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writer-and-artist27 · 4 years

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An Unbent Person

Note: Even though I haven’t finished the movie Remaining Sense of Pain from Kara no Kyoukai as a result of my being triggered by the intro, Asagami Fujino has been lingering in my head lately. And since it’s your birthday, @withanina / Aqui, I wanted to revisit her in a way that both honors you as one of my best friends and that helps me process the complex character that Fujinon is.

I just hope I did Fujinon justice with this oneshot. I’m still trying to figure her out, even when she’s one of my best Archers in my Chaldea and I’ve been in a writing slump to the point of defaulting to S&S verse to try to get back something. But we’re still here and I’m rambling, so enough of that. I’ll just insert this song as a theme since Yuki Kaijura also composed Credens Justitiam for Madoka Magica after working with Type: MOON, and let’s go. The lyrics used for the song are taken from lyricstranslate.com. This story canonically takes place, I think, after the aforementioned Remaining Sense of Pain (possibly around Extra Chorus) and S&S 24, before Kannabi.

Happy Birthday, Aqui. Thank you for sticking with all my stories. I hope we’ll keep being friends for years to come.

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Growing up in Nagareboshi Café meant getting used to what other civilians would call “abnormal behaviors.” Or, maybe the better phrase was simply “not minding things out of the ordinary.” Whether it was the shinobi coming into the café with nothing but a few flicked fingers in my direction to ask for an order or the occasional call for a song by a tired voice from the bar area, I learned very quickly to take things as they were. After all, it was still the Narutoverse — a place where child soldiers were considered “common” of all things. Papa had lived in that very same scenario for years, and now my best friends were growing up in it.

It felt like death was inevitable, no matter where you were in this world, because it was made a “norm.” Ugh.

Thus, the least I could do was not judge and instead be as welcoming as possible. It was all I could do just to provide some levity in a world that couldn’t offer any.

It was with this mindset that I met her.

She could’ve blended into the crowd with her unassuming black and red spider lily-patterned kimono and long purple hair, but once she was gently walking past Mama’s figure in the front of the café and carefully making her way to a table in the corner of the building with her cane, I did my best to not stare. It wasn’t every day that someone came in with a cane in hand, and once she started gently tapping the cane against every object she came across while walking, it automatically clued me in that it was not my business to ask.

Someone with an apparent disability didn’t need extra attention drawn to them unless they needed it for a helping hand. Internally, I was very grateful, though, to see how some clientele and our own café servers stepped out of the way to let the lady slowly maneuver through the crowd with her cane, a few people even quietly moving their chairs out of the way to give her a clear path. It was such a stark contrast to how Vy’s old family at times gave one of my aunts far too much space, simply because of how emotionally stubborn and physically weak she was for reasons I never did understand even after being reborn. Family issues were family issues.

But for a second, my thoughts wandered to how things would have happened for the lady to come in the way she did. Anyone, of course, could use a cane. Everyone had their own reasons. But the cloudiness in her eyes — it said something about her cane usage. Aside from looking straight up at the sun for that direct UV light exposure, possibly impaired vision wasn’t something that just happened unless we were getting into the possibility of genetics, lifestyle choices, and/or eye strain and how eyes related to anime powers. The Sharingan was a notable example of the latter, where Canon Sauce went blind thanks to overusing his Mangekyo after fighting Danzo, and I did not want to think about Obi possibly dealing with the same consequences once his Sharingan activated.

Wait. No no no. I shook my head vigorously, clamping down on the urge to slap my cheeks as punishment. It wasn’t my place to speculate what happened to Nagareboshi Café’s newest customer, even if she was pretty and the empathy in me was screaming to help her. The right thing to do is give distance and let her come to me if she wants to, I mentally knocked my head against a library wall, much to Hisako’s raised eyebrow. Remember that, me.

How about a song to break the ice, then? Hisako suggested, eerily quiet with her arms crossed over her chest. Tomoe Mami’s theme? To stop the library knocking.

Oops. I glanced at the black and white keys underneath my fingertips and nodded to myself. You know, why not?

My Nobody beamed with pride. Much better!

I couldn’t help but agree. There was something about seeing that lady with her walking cane and cloudy red eyes sitting by herself at a table that reminded me of a yellow magical girl. A single yellow-themed, gun-wielding magical girl who went about fighting alone just to ensure some kind of future for herself. It was honestly sad to think about because her wish was “to live” and that was where it had landed her.

But the concept of “loneliness” was not one I could entertain forever. I knew I didn’t want to when I couldn’t unsee the white myself.

Thus, humming the first few lyrics to myself was a good distraction while it lasted. Plus it was a good starter for tapping my foot to get the rhythm before letting my hands play out the rest. The piano crooned softly with my thoughts, echoing the chords I wanted, and for once, I didn’t mind feeling my chakra start to float from the interaction. It felt like I didn’t have to hold my chakra back. This time, I let the music take me away in the hopes of letting my chakra play out as it should’ve been. Free, empathetic, and open.

The Sage of Six Paths might’ve been happy with the performance. I wanted to think that, at least, when playing the piano at that moment.

Solti ola i Amaliche cantia masa Estia…

E sonti tolda i Emalita cantia mia Distia…

A litia dista Somelite esta dia A ditto i della Filioche mio Solti tola Solti ola i Amaliche cantia masa estia E sonti tolda i Emalita cantia mia distia…

Alita della Maliche sonta dia Mia sonta della I testa mia Testi ola Solti ola…

Solti ola i Amaliche cantia mia Dia, dia...

By the time the last few keys faded into the air, I knew without opening my eyes that someone was sitting next to me on the piano bench. Miyako-bachan’s teachings were close to becoming second-hand nature to a point, but it didn’t stop me from squeaking a little when glancing over to find the very same lady I was thinking of at my right side.

Maybe I was too invested in remembering the first Heroine of Justice…

Even up close, it was obvious my newest visitor had gone through a lot at her age, with the little creases on her cheeks and the occasional white line of scarring crossing along what skin her kimono showed past the collar. Once she wrapped her red shawl tighter around her shoulders, hiding the scars with one hand while clutching the handle of her cane with the other, she slowly blinked in the vague direction of the piano. It took a moment before she went about turning her head towards me. Her gaze was unfocused, but still pointed my way. “Hello,” she said very quietly, her long purple hair brushing her shoulders with the greeting. “Are you the one who played the song just now?”

“Y-Yes,” I replied gently, nodding my head. “I am Hoshino Tomoko, your pianist for the day. Welcome to Nagareboshi Café, um…”

“Asagami,” the lady said, bowing her head in return. Her red eyes blinked again, as if focusing past the clouds in the irises, before she added, “Asagami Fujino,” with a small smile. “It was a beautiful song, Hoshino-san.”

“Thank you, Asagami-san,” I said respectfully in return. “Is there another song you would like me to play for you while you’re here?”

To my surprise, Asagami-san shook her head, her long purple hair swishing against her clothes enough to reflect the café lighting. It took an extra moment for me to realize she was wearing a black ribbon in her hair. “Not a song,” she said, voice all the more quiet in spite of her closeness. “I wanted to ask you something.” She blinked for a moment, her eyes narrowing in my direction in that small interval of time before widening minutely. “What were you thinking of when playing it? It was…” Asagami-san trailed off, turning her head back to looking at her lap as she gripped her cane. “It felt different. I never heard such a song like yours before.”

Oh. Uh. Just in case, I turned to the other person in the room. Hisako?

It didn’t even take a second for my Nobody to answer. Reliable as always. Yes, dear?

Chakra or no chakra explanation?

Hm. Hisako thoughtfully pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Keep it simple. No chakra. Best to not add any confusing elements.

Alrighty. Simple and no chakra it is.

To Asagami-san, I admitted honestly, “I was actually thinking of you.”

Asagami-san raised her head in my direction so quickly, I would’ve thought she’d have given herself whiplash with how her neck turned. Her red eyes were still cloudy-looking, but they seemed to be shining with a newfound light of some sorts now. It felt like she was shocked. “Eh?” With that said, Asagami-san then lowered her head, no longer gazing in my direction but still exuding that same aura of surprise. “…Me?”

“Yes,” I continued, in spite of the growing blush no thanks to anxiety and embarrassment. “I-It looked like today is your first day here, so I just wanted to play something that made you feel welcomed—”

“No one has ever done that for me before,” Asagami-san interrupted, her voice one octave louder than before. Her knuckles were turning white against her already pale skin as she gripped her cane. “Not after…” She inhaled one long deep breath. “It was not painful.”

I took a deep breath too. “I didn’t mean for it to be,” I said softly.

Asagami-san gave me a small smile past the shoulder of her red shawl. “You seem to be a kind person, Hoshino-san.”

“I try to be, every day,” I said, doing my best to keep my voice from wobbling. This conversation was definitely starting to hit something heavy, and for once, it felt like I was doing something right and stepping into territory I couldn’t exactly parse out on my own. After all, it wasn’t every day a grown woman was relying on a teenager of all people. But the situation was happening, and there was no stopping it. “It’s what I was taught to do, and I want to keep doing it.” For the people I care for, for the people I lost, for myself, was left unsaid. “Everyone deserves a chance to feel safe and be themselves. I just help make the space for that, without pain and with as much kindness I can muster.”

Asagami-san said nothing for a while after that, merely tapping her cane against the pedals of the piano for a small moment. I did my best not to wince when one such tap happened on my foot, but by then, it seemed like Asagami-san was in her own thoughts. My bit of pain didn’t matter. Right now, something was up.

Did I say something wrong?

“…You can see,” Asagami-san said finally, her voice a bare wisp in the air, “life even without pain?”

As expected from a moment of silence — it sounded and felt like a loaded question. Still, I lifted my hands from the piano keys to place them into my lap, taking a breath to formulate my answer. There was no way I could leave this standing. “Maybe. Maybe not. I just know that life is full of many things, Asagami-san. Pain can be a part of it, but that’s not all there is to it. There’s the trees outside, the bright blue sky, the warm air, the food in the café, and the people that live here.” With the warmest smile I could make, I turned to her, even if a part of me could guess she wouldn’t fully see it. “It’s because of what happens in this life that I got to meet you, right?”

Asagami-san looked up in my direction again. Her red eyes were wider than before, letting in enough light to expose my reflection in the cloudy irises before the first visages of tears dotted the edges. “You…” her bottom lip quivered. “How can you say that, Hoshino-san? I-I…” Asagami-san shook her head vigorously, enough to jostle the black ribbon in her hair, making it crooked. “I’m not—”

Maybe I shouldn’t have shared. Maybe I was going too far, considering we were in the middle of the café and the privacy seals weren’t turned on and I needed to turn them on. But the words were leaving my lips before I could stop them, interrupting whatever thought Asagami-san was about to voice. “You’re fine, Asagami-san. I just wanted to play the song for you because I’ve been hurt before, and I don’t want anyone else to feel the same way when there’s so much more in the world to discover and enjoy.”

Asagami-san’s shoulders shook against her shawl, causing the red cloth to fall back and expose the barely hidden scars against the black collar of her kimono. “…I thought I couldn’t feel anything outside of pain. Not after Keita-san a-and Shiki-san.” Keita-san? Shiki-san? “But you—”

“I’m sorry if I overwhelmed you,” I said honestly, raising my hand for a moment before lowering it. Even if I was tempted to pat her back as a form of sympathy, from the way Asagami-san was hunching into herself, it wasn’t the best time to intrude on her personal space bubble. I made this bed, and I was going to lie in it even if I wasn’t sure of what was going on. “I put a lot in what I do. But I meant everything I said. And what I felt when I played the piano.”

It was at that very moment I saw a small droplet hit the edge of Asagami-san’s kimono sleeve. Oh. Oh dear. “Wh-why…” there was a dainty sniffle, “why didn’t I meet you sooner? If I knew you before, then—”

Screw it.

I reached over to gently rest my palm against the hand Asagami-san was using to grip her cane. “But you’re here, Asagami-san,” I said, feeling my smile wobble all the more at seeing more droplets fall onto Asagami-san’s kimono, creating dark wet circles in the black cloth. “You’re still here now. And I’m glad that you are.”

Asagami-san shuddered, her shawl barely covering her back with the gesture tilting her center of balance. “I-I feel like crying. It hurts. I-It all hurts. C-Can I… Can I cry?” For a grown woman, I was not expecting the childlike tone of wonder in her voice. “Hoshino-san, can I cry?”

My heart hurt. Something must’ve happened for her to react so much. Even then, I still curled my fingers so that they could brush against Asagami-san’s hand and hopefully relax her grip on her cane. Physical comfort was the least I could give after unearthing something so heavy. “Of course you can. That’s a part of what makes you human, Asagami-san. Crying is a part of what helps all of us be alive.”

The first sob I heard from her then sounded more like a relieved laugh than a cry for help. Even then, Asagami-san shrunk into her seat at the piano bench, purple hair shrouding her face all the while. I simply kept my palm against her knuckles, controlling my own breathing to not cry myself from the shared emotion.

“M-May I—” Asagami-san choked around another sob as her hand relaxed minutely under my grip, “May I come here again, Hoshino-san?”

“Yes,” I said faintly. “Of course. I wouldn’t say ‘no,’ Asagami-san. Feel free to visit Nagareboshi Café whenever you’d like. I’ll be here.”

It felt like a promise I couldn’t turn my back on. I wouldn’t.

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Long after Asagami-san left from the café closing for the day, I found myself letting go of the breath I was holding. Then a hand gently fell onto my hair.

“You okay, hime?” Papa whispered, patting my head for a moment before pulling me in for a side-hug. “Need anything?”

My lip quivered before I let go of my current inhibitions and wrapped my arms around his waist, converting the side-hug into a full-on hug. The fact that I was getting a faceful of his waist apron didn’t matter. Nor did the smell of what reminded me of day-old soda. No matter what, it was still Papa, and work was done. I could be selfish around him and it was okay. “M-More hugs, please, Papa.”

Papa laughed softly before resting a hand against my back and patting there too. “Alright. You did well, hime.”

“I-I followed your example, daddy,” I whispered back, finding my voice going back to Vy’s for just that moment. “Help others when you have the ability to.”

“And that, hime,” Papa replied wistfully and proudly, “is what makes your heart a good one. Just let me and Mama help you next time. You can’t do everything alone and we’re still here. We’ll play a full concert together when Asagami-san comes back.”

“Aye. Th-That’ll be nice.” If it meant one more wounded person could smile, that was enough for me. I didn’t have to shoulder everything. And one concert could possibly make one more day won from the dirty clutches of war. I’d just have to settle for that.

Maybe next time, Asagami-san could smile without tears in her eyes.

#birthday gift #writing #hoshino tomoko #asagami fujino #oneshot #happy birthday friend #happy birthday Aqui #withanina #friend things #long post #tw: trigger mention #implied blindness #kara no kyoukai #tw: long post #the sea and stars #hisako #yuki judai

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wandercr-arc · 5 years

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SKY’S BIAS LIST.

hiya! so, i don’t know how common these bias lists are anymore, but it’s been quite awhile since i’ve done one. (probably since 2016?? damn.) but i have a lot of amazing people that i follow, and i feel like you all deserve a little recognition. now, one thing that i enjoy doing with these bias lists is to not only point out the blogs i love, but to tell you all why i do. i feel like it makes these bad boys a little more personal, and can hopefully bring a little brightness to someone’s day. so, without further ado, here’s the list: (in no particular order; i’m just going through my following list) // under a cut for length. apologies in advance for typos.

@fromlandtosea / @longthoughtlost --- RIN. there’s so much i could write here. you’ve been my friend for so long, and have put up with all of my nonsense for so long. i adore laura and every other muse that you write. you bring such a different life and voice to each of your characters, and i admire your ability to come up with unique and intertwined backstories for them. i will always love all of the threads, verses, and headcanons we’ve come up with together. you have absolutely made my time in the fallout community worthwhile, and i feel so very fortunate to call you my friend. (and also that you only show slight disappointment in all the stupid stuff that i do and tell you about lol) ♥

@betterhealing / @sanguinariis / @psychotheory --- i love every character that you write. you’ve been willing to write with me on all of my blogs pretty much since the day i joined the fallout rpc, and your consistent support has meant the world to me. you clearly put a lot of time, thought, and effort into your characters, and it shows in their multitude of well-developed verses, relationships, and headcanons.

@iinxsearchofxisolde --- we haven’t had the chance to interact much, but you and tristan are always a joy to have on my dash. i think that your choice to write a brotherhood outcast is extremely unique and interesting. they’re a faction that was kind of lost in the fray, and i love seeing your headcanons about them and how tristan fits in. he’s also a very intriguing, multi-facted character with a distinct voice, and it’s been great to watch you develop him over the past few years.

@disciplc --- lainey !!! we haven’t been friends for very long, but i am so glad we are. i adore all of our discussions about nisha and el, and i appreciate how supportive and kind you always are towards me. i’ve followed your nisha for a long time . . . technically . . . and i’ve always loved how you write her! hell, i always appreciate people stealing side characters from bethesda and making them their own, and you’ve truly done that with her. she’s a perfect mix of danger and softness (emphasis on the danger ;-0).

@pinkmanipulated / @hydrophobiic --- victoria, oh my god, we have written together for what feels like ages, and your writing, art, and dedication to your muses never ceases to amaze me. i’ve already mentioned this, but seeing how you write jesse has made me actually want to watch breaking bad, which is something i thought i’d never say. (and i promise i’ll get to giving it a go eventually ;w;) i can tell how much you care about his character and how much effort you’ve put into your characterization, and i love every bit of it. it’s the same amount of pride and dedication you’ve put into all of your muses, canon or oc, and you know for a fact that i’ll follow and interact with you on whatever blog you choose to write on.

@fictitioussouls --- not gonna lie, i enjoy every character you write, original or canon. i’m so glad to see you back and active on the dash again, and that you still have the same love for all of your muses + a bunch of new ones. :’)) you create such unique and detailed backstories for your original characters (emily, diana, and sophia still have my whole heart tbh), and you keep them very consistent. i also enjoy reading the threads you have with rin, and hearing about the headcanons and worlds you guys have built together! overall, i’m very happy to see you on my dash again.

@america-redefined --- eliana might hate having enclave blogs on the dash, but i sure don’t! :’) we haven’t interacted (yet), but i’d definitely love to. i think you do an excellent job writing nathan, and capturing the attitude and aura of the enclave with the way you’ve created him. it’s clear that he has a lot going on beneath the surface, and that you’ve put thought into what kind of character you want him to be. i really like the way you’ve brought him into the fallout 4 timeline, too, and how his life changes once he’s no longer with the enclave. (i was scrolling through your blog the other day, and saw the post about all of his goals in the enclave, and then how those all disappear within the institute and might have chuckled a bit at the “mighty have fallen” trope vibes that gave me)

@adxmortem --- the amount of development you’ve done for harlan is just wild to me, i’ve got to be honest. you’ve taken him in his very own, unique direction, and i really admire that! (and it also reminds me that we really need a new orleans based fallout, stat.) he has a very strong voice, and you have an incredible grasp on his character. i’ve enjoyed the threads we’ve done together, and i hope we get to write more in the future! i also very much appreciate you for the immense kindness you’ve shown me in the past when it comes to my personal life. that will always mean the world to me. ♥

@gwinnetts --- oh gosh, you are such a fun and prominent addition to my dash! the funny content and interactions you bring to the dash aside, i’m in awe of the amazingly detailed write-ups you post about your muses as well as the fallout lore. like a lot of the people on this list, you are someone who puts in a lot of thought to your muses, and really brings them to life in a distinct manner. i’ve also greatly enjoyed the ooc chats we’ve had!!

@shellheadtm --- we haven’t had many chances to interact, but i think your portrayal of tony is top notch. you capture his voice perfectly, and like gwinnetts above, always bring funny conversations / interactions to the dash, and i think that just makes it a brighter place for everyone! you’re an insanely talented writer, and your expansion of tony’s characterization and verses is fantastic.

@primeacumen --- viv is one of those really amazing, multi-faceted ocs that i would highly recommend anybody follows. we haven’t interacted a ton (mostly because i’m slower than molasses), but, from what i’ve seen of her, she’s wonderful. fandomless ocs often don’t get the love they deserve, so i want you to know that i see you and viv, and i am here supporting you 100%. people take for granted the amount of work that goes into building an oc for multiple verses, and it’s obvious you’ve done that work for her.

@not-completely-human --- i honestly knew nothing about alita when i first followed your blog; i just knew that you were a friendly and lovely person who i was willing to write with, and so here i am! i enjoy all of our threads together (and i will def enjoy the ones that my slow self needs to write starters for lol). i enjoy how you write alita, and the enthusiasm that you have for her. your writing has a nice flow, is easy to read, and i love all the little details and background you fit into it. and, you, of course, are such a nice person to talk to, and i’m very glad we follow each other!

@remnantrecruit --- another enclave oc for eliana to despise and me to love! we haven’t written together in awhile (which we should totally try and change soon :’0), but i enjoy seeing abner on my dashboard as much as i did when we first followed each other! enclave ocs are so rare as it is, but abner really stands out as a character even without that. his background is so sad but good. i also just appreciate your interaction with my posts, irl and character related. (your comment on my post when i was anxious about doing something dumb when i was driving still means a lot to me. it’s always nice to be reminded that we’re all human and capable of doing stupid things with two ton moving contraptions.)

@persistentflower --- what is there to say except i love violet ,,,, neutral karma lone wanderers are pretty rare in my experience, and i think you do a good job of capturing what it means for violet to be that. she and eliana contrast well, and i love their relationship, and how they support each other, no matter what verse we write in. (and the fact that we’ve essentially created a mini self-contained verse for our muses). i enjoy our chats ooc, too, and i look forward to us writing and interacting more !!

@miss-moreno --- we haven’t gotten to flesh out kay and eliana’s friendship, yet, but i see so much potential for them in what we’ve got going so far. kay has the sort of spirit that eliana loves, and i’m so excited to see where our threads take the two of them! in general, i like how you write kay, and how her life pre-war seems to haunt her quite a bit, and also how she knows she’s playing double agent for the railroad pretty early on.

@ninesis --- i’ve seen quite a few portrayals of rk900, but yours is definitely one of my favorites! i like that your nines is very job-oriented, but still soft and sociable and overall just a Good Boy. he comes across as very likeable, and you write him as a consistent and well thought out portrayal!

@intelligentmiinds --- i love all of your blogs, but since this is your main atm, this is where you’re getting love. :’)) bailey, i enjoy each of your characterizations. you bring a unique and accurate voice to each one. based on what i’ve seen from your ooc posts lately, i know you’ve been going through some rough times, and i hope you know that you are so important ! and loved ! and even if people are shitty and don’t understand you, you always have people who care about you, too. (and i hope you can get your ferret soon! small animals are the best. i have two bunnies and can vouch for them. :’)) )

@contrariian --- i have been lucky enough to interact with two of your muses so far, but you should know that i adore what i’ve seen of all your muses. you write such a wide array of characters, and each of them has a personality that comes across in how you write them. your writing style is so gorgeous and nice to read, too. 10/10 would interact whenever

@vocaliist --- i followed you on your previous blog for magnolia and the one you had for des, and what continues to knock me off my feet about all of your blogs is your style. i always admire people who can write in a way that is somewhat poetic and very pretty without making it impossible to understand, and you do just that. plus, who doesn’t love magnolia?? i look forward to writing with you some more!

@synthesan --- i’ve already jumped into your ims to yell about how cute ode is, but here i am again, anyway. we haven’t followed each other for long, but gosh i love what i’ve read from you and ode so far. i’m a sucker for synth ocs, and she’s such a fun one with an amazing backstory. you are also so great to talk to ooc, and i hope we can yell about our muses and videogames more in the future :’))

@synthmama --- okay, i can’t lie, your blog is one of those that i admired from afar for a long time because i was a bit intimidated by it. not in a bad way, but in a ‘holy cow this person is an amazing writer and creator’ kinda way. you and quinn have been around for a long time, and you’ve grown her character a lot in that span. it’s so cool to see how you fit her into other universes, and how she interacts with the fallout world. institute sole survivors are also very seldom seen around here, and so i appreciate that quinn took that route, and that you had her do it in a way that doesn’t entirely conflict with her morals.

@neomacaught --- you are absolutely one of the sweetest muns i’ve ever interacted with, tbh. your enthusiasm for threads and the wellbeing of your fellow roleplayers is such a lovely thing to see on my dash!! and neoma is such a cute character. i think she and el’s interactions have just been incredible. i like that she’s a bit awkward, yet very straight-forward, and that she upholds high morals. she fits in with el pretty damn well, and i think they’ll be very good friends!! plus, i can tell that you’ve put a lot of work into neoma purely by taking a peek at your blog; you have so many verses and ideas for her. she definitely deserves a lot of love

@voiceofmany --- we haven’t followed each other for very long (or interacted, which is my bad for being slow to talk to people about threads lol), but i wanted to mention you on here, regardless. i honestly am not familiar with a whole lot of your muses, but the way you right them, and your writing style, tends to draw my eye so much that i often find myself reading through your threads as i scroll the dash. the way you change dialogue to fit your characters is pretty damn great, and it’s always obvious you’re writing for/in a different voice for each of them

@theirsalvation --- we also haven’t followed each other for very long, but i enjoy the content that i see from your blog!! you have a wide range of muses that all come across as very different and distinct in the way that they’re written. when i read your reply from josh this morning, i was awed by how well you captured his voice and mannerisms, tbh. so, yeah, i hope we can interact a bit more sometime soon!! B)

#╰ ✿ ╮ ━ sky speaks. ( ooc )#( this took so long but was so worth it )#( i love you guys !! )#( thank you for following me and my dumb baby eliana )

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movieexpert1978 · 5 years

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Upgrade Pt. 6

Pt 6: Elisa comes homes

Alita Battle Angel and it’s characters are not mine.

Ido is the first to wake up the next morning. Elisa looked so calm and peaceful, with no evidence of the fact that she was nearly bleeding to death the night before. She really was incredible. He caresses her face and tucks a few random strands of hair behind her ears. He stays in bed for a little while longer, just not wanting to do anything but hold her all day. He really does care for her. Unfortunately, she does shift a bit and wake up. Her eyes flutter open and she stares at the ceiling for a moment. She’s processing where she is again. She turns and sees Ido and she smiles at him.

“Hi.”

“Good morning.” He nods, leaning in close to her again. “How are you feeling?” He asks.

“I’m alright.” She nods. He starts to rub her shoulder gently as he presses his forehead against her own.

“I’m so sorry Elisa. Please forgive me.” He whispers in shame. When she doesn’t answer he continues. “I was so wrong to kick you out like that…to call you a monster…all of it. You didn’t deserve any of it. As much as Alita and I want you to stay, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I’m not going to force you into anything.” He says as sincerely as he can.

“But I thought you wanted me here?” She says confused as she sits up.

“We do…I do, but you’re your own person and you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.” He explains.

“But I…I want to stay here…is that ok?”

“Of course it is. You are always welcome here.” He smiles.

“Thank you…for your apology. No one has done that for me in a long time.” She says as her fingers graze over his hand. He takes her hand and kisses her palm. The tender gesture makes her blush a bit. “Did you get the money I left here?” She asks after a moment.

“So that really was you.”

“I didn’t really know what to do with all that money. I knew you could use it more than I could have.” She shrugs.

“Yes, I did get the money and thank you for your help. Thanks to you the clinic is in good shape for a bit.” He says proudly. “Come on.” He says taking her hand. They go downstairs and he starts to make breakfast.

“Elisa!” Alita shouts with joy when she sees her friend and bolts over to her. She nearly tackles Elisa to the floor with the big hug she gives her.

“Ooofff…thanks…hi Alita.” Elisa grunts out.

“I’m so glad you’re back.” She says smiling from ear to ear. “So she’s back now?” Alita says to Ido.

“Yes she is.” He answers. “You need to take her out shopping. She needs some new clothes, not to mention her other things are at the church and so is my hammer.” He adds.

“Oh great lets…”

“But after breakfast.” He interrupts.

“Ok.” She sighs. Ido chuckles every now and then as Alita is practically hugging Elisa the whole time they are eating. She compliments her a lot on her hair as well, trying to help her be more confident in her appearance. The dishes are barely put into the sink when Alita takes her hand and nearly bolts out the door, but Ido catches them and gives them his case before they leave and he’s left to work on the patients for the day as Nurse Gerhad comes in.

Xxxxxxxxx

Chiren looks over Elisa’s files in the empty lab. She’s looked over the notes several times, but there are a few videos she hasn’t watched yet. Some are clips of her training and others are of her physical, but one stands out to her. It’s the final video of Elisa. At this stage, according to the notes and Nova, a few pieces of Elisa’s DNA had been altered to give her more of a beast like quality, as Chiren put it. This new serum was going to mutate more than a few pieces but basically half of her DNA strand would be altered. She watched the screen as they injected her and she barely flinches as the scientists pull away and watch her on the table.

There is no sound, thankfully, but Chiren doesn’t need to be a genius to know that the serum makes Elisa scream in pain. She withers and screams on the table, curling up into a ball as the others watch. The moment is over quickly when she kneels on the table. Her eyes are completely black and her teeth are a mouth full of fangs as she roars at them. They panic and run for the exit but it is too late as she leaps in front of the scientist who injected her. She literally rips his throat out as her hands are shaking…no…shifting. Her fingers are growing longer and sharper…and was that metal? Elisa lets out another scream of pain, bending over and vomiting something before she goes after the other men. She doesn’t want to watch, but she needs to study Elisa, who rips the men to shreds, eating their flesh and drinking their blood, before she vomits it all back up and collapses in a corner of the room. In the notes, after the video was taken, it shows that, yes her DNA did change, but not as much as they thought it would and it just made her completely unstable. Her DNA was unstable permanently. Chiren understood now. She was damaged goods and she had to go.

Just like….no! She wasn’t going to think about that.

“Been looking over those files again?” Vector asks as he comes up to her. Just as she looks up at him, he stills and his eyes change color.

“You’re planning something?” Nova says to her curiously.

“I saw from the videos that her DNA is now permanently unstable. What if I could fix that?” She says.

“My scientists already tried what they could to fix it, but they couldn’t get it re-stabilized.” He says.

“I could try and go at it.” She suggests.

“Give it to Chase.”

“You can’t be serious!?” She gasps.

“If you want to get back to Zalem you can’t be getting hurt down here can you?” He says darkly making her tense up. “Besides, he’s been on the out for a while a now. If he does something to make her go wild again, she’ll kill him and that’s that.” He shrugs. “You can help him, guide him along, but I wouldn’t recommend being there when he starts poking around in her. It will get messy…and I like seeing you work down here. You come up with so many fascinating players.” He smirks. She doesn’t know if she should be flattered or insulted, but she keeps the thought to herself. “I have a few more files I will send to you. Give copies to Chase and when it’s done make sure his copies are destroyed.” He orders. She nods and Vector falls over, holding his head.

“Now what?” He mumbles.

“I need you to get Chase here.”

“But he’s a washout?!” Vector says confused.

“I have an assignment I need to give him.” She says.

“Whatever. I don’t see what the point of this girl is. She’s not in the games and she’s not making me money.” He grumbles as he walks away. He’s not a scientist, but Chiren understands what Elisa could be in terms of epic breakthrough in the study of DNA, but she also knows that if she does this, then it’s one less favor she has to do once she’s on Zalem.

Chase arrived a few hours later.

“You wanted to see me Dr. Chiren?” He asks in an almost annoyed tone. She frowned as she looked up at him. He was wearing a ragged green jacket with black pants and boots on with safety glasses that adjusted to the light. He was an older man, tall, with messy brown hair.

“I have a project for you.” She says giving him a flashdrive.

“For me?” He says much more surprised this time.

“A woman was exiled from Zalem. She’s here in Iron City. Apparently, Nova wants you to take a look at her.” She says.

“Why me?”

“I’m busy with the motorball games and besides it might get you back into a proper lab again.” She says to entice him.

“I’ll look over the files and contact you.” He says before he leaves.

Xxxxxxxxx

Chase looks over the files during the next few hours. Apparently the girl’s DNA was permanently unstable. This could be his chance, his big breakthrough to make the perfect weapon for Nova. Rumor was he was experimenting with nanotechnology now. Chase wished he could get his hands on it. He had his own experiments in his own run down shack of a lab, trying to work with a machine in creative ways. It had been a while since he got his hands on anything organic. Once he was done taking notes he contacted Chiren.

“I take it you know where she is?” He asks.

“She’s with Ido.” She answered.

“Figures, he always looks out for the runts.” Chase smirks.

“She’s a registered hunter warrior. You could try and lure her away from them with a mark or something.” She shrugs.

“What does Nova want with her exactly?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe if you tried to stabilize her DNA that might help for starters.”

“Why would I want to do that? It’s because her DNA is unstable that she’s able to have these abilities.” He argues.

“I don’t know, just figure something out. I’m sure Nova will contact you somehow.” She mutters and hangs up. Chase frowns at her tone. He had an idea all right. Apparently, a little less than half of her DNA had been altered. If he could alter all of it then who knows what could happen?! He could put in different codes of DNA so that she could absorb it and use the right properties to adapt and become stronger. She could turn into metal or anything she wanted to. The possibilities were endless.

“Already getting ahead of yourself I see.” A voice said through the computer. Chase jumped as the screen flickered and a familiar face appeared…or rather eyes as the figure was mostly covered in darkness.

“Nova…” Chase gasped.

“Hello Chase. Dr. Chiren has given you the details on project ten E.” He says and Chase only nods. “Good, you see Elisa is a personal favorite of mine and I need you to take good care of my pet.” He smirks.

“You want me to stabilize her?” Chase asked confused.

“Oh no, stabilization is pointless. I want you to improve her, make her stronger.” Nova grins. “I’ll be sending you some things that will arrive in a day or two. I’m sure you will greatly enjoy them.” He says with a small chuckle.

“Why did you drop her to Iron city when you could do it yourself?”

“I have my reasons Chase and it’s costly to know them, so watch your tongue.” Nova growls making Chase squirm a bit. “When you have the materials I will contact you again.” He finishes before the screen cuts out. He waits for a few moments worried his screen might explode or something, but thankfully nothing happens. He looks around the lab and decides to get it in order, since he’ll be having a ‘guest’ here soon enough.

Xxxxxxxxx

She wakes up in a familiar dark room. Equipment beeping away as it works endlessly. She feels puzzled though…as if she really shouldn’t be here. She slowly gets up and looks around. Something is off…something is wrong. She walks over to a door and is surprised that it opens for her. She walks down a white hallway before she goes into another room and screams. There are body parts everywhere. Some are moving as if they’re alive. Others are covered in blood. Some experiments somewhat resemble humans but others look more machine than man. They moan and reach out to her as if she is their savior.

“Elisa!”

She yelps and turns around.

“Nova…Nova!” She gasps in fear, confusion, and relief.

“You stupid girl. You’re not supposed to be in here.” He snaps as he grabs and takes her out.

“I’m sorry Nova…I ..I…I didn’t mean to.” She pleads as he keeps a firm grip on her wrist. He takes her into another room she recognizes as his main office. Once inside he turns around and slaps her making her yelp.

“You know better than to go looking around.” He snaps. His expression is more frightening thanks to those special goggles he always wears. For a long time she thought they were part of him, until one day he approached her with them off. She didn’t recognized him and it made him laugh.

“Nova I’m sorry. Please…I’ll make it up to you.” She begs. He chuckles darkly as he takes her to a lab table and shoves her on it.

“I know you will.” He rasps, leaning in way too close. He’s scaring her. She knows when he’s angry and right now he’s not. He’s doing something else. “You want to be good for me don’t you?” He says as his hands start to trace over her body.

“Y-yes Nova.” She says.

“Good girl.” He says so darkly that it nearly makes her whimper. His hand traces over her face, running through her hair. “Hmmm…you’ve grown so much.” He says as he looks over her. She doesn’t notice his other hand take something out. “I should never have let you go.” He whispers.

“What did I do? I’ll do better. I promise Nova.” She pleads.

“That’s my girl, my favorite ten E.” He says almost proudly. She looks up at him with hopeful eyes when the door opens. They both look and it’s Ido…but he’s in his hunter warrior gear and is holding his hammer.

“Get away from her!” He shouts.

“Doctor?” Elisa whispers confused. Nova suddenly slams a scalpel into her heart and she screams in pain.

“Did you really think I would bring you back?” He snarls at her. His goggles glow a deep red that makes her shake. She cries out as he twists the blade and she coughs up blood. “You’re nothing to me! You’re nothing but a failure!” He shouts in her face.

“Elisa!”

She screams as someone calls out her name and she wakes up.

“Elisa, it’s alright. It was just a nightmare.” Ido says. She manages to focus and sees that it is indeed Ido and not Nova hoovering over her.

“Doctor…” She whispers touching his arm.

“You don’t have to call me that.” He chuckles as it’s now like an inside joke to them. She smiles weakly before her hand starts to shake. “It’s alright. You’re safe.” Ido says as he takes her into his arms.

“Hey, you guys ok? I thought I heard screaming.” Alita says rushing in.

“Elisa had a nightmare.” Ido says as she crawls up on the bed.

“What happened?” Alita asks her.

“Nova…I was dreaming about Nova.” She whispers tiredly. The other two remain quiet knowing it’s a touchy subject for her. “He was trying to kill me…but…but Ido! You were there too and you were trying to save me.” She says as she looks up at him. Alita smiles, maybe things are turning around. “Thanks for waking me up too.” Elisa says as she gets out of bed.

“You’re welcome.” He nods. “Breakfast is almost ready.” He announces. Alita heads downstairs as he looks over Elisa. “Are you sure you’re ok?”

“Yeah, I think so. I’m sorry about that. I thought I was doing better.” She says sadly.

“You don’t have to be sorry. Nightmares happen. Adjusting to a new life is a slow, but stead process. You don’t have to rush yourself.” He says kindly. She nods and he leaves so that she can get changed. It isn’t long after breakfast that Alita dashes off to hang out with Hugo and Ido gets to work. Elisa stays around and helps when she can.

“Can you teach me?” Elisa asks Ido during a quiet moment.

“Teach you what?” He asks.

“I don’t know…anything…what it means to be human.” She says.

“You can’t teach someone to be human. That’s just part of life.” He chuckles. “I can teach you other things like history, anatomy, science…” He says trailing off.

“History…what’s that?”

“Stuff that happened long before you and I were born, before the fall or the war.” He explains. There aren’t too many patients today so he decides to take Elisa out.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll just have to wait and see.” He chuckles. When they arrive the building is old and inside is mostly quiet with not many people around. “This is called a library my dear.” He says showing her around in a low voice. “You have to be quiet though because people like to read here.” He explains. They go to a section called History and Ido takes out a few datapads. He checks them out before they head back to the clinic. “Read these, they talk about the past. It’s another way you can learn.” He smiles kindly to her.

“Thank you Ido.” She smiles back. She’s quiet the rest of the day as she reads, trying to learn everything she can. She talks all about it, excitedly at dinner. They all have good fun with it. Over the next few days, when his insomnia hits, Ido reads with Elisa instead of going hunting. It calms him down and he can’t get enough of Elisa’s bright smile. He’s so glad to see that she is finally accepting her emotions and trying to adapt to life in Iron City. When she’s done reading she goes back to the library and returns the datapads. She thinks about getting more when she sees a flyer on the front desk. It shows a new hunter warrior bounty of fifty thousand credits has been listed. That could last the clinic for a little while, so she grabs the flyer and returns home.

“Fifty thousand credits huh?” Ido says as he looks over the sheet.

“That could help the clinic for a bit right?” She says eagerly.

“I take it you want to go hunting tonight.” He says, trying to hide his disappointment.

“Well of course.” She nods.

“Very well, just don’t show Alita. I don’t want her joining in on this. The higher the bounty the more dangerous the mark is.” Ido says as he tucks the paper away.

“Of course.”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thankfully, Alita didn’t know about the bounty so Elisa and Ido were able to go off quickly once she went to bed. They start a search in previous spots but so far no luck.

“Do you think we should split up to cover more ground?” Elisa suggests.

“No, that’s a horrible idea.” Ido says firmly. She nods as they look around. Two cans are thrown at them out of nowhere and they both dive out of the way in separate directions as the cans burst into flame.

“Ido! Ido are you alright!?” Elisa calls out, looking for him with her advance eyesight.

“I’m fine.” He waves as he coughs, trying to get out the mouthful of smoke he took in. More cans are thrown and the fire spreads. The glare from the fire hurts Elisa’s eyes as she reverts back to normal.

“Ido! Ido, I can’t see you!” She shouts frantically. She tries to find a way to him, but the flames are blocking her completely. She walks back a few feet and her eyes change color again as she plans on gaining some speed to leap over the fire. Just as she’s about to run someone grabs her and she feels the familiar pinch of a needle in her neck. “Hey!” She snarls turning around, only to promptly pass out.

Xxxxxxxxx

Elisa moans as she wakes up. She hasn’t forgotten the feeling of being drugged. She never liked waking up from it because she always felt like she slept for way too long.

“Ido…Dyson…Dyson…” She mumbles as she remembers the fire and Ido.

“Relax, you precious Doctor Ido is fine.” An unfamiliar voice says sarcastically. She turns in the direction of the voice and she sees an unfamiliar man in a green jacket and work goggles staring at her.

“Who are you?” She says.

“My name is Doctor Jeffery Chase.” He answers.

“And you are my test subject.”

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rankakiu · 5 years

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Thoughts of the Droid: Alita Battle Angel (2019)

Hello, people of Tumblr! How life treats you? As always, I hope very well. Finally, I had the opportunity to see the movie I most expected from this 2019: Alita Battle Angel

It is another Hollywood effort to adapt a Japanese franchise, being the turn of the series "Hyper Future Vision GUNNM" by the author Yukito Kishiro, which has become over time a reference and classic of the genre of science fiction and Cyberpunk, at the same time having gained the status of cult work. And this time, Hollywood, with the help of James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez have brought us their live-action version, which has given to talk in the middle of the cinema and among fans of anime/manga.

WARNING: NOT SPOILER-FREE. Read at your own risk

Entering already in the review, what did I think about the movie? Short answer: Entertaining, but could give a little more of itself. Now let's analyze the movie in more detail.

Characters: In my opinion, the strongest point of the movie. The interpretations of the actors could not be more accurate and you can see the effort they have put into playing their respective roles. I particularly emphasize the actress Rosa Salazar in her role as Alita and Christoph Waltz as Dr. Dyson Ido. Salazar has done an impeccable job and I, as a spectator, felt that I saw Alita in all her personality and glory. A kind and innocent girl who discovers and marvels at a world that is unknown to her. In this part, they knew how to perfectly balance her surprise and innocence, without Alita looking ignorant or silly. We also have her other side represented perfectly: a lethal soldier who possesses the soul of an entire warrior, with touches of arrogance, whose combat techniques make her a formidable adversary. And whose memories are unlocked little by little making use of their main weapon: the martial art of the Panzer Kunst.

Christoph Waltz, on the other hand, makes a very solid interpretation of Daisuke Ido ... sorry, Dyson Ido, a father figure for Alita. In fact, that aspect pleased me a lot about the movie, which at all times shows an authentic relationship between father and daughter that gets stronger as the story progresses. We see a Dyson Ido, who despite not agreeing with Alita in some circumstances, supports his adopted daughter unconditionally.

I also highlight the actors Keean Johnson and Ed Skrein in their roles of Hugo and Zapan, respectively. They also show that they studied their characters and represented them quite well. We have a Hugo here, who, like his previous incarnations, has the dream of going to Zalem in search of a better life. On behalf of Ed Skrein, he gives us an arrogant and vengeful Zapan, ready to defeat and humiliate Alita.

In general, the rest of the cast works pretty well inside the movie. (By the way, very good detail of those involved in keeping the surprise of Edward Norton as Desty Nova, since seeing him there in the film was a real surprise, and a nice to finish XD).

History: Ironically, this was the weakest point I found in this movie. At first, the story progresses well, but after a few minutes, the story feels rushed, presenting a huge number of characters in a very short period of time, apart from that they explain their characteristics, instead of showing them in the scene on the big screen.

However, I firmly believe that what it plays against was that they tried to make a perfect amalgamation between the first three volumes of the Japanese comic and the two existing OVA’s of the franchise. I recognize that there are scenes of this style that really work, but a good part of them feels that they pass too quickly and does not allow a real conflict between the characters to be generated. In addition, I also believe that Cameron and Rodriguez did such a good job of pleasing the fans, that they almost completely forgot to include more people, that their adaptation was more universal for the entire audience. I understand that in a movie the time is quite limited, but they could make an effort to deliver a more cohesive story. By the way, the violence in the film, although very reduced and soft compared to the original material, is appreciated to see it.

Something that seemed unjustifiable to me in the movie was that they removed all the history of Hugo's past, is essential to understanding his motivations. They kept his dream of wanting to go to Zalem, but you never understand why he wants to go to Zalem. Of course, long before the premiere, I read the volumes of the original Japanese comic, so, even when they missed that part, I understood the reason for Hugo's dream. But someone who approaches the franchise for the first time with this movie will never understand why. Also, you have the scene where Hugo climbs up one of the cables that hold the floating city of Zalem. In the Japanese comic and OVA, you understand that he climbs as a last and desperate alternative to fulfill his dream of belonging to that city. On the other hand, the movie goes up because the hunter-warriors know that he is still alive. Partly it is justified, but it feels forced and taken out of nothing.

As I said above, the story feels rushed and this is more noticeable in the inclusion of Motorball sports scenes, which I would have preferred to have been in the final part of the film and the other two rooms focusing on Alita in her role as hunter-warrior. We have another case, where the final confrontation between Alita and Zapan is hurried and one can barely enjoy the scenes. Almost has no impact on the viewer and to top it off, the change of heart of Chiren, now determined to help Alita feels too forced. It also happens in the case when Zapan loses his face at the hands of Alita, where the scene does not have enough impact to astonish the spectator.

But what intrigues me the most is: how in the end, Alita stays as a Motorball player if practically scenes ago she made rebellious acts against the Factory? Practically entering, dismantling machines, destroying facilities and killing a person (Vector) is enough to put a price on the head of our protagonist. And yet, there you see her at the end very removed from grief and the Factory does not put any reward for her.

But not everything is bad. In favor of the film, I will say that the inclusion of Hugo at the beginning of the story was a success since it allows the romance between Alita and Hugo to unfold naturally. You also feel that in truth chemistry between the actors, which makes their romance more tender and therefore more credible. I highlight two scenes in particular: the first where Hugo teaches Alita to play Motorball and the second where he gives her chocolate to taste for the first time. In the first, they spend more time together and therefore you can feel that their romance is born little by little. It is in the second scene where you see more the innocence of Alita that causes you to die (not literally XD) of tenderness, without forgetting that also this scene has its comic touches well achieved.

It is also fair to mention that the scene of Hugo's death is very emotional and finally we see how Alita is affected by that event. We see her mourn, her sadness, anguish, and despair to witness the death of the man she loved. As a spectator, it moved me a lot.

On the other hand, the justification of Dr. Ido to be a Hunter-Warrior is perfectly raised, since the loss of his biological daughter affected him so much that he decided to make his own justice. In general, it is a very valid reason and the proposal of the film goes further, by presenting an Ido, who after achieving his revenge, did not leave him satisfied, but even worsened his feeling of emptiness. It is quite similar to what the Japanese comic raises originally where Daisuke Ido, to prove the experience of killing, could not leave that profession, being a declared murderer. Something similar also happens with the end of this movie. I will also mention that here it makes more sense that Ido and Chiren have been a couple and their subsequent separation is equally well justified. Here Ido, with Alita, has again the opportunity to return to be a father, and the viewer sympathizes with Ido in that aspect. In general, the scenes that narrate the good doctor Ido's past are brilliantly realized.

If I had to highlight a scene that combines the Japanese comic and the OVA and if it works to perfection, without a doubt it would be the scene of the Bar Kansas and the subsequent fight between Alita and Grewishka. Interestingly, here if you feel a perfect amalgam between both formats and brought to life for the big screen. We have Alita who goes to the Bar Kansas for two reasons: one, seek to prove herself as a warrior hunter, and two get help to stop the evil Grewishka. It turns out to be an impeccable scene, where in spite of giving some events in a different way, it also preserves the essence of both previously mentioned formats (especially the japanese comic). It is here that the arrogant, but charismatic part of Alita is observed, humiliating the other hunter-warriors by telling them the painful truth, accompanied by a beating of epic proportions. On the other hand the sequence of the fight in the bar is very well achieved, reminding us of the fights that occur in the bars of our world XD.

The fight between Alita and Grewishka is the best achieved, having a great intensity in action. It is here where they also took many scenes from the Japanese comic and knew how to transfer them to the film. Here we see an Alita whose inner warrior reappears with more strength than ever, and despite the difference of powers and abilities, she knew how to stand up to her opponent, even when, in a peak scene, her Doll Body is destroyed, Alita never surrendered in the fight. Fortunately she was saved by the help of Hugo, Dr. Ido and the hunter-warrior McTeague. Particularly the scene where Dr. Ido carries the battered body of Alita is moving to see, as one as a spectator feels the affection and paternal care that Ido shows at that time with his adopted daughter, in addition to recalling a classic scene of the Japanese comic . Certainly a maximum point is reached when Dr. Ido rebuilds Alita with the Berserker Body, where he understands and accepts the warrior soul that is inside Alita.

To finish this point, I will say that the scene that I liked the most was precisely the one at the end, where Alita unsheathes her Damascus Blade and points to the sky. We also see Edward Norton in his role as Desty Nova, accepting the challenge of his enemy, a sublimely performed scene, where Alita accepts herself as a warrior, promising the destruction of Nova with a will of steel. Extra points for the design of Nova, where it really looks like its Japanese comic counterpart, without looking like a bad cosplay. In general, Nova's dialogues, along with his brief appearance, left me asking for more of this iconic character.

Visuals and special effects: Simply great. In truth here I recognize the effort they made to present the world of Alita. We see the floating city Zalem in all its corruptive glory, and the Iron City, with its people living as pleasantly as possible, but also presenting their constant problems to survive in an environment too hostile, full of poverty and murder.

The strongest point is the design of Alita and her cybernetic bodies. I still remember the controversy (which fortunately did not happen to major) that generated the fact that Rosa Salazar made her interpretation with the Capture Performance technique and above all, the decision to make the eyes of Alita enormous. To the relief of the majority, that was only a minor detail, since, in the final product, Alita looks pretty good. In all the scenes It looks totally beautiful, besides that, in spite of being a Cyborg, its movements are quite natural and fluid, like those of any other human. The designs of the cyborg bodies are really beautiful, in addition to offering some contrast to differentiate them. We have the Doll Body, whose design is simple, but close up it has ornaments that make it feel empty, in addition to its color palette is warm, ideal to represent the innocence and kindness of Alita. On the other side, we have the Berserker Body, whose design is more elaborate, but not saturated. And their colors are quite indicated to represent their warrior side.

Action: There is not much I can say, except that it is really very good and very well done. It's a frenetic action, but you can clearly see the fast movements of the characters. Once again I highlight Alita, whose movements are not only fluid, but also note that these movements, when attacking, dodging, pirouetting in the air, kicking and punching, you notice a huge physical force in her attacks and above all, her movements are more by instinct, as would be expected of her character, who instinctively recalls her training in the Panzer Kunst. The Motorball scenes are fast, you feel the intensity of the sport and in general, it feels like in its counterpart of the Japanese comic: a sport full of adrenaline and without mercy. The action does not disappoint.

In conclusion, Alita Battle Angel is a decent and acceptable film and adaptation. It is entertaining to watch and one can get to enjoy the experience. However, one also feels that the film had more potential, which unfortunately did not come to fruition at all. This film would recommend it more to Die-Hard fans of Alita or as a way to have a good time to get rid of boredom. For my part, I will say that this movie has become a guilty pleasure. No doubt I would see it again, but with certain reservations. For now, I give this movie 2.5 out of 5 Damascus Blades.

I'll finish my review by saying this: In part, I'm glad to see Hollywood keep trying to make adaptations of foreign franchises. As far as I can see, this industry is taking more seriously to rely on the source material and represent it in the best way they can, in addition to dealing with more some respect to the franchises. In fact, they still have a way to go, but I feel that they have already taken the right path. It is only a matter of time before they finally deliver an adaptation that is universally acclaimed. I count that it will be like this in the future.

Greetings

Rankakiu

Edit: I added my thoughts on two more scenes of the movie. So, I feel that my review is at last complete.

#hyper future vision gunnm #alitabattleangel #alita battle angel #live action #rosa salazar #keean johnson #christoph waltz #ed skrein #movie #adaptation #review #opinion #thoughts #thoughts of the droid #rankakiu

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theredeemingfactor · 5 years

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Alita: Battle Angel

So ... Alita: Battle Angel (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0437086/?ref_=nv_sr_1) coming in with an IMDB rating of 7,6 and a Redeemer Rating of 5,7. What we have here is some great Japanese source material that is made into a semi live action, semi good movie. There are just a few classic Hollywood changes that just bring the overall rating of the movie down. I have yet to see the all the source material movies, and I have not actually read any of the manga comics. But I have done some research on the subject and looked over the Manga movie that seems to be the source of most of this remake. And the one thing that I took away from that was that, to my surprise, this movie was actually not whitewashed. The characters from the source manga movie where not all asian either. Lets get on with the review.

The plot. Cybernetic cyborg surgeon Dr Dyson Ido is out scavenging the scrapyard when he comes across the torso of a female cyborg. He manages to attach her to a new body and reactivate her, but she cannot remember anything from her time before the scrapyard. As she struggles to learn about her origin she meets new people and interacts with the people in Ido’s life. In time, certain memories are triggered giving her an insight to who she was, and how important she might actually be.

The movie. Ok, let's begin with the good .. as opposed to .. to .. the bad. The animation is stunningly good, even though I will come back to this later as well. The world creation is rather stunning and the characters in this movie, most of whom are motion capture a la Avatar, are really cool. The cast is good. The story is a good one. There are some good performances in the movie. And lastly I am, in spite of all the things that I am about to say, really looking forward to the sequel. And yes there will be a sequel, cause of course there will be. The movie has made too much money already to not have a sequel, and the movie ends so amazingly open ended that it would be impossible for there not to be sequel. Now .. the bad. Amazing animation, yes .. but there is still a clear lack of human reality. This might be partly due to bad acting as I don't know how much of a performers face is unaltered for MOCAP (motion capture). Some of the scenes in this movie are just not engaging. So, while there are some good performances in this movie, there is an equal number of lackluster performances. Good story, yes .. great, no. Much like some of the performances .. the main story does not engage at all. Moving on to casting .. yes, it is good .. like in the case of Mahershala Ali, but not with Christoph Waltz. Waltz just was not right for this movie. Same thing goes for Keean Johnson, who just happens to be the anchor in the main cast. Lastly for the bad, we have that classic Hollywood need to make characters older than they should be so there can be a romantic subplot in the movie. Alita, in the source material, is much younger. Having a young kick ass female character works, just look at .. Kick Ass .. Hit Girl is brilliant and bad ass. The wrap things up here .. this movie is a still really fun to watch. And I suppose part of the reason it did not appeal to me more is that I was not the target audience for this movie. This movie is aimed a 13-17 year old demographic. For me, this movie could have used an R-rating and a bit more character development and backstory. It also overuses some over stylized battle shots/sequences that work really well in cartoons but not in live action. Longer un-cut battle scenes would have been much better, too many quick cuts. But for what is was, enjoyable.

The redeeming factor. Dr Dyson Ido’s hammer. That thing is so cool, and clearly has a backstory all of its own that I would like to hear. A thruster powered spike hammer that Ido uses in his bounty hunter life. That thing is wicked.

The final word. This was an enjoyable movie, but feels like it was made for a younger audience than myself and also for people who have to some extent read some of the manga comic source material. Watching this, I understand for the first time how someone who has never read a comic feels like when they watch a comic book movie that is not an origin story. I feel like I am missing out on half the movie because they almost do nothing to talk about why the world is the way it is. I think it would have helped a lot to add some depth to this movie. But by all means, go ahead and watch the movie .. it ain’t that bad.

#alita #battle #angel #battle angel #battle angel alita #action #scifi #science fiction #manga #movie #movies #cinema #review #reviews #redeeming #factor #adventure #romance

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beardyallen · 5 years

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Well, that went quickly...

What day is it? I’m starting to lose track of how long I’ve been here...

Well, it’s been a week since my last post, and it seems that a lot must have happened, but honestly I feel like I’ve just been cranking through a bunch of comic books.

But I do know that Friday and Saturday involved a good deal excitement, so I guess we had might as well pick up pretty much where we left off!

Last Friday was Orientation for ICB, which meant getting all of the 35-40 instructors, 10 staff members, and the 6-8 people in charge of this program together in a room to introduce us to...basically what we’d been doing all that week. Also, aside from a couple study-abroad-undergrads and my officemate and me, everyone there had probably already heard the spiel.

It was scheduled from 5p-6p with a buffett afterwards, but a bunch of the Communications people from my floor were going out to eat (again?) afterwards, so I made plans with NR. She wanted to try this Mexican restaurant in what I’ll describe as the “international district” of Beijing. Most everything around us when we got there looked like it belonged in literally every metropolitan area in the world. Every major brand you can imagine had a store. Multiple. Too many...

But the Mexican restaurant we visited is owned and managed by a Mexican expat, apparently. He even stopped by our table to ask how the food was, and let me tell you: that quesadilla was the BOMB!!! And the margarita was pretty good (not as good as MHO’C’s, though!). By the time we finished up dinner, it was kind of late, so we wondered around the shopping center, found a bookstore. You know: the usual.

Fun fact: when a store or restaurant wants to indicate to their patrons that they are getting ready to close, they play smooth jazz and turn the lights down. Like for real. Had their not been windows open to the pavilion outside with it’s hundreds of light displays, I would have been seriously concerned when the lights in the place just went out and Kenny G popped up on the speakers.

We entertained the idea of finding the cinema nearby to see Alita Battle Angel, but during the 15 minutes that we spent wondering around in search of the complex, it seemed to elude us. Plus it was getting close to that time when the subway shuts down, and I wasn’t exactly hankering for a taxi ride this early in my stay....if at all.

The next morning, I got up early to meet back up with NR at the National Museum near the Forbidden City. Now, for the most part, the stairs I get don’t bother me. But I will say, if you’re going to stair at the pasty white guy with a hard-to-describe-its-color-accurately-beard, maybe don’t do it when you’re going 15 mph on a bike, facing in the wrong direction! *sigh.....Some people’s kids...

But what really bothered me, especially at the time, was the father-of-three who straight-up filmed me on his phone from 5 feet away for a solid 6 minutes, three hallways, and two escalators! I get it, I’m funny looking. But I really think I a picture would have done just fine...

One of the things that bothered me the most about that experience was that (a) he had a shit-eating grin plastered on his face, (b) his daughters seemed rather embarrassed, (c) he filmed me with the screen aimed at me so I could watch myself on his phone, (d) there was text on the screen, and (e) it went on for a solid 6 minutes.

In hindsight, I was wearing sunglasses and a hat, in a subway system, in the morning, heading to the center of Beijing. Maybe he thought I was a celebrity? I had spoken to a Communications graduate student the other day who happens to be black, and he told me the story of how a citizen here pull out their phone with a picture of Samuel L. Jackson on it, and gestured to him as it to ask if it were him...even though SLJ is for sure at 70 years old and this kid is no more than 35. And he looks 25. #smh

Anyway, after dealing with whatever the hell that was, I got to visit the museum! They, for whatever reason, were not allowing people to bring their charging blocks into the museum (external battery that you can use to charge your cell phone and other devices on-the-go), but more surprising to me was just how many people carried one with them! At least, it was surprising until I took a moment to think about it. As I’ve mentioned before, basically every payment made in Beijing is through WeChat, which needs internet access, so I guess it shouldn’t be too surprising. You also really can’t navigate through the city with some sort of Maps app; there are just too many bus routes, train routes, terminals and stops to keep logged in your head.

As far as the museum itself goes, the gifts to China from foreign governments exhibit and the Ancient China exhibit themselves took most of the day. Also, no surprise: the gift that took up the most floor space was given by a U.S. President. I also got a refresher in 8th Grade Social Studies. Too many small countries to remember all of them, and that space made me feel somewhat moronic.

The Ancient China exhibit was exceptional, though. They broke up the last, oh...750,000 years of human-ish life in China into 8-10 separate eras, the first few cataloguing the life and evolution of Homo erectus pekinensis into Homo sapien, while the latter eras were segregated dynastically. I’ve never seen the progression of human evolution laid out in such detail! The rock tools became better rock tools, then pottery and paper, stamps, buildings and so much more! There were even ceremonial helmets that would put the Juggernaut to shame!

It was strange, though, to have all of this knowledge just beyond my fingertips both literally and figuratively. The literal sense isn’t too shocking, as I’ve been to a museum before and know not to touch the pieces, but to have placards written in a language that would take years to learn was frustrating. Fortunately, NR has a never-ending supply of patience, and she translated much of the text. She even quizzed me on several of the characters. I’ve worked out how to write “rock” for sure.

After the museum, we wondered over to a nearby mall that, honestly, puts the Mall of America to shame. No joke. This place was huge! It just kept going and going and going! There was a particular alley that has all of the “exotic foods” that you might see on The Amazing Race, which I haven’t tried yet but intend to, but the rest is mostly-outdoor shopping center. Our reason for being there was to find food (we had been in the museum for a bit over 7 hours), and then sit our fine asses down in a movie theater to watch Alita.

We found a restaurant that served food traditionally found where NR grew up. It was exceptional. And the beer just made it better. :P

The movie experience was something else entirely. I’ve gotten used to watching television and movies with subtitles so that, when people decide to talk to me, I can follow along with both bits. Or if people are just talking near me while I’m watching television, I don’t have to rewind the show. That helped a lot; the movie was still spoken in English, but there were Chinese subtitles. I recognized the Chinese character for “1″ frequently enough, but that was about it.

The movie itself was way more than I expected. I shouldn’t be surprised, given that one of the primary characters is played by Christoph Waltz. If you haven’t seen it yet, you should definitely consider it.

Also, additional fun fact: I’m thinking that most (if not all) showings of major motion pictures here are in 3D. *shrug* Side note: we’re going to see Captain Marvel tomorrow and I’M SO FREAKIN’ EXCITED!!!!

After the movie, we wandered back to the subway station and parted ways mid-subway-ride to head home. The next day I spent playing Kingdom Hearts 3 and sipping some beer in the 3rd Floor Lounge. All day. It was blissful.

This workweek has consisted of four main things: teaching responsibilities, a bit of dissertation work, trying out another one of the cafeterias on campus, and reading comic books. Oh, and beer. But that kind of goes without saying, doesn’t it? There’s a convenience store on the other side of the building in front of the Guest House that has cans of beer. You can buy them individual for 3 yuan, or roughly 45 cents. I won’t lie to you: I bought 12 of them and it didn’t cost me more than 6 bucks. And it’s really not bad, and even more convenient than the liquor store I lived by in Denver.

Anyway, as I said, I’m going to see Captain Marvel tomorrow, then to “W-Town” (originally Watertown...so glad they shortened it...) in northern Beijing, which sits at the base of part of the Great Wall. More than 20 people from ICB will be heading up to their on Saturday, so I imagine one of them will take pictures. Probably ML or S. So you’ll have those to look forward to since you know I won’t be taking any!

Oh!!! I almost forgot the biggest thing that happened this week! Actually, it might be the biggest news of my entire stay!!!

I did laundry.

And I washed my slippers. I’m not convinced that they’ve stopped smelling, but I’m holding out hope that I’ve finally figured out how to resolve an issue that I know humanity has been seriously struggling with for decades. I’m on the verge of a breakthrough, people, I swear!

Anyway, time to finish this beer, read a bit more of Scott Lynch’s Republic of Thieves (WE FINALLY FIND OUT ABOUT SABETHA!!!!), and head to bed. Big couple of days ahead...

Sláinte,

BeardyAllen

P.S. I bet you thought I was gonna forget! After class on Wednesday, I worked out how to make a phone call from here to the States to wish my Mom a Happy BIrthday. Caught her at work, and we got to chat for a good long while. It really put a nice cap on my evening, and it seemed it gave her a good start to her day. Anyway, I hope you had a great evening, found something nice at C&B and enjoyed that glass of wine you mentioned! Love you!!

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lovetheangelshadow · 5 years

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N'Pressions: Lego Movie 2

I know this is rather late, but I have had my hands full for the past couple of months until I could finally get time around to sit down and write these. So I apologize in advance with my thoughts being rather late into the game when everyone else worth listening to has given their two cents.

I’m not going to lie. There was so much against this movie succeeding besides the weather. Not only did you have to contend with it being a sequel to a major hit films that had for good and bad made some influence in the animation genre; but it was also competing with Alita Battle Angel (a big James Cameron film) AND How to Train Your Dragon 3 (a much awaited ending to a long running DreamWorks franchise). Not to mention with the objective failure of the Ninjago movie obviously made both the studio execs and audiences wary. That being said, I don’t think it would have benefitted from holding off for much longer.

So the film takes place just after the first movie with the Duplo invaders. Emmet tries to make peaceful ties with them that end up blowing in his face and the invaders go after anything bright and colorful. Five years later we get a Mad Max inspired Apolcalypseburg and while everyone else has taken a darker outlook on life and appearance; Emmet remains the same albeit a little scratched up with fingerprints and some of the decals scraped (nice detail by the way). Emmet shows Lucy/Wildstyle a dream house he’s built for them that seemingly attracts the Systar System and they send General Sweet Mayhem. The citizens take shelter in Batman’s bunker but a mercy act from Emmet freeing a stuck star shaped missile lets Mayhem in and she kidnaps Lucy, Metalbeard, Benny, Batman and Unikitty to a matrimonial ceremony held by the queen of the Systar System. After being scolded by the citizens of Apolalypseburg for not being tough and too weak to be of any use (citizens are jerks no matter the story I swear), Emmet builds a rocket ship to save his friends.

In earnest, I give points for the Lego team choosing to go with what is essentially a space rescue story rather than another chosen one tale. If there is one real good quality I can give for all four of the lego movies is that each film has its own unique aesthetic that separates them. Like if you just gave a background shot or even a color palette, each movie has their own theme to them which is not really something you could say of a lot of other animated sequels like Kung Fu Panda, Toy Story, or Ice Age. And I really appreciate them for that. There is also a very noticeable animation upgrade from the pervious Lego Movie besides the obvious advances in animation technology. Like they are actually using other household materials to achieve effects as well such as UltraKatty’s tail turning into a bottle brush when she gets flustered and Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi’s throne room moat is silk curtains which you see later in Bianca’s bedroom. Not to mention the previously noted fingerprints and scratches.

So story wise, unfortunately the story is not as polished as the first movie. Like Good Cop/Bad Cop and President Business, two major characters of the first films, are practically shoved to the side for this one. I mean, Business is the allegory for Finn and Bianca’s father, so why is he practically so absent for five years after spending 8 and a half building this Lego World into his concept of absolute order and perfection? In essence his kids have pretty much destroyed what he’s built and he barely does anything about it? Granted I am not entirely sure what sort of purpose Business could serve especially with the tone and themes they were going for. Maybe like have his try to resolve things but continuously fail? Or…or maybe throw his hands up in defeat and hint that if they don’t do something to fix the issue Armomageddon will be coming down upon them. No one knows what he’s even talking about and just keep warring with the Duplo invasion. I dunno, maybe we’ll get more answers when the Blue Ray comes out with the commentary. As for GCBC, maybe be the ones telling off Emmet for his apparent weakness in kindness and tell him that he didn’t get to be Lord Business’ second by being soft hearted and overly optimistic.

That being said we also get a slew of new characters this time around: the totally not evil Watevra Wa’Nabi, General Mayhem, Ice Cream Cone, and Tumblr’s favorite Rex Dangervest. Seriously you can NOT tell me Lego didn’t know what they were doing when they made this guy. You KNOW how the internet gets over attractive cartoon characters! Admittedly Emmet doesn’t have the strongest personality and is kind of more of a vessel for Finn (and particularly the audience) but like the first movie he is surrounded by a large cast big personality characters that balances things out. Also like the first movie the antagonists (both Rex and Watevra) much like Business aren’t entirely in the wrong or right but instead are the extremes that sometimes in a way can become toxic if pushed too far. Business was the extreme of perfection and order, Watevera and the Systar system represented absolute optimism, and Rex was the symbol of toxic cynicism. Though I will give credit that both Watevra and Rex definitely feel like much more complex antagonists than Lord Business.

While Watevera genuinely wants peace between the Systar System and Apopalypseburg she isn’t above using force, coercion, or manipulation to get there. She basically offers gifts/bribes to bring the leaders to her side and toys with Batman’s insecurities to get him into marrying her. The entire film portrays her as a scheming, brainwashing, shape shifter whose end goal is the end. Though you cannot really blame her since it was suggested the Systar System has been trying for years but kept being pushed back because they were seen as an invasion. Also they’re terrible communicators. Also I have to give props for Animal Logic and them having to animate this gal and in Lego bricks no less. Like it’s not like a slime where you have plenty of freedom; each curve and twist is an actual Lego brick. That can NOT be easy to animate.

Rex on the other hand plays with Emmet’s anxieties of not being tough enough and essentially not being the person Lucy wants him to be. And you can’t completely blame this guy for lashing out at being stranded and forgotten. If there was one thing Emmet valued above anything even before the inciting incident of the first Lego Movie, was his friends. You saw his hurt when shown that the other construction workers didn’t even seem to care and just saw him as an average nobody. Heck, even with the party bus scene the others show a hint of concern that they hadn’t seen Lucy on the ship with them but when the llama driver cranks up the music they immediately forget about her. Not to mention with the time machine, he could have easily gone back to even before General Mayhem kidnapped his friends and prevented all this in the first place, but instead chose to save Emmet only and bring everyone else down to the same miserable state he’s in to feel the same hurt he went through for years. In a way he reminds me a lot of Lotso from Toy Story 3. Both were the favorite of a child and were lost by that same kid later to be replaced and forgotten. However I am a lot more sympathetic for Rex than Lotso though I haven’t put my finger on exactly why.

Another thing to note is that this film is also a musical and it has been quite a while since I’ve actually like really enjoyed an animated musical. Like the songs actually feel like they move the story forward instead of being there for just being there. There is one arguable exception, but it is still a fun song (Gotham City Guys if you must ask). Of course then there is the blatant Catchy Song that is such a laughable parody of itself and much like Everything is Awesome, its used as like a brainwashing song. Speaking of which, we get two versions of Everything is Awesome: the much more light hearted Tween Remix and somber/hopeful Everything is Not Awesome. My only gripe is that Rex did NOT get a song. Seriously guys, a reprisal of the last verse of Not Evil as he’s strapping Emmet to the eject chair would have been bloody perfect!

Though the movie is not as comedic as its processors Lego Movie and Lego Batman, I honestly still enjoyed myself. I think it is largely in part because I relate to the film a lot more than the first one since I have a sibling of my own and remember the cooperative and combative play session we had together as kids. Something I give credit for is that the film doesn’t really portray either the girl’s or boy’s way of playing the superior one. Honestly they don’t even really bring up gender roles or at least smack you in the face with it. And believe me I have seen the whole gender roles thing done so much worse. I could have done without that line from General Mayhem about Lucy doing all the hard work and Emmet getting the credit and I think having that in the trailer might have hurt things as well. I think it would have been better if Mayhem just said there is nothing special about Emmet and laughs that she’s supposed to take this guy seriously compared to others like Batman and Metalbeard once again driving in what would eventually lead to the creation of Rex. Still even with some of the plot issues, it still feels like a much more complete film then Ninjago and I hope that we can at least get the Billion Brick Race before they decide to just cut Lego off as a viable film universe. I’m Noctina Noir, and I’m one Nox of a Nobody.

#lego movie 2 #lego move 2 review #noctina noir

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marlutterianae · 5 years

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BATTLE ANGEL ALITA: THE MOVIE MADE ME REALLY HAPPY.

So this is another personal time where I’m going to open up and talk about a thing that happened and I wish to share my opinion.

Frist...

I’m a fan of GUNNM. Strong fan. I didn’t grew up with the series, but since I discovered it, I was immersed and obsessed with it since then. I binged the entire manga, and luckily for me it was being published in my country and IN SPANISH. The world, the action, the designs are all incredible, but I strongly related to Alita. Her struggles, her flaws, her conflicts with identity, her quirks; I felt all of that.

Now we come to the movie, and I just came from watching it...

Take in mind this is a very personal and emotional fueled opinion, yet I am going to consider a lot of objective factors when talking about it. Alright? Alright.

The movie was, directly speaking, a very entertaining sci fi action packed movie. As an adaptation of an eastern property, is as best as it comes. As an “anime movie”, it’s quite glorious compared to what has comed before. It’s disturbingly faithful to the OVA more than the manga, but adds story details from the manga to clear out some questions left out by the OVA's approach. It starts slow, and even the action at first is kind of tame, but it become increasingly better as it goes along. Less gruesome than the manga or OVA, clearly, for mainstream appeal. But it gets the job done.

Same with the story, that can get pretty, pretty cheesy with some of the dialogue, but it will be effective on those less sensitive to that.I’ve talked with another friend about Alita multiple times and how the first volumes of the manga start very over the top and pulpy, with brain eating villains and strong drama. The story becomes more powerful with time, but it’s clear that while working with the first volumes in the adaptation, it is pretty cheesy and some will say “cringy” at times. I, personally, never felt that cringe, but I can’t speak for everyone.

Said that, I definitely can’t say my enjoyment was bothered by Alita’s CGI look. I am aware that it is pretty off putting to some, but here is a small detour about me regarding CGI and the Uncanny Valley in general...

I think I’m kind of inmune to it? I mean, I can recognized when something is odd and wrong, but I am not repulsed by it as a lot of people are. Like I’ve met some people that literally shiver at uncanny cgi but I can’t understand them fully. I’m not that turned off by it. So Alita’s look wasn’t a deal breaker to me and honestly, it shouldn’t. Her body interacts with her environment surprisingly well and you can feel her weight and power even while doing her crazy Panzer Kuntz moves. You can get used to her face during the times she is more neutral, but it is in those moments when she gets more emotional that it becomes more off, and that I can get. And not just her, but all of the featured cyborgs have weight to them, and I specially loved when they clash together after a punch. It’s very satisfying. Deaths become, again, increasingly gruesome and spectacular as it goes on. And they can get quite creative with it.

But moving from that, the action was very good and pleasing. If I could described a word for this movie as an experience, it would be CATHARTIC. I was dying to watch a new action packed sci fi-fantasy movie ever since Infinity War, but still good and enjoyable, and it’s not a thing that is accomplished very often. It’s usually horror and drama that becomes great, and if it is action, is usually “realistic” stuff like Mission Impossible (when I say “realistic” I mean that it takes place in modern times and shit. I want fantastic worlds! And creatures! And weapons! In that way, I’m one of simple needs). Alita provided enormous satisfaction to that little tumor in my brain that craves and lives for that.

I can fully understand that this movie is heavily targeted to the mainstream audience, and even more to those unfamiliar with GUNNM. But fans can still enjoy themselves, I hope, if they can go pass Alita’s look. You will have fun, trust me.

Finally, I really hope people pay more attention to Battle Angel Alita, and Alita as a character. She really can leave an impression on people, and if those people are lead to explore GUNNM deeper, then I will be even more happy.

This is not a groundbreaking movie. If you are one that seeks scores, I’ll say it goes to a 6 or 7. But this movie was something I was really looking for in a blockbuster. Sometimes I really do need some crazy fantastical action to get me going.

#battle angel alita #battle angel alita movie #movies #personal

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briangroth27 · 5 years

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Alita Battle Angel Review

I've never read the Alita manga, so I went into the movie not knowing what to expect. I ended up really enjoying it! The movie isn't perfect, but it quickly won me over and I'd definitely watch a sequel.

Full Spoilers...

I really enjoyed Alita's (Rosa Salazar) characterization here first as a curious and awe-struck, fun-loving youngster and later as someone who feels with all of her being and stands up for those who can’t protect themselves, even if it means sacrificing her life and (literal) limbs. The movie's biggest issues came from some clunky dialogue—Alita sounds like a teenager, sure, but a cliche one—and distracting CGI around her face. There were very few times where Alita didn't look like a CGI creation, which pulled me out of the movie over and over again. Her hands/arms and the rest of her looked realistic, but it was the oversized eyes that threw me off; I don't know if that's how it is in the manga, but if so I wish they hadn't adapted it so faithfully. I'd much rather see her expressiveness than faithfulness to the source material. Even with the routine dialogue and noticeable CGI, however, Salazar crafted a compelling character! She did a great job, bringing believable emotion through the sometimes overdone dialogue and CGI when it mattered most, so I was able to connect with Alita despite those drawbacks. Her impulse to never stand by in the presence of evil made her easy to root for and her response to an offer of mercy from one of the villains—"fuck your mercy"—was one of the best uses of the PG-13 "one f-bomb" rule I’ve seen as well as a fantastic, fist-pumping moment! The teen rebellion aspect worked really well and I liked that it wasn't just about dating a boy her “dad” disapproved of or playing a sport he thought was dangerous, but about beginning to fight a larger battle against society. All of those elements coalesced to ground Alita in relatable teen dramas while sending her off on her task of leading a revolution against her society (which is unfortunately also relatable to teens these days).

Christoph Waltz gave a great, naturalistic, and warm performance here; maybe my favorite I’ve ever seen of his. I thought he walked the “could be a killer” line very well without tipping into over-the-top villainy for the sake of the twist. I also fully bought his fatherly connection to Alita (or at least—at first—the cyborg body he'd built for his daughter). This was a neat, positive spin on Frankenstein, which was a fun change (though different characters brought other aspects of that story in, in much darker ways). I would've liked to see more interaction between Ido and his ex-wife Dr. Chiren (Jennifer Connelly), but the shared history they hinted at felt realistic and like they’d had a full life together before the movie started.

I'm glad Alita’s boyfriend Hugo (Keean Johnson) turned out to be truly supportive of her rather than just trying to get close to her to steal her body parts or something, but it felt like they could've done more with his character. He and his crew (Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Lana Condor) brought the darker body-snatching elements of Frankenstein to the story and while that was a strong twist, I wanted more fallout from it. I also wish the irony of him becoming his victims had been given some time to breathe. While he does get his head cut off for his crimes, it's done to save his life and Alita forgives him for what he was doing to people just like her awfully fast. I get that she had to make a split-second decision to save him or not, but she could’ve continued being mad at him after he was out of the woods. Alita learning about what he'd been doing and both of their reactions to him losing his body should've been bigger moments. For example, they spend a whole scene with her taking in his human torso, but they mostly gloss over their reactions to his new one. Even if Alita’s quickly-resolved reaction to his body-snatching side gig was supposed to be related to how easily she goes from one cyborg body to the next in the film, that could’ve been emphasized.

Mahershala Ali made for a good minor villain as Vector and I really liked the dark twist of how he was getting people into Zalem. I would've liked to know more about him and what he thought about being such a literal pawn, though. He thinks it’s better to rule in Hell than serve in Heaven, but did he have any plans to expand his empire in Iron City or to rebel against his boss, Nova (Edward Norton)? Intentional or not, Nova being a white man who routinely takes over the body of his black employee carries slavery symbolism and I wish we’d seen more of Vector’s reaction to it beyond the discomfort/annoyance he felt. Nova’s ability to remotely plug-in and take over any of his pawns was really creepy and cyber-punk in the best way. I've seen that used in other anime (like Ghost in the Shell), and it will never not be creepy. It's also a good way for the setting to dramatize the 1% literally using and disposing of the lower classes. I'm excited to see what other ways Nova can use his tech to fight Alita in future installments! I wonder if there'll be a point where Alita has to kill a pawn who’s otherwise a good person; that’d be an interesting moral challenge. The other Hunter-Warriors and cyborgs (Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, Eiza Gonzalez, Rick Yune, Elle Lamont and more) were good challenges for Alita and boasted a cool array of designs, even if they were more CGI than I would've liked.

The world was very well-designed and I’m eager to see what Zalem looks like in contrast with Iron City. The lower city had a great lived-in sensibility that lent it a history without stopping to explain every little detail of the world in unnatural ways (while using Alita’s memory loss to explain the important things with her as our surrogate worked well). I don't need to see a prequel though: I don't ever need to know more about The Fall and what we see of Alita's memories was more than enough to set things in motion. Let’s move forward, not back. Motorball doesn't feel like a new idea outside of the movie, but it made total sense as the biggest sport in this world. While maybe not the most original sport, I liked that it felt fully constructed by this era and for these cyborg characters. They made full use of the characters' repairable and interchangeable body parts with all the destruction involved in the sport, which made for some thrilling sequences. The action and fights in general were very coolly choreographed! They all felt relatively different and each of the Hunter-Warriors offered unique challenges, always keeping things fresh.

The movie's pacing was really well done, moving briskly along and covering a lot of ground in just two hours. Ending on Alita about to win her way to Zalem so she can face off with the 1% was a great choice! This was one of very few modern sci-fi/Young Adult movies where I didn't feel like all the cool stuff was only hinted at and saved for a sequel that might not happen. It felt like a huge amount of things went on, which made for a very satisfying experience and built my anticipation for the future nicely.

While there were some issues with the dialogue and definitely the CGI (and some character beats could’ve been explored more), I'd definitely like to get more Alita movies. I hope Disney decides to continue this story now that they own the rights, because I want to see what happens next! Alita is still going strong in theaters, so definitely make some time to see this!

Check out more of my reviews, opinions, and original short stories here!

#alita #battle angel alita

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agentnico · 6 years

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Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018) Review

The last big YA franchise still going, and its only cause Dylan O’Brian thought he was Tom Cruise and risked a stunt when he didn’t have to so he ended up in a hospital and so the film was pushed back whilst the YA film movement slowly died out and now ‘The Death Cure’ is finally here, but is there any interest left in the franchise? I thought not, and then I went to the cinema to see it, and the screening I was in was full. So well done world, you still surprise me!

Plot: In the epic finale to The Maze Runner Saga, Thomas leads his group of escaped Gladers on their final and most dangerous mission yet. To save their friends, they must break into the legendary last city, a WCKD controlled labyrinth that may turn out to be the deadliest maze of all. Anyone who makes it out alive will get the answers to the questions the Gladers have been asking since they first arrived in the maze. Will Thomas and the crew make it out alive? Or will Ava Paige get her way?

The ‘Maze Runner’ films were never anything special in my eyes. I don’t even really find them particularly good as films, but they are enjoyable for what they are. These are the types of films you can watch on a Saturday night when you just want to relax and you don’t want to watch something that requires a lot of brain work. But one thing I admire about the ‘Maze Runner’ franchise and more-so about this new entry is that you got to give props to director Wes Ball for making his trilogy. He directed all the films in the series and he was able to tell this story from beginning to end, and that is admirable. And I also appreciate Wes Ball for having the gut to refuse that extra paycheck and not split the final book in the series into two films, unlike franchises like ‘Harry Potter’, ‘The Twilight Saga’ and ‘Divergent’, the latter of which didn’t even succeed in its ambitions. And don’t even get me started on the short ‘The Hobbit’ book being turned into a massive trilogy the size of ‘Lord of the Rings’. So yes, I do admire Wes Ball for keeping the final book as one film, and not splitting it into multiple films, however at the same time with having only one movie for the final book, the movie is too long. ‘The Death Cure’ goes on for about 2 hours 30 minutes or something along those lines, and I get why, since Wes Ball wanted to cram as much into the film as he could, however by doing so the movie inevitably hits pacing issues, with many scenes dragged out to the extent of becoming boring, and many side-plot points which the film easily could have done without. That brings me to the next issue, being that there are way too many characters in the film which the plot doesn’t manage to balance well, and so many characters end up being under-used. The main victim in this is Patricia Clarkson’s villain Ava Paige, who throughout the series has been doing sweet FA and gets the same treatment in this film too, especially in the end where she kind of loses the ‘villain’ title in order for another character to get his moment to shine, which is fair play to that character, but not to Patricia Clarkson. To add to this, ‘The Death Cure’ finds the need to introduce more new characters with the likes of Walton Goggins’ mysterious business man Lawrence, who appears in the film, says a bunch of monologues and then just goes away. Goggins doesn’t do a bad job at portraying the character, but you are just left there wondering what the real purpose of his character was. And there are quite a few questionable plot choices throughout the movie, then again for the kind of movie this is trying to delve deep into the logical side of things isn’t really the right call.

‘Maze Runner’ and ‘The Scorch Trials’ both were films that were enjoyable on their own, but it always felt like we were missing something, with that feeling that those two films were building up to something big. So ‘The Death Cure’ has the job of giving us the pay-off as the final chapter in the series, and to be honest it does a swell enough job with basically a non-stop action romp with our heroes going on endless missions and looking bad-ass whilst doing them. And the action is actually fairly decent, with the opening sequence involving a cargo train having a very ‘Mad Max’ feel to it, and then later in the more final moments of the film there are some cool close combat moments which were in all fairness to Wes Ball not badly directed at all. Moving on, the performances from cast members in this film were not bad at all, but generally everyone was fairly mediocre, and it didn’t help that many cast members the likes of the already mentioned Patricia Clarkson and Walton Goggins, and then also Giancarlo Esposito, Dexter Darden and many others being strongly under-used. But there are stand-outs, with Dylan O’Brian being one as our lead hero Thomas, and if there’s one thing that the ‘Maze Runner’ franchise succeeded in, it was that it made a rising star out of O’Brien, who is a talent to be watched. He just needs to be willing to step away from the comfort of his action films and be willing to tread into new territory like indie, drama, comedy or coming-of-age films, as I think that he has the talent for it. I mean, it was a nice change of pace when I saw him in the film ‘Deepwater Horizon’, and if he continues down that route he might end up being something bigger. Thomas Brodie-Sangster was also really good as Newt, and it was really nice to see that at the root of this film was the friendship between Thomas and Newt, and their relationship was the closest thing this movie got to emotional resonance. Rosa Salazar has a few strong scenes, which makes me really look forward to the upcoming ‘Alita: Battle Angel’ in which she will be able to show her full action star power by having to handle a lead role. And I was quite surprised by Aidan Gillen, who takes his weaselly factor from ‘Game of Thrones’ but also adds the sort of cool villainous stance to himself, and I was actually genuinely appreciative of his role in this film. Also a certain character makes a surprising return which was very welcome, that is all I’ll say on that matter.

Last few points to mention is that I feel like the film could have done a better job at tying into the previous two films, since because of the two year gap since the last film, a lot of people most likely forgot what has happened in the series thus far, as this is not a franchise which you can class as particularly memorable. For example, 30 minutes into the film and a zombie appears, and for a couple minutes I was confused as to why a zombie randomly appeared in this movie, and then I remembered that this series has the whole zombie virus plot-line which the film didn’t really remind us about until that helpful hungry zombie showed up. I’m just saying that because of the delay in production I think ‘The Death Cure’ should have had at least some kind of small reintroduction to the series for those of us who are not that dedicated to the fandom as some out there. Also, another point, I admired this film for not being scared of killing off its characters, which is a notable issue in many blockbuster films these days, especially those that are budgeted by a certain small company that goes by the name Disney. However with 20th Century Fox I always appreciated their films more, as it seems that the execs of that company generally give a lot of creative freedom to the directors and producers of their films, which is only more the shame that 20th Century Fox is now merging with Disney. Well, at least its nice to see that ‘The Death Cure’ still stayed true to its plans, with director by the end of the film hitting the point of “f*** it” and simply killing off everyone left and right. I actually was surprised as to how many characters died, but I appreciated Wes Ball having the guts to do so, and also from what I understand he stayed fairly true to the original novels, so good job to him on that also! Generally speaking even though this is a fairly dumb and not particularly brain-challenging franchise, all of these films have been fairly enjoyable, including ‘The Death Cure’, and even though I doubt I’ll remember much of these films, if they ever come up in my mind, I will look back at them fondly.

Overall score: 6/10

TOP MOVIE QUOTE: “Three years we’ve spent behind walls trying to breakout, and now we want to break back in.” “Hilarious, isn’t it?”

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81scorp · 4 years

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My top 9 movies of 2019

Originally posted on Deviantart Jan 26, 2020)

Hey kids! Its that time again, when I talk about the movies I`ve seen in the cinema and rank them according to my own personal taste and bias. Why 9? Because I`m not a professional filmcritic who has time to see most of the movies that came out this year and sometimes other duties got in the way. So I only had time to see 9 movies in the cinema. And yes, two of these movies came out 2018, but they didn`t come to cinemas in my country until 2019, so they still belong on this list. M`kay? M`kay.

9: Destroyer (2018) Erin Bell (Nicole Kidman), a former undercover police officer arrives on the scene of a John Doe murder and informs them that she knows the identity of the murderer. The victim is a man from her past.Raw. That`s the simplest way to describe this movie. This is a crime movie, a type of movie genre that has a very broad appeal but it is also very unstylized, it`s the kind of movie that Michael Bay wouldn`t do.I have to admit that the biggest reason I saw this movie was because I wanted to see a film festival movie (I usually don`t go to film festivals.) and because it was highly praised by critics. Probably mostly because Nicole Kidman plays a character very different from the kind of characters she usually plays. She`s not even wearing glamorous make up, that`s when you know that an actress means serious business! Jokes aside, Kidman delivers a good performance. It also had a little twist at the end that took me by surprize. It`s a kind of movie that is easy to praise but hard to recommend. In some places it may be a little to raw for it`s own good, like a scene where Erin does something R rated on a bedridden former criminal in exchange for information. Still a good movie and I`m glad I saw it.

8: Alita: Battle Angel Dyson Ido, a White man with a japanese surname finds a female cyborg warrior in a junkyard with amnesia. Hijinks ensue. I feel bad putting it this low on the list, I wish I could have placed it higher but I also wish that it could have been better. Too many ideas squeezed into a movie not long enough to give these ideas enough room to stretch their legs and develop properly. It feels very sequel begging, is burdened by it`s high ambitions and Christoph Waltz`s character is stuck with a lot of expositional dialogue. On the other hand, Rosa Salazar delivers a good performance and the CGI on Alita is impressive. It takes a risk and commits to what it does and that is admirable. Who knew that you could make a good live-action manga adaptation by not pissing all over the source material? Even if it has some irritating flaws that a competent screenwriter could`ve avoided, I would like to see this get a sequel.Let`s hope that this is not a swansong.

7: Captain Marvel A digitally de-aged Samuel L. Jackson finds a female warrior from space with amnesia. Hijinks ensue. Standard MCU movie quality. It`s not better or worse than the average kind of MCU movie that we`re used to. This one was almost a tie with Alita, it gets a better spot because it has a better structure. It knows how and when to setup future sequels without intruding on the main story. 6: Ralph breaks the internet (2018) Unnecessary and necessary at the same time.Unnecessary in that the first one was such a self contained movie that said all that it could say and there really wasn`t much (if any) material left for a sequel. It felt like a believeable development for Ralph that he, after not having had a real friend for years, would be so possesive of Vanellope. But it feels like he got hit in the head with the dumb-dumb stick for the sake of the plot. His neediness could have started small and subtle in the beginning and then grow bigger and more noticeable as the story progressed. (There`s one scene in the first act that bugs me where Vanellope`s sad and Ralph could have been more empathic.) Necessary in that it has a good message about how friendship doesn`t have to end just because you live further away from each other. The princess scene was still funny even after Disney had shown almost all of it in the trailers. Personally I like this movie. I have a weak spot for movies that gives me the feels and this movie gave that to me in a scene where I felt it was earned. It`s good but not as good as it`s predecessor.

5: Shazam! Funny and silly in the right places and serious when it needs to be. An inellectual property, known for being silly, combined with the style of a director known for making horror movies creates an interesting result. This is how I wish the Superman movies from the 1980`s could have been. It has jokes in it like they did, but it also has heart. Heck, part of me wishes that Man of Steel could have been more like this. Casting Zachary Levi in the title role was a smart move, he knows how to balance comedy and heart. Glad it made money but it could probably have made more if Avengers: Endgame hadn`t come out so soon after it. 4: Missing link Sir Lionel Frost, a struggling investigator of mythical creatures comes in contact with a lone sasquatch who wants to find more of his own kind. Like Alita: Battle Angel I wish that this could have done better at the box office but unlike Alita I don`t wish that this movie was better, because it is already really good.(Maybe not quite as good as Coraline or Kubo and the two strings, but still.) And thats the tragedy of this movie, great quality but seen by very few people. Maybe someone should have started the Missing link challenge.At least it won a Golden globe for best animated feature. That`s always something. 3: Avengers: Endgame Avengers 4, or as I like to call it: Avengers 3 part 2. The impressive juggling act continues, now with time travel! Why not? they`ve had viking gods, shrinking superheroes and talking racoons in space, it was only a matter of time before they got to time travels.This time the impressive juggling act is much less about the number of characters and more about how the movie uses the time travelling to affect the characters and their inner journeys while also escalating the conflict in a way that feels natural. All leading to a satisifying, climactic third act battle. You did good Marvel, you did good.You can rest now Tony. 2: Frozen 2 The first Frozen felt (not unlike Wreck-it Ralph) like a self contained story that didn`t need a sequel. But unlike Ralph breaks the internet I was more welcoming to the idea of a sequel to Frozen. Why? Because when Frozen was made it had a very hectic production and there are traces of that in the finished movie. I felt that it could have been better. Now, the message is great but it`s narrative flow suffered. This time they had more time to make their movie. Personally I like it... a little bit more than the first one. Wouldn`t call it better than the first one but I wouldn`t call it worse either. On one hand it adds more material to a finished, self contained story, like in Ralph breaks the internet. On the other hand it does one thing better than the first Frozen: it saves it`s best part for second last instead of peaking in the first act, and "The next right thing" is a much better eleven o`clock number than "Fixer upper". Like it`s predecessor it`s stronger in the music department than in the story department. And like I`ve mentioned earlier, feels are my Kryptonite and this movie gave me the feels in a scene where it felt earned. And now, drumroll please, my number one pick for 2019 iiis... 1: The Lego movie 2: The second part Unapologetically silly in the best way possible. It really takes advantage of being a movie about toys that you can take apart and rebuild. Yes, it didn´t have that wow factor that the first one had with that twist at the end, but personally I didn`t expect it to be more twistier than the first one or even have a twist at all. At least not a big one.So, why is it so high on this list? 1: Because feels. 2: Because in the sea of jokes, silliness and a song that`s really gonna get stuck inside your head there was one character who added a little extra depth to a film based on a toy. Rex Dangervest, the "Cool guy" who shows up in the story is like a dark reflection of Emmet. He is the image that small boys and insecure, adolescent guys have in their heads of what type of person they should aspire to be. Rex says something about toxic masculinity and superficial maturity. Better than the first one? Debatable. As good as the first one? Maybe but certainly not worse. You can still feel the passion in the finished movie.

Maybe not as impressive as Moana or Coco, finding a clear winner this year was a little trickier than previous years, then again, since I only saw 9 movies this year I most likely missed out on a few gems. Maybe the winner in next years list will be easier to pick. And that`s my list, feel free to disagree.

#81scorp

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ryanmeft · 4 years

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2019 in Film, Part 1

We’re closing out the decade with one of the best years for film I can remember. There was so much great stuff in 2019 that it got me back to writing reviews after I had given them up as a hopeless endeavor in an age of polarized opinions. We had A-list actors turning in top-notch work about deteriorating relationships and alternate histories of Hollywood. We had forgotten or controversial actors---Antonio Banderas, Sienna Miller, Adam Sandler, Paul Walter Hauser, among others---proving they deserved to be A-list. We had great new films from the likes of The Safdie Brothers, Robert Eggers, Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach, Pedro Almodovar and more. It wasn’t all sunshine and roses. Clint Eastwood did his best to undermine his own filmmaking with sexist and anti-press leanings. Disney continued to gobble up everything it could, threatening the future of legitimate filmmaking and the theatre business. And some excellent creators turned in movies that, well, didn’t meet the hype. But what year is perfect? Below, a compendium of every 2019 film I saw, and my absolutely correct opinion on each one. This covers films through the letter G, and I’ll be posting H-N and O-Z shortly. I’ll also be updating these lists as I add new reviews and see more movies, since I live in the arse end of nowhere and there’s still a lot I haven’t seen. Enjoy.

21 Bridges: 3 Stars

-A throwback to the relatively stripped down cops-and-criminals thrillers of the 90’s, this tightly made and well acted tale of corruption will appeal to anyone who remembers the likes of The Fugitive.

Full Review: https://tinyurl.com/urvdfx2

Ad Astra: 3 Stars

-A toothless finale and a weak role for Tommy Lee Jones can’t derail the quality of Brad Pitt’s performance, one where most of the character is developed inside his head.

Full Review: https://tinyurl.com/whkonyy

The Aeronauts: 2 Stars

-This attempt to emulate the adventure epics of the Golden Age of Hollywood features spectacular sights and two great actors doing their best, but falters when developing an interesting story or drawing us into their struggle for survival. Currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

Full Review: https://tinyurl.com/tce4ps6

The Aftermath: 1 Star

-Lifeless, listless and generally not knowing what it wants to be, the movie switches back and forth from serious post-war thriller to cheesy erotic novel, and fails at both.

Full Review: https://tinyurl.com/vjfefuq

Ash is Purest White: 4 Stars

-A patient poem of life, which leads you to believe it will be one thing---a crime drama about small time street hoods in a dying industrial town---and instead becomes a quiet ode to personal perseverance. One of the year’s best films.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: 3 Stars

-Tom Hanks is ephemeral as the children’s icon with the recently resurgent reputation, and Matthew Rhys and Chris Cooper are effective as the estranged, battling father and son who Rogers helps to heal. The definitive statement on Rogers is last year’s documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor? This movie is mostly a fantasy drama revolving around Rogers’ ethos, with minimal insight into the man.

Alita: Battle Angel: 2 1/2 Stars

-Featuring stunning technology, good performances (especially from Mahershala Ali and Rose Salazar) and an incredibly weak script co-written by James Cameron, this is the kind of movie that would absolutely kill if you got a better screenplay to go with it. Hopefully they get a second try.

Full Review: https://tinyurl.com/qnl3ggd

American Woman: 3 1/2 Stars

Sienna Miller has flown under most stardom’s radar, and here in this small film no one saw gets one of the year’s best performances. She’s an irresponsible mother who has to learn to grow up after her daughter’s disappearance, but that is mere plot. The key is the sympathy the film has for the problems of people we wouldn’t ordinarily cheer on.

Full Review: https://tinyurl.com/uz7x67z

Avengers: Endgame: 3 Stars

-Fan service through and through, Endgame delivers every thrill you could possibly want with few real surprises, but also leaves you wondering where the MCU could possibly go from here.

Birds of Passage: 4 Stars

-A fictionalized look at the rise of the drug trade in Colombia, this Godfather-like film traces the fall of indigenous cultures to the lure of international criminal activity with a steady hand and a de-emphasis on overt violence.

Full Review: https://tinyurl.com/ww8m98v

Blinded by the Light: 3 Stars

-You really do gotta be a Springsteen fan, but if you are, this one is ready to make you smile and cheer. You may forget it after you leave the theatre, but then, it has already done its job.

Booksmart: 3 1/2 Stars

-Olivia Wilde continues the rehabilitation of the once trashy teen comedy, making a movie about alienation and identity that can stand alongside films like The Duff, Eighth Grade and Edge of Seventeen. It may not break any new ground, but it is so relatable and so funny it doesn’t really have to.

Brightburn: 1 1/2 Stars

-A for effort, F for execution. There’s blood to be wrung from the “What if Superman were evil?” stone, but instead of taking the concept and giving us a unique take-off of the world’s most well known superhero, the movie is content to repeat the famous origin story, weakly flipped to the horror genre.

Brittany Runs a Marathon: 3 Stars

-It isn’t without its cliches, but it’s nice to see a good film like this which doesn’t lionize impossibly perfect looking people as the only ones who can realize a dream. Jillian Bell is both off-putting and likable, a rare trick. Currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

By the Grace of God: 4 Stars

-Frances Ozon’s dispassionate, drama-lite look at three men taking on a skin-crawlingly vile abusive priest is impossible to look away from, even when characters are simply discussing their lives. Ozon makes ordinary life lived with trauma almost as tense for the audience as for those living it.

Captain Marvel: 3 Stars

-When people say the MCU movies are factory-produced, this one could be Exhibit A. It does almost nothing wrong and takes almost no risks, leaving a movie that’s fun while you’re watching it and forgotten as soon as you’re not. Bonus points for Annette Bening playing a murderous A.I.

Full Review: https://tinyurl.com/sw8247t

Captive State: 1 Star

-An intriguing sci-fi premise with a lifeless script, the potential for interesting twists and turns is neutered by a lack of narrative flare.

Cats: 1 Star

-The kind of movie that makes you want to shower afterwards.

Full Review: https://tinyurl.com/tzjx5v8

The Current War: 2 1/2 Stars

-More flash than substance, which in an odd way makes it a suitable treatment of the very publicity-minded battle between Edison and Westinghouse. Overall, it feels more like an educational video or a History Channel special, but there are things worth the trip, like the performance of Benedict Cumberbatch.

Full Review: https://tinyurl.com/urewluk

The Dead Don’t Die: 0 Stars

-Jim Jarmusch has made some of the finest films I’ve ever seen and some of the worst. This unfunny, painfully obvious satire is firmly in the latter camp.

Full Review: https://tinyurl.com/w8bafdl

Doctor Sleep: 3 1/2 Stars

-An absolutely delicious villain coupled with overall strong performances and engaging, old-school filmmaking result in one of the better of the many Stephen King adaptations.

Full Review: https://tinyurl.com/sns6nhh

Dora and the Lost City of Gold: 3 1/2 Stars

-It takes a show meant to educate young kids about languages and turns it into a genuinely funny, exciting and engaging adventure movie that pulls of an “All-ages Indiana Jones” vibe shockingly well. One of the few movies that actually needs a sequel.

Full Review: https://tinyurl.com/t7tzyxq

Dumbo: 3 Stars

-The original is outdated enough that for once a Disney remake doesn’t feel like a cash grab, and Tim Burton turns in a beautiful movie with a great villain (who, strangely enough, is an obvious stand-in for Walt himself).

Full Review: https://tinyurl.com/wnkkvuz

Fast Color: 3 Stars

-A decidedly different superhero movie that scuttles itself a bit with its own franchise ambitions, but the first two acts deliver a serious story focusing on things superhero movies rarely touch on: addiction, abandonment, forgiveness and parenthood.

Full Review: https://tinyurl.com/sgytshn

Ford v Ferrari: 3 Stars

-Two hours of the movie is bog-standard biopic stuff elevated by Damon and Bale’s performances. The last third is an incredibly thrilling, no-special-effects race scene that will get the blood pumping even if you don’t give one whit about race cars.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters: 2 Stars

-An improved emphasis on visuals helps this one be better than its predecessor, but that ain’t saying a whole helluva lot.

Full Review: https://tinyurl.com/vcuhc44

The Good Liar: 2 Stars

-A strange mix of obvious twists and spoilers you couldn’t possibly see coming, the movie feels like it both plays fair and cheats with the audience. It’s a lurid potboiler elevated considerably by the immense talents of Mirren and McKellan, who are playing well below their weight class here.

Gloria Bell: 3 Stars

-Julianne Moore turns in a lovable, relatable performance in a movie that doesn’t otherwise differentiate itself much from the divorced-people-finding-their-life-again sub-genre of feel good movie.

Greta: 2 1/2 Stars

-The sleazy thrills of seeing Isabelle Huppert, one of the best of actresses, playing an unhinged psycho stalker is worth the price of admission, but the film itself doesn’t do enough to stand out from the thriller pack.

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movieexpert1978 · 5 years

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Upgrade Pt. 4

Another chapter. Hope you guys enjoy it and please leave feedback.

Pt.4: Something is wrong with Elisa. She’s not healing right.

Alita Battle Angel and it’s characters are not mine.

“Did something happen?” Alita asks Ido quietly. Elisa has been quiet and curled up in the corner for most of the day.

“Zapan.” Ido says and that’s all Alita needs to hear.

“Uuhhh…he needs his nose broken or something.” She huffs making Ido chuckle. “Hey, you have a few credits? I have an idea.” She says to him. Ido hands her some and she goes over to Elisa. “Hey come with me. I’ve this one place I want to show you.” She says.

“No thank you.”

“Come on…it’s just for a little while ok?” Alita pleads. Elisa looks up at her and she relents and follows her out. They take a walk and come up to this food place. “Wait here.” She says. Elisa just stares at the ground for a little while when Alita comes back with something in both hands. “Here.” She hands Elisa one.

“What is it?”

“It’s an ice cream cone.” Alita says. She starts licking the ice cream to show Elisa how to eat it. “This is the ice cream part and this is the cone.” She says pointing. Elisa takes a little lick and flinches at how cold it is, but she tastes chocolate.

“Why is it so cold?”

“Because that’s how you eat it, otherwise it will melt and fall on the ground.” Elisa nods and starts licking the ice cream again. The chocolate tastes good on her tongue as they sit down to enjoy the treat. “Don’t listen to Zapan. He’s just pretty boy, loud mouth who spends all his money on his face.” Alita says.

“He called me a freak.” Elisa says quietly.

“You’re not a freak. You’re just different and that’s ok.” She insists.

“Is it?”

“Look…those people on Zalem…they did terrible things to you. It’s not your fault. They can’t hurt you now.” She says gently. Elisa just nods and eats her ice cream. Alita giggles every now and then as Elisa tries to get every drop of ice cream before it melts.

“What do I do with this?” Elisa asks when the cone is left.

“You eat that too.” Alita laughs. She takes a few bites to get used to the taste.

“I think…I like ice cream too. Thank you Alita.” Elisa smiles.

“You’re welcome. I’m glad you’re feeling better.” She says. When they come back to the clinic Ido is glad that Elisa is smiling again. Still, she has trouble falling asleep that night. She’s scared. She’s starting to trust Alita and Ido when she is not supposed to do that. She’s not supposed to get attached to anyone. It was a weakness and she didn’t want to become weak, but Ido and Alita made her feel…happy. She knew she was safe with them. She knew she was going to get fed every day. She knew she was free to come and go explore as she pleased. She could fight and protect them both. She wanted to protect them both. She was starting to accept that maybe she couldn’t go back to Zalem.

Chiren….

Maybe if she talked with Chiren just once, then maybe she could make progress.

Xxxxxxxx

“I’m telling you Chiren won’t help you.” Ido insists.

“Please Doctor, if I can talk to her just once.” Elisa begs.

“I told you, you don’t have to call me doctor.” Ido sighs.

“Please just tell me where she is.” She pleads.

“She works for Vector. She works on the players for the motorball games.” Ido says.

“Thank you.” Elisa says before she hurries out the door. Ido doesn’t like it and he knows she’s only going to get hurt. He braces himself for when she comes home.

Xxxxxxx

Elisa gets a ticket to go into the stadium, but she doesn’t have enough money for a VIP pass. She tries to figure out when to do when a black man in dark clothes and sunglasses comes up to her.

“Excuse me?” He says to her. His energy nearly makes her jump back. There’s nothing positive about his aurora at all and it’s an ugly green color. “You’re looking for Doctor Chiren?”

“Yes sir.” He hands her a pass and she puts it on. “Follow me.” He says guiding her along. The game doesn’t start for a while yet and most of the pits are empty. He leads her into a nice lounge where Chiren is waiting for her.

“You’ve been busy I’ve heard.” Chiren says strolling up to her. “Being a hunter warrior and all.”

“I’ve been helping Ido get money for the clinic.” Elisa says.

“He used to work with me you know. We used to work together and make the best players for the motorball games.”

“Why did he leave?”

“Something came up.” Elisa can tell by her tone that she won’t say anything else more about it. Chiren’s energy is cold as well, but not as much as Vector’s. It’s a mixture of a deep purple blue with faint traces of gold…and something else…something that was missing.

“Can you get me back to Zalem?” Elisa asks.

“No.”

“You can’t or you won’t?”

“Take your pick.”

“Why? I have to get back to Nova! I need to find out what I did wrong so I can do better!” Elisa pleads.

“You can’t go back. Nova doesn’t want you back.” Chiren says harshly.

“No!” Elisa shouts and she slams her fist into a nearby table, shattering it. Both Chiren and Vector freeze in shock as security comes in at the noise. Elisa turns and growls at the guards. They gasp at her unnatural blue eyes and fangs.

“It’s alright. No fighting.” Vector says making the guards go away quickly as Elisa collects herself.

“That’s very impressive…for a human.” Chiren says. “You could come work for us…be a motorball player. You could win a lot of money.” Chiren says. Nova said she couldn’t help her get back to Zalem, but not help her work for motorball.

“Never. I will never work for this disgusting game.” She snaps. She would never play motorball to become Final Champion to get to Zalem. She would not become the thing she was trained to destroy. There had to be another way. Another way that they weren’t telling her. “You know there’s another way.” Elisa says accusingly.

“There is no other way.” Chiren says not backing down.

“You’re lying!” Elisa shouts. She tries to go to Chiren but Vector takes something out and points it at her. She grabs it only to scream when her hand is severely burned. She groans in pain and clutches her wrist as her hands starts to heal slowly.

“If you change your mind make sure you have enough credits to buy a VIP pass next time.” Chiren says. Elisa leaves quickly as her hand keeps bleeding.

“She was healing…you saw that right?” Vector asks her.

“Yes.”

“Do you think she’ll come back?”

“I’m not sure.”

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Elisa does her best to ignore the pain in her hand as she walks back to the clinic. Her anger gets the best of her and she shouts as she punches the wall making some pieces of brick go flying. She grimaces in pain again as she kneels down. Her hand is bleeding and blistering. She tilts her head back and stares at the sky.

“Nova…please let me come back.” She whispers. She slowly makes her way back.

“What happened?” Ido asks, quickly come up to her.

“Nothing.” Elisa says quietly trying to hide her hand.

“What’s wrong with your hand?”

“Nothing.” She repeats.

“Elisa give me your hand.” He says firmly. She reluctantly does so and he gets to work. “What happened?” He repeats. He’s surprised to see that she is healing rather slowly.

“Vector burned me with something.” She says.

“He always carries a weapon around.” He says. “You’re healing slowly.” He adds as he treats her burns.

“You were right…she wouldn’t help me. She wanted me to join the motorball game, but I told her no. I’m going to become the thing I was trained to kill.” She says. Ido keeps silent as he starts to wrap her hand up. “I felt her energy again. She had traces of gold in her aurora like your energy.”

“I see.”

“There was something else too. It was as if her energy was missing something…just like yours.” She adds. Ido doesn’t say anything. “What happened that made you two separate?” She asks.

“It’s something you don’t need to know.” Ido says finishing up.

“Why not?”

“Because it’s not of your business.” He snaps. She frowns and looks away from him. “You don’t need to know everything.” He huffs as he walks away from her. She glares at his back before she gets up and walks out again, slamming the door behind her.

Xxxxxxxxx

For the first time Elisa goes hunting on her own. She has so much anger in her right now. She’s tempted to start punching walls again, but she doesn’t want Ido to patch her back up. It’s not fair. He knows everything about her so why won’t he do the same? She has to stop when she sees a figure walking down an alleyway. She follows them only to stop when she comes face to face with a metal bar pointed at her.

She found a mark.

She knocks his arm out to charge at him but he only jumps back thanks to mechanical legs. He chuckles as he pulls another pipe out where part of it is covered in blades.

“Let’s dance.” He rasps. Elisa charges and she leaps up with her foot pointed right at his chest, but again he leaps up and dodges her. She shouts when the blades dig into her back. She growls and swipes her claws that only swipe through the air.

“Stand still!” She shouts in anger at him, but he only laughs. Again he leaps over her but this time she braces for another cheap shot to her back so she quickly turns and catches the pipe that has the blades. Her wounded hand starts bleeding again as she takes a hit to her head from the other pipe before she catches it going in for another swing. She snarls and pulls hard enough to rip his mechanical hands right off making him scream in pain and fright. She tackles him to the ground and starts punching away at his chest breaking metal as her hands get covered in blue blood. When she’s done, she’s breathing hard as she looks over the dead mark. She takes his head to collect the bounty of seven thousand credits. Her body feels sore and stiff as she walks back to the clinic. She’s sorting through the money when Ido comes up to her.

“Here.” She says handing him five thousand. She figures two thousand will last her a little while as she puts it in her bag.

“You went out hunting by yourself?” He asks looking her over.

“Yeah so?” She mutters going to the couch.

“Your back is bleeding.” He says.

“I’ll be fine.”

“Hold still.” He orders her. Puzzled, she does so, only to yelp as Ido pulls out a piece of metal that was still in her skin. “Come on.” He says guiding her to the medical bed. He can see that she’s got bruises on her face too. “What did he hit you with?”

“He had these pipes. One of them had blades on it.” She says. He bandages up her back and gives her some pain pills for her head. It’s then that he notices her bandaged hand is bleeding again.

“You have to be careful.” He sighs as he wraps it up again.

“I said I’ll be fine. Why do you care?” She says bitterly.

“Because I’m responsible for you.” He says.

“No you’re not. I can take care of myself.” She states.

“Really…then why do you keep coming back here?”

“Because…because I don’t know where else to go.” She says quietly.

“You need to be careful Elisa. I don’t know why, but your healing powers are slowing down.” He says again gently this time, hoping it will get through to her.

“Ok…thank you.” She says looking at the floor. He starts to get up when she speaks again. “I don’t understand. You know everything about me…but you won’t tell me everything about you.”

“Well…you see we have this thing called privacy here. We don’t tell someone we just met every little detail about our lives. We tell them as we get to know them and trust them. I’m guessing you didn’t have much privacy in Zalem because they were watching you all the time yes?”

“Yes.”

“And I don’t know everything about you because you don’t know everything about yourself.”

“Is that bad?”

“Yes and no, it’s bad because you’re learning this so late in life, but it’s better late than never.” He says with a light chuckle

“Oh…well I’m sorry I asked about your privacy.” She says.

“It’s alright.” He smiles. “Are you sure you don’t want to sleep in my bed.”

“No thank you.”

“Ok…well goodnight Elisa.”

“Goodnight Ido.”

Xxxxxxxxx

It took several days for Elisa’s wounds to heal, much to Ido’s surprise. He kept an eye on her and he started to notice a few things. She looked tired after her walks around Iron city and she wasn’t eating as much as she used to. She was sleeping a lot more. Alita noticed it too and she was getting worried as well, but Elisa insisted that she was fine even though she really didn’t feel fine. He wasn’t sure if he should take her hunting, but she insisted she come and he didn’t really want her going alone anyway. Now she was the one coming home with cuts and bruises. He could tell she was in a lot of pain, but she barely took any pain pills. Ido studied her body, but still he couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her.

“Maybe she’s got a virus or something?” Alita suggests one day.

“My equipment would have showed something like that Alita.” He says looking over the scans he took.

“Oh…sorry.” She grumbles. He rubs her shoulder in comfort.

“I know you’re worried about her too.” He says in comfort. They glance over at Elisa, who is sleeping on the couch at the moment.

“Do you think Chiren might know something?” Alita suggests.

“I’m not going to her for that. Not after Vector hurt her.” He says firmly. Not sure what else to do, they focus more on the patients of the day. Elisa finally gets off the couch closer to dinner time. “How are you feeling?” Ido says looking over her wounds. Some have begun to heal while others show no sign of healing at all.

“Tired.” She mumbles.

“Where does it hurt the most?”

“My right hand.” Ido looks it over again. She had caused more damage to her hand with every fight. She had small fractures on her fingers and palm.

“Are we going hunting tonight?”

“Elisa your right hand is basically broken. You’re not going hunting for a while.” Ido says showing her the scans.

“I can handle it.”

“Elisa, no. You’re not going out.” He says.

“I could go with you!” Alita blurts out before she can stop herself. Ido nearly glares at her as she gives him a sorry look.

“Just one more night. There’s a big mark out, worth ten thousand. If we can get him tonight I’ll stop for a while.” Elisa says. Ido sighs as he thinks for a moment.

“Alright…fine…but just for tonight. After that both of you are staying home.” He says firmly.

Xxxxxxxx

Ido is leading in front with his hammer in his hands. Elisa is helping him, her eyes an unnatural blue. Alita is behind her. At first it seems that they might not run into anyone and Ido is relieved, but just before they head back they hear a scream. Elisa runs ahead of them as another scream is heard.

“Get away from her!” Elisa shouts. The killer turns as the intended victim runs away. Ido and Alita hurry behind her.

“Ooohhh…three instead of one.” He smirks as he flashes his long blades. Elisa charges at the killer.

“Elisa no!” Ido shouts. She ducks his first few swipes and she gets a punch in making him stumble back. She glances back and forth when she gets an idea. She rolls in front of the killer making him puzzled. She does a few kicks that he can easily dodge, but he’s backing up to Ido. He gets the idea and activates his hammer ready for a swipe.

“Now!” Elisa shouts to Ido as she gets out of the way. The killer gasps as Ido swings and he hits him hard in the side, sending him flying into a wall.

“Aaahhhh…shit.” He grumbles in pain. Ido is quick to try and him again but the killer reacts fast enough and manages to roll out of the way. He swipes at Ido, who falls back. Alita tries to help, but Ido holds her back as Elisa goes in for her attack. The killer anticipates her move and even though he’s on his knees he manages to turn and stab Elisa in her side deep with one of his blades. She shouts in pain and crumbles to the ground.

“No!” Ido and Alita shout at the same time. Alita runs fast and tackles the killer, slamming him into the ground again.

“Alita get out of the way!” Ido orders. She ducks in time as his hammer slams into the cyborg’s body and it shatters instantly. Elisa hisses in pain as she gets up.

“Easy.” Alita says helping her. Elisa ignores her as she pulls out the blade and chops his head off. Ido looks at her in shock before he goes into doctor mode. He puts his hammer aside and puts pressure on her wound. He doesn’t like that his gloves are getting wet from her blood.

“Don’t forget the head.” Elisa mumbles. Ido can’t help but roll his eyes as he nods to Alita. Anything to get Elisa quiet and back to the clinic. He kicks the clinic door open and carries Elisa to the bed. He gets his coat and gloves off before he puts on medical gloves. He lifts up her shirt a little bit to see the wound and she flinches in pain.

“Is she going to be alright?” Alita asks.

“I don’t know.”

“Why isn’t she healing?”

“Alita please! I need to focus.” He says a little harshly. She only nods and backs away to let him work. Elisa is bleeding badly and he checks the screens to see how bad she is internally. He also sees that her eyes are red from sickness.

“Give…me…your wrist.” Elisa rasps.

“What?” He asks looking at her. Her fingers graze over his wrist. He holds it out to her confused. She takes it and suddenly bites down making him shout in both fear and fright. He tries to pull away, but she holds firm as she is actually drinking his blood! She finally let’s go and he nearly flies into the table. She groans as her body heals again. “What the hell?!” He gasps as she sits up. Her side wound heals right before his eyes as Alita stands up. “You…what…what was that?” He gasps as he clutches his wrist. “You…you drank my blood!” He yelps.

“I’m sorry…I had to. They called it a side effect of the enhancements they gave me. I got so used to them just…giving it to me that I didn’t realize I needed it again. I thought all I needed was food.” She explains.

“Side effect? You fucking drank my blood!” He shouts making Elisa flinch.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” She nearly whimpers.

“You said I knew everything about you…but I didn’t know this. How do I know that you won’t attack Alita or Nurse Gerhard.” He argues.

“I can’t drink cyborg blood…and I would never hurt them.” She pleads.

“No…no…I’m not going to keep some…monster in my home. You’re not going to become one of my demons.” He rasps in a tone Elisa has never heard from him before. “Get your things and get out now!” He orders. Elisa can see the anger and fear in his eyes. She tries to hide her tears as she gathers her things.

“Dad, you can’t do this! Maybe there’s something you can do so that she won’t have to drink blood anymore.” Alita pleads.

“Alita, I am not helping her. My decision is final.” He states.

“But…but…you can’t just toss her out like Nova did!” She begs.

“Alita don’t argue with me.” He nearly snaps.

“It’s ok Alita…it’s a condition I have to deal with always. You can’t change that.” Elisa says gently.

“Don’t go Elisa please! We can work on this!” She says frantically.

“Alita…it’s ok. I’ll be fine. I’ll figure it out.” Elisa says. Alita pulls her into a hug and sniffles softly. Elisa carefully returns it.

“I’ll miss you.”

“I know…I’ll miss you too.” She says, wiping a few of her tears away. “Thank you for all your help…goodbye.” Elisa says to both of them before she is out the door. She silently cries as she walks the streets, ending up at the abandoned church. She sighs as she goes inside and curls to try and sleep.

#battle angel alita #alitabattleangel #alita battle angel #alita #christoph waltz #christoph waltz fanfiction #dyson ido #dyson ido fanfiction #fanfiction #alternate universe #cw fandom #christoph waltz fandom #chapter four #bounty hunting #hunter warriors #angst #please leave a comment #thank you

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Here's what you need to know about those CGI influencers invading your feed

Human influencers like Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner might want to secure their positions in the influencer realm before they get ousted by glorified Sims.

That's right: There are now computer generated images that do exactly what human influencers do. There's a human behind each one — coming up with captions and manually generating the content — though it can be unclear who exactly that person is. The financial threads are equally hazy, but you can be sure that someone is making money off of these "people."

According to CBS, the digital influencer market is set to reach $2 billion in the next two years. The scariest thing is just how convincing these artificial influencers really are: 42 percent of people who were following a digital Instagrammer didn't realize it wasn't a real person, according to a recent study by the media company Fullscreen.

SEE ALSO: 'Alita: Battle Angel' is relevant for cyborgs and humans alike

I set out to understand who exactly these new influencers are, and why they exist. That involved interacting with them — or at least trying to. The feeling of being left on read by people who don't exist is a unique one. It also made me feel like they're hiding something. But here's what we know ... so far.

Rest assured, they'll either save us from the digital malaise we’ve all scrolled ourselves into, or destroy us further.

Lil Miquela, 1.5 million followers

Lil Miquela, or Miquela Sousa, is a perpetually 19-year-old girl from Downey, California. She has all the necessary ingredients for Insta-success: good looks, flashy clothing, a nonexistent yet bottomless bank account, and a passion for activism. It's easy to forget you're looking at a bot when reading her captions, which are sprinkled with witty remarks and relatable musings. "No lie, I wish I’d been assembled in the ’90s ..." she quips, echoing the very human desire to be from another time. It's part of what makes her so popular — and so uncanny.

View this post on Instagram

So am I just going to have crushes on everyone this year? That’s how it’s gonna be, huh? Cool, cool.

A post shared by *~ MIQUELA ~* (@lilmiquela) on Jan 4, 2019 at 5:08pm PST

The algorithmic babe was named one of the 25 most influential people on the internet by Time last year, alongside Busy Philips and Logan Paul. (She was the only non-human to make the cut.) It's safe to say the integration of bot personalities into the mainstream has begun.

In addition to being an influencer, she’s also a singer and merch seller. Miquela has around 52,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. Not bad for someone who doesn’t exist in the physical realm.

And the merch? Socks from Club 404, Lil Miquela's overpriced swag brand, will run you $30 for two pairs.

But wait a second, why CGI influencers?

Before we introduce more of these new age avatars, it's important to understand how they came to be. Cue Brud. And Cain Intelligence.

Brud is the LA-based tech startup credited with Miquela's existence. It's described as a "transmedia studio that creates digital character driven story worlds," whatever that means. Other than that, it's pretty much a mystery. We do know that it was founded by two people: Sara DeCou and Trevor McFedries, neither of whom could be reached for comment.

Cain Intelligence is even more of a mystery. Founded by Daniel Cain, who may or may not be real, the company is another startup. It describes itself as "the industry leader in Conscious Language Intelligence (CLI), a type of Artificial Intelligence that allows for humans to engage with our specialized robots in free-format, natural language." The website feels bleak and dark, something a villain in a spy movie would create. (It's also pro-Trump.)

If you're reading this and you're confused, that's sort of the point. Lil Miquela and Blawko, another CGI influencer, are characters created by Brud. Bermuda, also a CGI influencer, was made by Cain Intelligence. Allegedly. But wait: Bermuda now has Brud's Instagram page tagged in her own bio, followed by the message "Look closer"; likewise, Brud's bio identifies Bermuda as a client. Seems like Cain was a marketing hoax to launch Bermuda and her right-wing agenda? As a scheme to get attention for the entire CGI universe Brud has created, it seems to have worked.

The only person I was able to get in contact with about these three CGI influencers was Jemma Litchfield from Huxley, the creative agency that represents Miquela, Bermuda, and Blawko. In an email, she said she "looked after Miquela." She said they weren't doing interviews, but she'd fact check for me, if I'd like. She didn't offer any clarification about Brud or Cain Intelligence, but instead shifted some sentences around and corrected my first-draft grammar.

Perhaps the enigmatic nature of Brud and Cain is the reason their influential prototypes have become so successful and so followed. Curiosity today usually leads to a Google search. But when there's no information available beyond what you already know, it can prompt a fascination. Or frustration.

Anyway, meet Miquela's digital squad: Bermuda and Blawko.

Bermuda, 133k followers

Bermuda is a controversial blonde known for stirring the digital pot. She's pro-Trump and describes herself as a "robot supremacist." She also once hacked Miquela's page, which gained followers for both of them, pushing Miquela past the 1 million mark, a milestone that opens up a lot of doors in influencer world, including lucrative brand deals with prominent designers.

Now Bermuda and Miquela are friends who hang out, go to lunch, and put makeup on each other— digitally.

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💚💚💚 Decided to give Twitter another try. I’m BermudaIsBae there, too. 💚💚💚 In a great mood today and I hope you all are, too. Mwah!

A post shared by Bermuda (@bermudaisbae) on Nov 12, 2018 at 5:27pm PST

Blawko, 135k followers

Miquela and Bermuda are joined by another Brud-born character, Blawko, whom they both seem smitten with. Just like Miquela and Bermuda, he offers an eerily authentic personality. He plays video games, goes on dates, and doesn't clean his room. As for the bizarre love triangle between him, Miquela, and Bermuda ... Are we supposed to imagine them in compromising positions? Is this a clear representation of CGI flirtation by default? We're not really sure!

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heaux heaux heaux

A post shared by 🅱️LAWKO (@blawko22) on Dec 20, 2018 at 3:34pm PST

Aside from the Brud crowd, there are other CGI influencers out there in the digital space.

Lil Wavi, 12.1k followers

If you squint, Instagram user @lil_wavi might seem like just another Soundcloud rapper-looking hypebeast, dressed in the latest streetwear and spattered with tattoos. Upon further inspection, you'll see he's a digitally-rendered avatar in human clothing. His graphics give off an edgy early-2000s Sims vibe. Since he "lives in a computer," he can get his hands on expensive pieces of designer clothing that he describes as "the drip" and cites as his main draw. "I’m all about innovation, encouraging creativity, pushing minds to think out of the shitty boundaries," he — or, rather, the unidentified human speaking for him — told Mashable over email. "I want my fans to be influenced in that way. It’s important to me that I am sending positive vibes out to them all."

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Flameboyyyy 🛸🏴‍☠️ yuhhh my $$ fly 💸💸💸 y’all ready for merch?

A post shared by 🛸LIL WAVI🛸 (@lil_wavi) on Jan 28, 2019 at 10:05am PST

Noonoouri, 279k followers

Brand deals and fashion show appearances abound for this influencer. It's unclear how a digital avatar can attend IRL events, but a quick scroll of her page will show her doing just that. Noonoouri takes her role as influencer very seriously. When Vogue Australia asked about her favorite beauty products, she answered, "I love KKW Beauty contour and highlight — they truly work!" Since she's done ads — on YouTube and on Instagram — for KKW Beauty before, it's no surprise that she would plug the products. What's surprising is that a digital persona who looks straight out of a Pixar short is using makeup and getting paid for it.

Joerg Zuber, Noonoouri's creator, spent several years making her before debuting the influencer on Instagram. A visit to her page suggests she was recently in Africa for a number of fashion-related appearances. And she's from Paris, France, according to her Instagram bio. "I am who I am. If I can help or support others I am very happy. I believe in swarm intelligence. In times like these we need to share and not to hold back," she told Mashable via email.

"I have a real soul," says Noonoouri.

Image: Joerg zuber

Shudu, 172k followers

Self-identified as "The World's First Digital Supermodel," Shudu was created by beauty photographer Cameron James Wilson as an art project. She blew up when her image was featured on Rihanna's Fenty Beauty Instagram page. In the photo, she's modeling one of the buzzy beauty line's lip products and smizing for the ... computer? Though she's more model than influencer, her likeness is used to sell, too. Shudu doesn't have a personality, per se, but it's because Wilson hasn't come across a human that could do her justice — yet: "Only someone similar to Shudu would be appropriate to tell her story, and really shape who she is as ‘person,’" he mused to Mashable via email. He supports the movement to create more digital supermodels like Shudu: "It doesn’t matter who you are, if you study art and learn how to use 3D programs, you too can be a 6ft tall virtual runway model!"

View this post on Instagram

Shudu @thesavoylondon trying on beautiful #EEBAFTAs outfits, complete with @atelierswarovski earrings. 6 days to go till she shares #redcarpet looks with you all. . @ee @BAFTA . . #3D #3Dart #digitalsupermodel #worldsfirstdigitalsupermodel #virtualinfluencer #BTS

A post shared by Shudu (@shudu.gram) on Feb 4, 2019 at 11:07am PST

Barbie, 6.2 million subscribers

Here's a familiar face. The uber-popular icon that is Barbie has a digital counterpart, and she's a vlogger. Her first video, in which she introduces herself, went up in 2015. In it, she talks about being from Wisconsin (who knew?) and having a sister. "I've always just been curious about things," she shares earnestly, her huge animated eyes blinking like those of a human YouTuber. Since then, she's uploaded over 75 vlogs, most of which include her sister Skipper and boyfriend Ken, to the YouTube channel owned and operated by Mattel. Barbie is the OG influencer — she's known for doing a million different jobs and having fun while doing them. Why reinvent the wheel?

youtube

Balenciaga's digi-models

While you can't follow these influencers, they're worth mentioning. To show off their Spring 2019 collection on Instagram, Spanish fashion house Balenciaga utilized shape-shifting digital models made by artist Yilmaz Sen. In a series of short video clips on Instagram, the digital models sparked questions about the future of technology in fashion. With cool haircuts and names like Elsa and Ruben, everything about them screams high fashion. However, unlike human models that walk down runways, these models stand in place and distort themselves like they're made of rubber. Because all haute couture should be shown on computer-generated contortionist models!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Balenciaga (@balenciaga) on Nov 14, 2018 at 1:53am PST

What's next, then?

Tapping around on these digi-fluencer's pages provides an exciting, if not unsettling, look at the future of technology and the part it may play in pop culture. Some question the validity, appeal, and purpose of these bots. Perhaps it's performance art. Or maybe it's all just an elaborate stunt to leverage consumer action? YouTuber Shane Dawson has a popular video dedicated to uncovering the identity of Lil Miquela. He even calls her on the phone — only to be met with a clearly auto-tuned voice who's careful not to give anything away, or falter at all.

Liz Bacelar, a tech expert, mused to Forbes that we could potentially find ourselves living in a world in which we all have a digital avatar. And with facial recognition being insidiously installed in mundane places (like gas stations) in order to advertise, secure, and identify us, this may be sooner than we think. Just imagine, we'll be in self-driving cars, scrolling by digitized avatars trying to make us use their discount codes. Or perhaps we'll allow our digitized selves to live for us, like we've seen in futuristic movies like Ready Player One and Wall-E.

Think of your new CGI friends as the pixelated pioneers of a new, formulated frontier. Who knows? Maybe our human selves could be rendered virtually useless. For now, though, we can just keep an eye on Instagram.

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