#and they killed my queen Ilsa

[fangirlamongstotherthings]

Every day I grow more and more scared that Ethan Hunt is not making it out of mission impossible 8 alive

#because there is no way he’s gonna retire #and I didn’t think they’d kill bond in no time to die #but they did #and they killed my queen Ilsa #mission impossible #Ethan Hunt #mission impossible 8 #mission impossible dead reckoning #my posts

[missyourflight]

some stuff i read and watched in june:

taskmaster (s1-5): haven't done an early seasons rewatch in so long, s4 and 5 are basically perfect 2 me. incredible that mark watson manages to be both my favourite type of taskmaster guy (hopelessly despairing) and also nearly won the thing lol. nish forever obviously

silo: got well into this! probably at some point apple will stop throwing millions at sci-fi shows but i'm going to enjoy their folly in the meantime

mission: impossible ii: hadn't seen this one! the weakest of the lot but the john woo of it all is undeniable

mission: impossible iii: PSH outrageously good as the villain, hi keri russell

mission: impossible - ghost protocol: so much fun, especially the sequences where you can see brad bird's animation brain going

mission: impossible - rogue nation: ILSA my beloved, the opera sequence is so gorgeous, no notes!

mission: impossible - fallout: it's good when henry cavill reloads his arms, it's better when tom cruise is sprinting around london rooftops and breaking his ankle etc, my most basic trait is that i Love when they're in london like oooh tate modern. anyway i'm very ready for dead reckoning

asteroid city: the bits about making art really got to me! the vending machines were cool!

joint security area: crash landing on you prepared me for this, blank check weren't lying when they said it was homoerotic, song kang-ho forever etc

dodie smith, the town in bloom: the most delightful narrative voice i've read in Ages and v funny. easy to sell me on 1920s theatrical shenanigans

k patrick, mrs s: So hot and butch, i liked the butch friendship stuff almost more than the sex stuff. more sexy lesbian novels Please

kj charles, the secret lives of country gentlemen: another winner from KJC, my most reliable romantic comfort reads. this time it's smugglers!

alice slater, death of a bookseller: sticky little thriller about being poisoned by true crime, great sense of place, So many pints of dark fruits

laura kay, wild things: bisexual disaster in love with her best friend, tragically very me- and also george russell-coded, god i want to swim in a pond again

SOME STUFF I SAW AT ROCK WERCHTER

the dj on the first nigt who played a mash up of i'm gonna be (500 miles) into temperature and then the 1d cover of one way or another into little lion man (deeply cursed fandom flashbacks etc)

weyes blood with candelabras and glowing hearts and amazing adam curtis projections on the big screen behind her

king princess sending the gay girls of belgium absolutely wild - "you wanna hear a sad lesbian song?"

matty healy is a dickhead but he's very good at being the frontman of the 1975. like if ben whishaw was straight and kind of disgusting

stormzy!!! literally the rain was pouring during blinded by your grace pt 2

mumford and sons - this whole festival was like being borne back ceaseless into the past but the cave still fucks me up, marcus really in his ken marino era, face-wise

PUP - i do believe if this tour doesn't kill you, i will to be a wholly perfect song, they had a trans flag on stage, best vibes of the festival

sigur ros - sometimes you just want to be in a massive barn with thousands of people with your faces turned up in the dark feeling like you're inside the sound somehow

muse - fucking incredible live band still!! every time i'm see them i'm floored by how hot chris the bassist is and then i forget about it and then i see them again and i'm poleaxed etc. they had a tech meltdown during knights of cydonia at the encore so we got showbiz instead!!

christine and the queens - beautiful and terrible as the dawn

jacob collier - asked if we wanted to get funky then put on a special hat, bit george russell-coded in the face

arctic monkeys - sometimes you just want to be in a field with one of your oldest friends singing the songs of your youth!! i love the 70s act actually! there are so many sexy songs on AM!! the skies finally cleared for the beautiful full moon, thank you belgium, good night

#monthly media #sophposting

[house-of-1000-corpses]

241 songs bangers for any occasion

1.MASTODON - Blood and Thunder 03:48 2.RED FANG - Wires 05:43 3.DYING FETUS - Second Skin 04:42 4.OBITUARY - Sentence Day 02:49 5.DEATH - Pull The Plug 04:26 6.AMORPHIS - Black Winter Day 03:50 7.MYRKUR - Leaves of Yggdrasil 04:00 8.NOTHING - Say Less 04:15 9.TORCHE - Admission 04:00 10.BARONESS - March to the Sea 03:11 11.THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN - 43% Burnt 04:31 12.PIG DESTROYER - Trojan Whore 01:34 13.NASUM - Scoop 02:21 14.NILE - Cast Down The Heretic 05:45 15.SUFFOCATION - Catatonia 03:55 16.INCANTATION - Entrails of the Hag Queen 04:33 17.NEUROSIS - Through Silver In Blood 12:11 18.HIGH ON FIRE - Blessed Black Wings 07:43 19.YOB - Ablaze 10:13 20.WINDHAND - Diablerie 05:20 21.MONOLORD - THE LAST LEAF 05:14 22.BONGZILLA - Amerijuanican 06:46 23.GATECREEPER - From The Ashes 03:59 24.EXHUMED - Ravenous Cadavers 01:49 25.FULL OF HELL - Burning Myrrh 02:12 26.INTEGRITY - Hymn, For The Children of the Black Flame 02:16 27.GISM - Endless Blockades For The Pussyfooter 03:46 28.CONTROL DENIED - Expect The Unexpected 07:16 29.NECROPHAGIST - Only Ash Remains 04:11 30.OBSCURA - The Anticosmic Overload 04:16 31.REVOCATION - The Grip Tightens 04:10 32.GRUESOME - A Waste of Life 06:00 33.ZOMBI - Breakthrough & Conquer 03:46 34.GENGHIS TRON - Board Up The House 05:54 35.SURVIVE - A.H.B. 04:25 36.THE ALBUM LEAF - Ambo 04:53 37.CEREMONY - Turn Away The Bad Thing 04:02 38.BORIS WITH MERZBOW - Away From You 07:35 39.ROYAL THUNDER - Parsonz Curse 06:57 40.KING WOMAN - Hierophant 07:59 41.CLOAKROOM - Seedless Star 07:37 42.AUTHOR & PUNISHER - The Speaker Is Systematically Broken 04:14 43.DISFEAR - Deadweight 02:52 44.IRON REAGAN - A Dying World 02:24 45.TOXIC HOLOCAUST - Nuke The Cross 02:47 46.CANDY - Super-Stare 04:01 47.RINGWORM - Death Becomes My Voice 05:19 48.INTER ARMA - Citadel 06:40 49.PRIMITIVE MAN - Menacing 08:00 50.UNEARTHLY TRANCE - Famine 06:14 51.LYCUS - Solar Chamber 10:41 52.DEVOURMENT - Cognitive Sedation Butchery 04:53 53.SKINLESS - The Optimist 05:42 54.DEVIL MASTER - Black Flame Candle 02:46 55.OUTER HEAVEN - Bloodspire 04:15 56.GENOCIDE PACT - Conquered and Disposed 04:37 57.COFFINS - Hour of Execution 04:55 58.MAMMOTH GRINDER - Superior Firepower 02:38 59.LIVING GATE - Heaven Ablaze 03:35 60.REPULSION - Maggots In Your Coffin 01:45 61.AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED - Agorapocalypse Now 02:25 62.MISERY INDEX - Fed To The Wolves 03:47 63.MORTICIAN - Rabid 02:01 64.BRUTAL TRUTH - Sugardaddy 02:36 65.HUMAN REMAINS - Rote 03:31 66.-(16)- - Me and the Dog Die Together 03:05 67.ALABAMA THUNDERPUSSY - Motor-Ready 04:21 68.ASG - Avalanche 04:17 69.CEPHALIC CARNAGE - Endless Cycle Of Violence 04:14 70.CHERUBS - Sooey Pig 04:44 71.COUGH - Haunter of the Dark 07:50 72.CRIPPLE BASTARDS - Non Coinvolto 02:04 73.DISEMBOWELMENT - Your Prophetic Throne Of Ivory 07:40 74.EX EYE - Opposition/Perihelion; The Coil 12:29 75.GADGET - Pillars Of Filth 01:20 76.GRAVES AT SEA - The Curse That Is 11:14 77.HAEMORRHAGE - WE ARE THE GORE 02:15 78.HORSEBACK - Mithras 05:04 79.ILSA - SHIBBOLETH 02:39 80.INDIAN - The Impetus Bleeds 06:40 81.INVERLOCH - Distance Collapsed (In Rubble) 08:39 82.IRON MONKEY - Crown of Electrodes 04:21 83.JOHN FRUM - Presage of Emptiness 04:47 84.LOCRIAN - Arc of Extinction 07:16 85.MARUTA - Hope Smasher 02:19 86.MIRACLE - Light Mind 04:49 87.THE OBSESSED - Sodden Jackal 04:23 88.PINKISH BLACK - Concept Unification 05:13 89.PUBLICIST UK - Slow Dancing To This Bitter Earth 03:36 90.RWAKE - Leviticus 07:17 91.SUMERLANDS - The Seventh Seal 03:46 92.TERMINAL BLISS - Clean Bill of Wealth 00:51 93.TRAPPIST - Victims Of A Bomber Raid 01:38 94.TRUE WIDOW - Four Teeth 06:16 95.WEEKEND NACHOS - Jock Powerviolence 01:23 96.WRONG - Culminate 02:33 97.USNEA - Lathe of Heaven 09:44 98.VICTIMS - The Horse And Sparrow Theory 03:41 99.ZEKE - Two Lane Blacktop 01:37 100.ZONAL - System Error -ft. Moor Mother 04:06 101.ARCADEA - Infinite End 03:28 102.BLACK SALVATION - In A Casket's Ride 07:03 103.BRAIN TENTACLES - Fruitcake 02:35 104.ABSCESS - Naked Freak Show 01:15 105.ABYSMAL DAWN - Inanimate 04:15 106.AGENDA OF SWINE - Gethsemane 01:08 107.ANAL CUNT - Radio Hit 01:11 108.ANATOMY OF HABIT - Radiate and Recede 20:11 109.ANTIGAMA - Pursuit 01:16 110.ATRIARCH - Entropy 05:53 111.BEDEMON - Child Of Darkness 04:12 112.BENUMB - Once And Never Again 01:00 113.BIRDS OF PREY - Hustling the Coroner To Overlook the Strychnine 03:27 114.BLACK ANVIL - May Her Wrath Be Just 04:25 115.BLACK TUSK - Bring Me Darkness 03:05 116.BLOOD DUSTER - Porn Store Stiffi 01:33 117.BLOODIEST - BROKEN TEETH 07:31 118.BRIAN POSEHN - Cuddling 03:55 119.BROUGHTON'S RULES - Reversers 03:50 120.BURIED INSIDE - IV 06:07 121.BURNT BY THE SUN - Soundtrack To The Worst Movie Ever 02:32 122.BURST - Where The Wave Broke 03:36 123.BUZZOVEN - Mainline 05:30 124.CALL OF THE VOID - Bottom Feeder 01:42 125.CAR BOMB - Gum Under The Table 03:27 126.CHRIS CONNELLY - Wait For Amateur 02:05 127.CIRCLE OF ANIMALS - No Faith 04:21 128.CHRISTIAN MISTRESS - Over & Over 02:41 129.COALESCE - Have Patience 03:11 130.COLDWORKER - The Interloper 02:38 131.COLISEUM - Defeater 02:01 132.COLUMNS - Mudfucker 01:18 133.CRETIN - Ghost of Teeth and Hair 03:54 134.CRYPTIC SLAUGHTER - Lowlife 02:32 135.CULTED - BROODING HEX 19:13 136.DAVIE ALLAN - Buzz Saw Effect 02:36 137.DAYLIGHT DIES - Four Corners 08:11 138.DEAD WORLD - The Machine 08:06 139.DEATH BREATH - Death Breath 02:55 140.DEKAPITATOR - The Storm Before the Calm 06:39 141.DISRUPT - Domestic Prison 02:00 142.DON CABALLERO - Railroad Cancellation 05:16 143.DUKATALON - ZX 06:23 144.DYSRHYTHMIA - Appeared at First 03:06 145.EAST WEST BLAST TEST - Magnetic Field 00:51 146.ECSTATIC VISION - Don't Kill The Vibe 05:00 147.EMBALMER - There Was Blood Everywhere 01:51 148.ENEMY SOIL - Sentencing 01:39 149.EXIT-13 - When I Get Low, I Get High 02:36 150.EXPULSION - Altar of Slaughter 01:43 151.FACEDOWNINSHIT - NPON 04:19 152.FATHER BEFOULED - Sacrilegious Defilement of Deranged Salvation 03:20 153.FLESH PARADE - Backstabber 01:14 154.FUCK THE FACTS - The Wrecking 04:39 155.GENERAL SURGERY - Slithering Maceration Of Ulcerous Facial Tissue 01:11 156.GENOCIDE SUPERSTARS - Hatestomp 03:08 157.GOD MACABRE - Lost 04:01 158.GOBLIN REBIRTH - Requiem for X 04:16 159.GRAVES OF VALOR - Suffocation of the Last King 03:45 160.HAIL! HORNET - Beast Of Bourbon 03:11 161.HARVEY MILK - The Anvil Will Fall 07:34 162.HALO - Buried In Light 04:37 163.HEMDALE - Delicious Gory Fun 01:11 164.HERO DESTROYED - That's An Axe 03:27 165.HOODED MENACE - Elysium Of Dripping Death 11:33 166.HOPE DRONE - Riverbeds Hewn in Marrow 10:39 167.HOWL - Horns Of Steel 03:26 168.HUMAN REMAINS - Weeding Out The Thorns 02:37 169.INEVITABLE END - The Severed Inception 04:04 170.JOEL GRIND - The Invisible Landscape 02:12 171.JUCIFER - Blackpowder 02:16 172.KARABOUDJAN - Den Svarta Ön 07:32 173.KILL THE CLIENT - Vicious Slaughter 01:06 174.KINGDOM OF SORROW - Enlightened To Extinction 03:47 175.KRIEG - CIRCLE OF GUILT 05:20 176.LENG TCH'E - The Fist of the Leng Tch'e 01:50 177.LIBERTEER - Build No System 01:34 178.LOOKING FOR AN ANSWER - Tapias De Cementerio 02:07 179.LORD DYING - POISONED ALTARS 03:47 180.LULL - Moment 1 01:08 181.MAGRUDERGRIND - Sacrificial Hire 01:32 182.MAN MUST DIE - Kill It Skin It Wear It 04:18 183.MANTAS - Evil Dead (Death By Metal Demo) 03:22 184.MERZBOW - Woodpecker No. 1 06:43 185.MINDROT - Anguish 07:11 186.MINSK - Within And Without 07:57 187.MORGION - The Serpentine Scrolls 10:33 188.MORTA SKULD - Sacrificial Rite 03:26 189.MOSE GIGANTICUS - The Left Path 04:13 190.MUMAKIL - Brothers in Slavery 01:20 191.MURDER CONSTRUCT - Compelled by Mediocrity 02:44 192.N2K2 - Mourning 03:54 193.NOISEAR - Inevitable Extinction 01:00 194.NUM SKULL - Ritually Abused 04:27 195.NUX VOMICA - Sanity Is For The Passive 12:40 196.OBLITERATION - Goat Skull Crown 04:40 197.OPPROBRIUM - Voices From The Grave 03:23 198.ORIGIN - Finite 03:08 199.PAN.THY.MONIUM - The Battle Of Geeheeb 11:55 200.PENTAGRAM - Forever My Queen 02:25 201.PHOBIA - Rehashed 01:05 202.POISON BLOOD - The Scourge and the Gestalt 03:40 203.PRIMATE - Draw Back A Stump 01:26 204.PUTRID PILE - The Satisfying Dead 02:50 205.PYRRHON - Balkanized 04:46 206.RABBITS - A Tale Of Tales 04:44 207.RAZOR - Hypertension 03:19 208.REGURGITATE - Putrid Serenity 01:44 209.ROTTEN SOUND - Superior 01:28 210.RUMPELSTILTSKIN GRINDER - Grab a Shovel (We've Got Bodies to Bury) 04:51 211.SATAN'S SATYRS - Succubus 03:40 212.SAYYADINA - Their Control 01:04 213.SCOTT HULL - Il funerale di Bonnie 03:47 214.SACRILEGE - Shadow From Mordor 04:50 215.SERPENTINE PATH - Essence Of Heresy 03:47 216.SOILENT GREEN - It Was Just An Accident 04:12 217.SPAWN OF POSSESSION - Apparition 08:24 218.STEVE MOORE - It's Complicated 02:41 219.SUBARACHNOID SPACE - A 09:16 220.TERMINAL SOUND SYSTEM - Silt 06:43 221.THE COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINERS - Morgagnic Anatomics 04:14 222.THE END - Throwing Stones 03:29 223.THE GREAT TYRANT - Closing In 07:42 224.THE HIGH CONFESSIONS - Chlorine And Crystal 09:35 225.TITAN - Wooded Altar Beyond The Wander 08:00 226.TOMBS - Merrimack 03:56 227.TRIAL OF THE BOW - Father of the Flower 04:07 228.TRIBES OF NEUROT - Primordial Uncarved Block 06:24 229.ULCERATE - ABROGATION 05:50 230.ULTRAMANTIS BLACK - Prescription Culture 01:04 231.UNKIND - Vihan Lapset 02:45 232.UPHILL BATTLE - Ripped Off Face 03:29 233.VVEREVVOLF GREHV - Audio Processor 04:45 234.VIDNA OBMANA - The Insane Brightness 05:33 235.VIRAL LOAD - Methlab Machete Massacre 03:07 236.VOIVOD - God Phones 05:07 237.WEAPON - Vanguard Of The Morning Star 04:19 238.WOLVSERPENT - Within the Light of Fire 16:24 239.BASTARD NOISE, SICKNESS - Death's Door 16:09 240.PSYWARFARE - Au Regal Des Voraces 20:02 241.THE SOUL REBELLION ORCHESTRA - DOLEMITE 03:01

#mastodon #red fang #obituary #dying fetus #death #pig destroyer #nile #suffocation #baroness #full of hell #gatecreeper #exhumed #revocation #gruesome #toxic holocaust #abysmal dawn #some favs

[brightbeautifulthings]

Tales From the Hinterland by Melissa Albert

"It's not everyone who gets to see their death as it comes. The queen waited for the future, for the end. The cold was already in her."

Year Read: 2021

Rating: 4/5

Thoughts: Collections of stories that exist in other novels seem to be gathering popularity lately, and in this case, I think it really works. I was dying to read these all through the Hazel Wood duology, and in a rare turn of events, I think I like them a bit more than the actual novels. They're dark and deliciously creepy, sometimes with a grim, fairytale-like moral and sometimes not, and while I liked some more than others, I never found my attention wandering in any of them. It's almost perfectly paced, with none of the stories being ridiculously longer than the others, and I appreciate Albert keeping them short and sweet. (Or, er, short and bloody, as the case may be.) I'm not very moved by the illustrations or the overall color scheme (green and orange aren't a great combination), but I enjoyed the overall aesthetics of the book. It felt like I was holding something just a little bit magical.

My favorite stories were ones with connections to the characters in the duology: "Hansa the Traveler", "Twice-Killed Katherine", "Ilsa Waits", and of course "Alice-Three-Times." They do a lot to flesh out the backstories of those (largely creepy) characters, and they provide a fascinating look into the inner workings of the Hinterlands, with its unforgiving rules and skeptical morality. The stories as a whole overwhelmingly feature female main characters, many of them of the bloody and vengeful variety (which I'm totally here for), most of them clever and ruthless and occasionally the villain. While I'm excited to go back to the duology at some point with these stories in mind, I don't think it's necessary to read those to understand this. The stories stand on their own, and I'd highly recommend them for someone who likes Leigh Bardugo's The Language of Thorns or Emily Carroll's Through the Woods (who would have been an AMAZING illustrator for this collection, btw).

#book review #tales from the hinterland #melissa albert #the hazel wood #fairytales #story collection #4/5 #rating: 4/5 #2021

[lisasnarts]

INTERVIEW GAME

I was tagged by @obikenobis! Thank you!!!!

nickname: Tasha

pronouns: she/her

star sign: Taurus

height: 4′11, to my constant and eternal annoyance

time currently: 18:26

birthday: 26th April

favourite groups/bands: Queen, Fleetwood Mac, Blondie,

favourite solo artist: Taylor Swift, George Ezra

song stuck in my head: 11:59 - Blondie

last movie you watched: Ball of Fire

last show you binged: Stargirl

when you created your blog: 2018, I didn’t really use it for a while then came back on last year

last thing I googled: Witherward sequel, I just finished the first book and loved it! Sorry to everyone who I try to persuade to read it so I have people to talk about it with. It’s about an alternate version of London that’s split into six areas, each belonging to a different magical faction. Ilsa is a changeling who grew up in the otherworld (aka our world) and gets brought back to the Witherward to try help find the missing Changeling Alpha, and deal with a secret society of people who think the Changelings are lesser beings and are trying to take their territory (Camden, but that includes more than our world’s Camden) off them and generally kill them. So yes plenty of action, mystery and twists. 

other blogs: nope

why I chose my url: Skywalker is a reference to the skywalkers obviously because that’s largely what I post about, radiant is a reference to the Knights Radiant from The Stormlight Archive, because I absolutely love those books and I love the Knights Radiant, and they’re kind of the equivalent of the jedi so I thought it worked.

do you get asks: Sometimes from mutuals  as part of ask games and such and I really appreciate it. 

how many people you are following: 118, I keep meaning to get around to following more people but I keep getting distracted.

how many followers: 110, thank you!

average hours of sleep: 8 but like from 4 in the morning and then waking up in the afternoon.

lucky number: 5

instruments: nope, couldn’t even manage the recorder and I’ve never really tried anything else, I’d probably annoy the crap out of my neighbours if I tried (thin walls)

currently wearing: black cord trousers, pink ribbed long sleeve top.

dream job: oh man I have no idea, I have like no skills and haven’t a clue what to do with my life. I guess being a director would be interesting? That or just like working in a bookshop. 

dream trip: New Zealand or Canada.

favourite food: mint choc chip ice cream. 

favourite song: The Show Must Go On - Queen 

top 3 fictional worlds to live in: Doctor Who, Star Wars, Cosmere 

No pressure tags (i’ve lost track of whose done this sorry): @sapphic-rey @andy-curry @kckenobi @ah-soka @harryvvells

#tasha rambles #tag things #about tag

[myriadimagines]

request: u write a drabble with a character & song u want, ur too good for us 😍

Characters: Reader x Ilsa FaustWarnings: --Lyric: “My love is yours if you’re willing to take it / Give me your heart ’cause I ain’t gonna break it / So come away, starting today / Start a new life, together in a different place”Word Count: 490A/N: i fuckin love you i remember seeing this request for the first time god knows how long ago and i couldn’t stop smiling because this is so sweet!!!! i also took ages deciding on a character it was between thea queen, sara lance and kara danvers but eventually i decided with ilsa and eastside by benny blanco, halsey and khalid, hope it’s okay!!!

NOT TAKING ANYMORE REQUESTS!

Falling in love with a spy would inevitably end in heartbreak. At least, that was what you believed when you discovered your girlfriend, Ilsa, was a spy. Ilsa hadn’t meant to get attached, hadn’t meant to develop feelings, yet it all came so naturally the second she met you. Of course, it was under a different name, a completely different alias, but after a while, Ilsa felt as though she owed the truth to you. She felt vulnerable with you, like she could let her multiple walls down, and she trusted you enough to do so. 

Ilsa couldn’t quite interpret the myriad of emotions that washed over your expression when she revealed who she really was. Disbelief, then anger, confusion, before the sadness settled in. You looked away, pulling your hand away from Ilsa’s that she had grabbed before telling you everything. Ilsa sighed, understanding it was a lot to take in, but hoping she wouldn’t lose you.

The silence killed her. You had gotten up from the bed the two of you were sitting on, staring out of the window as you processed everything. Ilsa opened her mouth as if to say something, but you beat her to it, quietly asked, “Were the feelings real?”

“Of course they were.” Ilsa replied without hesitation, a slight hint of desperation in her tone. “You know I love you, y/n, and I would never want to do anything to break your heart.”

You turned to face her. “You’re going to leave, aren’t you? You have to.”

Ilsa pressed her lips together, and you sighed, her silence confirming the truth you feared. It was the nature of her job -- she couldn’t settle down in one place, couldn’t settle down and have a normal life. 

“Yes, I’ll have to leave.” Ilsa replied quietly, and tears welled in your eyes. Getting up, she rushed over to you, grabbing her hands as she quickly continued, “But that doesn’t mean it’s the end for us, y/n.”

“How is it not?” you asked. “I mean, it’s not like I can go with you-”

You trailed off when you noticed Ilsa’s hopeful expression, an eyebrow raised as she looked at you expectantly. Reaching up to caress your face, Ilsa said, “Come away with me, y/n.”

“I-” you stammered in disbelief. “I can?”

“Of course you can.” Ilsa smiled, suddenly hopeful at a future with you. “Come away with me, wherever I go. We’ll be starting new lives again and again, but we’ll have each other, and that’s good enough for me.” 

You studied Ilsa’s expression, suddenly feeling a swell of hope in the pit of emptiness inside your chest. “You think this will work?”

“I know it will.” Ilsa replied firmly. Her hand was still lingering on her cheek as she remarked, “I can’t imagine life without you, y/n.”

You smiled at her, nodding through tears of happiness as you replied, “Okay, let’s do it.”

#mission impossible imagine #ilsa faust imagine #mission impossible #mission impossible drabble #ilsa faust #ilsa faust drabble #imagine #imagines #reader insert #drabble #drabbles #anonymous

[jellybeanbeing]

Books That Made Me Cry

*THIS WILL CONTAIN MAJOR SPOILERS* so if you’re sensitive to spoilers, don’t read them. Or just don’t read this whole thing at all. 

1. Kids of Appetite by David Arnold

Kids of Appetite was such a wonderful book that just made me cry a river. We are introduced to this odd band of misfits who truly have good intentions and who are wild and genuine, and that made me feel like I was apart of them. At the end when the characters are saying their goodbyes, I lost it. It truly felt like I was saying goodbye to these characters. 4/5 stars

2. The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

How dare Mindy McGinnis kill off Alex Craft? Alex’s perspective was my favorite to read from because of the complexity of her character and so when she died at the end, I was not having it. I cried and the very last scene with Peekay writing on the bathroom stall just broke me. I had to put the book down and drown in my tears. 5/5 stars

3. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Of all the character deaths on this list, this is the one that kind of pisses me off the most. Matthias deserved better. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I STAND BY THIS. It’s been a good year since I’ve read the Six of Crows duology and his death still makes me so angry. He was a character who was raised on hate and bigotry, and I’m sure we all know how difficult it is to change a person’s mentality, especially one they grew up with and them thinking that is the way the world is. Matthias deserved to live on and really show everyone how much he had changed but no. We didn’t get that. 5/5 stars

4. Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab

Kate Harker and Ilsa deserved better too. Kate has had a shitty life. She has never fit in anywhere, really, and doesn’t even have a friend she can fully console with (besides August). I was so hoping she would survive and find her place in the world but no... honestly, her death just infuriates me. Ilsa’s death though, was something else. The way she transformed gave me such euphoria because this is the side of her that no one has really seen and then she just goes sacrificing herself and dies. Precious Ilsa didn’t deserve this. 5/5 stars

5. A Conjuring of Light by V.E Schwab

Holland, as well, deserved so much more! He had spent his entire life, imprisoned by the evils of magic. Similar to Kate, he’s had an overall pretty shitty life, what with being held by the Dane Twins, being attacked by almost everyone he loved and cared about, being controlled by Osaron, and then being in cuffs almost the entirety of ACOL. I thought that after all that pain, he would’ve been able to live on with a comfortable life. Don’t get me wrong though, I do find the significance in his death and how he fulfilled his only wish: saving White London. It still makes me want to cry though. 5/5 stars

6. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

My heart broke in pieces at that ending. Harry was the most precious and awesome thing since sliced bread AND HE DIED. He deserved the entire world and more. Also, with the realization that Evelyn is lonely because everyone she ever loved had passed and her decision to go the way she went, just killed me. The last scene where we see her is so heartbreaking. I loved this book so so so much. EVELYN HUGO IS A QUEEN. 5/5 stars

7. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

This entire list is slowly turning into a “Character Deaths That I’m Not Over” kind of post. Anyways, Noah’s death killed me and the significance and revelation of everything just f’ed me over. It was really Noah speaking to Gansey when Gansey was being stung by hornets. UGH. I was really hoping that Noah would have one final moment with the others but he didn’t. He just disappeared in the most heartbreaking way ever. 4/5 stars

8. Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare

Baby Livia did not deserve to die. I’m just so angry that we finally got to know Livvy more in LOS and then she gets killed off. How is that fair? I wanted the Ty/Kit/Livvy trio to last and grow up together and be a happy family, but we won’t get that. I’m not ready for QOAAD. I AM NOT READY. 4/5 stars

9. Sadie by Courtney Summers

What a fucking book. I hate that the ending is open-ended because what the fuck? I need to know that Sadie is okay but my hopes that she’s alive isn’t that high. It was so unsettling how much time there was in between Sadie’s actions and the podcast, maybe that’s why I think she died. 4/5 stars

10. Heretics Anonymous by Katie Henry

This probably has to be the oddest one yet because Heretics Anonymous is overall a really funny book so me crying in a funny book is just weird. The part that got to me was when Michael lashed out at his dad and his dad took away his things. It felt so so personal and relatable. The feelings Michael felt in that moment was something I’ve felt before and so I guess that’s why I was crying my eyes out. 4/5 stars

#Kids of Appetite #david arnold #The Female of the Species #Mindy McGinnis #our dark duet #Victoria Schwab #crooked kingdom #leigh bardugo #a conjuring of light #ve schwab #the seven husbands of evelyn hugo #taylor jenkins reid #the raven king #maggie stiefvater #lord of shadows #cassandra clare #sadie #courtney summers #heretics anonymous #katie henry #books #book spoilers

[why-am-i-pluto]

this one should be obvious but mission impossible movies. if someone beat me to it then doctor who series 11 so far specifically!

send me a fandom and i will name a character…@ineverhadadoubt

who i will protect at all costs: Well, everyone, but mainly Benji. Protect that poor boy.

who deserves better: Ilsa fucking Faust. She deserved better than shoehorning her into a forced romance that was unjustified and unnatural. But hopeful now that Queen Rebecca has spoken out against the romance.

who was killed off too early: Lots of people, if I’m honest. But Trevor Hanaway is up there. I wish him and Jane could have been happy.

who i used to hate but now i love:  Uhhhhh I dunno tbh. I don’t think that there’s any character who I’ve ever particularly hated.

who i used to love but now i hate: I don’t think I hate anyone now either. I did go off Brandt for a while because of the way the stanners would treat the other characters

who needs to be killed off asap: Lane. If not for Benji’s sake, for Sean Harris’ sake. He didn’t want to survive Rogue Nation but he did. Just let the poor bastard die. 

who is unfairly hated: I don’t know if anyone is actually hated? I fortunately remain in a blessed part of the fandom where there is no hate - and any that I’ve seen has been blocked.

who is unfairly loved: I don’t think the loving of the character is so much unfairly given, but the reasons why August is loved piss me off. He’s a fantastic villain, but people seem to love him because Henry is hot. And that leads to all kinds of bullshit that is common in larger fandoms. Love the character, yes. Don’t talk about how you want him to fuck you because that is seriously messed up, guys.

who needs to sort out their priorities: Ethan for one. He needs to focus more on, y’know, actually staying alive. Also Lane. Find a new hobby that doesn’t involve hurting my boy please. Learn to fucking knit or something dude.

who needs a hug: BENJI FUCKING DUNN

who needs to get out of their current relationship: If we’re talking about it as how McQ tried to make it, Ilsa and Ethan. They both deserve better.

who the writers love: Ethan. I mean, it’s Tom’s baby. He’s bound to get the spotlight. But it is nice that everyone else does get their time to shine.

who needs a better storyline: Ilsa in Fallout. But also bring back Nyah and give her the good closure. Show me a Nyah who was inspired and joined the IMF officially, who was trained by Ethan, who mutually decided that their relationship wasn’t working, who still remains a good friend with Ethan as she leads her own team in IMF.

who has an amazing redemption arc: Not a villain being redeemed, but I’m gonna say Hunley. He was a right bastard in Rogue Nation, interrogating Benji weekly, sending the CIA to kill Ethan and Benji, hunting them down, but then he realised he was wrong, accepted that, and changed his outlook on the team. The things he spoke to Ethan about at the start of the film, praising him - god I loved that.

who is hot af: Like… everyone? But have you seen the White Widow?

who belongs in jail: Lane and August. One is sort of there, and the other is dead, so there’s that.

who needs to be revived from the dead: Hunley, Lindsay, Jack, Hanaway, just about everyone

#ineverhadadoubt #thank you love!

[snickwrites]

tags,

books/wips are not listed.

to navigate, you can use bks & the acronym for the wip. for example: bks lb for love bites.

otps.

weon, jinn, keindy,

conning is sexy (antonina x kristoff),

sweet talked (naddy x bucky),

yeet for emotional damage (mareli),

love bitten (orion x bree),

home is where your heart is (luke x iris),

help wanted love needed (kieran x guinevere),

stalker stalker (joey x jai),

target practice (nike x nicky),

bastard bois (gray x mark),

macy x xavier,

you hold my future (bomb x tornado),

our death is a swan song (mori x luci),

across universes through planes (shin x lover),

brotps.

song sibs (cordelia x leon), the yardie boys,

kristoff’s boys, team confidence (the cons),

heartbreak club, you’re my safe zone (naddy x rossy),

sunnyside upside down (sunny x kit), sunny x lorcan,

subunit soulmates (minwoo x grayson), we’re not bros (minwoo x donggu),

dark acad kids (jude x cosima),

chaos crew, dagger dagger (bishop x horse), bunch o’ traitors (bishop x president), mentoring is not a side job (president x horse),

cerberus (the experiments), we’re in it for that retirement dough (the assassins),

i can kill anyone for you (the zhang sibs),

characters.

SRS S: quinn fong, wendy cain, isabella french, dominic prince, faris hamel, james brackham, kei tanaka, leon song, cordelia song,

BKS GMSF: sunny finch, kit pouliot, lorcan delos reyes

BKS LB: orion aguerra, bree amon,

BKS TCT: yuna park, antonina la verne, sophie alcantara, kristoff park,

SRS C/BKS TFSU: park minwoo, grayson wang, kim dong gu, mark co,

BKS ST: ella ambrose, ross beauchard, claudia heinz, bucky choi, nadine lynch,

BKS SM/SE: eli perez, marilyn day,

SRS R: ira jarenovic, jericho jarenovic, jessamine jarenovic, xavier kazcynski, carlo/cavil, macy callaghan,

BKS TDOOO: iris min, luke young, nekoma airi,

BKS ARGTDH: heart aran mosby,

BKS COAC: ilsa larsen remmington, agatha silvers, beatrice o'donnell, monroe crow,

BKS KYD: nicky saint, nike oliveras

BKS SA: guinevere vessen, kieran ward,

BKS LSS: hugo yang,

BKS LP: roman scott, phoebe murray,

SRS DC/BKS PDN: isolde krench,

BKS ASIH: black of cards,

BKS ASIRB: jude grurare,

BKS MAM: sinclair salazar,

BKS MAM (2): luciana gallo, vitto gallo, mori kaminari,

BKS ATOCH: naia tal,

BKS WO: elohssa, romilda pire, julienne meier,

BKS CB: hart,

BKS TAS: alistair zhang, celestia zhang,

BKS MM: violet o'hare,

SRS TINTE: wonu, hestia crow

BKS: clover rittle,

SRS THE: the bomb, the queen, the bishop, the horse, the president,

BKS EAR: ulysess colt

BKS RH: arden hermosa,

ada bloom,

shin

places.

little hodge, elizabeth’s house, etoile du matin, the aoi x enzo party,

the park estate

phryne touk, jang mi flower shop

hummers and holmes house

hyacinth’s house

last updated: 02.28.22.

#pinned post.

[kbrown78]

My Thoughts: Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab

I wasn't crazy about This Savage Song. The side characters were flat and the nothing happened for the majority of the book. There was some potential though and I had heard that Our Dark Duet would be a really good finale, but I was still skeptical. Despite the bar being set low, this book repeated the mistakes of the previous book, and created several new issues. This book was disappointing on so many levels, and I'll delve into why. This review will contain spoilers for This Savage Song as well as Our Dark Duet.

World building: In This Savage Song the readers know that there are three types of monsters, but somewhere in the beginning a fourth monster is introduced, termed the Chaos Eater. This monster is mostly a shadow that immediately makes people violent to the point of murder. It's perspective is written like poetry to reflect that it's there but not whole. It's victims have mirror shards in their eyes, but that's about all you learn. I was also hoping to learn more about the origins of the first monsters, but this goes unanswered, which was a big problem I had with the world building. This is the last book, but so much was left unanswered. These were problems that could be forgiven in This Savage Song because a few were answered and because their was another book to fill in these blanks. There are other cities, and for the first few chapters from Kate's perspective, all we learn about Prosperity, the city she currently resides in after fleeing Verity, is that it is wealthy and their problems are much deeper and slower to show themselves as opposed to Verity's slew of violence. That's all we learn, there are several other cities that we know nothing about. Speaking of Verity, there is group of people that worship the monsters, called the Fangs, which is something that fits with this world but it wasn't mentioned before and they are just used as tool's to show how evil Sloan and Alice are. Back to the monsters, the Sunai, like August, harness soul's through song, but over half way through the book, August can use his music to soothe a soul. This kind of came out of nowhere and we only see this one other time. It's something I really would have liked to be explored more, which can be applied to every thing in this section.

Characters: All of the characters in this book were one dimensional. I even had problems with Kate and August. Kate has been set up as this tough girl who doesn't need anyone, and from what I've heard of Schwab's other female characters this is an archetype that she likes to use, but it made Kate kind of annoying. There were things I liked about her, like her wanting to go back to Verity to stop the Chaos Eater, and her trying to help the Compound by calling them out on their incorrect thinking, and she was never cruel, just a bit cold. That coldness is what made me feel unattached to her, so when her death came, I just shrugged it off. This might also be due to the fact that I could tell either Kate or August was going to die, but I'll get into that in the Writing section. August was kind of interesting in This Savage Song, because of his desire to be human. In Our Dark Duet, he took 4 steps back. After consuming Leo's soul at the end of This Savage Song, August is now hearing a voice in his head that tells him to act like a monster because that's what he is. There is one good scene that addresses this conflict, but other than that August spends the majority of the book coming off as a moopy douche. Sloan also gets his own POV, but this adds nothing to the plot or his character. He was an evil creep in the first book and he is an evil creep in this one. All the readers see of him is killing girls that look like Kate because that's his fetish and just enjoying killing a bunch of people. There isn't any sort of complexity to him, he's just evil because he's evil, which is as flat as the rest of the characters are. There were so many characters that had no personality, I couldn't even remember who's who. I wasn't sad when Kate left her “friends” in Prosperity because I didn't know anything about them other than what Schwab briefly told us, so I didn't care. When Rez died, I saw that coming and felt nothing. I wasn't even upset when Henry was taken, and he's the leader and father figure for August. Soro, the new Sunai, had an interesting origin story, being manifested through a suicide mission, but ended up being a Leo 2.0 until, literally the last 2 pages of the book. I really wanted Soro to die, especially after a scene where she just decided to kill a sinner that August was trying to heal and did it in a way that manipulated August into letting Soro, and was kind of disappointed that Soro lived. The one character that had real potential to be interesting was Ilsa, but she was just shoved away until she was needed to kill Sloan and the Chaos Eater, which resulted in her own death. What a waste! It was cool getting to see her true form, with horns and wings of fire, which make her sound like a holy terror, but we know she can be a sweet person. Overall the characters were incredibly bland and I just couldn't feel any attachment to any of them.

Relationships: It was important to establish how bland I find the characters before reviewing their relationships. Kate was very much an outsider looking in with every social group she was a part of, so the only close relationship she had was with August, but this was in part because she didn't want any friends. August I guess had friends, more like comrades, but because he used the excuse that he wasn't human he never tried to attach himself to any of them. August and Ilsa's relationship was cold and non exitstent this entire novel, and unlike in the previous book, August didn't seem to want to communicate with Henry nearly as much, so that relationship was dead. I'll briefly talk about Sloan and Alice's “view” of Kate before getting to the main relationship. Sloan was just obsessed with killing Kate, but we're given no reason as to why, so the whole thing becomes unnecessary and very creepy. Alice is Kate's Malachi, and also named after her mother, who was an important figure in Kate's early life. Alice is also obsessed with killing Kate, however, since the 2 have never encountered each other it's a little unclear as to why Alice would such an intense desire to kill her. Alice is also obsessed with killing August, which is made clear by the several traps she lays for him throughout the book, and I assume that is for bragging rights. Now to Kate and August. I think Kate feels more attached to August than him to her, because she spends more time thinking about him. When the 2 finally do meet up again, August is very cold and berates her, in the same paragraph, for being stupid and coming back to Verity and then not caring enough to stay in Verity and help fix it. Dude, your just mad she's calling you out on your bullshit behavior. It's this dynamic that makes the kiss scene a little jarring. They are clearly the only person that can break through the other's walls, but did we need to suddenly have them kiss. I personally think they worked better as a platonic couple than a romantic one. Before the final battle, August and Kate briefly hug with the expectation that one of them is going to die. When Kate does die August holds her briefly, than the audience is rushed into the epilogue. This was probably supposed to feel very angsty, but it was way too rushed and I didn't like the characters enough to feel anything for how this relationship ended.  

Writing: It will be hard to distinguish what I want to review in the writing section instead of the dislike section, but I will try. First the pacing. This book was an easy read and that made it go by quickly, but until the last 80 pages of the book, the plot just drags. So the plot was either very slow or very fast. I also want to say that it was hard for me to keep tabs on this book, because of how flat everything was, and it all remained the same. This book is 510 pages, and I could fit all my notes onto 2 pages. In terms of diversity, I could be forgetting some of the side characters, but all the main characters were white and hetero. This didn't bug me until Schwab introduced Soro. Soro is constantly referred to as they, I think to show that Soro is supposed to be gender fluid. I admit I haven't read a gender fluid character before so I don't know if that is the correct pronoun to use or not. Suddenly introducing a gender fluid character to have some diversity felt very forced and unnatural. I do love books that have diverse characters, like Six of Crows or Beauty Queens, but the author needs to make this diversity feel normal and natural to some extent, and I don't think Scwab achieved that with this particular book. I know in the Shades of Magic trilogy, there is more diversity and maybe it's done better in that. There is some exploration of morality and remorse. Kate is remorseful of what she did at the end of This Savage Song, but this is only talked about a few times. That was the issue for all of these concepts, they are only briefly explored and nothing really comes of it.

Dislike: Everything I talked about above could be put in this section. The characters were either bland or annoying, there were many holes in the world building and the plot, there were good concepts that were poorly explored. When we first see the refugees from the north, the first thing August and his group do is insult them. Like they are scared because they want to live but their world has changed very quickly, don't be an ass to them. I also didn't like how crimes and their consequences were so black and white. It's good if a few characters have this world view, you stain your soul so now you have to die, but for everyone to consistently have this view makes the world much simpler than it actually is. There was in fighting at the Compound, which is a realistic problem when trying to rebuild society, but this is only brought up twice, and Henry somehow solves it both times. The readers see August still juggling his humanity, which is even more difficult now that he posses Leo, but we only get a few scenes where he really questions what he is doing. One is during a fight with the Fangs, where he is deciding between revenge versus forgiveness. Nothing comes of it. The other scene is where a man has a stained soul but he is remorseful for what he did, and August just decides to reap him anyway. There are 2 things I want to acknowledge in this scene. One is that just because a person does a bad thing, does not make them a bad person. What if you killed someone in self defense? August or Soro would still reap you. This could be expanded to you don't have to be human to have humanity, but it takes Soro and August a long time to figure this out. The other thing this scene made me wonder is, is it just murder that stains a soul. Every time August reaps, it's from a murderer, but there are other horrible crimes that won't result in murder, or in you directly killing someone. This book had good idea's, but boiled them down to the bare bones which made the book too simple. This book was also fairly predictable. Random characters dying, saw that coming. Kate dying, saw that coming, Sloan suddenly being able to harness the Chaos Eater, saw that coming, even though it didn't make any sense. The only 2 things I didn't see coming made the story all the more disappointing. It's an easy read, and that is probably the best thing I can say about this book.

Final Thoughts: This duology did have great potential to be thought provoking and a new spin on the dystopian or post apocalyptic genre, but it missed the mark far more often than it hit it. Everything about this book is too simple and flat, it might be a good series for when you hit a reading slump but it's not something you can sink your teeth in. I might give Vicious a chance, but it has moved further down on my TBR because of my experience with this series. If you enjoyed it then that's awesome, I personally didn't.  

#my thoughts #book review #our dark duet

[wilwywaylan]

dare i say all of them ? :p

What’s the most depressing movie you’ve ever watched? Recently, that was The Battery. I thought I was in for a standard zombie movie, and instead… oh, instead, it broke my heart and my feels and my squeele, and everything between. Never trust the Battery.

What’s the most disturbing movie you’ve ever watched? I watch lots of disturbing movies, seeing as [see question 11]. But I’ll go with three of them because I’m like that. 200 motels is first because that… thing… didn’t make any sense. No, really. Like, not at all, it was a psychedelic movie that didn’t even try to make sense. Then, Ilsa, wolf of the SS or something like that. Wanted to see what was so nanar about Gestaporn. Well, I saw. Third, Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The others range from slightly funny to totally stupid, but the first one, ohgods, it made me so UNCOMFORTABLE!!

An actor/actress you’ve seen in more than 8 movies? Name the movies. I COULD DO IT WITH LOTS OF PEOPLE !!! But just for the lulz / the exercise, it will be Brad Dourif, He of The Mad-Eyes : Spontaneous Combustion, The Two Towers (hello Grima !), Alien 4, Fading of the Cries, Chain Letter, Halloween 2009, Child’s Play, and One flew over the cuckoo’s nest.

A film you could watch on repeat for the rest of your life? Besides my usual horror movies… Repo the Genetic Opera. Grand acting, and grand music, what else could I ask for ? :D

What’s the very first film you remember watching? Done !

A film you wish you hadn’t watched? …. lots of them, mainly because they are a loss of time and I’m not getting those hours back. But for the trauma : Alien : the Resurrection. Not that it’s not a good movie. But I was 12 at the time, and let me tell you, it leaves some scars.

A film you wish had a sequel? Done but just for the lulz : Hot Fuzz. I want more of those wacky cops and more Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and more bromance and more everything !

Which book would you like to see adapted into a film? A BRUSSOLO ONE !! That would be QUITE funny to watch :D Who’s up for ever-growing crystal mountains ? Inflammable towns ? Killing carnival ? Serial-killing janitor ? Beasts-planets ? A planet with winds hard enough to rip off your skin ? People being empathically linked to objects ? YES !!

The most aesthetically pleasing movie you’ve ever watched? Done, but then again, for the lulz : Coraline. Because HOLY MOTHER OF FLYING PIGS THIS IS JUST STOP MOTION HOLD ME PLZ

What’s your favourite movie director? Tim Burton. He’s slowing down these days, and his movies seem a bit less magical to me, but maybe that’s Old Granny Wilwy talking. I’m still a huge fan and will probably be till the end of times.

Your favourite movie genre? HORROR HORROR HORROR AGAA (/°.°)/ (specifically the sub-genre of “Science just released a huge monster that will now munch on the casting until it’s killed in a fiery explosion”)

A movie that holds a special place in your heart? Lots, once again. Hmmm. I’ll go with The Blues Brothers. I watched it with my brothers countless times, I can’t even believe how many, and how much fun we had ! (also quoting it during family meals is a huge must)

Your favourite comedy film? The Marx Brothers in The Big Store. I love the Marx’ humor, it shaped a lot of mine. Close second is A Night at the Opera because it’s AWESOME !!!

A music video you would love to see developed into a film? I want to break free. I want a whole movie about Queen going around dressed in drags (with mustaches).

A film everyone loves but you hate? FUCK U TITANIC I WILL NEVER ADMIT THAT YOU’RE A GOOD MOVIE (besides, Cameron is an idiot. Fuck you Cameron).

A film you love but everyone else hates? Well maybe not everybody else, but I bet that my family was ready to chuck our video of Help ! by the window, and me with it, after a week of watching it twice a day.More seriously, Child’s Play. It’s seen as a fixture of the horror movie pantheon, but I found it horribly annoying and stupid.

Which cinematic universe would you like to live in? A lot of them. But I’d like to be sent into the Fantastic Beasts universe, in the 30s, in New York, and visit that wonderful suitcase~

What’s your favourite biopic? …. do I even watch biopics, except a few ones on serial killers…? I don’t think so…

Mainstream movies or indie movies? Mainstream. I’m an anti-hipster for that.

Old movies or contemporary movies? Done !

A film with an amazing soundtrack? OH LORD GIVE ME THE STRENGTH !!!! Let’s go with Star Wars of course (original trilogy). That OST will be with me until I die.

#wilwy's life #movies movies movies !! #thank youuuu :D #yahtomingan

[silverscreenclassics2016]

by Paul Batters

It’s a real thrill to be acknowledged by a fellow blogger whose work you respect and enjoy. We rarely receive that acknowledgement and to be nominated by by Zoe K at Hollywood Genes is certainly thrilling! I cannot thank you enough for your kindness, Zoe!

As Zoe pointed out in her acceptance, it’s a great deal of fun to receive the award because the questions allow for introspection that we rarely give to ourselves.  So without further ado, let’s get into the conditions for the Sunshine Blogger Award.

The Rules

Thank the person who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.

Answer the eleven questions from the blogger who nominated you.

Nominate eleven bloggers.

Create eleven new questions for your nominees to answer.

Here are my answers to Zoe’s questions:

The Questions

1). Whose biography would you want to write and why would you pick that person?

James Murray. I became fascinated by his story when I read ‘Hollywood Babylon’ as a kid (which I know is heavy with inaccuracies) but was even more fascinated after finally watching ‘The Crowd’ which is one of my favourite films and an exceptional artwork. There are myths regarding James Murray’s life that need to be cleared up and indeed there’s a lot we don’t know either. There’s something tragic about his story and so many themes to examine that I think it would be challenging and very interesting to research and find out more about the man.

2). What is a film that people would be shocked to find out you haven’t seen?

I’ve avoided many of the Marvel and DC films, particularly the most recent ones. I’m so tired of ‘over-the-top’ CGI nonsense and noise. And for the record I was a huge Marvel comic fan from the 70s onwards (and still am!). But if I had a free ticket to go, I wouldn’t nor couldn’t be bothered to see any of those films. Not judging anyone who likes them – it’s just my taste.

3). Which favorite book of yours has never been made (or made properly) into a movie? If it were, who would you cast in the lead roles?

Definitely Budd Schulberg’s book ‘What Makes Sammy Run?’ – not because it’s a favourite per se as many books I love have been made into films but because it’s a powerful book and should be made. I know and understand the stories behind why it’s never been made as a film, as it is a terrifyingly cynical view of the film industry. In terms of casting, it’s very difficult which might also explain why it was never made. But I’ll take my best shot, using actors from the classic era.

Al Mannheim: Dana Andrews Sammy Glick: Frank Sinatra Cathy ‘Kit’ Sargent: Teresa Wright Sidney Fineman: James Gleason ‘Sheik’: Anthony Quinn Laurette Harrington: Martha Hyer Carter Judd: Jeffrey Hunter Rosalie Goldblaum: Cathy O’Donnell

4). Which blog post did you spend the most time researching and/or writing and what was it about? 

It would have to be ‘Fatalism And Futility In Film Noir’. It’s over 4,000 words and I really focused on it a great deal. Of course I re-watched the films I discussed a number of times, as well as read some critical work and reviews to immerse myself in the essence of what I wanted to write. I think it came out ok!

Here’s the link: Fatalism And Futility In Film Noir

5). When and why did you start blogging?

I began in 2016 for a few reasons; I have always loved classic film and wanted to write about it. The advice that kept popping up in my face was quite simple – just DO IT. It was also an avenue to developing an idea for a book (which I am still working on) nI finally took on the challenge and whilst I have been disillusioned and disheartened at times, I’ve tried to remember why I started writing in the first place and I am starting to get my mojo back.

It’s also a desire to keep alive an appreciation of classic cinema, at a time when it is slowly being eroded away and diminished by so many factors. Researching and writing about classic cinema is also a fantastic way of learning more and I wanted that to be a key part of the reason I started blogging.

The key with writing is simple yet difficult at the same time – just WRITE. Even if they come out terrible, the process is still cathartic as well as being a learning opportunity.

6). You’re hosting a themed Halloween party. Which book or film would you use as the theme and in what ways?

It would be Roman Polanski’s film The Fearless Vampire Killers – simply because it would give everyone a chance to become a creature of the night. Everyone of course would be dressed in period piece, the party would be held in a beautiful old ballroom for everyone to dance the night away and the hired staff (suitably attired) would be on duty to provide everyone with enough food and beverages and keep them satisfied. For those who are interested, there would be viewing rooms with different classic and not so classic horror films playing – and of course the decorations would be appropriate to the evening.

7). What was the last film you saw that really blew you away and why?

The Irishman. Not only were there incredible performances from De Niro and Pacino, but there was also the reminder of why I miss Joe Pesci so much on the big screen. Ray Romano was no slouch and perfectly cast. A tour de force of a film!

8). Marry, Kiss, or Kill: Which film character would you marry, which would you share a hot, pre-code kiss with, and which would you kill like a noir anti-hero or villain(ess) with a score to settle? (And why did you pick these 3?)

Marry: Nora Charles (Myrna Loy). That is assuming Nick was deceased and she was available. (I know that sounds awful but…it is Myrna Loy after all! To spend a lifetime with such a gorgeous gal would be heaven!)

Kiss: Marian Martin (Joan Crawford). Locking lips with a hell of a sexy pre-code dame like Joan Crawford would send the temperature soaring!

Kill: Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark). He’s a sadistic, mad dog and dangerous as hell!

9). Which film character’s closet would you love to raid?

Why any character being played by Cary Grant of course!

10). Recast Star Wars using early Hollywood (silent to 1940s) actors and actresses then recast Casablanca with modern actors and actresses (1990s to today).

I’ve also placed the original players next to the recast actors and actresses.

Star Wars  Luke – Jackie Cooper

circa 1942: Promotional headshot portrait of American actor Jackie Cooper tilting his head forward and looking straight ahead, for director A Edward Sutherland’s film, ‘The Navy Comes Through’. He is wearing a pinstriped blazer with a tie. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Han – Clark Gable

Leia – Olivia de Havilland

Obi-wan Kenobi – Sir Cedric Hardwicke

Darth Vader – Claude Rains (Voice)

ca. 1940s — Actor Claude Rains — Image by © John Springer Collection/CORBIS

Grand Moff Tarkin – Boris Karloff

Casablanca Rick – George Clooney

Ilsa – Monica Bellucci

Victor – Christoph Waltz

Sam – Jamie Foxx

Captain Renault – Jean Dujardin

Major Strasser – Mads Mikkelsen

Signor Ferrari – Anthony Hopkins

Ugarte – Steve Buscemi

  11). You were working in the lab, late one night, when your eyes beheld an eerie sight. What was it and what did you do?

The hour was beyond the clock, as I looked dazedly upon my work. Was it finished? Was it complete? Was what lay before me everything that I had sweated, ached and poured my heart out for? Or was there more to do?How long had I toiled and found myself lost in the seemingly infinite depths of trying to perfect my creation! Yet at every turn there were obstacles; some I had placed there, the rest beyond my control – or so I told myself. The distinction between perseverance and madness had long blurred and I could not remember the last time I had spoken to someone about the weather or sat at the table to eat. Indeed, what was finally driving me to complete my work was something I could not ascertain, even when I deigned to find some moments of peace in disturbed sleep. Even then the only reason I closed my eyes was a justification to allow myself to recover to continue my work. And so at that point, I slumped in my seat and felt my arms fall lifelessly by my side. It was enough. There was no more that I could do. Yet something compelled me to turn to my right, as if a presence was watching me. Finding myself torn between daring to look and pretending there was nothing there, I nonetheless apprehensively turned slowly towards an apparition beyond my wildest nightmares. Staring at me was a figure so grotesque that I could not scream. As I opened my mouth in silent horror, the figure did the same, as if it were mocking my terror and laughing inside at my frozen fear. Its eyes were large and dark, sunken in what appeared to be the hollows of a long dead oak, with hair hanging down bedraggled over its’ face. Its pale face was fixated on me like a predator eyeing its’ prey and as I instinctively raised my hand in some pathetic attempt to fend it off, I saw it too raise its’ fiendish arm as if ready to strike. Rising slowly out of my chair, the figure also stood and I knew that at any moment, it may rush at me and inflict violence upon me. Determined to defend myself, I saw its’ face contort into a horrific mask of contemptuous violence. My fists clenched into red knuckled balls of fury. And waited. Bracing myself for the attack to come. But then I noticed a change in my tormentor’s face, as it looked at me questioningly. I, too, found myself staring back, realising that I knew who it was and the realisation hit me like a thousand thunderbolts all at once… I touched the mirror with the tips of my fingers before turning back to my creation and hitting the ‘Publish’ button on the screen. Sleep beckoned…

The 11 Nominees For The Sunshine Blogger Award

Down These Mean Streets – Musings Of A Noir Dame

Four Star Film Fan

Wolffian Classic Movies Digest

B Noir Detour

Noirish

Queen Of The Lot Blog

Diary Of A Movie Maniac

Cinema Essentials

The Classic Movie Muse

Moon In Gemini

Once Upon A Screen

The Questions

My questions are a mixed bag of my own and others that Zoe.K was given so I hope you find them interesting!

1. Which actor or actress who hasn’t received an Oscar do you think deserves one? And for what film?

2. Who is your favourite child actor and name a film they were in which you love.

3. If a biopic was made of you during the classic film era (1920s to 1960s), who would you like to play you and why?

4. Which famous starry couple (of any time and place) would you want as neighbours?

5. Of all the classic monsters, which one do you feel associated with and why?

6. Is there a classic era actor/actress that you have a crush on?

7. If there was ONE actor or actress (living or deceased) whom you could interview for your blog, who would it be and why would you choose that person?

8. Which film character’s closet would you love to raid?

9. Marry, Kiss, or Kill: Which film character would you marry, which would you share a hot, pre-code kiss with, and which would you kill like a noir anti-rhero or villain(ess) with a score to settle? (And why did you pick these 3?)

10. Of all the classic film studios, which is your favourite and why?

11. Choose a film where you would love to change the ending. Explain what that change would be and why you would do it.

Well, I hope you take part and of course totally understand if you cannot or would prefer not to. However, I thoroughly recommend it as it’s a great deal of fun and certainly is a pleasure and honour to be nominated. Happy blogging everyone! And I’m looking forward to reading your responses.

Paul Batters teaches secondary school History in the Illawarra region and also lectures at the University Of Wollongong. In a previous life, he was involved in community radio and independent publications. Looking to a career in writing, Paul also has a passion for film history.

  The Sunshine Blogger Award – Brightening Up A Blog! by Paul Batters It's a real thrill to be acknowledged by a fellow blogger whose work you respect and enjoy.

[youbetterworkcovergirl]

2018 Books Read

iLove,Life and the List by Kasie West

Chamber of Fear by R.L. Stine

Circle of Fire by R.L. Stine

The Knife by R.L. Stine

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the Ultimate Visual Guide

Photobombed

Forgotten Bookmarks

The Public Library

Totally Tubular 80s Toys

500 Essential Cult Movies

Ski Weekend by R.L. Stine

Secret Admirer by R.L. Stine

The Stepsister by R.L. Stine

Halloween Party by R.L. Stine

The New Year’s Party by R.L. Stine

Silent Night 2 by R.L. Stine

Who Killed The Homecoming Queen by R.L. Stine

The Wrong Number by R.L. Stine

Trick Or Treat by Cusick

One Evil Summer by R.L Stine

The Stepsister 2 by R.L Stine

The Secret Bedroom by R.L. Stine

The Baby-sitter by R.L. Stine

The Baby-sitter 2 by R.L. Stine

The New Girl by R.L. Stine

The New Boy by R.L. Stine

Graduation Day by R.L. Stine

The First Horror by R.L. Stine

The Second Horror by R.L. Stine

The Third Horror by R.L. Stine

The Prom Queen by R.L. Stine

Bad Dreams by R.L. Stine

Cheerleaders: The First Evil by R.L. Stine

Silent Night 3 by R.L. Stine

The Fire Game by R.L. Stine

Awkward Family Holiday Photos

The Mall by Cusick

Bad Moonlight by R.L. Stine

The Evil Moon by R.L. Stine

Killer’s Kiss by R.L. Stine

The Sleepwalker by R.L Stine

Prom Day by R.L. Stine

Forbidden Secrets by R.L. Stine

Sunburn by R.L. Stine

Midnight Games by R.L. Stine

The Cheater by R.L. Stine

The Wizards of Once by Cressida Caldwell

The Sign of Fear by R.L. Stine

The Evil Lives by R.L. Stine

Sweetheart, Evil heart by R.L Stine

High Tide by R.L. Stine

Camp Out by R.L Stine

Runaway by R.L Stine

The Dead Lifeguard by R.L. Stine

What Holly Heard by R.L. Stine

The Walking Dead Vol. 29

Switched by R.L. Stine

The Dare by R.L. Stine

The Evil Lives by R.L. Stine

Cat by R.L. Stine

First Date by R.L Stine

Road Trip by Eric Morse

Goodnight Kiss 2 by R.L. Stine

The Stepbrother by R.L. Stine

All Night Party by R.L. Stine

The Rich Girl by R.L. Stine

The Last Scream by R.L. Stine

Fear Hall The Beginning by R.L Stine

Fear Hall The Conclusion by R.L. Stine

Dead End by R.L Stine

The Best Friend 2 by R.L. Stine

Broke Hearts by R.L. Stine

Wicked by R.L. Stine

Sam and Ilsa’s Last Hurrah by Leviathan 

Goodnight Kiss by Stine

Geekerella by Poston

Dirty Rocker Boys by Brown

All The Feels by Stone

Along For The Ride by Dessen

Stay Sweet by Vioban

Summer Unscripted by Klein 

Fifteenth Summer by Dalton

Sixteenth Summer by Dalton

Sixteenth Summer Swept Away by Dalton

Listen to Your Heart by West

The Surprise Party by Stine

The Last Time I Lied by Sager

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Irving

A Kiss In The Dark by Ciocca

Save the Date by Matson

Death Notice by Ritter

The Unexpected Everything by Matson

Door of Death by Stine

Saint Anything by Dessen

That’s Not How It Happened by Keplinger

Ghosts Beneath Our Feet

The Foxglove Killings

The Walking Dead Vol 30

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

The Possession of Cassie Quinn

There’s a Hair in my Dirt

Fahrenheit 451 

I Never

The Baby-Sitter III

Halloween Night

Halloween Night II

Don’t Stay Up Late

Final Grade

The Next Person You Meet In Heaven

The Cheerleaders

Hocus Pocus

I Believe in a Thing Called Love

Snow in Love

If You Want To Scare Yourself

Truth or Dare

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

How The Grinch Stole Christmas

People Like Us

In A Dark Dark Room

The Book of Books

The Birth of Graffiti

 T. Rex Time Machine

The Dreamer

The Retired Kid

Bear in the Air

Book Fair Day

Humpty Dumpty Climbs Again

A Dog Named Doug

Wallace and Grace and the Cupcake Caper

The Rocky Horror Treasury

Gus Goes to School

Winnie the Pooh

Jim Henson the works

Witness to the Holocaust

Crafting Your Own Vintage Halloween

The Family Circus

The Family Circus Treasury

The Prehistory of Far Side

Turbulent Years 1960s

The Goth Bible

The Fifties Chronicles

 The Horror Encylopedia

Pearl Harbor

Christmas Memories

Midcentury Christmas

Shedd Aquarium

Better Than Homemade

A History of Magic

Belle’s Library

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

The American State Fair

The Year Of Cozy

Toil and Trouble

[drjacquescoulardeau]

MICHAEL DOUGLAS – SEAN PENN – THE GAME – 1997

 Do not try to reduce this film to only one meaning.

 It is obviously a film centered on the relationship between an elder son and his father when the father commits suicide in front of the child’s eyes when he is 48 and the child is about six or eight. The case is made more complex with the fact that there is a younger son who the elder son took care of as his brother, which is natural, but in a way oppressive in the absence of the father. Even trickier is the fact that the elder son has taken over the family estate (and business), has been married but is divorced and lives alone on the estate with the housekeeper of long ago, of the time when he was a child, hence who has known his father, though she is either older than she looks, and hence too old to take care of such an estate, or she was very young at the time of the suicide and hence cannot really remember much about the father. That connection to the past is rather loose since Ilsa should be at the least 20 at the time of the suicide and should have been hired when she was eighteen. But that is young for a servant who is now the housekeeper and has been for a long time. Otherwise forty years later she should be at retiring age and should have entered that service when she was rather 25 or 28.

 The second element is the rivalry between two brothers in the absence of the father who spectacularly stepped out of life. Then the whole shebang being devised by the younger brother, it is a very perverse way for him to remind his elder brother whose forty-eighth birthday is celebrated today that their father committed suicide on exactly the same occasion by jumping from the top of a high chimney onto the flagstones of a terrace behind the family estate. Perverse and morbid if not even worse than morbid. With a suicide note supposedly signed by the elder son, Nicholas or Nick, saying “Like my father before me, I choose eternal sleep.” Note this suicide note is slightly bizarre because of the present tense directed at Nicholas himself in the game. But it is supposed to be read after the death of the suicidee, and that is hyper important for the suicidee who would use the preterit, the past if you prefer, because he is before committing his suicide projecting himself mentally into what is going to happen after his suicide is in the past. And in the past, it would even be worse because the effect would be multiplied on Nicholas since it might mean for Nicholas in the game he is dead. This rivalry is enacted to the very end of the game: harsh confrontation of the two brothers in the night in some San Francisco street stairs; the “accidental” killing of Conrad, the younger brother, by Nicholas on the roof of the skyscraper from which he is going to jump (or he would have been thrown over by one actor, if he had not jumped by himself), reenacting his father’s own suicide; and the new confrontation of the two after Conrad’s rebirth, resurrection and Nicholas great fall like some Humpty Dumpty. The last touch on the two brothers will be some kind of reconciliation when Nicholas suggests sharing the bill and Conrad accepts.

 So far that is banal and that would only make a good psychological melodrama, a drama with a good ending. But it is so much more.

First, it is a game but the game is played in the real world with real means and with as little visible cheating as possible. All the bullets have been changed to blanks, though the gun Nicholas uses is from the “To Kill a Mockingbird” copy hiding a very powerful handgun (at the top of the library in the family estate), and at the end the actress playing Christine will have to convince Nicholas that his gun has real bullets whereas all the other guns used in the game only had blanks. This is slightly hard to believe for us because the shooting of a gun from the game punctures a tire in one of the chasing episodes, and the machine guns, or so, used by the CRS posse when they try to neutralize him when he gets berserk at Christine’s do make many holes in the setting. Of course, it is nothing but a cinema scene, so everything is fake but in the film, it is a real situation that probably explains the price of the game because of all the hundreds of bullets holes that have to be exploded artificially to make Nicholas believe the CRS agents are using real bullets. We, of course, can see the treachery at every corner in that labyrinthine plot, but Nicholas is not supposed to see it though at times it is slightly too obvious. Some scenes are even comical and emphasized as such by some comment from Nicholas like “Dinner for two, please” when Christine and Nicholas emerge from the two dumpsters behind a Chinese restaurant. As some would say, too good to be true.

 Second, we are projected into a world where crazy adventures can happen virtually but as if they were real. The film is a metaphor for virtual reality and games in that virtual world, virtual reality games that are so true that we believe they are real life. What is surprising is that several times, often to save their skins, some actors reveal it is a game, to the point that Nicholas believes it and wants to step out, to pull the curtain, to stop the game. And he discovers he cannot, and he also discovers the actors who have revealed it is a game are still in the game and still working for it, even when they are supposed to be in their own private life. An effort is even made to prove to Nicholas the main CRS man, Jim Feingold, is a simple family man with children visiting the zoo. A metaphor that could mean in the future (of the film as well as our own future) reality will be a blend of virtual reality and real reality and the divide between the two could be difficult to capture all the time.

 Beyond this idea of a metaphor it could also be considered as a real description of the mind of a person involved in some kind of psychotic episode (I will not say schizophrenia because psychiatrists are finally realizing schizophrenia does not exist and is only an extreme form of psychosis) when the real reality of his/her experience cannot be easily disentangled from the virtual reality of his/her second personality, the two sides of this split personality not being clearly separated and distinguishable for the subject him/herself. And a few times Nicholas thinks he is getting “crazy” and some of the characters, like his lawyer, Sam Sutherland, plays the game by insisting on his having to be worried or not, or the clerk at the hotel who plays surprised when Nicholas does not remember the night before there, though he did not come to that hotel on the night before. Why on earth do they have his credit card at the reception counter?

The fourth approach is what some people insisted upon: it is a demonstration of how easily we can be manipulated by people; organizations, criminal or not, political or not; social networks or other “neutral” organizations of the type; not to speak of the media and the manipulators of the media, politicians, advertisers, and other gurus or preachers who want to influence the people into believing this or that, into doing this or that. The film, of course, shows that such a game requires hundreds of people being hired to play the game in very simple and ordinary structures, including the police and other security institutions, lawyers and businessmen or businesswomen. If we push aside this “game” concept and just consider the “manipulation” we can say this film reveals how easy it is to make someone believe in anything at any time with some immediate reactions from these people who are being manipulated, reactions that can be irreversible or quasi-irreversible. It is such manipulations that enable some political organizations to become powerful in spite of the unethical arguments they use in the shape of fear and anger. It is through such channels that racism, white supremacy, sexism, genderism and many other ideologies targeting a certain type of people they want to be ostracized and segregated against manage to make their opinions valid.

 Consider the case of Catalonia where only 40% or so of the people voted in an illegal referendum giving a majority, but if we consider that all those who would have voted no decided not to vote at all since the vote was illegal, 95% of 40% is only about 38% of the population. Even if we consider a 20% abstention rate we do not have a majority. This explains then that the President of Catalonia decided, probably under strong pressure from Europe and some countries like France, to go on negotiating with Madrid towards more autonomy but not secession. It is obvious when a situation like this referendum is dramatized by courts, governments, political organizations and businesses into some kind of civil strife that could lead to a civil war, people are pushed into corners and very strict and strong opinions and actions that do not represent reason or any sensible approach.

 As such this film should be pondered upon and meditated.

 Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU

White Rabbit Jefferson Airplane Lyrics

 One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small And the ones that mother gives you, don't do anything at all

 Go ask Alice, when she's ten feet tall

 And if you go chasing rabbits, and you know you're going to fall Tell 'em a hookah-smoking caterpillar has given you the call

 And call Alice, when she was just small

 When the men on the chessboard get up and tell you where to go And you've just had some kind of mushroom, and your mind is moving low

 Go ask Alice, I think she'll know

 When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead And the white knight is talking backwards And the red queen's off with her head Remember what the dormouse said Feed your head, feed your head

 Written by Grace Wing Slick • Copyright © Universal Music Publishing Group

#torture #game #osychosis #survival #escape #die hard #live harder #brothers #father and son