#seriously so many disney men

[sirfrogsworth]

These folks watched a whole ass movie not realizing the main character was transgender and it was a 2 second kiss between men that made them lose their ever-loving minds.

It's amazing to me that if it weren't for those 2 seconds, many of these folks would have given this movie a 4 or 5 star review. But two seconds of the most vanilla, non-sexy, yet genuine and loving kiss somehow ruined every moment of enjoyment the previous 90 minutes brought them.

Imagine if they realized the trans allegory. I wish I had a way to tell them. I wish I had a way to make them realize they related to a trans character. That they rooted for them. That they accidentally empathized with a trans story.

This was a beautiful movie. In every sense. I really hope between this and Spider-Verse, we can have a moratorium on every 3D animated movie using this style of character design.

It's time to let go of the rubber toy look.

I love Toy Story, but its success kind of doomed 3D animation to never take any risks. I thought maybe it was just a limitation of the medium, and perhaps it was for a time... but after seeing Love Death + Robots and Arcane...

I realized they can make 3D animation look however the hell they want now.

The rubber people were just risk avoidance.

"That's what people are used to and so we're sticking with it."

But the real beauty of Nimona was the story. I won't spoil it but the plot is pretty much, "If you get to know a trans person, you probably won't hate them anymore."

Not knowing any trans people is one of the biggest factors in anti-trans bigotry. And so this movie uses allegory to let an audience get to know a trans person. And you get to experience someone slowly start to understand what it is to be trans from an outside perspective.

It's sad that will probably be lost on those folks above because all they will remember is the kiss. Seriously, it was such a harmless, mundane, blink-and-you-miss-it kiss. But I'm hoping that others will take the lesson of this movie to heart. That you should get to know people before you judge them.

Part of me does wish we could tell trans stories without allegory. That we could just have overt trans characters. But I think this is the best representation possible right now.

It's crazy that Supergirl was one of the bravest shows as far as modern trans representation. It wasn't an edgy HBO drama trying to push boundaries. It was a family-friendly superhero show and they were just like, "Here is a transgender woman with superpowers and it's fine." And I loved that it was part of the character but it wasn't all the character was. Though I think they just missed the manufactured "moral panic" window where that choice would have been extremely controversial causing boycotts of Warner Bros. and whatnot.

My only complaint about Nimona was a small penis joke. It went by very quickly and many may even miss it. But I was surprised to see it in this movie in particular. Especially since those jokes can have collateral damage toward trans folks. With all of the positive messages, wasting a joke on body shaming was a tad disappointing. I mean, it was a fairly lighthearted "Is it cold in here?" joke. I don't want to make it sound worse than it was. But it still registered on my Richter scale of things that bother me.

Anyway, I wholeheartedly give Nimona a 5 out of 5. It helped me understand my friends on a deeper level and it was warm and funny and entertaining. There was a scene at the end that was so beautiful and heart-wrenching and I was crying my eyes out. The animation and the symbolism and the acting were just so perfect.

It's a shame Disney tried to kill this movie. But I am so glad it was allowed to exist despite that.

#long post #nimona #homophobia

[not-wholly-unheroic]

A Comparative Analysis of Hook’s Ship and Cabin in Popular Media Portrayals

Part 5: Peter Pan & Wendy (2023)

For the final part in this series, I want to take a look at Disney’s most recent live-action retelling of Peter Pan. While the film itself isn’t perfect, I will say that at least in terms of its external appearance, this is one of my favorite representations of the Jolly Roger because of the intricate details included. They’re subtle—blink and you’ll miss them entirely—but they tell an interesting story.

First, let’s take a look at that figurehead, shall we? Unlike so many other versions of Hook’s ship, this time, it isn’t a menacing skull or claw but a lady. While this wouldn’t be an uncommon sight on a ship, this particular lady is not a saucy mermaid or proud goddess… Instead, she appears to be in mourning, her left arm raised to cover her eyes while her right is extended longingly toward the side of the ship. Zoom in and you’ll see why. Carved into the wood is a row of children. We can see the wooden children again in a brief close-up near the end when the ship is flying and nearly runs into the cliffs. This figurehead is a mother weeping for her lost little ones. And if that doesn’t break your heart and make you seriously think on what this version of Hook’s mindset must be like, I don’t know what will.

There are even children’s faces—or rather, a specific child’s face—carved into the railings on the ship. We can see it in a few scenes but this is one of the clearer images I could find. Does this look eerily like Molony’s Peter to you? Because I think it does. But maybe that’s just me.

Then we get to the outside of Hook’s cabin—which unfortunately is never really clearly shown in the film. However, we DO have some behind-the-scenes images of it and OH MAN…. This part of the ship very clearly depicts Peter chained to a tree while four mermaids reach out to him, attempting to offer comfort and aid.

If you’ve ever seen the original cover art for the novel, this seems to be a nod to it. On it, Peter sits on a rock playing his pipes while a mermaid approaches on either side and the crocodile lays curled up beneath, Hook’s claw poking out of its mouth.

That Hook would have such artwork blatantly referencing his time on the island as a part of his ship tells us a great deal about how effected he was by his time there. This ship seems to be one that Law’s Hook himself designed very intentionally. Despite all his hatred for Pan, he keeps his long-lost friend close at all times and openly bears his grief over the loss of his mother and Peter through the artwork that surrounds him.

In contrast to the ornate decorations on the outside of the ship, the inside of this Hook’s cabin is surprisingly sparse and practical. It is probably more realistic than any other version we have seen thus far, but it feels strangely empty and dark for a Hook’s residence. The bed is—much like in Disney’s animated film—a simple cubby built into the wall with only a thin curtain to separate it off from the rest of the room. There are a few books on the shelves to the right of the bed and some bags of what I assume may be rations stacked to the left.

What’s really interesting, though, is what we see in the brief close-up shots we get of the shelves near the doorway. There are all kinds of things in jars, preserved presumably in alcohol. One jar noticeably contains what looks like an octopus (or part of one)…possibly in passing reference to Hook’s animal antagonist in Disney animated sequel…while at least two others contain human hands. Right hands, to be specific. One of the hands is actually even labeled with a name—Stubby Bartholomew (?). According to an interview, Law seemed to indicate that his Hook was looking to see if he might somehow replace his own missing hand. Regardless, though, I want to know the stories behind these hands. Who were the men they were attached to? Why was Law’s Hook fighting them? Did they know he was going to save their hands, once severed? Did he just take the hand of the person or did he kill them and remove the hand after death as a kind of sick trophy? This is definitely one of the creepier things that we have seen with any Hook.

Speaking of creepy…on another wall, we see a dried fairy corpse pinned up like a butterfly. We don’t often see Hooks being completely ruthless on-screen, but this one definitely gives off a threatening vibe from all the dead things he has collected within his cabin walls.

There’s even a dead crocodile… Not THE crocodile, of course, but there IS a large skull which we can see he keeps underneath his desk. It shows up again later more noticeably and in a comic fashion in the finale when the ship is being turned upside down and the skull becomes stuck on his head…but it’s there even in the first shot we see of his desk. There’s also an hour-glass… Not a clock, of course, but the time theme is still present.

And then there is the gramophone, which once again, clashes with everything else about this Hook (clothing, a more classic wooden ship, etc.), which otherwise suggests someone from the earlier part of the Age of Sail. Unlike the ones in Hoffman Hook’s cabin, though, this gramophone is pretty obvious because Law’s Hook is actively listening to something on it when the kids first enter his cabin. A friend did a great write-up on the significance of exactly what he is listening to that you can read about here. Suffice to say for our purposes here, though, that the opera he is listening to wasn’t written until 1853, and gramophones themselves were not around until even later in the 1800s. Law’s Hook does mention that his mother is long gone by the time he leaves Neverland and goes looking for her, though, so perhaps his ship and belongings are reflective both of the time period of his youth and a later time period when he returned to the “real world.”

Then again, Smee is said to have pulled Hook out of the water as a child, and Smee seems intimately familiar with the older wooden style ship as opposed to steam ships, which would have been becoming pretty common by the mid to late 1800s, so it’s hard to say for sure. (Bonus content not entirely related but just because it’s cool… In a few shots of Mr. Smee, we can see there is a very small tattoo on his right hand. It’s a teapot. Which is just…such a perfectly Mr. Smee thing to have a tattoo of, and I love it.)

While Law’s Hook was disappointing for some fans of the more classic elegant, over-the-top versions of the character, he’s undoubtedly intriguing, particularly when we examine his Roger. This Hook is unlike any other. He wears his heart on his sleeve—or rather, his ship—and surrounds himself with reminders of Death and Time, as if he knows his own symbolic significance as a manifestation of the doomed Old Man going up against Youth. And yet…in this version, he is not quite so doomed, returning in the end, to make peace with Peter and accepting that one can be “old” while maintaining a spirit of youth.

#captain hook #peter pan #disney peter pan and wendy #peter pan and wendy #peter pan & wendy #david lowery #jude law #jude law hook #James hook #captain james hook

[lilly-chou-chou]

Barbie: An essay. Accepting Hyperfeminity

A Film Beyond Feminism

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧

Yesterday I had the biggest privilege to watch Barbie and it really got me thinking that I do indeed have a lot of things to say about it. This purely how I feel and all of my emotions that I am pouring into the screen, some may agree some may not and that is okay.

Phase one : Feminism, Love & War

The theme of the film is indeed feminism but what a lot of people are not talking enough about or overlooking is the fact what a huge impact being girly had been over the years, since the 90's to 2000's the whole plot of girly being associated with being a bimbo really made a lot of women hate or look down upon being a girly girl. To this day even after the release of the film I do feel sorry to say but there are still a lot of people especially women who feel uncomfortable to be girly, they are afraid of being judged for being not smart enough or not being able to be taken seriously.

This whole hate has extended even towards disney princessess. So many parenting books, videos and even women themselves hating on disney princess just because a man saved them when as a matter of fact disney characters go way beyond man saviour. Cinderella just wanted to go to ball and enjoy, despite being in an abusive household she still loved and appreciated people around her she didn't let bad things influence her, if someone says this is toxic positivity then I have to disagree because she genuinely didn't seem delusional. She was smart, witty, cracked jokes, used sarcasm and found peace in talking to animals. This to me at least is mentally strong not toxic positivity. Ariel just wanted to see the human world but she just happened to fall in love along the way, Belle loved the beast because she taught him how to be free from his own demons, she saw, she taught, she gave him the warmth and love he was lacking.

Other thing is people always look down upon love, my question is why shouldn't there be love? One can be independent and yet still be in love. One can dream and still be in love. People these days are so heartbroken and bitter they have shut themselves off of the whole love scene but might I say that love is more than just romantic feelings, love can be between parents and a kid, love can be between you and your dreams/passion/goals, love can be between you and your pet, love can be between you and the stuffed animal toy you have had since you were a baby, love can even be with knowing when you come home everything is same as it was and it can even be when it comes to changes.

I do believe and hope that after the impact of this film people especially women aren't afraid to be girly because a woman who is girly, love shopping, getting nails done, lives for colour pink, does makeup is just as much of a feminist as a woman who opposes the girly girl spectrum.

Phase two: I Kennot even

Ken was one of the most well written second lead character, I cannot stress on this enough. How I see the film is that in the beginning Barbie land was actually never really equal per say because the playout of it was so co dependent, yes, I understand that was the intention but I would love to dive deeper. Barbie land is the opposite of real world so just like in the real world the power disbalance was so real. I was really reminded of those days when all men did was work and women weren't allowed to do anything so they just longed for their husbands ro return from work. They dresses up for them, made plans for them and practically lived for them. I loved this scene so much because it really showed that Greta knows about feminism because indeed feminism means women and men are equal and either disbalance can really cause a huge harm and we saw that when kens were constantly fighting for all barbie's approvals and lived life through their partners.

When ken went to real world, he was exposed to patriarchy and for once when he saw men being valued he ran with it, the whole reason he even did patriarchy to Barbie land was just to get Barbie's attention when he said "it doesn't feel nice does it" and "when I came to know patriarchy wasn't about horses I instantly lost all interest" shows that he did all of that just so Barbie notices him.

In a way, well like my opinion I see both Barbie and Ken as victims.

Barbie has been shammed by extremist over the years because people think Barbie has unreleastic body but no one see the fact that barbies were created to give girls hope, Barbie has all the careers and can be huge inspiration to little girls everywhere that a girl can be beauty and brains. Barbie was never about making little girls feel bad they were meant to see as "bad" all because of extremists.

Ken was indeed just created to be Barbie's boyfriend and indeed lives up to the name "just Ken" but this film really made us feel his importance too! Towards the end when kens finally have a job assigned by president they have somewhere to start and have their own identity. They will be more than just kens and partners.

Phase three: Conclusion

Both of them had their own journey of self discovery, both of them also had break downs, gave up and kens made bad decisions but they didn't know any better but along the way they really grew up and mentally became mature.

Greta really knows what she did and really captured the prefect ambiance of what needs to be showed. She really gave both characters such depth and love, she really is very talented and I love her for making a film that goes beyond feminism, it is much more than women empowerment. This film not only showed us strong woman power but also showed that patriarchy is taught never learned, people don't know any better, power of influence and accepting women for wanting traditional life as well as accepting who opposes.

I will forever be in favour for this brilliant film. Much love to Greta, cast and behind the scenes cast and of course the colour pink.

#barbie #barbie movie #margot robbie #ryan gosling #ken #greta gerwig #cinephile #sanrio #kpop #jpop #film recommendations #film #movies #cinema #feminist #feminism #disney #Cinderella #ariel #belle

[thevirgincherry]

omg so i was thinking abt a romcom i love where this girl ends up meeting a celebrity her age and it’s very enemies to lovers because she thinks he’s an asshole.

been thinking REAL HARD abt celebrity leon who the internet is fucking obsessed with and think he’s the best thing ever. you live under a rock and could care less abt this random ass yt man. end up running into him somehow (in original movie the guy literally rams a door into her face lol) and he’s such a dick. he’s so ducking rude and is even ruder after he finds out you don’t know who he is.

anyways you want this man CANCELLED. you and claire (i’m taking her from him sorry bye) decide to publish smth exposing him and allegations he has for being hostile towards fans. guess who shows up at ur door the next day to make sure you drop this ASAP …. 😋

anyways in my mind he either forces himself into ur house, tries to pay you off, and then non-con. OR lighter option where he’s still a dick abt the whole situation but u have a thing for mean men and fuck. he’s gotta keep ur mouth shut abt it somehow.

i wanna be back in my writing era so bad omg i used to write all the time last year but now i barely have any time. but i wanted to yap abt this so bad sorry it’s so long LMAOOO

- 🪩

omg the beginning part reminds me of starstruck LMFAOO the Disney channel film 😭 gosh I really love actor leon.. like washed up actor leon who is popular cuz he’s an old hot man alone.. or like awful shitty re4 leon who just has so many sex scandals so many allegations against him that no one takes seriously.. but omg I love the idea of him forcing his way into your house sorry im always up for noncon LMFAO

#tw noncon #tw rape #inbox 💌 #🪩 anon

[papermatisse]

Don't Look Back || K.JM

† genre: horror

† word count: 2.7k

† warnings: automatonophobia, liminal spaces/warped reality, explicit death scene

† synopsis: one of these mannequins is out of place...

† (a/n): third installment of my spooktober anthology event, but ironically the first story I actually finished! this one is based on this mannequin game I played once where you were being chased by mannequins. at first it was creepy, but as it dragged on, it got kinda funny lol. this one does not get funny ☺️

† taglist: @scuzmunkie @hipsdofangirl @hydroyaksha

anthology | main masterlist

Working in retail is hell on earth, but it's not so bad when you have your best friend to suffer alongside you. Shenanigans between tasks, shared breaks for lunch dates at the food court, inside jokes to keep you going through the shift. One inside joke in particular was in regards to a certain mannequin in the men's section.

"Why is he… hot?" Jennifer asked as the two folded clothes on a shelf situated before said mannequin. (y/n) looked up at the mannequin towering over them, wearing the articles of clothing they were currently dealing with, prompting her to snort at the commentary.

"Only you would point out a mannequin's physical attributes."

"No, I'm serious!" Jennifer pushed in her defense, chuckles bubbling out by the end of her sentence. She raised a hand to the man as she began passionately explaining herself. "He has gentle eyes, and the classic Disney prince smolder! And his hair!"

"It's all painted on!" (y/n) couldn't stop laughing along with her friend, who only seemed to grow even more offended with the ongoing dismissal of her newfound beau.

"You're telling me you've never found a painting so beautiful that it keeps you awake all night thinking about it?" At this interjection, (y/n) grew quiet, knowing she's done exactly that and Jennifer knows that just as well as she does. Nevertheless, (y/n) continued her folding with a dismissive grumble, Jennifer giggling to herself as she did the same.

(y/n) spared a few glances to the mannequin, acknowledging the details Jennifer highlighted. The soft, faded brown of his round painted eyes, the chiseled molding of each of his strong features, the almost Adonis like creation of this seemingly out of place mannequin.

The store was older with a variety of mannequins. Blank ones of varying poses, delicate ones with makeup styles straight from certain decades, many of which were broken or dilapidated in a way. The mannequins on display were, of course, the most put together of the bunch, and this included the mannequin perched atop this men's shirt display.

Since that day, the two would continuously tease each other about him. Snapping photos of him as they pass by to send to the other, faux discussing a boy they met only to reveal it was the mannequin the entire time, or merely the subtle winks and glances that fully conveyed their jesting intentions.

Nevertheless, the mannequin, of which the girls had affectionately nicknamed Suho, remained a permanent fixture of the store, even during remodeling. Instead of tucked away at the back in the men's section, he now stood on a display only a mere few feet in front of the cash registers, facing out towards the customers. With his back facing them, it prompted a few more jokes out of Jennifer, easy bait that they both knew was practically handed to them on a silver platter, but still as funny as ever.

"Hey, are you okay manning the station on your own?" Jennifer asked, nervously glancing up from her phone.

"Of course. Why? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, my mom's car broke down on the highway." She sighed, shooting another text from her phone before looking back to (y/n).

"That's tough. Go ahead, I'll be okay."

"Thank you. I seriously owe you one!" With that, she ran off to the back of the store, leaving (y/n) on her own at the register.

She really did mean it when she said she'd be alright. With only about a half hour left until closing time, and with only a handful more customers remaining, it wasn't anything she couldn't handle.

The air was stuffy and the fluorescent lights above were somewhat irritating. A monotonous pop song that has played about a hundred times today alone droned distantly from the speakers, and without her friend to drown it out, (y/n) was beginning to lose herself to the elements of the store.

Discreetly out of the corner of her eye, she could see an old woman, bundled up in a dense purple cardigan, carding through the rack of dresses. As far as (y/n) was aware, this was the last customer, and she highly doubted she'd be buying anything from that selection.

She drummed her fingers along the counter, eyes getting lost in its beige void, waiting for her day to end so she could leave this long and tedious shift. Beyond the grainy ambience of the playlist, she listened to the metallic screech of hanger against bar as the woman pushed aside each article of clothing.

Screech.

Screech.

Screech.

It was a cycle of monotony encircling (y/n), in which every element blended together in a jarring cacophony of noise. The woman with her hangers, the next pop song starting up, the low hum of the fluorescent lights above.

But between all of this, an element of surprise somehow managed to slip into the mix. A scrape which sounded so distinct, yet something (y/n) could not pinpoint. It grated upon her ears however, drawing a grimace out of her that had (y/n) immediately glancing up to survey the woman again.

Instead, what she was met with was Suho. More specifically, Suho now fully facing her.

She felt her stomach drop at the sight before her, her jaw falling in a silent gasp as he now faced the cash registers. The positioning of his limbs were all the same, that lifeless and distant stare still directed aimlessly forward.

He was just… turned around.

There was no one here. No one to have moved him at that very moment. The thought rattled her brain, hopelessly attempting to conjure some reason to the almost supernatural display before her, but nothing came to mind. No explanation as to how Suho could have moved.

"Excuse me," a voice startled (y/n) out of her stupor, redirecting her to the customer awaiting service. The old woman. She had chosen her dress.

(y/n) had quickly rung her up, bidding her a good night and thus being condemned once more to a bout of solitude. The fluorescent lights still pulsed above her, the next pop song now well into its playthrough, and Suho was still very much so facing her.

The moment her phone had indicated closing time, (y/n) all but rushed out of the cash register nook, not daring to look back at Suho. She had instead opted to retrieve her phone, quickly texting Jennifer the freaky encounter she'd just had. Though before she could make it very far, however, she patted her pockets, realizing her keys were not there.

In a brief moment of panic, she patted her other pocket, worry shooting through her as she was sure she just had them. That must mean they were dropped by the registers or something.

She sighed, turning around to retrace her steps, though stopping immediately as she stared down the walkway of the store.

In regards to the general layout of the store, carpeted sections of varying genres surrounded the reflective ceramic tiled pathways. Men's section, women's section, children's section. And among those sections were, of course, mannequins. So many mannequins. Mannequins which usually stared forward with a blank canvas of a face.

They do not usually crane their necks to stare at the exact spot you stand in—though that's the reality (y/n) met when she turned around.

Every mannequin in her general vicinity stared at her with those barren faces of theirs, heads all turned in her direction no matter where they stood. The sight had her entire body leap with fright, a brief yelp of shock expelling from her lips as she was greeted by such a sight.

(y/n) took a tentative step forward, eyes nervously bouncing from one figure to the next, monitoring for any movement of the sort, looking out for that telltale scrape of their porcelain-like joints shifting. Yet as she reached the end of the aisle, there was nothing of the sort. No change. They remained staring at the spot she once stood, and as she turned the corner to head back to the register, she felt silly for even toying with the idea of mannequins moving.

As she arrived to the registers, she began rummaging through the various hideaways she could find, coming up empty. The counters were spotless and the drawers contained their usual miscellaneous items tossed in over the years. She began considering other locations to check, and while she stood there in her own thoughts, her eyes naturally wandered up and ahead of her to where Suho usually stood.

Except now, there was no Suho.

(y/n) froze for the umpteenth time tonight, though only for a moment before she rushed over to the now barren spot. And where Suho once stood, there lay her keys, abandoned on his pedestal with no sign of the mannequin.

Without sparing another thought, (y/n) grabbed her keys and booked it for the backroom. Her feet slammed against the tiles beneath here, breath already heaving as she barreled down the long aisle of mannequins whom she ignored at all costs. She didn't care where they were looking. She didn't care if they were even still sitting there. All she knew was that she needed to get out of there as soon as humanly possible.

She yanked open the door to the backrooms. The walkways between the different storage areas and facilities of the store, and the only way to get to the back where she was parked. The fluorescent lighting here was more sparse than that of the store inside, bringing a repetitive pattern of lit spots alongside dimmed ones down the gray walled corridors which seemed to stretch as far as the eye can see.

Why was the corridor so long? Was it always this long?

Why was she out of breath? How long has she been running down this corridor?

She suddenly came tumbling to the floor, gasping as her body collapsed onto the concrete floors of the backrooms. She lay there for a moment in shock, gasping for air, wincing at the scrapes now lining her hands and forearms. A grimace slipped out of her as she pushed herself up, the sound of her weak voice reverberating off the endless labyrinth she had found herself in.

There was only the sound of her huffing and puffing as she attempted to regain herself. And then there was a sound of porcelain dragging against the floor.

With a gasp, (y/n) whirled around. He was a distance away, though still as clear as day. Standing beneath one of the fluorescent light fixtures from above.

Suho.

His expression was unchanged, as was his pose. He just… stood there. Staring at her. Yet even with his painted, stoic face, (y/n) could feel… contempt. Disdain. Like he meant her harm, and would do so at all costs.

She whimpered beneath his glower and quickly staggered to her feet, turning around to keep running down the corridor, though the moment she had stopped looking at him, the sound returned. And when she looked back at him, he was in the ray of darkness between the light he had just stood in and that of the next.

He was approaching her.

A sense of dread washed over her as the realization struck, and hot tears began pouring down her face in endless streams. With one last ditch effort, (y/n) turned and dashed down the corridor, arms swinging rapidly back and forth as her numb legs carried her as quickly as they could, purely fueled off the adrenaline which coursed through her feeble body. Blood pumped through her ears, and the sound of her pulse and her labored breathing masked whatever sounds may have transpired behind her.

She couldn't turn back. She knew turning back was certain death. And at this point, she realized that something was wrong with her surroundings. Something was wrong with the corridor. But there was no time to dwell. There was no time to rest. The moment she stopped running would be her final moment alive.

As if a miracle, the door to the outside finally came into her vision, right at the end of the corridor as it usually is. A smile twitched at the corner of her lips as she booked it for the exit, slamming her body into the dense slab of metal, though screaming in agony as she was met with resistance. She pushed again, pressing at the release, yet it didn't budge.

A screech tore at her throat, fear and rage broiling within her as she repeatedly slammed her fists at the door, begging for anyone to perhaps hear her desperation—her final moments. Yet as the sounds of her yells fizzled into that of sobs, she knew there was nothing more to be done.

In the suffocating silence of the dimly lit corridor, she found herself weakly sliding down the door, trembling breaths and quiet tears coming out shallow and broken. She had hit a deadend, and there was no way of escape. No hope left in her to even believe in any righteous intervention of the sort.

The scraping sound of porcelain drew nearer, and she finally looked up at what was coming for her.

He dragged himself forward, gliding across the cement in a smooth and unhindered manner. His lifeless eyes and unnerving smile continued to penetrate forward, straight ahead at the door, and somehow the lack of attention directly on her struck more terror into her. Inch by inch, he drew closer and closer, fading in and out of the beams of light until he had finally reached the patch of light directly before he'd be where she stood.

And then he stopped. He stood there. Unmoving.

(y/n) felt her hands scrambling for something, reaching out as far as she could from where she lay, hoping to find something she could as a weapon. Though she came up empty with only her set of keys trembling in her hands. She clutched them between her fingers, each key protruding forth like a set of claws, and she cradled her only defense to her chest, waiting for his next move.

It had grown deathly silent for moment, her breath hitched at her throat, and she quaked upon herself in whole body tremors.

Then his finger twitched. A sickening crack like breaking bones, yet he remained perfectly intact. Merely his finger was in a different position. And then his hand. And then his arm. Each followed by that resounding snap as he shifted in a broken and robotic manner. She watched with bated breath and trembling gasps as Suho began ambling forward once more in this terrifyingly decrepit manner, limbs contorting all while those cracks continued to resonate in the atmosphere surrounding her.

Her heart pounded hopelessly against her chest, utter fear squeezing at her throat with a vice like grip. There was no way of escaping. No way to evade the sinister presence creeping towards her with this impenetrable persistence.

As Suho drew nearer, this unsettling sensation washed over, as if the air around her had grown thick with pure malevolence all but emanating off him, suffocating her with endless dread and despair. She felt a presence unlike anything she'd felt before. Something more than just the lifeless form that stood before her.

Suho stood where her feet lay, limbs still jerking sporadically. And in the midst of these jolts, his head finally snapped down to where she lay, prompting her to press even further into the door. A loud and fearful gasp ripped out of (y/n) as Suho collapsed onto his knees, crawling up her body on all fours as she all but begged for mercy—desperate and incomprehensible mumbles while her trembling hands which gripped her keys fell limply to her side.

The cold, icy touch of his porcelain fingers grazed her hot skin, stretching along the planes of her neck, light as they encircled her throat before suddenly clenching with a furious might. Panic suddenly encompassed her as her airways became obstructed, her hands flailing up and grasping at his arms, nails scraping against him, though sliding off with no effect whatsoever. Meanwhile, his fingers constricted against her throat, their stone-like surface burrowing into her skin and drawing warm blood which trickled down her body as black spots began blurring her vision.

His force was unrelenting, all the while staring down at her with those soft brown painted eyes and that charming smiling, the last sight she saw before she finally faded away.

#kim junmyeon fanfiction #junmyeon fanfiction #suho fanfiction #exo fanfiction #kim junmyeon fanfic #junmyeon fanfic #suho fanfic #exo fanfic #kpop fanfiction #kpop fanfic #kim junmyeon x reader #junmyeon x reader #suho x reader #exo x reader #kpop x reader

[spicybylerpolls]

So I just read a really interesting review of the gay WW1 novel In Memoriam, and the reviewer (in a respected newspaper) is describing this adolescent, boyish, somewhat cowardly attraction between the two boys. 

Although they later prove themselves physically brave, Ellwood and Gaunt are cowards in love. Despite being well inducted by other boys into the improvised physical intimacy widely practised at their Wiltshire boarding school, Preshute, their own relationship remains chaste and hesitant: affectionate; Tennysonian; intensely sexless. Both characters are recognisable stock figures of boyish adolescent romance.

Now, it’s well and easy to say such in today’s era when homosexuality isn’t punishable by death, but in terms of Mike and Will, they’re going to explore in fine detail in s5 how and why both Mike and Will have been so careful. But what gets my eye is the mature way of discussing sex. If anything, works are often taken LESS seriously when they are coy about sex, because they suddenly seem embarrassed or childish or Disney-ified. I cannot imagine a more opposite view to the byler sex antis on here, who say, instead, that portrayal of adolescent sex is paedophilic. Can you imagine how you would be dragged to shit by any literary or film critics worth their salt for thinking that? For thinking that teenage sex is inherently bad or paedophilic? 

The review goes on to say:

Both young men torment themselves in attempts to hide their attachment from one another and themselves. It is a losing battle, the first of many they will see as war draws close.

Oof it sounds familiar! 

But mainly, the reviewer (a man) is appreciative of the detail that the author (a female) put into the work as regards sex:

Winn has written against the grain of her “lived experience” in another way too. In addition to not being a veteran of the First World War, some quick detective work in the acknowledgments section of the book reveals that she is also not a homosexual Edwardian adolescent. In fact, she does an intelligent job here too at simulating the male imagination, and although the sex remains carefully speculative, there are occasional observations of striking acuity. (“Gaunt’s prick was a little smaller than his. Ellwood had noticed that a long time ago, at school, had found it ruinously attractive.”)

I want to point out that this last quote comes before these characters engage in any sexual activity together in the book. 

And this comes on the back of the author running the novel by her male gay and bisexual friends for realism before publishing:

‘I had one friend who was really generous and candid about how to make the sex scenes feel real, but also about how to make the characters – outside of the sex – behave more like men. I mean, I don’t want to put too fine a point on this, but I remember at one stage he asked me, “So, who has the bigger penis?” And I was like, “I don’t know!” And he said, “Well, the characters know!”’ 

- Alice Winn

So there we are! Have Mike and Will ever showered together in the gym at school? We see the high school boys do this at Hawkins in s2, but Mike and Will have never been together at high school. Either way, there’s an acknowledgement here of the fact that teenage boys think very differently about sex than girls, and that if you want to create a piece of art that not only is enjoyable and exciting and compelling, but respects its characters and source material, you must be realistic about those character’s thoughts and experiences. I can understand prudishness a little, but to go as far as to call people who are calling for sexual realism in a coming of age story paedophiles????????? What is your aim?????? Feel free to be afraid of sex until you can figure it out, but do not call others who are engaging with something natural and normal perverts and degenerates. It’s not just cruel, but completely ignorant. 

In short, Mike and Will have definitely thought about and possibly know who has the bigger penis - and yes, they’re also very interested in that topic. 

Okay first of all, I'm definitely adding that book to my reading list! I love queer coming-of-age period pieces. Thanks for your service to the spicy byler community!

Second of all, this brings up a lot of interesting points. I especially love your point that, "If you want to create a piece of art that not only is enjoyable and exciting and compelling, but respects its characters and source material, you must be realistic about those character’s thoughts and experiences." So true! I think Bylers are typically really good at understanding this concept, but for whatever reason they completely throw that out the window once sex is in the picture.

"In short, Mike and Will have definitely thought about and possibly know who has the bigger penis - and yes, they’re also very interested in that topic."

#byler #spicy byler #will byers #mike wheeler #no poll

[somnesca]

Fuck it.

The Polycula as Disney Princesses*

*includes non-official ""princesses"" because I don't care about that branding crap and this is more fun

Mina Harker: Some might think Belle is the obvious parallel here but imo she's better suited as Tiana. No one works harder, deserves better, or handles malevolent harbingers of the underworld with more guts and grace. Plus: she's got a beautiful fancy best friend.

Jonathan Harker: ...honestly I had too many options here but our good friend is taken hostage by a lord of a creepy castle with dark secrets, avoids a pack of wolves, wanders into forbidden wings, and bonds with said lord over their mutual interest in books. Jonathan is the OG Belle and there's nothing I can do about it. Plus: he loves his "monster" (Mina, of course, not Drac) and WILL defy all of society to defend that love if he has to.

John Seward: Suddenly overwhelmed with evidence of creatures and beings that don't make any sense? Check. Firmly believing there is "madness" in others while avoiding confronting his own? Check. Baffled by seemingly nonsensical wordplay of one of his helpful companions? Check. He's Alice in Wonderland, all right. Someone come get him out of this rabbit hole.

Arthur Holmwood: Ok bear with me on this one, it's kind of a deep cut. I was leaning toward a classic princess at first, but then it occurred to me: a character who is glamorous and elegant and comes from high society, but who will jump into action when innocent lives are on the line, even using their connections to travel to far-off lands... well that's the lovely Miss Bianca from The Rescuers, baby.

Quincey Morris: This was harder than it should have been because not enough classic Disney princesses are allowed to have guns. (But they should.) So I went with just vibes. Who loves adventure and not being confined to a single place? Who's great with horses and quickly befriends tough guys and thieves through sheer earnestness? Who would absolutely fuck up an intruder (whether human or bat) without hesitation and with any weapon that's available to them? None other but Rapunzel.

Abraham van Helsing: I love the thought of a curious and passionate academic who winds up in a land very different from their own, who pushes through the difficulties of language barriers to connect and communicate with locals through compassion and understanding. Sure, his attempts are a bit clumsy from time to time and the locals may never fully understand the nuances of his culture, but he becomes a most beloved protector nonetheless. Ergo: Jane Porter from Tarzan.

Lucy Westenra: Now we could go the Aurora route and that suits me just fine (both are victims of a sleeping disorder and don't get that much screentime) buuut she is the fairest in all the land, charms the hell out of older men, and is released from her supernatural death curse with a gesture of true love...Snow White, is that you?

Renfield: Look at his stuff. Isn't it neat? Wouldn't you think his collection's complete (although adding a kitten would be nice)? Poor Renfield's got a strong voice with a lot to say but no one listens to him, because he's angling for something more by striking a deal with a dark power. Despite all his best efforts, he does not end up being part of that world. (But he can be a part of ours! Tumblr loves you, Ariel Renfield.)

I invite alternatives and arguments if you feel so moved, it shouldn't need to be said but this is not to be taken seriously by any means.

#dracula daily #jonathan harker #mina harker #john seward #arthur holmwood #quincey morris #abraham van helsing #lucy westenra #renfield #i think i was inspired by jonathan harker's disney princess vibes? #so i wanted to try my hand at the others #if this has already been done i... am so sorry

[catholic-character-tournament]

Round 2 - Resurrect Bracket (Losers Bracket) Side B

ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to [make it to the finals]

Propaganda below ⬇️

Kirei

He fucked up so many people's lives so badly in just one decade (not on purpose) that the universe put him in the summoning pool of all world influencing souls. He doesnt really have any special powers but he does serve as a vessel for rasputin at one point. He's the guy who says "people die when they are killed"

please please please there's literally a type moon character in the gif on the top of this form so it's typemoonphobic if none of them get in but it shouldn't be her it should be kirei bc he's 50x funnier & more iconic than jeanne. funny lil murder priest who's fucking THE gilgamesh (from the epic of) in the church basement and dies in a knife fight w a 17 year old whose dad he wanted to fuck back in '94 before realizing that he was actually kinda lame and he's been bitter abt it ever since. he has an orphan torture factory in his basement but he's also canonically good at being a priest. he's so funny you should def try his mapo tofu i swear it's totally safe for human consumption and not made with any california reapers. did i mention he's a deadbeat dad.

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Priest claims to be Pro Life to make Sakura Matou the most miserable girl on the planet, but he dies anyway.

bro became a catholic because he loves suffering

He’s a priest. Kind of. Not a very good priest obviously. There is something seriously wrong and fucked up with that man. It’s so entertaining.

he's gotta be one of the most insane catholic men ever with a very in-depth and interesting relationship with his religion and his relationship with god also he's the sexiest man ever to be conceptualized in the known universe and all of time

Will never forget the 40+ minute monologue in heavens feel being a thinly veiled metaphor for abortion

he wants to torment churchgoers and make them face their failures and suffering but all he ends up doing is motivate them to improve themselves. cringefail moment for him

he's absolutely insane. the coldhearted mercenary that barely reacts to anything is terrified of kirei. he's super fucked up. his ult in stay night is literally him channeling divine power into something called kyrie eleison. he's the vessel of rasputin (on account of being a priest with a huge....no i shant say) the biblical beast in grand order among other things. he gets drunk with and tops gilgamesh from the epic of gilgamesh in the church basement after gilgamesh from the epic of gilgamesh bats his eyes a little too hard at kirei in some of the horniest shot scenes ive ever seen. he also used to be a heretical "fixer" for the church, cleaning up scenes that would expose shit to the public. uhh what else. he holds cool swords between his fingers like a kid pretending to be wolverine but in my favorite route he just squares the hell up with the protagonist and they fight to the death outside planned parenthood

Friar Tuck

If you use the picture of furry friar tuck from the Disney Robin Hood, bless you 🙏

#kirei kotomine #fate series #cct polls #tumblr tournament #tumblr bracket #tumblr polls #fate zero #fate stay night #polls #r2losers #friar tuck #robin hood

[jomarch-wannabe]

About me!

My name is Madelyn! I’m 20 years old, and I’m from the US. My roots are Italian 🇮🇹 which I strongly identify with lol

I also really identify with the INFP personality type (and Ennegram type 4)!

I truly believe if past lives were real, I would be a young and free girl in the 1920s. Something about that time feels so liberating and free. I’d love to spend my days wearing short beaded dresses and dancing til’ I drop, most especially, (as Daisy Buchanan would put it) I’d be a beautiful little fool

I LOVE period dramas and classic literature. Downton Abbey is my favorite show, I've seen in three times and counting. I identify as an old soul. I've always found myself connecting to older people easier than people my age because I think we have more in common. I also find so much of myself in classic novels, in the language and in the stories (Jane Eyre is my favorite novel) I also love old music, specifically Sam Cooke and Ella Fitzgerald.

A quote that describes me well.. “I like antiques. I like old things. I think I must be very old underneath, because I love beautiful old things.”

I also love quotes. I have a page in my notes app with too many to count. Probably over 200.

I love ENGLAND!! I love British people 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🫖👒!! Lol. I love the accents, the geography (English Countryside), I love their literature/authors (Oscar Wilde, Brontë sisters, Mary Shelley, Jane Austen..) their actors, and films and shows. Their culture. Literally everything!!! Sooo it would be an absolute dream to travel there one day! Seriously there’s nothing I don’t like about it.

I love Disney movies!! So healing to my inner child ☺️🥹 I feel simultaneously young and old at the same time, and feel very connected to both parts of myself. When I’m feeling connected to younger me I’ll watch kid movies and buy myself kids toys from the store that I would have liked as a little girl.

My favorite color is purple

I love sleeping, it’s probably my favorite part of the day, when I can cuddle up in bed and imagine scenarios of fictional men comforting me (send help)

I would die without chapstick

Anything artistic I’m all about. Especially unconventional things. I love people that have an unconventional look about them. Or things that aren’t quite perfect.

I’m very connected to nature, I love going on walks and soaking it all in. Sometimes I feel like I can hear the flowers whispering.

Okay another quote.. “I will forever be a hopeless romantic, and not just with people, but with places, things, songs, animals. I place my love into everything electric and soft, leaving my heart open like a rose to the beauty.” - Christopher Poindexter

I love people! Which is why I’m studying Psychology because it’s literally the science of human behavior and why we are the way we are

I am drawn to outcasts, and the misfit toys, since I’ve always had a hard time fitting in

I love deep conversations

I’ve never been afraid of myself and my own emotions, I’m always eager to deep dive into the depths of despair… I think tears always felt more real to me that a smile. It communicates something about who I am. What matters to me.

I don’t want to keep going on about myself so I’ll wrap up. Of course, finally, I love to write. I’ve been writing stories since I was a little girl. Words have always been a medium for me to express myself.. and frankly, cope with my life. I write a lot of melancholy poetry when I’m not writing fanfiction.

Last quote I swear.. “How many times have people used a pen or paintbrush because they couldn’t pull the trigger?” - Virginia Woolf

Dark, but in all seriousness I think art really is the best way of coping. Creating. It’s the best medicine there is.

#about me

[blapis-blazuli]

Now listen up

I am obsessed with this man. He's got so many weird details about him and I love (almost) all of them.

First, Slim's original concept fucks. Being an undead cattle rustler out for bull's blood due to being trampled to death is fascinating. I don't know how long it took before someone at Disney cried "too dark" at that backstory, but I'm surprised it was even in consideration given the mostly lighter tone of the final product. More than that, Disney could've had a literal ghost rider among their villains! Had that movie been any good, he might've joined Disney's popular villain lineup, or maybe we could've even gotten a boss battle with him in a Kingdom Hearts game. That's not what we ended up with due to Reasons, though, which is a bit disappointing, but not much you can do about that.

Anyway, onto what we did get.

Before Slim makes his formal appearance, he's only seen in silhouette, on a wanted poster, then in disguise, and is finally fully revealed when he rides in on a bison. He is huge, and I don't mean because he's fat, I mean he's a good deal taller than most of the other characters. He's set up to be someone threatening, to be taken seriously.

And then comes his yodeling villain song.

The moment it's revealed that Slim's yodeling can hypnotize cows, the music picks up and there's a literal rainbow of colors for the rest of his number. As I said, he's a big man, but he's also light enough on his feet to dance and jump on and off any of these cows while not missing a beat in his performance. When the men who got knocked out beforehand come running after him, he doesn't threaten them, he just throws his spurs at a precarious bit of rocky landscape with such force that it falls and blocks the pathway to him. That's more badass than if he did draw his gun on them.

Actually, I wanna talk about the music he performs. The movie's set in Wyoming during 1889, so obviously Slim's not gonna be yodeling A Cruel Angel's Thesis or whatever. They could’ve come up with something original for him to yodel to (which, I mean, they kinda do), but they chose music by composers such as Tchaikovsky and Beethoven, which aren't exactly things you'd associate with the wild west. The obvious out-of-universe answer for why those pieces were chosen is "they existed before the year this is set in, and they're recognized even today," but we've no in-universe answer for why he chose them or how he knows them. Regardless, it's kinda amazing that he knows them well enough to yodel them.

His lair in Echo Mine has an area with some nice furniture in it. How'd this shit get there? Who knows. Anyway, this is where he reveals that he disguises himself to buy up the properties owned by the people he's stolen cattle from, which includes his former employers. Why doesn't he work for any of them anymore? He never directly says. According to him, they didn't "appreciate [his] talents," which means they probably hated his yodeling. I don't blame him for being mad about that because why the hell would you tell someone that? If he's doing the job right and well without hurting anyone, then who cares? The idea that he's moved on to use a skill against the former bosses who didn't like it is kinda great though.

(Side note: a nice, small detail about this part of the lair is the faded branding on the map, which shows that Slim has been doing this for quite a while. Shame that it's not more consistent from shot to shot though. I can't take credit for noticing this myself: my partner pointed it out after I posted a screenshot as a joke on Discord. She's so cool.)

Slim doesn't like it when someone calls his yodeling "singing": he thinks singing is beneath him given the disdain in his voice when he says that's what birds, saloon gals, and children do. No, he considers what he does to be an art. He's not entirely wrong, though: it is an impressive skill, especially since he can yodel to certain classical pieces like The William Tell Overture, Ode to Joy, Ride of the Valkyries, and The 1812 Overture. (Also Yankee Doodle, because, well, American. Also maybe Largo al factotum from The Barber of Seville, but I'm unsure of that one: unlike Slim, I am no classical music expert.) There's no need for him to be quite as defensive about it as he is, but his nephews calling it "singing," saying that might be why his bosses didn't like him, and calling yodeling "silly" is enough to make him get violently angry at them. Man's got issues.

Oh yeah, Slim has nephews. They're triplets named Gil, Phil, and Bill, and they're collectively known as The Willies. Unlike their uncle, they're all blond and thin, so god knows what Slim's unnamed and unmentioned sibling must look like.

Slim also has a bison named Junior. I'm not fond of the whole "he's too fat to ride anything else" angle of that, but I do like that they chose an animal that people are constantly told to not mess with because of how dangerous they are. Slim's not afraid of him: he's got this creature trained to listen when he calls for him. I can only guess that Slim is the one who named Junior, so maybe he also raised him. It would explain why Junior appears annoyed with him but still puts up with having Slim jump on his back and the like.

You know what Slim doesn't have though? Kids. Putting together the disdain in his voice when he mentions children, his seemingly low opinion of saloon girls, his big villain number turning the landscape into a rainbow of colors, the queer history of cowboys, and the prevalence of queer-coding in Disney villains... well, I think you get where I'm going with that.

Moving onto his disguise. Don't ask me why nobody figured out this was Slim sooner, given that his wanted poster shows they have the same facial hair, bushy eyebrows, and bags under the eyes. My best guess is because it's in black-and-white and he's in a different outfit, and unless someone's encountered him before they probably don't know what he sounds like. Anyway, His alias is Yancy O'del (yeah, I know), but the one sign we see him with has both "Mister" and "Esquire" in there.

Having looked this up, I learned a few things. First, having "Mister" and "Esquire" together isn't something you're supposed to do, yet nobody in-universe caught this. Second, in the United States, "Esquire" is a title only used for lawyers, so maybe that's why nobody questioned him - fear of a sudden lawsuit for something or other. Third, "Yancy" was not really a name used back then, or at least not a common one. Why'd he choose that name (besides for the pun)? I dunno.

(Also, where the hell does Junior stay whenever he goes to one of these auctions? The world may never know.)

Slim's final defeat at the hooves/wings/what-have-you of several farm animals is pretty pathetic, even by silly Disney villain standards, but I got to give him credit for not wanting to give up even after his disguise is (literally) blown and while he's stuck in a train's smokestack. I have no idea how he planned on getting out of that one, and whatever it was most likely wouldn't have worked anyway, but I admire his refusal to back down in the face of obvious defeat.

Even in his very last scene we see him struggling with the ropes they tied around him while he's carted off to jail. He does not give up.

Anyway, here he is picking up Small Black Market Dealer Steve Buscemi one-handed like it's nothing. (His name is Wesley, but Slim keeps calling him Mister Weasley. That's right, this movie used that joke before Frozen did.)

And here he is lifting three full-grown cows off the ground before tying them up faster than they can react to it. (The cows have names too, but this post ain't about them.)

He uses his left hand to write and aim his gun and seems just as adept with using it as much as his right, which is cool. (There's no frame with both his face and the gun, so you'll have to trust me on that.)

Speaking of his hands

Look at this huge-ass man and his pinkies, I can't with this dude

Look at that smile, sir, who gave you the right

If there were a whole movie about just these two, I'd watch it, I won't even lie.

I've gone on about this guy for probably too long by this point, so to sum it all up:

Babygirl

#Alameda Slim #long post #I tried being coherent but that slipped away from me towards the end lmao oh well #''Blapis are you done being mentally ill and gay for Slim yet'' not in the slightest have a nice day #I mean I'm trying to with a tropical storm and an earthquake warning at least #I'll try adding image descriptions later when my brain is working better sorry #shut up Blapis

[mvshortcut]

Hi! Just discovered your blog and I am SO HAPPY this fandom exists! I read MBS in middle school and was beyond thrilled when the series came out (curse you Disney+) but this is awesome! Love your analysis on the Ten Men, especially McCracken, he was always my favorite villain!

🥺🥺 You're so sweet; this made my day!! There's so many wonderful people in this fandom. We may be small but there's a treasure trove of amazing art and posts and fic!

And I think my "analysis" might be more accurately described as bullying but nevertheless I take my duty very seriously dkjfhgdkjf

#!!!! #ask

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I've been pondering if I should send this question in for a while now but I just gotta know.

Did they evolve to be anime? Now I know what ur thinking "Anon wtf do you mean?" let me explain.

So, we see all the statues of the great 7, right? And all of the statues and portraits of them are just them. they look exactly the same as they do in their movies, all cartoony like. But don't you think it's weird how no one has commented on their appearance being all cartoonish? The twst universe is filled with handsome anime men. they're around every corner. And you can probably tell that they look nothing like the great 7, all considerably different.

So the theory I purpose is: What if, way back when, everyone DID look cartoonish back in the olden days, but as time went on, things changed about their appearance to look more anime. Why? idk man.

How do beastmen fit into this since evolution takes a while especially if it's an animal becoming more human-like? Maybe beastmen evolved after the anime switch-up.

This is worded really badly so I'm sorry if you don't understand what I'm saying, this is just my crack theory. Have a nice day!

Well, it’s definitely the first time I’ve heard of such a theory, even if it’s just a crack (not meant to be taken seriously) theory 🤔 (Us TWST fans really will analyze anything down to the smallest detail or atom, lol)

It’s an interesting concept, but that’s not really how evolution works. Random traits don’t evolve and appear in a large population “just because”. The environment “selects” for the traits which are best suited for survival in particular conditions, and then those surviving organisms are able to pass that beneficial trait onto their offspring. I… don’t see the evolutionary advantages to characters “turning anime” over time. (I’m not counting the point “more physically attractive people have a leg up in finding a partner(s)” because 1) humans are capable of non-physical attraction, and 2) the variation among anime traits is too high (example: all the bright colored hair despite environments in Twisted Wonderland highly varying) for everyone to coincidentally all converge in the same style; there would theoretically still be a handful of people walking around in the “old” style).

For such drastic changes to occur, it would probably also take an extraordinary amount of time, which doesn’t line up with the technological advances we see in the Disney classics versus modern Twisted Wonderland. All of the stories of the G7 took place at least at a time with primitive inventions like wheels and fire, which were used estimated to have first been discovered ~5000 and 200,000-50,000 years ago, respectively. Assuming the course of history is similar to our world, the earliest possible time for the G7 stories to have been set is around then (and that’s being very generous). But then consider that some traits take millions of years to appear and/or disappear. Many people, for example, get appendicitis because the appendix, which has been estimated to have been in various animals for ~80 million years, is still in their bodies despite no longer serving a clear function (at least not in humans). Modern TWST has tech like smartphones and touch screen tables, so that’d be similar to the 21st century for us irl; in the (relatively) short time span of thousands of years to 2023ish, I don’t think that would be nearly enough time to essentially completely change an entire race’s look (ie their “style”). Major changes take millions and millions of years to come into fruition. It’s true that mutations can occur! However, they are rarely so largely noticed (most of them end up getting corrected by the genes themselves) or are so atomically beneficial that it ends up dominating an entire group. (Note: it is stated in canon that beastmen evolved from actual animals and that Malleus has ancestors who were actual dragons, but that’s basically all the lore we have in regards to evolution.)

The G7 looking different from the TWST characters is the result of the classic Disney style differing greatly from Yana Toboso’s style (ie meta outside of the actual world of the game). No characters find this discrepancy odd because, in all likelihood, the styles don’t appear different to them in-universe. The G7 probably just have a variety of facial features and body types that differentiate them from the average student or staff member at NRC. For example, the Beautiful Queen and Thorn Witch have slender bodies (which are most anatomically similar to the TWST characters) but sharper eyes, the Sea Witch is plump, the Queen of Hearts has a rotund body and nose, the King of Beasts and Sorcerer of the Sands are lanky, and the Lord of the Underworld has more angular facial features. Variation like this also exists in real life.

We the players only notice the cartoonishness vs the anime look because we are omniscient third parties. Our stand-in for the TWST world, Yuu, does not take note of, nor ever comment on, this style difference that the irl players do. If the G7 did look very weirdly different from everyone else, you’d think Grim would make a cheeky comment about it or Yuu would point it out—but they don’t. Therefore, I can only come to the conclusion that in the eyes of everyone in TWST, the G7 are just regular ass looking people rather than individuals who look stylistically out of place. If you think about it, Mickey Mouse also appears to have an extremely differently style than the TWST characters and is actually a character we meet face-to-face; he has no shading at all and looks flat to us (the players), yet Yuu, Grim, and others still never comment about that or why he can stand and walk despite lookin 2D. They are focused on his relation to Yuu rather than on his appearance. This supports the idea that, in the eyes of the characters IN Twisted Wonderland, Disney characters may not be registered in that stylistic difference. They must look like they “belong” in that world, and thus in the same style as the TWST characters (from their perspective, NOT the players’ perspective).

Something else to consider is that we haven’t (or rather, can’t) met the G7 in person. All the instances of them we’ve seen are portraits in Crowley’s office and the statues on Main Street—in other words, works of art. Who is to say that these legendary historical figures are accurately depicted? Even if they consistently look the same across depictions, it could just be that most artists collectively agreed “yup, based on what we know of history… they must look like this”. Alternatively, these (“Disney style”) depictions of the G7 could be the result of a popular artist movement or style present at the time period(s) in which the seven were at their prime. Again, these points are all also true of real life instances of artworks featuring important figures.

#twst #twisted wonderland #twst theory #twisted wonderland theory #twst theories #twisted wonderland theories #disney twisted wonderland #notes from the writing raven #question #Grim #Yuu #Malleus Draconia #Mickey Mouse

[minijenn]

Jen Tortures Herself With Every Dreamworks Animated Movie Ever: Road to El Dorado

So to begin with, let me just say I fucking miss Dreamworks 2d animation. Like the way they animated and designed characters in 2d was just... wonderful and I long for them to return to it almost more than I long for Disney to go back to 2d animation. As for Road to El Dorado, its a major case for why they should. This movie is a fun, fantastic romp that is utterly enjoyable all the way through.

Staying on animation for a sec, the colors in this movie are insanely vibrant and the set designs, especially in El Dorado itself, are outstandingly gorgeous. The character designs are top notch (bless Chel oh my god fuck whoever designed her was so horny and I'm so thankful for them) and the animation is as smooth as butter. The facial expressions, much like in Prince of Egypt are so damn well done and convey exactly how the characters are feeling so perfectly.

As for the characters, the cast is great! Miguel and Tulio are a perfect dynamic duo of scheming conmen, though the difference between them are clear. Tulio is more along the lines of being selfish and greedy (and horny, incredibly horny, this whole movie is horny), but he's still so damn likable anyway. Miguel is the idealistic optimist who just wants adventure and excitement. And the way they play off each other is so fast and smooth and expertly written and acted, their bromance truly is one to behold.

Of course, that bromance is broken a bit when Chel comes into the picture. God DAMN this woman is just... (*whistles*) 2D Dreamworks women were just Built Different holy god she is beautiful. And hilarious imo she's a good source of comedy (and conflict) throughout.

The other characters are... ok. I like the chief, but the priest is just an... ok bloodthirsty unhinged villain, but nothing really special. Cortes is a nothing character, barely an antagonist force whatsoever, and outside of them... well there's not much focus anywhere else. Which is a good thing! The movie's plot is tightly focused, simple to understand and follow, and the characters motivations and development is very clear throughout.

As for said plot, I suppose there are a few problematic things about Two White Men showing up and claiming to be gods in a Native ancient civilization, but it never feels like they're exploiting the people of El Dorado for anything more than gold? Like they even stop the priest's attempts to sacrifice people in their name, so I guess that counts for something??? Really though, the main focus of the film is that dynamic between Miguel and Tulio and how two things come between them (for Miguel, its falling in love with the people and culture of El Dorado and for Tulio, its falling in love with, well, Chel). In the end though, they do come back together in a natural and believable way in the midst of a genuinely exciting climax.

The humor is also very sharp in this movie, leaning more on the adult side (like I said, this whole movie is so horny) but never in the gross or annoying way that Antz did before it. It relies more on physical comedy and witty banter, and both of them are carried strongly through the voice acting and the animation. It's no wonder why this movie produced so many famous memes imo

The music is Fantastic. It takes the Tarzan approach where most of the songs are non-diagetic (and mostly performed by Elton John), with the standout exception of Its Tough to be a God which just... completely fucking slaps. Seriously I was boppin along to it the entire time, it goes so hard ya'll.

Overall, Road to El Dorado is a simple movie with a simple plot and premise, but its carried by a really memorable main trio and a great soundtrack and top shelf animation. Give it a watch if ya haven't, its def worth it.

Overall Rating: 8/10

Verdict: Getting caught doing the Nitty Gritty with Chel

Previous Review (Prince of Egypt)

Next Review (Chicken Run)

#jen watches #dreamworks watch #road to el dorado #jen tortures herself with every dreamworks animated movie #dreamworks

[sotwk]

This is incredibly random but I rewatched Hairspray today and did I just fall in love with a character called corny collins 🤣 😂 but seriously though James Marsden is so pretty I may have to go watch everything he's ever been in, I don't understand how disney hasn't cast him as a knight in shining armour, I haven't seem him in many things but even his characters seem so pure and lovely like corny collins, tom wachowski aka donut lord, Richard from superman returns maybe I'm projecting his characters' qualities onto him (and his face certainly helps 🤣) but I now have the opinion that this man is an angel 😇

AHHHH girl, I will gush over James Marsden with you ANY DAY. I am surprised it took you so long to discover him, and via Hairspray of all places. (LOL.) But I happily welcome you to the James Marsden Appreciation Club, and would gladly point out the other places you could enjoy the glory that is him.

I LOVE THAT LITTLE BEAN. Let me count the ways:

James Marsden Appreciation Post

He has been around forever, but he has consistently come off as a sweet guy both on and off screen.

He has such an underrated pretty face, with lovely bone structure and blue eyes. He could totally pass for an Tolkien Elf with that bone structure. (Controversial fancast, if James were younger: Eärendil??) And his smile... oh that smile... it's pure sunshine.

If you've seen the right movies of him, he's actually so freakin' talented; he can handle heavy roles as well as goofy comedy.

He does not take his career too seriously. He has done a LOT of work in kids' movies, and celebs who take on projects for kids have a special place in my heart. (e.g. Hop, Sonic, My Little Pony, and I even heard he's gonna be in the next Paw Patrol movie)

Disney has made him a prince: Prince Edward from Enchanted-- and he did it so wonderfully too! I loved him more than the "real" leading man, Patrick Dempsey.

You nailed it by saying most of his characters are so pure; it's true for most of the stuff I've seen from him, and I think it's just because of the aura he gives off. He is also known as being the "guy who never gets the girl", due to his roles as the jilted lover in "Superman Returns" and "The Notebook".

If you want to swoon, watch "The Best of Me" (Nicholas Sparks adaptation)--too cheesy for my taste, but it was worth it to see James in a romantic lead (and showing off his muscles--haha!)

He played one of my favorite superheroes--Scott Summers aka Cyclops from the X-Men! Unfortunately, imho they did a piss-poor job on his character, and really did him dirty in favor of Wolverine. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed seeing him in that role.

He has such adorkable comedic charm. I'm not a fan of stoner comedies, so I haven't seen those works of his, but he did Seasons 6-7 of 30 Rock, where he was utterly adorkable.

The man can SING. Like, seriously blow your socks off SING. He showed it off clearly in Hairspray and in Enchanted. I would love to see him in more musicals or Disney animated films. Please watch link below for proof.

James is the only reason why I am tempted to watch Westworld, despite hearing that it could be too depressing/dark for my taste. I also want to check out Jury Duty, his most recent tv work.

Any other James lovers, please feel free to chime in regarding thoughts or anything I might have missed! <3

#james marsden #mutuals simp together #underrated hotties #sotwk answers #enchanted #prince edward enchanted

[garden-bug]

I’m sure many people who are bigger fans of Avatar than me with disagree with me on this BUUUT:

I don’t think Avatar needs a live action.

Consider this.

Avatars strengths lie closely entwined with its medium: animation. The animated style allowed for a stark blend of goofiness and seriousness, the hyperrealistic, and tailored perfectly to the target audience (kids) with its vibrant colours and style. There is so much charm in animation and sometimes I feel things are made into live action just for the sake of it and, worse, for a cash grab. Take much of Disney’s work in the past decade for example.

Now, let’s compare Avatar to another recent live action remake that was so incredibly successful it broke the curse of anime remakes: One Piece. Because their situations differ vastly.

One Piece is an anime of which I have watched nearly 300 episodes. Fucking help me, because the pacing is abysmal and my finger hovers over the +10 seconds button at all times. The story of One Piece is as mature and thematically driven as Avatar, and just as creative and ingenious. However, there are certain shōnen (like the ‘genre’ of anime) tropes that ‘tailor’ to its target audience (boys/men) such as the design of the female characters being identical. Small waist, massive boobs. Essentially, you couldn’t show One Piece to your grandma. There are other things but these are the most egregious. Sexualising women pisses me off full stop and this is a thing in anime just like the weird fucking incest trope is. It just… doesn’t land with a western audience (and maybe with some of the Japanese audience? I’m honestly not sure I do not know and could not tell you, this is purely my own impression). One Piece an incredible story, there’s no doubt it’s the or one of the best anime/manga of all times, but in terms of accessibility its medium (anime and manga) restricted its viewer base alongside these anime tropes.

One Piece live action is not a shōnen anime. It is a live action anime remake. Sanji is a flirt in a way that my mum found gentlemanly when she watched the live action rather than perverted or annoying as I found him at times watching the anime (sorry Sanji I do love you really). The women’s bodies are realistic because it’s. Real. Fucking. Life. And the pacing has been hailed as a huge step up from the original. It’s essentially an upgrade. It’s better, more accessible, just as fun and goofy, and just as much the incredible story we all love. The casting is insane. Oda legit christened Inaki with the straw hat I’m- AVATAR DOESN’T HAVE THAT- ok I’m getting off topic. It’s good, alright? It drew more people into the amazing story that is One Piece.

Back to Avatar. Avatar… is for kids. Yes, it can be enjoyed by adults, but its target audience is children. I wouldn’t have watched it if my younger sister hadn’t been born. It probably wouldn’t have interested me past the age of 13, whereas I still enjoy One Piece as an adult, maybe because anime/manga is also targeted at adults. There’s gore? Sort of? Essentially I don’t see the translation onto live action changing the viewer demographic for Avatar purely based on the story. Yes, more people might watch live action because ‘eww animation is for kids!’ but that just isn’t reason enough. Take the Ahsoka series, for example. Why was it live action? Because Disney is scrambling for ways to rescue the franchise its currently dragging though the mud. Did a live action help? No, the story suffered beyond belief for it (would require another massive post to get into it). Some of you will have different opinions on this because you love Avatar a lot and or grew up with it. I get that. It’s like me with Ninjago. But if Ninjago got a live action they would need to alter the story a lot, ok? Avatar is for kids, about kids, and I think it still appeals to those same kids (grown up) today. It’s going to be the same story but it looks different and my prediction is that people will still enjoy the animated version more and the live action will never come close to topping it or complementing it in the way that the One Piece live action does.

My point is that I don’t see what a live action is going to do for Avatar as a story. It’s perfect. It’s already held up as one of the greatest stories of all time by all of the writing tips YouTube channels, what more can it achieve? What will live action bring to Avatar other than ‘oooh it’s real life now!’? I fully believe the comedy can be transferred, but because if One Piece can do it so can Avatar, but I still can’t see the live action Avatar being as much of a game changer for the story or viewership as the One Piece live action is.

It’s still… a cool idea, I guess. But I mean… is the stormlight archive by Brandon Sanderson ever gonna get an adaptation? Can we like… take risks with newer stories?

Happy for the cast and everything and I hope it goes well, but yeah, I just can’t get hyped about this one guys.

Feel free to add your thoughts as I’m interested in hearing them and I’m sure I’ve missed stuff out but as always keep it friendly please.

#huuuuuge rant that needs to be edited and cleaned up #ninjago #avatar the last airbender #avatar the last airbender live action #one piece live action #opla #live action #live action remake #ahsoka series #ahsoka critical

[latesummerfrost]

If any of you seriously went into an adaptation of an Anne Rice property on goddamn AMC expecting a trigger warning you're sipping some Olympic-grade delusion juice. Settle back down with a nice soothing episode of The Owl House on Disney and stop pussy-aching about media with blatant adult themes if you can't handle it. This is the network that ran The Walking Dead adapting a book about a wildly abusive relationship between preternatural creatures who literally kill people for sustenance and amusement. Seriously, disconnect from your idiot-box of collected trigger words and go kick open a DVD out of the Twilight collection for that wholesome, family-friendly, Mormon-skewed vampire experience you so dubiously crave. Lestat unrepentantly ate a whole damn baby in the books, sweets, you think this is the worst it's gonna get? 😂😂😂

Sidebar; as someone who grew up in an extremely violent household, I can safely attest that THAT scene was exquisitely done. Putting Louis and Lestat's relationship through the lens of Claudia's POV the last two episodes was nothing short of inspired. And sorry to say it, but every queer story isn't going to be sunshine and daisies (especially not one that is, again, about preternatural creatures who kill people for sustenance and amusement). I can binge Heartstopper on Netflix anytime I want, but I've been waiting for THIS particular show my entire life.

Horror isn't just about beings with special powers peacocking and monologuing between luscious set pieces. The real horror of this story has always been underneath all of that simmering in the protagonists' extremely flawed humanity. Did you seriously walk into a horror show and balk at people experiencing and perpetrating horror?

And as a lifelong reader, let me close with this; this IS our Lestat. This is Lestat in as many forms and personalities as he's ever held (countless, btw), fused into one being who is going to fit the trappings of this story as its NEW custodians lead us down dark new paths.

Jesus god between this all and the assertion that Rice hated women because - let me check my notes - bad things happen to women in The Lives Of The Mayfair Witches (because it would have been a much better series if Lasher was a friendly pet ghost who tied the neighbors' shoelaces together when they were mean to Deirdre, and Rowan just spent the entire saga cruising on her boat and patching peoples' brains together between calls home to her loving and unproblematic Aunt Carlotta), I don't know how to engage with fandom anymore. I don't know how to politely tell people to shove their weird puritanical ramblings into the orifice of their choice, so I'm just gonna word it like that. Get real; get a grip. Bad things happen to women and all you're doing when you bitch and moan about women writing about these things is passing the narrative torch on to men who can't fucking relate enough to themes like rape and forced childbirth to touch on them well. And YES, a lot of Rice's women are super horny. LET WOMEN BE HORNY. Are you people on crack? Ya'll smokin' that shit the conservatives be slingin' on corners about women needing to think more with their brains than their privates? Women have sexual agency. I didn't phrase that as a goddamn question, women can suck dick and eat pussy till their incisors fall out. Women being sexual has LESS THAN NOTHING to do with rape when it happens to them. Seriously, Mom's Got A Date With A Vampire is fully streamable on Disney, ya'll. God knows I love Caroline Rhea and Charles Shaughnessy enough to give it another watch myself in between maimings and tragedies on Interview.

#interview with the vampire #the mayfair witches #lasher #rowan mayfair #lestat de lioncourt #louis de pointe du lac