#and Cinderella was pretty meh overall | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

antidotesprout · 2 years

Text

The Piers Music Headcanon Rant™️

Okay, so I gave Peach the vaguest rundown, so I'm going to do my best to make it more coherent and less me foaming at the mouth about my cringefail taste in music. Buckle in.

A lot of people throw him into the pop-punk screamo bin which is not bad, I actually do enjoy those as well and I can definitely see it, but it's not what my brain wanted to hear from him. My brain threw the sound more into British Punk energy I liked (Sex Pistols, Killing Joke, GBH) perhaps with a more modern sound, so this is about where I ended up. I have contemplated this deeply.

Disclaimer: I am not a music expert by any stretch of the imagination. I’m pretty sure my taste is a bit shit but hey who knows.

Okay so the basic rundown is I have a list of bands for Piers sound headcanons, whether that be vocals or music overall, and then they're ranked from most to least what my brain imagines. I listed tracks I like but you’re welcome to explore beyond.

Band 1: Bad Nerves (they are the closest to the sound in my head)

Track Recommendations: Dreaming, Wasted Days, Can't Be Mine, Mad Mind, New Shapes, Radio Punk, Don't Stop

Explanation: it's the energy, the raw mic, the throwback classic punk sound. This is probably the closest to what my brain conjured. All of their tracks are pretty solid but the ones I listed just hit me a certain way. The vocals may not be as pretty as one might think but also I think that'd work.

Band 2: Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes (this one actually is moved from the original list after some deep consideration)

Track Recs: Devil Inside Me, Primary Explosive, Kitty Sucker, Wild Flowers, Why a Butterfly can’t love a Spider, Latex Dreams

Explanation: Overall a good sound, good vocals. Some days I feel it more than others, I consider this a floater on my list, not a solid second place.

Band 3: Airways

Track Recs: Reckless Tongue, Slow, Will it Tear Us Apart, Terrible Town

Explanation: The only reason they don't rank higher is sometimes their sound gets techy. Otherwise Terrible Town gives me big Spikemuth energy and I like the vocalist.

Band 4: Kid Kapichi

Track Recs: Self Saboteur, Violence, Puppet Strings, Cinderella

Explanation: More recent stuff has more of a rap sound, and the vocals aren't a good match for me, but the overall sound and anti-establishment energy here is good.

Band 5: Dirty Pretty Things

Track Recs: Gin & Milk, You Fucking Love It, The Enemy

Explanation: Only reason they don't rank higher is there's only one album, so not a lot to choose from lol

Band 6: Royal Blood

Track Recommendations: Little Monster, Figure it out, You can be so cruel, Oblivion, Limbo

Explanation: Another floater. They COULD go higher on the list depending on my mood. But generally their stuff gets a little techy. Probably one of my top candidates for Piers vocal match though.

---

After this is where things get fuzzy. It's either like "this band but only their early stuff" or "ehhh they're a lil more pop-ish but they got the right spirit." But not quite single tracks. We'll call this Honorable Mentions:

- Arctic Monkeys BUT ONLY SPECIFICALLY their album "Favourite Worst Nightmare" OR earlier. "AM" can sit with us but it's on THIN ICE. Everything after that gets way too techy. I'm fond of "D is for Dangerous" "505" "I bet you look good on the dancefloor" (also "Nettles" but that one's a bit odd)

- Maximo Park but I lean specifically to tracks off "A Certain Trigger" Can be a bit Pop-y, especially with their more recent work, but I'm particularly fond of "Apply Some Pressure" "Postcard of a Painting" "Graffiti" "I want you to stay" "Girls Who Play Guitar" (vocals do rank high on my Piers voice match scale though)

The Kooks: "Stormy Weather" "You don't love me" "Naive" "If Only" Older Stuff Mostly.

The Wombats: "Here Comes The Anxiety" "Kill the Director" "Your Body is a Weapon" Older Stuff Mostly.

---

I also have a series of single tracks that I either haven't explored further into the bands or I did and it was meh. If you want that maybe I'll do a part two?

Idk I'm down to discuss, or if you have any recommendations I'll take them! If you think my music is shit that's fine lol I know you don't have to tell me.

I suppose I should also mention the singer for Mindless Self Indulgence did a Piers fandub but you can find that yourselves lol. MSI isn't really on my list but I think they're fun in certain situations.

There we go. The Piers Music Rant™️.

#sprout rant #the piers music rant

13 notes · View notes

philaet0s · 1 year

Text

Fanfic Year in Review

I saw someone do this and thought it would be fun lol

My fics from 2022

The Incident (2k)

It Was Consensual! (1k)

Bloodsucker (16k)

Toothache (5k)

A Perfect Disaster (4k)

Falling in Love in the Cruellest Way (182k)

Teacher's Pet (7k)

When the Feeling Sinks In (237k)

Thirteen Days to Fall in Love With Your Worst Enemy (147k)

Inadequate (9k)

To Live for the Hope of It All (8k)

Snow White and Cinderella (8k)

You Could Call Me Babe for the Weekend (‘Tis the Damn Season) (22k)

Live and Die For Moments That We Stole (235k, WIP)

Best/worst title?

Best: To Live for the Hope of It All, no explanation needed, it's Taylor Swift, it can only be good

Worst: Snow White and Cinderella; it's TERRIBLE but I didn't know what to title this story and wanted to post it so...

Best/worst summary?

All my summaries should be worst summary, I'm awful at them

Best/worst first line?

Best: "Wanna know one thing that doesn’t feel good? Getting a text from your ex that you’re still in love with after a shit day at work."

it just opens the story so well

Worst: "My phone lights up with a notification from Dev"

boring

Best/worst last line?

Best: "I’m not fucking teething, Snow!"

I just find this one hilarious

Worst: "That's what I do"

It's meh compared to the other ones

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?

More actually, when I was scrolling through AO3 for this, I was surprised by how many fics there were lol

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?

Nothing really? the only thing that made me step out of my comfort is my historical fic, but I have been planjing it for a while so I can't say I would never have predicted it

What’s your favourite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.

Probably the long distance fics they were SO fun to write

texting fics <3

Okay, NOW your most popular story.

Probably the long distance fics as well

Story most underappreciated by the universe?

Live and Die I am BEGGING more people to read it I've been so excited for it for so long and it's a gigantic flop compared to other stories of mine even though it's the one that has required the most work lmao

Story that could’ve been better?

A lot of them tbh

Saddest story?

Live and Die, 100%, that thing is going to be heartbreaking I can't wait (it's already angsty... but it's going to be MORE angsty lol)

Most fun?

The Incident. Can't believe I wrote an entire fic with the premise of 'Simon chokes Baz with his tail'. It's brilliant. I love it

Story with the single sweetest moment?

I couldn't say I don't remember everything that happens in all my stories but the sweetest overall is A Perfect Disaster

Hardest story to write?

LIVE AND DIE, GOD THIS STORY WILL BE THE DEATH OF ME (I'm obsessed with it and it is my baby)

Easiest/most fun story to write?

THE LONG DISTANCE FICS <333333 especially the first part as it had a lot more texting and texting is the single best thing to write

Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?

No? I write the characters pretty much always the same way so

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

I guess writing a fic set in the fucking 1910s is a risk. It's awful. Bring me back to writing things I could write without doing research every five minutes

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

Finishing this fucking WW1 fic. I love it but I really want to see it end, just to see the absolutely insane word count that it'll have lol

#fanfic #fanfiction #ao3 #snowbaz #simon snow #baz pitch #carry on

6 notes · View notes

balletroyale · 2 years

Text

Asked and Answered: Royal Ballet

I’m trying to watch all the different versions of Romeo and Juliet I can find, but MacMillan is proving to be a problem: there are too many recordings! Do you have a specific cast I should go for? I’m really lost about this one

I would pick Sarah Lamb and Steven McRae!

love your blog! curious to hear your thoughts on akane takada's swan lake?

I never managed to track the recording down! Or I did and then didn’t have time to watch it... Going to see it in May though!

i wish wheeldon would bring his cinderella to royal so i can see sarah lamb do the lead, i think it would suit her perfectly!

I really don’t... I would much rather the Royal (finally) perform Ashton’s Cinderella again, which I think is the stronger production.

love your blog!! wondering how you feel about the following three dancers: yasmine nagdhi, benjamin ella, matthew ball? I'm so here for all your ROH takes!!

Thoughts / critiques on Matthew Ball?

Yasmine Nagdhi: Honestly she’s a bit of a conundrum for me. I don’t really like her overall, and don’t particularly enjoy her in classical roles. While her Giselle variation I thought was superb, the rest of the ballet, especially the acting, left me feeling a bit meh. I really didn’t think she had the characterization of Juliet at all. However, when I saw her in Apollo and Concerto, I really enjoyed the performances. So I guess I just prefer her in contemporary roles. However, I don’t like that this season the Royal is starting to push her really hard as the next big deal. I think there are better principals to potentially replace Nunez.

Matthew Ball: I’ve really liked what I’ve seen; he’s very stately and regal. But I don’t think I would ever pick a performance just to see him. To me, the Royal is spoilt with male talent and so it is hard for dancers who would be unquestionably the best at other, even comparable, companies. He’s just pretty low down my list of male Royal dancers.

Benjamin Ella: I’ve seen him several times now. The first few times he wowed me and I was 100% convinced he was the next big thing. However, more recently I’ve found his performances to be a bit unreliable. He seems either really great or he completely lacks the ability to stick and landing or be on time with the music. I’ll be interested to see if he gets consistency back.

I just saw the teaser of Steven McRae's new film... at the end he says 'I need the profession to change'. Hmmm what does it mean? 😅 it means that the ROH is going to change its ways, or maybe him, or the ballet method profession in the UK?

I’m not really sure... I guess we’ll have to wait for the full film to see what he means. I’d take it with a grain of salt now, because A) trailers manipulate/exaggerate things to get people to watch and B) he’s always been pretty dramatic.

A little bit of a silly matter, but still a legitimate curiosity from dancers about dancers. I get the impression over and over again that several prominent members of the company wear arch enhancers, which doesn't feel necessary or particularly graceful. It's subtle, still the eyes tend to fall right there. Do you have first hand info about that?

The only “firsthand” info I have is that after seeing Sarah Lamb up close, I am 99.9% sure she wears arch enhancers. I’m not sure why they do it. But I’m starting to wonder if it could actually be a comfort this as much as a visual thing?

Who is everyone’s favourite dancer? It has to be Nunez right? I think Isabella Gasparini is mesmerising to watch also and hope she goes far. Mathew Ball was incredible in Giselle. Like out of this world performance.

Are we talking at the Royal? For me it’s definitely Nunez, Lamb, Osipova, Hayward, Takada, and I usually really like Hinkis, but not in that Giselle recording. For men it’s Campbell, McRae, Muntagirov, Sissens, Sambé, and Bracewell.

Frankie Hayward - is she all what’s hyped up to be?? Has anyone seen her dance Giselle? I think she is an extremely special dancer from what I’ve seen so far (gathering, sugarplum, swan lake PDD) but I have doubts around her technical ability at principal level. I am massive fan of hers. She is so artistic and musical that she could excel in any role I’m sure, I’m just unaware of her technical ability - as in, I literally don’t know what she can do as I haven’t seen enough of her. No criticism x

Thoughts on Francesca Hayward? I really enjoyed her as Juliet the other night but wasn’t as big of a fan of Cesar Corrales

One good thing that came out of the Cats movie is that it tremendously improved Hayward’s performances. I saw her Giselle this season. I don’t think she really has many technical faults, especially compared the other young new principals, but she does struggle a bit with balance in moments like the end of Giselle’s variation and in the coda of Coppelia. Other than that I don’t really see many flaws in her technique (and I’m not even entirely convinced it’s not a shoe issue), and her port de bras is especially lovely. I am increasingly wanting to go to her performances more than many other dancers.

As for Corrales, his style really, really doesn’t fit the Royal and I don’t think he should be a principal there.

I can't understand why Hamilton returned after the second year abroad. Too long out from under KOH's eye with all the younger dancers coming up

I have no idea. She could have been a principal pretty much anywhere else as well. She never looks happy onstage.

I've only recently got into the ROH ballet, so I'm just curious as to who you prefer Akane Takada or Fumi Kaneko? Both stunning dancers, but can I ask for your opinion?

I personally prefer Takada. I think she has better technique and better characterization. Though admittedly I haven’t seen much of Kaneko. I’ve just been rather bored by what I’ve seen already, particularly The Sleeping Beauty performance. But I heard great things about her R&J, so maybe it’s time to give her another chance.

#ask #asks #royal ballet

19 notes · View notes

love-little-lotte · 3 years

Text

Ranking the Bridgerton Books

I know I should write this in my book blog, but frankly, I have no idea how to make another section for it, and I'm too lazy to research. So, I'm writing here. Please bear with me.

Recently, I read the Bridgerton books by Julia Quinn. You might be familiar with the first book since it was adapted into a popular Netflix series by Shonda Rhimes. I binge-watched it back in December, and I have to say... not a fan. I guess I just find it too cheesy and annoying. Plus, the actors who portrayed Daphne and Simon had no romantic chemistry whatsoever.

But I'm not here to talk about the TV show. I'm here to talk about the novels! This is actually not my first time reading the books. Well, not exactly. I've read six out of the eight novels when I was in high school, I believe. I found the books when I was in high school as it was in the library (please don't ask me why my high school library has smutty novels in it, I have no idea who's in charge - they had Fifty Shades of Grey for a week but they eventually removed it from the catalog when they learned what's it about, but I digress). As a fifteen-year-old girl, the series hooked me.

If you're not familiar with the books or the Netflix series, here's a short synopsis: Set in the Regency era, the Bridgertons are one of the most influential families of the ton. The books follow the love stories of the eight Bridgerton siblings, alphabetically named Anthony, Benedict, Colin, Daphne, Eloise, Francesca, Gregory, and Hyacinth.

I didn't read it in chronological order back then, though. I just borrowed any available Bridgerton book in the library if there's one. You might think I was too young to read a romantic novel like that, but I guess I was mature enough to understand it.

Rereading it now that I'm twenty-two (cue Taylor Swift!), my heart's not in the same place. I was more skeptical with the writing, the story, and, most especially, the characters. But, really, I'm not that heartless, so I will cut the author some slack. Quinn wrote this at a different time for a different audience. It's not that long ago, but you'd be surprised how fast things change.

However, even though I have major criticisms, I cannot stop reading them. There's something about the novels that put me in a chokehold. Despite everything, I was able to enjoy it overall. This series is the definition of "guilty pleasure."

Anyway, here's my ranking of the Bridgerton books! I only read the eight main ones, which means I didn't include novellas of any kind. Also, as a fair warning, I might discuss spoilers and whatnot, so please beware. And do keep in mind that I'm writing my opinion, so if you don't agree, well... tough. I'd like to hear your comments, though, if you have any.

#8 - An Offer From A Gentleman (Book 3)

Honestly, this was probably one of my favorite Bridgerton books when I was younger. A Cinderella retelling? Come on! As someone who loves fairytales and forbidden romances, this was supposed to be heaven. However... it was not.

Benedict may be my least favorite Bridgerton brother. No, scratch that - he is my least favorite Bridgerton out of all of them. He's whiny and creepy and I was plainly annoyed with how he keeps asking Sophie to be his mistress in the novel. This was not the gentleman I imagined when I was younger. I might have liked him more in the first few parts, but as the story progressed, he became too childish and obsessive. Sophie, on the other hand, was all right. She's definitely one of my favorite Bridgerton heroines. She was tough but kind in her own way. I wish she had a better partner than Benedict, but I guess they suit each other in the end.

I just detest the climax and the ending of this book. It was too comical - and not in a hilarious way. I guess the same could be said for the entire novel. This was so, so different from the rest, to be honest.

Overall Rating: 3/10

#7 - On The Way To The Wedding (Book 8)

Fun fact: this is the first Bridgerton novel I read. And even then, I wasn't a huge fan of it. Just like An Offer From A Gentleman, the climax was a bit silly but more in a soap opera level than comical.

The biggest factor why I didn't like this was the characters. They were all so bland. Especially our hero and heroine. Gregory is the least featured Bridgerton in the novel, so I don't really know what to make of him at the beginning of the novel. In his book, I learned that he was a good guy - and that's all. Maybe he's too young and naive when it comes to romance (which is endearing, I have to admit), but he has no interesting personality whatsoever. Lucy, the heroine in this novel, was the same. She was described as pragmatic and sensible, which perfectly sums her up. Also, she's a great friend to Hermione (whose last name is Watson, by the way, and you can't tell me otherwise that this isn't a Harry Potter reference - Hermione Granger and Emma Watson? If that's not a reference, well, that's a very crazy coincidence, but I digress again). Gregory and Lucy's story was average - not bad, not good, just so incredibly dull.

The fun parts started way too early. It was difficult to find intrigue in the middle and end bits. The second main conflict, which happened near the end of the book, was truthfully not that good and was just obviously a ploy to keep things longer. You'd think that the Bridgerton novels would end the series with a bang. Alas, it did not.

Overall Rating: 4/10

#6 - To Sir Phillip, With Love (Book 5)

Eloise finally gets her turn in her own love story. She used to be one of my favorite Bridgertons, but when she got her own story, she was reduced into a plain girl. Gone was the feisty and outspoken Eloise we knew from the previous books.

Maybe it's because she's paired up with one of the most insufferable Bridgerton heroes, Sir Phillip. Just an inch away from Benedict, Sir Phillip maybe my next least favorite character. And it annoys me so much that Eloise gets to fall in love with someone like him.

It actually started pretty well. Before the events in the book started, Eloise and Phillip had already been corresponding for a year through letters. Phillip was on the lookout for - not a wife - but a mother for his two unruly children, and he thought Eloise was perfect for the role. He's a terrible father, but the book tries to convince us that it's not his fault because he had a bad upbringing by his own father (a recurring theme in the Bridgerton books - four heroes are plagued with different daddy issues). Eloise tried her best to turn things around, and of course, she eventually did, but I just really hate Phillip's initial intentions for seeking out a wife. He gets better in the end, sure, but I still really don't like him. At least the book wasn't short of excitement, else it would've been rated a bit lower.

Obviously, my favorite part in this book was when the Bridgerton brothers stormed into Phillip's house. He got what he deserved, truly.

Overall Rating: 4/10

#5 - The Duke and I (Book 1)

Now, this is the most well-known story in the Bridgerton literary universe, thanks to the Netflix series. I know I've said that I wasn't a fan of the series, but really, the Netflix writers and producers deserve all the gold in the world because they managed to transform this novel into something exciting.

Daphne and Simon had their moments, that's for sure, but as a couple, they were just so... meh. I liked their relationship at the start when they were still pretending to be courting. But as soon as they got married, everything interesting about the two of them sizzled out. And please don't get me started with how Daphne "took advantage" of drunk Simon. Thank God the show fixed that.

Despite my mixed feelings, this was a decent start to the Bridgerton books. There's really nothing majorly wrong about this novel (except for the aforementioned "taking advantage.") It laid out the future characters well. Lady Whistledown was also great. Thinking about her made me miss her because she wasn't featured in the later novels (you'll soon find out why).

Overall Rating: 5/10

#4 - It's In His Kiss (Book 7)

Since Eloise was stripped away from her feistiness when she got her own love story, I was obviously worried for Hyacinth. Thankfully, she didn't change! She was still the same tactless girl in the previous books. And for that, she gets to be my champion as my favorite Bridgerton.

This is the first time I've read this book, and oh, I'm surprised with how exciting it was. Hyacinth's hero, Gareth, perfectly suited her. Gareth was able to tame her impulsiveness, while also proving to be a good romantic partner for her. I loved that he could match her intellectually, too. It was never a bore whenever they have one of their silly banters. Lady Danbury was also featured more in this novel. She's one of my favorite side characters. As Gareth's grandmother, she was determined to bring him and Hyacinth together.

Maybe the only criticism I have in this novel is Gareth's issues with his father. I find it really weird that most of the heroes' problems are with their fathers. It just seemed lazy writing, in my opinion. But oh well, Gareth was interesting in his own way and that's perfectly fine.

Overall Rating: 6/10

#3 - Romancing Mister Bridgerton (Book 4)

I have a feeling that this is Quinn's favorite Bridgerton book. In this book, it's Colin's turn to find love. Colin is featured in several of his siblings' stories - in fact, in almost all of the books, he had an important role to play.

I love Colin and Penelope's story. Long before this book, they already knew each other. Penelope was Eloise's best friend, and she's almost always in the Bridgerton household. Colin has been forced by his mother for God knows how long to dance with Penelope every time there's a party. But it was only now that they became closer. Unbeknownst to Colin, Penelope had been in love with him for half her life, even though he didn't particularly care for her. Penelope speaks for all of us who know about unrequited love all too well.

Furthermore, this is the novel where they finally reveal who was behind the Lady Whistledown column. Yes, viewers of the Netflix series who are not familiar with the books. This is the part - and not in the first book! I'm so mad that they revealed Penelope as Lady Whistledown in the first season of the series, when in fact it's much later than that.

However, that's also one of the lowest points of this novel for me. Lady Whistledown's identity reveal was a bit anti-climactic. A little bit laughable, even. Also, also, also: I hated Colin's reaction to Penelope's secret. He didn't have to be angry and jealous of her, but ah well, whatever makes for conflict. Nevertheless, I love both Colin and Penelope because they had so much character and depth. Quinn was certainly biased when she wrote this.

Overall Rating: 8/10

#2 - The Viscount Who Loved Me (Book 2)

Remember earlier when I said that I cannot stop reading the books because even though I knew it wasn't that good, it was still highly enjoyable? Well, I'm really talking more about this book, to be specific. I think I've read it in less than 24 hours because of how much I love it. And yes, Anthony and Kate had their obvious flaws, but oh God, they were so perfect together. I can't help but imagine Jonathan Bailey from the Netflix series as Anthony when I was reading it. I swoon, all the time.

This used to be my favorite Bridgerton novel, but that's only because I haven't read my new favorite until recently. Anthony and Kate's story was just oh-so good and intimate and romantic. Kate's also my favorite heroine in the entire Bridgerton literary universe. She was headstrong and loving. She's unafraid to put the happiness of her family first.

In so many ways, Anthony was the same. He assumed the role of Viscount Bridgerton when he was only eighteen when his father unexpectedly died. Since then, he overlooks the family's estates and well-being. Yes, this is one of those "daddy issues" stories I mentioned earlier, but this one was kind of done tastefully. He didn't wish to fall in love but everything changed when he encountered Kate. He didn't mean to be attracted to her, but here we are.

Anthony and Kate had so much understanding between them. I agree Anthony was a bit of a dick when Kate asked if they could have one week to get to know each other before consummating the marriage (worse things have been said by Benedict and Phillip, though), but in the end, I can't deny that I truly love them together.

Overall Rating: 8/10

#1 - When He Was Wicked (Book 6)

*blushing furiously* So what if I put the smuttiest and steamiest novel as my top choice?! What about it? Oh, but really, though, I can't stop reading this. Francesca is one of the least known Bridgertons in the books, just like Gregory. I didn't know anything about her, except that she's quieter than most of her siblings. It was also first mentioned in Romancing Mister Bridgerton that she had already married but was sadly widowed after two years.

Michael was Francesca's late husband's cousin and best friend, which makes him her best friend, too. He has been secretly in love with Francesca since the first moment he laid eyes on her but was unable to pursue her because she's with his cousin John. In addition, I'd like to say that Michael is my favorite hero in the Bridgerton books. He's very charming and wicked, and really, my knees buckle at the thought of him.

Long after John passed away, Francesca and Michael reunited. Francesca was looking for a new husband because she desperately wants a family, while Michael... well, Michael was still in love with her. There was undeniable passion and intimacy between them, and it was hard to stay away from each other. I seriously have a thing for men secretly pining over women they love. That's got to be one of my favorite tropes.

However, the book itself was a bit longer than necessary. While I understand Francesca's hesitations in marrying Michael, it could've been shortened because it felt draggy by the end. Her constant changing of minds was a bit annoying, and yeah, it was probably a ploy to lengthen the novel.

Additionally, I was a bit skeptical at first of how they're going to treat their relationship, especially since Francesca was truly in love with her first husband. But it was done so nicely. Francesca and Michael never forget about John, even in the end. I loved what John's mother said to Michael in a letter at the end, "Thank you, Michael, for letting my son love her first."

I guess I love their story more than the other couples because both were already mature and experienced. Just like everyone else in this romantic series, Francesca and Michael belonged together. The entirety of Chapter 19 is proof of that.

Overall Rating: 9/10

***

Overall, the Bridgerton books are quite entertaining, despite being a cheesy and sappy series. I admit that I feel quite lonely and bored now that I've finished all eight of them. Ah well, there's always the possibility of rereading them!

#books #bridgerton #bridgerton books #julia quinn #novels #reading #book ranking #romance #romantic books #historical fiction

18 notes · View notes

peremadeleine · 4 years

Text

Droopy Sleeves and Tiny Bonnets: Watering Down the Romantic Aesthetic in BBC’s Les Mis

I wasn’t exactly blown away by the costumes in the BBC production of Les Mis, and Cosette’s in particular, cute as Ellie Bamber is, were thoroughly “just okay.” But I didn’t put much more thought into it...

Well, not until Gentleman Jack--set in the exact same time period--blew BBC’s Les Mis out of the water with its costume design. Then more recently, when I started researching the fashion of the early 1830s, all the ways in which poor Cosette’s costumes fell short became glaringly obvious.

Disclaimer: I am not as much of a stickler for historical accuracy in period drama costumes as this little essay is going to make me out as being. I’m not a Frock Flicks kind of gal; I just want to be entertained and look at pretty clothes. So as far as I’m concerned, as long as the basic silhouettes are there and the costumes are nice to look at, I’m there. (I find the wildly inaccurate costumes of The Tudors a lot more visually appealing than the ones in Wolf Hall. And everyone knows Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette was highly stylized, but those costumes are to die for and still embody the rococo aesthetic very well.)

That said, Cosette is a character who’s very invested in fashion, and the general look of the 1830s isn’t unknown to English productions, being the setting of Queen Victoria’s adolescence, Jane Eyre, Wives and Daughters, and many a Dickens adaptation among others.

So where did they go wrong?

Being honest, most of the Les Mis productions from the past two decades or so failed to put Cosette in high-fashion or even noteworthy costumes. Only the 2012 film for all the ways it failed her as a character hit it out of the park. Cosette gowns were damn near perfect--and they were actually pretty to boot! Unfortunately in the actual film you can’t even see the floral gown and you can barely see the blue one...thanks Tom Hooper.

The belts/buckles, the enormous sleeves, the delicate floral prints and embroidery, the lace collars...pat the costume designer on the back! (Her wedding dress was also on-point, but we’ll get to that.)

Claire Danes and Virginie Ledoyen had passable-and-sometimes-good costumes, too. Though Claire Danes’ were generally not very pretty, their overall silhouette was correct. Virginie Ledoyen gets a couple of knock-out, very period-appropriate gowns; the rest sort of fall into the nebulous “well, I guess you tried” category without being unattractive.

But the BBC production just...dropped the ball for reasons unknown.

Now, in the book Cosette overhears some ladies calling her “pretty but badly dressed.” She’s shocked, because she thinks she’s ugly but well-dressed. She then goes on a charming quest to become the best-dressed woman in Paris, and the BBC adaptation even has a scene where she goes to the seamstress. It’s really cute. Too bad that the dresses are...really not.

Here are some fashion plates from 1830-32. Keep in mind that Cosette lives in Paris, of all places; she would be aware of what was and was not fashionable.

This is the height of Romantic fashion: giant (“gigot”) sleeves and bonnets, full skirts with hems at or just above the ankle, lace accents, silk stockings and slippers, elaborate hairdos. The 2012 costumes, again, capture this quite well.

And even if the BBC designer had taken liberties and had fun while preserving the overall aesthetic--think what Sandy Powell did in Cinderella, set in roughly the same period--I wouldn’t be making this post. But there’s curiously little 1830s to be found in Cosette’s wardrobe at all.

I guess we should start with the BBC’s Good/Accurate Stuff. This coat Cosette wears is, apart from the deep fur-lined V-neck, almost a carbon copy of the extant coat on the right. And she has a bonnet!

Cosette’s best/most accurate dress is, naturally, the most difficult to see and has the least screentime of all her costumes:

From what I can tell, the sleeves, though delicate and sheer, are very full, as is the skirt, and the whole thing seems both pretty and en vogue...despite the questionable neckline. It’s also detailed--embroidery on the sleeves and with pleats (?) to create visual interest at the shoulders and on the bodice!

Here are a selection of other short-sleeved gowns from the period for comparison (both extant garments and costumes/reconstructions).

Tbh Ellie’s costume should be as stunning as the blue gown (far left) that an extra wore in Cinderella, but...maybe someday, in some Les Mis production, that gorgeous Sandy Powell creation will reappear. *sigh* (Virginie Ledoyen’s best Cosette gown is on the far right, btw.)

Anyway, that’s...that’s about it for the “Good” category.

Next up: her teal/turquoise dress(es). (She also wears a red one that looks exactly like this.)

Someone didn’t tell the costume designer that Cosette was supposed to be a fashionista, I guess. During my research, I did find a couple of dresses that resembled these two...but they would both be several years out of date by the time Cosette was going on her fashion crusade:

Even the yellow dotted dress has more style and “oomph” than what poor Cosette got stuck in--her sleeves look comparatively small, deflated, and underwhelming, all the more so when compared to actual 1830s gigot sleeves.

In the interest of being fair, some extant gowns from the right dates also look somewhat like these two.

But they all look, well...better. They all make me wish Cosette’s gown had bigger sleeves, a more-defined neckline, less wrinkly fabric...anything that would take it up a notch. (Also of note: as plain as some of these dresses look, they would not have been worn alone--accessories like wide belts, shawls, bonnets, etc., would have been part of the outfit when they were actually worn.)

And when it comes down to it, Cosette--who wants, after all, to be wearing the most fashionable gowns, like those in the fashion plates--should be wearing gowns more like...

The detailing, the fabric choices, the tailoring, and (sorry) the size and position of the sleeves makes all the difference here. A little more effort, even just padding for Cosette’s poor limp sleeves and a belt, would be enough to bump her looks from “kind of sad” to “something I believe this character would really wear.”

My personal favorite gown in the production was very pretty, flowing and delicate--and look: I’m willing to accept that Cosette wouldn’t always be wearing a fashion plate while chasing butterflies (something no film Cosette has, tragically, ever done...) That said, it still wasn’t very 1830s.

This purplish gown is the closest extant I could find to something like what Cosette wears here, but once you look at the details of both--fabric, neckline, whatever is happening around waist--all you get is “???” A lovely dress, but one that doesn’t make much sense.

So finally we come to what ought to be the showiest of all Cosette’s costumes: her wedding gown.

This costume ought to be Stunning for a lot of reasons. The “Fauchelevents” have money! The Pontmercys have money, and they have society friends! Cosette is a fashionista, and she’s head-over-heels in sweet young love! And one an assume that Valjean wants to send off the light of his life, if send her off he must, in style--he’s heartbroken but also knows, from this moment, that he will never have to worry about her safety or well-being again.

With all that in mind, this is what Ellie’s Cosette wears...

Oh. Okay. Is it her freaking wedding day, or is she just going to a church picnic???

At least she IS wearing a bonnet in this scene, but it’s the same color as her hair (?!) and it’s tiny...just like her sad, deflated sleeves. The necklime and waistline both are at least accurate here, but like the sleeves, the skirt isn’t voluminous. Not a single thing about the dress makes a statement...unless it’s a shrug. The impression is, once again, “meh?”

At least a veil (which some women did wear on their wedding bonnets) would emphasize the “wedding day” vibe. How about, if they weren’t going to give it any volume, some detail on the gown...any detail...floral embroidery...a BELT...a contrasting color or fabric (lace, hello?!)...anything??? It’s just so plain and low-key. Just like everything Cosette wears in this miniseries.

Here are some period wedding gowns, two of which Cosette wears in other adaptations. They all have the wow factor this dress lacks.

Big sleeves! Lace! Belts! Veils! Lush fabric! Frills! Different colors/fabrics to create visual interest! Hairstyles that pop instead of blend together! These are the kind of gowns that say “I’m the bride and this is my day.” Not “I’m going to the church picnic.”

I want to reiterate that, after ALL that rambling...my big issues are that a) these dresses are not--by and large--attractive or interesting and b) that they fail to embody Cosette’s love of fashion. The fact that they’re so inaccurate for the time period is secondary. However, paying more attention to the fashions of 1830-32 would, I think, have helped make the costumes prettier and more suited to the character. How you dress a character is also a factor in how their character is perceived and can be a subtle means of character development. No chance of that here. (Post-marriage, Cosette wears such a blase dark blue coat that, sans fur trim, looks identical to her previous one. Yawn.)

I’m just a fan, yet it still took me only three days of basic research to put this post together. Expecting a costume designer to put in at least a few days of light research is not a huge leap. I’m going to venture a guess and say that this designer did not bother to do that. And it shows.

It’s a shame, because Cosette gets a lot more screentime here--for the first time since the 2000 production--and she deserves so much more than shapeless gowns and barely-styled hair.

And also more than Andrew Davies...but that’s a rant for another time.

#cosette #bbc les mis #Les Miserables #historical fashion #romantic era

56 notes · View notes

rachelbethhines · 4 years

Text

Tangled Salt Marathon - Under Raps

My feelings on this episode are pretty neutral. It’s not anything amazing, but it’s not the worst thing ever either. It’s just there, I guess.

Summary: During a love festival, Corona displays a book full of signatures of lovers in honor of an old ruler's falling in love with the leader of a rival kingdom. Cassandra suddenly turns very secretive; Rapunzel learns it's because she's been seeing a guy named Andrew. Cassandra doesn't want Rapunzel's meddling, but the princess suggests a double date and they all go off in a hot air balloon. However, Andrew turns out to be part of an old faction that didn't like the unification of Corona and wants to steal the book.

This Backstory Doesn’t Add Up

So we open up with Big Nose narrating about the history of a war between Corona and a group of people called the Saporians. This is important for two reasons. First, because the Saporians are reoccurring villains in the show, and secondly, because it reveals where the underground tunnels running between Old Corona and the Island Capital come from. These tunnels are a reoccurring plot device in the show, along with the book that maps them.

The problem is that what the story tells us doesn’t match the other information we are given. If it was only the Saporians who invaded then why does an Old Corona, with its own castle, exist to begin with? Why do the tunnels extend from both if King Herz Der Sonne made them? What purpose did they serve if he was only defending the island? Why are the Saporians led by a general and not a ruler? Why would marrying only a general unite the two kings and where was the Saporian kingdom to begin with? Why did they invade? Why are there still Saporians who haven’t accepted the merger centuries later and why do they live on the go outside the kingdom? If Herz Der Sonne is such a good guy then why did he curse his grave with a zombie apocalypse? Ect.

We keep getting hints throughout the show that Herz Der Sonne isn’t all he was cracked up to be, and you keep expecting a reveal that it was the Coronaians who started the war and oppressed the Saporians and then rewrote history, but it never comes. The show wants us to accept this very black and white conflict at face value even as it constantly undermines itself and muddies the waters.

Pointing Out That Something is Stupid in the Show Itself Doesn’t Make it Any Less Stupid

As I stated back during Rapunzel’s Enemy, the show has a real problem with tone. Constantly showing us festival and holiday after festival and holiday only undermines the more serious elements in the ongoing story and creates mood whiplash. Also anything that reminds me of Cinderella 2 is not a good thing.

Ahh Friedborg, You’re Such a Wasted Opportunity

So she actually first appeared in Cassandra V. Eugene but I forgot to bring her up there. My bad. Friedborg is something of a fan favorite in the TTS fandom, and I like her too, but she adds nothing. She’s a joke character in a tv show already oversaturated by joke characters. More over the joke is actually offensive on some level since it all hinges on her being less conventionally attractive then the other female characters and the mains finding her weird because she never talks.

The show tries to justify her existence by making her Big Nose’s girlfriend, but she’s not who he ended up with in the movie. And once again it’s kind of offensive to imply that only people who don’t match society’s contrived beauty standards can only find love with those that look like them. Thereby completely missing the point of Big Nose’s character arc.

I’ll say it right now, Friedborg should have been Zan Tiri, or Demantius. Take your pick. I think ZT makes more sense, but etheir way she should have been a setup for something more important to the plot rather then just be being a vauge oddity that just pops up from time to time.

I Miss This Version of Eugene

Throughout the first two seasons, Eugene and Cassandra were willing to point out Rapunzel’s BS. Forcing her to confront her flaws and re-examine her positions.I would argue that the show could have pushed this even further but at least it was there. By the final season no one was doing this. Rapunzel is allowed to be as awful as she wants to be without consequence. Meaning she never learns anything and stops growing as a character and the show acts like this a positive thing. It is not. In fact, it is the biggest flaw of the whole show as it fails to achieve the one thing it originally set out to do; which is to tell a coming of age story with Rapunzel.

It also has the added effect of making Eugene a doormat to Rapunzel’s bulling, thereby regressing his character as well and presenting an unhealthy relationship as a goal to be achieved to younger viewers. I can not stress enough to young girls and young men in particular, that Rapunzel and Eugene are not ‘relationship goals’ in this show. Not after season 3.

Xavier Doesn’t Get a Proper Introduction

So Xavier is actually pretty important to the ongoing plot. He’s more or less the exposition fairy for the show, but he’s not really established. He just suddenly appears here with no prior meeting and he just so happens to know what the main characters need to know with no explanation as to how he knows.

His part here is so forgettable that I legit forgot who he was when he reappeared in the mid-season finale. I had thought that the writers just threw in a random character for plot purposes. And to be fair they did. Just they did it here instead of in Queen for a Day.

If the showrunners wanted Xavier to be historian who knows everything and tells stories, then he should have been introduced as the narrator of the history of Hearts Day instead of Big Nose.

Another Lesson Not Learned

We get this big heart to heart moment of Raps and Cass coming to an understanding, with Rapunzel promising not to intrude and Cass promising to being more honest about her feelings. This is walked back on several times and made part of the core conflict of the last two seasons.

Once again, any problem that can be solved in less then five minutes of talking isn’t a strong enough conflict to drive multiple seasons. If this had been a show without an ongoing narrative, like say The Rescue Rangers or even Batman the Animated Series, then the repeated lessons wouldn’t be a problem. We expect characters to be static and to reset after each episode since they’re not shows that you watch in order.

But if you do go the overarching arc route for a story, then people expect lasting character development. Even in shows like Gravity Falls or Steven Universe, where the change is more gradual and the characters do repeat mistakes occasionally, there’s still a marketed change by the end. One that indicates improvement by the characters, and the inter conflicts are never exactly the same each time with exactly the same lesson over and over again.

Oh Look, Cassandra Once Again Achieving her Goal of Validation

Cass is awarded a medal by her father for stopping Andrew. Don’t expect her or the show to remember this.

Also more Cass and Cap interaction that we don’t get to see.

Can We Not Imply That Cassandra Still has a Crush on the Guy Who Lied to Her and Then Almost Killed Her, and Can We Not Act Like This is a Good Thing?

So this flower was given to Cassandra by Andrew and her keeping it makes zero sense.

First off lets not have one of our few strong independent female characters crushing on the show’s stereotypical ‘nice guy’, okay? That’s all kinds of gross. Secondly, if the intention was to show that Cass was now more willing to open up about her feelings, then wouldn’t her keeping one of the gifts Raps made her earlier in the episode make more sense? After all, that’s the relationship that actually matters to Cassandra and is the basis of the whole show.

But this all boils down to the fact that the creator sees Cassandra as straight, always has, and thinks her crushing on the guy who manipulated her is somehow better than ‘no-homo’. Now you can headcanon Cass as whatever you want and ship her with whomever you want, as canon doesn’t matter. But I find it hilarious that most of the head showrunner’s biggest supporters are mainly Casspunzel fans and yet he’s the one who made them ‘sisters’ and sees them as such.

Like I hate to break it to you guys, but a Cass led spin-off headed by Chris won't be the lesbian rep that you’ve always dreamed of. You’re better off just watching the She-Ra reboot.

But things gets even worse when Rapunzel approves of this stupid ‘crush’ ...

Don’t Ever Tell Someone That You’re Proud of Them For Going On a Date

Dating is just something some people choose to do together and some people choose not to engage in that. It’s not an accomplishment and it shouldn’t be treated as such. This is insulting to both people who don’t date, for whatever reason, and to women who hate being being defined by their relationships, which is most of us.

Even if you’re being charitable and try to make this about Cassandra self esteem and her learning she’s worth ‘loving’, which is the reason some people have offered up for this scene, it still falls apart when it’s not established that Cassandra ever had such self esteem issues to begin with and was not looking for romance anyways. And if that is what the show is going for then it’s still problematic to suggest that being found as attractive by someone else is need for self esteem. In fact, that’s kind of the opposite of what self esteem is.

Conclusion

Overall this episode was ‘meh’. Like most season one episodes the problems stem from the ongoing narrative and lack of follow though in later seasons. However there’s enough stuff in here on it’s own to rub me just the wrong way that I can’t actually call it good either.

It doesn’t help that I don’t see the appeal of Andrew at all. Watching the character is just a cringefest for me. He’s too similar to real life men I’ve unfortunately met and therefore sends alarm bells ringing in my head. And I agree with Eugene; he’s not all that handsome.

#tangled #tangled the series #rapunzel's tangled adventure #anti-rapunzel #anti-tangled #rapunzel #cassandra #andrew #anti-andrew #eugene

43 notes · View notes

ultrahpfan5blog · 3 years

Text

Thoughts on Mulan (2020)

Finally saw Mulan on Disney+ after a long time. First some context. The original animated movie isn’t one of my favorite Disney animated films. I saw it when I was a kid and I enjoyed it, but it was distinctly second tier Disney along with The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Tarzan etc... and not an all time Disney classic for me, such as Aladdin, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, and Beauty & the Beast. I haven’t watched it in a long time so I don’t have any sense of nostalgia or any type of yearning for comparison with that movie. I was well aware that this Mulan was going for a distinctly different style. Secondly, the Disney live action films have been hit and miss for me. I love The Jungle Book, which is arguably better than the animated film. Same is true for Cinderella, which I enjoyed way more than I thought I would. I thoroughly enjoyed Aladdin even though the animated movie is one of my favorite animated films of all time. The Lion King I found to be technically fantastic, but rather soulless, and Beauty & the Beast was very meh, with the film not really capturing the majesty of the castle, music, or the romance, but still was competently made and had a few good performances. Dumbo was really boring. The two Malificent films were watchable but not exactly good. The two Alice films were pretty bad. So I don’t have a specific bias, one way or another. Also, I am putting aside how I feel about the lead stars views and where the movie was filmed since that has nothing to do with the quality of the film. That being said, unfortunately this film lands in the miss pile. Its not a disaster, but it certainly wasn’t good in my opinion.

I will say I enjoyed the first 45 mins or so. Mulan with her family, the dynamic with her father and sister, her taking her father’s place in the army, having to deal with living with men without revealing who she is. In fact, I enjoyed the film right up until the first encounter of Mulan with the witch. The film goes downhill rapidly from that point onwards. The film’s choice to make Mulan a superhero with her abilities definitely doesn’t work because that is one struggle that is completely eliminated, that would be actually be fascinating to watch. Now Mulan is no longer an ordinary girl who does something extraordinary. She is extraordinary from birth. So a lot of the tension is not there. So the internal conflict is about her hiding who she is. However, that is explored at a very surface level. She seems more bothered by the fact that she’s lying than by the fact that she’s hiding who she is. And the fight with the witch is supposed to be this life altering moment for her but it doesn’t feel like it because we have barely experienced the struggle. From then, the film just becomes a series of battles, none of which are particularly awe inspiring, with a lot of very cringey dialogue, delivered very flatly at times. It felt like a film that got caught trying to be an authentic Chinese epic and a big cheesy hollywood blockbuster at the same time and in the end, it doesn’t work as either. I just feel that if her identity had been revealed as an accident mid battle, it would have been a much more compelling emotional journey where Mulan has to deal with having been exposed when she didn’t want to and then still decide to do the right thing. The dialogue about the themes of the movie are so on the nose that I had to pause the movie and shake my head at several moments. It just feels they are talking down to the audience at times. Apart from Mulan, the characters are pretty thin. The Witch is the most potentially interesting character in the film, but her backstory is just told, rather than shown. Her connection to Mulan and her eventual change of heart was also very unearned. The other characters are very one dimensional, especially Bori Khan, who is maybe the least interesting villain in the Disney Live Action films.

The performances are also uneven. It genuinely feels that a lot of the cast, including Yifei Liu, were just not comfortable enough speaking in English. I have to believe that it had to do with the way the film was directed, because even more experienced actors like Jet Li and Donnie Yen were quite flat. Honestly, Jet Li looked like he was being held against his will. Yoson An seemed most comfortable with his dialogue and Honghui is quite likable as a result. Tzi Ma makes the most of his few scenes as Mulan’s father. Despite the unconvincing character arc, Gong Li is pretty good as the witch. But in the end, Liu is a little too flat and emotionless in the lead role. She does well enough in the action scenes though the film doesn’t really capture the scale of Chinese epics and the action style. Obviously, watching on my computer, you can’t appreciate the cinematography and the picturesque landscapes as you would have in the theater, but the movie undoubtedly looks good. However, overall, the last hour just doesn’t work for me. The whole story of luring the Emperor, a small group of soldiers rushing back and defeating Bori Khan’s men, and Mulan going from the palace to where the Emperor was being held where Bori Khan is all alone, due to the witch having a change of heart suddenly because of Mulan’s appeal to her, was all rather implausible. Its not a terrible film. Its watchable, but it neither nails the chinese epic quality that it was going for, neither its the big action adventure hollywood blockbuster. Could have definitely been better.

4.5/10

#mulan 2020 #mulan review #mulan #mulan movie

1 note · View note

locria-writes · 5 years

Note

Do you mind posting a list of all the good otome games you've played or are really interested in? Or if that's too complicated, maybe a list of your top 10 favourites? I see you posting about them often and I've been wanting to try some of them because...hello hot guys galore...😱😱😱

you don’t know how much i love gushing about otome games and my harem of husbandos (also lmao i’ve outed my terrible tastes here)

pc games

steam prison // so so good, definitely recommend! my only complaint is that you can’t romance Good Boi finn (by proxy depriving us of that wonderful cyrus/sachsen banter), but i guess i can settle for adage lmao. hits a very good balance between humour and seriousness, but it’s a really long game to complete

nightshade // honestly, one of my absolute favourites ever. ost is kickass, sprites are gorgeous, and the plot is pretty good. they’re literally all such good beans ugh i love them all. depending on the play order you do, and whether you do the bad ends or not, it can be not-too-painful sad to wow-just-rip-my-heart-out-and-stomp-on-it sad. goemon is honestly the best though, just saying

hakuouki // i’d recommend both games, but if you can’t afford it, then get edo blossoms, since that’s where most of the romance is. also, they get their western uniforms in that one!!! hachiro is still my best boi (sorry okita, heisuke, harada, and everyone else). suuuuuper long to play through, i think it took me ~60 hrs to complete everything, but it’s a labour of love

amnesia // okay, i trashtalk this a lot, but it’s a solid game except for when they did my boi toma dirty >:c ikki is definitely best boi though. some routes are better than others (read: toma’s route is pretty meh while everyone else has pretty great ones), but ukyo arguably has the best and saddest one. i feel like this is almost an otome staple at this point lmao

nameless // another classic and favourite of mine! yandere galore, more than a little heartbreaking, and wow just wow overall. they’re all such sweet guys (yes, tei and ??? included), and the side characters are all fantastic and very memorable. it’s kinda long though, i think 50+ hrs to finish everything, but oh my god is it worth it. i teared up quite a few times

ozmafia!! // a controversial choice, but i loved all the characters in it, and in the end, the plot did pay off. it just feels like a very cramped and rushed game at times, but the characters make up for it, honestly. i’m just mad over how they did my boi hamelin so fricking dirty #JusticeForHamelin #HamelinDidNothingWrong yes i’m still salty about it

cinderella phenomenon // highly recommend this one since it’s free! it’s probably my favourite oelvn to date -- beautiful art, great storyline, and wonderful characters except when they did my boi varg so so dirty :c the last 2 routes are definitely more painful than the first 3, and way more important to the plot.

the rose of segunda //another oelvn i highly recommend! pretty, a great read, and lovable characters. there’s a secret romance too, and holy god it was so good! frederique and mc are so great together, and i honestly fell so hard for leopold because w o w i love me an ambitious man like him

monochrome heaven* // i have so many feelings about this one, but i’ll still recommend it lol. it’s very...depressing and can get difficult to read at times. honestly, it says a lot when the worst boi turns out to be the best boi. i remember just feeling so hollow after finishing the game, but it was worth the hours i invested

‘till death do us part* // a very questionable addition to this list, but i really liked it. marcus and jack are probably the most ‘romantic’ of the bunch, but i guess it’s not really an otome game

boyfriend to death 1 & 2* // 2 more questionable choices a la the above, but i enjoyed them both. lawrence, damien, and strade were my favourite guys

mobile games

ikemen sengoku // l o o k, i’m a sucker for the sengoku era, beautiful art, and great casting choices for voices okay??? i like playing softer and more light-hearted games sometimes, and this is the perfect game for that. honestly, every single guy is likable and none of them treat mc terribly (yes, including the yandere, the snek, and the playboy).

ikemen revolution // honestly, the same as the above. a great light read, lovable cast, and beautiful art. also, super stoked for mousse atlas to get over here because i’ve already decided that i’m completely in love with him

ikemen vampire // yeah, i know this isn’t out yet in english, but from what i played of jpn and what i’ve read of translations, i love it already. kinda feels like fate meets otome, and i love all the character designs, voices, and concepts

samurai love ballad party // like ikemen sengoku, but angstier lmao. i don’t really like the art and the sprites, but the story and characters are great, so i don’t really mind. i just wish my faves would stop being such disasters (ieyasu, sakuya, nobuyuki, kotaro)

love and producer/mr love queen’s choice // HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT MY LORD AND SAVIOUR BAI QI/GAVIN???? if you’ve played love nikki, it’s the same kind of grind, but i don’t even care??? the cards are beautiful??? the bois are all so wonderful and cute and perfect (yes, even shady af scientist)???? have i told you how wonderful and perfect my husband bai gege is??? also, download the japanese voice pack, the eng dub is kinda crappy

mystic messenger // so time-consuming, but so addicting lol. very fun, surprisingly dark, and all the characters are great (except for rika, we all hate rika). 707 is my home boi, but saeran is fantastic and i demand a proper unknown route because i want to get terrified by this lovely edgy angsty kid

my last first kiss // i can sell this in 3 words -- childhood friend romance. like, that’s my jam right there. i love the guys and their relationships with mc (fussy ayato is so cute, and mako and taka are so so sweet with mc). super fun and sweet read

lust in terror manor* // an elusive horror otome! it’s too bad it never got properly completed, but i guess there’s some kind of closure? translation’s kinda crappy, but good enough to read. rui and naoto were kinda meh, but hayato was the best boi, sorry i don’t make the rules.

several shades of sadism* // okay i can explain -- i love trashmen, i love guys with serious emotional baggage, and i love guys with flaws that make them oh so very real. minato is my favourite trashbag and i actually almost cried during his route because even though he’s an asshole, he’s really trying his best

cinderella contract* // this is where you realize i have no taste/standards whatsoever. trashy, i know, but goddamn i’m so invested in this. yuri is the trashiest of them all, and therefore he’s my husband sorry i don’t make the rules

princess of the moon* // ah yes, the trashiest of the trashy and i’m so ashamed i read this, let alone enjoy it as much as i do. very very smutty but i’m disappointed my boi dean didn’t get released on the og app

(*) -- game contains dubcon/noncon and just very questionable content in general. not for the faint of heart at all

45 notes · View notes

howls · 5 years

Note

Congratulations on reaching such a milestone, your blog deserves it! If you're still doing these I'd love ☆ - ♡ Tysm!

hi there!! thank you so much for the congratulations and for participating!! i hope you’ve had a lovely day

♡ blog compliment: i absolutely love you icon it’s really beautiful and i’ve never seen it before so it definitely caught my eye. i also really adore the quote you used in your description, it really matches with your cinderella gif and left me quite speechless at how beautiful it is.

join my follower celebration (no more please)

#nainacelebrates #andamongstotherthings #answered

1 note · View note

petcerparker · 6 years

Photo

ft. a super lame banner!

WHAT UP Y’ALL, IT’S YA GIRL, AND SHE HIT 1K

this is actually insane, i can’t believe all of you think i’m worthy enough to have such an huge amount of followers?? it doesn’t feel real. thank you all sososososo much!! anyway i wanted to do a lil celebration to show you all how much i love and appreciate you so here goes!!

r u l e s :

mbf this peter parker stan

reblog this post

blacklist #caseys1k if you don’t want to see these!

please be patient

optional: maybe join my fandom family?

send me an ask with 1-2 of the following:

☀︎ + your favorite season and why for a blograte

☾ + your favorite mcu scene/moment for a marvel aesthetic

♛ + something that makes you happy for a disney aesthetic

♡ + something on your bucket list for a detailed blograte

☆ + a description of yourself for a personal moodboard

(( please do not send a moodboard and detailed blograte together! choose one and something else if you’d like two things. thank you! ))

formats are under the cut!

blograte url: 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | peter parker icon: 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | tony stark theme: 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | thor mobile theme: 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | shuri posts: 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | peter quill overall: 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | gamora following: no but i adore you ♡ | now! | till the end of the line

personal moodboard example casey

#i still can't believe this happened #and i'm close to 1.1k now!#i n s a n e #thank y'all so much #caseys1k

112 notes · View notes

lastgenpodcast · 5 years

Text

2019 Aladdin: A Whole New Review

It will never be the same as the original. This seems to be the motto whenever another live action remake comes out of Disney studios. A quick look at the previous remakes, the consensus seems to be that Cinderella and The Jungle Book are highly praised in their remakes; however, there are the Maleficents, Beauty and the Beasts, Alice in Wonderlands, and Dumbos of the remake world that seriously drag down the live-action remake argument. (Side note: Christopher Robin was not a remake but it was a fabulous story in and of itself).

So here we go with another live action remake - Aladdin. While we already did our audio review, I wanted to make a few points that were better thought through in this format. Will anyone read - most likely not but for those of you who stumbled across this, I appreciate you. First, I feel like there are a few things that the movie should be commended for, which I think was missing from our podcast review. I’m happy the cast appropriately reflected the nationality of where fictional Agrabah was set - something which cannot be said for the voice cast in the original. For the most part, the casting was incredible and made the movie really come to life. Beyond that, I appreciated how they kept Jasmine out of the bikini-esque top and in actual clothes that would not undermine her character’s motivations to be taken seriously in the movie. While I’m not saying she can’t wear whatever she wants, I believe there would have been some eye-rolling comments regarding her desire to be taken seriously while at the same time revealing her midsection. They also didn’t shy away from showcasing some Bollywood level dance sequences, though I would definitely argue it maybe went a bit too far - as the movie acknowledges as well. And I have to call out the colors of the movie - absolutely lovely jewel tones that popped, which is a significant juxtaposition to Burton’s films and even the muted Beauty and the Beast.

In the above areas, I think the movie excelled. I also think there were some amazing moments between characters that were not straight from the original that really made for some good belly laughs. I have to commend Delia’s character overall - played by the hysterical Nasim Pedrad - because she didn’t feel like an extra addition and her comic relief was perfect when paired with Smith’s Genie character. The interactions between Pedrad and Smith’s characters made for some of the best moments, even in terms of romantic moments. And, to briefly mention the Genie, I think Smith did an amazing job making the Genie his own. It was a large footprint to step in to, but I think he showed that he can really make any roll his own. We all knew he would never be what Robin Williams was, but I’m glad he didn’t try and really put his own spin on things, from the songs to the jokes. Unfortunately, Aladdin felt somewhat static but Jasmine had the fiery spark we loved in our princess even from the animated movie. So, overall, the cast was enjoyable.

I thought there were some weaknesses which, while they didn’t ruin the movie for me, they will probably keep it off the same list as The Jungle Book. I don’t think the movie truly succeeded in its attempt to provide a more in depth storyline for Jasmine. There was a lot of telling - telling that she was locked away, telling that her mother was killed, telling that she wanted to be more than a wife - than there was showing. It seemed that, while the movie wanted her to have that same “I’m not a prize to be won” feel from the original, it didn’t quite land the “I’m trained enough to be Sultan” vibe it reached for. This led to an odd song that didn’t quite seem to match the tone that surrounded the rest of the movie, since it had to constantly tie back to the original where Jasmine’s ultimate goals were slightly different. The song’s message was about Jasmine not being silent; however, the movie didn’t really seem to constantly pound this point home. Her father didn’t tell her constantly to hush and I believe only Jafar mentions that she should be seen and not heard once. But the reprise in particular really made a huge pause moment in the movie that didn’t seem earned, beyond the crazy visuals and time stopping moments, and took more than a few of the viewers out of the movie.

Another area of disappointment was definitely the villain. While I thought the extra bit they included about how Jafar was once a thief but climbed his way to the top was well done - a very Javert from Les Miserables moment - he just didn’t seem to be a threat. The character didn’t seem creepy or villainous enough - just more of a meh threat that really didn’t have an impact on the kingdom at all. It also made the finale seem less impactful since the villain didn’t really threaten the livelihood of anyone - especially the citizens that Jasmine continually mentioned as the reason for having a good leader. Becoming an all powerful sorcerer also didn’t seem to up the ante; however, the visual of him as a genie did look pretty cool. And, of course, Alan Tudyck was underutilized, reducing him to Hei Hei but with the ability to say some really great one-liners.

So, overall, while I think the movie was good and I would probably watch it again with someone who hasn’t seen it, I wouldn’t give it the same praise that I have given to The Jungle Book or Christopher Robin. I wish I could sing it higher praises because I feel that there were a lot of risks taken here that make it deserve some recognition. I just wish that these remakes wouldn’t stay so married to the original and should feel more confident to take greater risks. And I don’t even know if their hands are tied by higher forces that be. Overall, a good film but just missed that great mark that would have really impressed.

#Walt Disney #Aladdin #Movies #Disney #Movie Review #Live Action #Film #Remake

1 note · View note

atopearth · 5 years

Text

Midnight Cinderella Part 12 - Nico Ever After Route

Nico’s Ever After is out!! I’ve always liked how teasing but sweet Nico is, but wasn’t too fond of the latter half of his route so I hope this will be good! He’s trying his best as prince consort in Wysteria and as the second prince from Stein, so it’s a lot of pressure and stress for him, but seeing how he enjoys being with the heroine and how glad he was to see Albert and Byron again makes me think Nico will be okay😊

When Nico proposed to the heroine and talked about how he always yearned to have a normal family since his mother died early and he never knew who his father was until not long ago, and even when he did, he could never talk to him or even see him, since he’s an illegitimate child of the king’s, it made me really want the best for Nico. I’m glad the heroine can bring out the real him that always tries to hide everything with a smile. And Nico’s right, proposing to someone is practically asking them to become a part of your family, and really, I feel like that sounds much more romantic than asking if they’re willing to marry you hahaha. The thought of agreeing to be a part of someone’s family and to make a family with them for the rest of their lives just sounds so much more of a blessing haha.

Nice to see that Nico has grown up. He’s changed from the guy that felt that living was to give your life to succeed other people’s dreams, and that’s why he snuck into Wysteria back then, into someone that now understands that living can give people strength too and thus holds more importance for his life now because of the heroine, and I think that’s nice. Nico’s smile used to always be there to hide his true feelings but now it’s more being used to be patient towards the nobles that still do not approve of him. He’s forced to smile through everything but instead of it being a smile that holds things back, it’s now a smile that is there to work towards the future and hope to gain the approval of others and to eventually show his worth. It’s a good smile hahaha. It was nice of Alyn to tell Nico that he’s really suitable to be a king since he’s always been very observant of his surroundings and attention to detail, Nico’s got the approval of at least one person!

As a servant, it can’t be helped that he’s accustomed to putting everyone’s interests before his, to the point that he doesn’t even realise he is because it’s just so natural to do that. So I’m glad the heroine and Al told him to be a bit more selfish and care about himself and his own feelings a bit more, if he wants to see Lord Wagner (his father), he should. Well, that Duchess is very, I don’t know how to describe it, weird? Does she have that much power to force the heroine to choose a prince consort related to her (so they can have good relations etc) after she drags Nico off with rumours that he’s not a real prince? I’m surprised the heroine thought they’d die without their guards when two randoms came trying to kill them, like, umm I’m pretty sure Nico saved her many times from more people than this…

But yeah, I’m glad that Nico finally heard his father’s true feelings. He actually cherishes him but just can’t face him because he looks so similar to his mother, and we know from Byron’s Ever After that he really did love Nico’s mother, so it’s good that Nico finally knows that. Doesn’t mean he didn’t suffer over the years, but at least he can be rest assured that his mother didn’t love the wrong person even if he chose to protect himself. So nice to see them finally get married without annoying people getting in their way lol. Albert crying at the ceremony is so cute, reminds me of when they both cried in Byron’s Ever After route🤣 It was so heartwarming to see Nico call Byron his big brother though, it was so cute. It’s gonna take a while for Nico to get accustomed with the idea that he’s on the same level or higher than others since he’s a king now! Overall, Nico’s route was nice, story was meh but the way Nico handled things was nice so I liked it for Nico hahaha.

#midnight cinderella

4 notes · View notes

starlightgakuen · 6 years

Text

Final Summer 2018 ranking

Yama no Susume 3 - It started off kinda meh, but eventually grew into the series I loved. I kinda disliked the whole drama pandering that Hinata did throughout the latter half of the season, but I’m glad it worked out in the end 8.5/10

Steins;Gate 0 - I liked Steins;Gate 0, and how it pretty much ties into what happened in the original series, except... the ending. While I get how it needed to end that way, it pretty much just turns this into a season that I pretty much have no need to watch. I still love it though 8/10

Asobi Asobase - The cute girl doing cute things in a school club anime. This one actually has pretty decent jokes. The characters are incredbily forgettable, but at least I had pretty good laughs watching this. 7/10

Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight- Quite possibly the most challenging anime I had to score. There are parts of the anime I throughly disliked, and other parts, I loved. It takes reference from similar series very well, namely, Utena/Penguindrum/Yurikuma, while also generating its own charm. That said, there is too much show for how little character growth we have for the characters. Ultimately, I never did find the lead duo endearing, in fact, their support cast of 7 are far more interesting. 7/10

Aikatsu Friends - I like the Friends cast. One of the biggest flaws of 7/10

Chio chan no Tsuugakuro - The usual “cute” girls doing cute things anime each season has, albeit with a not so cute girl. I’m just not big on gag anime, but this one has its moments. 6.5/10

Harukana Receive - Surprise package of the season, what looked to be just a pure fan service series actually has decent plot and character development. I mean, the fan service is great too, but it’s not the only reason to watch it. 6.5/10

Hugtto Precure - I actually like this Precure now. It started off really rough, but the last season really brought the best out of the season. There are plenty of dark elements hidden beneath all that mahou shoujo goodness, including delving into bullying and sexuality, which is pretty unheard off in a kids’ anime. Hoping to see Hugtto end up among my top 5 Precures by the end of the series. 6.5/10

Cinderella Girls Gekijou 3 - Cinderella girls goodness 6.5/10

One Room 2 - 1st and 3rd girls are great. 2nd one, not so much. Overall, a good short cute girl series. 6/10

Hataraku Saibou - It started off a breath of fresh air, but by the end, it’s just a repeated plot of “red blood cell gets lost, germ attacks, white blood cell kills germs, rinse repeat”. I had hopes for this, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. 6/10

Isekai Izakaya - Started off incredibly meh, ended off just meh. On the heels of the amazing world building of Isekai Shokudo, this one just doesn’t match up. It had the potential, but failed to fulfil any of it. 6/10

Grand Blue - Sure, I’ve gotten the occasional laugh, and the girls are cute, but man, I have no idea what the series is going for. A shounen slice of life just seems a little bit of an odd combination, and it’s even weirder how highly this is rated by so many others. It has its moments, but overall unsatisfying. 6/10

Persona 5 - The Persona series’ greatest strength was being immersed in the world that it takes place in. The previous anime series all fail to replicate that magic, and neither does this one. It’s just for fan service purposes. I’m kinda tempted to just drop it (I’m 3 episodes behind) 5.5/10

Free 3 - In what is probably the worst sequel in the long time, Free just manages to turn what was originally a pretty decent sports anime and turned it into a yaoi fest with minimal character development, just a bunch of bishounens. Ikuya, the primary emo kid of choice in this series, is the 3rd in a long line of repeated plot for the series. Worst part? There are so many sub groups now that many a time, they are forced to repeated explain to the other characters who the ones from the original series are. Just poor. And, to make things even worse, there’s a reveal of a sequel in 2020, just to milk what’s left of how bad the series has become. 5/10

Island - I have never played the VN, but from what I’ve seen, I’m sure the anime isn’t it. The anime is an awful mishmash of plot that tries to squeeze 50 hours if plot into 12 episodes, and we all know that’s gonna turn out well. None of the characters are likeable, and the suddenly shift into the future came out of no where, and ended just as abruptly. What a disaster. 4/10

Best girls:

Ozora Haruka (Harukana Receive)

Daiba Nana (Revue Starlight)

Hiyajo Maho (Steins;Gate 0)

Olivia (Asobi Asobase)

Amatsuki Mashiro (One Room 2)

5 notes · View notes

thekuroiookami · 6 years

Text

Otome Mania

This is no longer a secret, I have played, do play and will play a fair number of otome games. I’m weak to cliched romantic plotlines, okay?

Since I did promise @lethesomething a list, here it is. The summary is...I’ve played a lot of games.

Games organized by console, arranged from meh to great.

PS Vita

I pretty much got a Vita so I could play otomes. Don’t judge me too harshly. And while a lot of these are incomplete (i.e. I haven’t played through every route), I feel like I can give an opinion.

Norn 9: Var Commons - Admittedly I haven’t gotten far into this, but lord is the plot confusing. Like, what is happening? What is happening? So many pretty people, though...

Sweet Fuse - Cute, fun, though not high on replay value. The characters are really weird, but don’t let that stop you. They have charm, and the parody elements are worth it. Plus blowing your top has never been so satisfying.

Collar x Malice - I almost finished one route and I’m really enjoying it. The heroine has so much personality and she chews out the dude whose route I was doing, and the mystery is so intriguing, if a tad weirdly investigated...

Code Realize: Guardian of Rebirth - By far the best otome game I’ve played on anything. A beautifully built world, excellent artwork, a heroine with backbone, massively diverging plotlines, and just about every love interest is actually interesting. I’d encourage everyone to play this when it comes out on PC. The Suwabe character is just the icing on the cake for once.

PS3

Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom - Hugely overrated, I think, though not many games can match the artwork. Incredibly long, painful storylines that made me yawn. Heroine has zero presence. I do love Saito though.

Mobile

Mystic Messenger - Is entertaining, but every love interest needs immediate help from a psychologist. The format works to the game’s advantage, and the voice acting is good, I spent a ton of money on it. But the romance doesn’t always feel like a romance.

Liar: Uncover the Truth - This is a surprisingly fun game, but I didn’t have the patience to wait for tickets, or spend money on the black hole. Sad but true.

Games you should definitely never play:

Amnesia: Memories - out and out horror, that one. I don’t know why player character has a sprite, because her personality is non-existent.

Ozmafia - Theoretically very interesting, but in practice, suffers from a spineless heroine. I have a knack for finding the yandere route the second time I play any game, and...let’s say if you play the doctor’s route you’re in for some surprises. Yeah.

Men of Yoshiwara: Sigh. Terrible translation, first off, backed up by terrible writing. Just don’t.

Games that are okay to pass the time:

Seduce Me and Seduce Me 2: Demon War - It’s not like this one is bad, just not amazing. It’s decently voice acted, and the first one is a cute rom-com. The second game gets a lot more complex and weird, and it’s super easy to die. The first game is free.

The Lady’s Choice - A Regency romance otome game with only two choices, but it’s nice how much you can shape the MC’s personality. Free on itch.io.

Dandelion and Nameless - Both of these are Korean-origin, produced by the same company that did Mystic Messenger, and while they do have strong writing plus original concepts, somehow the games never keep my attention for long. Nameless is a bit dark in tone, if that appeals to you. Dandelion is a stat-raising sim, which I hate with a passion.

Loren the Amazon Princess - I think this was one of the first ones I played, and it was pretty ahead in the range of LGBTQ characters, but now that I think back on it, the RPG/romance combination was a tad strange. But I do recommend it.

Days of the Divine - Another of those free itch.io ones, I can barely remember this. It was passable.

How to Take Off Your Mask - Cute, but I can’t remember what the point was.

Games that are super cute and definitely need to be played at least once:

Cute Demon Crashers - It’s a pretty short game, but utterly wonderful in its simplicity and earnestness. An R-18 novel that is very high on sex positivity, I’d recommend this one a lot. Free on itch.io.

The Blind Griffin - An odd but good work set in the age of flapper dresses and speakeasies, following a Chinese heroine who accidentally stumbles upon a secret magician’s guild and trains as an apprentice. Great art, comes with a slang dictionary, and makes up for its abruptness with cuteness. Free on itch.io.

Heartbaked - Lots of aggressive pastry references in this one, and one guy who is? a sheep? Or something? I dunno, it’s adorable. Free on itch.io.

Hustle Cat - A cat cafe, only the staff are the cats. Light hearted fun, though it is easy to mess the game up and get a bad ending.

Autumn’s Journey - So cute. So much fluff. Dragon boys. A girl knight. Enough said. Free on itch.io.

Magical Otoge Ciel - If you want to simultaneously have your soul uplifted and go “WTF is this meta”, play this. It’s so irreverent and sweet, and the art grows on you. @batensan‘s Magical Otoge Anholly is a good read as well, though it is technically a linear novel. Free on itch.io.

Taarradhin - A beautiful fantasy short, but incredibly hard to figure out. The high probability of getting it wrong kind of put me off. Free on itch.io.

Lads in Distress - Exactly what it says on the tin. Overly competent princess with pink hair takes matters into her own hands and saves the princes. I only wish we also had the option to date the childhood fried cum fairy advisor. Free on itch.io.

Re: Alistair - This one is really good, and honestly would have been included in the best games list if it had more LIs. There’s a cute mystery to sort of solve, and I don’t even mind the stat-raising elements. Free on itch.io.

Ristorante Amore - Gorgeous art, and a major plot twist once the story really gets started. I can’t give away anything for fear of ruining it, so just go play it. Free on itch.io.

Yo-Jin-Bo - One of my guilty pleasures, honestly. Yes the MC is a wimp, but the absolute comedy that passes for dialogue is worth it.

Games that sink their claws in and don’t let go:

Cinders - I cannot recommend this enough. Sublime story-telling, the option to be Machiavellian, naively sweet or something in between. The LI’s are good, of course (guess who’s my favourite), but the real star of the show is female relationships - Cinders and her stepsisters, the daughters and the mother, the godmother in disguise. There’s so many possible outcomes as well. I wish the original fairytale were half as interesting.

Cinderella Phenomenon - A free game I backed on Kickstarter, and it’s looking pretty good. The heroine is unapologetically bitchy, but goes through some satisfying character development in the routse I played. Intrigue abounds, and even though I wish there was a little less blushing to go around, it’s pretty good overall.

Demonheart - I am a little torn about this, because it’s an ongoing game on Steam (released in chapters). On the one hand, I feel like romance things happened really abruptly in the last chapter. On the other, the concept is executed very well and there are so many choices. Plus, excellent worldbuilding.

Nachtigal - A really good shorter game about a spunky heroine trapped with two vampires. There’s a whole variety of ways to die in this one, so it’s extra satisfying when you do land the guy.

The Royal Trap - Say what you will about it, but as one of the first VNs I read, I still quite like this one. So many romance options, and so much intrigue. Each route reveals something different about the overall plot. Good stuff.

The Second Reproduction - Starts off typical, but then it goes down some truly unexpected routes. Strong heroine, attractive demon king. Be sure to play it with a guide to get the whole story.

There are plenty I haven’t played at all, or not enough to comment, but this is the list I’d give out to anyone who wanted some recs.

#otome game #recommendations #not anime #random stuff #wow this is long #im restraining myself #honestly

97 notes · View notes

photolover82 · 4 years

Text

Ranking 15 Disney Princess Movies

Hey everyone! Long time, no talk. I have been thinking about what to do to continue with this pop culture blog, and I decided to go with some Disney content. So, recently, I have been watching most (by most, I mean about 15/17 available on Disney+ bc you know quarantine is boredom)

of the Disney Princess movies and I am going to rank them in order from worst (12th place) to best (1st place). Let’s do this, let me know how you would rank these in the comments! Not included: Brave, Pocahontas, & Maleficient since I haven’t seen them recently, I’ll try to watch them & update the list

15th Place: Frozen 1

This one is an unpopular opinion, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the original Frozen movie. Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of sisters kicking booty as royalty without any men, but like it lacked a lot of emotion and heart for me, mostly because the songs are overplayed and the movie itself is super overrated in my opinion. The only cute thing about the movie was Olaf, but other than that meh. Oh and another unpopular opinion: I really dislike Elsa, but we can get into that later. Also, this movie isn’t nostalgic enough to me since it came out when I was 13 years old.

14th Place: Sleeping Beauty

Ok, so most of the older Disney movies are going to go in these places, mostly because the princesses lack any kind of complexity in their character. Aurora is beautiful don’t get me wrong, but she is too much of a damsel in distress and has no unique personality traits. Also, it’s kinda weird that the Prince sees her as a baby and he’s a toddler or child idk. The best part about this movie was the fairy godmothers (especially when they are arguing about the dress color) and the Once Upon a Dream scene.

13th Place: Snow White & The Seven Dwarves

Ok, this one also has the same problem as Sleeping Beauty, except (thankfully) there is no weird Prince meets princess when she’s a baby scene. However, yeah Snow White has little to no personality tbh but her singing makes it tho. The best thing about this movie are the dwarves 1000% which makes me rank it above Sleeping Beauty.

12th Place: Cinderella (Cartoon Version)

Alright, Cinderella actually doesn’t have as bland of a personality as the other ones and the mice also made this movie so entertaining, but there are some plot holes (that thankfully are filled in the live-action, we’ll get to that later) that I cannot look past, so I cannot rank it higher. Cinderella does have more of a personality, but unfortunately the Prince has legit no personality at all. They made her a very kind & hardworking girl, but they didn’t really give him any background at all. Like, it didn’t make sense why she fell in love with him.

11th Place: The Little Mermaid

This movie was super nostalgic for me as a kid (as was Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, & Cinderella), and the music is everything still to this day, but the plot is a bit meh, I mean a girl giving up her pretty voice for a guy... ya not my favorite storyline, but I hope they make it better in the live action that I heard they are going to make. However, Sebastian, Flounder, and all the music really makes me very happy & it makes the movie 100x more enjoyable.

10th Place: Frozen 2

Now, I know I trashed the first Frozen movie, but I honestly love the sequel way more. I really love Anna and this movie gave her more screen time which I really wanted from the first one and it also gave her more complexity as a character and it made me really love her more than the 2nd one. There were also more funny, heartfelt, and emotional moments here and they gave Anna a strength that was amazing, letting Elsa kind of take a step back which I like (because I honestly think she is a bit selfish & only thinks about herself/her magic/problems and abandons her sister/kingdom). It was awesome to see Anna take charge and be a strong leader in this movie. I loved it! Oh and the music was much better.

9th Place: Beauty & The Beast (Live Action)

Overall, I really enjoyed the live-action Beauty and the Beast. I love everything about it, it’s such a wonderful movie. Evermore is an amazing song that was added for this live-action version. However, it is my least favorite of the 3 live-action Disney princess films because I honestly didn’t like the choice of Emma Watson as Belle. Her voice just didn’t make sense with Belle’s. However, I did like that they included the backstory of Belle’s mom, and I love Belle’s dad in this film, he is portrayed a lot better than in the cartoon. I also loved Josh Gad as LeFou, it was such a perfect choice & also portrayed better than the original. However, I preferred the original, cartoon movie’s music, especially Be Our Guest which was a bit disappointing in the live-action since it is so iconic.

8th Place: Mulan

Mulan is such an amazing movie! The music is great, I love the characters, it’s funny and super empowering. Mushu is legit my favorite character, which is why I am a bit scared about the live action version. Honestly, I really love the sequel more than the first one which is not super common to me. Mulan is everything tho, she is such a strong, powerful woman, we stan.

7th Place: Moana

Ok, so Moana legit has the best music of all these Disney movies (because Lin Manuel Miranda helped produce the music so ofc it’s amazing) and the best (arguably) cast. Dwayne Johnson as Maui was literally the best choice ever, *chef’s kiss* to that. It’s also so cool that she doesn’t need a man and she’s independent/fearless. Probably one of the best modern Disney movies that isn’t live action.

6th Place: Aladdin (Cartoon)

I love Aladdin, it is also super nostalgic for me. It’s amazing how the focus is more on Aladdin’s feelings, which is not super common in Disney movies, showcasing how the man feels. Also, Robin Williams (RIP) as the Genie was amazing and it made me laugh. The music was also so amazing and iconic. Jasmine is also one of the best princesses, I love it so much.

5th Place: Aladdin (Live Action)

Now, for the live-action, I honestly think they did the impossible and made it even better. The casting was such an amazing choice, and even though I was very skeptical about Will Smith being the Genie at first, I really loved his portrayal of the Genie because he made it his own, and it was reminiscent of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Also, Jasmine’s song, Speechless, was beautiful and such a great touch to the movie (Noami Scott’s voice was a perfect match for Jasmine in my opinion).

4th Place: Cinderella (Live Action)

Ok, I prefer the live-action Cinderella so much more than the cartoon version, because it gave Cinderella and the Prince a more human and well-rounded personality. I love that they included the background on why her name is Cinderella and on her mom. I also really enjoyed the people they casted in this movie and it was just such a beautiful movie with so much heart.

3rd Place: Beauty & The Beast (Cartoon)

Ok, so ya this is such a classic and it is so nostalgic to me. Belle, for me growing up, was the princess I related to the most because she was intelligent and loved books instead of just being praised for her beauty, she was seen as weird because of her love of reading. I also really love all the characters and songs, they are so amazing!

2nd Place: Princess & The Frog

I realized that the best Disney movies came out during 2009-2011. Princess and the Frog is a huge example of that. Tiana is an amazing princess because she is super hardworking and independent which is such a great role model for young girls. It is also an adorable movie and was so funny/cute. The music is also amazing and I love the New Orleans vibes, it's so good, I have no bad things to say.

1st Place: Tangled

Tangled is literally my favorite Disney movie of all time! It is so funny and beautifully made. I can literally watch it over and over again without it being annoying because I am that into it. Also, the music is *chef’s kiss*.

There ya go! Comment down below your thoughts/rankings.

0 notes

dyemelikeasunset · 7 years

Note

Naf, what are your favorite animes/mangas? Also, happy new year!! :)

Happy new year!!

So I had an old list of my favorite anime/manga but it’s a bit outdated so I’m gonna make a new one. Yeah!

(this is a long as fuck post, apologies!)

Comics/Manga:

Otoyomegatari (eng: Bride’s Story): so I know this series is already pretty renowned but IT’S JUST SO GORGEOUS. The detail and research that goes into this series is so! frickin’! good!! The characters are subtle but full of personality, the humor is delivered in a very human way, the pacing is slow and gentle but full of interest, the story telling is refined. And the cultures are not demonized?? While there are “outsider” perspectives everyone works realistically within the confines of their societies and it’s really respectful. The age gap of the main couple (the groom is 12 and the bride is 20) has so much potential to be squicky but it’s healthy and not framed in any gross way. I love the way the series jumps to different areas and explores small arcs outside the main storyline, all staying within the theme of cultural marriages. Among these side stories, there is one with a majority dark-skinned cast, and the main characters are these carefree and fun-loving twin girls who are so much fun to read about! There’s also another story with a healthy polyamorous story that is, again, actually very accurate!! (Some people could argue it’s “platonic” but the way it’s executed really, really drips with romance lmao.) Highly suggest this series!!

Boku no Hero Academia (eng:My Hero Academy): I’ve completely fallen into the BnHA pit. I didn’t expect to like this series THIS MUCH but it is really, reeaaalllyyy damn good. I’ve never read a shounen series that had so much thought and good editing put into it. Like, it has incredible reread value! There’re a lot of small jokes (like single-panel but still very effective! jokes), unbelievable attention to detail, and it’s very obvious the characters were all worked out before the story was kicked off. The pacing is great, the momentum never feels sacrificed, yet there are still good chunks for breathing and emotional development. The characters are all very well-written even if they’re not “likeable,” you always have someone to root for, and the superpowers are refreshingly executed. The action is fucking FANTASTIC, and the story itself is intriguing with a lot of emotional impact without becoming hamfisted. There are still some issues with it, especially with the small amount of female characters and some unneeded romance undertones, but overall those criticisms do stay as “undertones” and probably weren’t done intentionally. A lot of the potential “fanservice scenes” are usually subverted in a hilarious way

Gakuen Babysitters (eng: School Babysitters): OOH BOY. This one’s a story about a high school with a daycare attached to it (mainly for the teachers’ kids). The main character is a high school student with a toddler-age younger brother, they’re new to this school and have to meet all the other kids… who are fucking adorable. All the toddlers at the daycare are really fleshed out, they all have set personalities and aren’t unrealistically angelic and some are bratty and most are CUTE AF, and they all have their moments to shine. Sometimes the characters border on caricatures or one-note jokes, but it works well for comedy and is generally kept fresh. There’re also some typical romance-y things but they’re totally glazed over in favor of the toddler-plots and YES A STORY WHERE KIDS AREN’T USED AS A PLOT DEVICE TO MAKE SOMEONE MORE ROMANTICALLY APPEALING AND seriously this series is SO CUTE you all should read it.

Bokura no Hentai (eng: Our Transformations): the “hentai” here is “transformations” not porn lmao. Anyway this series is about three kids who meet through an online “cross-dressing” community. The main character is actually a trans girl!! The other two mains are both cis, one gay one straight. The straight boy does say homo/transphobic things at the beginning but properly apologizes for his actions later. The series also deals with death in the family, mental illness and recovery, gender (obviously) as well as gender expectations and even addresses hypersexuality as a result of trauma. That being said, there is a heavy warning on this series for noncon situations and molestation. However it’s thankfully not treated in a romantic or rose-tinted way in the least. Some of the character growth is a little sudden (esp straight cis boy, I felt his turnaround was too fast and drastic) and some of the endgame couples (or implied couples) have some meh undertones, but overall a good story.The series is finished now and ended on a pretty good note, but the epilogue is incredibly sad. I suggest maybe not reading the very last chapter if you’re in a bad place mentally right now.

Kase-san: If you’re looking for feel-good wlw media, Kase-san is the shit. It’s sooo sugary and sweet, but still has good character growth and story development. It generally deals with real-world teenager stuff, but the couple is very healthy and progresses at a realistic but still romantic pace. Warnings for intense butterflies lmao this series is seriously so gentle and high-school romance-y in the best way. The biggest surprise is how the main girl grew on me so much? Like I have a huge pet peeve for cookie-cutter protagonists, but Yamada has so much personality and strengths! Even though the story is told from her perspective and generally follows her pining after the titular love interest, Kase, there are enough glimpses into Kase’s personality and motivations too (which helps to balance things out), and just Yamada herself is very vibrant and sweet! This series puts me in such a good mood

Tamen Di Gushi (eng: Their Story): Another good wlw series! I know this series is already pretty popular on Tumblr, but if anyone was still on the fence about it, I really think you should give it a shot. The romance is sweet and adorable but what really gets me is the HUMOR. The gags in this series are fucking out of this world, I can’t explain it well but the timing, expressions, and circumstances are SO FUNNY and the artist pulls it off so well!! I always look forward to the updates just because they’re so funny

Anime:

Idolm@ster: ugh don’t even talk to me about this one it’s a total guilty pleasure but all the characters and even the sides are GREAT (I love the faceless president lmao). It’s a story about a start-up idol agency, and how all the adults are working to help each of the girls become famous. It was originally a video game (with some questionable content) but the anime is REALLY GOOD and very endearing and each of the girls has a moment to shine and grow. The songs are cute and the dances and performances are so rewarding to see esp after all the characters go through, and UGH It’s all so adorable, esp 2nd season. I love this show.[A NOTE: don’t watch the movie. Just don’t. It’s awful. Bad production value, unnecessary drama, A USELESS SIDEPLOT ABOUT A GIRL LOSING WEIGHT it’s awful don’t do it.]

Idolm@ster: Cinderella Girls: New cast of idols, new agency, very different pacing. The beginning 7 episodes are a little hard to get through, but after that first trudge, the quality skyrockets. I actually think there were some things I enjoyed more about CG than the original im@s– there’s a bigger focus on the actual work they do (like their idol theming), company politics, and a MUCH BETTER VILLAIN introduced in the second season. This series doesn’t focus as much on each individual character, but the ones that do get development really hit home strong.

Escaflowne: one of the first animes I ever watched when they were dubbing it in fox kids. I rewatched the subbed anime when I got older and I gotta say it’s really lasts the test of time. Aside from the geek factors (high fantasy!! tarot cards!! dragons! MAGIC MECHS!!) the story and characters are really great. The main character, Hitomi, is just such a strong baby who’s never outshined by the other characters. She goes through a lot and still is allowed to feel vulnerability, it never quite feels like she has to “prove” herself worthy of being a hero just “because she’s a girl” etc, she’s allowed to be strong and courageous while also weak and in need of help, very multi-layered! And that’s only the main girl HAHA don’t even get me started on the other characters.Some of the later story can be a little weird? There’s some weird real-world references and one of the characters has an interesting(?) gender issue. I don’t personally know how I feel about it but it’s worth having a mild precaution to anyone thinking of going into this series.

#Anonymous #recs #long post ///

80 notes · View notes