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audhd-nightwing · 4 months

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percy jackson ep2 live reaction

annabeth being a little creep i love her

fun fact i learned at the pjo NYCC panel: the most grueling part of the show production was making the camp half-blood shirts. they all had to be a specific shade of orange and there had to be a LOT cuz all the campers wear them consistently

very much angsty tween energy

ITS SOOO PRETTYYYYYYYYYY

i love the big house’s design

grover’s little *clop clop clop* hehe

“your highness” book!percy wouldn’t be caught dead saying that shit but it’s still funny cuz i KNOW as soon as he learns more abt the gods all that respect is out the window. book!percy is just a little asshole from the start

Mr D is fucking perfect casting

godDAMN chiron is tall asf

also i fr did not know brunner was pronounced like that

mr d actually being kinda nice to grover??

ITS SO COOL I WANNA GO TO CAMP THERE

riptide my bbg

i need a close up of the inside and outside of all the cabins immediately

Hermes cabin 💪💪💪

there’s a fire pit IN the cabin?? that seems like a hazard. but also magic and it’s fucking cool so

the complete non-reaction to percy’s introduction now vs how people will eventually react to hearing his name is kinda wild

they really did not give this poor boy any time to grieve his mom huh

LUKE

poor percy, his first reaction to being approached is to be defensive :(

CHB necklace!!!!

o shit that scared me. hello wood nymph. is this his mom??? idk how satyrs are born

the tiger shirt 💀

LIKE AN OLD BANANA HGHDGDGDGD

grover :( ur a good friend bb

dream time woooooo. OH THE VOICE IS KRONOS i forgor

“glory” ok nerd

luke really has a whole posse following him around lmao

IS THAT THE LESBIAN FLAG ON CLARISSE’S NECKLACE???

nvm they all have them in that order….

i love that percy has just had that leather necklace from the very start of the show. in preparation for the camp beads :,)

aaaaaaaa a character in a wheelchair that’s so cool!!!!!

no one’s even gonna show him how to use the bow???

this boy is gonna destroy the camp i love him

BRO DID NOT GET THE JOKE AND I FEEL SO SEEN. YES THERES A GREEK GOD OF DISAPPOINTMENT

oh my god i’m gonna cry. percy praying to sally is my favorite change they made in the whole show

“like, real friends” crying luke how dare you betray this sweet darling boy

YOU TELL HIM PERCY!! get his ass

“hey guys! 😃 🤚 can’t sleep huh?” ilysm percy

“do you think you’re special?” oh boy clarisse do you have a big surprise coming. also percy didn’t even tell anyone abt the minotaur that was grover

okay i liked this cgi way better than nancy bobofit’s takedown

annabeth stalker behavior i love you. SHE ADMITS IT TOO I LOVE HERRRE

“annabeth sees the world differently” yeah she’s autistic with a genius iq

sobbing. “she’s my little sister”. pain. the betrayal is gonna hurt so much more

th-alia ??? hm

“until zeus broke the pact” hades, hiding his kids from the 1940s in the lotus hotel: yeah zeus was the one to break it first, obviously

i can’t wait to see who they cast as thalia

“let it rip” i see what you did there 👀 my mind went right to beyblade tho lol

their shields lowkey look like the nightwing symbol :3

SUNSHINE ADDSHFJFHDG

god this set is so fucking cool

cringefail loserboy rizz

THE HAT!!!!!!!!!!!

“he’ll be ready, i know it” *cuts to percy flossing* i love this dumbass so much

lizard :D

exceptional depiction of adhd ty rick

bro really just gave away the location of the flag with no hesitation lol

OH SHIT THAT WAS COOL! the roll into picking up the shield? smooth asf!!!

how tf did the spear even break isn’t it made of like magic metal

she really used him as bait lmao. *pushes him into the water* she’s just testing a hypothesis!!

holy shit the cabin is so cool. kinda spooky tho. i hate to say it but i like the movie version better

“what 😃”

damn they really just blame everything on hades huh. poor guy. i’d hate my siblings too if they gave me a shitty job and made me the scapegoat for a bunch of stuff

why tf is chiron wearing a suit. why.

“i’m sally jackson’s son” YES YOU ARE KING

grover you’re the best ily. chiron you’re giving way too much dumbledore energy i hate it

#percy jackson #percy jackon and the olympians #pjo #pjo tv show #percy jackson show #pjo spoilers #percy jackson spoilers

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taumoeba · 3 years

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why the percy jackson movies are good, actually:

1) they just are lol

okay but seriously before i get into this let me address the valid criticisms the movies get.

grover is a racist caricature. it was unnecessary and they destroyed his character to make him comic relief. also NO ONE asked for the weird persephone x grover thing in the first film 🤢

very weird unresolved tension between percy and annabeth... “i definitely have feelings for you, i just cant tell if theyre negative or positive” is top 5 worst lines in cinema. they had no business aging up the characters just to “sex-ify” the film. like we didnt need a gritty/dark version of what is supposed to be a children’s story

they made clarisse skinny 😐

as an adaptation, if you were looking for faithfulness, you didnt find it in the movies. (the musical is a much better adaptation!) like not even the notion of artistic license can excuse chris columbus for changing all that he did. thor freudenthal tried to fix it but by then it was too late. i understand the hatred for the movies based on this. (but at the same time, the sheer level of hate is unwarranted. ill explain later)

????

genuinely cant think of any other reasons they’re bad. i think those cover the main concerns. anyways, HERE IS WHY THE PERCY JACKSON MOVIES ARE GOOD, ACTUALLY:

logan lerman acting king!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! when i tell you that man EMBODIED the character of percy jackson. i know his legacy has been forever tarnished by the bad reputation of these movies but i also know that everyone praises his work in it bc it is truly one of the best things about the films. like he is genuinely talented! THAT BEING SAID. i dont want to see him as poseidon in the percy jackson disney show. i just know that man is tired of being associated to greek mythology fanfiction. support him by watching his other movies instead please

jake abel, acting king number 2. ive said this before but he was ACTUALLY the perfect luke. the expressions. the delivery of his corny lines. this video. literally iconic behavior!

honestly the cast in general. alexandra daddario, nathan fillion hermes, stanley tucci dionysus, UMA THURMAN MEDUSA???!!!

the soundtrack... need i say more? (i don’t, but i will anyways. first movie featured highway to hell, pokerface, tiktok - not the app. the ke$ha song- among others. second movie featured fall out boy. like they didn’t have to go that hard with the songs but they DID). also they made luke listen to classical music while playing chess in his giant cruise ship’s captain’s quarters... perfect characterization!

rick riordan hates the movies and im sick and tired of that man so by default i love the movies. okay but seriously. i understand feeling insulted by a poorly done adaptation of your life’s greatest work, and i understand not wanting to watch something that is based on your writing. but he has made this grudge so excessive that out of spite im about to start unironically endorsing the films over his books. hes written whole essays griping about his hatred for the movies. which at the same time, is just FURTHER ASSOCIATING YOURSELF TO THE MOVIES! a part of me is convinced that as soon as the disney x fox merger happened, he ran to disney headquarters and started begging them for a tv show just so he could direct his anger towards the movies into something productive. like man WE GET IT! YOU DONT LIKE THE MOVIES!!!

they are.... SO funny???????? im pretty sure even if you havent seen the movies youve heard someone quote it? here are some notable ones:

“this is like high school without the musical”

“this is a pen. THIS IS A PEN!!”

“you can’t kill the janitors! those are working class citizens!”

“you’re burning money? we’re in a recession! that’s treason!!”

“tell me those aren’t sharks.” “....those aren’t sharks.”

that scene where tyson is like... olympus!!!! and percy is like... no...we’re in washington dc.....

“hey! what are you doing? don’t walk on my roof.”

“[starts singing It’s A Small World]”

the visual effects are objectively, pretty good

despite it not being a faithful adaptation, the movies have a decent plot. or at least i was still enthralled while watching them? like disconnect them from the books and its still a (mostly) solid story.

or if you dont want to think about the plot at all, just admit that they’re FUN and ICONIC and DEFINED THE 2010s.

you guys are just haters. the percy jackson movies are good and we deserved the titans curse adaptation. end of discussion

#pjo #pjo movies #blah blah blah #u all asked and i delivered.#and to all a good night🙏🏼#pro pjo films propaganda #100 #pin

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lokitvsource · 3 years

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You came into the show with the idea of Loki clashing with the TVA already in place. How exactly does this kind of arrangement work at Marvel? Michael Waldron: There was a creative brief that was 20 pages or so that basically said: “We want to do something about Loki running up against the TVA. Here’s some different avenues that might be cool to explore.” It was really serving it up for writers as a jumping off point for us to put together our pitches. Then I went off and really worked on the idea of Loki being brought in to hunt another Loki, and that becoming the heart of the show, and the Loki/Sylvie relationship. The big thing that I did in my pitch — even as early as pitching it to Kevin [Feige] — I really walked through the six episodes, kind of similar to what they were. I knew I wanted Episode 3, for instance, to be a little bit of a Before Sunrise, with Loki and this character walking across this apocalyptic moon. But Marvel had the initial, probably the most important spark of genius, which was just Loki and the TVA.

Where did the idea of the variant being a female Loki come from? That was one of my ideas, that we then confirmed in the writers room. Yeah, we knew from the get-go that it was going to be Loki falling for another version of himself.

Why was that appealing to you? I love writing any romance; it’s fun. Especially, it hasn’t been done a ton in the MCU. There’s an obviously self-reflective quality to it. And a show that’s quite literally about self-love; it is Loki getting to see parts of himself. At the start of the show, he kind of hates himself. He assesses himself to Mobius as a villain. And then he meets Sylvie, and he sees her as someone on a heroic crusade. He sees the good in her, and is able to see the good in himself.

Mobius suggests that, of course, Loki fell in love with his own variant, because he’s a narcissist. Do you think he’d be capable of falling in love with someone who is not a version of himself? [Laughs] I don’t know if he didn’t fall in love with himself first. Maybe after that, but the first time he falls, maybe this is what it had to be.

What’s the key to telling a time travel story that takes advantage of the concept without confusing the audience? I think it’s doing a lot of work that the audience never sees. It’s really understanding the logic of this thing, building out the TVA as a real organization that actually exists in our minds. Our writers room, we had a TVA handbook, encyclopedia, what they do and why they do it, a glossary of terms. And then you want to only give the audience the absolute bare minimum to understand the story, and to just get swept up in the emotional stakes of everything. If the sci-fi of it all, if the time travel logic of this show did not hold up week to week, then that would have distracted from the emotional journeys of the characters. So I’m glad that even though everyone had to take their medicine a little bit, along with Loki, in episode one, I’m glad it didn’t distract from the story we were telling. And we had the benefit of Loki being the audience’s eyes in. The audience is learning as he is.

There’s a funny scene in Avengers: Endgame where the Avengers start arguing about exactly how time travel works in the MCU. How much did you have to study what other Marvel movies had done with the idea to make sure your rules were consistent? Fortunately, Endgame was the main one, and that’s how they understand it. The TVA is an organization that understands time travel on a deeper level, probably more comprehensively than the Avengers do in Endgame. We wanted to make sure we were staying true to any rules that they laid out, but sort of establishing our own rules. It’s a time travel show. What was I thinking? A movie’s one thing, but a show is hard.

How many Loki variants did you have on the writers room whiteboard at various points? Hundreds. So many different Lokis. There was one Loki, actually maybe it was a version of Mobius that took off his glasses, and he just had really tiny eagle eyes, like he could see everything. There was stuff like that all over the white board. Tom Kauffman, who wrote that fifth episode, he’s an amazing comedy writer, and was on the first three seasons of Rick and Morty. His first draft of that episode was just bananas.

Was there a variant, or a crazy idea in general, that you really loved but couldn’t ultimately do? There was so much different stuff that we wanted to do in the Void. But the truth is, I don’t want to say any of it, because you never know. The ideas that I want to do the most may pop up elsewhere.

Okay, so let’s stick with a variant we did see. Was Alligator Loki actually a Loki, or just an alligator that happened to be wearing a Loki’s crown? A magician can’t reveal his tricks, man. That’s the great debate. Let it rage.

What was Alligator Loki‘s origin story on your side of things? Who pitched him and how was that initially received? That was maybe my very first meeting with the producers at Marvel, Kevin Wright and Stephen Broussard, talking about the show, and me saying, “When we’re doing this, you can encounter lots of different Lokis. You could have an alligator Loki. Why? Cause he’s green.” And us all laughing about how stupid that was. I think I made the point that it’s that energy of what we can do with the show. We can have something like that, but let’s play it straight. Alligator Loki, you get a laugh out of it, but by and large you try and play it straight. That was the fun tonal balance that we tried to strike in the show.

There’s been some conflicting information out there about whether the big bad was originally just going to be He Who Remains, who’s a different comics character altogether from Kang, and whether the casting of Jonathan Majors changed the plan. From your point of view, what happened? The character was always written as a version of Kang, as early as the first draft of the script, we knew in the writers room, relatively early on. He Who Remains, that’s the guy behind the curtain with the TVA, and we saw an opportunity to fuse that mythology with the Immortus mythology. And that was just really compelling. It was a way to elevate, it just felt right for Loki, because Loki was there in the first Avengers, he’s the one who brought the Avengers together, and here is directly related to the exploding of the multiverse, this event that will drive the events of Phase Four. Certainly, when Jonathan came in, it allowed us to step on the gas of just how eccentric and charismatic this character could be. I was inspired in the writing of He Who Remains by Tom Cruise’s character in Magnolia, trying to give it that Frank TJ Mackey energy a little bit. He captures that and then elevates it to something else that’s different and weird.

You just said how important the multiverse is going to be to Phase Four of the MCU. How challenging is it to have to set up this big thing for the larger Marvel endeavor while also serving the needs of the particular story you’re telling on this show? It’s a challenge in the sense that it’s all a relay race, and you’ve got the baton on this thing, and you want to do a great job. The name of the game over at Marvel is with each movie or TV show, make it the best it can possibly be. And they’re really supportive of that, and trust that it will organically fit into the larger blueprint of everything. We were excited about introducing a version of Kang, because yeah, to introduce this new big bad was cool for our show. I was aware, and cautious, of the thing I read in your review, that it might not be the most sound storytelling to introduce a new character at the very end that we’ve never seen before as the big bad of this thing. Obviously, we had the benefit that people know who Kang is, and there’s a meta thing where a portion of the audience knows Jonathan Majors is going to be playing Kang in Phase Four. But the finale was only ever going to work if He Who Remains, in a compelling way, serviced the Loki and Sylvie emotional story. That was the most important job that that character did in the finale: he laid out a very compelling conflict that ultimately drove the two of them apart.

There has also been some confusion as to exactly when you knew that there would be a second season, as opposed to you just making a limited series. Initially, in the writers room, we were not operating as though there would be a second season. And the whole way through was, this should be a story that should stand on its own. I referenced The Leftovers and Mad Men all the time. I think about those seasons, they pushed the overall stories forward, but you can pull any one of those seasons and look at it on its own as an individual story. I wanted that to be the case here, whether we did a second season or not. I think we always felt that we would want to propel Loki forward into the MCU after the conclusion of our season. The only question was, would that be in an appearance in a movie, or would that be in a second season. And it was only over the course of development that the stars aligned to make a second season.

But that end scene, where Mobius no longer recognizes Loki and the TVA is filled with Kang statues, wouldn’t have been a satisfying conclusion to a limited series. That is an ending that only works if there’s going to be a second season. So there is another conclusion to the story that I wrote that exists out there, that I guess is just for me. My own little play, that I perform with my action figures.

What was Sylvie’s original plan, before Loki hijacked her to that dying moon? It was to empty out the TVA. The entire bombing of the Sacred Timeline was to create a diversion. She’s not going to be able to create a multiverse from doing that. Ultimately, the TVA has the manpower to get out and take care of these events, but they’re going to have to scramble a lot of their minutemen teams, and it leaves the Time-Keepers significantly less guarded than they would have been otherwise. That was her plan.

You didn’t come into this as a big comic book nerd. So was there someone on staff who could tell you, “Well, there’s this giant cloud called Alioth that eats time,” or, “Well, one time Thanos had a helicopter,” or maybe someone assigned to you by Marvel? I’m constantly reading the comics but trying to not be so beholden to the and do our own thing. I charged our writers assistant, Ryan Kohler, with, “You’ve got to become the authority on all things TVA, all things Kang, and all that.” So he and my assistant, Sophie Miller, became a support staff who read a ton of these comics and became a wealth of knowledge for the writers to turn to. And then the Marvel producers, obviously are very well versed in the comics. It was Kevin Wright who came in one day and was like somebody throwing down a blueprint in an asteroid movie, going, “Alioth! Look at this!” And we were like, “Ohmigod, this is perfect!” The best thing about working on these comic book shows is that if it’s from the comics, it doesn’t matter how much of a deus ex machina it is, it’s just cool, like, “I can’t believe you pulled that from the comics.” Alioth, that was a big breakthrough that unlocked the last two episodes for us.

That is not a famous comic book that introduces Alioth. It’s an obscure Nineties miniseries, with really ugly art. But you look at it and see what it could be. You say, “If we do this, and it feels like Twister, it’s going to be really cool.”

Was Mobius’ love of jet skis there simply to illustrate his character, or did you have a grander idea in mind? I will come clean: I’m a jet ski guy. I’ve spent a good amount of time on jet skis in my day. I used to tow a jet ski to a lake and ride it in college. So it probably was me. Loki, I was just becoming a steward of that character. Mobius was a character I really felt I got to create from nothing. There’s not really anything to that character in the comics. So bits and pieces of me found their way in. I just think there’s something so poignant — here Mobius is, a guy who is literally fighting to preserve all of time in the multiverse, and yet his interests are maybe the most humble, human, terrestrial, unremarkable thing you can think of. Just a jet ski. And when you’ve got Owen Wilson playing him and it’s just that much better.

Will you be back in some capacity for Season Two? [long pause] Time will tell.

‘Loki’ Head Writer Michael Waldron — and ‘Rick and Morty’ Alum — on MCU, ‘Heels’ and More

#loki tv #loki series #michael waldron #interview

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pascalpanic · 3 years

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Benny’s Girl (Prequel to Before The Next Teardrop Falls)

Inspo: Jessie’s Girl by Rick Springfield

Pairings: Benny Miller x f!Reader, later Frankie Morales x f!Reader (in Before The Next Teardrop Falls)

Summary: Benny’s new girlfriend is everything Catfish wants and more. Too bad it’s his best friend’s girl.

W/C: <4k

Warnings: language, sexual content, pining ohhh my word pining.

A/N: HI FRIENDS <3 I absolutely loved Before The Next Teardrop Falls and I LOVE writing pining, especially with my Frankie baby, so I decided to make a prequel to it! This fic is based on Jessie’s Girl by Rick Springfield, which I absolutely ADORE. you can read this as a stand alone or you can read it as a prequel, I think either one works well!!

Sometimes, a spark seems to appear where one never existed. It’s common enough; it’s the reason most relationships fizzle out before they can become something explosive and fiery. One thinks that the dynamite is going to explode and take off in a bright shower of colors, when in reality the lighter never truly lit the wick.

That’s what happened between you and Benny Miller. You’d loved the guy, really, but not in the way you thought. You still do. It’s just that the both of you were lonely people seeking something more than your past had given you. The two of you were hopeless romantics. Maybe that’s what started the relationship.

You’d met in a way typical for the younger Miller brother. You’d been at a bar with some friends who were desperate to get you laid. The same could be said for Benny, who was there not with his brothers-in-arms but the man he’d defeated in the ring that night. Nick and Benny were good enough friends, close enough that losing to the other was rarely a sore spot.

He’d spotted you across the bar, thought your laughing face was beautiful and your smile as you locked him was magnetic, drawing him to you before he could stop himself. Natural attraction. You introduced yourself. He told you his name was Benny. You asked why his hands were taped, he explained that he was a professional fighter, you’d made some snarky joke and you ended up talking for the rest of the night. One of your friends left with Nick. You and Benny stayed until the bartender shouted that it was the last call. You wrote your number on his taped palm and he saved it.

You went on two bar dates before he decided he needed to introduce you to his best friends. They were like brothers to him, they knew everything about him and he knew them inside and out. You went to the same bar as you’d met at, and you met the men he’d served with in his Special Ops days.

Santiago, known as Pope for some godforsaken reason, was a charmer. He’d kissed your hand after shaking it, complimenting you and making small talk, finding connections and building on them. You’d laughed at the man’s joking advances, and flirted right back. Benny squirmed lightly, but you kissed his cheek and assured him you were just playing along.

William, Will, Ironhead, was Benny’s older brother. He’d given you a warm clap on the back and shook your hand, telling you that you were brave for putting up with the rascally guy. You had to admit, it was fitting. It was clear that they’re brothers: they had the same furrow to their brow, their blue eyes widened in reaction to anything, they had a similar habit of tipping their head back to laugh when something was especially funny.

Frankie Morales, Catfish, was the last one you met and most definitely your favorite. He was quieter than the other guys, sat back while the other men made the noise. He was the punching bag, taking the brunt of the hyperbolized jokes- how Catfish hadn’t slept with a woman in 10 years, how he was the loud one of the group, how he was the one you had to look out for when he was drunk. You knew none of them could be true. He had a sweet smile and gave you a nod when you introduced yourself. He and Pope had some kind of banter between the two of them, albeit a banter you couldn’t understand as someone who didn’t speak Spanish.

Throughout the night, you found yourself more drawn to Frankie. He had a beautiful laugh, would pull his ball cap down a little lower when someone made a joke about him. He was the one who’d expose a lie Benny or Santiago took. He nursed one beer while the other men got rowdy, and you’d done the same. It seemed that the two of you found kindred spirits in each other over the course of the night, while Benny and Will and Santi smacked each other around and took an obnoxious amount of trips to the bathroom.

When it was time to head out, you’d hugged each of the men goodbye. It was already clear that you fit in just like one of them, even if you didn’t have the past experience that bonded the men. You hugged Frankie last. He was the best hugger; he wasn’t ridiculously ripped like Benny, firm and awkward like Will, or flirtatious like Santiago. He was strong but soft. The man was definitely a hugger, you could tell, and it was comforting for the brief moment or two you were in his arms.

Frankie put his cap on your head teasingly, covering your eyes, then stole it back and gave you a pat on the back. “Ben’s a wild one. Good luck with him,” he teased and walked off. You had to admit, his ass had a nice curve to it as he walked off to his beat-up truck. “Call me if he does anything stupid and I’ll beat his ass for you,” he called over his shoulder, prompting Benny to flip him off and put an arm around you. He simply laughed and got in his car.

Frankie became your favorite of the group. The two of you are the ones teasing each other exclusively and sitting quietly while the other men get crazy. Frankie tries sips of the cocktails you order, excitedly making grabby hands when the bartender sets it down. He always lets you steal some of the food he orders when you’re at the bar longer than normal. He shares your affinity for classic rock and when the bar blasts AC/DC, it’s Frankie who screams the lyrics to Thunderstruck with you while the others cover their ears. Santiago joins in sometimes too, but the country-loving Miller brothers never quite know all of the words like Catfish does.

At some point in the few month relationship, you earn your nickname of Queenie. It’s from teasing Santiago, and the one who bestows the title upon you is Will, the most stoic of the group. It’s an honor, you tell them all, laughing. You call the shots, and everyone follows. Even though Benny is your lover, Frankie is your second-in-command.

When Frankie does allow himself to get drunk, he’s the most fun of the group. He’s extra lovey, telling the men how much he appreciates them. He tells stories the other men won’t about their Special Ops days, about the stupid things Will did when they were abroad. He’s shamelessly goofy and funny and falls all over the men. You even convince him to do karaoke with you once.

Benny is an overgrown class clown, but he won’t do karaoke, no matter how hard you begged him, called him baby and pressed soft kisses to his face. He wouldn’t budge. Tonight was a rare night that Frankie drank more than one round. “I’ll do it!” He shouts excitedly, eyes lighting up. “Ooh, c’mon, it’ll be fun. We’ll be so good at it.”

You, unfortunately, were not good at it, but you had the time of your life with Frankie. On that barely-raised platform, the two of you sang Don’t Go Breakin’ My Heart, completely out of tune and out of sync. You were giggling the whole time, especially at Frankie’s falsetto on the little “woo-hoo”s.

The two of you tumbled back to the table after, you giggling and falling into Benny’s arms. “Did you like it?” You cooed, sitting on his lap.

Benny laughed genuinely, pressing a kiss to your face. “Sure did. That was fantastic. Maybe you’ll have to sing just for me sometime, huh?” He teases.

Frankie sits alone on his barstool at the end and downs the rest of his beer. He flashes you a quick smile when your eyes meet his and he retires early for the night.

You and Benny had sex a couple of times. He was good at it, good enough. You enjoyed the way his lips moulded to yours, the way his thrusts were quick and fast and properly angled. From a technical standpoint, he should’ve been perfect. It was all you wanted, but there was no real connection behind it. The moans that trailed from your lips were small and soft, and the louder ones were never genuine. He always made you orgasm, at least, but it was slow and dull, the kind you’d wring from yourself with just two fingers.

The two of you had fun together. You went to the county fair, you got boisterous and drunk at bars, you did everything two twentysomethings are expected to do in a relationship. After every date, you had a small sad smile on your face as you got in your bed and distracted yourself with something on your phone. Something about it wasn’t right: you didn’t connect soulfully, in some mystical and spiritual way where one can read the other’s mind, in the way that movies and books and legendary romances felt some kind of supernatural force that pulled the strings and led them closer. It wasn’t what you needed, but it was what you wanted, and so you hung on a little longer.

Benny felt the same, but he was too afraid to disrupt the balance. He’d rather be mediocrely happy than alone again. He liked having a girl to squeeze water into his mouth and wipe his sweat after a fight, someone to slide his dick into while her lips met his skin. He didn’t want to lose that, even if he was slowly realizing that he just wanted a friendship with you.

You hung out with him and the other men more. You realized that he wasn’t your boyfriend around them, more of a sibling, teasing and nudging. There was no affection, no romance, just the playful aspect of him. That was fine, you told yourself, until you realized that it wasn’t, it couldn’t be.

By principle, Frankie is not and refuses to be a jealous man. That changed when you came into the picture.

Something about you is absolutely magnetic to him, more than the way Benny was drawn to you across the bar. Sure, he’s been attracted to many girls, but he wants you. He yearns for you. He makes a joke at the table and it doesn’t make anyone but you laugh, but he doesn’t give a shit that Benny and Will and Santiago don’t find it funny, because he gets to watch the way your eyes glimmer and your mouth falls open and your chest heaves with the beautiful ring of your laughter.

He loves that you hug goodbye, because he gets to pretend for a moment that you’re his and he is yours, that he can press his lips to your soft skin and call you his girl. But you’re Benny’s girl, and he’s okay to live like that. He’d rather have you as a friend than not have you at all. Even if he dreams about you at night, even if you live in his head on repeat, saying his name. Frankie, baby, I want you, I want you…

One night, in his sleep, the sound of those words echoed through his head. He’s never heard you say them, but his unconscious brain assembled them like a beautifully haunting jigsaw puzzle that made all of his blood run south.

Dream-you is standing in the doorway to his bedroom, wearing just his t-shirt. Dream-you smirks, walks closer, climbs over Frankie and presses her lips to his and her tongue delves into his mouth. She lies down onto him and grinds her hips to his and laughs and laughs and he presses his face into the curve of her- your- neck, smelling your perfume and grinding his hips back against dream-you’s. “All I want is you, Frankie,” dream-you mumbles and bites his lower lip. He shivers and dream-you coos his name, lines herself over his aching member and just before she slides down, he wakes up to a dark and lonely bedroom with a half-hard dick.

You and Benny joined the gang the next night out. He couldn’t meet your eyes. He listened as you fussed over Benny, heard you call him baby and steal his beer with a giggle.

“What the fuck has gotten into you, Fish?” Santiago asked when you’re in the bathroom.

Frankie shook his head. He pulled his cap lower and finished his beer, then poured another from the pitcher on the bar. “Slept like shit last night.”

You’ve decided that it needs to end, so you asked Benny to meet him at your favorite bar. He agreed, and wanted to invite the boys, until you asked that it be just the two of you. It hurts that he has a glimmer of hope that you’re about to end things. If you don’t, he will.

You walk in with an apologetic smile, sitting across from him. “Hey, how was your day?” You ask in a soft voice. You’re unconsciously trying to prepare yourself to let him down gently.

He shrugs a little. “Uneventful. Yours?”

“The same. Listen, Benny…” you start and trail off, looking away.

He takes one of your hands and looks at you, his eyes understanding. “Hey. I think I know what this is about.” He reads the sadness in your eyes like a book. “We need to be done. I get that. I agree.”

Your face finds a soft smile as you look back at him. “Really?” You ask.

“Yeah. I have something to ask.”

“Shoot.”

He takes your hand and presses it to his lips softly. “Will you no longer be my girlfriend and just go back to being my friend?” He asks.

You nod excitedly, laughing. “Oh my god, yes, Benny. I’d love to no longer be your girlfriend.”

The both of you laugh at the irony in your words, and he sets your hand down. “Thank God.”

Later that night, Will, Frankie, and Santiago find their way to the bar. Of course they do. They come over to your booth, sliding in and pretending to love up on Benny. “Oh, are we interrupting a date?” Santiago asks with a fake pout.

You chuckle and look at Benny. He gives you a small smile and a nod. “Actually, no. No more dates between Benny and I. We’re over,” you say and breathe a sigh of relief.

Frankie’s blood runs cold. He must be dreaming for him to hear this. It’s only ever in those dreams that he hears the words he wants the most fall from your lips, words like these. Words that indicate you’re no longer Benny’s girl. “You two seemed so happy,” he murmurs in confusion.

Benny senses it all clicking. Frankie has liked you all along. He’s smarter than the gang gives him credit for. He can read his friends easily, and Frankie is the easiest of all of them to understand, with those big brown eyes that give everything away. It’s gotta be, he thinks. You probably don’t like him back, as anything more than a friend, but Frankie is in deep shit now for you. He nods, looking at Fish and shrugging. “We just didn’t work. We’re still gonna be friends though. She’s one of us, isn’t she?”

The men all cheer in agreement and it calms your frantically beating heart. The worst is over now. And goddamn, does Frankie look cuddly tonight in that flannel, you think to yourself. You slouch down against him two beers later and discover that yes, he’s as comfortable as he looks.

You’ve been single for a year now. Benny still texts with you daily, as do the other men. He sends you shitty Facebook memes that seem more like a dad would post. You realize that it’s for the best that you and Benny are over, with a chuckle. You can be much more honest.

It pains you to realize it, but you’re crushing hard on your ex’s best friend. Frankie Morales is everything you need and want and desire. His big arms wrap you in a hug every time the two of you say goodbye, and every time it feels like it lasts a millisecond longer. That neither of you want to let go.

Frankie feels the same, even though you don’t know it. He has that haunting dream once a week, the one where you kiss his neck and call him baby and it makes him yearn every night at 2:00 in the morning, staring at your Instagram page and thinking he should text you and see if you’re up. Not as a hookup, not anything like that. He just wants to talk to you.

You tease Frankie about his chronic insomnia. How he sends you random texts late at night. “Have you considered melatonin?” You ask.

“I have weird dreams. It’s not the falling asleep, it’s the waking up,” he admits, looking in the opposite direction of your face.

Some days, Frankie thinks you feel the same. He notices the way your eyes linger on his face, the way you always sit next to him in a booth. The way your phone’s lockscreen is a photo of the two of you being stupid at some function. You’ve become best friends, Frankie has to admit, but sometimes he thinks there could be more. But then you say something offhanded and he has to throw the notion away.

One night at the bar, when it’s just the men and you’re nowhere to be seen, Frankie takes Benny and guides him into the bathroom. His blonde brow furrows in confusion as he looks at Frankie. “Yeah, Fish?”

His hands rub together nervously and he looks down, before fidgeting with his cap and looking Benny in the eye. “You and Queenie… that’s all in the past, right? There’s nothing between the two of you?”

A smirk finds his face. “I knew it, Frank! I knew it from the night her and I broke up.”

He frowns. “Is that why?” He asks hurriedly. “Oh shit, I didn’t break the two of you up, did I? Jesus, Ben, I’m-”

“No, you dumb fuck,” he laughs and shakes his head. “I just saw the way you looked at her after it happened. Crazy in love. You totally are.

Frankie’s face turns red and he takes off his hat to adjust his hair. “Do you think she might like me too?” he asks, quietly. As if you could hear him somehow.

Benny nods, excitement in those bright blue eyes. “Hell yeah she does, Fish! You’re her fucking phone lockscreen. Girls don’t just do that.”

“I don’t know, man, we’re best friends. That might not mean shit.”

The blonde puts his hands on the brunette’s shoulders. “Listen to me, Frankie. I’ve known you’re into her for like a year now. I know she likes you too. It’s time, you gotta ask her out.”

“Really?” He asks, brown eyes widening. “I don’t think so. That could fuck everything up,” he says, the anxiety in his voice.

“Trust me,” Benny nods. “It won’t.”

Frankie’s grinning ear to ear. “Alright. Tomorrow night, I’ll ask her to meet us here, but it’ll be just me. I’ll ask her out, how does that sound?”

“That sounds fuckin’ amazing, man!” Benny exclaims. “I’m happy for you. She’s a great girl and you’re a great guy.”

“You’re sure you’re okay with this?” he asks, wringing his cap in his hands.

He nods. “Go for it, Fish.”

- Frankie never gets the chance.

The next night you float into the bar, absolutely on cloud nine. You’re grinning ear to ear and it only widens when you see Frankie, rushing over and hopping on the stool. “Hey Fish,” you coo and kiss his cheek.

Frankie’s stunned. “Hey. How was your day?” He asks hesitantly, looking at how flustered and happy you look.

“So good,” you laugh. “I actually got asked out. Like, on a date. This really sweet guy, friend of a coworker. His name is Sam.”

Frankie’s sure you can hear the crack that echoes inside his ribcage. His heart splits in two and to hide a quivering lip, he raises his glass to his lips and takes a swig of his beer.

You continue to talk about him, noticing his silence. “How was yours?” You ask, frowning a little at how tense he is. You rest a hand on his upper arm.

Frankie does his best not to flinch from your touch. “Not great,” he chuckles and clears his throat. “I kinda fucked something up.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” you pout and stroke his arm softly. “Can I help you with it? Do you need to talk about it?”

He shakes his head quickly, standing from his stool. “No, just a personal thing. Hey, I’m gonna run and piss, the other guys will be here soon. Order something, it’s on me.”

Frankie’s gone into the bathroom before you can even process it. You frown a little but the smile returns as you order the drink and think about Sam.

Frankie locks himself in a stall and texts the other men.

D-SQUAD 🚁

Frankie: mission aborted. You guys need to come to the bar now so I don’t look like a chump.

Benny: what happened?

Frankie: a guy asked her out today. she’s taken now I guess

He stares at his phone and sends one last text.

Frankie: and don’t you dare mention it to her. make her tell you first.

He slides his phone in his pocket and leans against the wall of the bathroom stall, letting out a deep sigh. This is all shit. He’s a coward, and he should’ve done something sooner.

He finally returns and sits next to you on a barstool. There’s a smile on his face that you’d notice was plastered if your mind wasn’t so wrapped up in your day. “So. Tell me about him. I’m happy for you, you know that?”

@remmysbounty @mishasminion360 @softly-sad @blo0dangel @luxurybeskar @binarydanvvers @sleep-tight1 @apascalrascal @randomness501 @spideysimpossiblegirl @notabotiswear @pedro-pastel @sanchosammy

#frankie morales x reader #frankie morales #frankie catfish morales #frankie catfish morales x reader #catfish morales #catfish morales x reader #pedro pascal #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal x reader #jose pedro balmaceda pascal #triple frontier fanfiction #triple frontier #benny miller #benny miller x reader #garrett hedlund #santiago garcia #santiago pope garcia #pascalpanic

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yelenadelova · 3 years

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My thoughts on “The Suicide Squad”! Disclaimer: this will be very random and not at all a list of legitimate cohesive critiques. Putting this under the cut because it gets quite long!

First things first, I was pleasantly surprised! Now, to be honest, I had very low expectations for this film going in so maybe that helped. But I thought the movie was really enjoyable at all.

Harley Quinn!!! My queen! Margot killed it like always but she seemed to be in peak form in this movie. She stole the screen everytime she was on it.

I loved Harley’s style and energy throughout the whole movie.

The fight scene where she fought her way out of the mansion was absolutely glorious. The stunts, the choreography, the acting was all badass and top tier and I loved that we saw how Harley doesn’t need anyone to rescue her in the slightest.

I wish we could have seen more of the “Harley-vision” with the flowers since we really only saw it once.

The one thing I do feel was slightly lacking was Harley as a character didn’t really get a lot of development. It felt more like she was an established character and we didn’t see a ton of change or growth. I do think this was largely to give room for developing the newer characters but I still would have liked to see more.

Cleo Cazo AKA Ratcatcher 2 was my surprise favorite of this film. Her character was so sweet and empathetic but also fierce and badass and funny. Her development was good and she brought so much heart to the team. Plus, her rats were super cute. Also her friendship with King Shark was A+++

Speaking of King Shark, oh my god, I loved him so very much. Everytime he was in danger I was on the edge of my seat begging for him to be okay.

Overall, I think the film actually did a surprisingly good job of creating suspense for who would live and die.

Polka Dot Man was also another surprise for me. I really like him and felt for him and the moment he got to be a hero broke my heart but also made me smile. Also shout out to Milton!!!

Idris was incredible in this movie and I liked Bloodsport. He was a good leader for the squad and really held it together. He definitely seemed like the star of this movie and I wasn’t mad about that in the slightest.

I also didn’t hate Rick Flagg. He really annoyed me in the first Suicide Squad but he was so much better here. I actually found myself rooting for him.

John Cena did such a good job of making Peacemaker hateable. I think his character was so interesting because he was a villain who truly believed he was a hero and thought what he was doing was right. I’m curious to see what they do with his character in the future.

Viola Davis killed it like always I’m glad she reprised her role as Waller. I also liked seeing the other people who worked with her and their increasing reluctance.

There were some things that didn’t click for me. I think some characters/stories felt rushed and underdeveloped.

While a lot of the jokes were funny some of the “edgier” humor didn’t hit for me and I found myself cringing or rolling my eyes.

While it was a bit cheesy at times overall it surpassed my expectations and I thought it was fun!

#el rambles #the suicide squad #tss spoilers #the suicide squad spoilers #dceu #no one asked for this #but here are my thoughts

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crow-in-a-teapot · 3 years

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tower of nero spoilers

i have just finished the tower of nero. and before i go searching for other people’s thoughts and art and more of the characters i love so much, i want to write down some of my own thoughts because i know as soon as i delve into that ‘ton spoilers’ hashtag there are going to be complaints and criticisms and so much that i don’t want to hear, or essays that’ll make me upset, or things that’ll change my perception on the book (because on this website people really love to hate the trials of apollo).

i want to start with: i loved it. it didn’t feel earth-shattering or huge and momentous like some of my favourite riordanverse books (house of hades, the blood of olympus, the last olympian and maybe some of the magnus chase books take those pedestals for me) but it was satisfying. and i think it was satisfying because it in no way felt like an ending. whether because eventually rick will write that will-and-nico-go-through-tartarus-and-save-bob novella, or because we (or at least i) will continue writing and imagining and creating for this world i don’t know. he didn’t wrap up the story in a perfect little bow like ‘nineteen years later’, he simply put it on pause. gave us a glimpse of where every character was at at the end.

the only thing that makes me so angry and upset is that i did manage to get some spoilers for moments that i know would have been so good to experience for the first time if i hadn’t been spoiled for them. the moment where rachel mentions penguins in a mansion near her house, nico getting mental health advice from mr d, the fact that will and nico were going to be in the book for so much of the story, but the big thing was literally spoiled for me two days ago, it was the reason i sat down to read it as fast as possible because i was terrified of getting more spoiled and not being able to experience the moments for myself, was that piper had a girlfriend. i know that reading that for the first time would have been so cool and surprising, and the fact that when it came up for a moment in the last couple pages all i felt was disappointment because it was spoiled for me and because it was now tinged with whatever that person was saying about her having a girlfriend.

but i still had some warm fuzzy moments, the two parts where apollo thinks he’s going to die but nico comes up behind him - so good. impeccable.

Leader Guy spat. ‘Now, I kill you.’

He raised his sword... and froze. His face turned pale. His skin began to shrivel. His beard fell out whisker by whisker like dead pine needles. Finally, his skin crumbled away, along with his clothes and flesh, until Leader Guy was nothing but a bleached-white skeleton, holding a sword in his bony hands.

Standing behind him, his hand on the skeleton’s shoulder, was Nico di Angelo.

and

Nero raised his hand, ready to give the kill command, when behind me a mighty BOOM! shook the chamber. Half our enemies were thrown off their feet. Cracks sprouted in the windowsand the marble columns. Ceiling tiles broke, raining dust like split bags of flour.

I turned to see the impenetrable blast doors lying twisted and broken, a strangely emaciated red bull standing in the breach. Behind it stood Nico di Angelo.

gods. poetic brilliance. i can’t believe i’m still a nico di angelo stannie in the year 2021. in five years i have not changed (ever since the tv show announcement last summer i have managed to morph into myself from 2017)

from here i’m not sure where to go next i kind of want to go through everything, except it’ll be more difficult than my tyrant’s tomb reaction because i wasn’t reading on a kindle and thus can’t just do funny little reactions to screenshots of quotes, so i’ll just skim through the book page by page and see what i can comment on (i’m not planning on doing analysis today, no thank you, just enjoying the end of my childhood and trying to squeeze as much out of it as possible)

i have an emotional attachment to mr. snake from the very first chapter, and am very upset that he’ll never get off on his baltimore stop and get to see his wife, lu had no reason to shoot and kill him like that.

that brings me to lu, i liked her, it was interesting to see how rick kind of brought in not only the overarching theme of abuse, but also people who let the abuse happen, i have more i could say on this i’m too lazy to right now, and i promised no analysis - or the fact that Lu had conspired to make the show non-lethal to spare Meg’s feelings rather than - oh, I don’t know - refusing to do Nero’s dirty work in the first place and getting Meg out of that house of horrors.

And are you any better? taunted a small voice in my brain. How many times have you stood up to Zeus?

Okay, small voice. Fair point. Tyrants are not easy to opppose or walk away from, especially when you depend on them for everything.

the parallels to meg and lester heading to percy’s apartment, and then to camp half blood to the hidden oracle was so cool to read, every callback to the hidden oracle just there to remind us readers exactly how far apollo has come and how he’s changed; the entire chapter with sally, paul and estelle just felt sickly sweet, it just didn’t seem real how wholesome and good that family is, like i get why apollo broke down and just sobbed in that shower.

also rick really saying acab again in toa, i thought he was done after that elf cop chapter in magnus chase (the magnus chase series is a masterpiece) but apparently not, with A ‘good cop’ is still a cop... still a part of the mind game.

the grey sisters, i forgot about them completely but this threw me back into was it the sea of monsters when annabeth summoned them? i’m not sure, it could have been the lightning thief either, they really remind me of the disney hercules movie. the whole ganymede paragraph was gold, i love gods being canonically confirmed lgbt in the riordanverse. i also love the whole eye-tossing part -

‘He will crush our eye,’ Anger cried, ‘if we don’t recite our verses!’

‘I will not!’

‘We will all die!’ Wasp said. ‘He is crazy!’

‘I AM NOT!’

‘Fine, you win!’ Tempest howled.

also, the explanation for why dionysus chooses to look the way he does was perfect, because it was something i often wondered about and wasn’t expecting to get an explanation for, and i imagine the whole mythological dionysus to look like.. well like a more feminine apollo i guess, beautiful in a gender non-comforming way.

Other Olympians could never comprehend why Dionysus chose this form when he could look like anything he wanted. In ancient times, he’d been famous for his youthful beauty that defied gender.

...

In retaliation, Dionysus had decided to look and act as ungodly as possible. He was like a child refusing to tuck in his shirt, comb his hair or brush his teeth, just to show his parents how little he cared.

every scene with nico at camp just BREAKS ME, i would throw in screenshots of every damn quote but unfortunately, as said above, cannot and would rather not type every one; we’ll start with, obviously apollo confirming to him that jason is dead.

He didn’t look angry exactly. He looked as if he’d been hit in the gut not just once but so many times over the course of so many years that he was beginning to lose perspective on what it meant to be in pain. He swayed on his feet. He blinked. Then he flinched, jerking his hands away from Meg’s as if he’d just remembered his own touch was poison.

ugh then will talking about how nico’s doing, confirming that he’s suffering with ptsd, mr d giving him advice, helping him sort though what voices in his head are real and which ones aren’t, then the paragraph that just recounts every horrific thing poor nico has been through, how will has to reassure him that he’s okay and ‘with friends’ when he wakes up after shadow travel

will’s kindness to apollo, buying him clothes, and apollo finding seymour the leopard’s head in his bed, put there by mr d aaaa AAAA A A A A A THE ORDINARY, EVERYDAY CAMP HALF BLOOD THINGS..

i could go on for years and years about how much i appreciate rachel having a big role in this book, and the visit to her apartment, everything, her art, the fact that she got what she wanted, she’s going to PARIS to study ART, she isn’t forced to be someone she’s not by her dad, and gets to be a big part of a demigod mission and not stand on the sidelines for once.

i love that her landscapes are still visions, that she still paints the quests demigods go on - the burning maze, jason’s funeral pyre, caligula’s ships; and how nico ~appreciates art~

‘And, hey, di Angelo -’ she pushed him playfully away from the canvas he’d been ogling - ‘don’t brush against the art! I don’t care about the paintings, but if you get any colour on you, you’ll ruin that whole black-and-white aesthetic you’ve got going.’

i. love. rachel.

WILL GLOWS!! THE HEADCANONS FROM LIKE FIVE YEARS AGO THAT YOU’D SEE FLOATING AROUND ABOUT HIM MANIPULATING LIGHT!! CONFIRMED!! CANON!! AMAZING

I AM OBSESSED WITH THE TROGS, I LOVE THEM, THEY ARE GREAT, not gonna lie, i was expecting something more dramatic and spooky with how worried will was and how dionysus was going.. visiting the cavern-runners isn’t ♫ good for your mental health ♫ but the little hat frog gremlins were a good addition. i like them very much and their funky little soup shenanigans. quoting the ghost king himself: trogs good. nice hats. (IM SORRY I KEEP MENTIONING HIM BUT I JUST) also how apollo starts wishing for breadsticks a s ajoke and theY STRAIGHT UP HAVE BREADSTICKS? HUH? WHERE DID THEY GET THE BREADSTICKS FROM??

yeah, i’m also still very much upset by every mention of jason grace, it’s funny how ever since his death in the burning maze i have grown to love him more and more and that’s not fun for me, for that boy to become one of my main comfort character’s and have his death and sacrifice and nobility mentioned every few chapters. i’m pretty sure i cried when he appeared to talk in apollo’s dreams, and this time the tears weren’t from the effort of keeping my eyes open and working for hours straight reading this book (i remember staying up until 2am to finish the sequel to beautiful, broken things, it was very much worth it)

‘All right, Jason. We miss you, though.’

ALSO. THE FACT THAT THIS KID. THIS CHILD. HAD TO THINK ‘BUT IF A HERO ISN’T READY TO LOSE EVERYTHING FOR A GREATER CAUSE, IS THAT PERSON REALLY A HERO?’ A KID ISN’T SUPPOSED TO THINK ABOUT THAT AND BE READY TO SACRIFICE THEMSELVES FOR THE GREATER GOOD,, i,, ugh,, he’s supposed to be finishing school and designing temples not being the perfect hero and soldier,, spain without the s,,

as @couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name said: ‘thinking about how ghost! Jason didn’t seem to understand why Apollo was so upset about his death because he’s been raised to believe a hero’s sacrifice is noble and his life doesn’t matter in the grand scheme and also if he doesn’t understand why the person who watched him get horrifically killed is so torn up over his death he probably doesn’t even realize his other friends are grieving him..’

IM SO UPSET THE ARROW OF DODONA IS DEAD D: IT WAS ONE OF MY FAVOURITE CHARACTERS ALL THE FUNNIEST MOMENTS WERE BECAUSE OF THAT ARROW AND IT'S DEATH WAS SO SAD WTH LIKE WE FIND OUT HOW USELESS THE ARROW FELT AND HOW THE GROVE OF DODONA ALL THOUGHT IT WOULD BE CRAP AND WOULD FAIL APOLLO AND THEN ONCE WE FEEL BAD FOR IT, IT DIES??

the entire python battle was pretty grim, there is a part of me that's like because this is the last book series i would have loved say the magnus chase and kane chronicles gang in a giant battle with everyone like the battle of manhattan but even more dramatic, but even so, i did appreciate that python battle and the whole almost-falling-into-the-depths-of-tartarus thing.

him talking to artemis was cool, but JESUS: 'I turned and strode out of my room, trying to recall how the god Apollo walked.' like that HURTS. it was such a huge culture shock for apollo to go throught this huge character arc and be so human and understand the pain of others, to be around gods again who are so.. apathetic. also, zeus. 'Interesting how he put that: I had done him proud. I had been useful in making him look good. My heart did not melt. I did not feel that this was a warm-and-fuzzy reconciliation with my father. Let's be honest: some fathers don't deserve that. Some aren't capable of it.'

OKAY OKAY SO THE END?? CHIRON TALKING TO A CAT (BAST) AND A SEVERED HEAD (MIMIR) ABOUT SHARED PROBLEMS WITHIN THE PANTHEONS!! WILL AND NICO RECEIVING A PROPHECY FROM RACHEL TO GO TO TARTARUS AND SAVE BOB!! THE HUNTERS OF ARTEMIS, INCLUDING THALIA AND REYNA BEING BEST FRIENDS (qpr.. qpr..) HUNTING THE TEUMESSIAN FOX!! PERCY, ANNABETH AND GROVER, THE ORIGINAL TRIO, GOING ON A CHAOTIC ROAD TRIP TOGETHER!! - SO MANY STAND-ALONE SET -UPS PFSJSJSJ

okay quick word on the reunions at the end: funny little elephant visitation program with livia and hannibal. love that for them. calypso and leo's relationship seems rocky and complicated, but that's to be expected, i think even if they do get properly back together again it might not last long, because it does pretty much feel like a teenage relationship where the two aren't very compatible, but we'll see. hazel and frank are so funny with their gold plated necklaces. lavinia - tap-dance icon. almost cried at the mention of jason's temple-extension plan again. percy not being sure about what he wants to do in college is accurate and i like that that's left to be up-for-interpretation (rick does THE MOST for the fanfic writers pfsjsj). i am OBSESSED with aeithales, like i hate deserts so the burning maze setting is not my favourite but GOD that HOUSE, the vibes are off-the-charts. i'd love a house made of living trees that's also a greenhouse filled with dryads. meg gets a unicorn. that is so great.

i kind of wish the book hadn't ended with 'Call on me. I will be there for you.' because every time I imagine the friends theme song and i don't think that's the vibe he was going for, BUT i do love him talking to meg, that was genuinely emotional - 'You'll come back?' she asked. 'Always,' I promised. 'The sun always comes back.' ; i really wish it had ended with that, but i guess apollo does tend to break fourth walls and talk to the readers, like a lot of the protagonists of riordanverse books.

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adamwatchesmovies · 2 years

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Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

When making a list of “remakes that are better than the original”, don’t forget to include Little Shop of Horrors near the top. To be fair, it's more of an adaptation of the off-Broadway musical than the original Roger Corman picture, but it still counts. Darkly funny, with catchy songs, memorable characters, and special effects so good you won’t believe this film was made in 1986, you'll happily hit "play" again the second it's over.

Seymour Krelborn (Rick Moranis) is a nerdy little guy who pines for his co-worker at the flower shop, Audrey (Ellen Greene). With business at an all-time low, their boss Mr. Mushnik (Vincent Gardenia) allows Seymour to display one of his unusual plants in the shop. "Audrey II" (voiced by Levi Stubbs) draws huge crowds but this isn't a typical plant. It doesn’t feed on water, soil, and sunlight; it wants blood.

For the 1960s version of Little Shop of Horrors, a remake was just what the doctor ordered. This film builds upon its foundation and improves every aspect. Right from the get-go, you’re greeted with catchy tunes modelled after 60’s rock and roll, doo-wop, and early Motown. I bet you didn't expect Rick Moranis or Steve Martin (in a small but memorable role) to have first-class vocal cords but do. You'll have a hard time choosing which number is the best, though any with Tichina Arnold, Michelle Weeks, and Tisha Campbell is a serious contender.

The special effects bringing Audrey II to life are nothing short of amazing. It's more than a prop, it's a fully-realized character with fully articulated libs and an unforgettable voice (Levi Stubbs does an amazing job). The carnivorous flora delivers a full range of emotions without that most crucial feature: eyes. For anyone thinking of making a living in the special effects industry, this is mandatory viewing. You see what they were able to do back in 1986 and you combine that with today’s technology, there’s nothing you can’t do.

Audrey is just the first of many characters to treasure. We could talk about the cameos but that would be spoiling the surprises. Instead, let's focus on Seymour and Audrey. I admire director Frank Oz for having the guts to make us follow two loser protagonists. We see square-jawed Adonises and flawless beauties all the time. How about something different? Seymour and Audrey are weak, kind of pathetic and just a dime’s width from hitting rock bottom - but you like them. If they manage to turn this Audrey II thing into a success and they get together, they could move out of the perpetual slump they’ve fallen into and live happily ever after. Too bad a dark comedy like this one makes no promises about a happy ending.

Having seen both the theatrical and director's cut, I'm unsure which version to recommend more. I like both but I’m going to lean towards the Director’s cut. The theatrical version feels like it doesn’t commit to itself the way the other one does. Little Shop of Horrors is so much fun I don’t think you can go wrong either way, but since test audiences demanded the ending be changed to the one that can be found in the theatrical version, maybe check that one out first and then if you’re brave enough, see the other.

Little Shop of Horrors is everything I want to see in a musical. There are good numbers throughout, many laughs, and memorable characters. There are plenty of iconic scenes and from a dark comedy/monster movie point of view, the special effects are amazing. The casting is perfect. I’d love to see this one on the big screen with a crowd cheering and singing along (but not too loud, I still want to hear the movie!). Whichever version you choose, it's a winner. (Theatrical & Original Cuts on DVD, February 19, 2016)

#TheLittleShopofHorrors #LittleShopofHorrors #movies #films #MovieReviews #FilmReviews #FrankOz #RickMoranis #EllenGreene #VincentGardenia #SteveMartin #LeviStubbs #JamesBelushi #JohnCandy #ChristopherGuest #BillMurray #1986movies #1986films #musicals

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shiroscorner · 3 years

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Okay! I Finished The Tower of Nero all the way back in October, but I got lazy and I recently re-read the whole ToA books again. I’m really glad I did because there where things I would have missed on first reading.

Before I give my final thoughts on the Book series as a whole I will be giving my thoughts on events, Themes, and other miscellaneous things that happened in the books.

In the first chapter of the Hidden Oracle, Apollo talks about hanging over the Abyss of Chaos in Tartarus Which was a nice piece of Foreshadowing for the ending of ToA.

Rachael sassing Apollo over the other oracles like a bitter girlfriend is great.

I like how the books shows that Nico has been improving (Has friends, isn’t living with dead people, smiles, and participating in group activities), but that he still has a long way to go with his mental health. Rick works really hard at showing that a significant other isn’t going to fix all your problems and that its going to take a long time for Nico to get to a really good place mentally. Mental health is an uphill battle your whole life for people who suffer from mental health conditions no matter how much your life improves.

This series is the most inclusive LGBTQ+ children’s series ever written (Regardless of medium). Its makes me happy to see such a inclusive and well round LGBTQ+ characters. Including the main character which is huge for a children’s series.

Frank going out on his own terms to avenge Jason makes me cry every time even knowing that Frank survives on a second reading.

I like to imagine that all the Jason hate is a vocal minority because of how many people were sad by Jason’s death (It couldn’t possibly be that they all suddenly love Jason now that he’s dead or anything like that).

Jason and Piper’s relationship. I’m really glad that though they broke up the still are friends and care about each other. They went on multiple quests together post break up. Most books, shows, and movies show that people can’t be friends after a break-up and it bothers me because people absolutely can be. Its nice to see that.

Apollo is thirsty for literally everyone. I wanna re-read these books an catalog a full list of people Apollo thirsts for and has dated.

I don’t think I have ever mentioned it on here before, but I work a job that allows you to where headphones and ear buds so I listen to the audio books while at work. The narrator for the ToA books is Robbie Daymond. His performance is so amazing. Probably because he is a professional actor. If you haven’t listened to the audio books I highly recommend it.

Lavinia is my QUEEN! MORE LAVINA PLEASE!

Jason is amazing and selfless and we stan him here!

I like that Calypso and Leo still have a lot of working to do to make the relationship work. Most authors would be like “He saved her from a 4,000 year imprisonment so now everything is perfect” All relationships need work regardless of the history.

Crest was okay, but I wish we had known him a little longer before he died.

I love Emmie, Jo, and Georgie.

Apollo forgetting how to God because of how long he’s been mortal is so funny.

Am I sad that my fan theory didn’t happen? Yeah, but it still ended in a really good way. I still think Apollo will take over duty of Camp Director once Mr. D’s punishment is over. It will be a really good full circle moment for him because it will not only bring him down to earth, but also Apollo was the one who made Camp Half Blood / was the original Camp Director. I actually have a lot of fan theories about what everyone will be doing when they get older and in the future.

Okay so my final thought on The Trials of Apollo.

The Trials of Apollo is one the the most well planned and written series in the Riordanverse. While Apollo’s literal trails were about reclaiming the five oracles the actual point of the trails were about Apollo taking accountability for the awful things he’s done. While each books is about a specific Oracle they are also about a particular part of his life that he ruined with his self destructive behavior.

The Hidden Oracle was about Apollo taking responsibility for the death’s of his two greatest loves Daphne and Hyacinthus.

The Dark Prophecy was about how Apollo has failed and ignored his children.

The Burning Maze is about Apollo’s treatment of demigod heroes and the part he played in sending them to their deaths

The Tyrants Tomb is about Apollo coming to terms with and taking accountability for the absolute worst things he ever did and discovering how he can move forward from them.

The Tower of Nero is About Apollo bringing all the lessons he’s learned together.

As the books go on Apollo slowly becomes less self centered and more humble. His inner monologues are were the change is most noticeable. At the beginning of the series in the Hidden Oracle Apollo’s inner monologue is so obnoxious its almost intolerable. However, slowly over the course of the books he becomes less obnoxious and more down to earth. His thoughts over time shift toward the people he loves and cares about instead of himself.

Meg and Apollo’s Abuse stories were so profound and honest about how Abuse happens. How Nero and Zeus trained Meg and Apollo to see them as the good guys when they were actually being abused, how the victim blaming worked, and how they came to the conclusion that they were abused. All of it so realistic and honest. Books like these may help real people see how they are being abused and to seek help.

These books were so great and I am excited for the stand alone books (WE KNOW YOU WRITING A NICO BOOK UNCLE RICK DON’T TRY TO HIDE IT) and the Celtic series he teased during The Tower of Nero.

Interested in hearing what you guys have to say. Tell me! Please be nice and respectful to everyone who comments!

(Note I am dyslexic like many other demigods and any constructive criticism about grammar and spelling mistakes are welcomed)

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discoscoob · 3 years

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"What Loki got wrong – and Doctor Who got right Redeeming a villainous character isn’t easy but the Disney Plus series could pick up a few tips from the BBC’s flagship series.

We all love Loki – the God of Mischief, Lord of Chaos, a wannabe tyrant and murderer with a twinkle in his eye and a spring in his step. So where on Earth (or rather, in the multiverse) did he go during his eponymous Disney Plus series? When Loki was first proposed, I was intrigued to see a Marvel spin-off that focused on an amoral, self-serving character. But over the course of its six episodes, we saw Tom Hiddleston abruptly deliver a reverse heel-turn, transforming a character that had always skirted in grey areas of villainy into a fairly bland, heroic type who just wanted to save the universe.In the final episode, Loki was offered the chance at universal war and chaos, a throne or a quiet home life in the background. The mind boggles that someone who tried to rule the planet just a few weeks before and apparently revelled in disorder would so quickly plump for the third option, no matter how nice his new friends were. .Maybe Loki needs more ‘good’ characters to bounce off for him to play the fun bad boy, as he had in the Thor movies. Maybe creating a Marvel series with a morally ambiguous lead, à la Rick and Morty, was never on the cards. But there was a way that Loki could have redeemed its central character without completely compromising what made him interesting in the first place. In fact, it’s been done before in a different series.A few times over the course of Loki, viewers had compared it to Doctor Who, mainly because of its general time-travel premise (what are the officious TVA except Time Lords with a dental plan?) and especially after episode three saw Loki and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) trapped on a dying world. In fact, many commented that Loki did ‘Doctor Who’ better than Doctor Who itself, thanks to a higher budget and bigger stars. (Though did Loki have a sonic screwdriver? I think not. Case closed.)And I actually think Loki could learn something from Doctor Who, more specifically, from a storyline that saw an iconic villain try to change their ways with Cast your mind back to 2017 and Peter Capaldi’s final series as the Twelfth Doctor. A major throughline of those episodes was the Doctor’s attempt to redeem his old nemesis The Master, then played by Michelle Gomez as Missy. Initially reluctant (and not before a few final backstabs), Missy did end up playing the hero, only to be cut down by an alternate version of herself (AKA her predecessor in the regenerating role, John Simm) before she could reveal to the Doctor that she’d finally come over to his side.Crucially, during this process Missy was often as unpleasant, irascible and darkly funny as she’d ever been at her most villainous, regularly still insulting and belittling the Doctor and his friends even as she did gain more empathy and something of a moral code. She didn’t just completely gain a new personality, in other words, and the story was more moving and believable as a result.Of course, Loki is changed by what happens to him over the course of his series – the “journey” he goes on, as Jonathan Majors’ He Who Remains puts it, is needed to put him in the position where he’s willing to take over the TVA himself. But what we see him go through on screen doesn’t feel like enough to justify such a change in the character – or why the show would choose to make him so much less entertaining.If Loki had always been how he appeared in the finale, he wouldn’t have lasted as long as he has in the MCU, let alone get his own spin-off. Make Loki fun again! It probably doesn’t help that we’ve seen an onscreen version of Loki’s journey already which did a better job, with the ‘older’/original Loki’s arc in 2017 Marvel movie Thor: Ragnarok making a much better case for his gradual turn from self-interest to semi-heroism, though still with a trademark blend of arrogance and style (including bellowing “Your saviour is here!” as he rescued the people of Asgard).Maybe it helps that, in that film, he plays second fiddle to Chris Hemsworth’s Thor. Maybe Missy’s story only worked in Doctor Who because she wasn’t the main character, and similarly had the good

Doctor to bounce off (though if someone does want to make a Missy TV show, I’m in).Whatever the reasoning, something still feels a little off about this newly heroic Loki variant. Time for, if not a pruning, then at least a bit of a redirection if season two is going to find its glorious purpose"

reading this article rolling my eyes first off Missy went by a different name, also was not really a redemption of the master but that version of the master e.g missy which still don't know where this version is suppose to happen cause imo missy was the master but unlike the master had more redemptive qualities, wanting to be the doctors friend again/wanting to change but never getting the chance/past version didn't want to change, while this version feels like always on a path of redemption to the be killed off and the master comes back still evil, most likely missy version of the master will never be mentioned again/ never see this version again. also have they watched the Loki show, he literally learns he dies in the future, his stuck in a unfamiliar place by a very powerful organisation, also his self serving persona has always been a façade mostly, people can suddenly want to change which imo Loki hasn't really wanted to as Thor as pointed out about him going round in circles and him never seem to want to change in Ragnarok he was still not really change even though he shown he can be a better person, he also betrayed thor show still self serving. but Loki in the series makes sense his perception would change, his lost him home, his free will, Thor, learns he died/dies, and can't back to his timeline, but find it unbelieveable that Loki whole attitude would change... i think people need to pay more attention/don't really understand Loki, also he is still fun 3 episodes in just because his not acting like a clown and shown to be vulnerable and shown be more genuine and wanting be a hero doesn't mean they completely stripped his personality, hopefully we see his fun personality back next series. the reason he lasted in MCU so long is not just because his fun etc but because his a complex character, if i remember correct his fun personality didn't really come out until the dark world and then ragonorak in Thor he was angry and bitter and avengers was angry and bitter and wanting to rule earth. also we saw his fun personality up until episode 3 as slowly began to stop clowning around and become more genuine through Sylvie, also good friends didn't just change Loki, it was already in there it was a journey he always destined to go down as saw in the films which now some what reset in the series for another journey but thing is Mobius and Sylvie not just better Loki but his also bettered Mobius and Sylvie, also makes sense he change his self serving behaviour as learns even gets the throne or what he thought was his glory purpose he still not be truly happy, just like Sylvie and just like Mobius at The TVA. i feel some just don't really go into who Loki character is or just like his boring now if his not there being smug or clown or him finally actually being genuine = bad telling of redemption ok *rolls eyes*

I 100% agree! Reading that made me roll my eyes too, until I got to your part of the anon, that was a relief to read.

#loki #loki series

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reannabeth · 3 years

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So I am rewatching the Percy Jackson Peter Johnson movie, and I just thought I’d make an official post for all my icks with it.

Why? Cause I like to rant? Idk.

First off, characters:

The age thing threw me off. They’re sixteen? Seriously? Why did they think that was a good idea? Did they want it to be a full-out series or not?

Leaves less room for character growth, both physically and mentally- and romantically (which I will get to in a bit).

Plus, the way the characters are written in the books is meant to fit twelve year olds, so everything they do feels off. Pessimistic 12 year old Percy was so funny. Like his sass would genuinely catch me off guard, because he’s so freaking young and you don’t really expect him to be so fearless and rash. Movie Percy does have sass and the awkward pessimist thing down pretty much to a ‘t’, but the way the right it can come off a bit corny, despite Logan Lerman’s best acting. Boy does the guy do a great job. His performance almost overshadows the bad writing, but not quite. Gods, the Capture-the-Flag tripping all falling over himself thing was fabulous, though the rest of the scene didn’t quite match up (do they even know how that game works??) Also,,, later corniness. Again. I don’t really care about the eyes thing, because blue is still the color of the ocean.

Annabeth is way too aggressive. Why is she so eager to slice-and-dice him even though they’ve never officially met? I guess she took the place of Clarisse in that way, but WHY. Clarisse had reason; Percy humiliated her and her cabin. If they wanted to get him to heal in the water and such, that could’ve been achieved if they had just followed the freaking books. They just… butchered her character in so many ways. Her appearance, the handy dandy Yankees ball cap, all that. The whole purpose of her being blonde was to discount the stupid dumb blonde stereotype and feed into her need to prove herself to everyone. That was taken away too.

Speaking of which… Grover. Baby boi, they ruined you. I didn’t mind them making him black… until they made him all party-like and confident. That may have not had to do with his race, though, and just trying to make him act more like the satyrs from the myths. But that defeats the point that Rick made; he purposefully made Grover scared and stressed and doing his best all the time as a foil to that stereotype- which is made obvious when the Party Ponies come into play in the second book. I miss that Grover. Also, why was he just like standing around during the disaster of the Minotaur scene (Gods, they made that so lame). It would’ve been better if he was unconscious, because then he wasn’t just standing around. I could’ve excused it as him just being reluctant because he’s scared, but this Grover is brave and more protective, a better fighter. Why would he just stand and watch? There are just so many things that don’t add up.

Chiron and Luke were really the only characters that felt true to their book forms.

The stand-off between Luke and Percy was cool, but the plot twist in the book is just so much better. I was totally blown away by the easy-going camp counselor dude poisoning a twelve year old kid with scorpion venom. Also, Luke got his scar from Percy? NOOO. It was never about Percy. It was about Luke and his dad. Percy was just a means to an end or an enemy to get rid of.

Gods, they forgot the prophecy, too. And Ares. And Clarisse. And Mr. D.

I don’t even want to talk about Hades. Or Persephone, for that matter. Why was she there? It wasn’t winter and- nope, not even. Just nope.

Riptide is a ballpoint pen, not a clicky one (though this one is admittedly cooler. WE NEED THE TARTARUS SCENE WHERE HE ANNABETH FIGURES OUT HE CAN WRITE WITH IT). And the shield thingy… that’s Tyson’s. He made it in the second one.

The thing is, Rick ties everything into his later works, so many of the changes they made mess with future possibilities and therefore narrow the rest of everything.

I understand not having every scene, every detail included in the movies. But why keep things if you’re going to change them?

Why have the hydra come in this movie? It comes in the second book, bro.

WHERE ARE THE ORANGE CAMP HALF-BLOOD SHIRTS??

Oh, right I was supposed to have topics. Sorry, everything is blending in together.

uh… ROMANCE.

Why was Grover a ladies man :|

What the Tartarus were they doing with Percabeth? Long, kinda creepy stares and close contact. THIS STUPID LINE: “I definitely have strong feelings for you. I just haven’t decide if they’re positive or negative yet.”

Like,,, EW. Is this supposed to be the “You drool in your sleep” replacement? How about no.

They took away the cute little crushes and slow-burn friends to lovers (even though it kinda started off as enemies).

MOMMA’S BOY

every moment Percy had with his mom was so awful. Why is he using “mother” so much? That’s only for his dad, because they haven’t reached the kind of relationship where Percy can call him Dad. I wanted to see the scene with her coming home from the candy shop with a big bag of candy and him pretending to be cranky when she shows affection but you can tell he loves it and ughhhhh

WHY

What did I like? The music. The Lotus flowers and casino scene. The pearl plot line thing was admittedly smart, but overall problematic and questionable. Why the Parthenon? Why not Crusty’s?

I do also like Percy and Grover’s bud relationship, but Annabeth was supposed to be his guide of a sort. So they either could’ve had them both guide him, or her alone. We needed more time to get to know her.

Where was Cerberus? I guess they didn’t want a repeat of Fluffy in The Sorceror’s Stone (since this is the same director), but still. He’s a major part of the Underworld system. And I wanted fancy Italian suit Charon and the “died in a bathtub” scene. The Hellhounds were also creepy, so how does the whole Mrs. O’Leary thing work? Also, makes me wonder why they didn’t have Percy be attacked by one during Capture-the-Flag like in the books.

ALSO WHY DID GROVER STAY? WHY? The Sally I know would never let him do that. Also, Sally can’t even get through the boundaries and into Olympus anyway, so why…? Why.

Persephone being all weird and flirty to Grover was just… ew. Again. Ew ew ew ew.

Hades is not the bad guy, he just came across a situation he could take advantage of. It doesn’t make sense that Luke would get it to Hades and Hades alone. It gets rid of the whole Kronos thing.

And the prophecies were gone, too. I know they brought them up in the second one, but not very well. The second one retconned the first’s continuity and yet still sucked on representing the second one. Yeesh.

Anyway, that’s my spill. I could organize it better, but I’m too tired at this point.

#Percy Jackson #peter Johnson #the lightning thief #pjo #rant

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tcm · 4 years

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Paul Henreid: Actor, Director, Father By Susan King

Who was the most romantic actor during the Golden Age of Hollywood? For me, it was Paul Henreid. He was tall-6’3”-handsome, with a gorgeous Austrian accent and a nobility and intelligence that could sweep women off their feet. Like that iconic scene in NOW, VOYAGER (‘42) where he lights two cigarettes at once giving one to Bette Davis; or when he utters the words “if I were free, there would be only one thing I’d want to do – prove you’re not immune to happiness. Would you want me to prove it, Charlotte? Tell me you would. Then I’ll go. Why, darling, you are crying.”

And this exchange with Rick (Humphrey Bogart) in his most famous role as the noble resistance leader Victor Laszlo in the Oscar-winning classic CASABLANCA (‘42):

Rick: “Don't you sometimes wonder if it's worth all this? I mean what you're fighting for.”

Victor: “You might as well question why we breathe. If we stop breathing, we'll die. If we stop fighting our enemies, the world will die.”

But Henreid was so much more than those two roles. He was dashing and sexy as a pirate in the 1945 Technicolor swashbuckling adventure THE SPANISH MAIN, he gave a complex and haunting performance as the mentally troubled composer Robert Schumann in SONG OF LOVE (‘47) and proved he could be a wonderfully vile film noir bad guy in HOLLOW TRIUMPH (‘48).

He also survived the blacklist, directed numerous episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, as well as the delicious thriller DEAD RINGER (‘64) with Davis. Even before he came to Hollywood, Henreid made his U.S film debut in the terrific romantic war drama JOAN OF PARIS (‘42); he had been a star on the Vienna stage as a member of the legendary Max Reinhardt’s theater company and also appeared in films. He was offered a movie contract with UFA in Berlin with the caveat that he join the National Socialist Actors Guild of Germany. Henreid turned down the offer.

Henreid went to England where he earned good reviews on the London stage as Prince Albert in 1937 in Victoria Regina. Though he played a sympathetic German in GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS (‘39), he was typecast generally in Nazi roles such as in Carol Reed’s classic NIGHT TRAIN TO MUNICH (‘40). He even played an odious German consul in his first Broadway show Elmer Rice’s Flight to the West in 1940. Then came Hollywood. And a name change from Von Hernreid to Henreid.

He was 84 when he died in 1992.

I recently chatted via e-mail with his daughter Monika Henreid, an actress/writer/director who is currently working on a documentary about her father.

You always talk so lovingly about your father on social media. What was he like as a husband, father and friend?

My parents were in love…really in love. They were best friends, confidants, colleagues for almost 60 years. So, my guess is, he was a wonderful husband!

He was a hands-on father. He invested time and money to make sure I had all the arts, sports and education a growing girl needs. He always asked how the day went, what I did, what did I enjoy, what did I learn. He was willing to help with or review homework. When my mother didn’t want to attend events, meaning premieres or films, ballets, operas, concerts, etc., I was fortunate enough to be his date.

As a friend to others, he was devoted. Friendship meant a lot to him. It wasn’t always easy to separate real friends from the ‘Hollywood’ type friends. But once he knew, through trial and error and behavior, he was a great person to have as a friend.

Was it difficult, albeit, dangerous for your parents to leave Austria for England?

My father had a successful stage career in Vienna and, because of his reputation, had the opportunity to do a play in London. After that play, he returned to the Viennese stage and some film. When it was time to really leave because of the political situation, he had another offer in London. That allowed for a good structure, but they were scared for the families on both sides. Eventually, most of my mother’s family moved from Austria, but my father’s stayed. My mother did have numerous interactions with the Gestapo, but she was smart and charming and always released without incident.

How was your father discovered by Hollywood? When NIGHT TRAIN TO MUNICH was released in New York City, my father was appearing in the Elmer Rice play Flight to the West on Broadway. Simultaneous double whammy. He was very visible and got a lot of press. Good press! He said a lot of scouts and agents came around, but Lew Wasserman made the move to Hollywood possible. Lew became my father’s agent and later, my godfather.

He made so many classic films in 1942, what was that like for him to become a Hollywood star so quickly? He had already achieved ‘stardom’ in Austria and England, so I don’t think it was that difficult. He never talked about it at home. I think it was more the Hollywood lifestyle and the American way culturally that was jolting. Did he enjoy being under contract to Warner Bros.? He was happy to be working and felt secure with the studio system contract, but he wanted some control over his projects. He was always interested in more challenging character parts, so was quickly tired of being pigeonholed as the handsome, romantic leading man. He took SPANISH MAIN to Jack Warner who turned it down. So, he went back to his first Hollywood studio RKO, where it was made. He was suspended a number of times [at Warner Bros.] because he refused to do ‘crap’ scripts and soon learned he really preferred his independence. Your father was one of many actors and directors including Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall and John Huston, who went to Washington, D.C. in 1947 to oppose the HUAC investigation into communism in Hollywood. Did his support lead to him being blacklisted? Absolutely. He was immediately blacklisted by all the Hollywood studios. Offers stopped right away. He talked to his agent and was told what the studio reaction was. He couldn’t believe it! And there were no longer invitations to lunch or dinner from the ‘Hollywood friends.’ Luckily, he could work for independent producers and in England and Europe.

Your dad was removed from the blacklist when he became a director in the 1950s on the classic TV anthology Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Had he been good friends with Hitch? His friendship was with [producer] Joan Harrison, Hitch’s ‘right hand man.’ Had your father wanted to direct before he joined the series? He was a very ‘educated’ artist. He went through all the rigors of the drama school in Vienna and graduated qualified as a professional. Directing was just an extension of his training and experience. He was a man who loved to be in charge in any way. It was his nature-so a rather organic move when the first opportunities as a director or a producer presented themselves. Would you talk about his bond with Bette Davis? They were so wonderful in NOW, VOYAGER and DECEPTION (‘46), and he directed her in a Hitchcock episode as well as the fun thriller DEAD RINGER. He and Bette were friends, colleagues, flirts and best of adversaries. They respected each other and were capable of pushing each other’s buttons. There was a tremendous trust and so, we get these wonderful performances from both of them. He was a wonderful director because he understood the actor. I should say that my mother was included in the friendship. She was also creative, smart and talented and often contributed to make that duo a trio. He directed you in DEAD RINGER. What was that experience like? Great. I was fortunate enough to have that experience a number of times. We were really good about keeping the job and the home life separated. Work was work. Home was home. There was an expectation of excellence, but that was an everyday experience. He was a bit of a perfectionist but then, so am I. He didn’t push or shove but rather guided. Ask anyone he worked with how calm and gentle he was. You may not be able to answer this question! But what is the favorite film of your dad’s? That’s difficult to answer! My favorite film is THE SPANISH MAIN because it’s most like HIM – smart, athletic, funny, thoughtful, charming, daring, gorgeous. As far as acting talents go, a toss-up or mixture of SONG OF LOVE, DECEPTION and HOLLOW TRIUMPH.

#Paul Henreid #Bette Davis #Warner Bros.#old hollywood #classic #Blacklist #RKO #Monika Henreid #casablanca #Humphrey Bogart #Dead Ringer #Now Voyager #TCM #Turner Classic Movies #Susan King

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mst3kproject · 3 years

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Invasion of the Star Creatures

I promised you guys something truly awful this week, didn’t I? Well, how about a space invasion ‘comedy’ (big emphasis on the air quotes there) produced by Samuel Zarkoff to be a double-bill with The Brain that Wouldn’t Die? The closest thing it has to a star is Frankie Ray, whom MSTies might know as the writer of Laserblast. He also wrote Zoltan, Hound of Dracula, which I really, really need to see one of these days. Film Historian Bill Warren described Invasion of the Star Creatures as ‘so helplessly bad it’s almost unwatchable’. Let’s find out if he was right.

Fort Nicholson is the world’s center for atomic research, despite apparently being staffed entirely by idiots. The two biggest idiots are, unfortunately, our main characters. Their names are Philbrick and Penn. No, I don’t know which is which. No, I don’t care. I’m gonna call them Rick and Rick With The Squeaky Voice. The first ‘comedic’ sequence involves Rick With The Squeaky Voice sitting in a barrel pretending he’s going to space, and getting his ass set on fire.

That sets the tone for the whole movie quite nicely. It’s stupid and it’s not funny, and it never gets any better. In fact, as we shall see, it gets significantly worse.

For some reason, Rick and Rick With The Squeaky Voice are assigned to a mission to explore a cave recently exposed by a nuclear test. This turns out to be the base for two seven-foot space women, Tanga and Pona, and their tuberous minions, the Vege-Men, and the entire party is soon in their clutches. The aliens say that they have come to save humanity from destroying ourselves through nuclear war, but naturally the army isn’t into that. Rick With The Squeaky Voice discovers that kissing the women puts them into a daze, allowing the two idiots to escape, but of course nobody back at Fort Nicholson believes their story. Is it really up to these two to stop Tanga and Pona from heading back to their home planet with their report? We’re doomed.

I don’t remember which review it was, but I once invited you to imagine a movie in which every character is Dropo or Watney Smith. This is that movie. This is proud of being that movie. The aliens try to read the two Ricks’ minds and one is completely empty while the other is full of superhero fantasies. Pona calls what she sees ‘completely illogical and infantile’, which is a fair description of the whole movie.

There’s a sequence where one of the army men shoots a rattlesnake that was about to bite one of the Ricks, and then cries because ‘he might have had a family’. They try to lampoon the thing in old movies where the characters walk through the same set from different angles by doing it without cutting away or changing the camera angle, but it just looks dumb. The Colonel gives a long-winded speech about the merits of getting straight to the point. A forced march stops for a lovely picnic and wine tasting. A guy gets his ass kicked by a Vege-Man and declares, “that’s the first time a salad ever tossed me.” There’s a running ‘gag’ about fans of ‘Space Commander Connors’ recognizing each other’s secret decoder rings and immediately going into a full-on geek-out.

None of this is funny, much of it is downright embarrassing, and the worst part is that the writers have no idea how to include their attempts at comedy in the story. Rather than the hijinks advancing the plot, every time something that’s supposed to be funny happens, the whole thing comes to a dead halt. This gives the impression that the movie is stumbling around in the dark with no idea where it’s going. It finally seems to settle on a plot when we find out that the spaceship is about to leave and must be stopped. After some bullshit the Ricks convince the Colonel (and only the Colonel) to help them take on the aliens. At this point I was thinking that this movie was pretty terrible but it hadn’t actually pushed me to the point of being tempted to turn it off…

And then it got racist.

The last ten minutes or so of Invasion of the Star Creatures are a downward spiral in which it seems like they gave up trying to be funny in favour of being actively offensive. First, they encounter what’s supposed to be a group of Native Americans on horseback. Rick With The Squeaky Voice tries to get their attention by saying “hey, Kemosabe, I wanna buy some blankets!” The Natives don’t speak much English but they do a lot of grunting, and threaten to kill the Colonel because they think he’s General Custer (?!). Then they kidnap everybody and force them to smoke the peace pipe and drink firewater and the white guys only escape once the Natives have passed out.

Holy shit. Not only is this repulsive, it is, as previously noted, irrelevant. It has no effect on the plot other than to waste time. The Natives do not help them defeat the aliens and neither does the Colonel, who is also in a drunken stupor. And then, just when we think this can’t possibly get any worse, the defeated alien women declare that they must throw themselves on the mercy of the Earth Men. This turns out to mean marrying them, and the dialogue specifically likens marriage to slavery, which Tanga and Pona seem to consider a point in its favour! The end of this movie left my head spinning. It’s like I watched a guy get ‘comedically’ knocked over by a punching bag for forty-five minutes and then he suddenly turned around and punched me in the face.

(Hey, I just realized… remember how I said the cave was exposed by a nuclear test? The dialogue emphasizes how this whole area is irradiated and dangerous – and then totally forgets about it. It’s never mentioned again and the characters take off their protective gear and never put it back on. So… that was useless, too.)

There is stuff in this movie that could have been funny. The secret decoder ring stuff almost got a smile out of me once or twice, because the characters seemed so earnest in their love for ‘Space Commander Connors’ and his lore. The ‘Vege-Men’ also had potential. We get to see a greenhouse room where they’re grown to be the women’s slaves, and the seedlings are hands or feet sticking out of flowerpots with a few leaves around them. This is fairly amusing and I could see it being the juvenile form of a sentient plant on Star Trek TOS. Adult Vege-Men are actors in stupid carrot costumes that they obviously can’t see out of very well, which should have been funny just because it’s so terrible, but Invasion of the Star Creatures is so bad you can’t even laugh at it ironically.

The idea of using a bumbling idiot as your main character, let alone two bumbling idiots, frankly baffles me. Rick and Rick With The Squeaky Voice are supposed to be the guys we, the audience, identify with. We’re supposed to like and root for them and to perhaps be able to imagine ourselves in their places, but the only thing I feel for them is contempt. Why would anyone want to see themselves in these guys? Perhaps it’s an attempt to say that anybody can be a hero, but the two Ricks don’t even qualify as that. When they save the world, it’s basically by accident. The ending, which rewards them with promotions, medals, and beautiful wives from outer space, actively makes me angry because they didn’t earn any of that!

Invasion of the Star Creatures works very hard at being pointless, and there’s very little in it that comes anywhere near a theme. If any such thing exists, its in Tanga and Pona’s insistence that they’re here to save humanity whether we like it or not, and how the humans react to that idea. The women say it would be a shame to see a young civilization destroy itself because nations were too stupid to work together. Rick and Rick With The Squeaky Voice reject this entirely, which is supposed to be a joke: these guys are in the army, so if humanity transcends the need for conflict they’d be out of a job. The rest of the plot then seems at pain to emphasize that humans cannot work together, and do not want to.

After all, the two Ricks’ attempts to summon help come to nothing. The Native Americans never understand that these men want assistance, and the Colonel thinks it’s all a Space Commander Connors game before sliding under the metaphorical table, having never done anything useful. The Ricks themselves spent most of their time arguing and complaining and in the end succeed only through good luck on their part and poor timing on that of the invaders. Usually a story that begins with ‘aliens want to save primitive humans from ourselves’ would end with ‘the aliens were wrong about us’. Invasion of the Star Creatures seems to want to say the aliens were right the whole time!

So there you have it – Invasion of the Star Creatures. It started off kinda bad and not funny, then swirled down the cinematic toilet into outright offensive, racist, sexist drivel. I’m trying to think of some small thing I can say about it that’s nice, but I’m having a very hard time. I guess I kinda liked the rumbly noises that represent the alien language – that was more fun than just having the actresses spout random gobbledygook. Other than that, I’m at a loss. The actors suck, the sets suck, the effects suck, the costumes suck, and everybody involved was a bigoted dickweed. Fuck this movie.

#mst3k #reviews #episodes that never were #invasion of the star creatures #fuck this movie #60s

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tunetofreethesoul · 3 years

Text

The suicide squad thoughts

For my own remembrance, some spoilers ahead!!

These are just random thought after my first viewing so I might change my mind if I think more about it/watch it again in the future. Might also add on more stuff. :)

Okay so i just gotta get this off my chest ASAP: PEACEMAKER IS THE MOST IRRITATING MOTHERFUCKER IVE EVER SEEN. Literally ew.

Moving on:

I don’t like the guardians movies because they’re too much of trying to be funny and quirky, and while I did feel a little bit of the same vibe from this, (of course, since it’s James Gunn) at least every single character wasn’t annoying as fuck in this, which I think for me is the biggest problem with guardians.

The movie is also kinda in a weird place between being funny in an almost childish way and trying to be edgy with the more gory imagery.

I’m a bit on the fence about how many people died, on one hand it makes sense that everyone doesn’t always survive but it’s also kinda sad to just kill people off without any major development.

Especially the squad killing the resistance fighters didn’t really like add anything, just felt like a way to add some more action filled fight-scenes (which there was already more than enough off).

Some of the music choices were a bit eh.

Positive notes about characters :’) :

Harleys first outfit!! Wow!!! I love the iconic black and red look, sad we didn’t get to see the first outfit for a longer time! But she also looked stunning in the dress of course.

Weasel, my beloved, is the complete opposite of everything I hate about baby yoda/baby groot. He’s ugly, stupid and animalistic. Perfect.

Why was Pete Davidson kinda *insert lip bite* 😳👀 lmao

I thought I wouldn’t like polka-dot man at first but I actually did. He was great! :)

And also Peter capaldi did a lovely job!! (Though I feel like his character was a bit under developed)

Lastly: Rick Flag, I am in love with you. Xoxo.

#the suicide squad #the suicide squad spoilers #films #movie review #kinda at least #just some thoughts :)#I’m also not gonna get political about anything… yet anyways lmao #its 2am don’t mind spelling and/or grammar

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shhh-no-ones-home · 4 years

Text

open skies miw x reader

+++++++++ Waterpark day turned stormy weather

(temp is 110 Fahrenheit, 43.3 Celsius)

Song: no better by lorde

tag list: @musicsexandpizza69 @svintsandghosts @alilpunkrock @theoneandonlykymberlee @cynic-spirit @lifeisabitchandsoareyou +++++++++

As much as I hated to admit it I was kind of glad to be back, deep, in the Midwest for a day or two. It happened to be the hottest day of summer and we also just happened to be going to a water park for the day. I was beyond excited. I hadn't been to a water park since moving to wilkes barre and that was years ago. When the bus pulled into the parking lot I was practically running to get inside the park, swim suit and towel in hand. The guys just didn't understand. As soon as I hit the ground outside the bus I was already sweaty, I could tell they all were too. but it was almost worth it.

"Come on guys, don't look so disappointed."

I joked, Vinny raising his hand to cover his eyes from the sun.

"I get you're excited but Did we have to do this on a 110° day though?"

I shook my head at him, walking backwards through the parking lot.

"Just wait, as soon as we get in and changed we'll be cool in no time."

Ricky smiled at me.

"Let's hope you're right."

I nodded.

"That's the spirit!"

When we got to the gate we each got a ticket and walked through the turnstiles. The locker rooms were right inside and I turned to look at them all as they followed me in.

"Wanna get changed and meet here or are we doing this separately today?"

I asked, looking between them all. A few shrugged.

"Whatever works, I'm sure we all probably wanna do different things. As long as we are back here by five to go we'll be good."

I nodded.

"Got it, well then I guess I'll see some of you around. I'm gonna go change. If anyone wants to mat-race meet me here after you've got your suit on."

I said with a wink.

"You're on."

Justin said, Chris nodding in agreement.

"Oh yeah, I'd like to get in on that action. Both of you are going down."

he said a little cocky. A few of the other guys just shook their heads and walked into the locker room. I did the same on the other side of the building, getting changed and rinsed quickly so I could get this day started. When I walked back out, towel in hand I frowned.

"Why the long face?"

Ryan asked, coming up beside me, making me jump.

"Jesus ry, kill a girl why don't'cha."

He laughed at me, leaning against the concrete wall behind us.

"Just making life a little more interesting."

I sent him a look before looking to the sky. A breeze was starting to pick up and I was a little concerned. When Chris came out he noticed something wrong immediately, looking to the sky too. He nudged me

"Hey y/n, how's the weather?"

He asked, looking to me to see if that's what was wrong. I sent him a smirk.

"Aren't we supposed to ask you that? You're the tall one after all."

He sent me a look as Justin came out to join us. I watched as he tossed his beach towel over his shoulders.

"You know what I meant. You always say you know when it's gonna rain."

I looked back to the sky, and inhaled deeply.

"yes, yes I can."

He looked at me expectantly.

"Was it supposed to rain today?"

A few of the others shrugged, so did I.

"I don't think so but I Give it two hours."

I said looking around at the team. They all nodded.

"Let's get to it then."

°°°°°°°°°

Damn I hated being right. I mean, don't get me wrong, it had its perks but still. I wish this one time I would've been wrong. No sooner than we had entered the lazy river the sky just opened up. It had begun pouring down rain with little to no remorse. It would've been fine had there not been lightning. Damn the lightning. All the lifeguards were rushing people out of the water, Chris taking my hand so he wouldn't lose me in the crowd and pulling me to the side walk. When we were under the canopy of the food shack he started to laugh. I looked at him like he was crazy.

"What's so funny?"

I asked and he shook his head.

"How often do we get a day off and it actually go as planned?"

I couldn't help laughing at the revelation too. He was right though.

"I wish it were more often than it is."

I confirmed with him and he nodded.

"You and me both."

I shook my head.

"Do you think we should find the rest of the guys?"

I asked and he shrugged.

"It's not even three yet, do you think they'd be ready to leave already?"

I frowned and thought for a second.

"I'm honestly not sure."

He looked up for a second and I followed his gaze. Across the concrete slab was Ryan and aj standing under a beach umbrella, laughing with each other. Well I guess that sort of answered that question.

"they look like theyre gonna wait it out."

i said, laughing a little to myself, chris' gaze following my own.

"i guess youre right."

i looked up to him and drew my brows as i saw him look around, then he turned and left me.

"chris?"

i asked, following him to the food counter.

"would any of you happen to know how long this is supposed to last?"

he asked and the girl working the counter shrugged, looking to the other girl behind her.

"weatherman says it could get worse, it is tornado season after all. there isnt an official watch yet but that could change."

he nodded slowly.

"thanks."

he said, tapping the counter and turning to me with a wide smile across his face.

"dont give me that look."

i said. i knew exactly what he was thinking.

"oh come on, we could get everyone on the bus and go to the movies or something."

i couldnt help laughing a little at him.

"we were supposed to have a fun waterpark day."

i said as we made our way back over to the canopy.

"and we did, but the weather said its over."

i sighed, looking back over to where ryan and aj were and watching them approach us. i looked back to chris.

"fine, but only because they dont think its gonna get better any time soon."

he fist pumped the air.

"yes!"

"whats so exciting?"

aj asked, shaking his hair out like a dog as they joined us under the canopy. it was still pouring and was getting harder to hear over the rain hitting the roof.

"they said its not gonna stop any time soon, so what do you guys think of heading back to the bus and going to the movies or something?"

chris asked expectantly and they both shrugged, side nodding at the suggestion.

"do you think the other guys would be down with that?"

ryan asked. chris looked very hopeful, he didnt want to be here in the first place so going somewhere dry, dark, and requiring you to be fully clothed was definitely on his agenda.

"a guy can hope."

he said, elated.

"only one way to find out though. lets see if we can find the rest of them or at least head back to the locker rooms. if anything its a storm shelter so we'll be safe there either way."

the three of them nodded and we headed that way, each of us squinting and blinking quickly as the rush of rain came over us. when we hit the front of the park again the rest of the crew were there under the rooftop of the building, talking amongst themselves.

"look, guess we got lucky today after all."

i said as we reached them. vinny frowned at me.

"hey y/n, sorry about the weather but i guess you cant always win a day off huh."

i laughed a little bit.

"hey i got my two hours to shine, but there is a certain someone in our group that was wondering if, since this isnt supposed to let up anytime soon, if you guys wanted to load up and go see a movie or something nearby."

they all looked to chris as he nodded frantically.

"thoughts?"

he asked excited and a few of them laughed.

"i think we could swing that."

logan said, chris looking to me with a wide smile on his face.

"great, lets get changed then and get out of here."

he said, making us all laugh again, watching him walk into the locker room. i shook my head.

"so its settled then. ill go get changed and meet you guys back out here to leave."

they all nodded.

"i guess that means we have to agree on a movie now."

rick said in defeat and i couldnt help laughing to myself.

"doesnt it always?"

i said, sending him a look as i walked backwards to the door. he shook his head, smiling at me.

"of course it does."

#wattpad #x reader #miw #ricky horror #chris motionless #Ryan Sitkowski #justin morrow #vinny mauro #imagines #one shots #273

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