#SONY GIVE ME MORE OF MY BOY

[demigod-of-the-agni]

So, am I right or am I right?

#I AM WINNING #EVERYONE GO HOME PAVITR PRABHAKAR IS A DANCER #HE DANCES!!!!! JUST LIKE I SAID HE WOULD!!!!!!!!!! #“but agni that's just him swinging” NO YOU DON'T GET IT LIKE I DO HE MOVES LIKE A DANCER #I am in my chair giggling like a lunatic i am RIGHT #SONY GIVE ME MORE OF MY BOY #GET ME VIDEOS OF PAVITR #pavitr prabhakar #spider man india #atsv #across the spiderverse #spiderman atsv #spiderman india #agnirambles

[maxipad031]

hey girl! i loveee ur account! can we get a best friends to lovers fic please? Shuri and reader are like 20, and reader realises she isn’t straight because she starts crushing on Shuri.<33

i like you silly

synopsis: fluffy and short fic where you start to realise your growing crush on your best friend, shuri. you don’t know where she stands, but she soon lets you know and you begin to understand yourself more.

contains: shuri x black reader, cute crushing, fluff, brief sadness, make out session, best friend to lovers x

and thank you smmm!🥰

novacane by frank ocean blasted in your sony headphones as you bopped your head continuously to the beat, your hand moving rapidly as you scribbled down equations for your calculus homework. it was literally due the next day and you'd forgotten all about it until your friend reminded you like 30 minutes ago through a lengthy text explaining how she lost it. your room was flipping messy, clothes on the floor, on the bed, heaped upon your vanity chair. the curtains were basically closed but there was a peak of natural light as your purple LED lights dominated the room, making it glow a soft lilac. something about purple just put you in a focusing mood, so yes your room had to be covered in it. just as the song was about to change, it stopped abruptly, and you shifted your gaze over to your phone, confused. sighing, you realised a call was coming through and when you saw who it was, your heart leaped in your chest.

my shuri <3

was displayed on the rectangular screen and you hurriedly fumbled everything away to pick up your phone to answer, crunching the papers under your weight in the process. as you clicked the bright green phone button, her breath taking voice came through into your headphones, loud as fuck.

"y/n, are you busy?" she asked softly, waiting patiently for your reply. you glanced at the phone, your homework underneath you and your phone again, "nope!" you answered, maybe way too excitedly.

"ah perfect, can you meet me at café moon in 10?"

"of course shuri, ill be there." you assured, packing away all your papers and into their designated folders, "is everything okay though?" you asked, realising its unusual behaviour for shuri to be calling you randomly since she's always busy with her tech projects.

"oh yeah, i just want to see you, make sure you're okay." she replied, her voice laced with some kind of additive that made you want to hear it all the time.

"okay, see you hunnie buns." she didn't reply straight away, but you cut off the call as you didn't want to hear her reply to your bold action anyways. well, to be honest, it wasn't even that weird because in your....friendship, you called each other lots of things like bae, darling, love, honey. it didn't really mean anything....or so you thought. you disconnected your headset and slipped it off, resting it on your oak desk as you attempted to make your dorm room look at least a little presentable, just in case you both came back here. shuri was used to your room being a mess though, she always says "it adds to your character, " with that silly, cute eye smile she does that makes you want to just give her pecks all over her face.

your mind often wavered like this and at first it was just subtle, cute scenarios you'd imagine before going to bed, but now it's just full blown delusion, things that would never happen between the two of you; i'll leave that up to your imagination.

you'd always identified as a straight individual since all you did were date boys in high school, but after meeting shuri, all of that went straight out the window and you've only been able to look at her: everyone else is blotted out with a black marker pen. she's in the centre of your thoughts, running around in your head rent free. you'd never really had close friends, so you orignally thought it was your clinginess that made you so drawn to her, constantly wanting to be around her at all times. however lately, it didn't make sense that you'd been feeling this way for this long, almost two years now. you usually lost interest in other friends you had but this was different, it was so clear now,

you fucking liked her.

it was a hard pill to swallow, the fact you were probably bisexual...or a lesbian? actually no, because you genuinely had feelings for the guys you dated, so you're probably bi...you think? whatever, labels confuse you and you don't care about them. right now, you're shurisexual and that's all that matters.

you sat up on your bed to look in the illuminating mirror as you ruffled your tangled curls, to the left, to the right, just everywhere until it looked nice and presentable. you were already wearing a large purple hoodie, so you just replaced your booty shorts with baggy ripped jeans. quite motivated to look nice, you picked up your makeup pouch from the vanity table and began to touch up your face, only a little concealer and lip gloss. once that was done, you cleaned your room further, stuffing your disorganized clothes deep inside your closet and kicking any loose objects under the double bed. with a deep sigh, you grabbed your phone and the keys from the drawer before heading out, making sure to lock your door securely. you walked quickly past all the loud kids occupying the dorm hallway, and rushed down the spiral stairs to basically sprint outside. as there were no cars coming at that moment, you crossed the quite busy road and ran down to the café shuri had told you to meet her at.

by the time you arrived, you were huffing and puffing as you tried to catch your breath. you had no idea why you ran but it was probably due to the fact you were so eager to see your best friend again after like two days. the cafe’s large glass windows exposed it’s interior. it wasn’t that busy and looked calm as always, everyone minding their own business studying or talking. as you grabbed the door handle, you eyes flickered to a familiar presence . it was shuri, sitting on a high chair that was facing the window, which faced the street, and seemingly engrossed in something on her phone as she scrolled. you walked in and the bell above the shop door rung at your arrival as shuri’s head whipped in your direction. you adjusted your hair behind your ear shyly and watched as she flashed you a bright smile while you walked over towards her.

“heyy ma, how is my darling.” she greeted, wrapping her long arm around your torso as you hugged each other. her embrace was comforting, you never wanted to let go. unfortunately, you had to depart from her and when you did, you sat down on the high chair next her.

“shuri, you forgot about me for two days, huh.” you scolded jokingly, as you crossed your arms and fake pouted.

“you know that’s not the case y/n.” she laughed at your fake act, taking a sip of coffee that she just ordered, “do you want anything to eat or drink?” she asked in a caring manner as her hands nestled in her lap.

“nah i’m alright, thanks though.” you played with the hem of your hoodie subtly as you grew nervous under her gaze. this was such an unusual feeling, you were normally the one making people shy, not the other way around. she nodded and rested her elbows on the shelf-like table before you both. she stared outside for a minute, her sharp jawline flexing as her eyes travelled. she has recently cut her curly hair and it was shaved at the sides, leaving the top sitting nicely and dropping over her forehead. the day she sent you that selfie pic of her freshly-cut hair, a tear ran down your leg; it was so attractive on her and she definitely knew it. you were beginning to understand that you didn’t wanna be her, you wanted to be with her. she wore a purple tracksuit this day, kimoyo beads wrapped around her slender wrists and her sunglasses propped up the middle of her forehead. she clicked her tongue softly and spun the chair around to face you,

“i have something to say.” she announced. your heart jumped and skipped and hopped before falling back down into your ass. you knew she wasn’t going to say what you thought she was going to say, but it was nerve wracking nontheless.

“go on.” you said, eyes wide open in anticipation.

“i’m going back to wakanda in two weeks.” shuri replied, playing with her glowing kimoyo beads as her eyes darted around the small cafe, avoiding your eye contact.

“wait what, why?!” the corner of your lip twitched with disappointment.

“my brothers funeral, i must be there.” she said, smiling weakly as an emotion of sadness washed over her eyes simultaneously. seeing her grieve for her brother broke your heart into a million pieces and you wanted to do nothing but comfort her. you slowly reached over her lap to cup her cold hands in yours. you massaged it lightly as you looked up at her, “that’s totally fine shuri, i’ll be here waiting for you.” shuri shifted her gaze to you and you swear for a split second it was a look that said, “i love you so much,” but it also might’ve been your imagination. she gave you another hug, squeezing you so tight, you had to tap her shoulder for her to soften up a little, “you don’t know how much i appreciate you y/n.” she sniffed a bit as she pulled away from you, holding her head up ever so lightly so stop any welling tears from escaping.

“hey, why don’t we go back to mine.” you suggested, pulling her up off the high chair. seeing her upset broke you and you wanted to cheer her up as soon as possible. shuri grabbed her now cold-coffee with her free hand and nodded her head as she obliged. you both stood up to leave and you led her out of the shop. the sun was blazing above and you instantly regretted wearing a big hoodie. shuri seemed to notice your discomfort as you constantly pulled at the neck of the clothing,

“you should come to wakanda, you’d die if you wore something like that outside.” she commented picking up the pace to walk beside you, her infamous eye smile displaying itself and making you melt as you stared at her.

you chuckled before replying, “take me then, i’ve always wanted to go.” you unintentionally held her hand as you crossed the road together. shuri paused and stared down at the interconnection of your hands; she didn’t pull away but held on tighter instead. you didn’t even notice the small act of affection as you scanned the road, careful you both didn’t get hit.

“alright.” shuri whispered under her breath, seriously contemplating to take you with her.

~~~

“how dare you plus five me, what the fuck!” you yelled, as shuri aggressively put down a blue +5 card. you two had resorted to playing uno flip and right now, she had you fucked up. she’d never played it until now but boy did she pick up the game fast, she even knew tactics to stop you from winning.

“sorry but i’m not letting you win.” shuri smirked as she watched you reluctantly pick up five cards from the deck when you previously had two cards left. the game resumed and you stared menacingly at her, your competitive side really coming out. shuri had four cards left whilst you ended up with seven from picking some up. she put some reverses, which skipped your turn, but just before she put down the second to last card, you yelled out UNO before she could realise and you cackled maniacally, picking up two cards to give to her. shuri quickly realised her mistake and shook her head, “you didn’t even tell me i had to say uno when i had one card left.”

“yes i did? that’s the point of the game.” you arched your eyebrow.

“you didn’t.”

“wanna fight?” you asked jokingly, putting your cards to the side and pretending to pack up your thick hair.

“like you’d win.” shuri rolled her eyes and cuffed up her sleeves as she put her cards to the side as well.

full on ready to actually wrestle with her, you leaped from your side on the bed to hers and she surprisingly caught you, flipping you over and laughing as she pretended to punch you,

“please please please, let me live, oh mighty black panther please!” you closed your eyes as if you were scared, rubbing your hands together as a sign of mercy. you were the only one here in america that knew she was the black panther by accident, and you’d sworn to never tell a soul.

after you heard nothing, you opened your eyes to peek and saw her doing a funny face. you both then bust out laughing at your silly behavior, forgetting that she was still on top of you. your laughing started to die down before you suddenly realised the position you were both in and instantly start to panic. her face was literally inches away from yours, as her minty breath tickled your nose. completely rapt, you didn’t know what to do so you just lifted your hands up to hold the sides of her small waist. she felt the sudden touch, and looked down at you, also realising how close in proximity you were to each other. you could do nothing but stare at her lips, perfectly two toned, glistening from the lip vaseline she always uses, and slightly parted. the urge to kiss her was so strong and nearly overtook you but your mind started to ramble and it unfortunately transferred into words out loud,

“shuri, i’m so sorry, i know this is probably the last thing you want to hear right now, but i like you, i really do, i’ve been liking you since i met you, i just didn’t know how to say it, i’m sorry, you probably don’t even feel the same way, but i just felt like i needed to-”

it seemed like shuri had the same thing in mind as your words were interrupted, by the feeling of her soft lips placed upon yours, maybe as a way to indirectly tell you to shut up. your eyes were wide open from shock but you shut them and kissed her back with a more needy approach. it felt like you were in another realm entirely, just you and her, together, nothing else mattered. your lips moved in sync as you held onto her waist tighter, liking the way her body felt on top yours. before you could slip some tongue in, she pulled away licking her lips as her eyes danced around the room, seemingly embarrassed by what just occurred. she gently climbed off of you and sat up, packing away the uno cards. you held yourself upright with your elbows watching her contently.

“shuri.”

she didn’t reply, focused on tidying up the bed.

“shuri!” you held your hand to stop her from her actions and she stared at you blankly before grabbing the sides of your face and pulling you into another kiss.

what in the world was happening right now.

her hands were enveloped in your brown locks and you pulled her closer, putting your hands on her shoulders to deepen the intimate kiss that was being shared by the two of you. shuri seemed like she wanted this for a long time, but so did you and you were going to make every second count. she was the first to slip her tongue in your mouth and you eagerly welcomed it. her muscular arms wrapped around your waist and propped you up onto her lap impatiently. you’d previously taken your hoodie off when you two came back and so you were left in a white tank top. her large hands rubbed against your chest area unintentionally and that riled you up even further. the kiss got hungrier, deeper as you snaked your hands around her neck, fingers laced in her tight coils as you devoured each other.

honestly, if this carried on, it was going to lead to something else and you didn’t think you were fully ready for that right now especially if shuri didn’t feel as deeply for you as well, so you hesitantly parted your lips away from shuri’s, leaving a string of saliva connecting the two of you. shuri breathed heavily as she looked up at you through her chocolate orbs, her lips having grown in size from the fervent make out session. you adjusted your top that had rode up from the touching and carefully got down from shuri’s lap,

“i’m sorry if i made you uncomfortable, i don’t know what came of over me, i understand if you don’t like me anymore i’m sorry-” shuri blabbered, worried to death that she’d made you feel weird, hence why you stopped.

“no shuri, that was amazing, of course i like you silly, i just told you a whole essay about it.” you giggled, placing your forehead on hers lovingly, “i stopped because i just have a question to ask you.” you said mysteriously, as you sat up against the headboard of your double bed.

“go ahead,” shuri urged you to continue as she followed you, also moving so her back was against the headboard.

“do you want to be my girlfriend?” you inquired bluntly. you didn’t think you’d ever say that to anyone but surprise surprise, here you were.

“i thought you’d never ask.” shuri hugged you for the 30th time that day and you hugged her back, filled with absolute bliss. you were so certain she’d reject you but her feelings for you might’ve been even stronger than yours for her; no that’s impossible. you couldn’t wait for what’s the future held for you two as well as how your relationship would work out. however, not everything was all roses and daisies as you remembered that’s she’s eventually going to leave you soon.

“wait shuri, aren’t you leaving, i’m not going to be able to see you.” you pouted, holding her hands as your head was down in woe.

“well, you said you wanted to come, didn’t you, i can definitely organize that.” shuri replied, lifting your chin up to look at her.

“what!? you don’t mean it...i can go to wakanda?! oh my god, no fucking way, i’ve always wanted to go! shuri, i could literally buy you a lamborghini right now.” you yelled out, full of excitement as you jumped off the bed and ran laps around your small dorm room screaming your head off like a lunatic, almost tripping on the loose objects all over the floor.

shuri laughed wholeheartedly at your thrilled uproar, loving how gorgeous you looked when you were happy. this was going to be a great few weeks for you two.

🫶

#shuri udaku #mcu shuri #shuri x black!reader #shuri #shuri fic #black panther #shuri x reader #shuri fanfiction #letitia wright #shuri smut #letitia wright shuri #shuri fluff #shuri black panther #best friends to lovers #lesbian #wlw #make out #cutecore #maxipadanswers

[acesofspadess]

Write It Out

January 2011

The start of the album making process wasn't easy. The six of you didn't really know where to start when it came to really writing a song. You had some stuff, but nothing that suited the band, so it was like you started over.

There were so many people Simon/Sony had gotten to write for you, when you went off on the X-factor tour but now that you were back it was time for you guys to start getting into it

April 2011

Majority of the album had already been written while you were away but they still wanted some songs by you guys…

Taken-

“No harry we can’t say you only want me because im naked.” Toby, another writer, shut down with a laugh. Harry giggled into your side as you shook your head at him. “What about ‘taken’?” you offered up and they all looked you. “It would change some of the lyrics around but it sounds similar to naked.” you eyed the green eyed boy who had moved his head to your lap. “Sing it Bear.”

Niall handed you a guitar and you held it away from Harry’s head.

‘Who do you think you are

who do you think i am

you only love to see me breaking

you only want me cause i’m taken’

You and Niall were still working on the tune but they got it for the most part. “I like that, Bow.” Liam applauded writing it down. 

Everything About You-

This one came from H….

“H got something to tell us?” Louis teased looking at you then back to Harry.

“Leave him alone Lou. It’s a great song, Haz.” You whispered the last part to him so he wouldn’t be too embarrassed. 

“I think with some tunes up we can get to recording it.”

and that’s exactly what you did. 

You and Harry had a lot of overlap in this song so they boothed you together and Harry was looking at you everytime sang. You internally wondered if this song was about you.

Same Mistakes-

This one was more, here's the premise, write a verse or two. “I don’t know what I'm doing!”  you groaned slamming your notebook down and throwing your head back. They didnt give you a lot of time to write and when they did it was song after song, and reject after reject. “Hey Petal, come here.” you slumped over to Niall and he opened his arms for you. 

You curled into his lap and took a shaky breath that immediately got Harrys attention. He picked your head up from his position next to Niall and saw the tears building in your waterline. “Guys, operation 4B1P.” You had no idea what was happening but before you knew it Liam, Louis, and Zayn were also surrounding you. “Why the tears Bunny?” Louis asked from practically behind you. “They keep having me write all these songs with nothing to go off of and my brain is dead.” you let the tears start to fall as you ranted. “It's like they give us this false time and then I'm running behind, and then I have to make up my mind on what to give them, and then it's like a game of tag. This is good- this isn't good. And then i wait and then they like something and im like yay, but then they tell me to write ten more songs and i make the same mistakes when only one comes out good and then-” you cut yourself off scrambling out of Nialls lap. 

“There it is.” Liam muttered to the boys as you turned on the recording before stepping into the booth.

‘Think that we got more time

When were falling behind

Gotta make up our minds

Or else we play, play, play all the same old games 

And we wait, wait, wait, for the end to change 

and we take, take, take, it for granted that we’ll be the same,

But were making all the same mistakes’

It was time for you decide what song you wanted for you single and after listening to all the songs you knew exactly which one it was.

“What Makes You Beautiful.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

tags:

@youcan-nolonger-run @ravenclawdirectioner

@luxiorchive  @superlegend216

#one direction #harry styles x reader #harry styles x famous!reader #harry styles fluff #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fic #harry styles x reader smut #harry styles x reader fluff #harry styles blurb #harry styles imagine #hslot harry #hslot23 #harry styles #nialler #cute niall #niall horan x reader #niall horan fluff #niall horan fanfiction #niall horan #niall horan smut #niall fanfic #niall one shot #solo niall #niall 1d #niall james horan #niall horan fic #niall the show #niall horan x y/n #niall imagine #niall horan x you

[tyoffee]

ACROSS THE SPIDERVERSE SPOILER DUMP BELOW 💥💥💥💥💥💥

starting with the cameos oh ymgod

BEN. BEN REILLY MY LITTLE EDGELORD. he is like fail girlfriend to me. I need to see more of the clone squad in part two (spiderboycough)

DONLAD GLOVER PROWLER HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII LOSING it over his suit

AND THE OTHER LIVE ACTIONS UEOEOOGUH I DIDNT KNOW THEY COULD DO THAT!! EVERYONE THOUGHT THAT GWENS PETER WAS ANDREW (nope he's blonde) BUT NO ACTUAL ANDREW GARFIELD WAS IN THE 'SPIDERVERSE' VISUALISER ALONG W RAIMI UNCLE BEN GOTD DAMN!!!!!!!!!!

speaking of what everyone thought I love the changes from the trailer. Everyone saying oohhhh they're showing too much they're giving away the whole movie WRONG. YOU COULD NOT COOOMMPRREEHEEENDDD THE SHIT THAT WENT ON IN THERE.

miles' expression changes especially. he is Not as cringefail as initially believed put some respect on his name. he can be cringefail Later.

oh my godddd oh hyhg PAVITR.... PAVITR MY BEAUTIFUL BOY we need more of him we need more of him in part two do you hear me Sony.

'coconut oil, prayers and genetics' INCREDIBLE SHOWSTOPPING HILARIOUS

HIS UNIVERSE W A S OKAY FUCK YOU GUYS. HE DID JINX IT A COUPLE TIMES THOUGH BUT THATS NOT HIS FAULT

THE WAY HE HAS A GWEN.. AOUUUUUUUUUHH. CAPTAIN SINGH LIVES BABY

the way that the main tension in this movie is literally CAPTAIN STACY MUST DIE. so real

the thing is he usually doesn't too it's great

SPEAKING OF COMIC CONVENTIONS.

ULTIMATUM / THE PROWLER MILES MORALES

I TOLD YOU I SAID I SAID THERES GOING TO BE THE ORIGINAL MILES.

The movie is So good at letting you forget that the spider was glitching too. That's not his spider. Miles is the original anomaly OUUGGHGH (miguel was a Bitch for saying it like that tho)

ULTIMATE AARON DAVIS HIS FUCKING EYES HIS EEEYES MAN OUUUHHHHHHH

THE WAY ULTIMATE MILES' SPANISH IS BETTER. HIS BRAIDS. HES ON THE STREETS MORE. HES THE FUCKING PROWLER. AUG god they're gonna tell us who the spider was for ik and I do hope it's miles. yeah there's a spiderman miles who can exist but it's not you. You weren't supposed to be here. AUG

Since we have the Jefferson memorial maybe ultimatum has a great expectations piece too. maybe that's how he's reasoned with who knows I'd love to think that the collider is the split off point between both of them

Though that'd mean there'd need to be an og spiderman to make wilson fisk lose his family which there isn't- hey wait how was the spider created without fisk doing his dimensional shit. I thought we weren't allowed to acknowledge Norman Osborn.

also also also speaking of alchemex Spot being bagel guy. Of course he is. Holes

Do you think that was the inspiration. Bagel hole.

Anyways I need a full turnaround sheet of Ultimatum/Prowler I need to see him I love the glow and the spray on symbol aaaugghh

BETER AND GWEN FAKE AS HELL 🖕

I get the struggle tho. Beter and Captain Stacy made my dad cry.

ALSO GWENS BAND AT THE END

SORRY I ALMOST FORGOT HHOBBBIEEEE HOBIE 'if you want a watch just make one. we're spiderman we can just do it 🤨🤨🤨🤨' BROWN I LOVE HIS STYLE I LIVE FOR HIS STYLE PORTALS I LOVE HIS PROWLER THEME OH MY GOD

THE SOUNDTRACK RELEASES TOMORROW AND I NEED HIS PROWLER THEME YOU DONT GET IT

i get my 2 hours of gatekeeping this movie b4 it drops in america and I'm losing it I need to talk abt it with other ppl but I'm also is it mean to want to hold it away from ppl who don't care abt spiderman and idk what they do draw weird porn of every new movie and ppl who will misinterpret it completely that feels selfish of me Anyways

THIS MOVIE IS A MASTERPIECE. literally it's art it's animation oh hhhhhgh it's so gorgeous I'm not kidding it's bresthestking (PAVITRS SWINGING!!!!!) but it's also just SO FUCKING GOOD. THE SCENES THE SHOTS THEY WENT CRAZY ON ENVIRONMENTS OH MY GLORD

ITS SO GOOD. ITS SO GOOODODDDDDDDDDDDD AUG

I'm seeing it again in like 2 days . I will not be satiated until 2024.

#atsv spoilers #long post #across the spiderverse spoilers #spiderverse spoilers #spoilers

[twopoppies]

TY Gina! Your whole explanation about the pitting the boys’ solo careers against each other was so helpful. I’m curious what you meant when you said “and then there was a whole faction of people who flipped out over Harry’s lyrics and image not meeting their expectations.” I wasn’t a Harry fan then. Why did fans not like HS1?

Hi sweetheart. Hm. It’s kind of a difficult question to answer because it was really layered and everyone had their own reasons. But my memory of it was that starting at some point in 2015 people thought Irving Azoff was going to sign the band as a whole, and “save” them from Sony. So there was a lot of anger and disappointment when it became clear that it was only Harry the Azoffs were interested in.

Then you have to also factor in that babygate was in full swing in 2016, and we had Louis with his new beard (Danielle), so he was being photographed constantly and he looked exhausted and miserable more often than not. Meanwhile what we were seeing from H was yachting with Kendall and filming Dunkirk. So there was growing resentment about Harry’s perceived life vs Louis’ perceived life. Then Jay died and we learned she’d been sick most of the year while Louis was having to be in the US constantly papped with Danielle and Freddie. And then Louis performed JHO on X Factor and did the promo for it with Steve Aoki (which made it very clear that the only promo that was happening was due to Steve’s team and not Syco/SJPR). Then the teaser for HS1 dropped and it was clear where Sony’s interest lay — Harry was everywhere and every piece of media hailed him as the second coming of Bowie and Jagger. In addition, we got a big het Harry push where the album was linked to Kendall, T*ylor, and Townes. I say all of this to try and give you an idea of where people were at when the album dropped. There was so much anger about what was happening to Louis, and many who thought they’d broken up transferred their frustration into being angry at Harry.

Then the lyrics dropped and some people got very upset at songs like Only Angel (for being “misogynistic”, Carolina (for being a stunt song linked to Townes), and Kiwi (especially the line about “hard candy dripping on me till my feet are wet” After which someone started a rumor about Harry writing a song about underage girls).

So, yeah. It wasn’t that fans didn’t like HS1. But the split between larries, harries, and louies was getting wider. And those who didn’t decided that they no longer liked Harry generally seemed to have had a preconceived notion of how his solo rollout would go and what his solo music would be, and the reality didn’t match what they wanted.

Again, sorry this is long. It’s really hard to sum this sort of thing up, and this only scratches the surface, but I hope this helps a bit.

In reference to this

#Harry’s image #hs1 promo #Fandom dynamics #fandom history #for newbies

[shannankle]

Shadow Meta Series Post#3: Anurak and Old vs New Technology 

This is my third post in my Shadow meta series on technology, time, and horror. You can check out my introduction and plan for that in this post!

When watching through the first seven episodes of Shadow for the first time, Josh’s technology usage was fairly obvious. But when I watched through the episodes again with an eye on technology, I was surprised by a few characters who were also heavily surrounded by tech. One of these is brother Anurak.

In his office alone he has two clocks, three landline phones, a tape recorder, a Newton’s cradle, a lamp, a portable TV radio cassette player (thanks @raypakorn for helping to confirm this one), another radio or older music player (my best guess is an FM radio stereo but I can’t find a closer shot of this one), and candles. 

My goal here is to do a reading of Anurak’s relationship with technology and put forth a few potential theories as to what Shadow might be trying to communicate through this. Unlike other posts in the series so far, the conclusions on this one remain much more speculation as I feel we have a lot more to learn about Anurak in order to get to a deeper reading. I’ll be relying on some other theories about Anurak, particularly @wen-kexing-apologist 's theory that Anurak is the one-armed man. 

Old vs New Technology

What struck me most about Anurak in going over his technology, was the fact that he was pretty even with Josh in terms of how many different types of tech they had. However, Anurak’s tech gives the impression of being more dated. If we go with the theory that Anurak is the one-armed man, then we know his execution happened 20 years before the present day, so 1979.

My theory is that most of his technology predates 1979. It’s hard to track everything down, and we have to consider whether it’s more appropriate to go with the year a technology was invented or with the precise model. Still here’s some of what I was able to track down.

Anurak’s Tech

Three landline phones

While two of these look like the phones found elsewhere in the show, one of these is a rotary which were invented back in 1892. These models seem to have been common up through the 50s with the corded landlines used elsewhere in the show coming on the market in the 60s and 70s.

 TV Radio Cassette Player

This one was surprisingly tricky to track down. You can find models being resold online but actually figuring out when they first went on the market was a dead end. Most of the ones I found were from the 80s when they seemed to be most popular. The earliest I found was a model from Japan from 1978. This is cutting it very close but it does technically make the cut. 

Tape recorder

The model used here looks to be a Sony TC-150 portable tape recorder and player from 1977–it also makes the cut

The Newton’s Cradle

Invented in 1967

The clocks

Both are analog so safely in our window

Music player

If we go with my guess (FM radio stereo), the first FM multiplex stereo tuner came out in the US in 1961

Candles

Obviously these are pre-1979. But they’re of extra note because we also see the one-armed man associated with candles

Some of Josh’s tech

Walkman

I’m not sure the exact model, but it looks like a 90s era walkman. The 80s versions were much blockier and come the 2000s walkmans were getting into digital players and CD players. Regardless, walkmans were invented in 1979 which makes the year stand out as a split in technology in the show. 

Handheld video game console

I’m sure I could be a bit off here, but it looks like a Game Boy, which was released in 1989. The first handheld console with interchangeable cartridges was released in 1979. 

Cell phone

It's hard to tell much about Josh's phone. But given the size, it looks at home in the late 90s. We can safely say it's post 1979.

Digital camcorder

Again, not sure of the model, but the first digital camera with recording came out in 1995

Camera

I haven’t tracked down the model yet, but looking at the history of most of the big camera companies, this looks at home in the 90s, definitely post-1979 though  

Some Take-A-Ways and A Theory

I won’t pretend my methodology here is foolproof, and it’s hard to know when these were available in Thailand since tech comes to places at different paces. But I think it paints an interesting picture overall. If Josh is surrounded by more contemporary, often cutting edge tech for the time, Anurak is surrounded by the past.

This old vs new dynamic is right at home with the themes of late 90s horror, which I’ll explore in a later post to come. But here I want to think about what it might mean for Anurak to be stuck in the past. 

Throughout the first seven episodes, Anurak is consistently opposing and denying change and the supernatural. This comes to the forefront in episode 3, as Anurak is discussing the bible with Dan’s class. He tells them if they follow God, then they’ll know ghost stories are lies.

On the one hand, this could be Anurak denying the supernatural in order to stop Dan and others from finding out some hidden truth. On the other hand, this Christian framework offers a safe black and white logic between safety and risk, reality and fantasy, the abject and the normative. 

In any case, Dan jumps in to challenge Anurak. He tells him “If old beliefs don’t work, there's no harm in trying new things.” He then tells Anurak that “closing ourselves off from the world is more horrifying.” These comments show the audience the growing tension between Dan and Anurak. Anurak repeatedly denies the shadow’s reality and asks Dan to perform that same denial. Yet the scene here feels so specific in how it frames Anurak as stuck in the past and tradition. 

This is emphasized further as the scene cuts to the video of Trin performing outside of the theater. A sharp reminder of modern technology, queerness, and the supernatural mystery surrounding Trin’s death.

Now there could be a number of reasons why Anurak is stuck in the past and the one taking on this thematic role. 

Let’s assume that Anurak is the one-armed man. Then we know that he is likely queer and has gone through a number of traumatic experiences because of this. I’d argue that we could read him as someone who has come to conform and act for those with power due to trauma and a fear of change. Not dissimilar to Chadok from The Eclipse.

I recognize we only have half of his story at this point, and I may need to make another post addressing this once the second half airs. As it stands, I view this as speculation rather than a full reading of Anurak’s role viz a viz technology. Still, the pattern of him being stuck in the past is there, regardless of what the show will ultimately do with these connections. 

If Anurak is the one-armed man, has he closed himself off from the world? Is he trying to protect Dan by metaphorically making him hide his queerness by suppressing and denying the supernatural? He continually emphasizes reality, telling Dan that if he doesn’t believe in the shadow it can’t hurt him. 

A similar exchange to the one discussed above plays out at the start of episode 5, when Dan confronts Anurak about his sense that the shadow is linked to Trin. Anurak tells Dan that "We're talking about reality here, not feelings," something he also tells Dan’s mother. Denying one’s feelings and over-reliance on rationalism (see my post on surrealism vs realism here) could be interpreted as a coping mechanism, a way to survive by pushing your feelings down and conforming to violent systems. 

Perhaps this is a reason why Anurak reacts with fear over the idea that Dan might not forgive his father (and might even want to let him suffer). Of course this is also tied into cultural values around filial piety and we could read it as a fear of Dan straying from the correct path. But perhaps Anurak’s anxiety is also heightened by the fear of seeing Dan choose a path where he refuses to hide his anger and his pain.  

In the hospital Anurak tells Dan that he can’t change the way people think. In his office, Dan tells Anurak that he "should let go of [his] fixation on the teachings" since they might be blinding him from the truth. Conform or push for change. Bury your emotions to not get hurt more or use them to fuel you.  

This dynamic between Anurak and Dan is also paralleled in what we see of Anurak and Trin in the past. Trin is pushing for change, and, while kinder than the headmaster, Anurak resists, telling Trin, “But you’re trying to change a long-standing tradition.” He acknowledges Trin’s opinion in a sense but really just resists change in a nicer way. He’s not angry or using punishment, but change is still a nonstarter.

Trin pushes back asking “If the tradition was good, then why would people want to change it?” Interestingly, Anurak unlike the headmaster doesn’t defend the goodness or value of tradition. Instead he uses “logic” to point out the difficulty of making changes. Interestingly, Anurak tells the headmaster that “these things can’t be easily changed but we must respect reality,” but then turns to use such “reality” to debate Trin and make him back down.  

Reality and reason are safe to Anurak. Much more than the uncertainty of resistance or change. He may not like the status quo, it likely has done him much harm, but to resist and be hurt is far scarier to him. So he conforms, stuck in time like the butterflies on display in his office.

One final piece of technology

I talk about narrative prosthesis in this post, but lets talk real prosthetics. If we continue to assume Anurak is the one-armed man, this means that his left arm is a prosthetic. As @wen-kexing-apologist has noted here, he rarely moves it, and in certain scenes if you watch it closely you can see it reflect light or hang in a way that isn’t quite like his right arm. 

Prosthetics are technology, but they fall into a couple different categories. Some are functional  while others are cosmetic. Given that we never see Anurak use his arm and it typically remains immobile, it’s likely that the prosthetic is largely cosmetic. Meaning it’s used to make Anurak look like he has an arm, to hide his difference and help him conform. Once again connecting Anurak to both the idea of alterity and difference but also conformity. 

I want to mention one other allusion to prosthetics that comes up in Shadow. The bust in episode 7 is a replica of Lacoon and His Sons. The statue famously was missing the right arm for around 400 years before it was found in 1906. A year after it was unearthed in 1509, the pope’s architect held a contest to see who could best figure out what the arm looked like. An arm was added in 1532 that remained until the real arm was unearthed in the early 1900s. It is interesting to think about how the statue was given a prosthetic for 400 years, reflecting values about bodily wholeness. 

In one version of the Lacoon myth, he and his sons were punished by the gods after trying to warn people about the Trojan horse. Both the myth and the story of the statue’s prosthetic touch on themes of punishment and conformity tied together with technology. 

If my reading of Anurak is accurate, this ties not just to the fact that he is missing his left arm, but to his relationship with trauma and conformity which is expressed in part through his relationship with technology.   

Alright! Next time we’ll jump into cameras and horror!

#shadow #shadow the series #shadow meta #shadow the series meta #shadow meta series #shadow meta series post 3 #my meta #my posts

[popculturebuffet]

Into the Spider-Verse Finale: Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse Review (Comissioned by WeirdKev27)

In Memory of John Romita Senior 1930-2023

Let's do this one last time. I"m Jacob Mattingly, and for the past few months, i've been reviewing the first apperances of spider-men. I've seen them enjoy crackers and milk, knock themselves out on furnaces, drum to deal with their pent up angst, rage, get powers from a spooky god while buck naked, and crumple a pipe like paper in their hand. It's been a long, loving ride into comics that not only got my comics reviewing mojo back but allowed me to share one of my faviorite franchises with you fine folks, many of whom don't usually read comics.

So we've come to the end of this retrospective, a bit later thanks to all the chaos of me using, but appropriatley as the final review i'm doing from the only home i've ever known. After 561 reviews here, it's time to say goodbye and given this is both one of the best projects i've done in my career and one where i've finally started editing better, it feels like the note to go out on.

This review has also been super intemidating to start. I'm an animation and comics nerd.. and Into is easily one of the best animated films AND best superhero films ever. It's also MASSIVELY influental, something I didn't see coming when I walked out of the theater, but really should've and we're now starting to see in earnest now the production cycle has had enough time to catch up to this film being a MONSTER hit. From modern masterworks like Mitchells Vs the Machines and Puss In Boots: The Last Wish to upcoming possible greats like TMNT: Mutant Mayhem, it's very clear studios are now far more likely to break from the standard CG styles and do something fresh, and audiences fucking love it. I hadn't realized till this film how much you could play with animation, from the concept of ones and twos to making a comic book movie look like a comic book. Any time I paused while watching this it felt like looking at a panel. The art here is gorgeous and the script matches it. So the question was both what would I have to say about the film and would I be able to live up to it? The only way to find out. is to take the leap. So join me under the cut as we swing into the spider-verse once again and see what makes this film so great 5 years later. Also as a heads up spoilers for the sequel will be present so if you somehow havne't seen it, you've been warned.

Let's Do This One More Time.... To get into why this film happened we have to get into Sony's treatment of spider-man. Said treatment has been a near neverending cycle of doing something right with it.. only to do something that shoots what they did right several times in the foot, stabs it and lights it on fire. Sam Rami makes two great spider-man films? Let's overly interfere with the last one and weigh it down with a lot of stuff it didn't really need. Amazing Spider-Man was decent with two tremendous leads in Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone but had some places to improve like peter being a skater boy she said see you later boy? Let's get complicated with it, overly focusing on Peter's Parents, including PLANNING TO HAVE PETER'S DAD SHOW UP ALIVE, a mysterious man in a trench coat from a tie in novel, and make harry osborn into this.

It's hard to decide which is worse. I mean their both worse than that time Harry Got a Mustache in College

A very high bar no doubt, but it's hard to decide if modern pale emo kid or GNEEE GNEEE I'M THE GREEN GOBLIN GNEEE GNEE was worse. Though I think we all can agree sony deciding "You know this pathetic weirdo we just had kill one of our most popular characters? LET'S GIVE HIM A MOVIE" is just.. one of the most baffling decisions they've made. Popular Anti-Hero with his own history, rogues and dynamic outside of spider-man Venom makes us an unexpected hit? Let's give him a sequel.. which was actually logical. So naturally they also decide "let's make OTHER spider-man villians and anti heroes into their own movies" I mean who DOSEN'T want a kraven movie?.... me.. me don't want that. I want Kraven IN a movie, but why. And the less said about morbius that dosen't involve Matt Smith giving one hell of a performance or weirdly dancing to show off his impressive abs the better.

Why wasn't the film just... Matt Smith as a more villianous version of morbius? A riddle for the ages. The point is sony has a GOLDEN franchise.. but often has no idea what to do with it. It's why when this film was pitched they were trying badly to find something to do with it, hence Venom. So since they had an animation division that while not terrible only really had one franchise of note, head of spider-man stuff Amy Pascal went to two of the men who'd made one of the most succesful animated films of the time and who were on a high point in their career and asked what they would do. These men.. were Christopher Lord and Phil Miller. The two had had a rocky start in their careers, show running the cult hit Clone High, which while well loved to the point we finally got a new season this year that was pretty dang good, wasn't exactly a big hit. Eventually though the two broke out with 21 Jump Street, a film no one had a ton of faith in hearing about it, myself included. The film was a comedy reboot of the old series, lampooning the whole premise and lamp shading the hell out of everything from this being a reboot, to our heroes not remotely passing for high schoolers, to high school drama itself, and not only revived Lord, Miller and Stars Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill's careers. This naturally got a sequel, which was not only even better and more meta, cumulating in a hell of an ending lampshading the idea of this being a franchise, we also got one of the funniest scenes in the history of film. And yes that's a hill i'm wiling to die on.

And even THAT woudn't be it as the two would go on to make the Lego Movie, a film that was both stylistically brilliant, hilarious and used the property brilliantly AND followed that up with The Lego Batman Movie. The two had a clear talent for taking a property, doing something fresh with it while honroing what worked so they were a no brainer to ask to do this. As for why would they.... IT'S SPIDER-MAN. If I got offered to make a movie about spider-man i'd do it. Who wouldn't?

Ironically though while Miller and Lord had the creative vision, something even I didn't know till recently is that they didnt' direct the film. In fact out of them only Lord wrote the film, co writing it with Rodney Rothman, who also co-wrote 22 Jump Street which as established above, is quality as hell. Rothman's Resume up to Jumpstreet isn't really anything huge, having done writing stints on underclared, the short lived ups animated sitcom Game Over, and having been a writer on Letterman, the last of which i'm mostly noting because he proudly revealed he was the one Chris Farley threw in a dumpster, but he clearly just needed more of a shot as both films he's co-written prove.

He also wasn't flying solo in direction, with his co directors, while also inexperinced in directing for the most part, having far more animation experince. First up is bob perschetti, who did the story for the original puss in boots and a smaller film called the little prince, and did tons of storyboard work for dreamworks, having worked on Shrek 2, Monsters Vs Aliens, Flushed Away and Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit, which I previously covered. He was also an inbetweener on a smorgasboard of disney films.

Finally we have Peter Ramsey, the only one to have directed a theatrical film before this with Rise of the Guardians, and was a storyboard artist on a list of flims so massive and prestigous i'm just going to let this wikipedia screencap speak for itself.

Yeahhhh. See I point out the lack of direction credintials not to shame them, sometimes it can take decades before you get your shot, but more because it's so utterly shocking that as experinced as these guys are only one of them had directed before this. The film is gorgeous and groundbreaking.. and makes it that much more baffling it took this long for these three guys to get such a big , well deserved shot and given all have projects going on right now, I couldn't be happier.

So the production itself seemed to go smoothly for the most part. The only exceptions were Sony nixing a cameo from tom holland (as they found it confusing) and something massive: one year out from the film being released Lord and Miller felt the film wasn't working and thus decided to rewrite it. This itself dosen't seem too bad, a year seems like a lot of time... but in animation terms.. that's hardly anything and also heavily involved taking what they already had and figuring out how to recontextualize it. If you couldn't tell from going that far, the duo were fans, having read spider-man comics and done research for it, picking thier spider-men carefully. The results.. well the results are nothing short of amazing, spectacular or peter parker.

Taking the Leap: As I mentioned earlier Spider-verse.. changed film animation. This isn't hyperbole either; if you look at the bulk of this year's animated films their all more stylistic with many, TMNT: Mutant Mayhem and Nimona in paticular, using a combo of 2d and 3d animation and it stretches into last year two with The Bad Guys and Puss in Boots and in 2020 with Sony's own Mitchell's Vs the Machines. More studios are experimenting with their style and trying something diffrent and what's more remarkable is that.. they aren't just 1:1 copying spiderverse. Many have taken it's sketchy style sure , but no one's doing it the exact same way: Spider-Verse often resembles a comic book, TMNT a sketch book and nimona something else entirely. Each is drawn and rendered.. but each in a way all it's own.

It's not to say films before this didn't have their own style: as my friend Kammie pointed out in a long conversation about animation recently, Dreamworks has always had it's distinct character models and before this The Peanut Movie (one of my faviorite cg animated films ever) and Rango both tried to play with it. Peanuts in paticular also took a stab at emulating the comics it's based on. The problem was while both films were gorgeous.. neither really took off. Peantus was a modest success, but the Schultz family had no interest in a sequel, while Rango didn't really land at the box office. And when something fails hollywood tends to blame the work itself and not circumstance or

Spider-Verse broke that by not only being a mainstream hit but one that really worked the animation as hard as it could. It gets .. incredibly technical and even I wasn't aware of how much till going to tv tropes but simply: most animation is done on ones or twos. Ones means a unique image every frame, twos means a unique image every other frame. You usally use one or the other. Spider-Man.. does BOTH, which is as exausting as it sounds, using 2s on the characters and 1's on the character work to give it a more dynamic vision, and shaking it up when needed, such as having miles on ones for most of the film , the rest of the spider people on twos, and then miles on twos after the what's up danger scene. It's a LOT of dedication and that's not even getting to how every spider-person has a slightly diffrent animation style. The results are eye candy in it's purest form: every pause is a panel, every action catches your eye, everything works. And the panel part is paticuarlly notable as the crew did their damndest to make this LOOK like a comic in motion. It's something that , as many great comic book movies and superhero films as we've had.. you simply cannot do in live action. So if it's so obvious why did it take till 2018 to do?

It's likely other suprehero animated films had the idea.. but there was no way in hell they were getting the budget to do it. And if you've seen say the incredibles, mask of the phantasm of megamind, those budgets are already pretty damn vast for their times. Animation is a great medium.. but when it comes to film... the big studios get complacient really fast. Animated Films are EXPENSIVE and a huge swing like this is a radioactive spider-risk. It's why up until spider-verse most studios have stuck to their guns: Disney and Pixar have ocasoinal style shifts but you can genuinely tell when a film's by either stuido, Illumination basks in it's cheap but effective house style, and Warner.. well warner just dosen't give a shit in general why would it here. Dreamworks is the only one that really shook up styles and even then until this year they didn't shake up how they aniamted. After all if it works.. why fix it. And before anyone asks, no i'm not saying "ALL THESE OMVIES ARE TERRIBLE FUCK THEM AMIRITE". I'm saying that the industry got complacent and it's something I, an animation critic, didn't even realize till spider-verse's effects started being felt. Animation really did change because this one film took a leap and it's only for the better: Mutant Mayhem looks to be the best tmnt adaptatoin ever, a VERY high bar from an obessive tmnt fan like me, Nimona looks awesome, i've heard good things abotu Ruby Gilman from Kammie, and Puss In Boots was fucking magic. And while they all likely woud've ben good regardless, this leap has really changed things and hopefully will continue to from here on out as more and more new films catch up lead time wise. To quote Kammie

"The new giants of major western movie animation are Sony and Dreamworks, they're willing to innovate and take risks where most other studios falter and resort to retreading old territory or using stock plots. Do they still innovate technicalogically? Yes. Does that matter when you make movies that only look slightly more realistic than the last one you did? No. We don't go to animation for realism, we go to it for escapism, to see worlds that are utterly impossible and larger-than-life characters, find places that we can only visit in our dreams, to see sheer spectacle that's not possible in live action. Animation more than anything is only limited by technology, and it's a testament to it that most live action films have CGI, a form of animation, involved in making them what they are."

But animation is only half of it. How's the story? Good: But that's pretty obvious so let's go into our characters and what not shall we?

Miles Morales: Anyone Can Wear the Mask

So first up danger is our hero.. well one of many but Miles is our focus and was a perfect choice for it: his arc in the comics is a coming of age story in the vein of the original and ultimate spider-men (the latter being miles predecessor), and really explores what it means to be spider-man: in the comics Miles rejects the idea outright until peter dies.. and he realizes with great power comes great responsiblity and that he can be what peter was.. and then has to settle into the harsh realities of being spidey as well as the good it brings. Bringing a character like that into a story with a bunch of other spider-man all showing what it could mean with diffrent people was genius. The film also nicely tweaks things to make an already good story better. The first is miles age: in the comics he's currently 16-17.. but started out as a 13 year old. The idea worked, both to seperate it from the 16 year old peter he replaced and to make the danger that much more horrifying as it's happening to a much younger person and make some doubts about him doing it more understandable, but it works better to have miles as a teen here, to have him grown up just enough to understand a lot.. but still question who he is. It also allows the nice parallel of getting his powers around the same age as peter.

Another is that in the comics while Miles gets into brooklyn visions by lottery.. what that means for him really isn't focused on. It's hard, but he adjusts to it fairly well and the issue is more having to spider-man from a heavily montired private dormintory. Into instead explores what it would really mean for a kid from a working class family having to leave all the people he knew and grew up with to go to a fancy prep school where most of his classmates ignore him at best. In the comics Miles at least had his best friend going with him: here's he's just alone in an unfamiliar place he badly wants to leave.

I also like that his getting into the school isn't ALL luck. While he literally won the lottery, and yes they really do lottery children's chances for a better future and yes it's fucked up, his mom makes note of him passing the entrance exam and while trying to flunk out delbieratley, his teacher notes he got an exact zero... and then gives him a 100 as to get the answers THAT wrong.. you have to know all of them. Miles is a smart kid.. but he just hates where he is because he's alone. It's not helped by his.. let's say complicated relationship with his dad. Jefferson.. is not the most likeable guy. He's more than the comics where he's an out and out anti-mutant racist douchebag who outright abandons his son when he finds out (he DOES get better, but it's still a dick move), but he's still a domenering presence: when Miles brings up wanting to leave the school Jefferson is admant on him staying. He refuses to really.. empthaize with his son, being mad at his habit of putting up nametags, not really supporting his grafiti art (another deft addition to the character It ruly love), and not really getting him. Jefferson MEANS well: he wants miles to have a life jeff didn't. Like in the comics i'ts heavily implied Jeff didn't really start with anything nor did he or Aaron have the best life, having to steal to survive. He grew past it while Aaron embraced the criminal life style, but it's clear Jefferson WANTS his son to do better.. but is so stubborn and controlling he can't see that miles is miserable and that he needs to stop putting his foot down and start actually listening. The school WILL be good for miles in the long run.. but it's hard for him to see that without anyone helping him. It's easy to see WHY Miles prefers his uncle. Aaron davis isn't the best person, and we'll get to that.. b ut it's clear he loves his nephew and encourages him in school. It's just Aaron also takes the time to LISTEN, to try and gently push miles, asking him what he actually likes about the schol, encouraging him to make a move on his crush. Grnated the shoulder touch is a very awkward move no one should try and I never would, seriously don't touch a woman without their permission folks, but he means well with it. He also wants better for Miles.. he just respects miles more as a person. And with Miles feeling like one person but being shoved in another direction... being spider-man was the last thing he needed. Something I like about Miles as a character both here and in the comics.. is that being spider-man DOSEN'T make his life better at first. See even if most spider-men eventually get the lowered boom of someone they love dying, most get to at least enjoy it first. Looking back at the origins, Peter getting his powers takes a young nerd with no power and gives him all of it, Spider-Ham got a surrogate mom and teh power to crumple other peoples pipes like paper in his hand, while NOir's origin was.. less than ideal

He still got the power to fight back against a corrupt world, and Gwen much like peter got a power high. Miles.. never gets that in either version. In the comics he's utterly terrified and here he not only gets that.. but also gets humilated: trying the touch fails..as it likely woul'dve anyway, and instead messes up gwen's hair in the short run and makes it kick ass in the long run, sends him running in a panic from school security, and gets him stuck to about 80 dozen things. It shows the part most spidey origins and a chunk of superhero origins skip: that while getting powers is fun.. the learning curve usually sucks. Instead of the power high.. miles is just terrified by what he is and what he must do now and has no idea what he's doing. While most spider-man get the good of it first and have to learn the harsh realities of being a superhero later, usually with some horrific death, miles is one who from the get go realized with great powers comes a spinerett load of trauma. It's something the next film will deconstruct, but for now it's simply stripping that back and showing that while anyone can be spider-man.. it's not exactly a fun job as it is on paper.

So Miles goes to try find his uncle and when that fails, goes to the place he got bit by the spider..

Because he gets thrown into a supervillian battle, meets the real spider-man, and gets a hard truth from Peter Peter: You're like me. Miles: I don't want to be. Peter: I don't think you have a choice, kiddo.

It's not Blonde Peter being harsh or cruel.. he's just honest. You can try running away from powers, trying to live a normal life.. but eventually it catches up with you. Peter's tried to quit multiple times.. but it dosen't stick because great power, great responsibility. He can try and give up, leave it to other guys.. but at the end of the day having this gift means using it wisely.. and in miles case having it also makes him a target. And Miles ALMOST gets a mentor.. but then peter dies and gruffly tells Miles "You gotta save the world now slugger". Oh and not two seconds later he nearly dies getting chased by a superman. And he wasn't even supposed to be here today. Honestly I didn't even realize till I sat down to write this but the first half hour or so of the film.. is pretty bleak for miles. He gets power he dosen't want, has to watch the world's greatest hero die, and is left in charge of a major task that someone with a decades more experince died trying to do. Oh and he was told to keep it secret and can't tell those he loves. His life is just one hard long cruel cosmic joke.. and the sequel makes it even worse given we now know the spider wasn't even supposed to bite him and he gets BLAMED for watching someone die. Also just to get this out of the way now, while I was calling bullshit on Miguels claims Miles was responsible for Peter's death in the theater, I did watch the scene carefully just to throughly debunk this. And shockity shock... Peter would've died whether miles was there or not. The goblin suckers him slightly due to miles.. but it's nothing that really slows him down or injures him. What ultimately leaves peter at deaths door and weak enough for the kingpin to do his finisher on the poor guy is getting ganged up on by Prowler and Goblin, and then slammed into the collider. Aaron would've been there, Norman would've been there.. this all was supposed to happen, as tragic as it was. Fate changed by Miles getting bit.. but it changed this world at least for the better as it'd probably be gone along with 5 more spiderpeople and incalculable innocents. So in conclusion: eat a dick miguel, let's move on.

So with that Miles is left shattered and wonders home.. and Jefferson is warm and supportive and just kidding: he tells miles he made a commitment, rio has to give him a look like "come on" and when asked if he hates spider-man, while his child is clearly shaken by SOMETHING, his reponse is "well yeah".

And with the power of hindsight this .. really underlines why Miles has confidence issues the rest of the film. Why he struggles with his powers: he was already feeling out of place in his new school and having most of what makes him who he is questioned by his dad, and then he goes through spider-puberty and watches the world's greatest hero get body slammed into a science machine, gets yelled at by said hero that

Watches said hero get mob executioned by a villian he now has to stop, and then gets chased by his top enforcer while spooky but dope as fuck music played. It's a miracle Miles hasn't had a full on nervous breakdown after all this, let alone gets up, and decides he HAS to press on, visiting the memorial and realizing that no one else is going to come do this.. I mean they will but what makes it work is he dosen't know that yet. All miles knows is the one thing keeping the city from falling apart is gone, and he's the only one who can do this and as rightfully scared and afraid and alone the poor boy is... he has to try. He may not be quite ready to take the leap.. but he's ready to put a foot off the roof.

While miles has plenty of deadly and superior foes to fight.. his ultimate enemy is himself...

.... metaphorically this movie. Miles has the heart of a hero.. but is so scared by being one and so sure he CAN'T do it that it's a self fufilling prophecy. It's something expertly shown in how his powers work: he can't get his hands to stick or unstick on queue or his camo to work unless he needs it to flee. His powers are acting on his panic and anxiety. As peter points out with the sticking, it only lets go when you relax and Miles can't relax, he can't relax cuz he's a boinger.. and because you know, he's in a VERY stressful situation. Most spider-men at least get a few simple crooks before they get to the supervillians. Miles has to fight the sinister six on his first day. I'ts easy to see why he can't trust himself: if a peter ten years deep in can't do it, how can he? It's telling the one time pre-what's up danger miles really masters his abilities fully is with web swinging, when he just has a chance to relax and learn.

It's not helped by Miles essentially seeing the ghosts of his future right in front of him: Through Peter Prime, he's seen he can die easily. Through peter b. he sees even if he dosen't being spider-man might destroy his personal life. and through gwen he's seen how he could grow isolated and alone through tragedy. He sees his possible future in two people he grows to love, one platonically one nto so much both who we'll get to, and it scares him. It doesn't help Peter. B is the ONLY spider person willing to give him a chance: while Gwen likes him, she thinks he's not ready and the others all expect him to be spider-man NOW dammit, when all of them had a much less steep learning curve. Except Peni, her learning curve was basically "Suprise we released the spider your dad made into this room! Enjoy being radioactive!"

Into The Spider-Verse is ultimately a film about how others expectations of you can eat you alive.. and the only way to really escape that.. is to be yourself. Not to IGNORE that other people exist or be a callous jackass, but to trust in yourself you'll make the right call. To trust you to do the right thing when things are their darkest.

And it's ironic that what finally gets him to have faith in himself.. is the person who seemed to have the least faith in him. In the end the person who enrcourages miles is Jefferson. While miles has been having his arc.. Jeff has had his own, as miles has been mia since meeting peter. b, and then found his brother dead.. and blamed miles as spider-man for it. Thankfully this gets cleared up enough, but it clearly rattled Jeff enough to realize that holding fast and trying to be constantly authortive and unbending.. isn't working and never has. It's only by opening up does he not only finally close the gap with his son, even if that comes AFTER all this because you know, webbed up mouth and all, but makes miles finally have some confidence in himself. And the speeech itself is just.. beautiful.

Jefferson Davis : Look, sometimes... people drift apart, Miles. And I don't want that to happen to us, okay? Look, I know I don't always do what you need me to do or say what you need me to say, but I... I see this... this spark in you, it's amazing, it's why I push you. But it's yours, and whatever you choose to do with it, you'll be great.

I'll also give Brian Tyree Henry credit as he's just perfect in the role, being a hardass.. but in a way that makes it clear he's not 100% dick and here him opening up.. is beautiful. And it's really what miles needed: While Peter. B wasn't a TERRIBLE mentor, trying his best to encourage miles, what miles ultimately needed was the simplest message: be yourself. Which yes is INCREDIBLY common in animated media. But it's done well here. It also makes me wish the cut line with peter used in the trailers was used here as it really gets to the heart of the film: Don't do it like me, do it like you. Miles problem was that he tried too hard to be what others wanted and that people pushed him to hard to be somethign else, wether that meant instantlly accepting a hard situation in his new school from his dad or instantly fitting the role as spider-man from the other spider-people. it's only when he's told just.. do it his way that he finally can accept it.. and can finally CONTROL it. What I like is that while in a lot of other superhero films, miles suddenly being able to control his powers would be an asspull .. here it's CAREFULLY set up: Miles coudlnt' really control them because he was scared. It's once he lets go of his fear of death, fear of failure, and fear of himself.. that he can take a leap of faith. His ascendency to spider-man is also one of the best sequences in any animated movie. Not taking notes on that. It just is.

Every fucking second of this is perfect. "What's Up Danger" itself is dope as fuck, and perfectly fits the song. Black Caviar's beat is pure magic and Blackways lyrics perfectly fit the confidence Miles finally has. Their a bit rougher than him but fit who he is NOW: he is the amazing, spectacular, the ULTIMATE spider-man. After a whole film of doubting himself, not knowing where to go or what to do or if he can do this... HE CAN. And he WILL. There's so many great moments: him spraypainting the costume, taking one of peter's looks and making it is his own with his own talent and passion, the now iconic upside down falling shot that graced every trailer, and him swinging and wall jumping through new york, finally embracing his power... all capped with him lifting the mask, panting in exaustion... and then smiling. He's got this.

The insuing big damn heroes during the brawl with the sinister six is great. He shows up invisible, easily turns the table on liv and shows up, and it's also heartwarming how rather than tell him to go home or any other such nonsense.. everyone is HAPPY he's here. They didn't put him back because they didn't like him.. they kept him back because they didn't want him to die stupidly. NOw he CAN fight and has the confidence and skill to.. their happy to have him.

I also like how while all the spider-people ge ttheir moments and we get one hell of a three on one battle between doc ock , miles, peter and gwen, the final fight, the true final test.. is miles alone. Everyone gets to shine as the villians get whittled down to one.. but ultimately the final battle only works if it's miles alone: one final test as spider-man: Miles vs Fisk. The All-New All-Diffrent Spider-Man vs the man who murdered the original. The Kingpin of Crime Vs your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man. It's a truly harrowing fight, one where Miles is often overwhelmed, but does what all spider-men do: get back, keep fighting. Do everything he can. With jeffersons support one last time miles goes from a scared child.. to catching this thief just like a fly.. complete with bug zapper. The touch of using the.. well shoulder touch is fucking amazing, hilaroius, heartwrenching.. and awesome. The man who killed his uncle, who nearly destroyed new york is down. The universe is saved... all thanks to brooklyn's own friendly neighborhood spider-man. Miles ends the film sure of himself, happy and with his father accepting him. He misses everyone.. but he'll see them again. He just might come to regret it but hey.. that's for next time.

As a quick epilogue, I ALMOST forgot to mention but Shamiek Moore is fucking perfect in the role. While Donald Glover would've been a great fit, Moore brings a youthful energy that perfectly fits the character. Moore handles the characters journey, the humor, and the heartbreak all beautifully.

Peter B. Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Mess

While this film is focused on the new kid on the webs, Lord and Miller still decided to include the Spider-Man everyone was familiar with. In fact.. they lean INTO how familiar we are to play with peter as a character. When they give their stories for the comics brilliant origin sequences, they both know to just.. gloss over most of the stuff we're familiar with.. and to basically apologize for the emo peter dance. Lord and MIller clevelry use the rami films as a refrence point. Then they do something ENTIRELY new in terms of adapting peter at this point: this peter.. has been at this for a while. It's something Insomniac would also use for their universe and honestly.. is quitely brilliant. In the comics.. peter HAS been at this for about a decade.. exactly how long has been kept vauge, but he's always pushing 30. Most adaptations though want to start with peter fairly early in his career: while some cartoons like Ultimate, Spectacular or Animated Series start with peter mid career, it's still fairly early and before he faces most of his arch enemies. It also makes sense: after all if your making a spider-man universe from scratch, why would you start with him already knowing how to fight these guys? The comics have the advantage of years of continuity, so writers can do what they want with the bad guys basically. But since a new continuintiy means you can do the latter from the top, why would you start in the middle of your story? It CAN work as shown here and with , while I sadly can't play them because no ps4 or 5, the insomniac games, but with the latter it works to the games advantage to have you play a peter whose already a kicker of ass first class.

Here though instead it's used for something even the comics often have their hands tied from doing: to show just how TIRED spider-man would be after a decade of this. While Blonde Peter is great at the job, has a loving aunt, and an adoring wife... he's still so very tired. He says so when fighting Prowler. It's clear the heir of "I can always do this, i'm spider-man" is as much a coping mechanism as it is determination. It explores the idea that peter's drive to keep going, to do the imposisble would wear him down eventually.. and given the crap he has to go through in the comics because writers think there needs to be added DRAMA, you can't blame him. Peter. B shows where this leads.. a peter who has 80 tons of broken bones, stopped taking care of himself, and is slowly falling apart after Aunt May's death, cumilating in pushing MJ away after she wanted kids.. and he was scared of it. Which given what his life is like is actually understandable. It's also a type of fear the comics have only been able to explore in AU's: editors have been dicks about the idea of peter having kids, and the one time he seriously was about ot have one before it was kidnapped, he was retired.. then it got kidnapped and disappeared because clone saga. Here we see the fear he'd have.. and peter sabotaging his own life as MJ seems relcutant as he is to divorce and the peter left in the aftermath is crying in a bathtub in his full costume

This is a peter who ONLY has being spider-man and we see how deeply unhealthy that is. Part of what makes Peter Parker so great, what's kept spider-man enduring.. is relatablity. Peter struggles with the same stuff most of us do: holding down a job, crappy bosses, relationship issues, juggling family with your life, friendships getting complicated... it's the ballancing act of having a regular life and also punching the kangaroo in the face while he's at it that makes spider-man compelling and it's finding new ways to do that, from having peter teach at his old high school to having him actually get a science job, that makes this character endure. Here though.. it's just Spider-Man and we see how unhealthy that is: May is dead, he pushed MJ and likely anyone else in his life away... peter only has being spider-man left, and action can be a reward but it can't give you a fulfilling life. This is a peter whose just going through the motions and badly broken. It's very telling that when Miles tries to use "With Great Power Comes Great Responsiblity" , the HEART of what spider-man, any spider-man, woman or ham, is, Peter responds with a very harsh "DON'T finish that sentence. I'm so tired of people using that". He's a peter whose so far to the edge he's willing to leave miles world to die just to get back to a life that's deeply miserable. In most cases spider-man would swing at the right thing but Peter B is just so very tired he just wants to go home.

But he's still spider-man.. and eventually realizes as much as he wants to.. he can't leave miles there and he can't leave this world to die. The movie is also good in not letting peter dangle off the edge of being absolutely awful too long. He refuses to save the world at first.. but it's clear Miles gets to him right away. He's still a mess.. but he's also Spider-Man. He's also peter parker. And May raised him better. The relationship between Peter B and Miles.. is fantastically done, with Miles slowly opening up his new mentor and Peter B slowly rediscovering what he actually liked about the job... and that maybe he CAN be a dad and spider-man. We see his humor slowly come back, him swatting the cape away from miles, gleefully pointing out what to do. He's still not the BEST teacher, wanting miles to just wait.. but when miles has to come along, he's grumpy for a few seconds then roles with it. We start with Peter. B seeing how worn down he is...but here we see all the experince and skill of his blonde counterpart. He's still the science nerd who can memorize a complicated password and can't grasp that miles can't. He's still a mess, trying to flirt with what turns otu to be his aunt's ex.. and also doc ock, but we see a subtle change, cumilating in the heartwarming scene of him and miles swinging together. peter may be a mild dick and a human disaster.. but he's a good man. By the time all the spider-people are together and doubting miles.. peter. b is the only one who sees how much this quest means to hte boy and is advocating for him. To them Miles is in over his head.. but Peter sees the spark in miles Jefferson does. He sees a kid who was thrown in the deep of this and the last thing MIles need is 80 people telling him he can't do it. It's likely that, just like Blonde Peter, Peter. B sees the pain and confusion that comes from starting as spider-man clear as day and if he can help miles avoid that, he will. Jake Johnson is phenominal in this role, helping show the depth behind this kind of peter. It best shows after the house fight: While Peter is trying to get Miles to stay behind and is willing to die to save his world... he's doing it for MOSTLY noble reasons. Miles really WASN'T ready and as Peter pointed out, he needed to be ready to just take a leap of faith. He's gone from wanting to abandon miles because he dosen't care.. to leaving him behind because he dosen't want his surrogate son to die horribly trying to fufill a promise he's not ready for. Granted like I said it's mostly noble: its very clear Peter. B is also doing this.. because he feels himself expendible. He has nothing to go back to, the others do. Miles has more to live for. If he dies staying here... what's he leaving behind? It's what makes his ending so rewarding: He sees miles finally take that leap and as I mentioned before he's nothing but happy Miles finally has got it and fights alongside his new son, realizing maybe he does want kids. He still plans to stay behind.. and the student becomes the teacher, with Miles pointing out he can't.. things with MJ aren't broken.. he still has time to make it right. He still has something to live for. It's hard.. but so was becoming spider-man for miles. If Peter. B is ready to die for this dimension.. he can live for MJ and for his protege. So he ends the film making up with her with Mj's smile showing she welcomes him back.. and as we'll see he really gets his happily ever after. But we'll get more on that next time.

Vault of Spiders

So now we've come to the other spider-people. First up our most prominent, Gwen, whose mostly taken 1:1 from the comics: She became Spider-Woman, then learned the great power great responsiblity lesson the hard way when she fought the lizard.. and he died revealing peter parker, her best friend who just wanted to be like her, leaving her alone. There's more to it, but that's best left for the next film when we get her origin in full. Gwen is done well here: the punk haircut fits her perfectly and Hailee Steinfeld is unsurprisingly awesome as her and gets Gwen's loneliness, standoffishness, and badassery perfectly, and we see her slowly open up to miles, with her doubts coming off less as bein ga jerk and more as being worried for him. We also get some nice subtle bits: while she mentions her best friends.. only WE know her best friend was a peter, and that being surrounded by about 4 of him and having to talk to aunt may, who she's also close to in her dimension, is likely a LOT for the poor kid. She also gets some genuinely cute moments with miles, from their first meeting in class, to the disastrous touch (and the later great brick joke of "you don't get to like it"), to the bus scene). Orignally the two WERE suppposed to be a couple.. but i'm glad they left the more overt romance for the sequels, as the films packed enough as is and it gives it more build. It's clear there's an attraction there.. there just isn't time for it given the possible dimensional apocalypse. That's what sequels are for.

That said I do think had they focused on just three spider-persons we might of had more of an arc for Gwen... instead we get a lot of personality but not who she is. I'd be harder on this.. but to the crews and the next batch of directors credit, they realized this and in the next film, and likely extending into Beyond, she's the deutragonist. So it's hard to be on this when they realized what they had next go round. The other spider-people on the other hand.. feel like a massive wasted opportunity. Casting wise it's all pitch perfect: Nicholas Cage is perfet for a noir parody and is utterly hilarious, John Mulaney's everyman voice is perfect for spider-ham, helping emphasise how weird this is, and Peni's serious nature and anime stylings are something the beloved Kimiko Glenn gets down perfectly. I was so happy to see her in a movie this size. And adaptation wise.. 2/3 ain't bad. Spider-Ham is pitch perfect from the source and Peni, while having her anime stylings here focused on a bit more, still has her science background and driven nature. Noir Peter though.. yeah while he's not TERRIBLE on his own in terms of actually adapting the character... it's wince inducing. I don't mind not going 1:1 and given the limited screen time I don't mind playing into the noir nature for laughs. My issue is more that Noir's world is so insanely dark, THAT could've been played for laughs instead. I mean again THIS is how peter gets his powers there.

Just have Nicholas cage casually rattle that off. I get not bringing up the rampant death but it just feels like a missed opprotunity to not really use anything from the actual comics other than the costume. The rubix cube joke is great. So you have three all time great performers.. but they don't get much to do. I was among the fans disapointed they weren't in the sequel, and only not as much as some others because I figured they were saving them for the sequel.. and after seeing the film and it's cliffhanger, that turned out to be EXACTLY it. It's a bummer they aren't in across but given how much it crammed into it's long runtime and how much it has left to go, and how the mystery of why noir and ham weren't with the society's whole creepy philosphy when their friends drank the kool aid is a neat hook.

They get great bits, Noir saying he has to burn his hand to feel something, Ham getting side eyed by the other two when he mentions he was a pig bitten by a spider.. which for those who didn't read the rest of the restrospective if your wondering ..

We also get a great drmatic bit. Originally in the scene where everyone sympathizes with Miles, Spider-ham made a stupid joke about his uncle frankfurter. it was funny.. but kinda wrecked the scene. So they instead switched it with one of the most heartbreaking lines in all of animation, which Mulaney NAILS.

Just the devistaition on that pig's face. And i'm hoping we find out what the fuck the story was there in Beyond.. but i'm perfectly happy with not knowing. Because it makes it that much more devistating. We don't know what he lost. We just know he hurts and that the hardest thing about being a spider-man.. is you just can't save them all. So naturally ham got a spinoff, Caught in a Ham. Caught in a Ham.. is decent a theatrical style short that explains what ham was doing. It's.. fine.. the various villian puns are fun and it clearly takes a lot from warner, but the animation is ENTIRELY cheap, and the villian, dr crawdaddy is just... what. Seriously you have so many fun animal versions of spideys rogues and better new foes.. and this is what you go with. And no making fun of how lame he is dosen't work. That jokes been done a lot. You have to do it well and they really didn't. Dr Crawdaddy is bad but it's not hialriously bad. Caught in a hami s okay but it was a massive disapointment and Mulaney deserved better.

So now we have those who can spin a web any size and catch a theif just like flies covered, we have to talk about one of spider-man's most important aspects The Superior Foes of Spider-Man

Look spider-man is popular for a lot of reasons: a deep facinating character no matter whose wearing the mask, a varied, visually intresting and cool power set, the idea that anyone can be spider-man. All this is true. But one of the biggest.. is his Rogues gallery. Spider-Man easily has one of the best rogues galleries in all of superhero fiction, with only batman providing competition. Just off the top of my head you have Green Goblin, Hobgoblin, Doc Ock, Electro, Beetle, Boomerang, Scorpion, The Kingpin, Rhino, Hammerhead, Tombstone, Shocker, Vulture, Kraven, Mysterio, The Lizard, Stegron the Dinosaur Man, The Spot, The Gibbon, Mr Negative, The Enforcers, Mountain Man Marko, Chance, Venom, Carnage, Hypno Hustler, Rocket Racer, Sandman, The Tinkerer, The Prowler, Lady Electro, White Rabbit, Overdrive, Hydro Man, Chameleon, The Iguana, and of course his greatest enemy PAUL.

Or Maybe it's Zeb wells. Who knows? The larger point is spider-man has a LARGE pool of villians to tap, so Lord and MIller's Solution: GRAB AS MANY AS POSSIBLE AND DO WHATEVER. Yeah while like i've said The Kingpin has a full sinister six going, even if sadly never 6 at once as one dies and he kills another, it still counts as their still all under him and just let me have this for once dammit. Seriously if it's not an ongoing cartoon, they will NOT give us the sinister six. Even far from home came as close as we've got and still didn't think maybe one more? LET ME HAVE A PROPER SINISTER SIX IN MY SPIDER-MAN MOVIE DAMMIT.

That said they really only focus on three of the six: the other villians in Fisk's posse are more there just to hit things and give us enough villians so every spider-man can have a turn. And given Spider-man has guys like the rhino that would fit the mold better I question why they went with Green Goblin and Tombstone. With the former i'll admit to being biased: Norman Osborn is one of my faviorite super villians and Harry is certainly somewhere on the list. One of the first spidey comics I read was Amazing Spider-Man #39, and it's followup #40, one of the best spidey comics of all time and with one of the best covers too

This was boosted both by the first Rami film, where Dafoe does a truly amazing job, and the ultimate comics where Norman , while bulking up a bunch is a serious horrifying threat. Here.. h'es just a dummy dum dumb and I get it to a point, part of it is to emphasise the alternate nature of miles universe: in most the green goblin is spider-man's greatest threat, here he's just one of many and while a challenge, not his arch enemy or even in the running it seems. It just dosen't work for me. I'm fine with making some changes, but this one just didn't qutie work. He does look really impressive though and I do get this is likely a me thing and it dosen't really HURT the film, so while I may not like it a bunch I can't say it's as bad as some adaptation changes. I'ts no "Peter dosen't have change for choclate milk and gets thrown it by the robber who kills uncle ben" or making harry osborn into some sort of gneeing snot monster.. and that's bEFORE he takes the goblin drugs.

Tombstone also isn't handled the best, as he's fairly smart and chilling in the comics. I don't take it as personally but it's still iffy to take a black man and make him subservient to a white man. That never plays well. Hammerhead would've been a better choice and still been visually distinct. I

Finally we have Scorpion who I DO like, nicely meshing maximus gargan, the ultimate scorpion who simply had super strength and a scorpion tail styled chain, with the regular one, so now the tail is attached to hima nd baadss, but he's still mexican and still awesome and he gets a great fight with Peni and Porker.

That said while I have my quibbles.. the main three villians.. are fantastic and give me plenty to gush about. We'll start with the big guy. Like with the Green Goblin (and the Hobgoblin, who sadly still hasn't gotten a big movie role as of this review. Someday...), i'm a HUGE fan of the kingpin and he's one of my faviorite super villians. No question. Wilson Fisk is a truly amazing character with tons of layers, intimdating style and intresting dynamics with both spider-man and dardevil. From his first apperance under john romita to his latest crashing on Krakoa , he's a devious mastermind whose trained his body to perfection. Granted I grew up with Spider-Man TAS, where they cleverly made him big bad, so I had a good first intro, but most adaptations handle him well and what little iv'e seen of the mcu version in hawkeye (I still need to watch netflix daredevil) is fucknig magical. Denofrio is great.

Liev Schriber though.. might be the best. He gets Wilson perfect: He has his cocky attitude.. but also his cold detachment. He can brag about starting the collider one minute.. and casually tell his right hand man to "go kill that guy". He can joke.. but ther'es never a moment on screen when your not deeply worried about him being there. There's not a moment you don't get WHY this guy was strong enough, smart enough and nightmarish enough to finish spider-man. I also love the design taking from a comic by the legendary bill sienkiewicz of x-men fame

It perfectly fits and while his proprotions are off.. it helps sell how diffrent he is from everything else. This man commands every room he's in and is a true giant, a looming reminder of blonde peter's death and the ultimate obstacle in our heroes way.

What I like though as while they easily could've just made Fisk evil and called it a day.. it's VERY clear how well the crew understood him.. as they also humanize him. Fisk isn't igniting the collider to make money selling multiversal hot dogs or something. This version lost his wife vanessa and son richard during a fight with spider-man: she saw what he really was and left... and they sadly died in a car crash. It's a great twist too: the comics have always had Vanessa, when she was alive, be the one thing that could pull fisk back from his crime... if only for so long. She never liked it , never accepted it and never wanted it. Richard was a grown man hwo hated it but then joined it then betrayed his dad and got killed.. it's a whole thing. Richard Fisk is a mess.

Fisk is at his core a man who just wants what he lost back but is so blinded by a combination of Trauma Goggles (a term kammie came up with) and his own ego. He can't accept that it was his fault a tragedy happened, that his wife had every right to run and that it was simply horrible, cruel timing that killed his wife. It's the horrible irony in all this: Wilson Fisk is a man who needs to control everything so badly he will rip time and space apart to get back what he lost.. but can't accept that there's NOTHING he can do to fix this, and that it was always his fault. It's who Wilson Fisk is and who he'll always be. It's most heartbreakingly shown when the same events play out again, just with a new vanessa and richard.. but he just can't accept HE'S the bad guy in all this and he drove his family away. In the end he's left with nothing, his empire crumbling, his family gone.. simply because he coudln't let go.

Now onto his right hand man, Aaron Davis, The Prowler. Like Kingpin... hang on.. something seems mi

[THREATNING DUBSTEB BLARES]

Better. Anyways, I was a huge fan of the Prowler. See back when I was in I think middle school, possibly earlier I had this book.

I wouldnt' mind getting another copy or the updated edition at some point. I also had these for X-Men and Fantastic Four. It's part of what really got me into these characters, but the spidey one was near and dear to my heart even as it sadly eventually fell apart. It was a lovely big ole book with profiles for all of spidey's villains, some of his side cast, and what have you up to the early 2000's. It was great.

So it's there I met the Prowler... Good Ol Hobie Brown

Yeah before another hobie became your friendly neighborhood anarchist, the original was a window washer who really wanted to invent, but this being the 60's and many a man being a classist or racist, Hobie instead came up with a pretty brilliant scheme: rob a building using his various inventions and a badass looking disguise, and then return the money for a reward as Hobie Brown.

Unfortunately the building he picked was naturally the Bugle, his old workplace (Though to JJJ's credit, when Hobie had an altercation with his boss, Jonah took hobie's side. Jonah may be many things but Racist isn't one of them)... and he was VERY lucky that it was peter parker, having to pull his punches for obvious reasons , he encountered. Hobie thought he'd killed the poor guy, naturally he hadn't and when encountering peter as spider-man later, not knowing the connection, he confessed and explained things. Peter being peter, and once unmasked seeing Hobie really wasn't that much older than him and had been through the shit, let the guy go and Hobie eventually had a happy ending. So how does aaron fit into this? Well like i've said in this review and covered previously, Miles comes from the Ultimate Universe, so given the prowler had a dope as hell costume, name but not a lot of use, he was perfect to refit as Mile's first archenmey and most personal nemisis.

Uncle Aaron in the comics.. is a bit of a dick. While I plan to cover this arc at some point, as it's REALLY good, Aaron after some time in mexican prison, finds out there's a new spider-man and having stolen the spider in the first place and actually seen it bite miles in this timeline, puts two and two together... and then tries to blackmail his nephew into working for him to make himself the new kingpin, the old one having been blown up with a rocket launcher by Mysterio.

He also died but rather than go out heroically , as we'll get to.. he went out because his suit backfired because he was stupid enough to kill the man who made it while trying to murder his 13 year old nephew.

Yeah it's a lot, and again i'll get into it some other time, but the film made the understandable decision to take about 5 to ten percent of there, and used that percentage to make him infinitely more badass.

This Aaron is an experinced supervillian, one who gives Peter trouble and has awesome theme music. The Prowler in the film is animalistic, moving at less frames than the other characters and being purely terrifying. It sells what Miles is facing: an unstoppable killing machine who just wants him dead. Which completely contrasts who Aaron is off duty. To him.. this is just a job and killing people is just what he does. Kingpin says jump, he says "what spider-man?". When not he's the cool uncle who gets introduced to fucking hypnotize. He's a smooth guy who while having terrible advice about ladies, also has good takes like "Smart girls are where it's at". The reason Miles confides in him more than his dad.. is easy to see. Aaron actually takes the time to reach miles on his level and try to gently coax miles into not totally hating his new school instead of saying WELL YOU'D BETTER LIKE IT. I mean Jeff is the better person, no question, he's killed exactly no one and for a cop that's impressive, but Aaron genuinely loves and supports his nephew even more than originally. It makes the contrast that much more horrific, that this perfectly kind, cool as hell guy.. can also casually hunt what he can CLEARLY tell is a child like a monster across a subway. It's no wonder finding out who Aaron is really rattles the poor kid.

It also makes his face turn that much more effective: it'd be easy to assume given how UTTERLY terrifying the film made him that like the comics, once Aaron finds out he wouldn't give one iota of a shit that this is his nephew. Instead Movie!Aaron.. is utterly horrified. Mahershla Ali does a hell of a job conveying the man's horror when Miles takes off his mask in a last ditch effort not to get choked to death, with Moore likewise conveying miles pain and desperation incredibly. The animation is also flawless here as you can just see Aaron realizing what he almost did.. and what he's likely done to counltess others like miles. How many kids did he kill simply because they saw something they shouldn't have? The horror is clear... adn the tragedy all the more painful when Kingpin coldly snipes him. All his power.. and aaron dies, encouraging his nephew to keep going and to be better. Aaron is an incredible character here, suprassing the already great original and I look forward to seeing more of ali in Beyond.

Finally we have Doc Ock aka...

The casting was genius idea.. that i'm baffled WASN'T always the plan. Originally Ock was supposed to still be a man and a bit more big lebowski'ish. And while it means we missed out on Steve Buschemi as the green goblin, one of the directors suggested Kathryn Hahn, all around queen of awesome and perfect fit. It also fits the story better: Dock Ock being "Gasp" a pudgy guy who looks a lot like me? Not a huge suprise. But a scientest we simply see in the background and assume is someone shady, but turns out to be dock ock complete with soft robotics tentacles? Fucking brilliant. It plays genre expectations against us: normally the messy haired science lady is on our side, as peter assumed.. instead Ock is fully on board with this scheme and even actively decives kingpin to get it thorugh. Oliva is ock in every sense of the word and is easily our heroes most dangerous opponent that isn't king sized. It takes THREE spider-men to wear her down and a fucking truck ex machina to finish her. Hahn, as usual has a lot of fun with the roll and it's no shock disney wanted to get in on this, and I can't wait for Agatha coven of chaos after her amazing work on Wandavision. Hahn is just neat and Olivia is great. Also nice subtly saying gay rights with Liv being implied to be Aunt May's ex in this reality too. Did it also involve a nuclear explosion on an island off of canada? One can only hope.

Odds, Ends and Sick Beats

So character wise we only have a few left to go over. First up is Rio, Miles supportive kind mom. She dosen't get a ton to do here but what we see is great and like Gwen, it's clear the writers realized they didn't use her as much and the sequel dives into her more and makes her just as important as her husband.

Then we have Ganke. In the comics, Ganke is miles lego loving best friend, his closest confidant and he helps ease the tension of being spider-man.. but given said tension drives the whole plot here, I get why they eased back. The other reason.. is understandable if disapointing. See the MCU Version of Ned Leeds, Ned Lee.. is basically Ganke. Close friends with our spider-man? Likes lego? bit of a nerd? Serves as his "guy in the chair". All check. And ned is great, he's fantastic and if I ever get to the mcu trilogy, i'll defintely have plenty good to say. It just meant Ganke had nothing to really do and is thus off to the side for these films. It's disapointing but I can understand it.. and he still gets a great scene in the spider-people trying to avoid him.. also Peni was blushing like mad. I need followup on this ship next film crew.

We also have Stan's cameo.. which is heartbreaking, but man was it good and it served as a great tribute to the man without being meant as one. It also gently jabs at his huckster nature with the no refunds sign. Oh stan... I miss you man.

Finally we have the films soundtrack. It's so damn good and it uses music beautifully: It has standouts like What's Up Danger, which i've talked about. Sunflower which thematically fits the film and the miles gwen romance, and Hypnotize, which perfectly sums up who aaron is when he' s not stalking children like some sort of feral cat man. I was going to talk about it more in depth, but it's just fanatastic.. and frankly this review is both horribly behind as is. It's a great sountrack and an all timer, both in the music made for it, the ones chosen for it and the backing tracks. Stupendous

So that brings us to the end of this long look.. and it should go without saying by this far in.. this film is a masterpiece. It's great as an adaptation, phenominal on it's own, groundbreaking, and I'll be revisiting it again and I feel terrible I didn't because I noticed so much more the second time around. This project has been a lot.. but it's also been some of the most fun i've had ont his blog. As i've already announced... we will be doing this one more time for beyond, and possibly again for across' theatrical release as that seems like it's not going to be as soon as Sony hopes. Either way i'm still shooting for the films current release date in march, so we'll be back with this in november or december with some other spidey plans in the mix as well. So thanks for taking the leap with me.. and hopefully you'll stick around. Until then... thanks for reading... and remember.. anyone can wear the mask... especailly you.

#spider man into the spider verse #spider-verse #miles morales #gwen stacy #peter b parker #lord and miller #the prowler #aaron davis #spider-man #sp//dr #spider-ham #spider-man noir #comics #animation #kingpin #wilson fisk #olivia octavius #doctor octopus #tombstone #the green goblin #norman osborn #scorpion #maximus gargan #jefferson morales #rio morales #ganke lee

[slexenskee]

Gojo really out here ripping some of the most iconic 90′s +  2000s grunge/rock songs of all time, and Makoto is still giving him the Look of Disapproval™ 

Gojo: I am literally giving you the gift of Kurt Cobain what more do you want from me

Makoto: A little punctuality would be nice

[”No Scrub’s second album, Death Before Decaf, is a noticeably darker and more nuanced album than their prior releases. Thankfully, though, No Scrubs have done anything but go soft on this first major public album release - produced by Sony with exclusive streaming rights to Spotify - and their manic, juddering vocals, jagged guitars and grandiose choruses are all in place here. Singer and writer Ru-kun's lyrics can be cloying and unflinchingly personal, with a knife-to-the-gut kind vulnerability evident to those willing to listen past the catchy verses and chords. But Death Before Decaf is buoyed by its self-deprecating humor; the witty and clever choruses of A Loaded God Complex and My Own Worst Enemy a perfect harmony to the darker realities featured in deceptively upbeat Semi-Charmed Life and mellow Today is the Greatest. This album is likely going to go down as the punk rock anthem of an entire generation, filled with quietly heart-wrenching lyrics and instrumentals that bring the grit back down to earth with nebulous and memorable non-sequiturs.” via MusicHype.com]

^ Music Hype, I imagine, is an online only music blog that considers itself alt-main stream and is slightly too pretentious for its own good, but nonetheless has doggedly kept track of No Scrubs since the beginning of the band and we’ll give them props for that. 

Track List:

My Own Worst Enemy - Lit 

Today - Smashing Pumpkins

Come as You Are - Nirvana

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana 

Say it Ain’t So - Weezer 

Semi-Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind 

Once again Fall Out Boy makes the list (Patrick Stump has an incredible voice like I’m sorry it is what it is, I honestly imagine that’s Gojo’s voice in this fic, so just imagine Patrick Stump singing all these songs lol) but added in some more 90′s grunge classic and 2000′s rock anthems. 

#fic may death never stop you #mdnsy art

[outlanderfandomfollies]

THE BOY WITH SAM ON THE HORSE: More misperceptions and convoluted conspiratorial thinking by the extreme shippers 😳

I saw a post today as I was scrolling through my dash that seemed to me to be an attempt by an extreme shipper (ES) to "prove" that the twin boys playing young Jemmy in Outlander were different than the child that S was holding on a horse--with the implication the the child on the horse was one of S & C's "secret boos."🤦🏻‍♀️

You can see the post (including the photos used to support the conspiratorial thinking) HERE.

Below is the twisted logic this ES used in order to support the absurd conspiracy theory that the boy on the horse is one of S & C's "secret boos."

Cutest picture ever ……xoxoxox you can see the boy on the horse( who resembles  C and S when they were little and he  has a double jointed crooked pinky like S and SAME chin and exact ear pattern )  is NOT one of the Jemmy  twins this was the same day …or week..PIC credit to BTS Outlander Sony with all the questionable things out there …Marriage????Kids??? this child has such a mixture of both . Also ..to be on a horse with someone have being such a young child with their arms spread out like that he has to be extremely comfortable with the person he is with . Just saying ..xoxox [emphasis/color added]

Okay, I'm going to attempt to look at all of this logically, in the vague (but probably futile) hope that it might help some newbie fan who has started to go down the rabbit hole from taking the full leap into that alternate universe.

you can see the boy on the horse( who resembles  C and S when they were little

Umm. Of course the alleged "boo" resembles S & C when they were very little--because toddlers tend to resemble each other.

Doesn't this extreme shipper know about Konrad Lorenz's "baby schema" theory? The theory assumes that nature has increased the cuteness factor in babies/ toddlers by giving them round, puffy cheeks, large heads, and big eyes. Their cuteness (which also makes them look a lot alike) is designed to invoke protective feelings from adult humans. This is hypothesized to increase their chances of survival.

You could choose random adults and then look at photos of their faces when they were toddlers and parts of their chubby little faces would look just like parts of the alleged "boo's" face. It doesn't mean that these random people are also related to the "boo."🤦🏻‍♀️

he  has a double jointed crooked pinky like S and SAME chin and exact ear pattern )

As far as I can see, that alleged "boo" does NOT have a "double jointed crooked pinky." For instance, I DON'T have a double jointed crooked pinky and yet I could make my pinky mimic the kid's pinky position in the photo. Give it a try yourself if you don't believe me.

And I see nothing particularly identical to S about the "boo's" chin and "ear pattern." The "boo" certainly doesn't have S's jutting chin (although no toddler would at that point in their development) and you could google "ears" and see lots of strangers with similar "ear patterns."

you can see the boy on the horse.... is NOT one of the Jemmy  twins this was the same day …or week.

Sorry but the alleged "boo" looks basically the same to me as the Jemmy twins, any feature difference seems to me to be due to the fact that the "boo" is smiling broadly.

The "boo's" hair is styled differently but it is much less of a stretch to assume that the photo of the twins was taken before the hair department decided to cut or style the kids' hair differently.🤷🏻‍♀️

[UPDATE: It turns out that there were at least two sets of twins cast as Jemmy. This explains the slight differences. See the full "Update" on this reblog of this post.]

But even if that child turned out to be different than the twins, it is more logical to assume it is just another child actor rather than it is one of S & C's "secret boos." C is married to T (and a number of fans, including shippers, did get valid copies of the MC). C has one child, and T is the father of that child. The SC "secret marriage and boo" theory is absurd on way too many levels. It would also NOT be legal for TPTB to force two little known co-stars to live a lie for years--certainly not in this day and age.

..to be on a horse with someone have being such a young child with their arms spread out like that he has to be extremely comfortable with the person he is with .

Well, the kid had to have been on set with S for hours and so probably is quite used to him and the horse.

But it looks to me that one of the "boo's" real parents (NOT C) or someone else the "boo" knows well is smiling at the "boo," and the "boo" is smiling back and stretching his arms out to be picked up by them.

Conspiratorial Thinking and Confirmation Bias

The ES who wrote the post about the little boy on the horse was implying that that little boy was one of S & C's "boos." In doing so, her conspiratorial thinking and confirmation bias led her to look for any tiny differences between the boy on the horse and the Jemmy twins, overlooking more logical assumptions for the perceived differences (including that the boy on the horse was from a different set of twins). She also overexaggerated the similarities between the boy on the horse and S and C's childhood photos, as well as similarities between the boy and S's current appearance.

Furthermore, the implication by the ES blogger that S & C is hiding one of the "boos" in plain sight on set makes zero sense. If S & C were trying to "hide" one of their "boos" why would they bring him to set and dress him exactly like one of the twins cast in the show and have a picture taken with his "father" on set for public release? Wouldn't S & C be risking their "astute fans" realizing who the boy really was?

Oh yes, I forgot, it is part of the tinhat playbook that S & C are sending little "messages" to their loyal fans who have been "smart enough" 🙄to have seen through the "charade" they have been forced to participate in by TPTB.

Now THAT'S some fanfiction for you.

[edited]

__________ Gif source (before edits).

#outlander fandom #sc debunk #sc extreme shippers #my edited gifs

[deanwinchesterswitch]

April 2023 Fic Rec List

Well, it seems like April was the month for drabbles and ficlets. Not only for my writing but my reading as well. Half of these gems are delicious little nuggets.

Enjoy!

Many of these blogs and fics are NSFW-18+. Please honor any requests from a blog regarding no minors. I am not responsible for the content you choose to consume; heed the warnings for each fic.

~Big Sky~

That Simple-Part 9 ~ @avanatural. Author's Series Summary: Beau goes to Y/N, a new friend of his, for some dating advice. Is the charming new Sheriff gonna get the date that he’s hoping for?

~MCU~

Hello Spring Day 2 ~ @justagirlinafandomworld. Author’s Summary: After 3 years living in hiding, you came face to face with a ghost. That ghost is looking for answers.

One Night of Love ~ @justagirlinafandomworld. Author's Summary: None (Drabble; Bucky Barnes x Reader)

~RPF~

Anytime ~ @impala-dreamer. Author's Summary: None (Ficlet; Karl Urban x Reader)

Chace You Down ~ @impala-dreamer. Author's Summary: Y/N travels with her new boss, Jensen Ackles, to Hawaii for the Sony Open golf tournament and gets more than a little distracted by a new acquaintance. (Chace Crawford x Reader)

First Steps ~ @thing-you-do-with-that-thing. Author's Summary: None (Chris Evans x Reader)

No Title ~ @impala-dreamer. Author's Summary: None (Ficlet; Jensen Ackles x Reader)

You Might Fall In Love ~ @impala-dreamer. Author's Summary: I didn’t even want to go to the party, but my agent insisted. What I didn’t know was that I was walking into fate and walking away with way more than industry connections… {Sebastian Stan x Me (You? It’s first person but still Y/N)}

~Supernatural~

The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship ~ @there-must-be-a-lock. Author's Summary: None (Drabble; Dean x Reader)

Good Morning ~ @impala-dreamer. Author's Summary: You share a shower room with the boys, so this was bound to happen at some point…

Love-Blind Haze ~ @princessmisery666. Author's Summary: Habits are hard to break, especially ones as blinding as Dean. (Ficlet; Dean Winchester x unnamed female)

Magdalena ~ @impala-dreamer. Author's Summary: The Mark of Cain has Dean doubting even his own thoughts, but there’s one place he can go for a moment of peace, one person who can take away the pain… even for one night.

Muffled ~ @hoboal87. Author's Summary: Dean wants you to be quiet. (Ficlet)

The Night Shift ~ @stusbunker. Author's Summary: Dean could use a distraction, luckily a few stores are still open. Benny helps him find more than he was looking for.

No Title ~ @covered-byroses. Author's Summary: None (Drabble; Dean Winchester)

No Title ~ @lipstickandwhiskey. Author's Summary: None (Drabble; Dean Winchester x Reader)

No Title ~ @lipstickandwhiskey. Author's Summary: None (Drabble; Dean Winchester x Reader)

No Title ~ @supernaturalfreewill. Author's Summary: None (Drabble; Dean Winchester, reader pronouns: she/her)

No Title ~ @supernaturalfreewill. Author's Summary: None (Drabble; Dean Winchester, Reader)

Part-time Soulmate ~ @princessmisery666. Author's Summary: The lure is stronger than the certainty of heartbreak. (Ficlet; Dean Winchester x unnamed female)

Sweetart ~ @impala-dreamer. Author's Summary: After being let in on their secret, Dean has a few more questions for Y/N and Sam, and a deep desire to give it a go himself…

That Look ~ @kazsrm67. Author's Summary: None (Ficlet; Dean Winchester x Reader)

Under My Skin ~ @sofreddie. Author's Summary: Dean calls you for help on a case. But when things go sideways, true feelings surface.

wish you were here ~ @justagirlinafandomworld. Author's Summary: None (Drabble; Dean Winchester x Reader)

~Top Gun: Maverick~

Falling & Failing ~ @princessmisery666. Author's Summary: None (Drabble; Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin x unnamed female)

Fries, Goodbyes & The Rest of Our Lives ~ @princessmisery666. Author's Summary: Being stood up isn’t always a bad thing. (Rooster x Fem!Reader)

About Last Night-Part 5-No One’s In The Room Mini Series ~ @princessmisery666. Author’s Summary: Jake can’t comprehend why Ryleigh’s so willing to help him - frustrations and mistrust cause an eruption that may cost them their friendship. (Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin x Ryleigh (OFC) ‘Rodeo’)

Too Late-Part 6-No One's In The Room Mini Series ~ @princessmisery666. Author's Summary: Jake regrets the things he did and didn’t do. Is he too late to make it right? (Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin x Ryleigh (OFC) 'Rodeo’)

Fairytale Ending-Part 7-No One’s In The Room Mini Series ~ @princessmisery666. Author’s Summary: Ryleigh and Jake have an opportunity to make things right. Will it be a fairytale ending or not? (Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin x Ryleigh (OFC) 'Rodeo’)

On AO3

~Crossovers~

Who’s lost now?-Chapters 2 and 3 ~ @glygriffe. Author’s Summary: Dean Winchester is a little lost going back to school and starting a new life in the big city. The Doctor tries to heal thru humanity now that his best friends are not traveling with him anymore, and takes a job at a university. When they meet each other, it may be just two lost souls colliding. But maybe it is the start of a friendship they both need.

~Supernatural~

Honestly ~ @wayward-and-worn. Author's Summary: The standard Dean Winchester way of letting her down gently doesn’t quite go as he expects. (Ficlet; Dean Winchester x Reader)

~The Boys~

Old Habits ~ @wayward-and-worn. Author's Summary: The morning after an intense night before has a promising start, but it goes south when he reacts like he always has.  And you’re done with his shit. (Soldier Boy/Ben x Reader)    

On Patreon

~Supernatural~

Rebekah Jordan (Impala-Dreamer)

Captives of the Court-Chapters Three-Eleven ~ Series Summary: Strange things are brewing in Connecticut, so Dean and Y/N go check it out. After stumbling through town, they fall into something that’s been going on a very, very long time. Can they put an end to the bloodshed and make it out unscathed or will they need a little help this time?

thinkinghardhardlythinking

Someone To Watch Over Me-Parts 14-16 ~ Summary: (AU) Y/N is married to a very rich, decidedly unscrupulous and powerful man.  A man whose inability to trust means he hires someone to watch over his wife while he isn’t around. He hires Dean Winchester, a handsome stranger to Y/N, who is soon to become a very big part of her life.

#monthly fic recs #fabulous writers #dw's witch reads #fic recs #april 2023 #050123

[draftingteacups]

Heyo I just wanna say smth for the world hopping thing.

Probably if Phoebe was somehow making pokeballs traditionally cause she got free time.

Soni would get asked as to what the kid was doing and pulls out a short summary of traditional pokeball smithery.

"Johto is well known for the art of making pokeballs traditionally. The factory produced ones are just as good and effective but these are more unique..."

She films Phoebe pulling out an apricorn to hollow it out.

" That fruit is an apricorn and depending on what color the apricorn is would produce a different pokeball not often seen at markets"

It feels like that one scene from toy story 2 where woody gets cleaned but its Pokeball being made.

Probably mesmerizing to see Phoebe work fast yet careful not to make a mistake.

I think Phoebe was making pokeballs if any of the students were qualified and given permission to own a pokemon or smth.

But what do you think?

Bonus:

Phoebe just has a focused face even if she has a fire type, maybe her Houndour, blasting heat to help with the crafting process. Anyone who saw would shield their eyes but Phoebe is hammering away.

The first thing that popped into my mind was the idea of Phoebe having those craft-making videos/giving info about the types of Pokeballs from Apricorns. Like Kalos has the Pokeball Factory where one can just buy no problem, but Soni's probably heard about Pokeballs being made from Tumblestones and Apricorns from her mom.

Nonetheless, Soni's definitely intrigued by it.

The Woody Cleaning Scene from Toy Story 2 will always be a level of careful examination that I will always dream of. It's those ASMR-based ones where they are carefully doing their craft, and all you can do is zoom in on the whole process.

It's calming in its own way because it takes time to make them, but the result is super satisfying. While Pokeballs may not always work because of catch rate and RNG luck, the fruits of one's labor is something to behold!

Ooh, Pokeballs for the students 👀 it could be a special gift given to them when they get their Pokebuddy, and they get one from Phoebe as a freebie. Any time after that, they have to go out into the Wild and get it themselves. Pull a Fetch Quest on them. I can imagine one of them seeing the process and seeing this: Phoebe: 🔥👀

The Boys: ❓"Wha'chu doin'-"

Phoebe, working on her Pokeballs: "No talking. No breathing. No disturbing the peace."

The Boys: "But-"

Phoebe: "I am the peace. Stop disturbing me."

#ask #world hopping au #twisted wonderland x pokemon #pokemon x twisted wonderland #soni monet #pokemon trainer oc

[demigod-of-the-agni]

All major characters have been shown unmasked in the Spider-Verse trailers. Only Pavitr is left - his face continues to be gatekept by Sony, for whatever reason.

When he finally returns, it's all over for you

#we have literally seen what hobie and margo look like in multiple angles #(also give margo more angles and lines please she's so cute) #(and give hobie more lines dear lord this poor man can't be remembered for his singular “oi oi”) #but what about my boy????? he has gone FACELESS throughout this whole ordeal #sony fears the person i will become once i see pavitr's face #they rightfully should fear me but for an entirely different reason #i will be so insufferable and annoying until they release his face into the wild #literally how am i supposed to survive this long wait #pavitr prabhakar #spider man india #atsv #spiderman across the spiderverse #agnirambles

[risu5waffles]

[LBP - LBsP 03/22/24] 296 - Box o' Clocks

This was fun to put together, right up until i actually tried recording it; then it was a giant mess. We didn't even get to all the stuff i'd wanted to talk about, but i figured we were already pushing 15 just going over the two clocks.

The reversible clock really isn't all that, tho' it is fun. i like having logic & bits that can serve multiple purposes in different settings. Not sure how often you'd need a clock that can do both in just one level, but you set it up to go both ways, and now you have a timer for a race-type level, and a countdown for an escape room. Versatile!

For my own purposes, i like chronos' clock more. It's very elegant and easy to work wiv when you've got to set it to different times every episode. Wish it had a broader font set, but the fine-line looks nice in green. Looks nice for text too, but i feel like the line-weight isn't heavy enough to sustain longer passages.

i'll try getting around to the simple animations and kitbashed sequencer tutorials eventually. i do want to make them, but i don't really feel a lot of motivation for it right this minute.

---------------------------------------------

Things are well enough here. Wiv @soupum 's help i got the ps3 set up and on Beacon, and that's exciting. Honestly, Soup did a fantastic job guiding a very tech-skittish me through the steps. The soul of patience, that boy.

It's weird seeing new levels published in LBP1 & 2, even if a lot of the ones i've run into have been from the LBArchive, or costume tutorials/give-aways. So. So. So many costume levels. It's been a good weird, tho'. It's nice that there are still folx actively giving time and love to this strange little thing we've got going.

There are just four more episodes left in the LittleBig-Archives, and then that's that until the servers come back on line. That's weird feeling in the less good way. i'm sure the servers will come back. No telling how long; but it feels like Sony's giving it an honest shot. Which frankly surprises the heck out of me, but lots of things do, so that's alright.

#littlebigplanet #little big planet #lbp #lbp3 #littlebite-sizedplanet #lbsp #Youtube

[shapa-likes-art]

since you still happily accept phantom au asks, i am happy to accommodate! >:D

So more questions:

1. Who proposes? And how do they do so?

2. Does Roman have some sort of secret lair he goes to to change into his Phantom outfits? To make his plans, etc?

3. How does he manage to get back to where he lives without just waltzing in as Phantom?

4. This one is more random but what kind of place does he have? I was honestly imagining a luxurious penthouse on top of the Kingdom Ent. building skdjakdj

5. What exactly is Kingdom Ent? Is it a technology company? Something else?

6. What would happen if Roman himself got kidnapped? Either as Roman Prince or the Phantom? Like from a different villain/a hero/ some competition? Would Virgil attempt to save him somehow?

7. Does Roman have any enemies/specific people he targets? It's established that it takes him weeks to months to form his plans right? What would make someone a target?

8. how is roman so pretty in your arts, virgil is a hell of a lucky mf ❤️😭

sorry for all the questions dnfjsndh you don't have to answer them all!

A A A A AA A A

bruh ilysm rn /p

I had to ask @thunderholtz (co-creator) to discuss some stuff haha

Since this will be LONG long, I'm gonna do a readmore :D.

1. I discussed this with skye and they gave I to share screenshots!

**affection lol.

2. He absolutely does! It's main entrance is his office and it's activated by finger print, hidden in his "bookshelf". It leads down to a basement where Roman has his "lair". After he and Virhil have been dating a while, he inputs their finger prints as well <3

3. Because he has nanobots that he releases that disables each and every nearest camera or CCTV. He has modified boots that let's him walk on walls and also go really fast. And he travels in shadows- oh. And in his mansion, He lives completely alone, no maids or butlers or anything. He only hires them on an off day where he has no phantom engagements planned. He can easily walk in, call back his nanobots, then go to his lair and change and let his clothes soak so there won't be bloodstains.

4. He would have a penthouse but, honestly, He lives in a small mansion disconnected from the majority of Cardenia, he's surrounded by trees and it's quite a drive to get there. Roman loves it because there's fresh air and there would be no one watching him at all. He can carry out his plans and experiments without any problems.

5. Kingdom ent. Is something like Sony: It dabbles in a lot of things. It started off as a tech company but as they grew, they started to branch out into other ways of making profit and money so they're also a media company. They make tech and movies and have a news outlet.

6. Virgil knows Roman can save himself and Roman is crafty as shit and knows how to get out of any situation regardless of if he has his tech or not. Don't underestimate the supervillain, my dear. He does not lose or let his opponent win. He is no weak lamb.

7. In personal life detached from his Phantom work? His father HAHAHA- but seriously, all of his targets are the corrupt people in charge of companies like fellow CEOs, executives, etc.. He also targets Corrupt politicians as well. His aim is to eliminate the Corruption in Cardenia and to make sure it never happens, he kills the source straight up. He would give a warning and if they fail to change before then, He kills.

8. Because I love drawing pretty boys <3. And trust me, Virgil thinks the exact same but Roman thinks He's even luckier.

Thank you for your questions !!!

#sanders sides #Prinxiety #Supervillain au #Supervillain!Roman #Journalist!Virgil #roman sanders #virgil sanders #Violence mention #Long post

[oysters-aint-for-me]

deal or no deal is one of THE most perfect encapsulations of US culture during the early aughts/the george w. bush era. these are notes for an essay i probably will never have time to right:

first of all let me say that i only watch this show when i’m taking care of my grandmother, because she watches the game show network. i don’t really understand how it works, but what i can say (for context) is that it involves contestants picking certain suitcases with different amounts of money, and after you open a suitcase, you can’t win that amount of money anymore. there is a “banker” who offers you a certain amount of money if you agree to stop playing; the algorithm for determining the amount offered is mysterious, but the offer is generally less than the highest value left in the unopened cases.

okay, on to the notes:

the sheer spectacle - one contestant i saw recently mentioned having been in a boy band or something? not a big one. but they choreographed a whole ass boyband dance to tell the contestant the offer the banker made.

the scantily clad models - while of course US society is still incredibly sexist and misogynistic, i don’t think this would fly quite as well if it happened today

the MONEY - the amounts of money in about 2/3 of the cases are high enough to significantly help the average person, but the game is played in such a way that suddenly $10,000 seems like nothing. $10,000 is a shameful amount to win. if the banker offers you $5,000, that’s considered insulting. $5,000 is like...that is NOTHING to sneeze at. but the contestants are encouraged to do exactly that!

the level of product placement: it’s just fucking hilarious. today, generally, game shows are either more and less subtle than it was in the early aughts. today it’s either obvious, like, “this show is sponsored by...” or it’s like, they HAVE the product onstage, but they don’t necessarily say the name of the brand. but today it’s like “well, reverend jeremy, let’s watch a video your parishioners sent you, using the Sony LTD Supermax Tinycam, which they sent to us using Verizon’s Mega Broadband High Speed Internet 2000X, generously provided by the McDonald’s Corporation & Rush Limbaugh Foundation for Faithful Americans!” then the video is like, one adorable Black child, wearing ill-fitting clothes and missing a tooth (to highlight the Poverty of course) saying “I wuv you wevewend jewemy!” and the contestant and the audience are all sobbing and howie goes “gosh, that was moving. thanks, Sony, Verizon, McDonald’s, and Rush Limbaugh!”

the patriotism: if anyone is EVER a veteran or a troop, they get a standing ovation from the audience. generally this kind of thing ages poorly. i just watched an episode where they had on a guy who recently rescued someone who had fallen into the subway tracks. i guess he got an award from the white house for it? they played audio of someone giving him the award and he said something like “there has to be something said for a country if they can produce citizens like this guy.” i thought “i know this voice, i don’t know who it is, but i know i don’t trust them.” it was george w. bush. there was also footage of donald trump congratulating him, and various NBC anchors who have since been accused of sexual harassment. also in the audience was a dog who saved his owner by dialing 911 when he (the owner) was having a seizure. and then when the same contestant’s game went on into the next episode, they had on a (all-male) troop of marines to stand next to the models. btw - the subway hero did not win $1,000,000, but he DID win a brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee generously provided by Chrysler

the faceless “banker” - psychologically suggestive of how US-centric capitalism wants US citizens to see banks, i think. something faceless, voiceless, in the shadows, all-powerful, all-knowing, unquestionable in judgment, no room for protest or reaction. you just take what the banker gives you, and if you don’t, if you take a chance on something and end up losing, the banker will punish you, and that’s just the way it goes.

the unabashed audience manipulation through increased pauses, heightened suspense w/ lighting and music, inviting the contestant’s families and friends on, audience shouting.

contestants are “the deserving poor” - people who have lost a lot of money due to accidents or illness or disasters, people have always been poor but who have done something heroic or admirable. this makes you want them to win. this makes it very sad when they don’t win. never do you think “they could just GIVE them the money though...” because that’s not the GAME and in AMERICA you HAVE to play the FUCKING GAME because while you may be “the deserving poor,” we need to have RULES to figure out who deserves to WIN.

“wacky” contestants - i feel embarrassed for the contestants because they have clearly been riled up by something. i don’t know how else to explain it except that they all somehow end up acting like michael scott getting WAY too into a game of charades.

the weak liberalism of the early aughts - once kermit was a guest because it was green week on NBC. the model’s dresses were made out of recycled parachutes. ...ok.

[dweemeister]

Sending out Oscar nomination eve vibes

First things first, as a fan of the human chaos that is the Academy Awards, viewing films primarily through the prism of awards is one of the most myopic ways to look at movies. That there is a whole sub-industry of journalism dedicated to awards horse racing and campaigning never ceases to amaze me - even though I must admit to consuming said journalism (or "journalism").

Going into and out of a screening with "I wonder what this could get nominated for?" as the first thing in your mind is not how anyone should absorb and analyze a film. Awards are for the industry, sure, but they're also markers of taste for a certain group of people at a moment in time. They're good entryways into budding film buffs. Awards are fun; don't try to get too emotionally involved in them.

Okay, putting that aside and fully realizing some of the below will sound hypocritical, I begin with some extremely unlikely stuff I would like to see tomorrow morning, but probably won't happen at all...

That despite the highly questionable 2017 move to take away sole nominating power for Best Animated Feature from the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch (I'm guessing the Academy at-large got sick and tired of the category featuring films they hadn't seen/refused to see), I hope those who opted into voting on Best Animated Feature nominees looked beyond the major American and Japanese animation studios. Did Robot Dreams catch their eye (this was a major hit in its native Spain and France)? Maybe Perlimps (directed by Ale Abreu, who did Boy & the World)? Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia (which I admit I truly enjoyed, although I still hold the original in much higher esteem)? My Love Affair with Marriage? What about The Peasants (directed by the same team who gave us Loving Vincent)? I hope they took the time to give those films a watch, their due justice. If they don't get nominated because they didn't deserve, that's okay. But I want voters (and everyone out there) to realize the world of animation is much more than Disney/Pixar/DreamWorks/Illumination/Netflix/Sony and Studio Ghibli/Toei/Toho Company. There is so much more out there.

That Justine Triet is nominated for Best Director for Anatomy of a Fall. Give us Milo Machado Graner as a Supporting Actor nominee, too.

Another child actor in the acting categories, please. No one pins a 30-year-old Asian American male as a fan of Are You There God? It's Me Margaret. I read the book (one of the few major Judy Blume books I had never read) last year, and adored the film adaptation. But, in realization that I don't think the film is good enough for Best Picture... how about a Best Actress nod for Abby Ryder Fortson? She embodies Margaret beautifully, and strengthens this adaptation with a mature performance. She deserves it solely for escaping the Ant-Man series and not being involved in Quantumania. On another note, Rachel McAdams has taken all of the headlines for Margaret. She's fine, but I completely disagreed with her character's expanded presence in the film, as it took away from Margaret (Blume's book is entirely from Margaret's perspective).

Dominic Sessa. Supporting Actor for The Holdovers. Make it happen, please.

I haven't seen it. And this is a bit self-serving, professionally. But as the Artistic Director for Viet Film Fest, if Trần Anh Hùng's The Taste of Things is indeed deserving of a Best International Feature nomination (which, by looking at reviews, surely sounds like the case), I hope that voters do not punish the film for taking France's spot in Best International Feature instead of Anatomy of a Fall. I think the French believed that The Taste of Things represented French culture better than Anatomy of a Fall, and wanted to spread the love among potential Oscar contenders. Nevertheless, there's been a kerfuffle since France announced Trần Anh Hùng's film as their International Feature pick. Let's put that controversy aside, please.

That actors reward performances that are "showy" and nuanced. I feel like the Discourse over the last two years have been to reward maximalist performances in maximalist movies.

That voters in the music branch stop giving into the trends of amelodic, atonal, and minimalistic film scores (I'll even thrown in film scores that prioritize a "vibe" or "beat" over anything else, truly any score that is meant "not to be noticed"). We're in a moment now where younger directors (and certain auteurs who clearly have limited knowledge in the power of great melodic film music) are telling their composers - some of whom are incredibly capable artists, others not so much - that melody is old-fashioned, has no place in modern "realistic" cinema, and belongs only in musicals and animation. As a pianist/violinist who isn't that good at all and was classically trained through high school, this hurts deep. Don't be so afraid of a gorgeous melody and what it can provide to even movies aiming for realism. If the reactions as I was leaving The Zone of Interest and Poor Things the other nights were any indication, I'm becoming a endangered minority. Perhaps they should ship me to a museum so I can listen to my outdated film scores.

Am I still hurting from the sonic trash that was All Quiet's Best Original Score win last year? You bet.

Godzilla Minus One shocks us all and gets a nomination. Somewhere. Anywhere. Visual Effects? Yes please. Best Picture? Ehh, probably not, but if somehow made it, this kaiju fan would be very happy.

Okay, now for more likely things that'll happen. Some vibes need to go that way too, even if I'm a little more comfortable about the following.

That Killers of the Flower Moon can weather what appears to be a lack of support outside the United States - I get it, many non-Americans are tired of American cinema's racial reckonings on-screen - and solidly find its nominations for Picture, Director, Actress (Gladstone), Supporting Actor (De Niro), Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing, Costume Design, Production Design. Anything beyond that is a luxury to me - I waffle on the deservedness of Leonardo DiCaprio's performance and I disapprove recent trends in how AMPAS perceives what constitutes a worthy score.

That even though I personally don't think Barbie deserves to be nominated for any of the big awards, I hope it does well in the technical categories it deserves (Cinematography, Editing, Song, Costume Design, Production Design, and Visual Effects). Even if it gets nominated for Best Picture (which I think is a 90% chance right now), I don't mind at all.

Past Lives love. Celine Song? Greta Lee? Teo Yoo?

I think American Fiction is dancing 50/50 on all of its potential nominations right now. At least get Jeffrey Wright in for Actor and Cord Jefferson for Screenplay. Picture and anything else a luxury.

That the Short Film and Feature Animation Branch doesn't confuse professionally edited home movies with a worthy documentary short. Please stop.

For the record, yours truly is on Team Killers of the Flower Moon. And right now? I'm expecting the film to perform like Scorsese's The Irishman (2019) on Oscar night.

There's... a major contender of a film or two out there I'd like to see not do so well on nominations because I did not care for them (Oppenheimer is not one of them, as I think it mostly deserves the nominations that appear to be headed its way... winning those boatload of nominations, though? hmm). Those one or two films shall go nameless so as not to jinx anything. But perhaps you already parsed them out by reading the above.

#Oscars #Academy Awards #96th Academy Awards #AMPAS #Killers of the Flower Moon #Oppenheimer #Past Lives #The Zone of Interest #American Fiction #The Holdovers #Barbie #Anatomy of a Fall #The Taste of Things #Robot Dreams #Perlimps #Ernest and Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia #My Love Affair with Marriage #The Peasants