#which is a fairly common thing in this type of movie so i guess i'm not super surprised but it is annoying. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hearts4robs · 3 months

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Hello~!

I've never done a match up event before! But knew I had to try once I saw it was open cause your writing is absolutely precious!

For Fandom, I guess DC! Love Batfam family chaos! Makes me want to curl up with a blanket and watch them bicker and roughhouse until Alfred comes in with a feather duster, looking equal parts disappointed and amused.

I'm a 5'3 18 year old asexual panromatic. (Yes, im just a baby, though i have been told-more like my therapist often told me that i dont act my age, saying i act like Im 30. Still trying to figure out if I should be offended by that.) With long hair that's completely grown out red box dye like little mermaid red, my roots being somehow not quite brown not quite ginger and just not blonde enough to be strawberry blonde. My appearance is fairly round and cute even if my expression is often RB. My eyes are a green that appears to be more of a dark grey.

To sum up my personality in one word would be cat like. Sometimes I'm docile and actually a bit of a doormat. In new environments, I tend to shadow some I know and can't find myself able to stand up for myself. This is probably ties into my selective mutism and social anxiety. Sometimes, when I'm in a familiar environment, I tend to be more aggressive for better or for worse. I love a good argument and debate, standing firm in my decision even if I'm wrong. That stubbornness has gotten me in trouble quite a few times. Though cause of it, I've thought of becoming a lawyer. When I'm not arguing I'm drawing, or painting on my walls which I've done far too many times now.

I'm very much a homebody who rather stay in pjs but perfect date wise would probably be a bit of a classic nerd/bookworm date of going to a cute book store and getting lost in the deep wooden bookshelves flicking through various of books catching my eye. Maybe debating on what book is better or whatever trope is more interesting in a detective novel. (I love murder mystery, horror, thrillers, romances of all types, and absolutely despise shakespeare. I was told Romeo and Juliet was a tragic romance. Liars they all are all I can see is the making of a really creepy stalker movie. I can't watch horror movies funny little contradiction, right?) Personally I'd probably write something after the date. I always get inspired by going out and always find myself hunched over my laptop writing whatever inspired me have it be the moment or a movie. I don't know how many times I've watched a movie and got inspired just to spend hours writing whatever fanfic about it. Which can be either amazing or terrible cause I'm an okay writer with a preference for angst due to my dark humor.

I never realized how hard it was to pick an ideal type until just now lol. I guess my type is someone who would enjoy talking/debating/discussing with me, someone fun who loves to do new activities as ive never really do much and is willing to listen to me ramble about whatever hyperfixation. Bucket list kind of things or be able to stay in and talk about their day while I cook some food. (One of my love languages is food. I want to be full and content.) I'm a homebody who has more of a traditional mindset due to my upbringing. So staying home and activities at home would probably be more common. Oh! A bit more open minded or at leasr able to deal with my curiosity, I love discussing religions and culture practices (im unfortunately like the whitest of whites. My dad's side is a bit of a classic white racist). I'm a pagan with some more Wiccan practices, yes crystals and candles. We put holly near our front door and hang cinnamon brooms throughout the house to bring good fortune.

Trope is also a hard pick. I like a good enemies to lovers or a revenge story but romance wise probably a childhood friends (or friends to lovers) idea. Just the idea of your partner being someone who was your friend since you were a tot and chasing butterflies, picking dandelions to blow them into the wind. Someone who has looked at you like your the center of their world while you pull them through the park. Even though they have no idea what lo6ge is truly is. Just kind of melts my heart, and will probably give me cavities from the fluff.

Ahh hopefully I did this right! Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes. Hope you have a blessed day, and something amazing happens to you soon <3

𝐓𝐢𝐦 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐤𝐞: 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞-𝐨𝐮𝐭

“I’m back!” Tim exclaims out into the open hallway as he pushes the door closed with his foot. There were multiple white, thin plastic bags in Tim’s hands, his keys dangling from one of his fingers.

You raise your head from the book in your lap, leaning forward to catch a glimpse of your boyfriend as he shimmied his way out of his shoes.

“Hi, honey.” You smile at him as he walks to the coffee table in front of you, setting down the bags of different take-out.

“Alright.” Tim sighs with a grin, his chest heaving a bit quicker, like he was a bit out of breath.

“What’s all this?” You ask, reaching over and pulling some of the thin plastic away from the food. “Smells amazing, no doubt but-“

“Well, you said you wanted to taste the world.” Tim says, a giddy smile on his lips as he plops down onto the couch beside you with a sigh. “So I brought it to you.”

You smile at him before snorting out a chuckle.

“Fuck you.” You say, and Tim simply smiles before grabbing a small box of thai food, handing it to you, giving you a chance to get the first bite.

“You’re welcome.” He says, nuzzling a small kiss to the softness of your cheek.

Headcanons:

Tim and you have annual movie nights. Every Friday night. Very simple, very easy. You have a joint letterbox account where you leave brutally honest reviews and you both analyse that shit like your life depends on it.

When you guys moved into your shared apartment, Tim dedicated one of the walls of your living room for you to paint and draw on. Needed more space? He’ll paint it over with whatever background colour you need.

You guys have a small chalk board on your fridge. It was used as a small shopping list at first, like writing up stuff like ‘ran outta eggs and cucumber’, but it quickly ended up in Tim leaving you cute notes and reminders for when he was gone on patrol.

Tim doesn’t always understand your asexuality, and he struggled to figure out how to relieve himself, but he figured out a solution and tries to turn the topic whenever someone discusses it to the point it makes you uncomfortable.

I hope you like this </3 it’s a bit late and honestly a little rushed but I’m trying😭🙏this also ISN’T proof-read so I’m so, so sorry if there’s mistakes☝️☹️

#★ robins match up event! ★#★ robins events ★#I’m just tapping atp #dc #dc x reader #sfw #tim drake x reader #Tim Drake x reader sfw #red Robin x reader #red robin dc

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raindancejodi · 7 months

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Halloween Movie Watchlist

Hi guys! It's spooky season so I'm trying to come up with a list of horror movies and Halloween movies to watch to celebrate! I want to watch one movie a night, and I want to watch mostly movies I've never seen before!! I've got a small list of the classics/my favorites:

Hocus Pocus - if you're American (or I guess just acitve on Tumblr) and have been paying attention to Halloween media at all in the last decade, you've definitely heard of this one! In case you haven't: a teenager accidentally reawakens 3 child-eating witches and must stop them before they eat the youth of every child in town. Sounds a bit scary like that, but it's one of the absolute best family Halloween movies around

The Conjuring - my favorite horror movie ever! So scary, so well acted. The actual story is a bunch of scammers (with the Warren's being the biggest liars/scammers of them all), but the movie's great! Synopsis: a family moves into a new house and scary/supernatural things begin to occur, seemingly focusing on the mother.

Halloweentown - back to the realm of 'family friendly', this is another absolute banger from my childhood. A teenage girl learns she's a witch and must use her new powers to save Halloweentown, a magical place where Halloween is 24/7

The Vigil - I watched this fairly recently and I was very impressed! A Jewish horror movie about a young man who must sit watch over a dead body (which is a Jewish custom I'm forgetting the name of), but supernatural forces begin to haunt him

The Nightmare Before Christmas - back to the more fun ones, this movie is probably the most quintessential 'Halloween movie' in my mind, I think I've watched it every year since I was born! Jack Skellington, the king of Halloween, grows weary of celebrating the same holiday over and over. When he discovers a portal to Christmastown, he gets filled with excitement over something new and decides to try his hand at being king of that instead

The Possession - another Jewish horror story about a Dybbuk box, a box containing a malicious spirit, that finds its way into the hands of a young girl and begins terrorizing her family. Based on a true story! Based here being the operative word, but the owners of the box do seem to consistently say they were genuinely afraid of the box (although no deaths have been attributed to it as far as I know)

Fear Street 1994, 1978, and 1666: technically 3 movies, but all part of a series based off of the books by R. L. Stine. Phenomenal movies, I loved everything about them and want to own them on DVD. This story follows a group of mostly teens as they uncover the truth of the curse of Shadyside, a town where serial killers seem remarkably common. Also has excellent LGBTQ rep (sapphic) and genuinely some of the best storytelling and 'unraveling' I have ever seen (in my opinion)

The Exorcist - a cult classic for a reason, the movie that kicked off the exorcism movie craze that continues to this day (The Exorcist: Believer, anyone?). A young girl begins to display horrifying changes in personality and her mother is desperate to find answers, so she reaches out to a priest. I like this movie a lot, but it may seem kinda hokey to those more used to the more 'modern' special effects. I also love this one because they don't let themselves get bogged down on the specifics of the 'why' and the 'how', bad things happen to good people for no reason all the time (the explanation at the end of Hereditary really undid the whole movie for me)

Halloween - it's literally called Halloween, how could I not include it? This one is my favorite of the franchise because I, personally, really dislike gore (specifically painful body horror like in Saw and later installments). Not that there's anything wrong with those types of movies, just not my personal cup of tea. This movie is much slower and much more thriller type than you might expect if your only knowledge of the franchise is the latest (2020 +) movies, but it is masterful in its suspense and its overbearing, black, ominous, foreboding feeling it evokes.

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) - can't have Halloween without Dracula! This is my favorite of the adaptations, I love the music, the sets, the casting, the costuming. It's beautiful and grandiose and suffocating and terrifying (and not totally SFW so maybe look up some details before watching with kids) and also a bit long so keep that in mind. A real estate agent travels to remote Romania to settle a land deal for a wealthy recluse, only to find his life and the lives of those around him irrevocably changed when the mysterious man takes a keen interest in his fiancé

That's 12 if you count Fear Street as 3, or only 9 if you wanna watch them all together (as I usually do, I really love those movies), and I'm gonna work out a specific order if I get a few more suggestions. Please add on and give me your ideas! I'm trying to focus more on Halloween movies - some connection to the holiday or more 'traditional' Halloween monsters like vampires, witches, werewolves, and ghosts - but there's more than a few non-Halloween movies on there so don't be afraid to add your fav scary movie too!

#halloween #horror movies #halloween movies #scary movies #hocus pocus #the exorcist #dracula

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manycoloureddays · 2 years

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🥺🛒🎶🧐🎃👀 for the fic ask game!!

emily!!! hi!!! thank you 🥰

🥺 Is there a certain type of moment or common interaction between your characters that never fails to put you in your feels?

hugs!! there's so much you can convey about character dynamics, relationships, and emotions through a hug, and i love watching them just as much as i love writing them! i love using them platonically, i love using them romantically, two of my favourite fics to write have featured many, many, hugs. it's a way to slow down movement and plot too, spend a little time reconnecting to the pov character's train of thought.

🛒 What are some common things you incorporate in your fics? Themes, feels, scenes, imagery, etc.

i love to read and write romance, but the core of most of my fics (and my work in general) is finding love in community. i love found family, i love friendship, love as a choice and an action and a force for healing is so important to me narratively. hugs are one way of showing that, but i'll also usually incorporate a cooking/eating scene because cooking as a love language and family coming together to eat and talk and connect are big parts of my life that i like to sprinkle into my stories. hand holding, finding love in even the darkest times, finding solace and help and strength in your community, all of them show up regularly too.

🎶 Do you listen to music while you write? What song have you been playing on loop lately?

i can't listen to music while i write because i get too distracted, i work much better with ambient noise. but i do have lots of writing playlists that i'll listen to when i'm walking my dogs, cleaning up, and generally getting ready to write, so that i'm in the right headspace once i get there. at the moment i've been listening to my nancy & robin playlists quite a bit, partly because they're two of my favourites and partly because i'm gearing up for some ronance scenes!

🧐 Do you spend much time researching for your stories?

it depends on the story! sometimes i get sucked down a rabbit hole researching weaponry for a fantasy au or the layout of a city i've never been to for a fic that needs to feel particularly grounded, other time i only google things like "when did [movie/song/book] come out?" or "what time does the sun set in july in [insert place here]?" to make sure i'm not totally off base!

🎃 Do you write fics for certain holidays? Which is your favorite holiday inspired fic?

i'm such a slow writer that if i try to write a spooky fic for halloween, i'd end up posting it in january!! i'm trying to think if i've ever actually finished one for the holiday itself and...... i don't think i have. but i do love to read them! i return to these two fics every christmas: pining for you - the librarina and as long as we have we - lady_ragnell

👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please!

you've heard bits and pieces about a lot of my wips, so i'll try and give you something you haven't heard yet! in the next chapter of my fix it fic, we're finally at the end of spring break and the kids, nancy, robin and eddie all have to go back to school (which will be interesting for certain individuals who have become incredibly codependent in recent chapters. anyway, it's nancy pov and it's a sinclair wheeler carpool situation, with nancy dropping erica off at the middle school when she sees some of the basketball team hanging around attempting something like menacing. erica puts on a brave face, but nancy can tell something is up and even though the sinclair's haven't given a full rundown of the events at the creel house, nancy isn't stupid, she can take a fairly educated guess. needless to say, the basketball team learns just how scary nancy wheeler can be. and once the fix it fic is finally finished, i'll be able to dedicate more time to finishing the fic where steve dies (temporarily) which will be fun and devastating!!

#that meme thing #s0ftpining #thank you emily!!!#💕💕💕#madeleine writes

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princessdong · 3 years

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Prologue: Breaking In

Masterlist

You had always loved the thrill of the unknown. The thrill of getting where no one has gone because of fear. Jiu called it the thrill of getting yourself killed.

But nevertheless, Jiu was a good friend above everything, and maybe it was the sole reason why she was accompanying you in this strange tradition of getting into haunted places of Korea. Up until then you had been in at least four hospitals, a restaurant, two amusement parks, three houses and a school, having started with the whole idea when you were sixteen.

This time you were getting into one of the most ancient houses of the Jeju Island. Rumors about that place were diverse, as people said that the house was built by the Joseon dynasty, and one of the sons of the emperor lived there along her wife, and them being murdered in that very same house in the middle of the uprisings. Other people said that it actually belonged to a Park family that lived there on the 18th century, and one of them killed everyone. There was a small rumors about a vampiress being the only one living there for a long time.

You didn't care, a haunted house was a haunted house, and it was enough for you to want to get in.

Jiu didn't want to go in, she wanted to be cozy on her home, watching horror movies, but she was dragged once again to somewhere else. The plan was the same as always, to sleep in the place, or at least stay there. Jiu never slept, not even a single time since she decided to tag along with you. So, while you made sure to carry the gear to break in, and sleep in the house, she carried unhealthy amounts of coffee, and food.

You knew that the house was different from any other you had been before, as the door opened fairly easy, like it was opened from inside. The lights functioned perfectly, and most of them were on, except those in the second floor. The kitchen was in perfect condition, and the fridge was totally fine, except the fact that it had no food.

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Jiu asked, getting inside the kitchen.

“Yeah, I made sure of it... Like three times. Maybe someone got in before? Or, who knows, the ghost” You joked, not minding that for once the place was in good shape.

“What if there's someone living here? Like, in the abandoned place, and that's why it only looks creepy on the outside?” Jiu questioned, and you sat on the counter, already feeling comfortable with the place.

The action seemed to only unsettle your best friend more, as quickly walked to you and grabbed your hands, pulling you to your feet, and quickly walking to the living room, which wasn't too far away from the main door.

“Are you scared, Kim Minji? Who would've thought that this friendly house would scare you more than a place that's falling apart.” You teased, not being able to see her distressed face.

“That's exactly the point, you big idiot! An abandoned house should be falling apart both inside and outside!” She let go of your hands and turned around. “This place has been abandoned for who knows for how long, and it stills looks like any other house on the inside! That's not normal!”

Seeing her at the verge of tears, you decided to do something. After all, the last thing you wanted was to get your best friend becoming a crying, distressed mess.

“I have an idea. You go out, Jeju is a beautiful place, and I'm sure you would like to visit under better circumstances. I'll go searching around for any living or strange creature that could make this place unpleasant” You assured her, looking into her eyes, grabbing both of her hands, caressing them with your thumbs “And when I give you the signal, you decide if you wanna come back or not. Deal?”

She looked at you, obviously thinking about it. As tempting as it was, she couldn't let you be at this place so strange all alone.

“No. I'm staying. But... Could you, you know, at least go upstairs to make sure there's no one here? I don't wanna get sued. Or killed”

You chuckled, and nodded, putting your backpack on the floor.

“I'll do so. Can we sleep on one of the bedrooms if we find that there's no one, and they're okay?” You asked in return.

“First you gotta get up and make sure there's no one.”

With that, you let go of her hands, taking your phone from the backpack, and put it on one of the pockets of you sweatshirt.

“Remember, wait for the signal to go upstairs, or run.”

You walked to the stairs, with long confident steps, and once you got to the stairs, you switched on the lights.

The second floor was just as perfect as it was downstairs, and although it was certainly creepy, you tried to think into a reasonable explanation for it.

There were five doors on each side of the hallway, and you quickly found out that the first one was a bathroom. It was as big as your bedroom, and it was as luxurious as it could be a bathroom from a palace, but other than that, there was nothing strange. The one in front of it was a bedroom. It had far less luxury than it was the bathroom, but it still had something that made you feel like you had to be a countess to be allowed to sleep in there.

You kept opening rooms, finding bedrooms that varied on luxury, and a bathroom that was as imponent as the first one. By now you only had two doors left, as one of them was the one who signaled the end of the corridor, and the other was the last door on the left. You decided to open first the one in the left, only to find yourself greeted by different types of instruments. There were violins, guitars, a flute, and many others. But, apart from that, nothing out of the common.

Quickly closing the door, you decided to go for the last door.

Inside of that door, was a bedroom worth of being occupied by a Queen. You were even sure that any queen would envy that place. It had a chandelier, a bedroom where at least five people could get in, and still there would be room for each of them to sleep freely. A huge closet was also there, and there was another door, which you could only think of as yet another bathroom. But other than the blinding amount of gold and silver in that bedroom, there was nothing out of the ordinary. At least, that's what you thought, until you turned around to get out of the room, finding that the door that you had left opened was now closed.

But you were forgetful, so you wouldn't deny that there was some possibility that you didn't realized that you had closed the door, and it wasn't until you felt a gush of wind and you were pinned with your back against said door, with a pair of dark brown eyes looking deep into your soul that something was off. You wanted to scream, but a hand flew to your mouth, and the grip on your hips only tightened.

“You little pestering human... You broke into my house, and looked into every single room like you had the right to. And you brought another like you into the house.”

Her voice was sweet like honey to your ears, despite it being full of anger, and coming out low, almost as a growl.

“It's an abandoned house! Or I thought it was! I wouldn't come if I would've known that-”

“And now you can't just go out, because that other human would be suspicious” She interrupted you, thinking out loud. “I guess I could use you both as bloodbags... No, I wouldn't, even though it's tempting.”

With that, she let you go, although not moving from her place, and you weren't sure of what to do.

“You must stay the night with the other pestering human, only to make her believe that no one lives here. No one can know about me, you can't tell.” She ordered, and you looked at her, confused.

“Why wouldn't I? There's someone living here, everyone thought that there was a”

“A ghost? A vampire? Well, they're not wrong with that” She interrupted you once again.

You looked at her, furrowing you eyebrows, and then a smile broke into your face. There it was, Jiu had made you a prank, or tried to scare you to get to stop getting into haunted places.

“Ah, yeah, I see. You really got me, that much I'll admit. You could really become an actress.”

The woman in front of you frowned, looking confused.

“Excuse me?”

“You want me to believe that you're a ghost? Or a vampire?” You scoffed “I'm not dumb, vampires don't-”

Before you could finish the sentence, she had you lifted by the throat, looking at you with now red eyes, veins under them, and fangs coming out from under her upper lips. She smiled, and it was when those fangs looked even more scary.

“Does this look real enough for you, darling?” She sneered, and you tried to say anything, but the grip on your throat didn't let you. “Listen up, you're only staying to not raise suspicions, but once the sun goes up, you and the other goes away. You're not allowed to sleep in my room, or any other room that isn't the first one. Is that understood?”

You could only nod, as you couldn't speak, and she let you go. You started breathing properly again, looking at her dead in the eye. You could've staked her, or slapped her, or even scream at her, but you didn't do anything. However, she could see the fury in your eyes, but it didn't stopped her to keep looking at you with her stoic face.

You were to get out, you even opened the door, but you stopped.

“Who are you?” You asked, looking at her once again.

“A vampiress” She answered.

“I asked who are you. Not what.”

“Joy.”

Knowing that you wouldn't get anything else from her, you nodded, and then closed the door.

You walked downstairs, still thinking of your encounter, when you got hit by Jiu, who thought you were someone coming for her. And it was then when you realized that you had completely forgotten about the signal.

“Fuck, Jiu, I'm really sorry, I got too caught up with looking around and forgot it."

“I could've died! You scared me!” She shouted, and it was then that you realized that you shouldn't tell her about Joy.

“Don't worry, there's no one here, it's just another boring place”

#red velvet joy #red velvet x reader #joy x reader #joy imagines #red velvet fanfic #creatures of the night

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mimzy-writing-online · 4 years

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I hope this question isn't too stupid, but you're one of my favorite writing blogs so I'll give it a shot. I want to write a FanFic based on the 1971 version of Willy Wonka. I wanted the story to tell Violet Beauregarde's story, the one that turns into a blueberry. However, I have SOME questions as I'm fairly new to FanFic. 1). Am I better off focusing on each kid's perspective, going back and forth? Or is it good to narrow my focus one one character? 2). Can I give them a character arch, li

(2/3) like Violet's really mean in school but she becomes kind after her experience at the factory. Is that too cliche or predictable? 3). Why does she try waddling away after her blueberry transformation and the Oompa Loompas are singing/dancing around her? They're trying to help her, and I don't really get why she'd do something like that. 4). What are tips to better understand the characters I want to flesh out? I guess it circles back to the last question, understanding their psyche. Yikes

(3/3) Yikes! Super sorry this ask is long. And I'm even more sorry if my questions were lame or you've covered them before. :P. I can overthink at times, ESPECIALLY when it comes to my writing. I'm such a perfectionist storyteller, it's not even funny. I hope my questions aren't bothering you. You're one of my favorite writing blogs, so I figured I could come to you. I apologize in advance for wasting your time. You DO NOT have to reply at all if you don't want to. :P Thanks, have a great week

First and foremost: this is not a stupid question, you are not wasting my time at all. This is actually a rare treat for my blog because I don’t get many asks that don’t involve blindness, though I usually know better how to answer those than I do other questions. So, here we go:

Are you better off focusing on each kid’s perspective, going back and forth? Or is it better to narrow your focus onto one character?

The general rule of writing is to simplify. If two background characters serve a similar purpose, just combine the characters, for example. Slimming down extra scenes that don’t contribute to plot or character development.

However, that advice is meant for people publishing novels, working within an overflowing industry, dependant on sales and royalties. They have to meet whatever industry standards are, like word count or POV types. They have to find someone willing to take them on as a client because they love that book.

Fanfiction is not bound by such nonsense. Fanfiction is a beautifully lawless land where capitalism cannot influence it. What defines what you do with fanfiction is if you enjoy reading it, and if you have the steam to continue a long project.

Some people easily write 200,000k fics within a matter of weeks or months (or in my case, just once, two years). Some people work best with short fics. Both (and everything in between) are wonderful.

So, how much steam do you have for this project? How long do you think you can carry it and still finish it? Because that defines how big you should plan to make this project. If you don’t think you can write a long fic, then maybe just stick to one character.

A compromise between the two is to focus primarily on one character, and examine the other characters more briefly. This could be done in just a single POV chapter, or a handful. This could be done with the characters connecting and seeing the side character through your main character’s eyes, seeing how they’ve changed.

There’s no wrong answer. This fic is for your enjoyment primarily. No matter what you write, it will appeal to at least a few people, if not crowds. But your fun comes first, both literally and figuratively. Write for you, write to explore the story for yourself.

Can you give them a character arc like Violet’s where she becomes kinder after her experiences in the factory? Is that too cliche or predictable?

I wouldn’t call it predictable, because I’d expect everyone to go into completely different directions because they were all such unique and individual people before they entered the factory, and they were foiled by their own quirks.

Violet was mean and fake, she was demanding. I don’t know how much I want to speculate on the plotline you have going for her, how you’ll develop her to make her want to be more kind.

But I would love to speculate on the others.

Agustus Gloop?

I feel like his experience in the chocolate river and almost drowning would make it hard to enjoy chocolate ever again. I think it would be a long time before he had any sweets. Also, because of his weight, I imagine there’s got to be some body-image issues hiding under the surface. I’d also put money on him being bullied, and him acting out against the students who bully him and because of his size he is more intimidating, but that doesn’t stop people from saying things behind his back.

I imagine the chocolate thing is a form of self-comfort. Maybe he turns to other foods to over-eat with to cope. Maybe eventually he figures out that this isn’t helping him. Does he try to replace unhealthy foods with healthier ones? (idk, I have a personal turn off on getting into the concept of dieting, so I’m not going to dig in much there).

I’d like to see him learn to love himself, develop some body neutrality, that his body doesn’t define who he is or what his worth is. That he becomes okay with who he is as he grows up. People who are happy and comfortable with themselves are generally nicer and easier going than people who aren’t. Maybe with some self-love, he’ll be kinder to others.

Veruca Salt?

Okay, I have a confession. My brain thought of her when discussing Violet. I haven’t seen either of the films in years.

Well, let’s thank Wikipedia everyone, the greatest gift of the internet.

Veruca does come across as a spoiled brat. Her parents shower her in material objects, which might mean something. I have a close friend who hates people buying things for him or giving him gifts that cost money. This has to do with a parent buying him things out of guilt after episodes of emotional abuse. I asked him a while back what he wanted for his birthday (I meant baked goods, I bake or cook special meals as birthday gifts for my friends. A has asked for chocolate chip cookies for three birthdays in a row now. Several friends ask for cookies for Christmas). Anyway, my friend had a panic attack and couldn’t respond until an hour later.

Maybe there’s something to that.

What does she think about money as she grows up? Does her love language continue to be gifts? I think it might one day be quality time. Maybe it is now. It’s common for rich parents to be absent and barely spend time with their kids because of work and extravagant social lives that sort of money gives them access to, meaning they barely have time in the day to spend with their kids. Maybe gifts are the only way she can make sure her parents still care, the only way she can get their attention?

Mike Teavee?

Apparently in the movie credits his last name is spelled Teevee. But I’m obsessed with tea (and this is the point where I remember my tea and wonder if I’ve let it go cold because I got too focused. Nope, it’s still there). So it’s Teavee here.

Wikipedia describes him as a young boy who only watches TV, nothing but TV. He’s especially interested in cowboys and Western films. He comes across as a know-it-all. He’s easily annoyed but gets along with others.

Anyone have a guess at where I’m going with this?

Mike is neurodivergent. I mean, that’s my new headcanon. I lean towards ADHD because that’s what I project, but like everything else, his interpretation is in the eye of the beholder. Every viewer sees something different in him.

Some common ADHD (and autism) experiences beyond having a specific interest is how others react to your special interest. You get used to people getting bored when you talk about your interest for the thousandth time, but it’s still important to you, but not to someone whose opinion matters to you. RSD is probably common.

Wikipedia says he’s described as lazy in the books? Common ADHD “symptom,” or rather something that outside viewers label as laziness. Really, he just doesn’t have the motivation to do any of those other things.

And Charlie?

Did anyone think I wouldn’t have any thoughts on Charlie, our hero and protagonist?

Oh no, I have thoughts. Charlie goes to great lengths to set his family up comfortably, he becomes generous with his money. He also knows nothing about running a factory. I’m hoping Willy Wonka gives him some help there. But I bet adult Charlie is a stressed-out workaholic who tries to do everything and thinks he has something to prove, that he’s not just some random lucky child, that he can do this. Charlie totally gets a work-related anxiety disorder.

Those are my thoughts. I still think giving them Violet’s arc isn’t cliche or predictable, but rather completely different from what you think would happen to all those kids.

I mean, maybe a few of them are still little jerks in their adult lives. There’s no one road to grow up on, even if you’re four strangers who shared a similar traumatic experience.

Why does she try waddling away after her blueberry transformation and the Oompa Loompas are singing/dancing around her? They're trying to help her, and I don't really get why she'd do something like that.

They strange looking short men she’s literally never talked to, never seen or heard of before today, who’s already taken away two children by this point, all while singing a song about what terrible children they were.

And she’s scared because her body is doing something strange and scary and awful. She’s scared. She doesn’t know what to do. What will happen if these strange men take her away? She doesn’t know what happened to the other kids.

And they’re not really communicating they want to help, just singing cheerfully about how awful children are.

What are tips to better understand the characters I want to flesh out? I guess it circles back to the last question, understanding their psyche.

A lot of it is just watching real-life people and wondering why they are the way they are. Listening to their reasoning and what they tell you about who they are and where they come from.

I know people who grew up like Agustus with using over-eating as a way to self-comfort, and the bullying they experienced. I know that if a kid was physically bigger than his bullies, maybe he’d fight them to make them stop and leave him alone. People who go through that journey of learning that their body doesn’t define who they are, accepting it because it is theirs and it takes care of them.

(Which reminds me of a post I like that pops around here and there, that positive body image should be about more than how “sexy” your curves make you look. A person shouldn’t have to be sexy to be treated like a person. A person shouldn’t have to be sexy at all if they don’t want to, especially not all the time, and especially not a child. And there are a lot of obese children in the world who don’t have any positive body image messages designed for them)

I learned what my friend’s love languages are and why they have them and what they mean. Which is why I have that theory for Veruca.

Mike is just self-projection and listening to other neurodivergent people when they describe their life experiences or listening to their theories when they say a character is neurodivergent too.

I won’t lie, my theory on Charlie is based entirely on the Avatar: the Last Airbender fandom’s common head-canon that Zuko becomes a workaholic after he becomes Firelord. There might be some canon material in the comics that supports that, but I’ve never seen it. I think Zuko and Charlie have a similar vibe and that those three years Zuko struggled, and Charlie’s entire life before the factory make them both feel like they need to be perfect and do everything right to prove they deserve the job they’re given and that their backgrounds don’t define their worth.

Thank you so much for your ask anon!

And again, you are not a bother. I enjoyed digging into this movie I’d never thought in depth about until tonight. And you’re not alone, lots of writers are overthinkers and perfectionists. You are in good company. Our writing and fanfiction community welcomes and loves you <3

And thank you for your kind words! I’m so happy that you love my blog so much <3 It made my day to read that

Take care anon, and good luck in your writing :)

#writing advice #fanfiction #writeblr #anon #charlie and the chocolate factory #Anonymous

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articulate-response-blog · 7 years

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“I Think 'Dunkirk' Was Mediocre at Best, and It's Not Because I'm Some Naive Woman Who Doesn't Get It”

The offending article in question: http://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/news/a28515/dunkirk-movie-review/ by Mehera Bonner

I am a white man. I take issue with Bonner’s article not because I hate “SJWs” or “Feminazis,” but because this article stylizes itself as a movie review and instead uses most of its space to tear down strawmen and generally be misandrist.

misandry: noun; dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against men

Let’s look at the text of the article itself:

“That movie was fucking bomb." That was one reaction I overheard after watching Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan's new directorial gift to men, who are currently spending their time fervently ranking his movies, arguing about said rankings, and—presumably—wearing fedoras completely un-ironically. Or even worse, ironically.

Bonner begins with a thesis of sorts: Dunkirk is a “directorial gift to men,” and men who enjoy his movies like to wear fedoras, presumably because they are stupid.

However, as we will see, Bonner does not fully support her thesis. She does bring up some valid criticism of the movie, but the article seems to devolve into repeating the same language found in this first paragraph without explaining her points. I’m not saying she needs to provide “data and statistics” for her movie review. Movie reviews are subjective. She needs to explain why Dunkirk is a “directorial gift to men,” and, if possible, why men are stupid and like to wear fedoras.

Obviously she doesn’t outright state that men are stupid here (that comes later), but for Bonner, the fedora is a synecdoche for the stereotype of a “neckbeard”: a white, fat, fedora-wearing man, who generally holds sexist beliefs and attitudes, while at the same time complaining and loudly wondering why they are not socially popular. The neckbeard is a strawman- but it’s not even clear what should be in place of the strawman. For no better reason, Bonner seems to mention men if only because Dunkirk is generally about a war populated heavily by men. There are no neckbeards in Dunkirk.

If Bonner wanted to address the societal implications of Dunkirk, or explain how the heated anti-woman and anti-minority atmosphere of the current day played into her opinion of Dunkirk, I would be fine with that. In fact, I wouldn’t be writing this at all. I don’t think movies or any other art need to be divorced from the society in which they were made to be able to judge them fairly. But Bonner doesn’t do that. She just attacks “pretentious men” who “would love nothing more than to explain to [Bonner] why [she’s] wrong about not liking it.”

There are points about the film in this article:

The thing is, I just don't think Dunkirk is a very good movie—if your definition of the word movie is "moving images held together by a plot." Like, yes: Dunkirk is very well-made. I felt like I was going to vomit during it, because that's how intense it was. And if your interests include riding a visual roller coaster called war, you will love it. But if you're a fan of films with plots, Dunkirk doesn't play that game. It's as if Christopher Nolan (sorry, "Nolan") plucked out the war scene from a script, and was like "let's just make this part extra long and call it a movie, lol."

Here Bonner notes that she believes the film is well-made, but criticizes the overall plot structure of Dunkirk- something which has been divisive. Some critics like the structure, others don’t. I wonder what part of Dunkirk’s “plot” didn’t resonate with Bonner, but she doesn’t elaborate, instead choosing to mock “war movie fans,” “Christopher Nolan fans,” and Nolan himself.

The film, in case you aren't already aware due to the endless critical musings devoted to it, is about the real life battle of Dunkirk—where British and Allied troops were rescued by civilian boats and evacuated. It's a story worthy of being told and re-told, and I really enjoy war movies in general, but still—actual stuff needs to happen. Stuff other than scenes of men burning in oil-covered water, ships sinking, and bodies drowning. If you want to argue that the non-stop violent intensity of the film was the point, and that we should feel fully immersed in the war like we're living it ourselves—I present Harry Styles.

I would disagree with her that what is pictured in Dunkirk isn’t “actual stuff.” I’m not sure what she means by “actual stuff,” again, because she doesn’t elaborate, but she does bring up a good point about Harry Styles:

The One Direction band member did a surprisingly impressive job in what turned out to be a pretty major role, but I refuse to believe it's possible for any viewer with even a semblance of pop-culture knowledge not see him and immediately go "OMG, it's Harry Styles."

I think this is an interesting point. I haven’t seen it mentioned by any other critics and it is definetly something I would agree with Bonner about. Seeing Styles in the movie distracted me from the overall tone (the “violent intensity” that Bonner mentioned earlier), and made me focus more on his performance.

Much like Ed Sheeran's cameo in Game of Thrones, having a pop star casually show up in a film will inevitably remove the audience from the narrative and ground them back in reality. Harry Styles is a constant reminder to the viewer that the movie isn't real, while the entire excuse for the film's intense and admittedly-impressive cinematography is to convince the viewer that they're right there in it. You can't have your Harry Styles cake and eat it too.

Yup.

But my main issue with Dunkirk is that it's so clearly designed for men to man-out over.

Unfortunately, here we veer off the rails and return to Bonner’s “thesis.”

And look, it's not like I need every movie to have "strong female leads." Wonder Woman can probably tide me over for at least a year, and I understand that this war was dominated by brave male soldiers. I get that.

A prevailing theme in this article is language that suggests Bonner needs to justify her criticisms even before she makes them, especially in regards to the “directorial gift to men” argument.

Let’s watch how Bonner begins to make a point about the film, but instead replaces it with misandry:

But the packaging of the film, the general vibe, and the tenor of the people applauding it just screams "men-only"

Ok, how?

—and specifically seems to cater to a certain type of very pretentious man who would love nothing more than to explain to me why I'm wrong about not liking it. If this movie were a dating profile pic, it would be a swole guy at the gym who also goes to Harvard. If it was a drink it would be Stumptown coffee. If it was one of your friends, it would be the one who starts his sentences with "I get what you're saying, but..."

Oh.

I guess congratulations are in order for Nolan managing to unite high-brow male critics and very annoying people on Twitter under a common bromance, but to me, Dunkirk felt like an excuse for men to celebrate maleness—which apparently they don't get to do enough.

Oh.

I might as well ask again- how did the packaging and general vibe promote this idea of “men-only?” How does Dunkirk feel like an excuse for men to celebrate maleness? Why are the men (and only men) who like Dunkirk, douche bros?

Bonner does not go on to explain.

Fine, great, go forth, but if Nolan's entire purpose is breaking the established war movie mold and doing something different—why not make a movie about women in World War II? Or—because I know that will illicit cries of "ugh, not everything has to be about feminism, ugh!"—how about any other marginalized group?

Because that’s not Nolan’s idea of “breaking the established war movie mold.” In Nolan’s other films, he focuses heavily on non-linear plots, among other things. Bringing that conception of plot to war movies does break the war movie mold. Taking out “men” and slotting in “women or other marginalized groups” to make a war movie does not break the war movie mold.

These stories shouldn't be relegated to indie films and Oscar season. It's up to giant powerhouse directors like Nolan to tell them, which is why Dunkirk feels so basic.

Here is a list of 10 films about women in wartime, by the British Film Institute. Here is Red Tails, a movie about the (all-black) Tuskegee Airmen, released in late January 2012 (after Oscar season), with a budget of 58 million dollars.

I agree there is a shortage of movies about the experiences of women and minorities in all time periods, but to charge Nolan with creating a movie that was “an excuse for men to celebrate maleness” because he didn’t focus on who Bonner wanted him to is ridiculous.

It's a summer war movie. It'll make you fear for the future and pray that we never fight again. You might get kind of sick. If you're like me, a random man will come up to you after and explain why you're wrong for disliking it. But this war movie isn't special. At the end of the day, it's like all the rest of them.

As a side point, I’m not sure how a random man could come up to you and explain why you’re wrong for disliking it- how would this random man know you disliked it?

Bonner’s conclusion, and article overall, is very weak. It spent some time discussing the movie, but also spent more time leveling ridiculous attacks at people who like the movie, mostly because they are men.

I’m conflicted, however, because I can somewhat see the reasoning underpinning Bonner’s complaints about “pretentious men.” There has always been a culture of male eliteness in filmmaking, and especially in film criticism, and for a movie like Dunkirk, helmed by one of the most successful directors in the world, it’s not surprising that such a culture would be on display. But none of Bonner’s article seems to be addressing that culture, and Bonner doesn’t handle the subject with any seriousness.

The article comes off as a way to bait other critics, especially male ones, into a session of “well you’re sexist because you can’t handle my opinion. har har isn’t the male ego so fragile?”

But what do I know? I’m a man, after all.

#dunkirk #review #response #articulate #feminism #sjws #strawman #misandry #misogony #marie claire #mehera bonner

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