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vex-machina · 1 year

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on state of narrative in D2

okay listen usually I do not post opinions here and when posting on twitter I try to remain brief and calm, but right now I’m delusional and a little enraged and I’ve been pondering these emotions long enough to put them into perspective and form some words.

Lightfall seems to be unnecessary. Neomuna seems to be unnecessary. there are leakers, however unreliable they are, on twitter and reddit claiming that LF is a filler DLC shoved in-between narrative bits of the Witch Queen and the Final Shape. from where I stand their theories are solid, their claims are checking out: Strand looks like something that belongs with the Queen of Lies, the Lucent Brood and the whole TWQ aesthetic; new destination is lacking, both map and new characters feel empty and underdeveloped; new armor and armaments are the old ones actually, just reskinned. a whole expansion being shoehorned into the schedule for whatever reasons — to give studio a bit more time to work on an Actual тм finale or because of profits — just serves a proof that subscription model kills the coherent narrative, that constant updates scheduling fresh content at a certain date, promising people new deep insights and fun, previously unexplored gameplay are incompatible with healthy work environment and high quality of the content being released. there is just not enough time.

on the second hand, lots of people are praising TWQ for its plot and character development, for the subtle ways the story engages with the gameplay, for the finally well structured and solid basics of the lore being introduced clearly for once. though I do have a bone to pick with those who consider the only good narrative the one that states itself in simple terms (because oversimplification tends to kill nuance and convert otherwise good plot points into bland “marvel-esque” tales), I do not consider this the main issue. for me the main issue with TWQ is actually the one that is present in LF, the one TWQ establishes for LF — it is the main antagonist. the Witness in his current iteration is somewhat unnecessary.

Destiny’s core writing is heavily influenced by the man behind it. Seth Dickinson wrote the backbone of the world we know as Destiny universe, his ideas permeate the worldbuilding and some of them are easy to spot in his other works. Sekhmet Hunts The Dying Gnosis: A Computation is one of such works, and it deals mostly with the same existential concepts Destiny does: with life and death and the war between them.

there are three main characters in “Sekhmet”: Sekhmet, the primordial essence of death and instinct and simplicity (you can call her the Winnower); her brother Seth, who is a being of conscience and curiosity and also complexity and life (yes, he thoroughly remind me of the Gardener); finally, there is Coeus — a transhuman entity that pleads Sekhmet to end her war on all things because zir people are so close to discovering a secret, third option of existing (“a way between [Sekhmet and Seth], a melding of [their] strengths”). Coeus is described as “a slender sinuous person, black as carbon fiber” with “eyes of jet, with gleaming cuttlefish pupils that promise some acuity nearly divine”, ze also tells Sekhmet that “[ze] was made in hate of [her] <…> [ze] was made to spite [her] blindness. at the end of history, the end of gods, when [zir people] tried to go forward” — so it’s only natural to see some inspiration Bungie drew for the Witness from that character.

the story of “Sekhmet” is heavily based on the mythos of Ancient Egypt, therefore is quite straightforward: in a space before times Sekhmet hunts her brother Seth, she wants to kill him because he is weak, because it is the nature of Sekhmet to wage war of the stronger against weaker one. Seth only wants to live and explore Thought and Creation and Mind, but because the two of them share an intricate bond of existing within each other, Seth’s creation is always doomed with Sekhmet’s viral rule of strength. Sekhmet traverses the timeline and meets shadows of people, planted there by Seth to instill a curiosity in her, to challenge the simplicity of her nature with nuance — such is the battle between them. at some point Sekhmet meets Coeus who tells her about a civilization ze came from and zir struggle to forge a path between gods. after a short fight Sekhmet devours Coeus (for ze was weak) and continues on her path, finally reaching her brother at the end of times. there Seth berates her for ruthlessness and blindness, but he already lost and so he has to go — Sekhmet kills him and in devouring his flesh learns all the things he used to know, thus realizing they are two parts of the same process (Coeus calls them “algorithms”) and cannot be separated. in the epilogue Sekhmet diminishes into a weaker version of herself, giving way to the rule of her brother, but she also talks to Coeus and asks ze if zir people have found the way to exist beyond the algorithms of divine war, weakness and strength. Coeus tells her that such way has not yet been found, thus leaving the main question of possibility of “a secret, third option” open.

it is obviously unwise to consider Dickinson’s short story a summary to 10 years of carefully crafted sci-fi saga written by dozens of authors, but it is also evident that core concepts were introduced and then developed in touch with particular author’s mindset — the one that previously borned “Sekhmet” and drew heavily upon it. and because of the different scale of media to which those concepts were introduced, Destiny suffers with continuity. it is one thing to read an intimate story about personifications of existential constants and a whole other thing to introduce roughly the same story in an interactive universe scheduled for 10 years of uptime and bound by industrial standards. industry demands that there should be a villain — something physical, manifested — to fight it face to face, to simplify the narrative into clearly understandable fractions, some friendly, some hostile, and here the beauty of Dickinson’s metaphor fades away, shaping philosophical concepts into enemy races.

and while this is sad, this is also understandable. a conscious choice to divulge from already established worldbuilding on the other hand is not. a few days passed since the LF release and I still cannot understand what brought Bungie to a genius idea of introducing Neptune as a whole new destination, previously unmentioned but holding an insane significance for the core narrative. there is already a destination in Destiny that’s well established, well mentioned and is of utmost importance for the characters leading the story: I’m talking about Distributary, the world within a black hole where the stronghold of Awoken civilization remains. let’s check out the boxes:

Distributary is encased within a singularity which allows for time skipping that is necessary to introduce high tech society hidden from the devastation that permeated Sol for eons;

Distributary is a place of birth for one of the playable races, the one that has been under siege since Forsaken but apparently remained a peaceful haven, thus making the stakes familiar, clear and high;

Distributary already operates on concepts that Neomuna tries to introduce as fresh: Exodus Indigo is basically Exodus Green, huge Cloud Striders are the same as Sjur Eido and other genetically altered folk that came from the Yang Liwei, the CloudArk (while being somewhat derivative from SOMA ending) is also suspiciously well described as an Awoken decision to let the civilians on Exodus Green remain dormant until the civilization is well established and can provide — the only difference between the two is that Distributary is already there, with its stories well written and introduced, waiting to be explored, while Neomuna is an empty space that strives to fill itself in record timing, and fails at it;

most importantly, players already fought for Distributary during Forsaken, making the recent Darkness offensive on it a personal deal of seeing your own hard work demolished — once again, clear stakes, personal interest, direct ties between characters players already know and a new setting, that had been teased, but never shown. hell, even the novelty can be explained and expressed through characters of Mara or Crow, struggling with their memory (or loss of it) and the way time changed the place they used to know.

it is also worth noting that when dealing with complex narratives over a long period of time you have to utilize already established characters, concepts and destinations rather than introduce new ones with every other bit of the story. obviously you have to include and establish some fresh plot points over the time being, but it’s a general rule of thumb NOT to start anew with every few pages. and this is where previously mentioned seasonal model tends to work against the writers: the model dictates to start anew and industry demands a villain.

#unfortunately i have no idea how to make the narrative better without affecting the gameplay #it is easy for me to judge the narrative like it is a book not an interactive world with a self-inserted protagonist #i know this is not the case for most of the fans

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baya-ni · 3 years

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SHADOW’s Queer Coding

I first started exploring this idea of Sk8′s implicit queer rep (as in stuff other than explicit same sex intimacy) in this post.

I know we like to joke that Hiromi is the Token Straight of the protag gang, but I argue that he’s as much an example of queer rep as any of our main characters, albeit in a less conventional and fanservicey way.

So that’s what this post is gonna be, an analysis of Hiromi/SHADOW as a queer figure, how his character fits the Jekyll/Hyde archetype as a metaphor for queerness and The Closet, the similarities between SHADOW as a skatesona and early drag, and how his character represents a larger problem of exclusion within queer fandom spaces.

The 1886 Gothic novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson is the origin of the phrase “Jekyll and Hyde”. What I’m calling the Jekyll/Hyde archetype, refers to the same thing; it refers to duality, to a character who is “outwardly good but sometimes shockingly evil” (as described from the novella’s wiki page).

And the Jekyll/Hyde dynamic has also long been associated with Queerness. The antagonism between Jekyll and Hyde as two sides of the same person resonates with many people as similar to the experience being in the closet, and many many scholars have written about this queer reading of Jekyll and Hyde. Do a quick google search if you don’t believe me.

Hiromi experiences his own Jekyll/Hyde duality through his SHADOW persona, which seems to entirely contradict with Hiromi’s day to day personality.

Whilst Hiromi is sweet, romantic, and generally very cutesy, SHADOW is mean-spirited, sadistic, described as “the anti-hero of the S community.” And though these two personalities seem entirely at odds, SHADOW doesn’t exist in a vacuum, he’s very much a part of Hiromi. In the show, this manifests as SHADOW’s sabotage moves being all flower themed, as Hiromi works in a flower shop, and how he’ll “step out” of character when playing babysitter to the kids.

Below is passage from an essay titled, “The Homoerotic Architectures of Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” which reminds me a lot of Hiromi’s character, such that I think his character arc can be read as an allegory for coming out and self acceptance.

The closet, here, is a space not only for secrecy and repression, but also for becoming; it is the space in which queer identities build themselves up from “disused pieces” and attempt to discover the strength needed for presentation to the world. The closet is both a space of profound fear and profound courage—of potentiality and actualization. (Prologue)

Unlike the kid/teen characters, the show’s adult characters all lead double lives. When they aren’t skating, they have day jobs. Kaoru is a calligrapher, Kojiro is a restaurant owner, Ainosuke is a politician/businessman (but tbh his job is just being some rich dude), and Hiromi works in a flower shop.

But of the adult protagonists (so not Ainosuke), Hiromi compartmentalizes the most.

Kojiro leaves his face totally exposed such that he can be recognized both on and off the skate scene. Kaoru at least covers his face, but his trademark pink hair and constant use of Carla doesn’t make it very hard to connect the dots between him and CHERRY. He’s also always with Kojiro in the evenings, so if you don’t recognize him as CHERRY when he’s on his own, you certainly will when you see him interacting with Kojiro/JOE.

Next to these two, Hiromi seems the more adamant at separating his Work from Play.

Even when he’s been clearly found it, he still tries to deny that he and SHADOW are the same person. Miya even uses this to coerce Hiromi into helping him and the boys:

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that the separation between Hiromi and SHADOW can be interpreted as a metaphor for being in The Closet. As SHADOW, he leads a secret life, one characterized by an tight-knit underground community with a vibrant night scene, where he behaves in ways typically frowned upon by larger society. He worries about being found out and judged by the people close to him.

But in Ep 4, the walls of his Closet begins to come down, or in this case is literally imposed upon by other members of his community, by its younger members, who don’t feel the same need to hide their passion for skateboarding or lead the same kind of double life.

We then see the line between Hiromi and SHADOW begin to blur.

He becomes less of an antagonist, and instead the audience sees him become a mentor and “mother hen” figure for the younger skaters. Later on in Ep 4, we see him casually interacting with the other protags in full SHADOW mode, not as an “anti-hero” but as a friend. In Ep 6, he acts as a babysitter for the kids, and we see him totally comfortable appearing both in an out of his SHADOW persona throughout their vacation.

And I think that this gradual convergence of Hiromi and SHADOW will culminate in this tournament arc.

There’s something more personal that’s driving SHADOW to do well in this tournament. It’s not just for bragging rights or his pride as a skater, but the results of this tournament is going to have some kind of greater impact on Hiromi’s personal life. Personally, my theory is that Hiromi is using this tournament to prove to himself that he’s worthy enough to ask his manager out on a date.

Hiromi is no longer compartmentalizing, his two lives are overlapping and influencing each other. Recall the essay quote I cited earlier:

The closet... is the space in which queer identities build themselves up from “disused pieces” and attempt to discover the strength needed for presentation to the world... of potentiality and actualization.

This is exactly the case for Hiromi. Through skating, he is piecing together the disparate parts of him such that he can present himself to the world as a more unified and confident being.

And the show presents the very skating community that Hiromi has been working so hard to keep separated from his personal life- Reki, Langa, Miya, Kaoru, and Kojiro- as the catalyst for that becoming.

That, my dear readers, is queer coding if I ever saw it.

But there’s probably gonna be people claiming something along the lines of “But SHADOW can’t be queer rep because he’s Straight!” And I assume that’s because he shows romantic interest in his female manager.

First of all, Bisexuality. Also Ace/aro-spec people. And second of all, SHADOW is Hiromi’s drag persona.

And before anyone can say anything about how Hiromi can’t do drag because he’s straight (assumption) and cis (also an assumption) uhhhh no, fuck you.

Drag didn’t start with RuPaul’s Drag Race, that’s just how it got mainstream. And it’s also how it got so gentrified and transphobic. You heard me. But anyway.

Drag is, and has always been, first and foremost about exaggerated, and oftentimes satirical, gender presentation and performance. It’s about playing with gender norms through artistic dress and theater, not so much to do with sexuality or gender identity.

Literally, what’s the difference here?

SHADOW is a persona of exaggerated masculinity with a punk aesthetic. Regardless of his sexuality or gender identity, Hiromi’s gender performance as SHADOW is drag- that makes him queer representation, change my fucking mind.

Queerness is more than same-sex romance, and by extension, good queer representation is not limited to canonized gay ships. The very word Queer, in it’s ambiguity, is meant to encompass the richly unique experiences of everyone within the LGBTQ+ community.

In my opinion, Queer =/= Gay. I mean, they’re colloquially the same yes and even I use them interchangeably. But for the purpose of this post, they’re not the same, and that’s to argue that Hiromi/SHADOW’s lack of acknowledgement as queer rep illustrates a larger issue of exclusion within fandom.

I mean, this is something we all kinda been knew, but in the case of Sk8 specifically, there are a two main reasons why I think Hiromi is rarely acknowledged as queer rep.

1. He’s not shippable with another male character

Fandom favors mlm ships when it comes to what’s considered good queer rep. And the ultimate mark of good queer rep is explicit acts of romance or intimacy between two male characters. Unlike with any of the other characters in the show, we can’t point to Hiromi and automatically clock him as gay, especially because he expresses romantic interest in a woman.

So by default, he’s less popular, because “Ew Straight People” amirite /s.

2. He’s not attractive

This is really interesting, because like JOE, Hiromi is a beefcake.

But fans don’t thirst over him the same way they do over JOE. Granted, the show really plays up JOE’s muscles in a very strip-teasey way that literally encourages viewers to find him attractive. By contrast, Hiromi is pretty much covered head to toe and he paints his face in theatrical makeup- the point is to look scary, not attractive.

In essence, even though Hiromi engages in “queer behavior” through his SHADOW persona, his queerness isn’t palatable.

But I also think there’s some pretty insidious undercurrents of fetishization going on here, of both Asian people AND gay men. Which is... a whole other thing I really don’t have the capacity to unpack completely.

But basically, Hiromi doesn’t fit into any of the popular BL archetypes so he’s less likely to recognized as Queer. Relatedly, he’s also less often subjected to a fetishistic gaze as other characters. I mean...

So again, fans just don’t find him as appealing. Attractive characters are always more popular than ugly ones.

And I’m sure there are a lot of people who just don’t care for Hiromi’s personality, that’s fine, he does act like an asshole sometimes. But this post is meant to illustrate that queer rep takes multiple forms, and unfortunately I think a lot of media just tends to fall back on stereotypical portrayals of queer people for the sake of broader appeal. And by consequence, the fandom’s idea of what constitutes queer rep narrows to same-sex romance, usually between two cis gay men.

With the release of Ep 9, I know a lot of people queer people are going to find representation in the Kojiro’s whole “unrequited love” thing. But personally, I feel more represented by Hiromi, his journey of self-acceptance and subversive relationship with gender- that’s what resonates with me as a trans person.

And I think it’s important to see that kind of less palatable type of queer representation more acknowledged in fandom, and in Sk8′s fandom especially, because I know the demographics of this fandom lean heavily queer.

But that’s all for now, lemme know what you guys think :)

#if there are typos forgive me i'm tired #i've been sitting on this take for a number of weeks now #i rlly hope i'm big braining rn #and not just like #yelling into a void #i love hiromi #yall Sleeping on my mans #hav u seen his leather clad ass???#bodacious #sk8 #sk8 the infinity #sk8 theory #sk8 meta #sk8 spoilers #sk8 shadow

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linddzz · 3 years

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Pitch Black for the ask meme bc I'm forever on my rotg bullshit

002 | Give me a character & I will tell you

How I feel about this character: THE OG! THE BASTARD THAT STARTED IT ALL! My first fanfic was because I didn’t like how anyone else was writing him at the time. He is still probably one of my favorite villain characters tbh. He’s got the classic Bad Guy vibe with evil laughs and a killin aesthetic but just adding all the potential for ancient eldritch personification of fear in the shadows???? Chefs kiss. So much cool shit was done with him in fandom because of that. But he’s also a goofy fuck??? He tells stupid jokes and he sasses and we must never forget the prancing around on the globe like a big fucking nerd. And then the angst potential. The reveal that he’s also a lonely miserable motherfucker who is largely acting up to get attention and make people notice him. He’s manipulative but I like interpreting him as also being fully sincere and never really lying because that makes it so much more interesting. Later learning about the book Kozmotis backstory??? Making Pitch into the end result of a formerly noble hero character being taken over and fully corrupted by cosmic darkness??? AMAZING. INCREDIBLE. EXACTLY MY SHIT.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Jack Frost. (Who uh, just to be clear for newer kids, bc of his voice I always took as “twink who died between 18 and 25″ since if I remember right no one could find an official age for movie Jack??) I mean, you got the Cold and Dark dynamic that even Pitch tries to appeal to. You can also go into fun often has a bit of fear going on. They’re two immortals who know what it’s like to be totally ignored, overlooked, and invisible while being increasingly desperate for some sort of recognition. They can take each other in a fight and GOD I always loved Pitches legit batshit GLEE when Jack hands his ass to him and hes all like OH YEAH SHIT GOT INTERESTING AGAIN. I also am a person who loves me some unhealthy obsession in my fiction ships and Pitch immediately going “IF YOURE NOT GONNA BE MY FRIEND YOU’RE GONNA BE NO ONES FRIEND!!!!” just made my Hot Problematique Content senses perk right the fuck up. Scissor Sisters “I Cant Decide” is MY SONG for them ok like they just got that MOOD. Even in my more uh, mutal and balanced version of them (aka Evil Boyfriends) I see any relationship with Pitch getting full on codependent and obsessive and contentious. But even with all Dark Vibes there’s that fun aspect to them both! There is so much potential for stupid shenanigans and jokes and mischievous idiocy right alongside the dark nightmare shit and god I love that dichotomy.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Him and Sandman have a two-sides-of-the-same-coin balance dynamic that is so great to explore. I also have an AU where Pitch is less Absolute Villain and more of a like, weird asshole antagonist who is still Part of Their World and anyway him and Toothiana get together to have tea parties where they talk shit and act like passive aggressive PTA mom frienemies.

My unpopular opinion about this character: Fandom made him too nice. Just. In general. I also got a lot of flack in the height of fandom for saying that without a LOONNNGGGG redemption arc and likely a bit of reverting back to Kozmotis, Pitch as he is in the movie isn’t really made for “healthy and wholesome romantic relationship”

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I only kinda read the books but man i would KILL for that Kozmotis backstory presented as an adult sci-fi/fairytale. Give me space fantasy and noble knights and really digging into that “how much of the old man is in there still” nightmare potential.

my OTP: I pretty much put my blackice manifesto right up there already

my cross over ship: Shrug

a headcanon fact: Pitch doesn’t remember his old life but his personality is pretty much unchanged, but twisted up. He still sometimes gets set off and almost triggered by things that hit on Kozmotis trauma, but he has no idea why and those instances freak him out a little bit. He dances around a lot and if he wasn’t so fucked up by his growing isolation and need for vengeance he would probably be a great non-evil overall harmless antagonist who just likes stirring shit up for shits and giggles and (other peoples) screams.

#rotg #pitch black #blackice #that nightmare aesthetic was SO GOOD #we all took this kids movie and went #ok but lets look more into that ancient nightmare creature who likes dancing like a dweeb #Anonymous

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justmenoworries · 3 years

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Fate: The Winx Saga - How Not To Reboot A Beloved Franchise

Okay, I think I speak for everyone here when I say: We saw this coming.

We saw this coming as soon as that godawful trailer dropped on youtube. But because I hate myself and because I wanted to give this pile of shit a chance, I watched it.

All of it.

It sucked and I won’t do it again.

The End.

....

Nah, I’m kidding.

Here’s why Fate: The Winx Saga sucked ass.

(Spoilers under the cut! Pfft, like anyone cares.)

The Story:

I suppose now you’ll expect me to tell you that F:TWS was a generic, boring slog-fest.

That it offered the most clichéd take on a Chosen One-story since Eragon and that it’s half-assed attempts to be scary through bringing in a zombie apocalypse made it even more painfully obvious just how hard the story was trying to be edgy and ‘’’’’’mature’’’’’’’’.

And, yeah, that’s pretty much how it went.

...Oh, I’m sorry, did you expect something fresh and surprising?

So did I when I watched this garbage.

The title says Winx, but honestly the story is more about Bloom than anyone else. At least they were faithful to the source material in one aspect, am I right fellow Winx-fans?

I hope you like Alfea, because you won’t be spending time anywhere else! Gone are the dozen colorful, unique worlds with their own eco-systems and culture.

Now we have The Otherworld, which is just earth, but with magic.

Oh yeah, and remember how each magic and non-magic users had their own, specialized schools to got to?

Cloud Tower, Alfea, Red Fountain?

Yeah, that’s all Alfea now.

Remember how Winx Club juggled great, charismatic villains and everyday teenage-drama in a way that made both seem interesting and neither obnoxious?

Fate fails miserably at that.

The subplot about the zombies- Oh, sorry, The Burned Ones ™ slowly invading Alfea couldn’t be more dry and uninteresting if it tried. You have hints of political intrigue in the background with the Solarians scheming and taking over in the end, but trust me when I say: You won’t care.

And since the character are either miserable, unlikable or both, you also won’t care about the teenage drama.

Because it’s every single teenage drama plot-line you’ve already seen in edgy reboots like Riverdale, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, etc.

To add insult to injury, season 1 ends with the villains and antagonists taking over Alfea with Solaria’s help, as if anyone would be baited into a season 2 after you just dragged us through a worse version of The Walking Dead.

I would say this is what you watch to lull you to sleep, but all the incessant whining and belly-aching wouldn’t let you.

And because this is the ‘‘‘‘‘‘mature’‘‘‘‘‘ reboot, there will be no transformations and no bright colors. Just some nice effects for magic and that’s it.

Because, you know.

No one watched Winx Club for those, am I right? /s

And because in modern, edgy reboots women can never just be friends, the Winx Club start out hating each other, until suddenly they’re the best of friends in episode 4, Stella included.

Cool, huh?

The Characters:

I’ll get straight to the point: The main cast is horrible.

Not acting-wise, the actors are doing the best they can with the script, but the way they’re written...

God, the way they’re written.

For starters, Stella is a Karen now. In the very first episode she attempts to get Bloom killed, then runs away to cry into Sky’s shoulder rather than apologize.

Flora was replaced by a white character named Terra, who the writers probably thought would be received well solely because she’s awkward and makes a lot of Strawman-Feminist statements.

Techna got straight-up written out.

Musa was white-washed and is a Mind Fairy instead of a Music Fairy now, because her being the Fairy of Music wasn’t ‘‘‘‘mature’‘‘‘ enough for this reboot.

Bloom is a whiny, spoiled brat who is willing to endanger absolutely everyone around her to get what she wants. And in the end, the plot rewards her for it.

Aisha is the only Winx Club-member who remains likeable, but she’s firmly planted in the supporting character-role.

Most of the Specialists got written out too. No Timmy, no Helia, no Nabu, no Brandon.

Sky is still there, but he serves mainly as a boy toy for Stella and Bloom to fight over, because that needed to be a thing, I guess.

Riven was changed from Jerk with a Heart of Gold who learns to be better to just a one-note jerk who never changes and never learns. He’s also not with Musa in this story. Even though their romance was by far the most engaging one in the original series, aside from maybe Aisha and Nabu.

We get a new character named Dane, but he’s just there to be either a bully-victim or a side-character for others to take advantage of. Did I mention he’s the only black guy in the main cast? Yeah. There’s also this really asinine running gag that he might be gay, to tease a possible relationship with Riven, but nothing ever comes off it.

The teacher-characters are all pretty much the same: Duty-driven, want to protect the ones under their care, but end up alienating them by not being entirely honest with them because they think their students aren’t ready for The Truth, blah blah blah, moving on.

The villains don’t fare much better.

The Trix got fused into one single character named Beatrix (haha, get it?) and she’s just... The Worst. And not in a good way. She’s obviously supposed to be the Charming Bad Girl-type but you’re more likely to laugh your ass off every time she opens her mouth than be intrigued. Whoever wrote her dialogue clearly has no idea how teenagers talk. She hooks up with Riven and Dane for no reason in particular and it’s heavily implied these three are going to be the new Trix. Which is...no. Just no.

The headmistress’ secretary gets killed off in the third episode and doesn’t do much in the first two, so I have nothing to say about him.

Rosalind is a worse, female Darth Sidious who is trying so hard to get Bloom to join the Dark Side and I guarantee you, you will not care. The story also tries to present her as something of a well-intentioned extremist, but forgets to actually let her have a point in her murders and genocides.

Hey, remember when Winx Club characters were different and unique?

The writers of this reboot clearly don’t.

The Aesthetic:

Hey kids!

You know what’s better than bright colors and nice, comforting palettes?

Slapping a dull grey filter on everything and calling it a day!

If I had to list all the reasons why Fate’s lack of style is so heartbreaking and disappointing, we’d be here all day.

So I’m just gonna show you a few screenshots from both the original series and the reboot and let that speak for itself.

The Original:

The Reboot:

Honestly, what do I even need to say?

The reboot sucked out everything that made Winx Club Winx Club and replaced it with “YA-novel palette #17247845453″.

Thanks, I hate it.

In Conclusion:

Fate: The Winx Saga could have been a new take on Winx Club’s story.

Maybe even introduced new concepts and characters tat could have been just as iconic as the original ones.

It chose to be every reboot ever instead, made everything grimdark and fundamentally misunderstood the meaning of “Gray Morality”.

Do yourself a favor and re-watch the original instead.

It’ll be a much better use of your time.

#fate the winx saga #review

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crusherthedoctor · 4 years

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The beach trope: another one that often comes early in Sonic's quests, and this one's no different, though expectations are very mildly subverted by making it the third zone instead of the very first. (Careful Crusher, you had the audience on the edge of their seats there.)

More importantly though, it's possibly one of the most famous and celebrated level tropes in the series. Emerald Coast is undeniably iconic, Seaside Hill is just as iconic while also merging with the Green Hill setup, and Wave Ocean... is a poor man's Emerald Coast, but it's probably better than most levels in '06 by comparison, so it too is iconic, from a certain point of view. We can't forget Jungle Joyride either, even if that's mostly because we got to see the frame rate die before our very eyes.

So how do you make your interpretation stand out? How do you prevent having a Wave Ocean 2: Wave Oceaner on your hands? Well, it's actually very simple...

Creating Zone 3: Coastline Resort

3-1: Shining Shore

Remember when I said that sometimes all it takes to make an environment feel different is the time of day, or a change in weather? This is one of the first major examples of putting that philosophy into action, as compared to previous beach levels, which were usually content with taking place in the bright sunny daytime, this one takes place under a pleasant purple sunset.

This of course contrasting heavily with not only the blue sea, but also the sands, which although given a mild touch of purple courtesy of the sunset, cannot fully hide their natural shade of white.

And of course, waterfalls.

We can’t forget the waterfalls.

Despite being a true blue beach level first and foremost, there are also a few hints of plaza, further setting it apart from the Emerald Coasts and Not-Emerald Coasts of old times past. This aesthetic in particular is based heavily on the seaside town of Whitby.

No doubt Sonic would admire this place, at least when he's not forced to go deep underwater. Maybe when the adventure is over, he can come back here and have a relaxing moment with... someone. Dunno who though. I doubt Eggman would be interested, and not just because he's actually in-character. Oh well, plenty more horses in the sea.

Speaking of, what about the underwater sections? Shining Shore does have them after all, in full 3D, as opposed to making them bottomless pits in disguise. Unsurprisingly, everything's a lot more blue than purple down there, gorgeously so, but the coral reef provides its own variety of colour.

The local fishies don't seem to mind you being in their line of sight... nor do the Badniks, but probably for a different reason.

Since we're three zones in, you might have noticed by now that each zone, regardless of their overall colour scheme, has one element in at least one act that goes all rainbow with the colours than everything else. You had the flower patches in Gleaming Meadows, you had the wood barriers in Tricky Tropics with their rusting paint jobs, and now we have the coral reef in Coastline Resort... any reason for this?

Alas, the answer is a mundane one: it's just a little way of tying all the zones in Viridonia together. As this quest revolves around the mystery of the elusive Ethereal Zone, this seemingly inconsequential aspect is a way of ensuring that it will always remain at the back of your mind. It may be relatively more subtle and easy to miss than, say, a giant moon glaring down angrily at you no matter where you go on the map as it literally comes closer and closer to killing everyone, but the intention is effectively the same: the central meat of the setting and story is always present in some form, however indirect, even if the characters aren't currently discussing it.

Also, shout out to the lighthouse that helped our heroes by inadvertently blinding the pursuing mechanized orca.

You really put a dent in Heavy Gunner's strategy.

First Section (calm): Lagoony Tunes (Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced) Peach Field (Mario Hoops 3-on-3)

Second Section (adrenaline): Lost Palace (Team Sonic Racing) Hang Eight (Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back)

3-2: Crazy Rapids

Being a whimsical water park, made even more whimsical to fit the video game format, this one explains itself in a lot of areas. But let's go over the finer details anyway, shall we?

As mentioned in the fic, the park has been made to fit in seamlessly with the ruins present in the area, thus creating a Good Future-esque wonderland of nature and technology in harmony. For an idea of how the ruins aesthetic would work, imagine something akin to the Sunset Beach Resort in Jamaica, particularly the long bridge and archways you can see in both of these shots:

Kind of has an Aquatic Ruin vibe, doesn’t it?

Even then, that only applies to half of the architecture, as the other half breaks up the yellow with some white, reminiscent of a certain OTHER watery location in Sonic's past...

We also have the giant fountains sprinkled around the place. There are two types of fountains to be exact, both of which may seem familiar to the attentive eye...

The difference? They're larger. MUCH larger. As in, you can actually platform your way on and around them.

As for what’s inside? It's exactly how you'd imagine it to be, albeit exaggerated even further to befit a Sonic level.

And in-tune with the beachside mood, the Chao Garden found nearby would take a page from the one in Station Square...

...with a little extra flavor of this...

...complete with miniature water slides and the like for the adorable inhabitants... the inhabitants that Eggman currently has an unexplained interest in. How do the Chao factor into his latest plan?

Heh heh, only I and those I've discussed it with in PMs know that for now.

First Section (outside): Windy and Ripply (Sonic Adventure) Ocean Palace (Sonic Heroes)

Second Section (inside): Data Select (Tee Lopes) Wii Shop Channel - Mii Channel (Super Smash Bros. Wii U)

3-3: Aquarium Gallery

Disappointed that Crazy Rapids lacked that smooth red-on-blue contrast that Aquarium Park from Sonic Colours had? Well we can’t all be in the same league as Eggman sadly, but fear not, for the similarly named Aquarium Gallery gets right in on the action, combining red walls and an overall upper class aesthetic...

...with the expected quantities of shimmering blue that comes with the aquarium setting. And with glass tanks of great size, comes great fishies to go along with them.

The black and white checkered floor would also be a must. It's a Sonic game, we gotta have a checkered pattern somewhere. It just works. /ToddCrusher

Don't worry about the living conditions for the fish here, by the way. Eggman mechanizing them aside, the people who work at the park - and those who visit it - make sure to treat all the marine life with the utmost respect and kindness. Just a shame that they're apparently not so willing to lend that same understanding to Trudy... but it does provide an early hint that despite the few genuine bad apples who are outright antagonistic towards Trudy, most of the folks ignorant to her condition are exactly that at worst: ignorant. Meaning, despite first impressions, most of them are not bad people at heart, and with a little help and persistence, it's not entirely impossible that they can eventually learn to understand and sympathise with Trudy's situation.

In other words, they have more dimension than the background characters in Sonic Boom, where they're all mostly a bunch of one-note arseholes with little redeeming qualities and don’t deserve to be saved by Sonic in the slightest.

Anyhow, eventually, after a trip through one of those sweet underwater tunnels...

...we find ourselves in the cavern area, where red is exchanged for turquoise, and there are reflected ripples galore. Since the Marble Caves in Chile already look halfway to being a Sonic level due to its unique formations, that's the best comparison I can make here.

Too blue, you might say? Well, the sunset from earlier would be poking through the holes in the wall, adding some warm to the cool once more... the giant seashells everywhere help spice it up too.

Like these, but bigger than Ken Penders’ ego.

If that’s even possible...

First Section (aquarium): Rooftop Run - Night (Sonic Unleashed) Coconut Mall (Mario Kart Wii)

Second Section (caves): Sea Shell Shenanigans (Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex) Dire, Dire Docks (Super Mario 64)

3-4: Hydro Plant

The outside structure for this place is shaped like a giant wall, which predictably brings the Hoover Dam to mind:

And that applies inside as well, at least initially. The similarities indoors come mostly from the generators, as well as the sheer size of the place.

Since it's considerably rustier however, we have darker lighting in place, with the sunset outside preventing it from being too dark inside. There’s also a copious amount of daring graffiti caused by hoodlums... or maybe Eggman, since he'd probably be the type to do that to any property that isn't his. Some of this graffiti would look very impressive...

While others would... uh...

Look, they tried, okay?

With all this graffiti, that means there’s opportunity for a generous helping of cheeky references to previous installments if you’re able to find them... and if you can understand them. To this day, the typo in “make belif reborn” has not been corrected. Absolutely disgusting.

But as the fic dictates, the further you go on, the tidier and more high tech it becomes. Simply put, this section would remind one of Aquatic Base from '06, mainly because I've always liked the idea despite its characteristically terrible level design, so why not salvage the concept and give it a second chance?

With some added flavor to make it less monotone, mind you. Like actual water sections, some green lights to break up all the blue, giant crab robot threatening to kill you... the works.

Sonic may be glad that this zone is behind him, but little does he know, it's not the only zone with intense water action around these parts. Luckily for him, that won't be for a while, so he can breathe a sigh of relief for now. Still, we know Eggman has other ways of keeping the gang on their toes...

First Section (rusty): Wily Stage 2 (Mega Man 7) Pokey Pipes (Donkey Kong Country 3)

Second Section (high tech): Ocean Base Act 1 (Sonic Advance 3) H2 Oh No (Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex)

#Creating Viridonia #Sonic the Hedgehog #Fanfiction

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dhampirbf · 3 years

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just finished off my first issue of the new killjoys series, national anthem, here are my thoughts

‼️ spoiler warning lol‼️

instantly dragged me head-fucking-first back into my mcr phase from three years ago. i am ruined. there is SO MUCH i immediately love about this series, from the incredible, poem-esce beginning to the incredible retro art style. the characters are just perfect - on the same wavelength as the others we know and love from previous iterations of kayjay media. mike milligram is edgier than i expected, which is just perfect, because i always felt poison and the gang were a bit too cheery for being stuck in a post-apocalyptic hellscape after surviving a massive war.

as for the plot? amazing. the writing is just as stunning as it was for TTLOTFK and national anthem immediately leaps into the story without delay. the dialogue fits the aesthetic of what we know about the kayjay universe perfectly and the story gives us more insight to what came before the analog wars and what life was like right after. maybe it’s just my interpretation (and of course this is just the first issue), but id love more about what the wars were ACTUALLY like, what it was like to fight in them. i still can’t figure out who exactly the enemy was because BLI and the weird, unseen but ever-present, unnamed oppressor are still in existence after the wars. might just be me, so if anyone knows where to find more on that, hmu. but honestly while reading it, i don’t care about the pieces im missing. it’s THAT good on its own.

the first issue opens with mike bleeding out, which deeply upset me because i do not like to see my favorite characters die, but it was done in such a beautiful way. we get to see how useless he feels - how he’s literally been tossed aside like the garbage he thinks he is - and then our story begins.

we meet the rest of the original fabulous killjoys (i imagine this is a prequel to party poison and the other comic, in my mind poison and val are “generations” following mike) and BOY, they’re incredible. the codes, red and blue, are (i assume) beta versions of the red and blue we see in TTLOTFK. kyle 100%, whose name we don’t learn in the first issue, is pretty reminiscent of kobra but maybe it’s just cuz he’s blond and rollin’ with mike. his design is very new and i totally dig it. animax is probably my favorite of this crew, though. he’s very much new and his design ROCKS. a color changing suit?? for real??? amazing. animax strikes me as the dad friend of the group (he tries to calm down blue and mike at the playground scene with the a.k.as)

SPEAKING of the a.k.as.... holy fuck. adore them. all of them are SO COOL and offer totally new insight to what it might have been like to crawl around in the zones right after the analog wars. so many new faces! new concepts! new headcanons! once again, im in love with their designs and concepts (god bless shaun simon and gerard) and it’s times like these that i wish i was a more talented artist.

another thing i really enjoyed is that the identity of some of the killjoys is more revealed and accessible. blue is called maria right before her (sobbing) death in mike’s arms and we see about halfway through that mike was a grocery store clerk. i’ve seen that red’s name is sophia in some official character design sheets, but we haven’t heard her name in the book yet. but to know that these were normal, real people in the world we live in gives the story a different, heavier context. these characters had their lives uprooted and torn to bits by a war they had to fight in. no wonder mike is so miserable and “screwed up”.

national anthem also immediately touches on trauma more than once and, in my interpretation of the underlying message, points out how trauma is an important tool in shaping who we are as individuals. the pretty subtle thing about the pill marketed to treat the affects of trauma is something that really fascinated me. how the antagonist of this series markets a pill that treats trauma but the side effects essentially make a person lose themselves, navigating life like a zombie.

i also loved the subtle callbacks to the original kayjay universe we know and love, with an appearance of tommy chow mein and a reference to the phoenix witch. however, ive got some criticisms.

first, was not a fan of the romance subplot between blue and mike. blue (and red, for that matter) are characters we know to be lesbians and i really don’t think that should be muddled with. even if blue is bisexual, even polyamorus, and has romantic connections to both mike and red, id personally rather have her stay with red exclusively. maybe it’s just my heterophobia /j but im not a fan. apparently she was even pregnant with mike’s child before she died? ehh.

second, and this is probably just because it’s the first issue, but i feel like there are a lot of questions unanswered. is this an AU or the same universe as TTLOTFK? if it’s the same, what is the timeline for mike milligram and party poison? do they exist at the same time or is party poison inspired by mike, who came before him? or do they exist completely separate? i hope i get these questions answered.

honestly, i may write up something of a review for each issue i read (i have three). it helps me remember what i read, anyway. kinda like an english essay. but overall, i really love this series and this universe. i kinda fell out of kayjays for a few reasons, but a lack of content was definitely one of them. i never thought i’d see killjoys media again and then gerard goes and presents us with this amazing series with new characters and a new story to delve into and it ROCKS.

#109 in the sky #ttlotfk #national anthem #mike milligram #party poison

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afinepricklypear · 5 years

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Compare and Contrast: K Project vs. Bungou Stray Dogs - Part 3

**Disclaimer: I love both K Project and Bungou Stray Dogs. I highly recommend watching both of them. This series of Compare and Contrast posts I’m doing is merely for my own sake, to get these thoughts out of my head. If you are a fan of one show and not the other, please don’t read, or if you do, save your bashing comments for like-minded antis elsewhere. If you have not seen both, there are a lot of Spoilers ahead, please don’t read. I am heavily critical of both shows, so if you are someone who cannot handle negative things being said (I try not to outright bash and just provide reasonable evidence from the material to back my stances) about your favorite fandom or characters please don’t read. Thank you! ***

Read Part 1, Part 2

Characters

Both Bungo Stray Dogs and K feature ensemble casts, with large numbers of characters. That being said, the shows have vastly different approaches for how they handle those characters and those approaches impact the way they come across for the viewer.

One of the things that K does a hell of a lot better than BSD, is fleshing out and managing of its characters. This may in part be due to the fact, K doesn’t attempt to give all of its characters a starring space in the story. It’s comfortable letting some characters fall into the background, allocating them to the role of side characters. There are only a few members of each of our main clans (Silver, Red, Blue, and later, Green) that are given attention and the rest of the clansmen (Red and Blue are the only clans shown to have notable clans members who regularly show up and are given names and little else outside of our mains) fall to the background. For some people, this may be frustrating, as we don’t learn a whole lot about the rest of Scepter 4 or HOMRA in the anime, but narratively, I’m comfortable with it because I’m not asked by the show to care about those characters, and the characters that I’m meant to care about are given adequate screen time to develop them into someone who’s story I am invested in. That being said, K does have moments that utterly flop. Scepter 4, for me, beyond Fushimi, is an absolute failure in presenting itself as a likeable or, even, relatable organization of individuals (Full disclosure, I hate Munakata, and while Awashima has potential, she’s treated by the series as little more than a miniskirt and bad boob job obsessed with Munakata). They seem to be there only to be obnoxious. I get the sense they were originally intended to be viewed as villains, but they became so popular following the first season, that the creators tried to treat them more as heroes in the movie and second season. However, it was painfully obvious in the final episode of K: Seven Stories – Nameless Circle, as the surviving members of the Green, Red, Silver, and good Colorless clan members (Yukari and Kuroh) enjoyed their final farewells with their fallen clansmen (I dare you not to cry when Mikoto and Totsuka pour Kusanagi a glass and Yata takes Anna’s hand in the background), that Scepter 4 staring up at Munakata’s lost Sword of Damocles was the least humanized of the Clans. They lost nothing, they felt nothing, their presence in Nameless Circle was nearly pointless beyond fan service. Likewise, K heavily drops the ball in Season 1 with its primary antagonist, the Evil Colorless King, who’s back history, motivations, and even his (her?) name remain a mystery to date.

BSD starts out with an already large cast, and while Atsushi and Dazai might arguably be the “main” characters of the show, starring roles in various arcs and episodes are given to the other characters, as well. Most of those episodes, however, can easily be relegated to the “filler” pile. On top of this, BSD continually introduces increasing numbers of characters, it also likes to bump characters up from side character to more main character type roles, which only serves to take limited screen time from the initial cast of characters and ultimately fails to give itself enough space to flesh out the cast. Time constraints, of course, doesn’t always mean a character can’t be adequately developed (see the first ten minutes of Pixar’s Up for how it’s done right), but possibly, because of this limitation, BSD has a tendency to fall back on telling instead of showing. It also feels like many of its characters were not fully developed in the creator’s minds (this appears to have been confirmed in several interviews with the creators) when they started their story, so that when those backgrounds are revealed, especially in those far too often instances where characters that have interacted in past episodes and given no indication of a history between them are newly revealed to have a connections to one another. It feels tacked on and last minute, and consistency of characterizations is lost. As previously discussed in a past post for this Review Series, this may also be due to the fact that K was envisioned as a self-contained story, and BSD seems to have been developed as an ongoing serial without a predetermined ending.

For these next several posts, I want to do more individualized character analyses, but to keep things simple, I will only focus on the characters of K that are given focus in the story and I’ll try to reference only its anime (just to be fair, because I’ve read all of K’s extra materials, and have not for BSD because I lack access in my country). Likewise, I’m only going to talk about BSD’s characters from the Armed Detective Agency and the Port Mafia, as well as, a few key villains like Shibusawa, Fitzgerald, and Fyodor. Once again, I will attempt to keep to only what’s been revealed in the anime.

A reasonable starting point on character analysis for these two shows would be our sort-of main protagonists. Although, BSD and K are both ensemble anime, they do each feature a character that may ostensibly be considered the “main” character, in the sense that they kick off our main events and are positioned as integral to all subsequent storylines. For BSD, that character is Nakajima Atsushi, and for K, that character is Yashiro “Shiro” Isana. Interestingly (maybe), these characters share a similar aesthetic. Both are young males, with white hair and light-colored eyes, they are also both small, waif-like, bishounen that might be better suited to a shojo or even yaoi anime, rather than leads on a seinen series.

At the start of both series, Atsushi and Shiro, respectively, find themselves thrust into a world of supernatural powered people in which they are targeted for reasons to be revealed throughout the story. The greatest similarity between these two, however, is that they are both weak characters. Neither one proves interesting enough to shoulder the responsibilities as main character of the show. You would be hard pressed in either fandom to find someone who would name Atsushi or Shiro as their favorite character. I’m not saying these fans don’t exist, because they do, they are just few and far between.

Shiro spends the first half of the first season trying to avoid being killed by the Red Clan, who believes he killed their Clansman, Tatara Totsuka, at the same time, he is trying to convince his reluctant ally and potential executioner, Kuroh, that he isn’t the Evil Colorless King responsible for Totsuka’s death. Atsushi’s story, on the other hand, begins with him finding out he’s an ability user that shapeshifts into a white tiger, and, subsequently, being rescued and recruited into the Armed Detective Agency by Dazai. Then the Port Mafia begins hunting him because a bounty has been placed on his head, conveniently only after he’s learned that he is the white tiger that he believed had been hunting him his entire life, he’s joined the ADA, and Dazai has the chance to warn him with a picture of Akutagawa “beware of this bad boy” mere hours before Akutagawa attacks him.

The initial drawback with both of these characters is that they are merely victims of the plot and not helping to drive the plot forward in anyway. Shiro only becomes invested in determining why there’s video footage of him murdering Totsuka because Kuroh demands he provide evidence that he’s not the Evil Colorless King or he’ll face justice at the end of Kuroh’s blade. When Atsushi learns about the bounty on his head that Port Mafia is pursuing, rather than show interest in why anyone would want to capture him (alive, to boot), he “nobly” decides to run away, in his naivete believing that it would spare the ADA war with Port Mafia.

Throughout the K story, we do see real change in Shiro’s investment in his own mystery when it’s revealed that his memories, and the memories his classmates have of him, are not real, but fabricated and imposed upon him and those in close proximity by the cat girl that’s obsessed with him, Neko, AKA Official Provider of Fanservice #1. This provides a further explanation for why he’s so lackluster about pursuing the truth, she’s been bending his reality and his perception of it from the start. It isn’t until her ability and how she’s been using it is revealed, and she runs off in humiliation and panic, that Shiro begins to actively pursue the truth. Even before this, however, Shiro is shown to be a wily and clever character who is quite self-sufficient. In his first meeting with Kuroh, he’s able to escape Kuroh’s justice by lying and manipulating the swordsman. He later throws off the Red Clansmen pursuing him by appearing just as Kuroh is facing off against a very annoyed Yata and calling out to Kuroh as though they are allies. This falls in line nicely with the big reveal of Shiro’s true identity as the Silver King, Adolf K. Weissman. In flashbacks to an unnamed great war (FYI, people speculate this was WWII, which, fun fact, would make Adolf a Nazi, but because this story takes place in an alternate history of the world, it’s equally possible Nazis never existed), we see that Adolf was originally researching the Dresden Slate, a mysterious artifact capable of granting people mysterious powers.

As Adolf, Shiro is shown to be a light-hearted, goofy man with no place in war or battle (consistent with what we’ve already seen in the show). Nothing of his character feels last minute retconned, and no previously unheard of connections are revealed to other existing characters in the show that haven’t been heavily hinted at or already explained. He believes that his research will be helpful in granting people their wishes throughout the world, yet when his sister is killed during an air raid, he runs away, leaving his research and the Slate with his friend, a Japanese military officer who becomes the Gold King and curator of the artifact. This turn of events does grant Shiro greater weight as a main character, and an importance in the plot that doesn’t feel contrived or heavy handed. Hints exist early on that Shiro is not who he thinks he is, starting with his high school classmate, Kukuri noting in introductory scene that she feels like he’ll disappear if she takes her eyes off of him. After all, one of the things that K is often praised for is its mastery of foreshadowing, this comes from having a very clear idea of the entire story its creators hoped to tell and a firm grasp of the connections between all of its characters.

That said, Shiro still remains throughout the story as relatively uninteresting, serving more as a plot device rather than a character. After the Blue Clan, the Silver Clan is the second least relatable and their scenes in Nameless Circle also remain a bit ‘meh’ as the “losses” the Silver Clan experienced throughout the anime were far removed from the actual plot. They didn’t resonate. We see, in Nameless Circle, Adolf’s sister and the younger version of his lost friend, the Gold King, enjoying breakfast with the Silver Clan every morning on repeat. Yet, Adolf’s sister was never developed beyond “here’s a tragic thing that happened in Adolf’s past”, so it’s hard to really feel her loss. She isn’t a person but a plot device, used to reveal more of Adolf/Shiro’s character rather than having anything of her own. As for the Gold King, he suffers the same fate as Adolf’s sister, but also, he lived a long life, and died of old age, so his death isn’t any kind of tragedy in the same sense as Mikoto, Totsuka, or Nagare’s deaths. There’s certainly a melancholy to these scenes, Adolf misses his friends, but it doesn’t pull at the heart strings, quite the way the Red and Green Clans losses do.

The real reason that Atsushi is being pursued at the start of the manga is yet to be resolved. We’re given a loose explanation, a foreign organization known as the Guild put the bounty on his head because allegedly his ability is the key to finding some powerful book that can manipulate reality. When the main antagonist of the Guild, Fitzerald, is defeated, this explanation and Atsushi’s importance becomes all but forgotten in subsequent arcs featuring new villain, Fyodor Dostoevsky. Atsushi himself can best be described as whiny and severely underdeveloped. He continues to be a victim of the plot just dragging him along, but worse, he quickly becomes one note with the constant flashback to his Orphanage’s director telling him he’s useless and doesn’t belong anywhere. There are entire scenes dedicated to this refrain causing him to full-scale breakdown into bouts of self-doubt. All I can say is he was eighteen when he was “kicked out” of the orphanage, he had zero work experience, and when we find him at the start of the story, he’s only been on his own a couple weeks and is already considering turning to assault and thievery to survive. Considering that Dazai and Chuuya were sixteen when they became Executives in the Port Mafia, Kunikida is only twenty-two and has already had a successful career as a teacher before becoming a detective with the ADA, Kenji is fourteen when we find him at the ADA and a former hard-working farmhand, Kyouka is a capable fourteen year old assassin before joining the ADA, Lucy is eighteen and comes from a similar abusive background and is already busting her ass to work for the Guild and then the ADA’s favorite Coffee Shop (jobs she got herself, thank you very much, for spending anytime looking for her like you promised, Atsushi, you jerk), and so on…I’m inclined to side with the orphanage director: Atsushi is useless. It’s a good thing they kicked him out, or he’d probably still be a bum surviving off social welfare the rest of his life.

I also can’t help but agree with Akutagawa, Atsushi has practically had everything handed to him and yet still manages to pull a pity party routine on the regular. It isn’t long after getting kicked out of the orphanage that he’s taken under Dazai’s wing and handed a job with the ADA. This wouldn’t be so terrible if he didn’t constantly squander it, and consistently prove that he doesn’t earn it. It’s hard to like him, especially when the author seems to be bending the story over backwards to give him some semblance of importance in the plot to the point it hurts the narrative. This is best exemplified in Dead Apple. Throughout the entire movie, we see every other character acting to bring the plot forward, meanwhile, Atsushi spends the entire time whining that they need to find Dazai, because Dazai will know what to do. Bitch, Dazai is busy trying to outsmart two super smart bad guys; he doesn’t have time to also prop you up on your own damn feet. It gets so bad that even Kyouka becomes fed up and leaves him. It really says something that the majority of comments for the movie on CrunchyRoll are complaining about how whiny Atsushi is throughout the movie.

While some people are quick to defend Atsushi by pointing to his abusive childhood to excuse his behavior, it is worth noting, he is not the only character that has an abusive past and he is far from being the character who has suffered the most abuse, and that’s including the odd growth on the side of Dead Apple’s plot that is the inexplicable, unnecessary, and might I add, ridiculous connection that was made between him and Shibusawa at the last minute that only raised more questions than answers and created huge plot holes. Atsushi’s travel companions in Dead Apple, Kyouka and Akutagawa, both have their own history of being abused. Just to underline Akutagawa’s complaint that Atsushi has everything and manages to forsake it all, Akutagawa was abused by Dazai, whereas, Atsushi is saved, fawned over, and praised by Dazai seemingly only for the sake of further tormenting Akutagawa. This continues to contribute to making Atsushi a weak character that I find difficult to really like all that much or see as having anything more than a forced relevance to the plot.

Atsushi does have redeemable moments in his interactions with Kyouka and Lucy. With the aforementioned Dead Apple aside, Atsushi is often at his best when he is with Kyouka. She sees him as her savior, and it reflects in the way that he treats her, being seen that way helps to boost him from pitiful status to someone that may actually have potential as a hero. As for Lucy, because she has a similar life history as Atsushi (abused orphan with matching burn marks), he can’t get away with the same woe is me lines that he throws at every one else. She’s got the same kind of past and manages to stand on her own two feet, forcing him to also rise up to meet her. Both of these girls have tragic histories, but seek to lift themselves up from those histories and stand their own ground, which serves to lift Atsushi as well, unlike with other characters that only patronize, validate, or outright feed into his insecurities leaving me playing on my phone hoping his scenes end quickly. More interactions between Atsushi and Kyouka, Atsushi and Lucy, or all three together would be a welcome addition in Season 4. These babies build each other up, and it’s beautiful to see.

At the end of the day, Shiro and Atsushi are prime examples of the “perfectly innocent protagonist whose only flaw is their own self-doubt” and exemplify why this type of a character is always, ultimately a failure. They’re bright eyed, they’re kind, without internal debate they always make the right choice, everyone is drawn to them because they are light and goodness, I guess, and even when they are clearly the weakest in a fight, they always come out on top without working towards bettering themselves in anyway beyond putting in some old-fashioned good guy gumption. This is so painstakingly evident in Atsushi, who receives zero training upon joining the ADA, and is expected to battle (and is successful) against exceedingly powerful bad guys on the regular. Contrast this against Akutagawa, who we see underwent harsh training from the Port Mafia, yet still manages to always lose in his battles against the untrained Atsushi. Proving yet again, that you don’t need hard work to become the best, when you got the power of good on your side. Self-doubt exhibited by these types of characters never rings true, because we see them always get their way, everything turns out fine for them in the end, they never encounter lasting consequences for their choices (at one point in BSD, Akutagawa mocks Atsushi that everyone around him dies, but we have yet to see anyone he cares about die – the only person’s death that we see him have to deal with is his Orphanage Director that was coming to visit him with flowers and probably apologize for being a jerk, and his struggle there is with whether he’s allowed to still hate the guy or not, I mean, come on), and everyone around them that matters respects and dotes on them even before them being shown to truly do anything that should earn that respect and affection. I still don’t fully understand what compelled Kuroh to swear loyalty to Shiro, if I’m being perfectly honest, when Shiro is a lay-about, coward and liar, that ditches his clan in the end to soul search in his airship. Though, I will note, Shiro does demonstrate this character type a mite less than Atsushi. He’s not often shown to come out on top in battles, he doesn’t actually engage in any physical battle himself (his fight with Nagare at the end of Missing Kings, not withstanding, because he’s really just blocking that whole time waiting for Kuroh to show up and do the heavy lifting), he typically needs to rely on the strength and intelligence of others, and is more often than not shown running away. Also, Shiro is never really put into a position where he needs to make any hard, moral choices which has its own drawbacks for a main character in a show where a lot of hard, gray moral choices are being made around him.

I have seen it commented in defense of these characters’ weaknesses that the main character of a shonen/seinen story are always weak. This is not true, and I will point to one of my all-time favorite characters from any anime, as example: Edward Elric of Fullmetal Alchemist (both versions of the anime). Ed is badass, he earns his name as Fullmetal, and he earns his title as the youngest State Alchemist. We see him earn it as we watch him and his brother, Alphonse’s journey to become stronger, yet he also makes mistakes. It is his own arrogance that kicks off the entire anime when, in the Elric brother’s attempt to bring their mother back to life using forbidden Alchemy, Ed loses his arm and then his leg to save his brother who has lost his entire body. Their journey to find the philosopher stone for Ed is entirely about restoring his brother, he doesn’t care about his own body and, in fact, views his missing limbs as his own deserved punishment for challenging God, and throughout we see how their moral failing in the past effects all of their choices going forward. We know why Ed makes the choices he does; it isn’t merely because he is the “perfectly innocent protagonist that exudes light and good”; it is because he has learned from his mistakes. His naivete is not shown as a benefit, but as something to overcome. Ed is always acting on his own motives, while the plot is being driven forward by other characters around him, he is not merely a victim of the plot or being dragged along by it, his own actions and goals also help to forward the story and eventually brings him in direct conflict with the big bad. He struggles under the weight of the choices he’s made, he bears the burden of those he couldn’t save, he doesn’t leave the heavy lifting of gray moral decisions to the other characters, he’s seen to struggle and even lose in the anime, and in those instances, we watch him work to better himself so that he can come back stronger. We know where his power comes from – he trained and studied for it; it was never handed to him. Throughout the anime he is shown to literally and figuratively grow and develop into a powerful hero that we can believe is capable of overcoming our main antagonist, Father, in the end, but not without losses and struggle. This is a protagonist done right. Compared against Ed, the failings of both Shiro and Atsushi is glaring.

That is all I have to say about those two. Next up will be the Black Dog of the Silver Clan versus the Black Dog of Port Mafia.

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transformersaesthetics · 4 years

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Gender in G1

Hey gang! This article will be the first in a series going through the history of female transformers. We’ll be talking about character designs, relevance to the plot, and toys to analyze the role of female characters and figures in our beloved franchise. We will first observe traits, and then conduct analysis. I’m going to start with Generation One and work our way through the history of the brand.

There’s been a trend, starting in the 2001 Botcon fiction with the Beast Wars basic figure Sonar, of retconning toy only characters that were not explicitly established to be men as women, especially through Ask Vector Prime and more obscure fiction like the comics.(Crockalley) While this reflects an admirable desire to increase representation, it says more about our values today than it does about the history of the brand and the development of female characters, while still being an important part of that story. As we shall see, the existence of the conventions and exclusive toys complicates things a great deal. For example, technically, the first female decepticon is Nightracer, a Botcon 1994 exclusive go-bot, but most people never had the opportunity to purchase that toy, or have even heard of the character.(Elita2) This does create, retrospectively, some ambiguity about who exactly gets to claim the title of first female transformer to have a toy, and other things of that nature. I started writing this essay with the intention of examining prominent female transformers, with the idea that, while people do indeed read the old 3H comics and scour Ask Vector Prime, the bulk of exposure most people, and operatively most children, have is to the primary fiction, and to the characters thrust into the spotlight by the good folks at Hasbro.

So, without further ado, let’s jump right in with Generation 1!

While Arcee is the character who most immediately springs to mind when we examine female transformers in the Generation 1 fiction, there are in fact several others of note, and interestingly, several who appear first. The very first female transformers we meet are in the episode the Search for Alpha Trion.(ChrisMcFeely) We’re introduced to five whole female characters. The first one on screen, making her the first female transformer to appear anywhere, is Chromia.(Derik, Chromia) One of the first things we hear about them is that Shockwave thought they were extinct, and… There’s a lot to unpack there, and instead of doing that, I’m going to say “80’s cartoon sensitivity to issues of gender” and leave it at that.(ChrisMcFeely) These characters form a guerrilla unit of soldiers who have been harassing Shockwave as he tries to run Cybertron.(ChrisMcFeely) The character models are reasonably homogenous. The color palette used for them consists of traditionally female colors, such as pink, light blue, and lime green.(ChrisMcFeely) Rather than the blocky build exhibited by most of the G1 cast, they are slim and curvy.(ChrisMcFeely) Also unlike the rest of the cast, they wear lipstick and have sizible busts.(ChrisMcFeely) This really sets the tone for the majority of female characters going forwards. While the men exhibit a variety of body types and different degrees of blockiness, the women are almost invariably voluptuous and slender, and frequently rather busty.

As far as the plot goes, there’s a bevy of pluses and minuses. In the opening scenes of the episode, the female autobots are shown operating independently.(ChrisMcFeely) However, Elita-1 is quickly captured and Optimus Prime races to her rescue. Later on, she saves him, but at the cost of her own well being, which forces Optimus to once again rescue her.(ChisMcFeely) Every named female autobot (Chromia, Moonracer and Elita-1) is romantically involved with a male autobot.(ChrisMcFeely) A couple of the female autobots, Greenlight and Lancer, didn’t actually receive names for 25 years.(ItsWalky, Greenlight; Lancer) In the larger context of the G1 cartoon, these characters have essentially no impact. This is the only episode most of them appear in, with the sole exception of Elita-1, who would go on to appear in the episode War Dawn.(Omnisvalidus)

As far as toys go, Chromia didn’t receive a general retail toy until 2014.(Derik, Chromia) Elita 1 and Moonracer didn’t get general retail toys until 2018, although all of them did get a convention or Timelines toy in 2005-6 or so.(Vanguard; Derik, Moonracer) The most revealing thing about these paragraphs is that is more or less literally all there is to say. Elita-1 got a model kit in the 90s, but only in Japan, Chromia shows up in some BotCon comics… And that’s all.(Vanguard; Derik, Chromia)

Then, in 1986, the transformers movie came out, and we got Arcee, the first really prominent female transformer.(S.H.I.E.L.D Agent 47) She’s pink, she wears lipstick, and she’s got curves and a chest, planting her squarely in the traditional female aesthetic. Like Elita-1, she got a couple of model kits in the 90’s, but her history of receiving toys is famously abysmal. There were no fewer than 3 separate G1 toys of her that were canceled.(S.H.I.E.L.D Agent 47) She finally got a toy in 2006, a convention exclusive redeco of Transmetal 2 Blackarachnia, but she only got a toy that actually turned into a car in 2008, again as a retool and only in Japan.(S.H.I.E.L.D Agent 47) She only received a toy based on her character model in 2014, almost 30 years after her introduction.(S.H.I.E.L.D Agent 47)

We encounter here for the first time a pattern that will haunt us for the rest of our survey. Female transformers characters tend to not receive toys. In my personal collection, I have exactly 3, two of which are minicons. In my collection of approximately 200 figures, 3 of them are women, and only 1 is a deluxe.

Arcee’s record of fictional appearances is not much stronger. In the ‘86 movie, Arcee basically hangs out and does vague crush things on Hot Rod or Springer, depending on who wrote the scene.(S.H.I.E.L.D Agent 47) She also takes care of Daniel, and that’s pretty much it, not only for the movie but for the rest of her cartoon appearances.(S.H.I.E.L.D Agent 47) I’m not sure she ever got an episode focusing on her, if she ever once drove the plot, or did anything much really other than hang out with Daniel, god rest her soul.

That’s actually not the bottom of the barrel yet. There are two other female characters of note in G1, both from the Japanese Super God Masterforce cartoon. The Masterforce characters were not actually transformers themselves, by and large, but human pilots of Transtectors, giant robot bodies that allowed Takara to sell headmasters and powermasters, figures where the head formed a separate little robot, represented in fiction by the human.(Singularity) Accordingly, the characters discussed here might not exactly count as Autobots or Decepticons, but, since they were main characters in a main show, they still form an important part of the history of women in transformers. Minerva is part of the core cast of Autobots, and serves as a medic.(Derik, Minerva) The other is one of the primary antagonists, Mega, the… owner? Pilot? Of one half of Overlord. (Derik, Mega)

Minerva is actually the first female character to receive a toy, in 1988, four years after the launch of the franchise.(Derik, Minerva) Minerva’s toy shares a mold with Nightbeat, and unfortunately we don’t have any information about who the mold was designed for “first”, as it were, so we’re going to have to wait a while for the first toy designed from the beginning to be a female character. Minerva’s toy is remarkable because it lacks many of the hallmarks of female toys released even today. It’s as blocky as any other Autobot car, doesn’t have high heels or a sculpted busom, etc.(Derik, Minerva) The proportions are also rather generic, rather than featuring the slender and voluptuous build that will haunt our survey. Minerva turns into an ambulance (Nightbeat’s Porsche mode with a lightbar), befitting her status as a medic.

Mega’s toy is also very interesting. She controls one half of the rather generically proportioned Overlord transtector , which turns into a jet and a tank, two decidedly male coded vehicles. (Derik, Mega) Overlord is also absolutely bristling with guns, which is also not a traditional quality of female characters.(Derki, Mega) Indeed, Mega actually presents an intriguing dichotomy. While she herself is robustly and obviously female, Overlord is simply a robot, and in every subsequent depiction is male.

In terms of character model, Minerva is quite interesting. One would expect that the model would be very similar to that of Nightbeat, and indeed to some extent it is. (Nightbeat never actually appears in the G1 cartoon, so he only has a character model for the comics and some commercial appearances.)(ItsWalky, Nightbeat) It features the same helmet, and hallmarks such as the chest and general kibble. However, some important liberties have been taken. Her color palette is not Nightbeat’s blues and yellows, but rather, white, pink and red, a decidedly more feminine set of colors.(Derik, Minerva) While not nearly as curvy as the original female Autobots, her proportions have been altered so that she fits a more traditionally feminine body shape.(Derik, Minvera) Rather than the idealized Dorito of masculinity, Minerva's robot mode had relatively slender shoulders and waist, and relatively broad hips and large thighs, all hallmarks of traditional female body imagery.(Derik, Minerva) Minerva actually doesn't have breast analogues, largely because of the Nightbeat mold's aggressively flat chest.(Derik, Minerva)

Minerva walks a fascinating line of being female while still clearly being a giant robot, and not a person covered in metal as with earlier G1 women. This represents a really interesting way of presenting female characters visually. They can have traditionally feminine characteristics without being consumed by them. Unfortunately, that's not something we really see too much more of in the brand, at least not for quite some time. In terms of her human character model, Minerva's got a suit, and her proportions aren't too disgusting, particularly for anime.(Derik, Minerva) It looks like she gets sexualized some of the time, but who doesn’t in anime (which is a can of worms quite outside of the scope of this article.)

Mega is also an intriguing blend of different ideas. Her human character model wears a skin tight witch princess outfit, and is very traditionally feminine in terms of proportions, accessories etc.(Derik, Mega) The robot that she shares control of is a massive, male robot with guns poking out of every possible surface.(Derik, Mega) Without consciously trying to make a statement about women and gender, the Masterforce team created a blend of signals of masculinity and femininity that, while not necessarily forward thinking, is at the very least a departure from the homogeneity of traditional portrayals.

Minerva's character is quite a bit more disappointing, with the caveat that I have not personally seen Masterforce. All of the male characters run around trying to gain her favor, which she bestows occasionally etc etc.(Derik, Minerva) She is a pacifist, and this keeps her confined to the sidelines of battle, treating the injured. Her pacifism appears to be presented largely as her not having the stomach to do what needs to be done because of her womanliness and desire to protect everyone.(Derik, Minerva) Apparently she has also been given a very “traditional” upbringing, learning all sorts of feminine skills like dancing, music, and cooking.(Derik, Minerva)

Mega, in addition to being eeeeeevil, also appears to feel very maternal towards the younger Decepticon cast, to the point that it hampers her fighting. (Derik, Mega) The evil aspect of Mega’s personality is actually really remarkable. There is a surprising dearth of female Decepticons, much less ones who serve in important leadership positions. Indeed, Mega is one of three or so evil aligned females to have a position of command, the other two being RID 2015 Glowstrike and Beast Machines Strika, and one of a bare handful of female Decepticons more broadly.(Abates; ItsWalky, Strika)

The character models, absence of toys, and almost non-existence in terms of plot weight all conspire to sideline the very earliest female transformers. For the first two seasons of the cartoon, female transformers appear in two episodes. After the movie, there is a single female character who, while frequently present, doesn’t really contribute anything. Moreover, she is placed in the traditionally female roles of maternal style care of a child and being a love interest to several male characters over the course of her appearances. Being female is the personality of these characters. They do not have any other defining trait or motivations. While eventually other female characters become present, and do have motivations and characters outside of being women, there are only two of them, and they exist only in Japan. Mega and Minerva do have intriguing character models and toys, but in terms of their fictional portrayals, they still are largely confined to the traditional role of women, either the sidelines of battle or care based roles.

The fact that not a single one of these characters received a general retail toy until 2014 also serves to minimize their presence. People remember characters in no small part based on the toys they had in childhood. The absence of toys eliminates the opportunity for this to occur for any female character, creating the possibility that people won’t even remember that they existed. Fortunately, the Masterforce does break this trend for the first time, giving us toys of not one but two female characters. Unfortunately, Minerva has yet to receive another full sized toy, and Overlord has since become a separate character, sharply limiting the influence of Minerva and Mega in the brand at large.

The character models also directly contribute to this marginalization. They evoke some of the purest signals of womanhood, such as lipstick and breasts. Minerva and Mega buck this trend in some respects, but in others, especially in their human forms, they contribute to it. The models are also remarkably slight, which contrasts sharply with the warlike bulk of characters like Optimus Prime and Megatron. This contrast creates the impression that the female autobots are less capable than their male counterparts, even though they are depicted in combat situations. Their bodies are drawn to be aesthetically pleasing, whereas those of characters such as Grimlock are unequivocally designed for function.

Of course, these narratives of comparative weakness and strength tap into larger societal narratives. The G1 cartoon would not be able to communicate these things so readily if slight and curvaceous builds were not already associated in the larger culture with femininity and a lack of capability. Indeed, what the Generation 1 cartoon does with respect to women is to evoke the most essentialized and distilled version of womanhood -buxom, romantic partner, mother- and then unquestioningly transmit it and it alone, not out of malignant sexism (for example, the writers were not seeking to communicate that a woman’s place was in the kitchen as part of an ideological agenda) but because it simply was not the focus of the work, being targeted to young boys as it was. They needed female characters without exerting a huge amount of effort, and pulling the societal narrative from the ether was the simplest solution.

This is the core dynamic of gender in Transformers. We live in a world where there are gendered toys and concepts. It makes sense for Hasbro, Takara Tomy, and the supporting fiction to cater to those invested interests. People don’t buy things for their children that challenge their values. Interestingly, it is not that people actively seek to buy things that serve their values. Rather, they buy things that they can understand, things which make sense to them. Hasbro selling toys that are vehicles, robots, and war related, all things that are strongly male coded, makes intuitive sense to purchasers on a level below conscious understanding. It plays well with the societal narratives in which they live, and to a large extent have constructed their identities upon. Young boys will want car toys and robot toys, legitimately and from their own desires, because they have absorbed what society tells them it means to be men into themselves. For all of these reasons, Hasbro will always default to conservatism to turn a profit, and that means not trying to sell female coded things to boys, (creating a dearth of female characters), or trying to sell male coded things to girls, (creating a lack of representation that would appeal to a potential female audience.)

However, all is not doom and gloom. As we will see in further installments of this series, Hasbro has been making an active effort to increase representation in recent years, especially since 2014. Moreover, since G1 is the source material from which much subsequent fiction draws, when people in more obscure settings, such as convention exclusive comics, do reach for female characters, they tend to reach for one of the female autobots established in The Search for Alpha Trion. Accordingly, in subsequent years, many versions of Chromia, Moonracer, Elita-1 and Arcee have appeared in various media. Arcee and Chromia in particular have had many incarnations. The Michael Bay films, Transformers Animated, Transformers Prime, and the IDW comics all feature their own iterations of Arcee, and the comics and the films feature Chromia. So, in some senses, the presence of female autobots in G1 gave writers a framework to build on in the future, even if the characters were not impactful at the moment of their inception.

The presence of female transformers in G1 is more or less exactly what you would expect from an 80’s cartoon. The women are voluptuous, irrelevant, and confined to romantic and maternal roles. Although there are some characters who do occupy an interesting space in terms of gender, namely Mega, and there are some that are not as overtly female in terms of design, namely Minerva, the overall impression is one of homogeneity of build and personality, as well as insignificance. Fortunately, these characters continue to appear almost 35 years later, and are increasingly receiving the attention and toys they once lacked. Many of these characters will be our near continuous companions in our examination of female characters throughout the history of the brand. That being said, in terms of an analysis strictly confined to G1 on its own, we find almost a complete absence of female characters and effectively no female characters of significance within the plot. Generation 1 is a boy’s club. Thank goodness it’s not the 80’s anymore.

Works Cited

Abates et al. “Glowstrike” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Glowstrike Accessed 5/11/2020

Crockalley et al. “Sonar (BW)” TFwikihttps://tfwiki.net/wiki/Sonar_(BW) Accessed 5/11/2020

Chris McFeely et al. “The Search for Alpha Trion” TFwiki.https://tfwiki.net/wiki/The_Search_for_Alpha_Trion Accessed 5/11/2020

Derik et al. “Chromia (G1)” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Chromia_(G1) Accessed 5/11/2020

Derik et al. “Mega” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Mega Accessed 5/11/2020

Derik et al. “Minerva” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Minerva Accessed 5/11/2020

Derik et al. “Moonracer (G1)” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Moonracer_(G1) Accessed 5/11/2020

Elita2 et al. “Nightracer (G2)” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Nightracer Accessed 5/11/2020

ItsWalky et al. “Greenlight” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Greenlight Accessed 5/11/2020

ItsWalky et al. “Nightbeat (G1)”, TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Nightbeat_(G1) Accessed 5/11/2020

ItsWalky et al. “Lancer” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Lancer Accessed 5/11/2020

ItsWalky et al. “Strika (BM)” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Strika_(BM)#Toys Accessed 5/4/2020

Omnisvalidus et al. “War Dawn” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/War_Dawn Accessed 5/11/2020

S.H.I.E.L.D Agent 47 et al. “Arcee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Arcee_(G1)/Generation_1_cartoon_continuity Accessed 5/11/2020

S.H.I.E.L.D Agent 47 et al. “Arcee (G1)/toys” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Arcee_(G1)/toys Accessed 5/11/2020

Singularity et al. “Transformers: Super-god Masterforce (cartoon)” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Transformers:_Super-God_Masterforce_(cartoon) Accessed 5/11/2020

Vanguard et al. “Elita one (G1)” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Elita_One_(G1) Accessed 5/11/2020

#Transformers #Womenintransformers #Elita-1 #Chromia #Minerva #Arcee #Mega #TFwiki #Aesthetics #gender #g1 #tl;dr

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professorprophetess · 5 years

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Lost in Adaptation

Though there have been successful game based movies before, like Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, that was about a fictional game coming to life. It worked for a different set of reasons and they all had to do with the concept of half-real Juul talks about in the book of the same name(Juul 121-162). That begs the question, can real games get proper adaptations into film without having their attempts fall flat. The short history of video game movies does not really suggest that this is usually possible. Yet even then exceptions can exist. For the sake of simplicity I will be sticking to movies produced by the West AKA Hollywood that are not animated that feature real game properties being adapted into films. To get the greatest breadth of the attempts to adapt games into movies I’ll pick one per decade since the very first live action adaptation of a video game came out in 1993. That movie is one that I’ve often chosen to pretend doesn’t exist as it was a very disappointing childhood memory: Super Mario Bros. Next I’l jump ahead to the 00’s with 2008’s Doom. Finally, I’ll look at the recent game based movie Pokémon: Detective Pikachu. Where did the previous two movies from prior two decades go wrong where Pokémon: Detective Pikachu got things right is the question I seek to answer by analyzing these games based films from those decades. Please note, I will not be counting any movies made by Uwe Boll amongst adaptations that got things wrong as I am lead to believe he does not care about how far off track he takes his films and it would appear as if he does it on purpose. Therefore, all films he makes are anomalies and should not be counted.

First, the movie that started it all. Super Mario Brothers was a very big deal in the early ’90’s. As a child of that decade, I know first hand how ascendant Mario and Luigi were. My older siblings and cousins all clamored to play as much Super Mario Brothers games on their NESes as they could. Naturally, a movie based on their beloved game was going to be awe inspiring.Oh, it was but for all the wrong reasons. To be fair to Hollywood, games are hard to adapt into a movie because of that half-real element many games have to them, especially story light platforming games of the NES era. However, that still doesn’t fully explain how they went from a fantasy romp where the hero—an everyman Italian plumber— rescuing the princess from a monster into gritty sci-fi dystopia, extra emphasis on the gritty. The set design, cinematography, plot choices, and direction are all bizarre when one takes a step back to just look at it. For instance, their redesign of the iconic Bowser into a man with weird hair. Because of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film coming out three years prior, the ability to have made a puppet suit for someone to wear to bring Bowser to life in all his dragon-turtle glory existed. Yet, for some reason, instead of respecting the intellectual property, whomever had purchased the rights handed the project off to writers who clearly were so embarrassed to be adapting a video game that they didn’t bother actually adapting it. As a small child, all I’d cared about was that they’d made Yoshi look weird and the goomba’s looked wrong. Now that I’m older, I’m more perplexed by why they’d choose to go so far a field. Their idea had no business being grafted into the Super Mario Brothers’ universe. In fact, had they not been supposed to be adapting Super Mario Brothers, their idea would have been fun for a Sci-fi B-Movie. Instead they just went so far off to the side that it left a shadow that kept Nintendo from allowing anyone to make movies from their IPs. The actors did what they could but a bad script and bad direction cannot be overcome by anyone. (Super Mario Bros)

The shadow wasn’t just cast by Super Mario Bros but other movies kept the belief that video game movies just would not work alive. Thus we get to Doom. I was far too young to play Doom at its initial height of popularity but I knew what it was. So by 2005, after strings of other not-so-good-to-so-campy-its-fun video game adaptations, it was Doom’s turn. The trailers looks promising. Then what happened was a clumsily cobbled together film that used elements of Doom’s barely there plot, as well as plot threads from Alien and other space horror flicks to produce a B-movie that bears next-to-no resemblance to Doomat all. There’s an instance where the movie switches to first person POV like the game, and the human antagonist has become and alien creature called a “pinky” which is a demon from Doom, but ultimately being PG-13 could not deliver on the gore factor needed to fully capture what it was that Doom was: a bloody maze of gore and violence. In this case, it was likely based on the fact it was Doom that they thought adapting it was a good idea, but in their fumbled and neutered execution they made a so-so space horror that almost utterly fails as an adequate adaptation of the game of the same name’s fame it had tried to cash in on. Again, the set design is questionable as it is set largely on a space ship instead of in a maze of tunnels through Hell, and the tame levels of violence are not reflective of the core part of Doom’s appeal at all. The acting was decent enough, but otherwise the story direction and direction in general are suspect. 2005’s Doom failed because it did not try to be the by proxy gore fest that its source material was and without that gore, the classic Doom doesn’t have enough of an identity to fall back upon (Doom).

Pokémon: Detective Pikachu: A film I’d initially thought would also fail. One reason was because I thought the game it was based on was a silly idea when it came out, but also because it had become an almost accepted maxim that all video game based movies would continue to be awful because when it comes to gaming that Half-real effect I mentioned that Juul wrote about makes it hard to fully adapt a game because we, the players are not just passive watchers but active participants with game play, meaning what we do is projected into what happens so even with highly story based games, like a Final Fantasy title, no two people are going to have the exact same gameplay experience (Juul 121-62). Yet, those games have a higher chance of being adaptable. Those games prior to Pokémon: Detective Pikachu that most consider to be meh-to-passable all tended to be those based on games that tended to have far more of a narrative world to them than something like Doom or Super Mario Bros which were adapted from a story light FPS and story extra-light platformer. In the case of Pokémon: Detective Pikachu versus the series it spun-off from, until Generation V, there really wasn’t much to the story to speak of, and though it’s still not central to the main games, it’s stepped up to keep with what Generation V did. Pokémon: Detective Pikachu is a point and click adventure the is full of story and characterization that is not dependent wholly on the player, making its world and story far more adaptable into film format. A second thing the makers of Pokémon Detective Pikachu got right was they kept the aesthetics of the Pokémon world whenever they were designing the set design. They only deviated as such to make sure that these things looked coherent and real in that sense but it still reflected the worlds the games had presented. The pokémon were also a huge factor. They had to be redesigned to fit with the humans in the movie, but those redesigns were made with respect to how these creatures would look were they actually real creatures, keeping the uncanny valley at bay. Also, in a start contrast to the Super Mario Bros movie, this world was not only vibrant but it was a live and full the the fantastical creatures people expect to see in a world full of pokémon. Which is to say, we expect to see pokémon and they fulfilled that and then some. The plot is nothing extravagant or especially complex, but it was fun, it had genuine moments of heart and it fit in perfectly with the insanity that can happen within the pokémon universe. It felt like it and the games took place in the same world (Pokémon: Detective Pikachu).

Doom and Super Mario Bros on their own are not actually purely awful films. Doom fits right in with a lot of passable sci-fi horror trying to be Alien—and failing— whereas Super Mario Bros is more like an 80’s sci-fi B-flick that is trying to be cool—and also failing. However, the problem is these movies do not exist on their own, they were in fact adaptations of other intellectual properties that their makers did not respect enough to properly adapt to the silver screen. Whereas the Pokémon: Detective Pikachu film had nothing but respect for the game franchise it was representing into a live-action/CGI hybrid. Pokémon Detective Pikachu fits into the Pokémon World. It feels like it belongs there, and these events could be in that same universe. That, ultimately, is where the other two films failed horribly. Both films, so caught up in trying to be appealing to everyone, lost their identities to the point that they no longer fit in the worlds they were supposed to be adapting.

Works Cited

Pokémon: Detective Pikachu. Directed by Rob Letterman. Performances by Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith, and Kathryn Newton. Legendary Entertainment, 2019.

Doom. Directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak. Performances by Karl Urban,Dwayne Johnson, Rosamund Pike. Universal Pictures, 2005.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. Directed by Jake Kasdan, performances by Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart , and Jack Black, Sony Pictures, 2017.

Juul, Jesper. Half-Real. MIT Press, 2005. pg 121-162.

Super Mario Bros. Directed by Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton. Performances by Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper. Allied Filmmakers, 1993.

#Detective Pikachu #super mario bros movie #doom movie #academic blogging

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thelogicalghost · 5 years

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Hellboy (2019), a review

First, some background.

Hellboy is the title of a comic series centered around the character of the same name. Its core concept is a subversion of the Lovecraft genre: a demon (summoned by Rasputin working with Nazis, for extra evil) destined to bring about the apocalypse who, having been raised by humans, instead travels the world killing other eldritch creatures and preventing dime-a-dozen Lovecraftian apocalypses. Though it's been handled by multiple artists and writers, there's a definitively unique art style and tone that stays constant. Hellboy is a combination of antihero tropes, preferring to shoot things first and ask questions later, although how much his impatience and irreverence may be masking considerable intelligence varies from writer to writer.

In 2004, Guillermo del Toro directed and co-wrote a big-screen adaptation starring Ron Perlman as well as other highly capable actors such as John Hurt and Doug Jones (the latter of who played a fishman who likes to read, and then 13 years later would play another fishman for del Toro). While not perhaps the most faithful adaptation, the 2004 movie got a lot right, and del Toro helmed a sequel in 2008. The movies came just before and after another del Toro classic, Pan's Labyrinth (2006), and the aesthetic and atmospheric similarities do suggest that del Toro was maybe going through a bit of a "fairies but horror" phase. Neither movie was received well at opening, but they've slowly risen in popularity as the comic adaptation genre picks up new converts who now return to these movies and enjoy them as the dark demonic superhero genre-flip that they are.

So now it's 2019, 15 years after del Toro's Hellboy, and with superhero and comic book movies raking in big bucks even on R ratings and nostalgia for del Toro's vision still present, the movie industry has tried to revive the franchise. Kind of.

What this means is that this new movie not only has to adapt one of the trickiest kinds of source material, with a highly stylized feel of its own, but also has to follow two movies made by one of the most incomparable creatives in Hollywood today. Like him or not, del Toro's work is neigh impossible to copy. It also has to recast the equally unique Perlman.

The short version is, it doesn't succeed. Probably no one could have. It has a number of deep flaws, some of which are common to comic adaptations but some not.

I'll start with the plot, because the overall plot is, I think, a strong example of why I had to go through all this background.

The new movie begins with Hellboy as an established character, both to the universe he's in and to the audience, and I liked that. Hellboy's in Tijuana looking for a fellow agent but the rescue is derailed because the agent's been turned into a monster and Hellboy has to kill him. This is classic Hellboy, where all other characters are inevitably killed by the darkness and only the indestructible demon is left to finish the job and move on to the next. Except that Hellboy gets SUPER depressed by the death of this agent, going on a drinking binge for possibly weeks? Unclear dialogue? Anyway, okay, so it's a younger Hellboy. Oh, also, the movie quickly establishes that Professor Broom - Hellboy's dad - is still alive in this movie, and still parental.

This was, to me, the first warning sign. The 2004 movie did the establishing-universe-coming-of-age story, killing off Broom as part of that. So we're resetting the universe, but also not bothering to frame this movie as re-establishing Hellboy's character, assuming that the audience will already be familiar with the basic premise. It wants the easy access of an origin story but also getting to take the shortcut of building off previous incarnations. What that means is that the movie opens with a flashback to Arthurian times to set up the antagonist, but ALSO has to incorporate the re-tread flashback re-establishing Hellboy's origin as a Rasputin/Nazi experiment. We get the awesome sense of worldbuilding with characters who refer to a shared history, but then that history is blatantly exposited or flashbacked. The coming of age narrative has to share screen time and space with a plot that only really works when it's not the first in a series, so plot elements pop up and then are discarded or timing isn't explained or consequences are unclear.

Nowhere is this more keenly felt than in the character of Alice: her introduction is fantastic, implying that years ago when Hellboy saved her as a child they established some sort of relationship that sets up a great sibling dynamic between the two. BUT then in order to explain how a secondary villain is relevant, there's an extended flashback to how he saved her, as a baby, with no indication of further association as she grew up, which completely invalidates the previous worldbuilding and implied relationships.

I don't know exactly where the blame for this falls specifically, but I think it's indicative that the director, Neil Marshall, has to now mostly helmed the kind of blood-filled horror flicks where the quality of the dismembered body props is more important than the quality of the plot. Whether it's his direction, or the direction of producers (there are so many listed in the credits I don't know who to research first) or other creative controllers, it's clear that this new movie is intended as horror first and foremost, a sentiment supported by the excessive screen time devoted to redshirt humans being dismembered with unnecessarily vivid brutality. This in turn brings with it the hallmarks of cheap horror: ignoring plot for the sake of blood and scares, spelling things out so the audience doesn't have to think and can just mindlessly consume, and generally mishandling pacing and tension because the ending is a foregone conclusion.

I understand WHY someone might get this idea from the del Toro movies, especially since I'm pretty sure the creative team also watched Pan's Labyrinth while putting together specific scenes. Unfortunately it's the most surface-level reading of the movies one could get, and it completely misses the point about what makes Hellboy an interesting character and property. They literally did not have his right hand DOING anything, which showcases how much they missed the point.

However.

Strip away the CGI gore and ham-fisted retreading (and cut the retelling of Broom's death, it would be effortless to replace that subplot), and there's actually a pretty awesome movie hiding underneath.

Someone on the writing staff knew what they were doing. The actors are almost all great. (Seeing Ian McShane as Broom here was weird, but I think that's partially because my feeds have been flooded with American Gods S2 trailers, so I had some strong "the fuck is Wednesday doing here" dissonance.) I love the lack of love triangle and instead the strong teambuilding with sibling-style chemistry with situational allies developing trust through necessity.

The main through-line of the plot is exactly what Hellboy should be: monsters, undead things coming back, an ancient evil threatening to engulf the world in darkness, and a determined attempt by the villain to appeal to Hellboy's demonic nature to draw him to her side. If the movie had been confident enough to position itself as a sequel to the del Toro films, rather than a reboot, the revelation of Hellboy's ancestry would have been a great development of his ironic destiny.

Just take the secret society set up in the first act. An old boy's club of British gentlemen who ritualistically hunt down undead giants on horseback with electrified lance/spears and mount their heads in a Victorian trophy room? This is the world of Hellboy, absolutely. Love it. Baba Yaga! Bleeding trees! Whatever the hell those throat-ghosts are! A fairy ripping out someone's tongue and putting it in their own mouth in order to speak with the person's voice! Hellboy! (Granted that last point was utterly terrible in the context of the plot, but I already ranted about that.)

The movie is pretty optimistic about setting up further sequels, and while I don't know if the box office and reviews will make a sequel happen, I would love for the seeds planted by the good movie underneath the bad one to be nurtured into an actually good Hellboy movie. It just desperately needs to be taken away from people who prioritize cheap horror and its tropes, and given back to people who understand that Hellboy is a fantasy superhero narrative within a Lovecraft setting, the way that del Toro did.

#hellboy #review

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seakittens · 6 years

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Free! vs. Toxic Masculinity

So I was thinking the other day about how people always project negative stereotypes on Free, accusing it of queerbaiting and shallowness and other things of that nature. I disagree with most of this, and wanted to take an opportunity to highlight something that I think Free does really well compared to other sportsani or shows primarily focused on guys. Something that I think sets it apart from other shows considered fangirl-bait. And that’s the way it deals with and confronts concepts of toxic masculinity.

I am not going to provide a whole explanation of toxic masculinity. If you want a full refresher, watch this. But for the sake of this discussion, it’s the idea that traits such as showing emotion, non-aggressive friendships and likes associated with femininity (flowers, love of fluffy things, children) are “feminine-coded” and therefore bad for a man to embrace. Toxic masculinity champions men who shun emotions, turn friendships into competitions and reject “girly” likes.

So how does Free handle this concept? Well, first I’d like to point out that I think part of the answer to this is why I reject the notion that Free (the show, not the marketing) is shipbaiting. I believe the intent of Free is just to portray relationships. It just so happens that these male relationships are different than what most audiences are used to when it comes to male friendships, and the result is behavior that people extrapolate to mean more. I’m not saying this extrapolation is wrong, just that I don’t believe it’s the show’s intent. Free wants to tell a story about friendship, about male friendship, about healthy, positive male friendship. And that’s something that simply just isn’t done often.

Most male friendships in anime are characterized by competition and that competition is viewed, in many cases but not all, as a negative thing. A thing that must be overcome in order for a deeper friendship to result. The push is that the characters stop seeing each other as something to overcome. You will find this in most shonen anime, which honestly has some of the deepest male friendships.

Free turns this concept on its head. Obviously, you have the deep childhood friendship between Makoto and Haruka, which is characterized by support and trust but without the senpai trope that is usually attached to male friendships of this nature. You have the friendships between Nagisa and Haruka, which should be the annoying shota and the tsundere, but Haruka thinks highly of Nagisa and really grows based on his insight. Again, there’s is not so much the senpai trope because as much as Nagisa idolizes Haruka, he also teaches him.

And then you have Free’s champion of rejecting toxic masculinity: Rin. Rin is a character defined by emotions. And while some are the typical masculine aggressiveness and competitiveness, he’s also known for his sensitivity, tears, and tendency to burst into flowery speeches about love and friendship. Rin is framed as your typical jock in his skill, build and even shark-tooth antagonist aesthetic. But his personality is anything but.

Rin’s tears are not mocked but embraced. They are viewed as a positive thing by other men. Haruka encourages them, to the point of smiling when he sees Rin shed them. Sousuke encourages them, even to the point of giving Rin space so he can cry. Rin openly cries at romantic movies, overt displays of friendship and sheer happiness. This embracing of male tears is why the odd line from Makoto to Nagisa in ES 13 feels so jarring. "Boys don't cry." I don't even have an answer for that one. It was just 0_o.

Yes, Rin is embarrassed and tries to hide his tears because Rin is still tied up in biases of masculinity, the same way he tries to defend himself when he's being too sappy, but that Rin can still bring himself to shed them is significant. Rin does have traces of toxic masculinity as a result of his character trope. Rin has grown up without his father and assuming he had to be "man of the house."

But Rin is also presented as the guy who loves flowers and romance, adopts stray cats and talks about dreams. Again, this goes very much against the image Rin presents as the jock bad boy. It's much different that the typical depiction of male friendships as dudes being jerks to each other even when they're bros.

But, Kitty, you cry, Rin is a jerk in S1 of Free. Right, you are. And this is viewed as an aberration to Rin's original personality and something that must be understood, and with help, overcome. That is the plot of S1. That Rin is the jerky rival is the trope. The twist is that Rin is not actually the jerky rival and is actually emotionally trouble and under the impression that his previous sentiments were wrong. Something he abandons in S1.

So supportive male relationships are the key to both the climax in S1 and in S2, with Haruka's anxieties. Which is nice to see and a theme that I hope continues in S3.

Then we have Rin and Haruka's relationship. This is probably my favorite part about how Free tackles toxic masculinity. Free takes the perceived main conflict of Rin vs. Haruka's rivalry (whereupon you expect it to resolve when Haruka wins) and makes it more about learning why the negativity of that rivalry is WRONG. So the conclusion to the conflict isn't a final match or even RH working together to defeat a bigger conflict. It's literally just resolving the negativity itself, which is Rin's fear of unimportance to Haruka and Haruka's inability to tell Rin how he really feels. In fact, this confused many original fans who expected the conflict to end with Haruka realizing he doesn't need to fight Rin and then walking away from the rivalry. But the show instead says it's not the rivalry that's the problem, it's the way in which the rivalry is expressed. Which was through toxic masculinity. Rin's need to defeat Haruka.

Once this problem is resolved, the rivalry is less about defeating the other and more about pushing each other to their limits. Which is a supportive rivalry.

Usually in sports anime, the conflict is resolved by defeating the rival and this makes the rival reassess the main and declare them worthy. This creates a deeper relationship that allows them to compete on a more even ground. But Free doesn't care about who wins. It's not about that. It's about the relationship of the characters. Which is why even though in S1, the characters win the race, they are ultimately disqualified. Because the results don't matter. What mattered was resolving the emotional conflict between Rin and Haruka.

And the end result is the extreme example of the opposite of toxic masculinity, which is Rin openly crying, showing physical affection and showing how happy he is to be with his friends again. It's not couched in any shows of feigned masculinity either. Rin doesn't get all flustered by his actions. He openly embraces them. None of the guys is embarrassed; they're just all so happy to be friends again.

Which is why Free leaves so many, including me, with such a positive message. While the latter parts of the series didn't execute this nearly as effectively, they have their overall theme of supportive male relationships amid sports. And I do appreciate how this is carried over into S2 in that Rin's drive to race Haruka is still not about defeating him, but about pushing Haruka to realize just what he can accomplish. Rin doesn't want to defeat Haruka; Rin simply wants to race with Haruka because it makes him happy. And that, in itself, is a really powerful message for male relationships.

Traditional sports anime would have Haruka realize he doesn't NEED to defeat Rin and that he doesn't need their rivalry and leave Rin to stew with his own feelings until he has some sort of epiphany but Free DOUBLES DOWN on the rivalry and says no Haruka DOES need the rivalry to grow. Rin and Haruka beating each other is never treated as a BIG thing, save the time that it was shown as a NEGATIVE thing because of WHY Rin wanted it. The win almost never matters, and it's very important that Haruka's loss isn't a matter of losing to a rival, it's a matter of losing RIN.

So when the whole "it made me just as happy" scene occurs, people might originally think it suggests that anime will take the traditional sports anime route. But Free INVERTS that by having Haruka double down on his need for Rin and their friendship. And yes, Haruka needed to learn HOW to express himself through Iwatobi to be able to reach Rin on that level, so Iwatobi is crucial to the resolution. The show is all about embracing your emotions and opening up. Which is a direct contrast to how men are usually expected to behave.

Then, of course, we have the powerful scenes in ES 12, where Rin openly admits his admiration for his rival. It’s usually something we see a junior say to a senior, not someone his own age. So it means a lot here in terms of openness amid male friendship and healthy rivalry.

But aside from Rin, who pretty much constantly ruins his image with his emotional nature, the Free boys are not concerned with typical notions of masculinity. In fact, in the rare occasions they are, it's almost jarring. So it's not just the overall absence of toxic masculinity that makes Free stand out, but also, unlike other female-targeted shows, it actively CONFRONTS toxic masculinity and shows how it can be overcome. At least to a certain extent.

Oh yeah, I must also point out that I'm not sure if this was Utsumi's original intent or if just a result of her lack of male bias and desire to tell a story exclusively focused on male relationships. We see Kawanami continue this tradition in TYM when Rin is so happy at the idea of just being able to swim with Haruka one more time before he leaves for Australia. "Swimming with you is a great enough surprise." Looking forward to more examples moving forward.

#meta

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undeadimpulsereviews · 5 years

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Super Mario Odyssey Review

Super Mario Odyssey is a beautiful and interesting world trotting adventure that feels right at home within the franchise. The gameplay has a classic feel to it that both adds something new and utilizes the ideas of old to keep things interesting. The world that surrounds the Mushroom Kingdom has never felt bigger and the possibilities are endless thanks to the new central mechanics of the game. Nintendo is going all out with the new titles on the switch in terms of their presentation; however, in the end, it’s still a very generic Mario game in a lot of senses.

Super Mario Odyssey has a lot of great features that make it an enjoyable title; sadly, the story falls short from the rest of the game. To put it simply, it’s a Mario story. That may sound terrible, but it all feels generic. Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach and it’s up to Mario to save her. The formula hasn’t changed in years and, for Odyssey, the same applies here. The only differences stem from the idea that Bowser is rushing to force the Princess to marry him. It’s an interesting alteration from just having Bowser sit there and do nothing but wait for Mario to stop his plans but, at the end of the day, it’s the same story that Nintendo has presented for years.

Nintendo doesn’t even need to replace Bowser as the villain. While the studio has shown that the famed Koopa King can play second fiddle to another antagonist; It’s as easy as altering the motive or method. Bowser doesn’t have to kidnap Peach every game. Sonic games reuse Dr. Robotnik all the time; however, he isn’t using the same tactics to reach his goals. If Bowser wanted to take over the Mushroom Kingdom, or “win” the princess, then change up the formula. It’s like the entire story of Bowser’s life centers around the saying “If at first you don’t succeed, try try again.” Yet, in Bowser’s case, he never learns from his mistakes, he’s a one trick pony that can even do the one thing he sets out to do.

Bowser aside; there are some interesting new additions to this games story. Thankfully, there are a slew of new characters on both sides. Bowser isn’t being aided by the koopalings or Bowser Jr. this time around. Instead the player is introduced to the Broodlings.

These new villains are a group of rabbit wedding planners. Just like previous henchmen, they are tasked with one thing; Stop Mario from foiling the plan. Along with them, there is an entirely new rogues’ gallery of bosses to fight throughout the game. Some that may take similarities from previous bosses and others that are new from the ground up.

Aside from characters, Super Mario Odyssey gains a lot of praise from it’s vastly expanded world. Much like Super Mario Galaxy, Mario is introduced to many new places outside the Mushroom Kingdom; however, instead of exploring the reaches of space, it’s an adventure around the world. Each kingdom is completely different from the last. The best part about them is that they all are so different. Their ecosystem, economy, inhabitants, and way of life; a lot of effort and thought went into building this unknown world. One moment someone may be exploring a kingdom where the citizens are cooking utensils; the next, they’re in the big city enjoying a concert with Pauline or riding a scooter.

The colors, scenery, and atmosphere are one of the best things about Odyssey. While the game can be beat in a simple amount of time; the world itself truly feels bigger than any other Mario game before it. The game feels so different, but at the same time some how classic.

The game feels fairly similar to a couple past titles in the franchise, mainly Super Mario 64. Mario isn’t jumping through stars or cleaning streets with a water jet pack; it’s a step back, but in a good way. The gameplay has some new features, but it’s clear that Odyssey tries to utilize the roots of the original Mario 3D platformers. Mario moves the exact same way he always has but, in this game, he is very grounded. There are no special power caps, or cannon stars to propel Mario. The newest mechanic of the game actually stems from a character.

Cappy, a denizen of the cap kingdom, has joined Mario on his adventure. With this, now players can throw Cappy at foes to easily dispatch them; however, some enemies and other NPC’s are special. It’s not really explained how but, honestly it doesn’t need to be, now Mario can possess things through Cappy. This presents many new ways of platforming. Is the next platform to high? Then just take over a frog. Can’t swim fast or breathe under water for too long? Control a cheep cheep. This idea presented a lot of interesting puzzles throughout the game; however, it felt somewhat scarce.

For being the crowning new thing for the game, there wasn’t a lot of necessity to transforming. There were a couple power moons that required Mario to change; as well as, platforming sections that were near impossible to traverse without the mechanic. That is unless you know some speed running tricks or the like. Though, due to the fact that there are so many Power Moons to collect, you can get most of what is needed without the transformations. In fact, the truly challenging moments of the game only come during post game. There is a total of 999 Power Moons in the entire game. A lot of these moons are locked off until the player progresses through the game; however, the ones that are present give leave a very boring impression. Walk five steps from your ship and ground pound a mound of dirt; congrats, you’ve achieved a power moon. Now jump over the rock formation to the right and talk to captain toad; well done, that’s another power moon. Go to the store and, guess what, buy a power moon for one hundred coins. Now, yes this is a game where the demographic is meant to be children of a certain age, but those kids aren’t three year old toddlers who need mother Nintendo to hold their hands and give them a free pass.

The game is only truly difficult if the player is a completionist; the number of power moons aside, there are legitimately difficult moons to collect in the post game. Still a plethora of easy and unnecessary ones that could have just been taken out , but if someone is looking for the challenge it’s there. the addition of almost one thousand moons just makes the game feel longer than it needs to be. The player doesn’t need to get them all to finish the game, but it still feels lazy, and that’s just the start. The gameplay is good, but there is just so much about some of the details that change the way it’s seen. Unlike other games in the franchise, Super Mario Odyssey does not have any form of game over. The character can die and when they do they lose coins and then are respawned; however, this means that there is no repercussions for death. Once again this only effects those players that wish to one hundred percent everything there is in the game. Coins are used for only two things in the game; One is to buy power moons while the other is to obtain outfits.

These outfits are purely aesthetic, save for a select few. Some moons require Mario to wear a specific costume; once he does it a free no effort power moon. Otherwise, the costumes are for looks until post game. Present at the end of the game is an achievement system that has kept track of things throughout the game that, when achieved, gives you more simple power moons. So, dying a lot will set people back if they plan to get everything but, unless the person fell off the edge, they can always pick up their lost coins and then some. Once Mario dies every coin he picked up in the stage re-loads; this makes dying trivial and a minor inconvenience that means nothing. To some this may seem like a great change, or nothing all that relevant; however, game overs are one of the best thing a game like this can have. The set backs it brings and the challenges presented have always played a key role in bettering gamers to strive to overcome that which trips them up. Removing this downplays the game and, as stated before, makes for a boring experience.

Overall, when the game performs well, it’s an 8 out of 10; however, there are just so many things about the game that just don’t sit well with me. When the games at it’s lowest it’s a 7 out of 10. The game is a good and fun game, but it has it’s boring moments. The story is becoming outdated and overused; however, there were new and interesting ideas presented. The game can be boring at times and the gameplay does take a hit in some areas; whether it’s a big problem like boring and overly simplistic collectibles that are the core item of the game, or something small like how awkward it feels to swim sometimes. The game isn’t perfect, but it is enjoyable.

Sorry for the delay on this; school, illness, obligations, the same old stuff and just a different day. I’ll be releasing the reviews this month between now and the end of the month. There aren’t set dates but I do plan on getting every thing out before February. Next review is on the manga, In This Corner of the World. Until then however, have a good day and thanks for reading.

#super mario odyssey #switch #nintendo #nintendo switch #gaming #video game #video games #review #super mario #cappy #mario

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melonbreadreviews-blog · 6 years

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Playing ‘The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’ Three Years Later

I’ll admit, I’m often late to the party on major title releases in gaming. I’d like to tell you that it’s an intentional choice of mine, that it’s in my best interest to let the best and worst parts of these landscape altering pieces of art simmer in a pot together. I picked up Bloodborne on a whim three years after its release, and after about a two hour play session, I decided it wasn’t for me; three months later I was glued to my TV every night after work searching every nook and cranny that the hunter’s dream had to offer me.

My point is that buying a game upon its initial release is a commitment to either loving or hating that game. I often feel compelled to shower praise on the solid parts of games that I love, and pressure to explain with hyperbole the games I just couldn’t vibe with. Playing Bloodborne years after its release at a much lower price allowed me to put it down when I didn’t enjoy it, and pick it back up when I needed it. The parts of it that I didn’t like weren’t exacerbated by a pressure to validate my own experiences relative to the gaming community. Likewise, when i picked the game up again, I loved it not because I thought I should, but because the experience itself was legitimately breathtaking.

Three months later, set against the familiar hum and drum of my slowly dying Playstation 4, my experience with CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt begins. I tried to begin this same journey a few months earlier, but that run died on the starting line in a messy tutorial and a post-Bloodborne haze. One enormous Dragon Quest XI run later, and I’m finally ready to give this journey three years in the making a chance. My expectations are a mixed bag; I carry with me the influences of a thousand burning reddit threads and the weight of an inescapable question: Has this game aged well?

For those of you who aren’t familiar with The Witcher franchise (I’ve never read the series or played a mainline game before touching The Witcher 3, so you’re not alone!), the main plot of the game follows the journey of a Witcher named Geralt as he searches for his protege and ward Ciri while also fending off the primary antagonistic force of the game, the Wild Hunt. Witchers serve as bounty hunters of the region, often dealing with the monsters and villains ordinary folk are incapable of handling themselves. Throughout the game, players can feel the tension in the air between Geralt and the people around him, often including the ones he saves. Witchers exist outside the realm of normalcy in this universe, and to some extent the amount of agency the franchise gives you over the lives of the people who exist around you is a direct cause of the aforementioned tension. Though the social world Geralt inhabits mirrors the dangers of the physical world around him, there are romantic options in the game that allow for a deeper understanding of his character and The Witcher universe. The lore aspect of this game really separates it from similar titles in the same genre.

My first memories of the game still hold true, though my feelings about them have changed. I love the comic style art that flashes across the screen as the game loads, not because it matches the aesthetic of the game, but precisely because it does not. If I compare The Witcher 3 to other iterations of the same genre like Skyrim or Fallout, I find myself enjoying that not every moment of The Witcher is something that I need to take seriously. Sometimes, it’s okay to be reminded of the fact that I am actually playing a game and not living and dying by the decisions I make in this world.

That isn’t to say that decisions in this game don’t matter, though; I find that The Witcher 3 places weight on its decisions in a similar fashion to Mass Effect, rather than Skyrim or Fallout. There are several moments in the game that require a timed quick response in conversations or during action, and those quick responses sometimes dictate both the flow of ongoing dialogue and possible relationships with the characters around Geralt. There are even dialogue options that seem quite diplomatic on the surface, but end in brawls or even death for characters that the player did not expect. These moments are meant to teach the player just how much agency they have over the lives around them; sometimes Geralt feels like a god, and sometimes he feels just as vulnerable to the whims of the world as the people around him.

Normally, worlds that freely give that sort of agency to the player overwhelm me. I feel paralyzed by just how much my choices matter, and my love for the friends I’ve made throughout the story keeps me from playing the game as intended. Through the use of guides and reddit threads, I orchestrate my game in order to keep those characters alive, and that leaves me with less of an experience in the end. The Witcher 3, however, doesn’t leave me paralyzed in the same way. Because much of the main narrative is decidedly linear, Geralt is free to explore the world around him, which includes contracts to kill creatures and free spirits and occasional games of a fairly fun but not too complex card game called Gwent. Not every decision has a role to play in the main story, and the ones that do feel natural in the game’s flow. Geralt is both insanely powerful and incredibly vulnerable, but I never fear for the outcome of his story while enjoying the fun of making decisions.

The skippable tutorial of the game remains not so skippable considering the amount of experience I have with The Witcher 3’s combat, but I appreciate that I have the option of ignoring it if I decide to run through new game plus. It’s here that the meat of the game comes to the forefront. The reason I initially put down The Witcher 3 was because I didn’t enjoy the flow of combat, which includes the two primary slashing attacks with two variants of weapons, a myriad of magical powers called Signs, and the use of items like bombs, crossbows and oils which can be applied to Geralt’s main weapons. If you’re just judging the combat of the game on the first few hours, The Witcher 3 may not meet your expectations of a major title release. When disjointed in the name of learning, the combat feels clunky, and the first few contracts in the region, especially on higher difficulties, are a major challenge for the uninitiated.

But in the same way I came to love Bloodborne, I’ve come to adore The Witcher 3 because of my journey with it. Sitting through the first few hours of the game, especially in 2018, can be sort of a grind. The story has yet to materialize, the combat is underdeveloped, and Geralt himself can seem unrelatable, but as the hours move on, the game opens up in parallel fashion to the world it encompasses. The combat itself feels incredibly fluid, each piece of it tied together in a way that challenges the player to learn how to be a Witcher, while also rewarding enough to encourage growth and not detract from the side-questing and story that make this game fun. The Witcher 3’s systems include a hearty dodging mechanic that feels clunky outside of battle, but seamless in it, and a parry system that is absolutely necessary on higher difficulties. Geralt’s magic, Signs, interact with objects in the world, but they can also be morphed and shaped into crowd control devices. The ability tree is extensive, but in a way that represents a mixing of action and role-playing. Each playthrough can be different, but Geralt remains much of the same, just upgraded.

Though not combat in a traditional sense, I think The Witcher 3’s in-game card system, Gwent, represents an entirely different method of fighting for players. Though not required, there are various quests given to Geralt in different regions of the game which involved beating skilled Gwent players at cards. While the game involves a little bit of strategy, it’s never overwhelming, and because Gwent isn’t a major factor in the story, it’s skippable for fans who don’t enjoy it. I found myself going from inn to inn, challenging keeps to games for their best cards, and I really came to love a part of the game I didn’t enjoy all that much at first. It’s a missable portion of the game, but it definitely adds dimension to the gameplay without requiring too much effort on the part of the player.

Much of the game’s story is very compelling, and it isn’t saddled with an extensive lore that the player is forced to grapple with. There is lore, yes, but that lore is discoverable all over the world, and it’s the player’s choice to explore it, or not. There is a distinct moment in the first 20 hours or so of the game that allows the player to learn about about Geralt’s relationship with Ciri through dialogue options with another character. The player can listen to all of the heavy lore in the dialogue, or simply skip it. The Witcher 3 is chalk full of story, but it never asks the player to share the burden of that story. In much the way you can flow in and out of the narrative of the story through side-questing and contracts, you can simply choose not to pay attention to certain parts of the main quest line.

That isn’t to say that the story is lacking or is unfocused. There are reasons to want to stay on track, including a wide array of characters who are, though not as interesting as Geralt, incredibly complex. The Witcher 3 does a fantastic job of presenting its best qualities though, and those qualities encourage players to explore the world around them and creative a narrative journey that varies significantly from player to player. Whether or not a player values that storytelling approach, though, depends on their own taste. Personally, I found that I could have my fill of Gwent and monster hunting, and then pick right back up where I left the main story.

The Witcher 3 is not without its faults, despite my glowing praise up to this point. While the world itself is rendered beautifully, I found the interactions with other characters to pose the biggest problems for the game’s graphics. There were times where Geralt’s face would simply teleport all over the screen until the game was able to settle into the set animations for the dialogue, and I distinctly remember an interaction between Geralt and Triss Merigold which involved Triss pressing a hand to her face that was stuck in the Igni battle animation for fire. While these graphical glitches don’t detract from the overall product, they are wrinkles on the surface of the game that begin to show its age. I was surprised that the world remained incredibly stable, save for a few times I found my horse could fit between a clustered group of trees better than I could, while the dialogue options proved incredibly difficult for the animations in the game. It reminded me a lot of my time with Mass Effect, in both good and bad ways. There was a certain novelty, but maybe that novelty is a bit too dated for a Playstation 4 title.

I’d like to end this review where I started, and that is on the subject of playing games years after they’ve already debuted. I wish I was a strong enough person to not feel the pressure that comes with making a commitment to a new title, but I often let reviews and recommendations, either positive or negative, affect the way I experience games. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a near perfect example of my current status as a consumer, because I’ve been able to enjoy all the good that the game has to offer without taking the bad bits too seriously. I did expect the game to be great, of course, but I didn’t expect it to be perfect, and that’s partly because I don’t have a need to be justified in having purchased it. I haven’t tasked myself with deciding The Witcher’s place in history; that’s already been decided. So, for now, I feel quite content to stroll along cobblestone city roads and swampy marshes, living life as a Witcher.

#game review #writing #the witcher 3 #geralt of rivia #video games #review

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theonlyjelly-iwillput-inmybelly · 6 years

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The Ghost of Christmas Past

Hi, nonny! I wrote prompt 13 as a separate post for my own organizational purposes; I dislike writing fics in the question format because...aesthetics. Idk, I’m weird.

Prompt 13 became a cute lil fic that I so cleverly entitled ‘Ho, Ho, Ho, Bitch’ and you can read it on Tumblr HERE or my AO3 HERE.

Hit up the My Fics page on my theme for more of my fics, or search the ‘my fics’ tag on my blog.

Thank you!

A/N: This is a sharp contrast to prompt 13, and this is also the angstiest, saddest fic I have ever written to date. I’m sorry. I also explored the idea of making the antagonist...Logan. It was an interesting exercise, to say the least (I hurt my bois and I hate it)

Sorry for spelling it’s late and I’m tired

Prompt 16: “Christmas is lame.” -“You’re lame! You, you, you grinch!” -“Oh. Ow.”

Words: 3,749

Pairings: Prinxiety (Roman/Virgil)

Warnings: Swearing, arguing, crying, emotional breakdown

READ IT ON AO3 HERE!

“Come on, Virgil! You can’t hate Christmas that much!” Roman cried out in a dramatically shocked voice, a hand splayed over his heart as he steadied the ladder for Patton, who was in the process of hanging mistletoe from apparently every nook and cranny in the entirety of the mind palace.

“Actually, Roman,” Virgil retorted from the couch, where he was surfing Tumblr on his phone, “I can hate and not hate whatever the hell I want, regardless of the pressure you idiots with your Christmas fetishes put upon me.”

“I’d like to interject with the statement that I have never had a fetish for anything in my life, all things Christmas included, and that I also am not an idiot,” Logan said calmly as he entered the living room from the kitchen, “I have reason to believe you don’t entirely understand what a fetish is, Virgil, so I shall explain. A fetish, according to the Oxford English Dictionary-”

“No, I know what a fetish is, teach, thanks,” Virgil quickly interrupted, “I was just being sarcastic about these nerds’ obsession with Christmas.”

“It is not a fetish!” Roman cried, his cheeks flushing, “I’m just enjoying the Christmas spirit-”

“Now boys, don’t fight!” Patton chided, tying the red ribbon around the mistletoe securely, “Roman, Virgil’s allowed to like or dislike whatever he wants.”

“Yeah, I’m allowed to like or dislike whatever the hell I want,” Virgil said, jutting his chin out and grinning mockingly at Roman. He flipped the creative side off when Patton’s eyes were back on the mistletoe.

Roman huffed and stuck out his tongue, but grinned triumphantly when Patton said “I saw that, Virgil.”

“Saw what?” Virgil asked, tucking his phone and hands into the pockets of his hoodie and staring at Patton with a look of complete innocence. Roman scowled.

“You gave Roman the bird! You know that’s rude,” Patton cried, climbing down from the ladder, “Please make an effort to be nice, kiddo. It’s Christmas Eve.”

“Christmas Eve, Shitscram Schmeve,” Virgil huffed, flipping up his hoodie and digging his phone out of his pocket again.

Patton breathed out a heavy sigh as Roman and Virgil began bickering again. The two had become closer friends since the disastrous foray into Virgil’s room, but they still bickered on sore topics that they both stubbornly took sides on. Patton couldn’t tell whether or not their bickering was actually the good humored sniping that came from strong friendships or whether or not they actually still felt malice towards one another based upon an old habit struggling to fade away. It was confusing; they’d argue, but then they’d grin at one another whenever they flipped each other off.

He shook his head of his thoughts in time to hear Virgil mutter “Christmas is lame.”

At this, Roman was flabbergasted. “Dude! How? You know what...Y-You’re lame! You...Y-You grinch!” he said, fumbling with his words.

Virgil looked up at Roman over the edge of his phone, his expression unimpressed. “Oh, ow. That sure hurt,” he said scornfully, flicking his gaze back into the blue glaze of his screen, “I expected a better nickname from the creative side.”

They continued to bicker, Roman even seating himself on the couch next to Virgil so that they could have an easier time at flipping each other off.

“Boys!” Patton said severely, his hands on his hips. He sighed when the other two ignored him, and looked imploringly to Logan, who was coolly reading a book on physics while seated on his armchair. “Logan, can I get some help here, please?”

Logan marked his page and closed the book, gently placing it aside. He quietly cleared his throat, and stood, looking to Roman and Virgil expectantly. Patton grinned when silence fell over the room; Logan had the stern aura of a gentle yet serious professor who would simultaneously give advice yet take no nonsense.

“Roman, I believe that it is best that you heed to Patton’s advice; not everyone in this world has to have the same opinion as you do. Do not give me that look; you should know this by now,” Logan monotoned, silencing Roman’s protest with a furrow of his eyebrows. Virgil grinned, but his smile faltered when Logan’s analytical stare fell upon him.

“Virgil, I believe what you are doing now is what they call ‘lashing out’, which is when a person has something on their mind that is deeply bothering them, so they try to ‘expel’ the negative emotions by taking physical or verbal action that can be harmful to themselves or others,” Logan murmured, taking off his glasses and polishing them on the hem of his shirt, “Naturally, this does not work nearly as well as when someone opens up about the potentially negative feelings they may be harboring. So, Virgil, do you have any negative feelings you wish to expel, or do you wish to keep bottling them and risk injury to you, Thomas, or us?”

Virgil snorted, pulling his hood down further along his bangs and rubbing his chin in mock thoughtfulness, “Well, let me think. Do I, the literal fucking embodiment of anxiety, have any negative feelings?”

“Virgil, language,” Patton scolded.

Logan placed his glasses onto the bridge of his nose. “I sense that that rhetorical question was laden with sarcasm.”

“Yeah, ya think? Man, you can be dense sometimes,” Virgil hissed, pulling his legs up closer to his chest, his lips curling and his jaw clenching.

Virgil had hit a sore spot; Logan tensed up, his arms folding and his shoulders squaring. “Falsehood!” he snapped, raising his voice, “And what you’re doing now exactly proves my point! You’re lashing out because I appear to have unearthed a sensitive topic; your feelings about Christmas, or, rather-”

“-Hey, leave him alone, Logan, you’re-!” Roman started to say, but Virgil stamped his foot, cutting him off.

“I’m not lashing out about anything!” Virgil shouted, leaping up from the couch, his hood falling back to reveal disheveled hair that only added to his threatening appearance, “Jesus, I voice one negative opinion and you all bash me down and start psychoanalyzing me! I just don't like Christmas, and you all Whos in Whoville just have to accept it!”

Logan, normally so collected, was turning bright red; he was about to open his mouth to argue further when Patton quickly hurried over and laid a hand on his forearm. Logan shut his mouth, and merely fumed as Patton looked reproachfully at Virgil.

“Kiddo…” he said quietly, “Why do you hate Christmas so much?”

Virgil gawked at Patton, blinking incredulously. His arms were stiff at his sides, his legs splayed apart and bent as if he was about to spring. He let out a high pitched, stuttering laugh, one that was heavy with sarcasm.

“Why do I hate Christmas?” he snarled, ferociously zipping up the hoodie, “I’ll let you guys resurrect the Ghost of Christmas Past to answer that question.”

And with that, he sunk out of the room.

Logan was the first to break the heavy silence. “I wasn’t aware that Virgil was a Dickens fan.”

“I don’t think he was fanboying about Charles Dickens, teach,” Roman said quietly, his disturbed expression fixed on the spot where Virgil had disappeared.

Patton furrowed his brow, and squeezed Logan’s arm tighter to draw him out of his reverie. “Who’s Charles Dickens? What did he mean, ‘Ghost?’ It’s Christmas, not Halloween!”

Logan chuckled, and pried Patton’s hand away. “He was referring to the famous British novelist and journalist that authored A Christmas Carol, a fictitious tale of a stingy and bitter old man by the name of Ebenezer Scrooge, who was visited by a series of spirits, the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. They all tried to show him the error of his greedy ways and tried to teach him the magical message of Christmas kindness. All nonsense of course.”

“Oh,” Patton said, his expression troubled, “Why would he mention that when I asked him why he hated Christmas?”

“Well, A Christmas Carol is a rather dark tale for Christmas, so perhaps he hates the holiday because he dislikes Dickens’s view-”

“No, shut up, Logan!” Roman said suddenly, leaping to his feet. Patton and Logan turned to look at him incredulously, but their gazes turned into ones of concern when they saw the alarm on Roman’s face. He was running his hands through his hair and turning in slow circles, a common thing he did when he was feeling guilty.

“Consider me shut,” Logan said after a few moments, prompting Roman to speak.

“...I think Virgil said ‘resurrect the Ghost of Christmas Past’ because he wants us to think back on all of our previous Christmases,” Roman began slowly, his face whitening, his throat constricting violently as he swallowed with difficulty, “So let's think about Virgil’s past Christmases.”

The three sides fell silent as they delved back into their memories.

But no matter how far back they wracked their brains, they could not see a single picture of Virgil enjoying Christmas. There were no memories of him decorating, no memories of him baking, no memories of him watching stupid Christmas TV specials.

And that was because-

“...Virgil has never had a real Christmas,” Roman whispered in a small voice.

Logan blinked rapidly, placing his palm on his forehead, his breath hitching. “Oh, my god…” he breathed.

Patton’s lip wobbled, his hands pressing against his cheeks. “Oh no, oh no…”

Roman sank back onto the couch, the sound of Patton bursting into guilty tears echoing in his ears. His heart was pounding in his ears, and he too felt intense shame and guilt wash over him, pricking at the back of his eyes in the form of tears. He thought his guilt would go away since Virgil had forgiven him all those months ago, forgiven him for believing that Virgil was a villain that Thomas wanted, needed him to vanquish or else Roman would fall out of favor, but here that guilt was again, like a scar or a flashback to a traumatic time.

Roman blinked minutes later, forcing himself to surface after submerging himself with his dark thoughts. He saw that Patton was still sobbing, but he now had a blanket around his shoulders and that the fire was roaring. Logan was awkwardly patting his back, his expression troubled and tinged with guilt.

“Why did you have to go and...and expose him like that, Logan?” Roman snapped, his tone much more vehement than he had intended.

Logan looked up sharply, his mouth a thin line. “What do you mean?” he asked, his tone defensive.

“I mean you had to go and nitpick him, saying that he’s got all these problems pent up and that’s why he was acting up!” Roman hissed, his hands wringing.

“But that is the truth, Roman, why be so frivolous when it is much more efficient to not ‘beat around the bush’, as you would say?” Logan deadpanned.

Roman opened his mouth to retort, but all that came out was a hollow, incredulous laugh. Anger seethed in his chest, and he felt himself agitatedly stand up, pacing back and forth, his hands clinging to his hair.

“Jesus, why are you so emotionally dense?!” he hissed, his eyes glinting like sword points at Logan.

Logan was upright in an instant, his eyes flashing. “Because emotions are not my forte! You should know this!”

“And you should know that feelings, especially Virgil’s, aren’t something that are to be dealt with ‘efficiently’ like they’re some puzzle!” Roman shouted, turning sharply to face Logan, his eyes blazing, “He is a person, an actual, feeling person, not some equation for you to solve!”

Logan looked like he was about to shout something scathing when the sound of Patton crying increased and they both saw Patton burying his head in his arms. Logan and Roman exchanged glances before Logan knelt down beside Patton.

“No, no, no, not on Christmas Eve, please not today!” Patton cried, his voice muffled. He shrunk away from Logan’s touch, and lifted his head.

“...Patton,” Logan said quietly, his head drooping with shame.

“I just want us all to have one holiday together with no fighting and no arguing and I just want us all to get along, is that too much to fucking ask for?!” Patton sobbed, his voice growing in volume until it ended with a completely uncharacteristic screech. Logan and Roman were stunned at the venomous tones to the moral side’s voice, and were struck completely dumb by the swear. Patton buried his head in his arms again and wept inconsolably.

Roman was completely shaken. It didn’t hit him until just then that the family was crumbling apart on Christmas Eve.

He couldn’t take it anymore. He turned to leave, trying to force the sound of Patton’s weeping out of his mind. He covered his ears, and stumbled towards his room, his stomach twisting in knots. He paused just outside of his door, his hand reaching for his door knob when he swore he heard something breaking in the far off distance.

He turned his head quickly in the direction he came, listening hard. Oh god, he thought to himself, Patton didn’t throw something, did he? But no, there came another crash, although this time Roman was certain that the noise was coming from deeper inside Thomas’s mind. He turned to peer down the shadowy hallway that lead to the darker corner of Thomas’s mind. Virgil’s old room was there, and that was where he lived before he had been welcome to a room closer to the commons. Roman swallowed, and felt himself moving down the hallway only slightly against his will; he felt an instinct deep in his gut telling him to find out what the source of the crashing was.

He padded farther and farther down the hallway, until it melted into something that wasn’t a hallway, or even an indoor structure, at all. It felt like he was in a huge, cold cavern, and all around him there rushed a cold, damp breeze. Roman shivered. He couldn’t imagine living here.

He kept walking for what felt like ages. The sounds of renewed arguing from the commons had completely disappeared. With every step, the crashing noise grew louder and louder. Roman swallowed nervously, his eyes skittering in every direction. He paused as he felt his lungs tighten and his heart begin to pound.

Suddenly, he knew where he was.

He was in the land of the Forgotten.

This was the place where all the forgotten memories were lost. This was where all the useless information that was cleaned from Thomas’s consciousness by Logan each night while Thomas dreamt was sent. In the shadows there were inklings of thoughts, faces of people Thomas had long forgotten, whispers of knowledge remembered but now lost.

Here in the Forgotten Land, there was Virgil.

Roman paused in his tracks, giving a small cry of shock when a great shattering of glass pierced his ears. The dreadful noise echoed and throbbed throughout the great cavern, the whispers and faces letting out thin moans. Roman swiveled around when he heard a faint growl.

There, on the edge of a precipice, stood Virgil.

He seemed remarkably unflustered for one who was literally feet away from entering a part of Thomas’s mind where he would well and truly be forgotten. His hood was up, the dark purple of the patches pulsating like cysts. The anxious side was conjuring plates and throwing them as hard as he could against the ground; hence was the source of the crashing noise. With every plate he threw, he heaved a grunt of rage.

Roman didn’t know what to do, didn’t know what to say. He bowed his head, the rhythmic crash of the plates ringing in his ears.

“What’s up, Ro?”

Roman jerked his head up sharply. He saw Virgil, his back turned, with his hands now thrust deep into his pockets. Roman was surprised. Virgil didn’t sound mad, or even sarcastic.

He sounded exhausted.

Roman shuffled his feet, thumbing his sash. “...Does that help?” he asked, gesturing to the scattered shards of ceramic. They looked like stark white drops of blood against the dim light and black stone.

Virgil turned around slowly. His hood was up at such an angle so hat Roman couldn’t see his face.

“...Kind of,” he whispered.

There was a thick silence as they stared at the shiny, damp cavern floor, surveying the wreckage of the plates, surveying the work of Virgil’s rage and suffering. The faint wind ruffled their hair, the whispers of the forgotten tickling their ears.

Suddenly, Virgil stamped his foot, his hands grappling at his hood.

“It’s all so fucking stupid!” he cried, grinding shards under his shoes, “We were just screwing around, you know, you and me, Ro?”

Roman blinked, reaching out so as to hold Virgil, his fingers curling into a fist that he withdrew when Virgil began to shake.

“You and I were just messing around, we fight about stupid stuff because that’s what best friends do,” Virgil cried, his voice shaking and sounding as if three people, all speaking in different octaves, were speaking over one another, “But Logan had to go and...had to go and make me remember...”

Virgil slapped his hand over his mouth, and began to shake violently. Roman felt like crying out when Virgil began to quake violently, muffled sobs fighting to escape from between his clenched teeth and suffocating hand.

“Virgil…” Roman said in a small voice, for once completely at a loss for what to say.

“Had to make me remember that you guys hated me, made me remember... remember that I never had a fucking real Christmas. Treated me like...like a t-thing again,” Virgil gasped, sucking in panicked, shaky breaths.

Roman jumped when Virgil snapped his head up, tearing his hoodie back. Roman felt the knots in his stomach constrict and felt his eyes sting when he saw that Virgil’s eyeshadow was pierced by tear stains, the anxious side’s eyes wet and red as more and more tears streamed down his face. He made searing eye contact with Roman, his stare making Roman’s heart squirm with pity and guilt.

“A thing, Roman!” he wailed, clasping his sweaterpaws over his eyes and completely breaking down. He fell to his knees, his joints cracking loudly as they hit the freezing rock below their feet. He wept openly, his body wracked by sobs.

Roman quickly knelt before him, not caring when the shards of ceramic pierced the fabric of his pants and scraped his skin. He reached his hands out, so wanting to hold Virgil, but he didn’t know whether or not he was crossing an invisible boundary he wasn't meant to cross yet. He felt his own eyes welling up with tears as Virgil sobbed brokenly.

“Virgil…” Roman squeaked, his voice cracking with the emotion that was forming a lump in his throat. He quickly cleared it, and continued, “Virgil...you’re not a thing. Logan was just being an utter asshole again. To me, you’re...you’re a friend, a wonderful friend.”

Virgil cried harder, his shoulders hunching.

“No matter what you do, no matter what you think, no matter what Logan ever says, you will never be a thing,” Roman said between gritted teeth, trying his hardest to stop himself from crying empathy tears, “And while it may not seem like it right now...you’re family.”

Virgil sniffled, pausing long enough in his crying to take a breath and look at Roman. He looked utterly defeated.

“Sure, tell that to me again when they’re not always picking me apart like I’m some fucking psych ward patient, or like I’m some corpse on a table.”

“I did say it might not seem like it right now,” Roman reminded him gently, “...We all have a lot to work to do. But just...just understand, Virgil, that I…”

Roman swallowed, and looked at his twisted hands in his lap. When he remained silent, Virgil was bereaved with another round of sobs.

“Virgil…” Roman started again, gently reaching forward to hold the anxious side’s knees, “...C-Can I give you a hug?”

Virgil stiffened noticeably under his hand.

“...Please…” Roman whimpered, “...I just want to help you feel better.”

Virgil melted, crying out but nodding. Shakily, Roman unfolded his legs from underneath himself, sat pretzel style, and gently lifted Virgil under the arms. He was much lighter than Roman had imagined; who knew what bony frame was hidden beneath that hoodie? He situated Virgil in his lap so that Virgil’s side was leaning into his chest. Virgil squirmed until he was as comfortable as he was going to get, and merely shook as he tried to suppress his tears.

But what little composure he had left broke when Roman gathered him close, wiping the tear tracks from wherever he could reach. Virgil’s head slumped against Roman’s chest, and he tilted his head so that he might hide his face in Roman’s shirt. He clung to the fabric of Roman’s sash, crying his heart out as Roman whispered him soothing platitudes and bounced him gently in his arms.

Eventually, Roman just sat in silence while letting Virgil cry, opting instead to stroke the anxious side’s back and nuzzle his nose into his hair so that the other side would be reminded of Roman’s presence when he felt Roman’s breath.

Eventually, Roman couldn't take it anymore. He trembled slightly as tears of his own slid down his cheeks. He squeezed his eyes shut, grieving for Virgil, who was going through a pain Roman had never wanted him to go through again. He squeezed Virgil even closer to his chest, letting himself gasp out one small sob before completely shutting himself off

Eventually, Virgil calmed down enough until he was only sniffling and whimpering, pawing at Roman’s chest and curling closer to the strong warmth.

“I’m sorry I...I’m sorry I forgot why you hate Christmas,” Roman whispered, his voice shaking.

“...It’s OK.”

“No it’s not.”

“...I’m too fucking sad and tired to argue with that right now, Ro. Just...you’re wrong, OK?”

“...OK.”

Thin silence.

“...I wish we could all just...get along.” Virgil whimpered into Roman’s chest.

Roman squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ignore visions of Patton crying, himself and Logan yelling, and Virgil smashing plates.

“...Me too.”

Alas, getting along was not to be. For that year, Virgil still did not have a real Christmas.

None of them did.

@celiawhatsherlastname @monikastec @jordandobbertin @greymane902@lostgirlgwen @kittenvirgil @iamahumanwaitnothatsalie @logan-logic @jet-black-hearted-girl @gay-ace-trash @shadowjag@thestoryoferissur @lexboydfandompanda@alyssadashrubjustanotherpurplebutterfly @sarcastic-florist

#my fics #the ghost of christmas past #prinxiety #sanders sides #thomas sanders #christmas

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britesparc · 6 years

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Weekend Top Ten #320

Top Ten Things the MCU Did Right

Blimey, we’re nearly there, aren’t we? Avengers: Infinity War actually opens THIS WEEK which means I might have even seen it by the time my next Top Ten goes out next weekend.

OH MY STARS AND GARTERS.

(Sorry, that guy’s not in the MCU yet is he? Okay, how about…)

SWEET CHRISTMAS.

(I guess he’s not in the films, but the Netflix shows are allegedly canon, so it counts, it counts!)

Anyway, before everyone dies horrible deaths at Thanos’ hands this week, I wanted to celebrate Marvel’s tremendous success here. I’m not a film expert, but I just don’t think this has really been done before; not on this scale, not with this many moving parts. Ten years, nineteen films and counting, a couple of dozen principle performers, multiple directors and writers, one overall storyarc that bleeds in and out of different individual stories… it’s a remarkable, unprecedented achievement. No wonder everyone else wants a bite of the cherry, even though nobody has been successful (and, as a big DC fan, it pains me somewhat to admit that).

The MCU is a minor movie miracle and we should all be supremely grateful that it’s around, still going strong, and hopefully will be for at least another ten years. And here, for the record, are my top ten reasons why it’s been successful; what Kevin Feige and his collaborators have done right.

Read it and weep, denizens of Universal’s Dark Universe.

They walked before they could run: I believe, initially, only three or four films were announced: Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger. Although they started out with the intention of a shared universe, they also started small: four more-or-less origin stories focused on individual characters. There was an ambition to do Avengers, an intent, sure; but they didn’t take it for granted. They didn’t block out dozens of future release dates. By focusing on getting the first batch of films right, as individual films, it created a solid bedrock on which to build the rest of the universe.

They kept it grounded: The first batch of films were mostly set on Earth with threats that weren’t entirely world-ending. Nothing was a huge, huge deal until the Avengers happened. Eschewing the stylised world of, say, the Burton/Schumacher Batman films, the heroes of the MCU lived in the “real world”, and faced more “realistic” antagonists. This grounded the more fantastical elements; nothing was too wild or wacky. There were no talking trees, no alternate dimensions, no magic; even Asgard was presented more as a European royal kingdom in space, rather than metaphysical deities. They took their time to let viewers embrace the world, before cranking up the comic book aesthetic.

The films varied in tone and genre: This has become more apparent as the MCU has evolved, for good reason; whilst the first batch – coming out at a rate of only one or two a year – were content to be variations on origin stories, subsequent films have really tried to vary the style to avoid repetition or franchise stagnation. Even in just the Captain America films, we have a World War II movie, a 70s-style conspiracy thriller, and a globe-spanning epic action movie-cum-war film. Thor always leaned towards comedy, before fully embracing the crazy with Ragnarok; the Guardians of the Galaxy films are both action comedies, and Ant-Man is probably more comedy than action. Black Panther is practically a Bond movie. Meanwhile, the Avengers movies themselves have been content to play potentially world-ending threats relatively straight, and certainly the marketing for Infinity War has suggestions of epic tragedy. This means, even as we get three films a year, they never feel like sequels or retreads. Doctor Strange was the closest we’ve gotten in recent years to a “Phase One” style of movie, and even that was visually trippy enough to stand on its own.

Using S.H.I.E.L.D. as a bridge was a masterstroke: Represented initially by Clark Gregg’s Agent Coulson, S.H.I.E.L.D. served an important plot function by being the connective tissue between films; he’d go from talking to, say, Tony Stark to uncovering Thor’s hammer in the space of the same end-credit sequence. “You think you’re the only superhero in the world?” has become an iconic scene. S.H.I.E.L.D. allowed Marvel to create independent heroes in their own stand-alone stories, but similarly build a framework across the entire franchise, seeding the Avengers before the film was even a certainty.

…and destroying that bridge was an even bigger masterstroke: by the time of The Winter Soldier, we thought we knew what to expect from a Marvel movie. S.H.I.E.L.D. probably played the biggest role we’d seen at that point; Cap was working directly for them now, and they’d just saved the world in The Avengers. But by pulling the rug on the audience and the organisation – by having them infiltrated by HYDRA and then forcibly disbanded by Cap and Black Widow – it upended the apple cart. We didn’t know where they’d go from here. True, not many main characters were dying in the films, but there was now a sense that all bets were off; if they could, effectively, kill off S.H.I.E.L.D., then who knows what else they’d do? Destroy Asgard? Reveal Wakanda to the world? It also helped establish a new MCU, where they needed the Avengers, which in turn lead to a world which required the Avengers to be compliant to the UN. These decisions were made gradually, building upon past decisions, but each was a stepping stone to a more coherent and connected MCU.

They kept it light: pre-MCU – and even during their early years, really – the most successful superhero franchise was Batman, and the most successful iteration thereof was Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy. The po-faced seriousness of that, coupled with the rather morose tone of the DCU at large at that point, allowed the MCU to set itself apart with a focus on optimism, friendship, and wit. True, Bale’s Batman had the odd one-liner, but all of the characters in the MCU were funny, even straight-laced ones like Steve Rogers or Nick Fury. The colourful setting and witty repartee became a hallmark of the franchise, and a refinement of the style can be seen in increasingly sophisticated ways: Civil War is really a tragedy of misguided good intentions and conflicted emotions, yet still finds room for terrific moments of comedy, whereas Ragnarok is essentially a comedy that still gives us mass slaughter, major defeats for our heroes, corrupted patriarchs, and the destruction of an entire homeland. From the trailers for Infinity War, this style looks set to continue, with T’Challa and Okoye bantering about Starbucks before (I assume) literally everyone is murdered.

They learnt how to fly: sure, the opening films were grounded; yeah, they mostly focused on Earthbound heroes; fine, the majority of characters were either powerless or had a low-key skillset recognisable as advanced tools or peak athleticism (as opposed to a Loki skillset, which is basically great hair plus bitchy put-downs). However, as the MCU grew and became more successful, they smartly took risks, but also broadened their horizons. Guardians not only took us farther into space than was hinted at in Thor; it also gave us a talking raccoon and a living tree, multiple primary-hued aliens, a space station inside a giant head, and Peter Serafinowicz calling the good guys “A-holes”. Let’s not forget, too, that this was a full-on space opera with multiple planets, creatures, and ships, starring characters way outside the mainstream, that ended with a dance-off. Since then, the scope of the MCU has only widened, with Ant-Man giving us the Quantum Realm, Doctor Strange taking us on far-out journeys across the astral plane, and Black Panther even possibly showing us a version of the afterlife. Panther’s treatment of worldwide black history, slavery, and racism in America is also further proof of a maturing, confident, and intelligent forward momentum for the MCU.

They caught Spider-Man: seriously, however they managed it, whoever we need to thank – Disney, Marvel, Sony – bringing Spider-Man into the MCU is one of the best things to have happened. It instantly gives the character a new hook, and an identity closer to the comics: a youngster pretending to be an adult superhero, in a world where there are adult superheroes to look up to. But the scene in Civil War between Tony and Peter really epitomises all of the great ideals not just of those two characters, or the film, or the wider MCU – even though it does – but the ideals of superheroes as a fictional concept. “If you can do the things that I can do, and bad stuff happens, and you don’t do anything, then it happens because of you.” Spider-Man is utterly crucial to that film, to Tony’s arc, to the wider MCU, because he represents – in a very Superman-ish fashion, and far more Superman-ish than Superman himself has been allowed to be in movies recently – the inherent goodness of a certain breed of superhero. Having this young, vibrant, intelligent presence going forward is a tremendous achievement.

They let directors off the leash: the first few Marvels had great directors, for sure – Branagh, Favreau, Whedon – but there was a sense of sticking, more or less, to the “house style”. When Edgar Wright left Ant-Man, it was assumed his flamboyant tendancies did not fit with the tone of he MCU. But, weirdly enough, ever since then, directors have been allowed to be themselves. It seems possible for auteurs to exist within the Marvel framework, and the universe is better for it. The Guardians films are resolutely James Gunn, Black Panther is very much the vision of Ryan Coogler, and Thor: Ragnarok could not be more Taika Waititi if it was actually set in New Zealand. These more personal approaches to iconic characters have resulted in better movies, and a better franchise overall, as it allows films to shine individually and for the overall filmscape to feel less homogenous.

They cast it very, very, very well: in my opinion, above all else, the single most consistently excellent thing across the MCU is how right the casting is. RDJ is Tony Stark, in so many ways, and his casting really set the tone. Hemsworth brings so much to Thor; sure, he can play the rich royal demanding horses and drink, the self-centred swaggerer, but he brought a humour that wasn’t necessarily there on the page, and gave Thor the richness and depth he deserved. Scarlett Johannsen, Paul Rudd, Chris Pratt, Tom Holland… I could go on. Mark Ruffalo is so great as Banner you forget he was a recasting operation (ditto Don Cheadle). But far and away the best is Chris Evans. Getting Cap right was difficult, and Evans did seem like a strange choice: he played the jock-tastic Johnny Storm to a tee in Fantastic Four, but could he add the gravitas necessary for Cap? Could he make this straight-arrow guy a charismatic leader and screen presence? Yes. Yes he could. He is, in my opinion, the most perfect piece of superhero casting since Christopher Reeve, and embodies the character at least as well. He’s practically Captain America off camera, too. And he’s just one of literally dozens of well-cast roles in the series.

So there you are. My reasons why I think the MCU has been the success it is. This is my patented formula, so if any other studios want a shared universe, you’ll have to pay me. My price is a four-pack of Guinness and a Blu-ray of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.

#top ten #marvel #mcu #movies #comics #infinity war #avengers

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