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throwawayfish · 4 years

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𝐉𝐉 𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 (𝐀𝐔)

summary: if meeting at a target late at night means you’d have a new found friend...then so be it.

warnings: swearing, fluff, typos

a/n: this is a simple idea for an imagine i thought about while i was watching rudy sing baby it’s cold outside on yt. hope this compensates for jj’s character in the series i’m working on! :)

comment on my main masterlist if you want to be added to my taglist! ♡

every street of the busy new york city was covered in white, the bottoms of your boots making the snow crunch as you made your way inside the store, leaving prints behind the vinyl flooring.

it was a relief to the only exposed skin you had, your nose unblocked, hands recovering from the numbness and your whole body slowly returning back to it’s normal temperature with the help the central heating system provided.

you grabbed one of the red carts, pulling out your phone to see the string of messages your best friend kiara left you.

where the hell are you?

hellooooo

it’s almost midnight and it’s winter, are you seriously out exploring right now?!

omg did u slip? broke a bone? i ain’t helping you just crawl your way back to the apartment

wait no that’s rude. just answer me bitch where tf u at?!!

stopping by the chiller where the pillsbury cookies were, you shot her a reply after grabbing boxes with variety of designs and a few prepackaged cinnamon rolls.

i’m at target so chill

just gonna buy a few things

you want hot cocoa? yeah don’t answer that i’m buying hot cocoa

also decor

be home in a few

merry christmas!!! ❤️❤️

as you made your way to different sections of the store, browsing for random snacks and food you might need in the apartment, you felt your phone vibrate to see the single reply she sent.

yeah, it’s december 3rd

ever since you were a kid, you always loved the idea of all things holiday, how the store is decorated and filled with stuff that relates to the theme. but what you loved the most was going to the aisle that is dedicated specifically to the occasion.

scanning through the decorative stuff such as calendars, wreaths, bells and a lot more, you arrive at the section you were awaiting for. mountains of chocolate, candy canes, sweets, marshmallows and especially hot cocoa were towering over you. the endless items were never ending as you seem to find something new when you put the one in your hand back on the shelf.

you stride to the piles of hot cocoa, debating on what to get from the many options that is offered in front of you. christmas carols faintly playing through the speakers of the establishment, making you smile and hum along as you grabbed one each of the large pine green and velvet coloured tins that your hands struggle to get a hold of.

looking at the difference of ingredients, you heard the clinking of what you supposed were car keys. wet shoes creating squeaking noises as it dragged across the floor. you waited to see who might be your mutual target cinderella who just decides to explore target before midnight.

just as you put the two cans in your cart, deciding that you should just get both, you were met by a mop of blonde hair and clear blue eyes that seemed to pierce through you, leaving your skin tingling like the feeling of what popping candy gives.

he fixed his hair which looked like a natural mess, the tip of both his ears and nose red from the cold as he seem to just have arrived. your feet were planted in your spot as he approached, making eye contact as he stood next to you.

you silently watched him as he picked up a can, and smirked as he walked past you. before he could even exit the aisle you were in, you managed to speak up making him stop in his tracks “that’s the watery kind, you know.”

“i’m sorry?” he asked and fully faced you “oh um, the hot cocoa you got. it’s the shitty brand, tastes like nothing.” you explained and he shrugged “it’s just for my friend, not a big deal.” it’s as if you got offended by his statement, your lips parting while you form a response

“why would you want the worst kind?” he giggled and took a few steps forward “well i don’t mean to offend you, based off of the stuff you have and the sing along session but...i don’t like this specific holiday.” “WHAT?!” you asked rather loudly, making you cover your mouth in an instant.

he giggled as if he just proved a point, you pushed your cart after him when he went on his way, following him to where he was going next “who doesn’t like christmas?” startled by your voice he shot you a glare and you muttered an apology “me” he replied “why?”

“first off, it’s cold. but then all the things tying to it is just dumb. you spend money to decorate the place, the same old films and jingles playing over and over again, then when the day comes you wake up then it’s all over in a snap.”

your jaw dropped, appalled by what the boy just said. “it’s the best time of the year! you can make buddy the elf’s spaghetti without judgement.” his face was cloaked with confusion, your eyes widen at the realization that he had no idea what you’re talking about “bunny the what now?”

“oh my god! nevermind” although weirded out by the guy’s choices of not loving your favourite holiday, you followed him through the store, and he didn’t seem to mind as he liked the company.

“so late night christmas shopping huh?” he started, you nodded as a response as you continued to put random things in your cart along the way “perfect time to shop. nobody’s even here.” you motioned to the almost empty store besides the workers and a few late night shoppers.

“i know the cocoa’s for your friend but why are you out at this time?” you queried and noticed that your entering the snack aisle once again. he grabbed a box each of normal and toasted cheez-its and putting it in your cart, saying that he’ll get it once you pay.

“i still can’t believe that you hate christmas. i mean you make snowmans and get gifts, what more can you ask for?” babbling as you walk to the self-checkout, you noticed that he was simply staring at you, which leads him to shake his head to snap out of his thoughts.

“the sun. go to the beach and surf, i don’t know. also, you get a mug or a new pair of socks as gifts. i’d rather go trick or treating.” he replied as he got his stuff out from your cart.

“i’ll accept a new pair of socks any day, any season.” you started and payed for your items before continuing with the banter the both of you sort of started “christmas is the best, you can’t change my mind.”

“well, if you like christmas i think it’s something i can get behind.” he whispered but didn’t go unheard “what?” “WHAT?” he repeated, flustered by what just happened.

you let it slide, smiling at his reaction and exiting the store with the bags, him following not long after. you were halfway to your car when you hear the boy you realized you didn’t even get the name of.

“hey! are you down for free breakfast tomorrow? i’ll bring you a new pair of socks.”

and with that you came home with two bags full of goods, a phone number and a planned breakfast date with jj maybank.

this is just a little something lol hope you liked it! let me know if you wanna be added to the taglist for whenever i post! xx

taglist: @rae131415 @obx-snippets @glux64 @drewsephsmiles @maybebanks @sexualparkour @bibliophilewednesday @spilledtee @pink-meringues @drewswannabegirl @prejudic3 @softtfordrew @omgitzbillie @spencereidbasis

#jj maybank #jj maybank fic #jj maybank imagine #jj x reader #obx #outerbanks #outerbanks imagine #jj maybank fluff #jj maybank x reader

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mimik-u · 3 years

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“Snow Day” Thoughts:

Omg, Steven and I roughly wake up around the same time in the mornings. On weekdays, I drag my tired ass out of bed at seven, so I can have a few extra hours to myself to write and drink coffee before school and work.

Omg, I also drink a breakfast drink in the morning in lieu of eating breakfast. Wtf

AWH, the cheeseburger backpack!!! Remember when he was so excited to get it in the mail? 😭😭

SKSJSJS @ Garnet packing Cat Steven.

Omg, the Gems are in full mom mode, and I really love it. I’m tender. Steven is so bemused, though, lmao.

“Wait for us. We can head over together.” 😭 I’m going to be using this emoji a lot during this episode, okay?

“Yeah! Go get ‘em!” The Gems all place a hand on Steven’s head, and Steven scowls. 😭

No thoughts, only 😭.

“Surprise! We were sitting in the dark!” They were waiting on the couch for him!! Awhwhwhwhwhwhwhwh.

Do y’all remember back in S1 when the Gems were constantly leaving Steven behind to go on missions, when they were somewhat emotionally unavailable, when Steven slowly but gradually taught them how to play?? 😭

Awh, man, Steven. The gems are trying so hard to simply hang out with you, but you know, I get it. I think something about Future that’s really allowed me to empathize with Steven more than ever this series is that, well, he’s reminding me what it feels like to be sixteen. In and of itself, it’s a hella tense time. You’re navigating what it means to be on the precipice of adulthood while, really, you’re still just a kid in a lot of ways. You’re trying to reconcile the parts of your childhood that didn’t make sense, and well, sometimes hurt, and that manifests in ways you could never expect. You’re driving for the first time and gaining new friends, enjoying some newfound independence, but at the same time, you can be prone to moodiness. Hormones changing. The stress of school and extracurricular activities. You love your family, but in carving out your own identity, or, well, trying to figure it out in the first place, it’s far easier to push them away sometimes when you get stuck in your own head. Of, course, there’s no monolithic experience to being a teenager, but factor in some of these common struggles with Steven’s entire complex, which requires him to stress out over the tiniest details due to ingrained trauma, then, well, you haven’t got an excuse, but you absolutely have an explanation.

It’s so hard to be a teenager; it must be really hard to be a teenager with superpowers and a hell of a lot of unresolved baggage.

Does anyone know if there’s a meta reason Steven’s alarm is 7:13, lmao? That’s such an arbitrary number.

TOGETHER BREAKFAST. HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

The callback to that particular episode is really on point. In “Together Breakfast,” it was Steven who was trying to get the Crystal Gems to hang out with him, so he wouldn’t have to eat his pancakes alone. 😭

“Ooh, we can re-read No Home Boys.” / “And I’ll do all the voices.” 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Another fitting callback. The theme of No Home Boys was, well, the main characters didn’t have a home, an anxiety that Amethyst above all used to metaphorically espouse. But then, with Pearl and Steven’s help, she came to realize that, yes, she did have a home. She’s always had a home. And it was never the Kindergarten.

“Man, you had a better work-life balance when the Diamonds were trying to destroy the planet.” SKDJDJDJS.

“Classic Steven.” / “Classic Steven????????” || And here’s the gist of the episode. The Gems are nostalgic for the way things used to be, for the things that Steven used to like, for the child he once was. They want to play with him. Steven loved to play sm. But Steven doesn’t want to go backwards; he thinks he’s put away his childhood and all that it ever entailed.

But really, I think this episode is going to school Steven in one of the most important lessons that’s so easy to forget in the daily grind of life: It’s okay to still be a kid sometimes, no matter your age, no matter your maturity.

PEARL DRAMATICALLY FALLING WHEN SHE GETS TAGGED JS SO FUCKING FUNNY ROEOEOFKDSMSKKSIFCIFIS.

“Ha! Jokes on you! Pearl doesn’t shapeshift—” OH MY GO D. PEARL IS SHAPESHIFTIN G

THE DEVELOPMENT????????? THE EVOLUTION!!!!?????

(The last time Pearl shapeshifted, it was to try and bring an end to a war. It was for her Diamond. It was for Rose. This time, it’s for Steven. It’s for helping him to re-learn what it means to play.)

STEVEN IN PEARL’S PALETTE LOOKS SO WRONG. HELP.

Knowing what a big step it is for Pearl to shapeshift, Amethyst and Garnet go and throw her in the air. Even Steven murmurs, “Wow, good for her.”

I’M TENDER. 😭😭😭

That one shot of Garnet holding a frame up to pretend like she’s a picture is very funny.

“Steven, no! I just folded those!” WOOWWOSJSJSJSKSJSJJSSN. HELP. I love Pearl.

SUGILITE STEVEN?!!!???!?))3$:$&:8:&:

HELLO?!!!!?!!!

(Omg, I think with Sugilite now, we’ve pretty much seen all the main CG fusions in Future except for Obsidian, Sardonyx, and Opal.)

SCRATCH THAT! SARDONYX STEVEN.

OPAL STEVEN.

HELP?!/&39:8:’skskssksksk

OPAL USING GARNET AS AN ARROW DOROEODKSKSKSJS.

Related but unrelated, Sugilite, Sardonyx, and Opal’s themes have always been so good, omg.

“It was a snowman. With Steven’s jacket.” Garnet collapses dramatically to the ground. “NOOOOOOOOOOO.” OWOWOEODJDDJDJMSSKJSSJ.

ALEXANDRITE STEVEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Her theme is so good, too, omg.)

RUBY AND SAPPHIRE STEVEN??? THEY’RE SO ADORABLE???????????

SAPPHIRE HELP DOEOWEOSMDJDIOEOENDMDNSDJDNIDDJDJJDDOSKSOSIDJDODI.

I love Cat Steven with my entire heart

“He’s so cute!!!” / “No, I’m not.” WOSKDNSKSSKSJ HELP

But Steven also makes a salient point: He’s not the same kid that he was anymore, and he doesn’t want to be seen as that kid.

UGH, THE GEMS HUGGING HIM AS STEVEN. It’s here we most get the sense of how small he used to be. He’s grown up so much.

“Please forgive us.” / “We didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” / “We just miss you, Steven.” HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

😭😭😭😭

AND THEN THEY ALL PLAY TOGETHER. STOP. ImM GONNA CRY

AND THEN THE NEXT DAY, THEY ALL GO TO SCHOOL TOGETHER. I CANT DO THIS. I LOVE THIS FSMILY

No final thoughts, only 😭😭😭😭.

This might be my favorite episode in the season so far.

#pearl #garnet #amethyst #steven universe #s: future #steven universe future #mimiku

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loulougoingsolo · 4 years

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Ice, shadows and bright spots

I’m a simple being with a child-like curiosity to just about everything, and like the proper nerd I am, I am absolutely fascinated by chemistry. Liquid nitrogen is one of the many things I’ve always wanted to get my hands on, but it’s probably for the best that I’ve never succeeded in acquiring it. Even if you could theoretically use it for cool smoke effects or making ice-cream, I have seen Terminator 2, and let’s just say, I’d most likely manage to turn myself into a slushie.

Today’s GMM doesn’t serve us slushies, nor do they cause biohazards by freezing mercury robots, but liquid nitrogen is very much involved, as the show returns to the series of destroying things in reverse, with a Frozen themed episode. Let’s get smashing!

Whoever guesses what is being destroyed the fastest, scores as many points as there are seconds left (out of total 10 seconds) in the timer, and for special Frozen related items, you get an extra point. The winner gets to punch the other on the shoulder in a friedly manor, in reverse and slow motion. The previous takes on this game have led to a near fight and a rather hilarious act of rebellion from Rhett, so it’ll be interesting to see how things go this time (we’re all looking at you, Link).

Prop-master “Mad Dog” Lucas, and art-director “Mad Dog” Pasley are in charge of destroying stuff today - but after yesterday, I’m not sure if it’s too soon to welcome them with a bark? (Link sounds like a bigger dog when he barks...I’m thinking a boxer, or a rotweiller...) The first round is over in a split second, when Link manages to guess the smashed item faster than you can say meatball. Meatballs appear to turn into deadly cannon balls when frozen, and Lucas manages to look like a mob contract killer while smashing the spaghetti.

I feel pretty proud of myself after being able to recognize a shattered carrot before Rhett and Link did, but I assume it’s much easier to do while not in competitive mode. I wonder how many carrots they had to smash before this perfect shot? Rhett takes the points for this round, and gets an extra point for a Frozen item (I hope the snowman has extra carrots on hand).

Lucas clearly isn’t the only one today with a killer focus: Rhett guesses the next item before the clip even has time to start. The only copy of the BTS for Rhett’s ambient massage song music video. What a shame that is no more (I know they’re kidding, but they should really make a music video and an extended version for that.)

Apparently, if you smash a frozen rubber ducky with a shovel, the shards look a lot like potato chips. Link is so happy for beating Rhett in this round, even though he only gets two points. But now that he is back in the game, Rhett must feel a little threatened, and finds it necessary to agree upon the rules for the slow-mo punch beforehand to avoid an argument. A wise decision, I’d say, although the arguments have been entertaining to watch. But I bet Rhett wasn’t the only one saying awww, at what Link said:

“We don’t have to like each other all the time, because we love each other.”

That IS sweet. Why do I feel this episode was filmed after yesterday’s video?

Where can you get your hands on a treasure chest that looks just like something from a video game? I was half convinced the gemstones were animated, but that can’t be. I love how beautifully these clips are filmed, and I kinda want a chest of colourful gems for myself now - not to smash, but to stare at. I personally think that Pasley has every right to look pleased with himself for creating such a pretty video, but I love how Rhett and Link critique each smash. Next time, they should have score cards like in a skating competition.

Who knew rubber bands would look this awesome when hacked with an axe (while frozen)? I know this wasn’t a Frozen item, but Rhett should get bonus points for delivering his answer with such musical talent. Not that he needs any bonus points - Link basically has zero chance of winning at this point. But can you see the wood?

I saw pieces of continents flying in the next clip, and I thought this was so easy to guess, but somehow, Link answered wrong. A Star Wars droid? I know the Mythical crew has zero respect for cool items, but even they wouldn’t kill a droid, surely. And there were all those continents!

I don’t have to go through all the remaining rounds to say that everyone was rooting for Link to win this, even Rhett, who complimented Link’s adorably apologetic guess of a pumpkin, and even made a deal which gave Link a chance in the last round. But Rhett won, and he got to direct the slow-mo punch. And honestly, it was pretty perfect. I love these dorks.

In More, Rhett and Link are guessing if anyone is on the stock photos they are shown, or not. Instead of following the game, I greatly enjoyed the conversation about Zack’s photoediting skills. I hope Link gets some bright spots to his life, and if Zack doesn’t send him the random heartwarming greeting cards he asks for, someone should. (It might be a fun fandom project, but then he’d get buried in heartwarming greeting cards, and making them appear randomly would be difficult, considering how many Mythical Beasts there are...) But Link deserves all the bright spots he wants, and some. Rhett and Link are the bright spots in my life, after all. (And if Rhett is happy with some extra shadows, I support them, too. What is light without shadows, anyways? There needs to be a little bit of both.)

I have to say, Rhett’s description of the McLaughlin family way of accepting gifts reminds me of my mom. I love her, but she is also my worst critic, and somehow, with pretty much every piece of art I make and show her, she finds something to say, like “there’s something funny about the way this hand is”, or “so this IS a deer? I wasn’t sure.” She is pretty hard to please sometimes - but at least she hasn’t thrown away anything I’ve given her - not even the stuff I asked her to get rid of. But you know, moms and daughters.

I’m happy that Link got to give Rhett his own love lick at the end, even if Rhett didn’t really pay much attention to Link while explaining Zack that he should add path removal and adding shadows to his resumé as special skills. And because I have no sense of shame at this point in my life, I just had to go and see what I could do to add some shadows and bright spots to this final screenshot of mine. I’m not going to add this to my resumé. This is all just for me - like the little happy dance Pasley did after a successful smash in the main episode.

#gmm #gmmore #rhett and link #gmm 1697 #destroying things in reverse slow motion #liquid nitrogen #frozen edition #slow-mo friendly punches #shadows and bright spots

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dweemeister · 4 years

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2019 Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (preliminary round)

Many of my longtime followers will know what is below. And yes, it’s that time of year again!

There are a few folks I wanted to extend invites to that I wasn’t able to get to in time (because of stuff IRL). If you are listed (and are interested), let me know so I can sort you into a group as soon as possible: @dansmonarbre, @dog-of-ulthar, @fredsbarandgrill, @loveless422, @shadesofhappy, @somequeerdistortion, @thethirdman8. Otherwise, you will still be tagged for the MOABOS final anyways because of your prior participation in previous years.

As is the year-end tradition on my blog, there is an Oscar-like ceremony honoring some of the best achievements from movies that I saw for the first time in their entirety this calendar year (the "Movie Odyssey"). I’ve always considered MOABOS a musical thank-you for your moral support on and offline throughout the year.

An unspecified number of songs have already advanced to the final round. Twenty songs will compete in this preliminary round. Like every year there has been a preliminary, there are two groups - Group A and Group B. Even moreso than last year, songs from musicals dominate and, after a year where personal time has come at a premium, it has also resulted in the most monolingual field we’ve had in a preliminary.

INSTRUCTIONS IN THE GROUP YOU HAVE BEEN SORTED INTO, please rank (#1-10) at least five of your group's songs. Please consider (to the best of your ability): how musically interesting the song is (incl. and not limited to musical phrasing and orchestration); its lyrics; quality of performance; context within the film (contextual blurbs provided for those who haven’t seen these films); choreography/dance direction (if applicable); and the song's cultural impact/life outside the film (if applicable, and the least important factor). Imperfections in audio and video quality may not be used against any song. The top four songs in each group automatically advance to the final round. I reserve the right to pick 0-2 songs from one or both groups that finished outside the top four in their respective groups to contest the final round. This was never a true democracy, as you all know!

The deadline for submission is Tuesday, December 10 at 11 PM Pacific Time. That's Friday, December 11 at 1 AM Central Time / 2 AM Eastern Time / 7 AM GMT / 8 AM CET / 9 AM EET. This deadline may be pushed back if there are a large number of people who have not submitted in time - but I would rather not have that happen, especially because more people are going to be called in for the final round. Feel free to send in comments and reactions with your rankings - it’s always fun to read reactions to individual songs, and it usually makes the process (for everyone) more enjoyable! Tabulation details are under the read-more.

Take your time, and and listen more than once if you wish. Please pay attention to which group you have been sorted into. The songs are (“Song title”, composer and lyricist, film title):

GROUP A

“Can You Imagine That?”, music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

Performed by Emily Blunt, Pixie Davies, Joel Dawson, and Nathanael Saleh

Shortly after Mary Poppins (Blunt) becomes the governess for the Banks children (Davies, Dawson, and Saleh), she draws a bath after the children have covered themselves in dirt. The bath, however, is infused with Mary Poppins’ signature magic, leading to a fantastical segment.

“Detroit”, music and lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, The Happiest Millionaire (1967)

Performed by John Davidson and Lesley Ann Warren

(partial use in film)

Lovebirds Cordy Biddle (Warren) and Angier “Angie” Buchanan Duke (Davidson in his film debut) have been discussing their future together. Angie does not want to inherit his father’s tobacco business - instead wishing to head to Detroit to be a part of the automotive industry (the film is set in 1916, as the city was booming because of the auto industry).

“Gay Paree”, music by Henry Mancini, lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, Victor/Victoria (1982)

Performed by Robert Preston

In this musical, Carroll “Toddy” Todd (Preston) is a gay performer at the Chez Lui nightclub in Paris. This songs appears shortly after the opening credits and a short introductory scene. The use of the word “gay” in this song may be interpreted however you wish.

“Honolulu Baby”, music and lyrics by Marvin Hatley, Sons of the Desert (1933)

(Initial performance) / (brief reprise) / (non-film version)

First performance by Ty Parvis; reprise by Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy; full non-film version by The Beau Hunks

Laurel and Hardy have tricked their wives into believing they have taken a Hawaiian cruise rather than attending the national meeting of a fraternity known as the Sons of the Desert - their wives disapprove of the latter for reasons that give away too many jokes in one of the best (and funniest) films I saw all year. The reprise is part of a joke that I’d also rather not spoil.

“I Dug a Ditch”, music by Burton Lane, lyrics by Lew Brown and Ralph Freed, Thousands Cheer (1943)

Performed by the Kay Kyser Band, Kathryn Grayson, Georgia Carroll, Harry Babbitt, Sully Mason, M.A. Bogue, and chorus

NOTE: An entirely separate song, “Should I”, is integrated from 3:04-3:36.

Apologies for the text overlaying the video. The second half of Thousands Cheer is essentially an elaborate revue musical performance for American World War II troops in which the film’s initial pretense of attempting a story is entirely dropped. “I Dug a Ditch” is one of the songs appearing in the film’s second half.

“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again”, music by Elton John, lyrics by Bernie Taupin, Rocketman (2019)

Performed by Elton John and Taron Egerton

This is the first song played over the end credits of this biopic of Elton John. This is John and Taupin’s (John’s songwriting partner through the 1960s-1990s) first collaboration outside the Sherlock Gnomes series for this decade.

“Into the Unknown”, music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Frozen II (2019)

(end credits version)

Performed by Idina Menzel and AURORA; end credits version performed by Panic! At the Disco

Some years after being crowned Queen of Arendelle (which happened at the end of Frozen), Elsa hears an eerie voice calling out to her - a voice that will connect Elsa to her parents’ tragic fate. The voice’s melody will reprise throughout the film’s score.

“The Shady Dame from Seville”, music by Henry Mancini, lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, Victor/Victoria (1982)

(Initial performance) / (reprise to be watched at your own spoiler-y risk)*

Performed by Julie Andrews; reprise by Robert Preston

*watch at your own spoiler-y risk because it gives away the film’s comical musical ending

Victoria Grant (Andrews), after making her Parisian debut playing a man named “Victor” who is impersonating a woman, has become the hit vaudeville act of Paris. This is one of her signature performances. Preston’s reprise - which appears near the film’s conclusion - was done in one take, hence his sweaty and fatigued appearance at the end.

“Trường Tương Tư”, music and lyrics by Leon Le, Song Lang (2018, Vietnam)

Performed by Isaac and Liên Bỉnh Phát

Lyrics in Vietnamese

English translation and context are in the link.

“(Underneath the) Lovely London Sky”, music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, Mary Poppins Returns

Performed by Lin-Manuel Miranda

This is the opening song in Mary Poppins Returns. Lamplighter Jack (Miranda) is turning out the London gaslights as night turns into morning, as he bikes through the city’s streets - filled with indicators of the Great Depression, industrial pollution, and the general overcast weather that tends to be associated with England. Jack reprises the songs a few times across the film and the song is quoted in the film’s score.

Group A participants include: @addaellis, @cokwong, @halfwaythruthedark, @myluckyerror, @phendranaedge, @plus-low-overthrow, @theybecomestories, @umgeschrieben, @yellanimal. Between six to ten others will be participating in this group, including myself and my sister.

GROUP B

“Crazy World”, music by Henry Mancini, lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, Victor/Victoria (1982)

Performed by Julie Andrews

Victoria Grant (Andrews) is a woman playing a man named “Victor” who is impersonating a woman. Victoria, as Victor, has become the hit vaudeville act of Paris. This is Victoria’s first performance as “Victor” not pretending to be a woman. Is your head spinning yet?

“East Bound and Down”, music and lyrics by Jerry Reed and Dick Feller, Smokey and the Bandit (1977)

Performed by Jerry Reed

This is the theme song for this comedy, which also describes the plot somewhat. Smokey and the Bandit is about two truckers - “Bandit” (Burt Reynolds) and “Snowman” (Reed) - who have been offered $80,000 by a rich Texan to pick up 400 cases of Coors beer from Texarkana, Texas and return to Atlanta within twenty-eight hours. In 1977, Coors was only found in the Western U.S. and transporting it across Southern state lines was illegal (giving Coors a mystique in the Eastern U.S.).

“Fortuosity”, music and lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, The Happiest Millionaire (1967)

Performed by Tommy Steele

Irish immigrant John Lawless (Steele) is one day off his Transatlantic ferry and is soon to take up a job as the Biddle family’s butler. This is the first song in The Happiest Millionaire, performed shortly after the opening credits. The song is also on the musical rotation for Disney parks’ Main Street and is reprised during the film and quoted in its score.

“Fun and Fancy Free (I’m a Happy-Go-Lucky Fellow)”, music and lyrics by Bennie Benjamin, George David Weiss, Ned Washington, and Eliot Daniel Fun and Fancy Free (1947)

Performed by Dinah Shore, chorus, and Cliff Edwards (as Jiminy Cricket)

Played over the opening credits; the main musical ideas are used a few times in the film’s score. This is Jiminy Cricket’s second appearance in a canonical Disney Animation Studios feature film.

“The Joint Is Really Jumpin’ in Carnegie Hall”, music and lyrics by Roger Edens, Ralph Blane, and Hugh Martin, Thousands Cheer (1943)

Performed by Judy Garland and Jose Iturbi

The second half of Thousands Cheer - where this song is found - is essentially an elaborate revue musical performance for American World War II troops in which the film’s initial pretense of attempting a story is entirely dropped.

“The Next Right Thing”, music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Frozen II (2019)

Performed by Kristen Bell

Anna (Bell) has seemingly lost her friends and her sister at what is the lowest point in the film. Uncertain what to do, she recalls a small piece of advice that leads her forward.

“Nowhere to Go but Up”, music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

Performed by Angela Lansbury, Ben Whishaw, Pixie Davies, Joel Dawson, Nathanael Saleh, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Emily Mortimer, Julie Walters, Jeremy Swift, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, David Warner, Jim Norton, and company

On a sunny spring day, the Banks family and Mary Poppins go out to the local park to make a day of it. Certain non-lyrical inclusions in this song cannot be explained without spoiling the film. This is the final song of Mary Poppins Returns.

“Sương Chiều”, music and lyrics by Leon Le and Hoàng Song Việt, Song Lang (2018, Vietnam)

Performed by Isaac and Tú Quyên

Lyrics in Vietnamese

English translation and context are in the link.

“Trip a Little Light Fantastic”, music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, Mary Poppins Returns

Performed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Emily Blunt, Tarik Frimpong, Pixie Davies, Joel Dawson, Nathanael Saleh, and company

After being scolded by their father, the Banks children are taken home by Mary Poppins (Blunt). Along the way, they encounter their friend, lamplighter Jack (Miranda), as they take a lengthy detour. The cycling skills seen in this number are probably anachronistic.

“Woodstock”, music and lyrics by Joni Mitchell, Woodstock (1970)

Performed by Crosby Stills, Nash & Young

This song appears in the end credits to Woodstock - the official documentary film for the eponymous August 1969 musical festival.

Group B participants include: @emilylime5, @ideallaedi, @introspectivemeltdown, @maximiliani, @mindo80, @themusicmoviesportsguy, @nazur, @stephdgray, and @underblackwings. Between six to ten others will be participating in this group, including myself and my sister.

If you have any questions or comments regarding the process or the songs involved, you may contact me at any time in any way you prefer. If you are having difficulty accessing the videos (especially if it is region-locked), please let me know as soon as you can.

Thank you all for being amazing followers and friends, and I thank you for your participation and support for the Movie Odyssey, this blog, and for me personally - no matter how long I’ve known you or in what capacity. I didn’t do as much outreach this year due to personal reasons, but I hope we have a healthy amount of participation. You will all be tagged for the final round regardless of your participation here. If turnout in one group is lagging behind compared to another, I may ask some of the more senior participants to participate in the other group, too. There is no pressure if you can’t do this, everyone. Thank you all again, and happy listening!

TABULATION

This preliminary round uses a points-based, ranked choice method which has been used since the first time I asked friends, tumblr followers, and family to help out. A respondent’s first choice receives 10 points, the second choice receives 9, the third choice receives 8, etc. The winner is the song that ends up with the most total points. This method, for the first time ever, will not be used for the final round. Tiebreakers for above: 1) total points earned; 2) total #1 votes; 3) placement on my ballot; 4) placement on my sister’s ballot; 5) tie declared

#2019 Movie Odyssey Awards

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zippdementia · 5 years

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Ten favorite Snow Levels in Video Games

You have explored mountains, forests, rivers, a desert, maybe even gone to space. What is there left to see? Then it happens: the music becomes minimal and light (or you start hearing reindeer bells and peppy Christmas tunes), a snowflake falls, your character’s breath becomes visible. Yep, you’ve entered the snow level.

Getting its start in video game history as an easy palette swap to add variety to copy-and-paste levels (white isn’t a difficult color to work with), snow levels have evolved throughout the years to contain their own themes, mechanics, and atmosphere. Gamers today almost expect more out of their ice and snow than out of other levels. Does the character leave footprints? Do the snowflakes land on the screen? Does snow crust over on the characters’ clothes? And snow offers a wealth of natural wonders for graphics programmers to play with, from shattering ice to massive avalanches.

For me, though, what sets a really good snow level aside from others is its mood. Have you ever walked on a mountain in winter in real life? If so, you’ll know there is a soft quiet to everything. Snow and ice are fragile, but also incredibly treacherous. Nothing can kill a person as softly as snow. And nothing is quite so lonely as a trek through the mountains. Nothing seems alive except for yourself. A really good snow level will capture, through sound and graphics and situation, this feeling of being alone at the end of the world. Or it will capture the opposite! That festival feel of Christmas and the holidays, of children building snowmen and throwing snowballs, of family reunions and days off of work and school. Of holding your lover’s hand to keep each other warm while your breath frosts and mingles in the cold air.

This list focuses on levels within games that captured one of those feelings for me and still can evoke it, just by me thinking back on them.

#10 Metal Gear Solid: Ice Field

Metal Gear Solid was a series about many things, but one of its central themes is isolation. Later games in the series would hit players over the head with this (re: Phantom Pain) but in Metal Gear Solid it was captured simply by the environment, the cold, unfeeling, and yet beautiful Alaskan landscape. And the huge ice field where you fight Sniper Wolf across a vast distance would set the tone for every sniper battle to come in the series. It was very personal, yet very... empty. Like the only thing that could bridge such a distance between two people was a fast moving bullet. Beyond anything else, there was an odd symbolism and beauty in the fight that happened here, and the cold snow only added to the metaphor.

#9 Final Fantasy 6: Narshe

When I think of any Final Fantasy, I think of that opening cutscene in FFVI, where three mech warriors tromp across the frozen wasteland set to the game’s main theme and credits. Few RPGs have such an iconic opening. The three are headed to the town of Narshe, nestled in the snowy peaks in the north of Final Fantasy 6 is the mining town of Narshe. The town immediately sets the mood of Final Fantasy 6 and its aesthetic: steam billows out of ungainly contraptions, wind blows across its icy peaks, and the people of the town are suspicious and, in an unusual twist, you seem to be the enemy breaking into their town, labeled the Magitech “Witch”! Narshe sets a certain mood from the very opening, and then continues to play host to some of the most memorable moments from the game, including Terra’s game twisting transformation which ushers in the second act. You can’t think of Narshe without remembering all of these times and instantly get transported back into the feel of FFVI’s sprawling epic story.

#8 Banjo Kazooie: Freezezy Peak

And then there’s that festival feeling I talked about. Playing through Freezezy Peak is like playing through a holiday. The music, the bright colors, the giant snowman... all come together to represent everything warm and fuzzy about Winter. Like many levels in Rare’s “explore every corner to find it all” game Freezezy Peak feels like an entire world in a small package. It captures everything you might want to do in a bombastic wintery wonderland, including going up against a polar bear in a toboggon race.

#7 Breath of the Wild: any of the icy terrain

Some people consider the mansion on Snowpeak to be the best dungeon in all of Zelda history. I would agree that it is an unusual and interesting dungeon (especially when set against the rest of the Twlight Princess’ offerings) but while the trek up Snowpeak is a memorable one, it didn’t capture the feeling of being alone on a mountain as well as Breath of the Wild did. Comparing the two may seem unfair, as they are years apart in release, but really it wasn’t so much an issue of graphics as it was one of design. Snowpeak forces the player through a series of challenges, like following a scent in the darkness, fighting creatures in a snowstorm, and snowboarding down the mountain to the Snowpeak Manor. Breath of the Wild has all these things available, but it lets them happen naturally. Meanwhile, Link shivers in the cold, the music becomes soft and almost non-existent, and the amount of enemies drops off massively. With just a few little cues like this, the game demonstrates that you have entered the cold.

#6 Donkey Kong Country: Snow Barrel Blast

You’ve spent an entire game wandering jungles and forests. Then you boot up the first level of Gorilla Glacier and the familiar green landscape is doused in white. At first, my ten year old self simply found the change pretty, a nice upgrade to old school palette swaps. But as I kept progressing through the level, I noticed snow in the background. Then the snow was thicker. Then it was all around me and I was in the middle of a blizzard I could barely see through, affecting my aim on jumps as I tried to dodge enemies and land in life-saving barrels. Very few of the games on this list offer this kind of dynamic environment and it has made this level stand out in my mind for years. The change is handled so subtly that it happens without you really noticing until you’re well in the midst of ice and snow. Maybe it’s this that makes things feel so much like a real snowstorm and triggered me to feel like I really was stranded on this mountain, with no option except to push forward. Donkey Kong Country is a dangerous place, but nowhere did the environment feel so much a part of the game.

#5 Metroid Prime: Phendrana Drifts

Metroid games are known for their feeling of loneliness and isolation. For they most part, they are post-apocalyptic games. Samus always seems to be exploring worlds which reached and passed their zenith and are now fallen into disrepair. The Phendrana Drifts from Metroid Prime introduced a different kind of melancholy: that of the frozen wasteland, austere in its beauty. Here was a land that hadn’t gone through the apocalypse, it had never actually reached civilization. Nowhere did the Zebes pirates feel so invasive as they did on those serene snowy plains, their presence all the more notable for how it marred that perfect landscape. The music is incredible, such a huge part of this land’s ambiance, yet the visuals alone secure this level as one of the all time greats in snow design. I’ll never forget looking up for the first time in the stage and seeing the snowdrops strike and melt on Samus’ visor. To this day, whenever I get the desire to go back and play Metroid Prime I know that is this level I’m really desiring to see. Nothing later in the series was quite as impressive to me.

#4 Last of Us: Winter

Graphically, this is probably the most impressive entry on the list, as watching Ellie track a deer through the snow filled Winter of wherever she and Joel have ended up is an awesome experience. Snow drifts around her, builds up on her clothes, piles up as she moves through it. Everything just feels right. But what lands it a place on this list is where this moment happens in the story. Without giving too much away, Winter comes to represent not only a dark season, but a dark time for Ellie. It is the death of all that came before, the final gasp of innocence on a journey where maybe innocence was the most important thing to try and preserve. Whomever Ellie becomes in Last of Us 2, that started here, in the Winter of her discontent.

#3 Earthbound: Winters

Few games have as much personality as Earthbound, which pretty much ensures that any of the environments the game chooses to take you through are going to be memorable. Earthbound has such amazing ideas... I mean, it’s winter stage sees you summon the Loch Ness monster by chewing gum, tthen visiting Stonehenge... which is secretly an alien base. That’s nuts on an unparalleled level. The music seems like a long lost peppy Christmas song and every time I hear it I think of Jeff traveling across a snowy landscape, fighting off angry goats and flying saucers with only the help of a bubble gum chewing monkey. It’s always impressed me how much Earthbound did with so little and that earns it a high place on this list.

#2 Final Fantasy 7: the North Peaks

Okay, so the snowboarding alone would place this high on the list for memorability. But I was also always impressed by the game’s ability to capture the sheer hugeness of a frozen landscape. The further you go, the more that landscape changes. From snowboarding to traversing a huge snowland (one of the largest areas in the game) with only a rustic map as your guide, then traveling across a blizzard filled landscape, to finally arrive at the base of a huge mountain you have to scale up to reach Sephiroth. Through good pacing the game really makes you feel that journey. Then, too, there is the game’s unusual use of FMV backgrounds, which creates some very memorable scenes of high end graphics, where snow might be blowing madly in high rendering while your little lego-looking figure trods towards it. The graphical disparity for me helps to really highlight just how impressive the area is. Like nature (the background) is always going to be more impressive than you, the player.

#1 Journey: the Mountain

Journey establishes its mountain as a goal early on in the game and then proceeds to take players through a life-and-death cycle where the mountain represents both a harsh obstacle and also a symbol of salvation and renewal. There is no game on this list, maybe no game ever, that has as memorable a scene as Journey’s final moments. I don’t wish to spoil the game for those who have not played it, so believe me when I say that Journey achieves mood. To a fantastic degree. It highlights the harshness of a cold, unfeeling landscape--one that seems to actively wish for your demise. Everything I’ve talked about in previous entries on this list is here: strong graphics, little subtle touches like frost on your robes that grows thicker and thicker the higher you climb, a feeling of isolation yet connection... Journey does it all, and in a fraction of the time. If you haven’t played Journey, go do so. It’s an experience you’ll never forget and will always associate with a frozen landscape.

#Snow levels #Video Games #Journey

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joyofcrime-elinorhigh · 5 years

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The Legend of Frosty the Snowman REVIEW:

Hello there everybody. My name is JoyofCrimeArt and welcome to the third review in my month long "Deviant-cember." special event. If you where here last time you would of seen my review of the 1992 holiday specials "Frosty Returns." But as I said at the end of that review, we're not done with Frosty the Snowman just yet. Because there's not just one, but two Frosty the Snowman sequels that came out after the fact that weren't created by Rankin-Bass. One was "Frosty Returns" and the other was 2005's "The Legend of Frosty the Snowman." which we are going to talk about today!

"The Legend of Frosty the Snowman," as previously stated, was a 2005 special direct to DVD special created by Classic Media and Studio B productions, and was designed to be a "broad strokes reboot." of Frosty the Snowman. Other then that, there's not much history behind this special other then the fact that they use to show this all the time on Cartoon Network when I was younger. How does this special hold up to the other entries in the Frosty mythos? Well, let's dive in and find out. The special opens up in the dark and creepy attic of an old man... ...Not the best place to start. All jokes aside, this is where we meet our celebrity narrator, this time played by Burt Reynolds. He introduces us to the story, just like all of the past narrators have done in these specials, and he has an advantage over Johnathan Winters because he is not a scary gremlin man. So points to this special right off the back. The special starts with a series of chained up crates being magically opened, with Frosty the Snowman's hat locked inside. The hat, free from it's shackles, flies out the window. The narrator tells us that Frosty the Snowman always goes where he is needed. We then get to see our main character of the special, Tommy Tinkerton, (played by Kaith Soucie.) Tommy, and his brother Charlie, are woken up by there father Mr. Tinkerton, and told to get ready for school. Now might be a good time to talk about these three characters. Tommy, our main character, is rather bland. Now granted the main kid characters in all of the Frosty special where bland, with Holly from "Frosty Returns." being the closest to not bland, but still not quite making it. So Tommy being the boring "generic kid" character isn't really that much of a surprise. Tommy's brother, Charlie, on the other hand I actually kinda like. He's the stereotypical "big brother bully" character but with the added twist of, rather than being a delinquent he's actually a of a stickler for the rules, which is an interesting combination of traits that you don't see that much of in characters. It gives him a bit of depth, or at least by Frosty the Snowman standards, which is not much. And then we have Tommy's dad, Mr. Tinkerton. He is the mayor of the town (called Evergreen) and also one of the whitest humans to ever white. This is appropriate because he is voiced by Tom Kenny, who is also one of the whitest people to ever white. This guy is a control freak, to a cartoonish extent. Granted, that's obviously the point of the character, and it's used for comedy, but still. It's a bit insane. He goes outside to inspect the city, I guess, and he goes to make sure that the sun rises at exactly six am. (Which by the way is frickin' earily for the sun to rise in winter.) He licks a sidewalk (to test how clean it is.) And then he "convinces." a flower to be in bloom despite it being winter. This Mayor is frickin' nutty to say the least. He then goes back inside his house to "inspect." his family before the kids go off to school. Now I know this is all suppose to be played for laughs, and Tom Kenny's voice does make it much harder to find this scene terrifying, but all I'm saying was that if you put these scenes and played them off a little different it would come off as a LOT more cultish. It kinda comes off like that one dystopian future run by Ned Flanders in the fifth Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episode.

(Look at those eyes. Those are eyes of true fear.) Mr. Tinkerton inspects his kids and they they go off in there single file line off to school. The narrator tells us that the kids in this town never stepped out of line, unless it was on accident. Then as there walking they all slip on some ice, causing a massive chain reaction causeing Tommy to knock over a mailbox, which makes a car swerve into a fire hydrant. The fire hydrant burst releasing a massive flood of water that instantly freezes, causing the kids to slip more until they crash into city hall. And do you want to know what the messed up thing is? The special heavily implies that it was FROSTY who did this. Because right as Tommy is getting up after crashing into the wall of city hall, he see's the hat fly by and land on the school statue. And this special establishes that in this incarnation Frosty can use magic without being built, because the hat itself is sapient and magical in it's own right. And Frosty's consensus is held there. What the heck Frosty, what did you do all of that for? To show them about non conformity by forcing them out of there line? I mean yeah, you did that, but you also nearly killed these kids! And what about that guy driving the car? He easily could of died, and now he has to ride the bus everyday to work! Frosty is just a being of pure Chaos!

FRICKIN' REK'D SON! (Part Deuce!) Tommy goes and talks to his nerdy black best friend, Walter. (Cause you have to have a nerdy black best friend. "Danny Phantom" taught me so.) And talks about how he's going to ask out his crush, Sara, out. Walter teases Tommy, saying that he says that everyday by Tommy tells him that "There's something different about today." Tommy makes it to school where he sees the flying hat again, and tries to tell the school principal, Principal Pankley, about it. Unfortunately for Tommy the head fly's off before the principal can see it, and he yells at Tommy telling him to get to class. In the classroom we see that things are just as strict and cultish as they are outside. It seems that Principal Pankley is just as strict and uptight as Tommy's dad is, only he's a lot meaner about it. He also seems to stalk the classrooms watching the students just to make sure that the students are acting in line. Shouldn't he have like, paperwork to do, or something? Tommy once again see's the Frosty hat, this time outside the school window. But since hes in class there isn't much he can do about it. The school day ends Tommy tries to talk to his crush, Sara, but he strikes out. We then cut to Tommy's house at dinner time where Tommy and his brother compete in an...table etiquette themed game show? WTF! (Which, by the way, stands for "What the Frosty." in this context.")

So yeah, just in case we haven't drove home the point that Mr. Tinkerton is a frickin' maniac, this scene is here to reiterate that this guy likes rules. Tommy's brother Charlie dominates the game and Mr. Tinkerton ends up giving him a number one pin for winning. While this scene is...dumb, it does sort of serve a point. Shocking, I know, but hear me out. This scene shows, in a kinda subtle way, that Mr. Tinkerton as a lot more in common with Charles than he does with Tommy, showing a bit of a parental favoritism. I wish the special dove more into this, but sadly it does not. After dinner, Tommy is seen looking out the window and the hat appears to him one more time. This time Frosty shows off one of his many new superpowers. This version of Frosty can create an astral projection of himself, cause why the heck not, am I right? I mean if Elsa can use her ice powers to somehow make herself a dress in "Frozen" then I don't see why Frosty can't use his ice powers to make an astral projection of himself. Tommy see's the astral snowman beckoning to him, but Tommy tells Frosty that he can't go outside because he's scared of getting in trouble and disappointing his father. This is very different from the most realistic response of "OH MY GOD! THAT FLYING HAT CREATED AN ASTRAL IMAGE OF A SNOWMAN OUTSIDE MY WINDOW! WHAT THE ACTUAL F#&K!" But I guess somethings never change with these specials. (I swear I think the traffic cop is the only one who ANY of the Frosty specials to actually react to Frosty!)

So the hats like "Ugh, whatever, screw this kid." and flies off to find a kid who's more willing to be a main character! So Frosty's hat flies over to Tommy's best friend Walter's house instead. We see a bit into Walter's home life. We see that Walter is a very nervous child with a very loud and demanding mother, who Walter is kind of afraid of. Walter see's Frosty's hat tap on his window and...wait, what the heck is wrong with that map behind Walter?

(So is that weird land mass in the lower right hand corner suppose to be Australia? Or is this confirming that this special actual exist after some kind of nuclear Armageddon ravages the land and ends up reshaping the continents #CARTOONCONSPIRACY) Anyway Walter opens the window and grabs on the hat, only for the hat to fly off with Walter holding on to the hat. Taking Walter flying over the city. Tommy see's this and opens the window asking where Walter is going. Walter response that he doesn't know. Tommy then proceeds to do nothing to help his friend and is nowhere to be seen for the rest of the scene. Man between Tommy and Holly I think there might just be a tradition of the main character of Frosty specials to be massive jerks to there friends. So after Frosty kidnaps this child he then proceeds to bring him to the middle of the forest. #happyholidays. Walter admits that the flight across the city was fun a proceeds to put the hat on a snowman, thus reviving Frosty the Snowman, this time played by Bill Fagerbakke. In case you don't know Bill Fagerbakke is the voice actor of Patrick Star in "Spongebob Squarepants" and his voice really works for Frosty in this special (Though it can get a bit grating when he yells, though luckily that's not that big of a problem here because Frosty actually whispers a lot of his lines in this special.) As typical at this point Walter only seems slightly surprised to see a talking snowman. Though to be fair he did just fly across the city riding a hat, so by comparison I guess this isn't really that out of the ordinary. So Frosty shows Walter about all the fun one can have in the snow when there not to concerned about rules and safety and the like. They have a snowball fight, the race down a hill, Frosty makes it snow (Showing off more of his reality warping Godlike powers.) And then Frosty walks Walter home. Walter talks about how he's scared to go inside, because he's scared of how his mother is going to react. Frosty ask why Walter would be scared of his own Mom, and asks if Walter's mom is some kind of hairy monster or something. Walter tells Frosty that his mom is just a normal lady and Frosty wonders why Walter would be scared of a normal lady. This gives Walter the bravery to go inside his house. This is what I really like about this iteration of Frosty. He manages to combine both the dim witted nature of the original Rankin-Bass Frosty with the wisdom and insight of the "Frosty Returns" version of Frosty. He comes off as an idiot, but he actual ends up having some sage advice for the kids, weather on accident or on purpose. In fact, do you want to know what this version of Frosty the Snowman reminds me of? A better version of "Uncle Grandpa." Think about it for a second. He's a magical entity who shows up out of nowhere who only interacts with kids, and takes them on adventures where they learn about themselves while also acting kind of like an idiot. It's a pretty apt comparison! I remember at one point the creator of Uncle Grandpa said this during an interview with the website Cartoon Brew about the character of Uncle Grandpa.

He talks about how at the end of the day you don't know if Uncle Grandpa is an idiot or if it's all really planned. The thing is though, is that when you watch "Uncle Grandpa" it's made pretty frickin' clear that he's an idiot. We see him when he's not with kids and he acts like an idiot there to. However, I feel like this version of Frosty fits this description better. It is kept vague. There is a bit of mystery around Frosty, and how much he knows. You really don't know if his advice comes from genuine wisdom, or ignorance or both, and that's what I really like about this version of him. So Walter walks inside and when his mother asks him where he was, he just says that he was "out having fun." and walks off. This disobedience causes his mother to faint. The next day Walter goes to school and, because he stayed out after curfew, is considered "the bad boy." of the school and everybody takes noticed. Including Principal Pankley and Tommy's dad. And because Walter stayed up past curfew, Principal Pankley decides to give him detention, which is...way beyond his jurisdiction. A principal can't punish a student for something they did after school. Also why is Tommy's dad here? He's the mayor! While he may have some kind of ability to punish Walter for breaking curfew he has no power to punish him in the school. Evergreen seems to be pretty much a dictatorship where the mayor and the principal have the power to do whatever the heck they want. During lunch Charlie ends up threatening Walter, warning him that if he keeps up this delinquency he'll be sorry. Unfortunately Charlie pounds the table, knocking Walter's food off it, and the food lands all over the principal and Charlie ends up getting detention too. Mr. Tinkerton ends up removing Charlies number one pin. Mr. Tinkerton and Principal Pankley ask Walter where he was the following night and Walter tells them that he was hanging out with a talking snowman. Mr. Tinkerton has a weird reaction to this, but Principal Pankley just says that that's nonsense. While all of this is going on, Tommy tries to stalk er, I mean "follow" Sara into the forest so he can tell her how he feels about her. But unfortunately for Tommy, he chickens out yet again. We see that Sara is building a model city out of snow in the forest because she dreams of being an urban planner. But her mom does not want her to become an urban planner, because even urban development is to much fun for the people of this town. But then, for like the ten billionth time in this special so far, Tommy see's Frosty's hat. Only this time he actually decides to chase the hat down. The hat ends up flying into the local library. Tommy runs around trying to find the hat only to trip on a secret lose panel in the library, leading to some kind of secret passage way. Okay, now here is when things get a bit confusing. Even though we just saw the hat fly into the library we immediately see a fully formed Frosty outside the school window. (Which by the way how is he fully formed. Who built him the body this time? Did the hat just fly all the way back to where he left his body before showing up?) Charlie and Walter see him and leave detention through BECAUSE THERE'S NO TEACHER WATCHING THEM! (like I know they locked the door, but they where still able to leave the room through some off screen other door I guess!) and they go outside to go see Frosty. They goof around and Charlie begins to warm up to Frosty. Then we cut right back to Tommy, meaning either this special is telling events out of order or that the scene with Walter and Charlie took place in exactly zero seconds. He's still at the top of the stairs that he started descending in the last scene! He goes down the stares through the secret tunnel in the library where we see Frosty's hat again! This leaves only three options, either A.) The scene with Walter and Charlie takes place after this scene, and the specials telling these events out of order. (Which the special gives no other hints of.) B.) Frosty entered the library (in hat form.) Then left the library and met up with Charles and Walter (in snowman form) and then came back to the library (in hat form again.) all in the span of time it would take Tommy to walk down the steps. Which would be like a couple minutes at MOST! Or C.) THERE ARE TWO FROSTY'S #CARTOONCONSPIRACYAGAIN! Anyway Tommy ends up finding a comic book in this library. This comic book happens to be a comic book ABOUT Frosty the Snowman, telling of his origins! (D-Don't ask why. Just roll with it.) We learn of the story of a small little boy who is the son of a magician (a magician who you may recognize if you've seen the original Frosty the Snowman, though they change his name.) This kid grew up never believing in magic since, being the son of a magician, knew how all the tricks where done. This was until he ended up putting his father's hat onto a snowman, and the snowman came to life. But after his first meeting with the snowman was unable to find Frosty ever again, and assumed he made it up. It's a cute re-imaging of the origin story all things considered. Though in some ways it does seems like a bit of a self insert fanfiction, replacing Karen with this new kid. But whatever, it's neat. But then Mr. Tinkerton enters the library and the librarian informs him that his son is here. Tommy quickly runs out of the secret basement and meeting up with his father. Mr. Tinkerton tells Tommy that he needs to rely on Tommy to help him keep order, and tell him if any more mischief comes up. He also tells Tommy that all of his rules are there to make sure that people don't have any unrealistic expectations when it comes to things like magic. Mr. Tinkerton gives Tommy the number one pin and gives him a hug. It's a nice scene that puts Tommy in the situation where he has to pick between his father's acceptance and what is actually the right thing to do. (Also I think the voice acting really sells it. This special might not be that "good" but it does have some great voice talent.) That following night we see Sara, working on her piano scales, which she does not seem to find much enjoyment in. She tells her mother this, but she does not seem to care. That, or course, is when Frosty shows up. Sara mentions that nobody seems to listen to her and Frosty says it might be because she's talking to loudly. Because to paraphrase Frosty "The quieter you talk, the more attention you have to pay just to hear what your saying." See, this is what I like about this version of Frosty. He has this air of wisdom to him. It's a good lesson, as the loudest people aren't necessarily the ones who you should be listening to. Sara says she wants to learn how to ice skate and Frosty obliges. He demonstrates more of his Godlike powers my making THE FRICKIN' MOON SHINE ON THEM, MAKING IT THERE OWN PERSONAL SPOTLIGHT! (Why can Frosty control the moon? This goes way beyond the power of ice and snow. Also Frosty vs Elsa "Death Battle" please.)

(Or maybe Frosty is just trying to activate his Oozaru Form.) The next day at school it seems that all of Tommy's friends have turned against him because, now that he has Mayor Tinkertons number one pin, they believe him to be the enemy. Tommy mentions that Frosty's powers steam from his hat and walks off, unsure if he should chose his friends or his father to follow (even though his friends are kinda being jerks here, in all honesty.) That night Tommy walks into his family room to see his mother scrap booking when he see's a photo of the boy from the comic book. It turns out that the boy from the comic book, the one who originally created Frosty was none other than...Tommy's father.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvcoly2i-3M

(Except, y'know, it was pretty dang obvious.) The next morning Mr. Tinkerton goes outside to do his inspection and nobody is listening to him. The sun refuses to rise at 6 am (rising at 6:01 instead. Which I think is less a sign of disobedience and more just a sign of the season changing.) and nobody is following the rules. Even the adults, for some reason. Even though later we see that the adults are just as upset about the disobedience as Mr. Tinkerton is.

(Here's something my older brother pointed out. This special is basically "Footloose with Frosty." It's Frostloose!) Anyway this mild chaos makes Mr. Tinkerton spiral even further into his madness. Principal Pankley goes up to him and tells Mr. Tinkerton that he does not have what it takes to quell this rebellion, and so Principal Pankley decides to take matters into his own hands. Pankley ends up seeing Frosty while he was spying on the kids playing in the woods. (Which sounds a lot more eff'd up now that I right that sentence down.) and decides to take action. You see throughout the special Walter has been getting progressively more and more jealous of the other kids for stealing his time with Frosty, to the point to where he kinda becomes that clingy girlfriend type who always wants you to themselves. Principal Pankley see's this and tell's Walter that if he wants to have some time with Frosty all by himself he should go after dark when there less people around, and Principal Pankley agrees to chaperone the excursion since it's set after curfew. Walter ends up agreeing to the arrangement, even though this entire special has made it really clear that Principal Pankley is even more of a rule freak than Mr. Tinkerton is, and has made it pretty clear that he would never do something this nice to anybody ever. Then, in case things weren't out there enough Principal Pankley decides to basically just, declare himself mayor of the town, in order to more efficiently take down the menace of Frosty the Snowman. Y'know I don't think a snowman running around is really worthy of bring out this kind of marshal law. And of course everybody in the town just kinda rolls with it, because why wouldn't they.

That night Tommy is reading the comic book, trying to looks for some kind of a solution when suddenly some more pages of the story are magically reveled to him. The books shows that the reason that Frosty never returned to Mr. Tinkerton as a kid was because another, jealous child had found the hat and locked it up. And that kid happened to be Principal Pankley! And the comic also reveled that Walter was at the lake with Principal Pankley right now. Thanks magic comic book for waiting this long give give Tommy the answers he needed. If you just had all your pages from the start maybe we could of avoided this, but no, you had to wait till the very last minute give us all the information we needed, because you wanted to be dramatic! Also how come Frosty waited this long to leave the trunk that Principal Pankley locked him up in? I mean he just kinda broke out of the box at the beginning of the special. It's not like anyone let him out. Why did it take twenty years to escape? But whatever. We see that Walter is out in the middle of the woods...at night..with Principal Pankely...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgJYTeBynqA

And Walter is skating with Frosty. (Principal Pankley is hiding behind a tree so Frosty doesn't see him.) But while there skating the thin ice breaks and Frosty ends up falling into the water. What would of happened if the ice didn't break? This plan isn't very thought out at all. After Frosty melts Principal Pankley grabs the hat and leaves laughing. Later all the kids have noticed that Frosty stopped showing up, and everybody assumes that it was Tommy who got rid of him. The think this on the ground that Tommy never spent any time with him, he has Mr. Tinkerton's number one pin, and he would have the knowledge on how to destroy him because he mentioned knowing his origin earlier. Principal Pankley begins to revel in his new found power. But Tommy decides that he has stop being scared and do whats right and save Frosty! He get's Walter to confess to his accidental role in Frosty's destruction and the hatch a plan to bring him back. He shows the comic to all the other kids and gets back to there good graces and then they storm to school to retrieve Frosty's hat. (Which is just in a frickin' glass case in the middle of the school where everyone can see it. Cause that'll stop the hat that broke out of like six chained up trunks.) Principal Pankley chases the kids back to the frozen pond where they engage in a snow themed chase and snowball fight that is way less epic then the specials says it is. Everyone in town hears the commotion (because the glass case had an alarm.) and goes to the pond as well. The kids rebuild Frosty the F#&k Boi and all the adults see Frosty for themselves, including Mr. Tinkerton. He and Frosty reconnects and Tommy gives the pin back to his father. Frosty ends up hitting Walter's mother and an entire snowball fight with all the kids and adults break out as all the adults learn the error of there ways. As for Principal Pankley...

(Okay that doesn't happen, but let me have my version dang it!) And the special reveals the shock twist. That Tommy ends up growing up to become...Burt Reynolds! Er, I mean the narrator. The narrator is a grown up Tommy. I like the twist, making the narrator have more of a point then just being some random guest star. Though it is a bit weird that the narrator isn't some kind of horrid uncanny valley version of Bruce Willis. It just feels like it's breaking Frosty tradition. Oh, and we learn that Tommy ended up marring Sara, and I definitely...don't care. Oh and what happens to Frosty? Um...In don't know. They never really say what happens to him once the winter ends. Also they never really say what happens to Principal Pankley. I guess he's still the principal? And will continue to make life for the student miserable at school? I dunno, who cares? The special is over now. So that was "The Legend of Frosty the Snowman." is it any good? Well, probably not, but it has some good parts. The voice cast is pretty good, including Burt Reynolds, who has a really good voice that adds a lot of gravitas to the narrator. (Also Bert Reybnolds sings, which is probably something that you won't here in Dukes of Hazard.) The animation is okay, kinda generic looking but they kinda make up for it by having a lot of nice colors, with lots of blues and whites. Also I really like this version of Frosty. I don't know if I like him more or less than the "Frosty Returns" version of him (as Bill Fagerbakke loud and oafish sounding voice he gives Frosty can get a bit grating at times, like I said previously, but It's prety good for like 90-95 percent of the film) I still think the voice is a perfect fit for what there doing with this version of Frosty, there are just a couple of times where it sounds a bit to much like Patrick Star yelling. (By the way, I like how this special has Bill Fagerbakke still being friends with Tom Kenny.) I love the idea of Frosty being this world traveler and I think this special does a good job combing elements from both the original and the "Frosty Returns" incarnation. It's a good reboot even if it's not the best story. Unfortunately the film has a lot of problems to. Most of the kids are fairly generic. Charlie and Walter are kinda interesting but Sara and Tommy are both rather bland. Tommy has a good conflict in the story, and a good arc, but outside of that he's just a generic kid. And there love story felt very tacked on, like I think they only speak to each other a couple of times in the whole movie and they don't have any chemistry. We don't get a reason on why Tommy likes her other than "cause I'm the main character and she's the token girls so I guess we're suppose to be together! Also the story is pretty dumb and full of plot holes. They go to cartoonish lengths to show how uptight the adults are but it doesn't come off as funny. It's just another 'fight the establishment." story that we've seen many times before. Also Principal Pankley, while having some goofy and amusing moments is nowhere near as fun of a villain as Mr. Hinkle or Mr. Twitchell. Also this special is sixty six minutes long and it can be a bit of a drag by the end. They probably could of cut it down to forty four if they cut out some of the more filler-y scenes. So do I recommend this special? Well, it depends on who you are. I think you can tell by reading this review if it's something that would be up your alley or not. It's dumb, cheesy and kind of bland but there are some creative elements in it that might warrant you checking it out. It available on Netflix and on DVD if you are interested. So I hoped you liked my review. It's a bit longer than I was expecting but what are you going to do? Have you seen "The Legend of Frosty the Snowman?" and if you did what do you think of it. Tell me in the comments. I think discussion is a great way to never fall into a echo chamber so I'd love to start a discussion. Where does it rank with the other Frosty special? And what are some of your favorite Christmas specials that not that many people talk about? Do you have any ideas for things for me to review in the future? Leave all of that or any other thoughts in the comments down bellow and feel free to fav and follow if you liked the review. As you can hopefully see I put a lot of thought and time into so I would be very appreciative. I'll be back next Friday for the finale of "Deviant-cember." with the "2016 year in REVIEW!" Hopefully see you guys then and have a great holiday. (I do not own any of the images or videos in this review all credit goes to there original owners.)

https://www.deviantart.com/joyofcrimeart/journal/The-Legend-of-Frosty-the-Snowman-REVIEW-652910204 DA LINK

#The Legend of Frosty the Snowman #Frosty the Snowman #Christmas #Review #2000's

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rugeon · 5 years

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Breaking down the Dust: higher level design goals and challenges

Here’s that second post of stream of consciousness mechanical thoughts and ideas. Just ideas for now.

So one of the goals I have for developing this idea is creating a creatively expressive music game. When compared to other music games often times there is a great emphasis placed on technical mastery and execution. Most rhythm games focus on matching the timing + accuracy of your input; eg. guitar hero, rockband, singstar, rhythm heaven

While technique and timing are strong elements of mastery in music, there’s more the experience of playing music than simply playing the ‘right’ notes at the right time, and these prescriptive styles of matching the notes to established songs ignore the creative and expressive aspect of playing music. Often times there is more than one way for someone to express the same musical idea, which is subject to that person’s individual tastes. There is more than one way to play the same song or jam over the same idea, different notes/chords to get to the next part of a song.

More recent guitar hero+ rock band iterations, as well as other music games, will have improv breaks in the song where a wider selection of inputs are valid and contribute to score, and while I haven’t really played these games, these sections are 1. de-emphasised and 2. often result on people ravingly hammering all over their controller/ singing somewhat flippantly. This is good fun in a party setting where these games thrive on replicating the ‘feel’ of being a guitarist frenetically twisting their fingers into knots all over the fretboard to shoot thunder out of the sky, but don’t really capture that feeling in improv of musical expression + intent.

One game that I feel gets closer to this (albeit in a somewhat limited capacity is the captivating recreational program ‘Hylics’ by Mason Lindroth

Which has an optional section available near the end of the game where the player is able to assemble their band and cycle them each through various tracks to play at the same time, and then selecting from their own range of sounds and play select set of notes / chords in each style you switch to. It’s fairly freeform and without much in the way of constraints/ judgements on how you play. You can’t fail, it’s entirely optional and is sort of just a fun short side outlet of maybe improving over some pre-arranged grooves/synths/beats.

This brings up the question of how to create a musically expressive game for players that has depth and facilitates some degree of creativity, but still in the context of something that is engaging as a stand-alone experience. As much as I’m a big fan of the concert you can play in Hylics, it’s very strictly an optional part of the game and not the main focus of the experience. There is no feedback given to the player on how good they’re doing which in someways is great. As a relaxing side thing it’s nice that the player has the opportunity to just ‘play’ and decide for themselves whether they like what they did, but its ultimately something that doesn’t reflect the constraints that are an essential part of playing music.

Musicians respond to eachother, they respond to the context of where they are in a song and where they’re going, and also respond to their audience on some level while performing as well. A music game that is purely expressive without constraints while appealing to me, certainly more appealing than making something with a different note highway, runs the risk of not actually resulting in people making something recognisable as appealing music. Some constraint on when you should be playing notes, feedback on playing things is necessary to some degree to encourage players to create a performance.

This brings the challenge of creating a musically expressive game without requiring a vast musical understanding.

Something like Rocksmith which is sort of just an interface for a real guitar (complete once again with note highway) while teaching musical concepts and opening up the ability to start learning an instrument, is way too complicated in terms of fidelity of representation in playing an instrument for most people just looking to play a game. Besides that this game has some modes that offer a practice space where you can express yourself as opposed to playing the written notes (and even within the framework of songs there is some greater degree of expression in terms of strumming available) this game also isn’t really trying to convey the idea of self-expression, but start handing you some tools that could be used to make it, outside of the game, on a real instrument.

So the major challenge to take from this is how to create a fun musical or musically themed game, which facilitates player expression and depth without requiring an intimate understanding of how to play music.

If I were to guess what my design arrives at, it will probably share some more with a game like ‘Floor Kids’ the recent breakdancing game:

I haven’t played it but it judges you on score and variety of moves, while allowing for different inputs and moves to be interpreted as valid and mostly just requiring a steady tempo for inputs, as opposed to matching them to a scrolling sheet of different specific inputs at different times. In order to be able to express yourself, you need to have meaningful options.

When looking at other games that allow for some degree of creative player expression some ones that come to mind are:

Fighting Games:

[Absolver]

Sports/trick games in the tradition of series like tony hawk:

And spectacle fighters like Devil May Cry:

These games all have systems that make judgements on play that deign there is such a thing as ‘optimal play’, but still within each of these games there are vastly different types of players who will feel happy with how they play relative to their own sense of mastery and targets within their evaluative frameworks. The better scoring systems in something like Devil May Cry are designed to make the assigned value between different modes of play more even. Still other players ignore the scoring systems entirely to just make it through the game, or because they prefer their own way of playing over what the game says is desirable. Fighting games at the high-level trend towards certain styles of play, moves being completely unutilised because they are bad and others used more because they are optimal. When the requirements to pass or succeed are high the ability to self-express reduces. I think the most potentially interesting of these is something like Devil May Cry, which features distinct switchable movesets that have different strengths but are all potentially viable. Some players will specialise in one and not make use of all of its moves but develop a mastery over its core features (dodging, parrying etc.) While other players will be more broad.

The room for this specialisation and ability for several moves to accomplish the same task is tied up in the game’s enemies which are effectively challenges that prompt the player in different ways to respond to that enemies strengths and weaknesses. The utility/threat of these enemies varies massively, with some being only a threat when near another enemy or in a large number, others having more deadly versions introduces later once the player has improved in skill etc.

One of the main differences however is that in music repetition is often desirable. Things can repeat aesthetically but have a different accent, articulation or energy because of where they are in the song and still feel really effective. This is one of the aesthetic features often noted in the desert rock / stoner rock genre. They are very repetitive and focused on the trancelike nature of staying in a groove. This is not to say there is a lack of progression or movement in these genres, only that this is a feature often associated with them which runs somewhat counter to the encouraged expression in games that evaluate based on variety. How to encourage the kind of play where going on for longer is desirable?

The player’s priority of how they respond is determined by their own ability and tastes in response to the changing context of the fight/ arena/ enemy composition. As a way of expressing oneself within constraints, comparisons could be drawn to how musicians will respond based on their own tastes and experience to the changing context of the sound/performance. There is a certain rhythm, and call and response to playing these kinds of games. Even more so in iterations where the timing on certain moves is emphasized by allowing for a more effective execution.

These games have players expressing themselves spacially, while most musical games (understandably) are focused on the temporal qualities, of when sound is played. Maybe there’s a way to visualise musical context in a way which is more spatial without just being a 1-dimensional note highway?

Another aspect of the scene that I feel warrants some thought is how to create the sense of community. Lots of music games have an audience responding to the player’s ranking and the setting of something like a generator party next to a kidney pool provides a good fit for this scene but I’m curious if they could be more involved. Having the crowd and how they respond being the really visual thing you are responding to in music? Different types of people and how they move making you decide to play differently ie speed up, slow down, change style? Furthermore when playing music does the player play one musician or the whole band? Different instruments and roles have different play styles? WHat about gamifying the other aspects of this scenes experience? Putting the poster together a la. the more freeform creative stuff like building a snowman in NITW demo game Longest Night, or colouring the butterflies in Florence. The experience of following a mad map in the pitch black of a desert to get to a show. Most of this is just gonna end up being scope creep nonsense but is at least worth considering. How much to represent all aspects of the scene vs a higher fidelity representation of one style of playing for one instrument.

Only other aesthetic considerations I have for the framework are that the wind, dust and sky are all ripe for implementation, and surreal, emotive, anthropomorphic fallacy-ising. Figures + shapes in the night sky being the thing the player responds to?

Main goal for now is to figure out the main mechanic of creating some musical expressive stuff.

#gamedev #dust

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sophygurl · 6 years

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Maddaddam thoughts

[Only mild spoilers about who the POV characters are and main themes of the books - no main plot giveaways, etc.]

So the main thing that struck me while reading Margaret Atwood’s Maddaddam trilogy (Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood, and Maddaddam) was how expansive Atwood’s storytelling can be.

I’ve only read two of Atwood’s works before - The Handmaid’s Tale and The Robber Bride - and already as I started reading Oryx and Crake, I was thinking how different the voices in all of these books were. It was years ago that I read Robber Bride, but IIRC even in that, the different main characters had very different voices and ways of telling their stories.

In Oryx and Crake, we have Snowman talking about his present-day stuff as well as his memories of being Jimmy through the ages, and then Oryx’s voice comes through via-Jimmy as he remembers her telling him her life story.

Then, in Year of the Flood our two main perspectives are Ren and Toby. Ren is the only first person POV we get in the series, and of course her story and voice are very different from Toby’s third person one. Then we also have interludes of Adam One’s speeches (sermons?) and the hymns that the Gardeners sang as another perspective.

Maddaddam is mostly told through Toby’s eyes, but we also get Zeb’s voice as he tells his life story to her so that she can pass it on to the Crakers in a diluted form. And through Toby we get not only her actual voice, but the gentler voice she uses with the Crakers and how she distills information to them. Then we also get a little bit of Blackbeard’s voice at the end.

In fact, as Blackbeard is coming to understand what writing and reading means and is teaching this to the rest of the Crakers, he literally talks about how writing is setting something down in one’s own voice so that when you read it, you hear it in that person’s voice. It’s quite meta, and as the Crakers love stories and the act of being told stories, it wraps up the theme of storytelling very nicely.

So all-in-all, we get seven different voices in this series (Jimmy/Snowman, Oryx-via-Jimmy/Snowman, Ren, Toby, Adam One/Gardener hymns and speeches, Zeb-to-Toby, and Blackbeard). And yet, it’s all the same story. Which I find fascinating.

This trilogy is not a trilogy in the sense of three books taking after one another chronologically. In fact, the first two books tell the same story but from different perspectives. The third book does move forward some in the present day dealings, but also goes back in time to tell all of what happened in the past from yet another vantage point.

So we have all of these different storytellers, and the main ones are giving us their stories both in the present and past tenses, and we even have characters telling us stories about other people telling them stories - or about the characters telling us stories about them telling other people stories. Phew!

Anyway, there’s a LOT to take away from these books in regards to science and technology, environmentalism, capitalism, religion and spirituality, privilege and power, and so much more. But my main take-away is really dissecting and digesting the different ways of storytelling that Atwood implements and how that affects the story being told.

Personally, I found the first book really confusing and Jimmy/Snowman really frustrating. Then I liked Ren and Toby’s voices a bit better, and appreciated the world of the pleebs and the Gardeners a lot more. I missed Ren’s perspective in the third one, but loved getting Zeb’s story and voice, although there were things that annoyed me about him as well. Re-reading all three books together, having all of the information available, was much more interesting to me. Comparing how the different storytellers told about the same events, trying to suss out how they all connected and what each of them really meant to the other, etc.

It was also interesting to me that we never get Crake’s perspective. Several of the storytellers knew him, some of them very well, but even to them he was mostly a mystery. Crake is the cause of everything, but we never get his take on anything. Even with Jimmy, he mostly only smiled or smirked and told partial truths or gave part of the answers away.

Also Adam, we only know through other people or through the persona he took on as leader of the Gardeners. And Zeb, the closest to him, also shares with Toby that there was a lot about Adam that he didn’t know, or that Adam just didn’t share readily.

And if Crake is the cause of apocalypse, then Adam is the reason that more than just Painballers and Jimmy survive it. Crake the scientist and Adam the religious leader - both essential characters in this story - are also the least knowable. We never truly know what they’re thinking or feeling. It seems that no one does. We get more information about the interior lives of the pigoons than of Crake or Adam.

I’m gonna be thinking about these books for a long while. Anyone wanna discuss with me??

Additionally, I’m planning to read more Atwood - so any recs on which works to dig into first is appreciated.

#maddaddam #maddaddam trilogy #oryx and crake #the year of the flood #margaret atwood #storytelling #stories #point of view #voices #books #reading

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wantisamlindyla · 6 years

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Your Ghost - Chapter 1

New York, 1999.

He wanted her to live again, even if she could only come back to him through the pages of a book.

A/N: Hi all. I’ve been sitting on this for a while I finally decided to post the first chapter. I have a rough outline but I don’t know how many chapters there are going to be, maybe 6? This is AU, Mileven, takes place 15 years after Eleven disappeared. Most of season 2 still happened, but there was no Mike/Eleven Reunion at the end of episode 8. Will eventually post on Ao3, but I dunno when I’m gonna get my invite to set up an account. Enjoy!

28 October 1999

“Ladies and gentlemen thank you for coming here today. There will be a book signing of this amazing book after this session. Now, the reason for why we are all here today, and why some of you have been lining up outside the venue all night, is currently backstage, waiting patiently for me to stop nerding out and pull myself together to introduce him!

After publishing his first novel and topping the New York bestseller’s list at only the age of 23, he is here tonight to talk about his newest novel, titled the Ides of Winter, and the third book in the world famous Montauk series. Everybody, please join me in welcoming to the stage, Michael Wheeler!”

***

It was one month and 17 days into the book tour. Mike had one more stop in New York before he could call it a day and go home.

He was so goddamned tired, he still had several book signings, an interview with the New Yorker (with that pretentious prig, Howell), a TV appearance on the Today Show, and, a few radio interviews, before he can escape back to the Lake house in Lovell, Maine which he now called home.

It’s not all bad news though. New York means seeing Will again for the first time since Christmas.

Not that Mike has completely lost all touch with his old friends, quite on the contrary.

After graduating from a fine arts course at his brother’s alma mater, NYU, Will had decided to stay in the city. He’d eventually landed an unpaid internship at a small start up animation studio. Now Will split his time travelling back and forth from California to New York as the head character designer on a number of superhero animated cartoons that Mike watched religiously on Saturday mornings.

It wasn’t hard to stay in touch with Will, it was just that this last year had been manic. Mike had barely fit in time for sleep what with working frantically to get his novel finished, having to attend stressful and tense meetings with his editor, forcing himself to return his lawyers’ phone calls about a copyright infringement litigation his publishers had commenced on his behalf, and having to deal with ideas about for the short story anthology he had been working on springing up at the most inconvenient times.

He and Will still managed to talk every other day though, either by telephone or AIM.

Ever since Nancy and Jonathan officially became a couple around Christmas of ‘84, Jonathan and Will became regular dinner guests at the Wheeler residence. He and Will had become almost inseparable, more than anybody in the party.

During his parents’ divorce, which took place during Mike’s sophomore year of high school, with Nancy and Jonathan away at college, Mike spent more and more time at the Byers’ residence, trying to escape the tensions at home, right up until he left for college in ‘89.

At college, Mike made new friends, attended dumb keg parties, dated girls, but he never lost touch with Dustin, Will, Lucas, or Max.

You didn’t help save the end of the world with your friends, twice, and then drift away from them over trivial things like distance and attending different colleges.

In fact, Mike had just met up with Dustin only a few months ago. Dustin had been in Maine for some reason connected with his annoyingly mysterious job.

After Dustin had graduated from MIT he had immediately been recruited by a secretive tech company in California. Dustin couldn’t talk about where he worked or what he did at his job. Whenever people asked him where he worked he’d tell them Cyberdyne Systems with a straight face.

He and Dustin had attended the Phantom Menace premiere together with Dustin’s then-girlfriend, Cindy. The boys had left the movie theatre deflated and heartsore while Cindy had tried valiantly to console them by saying all the wrong things.

Dustin called Mike a few weeks later to inform him that he and Cindy were no longer going out.

“I had to dump her Mike, she said she thought Jar Jar Binks was cute. Also she refused to share her food with me when we went out.”

“So?”

“So? So? It’s weird. We go out for Italian and I end up having to eat an entire Pepperoni pizza on my own, which I don’t really mind, but then her ravioli looks good too, but she won’t let me have any because she likes us to have our own meals. And don’t even get me started on that time I took her to Wang’s Treasure Palace.”

Besides those occasional and surprising visits during the year there was always Christmas and New Years at Lucas and Max’s place to look forward to.

Of all of them only Lucas and Max had opted to return to Hawkins. Lucas quit his mechanical engineering job and got a position as an assistant professor, teaching at the community college only after a few years in Chicago. Max got a job as a mechanic at a garage. They bought a house, got married, and got busy starting a family.

Mike smiled at the memory of last year’s Christmas.

He’d practically lived at Lucas and Max’s house the whole time he was there since the picture perfect Wheeler family Christmases that his mom had worked so hard to create during his childhood was now only a distant memory.

Nancy preferred to spend her Christmases in New York with Jonathan and Mrs Byers. The Wheeler home had been sold a few years ago when Holly had left to go to college. Holly preferred to spend her holidays in Chicago with her boyfriend’s family.

His mom was away on another cruise, and, his dad was busy with wife number two.

So, Mike spent his Christmas and News Years at the Sinclairs. He’d taught their three-year-old son, Robbie, how to build a snowman. He conducted a twelve-hour D & D Campaign, pelted Dustin with snowballs, watched a pregnant Max eat all the ice-cream and listened to her complain about how gassy pregnancy made her, watched a star wars marathon and gorged on pizza on Christmas day (just because Max was the only girl in the party did not mean that she would be cooking and cleaning for four man-child wastoids who liked to mooch off her and Lucas).

Mike considered a detour to Hawkins for a visit after New York so he could meet the newest addition to the Sinclair family, baby Grace, who was about to turn 6 months old. He decided to bring it up with Will tonight at dinner.

Mike pulled himself back to the present and to the interviewer who was introducing him to her broadcast audience.

“You’re listening to Terry Gross on Fresh Air. Joining us today is Michael Wheeler, author of the best selling book series, Montauk. The series is set in the 60s, in the small town of Montauk in upstate New York, the town is haunted by the misdeeds of its occupants.

The main protagonist is Millie, a brave young girl, with a few secrets of her own.

When Millie’s best friend, Noah, goes missing in mysterious and sinister circumstances, she sets out on a journey into the woods near the town to find him. The first two books in the series have already sold over 80 million copies worldwide and a movie adaptation of the first novel is currently in the works. The third book in the series, Ides of Winter, was released recently.

Michael was only 23 when the first novel in the series was published. He was awarded the Hugo Award for best new author in ‘95 and he has been named one of Time’s most influential people of the year. Michael thank you so much for joining us today.”

“Of course, thank you for having me.”

Terry was one of the best interviewers Mike had the pleasure of meeting. Her soft spoken and inquisitive questions put him immediately at ease, so much so that so he almost forgot he was being interviewed on radio.

He didn’t forget to lie though.

When Terry asked him about where he’d drawn inspiration from for his twelve-year-old girl protagonist, he told her Millie was a blend of himself and the two sisters whom he’d grown up with.

When Terry asked him what drew him to the supernatural and horror themes prevalent in his novels, he only talked about the books and authors he’d read growing up.

“Michael, my favourite chapter of your second novel is the Cave of Horrors. I’m sure you get that a lot. I just wanted to ask you about that chapter, because it’s pivotal, its when Millie comes to believe that she may have truly lost her friend forever, and you write so well about grief, and loss, and the trauma associated with that at such a young age. I guess what I wonder is, was this kind of loss something you had experience with?”

Mike pauses for a long moment.

He doesn’t know what it was, perhaps it’s the kindness in Terry’s voice.

Maybe it was the year he’d just had, it’d been especially difficult.

Maybe it was the tour.

Maybe it was the thought of that big empty lake house waiting for him at the end of the tour.

Maybe he’s just so tired of the lies and the bullshit. He didn’t really even understand why he still did it; it’s as natural as breathing, but its been almost 15 years. All the men who could punish him or his friends for saying the wrong thing are long gone.

He doesn’t know why or what it is, but all of a sudden his chest feels as if it’s been cracked wide open and its like everyone can see the wound inside him, vulnerable and raw as the day it happened. He wants to tell the world about her, he wants to scream it from the top of the Empire State Building.

He’s twelve years old again, he can smell the tang of blood and the smoke of ashes that had never touched fire. He can hear the violent and desperate screams of a dying creature ringing in his ears and in between darkness and the flickering fluorescent lights, he sees her eyes, tired, resigned, and filled with pain.

Goodbye Mike.

He wanted her to live again, even if she could only come back to him through the pages of a book.

So he’d saved her the only way he knew how. She came back to life by people reading his book, by growing to love and adore Millie, the brave and wonderful girl that would face monsters and death in order to save her friends.

“I….I lost a friend when I was a kid Terry. I don’t really speak about it often. But the way that it happened….it was violent and sudden. I don’t think I was able to come to grips with it for many years. It’s hard to admit sometimes, I think I lie to myself about it, but so much of her is in my writing.”

Terry nodded thoughtfully even though though the gesture won’t be captured by the microphone.

“Did writing help you with dealing with that loss?”

Mike answered honestly, “I don’t know. Some days I think it’s made it worse, because she’s with me, everyday. I live and breathe the loss of her in work. But its just become inseparable from me, the pain. I think it’s just like an arm, or a leg. You heal, but you’re not ever the same. And you never really forget what you lost.”

#mike/eleven #mileven #fanfic #stranger things #au mileven #chapter 1 #authormike

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thebigladjake · 3 years

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AX3001: Oddyssey TV Show - Research - The Subconscious and why I think it has huge potential for storytelling.

My fixation of the Subconscious in my recent work stems from the fact that I think it’s a creative reflection of someone’s personality. Even if the person isn’t that particularly creative themselves, we get a view into how they see the world and maybe what they even want. And this fascination I have has come from several places in media. With the first place being an internet animated show known as The Big Lez Show.

The Big Lez Show

The Big Lez show is about Leslie Mackerel and what at first just appears to be a middle aged Australian guy just living his life. However, as the series goes on we learn more about Lez and the fact that he’s technically an alien who was banished from his home planet, has a bitter rivalry with his brother, Norton and eventually an epic hero who saves the world from the Choomahs.

A big part of the show is the stoner comedy aspect of Aussie culture and the friends tend to relax by getting high and talking about the kind of things high people like to talk about. All kinds of deep topics and in Choomah Island 2, several characters talk about the subconscious and Lez goes on a journey of self-discovery to realise what he truly wants in his life.

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It’s a bit of a watch, but I thought I might as well include it since it’s free. Choomah Island 2 is the boys going on a mission to finally put this Choomah problem to rest. And in typical Big Lez fashion, once the boys are on the island. They don’t go about their mission, instead they choose to get high and talk about all the mad things in life and the talk of the subconscious begins as Mike Nolan and Big Lez are lying down looking up at the sky.

This is one of the first times Lez gets consensually high and has a trip, previously he was spiked by Sassy the Sasquatch, and here Mike Nolan explains to him how he realised that his dream was all in his head and the fact that all his friends were in the dream means that they all exist within his subconscious.

Mike then goes onto say how we’re all one as when we make others happy, we make ourselves happy and the opposite applies too. That in reality we are all one, Lez doesn’t buy it until he sees a hallucination of his face in the clouds that tells him to listen to him. Setting up a whole karmic retribution theme to this movie.

Lez’s adventure truly begins when he parts from the group to chase a fallen star. After an encounter with the Choomahs, Lez sits down and smokes a joint that Sassy gave to him in case he got lost, getting lost being more figurative than literal. Lez then goes on a journey through his subconscious where he learns the truth about his existence and the fact that it’s a show, however that isn’t the focus.

Lez learns about the possibilities of Microsoft Paint from Sassy the Sasquatch as he meets him in a dimension of his own creation. Sassy goes onto say that it’s a dimension in his own head and going back to what Mike said, that we’re all connected and we are one, Lez can see it too. Lez doesn’t understand and asks Sassy why he brought him here, but Sassy says it was his decision to come.

Sassy goes onto explain that right now they are outside the box, yet still inside it. Eventually showing Lez the Microsoft Paint GUI and telling him to draw what he wants from life. Lez draws a picture of him shooting Norton, saying how much he hates him and how he can’t stand Norton being in the same world as him. With some guidance, Sassy helps Lez to realise that killing Norton isn’t what he wants and what he really wants is to be happy.

Lez wakes up, physically and spiritually as his trip ends and he realises exactly what he wants. With a little guidance from Sassy, he was able to come to the conclusion that he wants to be happy and viewing things from a more positive angle.

I personally find this kind of development really interesting because technically it’s all the character’s doing and they just needed to really look at themselves to figure out what they wanted. Not only that, we get to see what the characters really think about that other person and we see how important their friendship must be if they’re appearing in each other’s subconscious. Big Lez definitely planted the seed while my playthrough of Earthbound helped me to realise the potential in trippy subconscious settings.

Earthbound and Magicant

Upon many things, Earthbound is the main driving force behind Oddyssey as I believe it could be a really successful formula for a show for kids since it’s actually good and a show for adults to sort of remind them about the magic of being a child. And a really memorable part of the game is Magicant, a moment where Ness is alone once more and has to defeat the darkest part of his subconscious without the aid of the friends that he has made along the way.

Earthbound gives us a little more to chew on rather than Big Lez, since it’s a game that allows us to explore Ness’ subconscious at our own pace. The first thing I want to talk about is Ness’ resting place is viewed as his home. Throughout the game, you’ll need to rest to freshen up all of your psychic points and hit points and you can always go back home to Ness’ Mother and get a free rest, however that can be extremely inconvenient when there are hotels in your current town. You don’t see her often and can talk to her on the phone to cure Ness’ homesickness which effects him in battle.

However, Ness’ family appearing in his mind as his place of rest is really sweet because it shows us just how much they mean to him without Ness saying a word. His Mother gives him a chance to rest and eat his favourite food, Tracey will hold onto any items that may be clogging up your inventory and King the Dog is there for emotional support.

Ness can also reflect on previous memories here, he can meet his past self, friends from his hometown and several snowmen that he once built. One snowman specifically says something I find could beautiful, “We had fun one snowy day, I melted away but I still exist in your memory.” and I can’t really explain why I love this saying as much as I do. But, there’s something about it that I relate to massively, I feel like it might have something to do with the characters and worlds I used to create using the resources I did have.

Another character of interest is Pokey Minch, a character who was Ness’ cowardly and rude friend gone bad throughout the story of the game. You can find him in Ness’ Magicant and we see how Ness thinks that he is rude, but on some level wishes that they could still be friends and that he didn’t go down the path that he did.

Another part of Ness’ Magicant is the house of the Flying Men or Man. Half man, half bird figures that are the symbol of Ness’ courage, you can ask for them to accompany you to the Sea of Eden and they prove to be quite capable. Them being a symbol of Ness’ courage dwindles if the Flying Man falls in battle, with each Flying Man getting less and less hopeful. Unfortunately, none of the enemies in Magicant really seem to represent anything significant to Ness’ psyche which is a shame.

Nothing in the Sea of Eden really sticks out as a symbol of Ness’ personality and subconscious. But, the whole reason Ness had to journey here was to defeat a great evil within... Ness’ Nightmare, Ness’ embodiment of evil, he must be destroyed for Ness to succeed in defeating Giygas.

What’s so fascinating about Ness’ Nightmare is that it implies even a good kid like Ness has evil within, and I think we can all picture a version of ourselves that is all of our negative traits incarnate. As if this could happen to absolutely anyone, we all have the capacity to be evil I believe. It’s just some people don’t want to be evil while others may do.

I think making the audience think about these themes and consider their whole past and their whole view of their world is what Magicant is all about and I most certainly hope that this is something that Oddyssey would be able to capture.

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crankywolfgang · 4 years

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time for 19 whole ass questions

25. A quarter of the way there! How’s the wait?

Excruciating

26. Favourite fish?

Sea butterfly!! It’s so small and cute and pretty, I also always love fish with unique tanks :3c

27. Least favourite fish?

Abomination against god itself, the Oarfish

28. Favourite fossil?

The Triceratops fossils....I’m...love triceratops...

29. Least favourite fossil?

Whatever one ends up being the last one I need to find in a map smh

30. Favourite furniture series?

Modern!! I usually don’t like checkers but Modern does it very well

31. Least favourite furniture series?

All of the hyper specific designed sets, like the Snowman and Mushroom sets and stuff, it’s really hard to mix sets together when you have a bed shaped like a snowman that only looks good against other themed furniture. The general aesthetic sets favor my interior design style better, they get more use!

32. Favourite soundtrack? (Gamecube, DS/Wii, etc)

I think...New Leaf’s OST(which I guess is the same as Wild World’s), is my favorite....only bc of the main theme grasping my heart and twisting it into a tight knot every single time I hear it

33. Least favourite soundtrack?

Population Growing sadly gets this spot, I don’t remember most of the tracks aside from a select few, and wouldn’t be able to put times to songs. :( But that’s more bc of personal memory, rather than the songs being bad or boring, the OST itself is really fun and funky! Cat song forever

34. Favourite wallpaper?

Space.....Lunar Horizon good......

35. Do you have a nice memory of the games/community etc you’d like to share?

I remember toting either my gamecube or my wii with me to my grandma’s house when I was in my highs for the respective games. I’d be so excited to show her what I did in game, who my favorite villagers were, and just let her watch and enjoy it alongside me...She always praised me for memorizing where every wire was supposed to go and what it all did, as a lot of old people do. I have a specific memory of sitting on a tall stool of hers and holding the gamecube controller in my hands while I hunched over to look at a small TV and play the first game...I dunno why that’s such a strong memory, but it is.

36. Least favourite wallpaper?

Give headache.....bad wall.......pain..........

37. Favourite carpet?

It’s such a PRETTY blue

38. Least favourite carpet?

39. Favourite furniture item?

I......don’t know if I can answer this. There’s so many good little knick knacks and cluttery items that I aadddddoooooooorrrrrreeeee

40. Will you be buying a Switch for Animal Crossing, or do you already have one?

Already got one! :D I got it to be able to play Splatoon2 :3c

41. Least favourite furniture item?

You know that stupid round coin stone thing that when you interact with it it yells at you and also it’s huge and takes up most of your room

I hate that.

42. Favourite flower?

ROSES!!!!

43. Least favourite flower?

tulips :(

#100 days to animal crossing challenge

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francesderwent · 7 years

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Moana and Catholicism, Part I: desire and vocation

The story opens when our young protagonist, constantly at odds with the authority figures with whom he/she grew up, finally breaks free of the ties which have bound him/her and pursues the longing of his/her heart. After facing much adversity and going through a great adventure, he/she finds that the fulfillment of his/her desire is real and has been the answer all along. The protagonist is revealed to have been a kind of chosen one, his/her rebellion at the outset of the story is vindicated, and a new form of life is inaugurated.

Described like this, it doesn’t seem that the desire-to-vocation narrative is all that rare. Plenty of modern films are about the importance of following your desires, being true to yourself even when the whole world doesn’t understand - in fact, it seems to be one of Disney/Pixar’s favorite narratives, featuring in a major way in A Bug’s Life, Mike Wazowski’s arc in the Monsters movies, Ratatouille, High School Musical, and now Moana. There’s a reason the main takeaway from Frozen was the solitary song “Let it Go” - we’re tired of managing our desires as we’ve been taught to do, and when we give them full rein we want to believe we can accomplish amazing things, like building a giant castle out of ice or creating a sentient snowman. We hope for the revelation that we were right all along, and for the people who questioned us to be relegated to the wrong side of history where they belong.

But the narrative I’ve been describing so far is not about call or vocation so much as it is about progress. Destiny, qua destiny, is always about moving forward in this worldview; it’s about rejecting what is given in favor of what can be worked for or won, and this rejection is a choice which is largely self-motivated - there is no higher power granting “chosen one” status, the protagonist is the hero simply because they’re braver, smarter, or in some way more forward-thinking than everyone else.

But this is not nearly adequate to describe the narrative which is played out in Moana. Moana, as a whole, is shockingly anti-progress, or at least non-progressive, which allows her story to genuinely say something about desire and vocation: the task Moana finds herself drawn to is is not one that she creates for herself, and her journey leaves nothing behind of her former life. Rather, Moana is about the call and the return.

First, let’s examine basic plot structure. If we look at her motivations and actions, Moana reveals herself to be a different kind of rebellious princess than Ariel or Jasmine. While we see Moana turning again and again to run to the water in the opening sequence, she isn’t trying to leave, as becomes evident in the next couple of scenes. She’s actively trying to be a good successor to her father, and she wants to incorporate sailing past the reef into that given task. She isn’t trying to reject her responsibilities, she’s only chafing against what seems to her to be an arbitrary restriction preventing her from flourishing in the life she’s already living. And additionally, her father’s objections to her desires are not based on a refusal to consider new ideas, but out of a wish to spare her from a painful experience like one he had chasing the same desire. Even when she disobeys her father to set off on her quest, it is because she wants to preserve the way of life on the island, and it is at the instruction of her grandmother, who is a kind of higher authority (“I’m his mom, I don’t have to tell him anything”). Furthermore, Moana’s choosing to return to her island at the end of her quest is not a surprise - she only leaves so that she can come back, all that she does, from the very beginning, is for the sake of home. Overall, Moana is an extraordinarily mature and responsible protagonist, there is nothing of the “rebellious for the sake of being rebellious” in her.

Moreover, although in the beginning of the film it appears that the desire for the horizon wells up within Moana mysteriously and without cause, the whole point of the “How Far I’ll Go” recurring theme seems to be to show that this is not the case. The first time we hear the theme establishes what the desires are, the reprise signals that the reason she has the desires is because she was chosen by the ocean for a greater purpose, and the third instance of the theme in “I am Moana” shows that this call is not at odds with the rest of her identity, but rather founds it. She can be both the girl who loves her island and the girl who loves the sea, because she was chosen for this greater purpose. (The line “And the call wasn’t out there at all, it’s inside me” still gives me some trouble, but if you interpret it along the lines of “my self and my vocation are not at odds” and not “I give myself my vocation”, then I think it works, barely.) This kind of narrative is extremely rare; I can only think of one or maybe two other films where desire is so clearly tied to something given rather than something chosen, and it’s one of the factors which makes Moana so Catholic. The emphasis on the connection between desire and being chosen, and her committing to follow the call even when her immediate desires and fears conflict with it - this is what keeps the “follow your heart” narrative from being shallow or relativistic.

The theme of call and return is brought to bear again in an overt way when Maui teaches Moana wayfinding. “It’s not just sails and knots; it’s seeing where you’re going in your mind, and knowing where you are by knowing where you’ve been.” It may seem like a little thing, but it’s oddly one of my favorite points in the movie. The fact that all three stages of the journey - origin, present state, and end - are explicitly included is sneakily anti-progress. Progress reduces the three stages down to two: there is the “this” and the “next after this”, and each is absolutely relative. In a series of A, B, C, D, E, etc, each one takes a turn at being “this”, and then “next after this”, each one doesn’t understand itself based upon its relation to the others except to automatically assume each “next” is better than the “this” that came before it, and the series can never end, because it’s not going anywhere. There is no end, there is only another “next after this”, which will itself eventually be replaced, so there can never be any existential rest. With the three stages presented in wayfinding, on the other hand, there is a clear goal in mind the whole time. And, where you are at present is defined and understood both by its relation to where you’ve been and where you’re going, not in the sense that you know you’re doing better because you’re no longer where you’ve been, but that you understand your place based on its relation to the larger journey. The line that Moana repeats throughout the film is a perfect example of this: “I am Moana of Motunui. You will board my boat, sail across the sea, and restore the heart of Te Fiti.” She is defined by her home, her goal is clear, and all that she does in the meantime is shaped by both her origin and her end.

The most extraordinary example of this theme, however, is in the discovery of her people’s origin early on in the film. Moana rushes out of the cave exclaiming “We were voyagers!” The fact that she had a name for it means that she already had some concept of that kind of life; she already knew it was logically possible for her and her people to build boats and leave the island. In fact, some part of her may have desired this. If this were a different movie, she would simply have left the island successfully on her first go, become a master wayfinder more or less on her own steam, and upon her return everyone from Motonui would have just gotten on board with the new world order of voyaging: this is what progress looks like. But she doesn’t even consider the possibility that this is what life could look like until she learns that this is what life once was. Her pitch to her father is that BECAUSE they were voyagers, THEREFORE they can be voyagers again. It is not a rejection of tradition which allows her to pursue her destiny, but a return to a deeper form of tradition, which is further symbolized by her mentor figure being her grandmother rather than someone unrelated to her or even one of her parents.

So, at the heart of the film lie two discoveries: true origin, and given call, and Moana’s desires speak to both. There is something like Aristotle’s causes at play here: when she knows where she came from (daughter of the village chief, descended from voyagers: efficient cause), and where she’s going (to restore the heart of Te Fiti and save the world, final cause), then she knows who she is (formal cause): “I am Moana”.

What does this have to do with Catholicism? Well, the interplay between call and origin revealed in desire is one of the major themes of Saint John Paul II’s catechesis on human love, aka theology of the body. JPII writes that our desires speak to our “original experiences”, our metaphysical-existential memories of what we were made for and what we were supposed to be before the Fall. We tend to think that those desires are pointing to the things right in front of us, and that those lesser things, like a quick trip past the reef, are going to satisfy our desires. But ultimately our desires point us beyond that to our intended destiny, to cross the great ocean, to give the whole of ourselves in love and in pursuit of a vocation. Thus, desire should not be repressed or rejected, rather it must be deepened. Go to the root of desire, and there you will find rest. And we’re able to aim so high because this is what we were made for in the first place, this was always the plan.

There are absolutely tensions within the film between the Catholic-vocation narrative and the modern-relativistic-individualistic-progressive narrative, but I think the main themes are actually Catholic, with the progressive bits being the aberration. And even with the tension, the fact that Moana’s call is given to her rather than chosen and that tradition is taken as something normative rather than something to be thrown off, this film has some great Catholic themes that you’ll be hard pressed to find elsewhere.

Next: Moana, Eden, and the culture of life

#catholicism #cate writes #theology of the body #4 #5 #moana

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justanothercinemaniac · 7 years

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Epic Movie (Re)Watch #125 - Goosebumps

Spoilers below.

Have I seen it before: Yes

Did I like it then: Yes.

Do I remember it: Yes.

Did I see it in theaters: Yes.

Was it a movie I saw since August 22nd, 2009: Yes. #381.

Format: Blu-ray

1) I’m going to be honest and face the wrath from all my peers: I never got into the old “Goosebumps” TV show. I scared really easily as a child (still do) and the show just freaked me the heck out. However, that doesn’t mean I am unable to appreciate its influence on this film.

2) The relationship between Zach and his mom is refreshingly healthy, a nice change of pace from the usual “ugh mom” teenager stuff we see in movies. Immediately their relationship is established through strong writing, chemistry between actors, and the playfulness between the two of them these feed into.

3) I do love Jillian Bell but damn if her character is not just so (purposefully) painfully awkward.

4) Jack Black as RL Stine.

R.L. Stine is the real life author of the Goosebumps book series as well as a number of other horror themed content directed at younger audiences, fictionalized for this film by Jack Black and company. Black brings a wonderful sense of crazy to the role, not like Joker craze though in that he’s out there but...I don’t know what to compare him too, actually. He just is humorously abrasive and over the top and just fits with the world of the film so well.

5) Hey look, it’s Vinnie Van Loe!

(GIF originally posted by @marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer)

6) The bromance is strong.

Champ [talking about the school dance, after knowing Zach for two minutes]: “Hey, we should go together! Not together together...although that might work.”

7) Hannah and Zach are performed interestingly enough on their own but really shine in their scenes together. Odeya Rush and Dylan Minnette have a fun sense of humor between them and great chemistry. It’s not the cliche “boy meets girl, girl is super hot and boy objectifies her.” They actually like each other as PEOPLE! What a radical idea, right!?

The ferris wheel scene where Zach tells Hannah about his late father is also a really nice moment of honesty between the two that makes you understand that they actually really trust each other.

8) Where this film really shines is in its quirky sense of humor. Black as Stine is a perfect example of this, but also characters like Champ and Madison’s police officers are all fun in their own little ways that adds a nice tone to the film.

9) Honestly, can the “my totally trustworthy kid is saying something weird so I don’t believe them,” trope die already? It’s so lazy.

10) Is this cuckoo clock from a book I don’t know about?

11) This right here is why I was never into the Goosebumps stuff as a kid.

Champ: “These aren’t ‘kids books!’ Kids books help you fall asleep at night, these books will keep you up.”

12) The entire idea of each Goosebumps book holding that book’s main monster is such a clever and interesting idea to me. I think it is one of the plot elements which makes the film work as smoothly as it does.

13) The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena is a great first monster to introduce us to, because it is able to be both fun and - when necessary - threatening to our young protagonists.

14) Ryan Lee as Champ is honestly one of the funniest parts of this film. He has some of the best lines.

Champ [upon viewing the snowman’s scratch marks on the wall]: “Do you see the scratches in the wall?”

Zach [looking at Champ like he’s an idiot]: “Yes.”

Champ: “Okay. Just checking.”

[A soda bottle rolls out of nowhere, Champ screams.]

Zach: “Did you scream?”

Champ: “Don’t judge me.”

15) This may be the funniest part of the whole movie for me.

Zach: You're him aren't you? You're R.L. Stine.

Stine: R, L, who? I don't know who that is.

Zach: Oh really? Just as well cause his books suck.

Hannah [terrified]: What are you doing?

Zach: I can't decide which I hate more, 'Monster Blood' or 'Go Eat Worms'.

Champ: I'm so confused

Zach: You see the endings coming from a mile away, its like, stop trying to be Stephen King man...

Stine: [slams on the brakes] Let me tell you something about Steve King. Steve King WISHES he could write like me. And I've sold way more books than him, but no one ever talks about THAT!

Everything about it works for me. How easily Zach is able to manipulate Stine, and of course Black’s blow up at the end. It makes me laugh every time.

16) Slappy!

Slappy is a great villain for a number of reasons. To start, he’s definitely the scariest character from the stories. Even I know who Slappy is and I never watched or read a book. Secondly, those are some great practical effects in an age of digital cinema. It’s simple but totally captivating and you never once feel like you’re watching a prop character. Thirdly is the fact that Jack Black voice Slappy in addition to his portrayal of RL Stine. It creates an interesting duality to the character’s, as Stine did give Slappy his voice when writing him. He’s creepy and a true menace to our heroes.

17) Going to be totally honest: the main reason my mother saw this film with me in theaters was because she has a weird taste for garden gnomes.

I ended up sitting through Gnomeo & Juliet for the same reason.

18) I have so many quips of dialogue in my notes that I loved but I watched this film two or three days ago and still haven’t posted the recap so I’m just going to focus on my favorites.

Zach [after escaping the gnomes]: Why couldn’t you have written stories about rainbows and unicorns!?

Stine: Because that doesn’t sell four hundred million copies.

Champ: Whoa. Domestic?

Stine: No, worldwide. It’s still a very impressive - shut up!

19) I’m assuming there is actually a Goosebumps book about a giant praying mantis out there.

Stine [after encountering a giant praying mantis]: I don’t ever remember writing about a giant praying mantis! [It throws up on the windshield.] Oh...now I remember.

20) The Werewolf of Fever Swamp!

The scene where Stine and company encounter the werewolf in the supermarket scene is a nice addition to the film. It’s able to keep the fun and humor which has been trademark up to this point (especially when Stine is trying to mask his scent) while there are times when the werewolf is a truly threatening and frightening creature. A nice mix of humor and horror, basically.

21) Man, I thought I had WAY more to say about this film but apparently I don’t.

22) The scene where Zach and Stine talk about Hannah and how she’s actually one of his creations (spoiler alert) is an incredibly well done scene from a writing standpoint. It is very honest on both parts, with Stine opening up about his loneliness in a way we have yet to see, while it touches on both his arc and the way Zach is dealing with the loss of his father. In a lot of ways it’s the emotional center of the film.

23) The way Hannah gets so excited just by BEING at a school dance (since she’s pretty much cooped up by Stine all the time) really tells you a lot about her character and is so endearing to watch.

24) All the monsters attacking the school is a scene which I’m sure gives fans of the original Goosebumps stories nerdy joy like when Spider-Man showed up in Civil War for me.

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25) Oh Vinnie...

Ken Marnio’s Character (no, I don’t need to know his name) [to Zach’s Mom in a flirty way]: “We’re going to get through this.”

Zach’s Mom: “Not a good time.”

Ken Marino: “Okay.”

26) Man, the duality of Stein and Slappy in the funhouse is some heavy stuff for a Goosebumps movie.

27) Hannah’s goodbye to Zach before all of Stine’s creations (including her) are sucked into the book is actually pretty sad. She KNOWS this is coming and she wants it to happen anyway to save everyone else. She and Zach have a nice parting moment that really touches upon the friendship and chemistry they’ve formed over the past few days, and it even brought tears to the audience’s eyes when I saw it in theaters.

28) Obligatory RL Stine cameo.

Mr. Black: Hello Mr. Stine.

Stine: Hello Mr. Black!

Zach: Uh, who’s that?

Stine: He’s the new drama teacher.

I know it’s probably pretty obvious but I just want to take a second that Jack Black’s character is named after RL Stine and RL Stine’s character is named after Jack Black.

29) I’m glad they brought Hannah back. I want all these guys back in the sequel.

30) I 100% knew they were going to have a cliffhanger ending to this film, because I know a lot of the books end in that way. It’s a trademark of the series! So of course the film had to end that way.

Goosebumps is just a lot of fun, honestly! It’s akin to Jumanji for 2015 in its sense of childlike wonder and adventure but also honest/genuine danger and scares. Black is a kick to watch, the writing is surprisingly three dimensional for what could have been a simple “kids’ movie”, and the humor is spot on. Just a great piece of escapism. If you’re looking for something fun to watch tonight, go put it in.

#Goosebumps #RL Stine #Jack Black #Goosebumps Movie #Odeya Rush #Dylan Minnette #Ryan Lee #Amy Ryan #Ken Marino #Epic Movie (Re)Watch #Movie #Film #GIF #Veronica Mars

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