#action sequences are difficult bro

[loquaciousquark]

Final Thoughts

Okay! I went back and replayed the final sequence again and was much, much happier with both how everyone looked sans helmets and with some randomly varied flavor text in the background. I remain really, really happy overall with how this game ended both generally and for my particular runthrough.

The run-up to the Morphic Pool was really, REALLY creepy, and I liked the ways they threw all the li'l brainies at you to start wearing down the group resources. It does remain hilarious that the noodle-armed rogue was rowing the boat, though maybe that's why we couldn't get out of the way of the stalactite in time. The brain was fun gross and I couldn't quite tell--was the voice the same as the narrator? That would have been a nice touch! I did absolutely roll a natural 20 on that DC 99 check to Dominate the Brain (loved that setup in the dialogue window), but alas, the brain took off to destroy everything anyway. The biggest issue I had here was figuring out how to get past that dumb pile of rocks for that very mediocre chest.

In the Astral Plane, I managed to get enough brains to craft several potions of psychic resistance that I never used, but which made me feel better to have. There was never a chance my Tav was going to let Orpheus stay bound (I'm still working on her backstory, but I know she comes into the game feeling strongly anti-authoritarian and only gets moreso over the course of the events), so the only question I had was what was going to happen to the Emperor when I made that choice.

Sidebar--the Ansur fight & environ was one of my absolute favorite locales of the entire game. I loved the set design, the puzzles, the music, the reveals, and the final fight--I thought it was a fantastic setpiece altogether, and the reveal that the Dream Guardian was not only an illithid, but Balduran, made me actually gasp. Getting a conclusion to that questline as narratively satisfying as this one made me really happy, and Wyll's response to its conclusion with his dad--becoming the Blade of Avernus--I also thought was incredibly fitting for both that character and the choices he made within this world.

Anyway, I played through becoming an illithid just to see what happened (Astarion's comment about preferring any option that doesn't change your beautiful face--I felt that, bro), and as soon as I saw that grey triangle torso I was like, nope, sorry Prince, tagging you right back in on this one. Just can't do it, even when the fate of the city's on the line. I've spent too many hours looking at her janky eyes and her scarred lip to turn them all into tentacles now. I wasn't surprised the Emperor turned on me, but I didn't expect him to just full-on go Netherbrain and leave us in his rainbow skull.

I loved, loved, love the rally scene in the High Hall. What an awesome way to remind you of how many ways you've made a difference in some of these quests. The owlbear & Dannon along with the Strange Ox were my favorites, but seeing Barcus, Zevlor, and even Isobel & Dame Aylin was just wonderful. Really loved this entire sequence.

This is the first time I've ever really both utilized summoned allies in a big fight like this and also felt how much they turned the tide! A fantastic balanced encounter in the courtyard, and I called down so many Harpers & Fists & the owlbear & the dragonfire (so COOL) and Yurgir (got stuck in a building and did poke damage for the rest of the fight) and Rolan's tower (absolutely LOVED that you could save his fam & they could come live with him). It truly took an encounter that was really, really difficult into something absolutely manageable and in some ways quite easy. They told you to gather allies and by GOD I GATHERED ALLIES. I feel rewarded for my exploration!!

Of course, it then became utterly paramount to keep all summoned allies alive, but thankfully that wasn't much of an issue. My rogue by the end of this had Celestial Haste, two cunning action dashes, extra movement from momentum, and could easily clear 120+ ft a round and still have actions at the end of her movement. Plus she had a longbow that gave Guiding Bolt on a hit (GOD it's such a good longbow, I want to go back and play more combat just to play with it again), so even the few times the mindflayers were able to Dominate some Harpers I was able to get over there with either her or Lae'zel jumping rampart to rampart across the entire map & break their concentration. A super fun, exciting fight with a lot of variety. Orpheus is powerful as a mindflayer! The power is not small! He just doesn't have a horizontal mouth or a nose anymore & I can't do that to Tav!

Still never figured out how to get into that blocked-off area at the south of that map. Found a random forum post that suggested there was a chasm you could jump into to access the "Upper City Sewers," but the only things I found in the chasms was death, womp womp.

Anyway, got up to the brain (very cool cutscene! Not a snowball's chance my Tav was actually able to haul herself up that stem!) and REALLY liked the brain fight. I didn't have any issues navigating it (though a timer on the battle is always cool!) and only got Lae'zel & Orpheus killed once on the first run when I didn't understand how the Marked for Negation electric balls worked. The final cutscene where the brain fell in the water was beautifully animated; I loved seeing those NPCs keep cropping up in this sequence. I liked the image of everyone hauling themselves out of the bay onto the dock & Astarion complaining bitterly about how often he's having to swim on this trip.

My first run-through of the final dock conversation made me very sad. I didn't like Minsc's pithy comment about sunflowers for Astarion at all, and I hated watching Karlach's heart break behind that hideous helmet. (The stats were so good, and the aesthetics were so awful...she was in my party 99% of the time so Hide Helmet worked almost always...except when it mattered the most, ugh.) The second time, being able to see her face & Wyll's really helped that scene land and it really, really worked for me. I still don't think there's a fantastic in-universe Watsonian explanation for why we can't fix her engine for good with all these acres of infernal iron we've been collecting, but ACCEPTING THAT ON FACE VALUE FOR THE MOMENT I thought the writing and acting in that entire sequence were beautiful. Karlach's voice actress in particular just wrecked me. Beautiful, beautiful writing at the end; just wish the structural tentpoles were a little stronger to justify the moment.

On my second, helmet-less runthrough, when Astarion started to burn, Halsin made a much more sober comment along the lines of "he will miss that freedom; it may be some time before we see him again," and I much preferred that. It felt right in line with how my Tav felt about the situation, and she was very grateful for his empathy there. I still wish we'd figured out a way to have a celebration or something together, though I appreciate Wyll & Karlach's absence would have put a serious damper on things.

I am glad, I think, that I waited to see Karlach's ending after the patch. This read so determinedly hopeful, even with the very bittersweet sting, that I think to have anything less would have really undercut her journey even more than the options we currently have. All in all, I was very satisfied with sending her and Wyll to Avernus while we figure out how to fix her. Their final cutscene charging into the credits was the bomb.

The Astarion wrap-up scene was almost, ALMOST perfect. The choice to tell him we'd find a way to get him back in the sun was EXACTLY what I wanted to say (which was a theme in this game--there were only a handful of places in the entire game where I was frustrated by not being able to react the way I wanted--so impressive, Larian!). I just wish they'd been able to have one kiss in a room with walls and a ceiling, weh.

Anyway! The game is over, I'm immensely satisfied with all outcomes and party storylines with a few minor asterisks here and there, and I'm already plotting out several pieces to flesh out the places I want to explore. The characters are so rich and dynamic and reactive, the world feels so very real and robust, and I'm eager to live in it a little longer. I don't think I'm going to start another playthrough anytime soon--for me my first run is usually "canon", and I want to sit and marinate in this version of the world a little longer--but eventually I'll probably try a Durge just to see what the deal is. It'll honestly be incredibly hard not to romance Astarion, but we'll see! Maybe I'll just make Tavish again with a tweaked backstory. I don't know much about the Durge at all, so it'd be pretty blind!

What a good game. What a good time! I probably will go back and see what achievements I can pull easily--I was delighted to get one for "saving every tiefling possible through the end of the game," yeah boiiiii. Now to unblacklist everyone and see what the heck I've missed out on while spending every waking moment smooching an insufferable elf!

#quark plays bg3 #bg3 spoilers #baldur's gate 3 #tavish gale

[thegayestminotaur]

What’s your All or Nothing AU about? I’m pretty curious about it, IK it focuses on Dr. Venture (had hair LOL) and Dr. Orpheus. Srsly I am interested about it and its lore. 👀

I'm really gonna try hard to be brief here.

The basic gist is that after Season 2 Ep. 10 "I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills", Byron and Rusty start dating. Their relationship is rocky at first for various reason, like the fact that Rusty is kind of a terrible person and has a lot of internalized homophobia and Byron's unresolved trauma following his divorce along with his rather lawful personality clashing with Rusty's chaotic nature. They do fall in love, of course. I'm not in the business of writing a slowburn with this one. Dr. Henry Killinger showing up during Season 3 Ep. 2 "The Doctor Is Sin" is a major turning point for Rusty in the fic. Upon the revelation that Rusty is in love with Byron, Killinger switches from setting Rusty up as a supervillain to setting him up for superscience success. Ya know. Because Byron wouldn't like dating a villain. It's hard work, but by following Killinger's 'Action Plan', Rusty's able to go from literal joke to a superscience powerhouse. The fic is split into two parts. The first part is a pretty straightforward romance that goes over Rusty and Byron's relationship up to and a little ways after them getting married during the events of All This and Gargantua-2. The second part is more of an action-thriller that goes over Rusty's fight against... well... everybody. First it's just Guild, but after Rusty gets shot in the head during a protest in NYC, he declares war on the NYPD. Not like, actual gunfire and bullets war, but when you're a billionaire living in the USA, you can do a lot of shit that makes life difficult for people and Rusty is nothing if not petty. By sheer unbridled spite, he starts threatening to tip the balance of power that the OSI has carefully maintained so Hunter declares him too dangerous to live. Turns out, though, that it's incredibly hard to kill Rusty now since he has been training to not be hit and also is married to a dude who can bring people back from the dead. But while Hunter is concerned with Rusty taking over the world because he's too petty to stop and think, Rusty's concerned with something way beyond the scope of governments and Secret Governments. Aliens. Okay, okay, hang on, now - Aliens are canon to Venture Bros. In Season 2 Ep. 5 "20 Years To Midnight" we actually see two different aliens. One of them happens to be one I quote all the time with the wonderful line "IGNORE ME!" But like... if Jonas Sr was communicating with aliens to the point where 20 Years To Midnight happens and he maybe felt like the construction of Gargantua-1 was necessary (this is just me speculating) then why don't we see them again? (Probably because the series was cancelled i'm fiiineeee :'''3) but I think with both Rusty and Byron advancing their respective talents in leaps and bounds to the point where OSI considers them too dangerous to be left alone, then a threat from outside Earth makes perfect sense.

Plus, this way I can also write "Hyper-Competent 21, The Monarch, and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch Threesome" because The Monarch always steps up his game to match Rusty's EMA (Equally Matched Aggression Rating) and I love that also sooo But why does Rusty have hair? During the events of the fic, Rusty takes a look at the DNA sequences his dad left behind and realizes that his genome is fucked up. (This is canonically confirmed in Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart, but is something that you can glean through other episodes/seasons.) In fic, he goes in and uses gene therapy to patch things up a bit which causes some minor physical changes.

Don't get me wrong, I also love canon Rusty. He's a pathetic lil meow meow, a totally wet lil bastard, and I love him. I have nothing wrong with his bald headed-ness, but this way you/I can see the progression of him in fic from Pathetic Bastard to Hyper-competent Alien Fighter depending on how much hair and which facial scars he has. Same thing with Byron and his scars and how pointy I draw his ears and teeth.

#venture bros #all or nothing au #ask tag #rusty venture #byron orpheus #rustyxbyron #anon asks #asks #asks open #good question #kind of a long answer #god there's so much more to this #already the fic is like 200k words and i'm not done with the first part yet #though this is the first draft and i kinda just write until i'm done and then trim down

[kevinsreviewcatalogue]

Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, strong language, suggestive/drug references and thematic elements

<Originally posted at https://kevinsreviewcatalogue.blogspot.com/2023/05/review-guardians-of-galaxy-vol-3-2023.html>

Score: 5 out of 5

It's difficult to deny that, right now, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is in a bit of a funk. Some of it is due to the COVID-19 pandemic having scrambled a lot of plans, disrupted production on the films, and forced the franchise to take a two-year break from theaters and thus interrupt the constant flow of new films that fans had grown accustomed to, with only TV side-projects like WandaVision and Loki on Disney+ to tide them over. Another part of it, however, is that, after the big, smashing finale that was Avengers: Endgame, there's been kind of a feeling of "what now?" in the air. The big supervillain who had been hyped up for years had been confronted and defeated in a truly epic throwdown, and it was gonna be hard to recapture that high. It was the same problem that superhero comics and pulp novels faced in the late '40s when their writers could no longer just have their heroes fight a rogues' gallery of despicable Nazi scumbags (man, did ODESSA become a lifesaver for them), or beefcake action flicks in the '90s once the fall of the USSR did the same for their once-inexhaustible supply of despicable communist scumbags.

Marvel tried, but their solution, going cosmic and embracing the multiverse, aliens, and other worlds, turned the series into a convoluted mess that required viewers to pay attention to continuity in a way that made each new installment feel like homework. This had always been a complaint about the MCU, but up through and including Spider-Man: No Way Home it was a problem that I always thought was overblown, with the films mostly standing up on their own outside of the big, heavily-advertised event crossovers. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, however, was a film where you had to have watched WandaVision if you wanted to know what the hell was going on, and while I (and many others) did watch WandaVision and thus more or less liked it as a sequel to that show, I noticed that it was a lot more dense and reliant on MCU lore than past films had been. Thor: Love and Thunder, meanwhile, fell prey to another perennial MCU problem that I once thought was exaggerated by the franchise's critics, an overreliance on lighthearted humor to the point where it softened and cheapened what should have felt like very high stakes within the story. I didn't even see Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, but going by the fact that it's one of the few MCU films that both critics and audiences outright rejected, I wasn't missing much, especially given the complaints made about it.

But then we come to the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. I hesitate to even call these superhero movies, seeing them more as throwbacks to old-fashioned space opera in the vein of Star Wars and Flash Gordon with more of a self-aware sense of humor. Only rarely do they cross over with the rest of the MCU, instead seeming to exist in their own little corner of the galaxy far away from the goings-on with Earth, the multiverse, and the quantum realm. Moreover, in a series whose writers and directors are infamously treated as cogs in a broader machine where one could argue that the real creative visionary is the series' producer Kevin Feige, it's generally acknowledged that these films are the product of one singular creative voice, that of writer/director James Gunn, whose success with the Guardians films has gotten him put in charge of rebooting Warner Bros.' floundering DC Extended Universe. And most importantly, they have always been among the best movies in the MCU, and arguably did as much as Joss Whedon's work did to set the witty, humorous tone that became one of the series' trademarks. I'm convinced that, years from now when pop culture looks back on the "golden age" of the MCU, they're gonna rank the Guardians trilogy up there with Black Panther, Endgame, and the entirety of "Phase One" from Iron Man through The Avengers as the films that defined the franchise.

And I did say "trilogy" back there. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 not only feels like Gunn's swan song with the series before he packs his bags and heads to Warner Bros., it is one of the MCU's finest hours, up there with all the films I just mentioned as one of the best in the entire franchise. It is a reminder of why I fell in love with this series to begin with, pairing a fun, planet-hopping adventure filled with stunning locales with a shockingly dark story anchored by one of the most evil monsters of a villain this franchise has ever had. Both Gunn and the whole cast were on top of their game, the action was exciting and spectacular, it pushed the limits of the PG-13 rating almost to the breaking point (parents, consider that your warning), and beneath its already meaty story lays some even deeper subtext about eugenics, animal cruelty, and how we treat marginalized people and those we otherwise see as "beneath" us. I can barely come up with any real things to complain about, and once the climax rolled up I was ready to literally start cheering in the theater. This movie truly feels like the end of an era for the MCU no less than Endgame was, an absolute home run that they're gonna be very hard-pressed to top and proof that the franchise hasn't completely lost its touch.

We start in the space colony of Knowhere at the headquarters of the Guardians of the Galaxy, at this point comprised of the returning characters Peter "Star-Lord" Quill, Drax the Destroyer, Mantis, Rocket, Groot, and Nebula and two new members, the reformed space pirate Kraglin and the intelligent, telekinetic Soviet space dog Cosmo. We waste no time before they get attacked by Adam Warlock, a superhuman who's been sent to capture Rocket by the High Evolutionary, a mad scientist cut from the same cloth as Dr. Moreau who, as it turns out, was the one who made Rocket into the intelligent animal he is today, and wants his creation back in order to study his brain. While the Guardians drive off Adam, Rocket gets grievously wounded in the crossfire, and what's more, some of the cybernetic implants in his body (specifically a "kill switch" that the High Evolutionary put in him) prevent them from tending to his wounds. With Rocket laid up in the medbay, the Guardians, teaming up with a new version of Gamora who leads a band of space pirates, set out to learn how to turn off the kill switch so they can heal him, which puts them on a direct collision course with the High Evolutionary himself.

There is no nuance when it comes to the High Evolutionary. He's not a well-intentioned extremist, out for vengeance, driven by ideology, a pawn of a greater villain, or an eldritch god or monster who's above human ideas of good and evil. No, he's simply an evil sack of shit who wields godlike power over anybody he perceives as his lesser (which is to say, nearly everyone he meets) in order to feed his own ego. There's no justification for his actions, especially once the film starts showing, in vivid detail via flashbacks, exactly what he did to Rocket all those years ago. We see that he's settled entire planets with his creations, only to slaughter them all with the press of a button when he decides that one of his "experiments" has failed -- and the planet we get to see is designed to resemble 1980s America and wound up including its vices like the crack epidemic and the hollowed-out inner cities, just in case you missed the subtext about this country's policy towards the disadvantaged from the Reagan years onward. And he makes it absolutely personal for Rocket. Every single thing about this character, from Chukwudi Iwuji's amazing performance as an absolutely unhinged egomaniac to his laundry list of crimes against animals, science, nature, basic decency, and every god you can think of, is designed to get you to eagerly anticipate the moment when the Guardians as a whole, and Rocket in particular, come in and righteously whoop this bastard's ass.

And while he may spend most of the movie bedridden, if there's any one hero who's central to the plot here, it's Rocket. Bradley Cooper gets a lot to chomp on in the flashbacks that show us his backstory, where it felt like Gunn had spent a lot of time watching The Secret of NIMH as he wrote this film, showing Rocket's upbringing in a world of hazardous experiments and body horror where he had only a few anchors to hold onto. It is a gripping story that, while it tries to maintain a light touch and avoid getting too grim, will ultimately make you cry at the star-crossed romance between a raccoon and an otter, just as the first film managed to convince you that an intelligent raccoon could be an action hero. It is a downright heartbreaking story, and it's here where Cooper becomes this film's other great MVP, a role that could not have worked if it didn't have an outstanding performance to back it up. This is up there with Multiverse of Madness as one of the few MCU movies where, if I had kids younger than ten or so, I would hesitate to bring them to the theater simply because of how dark certain scenes get. But for the very same reason, it is one of the most intensely rewarding films in the series, and one that I wouldn't hesitate to bring kids to if I knew they were emotionally mature enough to handle it, especially once it gets to its triumphant climax.

Rocket, of course, is not the sole focus here, as the present-day storyline has the other Guardians do all the heavy lifting. All of them are back in full form, each having evolved over the years along with their roles in the team. One of the biggest stories goes to Peter and Gamora, who had been a couple in the past only for Gamora to now have no memory of her time with the Guardians thanks to some wonky time-travel shenanigans in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. It plays out like a broken relationship where, even though Gamora is still fundamentally the same person who fell in love with Peter, Peter's baggage with the "old" Gamora he loved complicates everything. Nebula, too, has to once again reconcile with her half-sister now that Gamora has no memory of having done so in the past, resetting their relationship on Gamora's end back to one of mutual hostility even though Nebula has started to move on from her traumatic past. The empath Mantis is increasingly sick of being the one who has to manage everyone's feelings, Drax learns how to better handle his emotions, and Groot... is still Groot. The returning cast was once more as great as ever, and their interactions felt real, like a group of people who all had history with each other for better or worse in a way that calls back to the prior films but isn't completely dependent on you having seen them in order to understand what the hell is going on. Kraglin and Cosmo, respectively played by Sean Gunn (James' brother) and voiced by Maria Bakalova, also had a fun subplot back on Knowhere while the rest of the Guardians were off on their adventure, while Will Poulter was underused but memorable as Adam Warlock, the High Evolutionary's recurring manchild henchman who pursues the Guardians and eventually comes to question his own purpose. It felt like he was here mainly to set him up for future movies, but the film used him well enough that I was able to forgive it.

Last but not least, we come to James Gunn, up there with Joss Whedon as probably one of the most important creative visionaries the MCU ever had. The set design, from the gritty, bustling cyberpunk city of Knowhere to a biological space station made of grotesque living tissue to an alien version of classic Amblin/Spielberg suburbia, was always distinctive and unique, feeling lived-in and grounded in a way that belied Gunn's old-fashioned love of practical effects. His B-movie roots, meanwhile, come to play in the grotesque horrors we see inflicted on humans, animals, and aliens alike, from medical experiments to a man getting graphically fried by Adam's heat vision in a scene I'm honestly surprised didn't get this movie an R rating. The action scenes were spectacular and weighty, especially a hallway battle between the Guardians and a horde of the High Evolutionary's goons during the third act that I've seen compared to Zack Snyder, of all filmmakers. The humor, a trademark of both Gunn's films and the MCU, is definitely there, but Gunn remembers the difference between comedy and levity, and uses jokes less to create a good-time atmosphere and more to keep the movie from getting grim while pumping the viewer up for the heroes' ultimate triumph. By the climax, I knew exactly where this movie was going to go, and I was ready to start pumping my fist in the air for it.

The Bottom Line

I wanna see this movie again. That's something I haven't said about a Marvel Cinematic Universe film in too long, but it's the truth. It's the capstone to a trilogy of three of the best films in the entire franchise, and I'm excited to see what Gunn does next.

#guardians of the galaxy #guardians of the galaxy vol. 3 #gotg #gotg vol 3 #2023 #marvel cinematic universe #mcu #superhero #superhero movies #action #action movies #science fiction #sci fi #sci fi movies #james gunn #chris pratt #zoe saldana #bradley cooper #karen gillan #vin diesel #will poulter #dave bautista #pom klementieff #sean gunn #chukwudi iwuji

[agentnico]

The Flash (2023) Review

“You wanna get nuts? Lets get nuts!”

Plot: Worlds collide when the Flash uses his superpowers to travel back in time to change the events of the past. However, when his attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future, he becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod has returned, threatening annihilation. With no other superheroes to turn to, the Flash looks to coax a very different Batman out of retirement and rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian - albeit not the one he's looking for.

The Flash is finally out. After nearly a decade of delays, changes in directors and script rewrites, we’ve finally reached the point where the movie has actually graced our cinema screens. So yep, not as bad as Avatar, but this movie is pretty late to the party so to speak. It comes at a time when Warner Bros. had just merged with Discovery and the DCEU is being disbanded to create the new DC Studios helmed by James Gunn and Peter Safran. As a result The Flash now acts as an unofficial finale to what has come thus far, with additionally also introducing the multiverse due to multiverses being so hot right now with all things movies and superheroes. So yep, no Henry Cavill’s Superman here, no Dwayne “Black Adam” Johnson changing any hierarchies, yet there are just maybe a couple of different Batmen and the director of those It movies is on board. And in the middle of it all a big elephant named Ezra.

We need to talk about Kevin. Or more-so Ezra. Is it weird seeing them front and centre in the titular role of this movie following all those news stories of them strangling folks and getting arrested on multiple occasions? Yes it’s weird! And moreover there’s not one, but in fact two Barry’s in this film, which means Ezra’s face is all over the screen. I must say personally with hearing about their real life misconducts, seeing Ezra in the film was very distracting, and quite difficult to care for his character when his psychotic eyes are constantly just there. Also, the way Miller plays the character comes off very annoying, so I cannot even defend them from a performance standpoint. For a maddo at the very least they could have at least tried to convincingly play a good guy. I’m hearing that Warner Bros. is considering sequel options if this film performs well at the box office, however personally I believe they should cut ties with Ezra Miller right away, or at least until we see real progress from their recovery. 

As for the rest of the film, ever since this film was hyped up by critics after its CinemaCon screening a few months back, there was this expectation that this movie was something special. However upon seeing it I must admit it was simply okay. Not by any means terrible, but nowhere close to being great. The central narrative of Barry’s struggles of wanting to get his parents back is solid, however all the multiversal fan-service feels more so like a walkthrough of DC’s greatest hits. Especially in the final third where we get certain expected cameos, they feel very forced and very much a “look at all these lovely chums!”. Even Michael Keaton’s return as Batman, though his action sequences were fun, the actual character was given little to nothing to do. And in terms of dialogue, all of Keaton’s lines are mainly what I’d call ‘trailer lines’ - lines that work perfectly in the trailer to sell the movie but in context of the film are just there to have the character say something cool for the sake of it. You know the “you wanna get nuts? Let’s get nuts” line from the trailer? Yep, Keaton does say it in the movie but it feels very awkward in the moment and forced. I’m all for fan-service if its done well, like in No Way Home and Across the Spider-Verse where in both the fan service was used to benefit the story and the momentum of the scenes. In The Flash it all felt really disjointed. 

Visually the opening sequence where we first see Barry go into superspeed is done really really well, however at the same time in a lot of other moments the CGI looks really fake. Especially when there are two Barry’s on-screen, you could always tell which one was the double that had a CGI’d Ezra face tacked on. For a movie that has a $200+ budget you’d expect the special effects to be smoother. Again though, I don’t want to bash on the director, I do feel Andy Muschietti brings a lot of comic-book flair and does try to provide an exciting action romp, and overall the movie is fun if forgettable and messy.

In terms of the cast, already mentioned Ezra Miller’s creepy notions, and Michael Keaton is a delight if very much a “show me the money” type of performance. Ben Affleck’s Batman is only in a couple of scenes, however just reminded me of how solid he was a Batman and its a shame we’ve never seen an actual proper Batman film with his character. Michael Shannon as Zod looks visibly bored and confused, which is very much in line with what the actor said to the press where he had no clue what the hell was going but wished everyone to have fun anyway. Oh the lovely Michael Shannon! Sasha Calle as Supergirl was actually really good! She donned the suit well and even though wasn’t in the movie long, she still managed to leave an impression. And as for the cameos, there are some fun ones but overall because of the abundance the surprise factor simply was not there. 

Overall, The Flash is a passable superhero flick that will surely please fans of these characters, however the messy script, the over-reliance on multiversal cameos, the mediocre CGI and a creepy Ezra taking the scene, I expect this movie to be forgotten much sooner than it took this film to come out from development hell. I am aware I am in the minority on this, but unfortunately I just didn’t go nuts for this one.

Overall score: 5/10

#the flash #action #adventure #the flash review #ezra miller #michael keaton #sasha calle #ben affleck #kiersey clemons #michael shannon #maribel verdú #andy muschietti #dc comics #dceu #movie #film #superheroes #2023 #2023 in film #2023 films #movie reviews #film reviews #cinema #barry allen #batman #warner bros #dc studios #multiverse

[princeandhisboyfriends]

Ok y’all, just watched the season finale of the boys, and boy do we have a lot to talk about.

First off, Butcher x the consequences of his own actions? A ship I love, that was great. But I really hate that they had to throw Ryan in there, because they’ve inherently made it an impossible scenario now.

Option A: they have to leave Homelander alone on the off chance he’d do right by Ryan. First scene of them together already showing this isn’t a real option.

Option B: they manage to get the boy away from him, somehow, but it would likely make him hate them for taking him from the only person who he sees as loving him, turning him even more towards Homelander’s side. Also bad.

Option C: they manage to kill HL, somehow, without doing either A or B. This will immediately turn the boy against them: see option b. Now they have a mini HL on their hands.

Option D: they end up having to kill Ryan, or Ryan willingly takes the fall to prevent HL from dying, making HL worse and basically ruining the morality of anyone left, not to mention worsening Butcher’s last months on this earth.

In conclusion, impossible scenario. I’m going with the most likely one being B or C. Given Ryan’s new mastery of his powers, likely C, as it would be difficult to get him and keep him away.

Next in line: Butcher’s expiration date, and wether they’re actually going to keep it, plot-wise. Because if they go for any sense of reality, which is up for debate, he actually only has a handful of months at most being functional. The only possibility I can see of them fixing that is giving Butcher real V as a Hail Mary, and even if they wanted to the man would rather die unless he had certainty that he could die after killing HL. And for certain reasons, I don’t think they’re willing to do a whole arc where Butcher is just actively attempting to die.

Third, can we all give a wahoo for Maeve’s escape? Good for her, she fucking deserves it. And she likely wouldn’t have gotten it if not for the fact that the da base would have rioted if she’d been used as a token gay in the exact way Vought was doing and then just killed her off to further the audience’s suffering.

Fourth, fuck yeah on the democracy for the boys, good for fucking them. Frenchie especially, my love, my life. And Kimiko, we love her so much in this house. Her dance sequence? Chef’s kiss, she deserves her music and love and violence. And MM’s growth, like my baby, my dude, my bro, you deserve the world. I’m so glad you’re getting healing and acceptance from your family.

Fifth, they pushed realllly hard on that Hughie-Lenny comparison. Realllllly hard. It’s impressive how hard they pushed that. They really must not have liked the shipping shit. Shame, that, but I kinda like the new dynamic too, from what I’ve seen of it. I’m not sure we’ll see much more, I have a feeling Butcher is an avoidant pos to the bone and will try to push hughie away even more now that he’s made the connection between him and Lenny and knows he’s going to die soon, just like he did with Ryan.

Also kinda hate that they’ve just glossed over the fact that Hughie has also taken the number of doses needed to kill you, and that now that he’s decidedly off the temp V that he’s fine. That’s not how drug use works, and certainly not how damaging drugs work. But you know, plot armor.

I’m sure I’ll have more, but that’s all for now. Also I’m sorry, I don’t know how to do a page break on mobile.

#billy butcher #the boys #hughie campbell #mother’s milk #marvin mm milk #mm the boys #frenchie #kimiko #*heart eyes* #the boys amazon #season 3 #the boys spoilers #season 3 finale #guys woah #I have So Many Thoughts

[herbgerblin]

taako gets (very politely) kidnapped by the bird king p.9

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | AO3

Taako was very young when he noticed the flock of birds. He and Lup would always go to the park right after school. The more time they spent outside, the less time they spent at home. The current relative they stayed with wouldn’t let them play games, or watch tv, or even read their favorite books. As soon as they got home it was cleaning, followed by a terrible dinner, followed by homework, followed by bed.

The twins would sit cross legged in the low hanging branch of a giant oak tree, resting not too far from the gazebo that stood in the middle of the park near their apartment complex. Lup would read a book on evocation, a book she had to con an older student out of since they weren’t supposed to learn higher levels of magic until they were in high school. Taako laid lazily on the more open end of the branch, watching as people jogged by or walked their dogs, half paying attention to whatever musician decided to perform in the gazebo.

Taako liked the way the birds would crowd around the structure’s roof as soon as the music started. It wasn’t often that it was good music. But still, they would gather and peek their little heads down, as if listening intently. Sometimes Taako would reach into his backpack, grab the remnants of a half eaten sandwich, and throw pieces of the crust to the birds. The birds would chirp and peck at the bread, seemingly appreciative.

“You should use bird seed instead of bread,” Lup said.

“You’re a bird seed,” Taako replied. Lup kicked his leg and Taako almost fell out of the tree. 

He made sure to bring some bird seed next time.

—

Taako’s eyes flutter open. Momentary confusion leaves him staring at the ceiling for an indiscernible amount of time. After a short mental assessment, he deems his faculties in working order. He’s laying on something soft, for sure. The area around him is quiet. So what happened?

Everything comes back to him slowly: falling through the portal, landing on the large bed in his chambers, passing the fuck out because that’s the second portal he’s entered through in the span on an hour, the sight of Kravitz looking like the God Damned Spectre of Death!

That particular thought launches Taako out of bed. He nearly trips over his own slippers, rushing across the large room and immediately going for the satchel hidden under the vanity. He moves the stool out of the way and grabs it, eyes darting around for anything else useful.`

“Taako!” says a voice, and Taako looks up to see the raven standing on the stool right beside him.

“You!” Taako exclaims. “You have to let me go!” The bird flies to the other side of the room. Taako turns and glares at her. “You brought me in here, you can let me out!”

“Kravitz,” the raven replies, puffing up her feathers.

“I don’t want to hear it,” Taako says. “Kravitz mentioned nothing about the warden of a fuckin’ ghost prison. And Taako’s not going to run the risk of being the next one sent there. You of all people should be sympathetic.” Any other time he’d be getting on his own case for arguing with a bird. But he was far too pissed to make light of the situation. 

“Caution,” the raven seems to urge. Taako scoffs.

He turns away from the bird and goes back to searching. Maybe for a spell component, something he can use to magic his own way out. His rummaging is interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps. The doors to the chamber swing open and Lup rushes in, full of excitement.

“Holy fucking shit Taako!” She exclaims. She points to the windows, which Taako only just now takes the opportunity to notice.

The first thing that catches his eye is the fact that it’s day out. Early morning, judging by how dim the sunlight is. He can see through the windows that the sea is a deeper blue than the sky. But now, instead of its typical motionless, mirror like appearance, the sea is being stirred up in waves. A decent distance away, swarms of—something—surge just above the water’s surface. The something is dark and terrifying, cycling into a funnel like a hurricane. It approaches the castle steadily, churning even more water as it approaches.

The sight sends a shiver down Taako’s spine. “We have to go,” he says, tugging on her arm. 

“Go? What?” Lup asks. She gestures at the windows. “There’s a veritable ghost storm outside! Don’t you wanna go bust some ghosts?” 

Of course that’s where her investment lies, the nerd.

“I most certainly do not,” He replies. “I want to go home.”

“Home?” Lup asks, excitement dampening. She takes in the unsettled look in her brother’s face with some concern. “Wait, Taako. Did something happen with you and Krav?”

“Yeah, something happened,” Taako says. He starts walking towards the double doors. “A whole lot of spooky shit that cha’boy is ill equipped to handle right now.” He points at the bird, now perched on the back of a nearby couch. “Also the raven over here can make portals and didn’t tell me, and now she won’t let me leave.”

The raven begins to flap her wings at him, before there is a flash of magic around her, and she vanishes into thin air.

“I—That’s-” Lup’s eyes dart between Taako and the spot where the bird suddenly disappeared from, looking even more concerned. She grabs her brother’s hand and speaks to him gently. “I was in one of the libraries with Maggie when shit started hitting the fan. Davenport said some rogue spirits broke out of ghost jail or whatever, and the king had to go fend them off. I’ve been all over the castle trying to find you!”

“Yeah?” Taako asks. He heads to the door and pushes it open. “Well, you found me. And frankly, I’m pretty ready to check on out.”

“Listen, ko,” Lup says, trailing behind him. “I’ll jump ship with you, I will. But everyone else here seemed pretty calm about the situation. I think they have it under control.”

As soon as they access the bridge, they are hit with a terrible surge of wind. The hurricane, still far away, grows closer. The twins glance back at it momentarily, then keep going. 

“Look!” Lup says, pointing downward. They both catch sight of Lucretia, standing in the middle of the open platform a short distance below.

Lucretia waves her arms frantically, clearly casting a spell. A bright light shoots from her palms, and a shield goes up around the southern wing of the castle. The wind around it stops immediately. From the eastern and western sides, similar shields go up. The twins watch as a few birds flutter from the roofs of several chambers—some flock close to the castle like sentinels, the rest go out over the sea towards the legion of angry spirits.

“See,” Lup says. “They’ve got it.”

In the distance, the swirl of angry spirits still approach. Taako doesn’t trust that for a moment. He continues across the bridge and jingles his satchel of jewelry at her. “You’ve got your bag full of gold, right? I say we get it, and try to talk one of the guys into letting us go home.”

Lup sighs, but doesn’t bother trying to argue. “My room is just down the hall. I’ll grab my purse and see if I can find Barry. He might be able to help.”

The twins rush down the hallway. They come to the intersection in the center, where all the chambers connect. Barry, Magnus, and Merle are there, seemingly in discussion about the storm.

“There you guys are,” Barry says, as all three catch sight of the twin’s approach. “We should head further into the base of the palace, it’s a lot safer there than up here.”

“Hold on a second, babe,” Lup says, grabbing his hand. “Merle, you and Maggie go ahead outside; We’re going to need your help real quick.”

“Or you could come help us out!” Magnus says, getting all excited by the idea. “Creesh is good with the shields, but there are a looootta ghosties out there at the moment, and if we’re not careful, some could slip into the palace.”

“Davenport is out on the water already,” Merle says. “None of us were able to get a good view of the shore till the sun was up. He said he would patrol it and get back with a report.”

“Taako’s good out here,” Taako replies. “Actually, Taako’s not. Barold, could you conjure up a portal to our house?”

“You...you guys are trying to leave?” Barry asks, glancing from Taako to Lup. Lup bites her lip.

“Yeah,” Taako says. “The extended vacay has been fun, but uh...Taako’s done.”

“What about the king?” Merle asks. “You seemed pretty set on marrying him.”

“Well, you know what they say about shotgun weddings. You don’t—”

“GET DOWN!” Magnus shouts, leaping over the rest of them as a surge of wind breaks through the southern facing windows, sending shattering glass scattered everywhere. They all crouch under Magnus’s big, beefy frame, not peeking up until the wind changes direction. Merle quickly throws up a shield spell to make up for the broken windows.

“We need to get to the base of the castle,” Barry repeats. “We’ll sort everything else out later!”

“Ugh, fine!” Taako replies, already moving. “Let’s go!”

The group makes their way down a winding walkway that leads to the innermost section of the castle. There, a chamber stocked with food and supplies awaits them. Some of them take seats on milk crates, while others opt for wine barrels. Their movements kick up a bit of dusts, which send them all into a bit of a sneezing fit.

“Do you guys ever need to come down here?” Taako asks, casting prestidigitation to clear away some of the dust.

“Not really,” Merle replies. “The castle is pretty self-sufficient. And the stockade is usually kept pretty secure. The King checks it on his rounds every day.”

“Oh, I wonder,” Lup says, in a dramatic voice. “What could’ve caused the king to deviate from his daily rounds.” Her eyes fall on Taako. He sticks his tongue at her, and is tempted to conjure some more dust to fling in her direction.

Their banter is then interrupted by an unexpected broadcast.

“Guys, I need help!” says a voice that sounds a lot like Lucretia, carried through the air via the typical hallmarks of a messenger’s spell.

“What’s wrong?” Magnus asks, responding to the message. Another one follows quickly.

“The north, east, and west shield spells are holding fine, but I’m having trouble holding the south one, and the legion is coming this way. I need a distraction.”

“We’re on it!” Merle replies, hopping off his crate. He looks at the twins. “You two can stay here if you want.”

“No, I wanna come with!” Lup says, jumping up, all excitement. Her eyes dance with ideas. “If you did chill touch with frostbite, you might be able to freeze the legion to the sea.”

“That—” Barry starts, the gears turning in his head. “That could be a way of rendering it immobile.” He looks at Lup, starting to match her excitement. “Let’s go try it out.”

Lup beams and looks back at Taako. “Are you just gonna hang in here? By yourself?”

“Uh huh,” Taako says, crossing his arms and kicking back. “Taako’s good in here, thanks.”

“I think the future king consort needs to learn a thing about handling ghosties,” Merle says, smiling devilishly. He nudges Magnus with his elbow. “Don’t you, big guy?”

Taako’s eyes go wide. “Oh, no you don’t!”

But his protests fall on deaf ears as Magnus grabs him—sack of potatoes style—and leads the charge outside. “TEAM FIGHT! TEAM FIGHT!” he shouts. Taako kicks his legs and threatens to blast Magnus’s kneecaps off, but Magnus doesn’t stop as the five of them hurry out of the castle, and towards the beach.

As soon as they cross the fleeting remnants of Lucretia’s shield spell, the wind hits them again with terrifying force. They have to huddle against each other, each mage putting up their own smaller shield spells to fend of billowing clouds of sand.

“I’ll go first,” Lup says. As soon as they reach the water’s edge, she casts an ice blast on the water, forming a path on the surface. She quickly tests her weight one it, then runs headlong into the fray.

“Put me down, right now!” Taako demands. Magnus sets him on his feet, and Taako wastes no time hopping onto the ice path right behind Lup.

“Goofus!” Taako yells, keeping in pace with his sister. “What the hell are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking about seeing how far my magic can go!” Lup yells back.

As soon as they’re within 30 meters of the storm, Lup shoots off the necromantic spell directly into the heart of the legion. In sync, Taako follows up with an ice spell of his own, where the storm makes contact with the water. Seamlessly, the two spells combined stop the funnel from swirling. The air around them begins to dissipate. 

A flock of birds immediately descends upon the legion. One by one, they pull spirits from the horde and drag them into the sea. The twins look back towards the castle, and breathe a relieved sigh as the southernmost shield goes up, sturdy and secure. On the shoreline, they can see the others cheering for them.

Their revel is cut short, however, when the howling shrieks of angered souls erupt from within the frozen mass. They can see movement within, as those souls unaffected by the spells continue to churn, breaking down the ice surrounding the others.

“Shit,” Lup and Taako both breathe. The frozen water beneath them begins to crack. It’s only now that Taako remembers that he is still carrying the bag of jewelry, and that is adding to his weight upon the ice.

“Hey!” calls a voice from further out to sea.

They look up to see a small boat speeding towards them. It’s sleek and silvery white in the bright, morning sun. Manning the steering wheel is Davenport. He holds the wheel with one hand, and tosses a sturdy cord out to them with the other. 

“Grab on tight!” he shouts. Lup grabs it first, tossing the end to Taako. They both latch on as best they can, as the water beneath them becomes even more unstable.

The legion shifts, changing from a funneled storm to an eldritch beast. Tendrils of angry spirits whip about, desperately beating against the ice to break it apart. The birds fly away, unable to flock around the mass without getting struck.

It is here when Taako glances up and catches sight of Kravitz.

The king is not difficult to see. He floats high above the fight. His form alternates between a skeleton with great, breathtaking wings, and a flock of furious ravens. It is the former form that he is now, as he searches for a proper vantage point from which to strike at the storm. A tendril of angry spirits shoots out, and he dodges easily. But then another comes out just as quickly, and clips his wings. He falters in his flight, as a third strikes directly, taking hold. 

“Krav!” Taako yells. 

The tendril slams him against the surface of the water, and barrels the vestiges of the king of birds deep beneath the waves.

Taako casts a burst of brilliant sunlight, which pours down solidly upon the main portion of the swirling, moaning souls. They cry out as the light blinds them completely. The giant form falls apart, until they are separate mounds of discontent spirits. Their voices become screeching howls, as smaller tendrils shoot in the wizard’s direction.

“Watch out!” Davenport yells. He revs up the engine, and Taako and Lup grab onto each other. Taako stamps his foot, and the bit of ice that he’s left standing on transmutes into solid wood. Lup keeps her arms around him, as they are dragged back to the beach.

The rest of the birds swoop past them, surrounding the horde. The rest of the council watch in awe as the flock envelope the last of the legion, rendering it asunder, and wrenching it into the sea. This goes on for a time, until the last little bit slips under the waves, and the storm is no more. The wind ceases, and the sound deafens to a stand still.

Davenport stops right at the shore and turns the engine off. Taako and Lup trip over each other as they hit shallower waters. They both fall to their knees and desperately gasp for breaths.

Taako leans back into the sand, not even budging when the tide slinks up and soaks him a little bit. He can feel the adrenaline rush leaving his body. And all he can do is stare at the surface and try to calm his beating heart. It’s only when it starts to slow, that he looks down at himself, and realizes that the satchel he was carrying is gone. The strap of it must have come undone when he and Lup were dragged out of the water.

“That was fuckin’ sick!” Magnus comments, running down to meet them. Merle, Barry, and even Lucretia follow close behind.

“Thanks big guy,” Lup replies, as Barry helps her to her feet. She’s also soaked and covered in sand. But a smile breaks across her face. “Fuck, I could do that all day.”

“Let’s not encourage fate, shall we,” Lucretia suggests, but she is smiling also.

They help each other back up towards the castle, each regaling what they thought the best part of the whole situation was. Taako would usually preen at the amount of times his name comes up in the conversation. But as they enter one of the castle parlor rooms and take a moment to rest, his focus remains on the thing he had set out to find them for—

“Hey,” he asks, interrupting the conversation. “Can any of you guys portal us a way out of here?”

The smiles drop from everyone’s faces.

“You’re...leaving?” Magnus asks. His eyes immediately get big and watery, as he looks from Taako to Lup. “But we were thinking of playing a round of fantasy uno after dinner.”

“Yeah,” Merle adds, looking equally forlorn. “We were going to use the customized cards.”

“Sorry, fellas,” Taako says, a bit more taken by their sad expressions than he’d like to admit. “But Taako didn’t sign up to be a member of the midnight crew. Especially when I didn't know about ghost prison until two seconds ago.”

“The king of birds is also the keeper of souls and spirits,” Davenport replies. “It is his duty to maintain the balance of life and death, and one those duties is to garrison the souls kept in the Eternal stockade. I told you all this is the history lesson when you first got here!”

Taako’s face starts to feel warm. He did space out a bit when Davenport was talking, but none of what he recalled could’ve prepared him for the shock of it all.

“It doesn’t matter,” Lup says, seemingly agreeing. “Yeah, my brother’s a dumbass. But at the end of the day, the king should’ve been more forthright with this information.” She stomps her foot for emphasis. “And I’ll be damned if any of you try to hold me or my brother here against our wills.” 

“You agreed to be wed,” Lucretia points out.

“I said I would prepare to be wed,” Taako replies, crossing his arms. “Don’t try to pull any semantics bullshit on me, I know my fuckin’ rights!”

Davenport shakes his head. “You’ll need the king’s permission to leave the realm. Marriage or not.”

“Well, where is he?” Taako asks. By now he’s half expected Kravitz to pull himself out of the water, and portal into the chamber, pristine as ever.

Everyone quiets at that. They all glance at each other, seemingly expecting the same.

“He…” Lucretia says. “He’s probably resting.” But there is an uncertainty in her voice that makes Taako’s chest suddenly feel knotted up.

“Sometimes he has to recuperate after dealing with spirits from the stockades,” Davenport adds. He gestures at the wide windows. It’s midday, which, for all of them, is late sleeping hours. “I suggest we all get some shut eye, and consider presenting your case to him when we’re all in better spirits.”

Taako’s mind is too preoccupied by exhaustion to grumble in protest. All he can think about is the sight of Kravitz being dragged into the sea. The rest of the conversation fades out, but the knotted up feeling in his chest remains.

He eventually follows Lup back to their bedchambers. She doesn’t comment on his lack of chatter, but she does throw him a sideways glance or two.

He crosses the bridge to his bedroom, stopping to look at the beach down below. He notices something shiny along the shores edge, but he can’t make out what it is. He half remembers what Lucretia had said of falling stars and the sea, and half considers going down to the beach to see if that’s true. If he can collect some crystals to make up for the contents of the missing satchel. But he sighs to himself instead and heads into his chambers for a rest.

—

Down below, a flock of ravens gather at the seashore, carefully collecting small pieces of jewelry that have washed up in the sand.

#action sequences are difficult bro #bird king au #taakitz #blupjeans #my writing #herbgerb fic #taz au #also if you had told me a week ago that this fic would go beyond 20k words i would have wheezed

[chimeraan]

The Cowboy Bebop live action Twitter account posted this side by side comparison of the original anime and the new remake and man it so bad in comparison. The lighting is amateurish and the lack fast cuts with no dynamic camera movement means the action looks like you're watching a school production about Cowboy Bebop. Generally it's a video that showcases how better animation can be at delivering a sequence than live action. But there's a few people defending it in the replies like:

And like you can point to how animation allows for faster cuts so in this case you can efficiently and effectively feel as though you're in the same space of the stand off and then quickly cut back to a wider shot to show the outcome. You can also point out that the use of colour in animation is used to great effect to show a deep contrast between the two characters, the darkness of the church, the bright window illuminated by moonlight and muddy backdrop.

But honestly? There's nothing at all stopping the live action version from being just as good as the original. This sucks both as a live action trying to outclass or remake animation and also live action choreographing a fight scene and directing in general.

Besides the fast cuts (which are way easier to communicate in animation since you can use fewer frames and the lack of detail in comparison to live action means the action is conveyed really clearly to the audience) the shot composition is just bad in the live action version. This shot in the original shows two men struggling to fight each other but also tells a story of one man (Spike) struggling to escape to the light and salvation but is kept from that because of this struggle. Which sums up Spikes story arc really well, he's a man who is trapped between life and death because his past is keeping him from moving forward.

What does the live action show us?? Well if I was going to read it charitably I'd say it shows us that both men are struggling to stay in the light. But honestly even reading that is difficult because everything is fucking soaked in blue and the two just stuck at a sluggish standoff. What's funny though is in the original the fast cut to the blade point on Spike's chest helps the audience understand that theoretically Spike could just pull the trigger but the only thing stopping the blade from killing him right now is the man holding back. If Spike shoots the dude the weight of the guy would most likely lead to the blade killing Spike. Which again is more theoretical, you could argue that no that wouldn't happen or may not but the fast cuts help the audience to go "Wow this is a stand off that neither of them can walk away from without both dying". But in the live action it's bro, just shoot like nothing bad is gonna happen bro..it's fine just pull the trigger lol bro don't worry about it

Last thing I gotta mention is that I know Cowboy Bebop can be done well in live action because Cowboy Bebop pays so many homages to Western and Asian live actiob cinema that it's DNA is fundamentally live action. It takes cues from Bruce Lee, Desperados, Space Oddyssey, Spaghetti Westerns, Samurai films, Dirty Harry, Star Trek and Blaxploitation films. Even the soundtrack pays homage to film Noir frequently and that's only the most obvious examples.

If we're being real - Cowboy Bebop has more in common with the live action films that preceeded it than the animation that proceeded it. Bebop is also wonderfully directed and animated by people who knew how leverage the strengths of animation to create a masterpiece that could stand on equal footing with the live action movies they already loved. So yeah it's bad on every conceivable level lol

#anime #cowboy bebop #live action #cinema #film #i didnt even mention how really good anime adaptations are on youtube and actually do really creative and clever things in the medium #cutie honey #is another great example #it was made animation and then remade by the same director in live action and both versions are really good #twitter #manga #netflix #adaptation

[wangxiandecoded]

Episode 3

Previous Episode | Next Episode

(Spoilers for the whole show ahead!)

Seeing Lan Zhan For The First Time

Ever since I saw the fanmade romcom trailer of the show, I can’t get the image of bridegroom Lan Wangji out of my head. His entry is so elegant and his presence throughout the show truly ethereal. (Wei Ying, you’re not even trying to hide those heart eyes. We get it! You’re impressed.)

Lan Zhan’s Character Growth

We only remember Lan Zhan as the guy who reserved all his emotions and smiles for Wei Ying, so rewatching the rigid, inflexible person he used to be kind of drives me crazy. Lan Zhan before he met Wei Ying started his journey as a lone, icy, untouchable snow-capped peak and by letting himself love and be loved by Wei Ying in return, the person he becomes in the end is like a warm, summery mountain shining with life and no trace of the glaciers that thawed over. His character evolution is no joke and it is only because Wei Ying’s companionship makes him more human and allows him to be the best version of himself. Lan Zhan’s arc is one of the best things in the show and the most rewarding reason to watch it.

Did I Just Meet The LOML

Lan Zhan taking note of his future soulmate showing off his intelligence right from the start. But shhh, he’s too much of a tsundere to admit that right now.

But Lan Zhan, What About The 9pm Curfew? 

Notice how Lan Zhan is up late at night waiting for Wei Ying, like a Good Obedient Boy from the Lan clan ready to catch a lawbreaker red-handed. Are we sure he has not simply mistaken his positive feelings for annoyance and found a way to spend more time with Wei Ying?

Wei Ying, my bro, I think you might be the moon in this case.

Flirting With The Law Enforcer? That’s One More Violation! 

It’s cute to watch their dynamics in the beginning, Wei Ying is already so familiar with Lan Zhan, tries to share his drink with him, teases him for the first of many times. And Lan Zhan just looks like “?????? Are you flirting with the law enforcer?! That is yet another violation of the Lan clan rules!”

Wei Ying coquettishly pushes Lan Zhan's sword into its sheath and the chase that comes next is the beginning of something monumental and exciting. 

(I understand preserving the original meaning is difficult in English translation but they really had Wei Ying call Lan Zhan inflexible only to follow it up with a beautifully choreographed fight sequence? Really?)

Wangxian’s First Meeting Is Romantic Cinematography At Its Finest

This scene right here is in my opinion, the most romantic scene to ever exist in all of fiction. If anyone tries to argue that Lan Zhan and Wei Ying are best bros, show them this scene. There is no hetero explanation for why it is so romantically shot. We have seen it countless times in fairytales. This is unmistakably the meeting of two people destined to be in love forever. It stole my breath the first time I saw it, and has done every time since. Like legit, it needs to be on top of those lists that boast the most iconic meetings in romantic history and taught in academic institutions worldwide.

First of all, a moonlit first meeting is enough to immortalize a story in our memory as being inherently romantic. But Wangxian are so effortlessly and picturesquely sword fighting (or should I say dancing?) on the rooftops, hair and clothes gently swaying to the tune of WuJi and thanks to the slow-motion closeups that make them glow like a live painting under the moonlight. 

(And surely I was not the only one who heard this random bell ringing at night and got reminded of wedding bells or the film ‘Your Name’? Lol!)  

We see that neither of them has the upper hand in the fight. This is important because it establishes they were born to be each other’s equals on the battlefield, something Zewu Jun points out later. (Just one of the many soulmate things Wangxian share.) I have no doubt Lan Zhan is freaking out wondering, who the fuck is this guy? How can he match my every strike and step without even uncapping his sword? 

In these above shots, there is a beautiful, unmissable symmetry in the way they are framed that drives it home that they are two halves of the same whole; their paths will be bound together, their perspectives will come to reflect each other. They are one and the same. The way they fight is also kind of intimate and very poetic. The super romantic backdrop and their placement shows that they are in perfect tandem and their chemistry is loud and luminous from the first time they meet. 

There is nothing straight about this scene. Not even the shot angle. Look! 

There is also something quite god-like and celestial about their meeting, like we are witnessing two prophesied immortal beings whose encounter is going to change the fate of the universe. And does it not, indeed?

I think I heard the moon longingly sigh in this scene because she felt so single. Honestly, understandable. It’s so maddening how two soulmates meeting for the first time can turn out to be this iconic, beautiful, brilliant, breathtaking and every other word you can think of. (We’re lucky Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan are used to dancing, the fight sequences are all so graceful. *chef’s kiss*)

I feel like this one scene reduced every straight romance I’ve ever seen to ashes. I’m honestly curious, can anyone outdo this in the future, gay or not? It has become The Standard for first meetings. I envy the talented, creative minds that envisioned and executed it.

TL;DR : The whole scene is drenched with a romantic field of vision meant specifically for the audience to swoon over.

“Lan Zhan!”

Wei Ying drops one of his two precious pots of Emperor’s Smile because Lan Zhan attacked them. Most people would just be mad in this situation but it's the first time Wei Ying calls him "Lan Zhan”. I wonder what led Wei Ying to have such an informality with Lan Zhan, who didn't consider him his friend until much later. It could be that it’s just who they are, two people with opposite personalities. But we don't see Wei Ying exhibit this closeness with strangers and yet he's whining Lan Zhan's name in that classic style of his, right from the first night they meet. Adorable! (Lan Zhan who owes him two bottles of Emperor’s Smile for breaking them spends the rest of his life buying them for Wei Ying.. In case you needed a reason to cry.)

Breaking The Rules & Breaking The Barriers To Lan Zhan’s Heart

Wei Ying actively criticizes the Lan clan’s rules and finds their teaching unreasonable. He thinks drinking Emperor’s Smile when he’s sitting on the roof technically doesn’t count as being “inside” the Cloud Recesses where alcohol is banned. A small detail but it shows Wei Ying’s gift of seeing through the grey areas in morality. It is a trait that ultimately influences Lan Zhan to shed the hard and fast ideas of orthodoxy he was raised on and share Wei Ying’s quest for justice. This makes both of them the only people inside the world of The Untamed who are able to see the deep-seated problems in the existing system and question them. Their love story is inextricably tied with rewriting the laws of their world and if that does not make The Untamed the most revolutionary romance to ever exist, I don’t know what does. 

Lan Zhan Really Just Cares A Lot

Turns out Lan Zhan didn’t let the Yunmeng Jiang clan stay out in the dark after all. Love how he’s Gay Gripping his sword in panic and backing away from Wei Ying because he doesn't want him to know he's a good person whose heart is in the right place. You know, because that's a horrible reputation for his tsundere persona to have. Zewu Jun takes one for the team and blows his cover, which becomes a common occurrence in the show. Wei Ying is also quick to apologize to him like, “I had a good feeling about you!” when we’ve seen he rarely does that with disciples from other clans. 

President In Action

The conversation between Lan Zhan and Zewu Jun needs no analysis and the latter’s triumphant smirk in the end when Lan Zhan walks off is all the evidence you need that He Knows What’s Up. I love how Zewu Jun probably sits around like, "I have to personally do something or my dumbass brother is going to spend his whole life alone, when he's clearly met his soulmate and is too blind to admit it." Thank you, President of the Wangxian club. We do not deserve you.

What Did Wei Ying Mean?

Wei Ying says all the female suitors from all the clans admire Lan Zhan without knowing how cold and rigid he really is, and he doesn’t complete his sentence because Lan Zhan uses the silencing charm on him. What did he mean by this? What were you going to do, Wei Ying?! 

Episode 3 gives us insight into the inception of their romance and we see every moment since the beginning has been tailor-made to tell the audience this is going to be a love story set against fantasy-driven, action-packed odds in ancient China. 

#the untamed #the untamed rewatch #the untamed analysis #cql #cql analysis #cql rewatch #wangxian #wangxian analysis #wei ying #lan zhan #lan wangji #wei wuxian #cql spoilers #cql episodes #the untamed episodes #mdsz meta #mdzs #chen qing ling

[eldritch-elrics]

this summer, me and my brother watched four whole shows. at long last, here is my comprehensive review of all of them!

in the order we watched them, these shows were:

avatar the last airbender (ATLA)

mob psycho 100 (MP100)

demon slayer / kimetsu no yaiba (KNY)

fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood (FMAB)

they were all very very good!

i’m not going to try to rank them, but, as is probably obvious by the state of my blog, my favorite was FMAB :) if i had to pick a least favorite, then, it would probably be KNY—not by any fault of its own, but just because it didn’t appeal to me quite as much as the others. still a very good show!

i will review each show by:

giving a quick plot-based pitch discussing the show’s hook or appeal

discussing one element that i believe it does better than any other show on this list—in other words, a quality that i think it stands out for

discussing one element that didn’t appeal to me or that i had issues with—a criticism

putting forth my favorite character and favorite episode or arc, just for funsies

including various other commentary. mostly positive, as, again, i did really like all of these!

(i’ve tried to make this whole thing free of specific spoilers, but if you’re planning on watching any of these shows and want to go in more-or-less blind, it might be best not to read this.)

first of all, i’d just like to discuss all four of these shows as a whole! it was definitely interesting watching one after another and noting similarities between them.

all of them have siblings in them! which is, perhaps, fitting, as i watched them with my brother

two include a pair of siblings in which one has powers and one doesn’t (at least at first), and part of the narrative involves getting better at using those powers (ATLA, MP100)

two include a narrative centered around a pair of siblings and something tragic that happens to them, resulting in the older one being traumatized and forced to train to become a soldier, and the younger one turning into something (arguably) inhuman. the protagonist’s major goal is to return his younger sibling to the way they were before (KNY, FMAB)

ATLA and FMAB are both fantasy political dramas, which is rapidly becoming a favorite genre of mine

most of these are historical, or historically inspired in some way, which is interesting!

all of these shows are really really good at character building. all the main characters are interesting and complex, and the relationships between those characters are similarly nuanced and very well written. they make you really care about both the protagonists and the side characters!

avatar: the last airbender

pitch: as the ever-growing imperial force of the fire nation threatens the earth and water nations, a kid from the long-lost air nation turns up and it turns out he can control all four elements and he has to save the world and all that. sorry i tried to write this pitch like five times and realized that well at this point i think everyone reading this will know the plot of avatar

stands out for: avatar has possibly the best worldbuilding i have ever seen in a show—it takes the time to introduce us to so many places and aspects of its world, both explicitly and subtly. the main highlight of this is the magic system. by creating a magic system based in body movement, the process of using magic and learning to use/control it better becomes immediately obvious to the viewer. combine that with the philosophy behind each type of bending and the way that characters take bending inspiration from types different than their own, and you’ve got a system that is complex, flexible, believable, internally consistent, and just plain fun! it makes action sequences a blast. i especially liked the moments when bending was stretched to its limits in totally logical ways (metalbending, bloodbending). not to mention the way that bending is seamlessly integrated into the world of avatar! the example that comes to mind is the earthbending-powered transport system of omashu. a whole essay could be written on that topic alone!

criticism: i know this is a sentiment shared by many people, but the first season was kind of boring to me. some of the humor and the plots felt hit-or-miss. of course, it needed to take that time to establish the world, and it does a great job of doing that. it just didn’t hook me until the second season.

favorite character: i love toph she’s so much fun :) iroh is a close second! and zuko is great, too, of course

favorite arc: i loved ba sing se a ton, especially the episode when they get there and everything feels off. it felt so resonant with real life, in a very fun way. there’s a reason “there is no war in ba sing se” is a meme…

other commentary: what can i say? it’s a classic for a damn good reason. the plot is tight, and it does a great job raising tension and introducing new elements and twists. i also love the care put into the antagonists, especially azula, who has a fascinating arc.

mob psycho 100

pitch: a middle schooler and a charismatic con artist team up to smite ghosts using extrasensory powers. thing is, only the middle schooler actually has ESP, and it happens to be really, really powerful. can he navigate the difficult world of middle school while also getting a better grip on his powers—and his bottled-up emotions?

stands out for: the way that MP100 uses animation is excellent. it takes a little getting used to but it’s just so fun, combining all sorts of different techniques to create an experience rich with drama and emotion. it’s playfully exaggerated and self-parodying, adding to the show’s fantastic sense of humor as well as its truly emotional moments.

criticism: the way that ESP works makes suspension of disbelief tricky. it’s a great feat to introduce a character who is essentially all-powerful and still make them interesting (even in fight scenes), but at times (especially the second season finale) it felt like a magic system with too much breadth and too few limitations. this might just be my bias for hard magic systems talking, though.

favorite character: other than mob and reigen? probably teru. he’s loads of fun AND all the season 1 episodes he’s in slap hard

favorite episode: the one where the girl asks mob out on a date as a dare.. it’s super cute

other commentary: thank you mp100 for being the leftist propaganda we all deserve <3

in all seriousness though, this show is a blast!! it does a great job switching between silly and serious in the blink of an eye. i also really appreciate the way that it balances comically huge stakes with much smaller, more personal stories. for example, the conflict between mob and reigen in season 2 is especially well-done. in general the emotions just feel so real? characters whose emotions tie into their powers are an excellent trope, and mob is a wonderful protagonist who exemplifies this really well.

finally, on a more critical note—there are so many characters in this show! and it feels like only a handful are fleshed out? however, this may be due to the fact that it’s not an adaptation of the entire manga (which i haven’t read). there’s a lot more to go! more characters to dive into! so i probably shouldn’t try to critique it in the same way as a finished work.

demon slayer / kimetsu no yaiba

pitch: demons kill a boy’s family and turn his sister into a demon, so he decides to try and figure out a way to turn his sister back into a human. what follows is a demon-killing adventure that’s in equal parts harrowing, poignant, and hilarious.

stands out for: there’s not much i can say about this other than “please just take a look” but the art and design is phenomenal. it does a much better job of integrating 2D and 3D than a lot of other animated series, and overall it is just so so pretty! all the character designs are complex, memorable, and fit the characters perfectly. the color choices are interesting and satisfying. i also really like the sound design? not often that i notice that in a show. i’ve watched so many KNY amvs by now lol it’s just amazing animation

criticism: the narration style leans too heavily towards tell instead of show. this is mostly an issue with the first few episodes, but i got super annoyed by how much the show would narrate every single one of tanjirou’s thoughts instead of letting us infer those thoughts through his actions and reactions—the latter, i think, would have been more emotionally impactful. sometimes silence speaks louder than words! tanjirou was also not the world’s most compelling protagonist in my opinion, though i think that mostly has to do with my own tastes.

favorite character: *holds up zenitsu* I Just Think He’s Neat. i actually kind of lost it when he first used his powers, like… damn i love characters with weird relationships with their magic like that. i also think the narrative about how having a solid foundation is sometimes more important than knowing a ton of different moves was really powerful. and he’s just funny! pathetic boy i love him

favorite arc: really just the whole spider arc. fucked up man… i love it. they pulled off that last twist so well, and all the family stuff was so weird and complex and emotional…

other commentary: it’s just a really solid and very well-written show! the team of tanjirou, zenitsu, and inosuke is so much fun… bro bonding :) i also quite like the horror elements; it’s fucked up but in a good way. finally, this is very specific, but the demon that can alter buildings/rooms through drumbeats? appealed to me very much. it’s a cool and unique power!

fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood

pitch: two kids do some fucked up alchemy and end up getting parts of their body stolen by god. now they’re on a quest to get their bodies back, but find themselves wrapped up in crazy government conspiracies and alchemy more powerful than they ever could’ve imagined…

stands out for: plot. by this i mean less overall concept (though the overall concept is pretty great too), and more that the pacing and progression of the story is extraordinarily tight. for the most part (the first few episodes are a little weak but i’ll let it slide), it does an excellent job establishing its premise and building on it logically, adding layers and layers that extend naturally from what we already know. everything has a reason for happening; everything is revealed in good time and all the twists are super satisfying. there’s great balance between exciting moments and quiet moments. it’s just very good at being a story!

(fun fact: i’m reading the manga right now and so far it’s even better paced than the show, which is super interesting! it’s especially good at how it lays out pieces of the backstory and then fills everything in later in a really satisfying way.)

criticism: this is incredibly specific but it’s what comes to mind as something that bothered me: winry’s character arc was really disappointing. for most of the series she’s a pretty strong character, but in the end it feels like she gets pushed aside, defined only by her relationship with ed. what happened to her wanting to take action more? that was a specific desire she expressed—wanting to be less passive! since she’s such an important character, i wish she could have had more presence in the last season other than as a sounding board for the elric bros’ emotions. (even though her one scene in the last episode was really good and emotional…)

favorite character: other than the elric bros, absolutely ling. he fits into multiple of my favorite character archetypes (fun, silly, bastard, gets possessed…) and he’s just overall a delight. plus his relationship with greed is really really good. bro bonding at its peak!! (my other favorite is pride. i will not say why because spoilers. but if you know me.. you know)

favorite episode: this is really really hard to choose but i’m gonna go with envy’s death because. holy shit.

other commentary: i’m a really big fan of the complex and nuanced way in which FMAB breaks down militaristic, imperial regimes from the inside. many of the characters have done awful things, and the story forces them to grapple with that and accept that all they can do now is be better in the future. the moral complexity is just really good! characters with flaws—we love to see it!

finally, parts of this story seem so so catered to Me Specifically that it’s no wonder i got so into it. like just the entire premise? the way that so much of the conflict is built out of identity crisis and exploring the nature of consciousness and human vs inhuman? beautiful. i love ed and al so much

*

if you made it all the way to the end, thank you so much for reading!! glad to have finally gotten this done (3 months late…) and put all my thoughts down. i hope this inspires someone to try watching one of the shows i discussed!

#avatar the last airbender #mob psycho 100 #kimetsu no yaiba #fullmetal alchemist #my post #long post #then for my own tagging purposes.. #atla #mp100 #kny #fmab #i really hope some people read this! i put a lot of thought into it

[that-shamrock-vibe]

Movie Review: Sonic the Hedgehog (Spoilers)

Spoiler Warning: I am posting this review the day the movie is first released in the U.K, so if you haven’t yet seen the movie do not read on until you have.

General Reaction:

It's difficult with today's movie going audience to predict how movies like Sonic are going to perform and be received. Especially when the ad campaign did absolutely no favours for this movie other than convince Paramount that Sonic needed a more truthful redesign than what they originally put out.

Here's the thing. Sonic the Hedgehog to me is trying to be 2020's Detective Pikachu capitalising on that nostalgia of a beloved classic franchise.

However, I do feel that the haters and internet trolls out there are not going to be able to get past the comparisons this movie draws to 2011's Hop, which was a live-action/CGI-hybrid movie starring James Marsden who becomes the companion of a somewhat overbearing CG creature.

But, I encourage all movie goers, including the haters, to go into this with an open mind...particularly if you have any history with Sonic because you will get some enjoyment and walk away afterwards feeling happy overall.

My personal history with Sonic is slightly less-so than I would like. I played the original 2 SEGA games countless times and did watch some episodes of the earlier animated shows.

Having said that, my main Sonic fandom actually comes from the mid-noughties series Sonic X, which I feel this movie could have adapted but alas. Also I played the Shadow the Hedgehog spinoff game and more recently Smash Bros where I actually won as Sonic recently.

Now this movie reminds me of those shows and games practically in no way. I mean there is that opening sequence where you see Sonic running around and looping like he does in the SEGA games, I do also feel like James Marsden's character could easily be an older version of Chris, the boy from Sonic X, but aside from that, the gold rings and Robotnik...there's not a lot for the Sonic fans to spot.

I can't say this is a perfect movie, because it really is not. There are a lot of super speed gags and some of them do stick but some just fall flat and at times feel repetitive.

The worst crime this movie commits in my opinion is stealing Quicksilver's gimmick of speed scenes. By which I mean there are not one but two occasions when time is slowed down to almost a halt and we see Sonic running around still. They even have songs specific for these scenes.

Also, because I'm not fully aware of every Sonic incarnation, I did not understand why Sonic is effectively The Flash with being able to generate lightning. I mean I understand the laws of physics of generating enough friction can create static but I have never known Sonic to have any electric attacks.

I did like how the static electricity was preserved in his quills when they fell off though. In animation and the games you don’t think about Sonic’s realistic hedgehog qualities such as having quills so it was a nice touch.

I am also aware that Sonic has turned Super Saigen before with the help of the Chaos Emeralds I believe, so the fact we see a similar transformation here is quite good to see for that reason.

In terms of story I do think this is a simple plot that has been done numerous times, Hop is definitely one example that comes to mind, but I feel it’s also a very accessible story for non-Sonic fans.

I don’t know if Longclaw the Owl is an original character or one from Sonic mythology but I did not really vest much interest in her. Baby Sonic I thought was cute, but I refuse to accept anyone saying he is cuter than Baby Yoda as no one is cuter than Baby Yoda.

On the subject of age, it was good to see them acknowledging Sonic’s age for a change as opposed to just presuming because up until now I did always think he was some sort of teenager but this confirms it. If Baby Sonic is around 5-9 years old then Sonic in present day is late teens which makes sense with his temperament.

The gold rings being used as teleportation devices, I don’t know if they’re meant to be in the games but loved their use here.

I enjoyed the use of technology in this movie and particularly Robotnik’s commentary on how technology is more reliable than people which ties into his ultimate fate of being stranded alone without another soul on the planet he is sent to which forces him further into insanity.

The fact Sonic’s story is about fitting into society while James Marsden’s character is about figuring out what’s right in front of him are great parallels and do balance each other out rather well.

Also where he ends up with effectively being part of a family as well as a town hero was a nice way to wrap things up.

However, that mid-credits scene showing the arrival of Sonic’s faithful protege Tails to the real world looking for his friend screams for a sequel, especially if this means that more of Sonic’s companions could be introduced in the future like Knuckles, Shadow or even Rouge the Bat.

Characters:

Dr. Robotnik:

I don’t want to say he is the best character because I feel all four of the main cast members do a great job, but my favourite definitely is Jim Carrey as Robotnik. This is Carrey back on form and there were so many great shades of back when he was at the top of his game in the 90s with work such as Ace Ventura, The Mask and The Grinch.

From his first scene he stole every scene he was in. You could tell that he was taking the role seriously while also having the time of his life with it and this is why, back in the day, he was on such high form.

He may not have been the overweight bald megalomaniac, at least with the latter two not until the end of the movie, but he was the evil genius and mad scientist and almost every line he delivered he nailed.

I think “rockonnaissance” is going to be the new “joygasm” for him but it worked for The Riddler and it works for Robotnik.

I’m also happy he was nicknamed Eggman in the movie by Sonic because of the shape of his drones, I thought it was fitting. I can’t wait for Sonic to see the new bald version.

Sonic:

Yes Sonic is second but I said it before, there were times when he was overbearing.

Ben Schwartz by the way does a fantastic job voicing the character, I know he voices Dewey in the new Ducktales series and also for some reason voices BB-8 in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, but this is my favourite role of his voice is so realistic for a wide-eyed and somewhat innocent “alien” hedgehog.

I enjoyed how when he first came to Earth he was this urban legend around Green Hills who spent those 10 years people watching and either making up nicknames for the citizens while also longing to fit in with them but knowing not to.

Also the movie’s comedy was never as vulgar as Ryan Reynolds or immature as Russell Brand. I think they had one fart joke in the movie but the rest was generic comedy movie material which was hit and miss in comedy.

It was quite touching also that he was so protective of Green Hills and the status quo so much so that when Tom said he was planning on leaving to move to San Francisco, he was so offended and I thought it was going to be that trope of “Oh now they’re going to separate only to discover they need each other later” but instead it was a few digs and then they got over it.

I am so happy they did redesign the character because the movie’s original look for him was horrendous and did make Cats look reasonable whereas this is more like the Sonic everyone knows and I did not realise he didn’t have his traditional running shoes until Jojo, the niece of Tika Sumpter’s character, replaced them for him.

I will keep saying I want a sequel just because I am interested to see where Sonic’s story takes him next, especially with Tails now on Earth and the potentiality that others could join.

The Wachowskis

Again I thought James Marsden and Tika Sumpter did very pleasant jobs. This is my favourite James Marsden performance to date. Up until now his roles have been either corny or simply bland for me but here, yes there were a couple of dodgy jokes and moments but overall I thought Tom was a very likeable character and at the very least a driven character.

His wife Maddie, first of all props to the movie writers for having a mixed-race couple front and centre in the movie. But also, Maddie, who is also an accomplished career woman alongside her accomplished career husband, did not weigh Tom down or the story down as simply being “just the wife”.

I also enjoyed Maddie’s sister and niece, Jojo is quite cute and for the little screentime that she has does well with it for a child her age. While Natasha Rothwell continues to grow in my estimations after her fabulous turn in Love, Simon as the very sassy teacher.

Others:

As for the rest of the cast, this was a great who’s who for spotting the great jobbing actors as Lee Majdoub, Neal McDonough, Michael Hogan and Adam Pally all have minor supporting roles that do not go unnoticed.

Meanwhile Colleen Villard (née O'Shaughnessey), who voices Tails in the video games as well as voicing Wasp in The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes series and Sora in the Digimon franchise, reprises her role as the anthropomorphic fox in an uncredited mid-credits scene. I am hoping she returns for the sequel because it is good to hear her acting again.

Recommendation:

I do see a future for this movie in terms of a franchise. I do not quite see it crossing over with Detective Pikachu as I know there were rumblings of some sort of Super Smash Bros. movie cinematic universe.

However, if the movie does warrant a sequel, and with a current Rotten Tomatoes score of 64%, considering this seems to be a deciding factor for some cinema goers, I don’t see why not. I am hoping the future of this franchise does see the introductions of Knuckles, Shadow, Rouge and even Amy.

Potentially also spinning off from this franchise, there could be Donkey Kong, Mega Man and maybe even Mario to create that Super Smash Bros. universe.

Overall I rate the movie 8/10, it’s a great movie and definitely has some rewatchability to it.

Having said that I can see where some cinema snobs or even haters may come from as they inevitably target the movie but I encourage everyone not to be taken in by other people’s opinions, not even mine, make up your own minds and see it for yourself.

So that’s my review of Sonic the Hedgehog, what did you guys think? Post your comments and check out more Movie Reviews as well as other posts.

#sonic #sonic the hedgehog #sonic the hedghog movie #sonic movie #sonic 2020 #sonic the hedgehog movie #sonic the hedgehog 2020 #sonic the movie #sonic the movie 2020 #sega #super smash bros #smash bros #tails the fox #james marsden #jim carrey #tika sumpter #neal mcdonough #michael hogan #shadow the hedgehog #rouge the bat #knuckles #knuckles the echidna #detective pikachu #hop #sonic x

[aion-rsa]

Inside the Mortal Kombat Movie’s Bloody Love Letter to Martial Arts

https://ift.tt/3sPd50L

About 10 hours into a November 2019 flight to Australia and the set of Warner Bros. Mortal Kombat reboot, I started to ask myself whether this was all worth it. I loved the original Mortal Kombat movie about as much as anyone unironically can, but the fact remains that the history of live-action video game film adaptations is paved with disappointment. Even the best movies in that field have earned their reputation largely by exceeding low expectations.

After nearly 30 years of failed attempts, it’s hard to even picture what a good live-action video game movie might look like. What is it about the transition from sprites to screen that makes this process so difficult? Is this a pursuit that is, in some ways, doomed to be dictated by those who see such films as another piece of merchandise? What will it take to finally break the curse? Those questions raced through my jetlagged brain as I finally made it to Adelaide and prepared to see what awaited me on the other side of the world. 

Shortly into my visit, I was taken off my feet by a line that hit me like an MK player mercilessly spamming a leg sweep. It came in the form of this line from producer Todd Garner that reshaped my expectations and set the tone for what proved to be something that was very much worth the trip and perhaps worthy of your own wait:

“I think it’s great that there are a lot of characters, a lot of lore, and let’s do it all well. But really, people want to fuck each other up.”

Gore and Lore

Garner was, of course, mostly joking. Yet, there is a truth in many jokes, and the truth in this one seemed to be that managing what the Mortal Kombat canon has become can be a daunting task. It’s certainly not made any easier by the fact that there haven’t been many undisputedly great video game movies for the team to work with and use as precedent. 

In lieu of notable live-action video game adaptations that made good on their ambition, the film’s production team turned to a source that most would agree has. 

“It’s like the Marvel Universe…it’s endless,” says Garner of the Mortal Kombat game franchise. “So we started from the premise ‘What would Marvel do?’”

It’s a useful question that the upcoming Mortal Kombat movie answers in fascinating ways. For instance, as Garner noted, the MCU didn’t start with The Avengers; it started with Iron Man. That film allowed Marvel Studios to ease viewers into a project that was, in its own ways, also somewhat unprecedented. Similarly, the Mortal Kombat movie uses the character of Cole Young as a kind of audience surrogate. He’s a new face in this universe who is also trying to figure all of this out. 

It’s all part of a delicate balancing act that requires the cast and crew to constantly ask themselves how this movie looks to a diehard fan and how it will look to someone who is just coming into this. 

“There are five million people that play this game religiously, but there are 100s of millions of people in the world,” Garner says. “We didn’t want the other 95 million people to go, ‘What the fuck is this. What is this tone, what the fuck is happening?’”

It’s easy to understand how fans could quickly become overwhelmed. If you haven’t played the more recent Mortal Kombat games, you may be surprised to learn that they’ve adopted a complex serial storytelling narrative that combines years of mythology as well as the events of the most recent games. If you tried jumping into Mortal Kombat 11’s interdimensional, time-jumping story, without at least an explainer of what came before, you’d probably think it was madness. Amusing madness, perhaps, but madness nonetheless. 

As it turns out, even Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid had a lot of catching up to do. 

“I feel like I went to Mortal Kombat university,” says McQuoid regarding the experience of learning the intricacies of the franchise. “I also surrounded myself with a lot of people who know a lot more about this than me.”

In the same way that 1995’s Mortal Kombat benefited from director Paul W.S. Anderson seeking and utilizing fan and crew feedback, McQuoid’s own desire to surround himself with lifelong MK fans is just one of the ways that the crew is determined to ensure they don’t make the mistake others have before them by straying too far from the desires of those who helped make the Mortal Kombat franchise worthy of adaptation in the first place. His efforts ultimately come down to honoring an important word. 

“The word I use a lot is ‘respect,’” says McQuoid. “Respect for the fans, respect for the characters, and respect for the canon. The execution ultimately takes that into consideration from the absolute bedrock of listening to and understanding the fans.”

Read more

Games

Mortal Kombat: The Definitive Video Game Movie of the ’90s

By Matthew Byrd

Games

Mortal Kombat Characters Ranked

By Gavin Jasper

Of course, as Garner previously eloquently noted, what many Mortal Kombat fans are looking for is over-the-top violence executed with flair. That is a big part of what made the original Mortal Kombat stand out in a crowded arcade scene, and it is certainly one of the qualities that have stayed with the series as it has evolved into this surprising vehicle for complex narratives and diverse characters. 

Fatality!

Of course, you can’t talk about Mortal Kombat violence without coming around to fatalities. What began as now strangely humble decapitations and spine extractions has evolved into a bloody ballet of highly choreographed violent ends that account for the lore and ability of every character. It’s something that was largely missing from the 1995 adaptation, and it’s something that Garner admits can be tricky to get right. 

“There’s crazy shit you can do in the game,” Garner says. “The problem with the fatalities, in general, is…I’m under the restrictions of the Motion Picture Association of America so I have to live inside those rules.”

In case you haven’t seen the recently released trailer, let me assure you now that the MPAA has not scared the team away from incorporating fatalities and MK’s other, bloodiest elements. In fact, McQuoid is practically at sea with the amount of blood on set. 

“I don’t know the gallon number, but I’ve seen drums of blood sitting around,” McQuoid informs his audience of gorehounds with a smile. 

So yes, there will be blood and lots of it in the Mortal Kombat reboot, but the team isn’t relying on the presence of blood alone to fulfill their equally important mission of telling a Mortal Kombat story as compelling as the ones featured in the games. Actually, they recognize that there are times when extreme amounts of violence can work against the dark tones that help make the franchise’s universe so compelling. 

“When I wanted a serious moment I didn’t want it to get comedic because we’re swashing blood,” McQuoid says. “It’s a tonal thing…you really need to feel it all instead of having people say ‘Oh, that’s funny.’” 

Besides, there are other ways to convey the series’ violent nature and brutal style that doesn’t necessarily require a drum of blood. From the first game in the franchise, Mortal Kombat has nodded to at least the cinematic history of martial arts. Whereas that series initially struggled to convey the fluidity and complexity of the best martial arts fights, though, the MK movie team has set a high bar for themselves. 

“The first thing I said to [stunt coordinator Kyle Gardiner] was “Okay, Kyle, you have to make the best fights that have ever been on film,” reveals McQuoid.

To anyone with a passing familiarity with the best fight scenes in film history, that idea has to come across as an absurd bit of hype. However, it starts to make a lot more sense when you look at the cast they’ve assembled. 

Choose Your Fighter

For a generation of fans raised on ‘80s action films and many major Hollywood genre productions that came after, it’s become somewhat easy to buy into the idea that untrained or largely untrained actors, bodybuilders, and models are the biggest badasses on the big screen. There’s a degree to which that’s what actors are supposed to do, but anyone who grew up on Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee or later found films such as The Raid and Ong-Bak can tell you that there’s nothing quite like watching uniquely talented martial artists push the boundaries of fight scenes by translating their real-world talents into cinematic splendor. In fact, the original Mortal Kombat arcade game was partially inspired by a desire to make a game that felt worthy of a John Claude Van Damme action film.

When it comes to getting Mortal Kombat right, then, there’s little doubt that the only way to go was to cast an all-star collection of martial artists and trained fighters rather than teach a cast of movie stars to look like they can do the things these guys can. However, I can’t emphasize enough just how crazy it was to watch even just snippets of what this essential superteam of martial artists push themselves to do when you put them in a room. Even those who have spent a considerable amount of time around the cast still express awe at what they’ve seen. 

“I’ve never made a movie like this before with this much fighting in it,” says Garner. “I don’t know what’s going on half the time, but they really are the best in the business…It’s so fast and even the camera is like, ‘Guys, can you slow down a little bit?’”

In some ways, the heart of this assembly feels like Sub-Zero actor Joe Taslim. As a renowned martial artist who many of us first saw in The Raid: Redemption, many action fans know that Taslim is the real deal. What you may not know is that Taslim is something of a Mortal Kombat superfan. His name was even tossed around a few times on the shortlist of best MK players on-set, as well as by some who suggested that Taslim helped set the pace (and raise the bar) for the speed of the action sequences. 

Then you have Tadanobu Asano as Raiden. As a legend of the Japanese film scene who has garnered more international acclaim in recent years by virtue of his work in 47 Ronin, Battleship, and the Thor films, Asano feels uniquely capable of playing the thunder god whose abilities sometimes set the standard in a universe of powerful fighters. He embodies the character so clearly that he’s already got his eye on the out of universe competition 

“Yeah, I can fight [Chris Hemsworth],” suggested Asano with a smile at the prospect of a Thor vs. Raiden film.

There also Max Huang who portrays Kung Lao: a beloved fan character who was sadly missing from the previous live-action adaptations. For him, the chance to finally bring that character to life echoes his own desire to further his transition from a celebrated stunt coordinator to a bonafide action hero.

“People like Bruce Lee were my heroes,” says Huang. “The ultimate goal was to become an actor, but there were few chances. A lot of times, it would just be a one-liner and that was it. These last few years I figured ‘you only have one life,’ so I just went for it.”

Few people are more qualified to speak on that subject than Liu Kang actor, Ludi Lin. As an advocate for representation in Hollywood, Lin has previously said how a lack of representation or even the wrong kind of representation can lead to feelings of shame and even isolation. For Lin, working with this many talented martial artists on a major Western production isn’t just a chance to showcase his own abilities; it’s a chance to help millions feel like they’re being seen. 

“Look, 60% of the world is Asian. A quarter of the world is Chinese,” says Lin. “I just don’t understand why there can only be one [in Hollywood films].”

Increased representation is always important, but at a time when violence against Asian Americans is on the rise, it stands to reason that the portrayal and prominence of Asian actors on film may be on more minds than ever before. So far as that goes, Mortal Kombat is uniquely positioned to not only showcase Asian heroes but pay respect to the clear Asian influences on the Mortal Kombat series in a way that the MK titles (especially the older installments) didn’t necessarily do before.

Read more

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By Gavin Jasper

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Could the Mortal Kombat Reboot Finally Give Us the Sub-Zero vs. Scorpion Fight We Deserve?

By John Saavedra

“From my experience working with Simon [McQuoid], I’ve never worked with someone that’s so serious about being that authentic for another culture,” says Lin. “Just walking on set…on this film, there are so many different types of people of different ethnicities, different origins, and different backgrounds. It really represents the world.”

I could go on. Legendary Japanese action star Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion, the beloved Chin Han as Shang Tsung, rising star Mehcad Brooks as Jax…even non-action stars or martial artists like Kano actor Josh Lawson have found how they fit into this legendary assembly of cast and characters. 

“I was just saying to Asano-san, ‘Kano, he’s only funny because he’s balancing you guys,’” notes Lawson. “On his own, it’s nothing. But as a see-saw, the more seriously these guys take the mysticism and the power, the less seriously I can take it. That’s where the comedy exists. He can walk in and tell them, ‘Fucking hell.’”

Who is Lewis Tan?

With so much of the fun for fans coming from watching their favorite MK fighters come to life and battle on the big screen, it’s hardly a surprise that it’s one of the new characters, Lewis Tan as Cole Young, who has attracted so much early attention. How will he fit into a roster of such established characters? It’s a question that Tan is relieved to finally be able to answer.

“It’s just nice to even be able to talk about the character because there was so much speculation and hype up until this point about which character I’m playing,” Tan says with noted relief. “I wear Ray Bans a lot so people were like, ‘Oh, he’s Johnny Cage. [laughs]’”

He may not be Johnny Cage, even if Tan’s effortless charm and movie star looks make him a prime candidate for the role, but it’s incredible how easily the Cole character seems to fit into this universe of iconic characters. Along those same lines, Tan seems to have quickly established himself among a roster of top-tier martial arts and action actors. In some ways, his vocal enthusiasm for the project best captures the set’s general vibe.

“I don’t want to jinx it either but I can truthfully tell you, I felt magic when I got here and it’s been crazy ever since then,” says Tan of his experience until that point. “It’s crazy because I’m really hard on myself and I’m really hard on the work that I do. Sometimes I’m like, ‘Oh, this wasn’t it.’ And then I’ll see a little of a rough cut of what Simon was doing and then I’m like, ‘Oh. It’s amazing.’ There’s some stuff that I wasn’t on set for and then I saw that stuff and I’m like, ‘That’s the best thing I’ve ever seen.’”

Of course, it’s hard to talk about bringing Mortal Kombat to life without the people who quite literally help do just that. 

Exploding Heads and Blown Minds

At one point during my set visit, I found myself standing on a stunning recreation of the bridge that crosses the chasm on the iconic Mortal Kombat stage known as The Pit. It was a massive construction impressively built to serve as both a showcase piece and an actual set practically designed as the stage for one of the film’s fight scenes. 

The team informed us that the general philosophy was to ensure that (almost) anything that could be done practically was done practically. A green screen was used sparingly to solve otherwise impossible problems. It’s an approach that appeases the old-school movie fans among us while honoring the raw nature of the older Mortal Kombat games which typically emphasized visceral visuals over more refined sensibilities.

The Mortal Kombat movie actually finds a fascinating middle ground between those concepts. For instance, the film’s costumes showcase the kind of wear and tear that you’d expect to see in outfits worn by warriors locked in an eternal battle, but they’re also designed to not only honor cultural concepts but the idea that some of this armor was designed to be somewhat ornamental at one point in time. They’re refined but appropriately ugly.

The film’s weapons are really on another level. Weapons have become increasingly important to the Mortal Kombat fighting styles over the years, and this film honors that concept through an arsenal of carefully constructed instruments of death that somehow treat even the most seemingly impractical of weapons with a logic that has perhaps only previously been dwelled on by the series’ biggest fans.

No detail was overlooked in pursuit of making sure every character had a weapon that the actor could hold in their hand and feel the power of. From ornate katanas to swords made of ice, the props team clearly fell in love with the opportunity to make even the absurd a reality. We even saw a garden gnome suspiciously snuck into the small arsenal they had crafted. 

Again, though, what stood out most is the prop team’s insistence that many of these weapons didn’t just need to look good on-screen. Many of them needed to be balanced and practical enough to be used in battle simply because many of them were actually going to be used in the film’s fight scenes. I don’t know how the weapon designs will come across in the final film, but my gut feeling is that the fight scenes that they allow for will immediately be appreciated.

One other area where those efforts will almost certainly be immediately appreciated by everyone watching the movie is the makeup and practical effects. The makeup trailer I stepped in was loaded with masks, body parts, and the carnage of many early morning marathon makeup sessions. It looked closer to a horror movie than an action film or video game adaptation. That should be music to the ears of any fans that recognize that one of the things that helped the Mortal Kombat series stand out over the years are the horror tones that were used to help craft characters, stages, and most certainly the fatalities. 

While we weren’t treated to a fatality viewing while on-set, the team was good enough to describe an exploding head that they were working on for an upcoming shoot. Where that exploding head will rank among the best of all-time (a list that includes films like Scanners, Maniac, and The Prowler) remains to be seen, but their approach sounded fascinating. By utilizing a silicone glass head filled with blood and guts and triggered by an air cannon, the scene figures to pay homage to the techniques of the best such effects of old while utilizing modern advancements designed out of necessity and perhaps a desire to help raise the bar. 

It wasn’t long into my trip that the cast and crew emphasized the number of practical effects being utilized, and I certainly understand why. They not only look great, but the fact that so much effort went into ensuring these design elements offer something so much more than good looks seems to perfectly capture the spirit of the movie’s mission to make something that is so much more than it has to be.

Flawless Victory?

If the biggest “advantage” of low expectations is the idea that even lesser efforts can somehow exceed them, then the biggest disadvantage of the expectations set by many live-action video game movies to date is getting people to genuinely feel excited. There’s a big difference between crafting something that makes you think “That could have been worse,” and making a movie that inspires the genuine belief that this isn’t just going to be something different; this is going to be something special. 

The highest compliment I can pay to Mortal Kombat is that the genuine excitement expressed by everyone on-set went well beyond a cast and crew that were just happy to be there or felt that what they were doing was good enough. From those who couldn’t wait to play some of their favorite characters to those who were eager to finally showcase what they do best via a production that’s scale equaled the scope of their talents, there was a smile on everyone’s face as they told you what they were working on with the full knowledge that what they were about to say was something so far beyond what you expected. 

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I don’t know if Mortal Kombat will “break the curse.” I don’t even know if it will satisfy a legion of MK fans who have had their expectations forever raised by the recent games’ own increasingly cinematic efforts. What I can tell you is that it’s ok to feel excited about Mortal Kombat. Actually, you probably should be excited about Mortal Kombat. I can assure you that everyone working on the film very much is. That, in and of itself, is a victory.

The post Inside the Mortal Kombat Movie’s Bloody Love Letter to Martial Arts appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

[allthefilmsiveseenforfree]

Sonic the Hedgehog

I never played Super Mario Bros. until I was in college - we were a Sega household or we were nothing. While my friends were busy rescuing Princess Peach and throwing barrels as Donkey Kong (is that how that game works? I have no idea), I was zipping along collecting rings and fighting a mad...robot...doctor? Not really sure what Dr. Robotnik’s whole deal was, but the point is I was a Sonic girl through and through. In spite of feeling a little silly, that means I was genuinely excited about the movie adaptation, which is frankly ridiculous as video game movies couldn’t be less of a cursed movie genre. Even amongst horrifying character redesigns (why the TEETH??) I kept my optimism intact. 

I loved Sonic so much as a child that, as an adult 20 years later, I adopted a pet hedgehog named Hamish. Those of you who know me well have probably met Hamish or have seen his pictures on the internet in his annual Halloween costumes (tiny hats are key). He was most people’s first hedgehog friend in real life, and I delighted in learning as much about hedgehogs as I could so that I could teach people fun hedgehog facts. Despite normally living 1-3 years in the wild and 2-4 years in captivity, Hamish kept right on trucking, running miles and miles every night in his wheel and eating dried grubs out of my hand as a treat for almost 7 years. He got sick a couple weeks ago - stopped eating and drinking, and when I took him to the vet he got some meds and supplies for syringe feeding and it seemed like he might be able to recover. It had been a really stressful few days, and I was constantly worried about Hamish, so I wanted a little bit of escapism - a fun, probably forgettable family movie sounded perfect. And after I got back from seeing Sonic the Hedgehog, I gave Hamish his medicine and food and held him in my hand for the last time. He passed away that night while I was asleep. I’m not usually the type to ascribe significance to coincidences like that, but it felt like there was a reason I saw this movie on the day I did. Was my faith misplaced? Was this a mere trifle or a fitting tribute to Hamish’s memory? Well...

I think the things that I loved about the movie are many of the same things that I loved about Hamish - a playfulness, a sense of humor, and in spite of a silly-looking exterior, a beating heart full of affection and comfort. I was all primed for disappointment - I had high expectations, the studio went through that costly redesign, and I was already in a pretty emotionally tangled up place. Not the best circumstances going in, which makes it all the more impressive that Sonic is one of my favorite films I’ve seen this year by far. 

The basic plot is simple - Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) is an alien who had to leave his home planet in a hurry, and uses magical golden rings to travel portal-like to other planets where he will be safe from any enemies who want to harness his powers. So he’s been hanging on Earth for awhile, hiding out in a teeny town in Montana. Sonic is kinda obsessed with the town sheriff, Tom (James Marsden) and his wife Maddie (Tika Sumpter), who are a nice, normal, kind couple who love each other and their town - all Sonic wants is to be friends with them because he’s so lonely. One night, that loneliness manifests in a big way through his superspeed powers - enough to garner the attention of Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey, returning to the rubberfaced comedy that made him famous). In his efforts to escape Dr. Robotnik, two things happen: Tom discovers Sonic’s existence and subsequently makes Sonic lose his magical rings. So you know what that means - oddball buddy road trip movie time as they go on a quest to get the rings back!

Some thoughts:

Ben Schwartz is amazing in this role. It’s perfect casting, and a great voice performance as he injects so much joy and wonder into every moment. You really feel Sonic’s outsider status, his loneliness, his yearning, and his ceaseless joy at every new experience he has. 

There is a Very Good Dog in multiple scenes of the movie! He is doing the best job!!

Such a fantastic surprise to see Adam Pally in a supporting role as a deeply earnest and clueless deputy. 

And is there any more reliably affable actor than James Marsden? I have never NOT liked him in anything I’ve seen, and he seems like just a general good-natured stand-up guy. His chemistry with Sonic is really great, which is always impressive when you imagine him acting next to a tennis ball or otherwise strange CGI stand-in. 

One of my favorite things about the film is Tom and Maddie’s marriage. Even though Tom is one half of the madcap buddy duo that makes up the bulk of the film, Maddie is his equal partner. They are shown to genuinely like each other, and she is never depicted as the nag or the lame wife who is trying to stifle his adventures or act as the Voice of Reason who is demanding he come back for his safety. She supports this crazy ride because Sonic is in danger and she has a big heart and wants to help him too. I’m particularly glad they didn’t shove her into a subservient nonexistent wife role, or an Angry Black Woman role. I just think it’s so good for kids to see this married couple who are working together to help someone and who love AND like each other.

The biggest highlight is obviously seeing Jim Carrey return to his form as a sort of evil, power-hungry Ace Ventura. He’s over-the-top, his whole body is made of rubber, and he’s having the time of his life. Case in point - he has a dance sequence in the middle of the film that made me grin so hard my face hurt. He’s cartoonishly evil in the best way, and it works because Dr. Robotnik is one of those villains that wants to fuck shit up just cause. That’s difficult to buy into, but Carrey’s madcap performance and his absolute commitment to being the smartest person in any room and hating everyone else for it really makes it work.  

I was so delighted by how tight Patrick Casey and Josh Miller’s script is from start to finish. There’s an actual good reason Tom and Sonic are stuck together. Sonic loves watching action movies (from the bushes outside Tom’s house) so the movie is full of fun classic action movie homages and lines that keep things light and fun even in the midst of some peril. And there’s real emotional and physical stakes here as Sonic tries to find a friend and a place he can call home where he won’t have to worry about running from his enemies. 

Did I Cry? I teared up a little near the end at some very tender friend talk!

There are two extra scenes during the credits - don’t miss them, particularly if you are a fan of the whole Sonic mythos in general!

This movie is sweet, fun, genuinely funny, and just as quick as its namesake. I went into it just for a little escapism, and came out with a movie that will forever be tied to my memories of one of the best friends I’ve ever had. I think Hamish would be proud, Sonic, and I’m glad I got to have the time with both of you that I did. 

If you liked this review, please consider reblogging or subscribing to my Patreon! For as low as $1, you can access bonus content and movie reviews, or even request that I review any movie of your choice.

#120in2020 #sonic the hedgehog #sonic movie #sonic review #sonic the hedgehog review #ben schwartz #jim carrey #james marsden #tika sumpter #adam pally #dr robotnik #movie reviews #film reviews

[imagining-in-the-margins]

Whew. I got a ton of headcanons to answer for tomorrow, but I’m still open if anyone has any! I included one of them here because I wanted to talk about Jazz & Jealousy more generally.

Answers below the cut 👇

1. Hahah I’m glad you’re excited. I certainly left it on a cliffhanger. I’ve got like 3k words. It’ll be a couple more days at least. Randomly got in the mood for smut so I’m trying to decide what to write. Been in a weird mood. This chapter is very heavy so it’s making me emotional lol. I posted a preview awhile ago that’s here if you haven’t seen it yet.

2. Thank you; I’m glad you enjoyed it! Spencer meant what he said - he’s been with bratty/difficult women before, and he usually has a lot more involved sex with them. It would include a lot more teasing and foreplay, but he didn’t have the time in this scenario. A great example of what he meant is what you see in Never Have I Ever (Part 2)!

3. All Part 2s and Extensions are on hold because I currently have around 50 requests in my inbox for one-shots. If you’re looking for more Dom!Spencer works (and haven’t gone through my Masterlist yet) I suggest: Funhouse Mirror, I Like it Like That, and the newest Jazz & Jealousy.

If it’s just Prof Reid you’re looking for, I’m working on a series about him (The Birds & The Bees).

4. I mean, can you blame him? She was being a brat.

5. Aaaaa I love Peraltiago so much! I agree. This will be less funny than that scene, but the emotions will be very similar.

6. I’m so glad you enjoyed it! It was a blast to write, even though it took me a long time.

7. Sure! If you (or anyone else) have any more specific ideas for Clumsy!Reader, I’d be glad to double up with this request. I’m glad you enjoyed Not Your Backup! It is a unique Reader I don’t get to write a lot.

8. You’re in luck! I wrote a whole fic with him (I Like it Like That)! We’ll also see Jealous!Spencer in Vested Interest, Bro Code, Catalyst, and, to some extent, Here to Misbehave.

9. Hello Anon! I do remember you! Unfortunately, I do not remember my answers to your questions, lmfao. So I might be repeating myself 😅 Bear with my terrible memory, please! I love how much you care about my behind the scenes. It’s very flattering and I appreciate you. Now onto your questions:

Stories I’m super excited to publish: The Birds & The Bees. It’s my new series and I’m obsessed with it, but I know it’ll be hard to maintain everything I already have going on. Also looking forward to Big Bad Wolf (Innocent Kink) and My Boss’s Daughter (Hotch’s Daughter Reader).

Stories that were hard to publish: Schrodinger’s Part 2 and Not Your Backup. I’m so relieved people enjoyed them.  Part 14 of H2M was also very hard. I’m still not a big fan of it, although it does have the most comments of any of my fics.

10. Any new favorites... Hrmm... I was actually really happy with Jazz & Jealousy. And of course, Teacher’s Pet (which is now by far my highest ranking fic among readers, too).

Schrodinger’s Part 2 was the hardest to write. I justified a lot of the team’s reactions based on things that happened off screen, but it still felt very out of character for most of them. H2M Part 14 was close behind. I hate action sequences.

I haven’t struggled inspiration wise for anything lately. In my requests though, I’m struggling with Lost Time and It’s Personal.

Most fun to write... Bi the Way. Very cute. Also the quickest (because it’s pretty short, and it was straightforward). I did write J&J very quickly once I actually sat down and did it, though.

New requests I’m most looking forward to: It’s Too Cliche (”I Won’t Say I’m in Love” FWB fic) and Different Dialects (Autistic!Reader). There are a ton of great ones, though! Thanks for all the questions!

Everyone stay safe and happy as can be! I love you all! 🥰

#answer #answered

[mmmmalo]

This is a (meandering, non-exhaustive) overview of Homestuck’s use of

by which I do not mean examples of psychological realism in a character’s words and deeds, but rather the various means by which characters’ psyches are expressed outside of themselves. I wish to elaborate on how thoughts, feelings, and desires may find expression in the environment, in the medium of the story itself, and in the form of other characters.

That’s perhaps a little vague, so here’s a ready example of what I mean: brainghost!Dirk. He talks with Jake, but since he is a construct of Jake’s mind, Jake is essentially talking to himself. Brainghost!Dirk is an alienated medium for voicing Jake’s own thoughts, irretrievably distorted through its intermingling with what Jake thinks/wishes Dirk would say (not unlike a puppet). I am claiming that this mode of characterization is not a unique to Jake; the blurring of inner and outer voices is omnipresent throughout the story.

Or, rephrased: what I hope to show is that a great deal of Homestuck is haunted with brain-ghosts, of one kind or other.

An early example of this kind of storytelling in science fiction would be the film Forbidden Planet (1956). The film contains a pair of conflicts which eventually reveal themselves to be one: the scientist Morbius wants some space explorers to get off his planet, and an immense monster (pictured above) appears during the night to attack the explorers. Morbius, it turns out, has been experimenting with a machine capable of turning thought into reality. So when Morbius sleeps, his dream of driving off the trespassers materializes in the form of beast that forcefully enacts the wish.

The beast is declared a “monster from the id”, the “id” being a concept borrowed from Freudian psychology, indicating the part of the mind responsible for the unfiltered generation of impulses, of urges. In the film, this passing mention of psychoanalysis precedes the revelation of Morbius’s link to the beast.

Homestuck hints towards its own mixing of thought and reality with a device similar to Morbius’s dream machine: Sburb.

A snapshot of Dave’s Sburb client (1519) shows that the final subprograms launched during the games installation make reference to terminology associated with Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud. The terms suggest that Sburb interacts with the ideas in the kids’ subconscious minds (archetypes) and brings symbolic representations of these ideas into conscious reality (manifests the ideas). The game alters the means by which reality is constructed. As with Forbidden Planet, a major result of this is id monsters.

When John slips on a staircase, he flips out (left, 560). And when he nearly launches himself into the abyss with the Pogo Hammer, he has to take a nap before he has calmed down enough to continue (center, 637). Immediately following both moments of vertigo, massive ogres appear. The eventual fight with the ogres begins after John looks over the edge of the platform above his house, into the abyss (right, 662).

All of this suggests that Sburb is reacting to John’s emotional state (fear) to produce in-game content. The game functions as a waking dream.

It should also be noted that Sburb provokes the reactions it elicits. Karkat once mentioned a nagging feeling that the game was mocking him by giving him a planet covered in the candy red blood he had spent a lifetime attempting to hide (2301). Karkat’s paranoia seems to be correct here, and moreover applicable to the cast in general -- John’s house was likely placed atop an immense spire /in order to/ bring John’s dread of falling into sharp relief. The suspicion can be substantiated with a few related motifs.

The story provides two likely origins for John’s fear of heights: his own fall from the slime pogo as a child (2626) and the death of Nanna, which John believed resulted from her falling from a ladder and being crushed by a book (52). What’s more, Sburb’s invocation of the Fall of Man (Adam and Eve being cast from the Garden of Eden) via biting into an apple hints that there is an allegorical significance to John’s more literal fear of heights. 

We can apply these patterns to other characters in an attempt to learn more about them. LOLAR being covered in ocean suggests that Rose is afraid of water, with the likely cause of Rose finding Jaspers dead and washed up on a riverbank (presumed drowned). Dave speaks openly about how his sword fights with Bro left him anxious of metal sounds (7749), meaning the grinding gears of LOHAC were a personalized hell for Dave. Jade’s first imp manifests in response to the sight of a yellow aurora (2998), inviting the reader to investigate why that image invokes a fear response.

But we won’t get to into all of that, not for now at least. Let’s take a step back.

For my reading of the imps as manifestations I’ve been leaning heavily on a piece of film theory devoted to the effects of sequential images. The sequence above constitutes two observations. One, that by this arrangement the viewer will infer the old man sees and reacts to the middle figure. Two, that the viewer’s impression of the old man will change based on the content of the central image, even if his expression is the same. Is he smiling at Nepeta or warm embrace Marvus’s armpit? The answer may influence your interpretation of the little smile.

The neat thing about montage is that the interrupting frame need not bear any obvious relation to what precedes or follows in order to be subject to a causal reading. Moments that occur sequentially can be read as triggering one another, even if what follows any particular moment appears to be a break rather than a continuation.

Example: There’s a moment where Aranea walks into Jake’s dream, and brainghost!Dirk immediately starts razzing Jake about his attraction to the alien girl and threatening to give him a boner. The scene is interrupted by Jack committing a series of gratuitous murders. We then cut back to Jake, and bg!Dirk is now teasing him about his dirty thoughts.

DIRK: You have got to be kidding. Did you seriously just think something THAT dirty? DIRK: You must be doing this on purpose to spite me now. I mean, just wow dude. That was x-rated as fuck. 

JAKE: (No no stop. See youre talking about it and now i cant help it!) JAKE: (You are psyching me into having dirty thoughts get fucking lost you interloping brain douche!!!) 

DIRK: Don't worry, I'm gone. It's like a goddamn peep show in here and I feel like a sleazy piece of shit watching this from a dark corner of your mind. DIRK: You have a graphic imagination, English. I'm kind of impressed. 

JAKE: (Shut up theyre just thoughts its not even like im trying to have them THEY DONT MEAN ANYTHING!)

The ostensible joke is that bg!Dirk is exaggerating or outright fabricating his account of Jake’s thoughts in order to hassle him. But by way of montage, one can infer that we /have/ seen Jake’s dirty thoughts, in the form of Jack’s display of overwhelming bloodlust. Violence is superimposed over the sexually explicit. 

Whether the scene literally takes place in Jake’s mind is secondary (though such a reading would explain why Jake’s brain ghost is even aware of Jack) -- the use of montage allows Jack’s actions to function as a /metaphor/ for Jake’s thought.

Another example of Jack functioning as a murderous/libidinous avatar would be the death of Mom and Dad. At their little tea party, Dad spills some wine on Mom’s clothes and declares that she must disrobe immediately (so that Dad might launder the garment). Mom calls the aromas wafting from his pipe sensuous. The two clasp hands and declare that all they need is eachother. Then they die! The joke is that while Bec Noir is ostensibly an interruption to date night, he also functions as its culmination, with murder acting as substitute for the sex act.

The link between violence and sexuality is perhaps a hard sell, but I hope to convince you that the reading holds merit. Let me emphasize that the very act of Mom and Dad holding hands was itself sexually loaded.

I owe to HS liveblogger elfstuck the insight that John’s linear 3 card sylladex is a reflection of his short attention span. Consider how John’s role as a game character means he is thrown all around his room, back and forth, as the player figures out what to make of the situation. If you ignore the fourth wall, you’re left with an extremely distracted person, who attention flows easily from one object to another. Accepting the object-in, object-out nature of John’s sylladex and the resulting shenanigans as a metaphor for this, it would follow that the sylladex in general can offer an abstract representation of thought.

In passing, I can mention how the enormity of Jake’s sylladex (it cannot even fit on the page, and contains an object that exceed most players’ size limits) would imply that despite evidence to the contrary, the boy likely has a big brain (and perhaps its being offscreen suggests Jakes own unawareness of much of his own thought). Dirk’s comment about avoiding items that are difficult to shoehorn into his mnemonic schema (4535) could be read as a difficulty maintaining information that doesn’t fit into his personal mental models. The sylladex becomes a metaphor for the mind that requires interpretation.

Under this mode of thought, the moments when Jade’s pictionary modus fails to correctly interpret her drawing become akin to a mental slip-of-the-tongue. For the Tanglebuddies to be misread as enmeshed hands implies an association, in Jade’s mind, of horny Squiddles and clasped hands. John affirms the association much later by miming Tanglebuddies as he attempts to grapple with the question of whether Jade and Davesprite are sexually compatible (5294):

JOHN: how do things even work if you marry a sprite?

JADE: what do you mean 

JOHN: i mean... JOHN: ok, he has a ghost butt, for one thing. 

JADE: uh JADE: so 

JOHN: a GHOST BUTT, jade! 

JADE: SO WHAT IF HE HAS A GHOST BUTT!!!!! 

JOHN: i'm just saying... 

JADE: WHATEVER YOURE JUST SAYING, JUST STOP SAYING IT! JADE: and whatever youre trying to gesture with your hands there, stop doing that too!

It should also be noted that before launching into her “daring dream”, waxing poetic on the miraculous union of the human and the animal with her hands clasped in wonder, Jade successfully captchalogued the Tanglebuddies (796). And more to the point, Jade’s pose in reproduced during discussions of cherub (5961) and leprechaun (6007) reproduction. Hand-holding becomes representative of an (oft-sexualized) union, underlining the euphemistic nature of Mom and Dad’s post-contact demise.

The next example of using montage to communicate thought requires a little more buildup.

There’s a gag in Rose’s introduction where the reader tells Rose to play with her writing journals, and scoots the journals under the bed and retorts that she would only do that if no one were watching (220). At first glance, the moment scans as a minor meta joke in a story filled with meta jokes -- but the trick is that Rose does not /know/ herself to be a video game character, her every movement controlled and observed. Rather, she /believes/ this to be true -- the joke about being watched establishes that Rose is paranoid, as will become apparent in the hostility she assigns to Mom’s every action.

The command prompt and narration are themselves brain ghosts of a sort: the voice deployed in them is always linked to the present point-of-view character. The insults that precede character introductions ( “Zoosmell Pooplord”, etc) become marks of anxiety, an intrusive proclamation of what the kids at times think of themselves (and/or what they think others think of them). “Nice time management skills, sweetheart!” becomes a bit of self-deprecation Rose as she procrastinates, which Rose experiences as having been voiced by some objective observer who judges her deficiencies.

A blurred line divides characters from the voice at the back of their head, belonging to the (presumed) omniscient, omnipotent author-god. This is why avatar!Hussie is dressed as Calliope when he is killed by Lord English. Both Calliope and Hussie are a voice in Caliborn’s head, and thus both present apparent obstacles to an unmediated self.

The left panel (3219) foreshadows the right (3358). Gamzee is not being declared the objectively most important character in Homestuck. Rather, Gamzee is declaring himself /to have been declared/ the most important character in the story. The line establishes that Gamzee believes himself to be in a story (with an author!) and that this author has declared him paramount. Furthermore, “fondly regarding creation” is an modus operandi of Problem Sleuth’s Godhead Pickle Inspector. Applying that turn of phrase to Gamzee’s actions further establishes that Gamzee believes himself to /be/ the god-author declaring his own importance. So it should come as no surprise that 137 pages later, Gamzee outright proclaims himself to be the god(s) he worships.

Going back to montage, it becomes interesting that this snapshot of Gamzee’s megalomania is inter-cut with the creation of Jadesprite -- the moment that dead!dream!Jade merges with Bec, forming a unity with a deity not unlike the unity Gamzee claims with his mirthful messiahs. The interweaving would suggest that Jade and/or Jadesprite experienced analogous thoughts of megalomania upon the moment of ascension.

This would be a good point to mention that not only imps and ogres, but trolls also function as manifestations for the people they impose upon. Karkat is not only an interruption here, but also a continuation. He points out that Jade’s self-loathing, that she cannot safely distance herself from the qualities of Jadesprite she finds distasteful. This is precisely why Karkat ends the conversation by telling Jade to turn off the fourth wall (which divides the self!), as well as the reason he imagines Jade making out with herself: Karkat is on every front presenting the prospect of union with oneself.

The notion of trolls as manifestations first emerges clearly when Rose and Dave receive their packages from John. As they finish reading John’s letter, each is suddenly contacted by a troll and greeted with the command “Answer.” Critically, by word alone it is ambiguous as to whether the command refers to answering the troll or the letter. And as it turns out, these answer occur simultaneously: Rose and Dave’s responses to the letters are embedded in the subsequent conversations. 

Rose receives a letter poking fun at her pretensions, claiming that her attempts to hide her affections for people are futile. In response we get Kanaya, who imperiously proclaims her disdain for Rose, only to suddenly change tact and explicitly seek Rose’s friendship, an entreaty which the oft paranoid Rose accepts. Dave receives a letter imploring him to let go of his insecurities and express himself. In response we get Tavros, the very picture of insecurity, who is fixated on the idea of making Dave shit himself (as part of an ‘emotional constipation’ motif that follows Dave). And Dave complies, in a sense, by way of the quasi-ironic gay treatise that compels Tavros to block him. Each conversation addresses the issues laid out in John’s letter.

Examples can be found throughout the comic. Equius remarking that he talks to Gamzee every day (2220) establishes that Gamzee is regularly haunted by the thoughts of domination that Equius voices -- both in the literal and metaphorical sense. Erisolsprite referring to Dirk as a rock 2oliid piiece of a22 and then calling himself 2ociiopathiic for even thinking something so callous (5516) expresses a conflict already present in Jake’s own mind, echoing the frustration with his own dirty thoughts expressed by the argument with brainghost!Dirk. Feferi’s pronounced enthusiasm for the imminent apocalypse should cause you to question Kanaya’s seemingly neutral resignation towards the end of the world, since Feferi manifests for Kanaya (2328). And so on.

The person being trolled is always being confronted with thoughts or feelings or memories already present within themself. Alien contact always doubles as a brain ghost haunting.

Another example, with some buildup: Karkat invokes the phrase “PERFORATE MY BONE BULGE WITH A CULLING FORK” to express his contempt for Vriska, and on subsequent pages we see Feferi pointing her culling fork at a cuttlefish (2181), as if to suggest that the creature symbolizes the bone bulge. Fast forward to Kanaya, who has just gotten through a conversation with Vriska and finds herself haunted by Eridan, who keeps going on about his romantic desperations and insisting (correctly) that Kanaya’s crush on Vriska is itself romantic. That his notification erupts from an image of cuttlefish held at Kanaya’s waist adds to the air of yearning, as though her own bulge is rumbling. The scene is capped off with a double entendre: “its hard and nobody understands” is playfully poignant jab at an inability to understand one’s own desires (among other things). 

And Homestuck devotes a lot of attention to desire.

It’s long been acknowledged by the fandom at large that Kanaya’s attraction to Light players functions as a joke on the proverbial moth-to-the-flame. As reconciliation with the fire destroys the moth, there’s a morbid tinge to the attraction, as though it doubles as a death wish. And the wish is granted -- when Kanaya dies in Homestuck, she dies to light, either from Eridan’s wand or the laser blasts unleashed by HIC. Even the death of Kanaya’s lusus pertains to light -- the matriorb ripped from her innards is shaped like a miniature sun, as if to establish some loose link between the notion of motherhood and the incandescence Kanaya eventually achieves.

This can be generalized into a principle wherein lusii (and the circumstances of their deaths!) can functions as analogies for the desire of the wards.

Vriska, for example, desires execution. When offering Terezi a flimsy apology for crippling Tavros and proxy-murdering Aradia, Vriska offers to slam her head against her desk in penitence. This moment should be read against Vriska’s addiction to breaking 8 balls, and leaving the broken shards lying around as though she’s inviting the “bad luck” of stepping on them. It /is/ an invitation. Vriska seeks love via violent retribution against herself. This is why in the right panel, Vriska’s blood-spattered head is juxtaposed with a broken 8 ball: the blood came from Spidermom’s execution (which characterizes Vriska’s desire), and motif of 8R8K H34DS connects the moment to Vriska’s idea of apology.

Like Kanaya, Vriska (to a degree) seems to structure her love life along these lines. In the words of @azdoine:

like ppl are actually out here writing Vriska as the top as if her entire Act 5 character arc isn’t about bratting out until Terezi has no choice but to punish her

“oh noo, I, the thief of light, stole all of your luck, and made the coin land on the scratched side! now you have to kill me! but I’m probably going to get away with everything, because you don’t have the guts to stab me with that sword of yours!!!!!!!! if only there was somebody, like you, who could prove me wrong!”

EXTREMELY SUBTLE THERE, VRISKA

Vriska’s approach to wooing Tavros also revolves around baiting execution:

The scene: Tavros leads a horde of imps and ogres into a mystery cave, the top of which is adorned with kissing lizards and an alchemical symbol. Tavros is putting a puzzle of a frog together, but Vriska has already pieced together the puzzle: making a frog universe is, in part, a cipher for personal reproduction. The Ultimate Alchemy is making a baby! And as Vriska says, “real gamers cut to the chase. They power through all the nonsense and go for the gold.” So she brings Tavros to LOMAT and makes the moves on him.

Tavros is equated to a treasure chest by the repeated use of framing and Vriska is GOING FOR THE GOLD, like a WINNER. Tavros later reaches into the same chest for his lance before heading off to attempt to kill Vriska -- affirming that the treasure Vriska seeks here is Tavros’s “lance”.

This setup was suggested by the conversation accompanying the kissing salamanders: Vriska gives Tavros a map with a big red X, saying he should take his legion of imps through the gate and go defeat his denizen. The gate actually leads to Vriska, but she isn’t lying. She is positioning herself to be Tavros’s final boss. The imps are manifestations of Tavros’s pent up rage (much of which was generated by Vriska’s harassment), and Vriska wants Tavros to take that anger out on her. Hence the later panel which uses Vriska’s boots to place a big red X directly over her groin, making explicit the implicit goal of Tavros’s trip to the windmill X-gate.

This pursuit of love through violent comeuppance may have something to do with Vriska’s bitter disappointment that ghost!Aradia did not seem to hate her.

An intermission/introduction of sorts, as we bridge from one discussion of desire to another: did you know that Michael Bay’s Armageddon (1998) structures itself in part around Freud’s Oedipus complex? I say this in total sincerity.

The plot: a meteor the size of Texas bears down upon the Earth, threatening armageddon. Luckily, a crew of rough-and-tumble oil drillers are ready to fly into space and split that mother in two. Oh HELL yeah.

Except, wait, the movie’s actually about family drama: Bruce Willis finds Ben Affleck sleeping with his daughter Liv Tyler; Willis proceeds to chase Affleck around the oil rig with a shotgun, bang bang bang. Not Allowed. The Protective-Father-Hates-Your-Boyfriend dynamic is presented as an Oedipal triad of sorts: although Tyler is not literally Affleck’s mother, she performs the mom-function of “forbidden object of desire” -- and Willis opening fire is equivalent to the castration said to await trespassers onto maternal soil.

The above reading is buttressed by jokes: Armageddon appears to function within an implicit dream machine, such that the characters’ thoughts and fears can become manifest in their environment. So when it comes to pass that whenever  Affleck climbs into a hole (heehee), a pipe breaks (hoohoo), and suddenly everything goes boom, I read that as Affleck reliving the consequences of boning Tyler, packaged in such a way that the Freudian fear of castration is more explicit. (The relevance of Oedipus to the proceedings adds some humor to Steve Buscemi declaring the entire disastrous situation a “Greek tragedy”)

At any rate, after some shenanigans, Willis comes to accept Affleck’s claim to his daughter and confers the deed, as it were. Willis gives the young couple his blessing and they get married. Hooray!

Except, wait, the movie’s actually about the perpetuation of the oil industry: the dream machine was declared at the beginning of the movie when a petty street-side argument triggered the first barrage of meteors. The meteor the size of Texas (aka Dotty) is triggered by conflicts that haunt the central cast -- namely Willis, who enters the film hitting golf balls at a Green Peace boat. On a metaphorical level, Dotty is a golf ball the size of Texas, striking directly at the Earth instead its self-declared representatives. There’s a certain irony here: the film lampshades that the men who are destroying the world have been tasked with saving it.

The family drama folds into the environmentalist angle: Liv Tyler is a symbol of the earth (which gets drilled). This is the joke when Affleck is bouncing animal crackers around on her belly like she’s host to the Savannah: she kind of is! It’s no coincidence that Willis confers ownership of the oil rig at the same moment that he offers his daughter’s hand in marriage: the motifs are being discussed simultaneously.

But enough of all of that: back to Homestuck.

Armageddon’s simultaneous casting of Liv Tyler into the roles of earth and mother offers a glimpse at the interpretive possibilities made available by Hussie’s statement that Homestuck is in a way a synonym for Earthbound (an RPG in which “homesickness” is a status ailment which can be cured by calling your mom). Stuckness or boundness can be deployed to communicate a sense of longing for “home”.

A good chunk of Homestuck is built upon feelings of nostalgia, taken to mean a sort of intense separation anxiety with the past. John speaks about this when he watches Con Air with Jade – John wants the movie to feel like it did when he watched it with his Dad long ago, but the feeling from when he was a kid is gone. This upsets him. Moreover, John’s freakout starts at the moment Cyrus puts a gun to the bunny’s head (5286): Con Air itself is partly about Nic Cage trying to return to the life he lost when he went to jail, and ‘putting the bunny back in the box’ is a metaphor for the attempt. Cyrus, in threatening the bunny, is highlighting his role as a force preventing things from going back to how they were. Thus, if we are to believe that John is responding to the movie thematically, Cyrus confronts John with his own inability to go back to a happier past – his inability to go home -- and this recognition is met with anger.

In making the leap to the psychoanalytic motifs, it helps to recall the part where baby!Dirk responds to being born by cracking open his ectotube and crawling back inside. Dirk, who aspires towards his “ultimate self”, illustrates here that he envisions his ascension as a return to the ‘essence’ of Dirk from which he (and all other iterations of himself) arose, as represented by the ectoslime. Baby!Dirk gestures at unity with his ectoslime/essence by crawling back into the place from which he was born, which I’m basically claiming is a “return to the womb” on a symbolic level, or at least that this is a useful parallel to draw. (A related motif to think about: Dirk decapitates himself by sticking his head inside a box, which as per Con Air symbolizes the place you wish to return to)

[Hella Jeff sez: “i took (my pants) off because i was banging your mom for a minute there..... AND NOW YOU ARE BANGING HER”]

Castration becomes unavoidable as you try to relate all of this to Dave, whose occasional references to banging hot moms are part of an ongoing reference to the Oedipus Complex. Critically, the complex is not /just/ about wanting to bone your mom, but also fear that your dad will chop your junk off if you do. The breaking of Dave’s sword on the rooftop is a realization of this fear (yes, we’re doing the “swords are phallic” thing). But Dave has no mom that he knows of, so what gives? 

The answer is in the way Bro inexplicably breaks the record emblem on Dave’s t-shirt, as though he has introduced a fissure into Dave’s very identity. Life with Bro has made it very difficult for Dave to be honest with himself, which is to say, Dave pictures Bro’s abuse as having divided him from an ideal “true self”, which can feel emotions without all the anxious ironic detachment. I mentioned before that seeking unity with that from which you came is a “return to the womb”. This is the sense in which the Oedipal mom attraction becomes relevant: the return to the past is sexualized. The ‘home’ Dave wishes to return to is /himself/, and in this sense Dave is his own hot mom (which is related to how often Dave compliments his own looks, as well as the above gif suggesting Dave’s boner – he is literally/metaphorically “attracted” to himself).

(Incidentally: this model of desire, in which a broken subject attempt to become whole again by seeking out its lost half, is basically the concept of the soulmate, as laid out by Plato. Cherub reproduction turns the metaphysical pursuit of one’s lost half into a plot-level objective)

John’s entry item (apple) was linked to fear embodied in a childhood trauma (the Fall), and the same can be said of Dave. Hatching from the shell that contained your primordial goop (Dirk) is analogous to being violently separated from yourself (Dave), which is why Dave’s entry item (an egg) hatching coincided with Bro slicing the meteor in half: the abuse that divided Dave from himself, his “castration” by Bro, is simultaneously the “birth” that separated Dave from his “mother” (which is also Dave).

The general idea is that birth = self-alienation = castration, insofar as all are depicted as modes of being separated from oneself.

The broad motif of ‘being separated from oneself’ can be very useful for identifying brain ghosts in unexpected places. Take for example, Roxy’s fenestrated planes: when they are introduced the narrative is quick to tell us that if someone were caught half in/out of one of the windows when the power cuts out, they would be sliced in half. By the rule of Chekhov’s gun, this introduction should mean we should eventually see someone get gorily bisected by the window, but alas we never do. 

Instead, when Gcat warped the panel away, trapping Roxy between the windows, we were shown the image of a bisected horse puppet in Dirk’s apartment, This signals that Chekhov’s gun has indeed gone off. But rather than splitting a body, it split a soul: Meenah’s introduction follows the sequence because Roxy has generated a shadow of herself, a doppelganger. This is not without precedent: an earlier portion of this post was devoted to exploring the fourth wall as a mode of self-alienation. Roxy’s panel mishap can be considered part of that pattern.

If Meenah functions as an extension of Roxy, all of her actions can be read as bearing some relations to Roxy’s own latent thoughts and desires. Prior to the epilogues, for example, Meenah imploring John not to give her the ring seemed to be yet another Fuck You to the late Chekov: the issue never comes up again. But a psychic link between Meenah and Roxy would suggest that John broke his promise to Meenah by giving the ring to Roxy, and that whatever motivations compelled Meenah to make her request in the first place would also apply to Roxy.

Decapitation is yet another mode of self-alienation, and thus can be construed as a mode of birth. Hence the image of Lil Sebastian hatching from his shell of taxidermied man meat. That’s a motif unto itself, but what I wish to call attention to is the match-cut from John’s broke body to Jake’s broken tower. The juxtaposition collapses the images into metaphor, such that Jake’s loose dome in the woods becomes a decapitated head -- an appropriate addition to the pumpkin patch it rests in, given all the Headless Horseman jokes. We can look to Dirk for for another example of a headless horse-man of the house echoing the head: for a guy who idealizes decapitation to such a degree, it is striking that Sburb aims to provoke him by reattaching his beheaded apartment to its underlying units.

Houses act as metaphors for heads, then “Homestuck” could also interpreted as “head trapped” -- like the title emphasizes confinement within one’s own mind. Such a reading offers up Failure to Launch and Arrested Development (posters on John and Jane’s walls) as alternate synonyms for Homestuck, as each satirizes (or outright mocks) potential failure states in the process of inter-personal and mental development (ie “growing up”). Like Earthbound, both lean on a sense of homesickness in characterizing despondency, as though characters are haunted by the needs that defined their childhood -- or else find themselves needing that childhood itself.

But collapsing nostalgia into infantile regression is far from the only way to approach the house/heads equation. One might read the transformation and growth of houses with Sburb as metaphors for expanding the mind. One might infer that the choreography of events within houses can map out thoughts like dancing bees. One might take the metaphor as a foothold for interpreting the significance of the Sburb logo being at once a house and a window. \I have my own thoughts about Homestuck’s brain-ghost haunted house-minds, but for now, I only hope that this document has raised some interesting questions -- and ideally, that the interpretive approaches I’ve described might be useful in seeking answers.

#homestuck #homestuck meta #this is basically the contents of the stream #movies #john #rose #dave #jade #jake #dirk #roxy #gamzee #vriska #4th wall #psychoanalysis #house as head #plato

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