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cherryredstars · 8 months

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idc how good dom!miguel fics are, that man is a whole ass sub.

anyhooooooos, may i request rich sub!miguel wanting reader to step on him (literally) with the new red-bottoms he bought her before begging to munch on her. you can decide if reader grants him his request or not. maybe the heels weren’t enough of an apology for his workaholic self 👀

Pairing: Sub!Miguel x Femdom!Reader

Warnings: 18+, Smut with Some Plot, Degradation, Miguel Being Stepped On, Hair Pulling, Oral Sex (Fem. Receiving), Some Begging, Spit Play, Self-Edging, Face Sitting

Summary: Miguel is going to have to do more than give you gifts if he wants your forgiveness.

A/N: The way I SCREAMED when I read this request :))

Word Count: 2.1K (Barley Edited)

They were pretty, sure.

Iconic shiny black heels with rich red bottoms. They definitely cost a pretty penny, which Miguel had plenty of. He constantly had expensive gifts to spoil you with. Designer purses and dresses and thousand dollar shoes that only ever got worn a handful of times. He even bought you the shiny new penthouse that you sit in now, just watching him.

You sat on your expensive leather couch, another gift from your lovely boyfriend, boredly sipping from your wine glass as Miguel rests on his knees before you. His hold on your legs is gentle as he slips the new shoes onto your feet. The look on his face is one of pure devotion and admiration as he looks up at you. He kisses your ankle each time he puts on a shoe, mumbling his love and apologizes against your skin. The sight is cute, if not entirely pathetic.

He had come through your front door, a pretty bouquet of flowers in his hand with the recognizable Louboutin shopping bag clutched in the other. It was an apology for leaving your date early last week because he got called into HQ at the last minute. To say you were less than impressed was an understatement. Clearly the man didn’t know what a proper apology was. Good thing you’re always willing to teach him.

“Do you like them, mi vida?” Miguel mumbled against the skin of your calf. He peppered soft kisses to your skin, eyes practically looking up at you in a crave for approval.

All you did was let out a dismissive hum around the rim of your glass, “I would hardly call it an apology.”

The glass covered your pleased smirk as a look of desperation crossed Miguel’s face. He wanted to make it up to you, to make you happy. Happy with him. He needed you to be happy with him. His lips started to trail higher up your leg, hand coming up to push your silk slip higher up so he can kiss your thighs. He kissed and licked the skin, a pleading look in his eyes, “Please, please let me make it up to you.”

The words were a whisper and his position on your legs and his undertone wasn't lost on you. He said it in a tone he knew you liked. That pathetic whine that dripped with a crazed need. The voice you always cooed at and showered him in praise for.

“And ruin my leather couch? No, thanks.” You scoffed, bending your leg and pushing your heel into Miguel’s chest. With just enough power, you pushed him away from you, causing him to fall on his elbows on the floor.

You slowly got off the couch, standing over Miguel’s form as you downed the rest of your remaining wine. You lifted your foot again and placed it on his chest to keep him down. The heel dug into his chest and he grabbed your calf as you slightly grind your foot into it. Miguel looks up at you with dazed eyes, an expression of pure arousal flushing his face. You crouch down and your free hand clutches the hair at the back of his neck tightly. The tiniest whimper leaves Miguel’s mouth as you jerk his head forward so his ear is next to your mouth.

“You should see yourself, a pathetic excuse of a man begging for forgiveness. The leader of an elite society of heroes turned into a beggar at my feet. What a joke.” The words were a sarcastic chuckle that made Miguel moan slightly. God it was so hot when you looked down at him like this.

You let go of his hair, standing up again. You looked down at him for another minute before scoffing and turning away. Your quick dismissal of him makes Miguel gasp and scramble to get back onto his feet. He was a stumbling fool, trying to pick himself up off the ground in a hurry to follow after you like a puppy. “W-wait! Mi amor, wait!”

You ignore his protests as you set your empty glass on a nearby surface on your way to your bedroom. Miguel is right behind you, tripping over his feet as he chases you with stuttering words. When you reach your bedroom, you close the door right behind you, forcing Miguel to hold the door open so it doesn’t shut in his face.

“Mi tesoro, please.” He grunts, pushing the door open to find you sitting on the edge of your bed with a bored expression waiting for him. He quickly makes his way over, spreading your legs so he can kneel in between them. “Let me show you I’m sorry. Please, perdóname.”

You let out a soft sigh as you tilt your head to the side and stare down at him. He holds onto your calf again, head resting on your thigh as he stares up at you. Your hand comes up, caressing the side of his face gently. Miguel practically purrs at the loving gesture before your hand moves to his chin and grips it tightly.

You move his face off your thigh, holding it close to yours as you smile mockingly. “You’re so pathetic, Mig.”

“For you? Siempre.” Miguel responds automatically as he leans closer to mumble it against your lips. Your smile widens before you pull him into a kiss.

Miguel instantly moans and lets his hands travel up your legs to massage your thighs. He practically melts against you, basking in the taste of the sweet wine that remains on your lips. When you pull away, his eyes are glossy and sluggish. It’s as if he got drunk off your kiss and the aftertaste of wine. You stroke the side of his chin with your thumb in an attempt to pull him from his daze as you spread your thighs wider for him.

“You better make it good, Miguel. Open.” The last word is commanding and Miguel doesn’t hesitate to open his mouth. You lean down and spit in his mouth, “Swallow it.”

He happily obliged, swallowing it with a happy hum. His eyes drift down from your eyes to your spread legs. The pretty lace of your panties is in clear view from where he kneels and he lets out a soft whine at the damp spot on them. He looks back up at you, a desperate, pleading expression morphing his features. When you give him a silent nod, his face flashes into a smile like a kid being told he can get whatever toy he wants at the store.

“Thank you. Thank you, mi cielo.” He mumbles as he slides his hands under your slip to grasp the sides of your lace.

He pulls it down slowly from your legs, watching intently as it reveals your cunt. He bites his lip at the sight and lets out a shaky sigh as your panties are dropped down your legs. Once they’re off, you scoot up on the bed to lay on your back. Miguel instantly follows your body, leaning his elbows on the bed as he grabs your thighs to spread them open again. He doesn’t hesitate to bunch your nightgown up to your waist and bury his head in your glistening sweetness.

A satisfied sigh leaves your lips as your hands go to Miguel’s hair. His warm tongue licks you fervently, moaning into the skin as he drinks in your sweet juices. It’s sweeter than any bottle of wine money could possibly buy. His tongue circles your clit, sucking it into his mouth before releasing it to prod his tongue into your entrance.

A soft sigh is his reward as you lift your legs to rest your heel-clad feet on his shoulders to give him a better angle. When the heel digs into his skin through his button-up, Miguel lets out a desperate whine that causes your thighs to flex. His eyes travel up your body until they meet your own. His brows are furrowed in concentration, but his red eyes are brightened with enjoyment.

He’s a desperate man as he tightens his hold on your thighs and works his mouth against you. He moans at your moans, lets his tongue lick long strokes to gather as much of your arousal as possible. He’s enjoying this, finding an aching pleasure in the ability to feast on you. It’s too good, too heavenly. He lets out another whine as he closes his eyes and thrusts his cock into the bed with each lick he gives your pussy.

You’re close, both you and Miguel can feel it. Miguel hurries his licks and sucks harsher, moving to focus on your clit. He’s so desperate for you to cum on his face, because he knows that when you do, it means you’ve forgiven him. That, and he is impatient to swallow it all. But you haven't forgiven him yet, so you tug on his hair once again and pull his face away.

Miguel lets out a sound of protest, mumbling “No. No, no, no. Please.” while trying to fight your grip and bury his face back into your folds. He looks back up at you with sad eyes, small whines leaving his lips as if he were an injured dog. Meanwhile, you’re panting. You’re pussy throbbing at your own denial for release. You try to gain your breath before rasping out, “You haven’t earned my cum yet.”

Miguel lets out a desperate noise in response. He tries once again to suck your clit into his mouth, but your hold is unbreakable. You sit up then, legs now folded under you as you look down at his sticky face. “Get on the bed and lay on your back.”

Your instructions give him new life, knowing exactly where this is going. He quickly gets up and practically throws himself onto the bed. He lays patiently as you crawl over to him until you’re hovering above his face. His eyes fall to your pussy again and he groans in excitement. The tension grows as your thighs come to rest on either side of his head but make no move to lower yourself down. You’re hovering just high enough so Miguel can’t flick his tongue up to taste you. It makes Miguel squirm with impatience.

Right when he opens his mouth to start begging you to sit down, you drop onto his face. His gasp is suffocated against your pussy as he grabs onto your thighs. He closes his eyes instantly as he begins moving his tongue into your cunt, moaning when he feels your walls swell. Hurriedly, you take his hands and bring them up to your waist so your slip isn’t covering his face before you grab onto the headboard.

Miguel’s whine vibrates against your pussy lips and you begin bucking your hip into his mouth. His nose bumps against your swollen clit with every thrust, increasing your pleasure. Miguel finds his own pleasure in it, getting the ability to smell your honey-like slick. Miguel mumbles words against you, but the words are incoherent between your moans and him cutting himself off to lick and suck on you. When your peak builds again, you gasp and try to ride his face faster. One of your hands drop from the headboard to tangle in Miguel’s hair, causing him to moan in appreciation.

With a few more strong licks from his tongue, paired with your consistent thrusts, you cum. Miguel greedily moans and laps it all up, holding you still on his face as he swallows mouthful after mouthful of release and slick. His tongue working to ease it all out of you. All you can do is try to catch your breath as you throw your head back and move your hips in lazy bucks before lifting yourself off his face. It gives Miguel time to catch his own breath as he looks up at you with a ruined mouth and dilated eyes.

“What do you say Miguel?” You question as you remain hovered over him.

Miguel is still trying to catch his breath, chest heaving. He lets out deep breaths before he can barely reply with, “Thank you for letting me taste your pretty pussy.”

You sigh before humming in approval, pushing your hair out of your face as you get up off the bed. When you look further down the bed and Miguel’s body, you see Miguel’s cock straining painfully through his dress pants. You let out a breathless chuckle as you press down on it with your hand. Miguel instantly moans and you feel him twitch in your hand.

“Take care of this by yourself, I’m going to take a bath.” You dismiss while rotating your hand over his bulge before taking your hand off him completely and disappearing into your personal bathroom.

You leave Miguel on your bed, a glistening mess dripping down his face and an aching cock in need of attention. He can’t stop the whine that morphs into a satisfied smile as he throws his arm over his eyes.

At least he’s forgiven.

I wrote this the same day that I got the request, but I didn’t want to mess up my posting schedule, so I’m sorry it’s been a few days!!

#across the spiderverse #miguel o'hara #miguel o'hara x y/n #miguel ohara fanfiction #miguel ohara x you #miguel o’hara x reader #spiderman 2099 x reader #spiderman 2099 x you #across the spiderverse smut #atsv miguel #atsv smut #atsv fanfiction #miguel ohara x reader #miguel o'hara smut #spiderman 2099 #spiderman 2099 smut #cherry's requests🍒

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tomezatos · 1 year

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so like basically in the REIGEN manga tome tries so desperately to throw herself into the center of this literal Superhuman world she sees and play the role of the eager young protagonist and its so endearing but in the end reigen has to come clean and she can’t keep using the spiritual premise as a crutch. not because she was wrong to have her whimsical interests, but because the fantasy of specialness can often be an escape from the isolation a person feels due to being unable to live up to societal ideals of normalcy, and yet in the end the fantasy can itself end up feeding directly into the isolation by obscuring your view of the other people in your life. you cannot prioritize the idea of being unique or special alone and that is the reason that the power structures in the story (as represented by roshuuto in REIGEN) so frequently fail short; because actually EVERYONE is a Pathetic Freak Weirdo Nerd Loser, from the handsome, popular rich boy, to the pretentious Dark!Reigen foil who takes himself too seriously, to all of the mundane teenage girls who the audience is initially tricked into dismissing as shallow, but also by the same token EVERYONE deserves to be loved and feel supported.

because actually bonds with other people are the most important thing, and centrally this is also why REIGEN relies so heavily on bonds with others as something to create horror. the evil spirit mimics the voices of the ones you love and lures you in and when you’re at your most lost and scared and in need, that’s when you turn around and the face of the person you trust betrays you. tome only contracts the fatal curse in the first place because she cared about reigen and went back to make amends with him. because that’s the most horrifying, most terrifying thing, the thing that renders you absolutely helpless, isn’t it? it’s letting yourself rely on others and trust them to the point that it leaves you vulnerable, isn’t it? but you have to do it, if you want to achieve true connection then you can’t continue keeping up a veneer of Specialness and posturing as someone you’re not no matter how afraid you are of being seen as your true self. that’s the idea that really connects tome and reigen above all else. you have to be who you really are and you have to trust that you’ll be loved for it. and that’s horrifying! that’s an unimaginable, Forbidden terror! but it’s necessary.

and also I think it’s so clever how REIGEN conveys this by only bringing in shigeo kageyama, the protagonist and most recognizable character who the reader has so many preconceived notions of, in at the last moment as a terrifying ghost who is impersonating him. I mean also it’s partially because shigeo can easily be made to look scary lol, because let’s be real, he can be pretty goddamn scary /hj BUT MOSTLY it’s to have him in his uniform, in his most recognizable and iconic form that the reader will cling to, and then have it be blown away by the post-canon shigeo, the real shigeo, the shigeo who has grown and changed and is no longer stuck in the role he once was. because to be vulnerable with others you have to grow and change and do away with old pretenses and dynamics that you’ve become dependent on. it can be scary to stop playing roles after you’ve grown use to them for so long, but you don’t need them - your most honest self will be the most loved. and also I love how just like tome could tell that it was the real reigen bcause he immediately ran into a spiderweb and yelled, you can tell that it’s the real shigeo because he’s immediately rude as fuck and he and reigen literally instantly go into their mean pithy little affectionate banter lol ok sorry anyway.

and also because you cannot really be any more or less special than anyone else and you need bonds with others, it’s true both that you have to rely on other people, but also that you owe it to them to be kind. reigen is literally a normal person working in the spirit business, so he has to rely on other people with the necessary abilities, such as dimple the spirit and serizawa the psychic, yes, but he also does his part to take care of the people who matter to him. roshuuto is so focused on appearances and power - as shown by how he goes on and on about connections - but when it comes down to it, he was not willing to save others (leaving hoshido in Reliance), and so nobody bothered trying to save him in turn. he only abandoned, and was abandoned. this is shown most acutely in the end by how roshuuto “has no other option” but to pass his curse on to someone else to save himself, while reigen “has no other option” to take on a curse to save someone else. reigen and serizawa accepting their responsibility as adults to protect the children around them is an extension of the idea that you are equal to everyone and are obligated to be kind to your loved ones and recieve kindness in turn. anyway mutual trust and communication is all that matters and tome kurata is The protagonist of all time Sorry,

#reigen manga #mob psycho 100 #mp100 #mine #reigen spoilers #tome #reigen #shigeo #roshuuto #long post #REALLY LONG POST IM SO SORRY and its not even good analysis its just word vomit im #my dad bought me a copy of REIGEN for valentines and I reread it all in one sitting I feel stark raving mad rn

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enlightenedrobot · 4 months

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Concerning the Mouse

Disclaimer. This is a blog post. It's not an essay or legal advice or any of that. It's mostly a collection of thoughts. If you want something a little more well researched, might I suggest this post here. Anyways, let's talk about this lovable rat right here.

As of January 1st, 2024, Mickey Mouse, as depicted in Steamboat Willie, The Galloping Goncho, and Plane Crazy is in the public domain. Personally, I've been looking forward to this, and I've kinda taken it as a personal challenge to figure out how exactly I can reinterpret the mouse for my own projects. And I actually think I got it. But before that... let's talk about this.

I don't think the image above is safe.

It's true, Steamboat Willie is in the public domain, but Mickey Mouse is still protected by trademark law, and those frames and that get up specifically are still very much protected.

I can't be too sure about this, because both Infestation 88 (The Videogame) and Mickey's Mouse Trap (The Horror Movie) seem to use variations of this specific design, but like... those ears are probably still protected, as are those pants. This version of Mickey also lacks his iconic white gloves, but contrary to what other people might say, I don't think "old cartoon wearing white gloves" is something uniquely trademarkable to the Disney corporation.

So if you wanna play it safe, it might be a good idea to use other elements provided by these cartoons as the base for your own interpretation of the character.

This is the version of Mickey Mouse as depicted in the title card of Steamboat Willie, and like, there's a bit more to work with here. His pants have stripes not seen in other incarnations of the character, and he also has a pretty distinct hat and cane.

More notably, his eyes are actually very different from Modern Mickey. They're huge, and the pie eyes that everybody associates with this era of animation are actually pupils. Not the eyes by themself.

What's funny is that there's a definite resemblances between these eyes and those of Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic was apparently based on Mickey Mouse, so I'm not super surprised.

Those eyes in the title screen actually seem to be a holdover from Plane Crazy, where Mickey Mouse continues to have huge eyes. From that same cartoon, We also have Mickey Mouse deliberately messing up his hair to resemble the pilot Charles Lindbergh.

And like... it's cute. It's a look.

One thing I also keep seeing on social media is that Mickey Mouse has to be Black and White and he's not allowed to speak, because both Mickey's voice and his iconic red pants wouldn't be used until much later.

But like... you're allowed to build on these designs. Just because you can't color his shorts red doesn't mean you can't use color period. And using a different voice for the mouse is a very good way to differentiate your incarnation of the character from Disney's. This isn't legal advice, but I do believe you could get away with giving him a different colored outfit and, say, a deep souther accent ala Foghorn Leghorn.

Anyways, with all this in mind, allow me to introduce my own take on the character, Micheal Elias Mouse Jr. (Mike E. Mouse for short)

He's a former childstar, the son of the original Mickey Mouse, and an intellectual property lawyer with a dubious degree.

I intentionally made him rattier to make him more distinct, but don't let the smell of beef and cheese scare you off. This mouse might of been hit by hard times, but he still has a big heart, and deep down he's still the mouse we all know and love.

From a design standpoint, I tried my best to make the character recognizably mickey life while also changing up the original silhouette. Neither of the ears are perfect circles and one of them has a pretty significant bite taken out of it. The ratty hair and hat also help.

His gloves are yellow, inspired by various promotional materials for the original Steamboat Willie where Mickey dawns yellow gloves instead of the usual white. Further, I changed up the design of his shorts just because pushing the design that much further would help make this version of the character distinct from the Disney version.

If I'm not already protected by the public domain, I'm also protected by the fact that this character is obviously a parody. Middle aged dilf Mickey is not something Disney would never make, and the story I have in mind for him is more or less critical of the Disney corporation while still celebrating the artistry of the original cartoons and animation on the whole.

Anyways, Mickey Mouse entering the public domain is a big win for creatives everywhere, especially for fans of the original character. My interpretation isn't the only valid take on the character out there and I'm excited to see where everyone else goes now that the rat is free use.

#Mickey Mouse #Steamboat Willie #Public Domain #Plane Crazy #Mickey's Mouse Trap #Infestation 88 #Art #Fair Use #Creativity #Mickey #Cartoons #Animation

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the0retically · 2 months

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JRWI What If: Intergalactic Gameshow:

That was a wild ride and I adored it so so much here are my thoughts :)

- This is just friends being unhinged and playing D&D I adore this

- GRIZZ JUST CANONIZED CONNOR DYING TO THE RATS?????

- CHIP IS HERE AND A BABY???? AND 200 FEET TALL??

- “Her face shows disgust ‘Gillion I hate babies’” ICONIC LETS GO ASTER

- BABY JAY FERIN?????? JAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- This is utter insanity I love it

- God Gill is having Such a bad day he just cannot get out of this situation with baby Chip and baby Jay

- “IS THIS THE FAVOR NIKLAUS? IS THIS THE FAVOR?????” GILLION PLEASE

- I love the bit about Jesus and Vyncent sharing the whole story of the Bible

- Vyncent being able to see the others health bar??? That’s so cool what the heck

- Aster giving so much lore because Mythborne didn’t continue is so so fun

- :((((((( this trio is so sweet, I love them, they’re like the perfect group for this, they’re so fun

- They’re just unhinged

- MORE APPEAR EVERY TIME GILL GETS CAUGHT????

- :((( I miss the pretzel noises

- WAIT WHY ARE THEY JUST PLAYING CHESS??

- God I love aster and gill they’re friendship is so nice

- PRETZEL GOT A NAT 20 TO BEAT ASTER AT CHESS!!!!

- GILL WITH SANCTUARY IS SO GOOD!!! HES JUST THROWING RANDOM THINGS OUTSIDE NOW??

- Asters crying noooooooo it’s ok girl!! Chess isn’t everyone’s strong suit!

- I love the bit of Charlie lowering his volume and yelling to create the image of his characters doing chaos in the background

- Oh?? Charlie why do you want just a little bit left?? HAHHA HOLY SHIT HES BLASTING THE ROOMBAS INTO THE GOLD COUNTER

- ???? An mvp??

- “What’s squid game?” “It’s an undersea thing”

- Wait they’re talking about the voice and if it’s recognizable to any of them and Aster asking Gill if he knows any bastards that would do this and Gill giving a thought and saying Chip and Bizly just smiling, IS IT CHIP??

- “Actual psychopath interactions” yeah that sums up aster and gill

- OH?? People from their backstory’s in the audience!

- “How many chips in the audience? Just one” “ok didn’t know what type of hell this was”

- “Is Connor in the audience?” “No he’s dead, you can see his bofa shirt under the pile of rats staring at you” “I set the audience on fire”

- “…..the wet thorny people?? I’m still working on a team name” ok gill

- “We’re all banging and Aster” please??

- Oh these questions are starting out Rough

- Gillion just believing he’s in hell is actually so sad, he’s just Given up

- “Aster, do you wish you had more screen time?” “In this??” “In general” OH MY GOD????? BIZLY

- ASTER AND GILL TRYING TO PERSUADE BY ACTING CUTE PLEASE??

- I miss Aster :( she’s amazing Mythborne come back pleaseeee

- He’s just putting the roomba in the briefcase??? GILL PLEASE

- “‘I love big prizes’ and she slams big” ASTER, god they’re probably building a monster to fight and Aster is building a big fast dumb and ugly?? creature

- “Oh my god did we just create Jesus Christ??” VYNCENT PLEASE

- LETS GO ASTER!! THAT TRANSFORMATION IS SO COOL

- “Up next will be this creature” “oh no!” Charlie has such bad luck with this

- Aster is cracked she’s so cool

- :((((((( I miss Gillion :((((

- Gill and Vyncent debating the trolly problem mid fight is So them I love it

- 16 out of 40??????? Vyncent oh no

- HOLD PERSON LETS GOOOOOO ASTER

- The flavor of all of their attacks is amazing

- The JRWI theme coming in for this team attack is PERFECT!!!!! I love this podcast so much :)

- The glitching…….bebo what’s that about

- :(( “see you in 5” they’re not seeing each other again but I love their friendship so much

- This goodbye is gonna make me cry??? I love it so much, it’s just so sweet, that trio is amazing and I love how immediately they were friends with each other

- “Thanks for playing” BIZLY IM GONNA CRY

- This was so sweet and amazing

- VYNCENT :(((((( AND TIDE IS HELPING WITH HIS HOMEWORK

- this was so so so sweet

- every pc in the campaigns is the epitome of “do you think we’re friends in every universe?” “I’d like to think so” because they are, they’re always going to be friends no matter what universe they’re in and who they are

- PLEASE MORE WHAT IFS WITH A MISMATCHED PARTY THIS WAS AMAZING!! :)!!!!

#jrwi #jrwi thoughts #jrwi what if #gillion tidestrider #aster aeliana #vyncent sol

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where-fading-princesses-live · 10 months

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Finally got around to watching Being the Recardos on Amazon Prime after procrastinating for months... ugh, why do I torture myself? I knew it was going to be God-awful.

I generally hate biopics. It’s just too hard to cram an entire person’s life in 2 hours. I much prefer to read a biography or memoir which offers deeper insight and can be thorough and detailed or watch a doc. Real stories are always more interesting than dramatizations. That being said, my main issue was with the casting. I just couldn’t see Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem disappear into the roles of Lucy and Desi. They looked NOTHING like them. I will give props to Kidman to at least nailing Lucy’s voice, but otherwise, her hair and makeup was atrocious and did not embody Lucy at all (it looks better on the obviously photoshopped poster, trust me... it looks like utter sh- in the movie). I generally like Bardem but he was miscast as Desi. So he’s got an accent so what? A guy who was shorter and didn’t speak in a deep baritone would have been a better choice. I would have preferred unknowns in these parts. When you use A-list actors who are supposed to be representing Icons, it’s hard to see them as the people they’re meant to be portraying because they’re too recognizable themselves.

I also had issues with the actress playing Vivan Vance as well (too lazy to look up her name). She was about the right age as Viv maybe a couple years younger but much too thin and pretty. Viv was an attractive woman when she wasn’t playing Ethel (they always made her look frumpy and older than she was irl) but you have to keep in mind she wasn’t a pin-up girl, either and she wasn’t old but she wasn’t that young either. She was 42 albeit classy but still... the hair was all wrong and I just couldn't see her as Vivian. In fact, after comparing their pictures side by side I think Vivian was much more glamorous but she wasn’t supposed to look that glamorous as Ethel... they let Ethel be glammed up in the later episodes and this was an issue that cropped up in the movie but still. The actress didn’t even try to do her voice and sounded nothing like Vivian so she just didn’t do it for me. The only actor that completely fit his part was JK Simmons as William Frawley. Maybe he was thinner than Frawley but he got the voice and mannerisms down pat that if I closed my eyes I could totally see Frawley speaking. Now if only the rest of the cast was as good as he was, the movie would have been at least partly bearable.

I gather this movie was intended to be a low budget TV movie because that’s exactly what it felt like. No effort put into it all because it went direct to streaming.

Also there were so many historical inaccuracies, too many to list off but purist Lucy fans would spot the inconsistencies from a mile away (the most glaring issue was how Lucy and Desi met on the set of Too Many Girls in 1940).

Honestly... the costume department couldn’t have done a worse job...

Was this supposed to be Lucy’s natural brunette hair? Cause no.... no it’s not.

Sorry but Kidman just couldn’t capture her beauty at all...

The Communist speech was also really cheesy... the audience reactions could not be more forced and you can tell when they were told to gasp and look shocked. If Desi’s speech was staged for the cameras I could forgive the forced reactions but it was not staged and the audience irl was not expecting Desi’s speech. If you look up the actual address Desi gave to the studio audience it was much less dramatic and easier to suspend one’s disbelief.

The film offered nothing new either... in fact the crappy 1991 TV movie Before the Laughter did a more entertaining job of capturing Lucy and Desi’s rocky marriage than this movie did. I didn’t care for Maurice Benard as Desi but Frances Fisher KILLED it as Lucy. It was not a great movie by any means but I’d rather watch that one any day over this hot mess.

The only thing I can say that was positive was that it was a wise choice to zero in on a single week of filming the I Love Lucy show as opposed to showing their entire lives and careers. we see parts of that but there was too much to show in 2 hours so focusing on a single moment in their lives and what led up to that was for the best so that it didn’t feel too rushed. Biopics work best when you’re focusing on just one thing. But that being said the movie still fell flat on its character development and there was no emotional connection to Lucy and Desi at all. In 2 hours I felt like I still didn’t really know who these people were. It was a very surface level movie with no real deep commentary or themes or anything. I also hated the fake interviews with the writers as the movie’s opening it was very weak and cliche. They were trying to push this movie as a docu drama but it wasn’t. It was just another bad dramatization of two Hollywood Legends with no new insight.

But then I didn’t really expect it to be a good movie so can’t say it met my expectations or really disappointed me because I had none going in.

I’m definitely going to watch the far more superior documentary Lucy and Desi directed by Amy Poehler. Docs are always 10000x better than crappy biopics.

#personal shit #films #i love lucy #lucille ball #desi arnaz #classic #vintage #1940s #1950s

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beyonddarkness · 1 year

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Yes.

We set some essential groundwork in the first three chapters.

Let us approach Sauron’s ultimate question and finally delve into the meat of this whole thing.

Sauron is Evil.

Galadriel: “One cannot satisfy thirst by drinking seawater.” Sauron: “Then what is it?”

“Why do you keep fighting?”

He knows exactly why Galadriel keeps fighting, and wants her to stop galloping for a moment, realize what has kept her fighting for centuries, and admit the truth. He has already given her the answer to this question several times. Does she keep fighting to avenge her brother, and everyone else she has lost? No. Then, what fuels her obsession?

Recall the showrunners’ statements.

1) Sauron sees Galadriel, and “knows that what she needs more than anything else is to find the evil that has plagued her for so long, and save Middle-earth. So, he self-styles himself as the person that she will trust” (JD Payne, TROP Podcast). When does he ‘self-style’ himself as Halbrand? Before they meet on the raft. In order for it to be a possibility that he did it specifically to make Galadriel trust him, he would have to be aware of her existence before the raft.

2) “Did she jump off the boat because she sensed Halbrand nearby?” (JD Payne, TROP Podcast).

3) “Is her obsession (which character after character in the show tells her is not a good thing)—Is he CALLING her to him?” (Patrick McKay, TROP Podcast).

Let us set this in stone, once and for all. I am 100% certain of this:

Sauron Called Galadriel to Him

“I strove to create a unique interval between each theme’s first and second note. If each major theme had a unique first interval, listeners would be able to identify that theme in only two notes, the smallest amount of musical information possible. This would be an exercise in efficiency! The more iconic I hoped a theme would be, the rarer should be its opening interval. […]

“Each of these themes has a unique quality in sound and tone, but by beginning with a distinct first interval, they all become instantly recognizable in a matter of seconds.” Bear McCreary, Bear’s Blog

On The Boat [0:07 in the clip below], a tiny voice echoes the first two notes of Sauron’s theme (the “sinister downward third,” as Bear puts it):

Here is what that exact voice sounds like in all its glory: ["Nampat burzum-ank."] Death into darkness.

I was genuinely disturbed when I saw where it was placed in episode 1 …

The little voice is Sauron himself, calling from afar. Galadriel (in a trance) is immediately pulled back by his lure. Thondir, who sincerely cares for Galadriel’s well-being, notices that something is horribly wrong, and desperately calls BACK to her, as if to counter the pull, and snap her out of whatever trance she is in. He knows that this is not normal. Someone is ‘tapping into the powers of the Unseen World.’

In the end, the voice is no longer a distant cry, but is at full-strength. Sauron tries to twist the motives of Galadriel’s friends, in order to make her believe that everyone else would hold her back. “All others look on you with doubt.” This directly calls back to Thondir, who (as Sauron might put it) mutinied against her and tried to drag her off to Valinor. Thus, we see his cunning.

Sauron vs. Thondir (and/or the Valar)

That small voice is not the only time Sauron sings.

"[…] in after years [Sauron] rose like a shadow of Morgoth and a ghost of his malice, and walked behind him on the same ruinous path down into the Void." The Silmarillion: Valaquenta

Thondir and Sauron have a contest. From the first ‘yoo-hoo’ to Galadriel, to the sudden cut-off in the music, there are many instruments and voices competing against one another. Meanwhile, Galadriel is disoriented (one indication being the morphing of Thondir’s voice, like she’s underwater).

Thondir is one who knew that Galadriel’s obsession was not a good thing. Galadriel. Give me your hand, he says anxiously. He knows that whatever is happening is so dire, that he has to guide her by the hand in order to ensure her safety.

That is why he panics in the end. All others on the boat are already immersed in the light, seemingly unaware of anything else around them. In a desperate attempt to save Galadriel from peril, Thondir calls her name once more, and is the last one to look forward; but his arm is still stretched out to her.

All the while, Sauron pulls back on Galadriel. No, come to ME! he says in earnest, somehow more alluring and inviting. He says some other things, too, but we will discuss that in a few moments.

The music alone sounds like a type or version of the contest between Ilúvatar and Melkor [Morgoth], in the Ainulindalë. It is ‘A Shadow of the Past’, one might say. The entire story applies, but for now, let us focus on the end—

Ilúvatar’s music: “Deep and wide and beautiful, but slow and blended with an immeasurable sorrow, from which its beauty chiefly came.”

Melkor’s music: “Loud, and vain, and endlessly repeated; and it had little harmony, but rather a clamorous unison as of many trumpets braying upon a few notes. And it essayed to drown the other music by the violence of its voice.” [bray: to speak or laugh loudly and harshly.]

"[…] but it seemed that its most triumphant notes were taken by the other and woven into its own solemn pattern." The Silmarillion: Ainulindalë [Whether on purpose, or by accident, this is exactly what we hear in this music.]

Let us solidify the music in our minds, before watching the video. Just before the battle commences, there is a continuous, confusing stream of voices in the background, as if to clutter Galadriel’s mind, and it does not stop.

The clip below begins as the birds fly from Valinor through the clouds (which reminds me of the beginning of the Ainulindalë), and ends with Galadriel leaping from the ship.

“I hear it said that when you cross over, you hear a song. One whose memory we all carry. And you are immersed in a light more intoxicating than any sensation in all of Middle-earth.” -Elrond

Lyrics from Bear's Blog: The Lord of the Rings: 101

0:00 - ["Mélamar, eldamar, kene kala lessen."] Home, Elvenhome, light us-in.

0:12 - ["Yánalva fanyamar; Yo hapan lirilve."] Our holy place, cloud home and as one we sing, as one.

0:27 - ["Lennar, tul'valme; Entula lumequentalelmo."] We will come to you; returning upon the hour.

1:04 - ["Mélamar, eldamar, kene kala … "] Home, Elvenhome, light us-in.

1:17 – [" ... lessen."] Galadriel looks back at the dagger. Sauron begins tapping into the powers of the Unseen World.

1:19 – "Do you know why a ship floats …"

1:24 – ” … and a stone cannot?”

1:30 – Gil-galad, Elrond, and Celebrimbor witness the Stranger soar across the sky. “Means [Sauron’s] time is near.” – Waldreg (1×04). 1:46 – Sinister downward third. 1:55 – Galadriel momentarily snaps out of her trance. 1:57 – Cluttering voices begin and worsen until the end. 2:04 – Sauron calls for Galadriel; Galadriel is immediately pulled back towards the dagger. 2:08 – The Battle begins.

2:13 – “Galadriel!”

[sinister downward third]

2:30 – “Give me your hand.”

2:42 – Sauron’s horns blare to drown out Thondir. Galadriel looks back at the sounds of said horns.

2:45 – ” … the lights shine just as brightly reflected in the water as they do in the sky.”

2:49 – Sauron’s horns fight against the strings.

2:51 – “How am I to know which lights to follow?”

2:55 – ["Etsir … "] Near … “Sometimes we cannot know until we have touched the darkness.”

3:02 – [" … amna, vanyalyë."] … the rivermouth, you depart. Sauron’s ostinato accompanies Galadriel’s theme, as she decides to touch the darkness again. Sauron is now SCREAMING: “Come to me!”

3:15 – ["Sirya tumne lisse- … "] Flow deep by your grace. Thondir: “GALADRIEL!”

3:22 – [" … -lyanen. Namárië!] Farewell. (Go towards goodness.)

3:36 –

"In the midst of this strife, whereat the halls of Ilúvatar shook and a tremor ran out into the silences yet unmoved, Ilúvatar arose a third time, and his face was terrible to behold. Then he raised up both his hands, and in one chord, deeper than the Abyss, higher than the Firmament, piercing as the light of the eye of Ilúvatar, the Music ceased.” The Silmarillion: Ainulindalë

The pull that Sauron had on Galadriel must have been incredibly powerful, in order for her to reject the light of her home, right on its doorstep.

So, here’s the clip. Notice Galadriel’s peculiar attachment to the dagger. Even Thondir knows that something is incredibly wrong with the way she cleaves to it. He is relieved when she lets go: Whew! Okay. Everything’s fine, or so he thinks (his concern breaks my heart).

What did Sauron say to her?

Galadriel is not bound by an oath, as she believes (see Chapters 2 and 3). When Sauron infiltrates her mind in episode 8, he tells her (in a horrifically convincing manner) what she believes; but it was not the first time.

Galadriel: “No penance could ever erase the evil you have done.”

Sauron: “That is not what you believe.” Galadriel: “Do not tell me what I believe!” Sauron: “No.”

Sauron was the reason Galadriel leapt from the ship, but she is not lying when she tells Elrond this:

“I leapt from that ship because I believed in my heart I was not yet worthy of it. I knew that somehow, my task here was not yet complete.”

This is what Sauron wanted her to believe, so he planted it to push her closer to what will get him what he wants. One might say that Sauron thinks that what Galadriel needs more than anything is to find him and save Middle-earth. However, he does not care about anyone but himself; it is for his own gain.

“[…] W.H. Auden wrote an essay on Tolkien, and he said something along the lines of, “Evil loves only itself.” [“Evil, defiantly chosen, can no longer imagine anything but itself.”] So I think in his pitch to Galadriel, it cannot mean that he loves her or that there’s any kind of romantic relationship. There should be no ambiguity around the fact that Sauron is evil—he’s terrible, and he’s using Galadriel to enhance his power.” Charlie Vickers, The New York Times

Utilizing songs of power (with which he defeated her brother in a contest), the Master of Deceit calls to her, in order to convince her to leap from the ship, saying: You will not be worthy of a glorious rest until you fulfill the task to which you are bound. Find me, so that together, we can save this Middle-earth.

Here is the silver lining:

'[…] And thou, Melkor, shalt see that no theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in my despite. For he that attempteth this shall prove but mine instrument in the devising of things more wonderful, which he himself hath not imagined.' The Silmarillion: Ainulindalë

The Epic Cue

Here is my personal opinion: I have come to the tentative conclusion that The Epic Cue has something to do with victoriously tapping into the powers of the Unseen World, at a perilous cost.

Instead of the [G#, A], I am specifically talking about the [D, C#, A], indicated by the timestamps before each clip below. The perilous results of tapping into said powers, in each instance, are shown in the pictures associated.

In the case of The Boat, it was not Galadriel tapping into the powers of the Unseen World, but rather Sauron himself, as established above. He coaxed Galadriel to leap from the ship, in order to pursue a perilous path. He wins. “Sometimes the perilous path is the only path” (Galadriel 1×08).

0:06

There is something to be said about Sauron ‘having the mastery,’ as it says in The Silmarillion.

"[…] Felagund strove with Sauron in songs of power, and the power of the King was very great; but Sauron had the mastery […]" The Silmarillion: Of Beren and Lúthien

In the beginning of the season, he is rebuilding his power, but knows much more about these things than the Stranger does at this point (who uses them instinctively). So, the Stranger’s cue is short-lived (playing over seemingly smaller stakes), while Sauron’s is mightier (involving higher stakes).

The Stranger taps into these powers at a cost, when he saves Nori, Poppy, and Malva from the three wolves.

Might I add that in both of these instances (the boat and the wolves) the ones using these powers are the only two known Maiar in the world.

Again, I am focusing on the [D, C#, A].

0:04

The next instance is a bit scary. Oh, sure, it is victorious, but not for anyone except Sauron. Depending on your loyalties, it could qualify as a perilous result.

If you are wondering what Sauron did this time, tapping into those powers, look no further than the title of the track in which this cue is found (taken from Episode 6): Transformed by Darkness. The track begins with the scene in the barn (which can fill up an entire chapter by itself, but we shan’t get distracted yet), where Adar says, “It would seem I’m not the only Elf alive who’s been transformed by darkness,” and ends with Theo’s dilemma (not an accident).

"When he saw that many [of the Noldor] leaned towards him, Melkor would often walk among them, and amid his fair words others were woven, so subtly that many who heard them believed in recollection that they arose from their own thought." The Silmarillion: Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor

The track includes the log conversation, where Galadriel tells Sauron to be free of whatever he’d done before, and that she felt the same thing he felt (after the ‘bind it to my very being’ stunt).

"[…] But there’s also a good case to be made that every step of the way, he sees her as his ticket back to power, and he’s playing hard-to-get to get her to dig in; to get her to do what he needs her to do.” Patrick McKay, TROP Podcast

He carefully crafted the words and ‘songs’ that he used, so Galadriel would trust him. This led her to say exactly what he wanted her to say: “I felt it, too.” All of this he could use as leverage in the end.

It is the same Epic Cue, as featured above, just shifted up a half-step, from [D, C#, A] to [E♭, D, B♭].

Behold his costly victory:

** Reached the daily Audio Limit with this post, so go to the blog to read and listen to the rest! **

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magentagalaxies · 3 months

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the last post i reblogged just reminded me of a nerdy kith thing i noticed last time i did a rewatch which led to a question i'm wondering if anyone has the answer to

so basically. mark mckinney's iconic character nina. she's one of that special class of kith recurring characters who aren't really defined by one gimmick and are instead placed into so many scenes that you might not even realize they're all her but it makes the world feel more real that nina could just show up in the background

off the top of my head, nina (referred to by name and with a similar appearance) appears in the following sketches/series of sketches: joymakers (first appearance), comfortable (2 sketches), as a newscaster (several sketches), and go for guilt (i forgot this was nina but it is the same name/appearance/voice/etc.)

however, in comfortable nina is implied to be in a relationship with bram (scott's character), she refers to him as "honey", they are possibly married. however, in "go for guilt" nina is going on a date with bruce's character. this sketch airs after comfortable continuity-wise (and possibly before comfortable high? will have to double check)

so i'm like. did nina break up with bram, date bruce's character, and then get back together with bram before comfortable high??? did nina cheat on bram??? is "go for guilt" actually a flashback to a younger nina???? or does none of this actually matter bc nina was just a recognizable character voice mark could put on and it's a sketch show they weren't trying to do an overarching story

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agoddamn · 1 year

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Finally got into the Engage groove. Sat down and went from 10 to 15.

Something about MC's "I can't do this without you!" at the Emblems is really funny. Big waifufag energy.

Again, another point where I wish the Emblems were original characters. You could actually do something interesting with Alear having some kinda mildly codependent relationship with the Emblems in spite of them not being truly alive if they weren't cool iconic FE characters that need to be objectively good and admirable at all times.

Heck, you could address the unsettling idea of the Emblems not being truly alive in the first place! They identify themselves as Emblem Name, which means even they see themselves as a derivative. Are they trapped in a hell of undeath, watching everyone around them age and die? Do they still feel the human need for interaction? They get used as weapons against their consent-- isn't that an awful existence? Why would they want to become an Emblem in the first place? They're like the cookies from Black Mirror...nightmarish.

Interesting characterization glimmer from Alcryst. His boss convo with his dad has him saying that he wants to be the one to kill dad in order to spare Diamant having to do it. Damn, son

The sad piano music on the retreat chapter is nice.

I don't get why localization did that with the shitenno names...they're supposed to be colors. Mauvier and Griss are recognizably colors, but the girls are weird. Zephia = Sepia, Marni = Maroon (or maybe Marron, the French version).

Fogado feels like the character the fandom wanted Claude to be lmao

Also not sure why they renamed his sister? She's Misteria in Japanese, the siblings are fog and mist, that's the joke.

...dragon badguy kinda sexy. Forehead clit is a turnoff though

I like how Hortensia wigs out thinking Ivy is dead and everyone just chooses not to correct her

Kingdom 1's name theme is French, 2 is rocks, 3 is flowers, and 4 is...not sure, actually. Jp had the fog/mist thing, but English...

MERRIN IS MY WIFE

Oh, the gay bandits again. Wait...do they both call one another little brother in their death lines??

Solm palace is very pretty. Easily the nicest-looking castle interior

RIP to whatever localizer got handed Fogado's fratboy retainer lmao there are plenty of things I'll drag the localization on, but the party peep lingo is so bizarre to translate. I won't even touch it. They did their best with that shit

Kagetsu has gotten str level after str level. He's terrifying. Complete animal.

Kagetsu and Zelkov feel like weird AU cousins of Odin and Zero...Koyasu voicing Kagetsu only hammers this vibe home even harder

Starting to suffer on supports. As of chapter 15, MC doesn't have one B support. They took away support-building on the enemy phase and two-space supporting, which makes it a massive pain in the ass to get support points. I've been doing arena and cafe after every battle, too! Squeezing as many support points as possible outta this, but it still ain't much

Reclassing ends up being kind of an odd beast thanks to how Emblem-dependant it is. Losing your initial batch of Emblems takes away your ability to spread weapon proficiencies around, which hobbles your ability to reclass for several chapters. Compounding that, it's a good while before you can buy Second Seals, and money is very tight. If you have a unit who starts off in a class not suited to their growths (Jean, Clanne) they're kinda just fucked. What's the point of designing a system with so much flexibility only to take away your ability to use it for most of the game? I would have preferred the system be more stripped-down and actually usable.

Goddamn, do I feel the money crunch. Buying gifts? In THIS economy?

#boots plays fe17

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helldustedstories · 13 days

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Moxxie has Opinions about most of A.ndrew L.loyd Webber's shows.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat -- He has most of the Coat of Many Colours memorized. It gets stuck in his head. "Close Every Door" is another good song, but overall, this one is kind of middling. Would he still go to see it if given the chance? Absolutely.

Jesus Christ Superstar -- Honestly? Kind of overrated. There are only a couple of songs that are super recognizable, and while that's not a requirement of a good musical, it's one that's hard to just sing along to and have fun with. Still, it's an interesting take on the story, but not his favourite of his work.

Evita -- There are some iconic songs in Evita, and if it's done right, it can be visually stunning. He likes both the original recording with M.andy P.atinkin and P.atti L.upone because they're iconic, as well as the version with A.ntonino B.anderas and M.adonna. Not his favourite, but it definitely has its time and place.

Tell Me On a Sunday / Song and Dance -- Other than the titular song and "Take That Look Off Your Face," this one is kind of forgettable. It might be better viewed in person, but it's not a fave.

Cats -- Okay, so Moxxie will be the first to admit that he probably shouldn't have suggested that Blitz start with Cats. It's one of those musicals that kind of grows on you the more you experience it, whether that's hearing it, seeing it live, or performing in it. (Sidenote for this one: Moxxie would love to be IN Cats.) It's pretty high up on his list, though it's one of those "wait no, you don't understand; let me explain the thought behind it" sort of things.

Starlight Express -- Honestly, part of the appeal of this one is the fact that the actors are on roller skates. But the fact that it tells the story of sentient trains makes it up there in the weirdness scale. Probably even weirder than Cats.

The Phantom of the Opera -- And here we have Moxxie's all-time favourite. He loves the story, the music, the spectacle. There is not anything about this show that Moxxie does not love. If he wants to be in Cats, he is desperate to be in Phantom. It almost doesn't matter what role, as long as he gets to participate. (He already knows he'll never be able to play Christine, which broke his heart when he first came to terms with that fact.)

Aspects of Love -- This is one of those shows that has some good tracks ("Love Changes Everything" and "Anything But Lonely" come to mind), but some of the subject matter is pretty uncomfortable, considering several of the 'love interests' are seventeen and fourteen, respectively, while the other person is a full-ass adult.

Sunset Boulevard -- A lesser-known gem, honestly. (Even if P.atti L.upone was 100% in the right to sue.) It tells a complete story, unlike a lot of his other musicals (probably partly because it was based on a film), and it has some good music. It's also one of A.LW's few musicals to star a mezzo-soprano, so it gets points for that, too.

Love Never Dies -- Oh boy, okay. This show is a hot mess. For starters, in the original cast recording R.aoul's voice is better than the P.hantom's, which really shouldn't happen. But the whole thing shouldn't exist. It completely ignores the ending of the original, bastardizes characters, and makes a mockery of the original. Yes, okay, some of the songs are pretty damn catchy ("Beauty Underneath," "Devil Take the Hindmost," and "Why Does She Love Me?" are the standouts to Moxxie), but A.LW's cat had the right idea in trying to delete the whole thing, to keep it from completion.

Cinderella -- Originally, when Moxxie heard that there was a new adaptation of Cinderella, he wasn't sure it was needed. But when he heard it was by A.ndrew L.loyd W.ebber, he had to check it out. And he's honestly glad he did. Sure, it's not the best show, but it's fun. (And the young woman who plays the title role in the original recording sounds a little like Stolas' kid...., or that could just be his imagination. Maybe it's just the accent.) The B.roadway version, though...., seems like it was a mess. And the cast and crew deserved better than what they got.

#🎼 moxxie : headcanon #[yes I did relisten to most of these for this list]#[I love Moxxie and how much of a musical theatre nerd he is]#[after my own heart]#[and he's the ingenue in his own heart since he can't be on the stage]#[I know it's C.arrie H.ope F.letcher in Cinderella and not Barrett but they have similar sounds with the accent]#✎ helldustedstories : queue

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thecraftymusician · 1 year

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SPOILER FOR TF EARTHSPARK AGAIN BECAUSE OOOOOOOOOOOOOH WE GOTTA TALK.

Ok so now that we’re here, we all caught the cameo at the end of the Soundwave episode right? We all heard that iconic cackle, we all saw the Boi ™️, the Bastard himself? If you missed it, Steve Blum is back as Starscream (who he voiced for TF Prime) and he’s iconic without even saying a word. Now I could be wrong, but I believe that makes him the only veteran TF VA reprising a role so far for Earthspark.

But THEN! Then then then! I noticed something last night on a rewatch. Mr. Smelt, the music teacher obsessively going outside to check his dating app, is voiced by none other than Daran Norris. Famously, TFP Knockout! This could be just the fact that Norris is a talented voice actor with an awesome background BUT it seems a little strange to have his voice be so recognizably KNOCKOUT right before the episode where hear Blum reprising Starscream, especially since these VA’s are from the same continuity (aligned/TFP).

Soooooo put on your tinfoil hats, folks! Earthspark has dipped into a lot of the comic concepts so far, specifically for things like Arcee’s barely contained murderous rage and everything about Megatron. Soooooooooo what if the next part to carry over is holomatter avatars?

It seems too specific a callback to have the VA recognizably sound like Knockout as a performing arts teacher who we really didn’t need to see as much of as we did. Why on earth was this one teacher shown so thoroughly to us over the course of the episode AND a veteran TF VA if not as an Easter egg? Especially since the matching Starscream VA is CONFIRMED to be reprising his role!

Now that I’ve proven myself insane, I’ll see myself out, but PLEASE let me know what y’all think. Holomatter? A possibility? Too insane?

#spoilers #tf earthspark #Earthspark #macaddam #transformers #theory #tinfoil hat not included

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crusherthedoctor · 11 months

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🎙️ Favorite Sonic Voice Actor?🧸 Favorite plush/piece of merch?🎨 Favorite Sonic Artist?✍️ Favorite fanfiction?

🎙️ Favourite Sonic Voice Actor?

Sonic: For English anyway, Jason Griffith post-Secret Rings.

Tails: Colleen O'Shaughnessey.

Knuckles: Scott Dreier.

Amy: Tied between Jennifer Douillard and post-Lost World Cindy Robinson... when the latter is allowed to emote beyond sounding like she doesn't want to be there. *coughFrontierscough*

Shadow: David Humphrey.

Rouge: Lani Minella.

Cream: Michelle Ruff.

Eggman: My four horsemen of the Egg-pocalypse are Mike Pollock, Deem Bristow, Long John Baldry, and Jim Carrey. I love them all equally. (I know the latter doesn't count as a voice actor for the doctor per say, but shhh.)

Mr. Principles: someone from Mega Man X idk (this joke was sponsored by @beevean)

🧸 Favourite plush/piece of merch?

The merch I've received from @greenyvertekins and @skaruresonic :>

🎨 Favourite Sonic Artist?

(I assume this ask refers to official artists.)

The iconic and ever so recognizable style of Yuji Uekawa will always appeal to me. Doesn't matter which character it is or what they're doing, there's always a charm to it. I'll always love his work on the series.

On that note, it annoys me how a growing number of people have said that Uekawa's style is boring just because Sonic doesn't twist his limbs like they're jelly anymore. Or because he bothers to draw the characters with some dignity instead of giving them one "I just shat myself, and I liked it" face after another, as per the current standard with Yardley, Stanley and ABT.

✍️ Favourite fanfiction?

Well I don't mean to be biased but... *motions towards my friends' fics*

Outside of them... look, there are good ones out there, make no mistake, but it's been such an awfully long time since I've seen a good one outside of my friends' circle that it's partly what inspired me to pull a Thanos and go "Fine, I'll do it myself" in the first place. Because life is suffering when you're an Eggman fan who cares about whether Eggman is acting like Eggman and doing things that Eggman would be expected to do if he were truly Eggman.

#Crusher's Asks #Opinion #Sonic the Hedgehog #Miles Tails Prower #Amy Rose #Knuckles the Echidna #Shadow the Hedgehog #Rouge the Bat #Cream the Rabbit #Dr. Eggman

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bridoesotherjunk · 2 years

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I hate seeing posts from people like ""Well of course a movie has to have big celebs voicing the animated characters, otherwise there's no hype and no one will see them"" when talking about things like the fucking Mario movie and Sonic the Hedgehog movies --- are you fucking INSANE??? It's MARIO and SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

those are the two MOST recognizable and well-known videogame characters IN THE WORLD. People are gonna go see movies about them regardless of who voices them. They're pop culture icons, you're out of your god damn mind.

Mario and Sonic have been around for over 30 years. Adults and children alike know who they are.

#sonic #mario #movies #the mario movie #sonic the movie #sonic the hedgehog #mario and luigi #you're insane

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shoechoe · 6 months

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can I hear your thoughts on Billy West vs Horvitz . 2!

Absolutely. (This is a bit long, so it's under a cut.)

So, in the 1999 unaired pilot episode for Invader ZIM, Billy West was the voice actor for ZIM instead of Horvitz. He is the only voice for a major character in the pilot that was recast; the reasoning for this stated by Jhonen Vasquez was because, seeing as West was also voicing the protagonist of another popular airing science fiction cartoon (Fry from Futurama), his voice would've been "too recognizable".

The plot of the pilot is about ZIM and Dib having a food fight in the cafeteria after Dib finds out ZIM is allergic to Earth food; the show doesn't really have episodes anything like this. Jhonen expressed dislike of this plot, saying he found it excessively childish. I find one thing that makes ZIM so tonally interesting is that it is, in a lot of ways, very childish and very edgy simultaneously- the pilot feels like it's just getting a grip on how it wants to feel and come across in this regard. One way you can see this, I think, is with West's portrayal of ZIM.

(The DVD commentary for the pilot can be listened to here. In it, Jhonen also says that Mark Hamill was tried as a voice for ZIM- I wish there was a publicly existing recording of that, to be honest.)

The entire pilot is uploaded to YouTube here, but here's the relevant portions (ZIM's voice):

The main thing I find interesting is that Horvitz and West each emphasize different parts of ZIM's character. With Horvitz, ZIM's voice is loud, high-pitched, energetic, immature, and often theatrical, evoking a lot of other popular high-energy cartoon villains and exaggerating his silliness. This is one of ZIM's iconic characteristics, but it took a while for him to get there in the development process. In the DVD commentary for episode one, Horvitz talks about how they tried out a lot of different (honestly cursed) voices for ZIM before they settled on the show's. (Here it is on Internet Archive.)

The immediate thing that strikes me about West's ZIM performance is that it's rough and somewhat inconsistent. He will go from this medium-pitched speaking voice with an odd "alien" cadence to outright strange inflections; he makes these high-pitched shrieks and squeals or low, strangled yells, and sometimes goes into a falsetto, but starkly unlike the high pitch that the show's ZIM has. To me, it almost sounds like he isn't sure what voice to settle on.

I don't actually find this inconsistent voicing bad, though. It gives ZIM this strange, unnatural feeling, which kind of fits with the fact that he's an alien and the tone the pilot is going for. The pilot is more grotesque in style compared to the show, with the character's facial expressions and especially the teeth; I think West's performance matches it well.

(Side note: I'm kind of a fan of how ZIM looks in this pilot in general. He's even more like a weird little bug thing.)

In particular, West's ZIM reminds me quite a bit of the way Johnny speaks in Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, where his speech alternates between mysterious, formal, and cold to raging and hysterical to overly-excited and childish.

(I don't think Billy West would've been a bad hypothetical voice actor for Johnny, come to think of it.)

There is one thing that I think West's voice communicates better about ZIM's character compared to Horvitz, and that is his age. ZIM is an adult, which is the big part of the gag- he's a trained soldier with decades of experience, but he's an idiot who wastes his time blending in with and fighting schoolchildren. However, Horvitz's very high-pitched voice with ZIM's immature cadence, while fitting for the character's childishness, often just makes it hard to see him as an adult at all. Combined with the fact that he spends a lot of his screentime disguised as a human child, confusion generated really easily and led to the common misconception that ZIM is actually a child, even as it's lampshaded several times that this is not the case. (Though, in Enter the Florpus, Horvitz's voice has a noticeable rasp to it due to age, which kind of mitigates this.)

With West, though, you get the strong sense that this is an adult pretending to be an elementary school boy with his more mature voice, especially with the way he talks to the schoolchildren. It makes that part of the punchline a lot more effective, in my opinion- like, this is not only obviously an alien, but a grown man pretending to be an elementary schooler.

However, there are a lot of aspects about ZIM's character that West's voice is awkward with. I didn't like the delivery of some of ZIM's yells; Horvitz will do these cartoon villain screams and wails of despair when ZIM is in distress, and it fits very well. With West in the pilot, he does these squeaky "Eek"s and strangled screams that just come across weirdly sometimes. Also, maybe it's just because I'm so used to Horvitz, but I have a hard time seeing the medium-pitched voice fitting specifically his undisguised look- I just expect a higher voice to come out of that, I guess.

___

This last one requires a bit of context. Throughout the show's short runtime, ZIM and a lot of the other characters go through a bit of change. I would describe it almost as "cutesification"; their funny traits get more exaggerated for the sake of comedy and likability. Additionally, the network started watching the crew a bit more closely after the first few episodes. Most of the episodes that people remember as the stand-out "dark" and "scary" ones (i.e. Dark Harvest, Bestest Friend, etc.) were very early on in the series; the "dark" moments after about episode ~12 or so were still certainly there, but they were either drenched in comedy to lighten the impact or a bit more subtly baked into the episode's plot.

ZIM in particular gets written both more energetically and noticeably stupider after a while. He was always incompetent, but it becomes exaggerated to a degree; he becomes comically bad at things that he could probably pull off in earlier episodes. The most obvious example I can think of is him going from being able to single-handedly improve on a piece of highly-advanced Irken technology without a problem in the episode Walk of Doom to almost all of his creations immediately exploding or being easily destroyed. (Also, in the comics, it's stated that his ship is self-made which is attributed to the reason why it's so garbage, whereas the implication in the early episodes was that most of his stuff wasn't self-made and the Tallests gave him their garbage technology because they didn't want to waste it on him.)

Alongside this change, you notice a shift in the way Horvitz voices ZIM in the earlier episodes compared to later on. In the early episodes, ZIM doesn't yell with as much frequency, and often, his voice will dip lower into a more even-toned "calculated villain" cadence. Later, as his character changes, he gets a lot more high-pitched and energetic; the yelling becomes near-constant, with the normal speaking becoming almost rare. His voice also starts warbling and putting emphasis on strange parts of sentences and random words. It's not a drastic enough change to really notice while watching the show, but compare an episode like Career Day with Zim Eats Waffles and there's a notable change there.

I feel like West's voice would be suitable for the early-episodes ZIM, but would become more and more unfitting as the character changes with the series. Horvitz works well either way, and his voice suits the more exaggerated energy and stupidity nicely; on the other hand, I could see West's voice working well in something like Dark Harvest or Attack of the Saucer Morons, but I could not imagine West playing ZIM in Enter the Florpus.

Overall, both West and Horvitz give ZIM a very different vibe. I think West would've been a good pick for ZIM, but Horvitz embodies the character in a way that the series goes with and works in the long-run better. I often wonder what the series would've been like if West got the role instead- not to mention how his character would be perceived by the audience. It is always interesting to think about how a show could've easily turned out completely differently with specific decisions made early in production.

#long #asks #not jojo related #invader zim #hope this makes sense... sometimes your brain just fixates on very specific things

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s10127470 · 1 year

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Sonic’s Latin American Adventure (Part 1)

Most of you are probably familiar with Sonic Adventure.

While not being Sonic’s first, it was his first big successful jump into the world of 3D.

And although it has aged in terms of graphic and especially voice-acting, it’s gameplay and story is still fondly remembered by many.

But one element that I want to take about are the levels.

Sonic Adventure has some of the most iconic levels in the Sonic franchise.

But what some of you may not know were the real-world inspirations behind them.

Ever since the Genesis days, Sonic has drawn influence from our world for reference.

Carnival Night Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was inspired by the local carnivals that Sonic Team saw in San Francisco.

Casino Night Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was inspired by Las Vegas, which Sonic Team took a trip to during its production.

And undoubtedly the most recognizable (and widely hated) level in the entire franchise Green Hill Zone from the game that start it all, was inspired by the rolling green hills and blue skies of California.

But when it was time to develop Sonic Adventure, Sonic Team wanted to go bigger than ever before and create more realistic worlds than before, thanks to the greater capabilities of the Sega Dreamcast.

One of the kind of new environments they wanted to do for Sonic Adventure were jungles with ancient ruins.

When creating levels for the games during the Genesis days, while Sonic Team did draw some influence from the real world, they mostly drew inspiration from movies and tv shows.

None of the team had ever seen any genuine ruins or jungles before, and tools like the Internet were way too primitive at the time for help.

So in order to make the environments of the game feel authentic as possible, Sonic Team took a nearly 3-month long trip through Central and South America.

They traveled to Mexico (specifically around the Yucatán Peninsula), Guatemala, and Peru.

And they not only took inspiration from the environments of those locations, but also the culture, history, and possibly even religion.

So today, I want to go into depth on the real-world inspirations for some of the levels and elements of Sonic Adventure.

So grab your adventure gear and some snacks, cause we’re going on a Latin American adventure!

Coming up first we have the very first level of the game, Emerald Coast.

When taking in the tropical beach environment, the seagrass thatched umbrellas scattered all over the place, forested cove and the resort at the beginning of the level, it’s safe to say that Emerald Coast was inspired by popular vacation spots such as Cancún and Tulum.

Next we come to the Mystic Ruins and Lost World.

These two locations are definitely the strongest examples of the Latin American influence.

They’re both clearly inspired by the ancient ruins of Mayan cities such as Chichen Itza, Tikal, Uaxactun, and San Gervasio, along with the jungles surrounding them.

Within the Lost World level, there’s a bit of a snake theme going on. From the torches, to the entrances, and there even being a giant stone snake moving around in the water section.

In Mayan culture, the snake was one of the most important animals, alongside the jaguar and the quetzal.

Snakes were seen as the vehicles by which celestial bodies, such as the sun and stars, crossed the heavens on. The shedding of their skin made them a symbol of rebirth and renewal.

And although there were many sculptures of snakes, most of them found on pyramids, they were often used to represent an important deity in Mayan mythology.

But I’m gonna touch on that a bit later.

The history of the Mystic Ruins is also pretty accurate to the history of most of the Mayan cities.

As most of you probably know, the Mystic Ruins was originally the home of the Knuckles Clan.

But after it was abandoned for thousands of years, it eventually became overgrown with jungle.

That was basically the same thing that happened to the real-life Mayan cities.

After they were abandoned, the surrounding wilderness essentially claimed them.

For example, this illustration shows what Tikal might’ve looked like during the time of the Mayans.

And this photograph shows what it was like back in 1881.

Next we move on the second level of the game, Windy Valley.

When taking in the mountainous landscape and the stone structures (plus their appearance), it’s pretty clear that this level is a loose adaptation of famous Inca city Machu Picchu.

As for the next two levels, finding their inspiration was admittedly a bit tricky when considering the locations Sonic Team traveled to.

But after a lot of research, I think I found them.

Icecap from Sonic 3 returns as the fourth level in the game.

Although it’s inspiration is a tad tricky, I believe that it was inspired from the various snowy-peaked mountains of the Andes.

And for the final level, we come to Red Mountain.

This was probably the hardest level for me for find any possible inspirations for.

Admittedly, for the longest time I thought it was inspired by the tepuis of Venezuela.

And at first glance, you can definitely see the comparison.

Unfortunately, the only place that Sonic Team traveled to was Peru.

But then I remembered that Red Mountain had a bit of canyon look as well.

And after doing some research, I've come to two possible inspirations for the level.

These inspirations are Colca Canyon and Rio Marañón, two canyons located which not only have similar appearances to some of the geological features of Red Mountain, but also just so happen to be located in Peru.

Next we have is Sand Hill, and funnily enough, the history of the level actually involves its inspiration.

During the trip, one of Sonic Team's stop was the city of Ica. During their visit, they discovered the sport of sandboarding. It amazed them so much that they decided to include it as a mini-game for Tails.

As you could already tell, the location was inspired by Ica itself.

Well that's all I can share for now!

I've already reached the 30 image limit, so I can't show any more photos for this post.

So this is gonna be a two-parter. Along with that, it's gonna be much shorter than this one since I'll be covering that the last bit of info I wanted to share.

So stay-in tune for the second and final part of Sonic's Latin American Adventure!

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic adventure #latin america #mayan civilization #central america #south america #cultural inspirations

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