#also all for one is an excellent villain but i kinda want his design to be more ...eldritch xDDD

[pumpkincarriage3]

Crewel Divus Character Analysis

Ah, yes, the BDSM teacher. Sorry Crewel fans, that's exactly what he is (joking). Or maybe that's why people really like him? Besides his appealing character design?

In all seriousness, I say that, but I feel like it's actually more of a unique quirk that he has rather than the fact that it has anything to actually do with BDSM. Kinda like how Crowley unintentionally, or intentionally, makes quite a few bird puns here and there. And typically, when other characters talk about him, they also tend to make bird puns. Crewel probably just really likes dogs and can't stand being disrespected.

I say this, because even though Crewel will call his students mutts and all manner of different names, he does actually care for them. Whenever they are in actual trouble, he does try and lend a helping hand, and unlike some people, he doesn't ask for things in return. He probably just takes his job as a teacher very seriously.

And if you consider the fact that he teaches alchemy, our equivalent of chemistry, it's no wonder why he's so harsh on his students. If they make one mistake it could end with them in the hospital or dead. Because of that he's really harsh on them. Which fits, because he doesn't want them to like him, he wants them to listen.

Which is why he can be pretty patronizing. Where in cases he'll give students tasks where they can "attempt" to get out of detention for not listening to the lesson, even though he knows most of those tasks are impossible unless the student was paying attention. And if the student was paying attention they wouldn't have made the mistake to begin with. So more often than not, the student will get a really harsh punishment, even if the mistake seems small to them.

The students simultaneously fear and respect him in this manner. I guarantee that if Crewel went on the masquerade trip instead of Trien, they wouldn't be joking around and asking the man about his make-out stories with his lover in dark tunnels. Because they would be too nervous to joke around in such a manner with him. For as much as Crewel calls the students by various nicknames, he keeps a strictly professional relationship with them.

But he does love his students. One can tell because he does call them dogs, even if it isn't said in an affectionate manner. Because Crewel does love dogs, so him calling his students such is his backwards way of showing affection. It just happens to have the added benefit of keeping the students in line as well.

And he loves his job and what he does. This is obvious by the events he can be found in helping out the students with various task. Where he guides them in the "right direction". Or as right as a villain school is going to be. Malleus, in the little alchemy lessons, says that while Crewel is peculiar, he is also an expletory teacher. And this is coming from Malleus, who excels in everything. This is a high compliment.

Crewel himself is also into high fashion. He loves it. It's why he where's the outfit that he does, even though he probably shouldn't be wearing his bulky coat in a lab. Or really be wearing a business suit in a lab either. This itself also shows how cocky he can be. Which might seem confusing. How does this show that he's cocky? Well, I'm sure that he's harsh on his students on lab safety, but he doesn't follow these same rules, in the name of fashion. He's cocky in the way that he thinks he can get away with wearing high fashion, in a lab, and have nothing happen because his skills are that great.

Sam himself mentions that Crewel is a hot-shot. Not surprising, considering the fact that Crewel also clearly loves high-end things in general, not just fashion. Seeing as classic cars is his hobbies, this is another confirmation.

Though, this could imply one of two things. That Crewel is paid a really good salary, or he comes from a family with money. I'm leaning more towards him coming from a family with money, since in the fairy-gala event, Ruggie's Vignette, shows Crewel allowing them to use old heirlooms as jewelry. 

And while heirlooms are bound to be expensive, they are also precious. And Crewel just allows them to use it for this instance, going into a garden full of faires that are known to be petty if things go south. Even if he expects them back at the end, the fact that he's letting them use them shows about the same nonchalance as Kalim has on sharing his family heirlooms. Then there was the fact that he was able to get the fabric and make the outfits, high quality clothes, in such a short period of time. Not once did he complain or show concern for the cost. So, he probably has money to spend.

Though, with as much as Crewel loves fashion, it makes it interesting that he chose to teach alchemy instead of becoming a fashion designer. Possibly, that just means Crewel loves alchemy or teaching more.

#twisted wonderland #twst #disney twst #twst wonderland #twst fandom #disney twisted wonderland #Disney twst wonderland #divus crewel #character analysis

[goosewriting]

yesterday i finally watched the new tmnt movie!! at first i wanted to do a live reaction kinda thing, except that wouldn’t work because i'd have to reblog every entry and hiding every single part under a "read more" would be not only tedious, but i'm not even sure if it's possible lol

so instead have a collection of my thoughts here! (spoiler warning, duh)

first of all: the art style. there’s something strangely nostalgic about it. it feels like that is what my mental storyboards as a kid would have looked like, had i been into animating back then. or at least that would have been close to the style i would have liked to emulate.

the explosions looking like violent scribbles is just so 😩🤌♥ chef's kiss, truly. there's something about the art in general that just moves in such a particular way and holds a certain weight and volume,, it feels like cardboard and clay and crayons and the piles upon piles of coloured pencils i used to have as a kid and how the wooden pencil drawer smelled. i'm such a fan of this style i’M obsessed o(-<

in the intro shots for the turtles, raph licking his sai blades is so extra and i love him for that lmao

for some reason i completely forgot they cast jackie chan as splinter and tbh idk how to feel about it? no hate towards him; i just don't think voice acting is his strong suit

meanwhile i'm looooving mikey's voice. also leo's beacuse, well first of all, i am a leo girlie (gender neutral) through and through so i would have loved all aspects of him no matter what. but his voice actor is gumball's i believe? and that's one of my comfort shows 🥺 i just love him sm

this little donnie is sending me, i- 🤣

superfly's theme reminds me of miguel's for some reason? 😂 and i'm here for it ahahh

the whole watermelon scene lmaoo teeangers being teenagers, finally

aaaand here comes the probably forced romance subplot 😅😅 (more on that later)

the whole fighting scene in the workshop tinted in red? ugh 10/10

ok so, april: i really like how they met. i like her design, her voice and her whole vibe. the whole puking jokes were a little too much for me; personally im not a fan of fart or puke jokes because, well, i’m not a 12yo boy (looking at you seth rogen) but all in all i really liked this rendition of april. it sucks tho that the turtles got a snazzy outfit by the end, both for school and for prom, but april’s clothes always remained the same. would have loved to see what she wore to prom!

the gen z lingo and references: …i mean, i guess it makes sense? i just don’t know how well it will age xD the references to end game and all were fun but, again, will someone in 15 years understand what they meant? will someone in 15 years know what rizz is?

changing the topic, the way eyeballs are rendered??? hello?? they’re so expressive and shiny and i lowkey wanna lick them ok

the chris pine cutout actually made me choke on my food from both surprise and laughter jhdfkjashdf

oookay so. superfly and his gang. first of all when the gecko talked i went like hey is that ant-man? lmao i love all the designs and ice cube as the villain works?? im not mad?? lol now, his plan however... sigh, my guy. killing all humans aside, have you maybe thought that if you turn every single animal and insect into a mutant, the whole ecosystem would all but collapse? there will be no planet left to belittle the humans on (:

"he'll run out of cars eventually" / *looks at parking* / “oh, c’mon!” lmaoo 😂 this joke was excellent

so, back to the forced romance thing. look i get it, they needed a reason to help out april to get the plot going. and if leo said it, then the rest would follow. i get that. but throughout the whole movie, aside from like his brothers elbowing his side knowingly, there’s no more allusion to anything? and then only at the veeeery end, he asks her out and she says yes, so i was like “oh okay so that’s the payoff then. took long enough” but then when they’re dancing she rhetorically asks if they’re just doing this as friends and 😐 maybe this is just my aroace self projecting but,, if you’re gonna use romance/romantic interest as a catalyst (lame tbh), at least be consequent about it?? if you (the writers) didn’t have the intention to explore the relationship, then leave it altogether? again, this is just my aroace opinion,, i can’t relate so i don’t understand. (which i know seems contradictory given my uh, repertoire of fics lmao) personally i would have preferred a different reason for them to helping out april, and having them all just be besties by the end, which they ended up being anyway

so, to sum it all up. it’s a story we’ve seen a hundred times, so there was really nothing new to it. the plot was okay,, the biggest thing that “bothered” me was superfly’s whole extermination thing making no sense, technically. but other than that, my eyes and ears were having an absolute feast. a very enjoyable film all in all. when we got rottmnt, i was like “oh finally an iteration of the teenage mutant ninja turtles where they’re actually teenagers” but scratch that. mutant mayhem is the most teenager one, and i loved them for that. time will tell how the jokes will age but yeah, the way they were depicted was definitely my favourite thing about the film aside from the art style.

have you guys seen it? what are your thoughts? lemme know :D feel free to comment here or send in some asks!

#btw i 100% disappeared for a long time and then im dropping this and probably disappearing again #for which i am sorry #things are just kinda hectic rn #tmnt mutant mayhem #tmnt mm #goose honks

[pinchraccoon]

Pinch Reviews: Spark The Electric Jester (1,2 and 3)

In an unusual fashion for me, I'm choosing to review the entire Spark series in one fell swoop. Somewhat recently I decided to play the entire series with my friend and cohost Space Buffoon. They proposed playing the series with me on stream as we're both fans of the Sonic The Hedgehog series, and Spark has very clear shared inspiration and DNA.

Over the course of three weeks, Buffy and I played the three titles in the Spark series, opting to play them in order. I'm choosing to cover the three of them today because I feel that comparing and contrasting the games to one another can shed some light on their strengths and weaknesses.

Spoilers, of course, for the entire Spark series!

Spark the Electric Jester, the first one, is a 2D platformer focused on speed and using powerups to creatively remove enemies from the optimal path. Notably, Spark differs immediately from Sonic while maintaining the core gameplay loop in that, far different to 2D Sonic's shield powerups, the powerups in Spark act much more like they might in a game like Mario, or like the different weapons in Mega Man.

The multiple different powerups in this game serve to further diversify an already diverse gameplay loop, finding alternate paths, by granting the player significantly different abilities and movement tech with which to maneuver through levels and carve out the path the player would most like to take. Whether it's removing specific enemies from blocking a path, or something as simple as an extended jump, the powerups allow players to express themselves really effectively. The powerups are also complimented by the stage design itself, which gives all the powerups that they contain a time to shine within them, and occasionally rewarding creative exploration with different, rarer powerups as well.

Every level in Spark is really satisfying to complete, and despite being longer than the typical level within the genre, it's rare to become bored with the levels as their visual themes as well as the gameplay gimmicks and powerup swaps keep them interesting. The levels are also a phenomenal example of this game's lovely visual style. It's this charming pixel art that really grants a lot of character to the world, it's locales and it's people.

The story in Spark the Electric Jester is a fun, simple romp that calls upon a cute cast of side characters and recurring villains, although I would have liked if the Shadow the Hedgehog-esque "Fark" or "Fake Spark" were better executed in the main game. Otherwise though, Spark has some really clever and somewhat self-aware writing that knows what this game is and what it's trying to be. Spark wisely doesn't seek to do more than it's earned in this game, and I applaud it for knowing its limits. Also, I really like Spark as a character, particularly his grounded nature and apathy toward the situation at hand. He's a good person, but at the end of the day the guy really just want to pay rent more than anything else. His presence in the story makes for a really fun juxtaposition to some of the more serious elements that it tries to pull, and grounds the story through him.

Really the issues I had with the game were incredibly small, primarily that the final boss felt extremely underwhelming due to the unique "Super Spark" powerup that the player is given feels supremely underwhelming, and being able to die far easier in that fight kinda kills the tension of what could otherwise be a really cool moment. I wish to stress, though, that my issues with this game are minute, almost inconsequential, even, and I only feel a need to bring up my issues with what is otherwise an extremely solid and consistent title because I had a great time with the game and just wish it was *that* much more improved. It is very close to being a game I could call a modern classic, but something like the final boss and other, very minor quirks do stick out to me because I *want* this game to be excellent. As it stands though, it's a really great experience that I would absolutely recommend.

Spark The Electric Jester 2 brings the series in a bold, new direction compared to its predecessor, which is to say, Spark is fully Not in the game. Also it's in 3D now.

Spark The Electric Jester 2, or as I'm choosing to call it because I'm spiteful, Fark2, is a 3D platformer with some of the same combat elements as the first game, but with the notable change, of course, of being a 3D game.

I won't beat around the bush here, I don't think this game is very good whatsoever. There is genuinely nothing notable that I liked about my time with this game. Because I will surely go off on tangents about every minute instance of failure on which this game underperforms, I have opted to segment this part of the review, so as to maintain concision, and make my point as clearly as possible. I am going to discuss Fark2's gameplay, story, and presentation separately from one another.

Gameplay

Fark2 controls about how you would expect it to, you have a fast character who has a homing attack now, attacks that can help deal with enemies that cannot be dealt with by the homing attack, as well as a parry. Similarly to the previous game, Fark also has access to his own powerups, but not even close to the same amount as Spark had. Additionally, Fark has access to a few "special" moves that can be performed by holding a button and then pressing an alternate input.

With this core kit in mind, the tools given to the player would imply that the usage of all of the items within Fark's arsenal would be used, much like how Spark 1 heavily encouraged and featured the varied use of abilities and powerups to reach the end of a varied and interesting level. This implication, however, is wrong. In reality, very little of the kit given to you actually does end up being used, as the most effective tactics available could not possibly be simpler. I mean it without a shred of irony that every challenge that this game poses to you, outside of a boss fight, can be trivialized by simply running and jumping. This is because Fark is genuinely too fast for the levels, and the amount of space that he covers means that enemies, many jumps, and in some cases major portions of levels can just be ignored. By just running and jumping with the occasional homing attack, players can ignore 90% of Fark's auxiliary kit, including the special moves, the parry, and perhaps most damning, the powerups.

Levels in this game are often very open, and enemies do not populate enough of the space within the levels to actually be able to pose a threat to a player who is, literally, just running and jumping. Normally, I don't have an issue with level design that allows and encourages the player to speed through the level and even in some cases ignore mechanics for the sake of that speed, but I want to emphasize that this is The Entire Game that is like this. It almost feels as though, combined with the extremely generous health system, Fark2 makes genuinely no effort to actually try to kill the player, or worse, makes no effort to make the player adapt. The player creativity that was present in the first game is completely gone in this game, thanks in large part to the fact that the most effective tactic available is also the easiest tactic available.

A quote from Soren Johnson and Sid Meier, creators of the Civilization series, comes to mind, and I feel that this quote and the information that it presents can aptly highlight the issues present within this game's gameplay loop.

"Given the opportunity, players will optimize the fun out of a game; One of the responsibilities of designers is to protect the player from themselves."

I find this quote to be particularly important in discussion of this because, well, the devs are blatantly not attempting to challenge the player enough to encourage them to engage with anything other than what works immediately, and the result it an uninteresting slog through a collection of straightaways with nothing of interest to break them up.

This game is not entirely a platformer, however. This game has a combat system and it would just *love it* if you were to engage with it, so it does throw you into several combat scenarios with bosses so as to not waste the effort made to animate punches and kicks. Unfortunately, while it is an instance in which the player has to do *something* other than run and jump, every boss encounter can also be trivialized, this time by spamming the attack button mercilessly until the opponent falls to the ground in about 45 seconds. Now, I played the game on normal difficulty, and I don't always think that games should be super super hard all the time, but I do think that a boss encounter of a kind shouldn't go down in 45 seconds in a third person action game-style combat system on the baseline difficulty of the game. Because of how absolutely spineless the bosses themselves are, they feel pointless and kinda pathetic, really.

To conclude the section on gameplay; Fark2 does not make enough of an effort to actually make the player use any of their advanced tools, regardless of how success within the game is defined. Because of this lack of interest in making a player engage with the game, the game is boring and feels meaningless to play.

2. Story

Fark2's story fails to captivate, or even begin to intrigue me for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which being that I find Fark, the middling "edgy version of the MC" from the last game not particularly interesting or compelling. Fark2 doesn't actually do much with any of its story beats, and creates countless plot hooks that are never resolved, such is the case with the majority of the game's bosses, Float, Flint and Double, all of whom the player learns next to nothing about except that they're working with a somehow edgier clone of Fark named E.J. and that makes them bad, because of course it does.

The story culminates in a predictable and uninteresting "I was created by the enemy" notion, the likes of which we've seen countless times, notably, in the series' influence. I am not kidding when I say it, Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) does Fark2's core story better than Fark2 does.

Of course, a lot of games have predictable, or otherwise simple larger plots that are saved by good or writing that has a lot of character, so does Fark2 have that?

Absolutely not, not even a little. Get a look at this line, to see what I'm talking about.

The overly edgy, completely ironic way that this game plays itself is not only annoying to try to make sense of, but also refuses to go all the way with it. Every character comes off as edgy, but not edgy enough to where I can even begin to see the cheesiness that they're going for. After a certain point you begin to just tune out as secondhand embarrassment begins to set in.

The writing style that was so endearing about the few instances in the first game where dialogue would happen, particularly the tongue-in-cheek tone, is completely missing from this game, and comparing the two's writing styles to one another feels like night and day. It's dissonant to play these games one after the other, as they feel completely unrecognizable from one another.

It's so obvious that the writers want you to like Fark really badly, but they don't give him anything to latch on to as a character to actually make him likable. Comparisons between Spark and Fark as protagonists are unavoidable, but the most notable point in which the two diverge where Spark succeeds and Fark doesn't is that Fark fails to provide almost any input into the story itself, getting pointed in countless different directions for one reason or another, or for no reason at all. Fark feels like an engine to move through a story that he both is and isn't the center of, whereas Spark feels intentionally disconnected to events at hand because he doesn't particularly care about them.

Speaking of Spark, where is he? They mention him once as "being off enjoying a blank check" but that begs the question, why didn't they name the game "Fark the Electric Jester?" It's just supremely weird to me that in a game named after a specific character, that character has actually NO on screen presence. In some way, it feels like false advertising. And, considering that the devs are billing it as the *same series* the writing inconsistencies seem even more dissonant. If this were a spin off I would get it but it's not! Why is it named after a character who isn't in the game? This is like if the next Shantae game was called Shantae: The Curse of Driftwood, and then the game has no appearance of Shantae herself, and you're locked into playing as Rottytops.

The story of Fark2 fails on so many fundamental levels that I can't say that it's worth it to watch any of the cutscenes. It suffers issues on several fronts, from unsatisfying conclusions, plot contrivances, pointless characters, an attempt at intrigue that fails spectacularly, and a protagonist who is extremely easy to dislike.

There's one thing I didn't hate about this game's story, and that's that it does do the super form better than the first game did, but only because it wore a sickening amount of Dragon Ball on its sleeves.

3. Presentation

First, to get this out of the way, this game has some fun butt rock songs to play in boss fights, despite how lame those fights themselves are. I appreciate the attempt there, but music choice in this game is really quite odd.

There's no way I can put it politely, this game is not satisfying to look at. The textures are passable at best, the area design is really quite same-y and the model work for many characters is butt ugly. The two former problems I can pass, they're still problems, but I feel that the issue of the models cannot be as easily forgotten.

The way that these characters are executed in 3D is, disappointing to say the least, exacerbated by the fact that are that you see *in game* has every one of these characters looking far better than they do here! I'm consistently left confused about what happened here to make all of these characters look like they have all of their features stickered onto their face, which is genuinely just a sphere.

I genuinely like all of these character designs! I think that everyone here looks cute or cool in some degree, but to have such an uncanny representation of them in-game does a legitimate disservice to these characters. I know 3D modelling is hard, I get it, but there should be a point, I feel, where a product isn't ready to be implemented into a build of the game, and none of the models of these characters were ready yet.

In Conclusion about Fark2:

Fark2 fails at just about everything it sets out to do, it's largely uncool, uninteresting, boring, and I don't feel that it is worth your time, and especially not your money. It's gameplay, story and presentation aren't anything special, and it isn't even "so bad it's good." This game is painfully mediocre, and I would believe it if this game were something of a demo for the following entry in the series. Clearly, someone felt that this game is as pointless as I feel it is, because every one of its levels were used as late game extra content in Spark the Electric Jester 3.

Spark The Electric Jester 3 is another 3D platformer, but makes significant improvements to everything that Fark2 tries to accomplish.

First and foremost, Spark the Electric Jester 3 manages to provide fast-paced, fun core gameplay that actually necessitates challenge to the player in both combat and platforming sections. Spark, as the rightful playable character in this game, has access to a large arsenal of combat and movement abilities, which are unlocked from an ingame shop, which serves to naturally encourage the player to learn each move as they can afford it. Spark can also double jump, as well as charge a dash forward that can be used in midair. Despite there not being much more than there was in Fark2 from a platforming perspective, the platforming of this game is far more satisfying as the levels themselves are actually made with Spark's movement and abilities in mind. Levels will frequently push back against you, and require that you at least manage a degree of skill to succeed.

On the combat of things, everything has been revamped to allow combat encounters to feel like anything more than a spam fest. In Spark3, players are encouraged to earn stunlocks against opponents in order to maximize the amount of damage that they can pull off off of one option. Additionally, use of the parry is more difficult, but no less required, making each combat encounter with lots of enemies into a test to see if the player can manage their combo strings while avoiding or parrying enemy attacks simultaneously. Again, compared to some of the action games that this gameplay loop is commonly accredited to, it's a bit more barebones still, however as it isn't the whole focus of the title, and the sections where the pure combat sections are used are somewhat far between, the combat doesn't get old and remains a welcome refresher when platforming could risk getting monotonous.

Spark3 sees the return of powerups, again, however the player doesn't actually get many of them at all in a normal intended playthrough, really only getting maybe one of them for certain. I got to play with the Reaper powerup during my playthrough as I managed to defeat a certain boss who was supposed to beat me on my first attempt on him, and I think that this is a really interesting way to handle the powerups. Each powerup has much of the same fundamental kit, so players are never left wondering how to input something compared to Spark's normal moveset. I found this powerup implementation to be rewarding, but I felt myself wanting more upgrades to unlock in more apparent ways throughout one playthrough.

Level design in Spark 3 is extremely varied, and consistently visually and mechanically engaging the whole way through! This game works on the basis of certain "worlds" that unlock as the player progresses, sorta like how more rooms of Peach's castle will open at certain amounts of stars in Super Mario 64. Each level within these "worlds" are themed around a specific concept, like a city in a state of riot, an airport/rocket launch facility, or a militarized jungle. The theming of these areas doesn't just account for visuals, however, as each of the areas themselves are also considered for what could be interesting gameplay-wise. For example, one level in the airport level sees a plane crashing and Spark having to escape, in a rare timed level with strong wind mechanics attempting to throw the player off. Or, in the rioting city level, players can jump off of crowds of protestors for a boost, and use a helicopter in brief, but consistently solid vehicle sections. Speaking of, I adore the car sections. Spark3 starts in a car section and I adored every second of it. It's a thunderous, no-nonsense beginning to the game that served to really effectively set a tone that had me down for anything as soon as it started.

Despite being "down for anything" Spark 3 does lose me in one area. I don't think that it's story is very good, really. My primary issues with the story are that, despite far better writing, this game fails to actually deliver on any of the hooks that it puts out, and seems far more interested, for some fuckin reason, on fleshing out characters from Fark2, specifically the main bosses from Fark2, at least two of which are presumed dead at the end of that game. While there is *a degree* of plot relevance that there could be, in that Float, one of the presumed dead bosses from the previous game, appears to have returned, and seems sad about having dead friends. I take issue with the notion of how this is done however, because Float doesn't actually tell Spark anything, and instead this information is exhibited through stylized 16 bit cutscenes, which while looking cool, take up significantly more runtime in the story than is necessary, especially considering how this story ends.

My BIGGEST issue with Spark3's story is its *egregious* ending, which I will warn prospective players about spoilers for if they're averse to that sort of thing, BUT the rest of this paragraph will concern these spoilers. Spark3 ends in a way that couldn't have been seen from three feet ahead of you. Spark3's ending is, no joke, comparable to NieR Automata and Neon Genesis Evangelion. There's nothing wrong with an ending like that art has, I quite like endings like that, but mostly because art like NieR or NGE EARN their endings, by laying consistent plot threads the whole runtime about something mysterious. Spark3 does *not* do this, and instead pulls it out as shockingly as possible. The entire game is predicated on "Spark has to go and remove Fark, who has become something of a dictator, from power, as he's militarized most of the world using the Fark Force." Now, this is a novel concept, cute even! I really hate Fark, so I'm down to bring him down a peg! But upon reaching the end of the game Spark reaches Fark, who doesn't want to fight him, and instead explains to Spark that both of them have been in a simulation for 3000 years, and Float, a character who's past we learned a lot about in this game, was actually a fake created by the simulation arbitrator, Clarity, in order to lure Spark toward it's own goals. Notably, there have been ABSOLUTELY NO notable clues that the world was a simulation. Additionally, in a near final boss moment, they make you play as Fark, which pissed me off personally, but that's not empirical it's just something I didn't like. The issue with Spark3's story is that it spends five hours of runtime satisfied in the status quo of it's normality, while it attempts to end with something that would have been far more effective, and far less jarring if there were ANY foreshadowing AT ALL. Because Spark3 doesn't have an interest in actually encouraging the player to think about how the game outside of the typical "big simple punch off" fare, it doesn't work to implement something as left field as the ending that is in the game. Additionally, the game ends on a discussion between Fark and Spark, who are dead, and have been dead, about the importance of keeping moving forward, really played pretty straight, no jokes, no irony, then immediately after the credits roll is a Friday Night Funkin reference. Tonal inconsistency is *so* rampant throughout this ending.

The ending, regardless of if you did or did not read the previous paragraph, left me so dissatisfied with the game that my opinion on this game soured significantly, to the point where on stream I actively did not recommend the game to viewers because of the ending.

To conclude, Spark3 is a game with a really excellent gameplay loop that doesn't leave a lot to be desired, and consistently seeks to challenge the player while also giving them opportunities to experiment with new and fun toys that consistently spice up the gameplay loop whenever present. Despite the quality of the gameplay, this game's story is not only unfulfilling, but also useless within the context of the game itself. There are two cutscenes that matter, and they're the ones before and after the final bosses. I would recommend Spark3 to someone looking for an exemplary gameplay experience, however I wouldn't begin to recommend the game to someone who wants a deep or interesting story.

Now that I've discussed each game at length, I'd like to conclude with a short review of the series as a whole. S

park, when the direction accounts for potential shortcomings, is extremely fun, however the series' writing is consistently passable at best, with some egregious exceptions that make it hard to not skip every cutscene after a while.

Spark 1 is a really fun and interesting romp through a variety of interesting levels in 2d, with an overall fun atmosphere that doesn't seek to take itself too seriously, much to it's benefit. Complete with a multitude of gameplay styles and extreme encouragement of player creativity, it's an excellent way to satisfy a 2D speed platformer itch.

Fark 2 is awful.

Spark 3 takes consistent points from Spark 1 regarding player creativity, visual diversity, wealth of content, and attention to fun and engaging experiences that makes it easy to recommend for it's gameplay and visuals. However, the game's story takes itself far more seriously than it earns, much like Fark2 did to no avail, and the story becomes worse because of it.

If you'd like to watch these playthroughs for yourself, they're all up on my YouTube channel linked below! Thanks so much for reading!

#game review #pinch reviews #indie vtuber #spark the electric jester #twitch streamer #youtube #pinch raccoon #envtuber #spark the electric jester 2 #spark the electric jester 3 #sonic the hedghog #vtuber #game reviews #raccoon

[monster-noises]

not to be basic but 1 and 2 from that meta ask meme?

all the question are on the list for a reason Anon! no need to put yourself down for it v-v 1&2 are Excellent questions I"m happy to answer! now. I Imagine you intended this for Lazarus, But! you were not specific so you will now get a Very long post about Everyone >:3c (and by everyone I mean the main 3 characters I consider 'Bartholomew's Nasty Little Bastards')

First up, of course, we will do Lazarus! 1. What inspired you to create your oc?

The really obvious answer here is Re8, my instant consuming love for it and for Karl, the overwhelming need to like... Participate, somehow, in that world, but not being able to cross the Full self-insert hurdle.. He's basically a very Warped-beyond-recognition version of a self-insert, a guy all his own but in somewhere still very Connected to the Me. But the more like.. in depth stuff, like what inspired Lazarus to Be Who He Is is like.. I love like.. weird Art Gore, Body-As-Art kinda shit, Meaningful and disturbing.. somehow Comforting and he's kinda the perfect vessel for that. I've had the Human Taxidermy Artist thing floating around the back of my mind for a decade or so just Waiting for a place to land and Laz was a golden opportunity v-v.

2.Why does your oc look the way they do? What are your reasons for their appearance? When I was settling Lazarus's design I wanted him to have this appearance of like, a very refined and elegant individual; beautiful in a sort of Severe way, but twist it up ever so slightly so he registers as Uncanny and Gross. Beauty Hiding Filth and all that. (just think about how many Fluids get into that Velvet Ensemble on the daily, it's Not Good.) Like the way his pants cut him and the vertical lines make him just All Leg. And his pallid bloodstained skin which makes him look like a Walking Corpse, hair slicked back with its own grease.. a figure that's bewitching and unsettling to witness also yes, the hair is Both a Me thing and a Bride of Frankenstein thing.

Virgil always feels right coming Second on these things.. 1. Inspiration Virgil is ooooooooooold, he's so Old, virgil is Ancient Virgil is possibly my oldest still-in-use OC, I created him a Looooooong ass time ago. like 2010 Long Ass Time. That is to say I do not know Why she exists.

Okay, Not entirely true. I made her for a comic I was writing with my friend at the time. She was my part of the main villain pair, but I do Not remember how I ended up on Toxicologist prodigy but make it Cowboy (which was always a bit of a misnomer for the vibe but nowadays Especially he's less Johnny Cash more Nickleback) I Think, I Think, what I wanted was to have a character that contrasted the Hardest against my friends main villain? who was very Orderly and Serious and Efficient?? beats me though that was So long ago.. I was also just listening to a Lot of Nickleback-esk music at the time, which may have been an influencing factor lmao

2. Appearance Virgil's appearance is pretty simple to explain, all told! He's a Country Boy/Girl, rowdy and ostentatious, and very secure in her understanding of that part of herself. It's where she comes from, and despite his rocky relationship with home it's who he is, y'know? The brightest (and most dangerous) mind in Toxicology doesn't Have to look exactly how you'd Expect her to look now does she? (Virgil pictured here on the Right)

Now our wonderful little Ulysses vwv)/ 1. Inspiration oh this is an Interesting one!! Ulysses (and Charlie, for that matter) came from 2 distinct places to land where they are now.. From time to time I like to entertain the idea of starting a band and having a musical career of some kind, something that blends my love of folk/bluegrass, prog-rock, and power metal into a loud villainous and exhilarating sound. and a few years back, as I was getting into Bluegrass for the first time, I was struck by a Concept for a Concept Album. It was called The Book of Brother UIysses; the story of a sniveling little priest in the frontier days and his Cursed Book, following him around as he fed townsfolk to whatever entity lived in its pages until he was finally Consumed himself. I toyed with it for a bit and eventually put it back on the shelf until the Musical Fancy struck me once more, untiiiiil I was listening to friends at the table: sangfielle and had both a deep desire to do a Horror-Fantasy Western ttrpg And satisfy my ever-present desire to weasel my way into playing two characters at once.. and I pulled ol' Ulysses off the shelf again and made some.. Additions. This has evolved now into them being just like.. free floating OC's? I don't plan on making a comic out of them, I would Still love an opportunity to play them in a TTRPG setting, but I'm not Banking on it, and hey, who knows, maybe I Will make that album someday, but for now they just kinda amorphously Exist within Something resembling a Narrative in my head after a long and complicated journey...

2. Appearance Similar to Lazarus, I wanted Ulysses to be unsettling, but in a Slightly different way. He's too clean- his all black outfit is never grimy, he is clean shaven his hair perfectly quaffed, with that plastered on grin, under eyes obscured by reflective glasses the vibes are just Immediately Off. To the flip side of that I always wanted him to look kinda.. pathetic. When we see him outside of his Persona as The Keeper of the Book, as just a man that is still Human in many ways; he's just.. small, waifish, behind the glasses his eyes are big and jittery, like a pray animal caught in a snare and still trying to fight its way out..

#monster noises #meat husband #dirtbag super genius #the book of brother ulysses #okay so I Lied #All told there are 5 characters in the #'Bartholomew's Nasty Little Bastard's' #club... #but I got tired and these three Are like.. the Main three #and the three I think people may actually recognize and care about #the other two #for those curious #are Idris #(the golden robot who runs a smuggling empire from the same story as Virgil) #and Montgomery (my Renn Faire costume character - #originally excluded because he's both a character and a persona and sometimes that makes me feel weird about including him in group stuff) #but if you take the time to read this and you Do wanna know that stuff for these two I will gladly hop on tomorrow sometime and add them! #explaining my design process for characters is such a Trial though oh my God #because my process is so.. not on purpose? #if that makes sense? #nine times out of ten these motherfuckers appear in my head fully assembled and I just have to go 'Okay!!!' and get on with it #Sometimes I gotta do a bit of work #like Lazarus went through a few iterations before we landed on the pinstripe vest and pants combo #but the core of the outfit and the Intent of the whole thing was always the same #and I Did have to change Virgil over from a Anthro Coyote to a human and That took a few passes to get right #but I don't feel like there's any.. Why to that #at nothing I can place in words #she ended up looking like that because that's how she's supposed to look! #what else do you want from me!!!!

[whatyourusherthinks]

Dune Part Two Review

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT'SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS HHHHHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What's The Movie About?

SAME THING AS THE FIRST ONE!

Ahem. Sorry, excited. This is the follow up to the first Dune movie and portrays the second half of the Dune Novel. Mostly Paul and his mother imbedding themselves into the Fremen and amassing an army to take on the re-enstated Harkonnens.

What I Like.

These movies are fucking gorgeous. There are quite a few jaw-dropping compositions and the designs of all the technology and outfits are very cool. The story is excellent, although it should be a surprise since the book is a classic and as far as I can tell the movie is mostly faithful to it. The few changes they made I actually think are for the better, like not jumping the story forward or changing how a certain character dies. I really liked the Fremen society. It felt like a real society that would exist on a planet like Arrakis. The pool of water they add their dead people's water to felt like something that would actually come to be. And I dug Paul's downfall at the end. The Bene Gesserit are so sleezy that I felt genuinely bad for everyone who fell for their religion. I also felt like Stilgar is probably completely broken by the end, and that sucked because I really like Stilgar. (Sucked in a good way I mean. It was definitely intentional for the audience to feel bad.) I also weirdly like Feyd-Rautha. Like he's absolutely a villain, but I like his personality, how he's supposed to be an opposite to Paul, and I kinda liked him more than Paul at the end of the movie. He's just a silly guy, it's not his fault he was born on the German Expressionist planet to a family of snuff film makers. Christopher Walken as the emperor is also pretty awesome, very inspired casting. The score is great. I'll catch myself wanting to belt out the wailing used every so often. The action was also pretty awesome. The high frequency shields is an inspired bit of world building, because it brings more of the fighting into the realm of desperate knife fights, which I find more interesting than just people shooting back and forth. Also, as someone who's played the Dune board game before engaging with the Dune story at all, was was neat to see the characters take actions that could be done in the game and where some of the names of cards come from.

What I Didn't Like.

So I was praising how cool some of the shots were right? Well guess what. Pretty much all of them are in the trailer. Also, while I like how well built the Fremen society was, the Harkonnen planet seems like it should have flamed out in three generations. All they do is kill each other and they especially mistreat their women, so I don't know why they still exist. I get it's just supposed to be the evil guys so they took every opportunity to have them be evil, but it's kinda lazy writing. Speaking of Harkonnen, and this is gonna be petty, but I and everyone I talk to about Dune pronounces the name "Har-Ko-Nen". The movie pronounces it "Hark-En-En" and it was really distracting. There is also a major plot reveal 45 minutes before the movie ends, which happens to be when we drop checks in the theaters at my work. So I got fucking spoiled, thanks Denis Villanelle or whatever you name is.

Final Summation.

It's awesome. It's all the climax to make up for all the set up of the first movie. If you put a knife to my neck and made me choose which one I liked more, I guess I'd say Part 2 since more cool stuff happens, but like all stories split into two parts you should really treat it as a whole. And as a whole, Dune is fucking awesome. I cannot wait for the sequel.

#Dune Part Two #Recommended Movies

[rmorde]

It's fucking wild to see someone defend Mei Mei and demand people to blame Gege instead for her pedophilia and grooming.

WTF?

If you love a dark character, then accept everything that they are in the story. Mei Mei is one. She is a side character that is dark despite being on the heroes' side of the fight.

I appreciate what Gege had done to her character. I like it because thru her we see how rotten the modern jujutsu society is - that the heroes' side is not exactly great especially with the likes of Gojo and Nanami being gone.

A lot of people already pointed out that Mei is used as a foil for Nanami. I agree. She is everything he is not: - Nanami left stock trading. Mei is doing insider trading. - Nanami fights for the greater good. Mei is only in it for the paycheck. - Nanami protects children. Mei exploits children. - Nanami continues to fight even if he is half-dead. Mei retreats even if she is still perfectly fine. - Nanami has morals. Mei is immoral.

But why did someone good (Nanami) die a horrible death while someone bad (Mei Mei) got rewarded (practically highlighted with her escaping to Malaysia -which was Nanami's dream retirement place)? It's to highlight how broken and bleak jujutsu society is - bad people benefit but good people suffer. It also shows how the only difference between the sorcerers (sans our "heroes") and the curse users are just rule compliance and pay checks.

Speaking of which:

What Mei Mei is doing to Ui Ui is exactly like what that Granny Seance did to her Tojified Grandson. Both women are grooming boys younger than they into perfect tools to complement their CTs. They don't see them as brother or grandson respectively. Those words are mere "titles". It's like how you would call an giant axe "Axe" and straw dolls "Dolls."

Mei is the perfect example of what a peak sorcerer is in modern jujutsu society - strong and smart but selfish, self-absorbed, exploitative, and immoral.

I like Mei for what she delivers in the story: 1) A very dark character that represents the rotten core of the jujutsu society. 2) A complex female character - she is on your side but she is definitely not an ally you'd want. However, you need all the help you can get so you are forced to accept her but deep down you want her to get some comeuppance for all she's been doing. 3) Despite her... Mei-ness, she still has a really cool character design and powers as well as really badass scenes. 4) An excellent foil to Nanami (and maybe even Gojo if I stretch it a bit). 5) A great reminder that with the exception of the sorcerers within Gojo's close circle (Tokyo Tech staff/alumni + Utahime & her students), sorcerers are absolute scumbags. Mei's principle is pretty similar to Sukuna's! They're all about: Me, Myself, and I living it up and having fun at everyone's expense.

6) She is the closest I could get to a "villainess" in JJK. The villains in JJK is male-dominated with 2 gender-neutrals (Hanami + Uraume). Geto's family has very little screen time for me to get something out of them (Lady Secretary, Nanako & Mimiko). Yeah it's shonen but still... Gege is starving me with good villainesses 😭.

So TLDR: Mei Mei is not defensible but feel free to like/love her anyway. Being a fan of villains or dark characters is not a representation of a person's morals after all. Do not blame Gege for using her as a narrative tool to remind people again ( because we have to admit that we always kinda forget): the world of JJK is unfair and it really fucking sucks being a nice person there. Not that Gege is a perfect writer at all. There are plenty of other stuff to be angry about in his work like the pacing for example or the underutilization of interesting side characters or the story being so "scattered" into various mediums.

#sorry for the rant #it was just such a wild 'defense' #it was just pure wtf for me #blame the author for making a dark character? #what? this is a horror manga #characters like that is a given #gege just shook things up because it turns out one of the heroes' allies has very dark morality #i think maybe the reasons gojo and nanami and co. have not done anything about ui ui's situation are: #first - there really isn't anything they can do coz mei already has excellent control over him. ui ui won't allow himself to be 'saved' #second - mei hid her grooming very well and no one was aware of it #third - they can't be choosy w/ their allies coz of how few sorcerers are. they let her be so she stays a sorcerer AND NOT A CURSE USER. #i could also talk about in here the insane hot take that 'gojo is a groomer' and that's just no just fucking no wtf is even that take?! #but that ridiculous take is another whole can of worms that i seriously don't wanna get into rn #even if it is one of my pet peeves along with 'gojo has god complex' & 'yuki is at fault for geto mass killing' & the weirdest of all: #'geto was not really trying to kill gojo and his allies and his students' hot take... DID WE EVEN WATCH THE SAME MOVIE?! I SWEAR I aflkhdfa

[tailsrevane]

[movie review] alien: covenant (2017)

the origin of humanity is not, in any way, shape, or form, the "only question that matters," nor does it render any other concerns meaningless. weyland (and ridley scott, for that matter) can fuck right off with that bullshit. i would be willing to chalk it up to weyland being one of the series' great villains were it not for the fact that the narrative and thematic intent of the film absolutely bear the importance of his fetish out. we also get an acting captain whose entire character is "christians are so oppressed you guys." ridley, what happened? where did you acquire this ax that you won't stop grinding?

i also just hate, hate, hate revelations that make worlds feel smaller. david did not need to create the xenomorphs. no one needed to create the xenomorphs. this is like george lucas star wars prequels levels of making a rich, interesting world feel tiny. the idea is just so wrongheaded, and it plays precisely into my big picture problem with the film's thematic intent.

when it’s trying to be serious and meaningful, alien: covenant is just intelligent design: the movie. and it just makes me want to strangle myself. (that wouldn't be much fun, though, so you should do it for me. if you’re into that kinda thing.) ridley scott's increasingly aggressive theism is threatening to undo everything that makes this series feel so special. a series that, more than most other scifi series, manages to make space feel huge and terrifying is making it instead feel like everything of consequence that's ever happened out there is part of this very small web of interconnected events involving a very small number of people, and that's just a damn shame. even alien: resurrection didn't really make this universe feel smaller, just dumber.

if we sidestep the film's thematic intent, though, i actually like it quite a bit better than prometheus, and there are so many parts of it that are just terrific taken in isolation. the shower kill is one of the best in a series that's marked by excellent kills, and i really do like the way this world is textured (even though i am just all kinds of annoyed at what that texture is in service of). at the end of the day, it fulfills all of the most basic needs of a scifi/horror and hits quite a few aesthetic marks that go above and beyond those basic needs, and that's not nothing. like, it does need to be acknowledged that this film is fucking gorgeous. it’s worth seeing for that reason alone. and when it lets itself be a dumb horny monster movie for the like 15 minutes it speedruns the plot of alien, it’s quite good on all levels.

b-rank

#alien #alien movie #alien: covenant #movies #movie review #reviews

[cluescorner]

Finished Chapter 13 of CRK (SPOILERS FOR IT)

OH GOD OH NO OH NOOOOOOOOOOO

I have some issues with this chapter, namely in how it just felt kinda underwhelming, but I’m gonna focus on the good/funny/interesting bits in this post. Because I like a good bit of this chapter and Dark Cacao Kingdom’s story isn’t finished yet, so I’m going to wait until Chapter 14 in order to give my judgement on Chapter 13 (similar to how Chapter 9 was kinda meh to me, but Chapter 10 made me fall in love with this game. Sometimes you need more buildup to the payoff.).

The reunion went...about as well as I expected TBH but not NEARLY as well as I’d hoped. I was hoping for, like, at least a moment of realizing that they’re both kinda at fault here before one of them inevitably starts swinging. But no, just...soul jam, fight, insult, yeet. I know that Cacao is gonna survive, but imagine having your son make an attempt on your life TWICE. I couldn’t handle that tbh. 

Also, we haven’t seen ‘The Light of Determination’ so far. Maybe it’ll show up next Episode when Dark Cacao is at his worst. 

I hope the dragons show up. My theory is that they have the sword + the soul jam, since they feel like who Dark Cacao would trust with it. The dragons are super interesting to me, like imagine if the cookie of darkness are like ‘hehe we’re gonna get the sword’ and then there’s two ‘fuck you’ dragons staring you dead in the eyes with a look that can only mean ‘YOU FUCKED UP’. I just really want Dark Cacao Kingdom’s really fucking cool concept to be expanded upon more and we didn’t get that much in this chapter, save for the excellent stuff regarding the Licorice Sea. 

I love Caramel Arrow Cookie so fucking much. Her design is gorgeous, she really decided to keep helping people even after her banishment, and her VA is also really talented. I love her interactions with other people, she’s like a light in the darkness of the Cacao Kingdom it’s really nice. I can’t wait until she gets added, I’m going to summon her if it fucking kills me. 

LICORICE IM SO FUCKING PROUD OF YOU YOU REALLY RAISED A WHOLE KAIJU. Also, the fact that he came from Dark Cacao Kingdom...like did he and Choco and Espresso all know each other? The Licorice Sea is so fucking cool and honestly I hope that the bullshit with that one fucking Abyssal Licorice Kaiju sets the tone for how powerful Licorice is gonna be in the future. Because I LOVE Licorice cookie but he’s started getting pushed out of the meta (Cotton Cookie basically does his job but better) and I really hope he gets a buff. I would also love it if the Cookies of Darkness were like ‘Hey, we lost this mission and so we gotta go report back to Dark Enchantress’ and Licorice just...stays behind because he likes feeling this powerful. Maybe he can communicate with the Licorice Sea itself and just decides to stay where he’s understood + appreciated + sorta feared? IDK, I’m just so happy Licorice is having his day in the sun. 

Affogato Cookie is simultaneously an excellent villain and kinda hilarious. Like, he’s a total schemer and knows how to ingratiate himself to others in order to build power. He basically formed a cult of personality under himself, which I find pretty interesting. While my theory is that Dark Cacao always knew that this sorta thing would come from Affogato cookie, given how he just straight-up ignores his advice when it truly matters, the fact that Dark Cacao just couldn’t get rid of him is pretty interesting. But also, the fact that he WASNT working with the Cookies of Darkness from the inception of his plan is a breath of fresh air AND hilarious. Like, Affogato was truly terrified of them and I think that he’ll see Dark Choco’s presence as a threat to his bid for control over Dark Cacao Kingdom. I also wonder how he’ll react to the fact that the Cookies of Darkness are now DESTROYING EVERYTHING, and he’ll likely rule over a Kingdom of Dust by the time they’re done with the place. 

Also regarding the Cookies of Darkness, all the main 4 are here. Which means that SOMETHING has to be going down, since the last time they were all together was Chapter 10 (aka the HOLY SHIT EVERYTHING IS GETTING REAL chapter). I’m guessing that either A. Someone is getting redeemed, B. Dark Enchantress is gonna show up, or C. Someone is going to die. I doubt it’s C because that could singlehandedly change the tone so drastically that it won’t be able to recover, but I also think that C is the most interesting. 

I love Pomegranate Cookie out manipulating Affogato Cookie. Like, I refuse to believe that she actually gives a damn about his bid for Kingship and he’s just a convenience for them. But whenever she’s involved in a Chapter, it means things are about to get FUCKED UP. My guess is that she’s gonna be pissed off with Dark Choco for not KILLING HIS FUCKING DAD AFTER THE 2ND TRY and do some bullshit. Maybe there’ll be another dramatically-resonant-hallucination scene like there was with Pure Vanilla Cookie? IDK, but whenever she’s around I’m terrified of what kinda BS she’s gonna pull. 

Poison Mushroom I love you sweet baby. IDK what the fuck you’re doing here but I love you so much. 

DARK CHOCO COOKIE WHAT THE FUCK?? I really wanted a fucking redemption or at least some sort of reconciliation before he decides to stay with the Cookies of Darkness, BUT NO. Dark Choco and Dark Cacao are incapable of talking with words outside of insulting each other. I cannot wait for the inevitable ‘OH MY GOD HE SURVIVED FALLING FROM THAT FUCKING WALL’ moment because that’s gonna be funny and also a ‘oh shit’ moment. Maybe the Cookies of Darkness didn’t realize how hard it is to kill an Ancient? 

Now, this is a crack theory so be aware that I’m mostly posing this as an interesting possibility and there is very little canon evidence for it: What if the Cookies of Darkness initially planned for Dark Choco to take over as King, so that they have the indomitable Cacao Warriors working for them. But once they came across Affogato, they decided that using him would be much simpler and went with that instead. I keep thinking about that fucking loading screen and how, while it could just be cute flavor-text, what if it’s foreshadowing to Dark Choco eventually becoming King himself? IDK, it’s a theory with very little backing but I think it’s kinda interesting. 

I wish the other Ancients were here. We’re really not gonna see them interact with each other until the very end, are we? Oh well, that’s what fandom bullshit is for I guess. 

Dark Cacao is fascinating. Like, he’s as stalwart as the wall itself and his resolve is unmatched. But simultaneously, he isolates himself from his Kingdom and failed to help those on the outskirts. IDK, I just think it’s fascinating to analyze him, since Holly and Vanilla were pretty much universally considered at least decent leaders but Cacao isn’t as clear. I just can’t wait to see what else is going on with him. 

WHERE THE FUCK ARE MILK AND YAM?? SERIOUSLY WHAT THE FUCK DEVSIS WHERE ARE THEY?? THIS IS THEIR STORY TOO. They grew up here (Milk definitely did and with Yam he at least KNOWS the place), both have something to do with Dark Choco, they both probably have some feelings towards Dark Cacao’s leadership...SO WHY AREN’T EITHER OF THEM HERE. I can’t wait to read the inevitable fanfics of ‘Dark Cacao Story but if Milk and Yam were also involved because jesus fucking christ they should be here.’ 

I’m very excited for Chapter 14. For me, it’s going to signal whether I really stay connected to the story as a whole. Because I wasn’t a big fan of the story until Chapter 10, then Hollyberry’s chapters were silly but still excellent in their own right, and now here’s Dark Cacao’s chapters (which I would argue have been the most anticipated save for White Lilly’s, though everyone acknowledges that she’ll probably be the last). I’m willing to excuse an underwhelming set-up in exchange for an excellent pay-off, and the pay-off to the Licorice Sea plot-point was amazing imo. Now we just need to wait for Chapter 14 and see what happens. 

Overall, the chapter was kinda underwhelming but I still like it a lot. The new characters are pretty neat (Caramel Arrow taking the spot as my favorite new character and one of my favorite overall characters) and it expands on old characters pretty well (IM SO FUCKING PROUD OF LICORICE LOOK AT HIM GO). It just didn’t have the punch that I thought it would, thought that could also be me having too high of expectations. The only MAJOR problem I have is that Milk and Yam aren’t here, because this would be an excellent time to resolve their storylines AND give our boys proper screen-time. Regardless, I can’t wait to see what Chapter 14 brings! 

#dark cacao cookie #dark cacao kingdom spoilers #cookie run kingdom #cookie run #dark choco cookie #affogato cookie #licorice cookie #the licorice sea #youre doing amazing sweetie #milk cookie #yam cookie #WHY AREN'T THEY HERE?? #SERIOUSLY IM NOT JOKING IM ACTUALLY KINDA MAD ABOUT THAT #caramel arrow cookie #I love her so much #seriously I can't wait to see more of her because she's excellent #pomegrante cookie #poison mushroom cookie #cookies of darkness #so yeah #these are my overall feelings and thoughts

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

Doctor Who, but Chronologically 15

Fun fact: if we were watching this in broadcast order, we’d have met cat people this episode. Instead, we are watching in a deeply stupid order, so we met a dog person.

It’s 1855! Mostly! And... okay I’ll be real with you, this one actually feels even more batshit in terms of Missing Information than the Pandorica Opens. This is going to be hell on the list, lads. Brace yourselves.

We just watched War of the Sontarans.

So, the Doctor - now Whittaker again, crash lands after some mysterious event called the Flux happens that befuckens the universe in some way affects the TARDIS. She, Yaz, and a zippy new companion called Dan are flung clear onto a battlefield in the Crimean War, except instead of Russians, the bad guys are now Sontarans. Oh noes! We’ve met those before, actually. Briefly, anyway. In the Pandorica Opens. Turns out, they’re a clone race of Welsh sentient potatoes who are really into war, to the extent that they can wipe out a whole army, though I’ll admit, I’m skeptical of this claim given that at one point they chase Dan in a straight line down a street and yet somehow cannot actually shoot him.

“Why the Crimea?” asks the Doctor, bewildered.

“It’s a war,” says the Welsh potato. “Also I wanted to ride a horse.”

Well. Welsh potato horse girls. Okay then.

Time is all screwy though, so the TARDIS team get pulled apart - the Doctor stays in the Crimea (and meets up with Mary Seacole, who is fucking wonderful), Dan is flung back to present day Liverpool (where we meet his parents and find out that someone stole his house somehow???) and Yaz arrives on a planet called Time, in the broken Temple of Atropos (where we meet an odd Victorian fellow who is shocked to hear her say it’s not 1820, and also Vinder, who is The Most Beautiful Man.) Meanwhile the TARDIS itself is also being corrupted, which is an issue.

Absolutely adored the Doctor and Mary Seacole approaching the Sontaran ships; “Oh my god,” says Mary. “Eh, it’s good, but it’s no British Hotel,” the Doctor dismisses. Capaldi could never. Dan is also gold - every scene with him is perfectly weighted with humour and tension. It’s just a shame Yaz doesn’t get to do much - all she really achieves in this episode is meeting an extremely beautiful man and then being imperilled. 

Anyway there’s a dog man called Carvanista/Karvanista/Karvinista/who the fuck knows how that’s spelled. He’s species bonded to Dan, and so turns up to save him a lot, but doesn’t actually like Dan, so also yells at him a lot, which may I just say is weapons grade entertainment. He’s Lupari, and there’s a Lupari shield surrounding Earth which is keeping out the Flux, and you have to hope also letting sunlight in or honestly the whole planet is kinda fucked anyway. 

There’s also, by the by, a pair of what are very clearly Arch Villains who have one of the most beautiful aesthetics I’ve seen in a while, and the costume and makeup people deserve somewhere in the region of seventeen gold medals per person for creating them. Plus the actors are excellent. It’s another perfect Venn diagram monster, actually, like the lone cyberman - genuine sense of menace and threat, charismatic actors, excellent aesthetic design. So far, in fact, Whittaker has distinctly had the highest average quality per episode, if not necessarily the highest quality companions (sorry Yaz you’re great you’re just a bit bland). The Mori/Muri/Mouri (ffs) also have an incredible design.

Anyway we finish on a cliffhanger - the geode skull man has turned Yaz and Vinder into Mori/Moari/Muri/Muadhri and is about to disintegrate them. So tense! I hope we see the resolution soon. Let’s update the list!

“She” (an unknown person) is returning (perhaps River returned as Missy. Maybe Me?)

There is something on Donna’s back

An entire planet, Pyrovilia, just… disappeared, somehow. (Maybe because the TARDIS is exploding??? Saturnine was also lost, and that WAS because of the TARDIS exploding. The lion man’s planet was also lost but he was a bit of a knob about it if I’m honest.)

Amy is maybe dead (she’s not)

The Doctor has been cubed (he’s out, but how?)

River is possibly blown up  (unless she’s Missy)

The TARDIS has blown up  (It’s fine now. NEW INFO: it’s sort of melting now because it’s corrupted)

The universe appears to have ended  (the universe is back again)

The Doctor has employed(?) Nardole (And Nardole was “reassembled???”)

There’s a vault in the TARDIS and it contains Missy but we don’t know why (sometimes she knocks for the bants)

What has happened to all these companions and where are the new ones coming from?

There’s an immortal Viking girl now. Her name is Me and she’s now looking after the people the Doctor abandons

Who/what is the Half-Faced Man that the Doctor talked about?

Why, when the Doctor saw the ship’s computer set to the Promised Land, did he say “Oh not again”?

What’s With The Silence?

Why was Rory entirely unconcerned by the entire world suddenly going silent when that is Not Normal and should have been, at the very least, extremely disconcerting?

What did the Doctor do to Queen Lizzie One?

Who is Captain Jack Harkness? (Is he the one who gave the companions a warning about the lone cyberman?)

Why is Amy seeing a one-eyed woman in a vanishing window?

What’s with the Doctor’s future involving getting shot by an astronaut?

Is Amy pregnant and why is it inconclusive?

Who is Sarah-Jane Smith?

How is the Doctor Bill’s teacher and why/where does he have an office?

What is going on with the Cyber War and the Cyberium???

Who did the Doctor lose to Cyber Conversion?

What happened with the Other Cyber War?

What happened with the Third War that deleted the void?

Why does Rose seem particularly important?

What’s with the statues you mustn’t blink at?

What order do these Doctors go in? (Tennant first, apparently, but he’s possibly tenth.)

Which companion just... forgot the Doctor, and how?

What is the Flux and what did it do?

Who is the mysterious Victorian man who met Yaz?

Yaz and Vinder are about to die as Mori/Mwri/Muuri

There is a Lupari shield around Earth.

#doctor whom #and yet we are continuing

[docgold13]

In terms of DC villains turned heroes off the top of my head there Talia Al Ghul (I guess?) She seems very flippant on which side she prefers because one minute she's either roofing Batman to carry his seed & trying to unleash a global plague on the world the next minute she seems to care about her kid while also working with The Totality in "protecting" The Multiverse.

Blok & White Witch both started out as villains but eventually proved to be good people when joining the Legion.

Riddler was a good guy for awhile after getting booped on the head by Ystin during Infinite Crisis.

Savant from what I understand is a good guy.

Starro became Jarro & all the likability of his character died there.

Kite-man is just a petty crook who's kinda sorta allied himself with Batman during King's run.

Atomic Skull was on his way of rehabilitation & wanting to become a hero during Superwoman but thanks due to Damian's Torture basement & Ultra-Humanite killing him it was tragically cut short.

Mad Mod retired & became a fashion designer for the Jurgen era Teen Titans.

Giganta is flippant on her allegiance.

Excellent! Spectacular additions one and all.

[belliesandburps]

Not gonna lie, I really love the way Cadmus’ design has evolved over the years, largely because @calico807 has continued to do really excellent work every single time I’ve commissioned her. 

The original green tanktop look was back when I originally made some random kink character who also happened to be a bad boy, hence his piercings.  And his ability to shift into his Saurian form was so he could do same size vore if the situation called for it.  There wasn’t as much thought put into the look beyond I wanted some bad guy who didn’t care one way or the other, so long as he got paid. But once I realized he was a much larger villain in my series than I originally planned, I start re-evaluating a few things and quickly realized that his duds felt too generic.  Plus, I wanted Cadmus to have more style to him, so I swapped a few things out.  I liked the pants and the hairstyle / piercings, but decided to show off his muscles a little bit more with a tighter shirt, longer boots to give him sort of a “swashbuckling” vibe, and a leather jacket because style. 

And his combat gear keeps a lot of what I like about the leather bad boy look, but also reinforces that he’s an assassin and not to be taken lightly.  I didn’t realize until after I colored him in that some might think he resembles Bane from Dark Knight Rises, but hey, that was my favorite of the Nolan Trilogy, so I’m okay with that.  ‘XD

It’s also a nice contrast to his younger days within the Saurian Brotherhood.  One looks more “official” and clean, very organized and simple, while the other has more of a makeshift feel to it, and looks decidedly deadlier.  Which isn’t lost when his gear is torn up in his final fight and he’s just itching for more blood, even if a lot of it is his.

I’m thinking I might actually revamp his Saurian look too for a number of reasons.  Primarily because Cadmus makes it a point to NOT shift into his Saurian form, and when I get to writing his chapters in HISS, I don’t see him shifting more than once or twice throughout his entire stint as “dragon-tier villain.”  And as such, I want his Saurian look to feel a little more dangerous.  And because I’m kinda “shrinking” the Saurians so their doesn’t get all torn up when they shift, he’ll still be in his combat duds.  I’m gonna do a lot of sketch-ups on that look before I decide on one and make it official with a commission.

This is part of why I adore writing.  Characters can always go on paths you never expected they would, and thinking up designs that fit is just part f the fun.  :P

#oc ramblings #hiss #cadmus #mamoru #saurian #my oc's #original character #villain #calico807 #character design #not my artwork #my coloring #ninja #assassin #mercenary

[canonicallysoulmates]

Since I want to watch Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Loki, I finally caught up on the MCU movies! So I wanted to do a quick post summarizing my opinions on the ones that I hadn’t seen which is why you’re not gonna see any of the Phase 1 movies mentioned. I stopped watching the MCU after CAWS but I had skipped TDW which is why the list starts with TDW and skips CAWS. 

Thor: The Dark World: Not only do I actually really like this movie, I like it more than the first Thor. Look when it comes to the Thor movies I’m a simple bitch to please, give me Loki and some Thor-Loki scenes and I’m happy.  And for me, this movie delivers on both counts. Is the premise interesting? Not really. But it gave me good content so I can move past it. 

Guardians of the Galaxy: I did not like this movie. Everyone who said that the only good parts of this were the music, Groot, Rocket, and the parts involving the Power stone were correct. 

Avengers Age of Ultron: This piece of shit! This is like an hour too long. Marvel does not have enough money to pay me to watch this again. If you tell me you like this film, I will judge you but not hold it against you. If you tell me this is your favorite Avengers film, I will judge you and you have bad taste. If you tell me this is your favorite superhero movie, you are either a liar or this is the only superhero movie you have ever watched. Garbage absolute garbage.

Ant-Man:...it was okay. 

Captain America Civil War: 

Doctor Strange: This movie makes me uncomfortable. Maybe it’s because I still distinctly remember the whitewashing controversy that surrounded this film but every time Tilda Swinton came on my screen my whole body coiled back. I did not like it, except for the cape and I mean as a character.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: It’s not often that a sequel is better but this is infinitely better than the first one. I liked it a lot. 

Spiderman Homecoming: It has enough content that I like for me to enjoy it. Also, I love irondad ❤

Thor Ragnarok: This is the point where my feeling towards these movies start to get complicated. At surface level, I like this film, I found it fun and entertaining, it's got some concepts I really enjoyed, and like I already said I’m a simple bitch to please and this movie delivers on what I like however there were things that I did not like and if I think about those too much in relation to the movie I notice how much undeveloped potential is in this film, this could have been next level badassery. And as a Loki fan, I can totally understand the reasons given by some fellow fans for hating this film. Also we were totally robbed a Thor-Loki hug at the end and that is simply unforgivable. 

Black Panther: This is the best MCU movie don't @ me. I'll also probably never watch it again because it's too sad, I kept randomly bursting into tears, rest in peace King 😭😭😭

Avengers Infinity War: On the one hand this movie feels big, it has excellent action scenes, some of the characters get some epic moments and I love all of that; on the other hand, Loki dies at the beginning and I’m angry about it! And that’s not the only thing that makes me angry, Thanos makes me angry too because at first I thought he was an okay villain but now I’ve come to find out that in the comics he does things cause he’s in love with Death and I’m like MARVEL WTF HOW DID YOU DROP THE BALL WHEN IT’S RIGHT THERE???!!!!

Ant-Man and the Wasp: This is something that exists. 

Captain Marvel: Nick Fury is a grump, who has no time for other people’s bullshit and loves cats, we would be friends. I wanna hang out with the characters in this movie. 

Avengers Endgame: Oof. This movie. Much like Infinity Wars it feels big, it feels like the end of something massive, I like some of the content we got, we got some cool fight scenes, I’m a nostalgic bitch so I liked the little pieces of previous movies, but it did some of the characters so unforgivably dirty and the worst part is that it wasn’t just any characters it was the original team that the writers did dirty. Like, I get that the MCU is ready to move into a new era but that don’t mean they gotta do some of the original characters this way, you can move into a new era and still have respect for what came before it. Also, the plot is kinda not it. It’s like with Ragnarok, if I take this movie at face value I love it and consider it the best Avengers movie but if I actually stop and think about it I notice the issues it has, dislike it, realize it’s kind off overhyped and that we never actually got a good Avengers movie.  

Spiderman Far From Home: I was not expecting to enjoy this move as much as I did but I really liked it, imo it’s better than the first film. My favorite scene was when Peter was designing his new suit and looking like a young Tony, my irondad loving heart wanted to cry. 

#anti age of ultron #anti aou #gotg critical #anti doctor strange #thor ragnarok critical #anti infinity war #anti endgame #anti avengers endgame #mcu critical #if i forgot any anti tags let me know #thor the dark world #gotg vol 2 #spiderman homecoming #black panther #spiderman far from home #captain marvel #irondad #mine #non spn #some of these things i'm not actually anti about but i'm using the tags cause i don't want people bitching

[neodemon591]

Cruella Review

Cruella is directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Dana Fox and Tony McNamara. The film stars Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, Emily Beecham, John McCrea, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, and Mark Strong. Cruella is an origin tale of sorts that follows one of Disney’s most famous/infamous villains. This iteration of the character follows Estalla (Stone) an aspiring fashion designer in 1970’s London and the path that would lead her to become Cruella de Vil. This was a film that was an unexpected surprise for me as I’m not someone who had much interest or thought about seeing this film. Cruella is a devilishly wicked interpretation of a character that feels like Disney’s mix of Joker and The Devil Wears Prada wrapped into a fun crime caper with a fantastic soundtrack. 

It goes without saying that Emma Stone is fantastic in this film, she exudes that fun mania the character eventually displays. Stone has that charisma about her where we know her character may not be the most morally upstanding person in society or someone we’d aspire to be, but we kinda still root for her in the end. It’s a transformation from beginning to end where Stone carries and elevates the performance of this character. Not to be outdone is Emma Thompson as The Baroness who comes off as even worse (morally) of a character than Cruella. Thompson echoes parts of Meryl Streep’s performance in The Devil Wears Prada, and the chemistry that Stone and Thompson share with one another on screen is excellent. I’d also like to give a shout out to Paul Walter Hauser for just being awesome as he’s in this film along with his partner in crime Joel Fry. 

The costumes in this film are outstanding and I’d be surprised if this film doesn't get nominated or even wins the costume design category at the Oscars next year. The costumes are a character in the film and help display and convey who the characters are at different stages throughout the story. I don’t pick up on costumes a lot when I watch a film, but how could you not notice the craftsmanship that was on display with this film. This film boasts my favorite soundtrack of the year so far. It contains great music that’s of the era in which this is set, but also like the costumes elevates and brings more life to the characters on screen. It’s just a fun good time when you can jam out to the cool music in a film. 

I can see the various issues people may have with this film or even not wanting to see it at all. Those issues being style over substance or the trope of seeing a villain origin story with the villain as an antihero. I get and understand those valid criticisms, but for me if it’s something I enjoyed watching it’s all good in my book. Similar to I Tonya, Craig Gillespie made another film that paints a different perspective on a character that has a negative perception and twists it. It’s up to the viewer on how they feel about Cruella at the end of the film or if they still stick with those preconceived notions about her. For myself, Cruella was a fun surprise and certainly Disney’s edgiest film that I’ve seen them make in a long time.  

#cruella disney #craig gillespie #dana fox #tony mcnamara #emma stone #emma thompson #joel fry #paul walter hauser #emily beecham #john mccrea #kirby howell baptiste #mark strong #cruella de vil #disney #disney film #film review #film tumblr

[davidmann95]

now that it's over, thoughts on Bendis' Superman as a whole?

pretenderoftheeast said: So, thoughts on Bendis' Superman and Action Comics' tenure altogether and separately now that it's over?

Anonymous said: Best and Worst things about Bendis' Superman run

Anonymous said: Now that it is over, what are your thoughts on Bendis' runs on Superman and Action Comics as a whole?

Anonymous said: Retrospective thoughts on Bendis' Superman as a whole now that it's, I guess, done?

Anonymous said: Hey so since Bendis’ Superman stuff seems to be done, what did you think of the run as a whole?

I decided to hold off a bit on writing on this one, if only so that I could reread the Action Comics side of it since Superman stood out in my memory a lot more. But now I have, and as we’re heading into a bold new era of Superman (and it’s coming in fast - just since I made my Superman in 2021 predictions we’ve gotten Ed Pinsent finally reprinting his legendary bootleg Silver Age Superman, Steve Orlando announcing his Superman analogue book Project Patron, an official shonen Superman redesign for RWBY/Justice League, PKJ’s Super-debut turning out far better than I ever expected, Superman & Lois’s first proper trailer largely taking people pleasantly by surprise, and my learning that there’s a Sylvester Stallone Old Man Superman analogue movie titled Samaritan coming out this summer) we’re ready to take a look back with at least a touch of perspective. I’ll lead with complaints, so everybody who’s been waiting for me to say that Bendis on Superman was Bad, Actually, savor this because it’s as close as you’ll get.

The Bad

* I hate to say it, but rereading that side of the run there’s no two ways about it: the structure of Action Comics as a whole is a mess. It baffled me from day one that it was the more acclaimed of the two books for so long - I guess people are hardwired at this point to think of ‘street’ stuff as where Bendis is supposed to be - because it was immediately clear that Superman had a well-defined story he wanted to tell, while Action was the usual Bendis off-the-cuff improvisation. It’s barely even a story in the same way, and it’s certainly not the ‘Metropolis crime book’ people took it as: it’s 28 issues of Superman and his supporting cast stuffed a pinball machine with the Red Cloud pinging off of each other as we wait to see who falls in the hole at the bottom, and partway through Leviathan and the Legion of Doom and 90s Superboy are tossed into the mix to keep it going a little longer. On an issue-to-issue basis it’s frequently really good, but the core plot of the book is *maybe* six issues stretched out over two and a half years.

* I’ve gone into this some before, but structure-wise Unity Saga also has problems: Phantom Planet rules but either it needed to be cut or the back half needed to be a year all its own in order to accommodate the scale of what it’s attempting. It’s got an interstellar civil war leading into the formation of the United Planets, family drama, Rogol Zaar’s whole deal, and Jon’s coming of age, and I’d say only that last one is really properly served. Even Jon forming the United Planets, while contextually somewhat justified in terms of 1. The situation being so far gone he’s the only one who’d even think in those terms, 2. Things being bad enough that these assorted galactic powers would be willing to try it, and 3. Him having the S on his chest to sell it, isn’t at all built up to within the run itself.

* Rogol Zaar sucks. He’s made up of nothing but interesting ideas - he’s an ersatz warrior ‘superman’ of a bygone age of empires up against the new model, he’s the sins of Krypton as a conservative superpower come home to roost, he’s while not outright said to be definitely Superman’s tragic half-brother and the culmination of everything this run does with Jor-El - but none of them manifest on the page, he’s just a big punchy dude with a dumb design who screams about how you should take him seriously because he’s totally the one who blew up Krypton. Even a killer redesign by Ryan Sook for Legion of Superheroes can’t fix that. There are lots of bad villains with good ideas who are redeemed with time and further effort, but I can’t imagine Zaar getting that TLC to become a fraction of whatever Bendis envisioned him as.

* The second year of Action Comics, after establishing itself in its first as one of the most consistently gorgeous books on the stands, leads with Szymon Kudranski’s weak output and then concludes with John Romita Jr. turning in some career-worst work. The latter is particularly egregious because for that first year Bendis writes a really collected, gentle Superman so him getting pushed into being more aggressive should have an impact, but Romita draws such a craggy rough-looking Superman in the first place that it mutes any sort of shock value.

 * WE NEVER LEARN WHAT’S UP WITH LEONE’S CAR, WHAT THE HELL. You don’t just DROP THAT IN THERE and then NEVER FOLLOW UP.

The Good

* Superman got his real clothes back after 7 truly ridiculous years.

* Bendis fundamentally gets Clark’s voice in a way unlike almost any other writer - even all-around better writers of the character almost never approach how spot-on he is with having Superman speak and act exactly how Superman should.

* Supporting cast front and center! He writes a dynamite Lois, Perry, and Jimmy (even if many of Lois’s more out-there decisions in the run don’t end up retroactively justified the way you’d hope), Ma and Pa are more fun than they’ve been in decades in their brief appearances, he manages to turn having Jor-El in the mix into a positive, and the Daily Planet as a whole has an incredibly distinctive vibe to it like never before that I hope is taken as a baseline going forward.

* The non-Rogol Zaar baddies? All ruled. Invisible Mafia and Red Cloud are both brilliant ideas executed solidly if overextended. Zod as Kryptonian Vegeta, Mongul as a generational perpetual bastard engine primed to be incapable of self-reflection, and Ultraman as “what if Irredeemable but he’d never been a good guy and also he was a Jersey mobster” are the best versions of those characters by numberless light-eons. Lex is on-point in his sparse appearances. Xanadoth as a mystical cosmic monster older than time who still talks like a Bendis character is however unintentionally a hoot. The alt-universe Parasite is a more intimidating Doomsday than Doomsday ever was. And Synmar as an alien culture’s attempt at creating their own Superman and messing up the formula when they make him a soldier can and should be a legitimate major ongoing villain coming out of this run.

* Pretty much all the art other than what I mentioned already. Fabok does a good job bookending The Man of Steel and Ivan Reis does the work of his career anchoring Superman (special props to Reis as well for drawing the first ever non-Steve Rude interesting-looking take on Metropolis), and meanwhile you’ve got Jim Lee, Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, Doc Shaner, Steve Rude, Kevin Maguire, Adam Hughes, Patrick Gleason, Yanick Paquette, Ryan Sook, Brandon Peterson, and David Lafuente doing their own parts.

* Closely related to the art, all the little flourishes with the powers. Super-speed having a consistent visual with the background coloring changing, Clark internally putting numbers to the degrees of force behind his punches and what situations which numbers are appropriate for, ‘skidding to a halt’ mid-flight before crashing through a window, the shonen-ass major throwdowns as portrayed by Reis, how his super-hearing is handled as a prevalent element. Lots of clever bits that added flavor to what he does.

* While Unity Saga has problems, the whole of what Bendis does in Superman as a means of forward momentum for Clark and his world is excellent. The sort of three-act structure of: 

** Clark is led to question his place in things over the course of a few adventures

** Involvement in the larger cosmos and the impact it has had through and on his family makes him realize the answer to his questions is that he needs to step up in a bigger way because there’s no benevolent larger universe to welcome Earth with open arms, nor a cosmic precedent for everything turning out for the best without some help

** As a consequence of the lessons learned by this change in the status quo Clark is inspired to make his own personal change in revealing his identity (with Mythological basically being an epilogue showcasing a ‘standard’ standalone Superman adventure while simultaneously highlighting his new status quo and how it fits in as a summing-up of Bendis’s take)

…does a great job of shepherding through ideas that lend a lot of forward momentum to Superman of the kind he hasn’t seen in a long time. Not perfect, but far lesser stories with far lesser ambitions have made huge impacts, so I’d certainly hope at least some of this sticks around even if, say, regardless of any retcons to the main line there are always going to be stories with Clark as a disguise and Jon as a kid. Oh, speaking of whom,

* KISS MY ASS, EVERYTHING WITH JON KENT RULED

Ahem. Probably a less confrontational way of putting that.

Do I think there was more gas in the tank for Jon as a kid? Totally, making him likeable and viable was the one really good thing the Rebirth era accomplished for Superman and I expect we’ll continue seeing more of it in the future one way or another. But whether or not him being aged up was Bendis’s decision, or working with marching orders to set up the eventually-(kinda-)discarded 5G, the coming of age narrative here is fire. He keeps the essential Clark Kent kindness and bit of Lois Lane cheekiness that reminds you he’s still their kid, which is a combination Bendis is basically precision-crafted to write, but his trials by fire give him a background entirely unlike the by-the-numbers “and here’s how Superman’s great kid grew up to be a great superhero too” narrative you’d expect while still arriving at that endpoint. If superheroes live and die by metaphors then Jon in here is what it means to grow up written as large as possible: leaving home for the first time (and seeming to shoot up overnight!), getting into the muck of how the real world works, being beaten down by authority wearing faces you’ve been taught to trust, scrambling to get through with the whole world against you, and in the end getting through by learning to rely on your own strength while keeping your soul intact and your head held high, and even managing to speak some truth to power. It gives him a well-defined life story with room to go back to and explore the intricacies of each leg of for decades to come in a way Superman hasn’t had since the original Crisis - someone someday is going to write a The Life & Times Of The Son Of Superman miniseries and it’s going to be one of the greats - and negates any question that he’s earned his stature as the heir apparent.

* Coming out of this, Superman’s world is fascinating. He’s out but rather than giving up his day-to-day life he’s openly spending part of his life as CLARK KENT: SUPER-REPORTER and part of his job on the cape-and-tights side of things is now KAL-EL: SUPER-SPACE-DIPLOMAT, Lois Lane coruns a foundation helping people whose personal continuities have been fucked over by Crisis shenanigans, Jimmy Olsen owns the Daily Planet but is still doing Jimmy Olsen stuff because that’s how he gets his kicks, and Jon Kent is going to college in the future. I’m not anywhere near naïve enough to think that’s how things are going to be forever, or shortsighted enough to think there’s no value left in the traditional setups, but god I hope these developments stick around for a long, long time to come and potentially become the new ‘normal’ as far as the ongoing shared universe stuff goes, because it all feels like the right and promising next steps to take for the lives of these characters. However it got here, for all the pluses and minuses along the way even if I maintain the former very much outweighed the latter as a reading experience, Bendis has a lot to be proud of if that’s the legacy he leaves on these titles.

* The recap pages at the desks!

#Superman #Brian Bendis #Jon Kent #Opinion

[sparkerinparadise]

rating every jack frost iteration that i can think of off of the top of my head rn bc sleep is a myth

SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI: i have never touched an atlus game but oh my god look at him. he’s just a little guy and it’s his birthday!!! i love his fun hat and how small and round he is, and his :D face with little fangs. apparently he’s also a demon??? that gives you a gun in one of the games?? that’s always a plus!! i don’t like the fact that he’s british though. 10/10 instant improvement to any game

FROSTY’S WINTER WONDERLAND: this movie is very much a product of its time w how it treats crystal and is VERY much trying to capitalize off of the success of the original frosty, but idk i still think it’s kinda cute. but this isn’t rating the movie. this is rating jack frost. here he is a silly little man!! his whole spiel is that he’s jealous that frosty is more popular than him so he wants to murder him. y’know, typical cartoon villain stuff. don’t worry though, he gets defeated by the power of friendship and a Kiss from a Cute Snowlady, and decides he’s going to make winter last forever for frosty and his new wife crystal bc they’re probably the first people to validate him in years. wow. what a guy. also his design’s excellent and his voice sounds exactly what u think it sounds like, it’s great. 10/10 i want to see him and smt jack commit crimes together

RISE OF THE GUARDIANS: here he is. the tumblr sexyman himself. i don’t remember anything from this movie except that no one can see him and he’s sad about it, i think. also he has a big magic stick and i have no idea what it’s actually used for. ice, i think?? but yeah, he is literally just some generic modern-looking white boy. with a big stick. i don’t understand the appeal, but then again i’m a lesbian and i don’t own an air fryer. 2/10 best and only anime i’ve ever seen /j

JACK FROST (1979): “wait a minute, u already put the rankin-bass one on here!! they’re the same character!!” shut up this is my list, i get to do what i want. anyways i literally just finished watching this movie for the first time and i thought it was cute. his outfit’s changed a little bit from winter wonderland and the colors here are a little too similar for my taste but it’s still a SUPER solid design. like, a pointy hat, tunic, boots AND leggings?? too much power. he is significantly less bastardly here but he’s still super silly and nice. we love to see it!! 8/10 i want in on that groundhog con deal

SANTA CLAUSE 3: i watched this movie several times as a kid, and i couldn’t tell u for the life of me why. i was actually kinda surprised when rewatching some clips of this guy on youtube! his design’s... okay i guess, but his lines are so corny and his acting is so over-the-top that he actually ends up being kinda funny. anyways he wants to ruin santa's life so he can…. travel into the past and sabotage santa’s backstory?? so he can be capitalist santa??? i don’t remember how any of that worked but it was bc of some weird magic law i think, because its the fucking santa clause. anyways uhhh.... he exists!! that’s all i can really say about him!! 5/10 eat the rich

FROSTY AND RUDOLPH’S CHRISTMAS IN JULY: gee rankin-bass jack, how come YOUR mom lets u have THREE designs??? i like what they were trying to go for by combining the first 2 designs they made, but oh my god i literally cannot stand to look at him. i don’t know if it’s just his absurdly long neck, but that head just does NOT look like it belongs on that body. what were they thinking. 0/10 u had one job

JACK FROST (1998): an irl friend actually told me about this one and all i gotta say is... what the fuck, sarah???? i’ve read the wikipedia article and like. this jack’s a regular dude who’s a musician w/ kids, right??? and uh... he just fucking dies. and comes back to life as a snowman to help his son move on from his death. and then he dies again. i don’t know how anyone could take something like this seriously. this movie doesn’t even sound real, it’s like someone based it off of a really fucked up fever dream or something. anyways 4/10 i don’t have anything clever to say about this

#bee.txt #long post #i feel like this is revealing way too much about my taste in media and i hate it lol

[p5youllneverseeitcoming]

Persona 5 Strikers/Scramble

So! I finished the story of Persona 5 Strikers and I wanted to share my thoughts as I have soooo much to say but cannot share with my friends due to spoilers :’) I am currently playing on a New Game+ as, ya girl wants the Platinum Trophy :o

I will talk about some of the things that I really liked here (Spoiler free don’t worry) AND include spoilery things under the cut so I won’t ruin the experience for anyone else!

The Plot

Obviously this takes place after the original Persona 5 story finishes and as opposed to a whole year, you just get 1 month with the Phantom Thieves. I really liked exploring all the cities you travel to and the character interactions were so cute!! I really like the two new characters introduced (Sophia and Zenkichi Hasegawa). Both of them fit the story so well and their interactions with the other Thieves are honestly so good and pure! Also?? Their outfits? Amazing T_T It was such a nice change seeing everyone in casual outfits as opposed to their school uniforms!

I also loved the fact that you could choose to play with characters that get introduced late game like Haru for example straight away. I for one, always have her in my party as soon as she’s available so having her for the whole game was like a dream come true haha. I’ll talk about Sophia and Zenkichi a bit more under the cut but I will say that it’s so fun to play as them! I personally prefer Sophia more as she has healing skills which are always really useful and she uses yo-yo’s for her weapons which are so fun to use. Zenkichi uses a great sword which is very Final Fantasy of him and I am loving it. I love their Phantom Thief outfits! Sophia looks super cute in her floofy coat and boots and Zenkichi just looks so cool! His hat is goals, I want one T_T

The anime cutscenes in the game are also... Omg... I just can’t help but fangirl over how everyone looks... ESPECIALLY SOPHIA OML, she’s so... Bby... And of course, the dialogue options you can choose are so funny, then again what else can you expect from a game that had the option to say “you jelly?” to Ryuji.

I won’t spoil the main plot but this game works similarly to Persona 5 in the sense of, you still go into dungeons but these ones are a lot shorter and when you leave the dungeon, the days don’t actually move forward, only specific story points advance the days. So essentially if you wished, you can stay and grind for as long as you like!

The Gameplay

I won’t lie, as expected from a hack-and-slash it gets quite chaotic at first if you don’t fully know what’s going on but you get used to it pretty quickly! The game gives you tutorials whenever anything new appears and you get the hang of it pretty well by the first dungeon. You still only have 4 characters in your party and Akira must always be present but here you can actually run around as the other party members when the battles are over! Also? Morgana gets comical sound effects when he does things like jumping and running and I was LIVING for it.

The other thing that changed is, obviously it’s not turn based so if you were like me and wore the SP restoring accessories to get 7SP back each turn, you’re in for a last surprise! In this game you actually use your items quite a lot as there isn’t a limit to how much you can use as you access them mid battle by pausing. Later on you get specific skills that restore your SP after each battle or by performing All Out Attacks and 1 More’s so honestly, SP isn’t really a problem for regular battles. I mainly found it running out quickly when I was fighting some of the optional bosses but I always had SP restoring items so it was all good hehe.

You still do things like All Out Attacks and 1 More’s in this game but you also do something called ‘Showtime’ which is very similar to the ones introduced in Royal only in Strikers it’s for one character, you basically build up the showtime gauge as you battle enemies and, once activated, you deal significant damage to stronger enemies like bosses as well as all of the enemies in the area. The All Out Attacks also have their own little animation with your party posing and just looking really good!

Yusuke being so extra is honestly such a mood omg... Also Mona T_T So smol.

Every party member has their own special quirks such as Ann and Makoto applying Fire and Nuclear affinity respectively to their regular weapons, Morgana turning into the Mona car and so on. I personally always had Haru and Yusuke in my party and kept switching between the other Thieves to see what I like best. Personally, I really like having Morgana or Sophia as they’re really good healers, Morgana obviously having the more powerful skills such as Mediaharan and Salvation.

Also... The menus... Omg... If you thought the Persona 5 menu was stylish then you will LOVE the Strikers menus. They’re so stylish! And I love that all the Phantom Thieves are there too, it’s so cute T_T

The only thing I don’t like is the game doesn’t pause when your controller dies so uh... I may or may not have died during a boss battle when I was like 2 hits away from winning and then just... Stopped moving letting the boss hit me with a killing combo :)

To be honest though the party that I had pretty much all the time was:

But as I said, I liked to change Morgana and Sophia around every now and then.

The Music

Omg the music. Atlus really just said: Hey what if we made Persona 5 music again but like... More epic?

The song that plays right as soon as you have control of Joker is SO. GOOD. I legit had to pause for like 5 mins just to jam out. I don’t think it will come as much of a surprise but in my opinion, Persona 5 definitely has one of the best video game soundtracks, I absolutely love all the songs!

I will discuss some of the dungeon themes in the spoilers but I absolutely love the soundtrack for this game. Every dungeon theme is so fitting for said dungeon, I genuinely listen to them all the time, especially when doing my research for my essays!

The battle music is really energetic as opposed to the jazzy feel from the original Persona 5 soundtrack but it’s very fitting for the actual battle as you often fly all around the area instead of standing in one spot. I will say, Last Surprise made an excellent comeback despite being an already amazing song which is just, amazing, incredible, fantastic...

Other things

Well, I can’t go into detail due to spoilers but they deadass put a JoJo reference as well as a character in the game :’) The moment I saw them I was fangirling so hard!!! Also? The villain designs in this game??? Amazing. Beautiful. Very creative!

The Phantom Thieves interacting with each other is also really cute! I ESPECIALLY liked the fact that Morgana and Ryuji got along a lot better! They still had small fights here and there but they pretty much apologised to one another straight away which I really liked! Also? Ryuji protecting his friends, especially the girls? Amazing. Wonderful. Cannot help but stan.

Well, that concludes the non-spoiler section which.... Is kinda long haha, Below the cut I will talk about the spoilery things so I advise looking at it AFTER you finish the game!

The Plot

The plot of this game is really fun if you ask me. You travel around Japan defeating Monarchs in Jails AND you get to experience the joys of summer vacation with your friends and your new Persona dad. I really like the fact that you don’t advance time when you leave the Jails because this gives you the chance to grind as much as you want before tackling harder fights like some of the optional bosses. The boss designs themselves were so good! Especially Alice?! My God? She’s beautiful?? Look at her!

Persona 5 Strikers said you can be horny on main... Just this once o_o. She literally steps on Joker in the Jail which o_o Ma’am... Plz but she ALSO steps on her manager in the real world.

I really liked all the bosses in this game because they felt so... Real? Obviously I don’t agree with them for brainwashing people into worshipping them, but I really like how the game gave them backstories that showed why they strayed away from the right path. The fact that the Thieves tell them that they understand their struggles because they themselves went through the same thing (Like Ann and Yusuke) honestly made me appreciate the story that much more. I really liked Haru’s little arc in Sapporo because not only did she help Mariko Hyodo and show her that despite mistakes you can always stand up and start again, but she also got to have more screentime, like that cute fountain scene she has with Akira! ALSO? The Hee-Horde?! I was laughing for a solid 5 minutes when I saw it! It was so cute how Haru, Sophia, Ryuji and Yusuke were so into it while Futaba was just there like: ????

I think my favourite Jail out of all of them will definitely have to be the Kyoto one, a.k.a. the Jail controlled by Zenkichi’s daughter, Akane. Despite how short it is, you can learn so much about her. The overall aesthetic of the jail shows her love to the Phantom Thieves and in the actual Jail theme you can hear fragments of ‘Life Will Change’ and ‘Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There’ which I think is absolutely amazing! The boss fight for this jail honestly took me 3 tries to beat as the first time, I died due to not fully getting how Shadow Joker worked, and the second time, I was about 2 hits from beating him but then... My controller died :’) By the time it turned back on I was already c-c-c-c-comboed to death so :’) This is also the jail where Zenkichi awakens to his Persona and honestly? I found the little segment where he has to sneak around in his usual everyday attire so cute, bless him, he really did adopt 7 teenagers, their cat and an AI daughter.

ALSO?! They deadass put Dio in this game? Like when I first saw Natsume’s shadow I was like: Hm looks kinda familiar...

BUT THEN?!

Needless to say I was fangirling pretty hard.

I liked Akira Konoe, very much vibing with his Power Ranger aesthetic however, I have to say, his boss fights was surprisingly... Easy? At least it felt easy to me which was kind of... Disappointing I suppose for him supposedly being “the final boss” HOWEVER, I very much liked how his calling card was delivered, and the fact that Zenkichi could finally get his revenge was very satisfying! 

Now, let’s talk about the end game, mainly the Abyss Jail.  I did NOT see it coming (haha) that it was Ichinose all along! As I’m currently replaying the game, the fact that she doesn’t want to look at Sophia despite specialising in AI technology should have been my first clue that something is not quite right here! 

When she forces Sophia to attack the Thieves, it honestly broke my heart. The fact that she recognised Joker and Skull... And she threw herself off the ledge just so she can’t hurt them anymore... Yo, I love her so much T_T That’s why her awakening to her Persona (her true Persona) was such a satisfying scene! Her Persona (Pandora) has a really cool design, I especially like the fact that she represents the Hope Arcana (as there was hope left at the bottom of Pandora’s box) and that Pandora herself kept the box-y design from her original “Persona” Pithos. I found it quite funny that all the skills Pithos has ended with a “?”. Anyway, the scene where she tells Ichinose all the things she learnt, and that Ichinose herself has a heart despite believing that she doesn’t for so long was so touching. It showed that Sophia deeply cares for her, despite the fact that she literally said she’s the reason so many people are getting mind controlled by EMMA. The ending scene with the two of them laughing and holding hands... My heart T_T

Now then, let’s talk about EMMA.

I. Loved. The. Final. Boss. Fight.

The fact that the game makes you use ALL the characters for the final fight! As I usually switched out characters here and there, my reserve party members weren’t severely under-levelled which made the fight pretty okay! I had quite... Strange groups I would say as I had Makoto and Zenkichi being a team, Morgana, Ann and Ryuji being a team, and Akira, Haru, Yusuke and Sophia being the final team. The final boss itself, has an absolutely beautiful design. I especially loved the angel like wings because it really showed that EMMA saw herself as a saviour. The cutscene that plays after with all the Thieves dealing the final blows before watching all the desires fall around them was honestly so pretty... Man, this game series is just so aesthetic!

When the credits rolled and all the photos started appearing I couldn’t help but start crying. It really felt like you were actually there, living through all the memories and the fact that Sophia called the photo of all of them together “Treasure”... T_T

The Gameplay

I already pretty much said all I wanted for the gameplay in the non-spoiler section but I will say, the Showtimes and the Master Skills each character learns are so good! I love that once you master all of them you’re bascially unstoppable, I especially love Haru’s and Akira’s as it allows them to deal damage even if they’re a safe distance away from the enemy. The fact that you can learn Bond skills that restore SP with every All Out Attack and One More is honestly so helpful because it saves you going back and forth between the real world but then again, by this point you probably have way too many HP and SP restoring items!

I really liked that Zenkichi has no weaknesses and uses Almighty damage but I find the whole Fury/HP consumption combination a bit weird. After a while you get used to it and obviously you don’t have to activate fury at all but as I said before, I prefer playing as Sophia. Although, I will say that gun wise, I think Zenkichi’s are a lot more fun to use than Sophia’s blasters, but then again that’s just my personal opinion!

The Music

As I said, the music was so fitting for each Jail, I absolutely love it.

The first Jail, you honestly can’t help but bop your head to the beat. It really gives you the impression that you’re in some kind of twisted theme park which really fit the overall aesthetic of the Jail. I loved the vibrant neon colour scheme in such a dark looking place.

The Okinawa Jail... My God that theme was so good. I can’t really explain it but the song really made you feel like you were... Alone, like the place was truly abandoned and forgotten. As soon as the violin started playing I couldn’t help but just stop and listen to it. The overall jail was just so... Creepy. The Shadows there resemebled the shadows you would usually find in the previous Persona games, just this black mass slithering around. I think it was very fitting that they put the Reaper in this Jail. 

As I mentioned before, the Kyoto Jail theme is my absolute favourite. The fact that it has elements of other Persona 5 songs due to Akane being a big Phantom Thieves fan was such a good choice! I love how when you take a closer look, you can see the Phantom Thieves logo on the lanterns and the fact that Shadow Akane herself made a Phantom Thief outfit for herself... Big mood. I loved how all the Thieves encouraged her to try and get along with her dad better AND that they taught Zenkichi how to cook just so he can make curry for her, especially when you remember just how much curry means to someone like Futaba. 

I really liked the remix of Rivers in a Desert, then again what did I expect from a Persona game? The battle music is ALWAYS amazing. I really liked how this played when you fight Konoe as it parallels when you fight Shido in the original, supposedly the final fight, only to find out that there is something MUCH bigger than them.

Other things

This post is already way too long and if you read all of this... Thank you so much. Sadly, I cannot share this with any of my friends as it’s spoilers so I hope you guys don’t mind me sharing this here! I would love to see your opinion of this game!!!

Also? Yusuke and Akira are now canonically dating and I think that’s beautiful

And then that scene later on

Why do you think we came here with Yusuke, Morgana?

TL;DR: I love this game

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