#his last character story entry destroyed me | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lyrakeaton · 3 months

Text

Chronicling The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - The Final Entry

Gosh, what a game huh?

I'm not even sure where I want to begin with this. The Final Entry. I have so much to say. So much I've been thinking about throughout this wonderful little game. Where do I even start?

Well, I suppose I'll start off by saying that I had a very wonderful time with this game. It's my first time playing a game with the secondary intent to analyze and write down my thoughts here on my blog. It's been a delight to do so, and I'm looking forward to analyzing other games in this manner going forward.

As for my thoughts on Twilight Princess: I think it's an excellent game, with a lot of heart and a commendable focus on story and emotional connections. This game has dealt me a few sour blows that stick out like an ugly blemish on an otherwise spotless surface. But those blemishes in turn give contrast to just how competent the rest of the game really was.

In fact, that's what I would love to call this game more than anything else. Competent. It was made by people who knew what they were doing, and were fucking excellent at doing it. It shows how much heart the people involved put into this title, despite how under cooked and rushed it felt at a few moments.

One of my favorite moments in the ending part of this game, which is also one of the clearest signs of how this game was developed, is what you see above.

Your allies come in to save you from a sticky situation. It's a lovely moment, showing the care and respect that these characters have fostered for you, after all the time you've spent working together for this common goal.

And yet, it also shows off how much this game wanted to do, but couldn't. What it tried to say, and what it left unsaid.

Because these people just show up. You don't tell them when or where you're going, and neither do they show up later to help you. They show up for this scripted event where they get to save you from a menial threat, so that they can show their appreciation for Link always having their backs. It leaves me wanting a bit more, and wondering what potentially was planned before or after.

And these moments aren't rare. There are many moments, that become more frequent as the game progresses, where it feels like the developers had more to say or do, but didn't have the time to implement it.

And I think no point shows this better than the presence of Ganondorf, and Midna's true form.

Ganondorf is name dropped once in the story, but isn't elaborated upon. Later, he shows up in this weird, incorporeal form, which Zant interprets as a god. This spectre then combines into Zant(?) to take over him as a sort of puppet. As such, Zant is kind of just thrown aside so that the player can have their badass final boss against Ganondorf. I was honestly a bit disappointed.

But not necessarily because it was yet another Ganondorf ending. But because there was so much more room to explore Zant and his relationship with Ganondorf, that I really wanted to see.

I think another sign of this was Midna's true form. Her true form was first shown in a cutscene, right before the second to last dungeon of the game. Before this, we have never even heard of Midna being anything but the imp we've known since the start of the game. And it makes me wonder a lot about what the developers wanted for Midna. Did they always intend for her to be this humanoid form? Or is their vision of Midna actually the imp we spend the whole game connecting with?

I ask this because Midna's imp form appears later in Hyrule Warriors alongside her true form, which makes me wonder if the devs couldn't decide which form they liked more. It's a bit of a weird moment for me because I love imp Midna a lot, but never got to see or interact with her true form self until after the journey was over.

What's more, Midna then destroys the Mirror of Twilight. This moment made no sense to me at all. I couldn't justify it, or understand how Midna would justify it. Why would she do this? Zelda just made a small speech about how their worlds are two sides of the same coin. Midna then says that as long as the Mirror exists, they may meet again, only to say "see you later" before destroying the mirror.

I understand this was likely thought of from the start, as Midna establishes that Zant could only fragment the mirror due to his incomplete power. But Midna, having regained her true power, is the only one capable of utterly destroying it. What I really wish though, is for the game to have explored why she feels the need to do this, because I think it would serve the game better if it were spelled out. It's a genuinely sad moment! I'll never get to see Midna again! Why is the credits continuing with the triumphant music!

It hurts, man. But it does make sense, after I thought about it. Because the mirror was what allowed the Twili to escape into the Light World and cause havoc, so, by destroying the mirror, that connection is severed, forever. No more evil forces invading each others worlds, causing problems.

Which makes Midna's words all the more tear-jerking. 'Cause she won't see us later. She'll never get to see us again. But she doesn't have the heart to say goodbye. So she says she'll "see us later."

I'm not sure how to feel. I think I feel sad, and a smidgen disappointed. I mean, all this time, we've been fighting to help Midna restore peace to her realm, and to prevent Ganondorf/Zant from wreaking havoc on the Light World. And then, only for Midna to get the reward she deserves so much, and yet she doesn't get what she seems to actually want, which is to stay with Link. She cries, knowing she'll never see him again.

I think that right there shows the beauty and magic of this game. No other Zelda game has grabbed a hold of me with its story, its characters quite like this. I felt emotionally invested throughout, and I truly wanted to make good for this world, and to help Midna. It even feels selfish to say that I wish she could have stayed an imp and gone on more adventures with Link. But I think narratively, it is not only perfect this way, but it also couldn't end any other way.

Because not all stories should end completely happy. I think it does a bigger service to showcase how meaningful these emotional connections truly are by taking something from us in this way, than it does if everything ended like a story book.

It hurts, because we care.

This is the best outcome, where everyone can be happy, with the clear exception of Midna's and Links relationship to each other. That meant something, which is made all the more clear because of them never getting to see each other.

In closing...

More than anything, I wish this game had a bit more time to fill in the empty rows before and after some of its more significant beats. But still, I am so grateful that what is here was fantastic from beginning to end. And I'm glad that regardless of what was lost before the print to disc, what was left was something forming a beautiful and complete whole. A whole that I love with my whole heart. Wholeheartedly.

Thank you Shiggy Miyamiggy for this wonderful game. Please don't shy away from this kind of narrative and emotional focus when making future Zelda titles. I want to cry when it's all over, they way Twilight Princess made me. What you've got here is truly special, and I'm so very glad I got to experience it.

#zelda: twilight princess #tloz: twilight princess #the legend of zelda: twilight princess #TLOZ:TP Journal #the legend of zelda #twilight princess #lyraposting #midna #midnaposting #link #zelda #zant #ganondorf

23 notes · View notes

twh-news · 6 months

Text

Tom Hiddleston Gave Us Clarity For His Comments About Concluding Loki's Journey, And Addressed Whether He'd Return To The MCU

Major spoilers for the Season 2 finale of Loki, “Glorious Purpose” lie ahead.

Viewers were graced with a truly wacky and emotional Loki Season 2 finale last week. The installment proved not only saw the titular character not only save his friends at the Time Variance Authority but also obtain that glorious purpose he’d long been searching for. Tom Hiddleston – the man who has brilliantly brought this character to life – recently made headlines when he said he viewed the episode as the conclusion of his journey as the character. However, he provided CinemaBlend with some clarity on those comments while addressing whether he’d be open to returning for upcoming Marvel movies or shows.

During the final moments of the finale, the former Asgardian mischief-maker managed to save all of reality by destroying the Time Loom at the TVA and revitalizing the dying timeline branches. With that, he took his place as the God of Stories at the End of Time, where he’ll now watch over all the various branches. Such a development feels like a fitting conclusion, so one can understand why Tom Hiddleston would refer to it as such. However, when I spoke to the actor, he wanted to set the record straight on that:

Well, yes, I suppose what I meant… Perhaps what I should clarify is that I feel very satisfied with the finale of Season 2, because it seems to contain echoes and resonances of the entire journey. It's almost like a piece of music, where in that last episode, you hear strains of, you know, whether it's in lines of dialogue, we are circling the same themes that I've always circled with Loki. But he's a character who is engaged with ideas of belonging, ideas of identity, ideas of purpose. That's who he was at the very foot at the beginning in the first Thor film, wondering where he belonged, which family he belonged to, wondering what his role was in all of this. Thor was destined to be king of Asgard. And who am I? Who is Loki? And I've been asking that question the whole way. Like, who does Loki think he is? Who's he think he is, and who is he really? And then through the series, in Season 1 and Season 2, I think the confrontation with Mobius and the mirror of Sylvie is another excavation, we go deeper into those ideas.

This is a very interesting take and one that is completely understandable. His sentiments on ending his journey were more based on the sheer feeling of satisfaction he feels over his character’s current position. I feel the same way, especially given the points the actor so eloquently mentioned during our conversation. The show (which is available for Disney+ subscribers) does indeed maintain the themes of identity and self-worth that have been synonymous with the antihero since his introduction in 2011’s Thor. So if this is his swan song, that’s surely one heck of a way to go out.

With that being said, there are still MCU productions on the docket that could serve as prime places for the character to return. (Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars come to mind, immediately.) Tom Hiddleston went on to tell me that he appreciates the “poetic” nature of the 2023 TV schedule entry's Season 2 finale, yet it sounds like he can’t say for sure that he won’t reprise his famous role again at some point:

So the end of this was just, it felt like a poetic redemption like the end of a piece of music, but I don't know if it's… I mean, I've made the mistake before of saying goodbye and saying goodbye to this great team at Marvel. And it's been emotional, and we swap notes and [they’re] saying, ‘Look, we'll love you. You’re always part of the family. Come see us anytime.’ And then the phone rings a year later. So I'm keeping an open heart and an open mind.

It’s definitely true that this isn’t the first time fans have been under the impression that the former Tesseract wielder has reached the end of the road. He was meant to be killed off in 2013’s Thor: The Dark World, and it seemed almost certain he was done after his death at Thanos’ hands in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War. So in short, you really can’t keep a good Loki down, and I’m eager to see whether Tom Hiddleston dons those golden horns again one day.

#tom hiddleston #loki #loki season 2 #loki s02 #loki spoilers #loki season 2 spoilers #spoilers #interview #cinemablend

29 notes · View notes

nekoannie-chan · 7 months

Text

Soul enemies

Title: “Soul enemies”

Ship: Brock Rumlow X Sinthea Schmidt (Love).

Word count: 564 words.

Rating: Teen.

Square: N3 “Free”.

Summary: Is Brock against his number one enemy.

Warnings/Tags: Pets.

Fandom: Marvel, Captain America.

A/N: This is my entry to @marvelrarepairbingo @marvelrarepairs MarvelRarePair Bingo Round 2 2023. Annie MRP-066.

You can read it on Wattpad and Ao3 too.

Also, my entry to @multifandom-flash, Annie-4009 & square 3: Free.

You can read it on Wattpad and Ao3 too.

@saiyanprincessswanie

My native language is Spanish so I wanna improve my writing skills in English if you notice any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct them.

I don’t give any kind of permission that my fics to be posted on other platforms or languages (I translate myself my work) or the use of my graphics (my dividers are included in this), I did them exclusively for my fics, please respect my work and don't steal it. There are some people here who make dividers that anyone can use, mine is not this type, please look for the other's people. The only exception is the ones I gifted 'cuz now belong to someone else. If you find any of my works on a different platform and are not one of my accounts, please let me know. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

Add yourself to my taglist here.

My other media where I publish: Ao3, Wattpad, ffnet, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter.

If you like it, please vote, comment, and give me feedback to improve my skills and reblog.

Tags: @sinceimetyou @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad @navybrat817 @angrythingstarlight @shield-agent78 @charmed-asylum @caplanbuckybarnes @sapphire-rogers @nana1000night @talia-rumlow @writingshae @alexxavicry @azulatodoryuga @daemonslittlebitch @chaoticcollectivenightmare @endlesstwanted @chemtrails-club @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @here4thefanfics @theestorm @patzammit @kmc1989

Sinthea went out to buy some things when she was on her way back home. She found a small dog trembling and scared. Without hesitation, she took it and decided to take it with her.

When she arrived home, she left the dog in the room she shared with Brock and went to take a shower without imagining the big problem that would begin in the next few minutes and would last several weeks.

As soon as Brock opened his eyes, he looked for Sin with his eyes; however, the first thing he found was the little dog. Brock raised his eyebrows in confusion; he did not remember that they had one.

The dog turned to see him as soon as he noticed the movement. He tried to get closer but stopped when he noticed Brock staring at him.

��Why is there a rat in my room?" Brock mumbled, and that's when the little dog came closer to bite him.

“Leave it alone!" Sin yelled at him, pulling the puppy away from him.

“That rat attacked me," Brock defended himself.

“Sin left the room along with the dog, though Brock could be sure the dog was taunting him.

“He's a rat," Brock muttered, knowing she wouldn't hear him.

As the days went by, the fights between the dog Duke and Brock increased; it seemed that both wanted to have all of Sinthea's attention.

But the fight got bigger the day Brock was going to prepare himself some delicious and juicy steaks. Sin was on a mission.

Brock took out of the refrigerator the steaks he had been marinating for several days, finished seasoning and cooking them, and left them for a moment on the kitchen counter.

When he returned, the only thing he found was a trail that led him directly to the culprit. This fact was the straw that broke the camel's back. The fights started to become more frequent, but Sinthea always came to save Duke.

The next time she went on a mission, something different happened. While Brock was chasing Duke "after he had stolen and destroyed one of his favorite boots" to take his right boot, Duke crashed into a piece of furniture, and Sinthea's favorite vase fell, shattering into pieces.

Hearing the crash, Duke stopped and turned to see the chaos he had caused. Brock was standing there, pale, if Sinthea noticed...

Duke let go of the boot; they both knew they were in trouble. Brock quickly left the house; he had to get another vase any way he could. After scouring about ten stores, he found one exactly like it, so he bought it.

“I'm not doing it for you, rat; I'm doing it for me. I know you'll say I broke it to frame you, when we both know it was an accident, so nothing happened," Brock said when he returned and showed the replacement vase to Duke.

Duke only wagged his tail; a few hours later, he approached Brock and left two cookies nearby. Brock interpreted that gesture as a peace offering and slowly raised his hand and reached out to pet his head.

Sinthea arrived just to see Brock pet him.

“Wow, you're already friends," she commented.

“We understood that we have to live together, so I won't try to kick him out anymore, and Duke will leave my stuff alone," Brock said.

#mrpbingo #marvel rare pair bingo #multifandom flash #round 2 #brock rumlow x sinthea schmidt

26 notes · View notes

deke-rivers-1957 · 2 months

Text

ECU Film Ranking Part 1

This will be a 3 part series where after 10 or so movies, I'll rank them in reverse order with 10 being the worst and 1 being the best. My ranks are based on how much I liked the movie, how much I liked Elvis' character, and how well made it was. Each entry will have an explanation so I hope my opinions make sense. If you have any disagreements feel free to share them. Enjoy!

Roustabout

The problem with this movie is simple: it completely misses the point of Charlie's character. When you think about what the movie wants us to believe, Charlie is supposed to be a grown man who's got a chip on his shoulder about being made an orphan and wants his respect. While the movie does show him as pushing back when he's being disrespected, Charlie isn't a jerk who needs to get rid of the chip on his shoulder. If anything Charlie is a saint for having to deal with people who actively hate him. In fact outside of bit characters and Mr. Carver, everyone else is infinitively times worse. How are we supposed to think Charlie needs to learn his lesson when the whole time we're on his side of most confrontations? Overall, it was a good story concept with terrible execution as it a completely wasted potential storylines and an amazing soundtrack.

(John Lennon wrote Revolution 9.)

Wild in the Country

On paper this should be an absolute banger of an Elvis movie: An angry young man who has no faith in himself until he meets someone who inspires him to be better. Too bad the movie felt like it had no idea on how to work with that concept. You get the feeling that each writer had a different story idea but was never able to execute it from start to finish. For instance, the ending was supposed to be tragic but instead became bittersweet in the most mild way possible. Given how this movie initially sets this serious tone where a character's bad actions will have consequences, the ending does a complete 180. Nothing of consequence happens and the movie suffers because of it. If the most intense part of the movie is done and over with in 5 minutes with no time to even digest what happened before we see Glenn go off to college you just sit there thinking "what was the point of that if nothing came out of it?" It's slightly better because at least the first third gave us some of Elvis' best character moments with Glenn giving an emotional monologue about his life.

Love Me Tender

Story wise it's a step up from the other two, but still suffers from executing a vision. The entire 3rd act destroyed whatever character arc Clint had going for him. I get the idea that Clint suddenly turning on Vance and Cathy just because practical strangers filled his head with ideas was something that was added at the last minute to make Elvis more relevant despite an originally smaller role. I can understand Clint being insecure about his manhood and doubting his wife's loyalty, but the execution of that was terrible. Just fix Clint's character arc in the 3rd act, and this movie would've been fine.

Paradise, Hawaiian Style

There's nothing wrong with Rick as a character. The problem's that he's boring. He doesn't have much of a character arc as it's not like him saving Danny showed a new side of him. His womanizing is his character flaw and the driving factor of his irresponsibility. Him rescuing Danny doesn't change that and it definitely doesn't give his romance with Friday any weight as I simply don't believe they have any chemistry. Then again, the only vision this movie had was to showcase actual Hawaii and the Polynesian people. For the 1960s they did that in a pretty respectful way. Drums of the Islands is a great finale song with beautiful visuals. It's a nice finale to conclude an otherwise boring movie. But what a finale it is.

Clambake

As much as I love Scott's character arc, the songs are a mixed bag and the production at times is bad. I also wasn't that enthused about Scott and Dianne's relationship as I thought Dianne was boring. The side characters are fine but again nothing to write home about. I do think that if this was given more time it would've been better, but as it stands it's not at all the worst story. The ballads keep the soundtrack from being completely terrible. It's in general a very mediocre movie with an amazing character arc.

(Joe DiMaggio wore the number 5.)

Production wise this is easily the worst one as some of the effects are so bottom of the barrel of what they wanted to achieve. The story had elements that would've been amazing but simply never expanded on them. However, JODIE IS PEAK. Way more interesting than Josh and easily could've been the main character. The revelation that he's not Pappy's son alone should've been talked about in the movie as opposed to being a throwaway line. His ballad for Midge easily the best song in the movie. Such a shame this movie was rushed out. I genuinely think if they had Elvis just be Jodie, it would've been an absolute banger. The side characters have more personality than Josh and it carries what would've otherwise been a boring movie.

Jailhouse Rock

This movie is ICONIC but character wise Vince falls a bit flat and I have mixed opinion his relationship with Peggy. Vince waffling between liking Peggy and being cold to her is strange. Especially since Peggy simply disappears for a long period of time. When they get together at the end it's like all of the justification for why things were forgiven happened off screen as opposed to naturally seeing it play out. If you simply boil it down to a cocky young man falling off his pedestal and opening up to people, then the movie works. It's very well made but there are still wrinkles that keep it from being in my top 3.

(2 and 3 are interchangeable. They're about even so the difference is simply what I like a little bit more today.)

GI Blues

Story wise I don't see anything that's really wrong with this movie. I think Tulsa is a good character. Any criticisms I have boils down to how I would've written the same story but in a different way. I guess the one criticism I do have is that we get the lie reveal plot element over in done with so little time, that there was no point of even including it. Overall, it's still a well made and enjoyable movie but it doesn't blow me away.

Girl Happy

This is low key one of the best stories in an Elvis movie. It does the lie reveal cliche right as it gives this plot element enough time to develop, climax and then resolve itself naturally. Nothing about this is forced therefore everyone involved feels like they're real people. The point of the conflict is that Rusty is supposed to watch Valerie without her knowing that he's been asked to watch her. If Valerie knew, then she wouldn't want to be around him and would only become more sneaky. The emotional conflict of her finding him and Deena together isn't anyone's fault as it wasn't like anyone wanted to act out of malice. Everyone reacted within reason and despite the miscommunication, this is a situation where telling the truth would've only complicated things. You feel bad for everyone involved and regardless of who you think is in the right, you can totally understand where the other side is coming from. The songs are still very much a mixed bag and that's why I can't put it as my number one, but as a love story it's very underrated.

(You know I had to do this lol.)

Loving You

What can I say it's Elvis' story if he had an actual happy ending. As much as I don't like how Glenda is as a character the ending makes you think she will change. Deke is such a lovable character and it only makes you wonder why he doesn't have a lot of friends. I was angry for Deke when he just forgave Glenda that quickly by coming back. I'm not sure if it's simply because that's who Deke is, or if it's on the writers for not showing us his thought process. It's similar to my criticisms for GI Blues segment. It's simply a matter of "good concept, I just would've executed it a little differently". The songs are all functional to amazing. The movie is very well made as it doesn't feel the need to blast you in the face with color. If anything Deke going from generic "farmer's clothes" to a vibrant white/red combo is so fitting. When Deke is on stage he really comes to life. Even in his regular clothes, it's like they added a brightness to them. Unintentional I'm sure but it's incredible how Deke's clothes reflect his rise from nothing. He goes from being lonely and having low self esteem to feeling joy knowing he isn't alone anymore. Such a shame it's lost in the shuffle of his other 50s movies. This one definitely stands out on its own.

AN: Thank you all for following along with my reviews. If I missed a tag I'm real sorry.

Tagging: @arrolyn1114, @thedaisymaisy, @that-hotdog, @peaceloveelvis, @imaginationlast, @fuzzymusic94, @helen06dreamer, @sfull12345, @briefpandatimemachine, @alittlemoreelvis, @lynettethemadscientist, @motht-eeth, @ash-omalley, @spooky-hazex, @teamnefarious, @blighted-star, @ab4eva, @oh-my-front-door, @father-of-2cats, @atleastpleasetelephone, @xanatenshi, @crazymadpassionatelove, @burnthheparaphilia, @aliengoth3, @smokeymountainboy, @stormie-ryan23

@yksuwyksud, @tacozebra051, @alienelvisobsession, @vintageoldsoul, @ohmygiddd, @lovininapinkcadillac, @stephthestallion, @mistyspresley, @bisexualwvtson, @ahundredlifetime, @karel-in-wonderland, @elvispresleywife, @georgefairbrother, @moonchild-daniella, @musiclover712, @worldofyns, @sillybookmarks, @g00d2balive, @leighpc, @generoustreemystic, @peskybedtime, @thetaoofzoe, @renegadewarrior, @vintagepresley, @tupelomiss, @myradiaz, @pinkcaddyconfessions, @kiankiwi, @presley72elvis, @delulubutidontcare, @januarypresley1969, @livelaughelvis, @hooked-on-elvis, @slayingjd, @ilivebecauseiamforced, @dusintv, @cattcb, @eapep, @jaqueline19997, @richardslady121, @iloveelvis2, @lett-them-eatt-cake, @if-i-can-dream-of-elvis, and @lookingforrainbows.

#ecu discussion #elvis films #elvis fandom #girl happy #clambake #gi blues #jailhouse rock #loving you #kissin cousins #wild in the country #love me tender #paradise hawaiian style #roustabout

12 notes · View notes

i-prefer-base-twelve · 2 years

Note

If requests are still open, what about Ford's first "I love you"?

On AO3 here, or read it below! While this was written with Juneau in mind, I think this particular story can be read and enjoyed out of context, imagining the reader character to be any gender. (Tell me if I'm wrong!) Hope you like it! ------

There was no dramatic inciting incident, for once. Only the steady accretion of time.

You'd mostly come to accept that Ford would never be able to say "I love you." It was more than understandable, given what you knew about his childhood: his father had never once said it in Ford's hearing, and his mother only used it when she'd been caught in a lie. Compound this with a lifetime of betrayal--had he ever said it to Fidds? To Bill? You'll never ask. Anyway, yeah, you get it.

And it's fine. They're just words. You've had people say them often enough to know they bear almost no correlation to a person's actual love for you. And Ford does love you, unquestionably, deeply--and better than anyone's loved you ever before. He doesn't have to say it with that particular sentence.

Sometimes you'll say it to him, always unintentionally; it just slips out sometimes when he's holding you, or when he's done some particularly impressive feat, or said something particularly ridiculous. But--as bad as this sounds--you try not to. Because every time you do, frustration darkens his face, and he pulls you close and kisses your forehead and no matter how many times you reassure him that it's fine, you know he loves you, you can tell the guilt still eats at him.

One day he comes over, and you can tell something is up. As you pour him a mug of coffee, he drums his fingers on the bar and looks out the window. Most notably, he doesn't say much.

Trying to ignore the sudden knot in your stomach (is he breaking up with you?), you set the mug in front of him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey. What's up?"

He stares fixedly into his coffee, eventually nodding. "There's something I haven't told you about Bill," he says at last, fiddling with the mug.

The knot in your stomach doubles up; he's not breaking up with you, but... Bill. There are no doubt lots of things he hasn't told you about Bill. And considering the stories you have heard, you'd kind of rather continue not knowing them. But if Ford needs to talk about it, you'll listen. You sit in the stool beside him and place a hand over his. He almost smiles.

"Bill... gave me selective aphasia. Have you ever noticed how I say sea otter instead of sea otter?" He growls, pounding the top with a fist. "You see? I've lost the ability to say certain words. I don't know how many Bill took from me. So far, the only one I'm aware of is sea otter--aggh, corpsefucker--"

You squeeze his hand. "What if you try spelling it? That uses a different part of the brain."

This stops him short. He tilts his head at you. "Really?"

"I mean, neurolinguistics is still a new field, but that's the last I heard."

"I can't believe I've never tried-- B-U-R-D-E-N. Ha! There it is!" His face lights up. "Take that, you three-sided tomblicker! I can't believe--thirty years and you just brush it away like a cobweb!--" he whirls around and slaps his hands to the side of your face, pulling you into an overly enthusiastic kiss.

But as he pulls away, he quickly sobers. "That's a perfect segue, really. There's something I've wanted to tell you for awhile now. But I-- I can't get the words out."

Your heart starts pounding. What's he getting at?

Ford reaches into his bag. "I don't know if it's due to Bill's interference, or if it's just... me. But I think I've come up with a way to find out."

He pulls a plastic box out of his pocket, opens it to reveal... gross. You make a face.

"Truth teeth," he explains.

Oh right, these were a journal entry. You look at Ford, not the dentures. "I thought those things got destroyed."

"The bottomless pit works in mysterious ways," he chuckles before plucking the things out of the box. You close your eyes while some real gnarly sounds happen.

The feel of his large, calloused hands wrapping around yours causes you to open your eyes again. Ford speaks slowly. "My sunrise. You're so much more than I expected. So much more than I dared hope for. Working beside you is exhilarating, sleeping next to you is comforting-- you're magnificent. Brilliant, curious, and kind. And I love you with my whole heart. Well, technically, my heart got reinforced with Atlantean stem cells ten years ago, so I love you with the remaining eighty percent of my heart and the whole of my grafts."

Adrenaline crashes through your system, threatening to knock you off the barstool. Even though you already knew it, knew it in your bones, hearing him actually say it... and to hear him say it in his own ridiculous way... your eyes well with tears.

But Ford doesn't give you time to bask in it. He rocks back in his seat, mouth hanging open. "So I can't blame this one on Bill, after all," he sighs. "If I can say it with the teeth in, then I should be able to say it with the teeth out." He tears them out of his mouth before you can look away. Gross. "This," he growls, "is my own personal failing."

You wipe your eyes. "Ford," you sigh. "You know I don't think it's a failing, right? We've all got hangups."

He scowls down at the box of teeth. You scoot forward and kiss him on the cheek, his stubble scratchy under your lips. "I love you too," you remind him. "Regardless of the source of your aphasia."

His hands ball into fists. "You deserve better than this. I shouldn't have to put in truth teeth to tell you--" his voice catches-- "how I feel."

"You don't have to tell me," you say, for what feels like the hundredth time. "You show me every day. Besides, not a lot of guys would be willing to confess their feelings while wearing truth teeth! That right there tells me all I need."

He's not listening. He's drumming his fingers against the teeth box, Thinking.

"If it bothers you this much, go to therapy! They have techniques for this kind of thing."

He grunts noncommittally and changes the subject, and you know it's gonna be a Whole Thing.

The next time you see him, he tells you he's read up on the therapeutic techniques and constructed his own protocol, "which should work much faster, since we have the benefit of magic!" He chuckles, pulling the gross tooth box back out of his bag. You cringe.

"Why are there teeth on my table again, Stanford. You know how I feel about teeth."

At least this time he turns away before snapping them into place. "A necessary evil, my dear. This is the only truth apparatus I own. I'll make this brief..." he takes a deep breath and stares into your eyes. God, those eyes. The sunlight hits them just right, making the silver flecks seen to sparkle.

"I love you," he says shakily. Then repeats himself three more times: "I love you, I love you, I love you."

Ford closes his eyes and breathes a heavy breath out.

"I love you too--Stanford!" Exercise now apparently complete, he unceremoniously pops the dentures back out and snaps the box shut. "Aren't you going to at least rinse them??"

He waves dismissively, leaning in for a kiss. "They're self cleaning."

You put a finger over his lips. "Nuh uh. Mouthwash first."

This pattern more or less repeats itself for a week. And each time you can see how deeply Ford means it, and ok, yeah, that is pretty nice. But you're not sure it's worth all the... teeth.

And then you're drifting off to sleep one night, tangled up in each other like you so often are. He sighs happily, tousling your hair, and mumbles, "I love you."

Before you can really process it, and way before you can even say "I love you too," he gasps and sits bolt upright in bed.

"Did you hear that? I said it! I said it without the teeth! I knew this protocol would work!" He slaps the duvet excitedly. "Ha ha, I said it! Take that, you emotionally stunted old man!"

You're not sure if that remark is meant for his father, or himself.

You smile sleepily. "I love you too, sunrise," you yawn.

He doesn't even hear you, he's so beside himself with glee. He clambers over and gets on all fours above you, hands by your shoulders and knees by your hips. He bounces the mattress with his hands, crowing, "Did you hear? I said it, I said it!" And bends forward to plant ecstatic little kisses all over your face.

You laugh and ruffle his hair, resigning yourself to being awake awhile longer. He may not have needed to do this for you, but he needed to do it for himself. To see him so ebullient, so liberated... it makes your sleepy heart sing.

"I love you," he whispers in your ear. Then, without moving away, he exclaims, "Ha! I said it again! --sorry."

You rub your ear, wincing. "Eh, I wasn't using that eardrum for anything important. Come here, you dingaling."

"Dingaling?" His words are mock wounded; he's laughing. "I spontaneously confess my love and you call me a dingaling?"

Ford allows you to wrap your arms around his shoulders and tug him down to lie next to you again. You can feel his heart pounding, his arms trembling. His big hand wanders up and down your body, idle caresses as an attempt to dissipate excess energy. It doesn't take much of this before your heart is pounding to match.

You squirm closer. "I'm proud of you," you tell him, placing a hand on his thigh.

He grins, kissing your neck. Your whole body shivers in response.

"But next time," you beg, "no teeth."

Ford murmurs in your good ear, "No teeth?" And nips at the side of your throat.

You moan softly, pressing your bodies even closer together, and clarify: "No exogenous teeth."

He laughs, low and raw, and continues to kiss you.

#gravity falls fanfiction #ford pines x reader #ford pines #long post

213 notes · View notes

2xplusungood · 7 months

Text

Ulysses is an absolutely underrated character and I will die on this hill

First off, I absolutely love the way that the game slowly drip feeds you information about him. Your first hint something happened BEFORE Benny shooting you in the head is Jonathan Nash telling you the original courier saw your name on the delivery and backed out which not only implies they knew something was going on with the platinum chip but also has something against you. Then in Dead Money, you get a few more hints from Christine and then more in Old World Blues and the game has set up as a sort of mirror of you.

You walk the lonesome road, slowly prodding him for information and finding discarded journal entries that reveal his trauma at the hands of the Legion. You, for once, get to SEE the horrible impact the Legion has, completely eradicating tribal culture to form a "Pax Romana." He was completely uprooted from his home and his tribe, The Twisted Hairs, are gone.

Working as a Frumentari, he began work with The White Legs, teaching them how to use weapondry and tactics. They began to revere him so much that they began wearing their hair in dreads like him. This disgusted him, the dreads had very profound cultural meaning to The Twisted Hairs, the knots telling a story and now here was another tribe appropriating its look without knowing its significance, a hollow disrespectful imitation.

Disillusioned with the Legion, he began to walk, eventually finding Hopetown. A settlement free of both NCR and Legion, a completely new community free from the corruption of the old world. It wasn't long until the BEAR AND THE BULL found it however, and they began to both move in. This culminated with the NCR sending a courier to deliver a strange device bearing similar to the markings found in Hopeville, resulting in the detonation of the underground warheads destroying hopeville and creating the divide.

The most common complaint I hear about him is "why is he mad at me for delivering a package?" but take a moment to really think about your role in the game. The choices you make have consequences, for better or for worse, knowing or unknowing. THE COURIER decided to assist the NCR in making a trek they likely wouldn't have been able to do otherwise. THE COURIER made the decision to help with meddling in things that should be left alone.

And in doing so, the courier not only acted as an agent of one of the poisons plaguing the mojave, but destroyed what was, in Ulysses's eyes, the last hope of freedom from both The NCR and The Legion, and for the second time, a place that he called home was taken from him.

Now think about the gameplay of Lonesome Road. Unlike the other DLCs you are not stuck in it. You are allowed to turn around and leave at any moment. YOU decide to follow the invitation. YOU decide to walk the Lonesome Road. YOU, once again, mess with extremely dangerous old world tech. YOU pull the lever that ends up launching a nuke and creating The Couriers Mile. That may not have been your intention, but once again, YOU did actions that have consequences.

Then once you meet him, YOU are left to decide how you deal with him. Through diplomacy or brute strength. Either way, you close the book on a long story of trauma and are handed the fate of his plan to do with as you please.

In a way, I think of him as a sort of mirror to the player character. He's walked many of the same roads you have, seen the same sights you have. For someone playing blind, they might start following the "Good option" of the NCR but quickly get disillusioned with it after seeing its many failings and decide to strike out your own path, much like he did with The Legion. His quest for revenge sets him on a path that would shape the mojave to his choosing, just like yours did. He is your shadow.

#fallout new vegas #ulysses

22 notes · View notes

random-movie-ideas · 8 months

Text

Superman Universe Pitch

For the last few weeks, I have been going through each major Superman villain, and a few allies, and figuring out the best way to structure a major Superman movie around them. Here is a pitch for how I would construct a series of movies that managed to include as many of them as possible.

First, we begin with a Superman trilogy entrenched within a DC Cinematic Universe:

SUPERMAN I – Featuring Brainiac as the main villain, coming to Earth to collect Metropolis. The city of Kandor would be among his collected cities, and Kara would escape from it, finding Clark, and through the pair, Clark learns the history of Krypton and Kara learns to use her powers.

SUPERMAN II – Featuring Bizarro as the main villain, cloned from Clark’s DNA by Lex. Lex witnessing Superman’s battle with Brainiac in the first film would drive him to create a warrior capable of battling Superman. This would start with Metallo, but would result in Bizarro by the third act.

SUPERMAN III – Featuring Doomsday as the main villain, coming to Earth to destroy it, and Clark stepping up to take him down, largely recreating the events of “The Death of Superman."

This trilogy would exist within a cinematic universe, where all the other major heroes are getting movies and so on. These would be notable entries within:

JUSTICE LEAGUE I: While I am okay leaving Zod as simply a flashback character, due to his oversaturation, an idea that does occur to me is have him and his forces arrive on Earth to make it a new Krypton, and then have our heroes discover the existence of a Kryptonian who landed on Earth years earlier, leading to the actual introduction of Clark, with the Brainiac movie following immediately after this film.

LOBO: A Lobo standalone movie would be awesome. It would also be fun to have him end up in Warworld, making Mongul the main villain of said movie.

JUSTICE LEAGUE II? III? WHO KNOWS – Eventually, we would build up to Darkseid as the major story arc villain in the same vein as Thanos.

During this cinematic universe, Supergirl would also be getting her own series:

SUPERGIRL I – This would feature the Silver Banshee as the main villain, detailing her backstory being dragged to hell during a botched spell, and coming back to Earth to find a spellbook that would resurrect her.

SUPERGIRL II – This would feature Ultraman as the main villain. Supergirl would encounter Mr. Mxyzptlk who would take her into an alternate universe where everyone’s moral alignment is switched. She would also meet a version of herself, Power Girl, who would start as a villain, but eventually switch sides and join her.

At the same all of this is happening, someone else would convince the studio to let them create their own standalone Superman universe, a series that starts out Superman in his teen years, and acts as a simple coming-of-age story.

YOUNG SUPERMAN I – This would feature Toyman as the main villain. Clark would be a normal kid who would suddenly start developing super abilities that he doesn’t know how to use. At the same time, a seeming predator would start targeting his friends and classmates, using them to deliver explosives disguised as toys to their parents.

YOUNG SUPERMAN II – This would feature Parasite as the main villain. Krypto’s ship would crash-land on Earth, and Clark would find him. A criminal named Rudy Jones would find the ship and contract an alien virus from it, transforming him into the Parasite.

YOUNG SUPERMAN III – This would feature Livewire and Mr. Mxyzptlk as the main villains. One of Clark's friends, Leslie Willis, will have developed a hatred for Superman over the years and end up altered after being attacked by the Parasite, becoming Livewire. Mr. Mxyzptlk would appear, through whom Livewire would escape into the multiverse, forcing Superman to team up with the imp to find her and save her.

During this time, an animation studio, using similar animation to things like the Spider-Verse movies or Puss in Boots or TMNT: Mutant Mayhem, would start making a Golden Age Cinematic Universe, a series of primarily comedy movies based on the old campy 1950s comics. These would include:

SUPERMAN – An overly “white knight”-style heroic Superman going up against Ultra-Humanite.

BATMAN – An Adam West-style Batman movie.

WONDER WOMAN – A Lynda Carter-style Wonder Woman movie.

GREEN LANTERN – A movie starring Alan Scott going up against Solomon Grundy.

THE FLASH – A movie starring Jay Garrick.

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA – A Justice Society movie putting them up against campy supervillain portrayals of the Legion of Doom.

And now, we would come to a Crisis on Infinite Earths movie, set up mainly by Supergirl II and Young Superman III, which would bring together the main Cinematic Universe, Ultraman’s universe, Young Superman’s universe, and the animated Golden Age universe. Events would play out similarly, with Ultraman’s universe collapsing, as well as Young Superman’s, our Young Superman being the only survivor. Eventually, we’d come down to the one main universe, with the survivors allowed to live in it with their counterparts.

Superman III, featuring the death of Superman, would need to follow after this movie. This would lead to:

STEEL – This movie would recreate the events of “Reign of the Supermen,” with John Henry Irons taking up Superman’s heroic spirit, Project Cadmus (likely with Lex Luthor, Emil Hamilton, and Anthony Ivo involved) would attempt to clone Superman, creating Conner Kent, and a vengeful Hank Henshaw would try to steal Superman's identity.

SUPERBOY – Conner would then get his own movie, featuring Superboy-Prime as the main villain. Our Young Superman, having lost his world and everyone he cared about from his trilogy, would turn to evil and try to claim himself as the one true Superman, trying to destroy this universe and bring back the one he lost.

What do you think? Would you watch it?

18 notes · View notes

felassan · 1 year

Text

Some brief wonderings on Dragon Age: The Missing #2.

so it's Solas that they're looking for after all, sometimes the most obvious/simplest answer is indeed the one hh.. Varric and Harding are basically getting their own Wolf Hunt DLC. I'd be so excited if the two chars on the front cover behind Harding are Crows, Teia and Viago!! (they look so cool) and I'm thrilled Scout Harding gets her own cover page 🥺

Lady Chrysanthus seems to be a new char. 'chrysanthus' is part of the scientific name for a species of crocus, meaning goldenflowered, and was also the name of an early Christian saint. I wonder if elements of her character design such as wardrobe will be gold-themed? I'm assuming she's a mage. and what is her angle - is she remnant Venatori trying to entrap Varric and Harding, or one of the Tevinters who oppose the Venatori? maybe she's aligned with the Viper, or is a contact of Dorian and Mae's?

for the Crows, well, per The Wigmaker Job (which also takes place in Vyrantium) someone mysterious has been hiring Crows to take out a bunch of prominent Venatori. maybe that's why their paths will "cross" in this comic, especially given Lucanis and Illario had been hired to take Venatori out in TN and then in the short story The Wake with Illario, Teia and Viago Lucanis has died (or 'died').

In Genitivi Dies In The End, the adventuring group were on their quest in the Deep Roads by special commission of the Inner Circle, an expedition to find the true history of the elven pantheon. their expedition report was sent to Varric - maybe this trip into the Deep Roads and so on regarding Solas is him following up on some of their findings himself?

and :D we're in danger. Varric and Harding went into the Deep Roads in pursuit of Solas. so some lead they and the Inquisition remnants had placed him, an agent or interest of his down there. Solas in the Deep Roads.. why? what plan, or concern, of his takes him down there.. Rasaan and the Antaam were down there looking for details about his true name, the Genitivi expedition was down there looking for details on the true nature of the elven pantheon. shattered fragments like ancient elven libraries are down there, maybe there's knowledge or an artifact that could be found in one of these fragments that he's seeking. or it's something to do with the Blight, which he seems concerned about in DAI (we worry about a Double Blight, maybe he's checking how bad it is down there or he's heard about the Ghil pool darkspawn/Ghil labs). I'm reminded of the Fen'Harel statues in the Deep Roads (Codex entry: Torn Notebook in the Deep Roads, Section 1):

Now the Qunari bring me down into the lightless depths, and for what? Because the nursery rhymes I remember from childhood make me an expert on ancient elves.

These statues are old. Better shape than anything I've seen on the surface. Many of them are for Mythal, though. And Fen'Harel. Not in a spot of honor, but guarding, attending.

Protector and All-Mother, why are you honored here, so far from the light of the sun? And why was the Dread Wolf at your side?

and Codex entry: Veilfire Runes in the Deep Roads:

A new vision appears: elves collapsing caverns, sealing the Deep Roads with stone and magic. Terror, heart-pounding, ice-cold, as the last of the spells is cast. A voice whispers:

"What the Evanuris in their greed could unleash would end us all. Let this place be forgotten. Let no one wake its anger. The People must rise before their false gods destroy them all."

and also for some reason of the Architect? ancient mage beings skulking around in the Deep Roads doing or looking for who knows what.

#dragon age: the missing #dragon age #bioware #video games #solas #long post #longpost #dragon age: dreadwolf #dragon age 4 #the dread wolf rises #da4

35 notes · View notes

aquadestinyswriting · 1 year

Text

Aitheachas Màthair

Summary: Meredith finds her way down to the Contemplation Chamber after waking up in the Fangthane Infirmary to process what has just happened to her youngest son. A flash fiction entry under the prompt "Didn't Mean it".

Words: 565

Tags: @druidx @homesteadchronicles @flashfictionfridayofficial @asher-orion-writes,@warriorbookworm, @odysseywritings, @ashirisu, @blind-the-winds, @writeblrcafe

Warnings: I am 'Dead Dove-ing' these warnings because this is heavy. Grief, Trauma, loss of a child, mention of ritual sacrifice, fantasy cults, implied emotional neglect, character death

Notes: this one is set about 690 years post campaign and is backstory for the current campaign. This is the end point of what started in 'You're Not Alone' (there is a whole bunch that happens in the ten years between these two stories, but they're basically bookends).

I stare into the bubbling metal of the scrying pool of the Contemplation Chamber. Every last medic in the mount is still insisting that I return to the Infirmary, but I can't. I need stillness and quiet to soothe my now utterly shattered heart and soul.

Unbidden, my mind flashes back to the last words Llachlan and I had exchanged with one another. My heart breaks all over again at the memory of the determined snarl on his face as he told me that the Cult he had fallen into treated him better than his own kin and that he Denounced Moradin and all He stood for. That he was leaving to help them destroy everything I held dear and worked so hard to acheive. I start to tremble as the words I had uttered to him rattled in my head,

"Fine! If you want to go an' get yersel' killed tryin' to uphold the beliefs o' that monster, then walk oot that door an' never darken the mount with yer presence again!"

I choke out a sob at the memory of my youngest child, my wee bairn, turning and doing just that. I'd expected him to be gone for a few months, at most, before crawling back and begging forgiveness for making a stupid mistake, as all beardlings asserting their independence do. Once my temper had cooled, I immediately regretted my words. I sent out search party after search party for over three years after that, to no avail. My wee lost lamb was gone, and it was all my fault.

When I finally saw him again, I was certain I was dreaming. But the moment he saw me and called out for me… I should have known it was a trap. Should have realised that the only reason those damned deluded bastards had recruited him was to use him to free that har'ak. And I'd been the one to push him straight into their arms. But... my baby boy had needed me, and I was so desperate to make things right that I was blind to what should have been obvious.

I don't remember what happened after the cultists slit Llachlan's throat. All I know is that, somehow, Ionah hasn't entirely broken free of her shackles and is still bound in the depths of the Pit. At least for now. Little comfort when the only reason she had the potential to escape was because of a petty argument between a mother and her son. I'm pretty sure she's howling with laughter at the irony. All I’ve been told, for now, is that a five mile wide radius around where the cultists had made their lair is now a burnt and scarred wasteland. I dare not ask for further details. For now, I just want to hide away from the world and hope that this is all some horrible dream and I’l wake up to news that my uan beag has come home. Gods, I wish Elowyn was still here.

I force myself back to the present as I feel the comforting embrace of both my Gods surround me. My body heaves as I finally give into my grief. No amount of regret is going to bring my son back, and no amount of 'I didn't mean it' is going to undo what I said to drive him away.

I'm sorry, Llachlan, for everything.

#aquadestinys writing #writeblrcafe #titan fighting fantasy #Ouroboros of Destiny #llachlan bloodvein #meredith gruksdottir #tw: grief #tw: trauma #tw: ritual sacrifice #tw: loss of a child #tw: fantasy cults #tw: emotional neglect (implied)#tw: character death #flash fiction friday

12 notes · View notes

ghostflowerdreams · 3 months

Text

Book Review: Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End (Apocalypse Z #1) by Manel Loureiro

The dead rise… A mysterious incident in Russia, a blip buried in the news—it’s the only warning humanity receives that civilization will soon be destroyed by a single, voracious virus that creates monsters of men. Humanity falls… A lawyer, still grieving over the death of his young wife, begins to write as a form of therapy. But he never expected that his anonymous blog would ultimately record humanity’s last days. The end of the world has begun… Governments scramble to stop the zombie virus, people panic, so-called “Safe Havens” are established, the world erupts into chaos; soon it’s every man, woman, and child for themselves. Armed only with makeshift weapons and the will to live, a lone survivor will give mankind one last chance against… Apocalypse Z

What caught my attention about this book was that it was from a Spanish author, Manel Loureiro, who was born in Pontevedra, Spain and studied law at Universidade de Santiago de Compostela.

I've read plenty of books about the zombie apocalypse, but I haven't ever read one from a European perspective. After all, the zombie genre tends to be more popular in America, so this definitely piqued my interest.

The protagonist is an unnamed lawyer and a widower, who narrates the story through a series of blog and journal entries. It starts off believable with the character paying attention to the news, but he's still in the dark about what's happening. They won't reveal any substantial information about what's really going on. Some of it could be that they don't want to cause panic, but it also could be that they don't entirely know themselves on what they're dealing with. Interesting enough, the word 'zombie' is never used throughout the book.

The protagonist also has a Persian cat named Lucullus. I wasn't expecting this book to feature a cat, and even better, nothing bad happens to him. But I'm pretty sure it'll annoy many non-cat people that the protagonist is putting more effort into bringing along his cat and taking unnecessary risks for him. Or that the cat doesn't behave entirely like a stereotypical one when they're put into a cat crate or bag. I get it, my cat would've meowed non-stop at being confined in one. I just rationalized that Lucullus was trained to accept it without whining, which was a good thing, as the zombies are attracted to noises.

I don't think I would've enjoyed this as much as I did if it wasn't for the protagonist's unwavering commitment to his cat. It adds a unique layer to the story.

It doesn't trek new ground when it comes to the apocalypse, so don't expect it to when you read this. You also have to suspend your belief to accept some of the things that happen. For example, the main character gets covered in zombie blood and somehow not once does any of it get into his unprotected eyes, mouth, etc. Or when he cuts his hand and yet doesn't put on some gloves to keep it clean (he even went to the hospital for medical supplies at some point, so there's no excuse).

One unsettling aspect is when he finally meets two female survivors; a nun, Sister Cecilia, and a 17-year-old girl, Lucia. The first thing he notices about Lucia is how young and attractive she is, and "her slim body looked supple as a reed. I detected perky breasts under the enormous faded sweater she was wearing." Just, ew.

There are two other books in this series, which I think have been translated into English by now. While I'm intrigued about where the next installment might take the story, my enthusiasm isn't enough to get me to read the next book anytime soon. At least this was a quick read as I managed to finish it in a single day. Overall, it's an okay story that I think some will enjoy. Would I recommend it? Eh, maybe for those that like cats and want to read a zombie apocalypse story from a European perspective, specifically from a average guy who's a lawyer.

#book review #Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End #Apocalypse Z #book #Manel Loureiro #book reviews #books #zombie apocalypse

3 notes · View notes

annalyticall · 1 year

Text

Thoughts on Mass Effect 3 and Mass Effect Trilogy

Well. It's over.

I'll keep it real with you chief, Mass Effect 3 was by far my favorite of the three games. That might be controversial given what I know about the divisive endings (basically the only thing I knew before I started these games), but as a newcomer to the series, Mass Effect 3 had a lot of what I was looking for from the previous entries. I also realized that fundamentally I can't compare these games to Dragon Age because the truth is I still like the Dragon Age games more individually but I do like Mass Effect more as a unified trilogy.

Again, I played Shiv Shepard, colonist Sole Survivor, Sentinel, and Paragon. I played her with survivor's guilt in ME1, with a burning hatred of Cerberus for bringing her back from the dead (and for the Akuze thing) in ME2, and a mix of burning hatred of Cerberus and a survivor's guilt over Earth in ME3. I don't think I ever mentioned this but I intended Shiv to be Irish/Korean, full first name is Siobhan

You see that bit of red? Those are renegade points I got every time I talked to the Illusive Man.

Major Story Decisions: Continued relationship with Kaidan, let Mordin cure the genophage, killed Councilor Udina myself with Kaidan on my side, secured peace between the geth and quarians, killed the Illusive Man myself, and chose the Destroy ending (which I'll get into later). I entered the war with 8000 war assets and the only character deaths I saw were the scripted ones (Mordin, Thane, Legion, Anderson, presumably EDI). I also beat James' 182 pull-up record.

The Pros and Cons lists are a little tricky for this one since I found a lot of the good came with some bad and a lot of the bad came with some good, but I'll try to keep it all in neat bullet points.

Pros

Satisfying Ends. From Mordin curing the genocidal disease he helped perfect to the control-hungry Illusive Man driven crazy by the same control he sought to have, everyone gets a nice and neat bow on their character arcs that had been set up since the beginning, or at least since Mass Effect 2. Honestly, playing ME3 made me like ME2 more than I had before since I could now see the consequences of my actions on the characters I grew close with in the previous game. Speaking of...

Consequences. Moreso than Dragon Age, it's fun to see how much my choices from previous games impacted my experience throughout the trilogy following a single character and her friend group. Of course, it's not going to be perfect - I AM miffed that my major game-ending decisions of ME1 and ME2 like saving the council, rewriting the geth, and destroying the collector base ultimately resulted in very little change in the story. Weirdly, it was the lesser decisions that mattered most - keeping Wrex alive, preserving the cure data in Mordin's loyalty mission, not cheating on my ME1 love interest, resolving Legion's and Tali's hostility, and reuniting Thane with his son were all very effecting choices on my story since they all add up into a pool of possible outcomes rather than dichotomous decisions (it makes sense Kaidan might trust me a little less in an armed standoff if I cheated on him I guess lol). And I appreciate that even the minimal choices were at least represented as war assets.

Gameplay. ME3 had the best gameplay of all games by far. I think it's telling when I could spend over 3 hours in the combat center just trying out different modes. Unlike in ME2, I didn't feel as restricted in playstyle with the introduction of a bonus power and a healthier shield. My favorite bonus power was Aria T'Lok's Flare, a large biotic blast critical in any fight with bunched-up enemies. I'm glad I got that one early on because it helped me survive so much of the game.

It looks good. Not that I hated the graphics in the last two games, but this one had some nice cinematic angles, richer colors, and grander set designs that made it more immersive for me to get into.

Pace and Scope. ME3 really pulled off the feeling of scale in a galaxy-wide conflict. It didn't hold back with its bang of an opening as we survive the reapers attacking Earth within the first 10 minutes, then slowly we see these behemoth machines devastate every other alien homeworld and invade more of the map in each story arc until it culminates in a grand final stand. I was worried the game would, in a sense, "nerf" the reapers since it took so much to take down just one reaper in ME1 and a single half-built reaper in ME2, but although we kill many more reapers in ME3, each one is an earned spectacle that requires either a lot of combined firepower or a giant thresher maw to do the job. Side note, I do like the irony of my sole survivor Shepard getting saved by the thing that killed her whole squad in the past.

Romance and Friendships. Listen, I don't think I've praised a Bioware game on its romance since Dragon Age Origins (Alistair my beloved) and while this game is still a little sparse in the romance department, the DLCs more than make up for it with a lot of great content for the love interests. I enjoyed the flirty, lively banter and the cute domestic scene in the Citadel DLC (Kaidan my beloved), and how worried he was about Shepard's safety in the Leviathan DLC. But even outside those addons, I liked the quiet moment shared before the final Cerberus mission, and while I typically cringe at Bioware sex scenes, I found this one to be, uh... tolerable. The romance in ME3 felt like an oasis after the lonely desert I suffered through in the last game lol. As for friendships, I loved the little platonic dates you get to go on with your squadmates both in the base game and the Citadel DLC. I never felt closer to these characters than I have here.

Cons

Contrived Means. Although I enjoyed the satisfying ends to many subplots and character arcs, I didn't enjoy the somewhat forced means it took to get there. I can forgive the last-minute sabotage that doomed Mordin to die since ultimately the end it led to was most fitting for Mordin's story. However, I took issue with a lot of the geth/quarian buildup, mostly involving Legion and the reaper codes. To be honest, I LIKED the geth being a completely alien hivemind and existing as a neutral anomaly that takes effort to understand and accept in ME2. The focus of becoming an individual (the original question the geth asked was actually "do these units have a soul", not "does this unit have a soul" as ME3 claims) undermined what I thought was compelling about Legion and the geth in the first place. Also, Legion's sacrifice felt unnecessary, especially when the reason for the reaper code upload not working was flimsy. And don't even get me started on the Citadel...

The Citadel. Holy shit, what happened there? I'm not talking about the Citadel as a location - I liked exploring the Citadel more in this game than any of the other games - I mean the Citadel as a plot device. For one, I was very surprised to learn the Citadel was the Catalyst when it was already an important plot device in ME1, where it was revealed to be a secret reaper mass relay. Now it's the key to a giant super weapon against the reapers whose original designers are never specified? Okay? But my biggest issue was that it was inexplicably "moved" by the reapers in the last mission despite millions of people living on it, then we can use it to blow up the reapers, destroying the Citadel and I assume most people still on there, so we're basically condemning millions of people to die and never get to see the impact of that decision. Granted, this is not much different than the weird 300K Batarian mass murder Shepard commits in ME2, but the difference is that these people are people we knew and spent a good amount of time helping and building relationships with throughout the game. What happened to Captain Bailey? What happened to Kolyat? The game never bothers to address that.

Kai Leng. Now, I don't expect every character to be wonderfully fleshed out. I accepted Kai Leng was just a plot device to stand in the way of Shepard and her goals, but his presence still left a bad taste in my mouth. He's never mentioned in any of the previous games, then he's introduced here as having a badass reputation despite his best move being a shield. He is so painfully one-dimensional compared to literally any other character that killing him didn't even feel good. I think it would have been cool if Kai Leng was someone else, maybe a character scorned by Shepard in the past who wanted revenge. Or, he could have been another character revived by Cerberus and abandoned in favor of Shepard, which was hinted at in his video logs but wasn't completely followed through on. I guess maybe I just wanted it to be Evil Clone Shepard from the Citadel DLC because even she was more compelling. What a waste of Troy Baker.

Let Me Speak. It's complicated because I do think ME3 has some of the strongest dialogue in the series (I didn't have the same jarring Talk No Jutsu problem as I did in ME1 because even when you're talking down a literal war, the dialogue feels earned and natural). However, the cutscenes went on noticeably longer without any input from the player character. It was frustrating since I felt like sometimes Shepard was railroaded into saying or doing something I wouldn't have chosen to do otherwise, but so is the burden of being a finale, I suppose.

Femshep Romance. Listen. I like Kaidan's romance. I like Garrus' romance. I like Liara's romance. If you chose to romance any of them in your playthrough like I did, that's great! You get a good romance. But if you're playing femshep and don't choose those 3 options... you don't. Thane dies early-ish in ME3 (which, I mean, I guess that could be good if you like inevitable tragedy) and Jacob cheats on you (which is terrible and I have NEVER seen in a video game romance before). And if you want to romance a girl? You get Liara or some minor side character, and that's it. You don't get Tali, Ashley, Jack, Miranda, or any of the several other female options that male Shepard has access to. Even in ME3, a male Shepard can romance Kaidan if they want a male companion to romance. Ashley doesn't get the same bi treatment. It's kinda sad just how limited femshep's options are for romance compared to their male counterpart.

The Synthesis Ending. Yes, I chose the Destroy Ending for rather complicated reasons that I will get into, but after watching the outcome of the other endings, I have a bone to pick with Synthesis. I discuss my opinion on the endings in a later section if you want to skip to that.

The DLC

Omega. It was fun. Not much more I can really say. I liked Nyreen as a character (and it was nice to finally meet a female turian) but I also felt her sacrifice was rather hollow. Aria grew on me and I was able to get her to spare Oleg at the end, but really, the shining star of this DLC was earning her Flare ability.

Leviathan. It's a double-edged sword because while I liked the expansion of reaper lore (and the extra dialogue with the LI and EDI) I also think that overexplaining the reaper backstory ruined a bit of their mystique. It also had strange implications for the ending, as the reaper AI explains its purpose in a more convoluted and obfuscated way than the Leviathan does, so it adds to the frustration of the limited ending dialogue choices given to call the reaper AI out on its vague statements.

Citadel. This is possibly the best DLC of any game I have ever played, I'm serious. With the exception of maybe Trespasser from Dragon Age Inquisition, never have I thought a DLC was so perfect for the story it was accompanying. Granted, I think the idea of taking forced shore leave is a little laughable when the fate of the galaxy is at stake, but I digress, the DLC was near perfect otherwise. It had fun in-jokes, meaningful time to spend with squadmates past and present, great scenes with the love interest, and, yes, I did spend 3 hours in the combat simulator just to get the rare One and Only achievement. And that pistol? It was the only thing keeping me from dying to brutes and banshees during the last Earth mission. I am not exaggerating when I say most of my enjoyment of this game actually comes from this DLC, and I consider its bittersweet ending to be the real ending for Mass Effect.

The Squad (including past Squad members)

Kaidan. Once again, I am listing the squadmates in relative order of how much I liked them, and Kaidan skyrocketed to the top within the last 30% of the game. I mean, I had to like him enough to romance him in ME1, but ME2 made me sour toward him, and even at the beginning of this game I was a little bitter that he was still so prickly about Shepard's forced involvement with Cerberus. However, after the hospital and the initial awkwardness of rekindling a strained relationship, I fell in love with his character all over again. He's not quite as deep as the other characters, true, but his human and down-to-earth presence is SO needed in a cast of complicated and eccentric aliens, and the random things he says are some of the only things I ever laugh at in this game. It almost makes me grateful for the mid-series break, because, for all the frustration, the relationship feels earned by the end. He might not surpass Alistair for top Bioware romance for me, but he comes close. Also, the unconditional reassurance he gives once realizing Shepard had actually been clinically dead and may not have been completely the same when she was rebuilt by Cerberus was so nice to get after the accusatory headache that was the Horizon mission in ME2.

Garrus. Admittedly, I don't think Garrus adds much to the narrative of ME3. Even when helping me cure the turian-ordered genophage he doesn't have much stake in the story, and then he has almost none after the genophage is cured. But that doesn't really matter when his purpose is actually just to be Shepard's rock. He is such a good friend and his presence is so comforting that I wish I could take him on every mission even if he's got nothing relevant to say. His farewell to Shepard at the end was the only other farewell besides Kaidan's that made me tear up. Shepard said it best: there is no Shepard without Vakarian.

Tali. I still love Tali, but she was shafted a bit by the lack of screen time she had in this game. It's a shame that she comes to the crew so late, although I guess it's understandable given that she's an admiral now. Still, I loved seeing her wistfulness as she dreamed of her new home on Rannoch, and her time in the Citadel DLC was very fun.

Mordin. Despite his fourth-place ranking on the list, I think Mordin is THE best-written character in Mass Effect. He has one of if not the best character arcs, and he's so likable that I can't not love Professor War Crimes. His singing as the building was falling down around him... it was so sad but a perfect way for him to go.

EDI. Her earnest and heartfelt quest to understand what it means to be human was endearing to me, and her relationship with Joker was great. I brought her along most times if Garrus or Kaidan didn't make sense to take. I am heartbroken that my chosen ending means her death, but it was a sacrifice I still decided to make, especially after she said she was willing to give her life to save the person she loved.

Liara. While I like Liara, I still feel like there's something missing in her character that I can't quite put my finger on. That said, I like the friendship she has with Shepard. There's an implication to their interactions that suggest she never stopped having romantic feelings for Shepard even after I turned her down in ME1, but I like how she still wants to be a close friend to her rather than be bitter about it.

Thane. I think the story did him justice, giving him a pivotal role to play in the amount of time he had left. The prayer read as he was dying sincerely touched me. He wasn't my favorite in ME2 but ME3 gave him a boost for me.

Legion. Despite some inconsistencies I noticed in his writing, I still like my little robot guy. RIP, buddy, sorry your sacrifice was kind of for nothing.

Grunt. Similar to Thane, ME3 (and especially the Citadel DLC) made me like Grunt more than I did upon his introduction to the series. He wasn't as important, but his enthusiastic welcome and his "last stand" made me feel like a proud mama.

Samara. I liked Samara enough in ME2 to try to flirt with her, so I was excited to see her again in this game, but unfortunately, she didn't have much to do. Then again, she doesn't really need to, given that her arc is to accept being a mother to her remaining child rather than her jailor. I still felt like there was lingering unspoken sexual tension between her and Shepard though...

Wrex. It was good to see Wrex again, and I sincerely love how the game portrays his openness to cooperation as the key to saving his people.

James. I feel like James fulfilled the Krogan Companion role for me in this game, which is: I like him, but not enough to bring him anywhere. His flirting was rather alarming to me at first since I had every intention of reuniting with Kaidan and didn't want to turn James down so early, but when it became clear that he wasn't serious about any of it, I liked playing along, though really femshep doesn't have a choice in the matter.

Javik. Don't get me wrong, Javik is incredibly interesting and I think he's a critical companion to take on a lot of missions because the Prothean perspective is so unique and necessary in some instances (seriously, how did Liara not realize her goddess looked suspiciously similar to Javik). As a person, though, my Paragon Shepard didn't really gel with him. Also, my Shepard is rather sentimental and values memories, so I may have accidentally doomed Javik to a tragic post-game death with that memory shard. Oops.

Kasumi. Speaking of dooming people with memories! I told Kasumi to keep her lover's memories last game, which felt meaningful to my Shepard at the time since it happened before Horizon and I was still playing a lovesick Shepard who missed Kaidan and could empathize with her situation. That was, uh, maybe not the right call to make, and I'm a little sad that I basically condemned Kasumi to waste away her life reliving the past.

Miranda. I don't really have a lot to say about Miranda. She lived in my game, and I thought it was a good end for her character to finally fight back against her father. But she is rather bland to me, and I almost wish they kept her the cold-hearted bitch she was introduced as, just more sympathetic. You know, kinda like...

Jack. I like Jack A LOT more in this game than in ME2. I think putting her in a teacher role was a perfect decision that displays her impressive growth as a person and her ability to overcome her traumatic past to give future generations of biotics a better life. However, she is still Jack, and her inherent abrasiveness meant I always felt like I was walking on eggshells picking dialogue options with her.

Jacob. Unlike almost everyone else on this list, I downgraded Jacob. I didn't mind him so much when I was playing, really - I liked that he was having a baby and that meant he would get the chance to be a better father than his own was, and I liked the little get-together I had with him in the Citadel DLC. I thought he was still a little boring but nothing offended me. After learning he can cheat on femshep though? Yikes, dude.

Zaeed. I wouldn't say I hated him as I did in ME2. He was just... there.

Miscellaneous. I liked Samantha Traynor MUCH more than I liked Kelly Chambers, so I was glad to see her fill the role. She was resourceful and a bit awkward but not annoyingly so. Let's just say, if I was actually in the ME universe, I'd probably be Traynor. Steve Cortez was also a great addition. I grew to care about him a lot, and I'm glad Bioware gave us a face for the person driving our shuttle around lol. Diane Allures is, uh... there. Dr. Chakwas and Joker are great as always. That goes without saying.

THE ENDINGS

I want to preface this by saying I thought the ending before the ending, aka the Illusive Man standoff, was well done. I was a renegade every time I talked to him, meaning for my last action I was able to shoot him point blank and he was able to give an ending speech about how he wished Shepard saw the Earth as he did. I thought this was an interesting angle for my Shepard to take since she was so Paragon in ME1 that she was able to talk Saren down. Having the ability to do the same with the Illusive Man and not taking it gave me the chance to show some growth in my Shepard, finally willing to put her foot down and abandon the moral high ground when dealing with the person who both resurrected and ruined her life.

Now to the final endings. I will not be discussing the Control ending, as I immediately dismissed it as a possibility. It was what the Illusive Man wanted, and if my Shepard was anything, she was staunchly contrarian to Illusive Man's ideology. That's to say nothing of what I think of it, which is - eh. I think it's a good ending for a renegade Shepard, and possibly a paragon Shepard that wasn't as anti-Illusive Man as mine was. Still, the other two endings are what I want to talk about.

I will also not be calling the reaper AI the Star Child because I think it's misleading. To me, the child-like appearance seemed like a ploy to appeal to Shepard, and I didn't want to forget that this is essentially the same AI that appeared on the Arrival DLC asteroid I hurtled into a mass relay just to tell me he was going to destroy me. With that in mind, when he gave me my options and explained what synthesis would mean, I took a long, long time deliberating on what to do. The game presents this option as the unquestioningly best one to take. After all, it's the hardest ending to obtain, it's the option the reaper AI clearly favors, and it's the default platform you're standing on when it comes time to choose.

But here's the problem: if I were Shepard, even a paragon Shepard, even a Shepard who loves EDI and respects the geth, as mine did, I would not choose Synthesis. Because I can't trust that what he says would happen. I asked him why it would work this time around when all their other attempts at synthesis were horrific failures, and all he said was "they were not ready. You are ready." Even for a seemingly all-knowing AI, that's not enough to convince me to fling my body into a particle beam and potentially give up on this one and only chance to stop the reapers for good. Of course, as a player, I can use context clues to know that it WOULD happen. I'm playing a video game after all, and this choice is presented honestly to the player. But I decided to think as Shepard at that moment, not as myself.

He's also... wrong. He says conflict with synthetic life is inevitable, but it isn't. My Shepard knows this. She obtained peace between the quarians and the geth, and she's watched as EDI grew into her own kind and compassionate human consciousness. So while it sucks that they will have to die in the destroy ending, I ultimately chose it because 1) my Shepard can actually see it happen and know that she sacrificed her life for something real, not just a promise of what could happen, 2) destroying the reapers was what the whole galaxy unified to do and they didn't agree to anything else, and 3) destroying the reapers gives organic life a second chance to live and learn from their mistakes and to do better by synthetic life in the future. Maybe, in the wake of Shepard's sacrifice, the galaxy would see that they can work together, and ensure any future synthetic life will never be abused as the geth were.

But there was another reason I didn't choose Synthesis: it didn't make sense. I'm not talking about its practical application, although the space magic it takes to imbue technology into the DNA of every living organism in the galaxy is a little hard to stomach even by Mass Effect standards. I'm talking about its thematic purpose. Throughout all of Mass Effect, the main message has been that working together and sympathizing with people fundamentally different from you is critical to making positive change in the universe, DESPITE the differences. Synthesis, as a solution, is suggesting that conflict is inevitable until you ERASE the differences. This isn't letting people take the time and effort necessary to truly learn about and understand others, this is a no-effort solution that negates that very core theme. It's like saying there would be no conflict in the world if everyone on Earth were of the same race and nationality, because, one, that isn't true, and two, that solution erases so many beautifully diverse cultures that would have existed otherwise. To me, the Destroy ending allows the galaxy to rebuild what was lost while preserving most of the diversity that is so important to keep, especially since the diversity that was lost, namely the geth, theoretically CAN be rebuilt.

There's also another thematic problem: the conflict between synthetics and organics was not the main conflict in Mass Effect. Sure, it took up a lot of screen time in ME1, but it always felt secondary to the conflict between all other organics. There were tensions between the alien council species and the humans, there was tension between the krogan and the turians and salarians, there was tension between humans and humans, there was tension everywhere you looked. Your role was to be a mediator, a shepherd. You guided the people toward a better understanding of themselves and others, and by doing that, you were able to achieve impossible things together. Synthetic life was only a piece of that puzzle. But by making the conflict ONLY about synthetics and organics, it undermines the things we learned about other organics. If this solution was only meant for the quarians and humans, maybe it would make sense - these species have already achieved AIs that they could come into conflict with. But WHY should I make this decision for the krogan, an alien species not even close to developing AI advanced enough to go to war with? Why is it fair to them that I'm rewriting their DNA to ensure they never see a war that they might have never seen anyway? Haven't they already seen enough outside meddling in their bodily autonomy?

So I chose Destroy. And since I had enough war assets, I was able to avoid mass devastation, and somehow Kaidan seems to think Shepard is still alive. Oh, look, I guess she is. Not sure how that's possible, but I'll take slim hope. Overall, I was satisfied with my ending, although I was sad that I had to deny life to the synthetics that wanted it.

Then I watched the Synthesis ending and saw that it was basically perfect. Besides Shepard dying, everything is just better. Everyone understands each other now, there's no more disease, no more death, EDI is alive, and apparently, everyone is just cool with their new DNA. It was a utopia. And I thought that kinda went against everything I saw in Mass Effect. Sure, there are good choices, and some are definitely better than others, but rarely should there be perfect or easy choices. I'm not saying Synthesis should be a bad ending, by all means, make it a good one. Make it the best one, even. But it shouldn't be perfect. Maybe some people are upset that they were genetically altered against their will (hell, my Shepard had an existential crisis about this after learning how she was resurrected by Cerberus, and it's not a fate she would have imposed on anyone anyway). Maybe the husks and other synthetics that were once organics live a hellish existence in between existences and can never reconcile with their living loved ones. I dunno, something. Like I said before: thematically, it doesn't follow what was learned in the narrative, and therefore should not be the perfect solution to problems that the solution had nothing to do with.

I want to stress that I'm not judging anyone who chose the Synthesis ending. I deliberated it a long time for a reason: it is a promising conclusion if you want to avoid Control and you want to save EDI and the geth. I totally understand that. I just think the way that choice is presented and executed by Bioware is clunky and counterproductive to the narrative. I've also seen people dismiss the Destroy ending as genocide, and I won't argue that. It IS genocide, if you consider synthetics a valid form of life in this game, as I did. But I chose it anyway because doing so would stop the reapers who were the Ultimate Genocide Machines, and if there was any situation where genocide could be justified to stop genocide, uh, I guess that would be it. Sure, Synthesis would finally give organics a chance to understand and cooperate with the reapers, but that is only on the basis that everyone fundamentally change themselves at the request of the reapers under threat of mutual annihilation. The reapers had made no effort to truly understand and sympathize with organics outside of their one-sided conversations with Shepard until this point, so I didn't really feel bad I was killing them all, to be honest with you.

Okay, so, those were my thoughts on Mass Effect. This took a whole day to write. As frustrated as some parts of the game made me, I loved the rest, and I'm very glad I played it. Giving it a score like the other parts feels wrong, since I know now it's all part of a whole, but if I had to give it one, I'd say 8.5/10. I'll be missing my crew for some time, I think. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read my thoughts on this franchise!

Now onto Andromeda...

#anna plays mass effect #whoo #longest thing i've ever written on this site I think #shiv shepard

18 notes · View notes

secret-diary-of-an-fa · 10 months

Text

A Long, Unnecessary Love Letter to Comic Books

I’ve gotten way the fuck into comics lately, ranging from weird titles from publishers I’m pretty sure are defunct (Solar, Man of the Atom follows the ongoing adventures of an energy being whose origin story includes accidentally destroying his own timeline) to unsettling little horror tales (Gaiman’s Likely Stories disturbed me to the point of feeling physically ill once or twice) to big, bombastic superhero fair (just give me anything with Batman). It’s particularly this last category that I want to focus on, because it was while reading the 2018-onwards run of Justice League that I realised why I’ve been getting so into comics at the moment. They’re currently filling the niche that film used to fill.

You see, folks, I have a little problem when I go and see most films nowadays. The problem is very simple. While I still enjoy movies, that enjoyment is somewhat marred by the fact that NINETY PERCENT OF THE TIME I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING TO HAPPEN! I’m a progressive chap- I’m a commie, a sometime-advocate for fat acceptance (obvs) and I’m viscerally disgusted every time I hear about some fresh injustice perpetrated against non-white ethnic groups by the racist-as-shit American legal system. I’d never call myself a feminist, but I accept that feminism has a point in terms of its broad complaints and aims (I part company from both rad and third wave on a fair number of specifics, but that’s probably just because of my nine foot musical penis). And yet, as most of you already know from my previous spates of bitching and moaning, media wokeness winds me up. It’s not just that it’s obviously insincere and designed to curry favour with an imaginary demographic of humourless wankers- it’s that it also hobbles any story’s ability to surprise or engage meaningfully with its own fictional universe. Give me a list of characters and tell me nothing about them besides skin colour, age and gender, and I’ll tell you who’s going to live, who’s going to die, who’ll be permitted a redemption arc, and who’ll turn out to be a ‘twist’ villain (and I use the term ‘twist’ with heavy-duty sarcasm marks). It’s cloying, constrictive and a death sentence for any kind of creativity. It’s gotten so bad that, whenever a movie does manage to pleasantly surprise me, I have to fight back tears of fucking gratitude. Progressive values are all well and good- I actively subscribe to them myself every time I go out and assassinate a member of the fucking Tory party- but modern movies and telly don’t operate from a place of deeply-held progressive values (or any values). The mainstream media’s ‘wokeness’ is just a tired list of boring tropes that cowardly, talentless screenwriters cling to lest creating something original engender cancellation.

And so, we come to comic books (and on comic books, if they have General Zod in them. Kneel before Zod? I certainly fucking will!). I was about type the words ‘even mainstream comic books are great’ but then I started laughing like the Joker watching a snuff movie, because that would have been an idiotic sentence. You see, while Superhero comics are ‘mainstream’ in the sense that they’re the thing people most associate with the medium, they still have a relatively tiny readership. In fact, I suspect that requiring their audience to know how to read is the main barrier to entry nowadays- it seems like something of a lost art.

The point is that I’ve been reading the ‘Justice/Doom War’ arc in Justice League and I’ve noticed something about it. It has a huge, diverse cast of characters from different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, different genders and different belief systems and walks of life… and not even one of them is an insufferable twat defined only by their relative privilege or oppression! To give you an example, Green Lantern John Stewart is a heroic space cop who happens to be black, but the plot never grinds to a halt so he can give us a lecture on race dynamics in modern America. He’s too busy using constructs of solid light to smash the ever-loving crap out of pan-dimensional cosmic monsters. When the plot does slow down to give him time to breathe, we learn more about his conflicted yet complementary history as both a soldier and an architect than we do about his skin colour. I mean, it’s not like it never comes up- the DC universe has some ties to reality and characters do occasionally find themselves on the receiving end of racism, but if it’s not relevant to what’s happening, the story doesn’t bend over backwards to include it. Conversely, Batman is a rich white dude, but the story never feels the need to ‘hold him accountable’. His main arc at the moment is about learning to be a good father figure to a sentient, telepathic starfish who wants to be the next Robin (yeah… the 2018 run is gloriously fucking weird). Hey! Here’s another example! On the surface, Hawkgirl is the epitome of the ‘strong female character’ beloved by modern media: a ferocious, take-no-shit warrior woman with countless lifetimes of carefully-honed experience. But she’s not some bloody sexless, characterless archetype designed as a flag for empowerment rather than a person: she’s a fully-developed character. She has complex internal motivations; she has romantic feelings for Martian Manhunter; she experiences grief and loss and is changed by them; she makes mistakes that she then has to triumph over. She doesn’t get to win just because she’s the first person on hand with a clitoris- she actually has to work and go through a character arc. Surprising and sometimes unpleasant things happen to her, making her a sympathetic and interesting character who I actually want to see triumph.

I could go on… and on… and on… and on… pretty much forever. I could probably write an entire essay just on how Lex Luthor uses his wealth for selfish ends even while purporting to represent a higher cause while Batman embodies an idealised version of how those with power and money should use it for the greater good. I could talk about how Superman is both effectively an immigrant and the most endearingly Rockwellian slice of walking Americana one can imagine. I could write fucking books on what the character of Perpetua says about the modern world’s complex relationship with faith and fanaticism and where the line is drawn.

But the real point is that I don’t know what’s going to happen next! Character who would never be allowed to triumph under their own power in movies succeed. Characters who would never be allowed to fail in movies get broken by horrible events and circumstances. Arcs are never what I expect them to be about, but always make sense when I look back and consider what I know about the character’s personality. It’s wonderfully refreshing in a way we just don’t get to see much nowadays… and I started to wonder why comics are so much better than everything else going on at the moment.

I was recently reading an Editorial in Metal Hurlant (basically the French 2000AD- a comic anthology of sci-fi and horror tales published on a monthly basis). The top brass were bemoaning the niche-ness of the comic book medium, asserting that comics should be promoted in bookstores and literary circles; that there should be a widespread push for them to reach a readership and audience that traditionally don’t engage with pulp culture (my term, not theirs). And what I realised is that this would be a terrible, terrible idea- because the main reason comics are so good is because they’re niche; their small; their disposable. Consider, if you will, the mainstream film industry. A big part of the reason that it mainly produces hot garbage is that it’s too big to take risks. Hollywood (for want of a better catch-all term) has spent its entire life-cycle pursuing larger and larger audiences so it can fund more and more epic blockbusters with bigger names and bigger, bolder FX. It’s a cycle of abuse in which each new generation of films has to outperform the generation before it. Meanwhile, because the audiences have to be so vast, the people making the flicks don’t think of those audiences as individual people with specific interests and ideas and a desire to be challenged and entertained. They think of them, instead, as demographic swathes; undifferentiated and united by broad, base commonalities that each project has to play to. But people aren’t demographics and the movie industry is currently getting a royal drubbing for its decades of ever-increasing contempt-of-the-viwer. Disney in particular is haemorrhaging money because it thought it would be a good idea to make Star Wars and Indiana Jones films and telly shows for a generic set of imagined demographics instead of people who actually like those franchises and are interested in the themes and ideas that go with them. As much as watching Disney fail gives me the warm fuzzies, I have to ask: who in their right mind would wish this fate on comics?

You see, folks, comics do sell plenty of copies- more than enough to justify the fairly modest expense of printing the darned things) but the overall audience for any one title is less than half the audience for any given major film release (I did some research and applied some maths that I won’t bore you with, but the absolute top selling comic books of recent years sold under a quarter million copies overall while an average film from any of the major studios sells around half a million cinema tickets in the US alone- and then there are the DVD and streaming sales on top of that. Notice how the latter number is more than double the former number. Regrettably, data on both films and comics is jealously guarded by vested interests, so I apologise for how ballpark those figures are, mind). Meanwhile the total audience of comics in general is much narrower in certain key respects. Perhaps the most obvious point is this: pretty much everyone who reads comic books is a comic book fan, whereas not everyone who goes to the cinema is a cinephile. But what does that actually mean? Well, for one, it means that comic book readers and writers are more of community- they tend to trust one another more; leaps can be taken that would be considered too chancy when dealing with ‘demographics’. At the same time, however, the writers’ connection to the fans means they have a better sense of when something is going to alienate large sections of their audience or piss people off (something film-makers have proved either bad at or wilfully blind to lately). The result is stories that know what bold ideas they can pursue while also knowing where to draw the line.

I think another reason comics are currently kicking the film industry’s pallid white buttocks in terms of creative merit is that they’re real cheap. Paper on ink is much easier to organise and send forth into the world than a vast audiovisual experience containing hundreds of actors, countless FX and goodness-knows-how-many extras, all put together by an enormous team of people who often never get to meet one another. If I wanted, I could probably write, draw and distribute a limited run of say, fifty comics, for the price of a Payday Loan. I wouldn’t, because it’s not where my talent lies, but the point I’m trying to make is this: companies and distributors are more willing to do interesting things when there’s only pocket change on the line compared to when there’s millions or billions of dollars. It’s why we get comics like Serial Artist (about a dude who claims his paintings are of his murder victims and becomes the centre of a vast government conspiracy) and W0rldtr33 (an ongoing slice of weirdness in which the internet comes to life and starts murdering people). It’s why something comparatively mainstream like Justice League can have an arc about Batman parenting a starfish and why the whole thing becomes Dark Nights: Metal and Death Metal for awhile (the Metal comics are end-of-the-world stuff inspired by- obvs- heavy metal albums… and they’re fucking great). It’s why stuff like Metal Hurlant and 2000AD is given a chance to find readers. So do comics need to be bigger and more widely accepted? Fuck no! The fringe is always where interesting stuff happens and aiming for mainstream acceptability is, it seems to me, a massive trap. The allure of more money and better social status is like one of the bug-zapper lights that draws in the moths and then fries their brains.

But what the fuck is the point of all this rambling? Comics are good- and thank goodness, since a lot of shit isn’t at the moment. There, I got it all down to once sentence, so what was the point of the rest? Well, I suppose there’s a lesson to be learned here. I’m a writer finally starting my career; finally putting work out into the public domain with a real publisher. No, I don’t do comics: I do sci-fi and fantasy books. But the lesson’s still applicable and it’s this: it’s a lot better to be good than popular and sometimes- just sometimes- you really do have to pick between the two.

#Secret Diary of a Fat Admirer #comic books #comics #graphic novels #Justice League #Metal Hurlant #Dark Nights: Metal

6 notes · View notes