the show that stuck out to me from the first watch was the presence of the adult figures. In so many teen-focused shows, the adults don't exist and the kids are left to figure it out on their own, or the adults are only there to be some sort of obstacle or challenge to overcome. This makes sense as this is the part of life where we start transitioning from our family units to creating our own communities, but in heartstopper, there is a recognition that these adults still play a role in our lives.

Most people can easily name Nick's mom (aka Sarah Nelson) or the art teacher (Mr. Ajayi) and a lot has been written about them. They serve as real guides for Nick and Charlie respectively. I think the key quality they both share is they are listeners. When Nick and Charlie are there to talk, they put down what they are doing, and they listen. They answer the questions and give advice. They don't tell what to do. It's kind of the opposite of what we think the job of an adult is. It embraces the idea that these teens have reached a point where they have their own experiences and should be trusted to decide their own best way forward.

The one adult who sticks out the most, though, is Charlie's dad, Julio. He's in the show two times, basically as Charlie's chauffeur. But when he's there, he's really there. When he picks Charlie up from Harry’s party, he can see that Charlie is distraught, and what he offers is comfort. The hug and comforting words that he offers to Charlie are so gentle and kind. He doesn’t try to pry the information out of Charlie or fix his problems. When he picks Charlie up from the movies, he can see Charlie is in distress, but again, he doesn’t press. He opens the door for Charlie to share, and, when Charlie doesn’t, he respects the choice and gets Charlie away from the distressing situation. This sort of quiet, loving support shows a real respect and kindness in his parenting.

On the other hand, we see Charlie’s mom once, and it is kind of a non-event if you don’t know the rest of the story. But when you look deeper, you see the seeds of the dysfunction in their relationship. She’s completely oblivious to the obvious emotional tension between Nick and Charlie. Nick is literally standing in the foyer soaking wet without a coat or umbrella. Shouldn’t that register as odd or at least elicit a query if everything is alright? But it doesn’t. Instead, she feels the need to highlight the need to keep their meeting short and then chastise Charlie for not changing out of his pajamas first! It’s subtle but lays the groundwork for the strife to come.

Let’s talk about Tori, too. While Tori is only a year older than Charlie, she plays a big role in Charlie’s life and support system. This is an important positive familial relationship. She can tell when Charlie is going through something, even from him just staring at his bowl, and encourages him to name what he wants for himself. She’s subtle in her warnings and fierce in her need to protect him. This isn’t just typical older sister love. This is genuine care and support, and, as she’s more Charlie’s contemporary, she gets a real insight into why he needs this. Hers is the most informed and necessary adult presence in his life — even if she’s just on the edge of being an adult.

I want to also add Coach Singh briefly. She’s in the background of the action and manages to drop a line here and there. You see her really trying to make him a part of the team with her encouragement. She’s a little more prominent in her support in the comic, but there is one moment in the show that really stuck out for me. When Charlie goes to quit the rugby team, she is truly excited to see him. And when Charlie tells her he wants to quit, she really wants him to stay and asks if it’s the other boys. Charlie doesn’t really notice how she’s trying to help, though. She’s a subtle supportive character that I would guess will have more to say next season… if the comics play out onto the screen.

In conclusion, once again, I am impressed with how much Alice Oseman managed to fit into four hours of amazing television.

#heartstopper #nick nelson #charlie spring #heartstopper tv #heartstopper gifs #heartstopper meta #alice oseman #mr ajayi #sarah nelson #julio spring #jane spring #coach singh #tori spring

[heavenboy09]

Happy Birthday 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊 To You

The Unsual But Incrediblely Talented Actor Of The Star Wars 🌟 Saga Since 2015

Driver was born on November 19, 1983, in San Diego, California, the son of Nancy Wright (née Needham), a paralegal, and Joe Douglas Driver.

He is an American actor. Recognized for his collaborations with auteur filmmakers, he is the recipient of various accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award.

He made his Broadway debut in Mrs. Warren's Profession (2010) and subsequently appeared in Man and Boy (2011). He rose to prominence with a supporting role in the HBO series Girls (2012–2017), for which he received three consecutive Primetime Emmy nominations. He began his film career in supporting roles in Lincoln (2012), Frances Ha (2012) and Inside Llewyn Davis (2013). He won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor for a leading role in Hungry Hearts (2014).

He gained wider recognition for playing Kylo Ren in the Star Wars sequel trilogy (2015–2019). He played a poet in Paterson (2016), and had supporting roles in the religious epic Silence (2016) and the heist comedy Logan Lucky (2017). In 2019, he returned to the stage in the Broadway revival of Burn This, for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. He garnered consecutive Academy Award nominations: Best Supporting Actor for BlacKkKlansman (2018) and Best Actor for Marriage Story (2019). He has since starred in Ridley Scott's 2021 period films The Last Duel and House of Gucci, and played Enzo Ferrari in the biopic Ferrari (2023).

Driver is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. He is also the founder of Arts in the Armed Forces, a non-profit that provides free arts programming to American active-duty service members, veterans, military support staff, and their families worldwide.

Please Wish This Sith Warrior Now Turned Jedi Actor Of The Star Wars Future Sequels Of The Star Wars Saga, A Very Happy Birthday 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊

You Know Him

You Seen Him

& He Certainly Has A Unique Way of Acting That Looks Exactly The Same. But It Works For Him.

The 1 & The Only

MR. ADAM DOUGLAS DRIVER AKA BEN SOLO AKA KYLO REN  OF THE STAR WARS SAGA FRANCHISE

HAPPY 40TH BIRTHDAY 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊 TO YOU MR. DRIVER & HERE'S TO MANY MORE YEARS TO COME #AdamDriver #StarWars #KyloRen

#Adam Driver #Star Wars #Kylo Ren #Spotify

[tenderbrain]

Psychonauts 2 Gameplay Trailer- Foray into Dr. Loboto’s Mind

#psychonauts 2 #psychonauts 2 spoilers #teeth #loboto #psychonauts #screenshots #aka best boy plays a prominent role #and oleander dabbing #body horror #dr loboto #caligosto loboto

[nellie-elizabeth]

Rizandace Fic Master List: The Magicians!

Hey, I figured it was time for me to keep all my fics in one place over here on tumblr dot com, so here you go! I’ll try and keep this updated as I post! On Ao3 at Rizandace.

Series

Magic Curses (collectively, 134k words)

This series includes five short multi-chapter stories, between 23k-32k words, and one bonus one-shot at 3.2k. While theoretically all understandable as standalones, there is a building narrative. This is my general “what happens after season four” series, but in my version of canon, Quentin just… does not die in 4x13. The jumping-off point leaves everything else the same as canon left it, and the series follows Quentin and Eliot as they get back together and start their lives as a couple. Background Julia/Alice, and Margo/Fen/Josh.

The individual stories in order, are…

- Lover’s Touch

Quentin gets cursed with a sickness that will not heal unless he is touched by his dearest love. Alice, for some reason, isn’t able to help. 24.7k words.

- Fragments

Quentin lives through his worst nightmare again and again, and the darker side of dependency is explored. 23k words.

- Liquid Courage

Eliot breaks up with Quentin, which means something has gone very wrong… 24k words.

- The Curse of the Broken Vase (aka The One Where They Get Married and Nothing Goes Wrong)

They get married! What is says on the tin! 3.2k words.

- Identity Theft

The whole gang have amnesia and Quentin and Eliot, literal husbands, pine for each other like the beautiful little dummies they are. This is the author’s personal favorite of the series! 32k words.

- Beyond the Veil

Quentin vanishes, and Eliot loses his mind trying to get him back. The twist? Quentin hasn’t gone anywhere. 27.5k words.

Immortality AU

A Comet Pulled From Orbit is my AU of the film The Old Guard. It’s from Alice’s POV, it’s the most “gen” of my stories but rest assured that Queliot plays a prominent, dramatic role. We’ve also got Margo/Julia, and Kalice. An action romp with lots of character moments. I’m ridiculously proud of this story. 100k words.

Connected to the main story are seven collections of snippets, all ongoing, one from the POV of each of the core characters: Quentin, Eliot, Margo, Kady, Alice, Julia, and Penny. These take place before, during, and after Comet, so you should definitely read the main fic before diving into the continuations. Each snippet is 1-2k words, and some of them are interwoven/complimentary.

The Long-Fics

Running All This Time is my take on the mosaic timeline! Featuring lots of romance and sex, a unique take on Arielle that I haven’t seen anyone else do in quite this same way, a quest-within-a-quest, and happy endings for all! Adheres to canon insofar as it technically does not contradict what we see on screen in 3x05. It uh… does contradict what happens in 4x05, though, so just jot that down. 180k words.

Maybe This Time is my Brakebills AU! But uh. It’s not a No-Beast AU, and it gets pretty dang angsty there in the middle. Still, I promise it has a happy ending! This is the most popular story I’ve written. Featuring lots of cottage parties, pining boys, and then there is a plot twist in chapter eight that you’re really gonna want to check out, y’all. Shit gets pretty wild there for a while. 245k words. (So many words.)

The Way a Fool Would Do is now complete! This is an all-Fillorian AU, it’s technically a soulmate AU but with a twist: in this universe, soulmates are a chosen and intentionally created bond, and held in high honor. They are also Strictly Platonic upon pain of exile. Guess what two emotionally constipated fifteen-year-olds decided to become soulmates, each pretending he wasn’t already in love with the other? A decade later, Quentin and Eliot are still totally just Best Friends, and nothing else is going to happen between them. *exaggerated winky face*. Featuring also a unique take on Margo and the Chatwins! 211.5k words.

a work of fine art is a no-magic AU where Eliot is an artist and Quentin agrees to model for him. That's it, that's the whole fic. Oh also it's Marqueliot... so that's fun! Really, I'd describe this one as a mainly vibes-based experience. I had fun diving deep into the emotional journeys of the characters and explore the physicality of the characters in all sorts of forms. 123k words.

The Mid-Sized

is it too late (or could this love protect me)

A no-magic AU where Eliot and Quentin went to undergrad together. Quentin gets together with Alice in their senior year, and it’s now years later, the gang are in their late twenties, and Quentin’s about to discover something he never knew about his best friend Eliot. Alice has to explain it to him, and frankly she deserves better. Featuring the inner workings of Quentin Coldwater’s scrambled mind, and happiness achieved at last! 31.5k words.

Once Upon a Place Sometimes

For the 2021 Magicians Big Bang! Season One No-Beast AU where the Physical Kids' Cottage burns down, and Eliot and Quentin have communication issues. Kind of an only-one-bed tropey story, kind of a more serious look at what it means to be afraid and what it means to take a chance anyway. Amazing art by Vriah, I'm so lucky! 50.7k words.

When Quentin Met Eliot

For the 2022 Magicians Happily Ever After event! It’s a When Harry Met Sally AU where Quentin Coldwater is the Harry, and Eliot Waugh is the Sally. This is correct, trust me. Art by marcel, it’s amazing! 79.9k words.

Shelter

A romance novel about second chances - I wrote this during NanoWriMo of 2022 and the whole thing is now posted! Featuring Quentin working at an animal shelter, and Margo/Fen/Penny background shenanigans. 60.3k words.

where the real road lies

Ten years after Quentin's death, he shows up on Eliot's doorstep. Eliot's husband is the one to answer the door. An angsty resurrection fic with infidelity, a lot of grief and anger, and a happily ever after, I promise. 67.6 words.

The One-Shots

Overthinking It is my inaugural fic in the fandom! It’s not the strongest, in my opinion, but it has its moments. Takes place in 3x06, when Quentin comes back from his experience with the abyss key, and talks to Eliot about it. Some things are hashed out between them. 3.5k words.

Reciprocal is a mosaic fic where Eliot and Quentin work their shit out before Arielle really has a chance to enter the picture. Eliot does a dumb thing for… dubiously honorable reasons. It sucks for a bit, but the end results are good for all. 8.2k words.

Promises is one of my favorite stories that I’ve written! Takes place at the end of season three. Eliot follows Quentin to his room and demands to know what he’s thinking with his insane plan to stay in Blackspire with the monster. Turns out, the two have a lot of misunderstandings to clear up about their relationship. 7.7k words.

To Feel the Same is an itty bitty little gapfiller for the Queliot hug in 2x02. 1.7k words.

Bottle Episode is a gapfiller/divergence fic where Quentin and Eliot get briefly captured and thrown in the dungeons in the midst of the Fairy Queen’s machinations, and Eliot’s wedding planning for his upcoming nuptials with Idri. Sometimes, even if nothing comes of it, it can be nice to be on the same page. 7k words.

Regrets, or the Absence Thereof is the Marqueliot threesome, y’all! Eliot POV, set during 4x05 when he’s seeking his biggest regret inside his Happy Place. He goes to revisit a certain memory with his two favorite people, and he has a lot of feelings about it. 11k words.

remember what it was before is a piece reflecting on Quentin's discipline. It takes place in small snippets during the mosaic timeline, as well as being a 4x13 fix-it in its own right! 7.5k words.

#queliot #my posts #the magicians #my fic

[signed-yours-truly-the-whale]

Thoughts/Observations on Joker, part 1

AKA I Spent 7 Hours on This, I Will Die if it Gets Less Than Three Notes

I could rave for hours about this movie’s cinematography. Literal hours.

Nobody talks enough about Arthur’s full-fledged dedication to his clown craft. Man is working 60+ hours a week and does not break a sweat. I also fucking love this clowny face he pulls here. The first shot we see of Arthur in full. Holy shit is it beautiful. God bless Joaquin Phoenix.

These two shots together are incredibly important to me. In a split-second we see Arthur’s disbelief that he cannot control the whirlwind of emotions inside of his own head, not even being able to produce a smile, and then his resignation because it’s just another day. Heartbreaking.

Awwww shiiiiit

Gotham City is such a dump but I’d be bullshitting myself if I said I didn’t love the grimy aesthetic of it. It’s technicolor trash.

Arthur loves his job so much. He genuinely enjoys being Carnival. That hurts a lot to think about in hindsight.

This man just got his ass handed to him and he is STILL SPRAYING THE FAKE FLOWER ON HIS VEST

YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT DEDICATION

This opening card is so imposing. Not only does it take up the entire screen to the point of running off the edges, but it’s shielding Arthur from view. Arthur is invisible in light of Joker in Arthur’s own movie.

I screenshotted this by accident but I felt a need to put it here because he’s just so adorable. Even right before an episode.

E y e s s s s s

E Y E S S S S S

I desperately want to know what got Arthur sent to Arkham the first time. A suicide attempt? A public breakdown? I really want fanfics of it.

There’s a really, really good fanfiction on AO3 by Arthur_Fleck about Arthur slowly recovering and meeting a girl called In the Major and Minor Arcana

I highly, highly recommend it

Okay. Joaquin’s immersion into his characters -- all of them -- is absolutely incredible. But Arthur is just ... off the charts, man. No two of his characters are the same and he embeds himself so deeply in their skin, but Joaquin buried himself so deeply into Arthur’s brain that it is so hard for me to see any of Joaquin at all. God, he’s incredible and this shot makes me emotional because this just is Arthur.

ARTHUR WOULD BE A GREAT DAD AND I DO NOT ACCEPT ARGUMENTS

It really speaks to how shitty Gotham is that this man is having a full-fledged screaming/laughing breakdown on the bus and nobody is batting an eye

I adore how the cinematography paints Arthur as so small to his own environment. He’s a speck of dust. A fleck.

Babie is wincing :((((

I have been trying to figure out the layout of this apartment for months and my inability to, even with a floor plan, is driving me insane

I just found out that the Budweiser beer jingle Here Comes the King is on the soundtrack and plays when Arthur comes home and that made me go feral

I  A M  M U R R A Y , K I N G  O F  A S S H O L E S

It is second nature for me to do this stupid pose every time I watch this scene

Arthur blending into the crowd here makes me ... so happy. He looks so happy.

This is Arthur’s best laugh of the movie, fuck you. I am incredulous that I was the only person laughing when I saw this in the theater opening night.

This is one of the few moments I really see Joaquin shine through Arthur. I don’t know why, but this lighting and his voice and his intensity gives me visceral flashbacks to watching a little boy Joaquin in Parenthood. God, I love this man.

It really is a testament to Penny’s (lack of) parenting that Arthur is day dreaming about receiving affection and validation from a parent figure when his own mother is literally right there

GOD DAMN THIS MAN IS GORGEOUS

But also big bruise :(

Yes, I shall trust you, man named Randall smiling down at me in low angle light

Why was Hoyt not informed that Arthur got his ass beat on the job? As Arthur’s employer he should’ve literally been the first person to know so he could make a note of it. Either he wasn’t told or he gave so little of a fuck that his consciousness astral projected to another plane of existence while he shoved the white powder down his throat and forgot Arthur existed at all.

Literally fuck Hoyt. I hate him even more that his office is the coolest shit in the world

ARTHUR KNOWS THE CUSTOMER SERVICE SMILE

Joaquin dislocated his knee in this scene, the poor boy

I could write a full damn essay about why the misleading advertising of Sophie as a prominent character was the greatest twist of the whole movie. Literally I am still speechless how the movie did that.

I am not kidding when I say my sister has this same color scheme in the bathroom of our house and realizing that made me werewolf

Also Arthur being the son Penny doesn’t deserve warms and breaks my heart

The complete lack of reaction to Penny’s “Don’t you have to be funny to be a comedian” makes me laugh and cry internally

This shot? Gorgeous. His face? Deadly. That jawline? Cutting diamonds. Hotel? Trivago.

I really, really want a Joker 2, but at the same time I do not want a Joker 2 because Joaquin Phoenix has a baby who needs him now and he cannot be pulling shit like losing 52 lbs for a role

Also I REALLY need to discuss how much this brass ballet reminds me so heavily of Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs. Holy fuck, I got actually chills in the theater

Like holy fuck

And then this shot reminds me so heavily of the opening of Fedddy vs Jason with Freddy Krueger laughing over his newspaper collage of missing children. Holy fuck I love this cinematography.

Guys. G - Guys, his name tag says Dr. Carnival, can you hear me  s o b b i n g

This part is so Chaplinesque, the way he slides the gun into his coat again

These children look so afraid of him for dropping the gun and wowie, does that really hurt

Was this asshole supposed to be modeled after Eric Trump? Because I get really douchebaggy Eric Trump vibes (minus the jacked teeth) from this ringleader

I don’t have much to say here except I am in love with the way Artie’s hair sticks straight up in bottle curls when the clown wig slides off

Also if you decide it’s a good idea to mess with a man dressed as a clown laughing maniacally on the subway of one of the most dangerous cities in the world, you are asking him to shoot you and I will not feel sorry for you

I will never not be in love with this image. I fell in love with it in the teaser trailer and almost went feral in the middle of the mall when I saw this was the poster they used to advertise the movie with. My friend described this movie as “chaos, beautified,” and nothing sums it up as well as this picture.

JOAQUIN AND TODD MADE THIS ENTIRE SEQUENCE UP AND I AM IN LOVE

Hello, handsome

#joker #joker 2019 #arthur fleck #joaquin phoenix

[tatlinanise]

what does the "heroine controversy" refer to?

Lol, oh boy.. this one is kind of a long story. Basically, it refers to the fiasco concerning Tales of Zestiria’s pre-release promotional campaign back in 2015, particularly the extremely misleading advertising of Alisha as the heroine of the game, in order to conceal the true importance of Rose (a la “bait and switch).

When Zestiria was first announced, Sorey & Alisha were the first two characters shown. As this is a Tales of game (aka king of using the traditional hero/heroine JRPG formula), naturally most people assumed that this meant Alisha would the titular heroine. In case you don’t know what “heroine” entails -- it’s usually the most prominent female character in the game, having a narrative that intertwines with the protagonist and typically (but not always) the hero’s romantic love interest. 

Well, Alisha had an assortment of promotional merchandise under her belt that would make most people assume that she fit the heroine bill 1000%. If you take a look at any Zestiria merchandise dated back to 2015, you can see... a very different vibe in how Zestiria was advertised. Most early merch heavily pushed  Alisha/Sorey, Edna/Mikleo, Rose/Dezel as duos, and Alisha was even given her own promotional figurine, DLC mystic arte, nendo, OVA -- you get the picture. She was heavily pushed.

Aaaand, here’s where things got messy. Thing is, Hideo Baba (the producer at the time) had never explicitly stated Alisha was the heroine officially. Many media outlets simply assumed this based on the advertisement, actively misquoting him and labeling her as such (Even their own mobage team in Tales of Asteria mislabeled Alisha in their description). Even when Rose was revealed a few months prior to release and many had noticed Alisha was suspiciously appearing less, it was already too late. The public had created a perception of Alisha as the heroine of the game. 

Aaand if you know anything about how Zestiria actually played out? This was the single most disastrous event in recent Tales of history. We’re talking massive conspiracy theories regarding the producer Baba tampering with the production, the staff members, rate bombs, mass returns, the whole 9 yards. Alisha's DLC episode was announced before this controversy, but the contents of it did nothing but fan its flames. Hideo Baba would eventually resign prior to Berseria and since then, the series has been trying its best to recover from that incident. In fact, a direct product of the heroine controversy is Tales of Zestiria the X and well.. it speaks for itself.

Simply put, it is a huge lesson in Colossal Promotional Fuckups. We’ll never know the truth behind Zestiria’s conception, but personally I am not of the opinion that Alisha’s role was tampered with. The scenario writer and even her very character designer has gone on record in stating that she was always designed to be a temporary party member, not a heroine. Rather, I believe Bamco's PR was just incredibly incompetent and likely not on the same page and Baba did nothing but make the situation worse with his interviews. It's a very tragic tale though.

Remember kids: always label your heroines!

#tales of zestiria #Anonymous

[fletchphoenix]

May You Always Be Satisfied

Short Chapter but Chapter 18 of coffee tastes better aka the coffee shop au!! sorry its so short, I broke my arm literally like....a week ago? I’m kinda struggling to type a bit so aha hope this is enough <3 love you all

-------------------

Hugo hadn’t been to a wedding since he was around eight. Cyrus and Mona’s wedding was beautiful, the woman looking akin to an angel (not the biblical version) as she virtually levitated down the aisle. He’d shuffled uncomfortably in his suit as Donella’s hands rested on his shoulders to hold him in place in a bid to stop him shifting from foot to foot. Cold hands picked at all the little details: the out of place hairs that stuck out from his ponytail, the loose threads on the shoulders of his suit jacket, straightening the tie that was only just off centre. He knew she just wanted him to relax, but how was he meant to stand still when he was just so excited? The boy had watched Cyrus, nothing but love and happiness in his eyes as he smiled back at his wife. Even then he knew that they would be perfect together.

He’d watched as they swayed across the dance floor, Mona’s dress brushing across the floor as her head rested on the tall man’s shoulder and the music played in the background. There were flowers everywhere - white lilies were in little baskets that hung from the top of the pavilion they were under. Donella also pointed out to him the hydrangeas, orchids and magnolias as well as the carnations and Amaryllises. They were quite pretty in his opinion. His eyes had focused on the fairy lights that illuminated the area and provided a fantastical feel to the whole wedding, making it almost otherworldly and ethereal. If he’d been older, he would’ve been taken aback by the sheer beauty and care taken in decorating the place if he was being honest. 

He remembered going home and taking all the botany books Donella owned, researching the meanings behind the pretty flowers that he’d seen. He knew they put a lot of thought into them, with all of them representing love and acceptance, unity and beauty...it was all so interesting, yet confusing. Why did people give meaning to something as simple as a flower? In many ways, it didn’t make sense to the young boy, though at the time he’d just supposed adults were dumb and wanted to see meaning in everything that didn’t mean anything - symbolism in things that didn’t need to represent anything. “It makes things feel more meaningful.” Donella had told him, though he didn’t really understand why. Eventually, she’d grown sick of his questions and told him to go to bed, though he still stayed up all night to research them and grumpily refused to go to school the next morning. 

He hadn’t been to a wedding since then, Donella always giving him the option to stay home. He’d preferred to stay home anyway. He never really thought he would ever get married anyway, so what was the point in seeing others happy when he didn’t think he deserved it? Well, the metal on his finger reminded him of a certain raven haired man, a smile on his face as he twisted it over the skin with his other fingers. The boy he loves with all his heart and soul loves him back, and that was enough to keep him happy. He could already tell their wedding was going to be something to remember - something beautiful, fun and nothing short of spectacular. After all, it was him and Varian! If their wedding wasn’t something as wonderful as a royal wedding, then was it even their wedding? “Hugo, you ready?” His fiance called from the other room, Hugo being abruptly brought back to reality. Ah, yes. It was Cass and Irene’s wedding today. The long-awaited marriage of the two had Varian nothing short of excited for the whole week, the other man hardly able to keep a conversation without it spiralling into a rambling session of ‘I bet it's going to be amazing’ and ‘I can’t wait for them to finally get married!’. Sure it was cute, but Hugo could only take so much of Varian talking about the couple, so for the day to finally arrive was like a saving grace. His hands shifted to try and fix his tie, the emerald fabric not co-operating at all or doing what he wanted it to do. Letting out a frustrated groan, the blond kept trying. Why would he suddenly not tie a tie? What was this so damn difficult when he wasn’t even that stressed?

A pale hand settled on his shoulder as the raven haired boy forced him to turn around with a gentle smile. “Let me help you.” He muttered, Hugo absolutely hypnotised by the way his hands twisted and moved the fabric with a smile on his face, his fringe that usually covered his eyes now pinned back and the single blue streak still as prominent against the sea of black locks as it was when they first met. Wow. He was still beautiful, the suit he was wearing complimenting him nicely as he stepped back and examined his work. “See something you like?” The blond teased, pushing his glasses up his nose as he snaked his arms around the raven haired boy’s waist and brought him closer to his chest. 

“Pfft. Yeah, sure.” Varian rolled his eyes, though his arms still wrapped around the other’s neck and brought him down into a gentle kiss. Somehow it still took his breath away each time his boyfriend pressed a kiss, warming him up on the inside as he let out a happy sigh against the other’s lips. They broke after a while, Hugo taking a moment to drink in all the features of his boyfriend’s face as though he were a dying man in the desert. A familiar flush came to his boyfriend’s face as he was gently pushed backwards. “No time for staring, Hugh. We have a wedding to get to!” The raven haired boy declared as he grabbed the other’s wrist with a wide grin, before pulling him along down the hall and towards the door of their apartment.

Hugo let his head rest against the back of the seat as his boyfriend drove, the blond letting his eyes flutter shut for a while. He hoped his wedding would be more interesting: with lilies and Varian in a pretty suit, all done up and ready to commit to each other. They’d get married somewhere fancy too, like an old house or something like that, just for the sake of bragging that they were THAT cool (though it would be extremely fuckin’ expensive for the two of them). He’d want Yong to be the ring bearer: that sounded quite fun, the boy would be ecstatic to find that out, after all, Varian still went to the library to help him study on Wednesdays. And Nuru would be a bridesmaid, maybe even the maid of honour, though that would most likely be reserved for Donella (if the woman would even accept the role was a question unto itself, so Hugo decided to ignore it in favour of his fantasy). Maybe even Rapunzel? Eugene would probably be the best man. The guy had helped Varian so much, it was the least he could do. Visions of first dances under the stars, holding Varian’s hands as they exchanged rings and laughter filled his head, until he was rudely awoken by the car jolting to a stop.

“We’re here. Damn, did you really not sleep enough last night?” Varian laughed as Hugo grumbled and fixed his hair, leaving the car and dusting off his suit. Midway through his ministrations, a flurry of purple rushed forward and gripped him in a rib-crushing embrace. Ah yes, his future sister-in-law. He’d forgotten about her death grip hugs. His grip on life slipped briefly as the woman rushed hellos before shifting to hug his fiance, the blond wheezing to catch his breath as Eugene patted his back with a loud chuckle. Hugo raised his head to glare, a frown on his face. Of course the brunet wasn’t given the death hugs from his wife. What a lucky bastard. Finally, after greetings and useless conversations, they went inside and sat down. The place was beautiful, the women deciding to get married in something akin to a conservatory. The sun shone through the glass panels making up the roof, vines dangling from the ceiling and intertwining with each other as they descended. Flowers climbed up lattice, fond memories of climbing up it to see Varian flooding through Hugo’s mind and making a small, barely there smile appear on his face before they took their seats, the blond interlacing his fingers with Varian’s as he kept looking around. Pillars of marble stone sat organised along the walls, little baskets of flowers propped onto the tops, Hugo could only point out the carnations and lilies that resided in the baskets. He smiled at the sight, thinking of Mona and Cyrus. He’d have to invite them to his and Varian’s wedding - that would be nice. Maybe they could help them with decorating? 

Music began to play as he turned his head, Cass standing in a black suit, a dark blue tie showing between her jacket. Her undercut had been arranged to be gelled back, her green eyes focused expectantly at the door with a gentle smile on her face, shifting from foot to foot. Finally, Irene stepped out, a rose wedding dress covering her body with a lace top and a long skirt, as well as a veil decorated with lace flowers on her head. She looked beautiful as well, Hugo not being able to help the little smile on his face as he saw the look the couple exchanged as Irene walked down the aisle and stood opposite her girlfriend. 

The ceremony was just as beautiful as Hugo had expected, the pair absolutely infatuated with each other as they held hands and smiled, tears welling in their eyes at the mere sight of each other and the sheer amazement of the moment. As the ceremony wrapped up and the sky darkened, the DJ played music across the stereo, Hugo’s hand resting on his fiance’s waist as they watched the pair dance and sway across the floor, his boyfriend’s head resting against his shoulder. Hugo smiled to himself as he kept watching. “This’ll be us soon.” He whispered to his boyfriend and pressed a kiss to his temple, the other simply nodding and shuffling closer. And for once, Hugo was happy they’d gone to the wedding, watching the pair in front of them so happy and the mere thought that him and Varian would be that happy one day was enough for him.

#varigo #tangled varian #varian and the seven kingdoms #varian #tangled hugo #hugo x varian #varian x hugo #hugo tangled #alchemy boyfriends #rapunzels tangled adventure #varigo coffee shop au

[recentanimenews]

FEATURE: Here are 9 Trans Anime Characters to Celebrate Transgender Awareness Month

  As we come to the end of Transgender Awareness Month, there’s a lot to account for within the community. During this time, we take a moment to mourn trans lives past and present who were lost to violence and oppression, but we also celebrate the amazing strides that we continue to make around the world. All in all, we bring a spotlight to trans culture in all shapes and forms throughout the month of November.

  In the spirit of Transgender Awareness Month, we’re taking a look at some of the positive representation of trans people in our favorite anime. Trans anime characters are more prominent than people might realize, between recurring characters in popular anime who have their own compelling arcs and shows that portray thoughtful and insightful explorations of gender. They’ve been superheroes, pop idols, magical familiars, and often flaunt their identities with grace and strength. 

  Let’s close off Transgender Awareness Month with a bang by celebrating some wonderful and inspiring anime characters who have carved their place in positive trans representation.

   Fire Emblem (Tiger and Bunny) 

Image via BN Pictures

  Among the league of sponsored superheroes protecting Sternbild City in this 2011 sci-fi romp, Fire Emblem is easily the most eccentric of them all. While their depiction in the initial series left a lot to be desired, the pyrokinetic hero received a rather compelling arc in the 2014 movie.

  In their childhood, Nathan Seymour was the target of hate and ridicule for wanting to present more feminine. That harassment followed them well into their adult years as they tried to come even further out of the closet with the way they dressed. Having overcome all of that, Fire Emblem went on to become one of the most successful heroes in the city in a Cinderella story that’s both emotional and inspiring.

  Lily Hoshikawa (Zombie Land Saga)

    A recent and very prominent example of transgender anime representation, Lily Hoshikawa displays all of the trademarks of the transgender experience. She has a deadname, dysphoria over her changing body that actively led to her death, and relief in the fact that she no longer has to worry about male puberty in her undead state. As a zombie, Lily projects tons of confidence and affirmation in her gender identity and uses that energy to help propel her idol unit to stardom.

   Desmond (Carole and Tuesday) 

  Image via Netflix

  Though a relatively minor character in Shinichiro Watanabe’s 2019 musical anime, Desmond was portrayed as a popular and influential artist in the Martian music industry. Due to some sort of influence from the planet itself, they began to display male and female characteristics in their body. It placed a strain on their body, but they were also able to use the experience to revitalize music on Mars as a whole. There’s nothing better than seeing a trans person rise to success.

   Sailor Starlights (Sailor Moon) 

  Image via Hulu

  Among the many groundbreaking examples of feminism and LGBTQ+ representation shown in one of the most iconic magical girl anime of all time, the Sailor Starlights stand out as remarkable trans heroes. Introduced in the fifth and final season of the original series (which got its first official US release as recently as 2019), the Starlights are a team of Sailor Soldiers who disguise themselves as a popular boy band among civilians. Having heroes who consistently switch genders to save the day and kick butt doing it is nothing short of awe-inspiring among transgender fictional characters.

  Ruby Moon (Card Captor Sakura)

    One of Eriol Hiiragizawa’s magical familiars came in the form of Ruby Moon, who disguises herself as Nakuru Akizuki when interacting with humans. Though she uses female pronouns on a regular basis, she actively and proudly wields her agender identity among others. It’s not often that a character in a children’s anime can be that open with their gender identity, so it’s immeasurably special when someone like Ruby Moon can.

  Everyone in Wandering Son

    The beauty of this unsung 2011 gem is its focus on gender exploration among adolescents as a major subject matter. Wandering Son offers its characters a chance to discover and cultivate their sexuality in safe and welcoming environments; a feat that’s rare enough in pop culture to begin with, let alone in anime. Aside from some regular human drama, the young students are able to present as feminine or as masculine as they like as they discover what it truly means to be their truest and most genuine versions of themselves.

   Alluka (Hunter x Hunter) 

    Among the enormous and eclectic cast of characters in this long-running series, Alluka stands out as a transgirl who plays a major role in the final arc of the 2011 anime. Alluka Zoldyck is the youngest sibling of Killua and was assigned male at birth. She also carries within her a spirit who she wants people to acknowledge and accept as part of her identity. Though she is consistently misgendered and mistreated by the rest of her family, Killua always makes it a point to defend and enforce her gender identity and welcomes every aspect of her personality with open arms. Otherwise, she has a significant arc throughout the series in which she is the only person who can save Gon during a major crisis.

  Alluka is also regarded as the culmination of the original manga creator's experience in portraying trans characters in his work. Previously known for far more problematic depictions of trans characters in popular works like Yu Yu Hakusho, Yoshihiro Togashi has made it a point to consistently explore gender and further his knowledge on it throughout his career. After decades of trial and error, Alluka is easily the most nuanced and thoughtful depiction of a trans girl whose exploration is as insightful as it is cathartic. 

  Kikunojo (One Piece)

    In this writer's opinion, One Piece's track record for transgender representation is questionable at best, if its overt reliance on gay and trans caricatures for comedy and spectacle is any indication. Enter the Wano arc, where the anime’s apparent 180 on trans characters has resulted in the most sensitive and refined depictions of trans characters in the iconic pirate anime’s long-running history.

  As one of the strongest samurai in the nation of Wano, Kikunojo has a strong sense of justice and a will to protect her country. Despite her renown as a male warrior, she describes herself as “a woman at heart” and presents progressively more feminine as she teams up with the Straw Hats against the tyrants residing over Wano. In a rare occurrence for One Piece, her gender identity is never brought up for ridicule. Instead, she is revered for her beauty and is able to fight on equal footing with some of the most powerful samurai and pirates in the world. As far as One Piece's previous failed attempts at trans representation go, Kikunojo is easily a breath of fresh air in terms of her strength and characterization.

  Hana (Tokyo Godfathers)

  Image via GKIDS Films

  In Satoshi Kon’s award-winning tragicomedy, Hana is a compelling character marked by tragedy and determination. As a former drag queen, the culture she found herself in helped to inform the identity she displays even as she becomes homeless. Despite some ignorant statements from her cohorts, she still has her own community that loves her and welcomes her in her entirety. 

  In the 2019 English dub, she was even voiced by Shakina Nayfack, a rising Jewish transgender actor.

    Anime has made many leaps and bounds in transgender representation. Like any form of media, there are always improvements to be made in equal and fair portrayals of trans characters. But from the most popular show to unsung but lovely little gems, trans representation can be found everywhere if you know where to look. Transgender Awareness Month is a time to honor heroes who live in and around and all over the gender spectrum, and our favorite anime characters are no different!

  What are some of your favorite moments of representation in anime? What do you think shows could be doing better in the future? Comment below with your thoughts!

      Carlos (aka Callie) is a freelance features writer for Crunchyroll. Their favorite genres range from magical girls to over-the-top robot action, yet their favorite characters are always the obscure ones. Check out some of their pop culture editorials on Popdust as well as their satirical work on The Hard Times.

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

  By: Carlos Cadorniga

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

[siren-of-redriver96]

The history of Illvermorny is the key (theory)

Update 2

(I’m slowly going crazy from how more and more hints come up ...)

His sisters

Aside from Modesty and Chastity resembling Tina and Queenie a lot, remember - Tina, when watching her happy memories of her family, firstly saw them - and then, interestingly , how she rescued Credence ... he was literally among the memories she had of her family

“Queen”

Rionach means "queen"

Rionach I = Isolt's mother

Rionach II = Isolt's daughter

Queenie = III

Also, Queenie was born on 6th of January - among many other things and hints, again, the "Three King's day" =

Three Queens

The brothers

There are more than a few parallels between the Scamander- and the Boot brothers - Webster was an auror, like Theseus, of course, but Chadwick resembles Newt a lot - also a world traveller, he wrote a series of books too on his subject (Charms - hey, Eulalie Hicks' subject again) which Tina and Queenie had - and he married a healer.

But most prominently: he founded house Thunderbird

An anagramm

The story of Isolt Sayre included how she travelled by ship to Britain, then America, disguised as a boy and under the alias "Elias Story", an anagram of her name.

It was a pretty significant element that I've been wondering about ... In this case, we would have two parallels the woman we see on the ship, which I've recently theorized to be a sister of Mr. Goldstein I called Esther (who could be the source of Tina's second name - and they do look a lot alike - see

https://www.commercialactors.com/images/actor_images/u_1563/c7b57f9a17f4493fa086ed472b6a7d8c.jpg

She was titled "Credence aunt", and given that one way or another, she was on a mission to get him out of the country, she very likely travelled under an alias too - an anagram of her name is possible, I'm still working on re-arranging the letters of "Esther Goldstein" to an alias that would both function and hide her true identity enough. (the one who worked the best so far, in last name coverage and story relation too, was "Edith Greenlosst" - names usually foreshadow something in HP, and she seemed to have lost a "green", a member of the youngest generation in the family tree - but not only wasn't it her true name, the actual baby lived) "Elias" as a name refers to a prophet - specifically the one who, according to Wikipedia, will announced the coming of the Messiah ... idk, I feel like Isolt having this alias and the chance of someone (presumably a son) born in their family after a prophecy/to a seldom stellar constellation works surprisingly well

Side note: : By now I feel like JK wrote the history of Illvermorny first, then structured Fantastic Beasts around it ...

The Foreshadowing 4

Pointed out to me by a fellow redditor: moeykrimz pointed out to me that the quartett of Newt, Tina, Jacob and Queenie which forms in the first movie seems to represent one Illverrmorny house each:

Serpent: mind, scholar ; Tina

Wampus: body, warrior ; Queenie

Pukwudgie: heart, healer : Jacob (the founder James was also a no maj)

Thunderbird: soul, adventurer ; Newt

Also, again: we have the Slytherin parallel in Tina, the Legilimence one for Queenie, the non-magic one for Jacob, and the parallel to Chadwick Boot, the younger of the Boot brothers who's elder was an auror)

I'd love this as foreshadowing to the role Illvermorny may play in the future, aka as kind of present from the very beginning :)

“Gaunt” and “Barebone”

fifa_1995 on reddit pointed out to me that the names "Gaunt" and "Barebone" both are english slang for a "scrawny" or "haggard" person - plus, in the Gaunt line, there's also the name "Corvinus" :)

Btw at this point, I wonder if there is a connection between Corvus Lestrange and the Gaunts - maybe via a mother once more! How cool would that be, and if Credence was, after all, a relative of Leta in some way :DSirius said it long ago, pureblood families are all related :)

The “importance” of family

This dawned on me : If Credence is a descendant of this family, then we'd have a pretty good message about the "importance" of somebody's family - because as far as I can see, while the family tree had Salazar, Gormlaith, her ensuing line, which may or may not have a line to the Letranges, and, you could say, Antioch too who desired power, it also has Isolt's line, the added one of the Boots, and the one that would ultimately lead to the Potters/James ...

So, the family is pretty balanced on "bad" and "good" blood ... and what he makes of his life is, not just for this dynamic, completely his choice. I love that.

Parsel

(I should probably start an own blog concerning this theory...)

As mentioned before, Rionach II Steward chose not to have children, in fear of passing on the ability to speak Parsel.

Yet nobody seemed to consider that her sister, a squib, reproducing, might pass this gene on in her place.

Credence forms a close bond with a woman whom we know speaks the language. Coincedence? And while there's no solid proof either that Queenie or Tina speak Parsel, there isn't really a reason to rule it out - especially for Queenie.By the end of CoG, she is now in one place with not only Credence, but also Abernathy (whom we've seen has recieved an oddly forked tounge, implying he's been given the ability to speak the language), being the only people at Nurmengard she can form an honest bond with and who implied to switch sides one day ...

Plus, one reason why her and Tina may have kept this ability to speak/understand it absolutely secret is the same Ron and Hermione told Harry - it's an ability highly frowned upon and associated with dark magic by wizard society. This is precisely why Rionach refused to reproduce at all - and how absolutely ironic would it be if three descendants of her family at once would be born being able to understand and/or speak parsel, leaving her efforts completely in vain because, again, noone expected her non-magic sister to pass it on?(repeating myself, but - this.)

Rapport’s law

(I really gotta do something with this theory to make it more structured)

I've mentioned how the law that was established 1 1/2 centuries (which is long for us, but barely 2-3 generations living and dying alongside, even for muggles) likely banned Martha Steward's descendants from further communication with their magic family (huh, much like Tina was banned from contact to Credence ...) - and they were also faced with the chance that, if a magic child was born from the current family, it would be taken away - perhaps to their relatives, sure, but they'd still be banned from communcating with them.

On this level, it would make perfect sense if Martha's descendants, or at least some of them, perhaps someone who had married into another non-magic family already (here's where the name "Goldstein" may have come in) decided to leave, and asked for help from the Chadwick-Boot descendants, who then made contact with the Webster-Boots in Scotland so they'd have a place to stay and some help to start over in Britain ... seems very logical. Plus, that they'd stay in contact, not only for emotional bonds.

We know that, in Britian, the laws on how much muggles with a familiar connection to a magic one are much more eased (uncle Vernon was allowed to know about their existence before Harry was even born, and nobody ever came to obliviate him and/or say something to Petunia - and Lily and James met with them, so they knew he knew too. So, the Steward-Pocomtuc-Goldsteins and the adopted Sayre-Webster-Boots staying in contact is very likely - as is that, another few generations later, a daughter of the Boots and a son of the Goldsteins, not biologically related after all, would fall in love ...

Goldstein

JK Rowling once confirmed that Tina and Queenie are "distantly" related to Harry's schoolmate Anthony Goldstein ... which must mean there was another man (and he was in Britian!) who passed this name on... either an ancestor (we're talking about several generations after the arrival of the family after all, maybe one not even by this name) or a cousin of Esther and William, or a even brother (hey, 3) ... after several generations in the 90s, that would make them the nieces/cousin's children of his ancestor, and we're at distant :)

This, at least, gives us the confirmation that there are Goldsteins in Britian ours are related to :)

Marriage to the brother

Martha Steward married the brother of a friend of the Pocomtuc tribe. (this. .. is hilarious, actually XD)

Salazar’s non-magic bloodline

Since Rionach had no children, Martha Steward's line is the only one that still descends directly from Salazar Slytherin ... and this line ending with a non-magic descendant marrying a magic one, creating half-bloods that are muggle on his side ... again, this is my most valid reason to believe in the theory.

The sheer wholesome justice of Salazar's non-magic line existing and resulting (by adding magic blood from another line) in Tina, Credence and Queenie.

Thank you very much for reading! I’m shaking a little by now, it all seems so cut and dry if you look at it ... anything to add? I’m adding it :D I feel like she wanted us to notice!

Part 1: https://siren-of-redriver96.tumblr.com/post/639469071023439872/the-history-of-illvermorny-is-key-theory

Part 2: https://siren-of-redriver96.tumblr.com/post/639873651289800704/the-history-of-illvermorny-is-key-theory

#fantastic beasts #fantastic beasts and where to find them #fantastic beasts series #fantastic beasts theory #FBAWFT #the crimes of grindelwald #fbtcog #fantastic beasts sequel #fantastic beasts credence barebone #tina goldstein #queenie goldstein #leta lestrange #credence barebone #peverell family #salazar slytherin #illvermorny

[dream-a-little-bigger-x]

Heathers | Sweet Pea

A/N: As I said, I was rewriting Riverdale’s Heathers episode with focus on Sweet Pea and Reader as JD and Veronica Sawyer, and the rehearsals for the musical rather than everything around it (and if it’s the drama around it, it’s drama between Sweet Pea and Y/N).  We’ve been robbed of the masterpiece that is Sweet Pea singing Meant To Be Yours. I mean??? That song is amazing in both the off-Broadway and the West End prodcution and Sweet Pea would’ve looked SO HOT singing it and going all completely mental!  I did add some characters as friends of Y/N that are part of the musical too since I wanted an appropriate character to play Martha other than Toni (????) who really does not fit the role of Martha Dunnstock.  So, I think it’s going to be a six parter and I’ll try to upload one every night at 7pm. (can’t promise anything though)  Lemme know if I need to make a taglist and who to put on it! :)  Enjoy, kiddos! 

Words: 1711

Pairing: Sweet Pea x Y/N

Warnings: cursing, angst

Act one: Freeze Your Brain 

Every year we do a different musical at Riverdale High. Last year, we did Carrie, but this year, we’re doing my favorite musical ever: Heathers. If Cheryl Blossom hadn’t claimed the role of Heather Chandler, I would’ve auditioned for it. Mainly so I could yell ‘Shut up, Heather!’ at pretty much any given moment. But I did get the role of Veronica Sawyer which is kind of a more important role than Heather Chandler. I mean, Heather does die quite early on. “I’ve asked Evelyn to step up as co-director,” Kevin Keller, who always directs the musicals, says at our first day of rehearsals. I liked him as director in last year’s play and I think he and Evelyn will be a good team on this year’s musical too. However, Betty Cooper does not agree with that. “Why don’t we introduce ourselves and the parts we’re playing to get Evelyn up to speed with everything?” Cheryl gets up from her chair, clearly wanting to be the first one to go. “I’m Cheryl Blossom and I’m obviously playing Heather Chandler.” I roll my eyes at her. Being ‘theater-nerd’ means not getting along with the popular kids such as Cheryl Blossom and Betty Cooper. It’s not that I hate them, I just don’t want to be friends with them. I mean, it wouldn’t click between us anyway since all I ever do – according to most jocks – is talk and think and dream of musicals. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think they’re assuming I always sing when I speak. Misconceptions about theater kids. “I’m Veronica Lodge, and I play Heather McNamara,” the rich girl with the raven-hair introduces herself. To be honest, Veronica did play Chris in last year’s play and she was honestly amazing. Her voice is to die for. I would ask her to join the drama club, but I’m too scared to. “Betty Cooper, I’m playing the third Heather; Heather Duke.” Then Reggie Mantle clears his throat, clearly wanting to go next, “Reggie, AKA jock Ram Sweeney. Going to bro it up with my bud Arch here. Just two single straight dudes doing some theater.” Once again I have to roll my eyes back at the annoying toxic masculinity-filled jock behind me. “And I play Kurt Kelly,” Archie then says with a small smile. He seems to be annoyed by the antics of his bro. I chuckle at the two boys, earning a glare from them. “You do know Kurt Kelly and Ram Sweeney are actually fake outed as gay by JD and Veronica, right?” I ask them with an amused smile on my face before turning back to Kevin and Evelyn. “I’m Y/N, and I play the ever so lovely Veronica Sawyer. Outcast, turned Heather, then blowing up my boyfriend.” Margot and Ella, my two best friends from drama club give me a sly grin. They both have the same idea as me; neither one of these guys knows the script yet. “Hi, I’m Sweet Pea,” a guy behind me then says. He’s one of the only Serpents with a vital part in the musical. The other Serpents are part of the ensemble, which is also important. But Sweet Pea’s role is one of the biggest, along with mine. “I play Jason Dean, or JD. Veronica’s bad-boy love interest who apparently blows up?” I turn to look at him and give him a nod that tells him he should believe me when I say Jason Dean gets blown up in the end. My eyes glance down to his neck where his Serpent tattoo prominently decorates his skin. I don’t mind the Serpents as much as the other Northsiders did. I didn’t mind when they transferred to our school whilst others picked on them and nearly got them suspended. I don’t hate them but I’m not friends with them either. I just don’t care. I mind my own business, which is theater most of the time. “I’m Jodie Smiths,” the girl next to Margot says. Jodie is also part of the drama club, but we’re not really great friends. I mean, we tolerate each other, and we do what we’re told when we have to do a scene together. But it’s not like I would invite her for a milkshake at Pop’s after rehearsals. Not like I do with Margot and Ella. “I’m portraying Martha Dunnstock in Heathers.” “Fangs,” another one of the Serpents raising his hand as he speaks up, “Hipster dork.” “Toni,” the girl Serpent then speaks up, “New wave girl.” “I’m Josie,” another Northsider girl goes, “And I’m the republican girl.” “Hi, my name’s Margot and I play the role of Stoner chick.” “And I’m Ella, playing the role of preppy kid.” I give my two best friends a wide smile. I’m proud of both of them for making it into the cast even though most of the popular kids claimed the other roles. A few other Serpents and Northsiders tell Evelyn – and the rest of us – what their role in the ensemble is, but I don’t even listen anymore. I’m too filled up with excitement to get started on my favorite musical ever. And then nerves start kicking in when I think of all the scenes I’ll have to do with Cheryl Blossom, Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge, but mostly the ones with Sweet Pea. I have to make out with Sweet Pea. On stage. “Okay, let’s get started on vocal warm-ups and we’ll sing a few songs from the script to get us started,” Kevin suggests as he claps his hands. “Y/N, Margot, Ella and Jodie, why don’t you guide us through vocal warm-ups?” The four of us nod and get up off our chair, urging the others to do the same. We then teach them the sounds we always make during drama class to warm up. “Good!” Kevin then exclaims when we tell him they’re ready. “Let’s start with Beautiful then. Veronica Sawyer, take it away.” I nod and head up the stage, along with the rest. We don’t know any choreography yet, but it’ll be better if we’re up there to sing the songs. “September 1st, 1989. Dear Diary: I believe I'm a good person. You know, I think that there's good in everyone, but—here we are! First day of senior year! And uh... I look around at these kids that I've known all my life and I ask myself—what happened?” That’s how Heathers: the musical always starts, and that’s how this adventure starts too. “And you know, you know, you know Life can be beautiful You hope, you dream, you pray And you get your way! Ask me how it feels Lookin' like hell on wheels... My God, it's beautiful! I might be beautiful... And when you're beautiful... It's a beautiful frickin' day!” I belt out the last note just like Barret Wilbert Weed does on the cast recording of the Broadway show. I feel like Barret Wilbert Weed or any other Broadway actress I’ve looked up to since I was a child. The ensemble belts out their last note too, getting Kevin, Evelyn and Sweet Pea up on their feet and clapping. I’m not entirely sure whether it’s just for me or for the entire cast, but it still gives me a wicked feeling of pride. “Y/N! I was obsessed with everything you put in that performance!” Evelyn exclaims when the clapping had died down. “Damn, girl! I’m so glad we casted you!” I can hear Betty scoff behind me, but I don’t care. All I care about is that they liked what I did with the song. Even though it’s just what I always do in my shower when I sing that song at the top of my lungs. “Yes! And ensemble was good too!” Kevin then adds to give them some compliments too. “Let’s just go in order of songs, so Candy Store next!” he informs, so I get off the stage and grab my water bottle to drink. I just have one line to say, but no singing in this song, sadly enough. I only go back on when Fight For Me is on and stay on for Freeze Your Brain. I hadn’t heard Sweet Pea yet as this song is his first one in the whole show. “I've been through ten high schools They start to get blurry No point planting roots 'Cause you're gone in a hurry My dad keeps two suitcases packed in the den” My eyes widen a little when his voice chimes through the auditorium. He has a nice singing voice. Pleasant to listen to. Very soothing. “Care for a hit?” he asks, spoken this time, but still part of the song. It takes me away from my thoughts about how good his voice is. “Does your mommy know you eat all that crap?” I shoot back, and then he goes back into singing. My breath hitches in my throat when his voice grows louder and the notes get higher, but he hits them perfectly. I figured he could sing a bit since he got cast as JD, but I didn’t expect him to be this good. My knees even buckle a little at the way he sings ‘Veronica Sawyer’. All of a sudden, the boy becomes more attractive to me than he already was. I mean, he’s not bad looking, but the fact that he can hit all of those notes makes him twice as attractive. He makes me jump out of my thoughts when his voice grows softer and more vulnerable. “Just freeze your brain Freeze your brain Go on and freeze your brain...” His eyes meet mine when he goes, “Try it,” in a spoken voice, just like Ryan McCartan who sings it in the off-Broadway version. Then applause bursts from the auditorium, making me jump a little. I had almost forgotten we were still in rehearsals. “Damn, you’re good,” I mumble, and hope he doesn’t hear. But judging from the little smirk that pulls at the corner of his mouth, I think he has. From that moment on, I knew this musical was going to change things in my life. Whether it was making new friends or playing the role of my dreams, it will change everything. 

#Sweet Pea #sweet pea x reader #sweet pea au #sweet pea fanfic #sweet pea imagine #reader insert #Sweet Pea x Y/N #Riverdale #Riverdale au #Riverdale Heathers #Heathers: the musical #Heathers #Toni Topaz #Betty Cooper #Archie Andrews #Veronica Lodge #Jughead Jones #Kevin Keller #Evelyn Evernever #Cheryl Blossom #Fangs Fogarty #Reggie Mantle #Josie McCoy #Veronica Sawyer #JD #Jason Dean #Heather Duke #Heather McNamara #Heather Chandler #Ram and Kurt

[365days365movies]

January 3, 2021: Cliffhanger (1993)

Sylvester Stallone.

The Italian Stallion here is one of the most prominent action movie stars of the ‘80s and ‘90s, coming to prominence with Rocky in 1976. And before we even start this review, here’s the deal: I refuse to make fun of the man’s iconic voice. Yeah, I get it, we’ve all shouted “YOADRIAAAAAAH!” at some point, but his voice and face is due to a botched birth, which pinched a nerve and caused permanent facial paralysis. We all got something, and I’m not gonna target him for it. It’s been done enough.

I also can’t really comment on his acting ability. Why? Well...OK, some confession time. I’ve BARELY seen Stallone in a film. That’s going to be fixed this year, as I’ve added many of his films to the list for 2021. So, what have and haven’t I seen? Let’s start with haven’t, shall we?

I haven’t seen:

Rocky (1976): Sports November

Rocky II (1979): maybe Sports November

First Blood (1982): later this month

Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992): Please. Please don’t make me.

Cliffhanger (1993): Give it a minute.

Demolition Man (1993): Science Fiction September

Judge Dredd (1995): maybe Science Fiction September

The Expendables (2010): later this month

I have seen:

Tango and Cash (1989): Dumbass buddy cop movie with Stallone and Russell; 2/5.

Antz (1998): Sub-par Dreamworks rip-off of an already kinda sub-par Pixar movie; 2/5

Spy Kids 3: Game Over (2003): Yeah...I saw this in theaters, on my birthday. I saw everything in red and green for, like, an hour afterwards. Worth it. 2/5.

Rocky Balboa (2006): Somehow, this is the only Rocky movie I’ve seen, Creed included. And from what I remember, it was fine. 3/5.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017): The ONE good Stallone movie I’ve seen, and it isn’t even a Stallone movie. 5/5.

So, yeah, I haven’t seen any good Stallone movies, sans the one. But now, some of you are probably asking another question: “Why Cliffhanger? You literally haven’t seen any major Stallone movie, so WHY CLIFFHANGER?”

First of all, I think everybody’s kinda slept on this movie. It was a big success back in the day, but people have basically forgotten it at this point. You’ll see in this review that there aren’t even many GIFs from the movie made, and it wasn’t easy to find enough clips to make my own, honestly. Does it deserve to get slept on? I mean, we’ll see, right? 

Secondly, I just watched a Tom Cruise movie where he dangles off of a rope, and I liked that, so why not do that for the next one, I guess! And third...honestly, I saw this on the list, and it kinda just spoke to me. It called to me, like a boxer calling to his love. Hey, look, a reference to a movie I’ve never seen. We’ll get there. We’ll get there. Oh, and SPOILERS from here on out, by the way.

Recap

We start on a cliff. Surprise.

Michael Rooker (y’know, Yondu from Guardians of the Galaxy) is hanging out (HA!) with his girlfriend Sarah on a cliff called the Tower. Y’know, third date kinda stuff. First date is dinner, second date is dinner and a movie, and third date is free-climbing up a cliff to your near death. Well...near is a strong word…

ANYHOOOO, We meet Gabe, played by the big man himself, Sly Stallion, who’s a rescue ranger in the Rocky Mountains. So, Rocky, the Rockies Rescue Ranger is sent to save Yondu and Sarah. Unfortunately...someone forgot to check the equipment before the rescue mission…

Not gonna lie, this scene is actually heart-wrenchingly tense. And the ending...well, if you’ve seen Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls...you know what happens here. And it’s actually somewhat traumatic, for Gabe and for me. Seriously. It’s a roughie.

Cut to almost a year later, and Gabe is...NOT OK. He and his wife, Jessie (who is a pilot for the Rescue Rangers, and was there when Sarah fell), have been separate, and Gabe just can’t do it anymore. And I get it, honestly. That was a hard experience, losing someone and blaming yourself. And no, it wasn’t Gabe’s fault. But to add insult to injury, he has NO SUPPORT SYSTEM. His wife doesn’t seem to understand, his former best friend Yondu hates him (getting GotG Vol. 2 flashbacks), and he’s basically all alone. Geez. You guys are jerks.

Meanwhile, a plot is afoot! And hey, it’s Tripp from CSI: Miami, AKA Rex Linn! I always liked him, so it’s cool to see him in other roles. Turns out, though, that Tripp is working with a group of thugs to steal from the US Treasury. This villainous group of 8 thugs is led by John Lithgow, AKA Lord Farquaad from Shrek, who is channeling Hans Gruber from Die Hard, and trying super-hard on that British accent. Anyway, after a pretty great mid-flight action sequence, the group of thugs loses 3 suitcases of money, amounting to millions. In the process, they also lose Expendable Thugs #1 and #2. This will be a trend. 

The thugs crash their plane into the mountain, killing Expendable Thug #3 in the process. They stage a rescue situation to get some expert mountain climbers to help them find the money. Jessie, after having just told her hubby to suck it up like a big boy (I don’t really like Jessie, by the way), begs him to help find these people. Reluctantly, he agrees, and has a tension filled reunion with his former best friend, who blames him (unfairly, in my opinion). That animosity disappears as soon as they find themselves held hostage by the thugs. And so, the money hunt begins!

First suitcase is on a cliffside, and Stallone goes to get it. Some shenanigans quickly ensure, and the thugs shoot at him. An avalanche occurs because these dumbasses have never seen a movie, and in the process, we lose a suitcase of money, Expendable Thug #4 goes the way of Sarah, and Gabe is presumed dead. Farquaad tells Yondu to tell his coworkers that everything is fine, and he’s gonna stay on the mountain to ride out the storm. Which is #5 in the list of “moments in this movie where I would 100% die” I grew up in a warm climate, this is not a comfortable hypothetical situation for me.

Anyway, our intrepid team of criminals takes Yondu to find the next suitcase, while Jessie and Gabe separately make their way to the cabin that Yondu was talking about. They catch each other up, and they can’t contact the main office because...Jessie’s radio died in the cold? You...you work amongst mountains as a rescue officer for stranded hikers. That’s the best excuse the writers came up with? Why the hell didn’t she bring a better radio? They HAD to have spares, right? RIGHT? Geez, no wonder you needed Gabe’s help.

The tracker, with its marvelously outdated computer graphics technology (IT’S A UNIX SYSTEM IKNOWTHIS), leads the thugs to the next package, but not before Gabe and Jesse get there! Gabe leaves a ransom note for the money, holding it hostage. This eventually leads to a nighttime chase in the snow, leading to Expendable Thug #5 going The Way of Sarah.

By the way, it’s also at this point that I notice that it is VERY bright...for being in the middle of the mountains at night. And I get it, you can’t exactly have your movie be shot in darkness, but...look at this.

Like...wow. That’s the fakest outdoor shot I’ve ever seen. I guess I’m glad it isn’t a day-for-night shot, but...yeah. Wow.

Jesse and Gabe find themselves in a cave full of the cutest goddamn bats I’ve ever seen. This is supposed to be a harrowing experience, but simply makes me jealous. They’re fruit bats, by the way, and they’re also WAY too high up, altitude-wise. At least, that’s what I assume. I’m a bird-guy, not a bat-guy. Eventually, they make it out of the cave after Stallone does some free-climbing...loudly. Loud enough for the super-violent, sociopathic, knife-and-gun-loving Expendable Thug #6 to hear them. And that’s when Gabe ICE-PICKS HIM IN THE LEG DAMN

Understandably pissed, and not as understandably still walking around without crying (#6 in that list of me-dying moments), the thug finds and beats the SHIT out of Gabe, handily.  But then, he calls Jessie a bitch, and Gabe is, above all things a feminist. Which leads to him, and read this CLOSELY:

This leads to Stallone, bloodied and beaten, PICKING THE THUG UP OVER HIS HEAD, AND IMPALING HIM ONTO A STALACTITE. Not a stalagmite, a STALACTITE. HOLY SHIT!.

Well, Expendable Thug #6 is dead, there’s a bomb on the mountaintop, Jesse almost goes The Way of Sarah, and Frank (another guy who works with them, don’t know if I mentioned him) gets lured into a trap where he gets killed. An “Aww” moment from me; I liked Frank, he seemed like a really nice guy. This eventually leads to Farquaad and Tripp out-crazy-ing each other, and Farquaad winning by killing Expendable Thug #7, who does not go The Way of Sarah (blessed be her fall).

Gabe finds the remaining money, while Tripp, Yondu, and Expendable Thug #7 get there just after. Tripp leaves, and Yondu then delivers my favorite line of the movie:

Oh, sorry, no, it’s, “In a minute, I’ll be dead. You will always be an asshole.” Thug #7 beats the shit out of Yondu, I get flashbacks to GotG 2, and Thug #8 goes THE WAY OF SARAH, BLESSED BE HER FALL. Tripp finds the tracker without the money, and officially loses it, outing himself and Farquaad to the government officials who FINALLY get here.

Tripp finds Gabe, they make their way to a frozen mountain lake, and Gabe SHOOTS TRIPP FROM UNDERNEATH THE ICE. That shouldn’t have worked for many reasons, but that was cool, so fuck it. Now, it’s just Farquaad, BUT HE HAS JESSIE! OH NOOOOOOOooooooo.

This whole thing culminates in a tense, cool chase sequence between Gabe and Farquad in the helicopter. The helicopter crashes into the mountainside, and the two fight while on the helicopter, which is now hanging from the cliff.

Oh. Oh, I get it.

This inevitably leads to Farquaad and the helicopter going, of course, The Way of Sarah. Blessed Be Her Fall. #BBHF. 

And that’s it. Our three heroes are, themselves, rescued by the government agents, and we pan away from the cliffside, as the credits roll. Boom. Cliffhanger.

Stay tuned for the epilogue, which contains the review!

#cliffhanger #sylvester stallone #gabe walker #michael rooker #hal tucker #janine turner #jessie deighan #rex linn #richard travers #caroline goodall #leon #leon robinson #kynette #craig fairbass #john lithgow #eric qualen #paul winfeld #ralph waite #bruce mcgill #renny harlin #1993 in film #1993 films #365 movie challenge #365 movies 365 days #365 Days 365 Movies #a movie a day #a year at the movies #a year at the cinema #movie challenge #action january

[popculturebuffet]

OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes!: You’re Everybody’s Sidekick Review

OK KO was easily one of the best animated series of the 2010′s and i’ll stand by those words. The brainchild of Ian Jones Quartlery, voice of Wallow in Bravest Warriors and more importantly former head writer for Steven Universe, and current longtime romantic partner of that series creator Rebecca Sugar. That part isn’t AS important, but I still find it sweet.  Anyways OK KO was the story of K.O., a 6-11, not my own laziness for once but the show’s own way of doing age, year old boy who wants to be the best like no one ever was. In this case i’ts being a hero in a world that’s basically like if someone took the marvel universe and smashed a retro game collection and a pile of manga on top of it and then blended up the result and shot it full of gamma rays. Full of heroes of all kinds ranging from those fighitng crime to those who just want to loiter outside strip malls or cut hair.  To achieve this goal KO gets a job at Gar’s Bodega, the combination of your average bodega (for those unfamiliar with the term, i’ts a convience store) and a video game item shop, so the slurpee machine is right next to the power ups and ninja stars, and everything from skateboard polish to Spread Guns is avaliable. The bodega is owned by Mr.Gar, a mustachiosed muscle man whose basically a shoutier mexican version of MIke Haggar but with shades and a mustache. So a somehow better version of him, though with him being busy watching over the plaza itself, doing secret hero missions and what not the day to day operations are left to two teens: Rad, a muscle bound dude bro alien with telekenisis and a secret heart of gold and Enid, a cynical, slacker ninja whose also bilogically a witch because her parents are a vampire and a werewolf. So the series follows these three as they run the boedega, grow as people and fight the robots that frequently attack the plaza sent by the evil Lord Boxman who hates the place literally because it’s there and it’s existance annoys him. This is the canon explination and it is utterly hilarious.  The series was funny, had great character work, decent ongoing stories, great jokes and a fun tone that could go from meaningful and well thorught ot utterly batshit from episode to episode and was sadly canceled after 3 seasons because Cartoon Network is kinda stupid right now and dosen’t know how to handle a superhero show that still makes action a priority, but it did get a solid ending, a slew of great crossovers and a decent amount of representation under i’ts belt.  WHich brings us to today and the start of RED ACTION WEEK: A week dedicated to the series most prominent gay character and the bisexual ninja witch who loves her. I’m covering all 5 of Red’s more prominent apperances... I was just going to do the red/enid episodes but decided this was a better introduction to the series itself, as well as the fact it allows her character arc to better tie together by her final episode, which directly uses this one as a major plot point. I also threw Plaza Prom in there since, even if she’s only a supporting character, it’s still one of her few major apperances, is part of her final major episode, is one of my faviorites, and the climactic dance fights is one of the most intentionally homoerotic fight scenes i’ve seen in some time. With all that out of the way, let’s do this after the cut. 

We start at Gar’s Bodega, just after the opening two parter, with KO starting his first day of work, part of the reason this episode is a fairly smooth introduction into the show. Not even in the door he accidently shoryukyn’s joe cuppa, a stand up comedian with a cup of coffee in the big time for a head... I told you anything goes and I meants it.  After that accident, we find Enid at the counter, ignoring the customers before shooing them away and when KO asks for work, plays along with his enthusasim and tells him to clean the store.. which he does in minutes, before being told to sort the penny dish, and while he does the two discuss KO’s love of helping people: KO just genuinely thinks that’s part of his job, the right thing to do and feels good while Enid.. dosen’t feel it’s worth the effort and people are just generally ungreatful and not worth it.  I really like this scene for showing off their character dynamic beautifully: It starts showing that while at this stage Enid is largely an asshole, she does care about K.O. and while he’s cleaning, despite usually turning customers away, still let’s Ginger, an elderly patron and one of KO’s mom’s dojo customers, not only check out but pay in freaking pennies. It shows that try as she might, Enid really isn’t a cyncial or heartlesss as she claims. It’s also nice setup for later in the season as, and as i’m sure Ian Jones Quartlery and crew were preparing for, we later DO see why Enid hates people so much: her best friend, possibly more, Elodie, who i’ll certainly be covering eventually, betrayed her for a spot at Point Prep, basically UHA or Xavier’s for this world and claimed their friendship was just a ploy (It wasn’t, but again, story for another time), while her one date with Rad went terribly due to him acting like a huge jackass at the advice of his even bigger jackasses of friends. It’s easy to see why she stopped carring: When she opened up in the past it only lead to her being hurt and alone. K.O.... is the opposite. He genuinely belivies in everyone and tries to help them because, as said above, it’s just what he does and what he belivies a hero should be... he hasn’t been hurt or influenced by assholes like his friends, and thus is able to get them to open up. It’s a wonderful dynamic and I love it.  And naturally, KO is determined to help Enid see the light, with Enid responding with the wonderful line “You’ll never melt my icy heart”... give him a few more episodes Enid, give him a few more episodes.  So K.O. Decides to set out helping people, shouting about it to enid back at the store as he does because he’s 6-11 and kids in that age range are many things, but subtle is not one of them. He starts with Geoff and Nick Army, a monk and gay duke nukem reflectivity who despite having polar oppositie personalities, are both a couple, as confirmed by the creative team and then the finale, and a crime fighting duo who are having a dispute over opening a pickle jar with the good old ultra violence or non violence, which KO solves by letting both do it once, which results in a pickle jar explosion, both men in their underwear and everyone happy, especially the shippers.  KO continues his quest, going to Logical Cuts where we meet Mr.Logic, a robot who has a rather moving and well done backstory we’ll certainly get to, and is voice by James Urabanik, aka the voice of Rusty Venture on the venture bros, to my utter delight. And yes i’ll be covering the venture bros eventually, and might be this month. His customer, another one of KO’s mom’s regulars, is upset because her haircut isn’t right while Mr.Logic is upset, well as upset as a monotone robot can convey, that his usually 100% mathmatically perfect haircuts are off. KO pitches in and the new result is perfect, with both being greatful. 

KO’s next stop on his good will help people crying for help tour, after the above bit of wonderful art shift as that version of ko moveds like a south park character for some reason. Anyways, it turns out best friends, co workers and the dante and randal of this show, i.e.two best friends working a dead end job who despite arguing a lot need each other, A Real Magical Skeleton, self explaintory and Greg, a bear, are having an argument because RMS is trying to do their job and frame a baseball for a guy while Greg is being a dickhead and playing the drums constantly. As you can probably wager, I do not like Greg, probably more than rusty, partly because a future episode has him making KO doubt his macaroni art gift for his mom so he can eat it, yes really,and partly because he’s less intresting than his buddy and yet the two are shipped frequently despite my honest assumption they’d kill each other.. much like if dante and randall finally banged. However if you do ship them, I have no hostility with you. Unlike say loudcest or shipping sam with lincoln over at the loud hosue, there's nothing wrong with RMS X Brandon, it’s just not for me.  Anywho KO solves it in the hilarious and awesome manner of just putting Brandon inside one of those baseball cube things... it’s a shame he apparently gave him air holes but whatever. Proud of himself, K.O. plans to head back when he runs into the Ally Teens: Red Action, rude teen warrior from the future who just had a bad haircut, Drupe, a sentient strawberry because of course, and Greg, Drupe’s nonbinary best friend and combination of one of the bone cousins and Woodstock. K.O. offers to help and , with the trio being huge steaming bowls of elephant piss at this point, they instead trick him into waiting in a lava flow and then have drupe whip him every time the lava causes him to cartoonishily jump in the air.  Yeah despite both Red Action and Drupe going on to having supporting roles, like our good pal tom, who I will get back to this month, there isn’t nearly as much wiggle room in their first apperance. With Tom Lucitor, he was a dick.. but you could make the case, even just off that ep that he genuinely dosen’t know HOW to be a good person or that what he’s doing is sketchy at best. Here, it’s fairly obvious the ally teens know setting a child on fire and using vine whip on him super effectively is wrong, that’s why their doing it. Red, being that special brand of asshole, posts it on social media. I mean posting a video of yourself hurting a child, that’s Tucker Carlson level’s of dickery right there. Stone cold. Enid sees it and is understandably concerned, and goes over to see if KO’s allright when he returns and is forced to explain to him that no they weren’t laughing with him, they were laughing at him and were just being dicks. Also he wasn’t in lava, it was magma. It was above ground. 

K.O. glumly wonders why and Enid reitrates this kind of shit is why she dosen’t help people. K.O. also wonders how she saw it and we find out Enid is basically facebook stalking red action on her social media, as you do, and that Red’s been on a bit of a tear lately, smashing up shit and farting in Geoff’s face all because she got a bad haircut, with K.O. , likely going thorugh more of her posts, realizing theirs a pattern: When bad things happen to her she lashes out at others.. just like Enid. I do like the parallel there: Enid likely has a crush on her because the two are fairly similar.. but Enid runs cold and tens to be standoffish as a result of her past, while Red tens to take out her anger and frustration on everyone else and runs red hot. But they come together because opposities attract... it’s what noble laurite MC Scat Kat taaught us after all.  K.O. however, having Steven Universe level’s of empahty and an equal sense of wanting to help, and just as few boundries as he had as a tween, decides that it’s clear the ally teens have underlying issues to adress and gets Enid help to look at their social media. Returning to the ally,and seemingly unphased by earlier, K.O. sets out helping them, starting by helping red get her haircut fixed by Mr. Logic. Red is adorably delighted. Moving on K.O. notes that Drupe basically just follows Red’s lead but has a fashion blog and clearly an identiy of her own and we soon learn she believes no one reads it. K.O. showed it to the not at all ambigiously gay duo and Geoff and Nick thank her> That’s two blushes and two wins in K.O.’s court.  Finishing up, K.O. realizes Gregg stays quiet because they have low self esteem and feel they have nothing to be proud of. K.O. however found lots to be proud of and framed Gregg’s valdectorian certificate for him, again with some help from earlier.  Instead of graditude red just calls him weird and leaves and KO slumps back depressed. I’ts a good lesson though: people DON’T change just because you did one weirdly kind thing for them. That takes time.. as we’ll see with Red and as we see with Drupe, who has less of an ons creen journey but is far nicer after her next apperance. While Enid is grossed out over having helped someone, Gregg comes in.. and after some great deranged animation thanks K.O. and Enid admits after some prodding that it does feel good to help, and K.O. is happy to have helped her int he process. The two playfully mess around as the episode ends. Final Thoughts: This was a really good one. Reaching back this far into the series, I didn’t think it’d would be nearly as good as it ended up: It serves both as a good proper introduction for a lot of the plaza regulars, a good setup for Enid’s character arc, and was also really funny with great animation. LIke Tom, I don’t think the creators knew exactly what they were going to do with the Alley Teens and thus take the two they end up focusing on in opposite directon: Red keeps her assholishness for her next apperance and grows from it, while Drupe’s drops off by the end of this season, likely due to her fashion blog taking off, but we’ll get into Red more in a review or so and Drupe more later this month.For now this episode was good and next up we have their next apperance in Plaza Prom. Until then, follow this blog for more reviews and nonsense, like and reblog it if you enjoyed this, hit me up with asks for review suggestions or comssions and until next time, later days!

#ok ko let's be heroes #you're everybody's sidekick #enid #red action #rednid #drupe #gregg #ko #geoff #nick army #mr.logic #ginger #lbgtq+ #pride month #happy pride

[meepmorpperaltiago]

The Machine

Aka Jake and Amy travel through all my aus! This is a totally cracky idea I had to celebrate reaching 80 fics - I hope you enjoy this 2k crackfest of insanity!  

Neither of them notice at first when the machine shows up in the precinct. No one knows what it is or what it does anyway -  a group of officers stand around, trying not to press any of the buttons, not knowing whether or not it’s something dangerous.

It catches Jake’s gaze as he walks past on his way to see Amy, with its round shape, big buttons and silver shine and he asks the officers what it is.

“We don’t know”, his wife responds with a shrug, getting up and going over to the place where half of her beat cops are currently gathered. “Some crazy drunk guy who kept trying to tell us he was from a parallel world had it with him. It has all these buttons but we can’t figure out what any of them do.”

“Well you know what the best way is to find out what something is?”, Jake asks, taking Amy’s hand as he goes to push the biggest button, right in the centre.

“Jake no!”, Amy exclaims before a clap of lightning strikes and they��re thrown to the ground.

 “Jake what the hell!”, Amy yells. “Why did you do that?”

“I don’t know what to tell you Ames, I see a button and I have to push it”, Jake responds with a shrug, hoping to win over Amy with a smile.

“Even Mac would know not to push that button and he’s 6 months old!”, she sighs, before getting up and looking around.

They appear to be in a large mall and other than it being unfamiliar, nothing about their location seems to be particularly amiss. Until, after deciding to explore a little to try and figure out where on earth they are, they walk into a record store with a name they don’t recognise and see Amy’s face plastered all over a prominently placed CD stand. Clear as day, it reads at the bottom “Amy Santiago: Sugar – 05/18/20”

Jake’s face lights up at the sight. “You know what this means?” he says to Amy with excitement, grabbing her arms.

“That one of us hit our head real hard and is hallucinating?”, Amy says.

“No – this is a parallel universe! Excuse me maa’m, could you tell me a little more about this album?”, Jake says, stopping one of the people working in the store as they go past.

She gives him a strange look before speaking slowly. “You mean the new Amy Santiago album? Her 11th and first in like 2 years? Well, it’s been pretty hyped up, we’re thinking it’s gonna sell a lot.”

“Why has she not done an album in two years?” Amy then asks, growing curious whether this is some kind of crazy fever dream or not and slightly concerned for this parallel version of herself that she’s just heard of.

“Well, she was kind of busy planning and then doing her year-long residency at Madison Square Garden…” the woman says, as if that’s something everyone knows.

Both of their eyes grow wide at that – the woman decides that the two of them are both just crazy and leaves them be with a quick excuse.

“Wait, if I’m some kind of big celebrity here, how come I’m not like, being mobbed or something?”, Amy asks.

“Uh, I think I know why”, Jake says, staring into his reflection on the front of the CD. Amy looks too and that’s when she realises: they look completely different.

“The machine must create some kind of filter”, Jake says whilst reading the track list.

“Come on, let’s try and find that machine and figure out how to get home,” Amy says, walking out of the store.

“Come on Ames, aren’t you at least a little bit curious about how all this happened? Don’t you wanna explore a little?”, he says, gesturing to her glammed-up image on the cardboard.

“Yeah, I guess I am a little curious…”, Amy says as Jake drags her away.

-           

Hours later, they’re sat by the machine, having played the entire Amy Santiago Essentials Playlist on Apple Music whilst looking for it and googling both of them (Jake was slightly disappointed to find out that he’s still just an ordinary guy in this universe).

“Wow Ames, other you made some bops, even though it does seem like she had a nervous breakdown doing it.”

“Yeah, it seems like she didn’t have a fun time for a while…”, Amy says distractedly, whilst eyeing up the big button that brought them here in the first place. “Lets hope this can bring us home”, she then says, before pressing the button in the centre and triggering another zap.

-

This time, they land on a beach – they both share a disappointed look, realising that they’re still not home.

“I wonder what’s different about this universe? Am I in a rock band?”, Jake says, only half joking.

Then they see a tail coming out of the water and realise they’re in a world even stranger than the last one.

When mermaid Amy sees them, she quickly dives under the water with a scared look on her face.

Stopped in their confusion, then they see a very relaxed Jake coming out of a nearby house and realise they can’t escape meeting themselves. Even if the other versions of them won’t know who they’re talking to.

Without even realising who they are, other Jake still looks at them with surprise “Sorry, it’s just we don’t get a lot of people on this beach”, he explains.

“We?”, Amy questions.

“Oh my wife and I. It’s kind of nice that it’s so quiet – then again that’s not always worked out great for me…”

Neither of them inquire into this rather strange comment which clearly has a story behind it, as a now two legged Amy comes out from a nearby cliff.

“Did they see me?”, she asks her Jake in a whisper that’s probably not as quiet as she’d like it to be.

Feeling awkward, original Jake and Amy make a move to leave, but Amy slips and accidently presses a button further down. Given the looks that their alternative selves give them, something must have messed with the perception filter. Then other Jake says it, in a slightly surprised voice.

“You’re… us”

“Yep”, Jake says, feeling very awkward. “That machine has kind of been taking us through all these different wild scenarios…”

“Wait, why aren’t you more shocked?”, Amy asks.

He responds with a shrug, saying: “Well, I married a mermaid, my life is already wild enough”

“Jake!”, mermaid Amy says, elbowing him with a whisper. Clearly this is some kind of secret that he was supposed to keep.

“Come on babe, it’s us”, he points out to his Amy.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right”, she admits.

Jake finally asks the question he’s been itching to ask ever since he realised him and Amy are still together in this world. “How did you two meet anyway?”

That’s how they end up sat chatting to their alternate selves, exchanging stories and comparing their wildly different life experiences. They both love each other’s stories, although the mermaid one is of course slightly more strange. 

“Do you still miss being a cop?”, Jake asks the other version of him as he draws patterns in the sand.

“Y’know, I did for a really long time… but now I’m ok”. He smiles softly at his Amy when he says that, bumping her shoulder slightly and it warms Jake’s heart a more than a little bit.

-

“Ames, you’re basically Ariel here!”, Jake says excitedly whilst the other versions of them head back their beach house.

“I know!”, Amy says as she once again pushes that darn button.

-

They still don’t end up back at the precinct. This time, they end up in a place that seems distinctly… historical.

This time, they figure out their story with a simple look at a newspaper. The headline reads “SANTIAGO SCANDAL AS LADY AMEILA ELOPES WITH SERVANT”

“Amy… you gave up everything for me…”, Jake says, moved by the sacrifice that the other version of his wife made as he looks at the front page article in more detail. Amy simply reads along with him, resting her head on his shoulder unsurprised – she’d definitely have done the same thing.

-

They’re in a cheering crowd and they see themselves high up on a balcony. The other versions of them wave elegantly, with a boy in tow that looks distinctly like an older version of the baby who waits for them at home. It makes their hearts ache a little and increases their determination to get home. But first, they look at their phones to figure out how the heck they became royalty in this world.

Jake smiles as he imagines Amy going through the awkward process of becoming a princess: but then again, he can imagine she would make a great ruler. And she definitely has the beauty part down.

“Do you think we could just break that filter thingy again and chuck these guys down some stairs?”, Jake says in a joking tone.

“Jake we can’t murder ourselves, let alone assassinate royalty”, Amy says in a hushed tone and with a giggle.

-

As they keep pushing the button, they go through more and more scenarios.

“You had kids with Teddy?”

“I had a kid with Sophia?”

“Are we British here? What the heck are prefects?”

“Oh my god, we have such cool powers here!”

“Our kid has such cool powers here!”

“Gina and I are openly friends here? Rosa willingly sings on stage? And we’re in a girl band? This is weirder than our kid going to Hogwarts honestly” 

“What the hell? We’re nowhere near cool enough to be Youtubers”

“How come I was the one who got Thanos snapped?”

“We all go to jail here? That’s a bummer”

“Fuck is this the Handmaid’s Tale? Oh man, this is even more of a bummer than the we all go to jail universe”

“Ooooh we’re both suffragettes?” “But you being in World War One is sucky”

“Oh god I love Chidi and Eleanor, I’m so glad we got to be them”

“Teddy proposing to you again, what a surprise”

“Oh my god, Jake this is like that one tv show we watched, the one with all the fairy-tales”

“Even more fairy tales! I hope this Amy wakes up that Jake soon”

-

In a second, they zap onto a darkened Brooklyn street and Jake looks up to see all of his dreams come true. There he is, up on a building in a white shirt, grappling rope in hand, filling the role of his hero, John Mclane. But in his excitement, he steps back, pushes the button and they zap away before he can see himself saving the day.

“Ugh, why can’t I ever do anything badass?”, he complains with a stomp of his foot as they seem to land back in the precinct. After checking that everything is definitely still the same, they realise they’ve spent an entire day hopping from world to world and they finally head home. Then Amy makes a curious observation.

“It’s so weird how some of those stories just never finished huh? Like someone was too lazy to finish them off or lost interest?”

-

“You know what I really loved about seeing all those different worlds?”, Jake asks as they snuggle together on the couch later that night, having put Mac down to sleep in the nursery.

“What?”, Amy asks, looking up at her husband with a curious gaze.

“In every universe, we always managed to come together. Even in worlds where you were a superstar, or we were in different classes, different ages and nationalities or you were another freakin’ species. We’re soulmates in literally every scenario.”

Amy smiles at that and simply kisses him in response.

“I guess we really were just meant to be”, she says as she falls asleep on his shoulder.

“I think so too,” he says in response before following suit.

#b99 #b99 au #brooklyn nine nine #brooklyn nine nine fanfic #jake peralta #amy santiago #jake x amy #peraltiago #peraltiago fic #royalty au #fantasy au #mermaid au #popstar au #basically literally every au I've ever done is referenced in some way here

[sifeng]

2019′s Guzhuang Dramas

Looking for a guzhuang to watch? Here’s a full compilation of the most popular ones! They will be ranked by the douban ratings (a Chinese rating site), and the MDL ratings will be in brackets. In a case of a tie, I chose the drama with a higher percentage of 5 star ratings on douban. In addition, the time period, main stars, plot and episode number will be provided:

Format: Name (Chinese Name) - Douban rating [MDL rating]

1. Love and Destiny (宸汐缘) - 8.3 [8.7]

Time Period: Xianxia

Starring: Zhang Zhen (张震), Ni Ni (倪妮)

Episode Number: 60

Plot: A love story between the God of War and a young maiden whose very existence can bring harm to the world.

Related Shows: Eternal Love (三生三世十里桃花), Ashes of Love (香蜜沉沉烬如霜), The Journey of Flower (花千骨)

2. The Untamed (陈情令) - 8.3 [9.4]

Time Period: Wuxia

Starring: Xiao Zhan (肖战), Wang Yibo (王一博)

Episode Number: 50

Plot: Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are two completely different people from two different worlds. Lan Wangji was born in the prominent Sect of the Gusu Lan. Due to his great achievements and reputation, he was seen as a hero, the role model of everyone in the cultivation world and is known to appear wherever chaos is. While Wei Wuxian, the Yiling Patriarch,was a name that was feared by everyone. He has done many heroic things in his life, but also really cruel ones. In the end, Wei Wuxian was "killed" by his best friend and only survivor of the Yunmeng Jiang Sect, Jiang Cheng, who was once like a brother to him, after he became too evil for the world to exist. At least that is what the legend says. Sixteen years after his so-called “death”, Wei Wuxian suddenly reappeared again at the Mo Village. 

3. The Longest Day in Chang An (长安十二时辰) - 8.3 [8.9]

Time Period: Tang Dynasty

Starring: Lei Jiayin (雷佳音), Jackson Yee (易烊千玺)

Episode Number: 48

Plot: 744 A.D, Chang’an. The remnants of a vanquished Central Asian kingdom have infiltrated the world’s largest city for a planned attack during the Lantern Festival. Meanwhile, the court is fraught with infighting. The aging Emperor is expected to announce the regency of the Right Chancellor during the festival and retreat to the mountains with his young lover. If the Right Chancellor becomes the regent, the reformist Crown Prince risks being deposed—or worse. Intelligence chief Li Bi, a young Taoist priest, and ally of the Crown Prince has only 24 hours to prevent both the attack and the regency. After a botched attempt to capture the infiltrators, Li Bi and his team call in the services of death row prisoner Zhang Xiao Jing — a war veteran, beloved police chief, and murderer of his last direct superior.

4. Young Blood (大宋少年志) - 8.2 [8.3]

Time Period: Song Dynasty

Starring: Zhang Xincheng (张新成), Zhou Yutong (周雨彤)

Episode Number: 42

Plot: During the Qingli Era, troubling affairs brew underneath the prosperity and stability of the Northern Song Dynasty. To avoid war and protect the peace between its people, the Northern Song uses the name of "Mi Ge" (Secret Cabinet) to train young spies. For a variety of reasons and whether willing or unwilling, these six become the Seventh Room of Mi Ge after strict selection and examination: Yuan Zhong Xin, Zhao Jian, Xiao Jing, Wang Kuan, Xue Ying, Wei Ya Nei. Upon first entering the school, each acts out of their own self-interest, making a mess of their surroundings and causing headaches for their teachers. After going through a series of life-and-death missions, the previously ignorant boys and girls gradually mature and form bonds with one another, devoting their determination and loyalty to defending the peace. Burying their names, they become unknown legends within the river of history. 

5. Goodbye My Princess (东宫) - 7.6 [8.4]

Time Period: Fictional

Starring: Chen Xingxu (陈星旭), Peng Xiaoran (彭小苒)

Episode Number: 55

Plot: A love story revolves around the 9th Princess of Western Liang as she journeys to the Central Plains to fulfill a marriage alliance with the Crown Prince. Two parallel lines begin to intersect in a place fraught with danger and deadly power play and buried somewhere deep inside are memories that have yet to resurface.

6. The Birth of the Drama King (少年江湖物语) - 7.5 [7.7]

Time Period: Wuxia

Starring: Zhou Yanchen (周彦辰), Luo Mingjie (骆明劼)

Episode Number: 24

Plot: A hilarious comedy about two long lost brothers who meet again as enemies in the pugilistic world with the "righteous" hero infiltrating the "evil" dark lord's sect as an undercover agent. Hijinks ensue when the introverted hero tries to befriend the temperamental dark lord by following his master's self-help book on "how to make a friend in ten days." 

7. Hot Blooded Youth (热血少年) - 7.2 [7.9]

Time Period: Chinese Republic

Starring: Huang Zitao (黄子韬), Zhang Xueying (张雪迎)

Episode Number: 58

Plot: A legendary story about a young man who overcomes many hardships to become a formidable force in the Shanghai Bund. Xiong Tian grew up in the streets. With nothing to his name, he works a thankless job just to make a living. Nonetheless, he is quick-witted, talented and exceptionally gifted in steam-powered machinery. By chance, he gets pulled into a complicated fight and works his way to become a champion.

8. Once Upon A Time in Lingjian Mountain (从前有座灵剑山) - 7.2 [8.5]

Time Period: Wuxia

Starring: Xu Kai (许凯), Zhang Rongrong (张榕容)

Episode Number: 37

Plot: A story that follows Wang Lu, a young genius, who enters the Spirit Blade Sect and embarks on an unconventional journey towards immortal cultivation.

9. Candle in the Tomb (怒晴湘西) - 7.1 [8.2]

Time Period: Chinese Republic

Starring: Pan Yueming (潘粤明), Gao Weiguang (高伟光)

Episode Number: 21

Plot: The third season of the Candle in the Tomb series is set in the Republican era during a time when the warlords fight for power and bring disaster upon the people. Tomb raider and head of the Xieling Clan Chen Yu Lou joins hands with warlord Luo Lao Wai and heads to Xiangxi to explore tombs of the Yuan dynasty. On his journey he meets Zhe Gu Shao who is not interested in any treasures but wants to find a magical bead that can put an end to the curse on his clan. Yu Lou and Gu Shao eventually form an alliance to tread the untrodden path to the Yuan tombs.

10. Lovely Swords Girl (恋恋江湖) - 6.9 [7.7]

Time Period: Fictional

Starring: Jiang Zhenyu (姜贞羽), Wang Shize (王仕泽)

Episode Number: 24

Plot: Set in a fictional history rife with conflict and chaos, the story revolves around a sappy young woman who doesn't forget to laugh and chases after true love even as she gets caught in a love triangle. Through her journey, she grows into a loving person and thwarts an evil scheme in the pugilistic world.

11. Arsenal Military Academy (烈火军校) - 6.7 [8.7]

Time Period: Chinese Republic

Starring: Bai Lu (白鹿), Xu Kai (许凯)

Episode Number: 48

Plot: Xie Xiang joins the army in her brother's stead by pretending to be a man. She becomes classmates with the wealthy Gu Yan Zhen and the calm Shen Jun Shan. Through their rigorous training, the three form a bond to become comrades, all while Xie Xiang tries to keep her cover. After many incidents, Xie Xiang earns the respect of her peers and superiors. She also becomes the object of affections of the two men in her lives. The Japanese military stations more forces in the Northeast region causing the young heroes to engage in battle as they uncover a big conspiracy.

12. Detective L (绅探) - 6.5 [8.5]

Time Period: Chinese Republic

Starring: Bai Yu (白宇), You Jingru (尤靖茹)

Episode Number: 24

Plot: Shanghai in the 30s: An intriguing crime case emerges amidst the bustling city. A beautiful new graduate of the police academy, Qin Xiao Man, joins the investigation unit. The famous detective Luo Fei becomes her colleague and neighbour.

13. The Love by Hypnotic (明月照我心) - 6.4 [8.3]

Time Period: Fictional

Starring: Fang Yilun (方逸伦), Ling Meishi (凌美仕)

Episode Number: 36

Plot: A princess and a prince who can't see eye to eye find themselves stuck in an arranged marriage. Yet they start opening up to each other because of hypnosis.

Related Shows: The Eternal Love (双世宠妃)

14. Love Better Than Immortality (天雷一部之春花秋日） - 6.3 [8.2]

Time Period: Fictional

Starring: Li Hongyi (李宏毅), Zhao Lusi (赵露思)

Episode Number: 40

Plot: A woman from the future arrives at a fantasy-like universe to experience love for the first time. She goes by the name Chun Hua and falls into a complicated romance with two young men who are opposites like black and white.

15. The Legends (招摇) - 6.2 [8.5]

Time Period: Wuxia

Starring: Bai Lu (白鹿), Xu Kai (许凯)

Episode Number: 56

Plot: While attempting to take her predecessor’s Wanjun Sword, Lu Zhao Yao is ambushed by the ten immortal sects and dies. She mistakenly believes Li Chen Lan, who is her best ally, is related to the incident after he is revealed to be the demon king’s son. Five years later, Li Chen Lan has taken over the position of the Wanlu sect leader, and Zhao Yao decides to exact revenge. She who is now a spirit, possesses the body of Qin Zhi Yan, a female disciple of the Immortal Sect, and with the help of the newly gained body, she becomes the direct disciple of Mo Qing aka Li Chen Lan with the aim of killing him. But things don’t go as she planned, when she slowly starts to fall in love with him instead.

16. Novoland: Eagle Flag (九州缥缈录) - 6.1 [8.0]

Time Period: Fictional

Starring: Liu Haoran (刘昊然), Song Zu’er (宋祖儿)

Episode Number: 56

Plot: Lu Gui Chen is the heir of the nomadic Qingyang tribe, and is sent to the Eastern Land as hostage. He meets Ji Ye, an unfavoured illegitimate son who is training to become a warrior, and Yu Ran, the princess of the Winged tribe. At the same time, powerful warlord Ying Wu Yi has been maintaining a firm control over the Emperor, giving him unprecedented power over the nobles. Lu Gui Chen, Ji Ye, and Yu Ran decide to join the decisive battle against Ying Wu Yi at Shangyang Pass, but unbeknownst to them, an even darker conspiracy is yet to unfold.

17. Princess Silver (白发) - 6.0 [8.1]

Time Period: Fictional

Starring: Zhang Xueying (张雪迎), Li Zhiting (李治廷)

Episode Number: 58

Plot: A story that follows a princess with amnesia who meets a prince that did not want to marry her and how they find a place for themselves despite the complications of the time.

18. Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber (倚天屠龙记) - 5.8 [8.3]

Time Period: Wuxia

Starring: Zeng Shunxi (曾舜曦), Chen Yuqi (陈钰琪)

Episode Number: 50

Plot: Legend said that whoever obtains the Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber can rule the world. Zhang Wuji was orphaned at a young age by schemes to discover secrets of these two weapons. Despite his preference to live a non-violent life, Wuji found himself embroiled in the struggles for power and must fight to save himself and others he loves...

Related Shows: The Legend of the Condor Heroes (射雕英雄传), The Return of the Condor Heroes (神雕侠侣), Demi Gods and Semi Devils (天龙八部), The Smiling Wanderer (笑傲江湖)

19. I Will Never Let You Go (小女花不弃) - 5.6 [7.8]

Time Period: Fictional

Starring: Lin Yichen (林依晨), Zhang Binbin (张彬彬)

Episode Number: 51

Plot: The story revolves around a young wanderer with an extraordinary business sense and the masked hero who saves her which ultimately results in them falling in love. When the wanderer is revealed to be the Divine Maiden who will obtain a legendary treasure, various enemies hunt her down. She then lives life on the run and meets her savior who turns out to be the ambitious prince that wants to take the throne.

20. The Plough Department of the Song Dynasty (大宋北斗司) - 5.3 [8.0]

Time Period: Song Dynasty

Starring: Xu Ke (徐可), Dai Luwa (代露娃)

Episode Number: 36

Plot: The Plough (Big Dipper) Department is a special investigation institution that works for the emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty. Tai Sui and his partners work together to break odd cases and punish the evils. Through a series of cases, Tai Sui found out there was a hidden conspiracy behind these cases, and it was related to his unknown past.

21. Please Give Me a Pair of Wings (请赐我一双翅膀) - 5.0 [8.1]

Time Period: Chinese Republic

Starring: Ju Jingyi (鞠婧祎), Yan Yalun (炎亚纶)

Episode Number: 60

Plot: It tells the story of Lin Jiu Ge, the daughter of Shanggu's Police Commissioner who was framed and unjustly imprisoned. She will have the help of young police detective Long Tian Yu to hopefully find the real murderer. Will Lin Jiu Ge be able to get her revenge?

22. Legend of Haolan (皓镧传) - 4.8 [7.8]

Time Period: Warring States Period

Starring: Wu Jinyan (吴谨言), Nie Yuan (聂远)

Episode Number: 62

Plot: During the Warring States Period, Li Hao Lan (Wu Jin Yan) is forced out of her own home and sold as a slave despite being the daughter of the Public Censor of Zhao. Purchased by Lu Bu Wei (Nie Yuan), she is gifted to Ying Yi Ren (Mao Zi Jun) a Qin Royal who is serving as a hostage to guarantee the armistice between the Qin and Zhao states. A dangerous battle begins in result of their arrival and they must rely on their wits to survive.

23. The Great Craftsman (筑梦情缘) - 4.6 [8.0]

Time Period: Chinese Republic

Starring: Hua Jianhua (霍建华), Yang Mi (杨幂)

Episode Number: 60

Plot: Military conflicts in the Warlord era has resulted in unbearable conditions. Amidst the chaos, Shen Qinan's family experiences a terrible misfortune. The four brothers and sisters overcome many hurdles to flee to Shanghai but they are forced to separate. Many years later, they will reunite again. Shen Qinan manages to climb from the depths of despair to make a name for himself as a famous architect in the Shanghai Bund. He meets Fu Hanjun, a gifted architect who puts the people's needs and traditional Chinese architecture at the heart of her designs. During Shanghai's development, Shen Qinan works hard to build affordable homes for the people. When the Second Sino-Japanese War erupted, Shen Qinan uncovers a conspiracy and plays his part to prevents many deaths.

24. Legend of the Phoenix (凤弈) - 4.6 [7.7]

Time Period: Fictional

Starring: He Hongshan (何泓姗), Xu Zhengxi (徐正溪)

Episode Number: 41

Plot: Set in the fictional Eastern Liang dynasty, circus performer Ye Ningzhi’s (He Hongshan) troupe enters the palace and stages a performance to celebrate the empress dowager’s birthday. The ambitious grand princess (emperor’s sister) decides to cause mischief by framing her for treason, though the heroine is saved by strategist Wei Guang (Xu Zhengxi), and falls in love at first sight with him. When Ye Ningzhi enters the palace two years later as the empress’ maid, she stands up for her fellow servants, and refuses to sacrifice her conscience in the face of power. Ye Ningzhi also works together with Wei Guang to crush the grand princess’ plan to usurp the throne, and catches the eye of the emperor in the process.

25. The New Legend of the White Snake (新白娘子传奇) - 4.4 [7.4]

Time Period: Fictional

Starring: Ju Jingyi (鞠婧祎), Yu Menglong (于朦胧)

Episode Number: 36

Plot: The story is set in Hangzhou, then the capital of the Southern Song court, and is about a 1,000-year-old snake spirit that's transformed into a beautiful woman and falls in love with a young man. However, a Buddhist monk intervenes.

26. Listening Snow Tower (听雪楼) - 4.3 [7.9]

Time Period: Wuxia

Starring: Qin Junjie (秦俊杰), Yuan Bingyan (袁冰妍)

Episode Number: 56

Plot: A story that follows the master of Listening Snow Tower and the woman that he loves. He is a martial arts expert known to be a dragon among men and she is known as the blood demon's daughter. 

27. Queen Dugu (独孤皇后) - 3.9 [7.4]

Time Period: Sui Dynasty

Starring: Chen Qiao’en (陈乔恩), Chen Xiao (陈晓)

Episode Number: 50

Plot: After their family was wrongfully persecuted due to the machinations of a corrupt official, Dugu Jia Luo held strict expectations for herself to be independent and strong even at a young age. Her husband Yang Jian is a man of great spirit. He is a warrior, skilled in battle, who rises up the ranks to become the Emperor. With Dugu Jia Luo by his side, they succeed in uniting the country under the Sui Dynasty. The husband and wife stay in a monogamous relationship despite their imperial status and come to be revered by people as the two saints due to their extraordinary contributions to a new golden age.

28. Investiture of the Gods (封神演义) - 3.3 [7.2]

Time Period: Shang/Zhou Dynasty

Starring: Luo Jin (罗晋), Wang Likun (王丽坤)

Episode Number: 56

Plot: In the time of King Zhou of Shang, the Gods are mostly gone and the demons trouble the human world. The Primeval Lord of Heaven decides to use the war between the Zhou and Shang dynasties to choose a new generation of Gods to ascend the celestial realm. His sends his apprentices forth in search of righteous candidates: Jiang Zi Ya assists Ji Fa in governing his new empire Zhou dynasty, Shen Gong Bao infiltrates the Shang dynasty with Su Da Ji seducing the king to rack havoc on the world, and Yu Ding Zhen Ren helps Yang Jian, a human with a third eye, to achieve his potential. The outcome of selection lies in the fates of humans.

Ongoing Dramas:

Joy of Life (庆余年) - 8.0 (ending 2/12/20)

Royal Nirvana (鹤唳华亭) - 7.5 (ending ??)

Sword Dynasty (剑王朝) - 6.8 (ending 1/11/20)

The Romance of Hua Rong (一夜新娘) - 6.8 (ending 12/31/19)

Blossom In Heart (海棠经雨胭脂透) - 6.6 (ending 12/19/19)

To Get Her (惹不起殿下大人) - N/A (ending 12/30/19)

The Mysterious World (天机十二宫) - N/A (ending ??)

Upcoming Dramas:

Dreaming Back to Qing Dynasty (梦回) - N/A (starting 12/14/19)

Disclaimer: Obviously these rankings are just based off of others’ opinions. I really liked “Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre” even though inseams the majority of people didn’t. Whatever show seems interesting to you, watch it! The majority of guzhuang dramas are made with delicacy and attention to detail. I’ve seen reviews complimenting some dramas with relatively lower ratings, so of course every drama has its fans. I would obviously suggest you all go and watch the top 5 if they sound interesting to you.

#Cdrama #Cdrama Review #cdrama recommendations #love and destiny #the untamed #chinese drama

[writeroftheprompts]

Do you have any advice about writing a story that’s set in a Tudor court? Do you know how I could find information to make details of my story accurate? Thank You ❤️

Which Tudor court because trust me depending on the ruling monarch and what mood they were in (I’m mostly looking at you, Henry VIII) they would be pretty different. The Tudor period is considered to be from 1485-1603 and includes the following monarchs:

1585 with Henry VII (defeated Richard III of Shakespearean fame) 

Henry VIII (of wife-murdering, starting-a-new-branch-of-Christianity-so-he-can-go-around-the-Pope fame but later maybe regrets that and wants to go back to Catholicism but dies before he does)

Edward VI (Henry’s son by his third wife, Jane Seymour. Just...it’s complicated)

Jane Grey (Queen for ten days...I told you, its complicated) 

Mary I (aka Bloody Mary and Henry’s eldest daughter by Catherine of Aragon who decided to turn the country back to Catholicism)

and finally to Elizabeth I until she died in 1603 (Henry’s second daughter by wife 2 Anne Boleyn. She went back to Protestantism btw)

This period is seriously messed up, historically, mostly thanks to Henry VIII’s shenanigans. There’s flip-flopping in the official and legal religion of England and depending on who is in charge you would be safe one day and then persecuted the next based on which branch you were following. The line of succession was kind of confusing and definitely not peaceful. 

The super condensed story is that after Catherine of Aragon (Spanish btw) gives him a daughter, Mary, and doesn't produce a boy he makes up a reason to annul the marriage (something about how she was originally supposed to marry his brother and might have actually done it maybe but then he died?) Anyway he decides he doesn't agree when the Pope says no and decides that as the King he's just going to make a branch of Protestantism where he is head of the Church and can approve his own divorce. He marries Anne Boleyn who also has a girl (Elizabeth) and also can't have another child so he divorces her on the grounds that she (allegedly) had incest with her brother and cheated. Has her beheaded for good measure. Lucky wife #3 has a boy, Edward VI. There were three other wives but they're not important to this part.

As a male Edward gets the throne, obviously, especially because his sisters are declared illegitimate because Henry claims they were not his. Except Edward is only nine when he gets crowned. Eventually he passes a law to keep his sisters from ever seeing the throne and when his health gets bad he declares that Lady Jane Grey should take his place. Except The People (Catholics) want Mary in power because she was raised Catholic by her Catholic Spanish mother plus Jane’s claim to the throne just isn't that strong anyway so they rise up and kill Jane Grey (hence queen for ten days) and Mary take the throne. 

Mary reverses the religious laws her father made so now Protestants are being persecuted (and killed), hence the Bloody Mary name. When she dies the throne gets to Elizabeth I who was raised Protestant so she switches back. Her reign is mostly peaceful but there’s some stuff with the Spanish trying to invade and getting caught in a storm and the mess with Mary Queen of Scots (not the same as Mary I of England, this Mary is a cousin and Scottish) that eventually ends with Elizabeth sentencing Mary to death. This Elizabeth vs Mary thing is rather complicated so definitely worth looking into if this the period you want to use (the recent movie Mary Queen of Scots is not the best. It presents their “rivalry” as much more personal and chick-fighty than it was. Also insinuates that Elizabeth envied Mary because she had children and was beautiful when in reality Elizabeth writes in multiple works and speeches that she was committed to being the Virgin Queen. That whole aspect of her is quite complicated on its own). Interestingly though, Elizabeth writes a letter to James, who after his mother dies becomes King James V of Scotland, saying that she didn’t mean to sentence Mary to death (?) Most likely she was trying to keep things cool with James especially because after Elizabeth dies in 1603, James becomes King James I of England which is the end of the Tudor period. 

*side note, even though James seemed okay with what happened to his mother, after Elizabeth died he moved her body to a less prominent spot to move Mary into her place of honour so make of that what you will.

This is all an extremely long winded way of saying that you really need to choose a specific era within the Tudor period because it gets messy. Honestly, Wikipedia is a good place to get an overview of the facts and major players. Look for terms you may not be familiar with and references to specific parts of dress or roles in the court and see if you can find images or sources that will help you find more information. If you’re really serious about historical accuracy it’s a pretty good idea to try to get some primary sources, things like letters, speeches, museum artifacts or displays (if you can't get to a museum there are some images you can find online). Luminarium has some sources and those Wiki articles usually have sources listed. YouTube will probably have documentary clips and “history summarized” type videos. Movies can be a source to discover things you didn't know about before but, as I briefly mentioned, they usually dramatize and play up certain things for the entertainment value so not everything is going to be super accurate. 

Right, this is much too long and I don't even know if this is exactly what you were looking for. I am not an expert on the Tudor period, this is mostly from various classes I’ve taken where this stuff is touched on, but you can literally take full classes just on this topic so I hope it gives you a sense of a starting point for research. If I could say two things that are super important to the period it would be religion and status. 

#ask #God this is way too long #history #historical #writing tips #writeblr

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The Sister Cast: Russell Tovey and Bertie Carvel’s Best-Known Roles

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Written by Luther creator Neil Cross, The Sister stars Russell Tovey and Bertie Carvel as acquaintances connected by a long-buried, dark secret. The four-part paranormal thriller based on Cross’ 2009 novel Burial, sees Nathan Redman (Tovey) and Bob Morrow (Carvel) tussle with their conscience when the past re-emerges and threatens to upend the lives they’ve built. Tovey and Carvel star alongside Amrita Acharia as Nathan’s partner Holly, and Nina Toussaint-White as Holly’s friend and a police officer investigating the disappearance of a young woman (Simone Ashley).

Leads Carvel and Tovey boast a long and healthy back-catalogue of stage and screen parts. See below for five of their most recognisable roles to date. 

Bertie Carvel: Magician, Adulterer, Headmistress, Murdoch, Agatha Christie 

Jonathan Strange – Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Carvel was dream-casting for the role of mercurial magician Jonathan Strange in the 2015 BBC One adaptation of Susanna Clarke’s rich period-fantasy Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (a cracker for fans of 19th century lit and astonishingly worthy of its 1000-odd page length). He was paired perfectly with Eddie Marsan as the withdrawn and bookish Mr Norrell, against whom Carvel’s Strange appeared even more, well… strange. Carvel played the character as part Dr Frankenstein, part Lord Byron, with his own sense of mischief and unpredictability. Magic.

Miss Trunchbull – Matilda the Musical

Roald Dahl’s villains are legendary, and on stage, Bertie Carvel made the antagonist of Matilda the Musical unforgettable. Plumped out with padding, a hump, warts, a wig and a weightlifter’s belt, he didn’t play the terrifyingly sadistic headmistress for laughs, but got them anyway. Carvel won an Olivier award for the performance, and was nominated for a Tony. In the upcoming film version of the Dennis Kelly and Tim Minchin musical, Voldemort himself, aka Ralph Fiennes, is reported to be picking up the Miss Trunchbull role.

Simon Foster – Doctor Foster

For a brief period in 2015, a Bertie Carvel character became the most-hated man in the country. As the cheating husband of Suranne Jones’ titular character in BBC drama Doctor Foster, he became a dartboard target for wronged women everywhere. Smug, arrogant and apparently conscience-free, Simon Foster’s extra-marital affair with Jodie Comer’s Kate was all anybody talked about.

Rupert Murdoch – Ink

Carvel won a coveted Tony award for his role as media mogul Rupert Murdoch in Ink, a play by Quiz and This House playwright James Graham, set against the backdrop of the late sixties as a young Murdoch buys UK tabloid newspaper The Sun.   

Zachariah Osborne – The Pale Horse 

One of Carvel’s most recent and prominent screen roles saw him join the twisted Sarah Phelps-Agatha Christie universe. In two-part adaptation The Pale Horse, he plays Zachariah Osborne, a car mechanic who becomes obsessed with the idea that he and lead Mark Easterbrook (Rufus Sewell) have been cursed by witches…

See also: Frank Temple in Baghdad Central, Finn in Babylon

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Russell Tovey: History Boy, Werewolf, Slacker, Gamer, Everyman

Rudge – The History Boys

Both on stage at The National and on screen for the 2006 film adaptation of Alan Bennett’s The History Boys, Russell Tovey played Rudge, one of a group of sixth-formers taking the Oxford entrance examination in the 1980s. Alongside Tovey, the play’s cast has included Dominic Cooper, James Corden, Sacha Dhawan and Matt Smith, all of whom went on to very big things.

George Sands – Being Human

Supernatural drama Being Human was never quite the same after the series three departure of the original cast (well, not the original original cast, which had Andrea Riseborough as Annie, didn’t have Poldark’s Aidan Turner as Mitchell, but did have The Crown’s Claire Foy as George’s ex-fiancée Julia). Russell Tovey was there from the start as werewolf George, the beating heart of the Bristol-based flat-share.

Steve – Him & Her

Russell Tovey made a terrific pair with Sarah Solemani (who’s written the currently-in-production BBC drama Ridley Road) in low-key BBC comedy Him & Her. Becky and Steve were loveable slobs whose inertia meant their sitcom’s action never left the confines of their filthy flat. No matter, because they were subject to an onslaught of grotesquely comic visitors, from Becky’s sister Laura (Kerry Howard) to upstairs neighbour Dan (Joe Wilkinson). 

Kevin – Looking 

Celebrated HBO comedy-drama Looking was hailed by many critics as the male, gay answer to Lena Dunham’s Girls over its three-season lifespan between 2014-2016. The series won well-deserved plaudits for its funny, touching and frank portrayal of the lives of gay men living in San Francisco, navigating career, love lives and family. Tovey played video-game genius Kevin, the boss and sometime love interest of lead Patrick (Jonathan Groff).

Daniel Lyons – Years and Years

Without spoilers, Tovey’s character has a heart-wrenching and gripping storyline in Russell T. Davies’ Years and Years. The six-part BBC series follows three generations of a Manchester family from the present day years into the future, where modern politics, the economy and division over immigration have all worsened in the UK. It’s a powerful drama, and Tovey is right at its heart.

See also: Henry Knight in Sherlock ‘The Hounds of Baskerville’, Midshipman Frame in Doctor Who, Budgie in Gavin & Stacey, Jake in Flesh and Blood, Ray Terrill in the Arrowverse ‘Crisis on Earth X’ 

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Spooky drama The Sister airs at 9pm on Monday 26th, Tuesday 27th, Wednesday 28th and Thursday 29th on ITV.

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