Category: Junior Literary

I think I’ve said this a lot of times before, but music is a big influence in my work along with some of these shows. Most, if not all, have changed my perspective of things in some way. Whether it be just a silly animated comedy, or a hearth thumping K-drama, they’ve all changed me and help me to write about experiences and situations I wouldn’t be able to fully capture without them.

 

The Uncanny Counter

There is so much I want to say about this show, but for the sake of time I’m going to try to sum up everything I like about it. So, it’s kind of hard to explain with this show about, because it follows a lot of different plots within the show, all the while focusing on a certain goal. So our main character, So Moon, survived a car crash that unfortunately kills his parents and ends up leaving him with a horrible leg injury that he eventually has to use a crutch for when he gets older. Years later, after another Counter dies the soul of someone ends up entering his body in a hurry to not be eaten by an evil spirit. This soul ends of giving So Moon his powers, fixing his condition so long as he joins a team of more Counters. Counters are humans that take down evil spirits with the help of other souls. An important thing to mention is that you have to be in a coma or close to death in order to become a Counter, which So Moon hasn’t done either. This helps him to gain advantages. There are a lot more information about this, but you really have to watch the show in order to understand. My favorite character would have to be Mo-tak, his character attachment to So Moon is so wholesome.

Itaewon Class

I don’t want to give too much away, but the entire show is basically about determination. There are a lot of factors that play into the plot and a lot of twist and turns that help keep the audience engaged which is something I really love about this show. Park Saeroyi, played by Park Seo-joon, is an ex-convict who aspires to open a restaurant dedicated to his father who was killed by his “bully” in a car accident. But things don’t go as plan when the father of his father’s killer create obstacles and set-backs in order to “teach Saeroyi a lesson of staying in one’s place”. And as much as I should hate the antagonist, I just really think he’s an adorable old man. One of the things I love the most about this Kdrama is inclusiveness. Before this show came out there were rarely, if not none, black people shown in Kdramas. I think the timing of releasing this show really helped to highlight anti-blackness in East Asian media. 

Hilda

This show absolutely got me through the pandemic. The thing I love the most about it was the animation and how aesthetically pleasing everything looked. Hilda will always and forever be my favorite comfort character. I love that she’s brave and willing to put everything on the line for friendship and adventure. 

Steven Universe Future

I love the original Steven Universe just as much as the next person. The plotline and animation were immaculate and it really stood out from other cartoon shows. Not to mention the soundtrack. There is so much to love about this show including it’s inclusiveness and insight to a spectrum to a lot of different things that’s going on in the real world. However, I especially like Steven Universe Future more because it was about healing. You always see these teenage/kids go on the big adventures, battling demons, and making tough decisions  throughout any childhood TV show, but to show the harmful affects of that is so eye-opening. I really love that Steven grew up to eventually deal with the trauma that he went through as a child. Steven taught me that self-care and mental health is just as important than anything else.

hello! as you can tell from my super clever and not at all cheesy and overdone title, i will be discussing the ups and downs (mostly downs) of my nanowrimo experience. for those of you who aren’t sure what that means (count yourself as lucky, please) nanowrimo stands for ‘national novel writing month’, which takes place throughout november.

upon hearing about nanowrimo, i knew it wouldn’t be super easy for me, but i also didn’t worry too much about it because hey, it’s the beginning of school, november is sooooo far away, right? wrong!! so, so very wrong. i genuinely think that if i had prepared myself better and started brainstorming immediately, i could have had a lot of fun with it, but november hit, and i found that my brain was utterly and absolutely empty. vacant. there were cobwebs.

i eventually got an idea that i thought i could possibly go with. i built this idea solely because i created two characters that i genuinely love and believe in. i was really stumped on what story i wanted to tell, and i scrapped several different plots before i realized that it doesn’t work that way for me because that isn’t how i myself read and consume other media. when i read/watch something, it isn’t normally the plot that interests me- it’s the characters. that’s when i decided that creating characters that i love would provide me with the opportunity to build a world around them that i could grow to love also.

the characters that i created and their dynamic is one that reflects the type of things i like to read. two childhood friends who both want to be more, but something is getting in the way. a loner who has experienced a tragic loss and his only friend in the world, learning to navigate life and love in their teen years.

has it been done before? certainly. will it continue to be done until the end of time? most likely. but since i was embarking on the already heavy task of writing a novel in a single month, i decided to write something that i never have before- a romance. when i thought about the kind of stories that i love, my mind immediately went to the couples in those stories. i’m a self-admitted hopeless romantic, but i’ve never personally explored the genre for fear of being…being… too sappy, i guess. the things that i typically write about are rather dark or solemn, and the idea of writing a conventional love story was somewhat foreign and intimidating. but i went with it, and i can’t say that i regret it.

so, emma, why have you written this blog about your own struggles with an assignment? no one wants to hear about it.

well, maybe not, but i want to talk about it anyway. although the experience wasn’t seamless for me, i’m genuinely grateful to be in an environment where my teacher believes in me enough to say, “write a novel in a month. i know you can do it.” because i certainly didn’t believe that i could. i got out of my comfort zone of unsettling short stories and wrote thousands of words about deep friendship and unrequited love, which wasn’t a breeze for me. it took a lot of brainstorming, playlist making, and favorite-tv-show-rewatching, but i did it, and i’d be lying if i said i wasn’t kinda proud. a rare experience for me indeed.

’til next week, enjoy the mini playlist i created for my novel (if you dare) 🙂

novel mini playlist

near you always- jewel

some things last a long time- daniel johnston

iris- the goo goo dolls

american pie- don mclean

wouldn’t it be nice- the beach boys

I was struggling to find a blog topic to write about this week, so I decided to go back to what I am good at – Comfort. Whether it be comfort characters, movies, or in this case- songs, I genuinely enjoy sharing what comforts me, just as much as I learning about other peoples comforts! 

IU – Love Poem

As a huge fan of the artist IU, I have to say that I am totally in love with everything she writes/sings, but this song in particular is just so melodically beautiful and soothing to the ears. I have a habit of listening to this song when I can’t sleep or when my mind seems to be going too haywire.

If you are open to listening to songs in different languages, I highly suggest this one. 1000000/10

Bruno Major – The Most Beautiful Thing

As you may have figured out by this point, I am a sucker for a good love song. I do claim my status as a hopeless romantic, and I think this song is literally the hopeless romantics anthem. It’s basically all about knowing that one day you will find a extraordinary love, but until then all you can do is dream about it. Other than the incredible lyrics– I am in love with Bruno Major’s voice in general. His voice is just so soothing.

100000000000/10

Van Morrison – Moondance

Surprise! Another happy lil love song. While this one is a tad bit jazzier than the others, It is still in the same court. What can I say? I just happen to be comforted by all love songs. Anyways, I have loved this song ever since the first time I heard it, and it never fails to bring me comfort. I love listening to this when I’m writing and pretending as if I am in a little jazz café.

100000000/10

Your Turn!

I would love to hear about yall’s comfort songs too! It is really fun to see all the different types of music that bring people joy! 

Anyways, bye lol

— Adelel

So, it appears that this little Nostalgia November series draws to a close. It just so happens that I found four movies exactly when I was perusing Disney+, which means that, coincidentally, I had just enough to execute this series. That does, unfortunately, mean that this is our last installment. “All good things must come to an end”, as they say, so, last but not least, the Wizards of Waverly Place Movie. 

First things first, a plot of this movie: After a stunt of taking the Subway car out for a joyride, Alex is forced to go on a family vacation with the Russo’s, which, thanks to her escapades, is now a magic free vacation, much to the siblings dismay. Of course, when they arrive in Columbia, tensions rise between Alex and her mother, and when Alex happens to be holding the most powerful magical items in the family, she of course breaks and utters the “I WISH YOU AND DAD HAD NEVER MET!” line, giving us our plot. Now, thanks to her accidental spell, the siblings have forty eight hours to reverse the magic, lest they fade out of reality forever. Max is dispatched to keep the parents turned strangers out of trouble, and Alex and Justin set off on a discord filled adventure with a local Magician/ex-wizard and his evil Parrot/ex-human Jazelle, to find the Stone of Dreams, a magical artifact that can reverse any spell. A quicksand pit, a few riddles and fall risks, a betrayal via rainbow fowl, two disappearing brothers, and a wizard duel later, Alex gets the stone and managed to reverse the spell, resulting in a now very happy family. Typical Disney writing. 

Now, granted, this movie is the epitome of overdone, awful Disney acting. The relationship between Alex and Justin is so overdone, Alex’s reaction to the tragedy of losing her brothers is obviously faked, and the portrayal of their parents is, to say the least, half baked. But, harsh comments aside, Alex is still iconic in her character, and the plot writing isn’t honestly that bad. Very cheesy in that Disney channel way, of course, but I mean come on. The movie has an evil parrot. That has to count for something based off of chaos factor alone. 

Next, there’s the actual costuming. Frankly, the costuming in this movie was not that great. The only redeemable thing is the dresses Alex’s mom wears, because we do NOT discuss the outfit they put poor Selena Gomez in for this film. Even for 2000’s “fashion” trends, those hideous white boots were pushing it. However, it is worth mentioning we see Justin in a white tank top, and a swimsuit, so there is something to be said, and no I will not repent in saying it. David Henrie is attractive. Plus, the mom’s dresses really were kinda pretty. Still, though, Scooby Doo movies take the award for costuming. 

Then, of course, there’s the actual magic of this movie. Now, I’ve always been a bit of a heavy critic when it comes to magic systems; they’re something I value greatly in all of my nerdiness. However, the magic system for WOWP always did have a certain charm. I like how the spells seem almost invented on the spot, it might not be the most realistically functioning magic system for the actual characters, but it encourages creativity when I inevitably insert myself into the world being created story lines in my head. (Come on, Literaries, we all do it.) Plus, the actual animations they used for the magic isn’t all that bad, especially considering the fact that the movie released in the 2000’s. 

However, this movie was quite possibly one of the biggest nostalgia hits of the series. I still vividly remember sitting on the living room carpet and waving my hand around while I uttered my own awful encantations, pretending to be Alex. And that, folks, is the reason I do not regret rewatching this and even recommend you do so, too. Until next time! 

Sincerely, someone who still thinks he could have won that wizard duel. 

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blogs! This week we’ll be going into another huge part of my personality and or childhood up-bringing. Pokémon. I can remember playing the games on my DS, collecting cards, stuffed animals, watching the movies, and watching the series too. So, in this blog, I’ll be ranking my favorite characters from the first few seasons/movies and the games. After this I will consider doing my favorite Pokémon if you guys would like that. Anyways, let’s just get started.

10.  Duplica

Duplica is first seen in episode 37 of Indigo League. She is a Ditto trainer who is also a type of magician in a way? She likes to show off her mimicking tricks since that’s what Ditto does. Her ditto can turn into any Pokémon, but for some reason it cannot figure out the eyes. It always has the same eyes. This is where Ash and his friends come in and try to help after meeting them and fighting with Team Rocket.

9. Gary Oak (Indigo League) 

A lot of people don’t like Gary, grandson of Professor Oak. Though he is very cocky and full of himself, I find it funny. It’s enjoyable to see the rivalry between him and Ash. It always gives us something to work for in the show and also adds a comedic aspect with his little posse of cheerleaders that follow him around.

8. Team Rocket 

I think that Team Rocket is actually a fan favorite. I find them so funny in a way that you would look at a newborn puppy trying to climb up stairs. They show up in almost every episode and are the main ‘antagonists’ in the series. They also have a talking Meowth that adds another aspect of comedy. They are just so enjoyable to watch.

 

7. Dawn

Dawn is the female lead in the Sinnoh region season. I absolutely love dawn. She’s very independent and witty, but also goofy when she fails at something. She is different from Ash in the way that she wants to train Pokémon. Ash wants to be a Pokémon master, and Dawn wants to be a famous pageant winner. Her Piplup (shown in the picture) is also one of my favorite Pokémon of the season because of its personality. It’s very enjoyable to watch.

6. Ash (Indigo League)

Ash is the main character in all of the seasons. I love him the most in this season because he’s a new trainer and the dynamic and character development between him and his Pikachu. His ambition and the fact that he still has a lot to learn make the show work in my opinion. He is different from other trainers in this way. He has a deep deep love for every Pokémon he owns. My favorite episode is the one where he finds the abandoned Charmander and decides to rescue him.

 

Thank you so much for reading this week! Keep an eye out for next week’s part, it will have more characters from the games too! Make sure to leave a comment and let me know who your favorite Pokémon characters are!

Steven Universe is one of my favorite T.V shows to watch. Steven Universe first aired on November 4th, 2013, that seems like such a long time ago! This showed inspired me in such an artistic way. Different types of rocks and crystals have always been something that I have enjoyed, so seeing that there was a show being made about these things made my heart ecstatic. There are many different types of gems in this show and I will be showing my top 5 favorite! 

5. Blue Diamond

4. Bismuth

3. Peridot

2.Malachite

1.Opal

How I came up with my favorite gems was based off of their appearance, personality, and background. There are so many loveable characters in this show that it can be hard to choose, but for my honorable mention I’m going to have to absolutely give it away to Garnet.

Hello, Blog world! The journey of delving into my childhood nostalgia continues, and so do my bubbly childhood memories. In all honesty, this series was perfectly timed in my life. As many of you here in blog world have showcased, I can relate in saying it’s been a little rough lately. However, this series, and the little boost of nostalgic childhood serotonin it provides for me, is the perfect perfectly timed pick me up. So, we continue with this week’s installment of Sky High. 

Now, the backstory: Will Stronghold, son of The Commander and Jetstream, the world’s most renowned superheroes, begins his freshman year of high school at the Superhero Academy of Sky High. Of course, in typical Disney movie fashion, all the tropes are there. There’s his best friend Layla, who is able to manipulate nature, and is also in love with him. There are the bullies such as Speed and Lash, superspeed and elastic stretching powers, respectively, and Penny, the duplicating cheerleader/entire squad. There’s his nemesis Warren Peace (fantastic naming choice) who can throw fire, and his friends in Zack, human glowstick, Magenta, shapeshifter/guinea pig extraordinaire, Ethan, who melts on command. However, there is also the nice presenting mean girl Gwen Greyson, a technopath. 

In addition to the traditional tropes such as Layla being in love with Will, Will ignoring her for the popular girl, Warren and Will eventually becoming friends, etc. etc., there’s also the situation of Will actually discovering his powers, which doesn’t happen until about midway through the movie. I actually think it was an interesting choice to cast him as a misfit first, it gives him an avenue for his redemption ark later. 

Now, there are definitely some problematic areas in this movie. For example, There’s Jetstream, who is literally nothing more than a supporting role to her hero husband. But most importantly, there’s the entire Hero/Sidekick dynamic. In this world, students are sorted into hero or sidekick classes, one of which being much more coveted, respected, and rewarded than the other; and I bet you can guess which one.  

This is obviously a blatant metaphor for discrimination/classism, and even racism/homophobia if you look at it in the right light. Now, at the end of the movie, the above named group of “sidekicks” save the day and start achieving equality, blah blah blah, but the fact that this was even a thing just doesn’t sit right with me. Though, I suppose it’s good that the writer’s gave it that ending, since that’s more than other films from this and earlier eras. 

However, there is also something good worth mentioning about this dynamic. It’s misfit representation. That, I know, is definitely one of the things that drew me to this film when I was younger. I was never one for the romance aspect, quite frankly it made eight year old me fake vomit. The power system, I of course, lived for, as I do for anything superpower related. But it was this idea, this picture, of people who didn’t fit in, people who were looked down upon, who were actual heroes that stuck with me. It was very reassuring for an eight year old outcast. 

All in all, some slight problematic writing aside, this movie is still a good one. It’s got that nostalgia/comfort factor, and re-watching it, I see why. It’s even got that uplifting message if you look close enough. I would still recommend it, though I’ll definitely criticize it, too. Regardless, glad I watched. Until next time, everyone! 

Sincerely, someone who still thinks Layla and Warren should have ended up together <3

hi there! this week, i’ll be talking about the queen of tejano and one of my favorite artists of all time, selena quintanilla-perez! i absolutely adore all of her music, but for this blog, i’ll be listing my five favorite selena songs (in no particular order as usual). she is such an iconic singer, songwriter, and performer, and i highly encourage you to give her music a listen! selena has songs in both english and spanish, but her music speaks to the heart, regardless of the language it’s written in! so, without further ado, these are five of my favorite selena songs! 

no me queda mas

this is the song that made me fall madly in love with selena’s music. it has gorgeous lyrics that speak of unrequited love and loss, and it speaks to the listener so beautifully. even when i hadn’t read a translation of the lyrics, i could just feel the emotion and power in selena’s voice, and that was enough to make me see what an incredible artist she was, not only as a vocalist but as a performer. the song has a sense of both vulnerability and strength, melancholy and contentment. it’s a gorgeous ballad of a love that was never meant to be.

amor prohibido

amor prohibido is just one of those songs that makes me smile when i hear its opening beat. the lyrics speak of forbidden love, but selena’s soulful and playful voice makes it a fun song to listen to. it’s essentially a romeo and juliet story with a hopeful tone and ending, saying that it doesn’t matter what the world around them may think, these two people love each other, and that’s all that counts. i think selena is the perfect woman to tell this story, as she had a similar romance with her husband.

baila esta cumbia

baila esta cumbia!! this is a song that just lights up a room when it comes on. i remember singing and dancing in the car to it on summer nights with friends, singing it at karaoke, and learning to play a simplified version of it on the guitar. even i (a person who simply isn’t capable of dancing) cannot help but move when this song’s rhythm plays out and selena’s powerful voice fills the air. this song absolutely never fails to boost my serotonin levels and make me nostalgic for summer.

si una vez

this is one of the song’s where selena’s rasp and vulnerability is showcased beautifully. it feels mysterious and foreboding, while also having a fun, quirky rhythm that allows for a unique musical experience. it’s truly one of those songs you just can’t help but sing along to dramatically with a hairbrush. (is that just me? maybe, but oh well!)

 

well, blog world, no me queda mas for this week. ’til next time, enjoy this photo of the beautiful queen of tejano music enjoying a coca cola <3

 

 

 

 

 

I am by no means an experiment on the MCU. I just watch pass the end credits and put things together. I am an absolute nerd when it comes to theories on the MCU. Overtime, I’ve learned that everything that is put in these movies is intentional. I’ve predicted a lot of things in that’s happened in the movies, along with the help of my sister. So here’s what I think is next.

There’s going to be an X-Men and MCU crossover

Technically, this was supposed to have already happened. I believe in the original comics, the X-Men teamed up with the Avengers to fight Thanos. But let me tell you why I think this is definitely going to happen. So if you’ve watched the Disney Original Series What if? and Loki then you would know about the infinite number of timelines. Now this part may get a bit confusing, as this was very tedious to put together. In the series WandaVision, there is this part where Wanda becomes the Scarlet Witch. This was a pivotal part in her timeline as she becomes more powerful than anything in that universe.

At the exact same time, and you can put them side by side, in Loki, there is a part where The Watcher pauses almost as if something has gone off script. Then he proceeds to say, We just crossed the threshold. Now, I don’t know what this means exactly, but from there he proceeds to go on a rant about protecting the time line. Now the Loki Variant, Sylvie, ends up killing a version of The Watcher, causing the timeline to open. From here there are an infinite amount of possibilities, including one where we have an X-Men/MCU crossover.

Now if you are familiar with X-Men, then you would know that the villain  Magneto has kids. This is where everything becomes messy, but not because of the story itself, but because of production. Originally, Magneto’s kids are Wanda and Quicksilver. Now we were only introduced to Quicksilver and Wanda was nowhere to be seen throughout X-Men. Since Disney took over Marvel, this theory was completely thrown out of the window when they decided to have an entire different person play the MCU’s version of Quicksilver. HOWEVER, in WandaVision the original actor that played Quicksilver was portrayed as her brother. And when Wanda is finally pulled out of her delusion, everything that is considered to be a “her imagination” goes away. For example, the old Vision, and her kids go away as the veil of delusion goes down. Do you know who doesn’t go away after it’s all over? The X-Men version of Quicksilver. There is also a part where they expand on it a little bit when Agatha, the villain, says that this character is a real person and not just a made of version of the brother she’s lost. Now this left me with a lot of questions, but I believe that this is the actual Quicksilver from X-Men and not some doped version of her MCU brother. I believe that he’s been stuck there ever since X-Men: Days of Future Past, where Wolverine goes back in time to stop a few things. The reason I say that is because in the clip where Agatha finds Quicksilver and makes him her minion it, it shows the same exact house Wolverine found him in Days of Future Past. Thus sparks my theory for a crossover.

Dr. Strange is actually Mephisto

If you’re familiar with Spider-Man, then you would know about the new movie that’s coming out in December. THIS IS ABOUT THE TIMELINES!!! So, yeah, anyways, I’ve watched the trailers for Spider-Man and something seemed extremely off for me. Dr. Strange was sending off too many red flags. Now if you know Dr. Strange then you know that he does not play about the timeline. He quite literally threaten anyone who tried to abuse the time stone in his movie and in Endgame. With the timeline no longer being protected by The Watcher, it is now vulnerable to so many risks. Some that we’re going to be introduced to in the new Spider-Man movie. Now here’s why I think Dr. Strange is actually the demon Mephisto.

For one his nonchalant attitude and misuse of power is completely out of character for him. Now if you’re familiar with the comics, then you would know that  Mephisto is basically the devil version of the MCU. He’s is also Dr. Stranger’s main enemy. No one would be as irresponsible and play with the timeline other than Mephisto, it’s literally his whole purpose, causing chaos. Also, I would like to add that Mephisto also appears in the Fantastic Four comics and is an enemy to Dr. Doom. This may be an opening to a timeline to a possible crossover. Fingers-crossed.

Did anybody else get confused at the ending of Shang-Chi?

Now this isn’t a theory, I just wanted to express my concerns. Yet again I am left with nothing but more questions because I am cursed with watching the clips after the credits. I could make my life much easier if I turned off the TV after the movie ends like a normal person, but curiosity killed the cat.

SPOILER ALERT (I know that this movie is relatively new so if you haven’t watched it, don’t read this part.)

So at the end of the movie Shang-Chi and Katy are pulled into a portal guided by Wong, Dr. Stranger’s friend. There they discuss where the Ten Rings could have originated from with Captain Marvel and Bruce Banner A.K.A the Hulk. As Wong disscets the rings, he notices that a small part of the ring serves as a beacon for something.

Actually I do have a theory now.

Maybe this beacon was for the villain in The Eternals. I haven’t watched the movie yet, but the trailers suggest that a powerful energy wave served as a beacon for the one thing they were sent there to fight. If it is, I would like to say whoever directed these movies is a genius. This was a perfect transition into The Eternals franchise. They also mention that the Ten Rings predates anything they’ve ever known before. Do you know what else predates anything they’ve ever known before? THE ETERNALS!!! Maybe this is their technology. This just made me even more excited to go watch it!

I might make this into a series, because I have a ton of Marvel, X-Men, and Fantastic Four theories that are just waiting to be shared.