#and even somewhat against it in the mcu with all the other potential love interests running around | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

assemble-at-the-intersection · 5 months

Text

'Avengers: Infinity War' Review - Building a Villain

‘Avengers: Infinity War’ is the 19th entry of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, also known as the MCU, and is directed by the Russo Brothers and produced by Kevin Feige. It is the first part of a larger two-part storyline, the other part being ‘Avengers: Endgame’, which begins the movement toward ending the ten-year storyline that has spanned the MCU since its establishment in 2008 with Iron Man and later the Avengers. The film follows our beloved heroes and heroines as they struggle to disrupt the mad titan, Thanos, from gathering the six artifacts - called the Infinity Stones - that have the potential to end half the lives in our universe. Stakes are higher than ever, and the film leaves us questioning whether we have finally encountered an unbeatable villain.

The film features almost every character that has existed in the MCU until this point in the storyline, and overall does a good job at utilising these characters in a way that helps progress the plot without breaking the movie’s pacing. The scenes between Iron Man and Spider Man, for example, take two characters and their relationship to one another to raise the stakes of the battle for our characters but also for us as viewers; with each passing scene, we find ourselves more and more attached to our heroes, invested in their bonds as well as their war against Thanos.

However, there were characters within the movie that did not get as much screen time. As the movie focuses mainly on the more major characters of the MCU, such as Iron Man and Star Lord, and their dynamics, secondary characters were often pushed aside within the narrative, with not much depth given to them beyond aiding in the battle against the mad titan himself.

Often, this tendency to push secondary characters aside has extended to the villains they challenge. One of the MCU’s weakest aspects has to be their villains; with a pattern of creating surface-level villains and killing them within the same movie, the MCU struggles to extend its strength in characterisation to their villains. Consequently, these villainous figures end up seeming much more basic and boring in comparison to their more interesting comic counterparts.

There are few exceptions to this pattern within the MCU, but ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ is one of those few exceptions. I would go as far as to argue that the best character of the movie has to be the main villain himself: Thanos.

Thanos is the opposite of these lacklustre villains; his character has been set up for ten years, building him up as a looming figure that has the potential to become one of, if not, the biggest threat that our heroes have had to face yet. The movie successfully fulfills our expectations for the antagonist, as he is shown to be as ruthless and threatening as his comic counterpart. The savage battles featuring Thanos build upon his reputation, showing us why he is to be feared rather than simply telling us that he should be. Additionally, just as the heroes are given depth through their relationship to one another, Thanos’ past and his relationship to his daughter Gamora adds dimension to his identity, showing us his willingness to act upon his goals in spite of his own potential loss.

Beyond his ruthlessness, Thanos’ character is fleshed out by his more sympathetic qualities. We learn his reasoning for the things he does, which allows us to understand and perhaps somewhat sympathise with Thanos himself. I would argue that the MCU’s version of Thanos is actually better than his comic book counterpart.

When it comes to motivation in the comics, Thanos never planned to wipe out half the universe, even after gathering all of the infinity stones, or infinity gems as they were called in the comics. Thanos only decides to do so as an attempt to impress his love interest: the living personification of Death. If this goal was not disappointing in itself, Thanos’ attempt to garner Death’s affection fails pathetically as Death is uninterested in Thanos.

In contrast, the MCU provides Thanos with a less selfish and more understandable reason for achieving his goal. Rather than aiming to impress a love interest, the aim is ironically to lessen - or, ideally, remove - evil. While Thanos’ actions are not completely selfless and the character remains sinister, the film version of the villain allows for us to view the character as an anti-villain rather than complete villain. This depth of character, achieved by few villains - such as Loki - in the past, makes Thanos one of the best characters to date.

Overall, I would highly recommend this movie for both comic book readers and fans of the superhero genre as it is an amazing first part to the two-part finale of the ten-year superhero story. Full of amazing visuals, great characters and, perhaps, one of the best endings to a superhero film, this film is a must-watch.

1 note · View note

theravennest · 3 years

Text

Let’s Talk About Shang Chi...

I just got back from seeing Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. I had a great time with it. Just a lovely experience.

The fights were dope. The music was rocking. The actors’ performances really sold me on everything. I loved all the Xianxia elements. Y’all know fantasy worlds are my JAM!

But it was the characters that really drew me in. Every one of them were pitch perfect for me. The final act got a little jumbled, imo, but the characters and their dynamics were so good that it was enough for me to completely forgive and overlook the somewhat messy final battle.

The story had a lot of heart. It was so personal and so anchored in real emotions. I highkey fell in love with all the main characters. I love their journeys and their complex and grounded relationships with each other. I really liked the movie’s examination of grief, loss, and pain and the lengths people will go to in the wake of being overwhelmed by those feelings.

Let’s dig into it! This is gonna be a whole discombobulated mess, I just know it. lmao

***Spoilers below the cut!***

I really felt for Shang Chi, Xialing, and Wenwu struggling to figure out how to be a family again after they were all broken in different ways by the loss of Mama Ying Li. And each one of them trying in their own way to heal from it, some to extremely destructive degrees.

How Wenwu treated his kids after being consumed by grief and violence was so utterly messed up but in two completely different ways.

He treated Xialing like she was anathema, like she was literally nothing. Even when they were older and she had grown into an adult, he barely spoke to her in the entirety of the movie, could hardly even look at her. Partially because she looked like her mom and he retreated utterly from the pain of that, and partially because he constantly underestimated her in favor of her brother. This, of course, seeded the resentful tension between Xialing and Shang Chi from the start.

I’m a real sucker for sibling dynamics, as you all know. They’re my favorite types of family-oriented stories. (Side note, I really love the way the MCU has dedicated several stories to sibling relationships. It’s like my favorite thing in the MCU as a whole.)

I completely ate up the harsh and tricky relationship between Xialing and Shang Chi. Shang Chi completely let her down when they were kids, for her POV. (Not really his fault, he was a scared and traumatized 15 year old. Totally understandable.) But there is something to be said about the fact that she was also a child. A child dealing with her mom’s death too AND her dad’s aloofness. Then she was utterly abandoned by her brother. It’s no wonder she never quite forgives him, even though they mostly team up in the movie. They still have a lot to work out between them.

I really loved that she took on leadership of the Ten Rings at the end. The moment Shang Chi said she was “dismantling” their dad’s empire, I knew what was up. Though, the softy in me does hope that eventually they can find true reconciliation between them. I’m excited to see what we’ll see from her in future movies as a potential enemy of Shang Chi. It’ll be really interesting to see how Shang Chi tackles having to go up against his little sister.

And Shang Chi!!! OMG! Let’s talk Shang Chi and Wenwu now. When Wenwu drop kicked him into the ground and started the blame game for Mama Ying Li’s death like bro!!! I was so heated. He was 7 years old. A whole baby! She died because your thousand years of violence and conquering shit finally came home to roost.

But that one line when Wenwu said Shang Chi’s 7 year old self “just stood there and watched” while his mom was killed actually revealed so much about Wenwu’s character. (The cutting way Tony Leung, a literal legend, delivered that was masterful, btw.)

I actually think that it was the first time Wenwu has ever verbalized that he blamed Shang Chi for Ying Li’s death. Like maybe he’s always felt that way and all this time he was partially punishing Shang Chi for what he thinks of as a failure to protect or help the woman who meant so much to them.

Like, yes, he was training Shang Chi to take his place with him in the Ten Rings as an assassin but maybe he also wanted Shang Chi to kill his mom’s murderer as penance for letting her die in the first place.

Of course, it’s clear to see that Wenwu was absolutely shifting his own feelings of conflicting guilt onto his kids. Guilt that his past as a warlord is what got her killed. But also guilt that he put down the Ten Rings in the first place when if he had stayed a warlord, this never would have happened. But also the bone deep knowledge that if he hadn’t put down the Rings, Ying Li might never have stayed with him and loved him in the first place.

When Shang Chi threw it back at him that Ying Li probably wouldn’t love the person Wenwu had returned to, Wenwu looked so shook up. Phew! Perfect emoting from Tony Leung in that moment.

Honestly, Wenwu was having a very tragic and confusing time of it in this movie. Which is probably how that creature from beyond was able to find a crack in his psychic defenses and lure him to the gate. I had a lot of empathy for him even though I disagree so much with what he did to his kids, emotionally.

I really respect the fact that the movie never lost that sense of compassion for all of their feelings including Wenwu. I also respect that the movie really gave them space to grieve not just the loss of Ying Li but also the resulting dissolution of their happy family.

It’s just too bad that Wenwu’s grief made him push his kids away instead of pulling them closer. He completely emotionally abandoned them. A thousand years of power and supremacy yet he was broken because he never in that time fully learned how to process his emotions in a healthier way and his kids paid the price. They could’ve leaned on each other and on the love they found with Ying Li to help them get through but alas that’s the tragedy of the movie.

I really wanted somehow for Shang Chi to make it through to his dad before he went too far to come back again. I genuinely did not want to see Wenwu die at the end. I wanted him to live and see Shang Chi’s changing dynamic with his father continue. I wanted to see him finally acknowledge his daughter as his true heir and see her accomplishments (dark though they will likely become considering the “softer” version of her is the one that ran an illegal fight club in Macao lmao).

Though I am happy Shang Chi got through to him enough at the end for Wenwu to save Shang Chi’s life, willingly pass the rings onto his son, and somewhat accept his own death after a thousand years of life. That was such a poignant moment between them. And I wonder if in that instant, Wenwu had the thought that in dying he’d at least see Ying Li again.

(Side note: I really hope his soul and the souls of everyone that got eaten were freed when Shang Chi killed the monster. I really want them to be able to move on to the next phase of existence. I really hope they weren’t destroyed after being eaten. I want Wenwu to reunite with Ying Li even in the afterlife, gotdamnit! Sue me, I’m a romantic.)

Let’s talk Simu Liu’s performance here for one second. He was incredible throughout. I completely bought into this strange but so real feeling that while he has a lot of anger towards his father, so much hurt, he also felt a lot of heartache and love for who Shang Chi wanted him to be. And the strange desire to want to help a man who emotionally scarred him so badly.

Simu really brought both sides of Shang Chi’s journey to life. Like, he was tying to find his own path, reconcile with the mistakes he’s made in the past (his sister, killing his mom’s murderer), and facing up against his father’s ideals and expectations. But there was also a side of Shang Chi’s journey that was about finally understand both his sister and his father’s point of views, and of learning/embracing his mother’s history.

That moment by the lake when he revealed to Katy that he had actually killed the man who killed his mother. Whew boy! The emotions were so poignant. Simu Liu played it like *chef’s kiss* beautiful.

Speaking of character choices, I really rate this decision to have him actually go through with the assassination. It puts Shang Chi in an interesting position emotionally and somewhat morally. Instead of having his breaking point be him unable to kill as his father wishes, it’s instead the feeling of guilt and shame that he actually did kill the man.

I wonder if he felt a sense of satisfaction before the disgust and shame settled in. Because Shang Chi literally watched his mom die, he probably initially wanted to help his father hunt down the man because of that bit of dark need for vengeance. Until he got it, and felt ashamed to fully face his mother’s memory afterwards.

I’m interested to see how future Shang Chi movies and Simu will dig into and unpack that little bit of darkness these events instilled in the character.

Let’s talk Ying Li for a second here. This woman was incredible. An incredible martial artist, for sure, a mystical guardian and warrior...but she was also just an incredible person in general. Mama Ying Li was so self-assured, so steadfast in her convictions. She struck me as someone who knows exactly what she wants and is never afraid to reach for it.

Fala Chen portrayed her with such grace, warmth, and strength of character. It was extremely easy to see why Wenwu fell in love with her. She met Wenwu, a literal thousand year old warlord, and through shear strength of character led him to put down his weapons and his empire to make a home with her.

This man threw away his entire shadow army of assassins, threw away his whole plan to literally demolish her village in the pursuit of power...in order to play Dance Dance Revolution with her and their kids. (The highlight of their romance and the family flashbacks, for me, tbh.)

And I know it’s not necessarily...positive BUT there is something...hmmmm, crunchy in the fact that Ying Li so completely altered Wenwu’s life by simply loving him that when she died he was willing to raze the whole world to get her back, damn the consequences.

Trying to properly explore toxic and negative turns in previously loving family dynamics is such a difficult task to take on. I really liked the complexity of the Xu family. All the actors really sold the family side of things. It was an almost tangible thing how much you could see how the love they felt had turned bitter and painful over the years.

The final battle was epic and mind blowing (There was a fucking DRAGON flying around for gods’ sake!) but I do wish it had stayed a little more grounded for longer in the beginning of it when the Ten Rings were fighting the Ta Lo warriors. I wanted to see more of that fight before they had the turn to becoming temporary allies against the soul suckers. It became a little too much of a CGI mash, for me, in some parts of it.

Still, the emotional beats held and the core of the story of this grieving family trying to hold on to the tatters of their world stayed consistent even through the final battle. I can forgive a lot because of the strong sense of character and connection there.

Plus, it’s a comic book movie. Spectacle is the name of the game and at least this one had cool fantasy beasts and dope fight choreo.

Anyway, I’ve rambled enough. Let’s wrap it up here. Suffice it to say, I had a wonderful time with this movie. I’m ready for the next one!

#shang chi #shang chi and the legend of the ten rings #mcu #xu shang-chi #simu liu #tony leung #xu wenwu #meng'er zhang #xu xialing #ying li #fala chen #mcu spoilers #shang chi spoilers #liveblogging

107 notes · View notes

dafuq-i-did-not-sign-up-for-this · 4 years

Text

Umbrella Academy Season 3 Predictions [SPOILERS]

Season 2 ended with quite the brainfuck, Sparrow Academy and all. So apparently our lovely children have fucked up the timeline for good now.

Or have they?

Without too much analyzing, and without knowing what else might have changed in 2019, I'd say the two main reasons for the change would probably have been

the crew meeting Reginald in 1963 and explaining everything, from the apocalypse to their powers.

not taking Harlan, who still has powers, with them to 2019.

First point is interesting, because in season 1 we've always wondered, FIVE has wondered how Reginald could possibly know about the apocalypse. So maybe he knows because they told him. But because obviously, the timeline has been messed up, and the first time the apocalypse happened everyone but Five died, it might've been the first time ever they traveled back. So time loop? Unlikely.

Which brings me to my first thesis: a net of timelines.

Those who have watched Avengers Endgame know, that in the MCU there are different strings of time. Every time someone makes a change a new timeline arises. Without affecting the already established one.

And as Five has not yet stopped existing, his older self must've jumped back to 2019 and done everything he has done in Season 1. Means that timeline should still be existing. It should've even opened a new timeline, seeing as he would've kept his adult body this time. It would explain why Five is still stuck in his teenage body at the end of the season.

Effectively, the crew would have entered another timeline, much like an Alternate Universe.

So maybe the plot of season 3 will evolve around them trying to untangle the timelines and get back to theirs.

The alternative to that is to travel back and fix it before all of them stop existing, as they would have turned out completely different people in the just-one-changed-timeline-scenario. Which would too fit the whole apocalypse-deadline theme of the previous seasons. Just this time the apocalypse is limited to the Umbrella Academy.

Personally I think it will be the net of timelines, because why go as far as introducing a whole alternate reality and possibly new characters, only to send the crew right back to season 2? It wouldn't fit the quality of storytelling the show has provided so far.

Or maybe they'll only go and "fix" Harlan. A lot of people have already connected him to the Sparrow Academy because of his toy, which I think does make a lot of sense seeing how this show is in a sense supernatural people messing with time. As I've said earlier, he's probably got a big role in how everything turned out.

What I love about this is the foreshadowing it would have. Remember Fives and Vanyas argument in S2Ep7? Five said it would be too much of a risk to take Sissy and Harlan, cause it could change the timeline. Now look how fucking awesome it would be if NOT taking them was what actually messed it up. The poetic cinema.

Especially because Harlan got his powers AFTER that argument BECAUSE Five didn't force Vanya to come with him. (Which he could have done btw. Yes. I'm a sucker for Five being soft for Vanya.)

Sidenote: a lot of shit this season could've been prevented if Five would have treated Vanya like he treats the rest of his siblings. (Remember he straight up told Diego he would kill him if he didn't go along with the plan, and ten minutes later let Vanya say goodbye to Sissy tho it endangered their success in saving the world? Yup.)

Okay, back on topic.

Why the Commission hasn't intervened isn't that difficult.

Obviously they are short on assassin's after Vanya vibe checked them all in "The End Of Something", so they wouldn't have had the resources to fix it, by, for example, taking out Harlan.

They did try to preserve the timeline, by taking out the Hargreeves siblings in season 2, which failed obviously. And in the end Herb and Co did them a favor by letting them return to 2019, either because they willingly let the timeline change now that the company is upside down, or because everything had been fucked up already at that point, beyond their control because of missing personell.

Now it gets tricky, because I haven't yet gotten behind how the Commissions time runs. That's why I can't say what part they'll play in season 3. Perhaps they'll be out of the picture completely due to lack of assassins, or maybe they'll help Five and Co fix everything. But that would be too easy honestly.

What else could happen?

Lila. She disappeared with a briefcase, fucked off to god knows when, I don't believe she'll be left out of the picture. She and Diego will probably get a side plot about her overcoming her upbringing and finding real love, a real family. Because Five time travelled to save them, the Handler didn't get time to show her ugly side to Lila before dying. Could very well be that this effects her deception of the Umbrella crew and she turns into somewhat of an enemy-to-friends kinda scenario. Perhaps she'll be pitted against Five again.

Sissy comeback? I dunno, but she'd probably be around 80/90 in 2019? I could see her and Vanya getting a short reunion for nostalgias sake and to get Vanya some closure, tho I thought their last scene in ep10 to be pretty good on that part. Maybe she'll come in in connection with Harlan.

More sibling interaction. They've done so well setting up Team Zero this season, I'm fucking excited for what the next will hold.

More a personal wish of mine, but everyone being overprotective over Vanya. Imagine the Sparrow Academy bad mouthing her and Diego, Luther and Five going overprotective brother™ while Allison and Klaus give em stanky eye and judge.

Everyone getting their powers in check, Five and Vanya especially. Five because we've already seen him making incredible progress, and Vanya, because maybe in this timeline she is able to control her powers and learns from her other self? But that's for another post.

Which brings me to last but not least, the Sparrow Academy. The potential! I'm gonna do a separate post about my thoughts on this, because this one is already way too long and I have a lot of thoughts on it.

Whatever might happen, I can't wait. Given the ending of season 2, the possibilities are endless. I mean? They have a freaking briefcase? Five just managed to time travel on his own?

On that note I might need to mention I haven't read the graphic novels so I can't take any predictions from that. This post is likely gonna be extended at some point.

#umbrella academy season two spoilers #umbrella academy season 2 #umbrella academy #the umbrella academy #umbrella academy season 3 predictions #umbrella academy theories #number five #five hargreeves #tua five #vanya hargreeves #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #allison hargreeves #tua allison #klaus hargreeves #sparrow academy #ben hargreeves

145 notes · View notes

tiredassmage · 3 years

Note

For the ship asks, how about 12 and 20??

From the Ship Asks!

12. Character that you can only imagine in one ship.

I think I'll have to step outside of XIV for this one because I don't know if I can think of a XIV character I feel strongly enough about in this way because the general atmosphere of "nothing is set in stone for you, please interpret their relationships with your character as you wish!" And so many interactions in the game are written so well.

Marvel is the place we're going to have to go if we're going to talk about a character I can't ship any other way, and the debate around it and what I, personally, hate about how they have been handled in the movies is why I... no longer really care to keep up with most MCU happenings. But it's Clint Barton/Hawkeye and Natasha Romanova/Black Widow. I fell so head over heels in love with them that I just genuinely cannot imagine it going any other way. And lest I accidentally get embroiled in more than I bargained for admitting that, all I'll say is that I also can't get along with how they've been treated individually in the MCU, either. I can't really get into Natasha and Bruce, and I think both of them have been hideously sidelined and just... not allowed to be shown to their full potential too much for me to ever reconcile with the MCU as it is. I have not, for the record, yet seen the Black Widow movie, nor did I actually watch Infinity War and Endgame, and I don't really intend to amend the latter two just because of how I feel about how things went to get here. I've heard enough on the internet to know more or less what's happened with those movies. Black Widow I'd still like to maybe see at some point (it is the one on the list that I haven't really looked into plot details about) because it's finally here and I stupidly would still like to see what they finally did for her, but there's a part of me that will always feel like it's a bit of an empty gesture to give both of these characters any sort of focus now. A little too little a little too late kind of thing.

20. Ship you liked, but don't anymore.

Hmmmm, this one is... also a little tricky for me to think of in XIV-exclusive terms. It honestly might just be because I'm exhausted (my fan decided it's on its last legs last night so it kept waking me up threatening to fall apart or whatever, and I worked a morning shift today so that was Lovely) that my brain is just refusing to compute thoughts, but I don't... think I've had a ship in XIV that I've felt this way about? So, to give you something, I'll talk about a few almost-maybes I've had for my various XIV OCs.

I had, I think sometime around the time I was playing ARR or HW, toyed very idly and not very in-depth with the idea of Astor and Y'shtola because they have a somewhat similar mind for handling things. With the "hindsight" or further development and interaction shown since then and through Shadowbringers though, I ultimately don't think they'd ever work, and it wouldn't really show up in any of their interactions as an "almost," either. It came down a lot to the kind of interactions they might have had during Shadowbringers, and mainly to the way that I see Y'shtola as an incredibly logic-driven character. Astor, on another hand, is incredibly emotion-driven, and Y'shtola does not hold back anything. I think it'd end up hurting more feelings than anything and leading to butting heads rather than a romantic dynamic. Particularly in Shadowbringers, Astor struggles a lot with... a lot. And there's times where Y'shtola's biting honesty helps him, and there's times where it gets to him and wounds him... More in the kind of wounded pride or things you weren't quite ready to hear but needed to sense than anything that'd make them less of friends, but, anyway, the TLDR is that they're definitely better as friends, and I don't think there's enough from either of them that it'd ever really be a thing.

Minerva is a character I have not put a lot on here and I'm still wildly trying to figure her out, so it's debatable if anything lasting will really ever come of my struggle or if she'll just endlessly remain on the alt-pile, but on my list of potentials for her was Thancred, and I am still debating whether or not I want their almost-maybe-could have play out in full because I do like it. To keep it short, Minerva had a rough life and she's had to fight to survive most of it. Becoming a hero wasn't a thing she ever planned for, and it's sometimes still a little wild to her that... it's happened. She's aggressively against the idea of being used and objectified because she's, unfortunately, experienced quite a bit of it. Their dynamic interested me so much at first because I could see her being kind of taken by his charm in ARR, though, at the same time, his reputation isn't exactly a secret, and it's exactly the kind of reputation that would usually make her skin crawl, so it's something they would have had to work around and through. At the same time though, I could totally see him offering her the kind of genuine confidence building and admiration she'd deserve and... she really needs from a partner. But I think they'd ultimately hit a road bump in SHB that I don't think she could really let herself work around, and that's how he deals with Ryne and his grief for Minfillia. Yes, it's eventually handled better and it's something him and Ryne work through after a lot of coaxing, but I feel like it'd just be a bit of a too-close-to-home issue for Minerva that she'd never quite feel entirely comfortable with again. While it's not exactly a forgiveness issue or really her needing to forgive him, it'd... probably be the easiest way for it to be phrased is that she's not sure she can ever really forgive how he kind of took things out on Ryne when she didn't deserve it, and balked at accepting help. It'd kind of hurt her. I can't imagine them entirely not getting along after and I think they could definitely come to an understanding and work past it as friends, but I don't think she'd be able to maintain a relationship. But that's... a lot of theory for a poor girl whom I can't even figure out what kind of job I want her to main. 🤦 One day. One day I'll figure her out.

#answered #dot talk

3 notes · View notes

fairy-writes · 3 years

Note

Hello! May I request a jjk, bnha, and MCU matchup?

If it's too much you could do as many as you'd like and comfortable with.

I'm a ravenclaw, I'm bi (but more lean on the men side), 5'2.

I'm talkative, clever, big procrastinator, goofy, loud (sometimes), sarcastic, blunt, not an emotional person, creative, impulsive, confident( eh somewhat actually), intellectual, humorous, weird (though ppl correct it as "unique"), brainstormer, rebellious and can be argumentative.

Probably should also include the fact I suffer from maladaptive daydreaming...

Hobbies: drawing, painting, cooking, singing(I'm horrible at it tho), dancing(sometimes...), brainstorming??, reading(somewhat), debate, and learning new languages.

Subjects: science (if you want it more detailed, astronomy, forensic science, physics, psychology, and neuroscience), philosophy, history (well civics mainly), and a bit of literature.

Likes: spicy food, challenges, going out, watching anime, going to the park to swing on swings and scooter, Dark humor, making fun of drama, solving problems and things different.

Dislikes: ppl who force me to do something, sports, avacodes, olives, dried fruit, awkward silence, and toxic ppl.

Music: all genres, but recently I've been listening to a lot of rock.

That's I got!

Thanks! Have a nice day!

OK, this will be the ONE, AND ONLY TIME I do this, but since you were so kind, I’ll do four of the matchups you requested, even though I usually don’t.

Jujutsu Kaisen Matchup: I pair you with… Itadori Yuuji!

This Gryffindor stands at a whopping 5’8” and loves you with all of it! He’s a bit of stark contrast to you as he does like sports. But he also likes to hang out and love you too! He’s a bit of a procrastinator himself, so you can enable each other at times.

He isn’t the best at science; he failed molecular science, according to his wiki. He loves to watch you paint and draw, though! Unfortunately, he’s not the greatest at it, so he asks for your help on it all the time! He will watch anime with you and other movies, so anime marathon dates!

My Hero Academia Matchup: I pair you with… Shinsou Hitoshi!

Another tall Gryffindor at 5’9! Now before anyone says, Shinsou should be a Slytherin… I see him as a Gryffindor and Midoriya as a Ravenclaw or Slytherin, so there.

He loves your confidence, sarcasm, and creativity! He also likes to watch you draw and paint and wants to taste test what you cook! He will happily listen to you sing and watch you dance if you’ll allow him to. Reading and debates are also fun ways for you to bond, especially if it’s a subject Shinsou loves like cats!

Death Note Matchup: I pair you with… Near!

Two Ravenclaws! Two very smart and short Ravenclaws! He’s 5’1”, so only an inch shorter than you! He helps with your maladaptive daydreaming with lots of research and by assisting you with medication if you want to take that sort of thing.

He appreciates your creativity and confidence, as well as your intellect. In addition, he likes to look into subjects like science and the like in his downtime, so this would be a fun thing for the two of you to bond over!

Near isn’t the biggest outdoorsy person; in fact, he doesn’t go outside unless he absolutely has to. But he likes your dark humor and often asks for help with his cases seeing as you like to look into science subjects that are potentially very helpful to his cases.

Fullmetal Alchemist Matchup: I pair you with… Edward Elric!

He helps you with your procrastinating! He’s the king of getting things done, so he helps kick your butt into gear when the time calls for it! Of course, he’s still shorter than you at first, standing at 4’11” and all. But don’t hold it against him cause he’ll point out that you’re just as short as him!

He loves your interest in science! He’s more of an all-around science guy, but he tries to help you with any questions you may have and help with the research you want to do. He’s also a big literature guy; I mean, have you seen him read? So reading and bookstore dates! Science dates!

Ed isn’t huge into spicy food; he likes more mild things and leaves the spice to Al’s experimenting. But he’ll try it if you ask him nicely! Overall, this shorty loves you with every inch of his being, and you two would make a brilliant couple!

(I also headcanon him as a Slytherin, so Ravenclaw and Slytherin are a match to be feared!)

#fairytailwzard matchups #fairytailwzard matchup #jjk itadori #jjk yuuji #jjk #jujutsu Kaisen #jujutsu kaisen itadori #death note #death note near #Bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #shinso hitoshi #fma #fmab #fma edward #Edward Elric

3 notes · View notes

fantasyinvader · 3 years

Text

Kamen Rider Saber: Finale and Series Review

Okay, before I start disemboweling this series I want to give the finale two points of props.

It was nice to see the main trio fight the big bad together rather than it just being the lead Rider.

The ending really feels nostalgic for me. It's like one of those old games or anime that tried to do something like Evangelion, mostly Star Ocean 3 comes to mind.

I was going to add another point: how the ending didn't have to rely on a cosmic retcon to turn things into a happy ending like Build or Zi-o did, leaving those who died dead and having some level of maturity. I was going to give the show that point, even if it felt like it was leading into Touma essentially becoming God, but then the show did it and...I'm going to be honest here, I was saying fuck you at the screen. Multiple times, kinda like when Doctor Who's 50th anniversary where it turns out Gallifrey wasn't destroyed, the Doctor sealed it away and just couldn't remember it. Like, that is the level of bullshit I was calling out, and with Doctor Who I only said it as an “oh fuck you” rather than just “fuck you fuck you fuck you” until I noticed I was doing this and stopped myself.

Got it? Good. Now let's put Kamen Rider Saber on the examination table, rip it open, and see what went wrong with it.

Oh my god, where to begin with this series?

You ever see a show or movie that tries to do too much for it's runtime? Maybe a book that has some ultimately good ideas, but it never fleshed them out properly? That's my biggest feeling with Saber. Individual parts of the story, some arcs and characters are good on paper. Not to mention, Touma has two incredibly sexy upgrades (the Ryuki-inspired Draconic Knight and the berserker Primitive Dragon). But there is just so much in here that, given the proper focus could have carried the show if properly developed. It's a case of quantity over quality.

But the main problem comes to it's central McGufffin, the Omniscient Tome. This book is supposed to have all knowledge and later on all stories contained within it. It's what powers Wonderworld and the Wonder Ridebooks that are the main collectable trinket of the season. But when you stop and think about it, Saber is a world where there is no free will and the antagonists are all rebelling against this in their own way. Kento's dad (former Kamen Rider Calibur) went rogue in the backstory because he was given a vision of the future through his sword, and it led to the former Saber taking up the role of Calibur and going rogue in order to learn the truth. When the other riders are turned against Touma, the argument is over how he's destined to become more powerful, making Touma seem like he's seeking power and could be a future threat. When Kento returns from the dead, he's haunted by visions of the world ending in multiple variations, leading to him trying to seal the Sacred Blades in order to stop it. But then Master Logos is revealed to be buttfucking insane, wanting to rebel against his position in the world. Then it turns out the monster faction's leader, was a former poet who lost hope when he learned that all his creations were already in the Omniscient Tome, so he decided he would end the world his way rather than the predetermined ending. And even then, the world still ended the way it was always fated to end, even with Touma disappearing to nu-Wonderworld if only for a year.

The world wasn't saved, it was destroyed and then rebuilt because Mei wrote an online post that encouraged people to share their stories, which they did in oblivion even though these guys shouldn't have seen the post at all and instead just heard her voice.

Like, maybe the nu-World has free will. I'd buy that. But when applied to the 47 episodes I've spent the last year watching (alongside the Zenkaiger crossover episode), it felt pointless because it ended the way it was foretold in the Omniscient Tome. It didn't matter that Storious was defeated, fate was not averted. It's like, the complaints people have about the MCU post-Loki. It doesn't matter that Tony decided to sacrifice himself, because he didn't have free will. He was always going to sacrifice himself. Thanos was always going to snap away half the universe, and it would always be undone because choices didn't matter before Loki's ending.

And that's not even going into how they final arc reveals that Touma can somehow create stories not present in the Omniscient Tome. That he can somehow, because the personification of Wonderworld choose him as a child, that for some reason he's the only writer in history that can do this. His catchphrase is about how he'll be the one who'll decide how the story ends, but with the idea that everything was set into stone? It's laughable.

Like, my problem with Zero One's ending was the last scene. Aruto had learned a lot about the Humagears and was an advocate for them finding their own dreams as they became self-aware AI. So him trying to treat a new humagear as just an amnesiac Is and try to help her “remember”? That felt like a betrayal of the character and what he stood for. But the post-series movie revealed that Is left a copy of herself in the Zero Two driver, and merged with the non-self aware nu-Is who the movie kept reminding us wasn't the Is we knew. Aruto even had a sobbing scene about what he was doing, lowkey acknowledging what he was doing but without overtly calling him out. It fixed Zero One for me after that last scene left me with a bad taste in my mouth that overshadowed an otherwise excellent show.

You can't fix Saber with a single movie, that's what I'm getting at here.

So, with that out of the way let's go into my thoughts on each character.

Touma: Is one of the blandest main riders in the franchise. His sense of style is probably one of the worst I've ever seen though. Like I know they like to try and give the main riders their own look rather than having them dress like normal people, like Aruto wearing a hoodie under his suit jacket alongside with his very bright shoes, but this wasn't a W or even something like Ghost (where honestly I really liked Takeru's robe-like shirts). What they eventually settled on with Touma was a stupid hat, really baggy pants, and shirts that look like they came out of a stern librarian's closest. You know, the type with her hair in a bun and their horned-framed glasses on a chain.

Rintaro:Is one of those cases where he's meant to be the secondary Rider of the series, but is overshadowed because the writer likes to use someone else more. The idea of him having to turn against the organization that raised him (like a child soldier) could have worked really well if the series had a more free will-direction. But alas.

Kento: Kento's the one character I found I could really like. His arc was more interesting during the first quarter, his return as Calibur, but then he returned to being Espada and, as much as I love that suit, he just became Touma's main cheerleader. Really, I felt like towards the end it was a waste of him, especially since he doesn't get any power ups like Rintaro did to solidify him as one of the main three. He definitely feels like a victim of rewrites or just the writer not knowing what he was doing.

Mei: The female lead. Honestly, I just found her annoying most of the time. A womanchild to match Touma's more manchild moments, with a potential romance with Rintaro thrown in to only be confirmed in a future movie. Really, she should have taken over as Espada after Kento disappeared early on (especially since she's one of the three in the Ending dance while Kento isn't).

Daishinji: I'd say best boy, but he became a background character pretty quick.

Ogami: An older Kamen Rider who is also a father to a young child? Cool, and could even have worked in contrast to Rintaro's raising as essentially a child soldier. But alas, it was not to be.

Ren: OMG. A somewhat psycho younger Rider, idolizing Kento, and his social Darwinist beliefs on strength leading to conflict as Touma gets more powerful, leading to him abandoning the team to train with an enemy monster? HOW DO YOU MAKE THAT NOT WORK! I swear, Ren should have been the secondary Rider of the series, with his changes in beliefs being used more effectively.

Yuri: One of the most competantly written characters in the entire show. One of the original swordsman who became his sword, returning after 2000 years and not only feeling the culture clash of then and now but even how the idea of what makes a hero has changed? Good boy. Also loved him using a shadow body early on during fights.

Sophia: Why are you even here?

Reika: Oh boy, the swordswoman who leads the rest to distrust Touma under the orders of Master Logos, and doesn't sway from this until he's proven to be batshit insane? And even then, reluctant to join the others? Could have been better, especially if her relationship with her brother didn't come across as incesty. Though, could we please return her to Magine in Zenkaiger? Reika hugging her was really cute, in a socially awkward type of way.

Ryoga: Reika's brother. With his powers being something out of Jojo, time manipulation powers which are a bit hard to explain. He starts them and to his opponents things seem like the fight is continuing as normal, but he really exists outside of that and then can attack from a blindspot? Could have been really good with if the series had gone Team Free Will is all I'm saying.

Master Logos: What I mentioned above, but his Rider suit is one I'm in lust with. Just laughs like a madman and you're wondering why Reika and Ryoga don't rebel against him earlier.

The Megid: Two are a waste who I never bothered to learn their names. Fall out of focus for a bit and only return to be beaten, with the sad fact that they were once human. Storious is the exception, but even then I felt he was a little too late to save the series.

Tassel: Bon Lecture! I still hate you you weirdo, even if your death scene made me feel a little sad. The fact that you treated the early parts of the show as a story you were reading? Have you seen my other complaints?

As for the message of what the show tried to say? I don't really mind it. It's encouraging people to love stories, even if they are copies (considering the controversy of Time Paradox Ghostwriter and Cheat Slayer within recent memory, I'm trying not to make jokes about Saber encouraging plagiarism). And I don't think that's a bad thing in itself. Hell, how many stories take stuff from older stories and just tweak elements to make them their own? I love the Elric saga, but that was based on old legends and meant to subvert the likes of Conan the Barbarian, and some other stories I've liked have borrowed elements from it as well. The idea that stories can be used to pass on our hopes, thoughts and dreams to others is pretty nice as well, rather than writing being a form of masturbation on the author's part.

But in the shadow of the Omniscient Tome and it's implications, I really feel the story should have taken another route.

A lot of Riders start of weak, having to introduce the plot as well as the main release of whatever trinket they want kids to gorge themselves on this year. But they usually start getting better towards the end of the first quarter, while maybe stalling a bit towards the end of the second/third. Saber was a series that I felt never really found it's legs. Too many bareboned plot threads on the go, dropping some for a while only to pick them up again after they've been forgotten about. This is not a good series, to be honest I think Zi-O and even Ghost were better, and really feel it would have been better handled in the hands of someone who could actually write.

Not to mention, this gave me flashbacks of Power Rangers Megaforce over how much this series relied on fight scenes. Throw in greenscreen everywhere, lack of civilians...oh god, it is Kamen Rider Megaforce. And it felt like Saber was trying to have a story, unlike Megaforce, but it has the same “it’s a kid’s show, we don’t have to try that hard” energy.

1 note · View note

aion-rsa · 3 years

Text

The Incredible Hulk’s Diminished Legacy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Love it or hate it, one of the things that makes the Marvel Cinematic Universe work is the long term synergy. With Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, over a decade of movies came together to pull off one of the most entertaining spectacles of our time. It’s a universe that, for the most part, feels consistent and it builds on itself as each movie feels like an essential cog in a larger machine.

Some cogs are bigger than the others, though, and when it comes to “the others,” one can’t help but notice that 2008’s Incredible Hulk is something of a black sheep in the Marvel movie roster. These days, they’re just starting to dust it off as a property with the return of Tim Roth’s Abomination in She-Hulk and William Hurt’s General Ross’ gradually increasing role in the universe itself (he’ll appear in Black Widow and possibly other projects soon enough).

Now, there are plenty of reasons why Incredible Hulk is the green-skinned stepchild of the MCU. It made the least amount of money (about $42 million less than Captain America: The First Avenger, which was the second worst showing), the lead actor was recast afterwards, and its status as a Universal co-production meant that it would be the only movie in the first three Marvel phases that would not get its own sequel, no matter how popular Hulk was in the Avengers movies and Thor: Ragnarok.

It’s not like the MCU acted like Incredible Hulk never happened, but the creators definitely had a tendency to shove it into the corner and be somewhat vague about its existence. It became easier as the MCU became rich with more and more properties, but early on, it was very much the rage-filled elephant in the room.

The Hulk Design

There were a couple of ads for Avengers: Endgame that included shots from all the previous MCU movies in chronological order. For one, when it came to Incredible Hulk, all it had to show for it was Hulk’s fist bursting through the wall. In another, they just used shots from later movies and hoped nobody would notice. That’s because CGI or not, Ed Norton’s Hulk and Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk were two very different beasts. Not only did they roughly resemble their actors, but Norton’s Hulk was more of a giant, angry bodybuilder with green skin while Ruffalo’s came off as more Cro-Magnon, like a shaved gorilla.

It means that while they could talk about Hulk’s exploits, they could never really show any flashbacks, as it would just look awkward. Similarly, Incredible Hulk filmed a cut opening where Banner tried to shoot himself, but the Hulk wouldn’t allow it. While it was a bit too extreme to show, Banner at least got to talk about it happening in Avengers.

The Effect on the World of the MCU

When you look at the events of Incredible Hulk, it keeps things focused on the characters and not the world at large. Sure, it would have been bigger news if the Abomination defeated the Hulk and went on an even bigger rampage, but that problem was nipped in the bud. If you’re a citizen of Marvel Earth, all there is to know is that some soda has been recalled and there was a monster fight in Harlem.

In the movies themselves, the only time the Harlem fight is brought up is in the background of Iron Man 2, where Nick Fury’s map signals it as a place of interest.

With the exception of the Hulk straight-up existing, the most lip service his movie got early on was the scene in Captain America: The First Avenger where Steve gave blood for further study. They needed something to give Emil Blonsky down the line and turn him into an angry Ninja Turtle.

Speaking of…

Whatever Happened to the Abomination?

Of Marvel’s Phase 1 villains, one died, a couple vanished confusingly into space only to come back later, and three were taken into custody. Ending up in custody means you’ll be back soon enough because prisons usually can’t hold the type of enemies who can throw down with the Avengers. Usually.

In other words, it’s pretty damn impressive that the Abomination has been kept off the grid since the Hulk choked him out in Harlem. She-Hulk will be his first real appearance since then, but his name has been on the tongue of Phil Coulson on Agents of SHIELD a few times.

The scene of Tony Stark appearing at the end of Incredible Hulk to confront General Ross is something that came off as a big deal at the time, but afterwards didn’t make too much sense. Piggybacking off the Iron Man post-credits scene, Stark was seemingly trying to recruit the Hulk into the Avengers. That didn’t exactly jibe with what they were going for afterwards, so they released a short film to make sense out of everything.

The Consultant featured Agent Coulson and Agent Sitwell discussing the unfortunate decision by the World Security Council to demand the Abomination join the team. After all, Blonsky is a decorated veteran and the Harlem incident could easily be blamed on Banner. Fury wasn’t in a position to refuse the Council, so the only hope was that General Ross – the guy in charge of Blonsky’s captivity – turned them down. And so, they sent Tony Stark. That final scene in Incredible Hulk was reframed as Tony Stark obnoxiously asking for the keys to Abomination for the Avengers and Ross being so annoyed by his antics that he straight-up refused.

Afterwards, Abomination was namedropped a couple of times in Agents of SHIELD, which is par for the course considering early Agents of SHIELD was about reminding us about stuff that happened in the movies and saying, “We’re part of all that!” According to the show, Abomination was kept in a special prison in Alaska that only a select few know about. There was an episode where SHIELD’s main prison lost power and one of the writers realized that they probably needed to note that Abomination wasn’t going to be an issue in this situation.

But hey, at least he finished his story. The Leader on the other hand…

Samuel Sterns and the Fate of the Leader

At the time, it was the right play. Tim Blake Nelson played the kind of surprise villain you’d find in your average CGI animated Disney movie. As Mr. Blue, he existed as Bruce Banner’s potential salvation, only to be revealed to be kind of over-the-line and sinister in terms of his gamma experiments. After turning Blonsky into the Abomination, Sterns was knocked to the floor and a sample of Banner’s irradiated blood dripped into the open wound on his head. Sterns seemed especially jazzed with a crazed expression as his head started throbbing and increasing in size.

And then…nothing! Not even a mention in a different movie or Agents of SHIELD. That’s what happens when you set up a villain for a sequel and then have legal reasons keeping you from making that sequel. That said, there is a follow-up to what the hell happened with Sterns.

Back in 2012, a prequel comic was released to coincide with the first Avengers movie. The Avengers Prelude: Fury’s Big Week showed that the events of Iron Man 2, Thor, and Incredible Hulk all happened over the course of a few days. We got to see those storylines from the perspective of SHIELD, especially a very overwhelmed and fatigued Nick Fury. That makes sense for the stuff with Tony Stark in Iron Man 2 as well as Mjolnir and the Destroyer in Thor, but what of Incredible Hulk?

As shown in this story, Black Widow was in the background of its events, keeping an eye on everything and realizing that she was way in over her head. She played clean-up on the Sterns situation by coming across his giant, mutated head in the aftermath. Sterns was quick to figure out her homeland from traces of her accent and thought to bribe her in some way, but she stonewalled him with a couple of bullets to the legs.

A year later, Sterns was shown floating in a tank, unconscious, as various SHIELD scientists studied him.

Will we ever see the Leader pop up in the MCU? I can’t imagine Tim Blake Nelson is too busy to appear on She-Hulk at some point.

Betty Ross

Bruce Banner’s old flame is now nothing but a footnote. Considering Banner moved on to another relationship and then another planet, there was never a reason to reintroduce Betty. The only nods to her were Tony Stark naming his Hulkbuster armor “Veronica” (get it?) and the Russo Brothers saying in an interview that Betty was one of those turned to dust by Thanos.

Maybe one day we’ll see Red She-Hulk. Don’t hold your breath, though.

Thunderbolt Ross

General Thaddeus Ross does the heavy lifting for keeping Incredible Hulk relevant. The guy came back for Captain America: Civil War, a movie that didn’t even have the Hulk in it! But it did give him the Henry Gyrich role in a time when Gyrich was probably off-limits since he was considered part of the X-Men corner of Marvel (he already had a very minor role in the first X-Men movie). A familiar face, Ross got to be the government liaison type who spoke with logic, but came off as an antagonistic killjoy.

Right or wrong, Ross’ insistence that the Avengers sign with the Sokovia Accords ruined the team in the face of Thanos’ rampage against the cosmos. He still got to show his respects as Tony Stark’s funeral at the end of Endgame.

Yet, that’s not the last we’ll see of him. In Black Widow, Ross is shown in the trailers. We don’t know his role quite yet, but there’s a lot of fan speculation that Ross might tie into the next roster of the Avengers. Maybe a team that’s government sanctioned and controlled. Maybe a team that’s an awful lot like the Thunderbolts.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

It does seem that as the MCU reaches further and further outward, it looks back more and more on the events of Incredible Hulk. Then again, I doubt we’ll be seeing Ty Burrell’s Leonard Samson turn into a gamma-irradiated psychiatrist with long, luxurious hair any time soon.

The post The Incredible Hulk’s Diminished Legacy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/38YGDRp

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

2 notes · View notes

thenexusofsouls · 4 years

Text

Former Muse: Marya Maximoff

MARYA MAXIMOFF (Biological aunt and adoptive mother of twins Wanda and Pietro Maximoff.)

Type of Character & Fandom/Source Material: Canon-divergent character in the Marvel fandom based loosely from concepts in MCU’s Age of Ultron, some 616 influences, and a large amount of my own development and interpretation of this character. Basically, I am trying to create an MCU version of her, and since we know next to nothing about her in Ultron, I will be adding a lot of my own original elements in fleshing her out. So her background will have some core ideas taken from 616, especially about her relation to the twins, but changed to fit the teeny bit we know about her from Ultron. After that it’s just me running amok with the character and fleshing her out in original ways, haha.

FC: Noomi Rapace, specifically in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Race: Human, but a genetic mutant like the twins

Age: Currently mid 40s... exact age would depend on the ages of related muses in threads and details of background

Occupation: Usually as a baker or cook in a bakery or tavern type setting. Fortune teller and tarot card reader on the side.

Potential Triggering Material in Threads: Well... Marya deals with a hefty dose of racism, criticism, and/or mockery on an almost daily basis for her nomadic lifestyle and culture (Romani), her religion (Jewish-Polytheistic), and if she’s in the United States, her thick accent and imperfect grammar when speaking non-native languages like Sokovian or English (her native tongue is a Romani dialect). Also, other potential trigger warnings for things like severe head injuries and amnesia.

Negative Personality Traits: Haughtiness and tending to be overly forgiving of people simply because she knows/likes them or is related to them.

Positive Personality Traits: Tenacity, thick skin, but also kindness, empathy, and strong motherly instincts.

Background: Get ready for me to walk all over the comics here, haha, but as I said I’m creating my own largely movie-compliant version of Marya Maximoff. She is a Romani witch in a family in which mutant genes and the ability to successfully engage in witchcraft are somewhat hereditary, especially among females. She and her sister Natalya both had magical abilities, albeit different ones. Marya has dreams that are premonitions of the future, but they are often vague and she may not fully understand the meaning of them until it is too late. She can also glean images or emotions from touching objects or people, a talent she shares with her niece, Wanda. Although the twins believe that she is their mother, Marya is actually their biological aunt. Her sister Natalya is actually their mother, but not long after giving birth, she gave her children to Marya and her husband Django and went into hiding as Magda Eisenhardt in an attempt to throw off the twins’ dangerous father, known as Magneto. At the time, Marya and Django had lost their own son and daughter, and so they welcomed the twins readily. They officially adopted them, and the twins have never been told that their parents were not actually their parents.

Marya’s husband Django was not a mutant, but he was an accomplished pickpocket and thief. Think of that what you will, but what he did helped to support his family and put food on the table when work was scarce, and he taught his adopted son Pietro his skills. This was something Pietro continued to do well into his teenage years in order to support himself and Wanda while they were living on the streets following the bombing they believed killed both of their parents. He also used his skills to assist the poor, disadvantaged, elderly, and sick citizens of Sokovia, a community he and his sister had come to call home. Marya saw stealing in a different way than most, and there was a code to it. Never steal from those who have less than you have. Never steal from family or trusted friends. And in her mind, the Romani people had been placed at an inherent disadvantage simply by virtue of the fact that they were seen as lesser by many European communities, mostly White or at least believing themselves entitled. Because of that, Marya saw Django’s stealing as efforts towards the balancing of wealth and resources back in their family’s direction.

Marya was a kind and loving mother, but she was not afraid to set boundaries for the twins or discipline them the same as their father. However, she did her best to understand, nurture, and accommodate their individual personalities as they grew older. Wanda was shy, quiet, and often obedient, whereas Pietro misbehaved a lot, had trouble focusing on a single task, and had endless amounts of energy. Because the twins were so different, Marya recognized that they needed to be cared for and encouraged in different ways. They didn’t learn the same way or respond to criticism the same way either. Marya always thought it was very important that the twins be nurtured in ways that best suited their personalities and needs, but also helped them grow and improve as people. She did her best to do that, and to make sure Django did the same.

When the twins were six, little Wanda was assaulted by a boy her own age, and the child had cursed him impulsively in her panic and rage. Unfortunately, the budding witch had no idea her curses carried real power, and the boy had a fatal accident the following morning. The boy’s death, rumors of Wanda’s witchcraft, and rumors of Django being a thief are the main reasons why the Maximoff family had to leave Transia and the village they had been living in. They traveled alone in their vardo for a while, joining up with Roma caravans as times. Settling ultimately in Sokovia, they worked toward having a permanent home and were able to purchase an apartment. Everything seemed to be going well for them, until the wars raging around them caught up to them. When the twins were ten, a shell was dropped on their apartment building. Marya and Django fell through the floor, while Wanda and Pietro hid under a bed, ultimately being trapped for two days. Django was crushed and killed by falling rubble, and Marya suffered a severe head injury among other things. This caused her to have amnesia, not remembering who she was beyond her first name.

The twins were saved after two days, but Marya lingered in the rubble for almost four. By the time she was able to crawl out on her own, she was dazed, malnourished, and badly injured. Not remembering herself in her amnesia, she wandered the streets and was taken in by a family who didn’t know who she was. Meanwhile, the twins were taken as wards of the government and were ultimately placed in foster homes that didn’t work out. Marya, once she was at least physically healed, left Sokovia, not realizing that she had a reason to stay. She returned to the nomadic lifestyle she knew, even if she didn’t remember the people she had spent it with.

From here she can go wherever a thread needs her to. She can remain in Eastern Europe, travel to Western Europe, or even make her way to the U.S. Those are the likely places she would end up. After three years, she began to remember who she was, and did attempt to look for her husband and adopted children. She was told that her husband died in the bombing and that the twins survived, but she was never able to locate them. Not many were willing to help her, either because they couldn’t or because they were prejudiced against her way of life and thought the twins were better off in foster care. If they only knew where the twins actually ended up... It breaks her heart that they were never found, because she loved Wanda and Pietro very much, like her own children. She still holds out hope that she will find them someday.

Potential Starter Ideas:

Well, certainly finding out she was still alive would be an interesting plot for a Wanda or Pietro muse, whether before or after the events of Age of Ultron.

What if she saw video on the news of what happened with Ultron in Sokovia and recognized the twins?

She can also be a stand-alone muse for Marvel or non-Marvel muses to interact with, just in her own life. She’s an enigmatic and adventurous sort.

Fun facts: Marya’s innate mutant powers with regard to premonition and gleaning information about people and objects she touches or is near to help her a great deal with her fortune telling and tarot card reading businesses. Perhaps she misleads people doing this, but she sees it as infinitely more authentic than outright playing them without any knowledge of them whatsoever. Also, she feels that if done via tarot cards, palm readings, or other such avenues, the information she does convey to them is better received than it would be if she revealed herself as a witch. She actually does not know anything herself about being a mutant, what that means, or that her witchcraft is something genetic that she is able to do, she only knows that magic runs in the blood of her family, whether it takes the forms that hers and Wanda’s magic does, or more physical forms like Pietro’s. She believes that “the blood of the Old Gods runs in their veins,” which basically means that their bloodline is believed to be an ancient one blessed with favor by various gods of the natural world, some of the same ones they still worship today within the polytheistic part of their religion.

#muse: marya maximoff #{i expect this muse to be really low activity and that's fine}#{but it would be fun to explore her a bit}

9 notes · View notes

seyaryminamoto · 4 years

Note

Do you think they could make Azula gay in the netflix live-action? Many people in the fandom seem to think she had a thing for Ty Lee. I don't see it, but do you think they could retcon the show just to pander to shippers?

Somehow I knew this sort of question would pop up in my inbox one day. I just did. Such foresight powers I have (?)

Anyways, the answer got pretty long, but I hope it’s comprehensive enough in regards of why I don’t think it’s likely, why, even if it happens, we shouldn’t freak out about it regardless of if it negates our headcanons, and why, on top of it all any characterization the ATLA cast gets in the liveaction should be judged as part of a second timeline, removed from the first, and analyzed as such.

Alright, first of all... despite what popular opinion these days would have everyone believe, a character’s sexuality and sexual identity are not the only relevant and important factors in them; in fact, I wouldn’t even call them the most important factors unless you’re outright telling a story with very specific socially critical purposes in mind. Yes, you can deal with these subjects in stories that aren’t exclusively about sexuality, and yes, it offers important representation to communities that were largely unseen for the bulk of human history. But making a character’s entire story arc revolve around nothing but sexuality and their struggles because of it is actually a failure at offering good representation? The point in having media featuring representation in the form of diverse fictional characters is based on allowing minorities to see themselves in this kind of content and for majorities to understand these minorities and their stories are just as valid as theirs are. If minorities are reduced to a single aspect of their multifacetic lives, the only thing the story in question would achieve is turning a character with the potential to be dynamic and complex into some flat minority stereotype, throwing away the countless human complexities through which media can tell rich and important stories that do provide genuine, quality representation to these communities.

Ergo, if Azula were written as a gay character in this Netflix adaptation, this aspect of the reworked character should not, and frankly, CANNOT, be the only thing that matters about her. Azula has a large role to play in this story, a role related to the war, her family, her friends and her nation, and a lot of her complexities stem from how she deals with all these subjects, none of which have anything to do with romance or sexuality. Therefore, I’m pretty sure a lot of us loved her character for reasons that had nothing to do with her interactions with potential love interests, whether they’re of her same or opposite sex: Azula has always been SO MUCH MORE than whatever we’ve headcanoned her sexuality to be, and this is something I hope everyone keeps in mind for this liveaction show.

We need to stick to our priorities, to a fault, as Azula’s fans: whatever sexuality or love interests she’s given, if she’s given either thing to begin with, her story isn’t exclusively about that. So, if Bryke decide to alter this aspect of her original characterization by dialing up Azula’s love life, it’s not the driving aspect of the character and it’s not the only thing we should be concerned with when it comes to her new portrayal in the future liveaction show, regardless of whether said sexuality agrees with our headcanons or disagrees with them.

Alright, then. After that particular clarification had been made... I’m of the opinion that Bryke have indeed pandered to shippers and fans in the past, namely in their sequel show and certain later announcements related to it, announcements that were basically the LOK version of “Dumbledore was gay all along but I thought it’d hurt the book sales and that’s why I only said so in a press conference after the final book was a bestseller and my bank accounts were overflowing” (by which I mean, the last-minute sudden “Aiwei (the dead guy) and Kya (Aang’s daughter) are also gay” comments Bryke made post-Book 4 to convince people they were aboslutely pro-LGBT and their world was very diverse despite said diversity only became known in the final scene of the show and was never portrayed positively or properly through these side-and-background characters...?).

So, would I say, categorically, that Bryke would NEVER write Azula as a gay character if they thought it’d make their show more popular? Nope, I can’t. I really don’t trust them enough to think they’ll prioritize top-of-the-line storytelling over pandering to the crowd that will cheer them on most loudly.

THAT BEING SAID...!

The story they told with Azula in ATLA, despite what certain people are convinced of, had a very straight-forward message, one that I didn’t like very much, especially since that message seemed to render irrelevant the character’s incredible storytelling potential and remarkable complexities. Where Azula could have been so many things, in the show’s finale she became some sort of flat, sad warning stating: “don’t try to control people through fear or they’ll turn against you and you’ll end up all alone.”

As much as I have no doubts Bryke will want to incorporate new themes and somewhat “update” ATLA into more progressive times, I really doubt they’ll sacrifice the story they’re apparently so proud of having told through Azula only to pander to a specific part of ATLA’s audience. For that matter, there’s been a growing movement promoting many same-sex ships and trans interpretations of virtually ALL ATLA characters, so if they were to pander to the fanbase through Azula, why her? And if they do pick her, why stop there? If they do stop there, then they’re not being inclusive enough with their fandom. Why satisfy one portion of the fandom and not satisfy the other ones too? :’D

Worse yet, accusations of foul play will absolutely be guaranteed to rise when a potentially gay Azula isn’t given a redemption (because, considering the latest Azula-related comments by the creators and comic writers, they’re not likely to do it this time either), because “irredemably evil lesbian trope, that’s so sexist and homophobic!” And with that, the long, glorious time ATLA has spent as the golden, poster child of western animation will suddenly be overrun with the very same hysterical purity police that has overtaken all newer fandoms and filled them with antis who attack creators, writers, actors and other fans for creating or supporting “toxic” content.

Point and case being... if they don’t stray from the story they already told, they have a slam dunk since a lot of people will love the show if it’s virtually the same as the one they watched when growing up. All they have to do is alter a few events, maybe expand on a few things, stall the story for a few more years so the actors can age realistically and not be overworked... and tadaaaah! You have a blockbuster! Change fundamental aspects of characters by adding new factors to pander to certain fan demographics? You’d basically be poking a wasp’s nest and hoping they will turn out to be honeybees instead, ESPECIALLY if the character being coded as LGBT is either evil or fated to die, as both those tropes are what seem to incense that side of fandoms more than anything else.

If they want to write Azula as openly gay, they’d have to alter her general character message and whole arc to avoid the guaranteed problems I’ve pointed out up here. Paired with this? They’d have to retcon their recently established “the Fire Nation became homophobic in Sozin’s time!” canon imposed by LOK’s comics, so, if they stick with this tidbit of recent LGBT info, a gay Azula would most likely have to be a highly repressed lesbian who can’t even accept herself? It’s not impossible to tell that story... but it kind of feels counterproductive, and absolutely discouraging too for people who are struggling to come to terms with their own sexuality to see themselves reflected in a repressed character who most likely will meet the same depressing end she does in ATLA.

Now, my final point: again, I can’t say it’s impossible that this might happen. But EVEN IF Bryke decide that this is how their new story will work, and the new Azula will be gay, and they change everything so it’s non-problematic and they successfully avoid being chased with pitchforks by the purity police...

A new characterization doesn’t negate the one from the original show in the least. The first ATLA is what it is, a finished product that can be judged and interpreted in a thousand ways, and has been, for the past 10+ years. A new canon does NOT overrule an old one, a thought that I’m sure the very same purity and nostalgia police I’ve mentioned will absolutely adhere to once the new story changes ANYTHING and they don’t like it. Whatever new possibilities they test out with a new story don’t have to be taken as facts that apply to every iteration of the characters. For reference, imagine judging every Marvel comics character for the actions and behavior of their MCU counterparts. Imagine people raging at Peter Quill in the comic books because he’s in love with Kitty Pryde and how DARES he cheat on Gamora with her?!

... Just how would that make any sense? :’) Likewise, it would make no sense to behave this way with ATLA and its future liveaction adaptation. What happens in the liveaction concerns the liveaction. What happened in the original show can serve as a guideline for the liveaction, if anything, a frame of reference, but they can (and will) change elements in the story as they please in the new adaptation. However similar as they might be, they’re TWO stories, and they should work perfectly well as standalone shows.

Let’s look at it from the opposite POV, to further illustrate my point: if the new show SOMEHOW made Sokkla canon, unlikely and damn near impossible as it is: that doesn’t make it canon in the original ATLA. Hence, if I were to run out in the streets screaming Sokkla is real and endgame in EVERY POSSIBLE VERSION OF ATLA, the entire world would have every right to throw rotten eggs at me and tell me to shut the fuck up because it’s not true, it’s only real in the liveaction, and that doesn’t have any bearing on the original show.

Same principle applies with a potential gay Azula :’) Even if it happens, it’s liveaction only. The original show remains what it is, and her characterization there can be interpreted and derived from as we see fit.

To close this answer, I confess that I, personally, have next to no interest in this liveaction remake. I can’t even say I’ll watch any of it. For one thing, I’m really annoyed by the trend there is these days to turn animation into liveaction, because it seriously feels like an underlying way to say that liveaction is somehow the superior choice for audiovisual storytelling and that really grinds my gears. Animation has been fascinating media for me for years, I’ve always felt it’s more versatile than liveaction, and if I ever happened to write something that gets an onscreen adaptation, I’d probably choose animation over liveaction even if I’m not given a choice on the matter :’) So, for starters, I’m not happy with the notion of a liveaction remake for this show. If they wanted to remake ATLA and had chosen to do so with animation, I’d definitely be much more interested. But this way? Uh... not my cup of tea.

So, whatever Bryke want to do with this new product is absolutely their business (same as it was their business with ATLA, frankly). People will criticize it, that’s a guaranteed thing, and people will love it, and people will be angry, and people will be happy. But I’m probably not going to be one of any of these people this time around. The only way I would likely enjoy that show would be if it’s a genuine, critical overhaul of everything they did in the original show, reworking many key aspects of MANY characters, no matter if the main anecdote remains intact. And considering how highly self-critical the recent ATLA-related content has been, I doubt I’ll get my wish. So... good luck to everyone who wants to watch this liveaction, have fun, I won’t spoil it for you by dumping on it this time as I did with the comics, but I certainly won’t be joining any of your parades much either :’D

#anon #the promised polemic subject of liveaction changes #honestly *shrug*#live and let die man #we have the original canon #and I'm way too busy with Gladiator to suffer much about what they'll do with the rest of Avatar #it's highly unlikely the new comics and show will feature anything I'll be dying to see #my optimism with this franchise is basically gone and I'm only here for my corner of the fandom #everything else is other people's business

9 notes · View notes

underwaterattribute · 4 years

Note

Dont care if you've not reblogged it. Character breakdown. Geralt and or Yennifer. And if you so choose, Steve Rogers from the MCU

Okay, I only gave you two, you gave me three :P

Let’s go with Yennefer

How I feel about this character

As a character, Yennefer is great- it’s unusual to get to see a female character who gets to be as blindly ambitious and ruthless as she is, not to mention that the way she is filmed is fantastic; she’s not sexualised in scenes that often would be sexualised (like the transformation scene, which is intercut with Geralt’s fight with the striga and really fucking disturbing to watch, actually), and gets to have a sexual and romantic story line as a disabled woman, which is great.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

I don’t really ship Yennefer with anyone, honestly. I’ve read some good OT3 fics with her, but often in the fics I read she either is happy with herself or the pairings she’s in feel more like a ‘pair the spares’ situation, which makes it hard for me to have much of an opinion on the ship. I tend to read fics with one specific pairing, and she’s not in it, so I’m happy to read her in a side pairing with pretty much anyone.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Give me ALL the mother/daughter bonding between Yennefer and Ciri. Let her become a good mum, and grow as a person through her interactions with Ciri.

My unpopular opinion about this character

I think she’s a great character. But. I don’t like her. I’m too skeeved out by the orgy scene, honestly. And her anger at losing her ability to have children (or to have the ability to choose to have children, I suppose) is somewhat undercut with how she chose the transformation thing. It makes her ruthlessness in pursuing a cure somewhat unsympathetic, although I get that people can change and regret choices that they’ve made, and also that that’s not how it happened in the books. Like I said, great character, well written, complex and intersting, it’s just that I, personally, don’t like her, not that she’s a ‘bad’ character in any respects.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I really hope we get to see her grow and change in season 2, and that she gets to bond with Ciri.

Steve Rogers

How I feel about this character

I love that the public perception (both in universe and otherwise) is so different to who Steve actually is. It makes for some really interesting stories.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Bucky. When I read fic, I almost always either go into it with an OTP or gain an OTP very quickly, and I honestly can’t remember which it was with Stucky. I’ve read and enjoyed a few OT3 fics with Steve/Bucky/Sam and Steve/Bucky/Natasha. And listened to one fantastically funny podfic read by quietnight called ‘An Exceedingly Mutually Understood and Well Coordinated Time’ which is an AU which has the tropes A/B/O, soulbonding, and telepathic bonding.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Natasha Romanova. I love the way they’re both underestimated in completely different ways, and have such different backstories and ways of looking at the world and can help each other in unique ways. All the bro bonding for those two.

My unpopular opinion about this character

I think fic authors often write him as catching up with the times way to quickly on social issues. That’s not to say that he wouldn’t find out more about things that weren’t even spoken of back in the 40s and then take the stance he does in those fics, because he absolutely would, but he is often written as already knowing a whole lot about things that he probably should take a while to catch up with, at least for the terminology- what is and is not acceptable words to use even within certain groups has changed a lot, and most fics don’t acknowledge that. Steve is not going to come out of the ice knowing not to use various words that are now (and were in the 40s, but there were no other words available to use) slurs.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

Steve did not go back in time and stay with Peggy, he just didn’t. And even if he considered it, he would never just LET HYDRA KEEP ON INFILTRATING SHIELD.

Ah hell, let’s do Geralt, too

How I feel about this character

I enjoy the Stinky Bog-Man. I like that, as one meta writer put it, contradicts the trope of the unemotional action character. That people viewing him as being that macho, unfeeling sort of person is what is messing him up so badly. It makes for lots of potential stories where he gets to heal, at least a bit.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Jaskier. I like that Jaskier brings a lightness with him, as well as. Well. All the other character either aren’t recurring or he’s bound to them by Destiny, which is something he hates and fights against. I think it’s important that, given how much he hates the idea of Destiny, the person he ends up with is someone he chooses, outside of what has been decided for him.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Parent child bonding with Ciri. Let him learn to be soft with her, and by extension with himself. Also Geralt X Therapy.

My unpopular opinion about this character

I get that lots of people like the look of him when he’s all sweaty etc. But it’s so gross. All I can think of in those scenes is ‘ew. sticky.’ (Look, I have a thing about sweat. I hate it. My OCD compels me to wash it off as soon as I get even a little bit sweaty and I also want to wash any bits of me that have come into contact with a sweaty person. Yes, it is actual, diagnosed OCD, not hyperbole, I know it’s unhealthy, dont @ me)

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

Please, please let him become less self hating, and let him be able to express and acknowledge his own emotions. Maybe also expand his vocabulary.

#paragon-paladin

1 note · View note

shadowsof-thenight · 4 years

Text

Fictober day 24: Dogwalking (part 4/4)

Promptnumber: 22 “We could have a chance” Fandom: MCU Characters: Bucky Barnes x reader, Warnings: some angst and fluff Words: 3173 Summary: Datenight had finally arrived!

A/N: This was intended for Fictober, so I figured I’d add the day, quote and such. Not sure what will happen to the last six days of the challenge. I had some fun ideas, which I’ll probably still write at some point. However my other stories require attention and I still don’t have that much energy to go around. That said, back to this story. It is the final part in this mini series. it was supposed to be short and fluffy, but I just couldn’t seem to stop writing today and it got longer and held more angst than intended. I hope you all enjoyed this little story. Is anyone interested in my editing this properly? Or should I leave it as is and simply link them together? I will certainly create a link for it in my masterlist under Bucky.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Fictober day 24: Dogwalking part four

When it was finally time to get ready for your date, you were surprisingly calm. As if you had wasted all your nerves during the week and were simply maxed out by now. After work you had rushed home, so you could have a quick shower and scarf down some food and still be ready by the time Bucky would arrive.

Bucky, it felt a little strange to regard him by his nickname. Almost invasive. It felt as if you still needed to work up to that and call him James instead. Anita, your colleague, had told you to go by whatever name he gave you. Which had been Bucky upon your first meeting. She assumed that this would be the name he was most comfortable hearing. Of course, she was right about that, but that did not change how it felt now that you had read upon the man a little.

That in and of itself was more than strange as well though. Reading up on someone beforehand. You’d only ever done that before a job interview. Not for a potential date. However, the man with the cuddly dog had intrigued you so much and back then you had not thought you’d ever see him again. Or that was how you tried to explain it to yourself. Now, it just felt like an invasion of his privacy. You promised yourself to be upfront about it when you saw him, just to lead with honesty even though it terrified you.

By seven-thirty you were done and sat down on your couch, doing some breathing exercises to try and relax. In through your nose, hold it, and calmly out through your mouth. As usual, it worked wonders and you leaned back. You were happy that you’d managed to get everything done in such a short amount of time and well within your time frame.

Turning on the tv, you flipped through the channels for a moment, finally settling on a rerun of Friends. It would help you pass the time until that gorgeous man would arrive on your doorstep. And pass the time it did, for you were well into the second episode before you realised just how much time had gone by. You glanced up at the large clock on the wall by the kitchen and saw that Bucky was fifteen minutes late. You shrugged, fifteen minutes was nothing and you went back to the episode.

By the next episode however, you could not stop your foot from tapping against the hardwood floor, or your fingers from playing with the clasp of your phone case. With a smile you put the phone down and thought of the scolding your sister would give you if she had seen you do it. Your incessant need to pick at something was a great source of annoyance with her. One you really tried to contain, though it clearly worked with varying degrees of success.

By eight-forty-five you were back at it again, unable to stop yourself. You’d checked the screen of your phone more than a few tomes and still had no messages of missed calls. Briefly you wondered if it was too early to text him. Were you being impatient? Finally you decided to wait a little longer, fo the hands of the clock to reach the nine. By then you were certain that you had been stood up.

Hurt, masking itself as anger, surged through you and you wanted to sent him a strong of angry texts. Truthfully, you wanted to call him, but emotions were running high and you did not trust your voice to remain steady at this point. And you really didn’t want to make a big fool of yourself. It would be just like you to let the anger get the best of you, making you burst into tears halfway through. Now that would be embarrassing. So instead you toped and erased your message at least three times before choosing to keep it more civil. Simply asking him if he got held up. After all, you reasoned with yourself, there had not been a date before this. Did you really have the right to be this angry? Did he not deserve the benefit of the doubt?

It was a decision you came to question when his answer did not come. Not until an hour later anyway. And by then you had changed into sweats, popped in a movie and opened a cheap bottle of wine. You were allowing yourself to wallow a little. After all, it was okay to be hurt by this. Right? Even if he had a perfectly reasonable excuse. It was never fun to wait for a date that wouldn’t come.

So when he called you and apologised profusely, your mood had not been as good sit could’ve been. But you’d been worse. You were able to listen to his explanation without anger coursing through you. Apparently he had been on a mission that had run late and he had been unable to inform you before now. He said felt horribly guilty and you decided to believe him. During the call you remained calm, perhaps somewhat impassive, in an attempt not to let any emotion, be it anger or hurt, ruin whatever this was or could be.

You had known what his job was and it felt stupid to hold that against him. It was up to you to either accept it or bail. There were no deep rooted feelings involved here, bailing now would still be merciful. No dent to either ego, no real heartbreak. If you wanted a clean cut, now would be the time to take it. But he was far too cute and interesting to give up that easily, you thought.

So as you listened to his repeated apologies, you couldn’t tell him off. Or you didn’t anyway. Instead you promised him that it was fine, these things happened and you weren’t angry. Only a little disappointed perhaps, sorry that the date had fallen through. And as you spoken those words to him, you realised that it was the truth. So when he asked you for another chance, you happily gave it. Tomorrow.

***

Bucky felt absolutely horrible when the jet finally entered the airspace of their hometown. Time had slipped away from him so rapidly. The mission he was currently returning from had been very last minute and he could not turn it down. There had been nobody else to take his place. He had really hoped to be back in time for his date. It was his first date in a while he had been looking forward to it. But by the time he finally managed to finish and get back on the plane, it was entirely too late.

He had not been able to bring his phone, so when he returned to his place he quickly checked it. That was when he had seen her text and he knew that he had screwed up royally. If only he’d had the presence of mind to sent her a text beforehand, informing her of the possibility of his unintended tardiness, it might have gone over better. He would not have had to apologise so much. And she would not have been waiting for him. What would she have been thinking?

He pondered his next course of action for a moment, considering texting her back. Though that felt weak, cowardly somehow. Calling her would be better, he was certain, even if it scared him. A call would definitely be more sincere. He could only hope that she would even be willing pick up and listen to him. If you asked him, she had every right to ignore his pleas. He stood her up on their first date! Greatly diminishing his chances for another one.

However, she did answer. And after the second ring, she didn’t even make him wait or try again. Though her voice did sound strained, with repressed emotions and for a moment he was sure that she was getting ready to tell him off. To ask him to never call him again. He was so sure in fact, that when she told him that it was okay, that she understood, he continued to repeat his apologies. Every single one of those apologies was heartfelt and he just hoped that she would get that. Finally he stopped apologising however and asked her for another chance, still fearing that she wouldn’t give him one.

Surprisingly enough, she accepted. She granted him another chance.

And he was so eager to show her that he was serious. That he really wanted to fix this screw up, he asked her to meet him the following day. In his mind this would reduce the ability for her to stew on his failure to appear. The allowance for more time to pass would only connive her to cancel, he feared. With Y/n’s acceptance of the new date, he was over the moon. Guilt still ate at him, but there was new hope as well and he promised both her and himself that would make up for tonight. Now he just needed to live up to that.

***

You went on to spend most of your free Saturday wondering if he’d show up on time tonight or even at all. Despite the knowledge that it wasn’t fair to give these thoughts room, they were hard to repress. So finally, to distract yourself, you called Anita to meet you. She took you to lunch, in a little family run lunchroom where you both loved to eat. You confided in her and she did her best ease your mind. And afterwards she convinced you to join her on a shopping trip, where you were to buy a new dress. One to impress your date and make him regret ever standing you up - her words. You were pretty sure that he felt bad enough about it already.

That being said, it had been a while since you bought anything new, so you agreed to her plan and set out to find a magnificent dress. A search that happened to be over rather quickly. It was the second store that held such a wonderful selection that you spend the better part of the afternoon admiring and trying things on. There were little black dresses in different styles, extravagant reds, deep sea blues and a magnificent forest green that seemed made for you. As soon as your eyes caught sight of it, there was no other dress you were willing to consider. That said, had you’d been in possession of an abundance of money, you’d have left with more than one dress. As it were, you were happy to get the single green one.

Both you and Anita had a wonderful time in the store, admiring all they had and you vowed to come back soon. For now you were all set and Anita therefore accompanied you home to finish the shopping in style. With a joined effort in doing your make-up and hair. She wanted to make sure you looked like a goddess- again her words.

And when the clock struck eight that evening, you certainly felt beautiful as you waited for Bucky to arrive in your new green knee length dress. The frock giving you confidence and a new hope that tonight would fare far better than yesterday. When a knock on the door signalled his arrival you jumped up instantly and with a wide smile on your face, you opened the door and were greeted by a dashing Bucky. Who was wringing his hands, by the way. Upon seeing your smile, he returned it and his shoulders seemed to ease a little. Though you immediately noted that it was only slightly so. There was still enough tension in his shoulders for the naked eye to see.

“Hi,” you said, a simple greeting, voice bright.

“Hey,” he sighed back and you wondered what he was thinking. Did he expect you to be angry? You wouldn’t have told him yes to tonight if you had been.

Quickly you grabbed your coat and small purse, before following him out the door and to his car. He held the door open for you and it brought a smile to your face, he was a gentleman it seemed. It wasn’t something you required in a man, but it was refreshing to encounter.  The drive was short and he led you to what looked like a simple bar on the outside, though the inside showed you a more old-fashioned interior. There were a few tables spread around a circular dance floor where a few couples were already swaying to the slow beat coming from large speakers. There was a stage for a band, though there wasn’t one playing now, perhaps later. After all it was Saturday.

Bucky placed a hand carefully in the small of your back as he guided you towards a table that sat in a quiet corner and he pulled out a chair for you. Most tables were already taken and soft chatter filled the air around you. It added to an overall pleasant atmosphere in the cozy establishment and you took a moment to look around and take it all in. It really was a nice place and a good find. There weren’t many places like this and it didn’t look like much from the outside. You would’ve never discovered this.

Of course, it would have all been even nicer if some of the chatter had been at your own table. Now these surroundings only highlighted the lack of conversation between you and Bucky. He had been so nervous during the car ride the he seemed unable to respond to your questions in more than two or three words nor did he ask you anything. It had really put a damper on the beginning of this evening and you could only hope it would get better.

***

Bucky knew he was messing this up. The date really wasn’t going well at all. For some reason he was so incredibly nervous about the chance of rejection that he had gone quiet. He’d done that before, long ago, when he had first removed himself from Hydra’s clutches. To afraid to trust his instincts beyond survival. And it had taken quite some effort from Steve and Sam to get him to a place where he did more than grunt in response and spoke in full sentences again. Since thy weren’t here to lend a hand, he knew it was up to him to turn this around. After all she hadn’t run yet. Perhaps he should try and accept that she would not reject him over yesterday.

“I’m sorry,” he finally said with a deep sigh. She turned her head from the dance floor and gave him her full attention as she cocked her head to the side, as if to ask for an elaboration of his apology.

“I haven’t been a good date so far. Beginning with last night and then today I haven’t really used my words,” he said with a small chuckle. Honesty was the best policy, he decided and just hoped she would appreciate it. When she smiled kindly once again, he felt himself relax just a bit more.

“We didn’t get off to a good start, I guess,” she agreed with a smile.

“Let’s change that!” Bucky said louder, “Would you like to dance?” He stood up and reached out his hand to Y/n for her to take.

He hadn't been sure how to approach this situation, but he had always been a relatively good dancer and perhaps it was smart to fall back on something he knew. Impress her with his dancing, relax a little more still and who knew, some conversation was to be had after all. A man could hope.

***

He gently placed a hand in your side and swiftly began to sway you around the dance floor. His light footedness surprised you, considering his size and you enjoyed the way his confidence seemed to return. His leading felt wonderful, causing a flutter in your belly and you stared at his face. He looked back at you, entirely at ease in this position.

Even when a faster soon came on and you were no longer in his arms, he took the lead and moved so effortlessly. He was finally in his element and not only did it allow him to finally answer some of your questions, he even managed to ask you some of his own. An hour later, when you were finally back at your table, ordering drinks and nacho’s, you felt like you were finally getting to know the man. And he was nothing like the person you’d read about. He was far better.

Bucky turned out to be a complex and interesting human being. Kinder than you could have ever imagined, especially with a past like his. And certainly none of the articles you’d read mentioned anything about his humour. He had a wonderful sense of sarcasm and wasn’t at all afraid to laugh at his own expense. It made him even more attractive. And as he made you laugh once again, one of those real belly laughs that left you gasping for air, you couldn’t help but wonder about future dates. You surely hoped there’d be more.

“We could have a chance, after all,” you thought as he led you back to his car, long after midnight.

Being the gentleman he had shown you to be all night, he even walked you back to your apartment. Talking and laughing all the way to the front door, where suddenly silence returned once more. You wonder if he would kiss you, but dared not take that first step. Instead you looked down, tapping your feet like Dorothy, though you weren’t wishing for him. Rather for the night to last forever. It had been so nice. Bucky cleared his throat after a few more quiet moments and you knew you had to look up again. Look at his eyes instead of his shoes.

Just as you began to move your head up again, he moved down. This could have easily resulted in a massive head-bud of course, for you saw it happening and could do nothing to stop it. It simply happened to fast. However, you were lucky and escaped the ordeal without a bump.  Though it did create some awkwardness, as Bucky had been trying to kiss your cheek. Yet as you both moved, he didn’t find your cheek but your lips. It wasn’t much of a kiss, a mere brush, but it was rather awkward.

He practically jumped back, clearly having not intended this and mumbled an apology. And you smiled. Intended or not, you didn’t mind one bit. Therefore you decided to silence him by placed a more decisive peck on his lips. The smile the spread across his face after that, told you it had been a good decision.

***

Fictober19 Masterlist

#fictober19 #Bucky Barnes #Bucky Barnes x Reader #MCU fanfiction #Angst #Fluff

7 notes · View notes

that-shamrock-vibe · 5 years

Text

Movie Review: Dark Phoenix (Spoilers)

Spoiler Warning: I am posting this review the weekend after the movie is released worldwide, so if you haven’t yet seen the movie do not read on until you have or check out my non-spoiler review for a general overview.

Retelling Mistakes:

Alright so this is a Simon Kinberg movie first and an X-Men movie second, by which I mean I don’t think it should be judged as an X-Men movie before being judged as the brainchild of Simon Kinberg who is writer, producer and director of the movie.

Kinberg famously also wrote the script for X-Men: The Last Stand in 2006 which was the first cinematic attempt for him to tell the Dark Phoenix story. I want oit also to be noteworthy that The Last Stand is definitely a poorer movie in terms of story flow by trying to combine the Phoenix story with the Mutant Cure story and also for practically zero character development and an ending that felt as if the original trilogy fizzled.

However, despite Dark Phoenix being a slightly better movie overall than The Last Stand, it is almost as if Kinberg simply rehashed the same script but modified it to fit with the current group of characters who are somewhat different to those from the original trilogy.

Much like Mary Poppins Returns, Dark Phoenix has almost exactly the same scenes just told in a different way.

Starting with Jean in the mansion’s medical lab, just as she was after being found by Wolverine and Storm in X3. The only differences are Jean is there of her own accord after returning from seemingly absorbing a solar flare, Xavier and Logan aren’t examining her instead Hank is and the scene doesn’t end with a steamy romp on the table and instead Jean says she feels great and is dismissed.

Then there’s Jean’s home battle death in the first act. During X3 this is the scene almost immediately after the medical lab scene where Jean returns to her old home in a very fragile state. Xavier, Storm and Wolverine arrive to help Jean while Magneto and his new Brotherhood arrive to acquire her. It results in a couple of separate fights ending in Phoenix destroying Xavier.

In this movie though, Jean returns home and is hit with a bombshell about her past, leading the Phoenix to take over and be the sole combatant against the X-Men who arrive to help her. However, Mystique is the one who dies at the telekinetic hands of Phoenix via impalement rather than disintegration.

The ending scenes of the movie begin with shots of the X-Mansion before going on to Magneto playing chess. Here the shots are of the newly named Jean Grey School which go on to Xavier and Magneto playing chess in France while in X3 the shots of the mansion are of Storm welcoming new students and Magneto is later shown playing chess in the park.

It’s annoying when movies rehash the same scenes from popular movies but X3 is critically hated and mostly mocked by fans as potentially the worst X-Men movie aside from X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Also these scenes did not contribute to the original Dark Phoenix story and even to die-hard X-Men fans who remember these scenes from the animated series, you can’t help but compare to X3.

Characters:

Alright so now my big grumble with the movie is over, I am going to be talking about these characters in order of importance for the movie and in part my favourites the franchise as a whole.

Jean Grey:

Sophie Turner does a brilliant job here and is definitely the star of the movie, it could be argued Jean Grey has become the first X-Men character aside from Wolverine to get her own solo movie as “Dark Phoenix” is centric to her character.

But it is a fact that Sophie Turner did a fantastic job at brilliantly portraying the inner struggle that Jean had in this movie both physically and mentally. My favourite scene from her is probably when she is sat in the rain trying to scrub Mystique’s blood off while questioning her inner demon otherwise known as Phoenix as to why it made her do it. It was a short scene and if yo have seen it in the trailers you’ve pretty much seen it, but something about it in context works really well in the movie.

Also Jean as a child was also rather well portrayed, again we have a scene with Jean as a child opening X3 but while that scene is rather played down and strictly about Jean demonstrating the extent of her powers at that age, this one shows that her powers were in fact instrumental in her childhood trauma as she supposedly was responsible for killing her parents while her powers protected her from the debris.

This was of course proven later to only be partly true as her father somehow survived the accident while her mother didn’t, but then her father effectively disowned her and gave her to Xavier.

Either way Summer Fontana does an okay job at portraying young Jean as an almost three-dimensional child dealing with what she has dealt with and feeling she is broken despite Xavier claiming she isn’t.

I really enjoyed seeing a better, more diverse, use of the Phoenix powers. Not only in the explanation that Jessica Chastain’s Vuk gave to the extent of the Phoenix power which felt very Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 with Ego’s demonstration of his powers, but also in the way that Jean took control of Xavier’s body and made him walk up the stairs.

It wasn’t just simply a case of Phoenix being able to make things disintegrate and float as opposed to how it was in X3. I also really loved the pink energy that Jean had when using the Phoenix powers. I know in the comics this is Jean’s standard colour for using her powers like Scarlet Witch is red and Polaris is green but they never established Jean’s powers using pink energy before and the almost pink fire that accompanied the Phoenix powers made for a rather nice effect.

Jean’s relationship with Scott never felt as forced as I thought it would. It was pretty much the same set up as the Bruce/Natasha relationship in the MCU. I didn’t hate it there and I didn’t hate it here, I simply didn’t focus too much on it.

Although I will agree that in those early scenes at the mansion and that party that the way Jean was acting when with Scott was very Bella Swan from the hair to the almost socially awkward posture and movement.

However, I did love that the first official intimate moment between the two was after Jean was enhanced by the Phoenix which heightened all of her emotions, so you could say it was a three-way relationship at that point.

I did think the added development of her father being alive and Jean discovering that he had effectively disowned her added to her further decline to succumb to the Phoenix power.

Also seeing a fully-powered Jean explored here was fun to watch. From seeing her fly to using her telekinesis to operate a helicopter and even when she was Phoenix and dismantled Magneto’s Helmet, all of it was an impressive display of power.

We all know the timeline is slightly screwed in this universe but we are supposed to believe that in 1975 Jean Grey is 8 years old and with the present day events here being set in 1992 that would make the character 25 years old...there is little to no age difference between Jean here and in Apocalypse maybe aside from hair and fashion and that was set in the 80s.

I thought Jean’s sacrifice at the end was both obvious and poignant. Obvious because Jean is meant to die at the end of the Dark Phoenix story but poignant because it was quite an emotional sacrifice more so than in The Last Stand.

I loved the inferno of pink fire that surrounded Phoenix and later Vuk as Jean kills them both essentially, it made for a more interesting climax than just Jean standing there disintegrating everything.

Overall Sophie Turner was definitely the best thing about the movie, I do think she maybe could have been a little bit more diverse in her acting as mostly she delivered lines on the same monotonic level but other than that I have no complaints...except maybe wanting to see her in the Dark Phoenix costume.

Beast:

I will continue to say this, people do not give Nicholas Hoult enough credit as Hank McCoy/Beast.

Considering how he, McAvoy, Fassbender and J-Law are the only ones left from First Class, I think Hoult has played an under the radar performance but still one of notoriety.

I will say my only negative for this version of the character is I feel the way the fan-favourite character is portrayed is affected in the same way as Mystique has been portrayed in that the actors (Hoult and Lawrence) do not want to be in the blue make-up all the time and want to be able to be themselves for parts of the movie.

Now whereas Mystique can easily shapeshift and that is how they get away with that, to my knowledge once Beast’s mutation accelerated and turned McCoy into Beast, it was not irreversible in the comics but because of Hank’s serum he was able to shift between the two during Days of Future Past and Apocalypse.

Here though there didn’t really seem to be any explanation as to why he was able to shift so easily and rather than it being a case of a serum injection, it seemed to be more Hulk-like. I’m not complaining at seeing Nicholas Hoult in all his glory, but Beast being my favourite X-Man I want him to be treated with the respect he deserves.

In the positives, I really liked seeing a darker side of Beast. But it wasn’t a straightforward Dark Beast as everyone believed it would be and simply Hank deciding that Xavier was not the answer in this situation and that Magneto was. I was fully on Beast’s side in this movie because not only did Jean accidentally murder his lover, but Xavier had such an incompetent attitude to the whole thing for fear of ruining their recent claim to fame that he had set aside the original morals he intended for the X-Men.

It is a testament to Hank’s morals though that after Xavier made his half-arsed apology that Beast decided to protect Jean because that is what Mystique would have done.

I am unsure how I feel about Beast now being the headmaster of the school, now called the Jean Grey School. I am all for the fact that Xavier decided to retire after the complete hash he made of “protecting his students” and I get that Hank is now the longest-serving member of the X-Men...but I do wish we had another movie to see him as a teacher/headteacher for me to decide fully.

I would like to see Beast in the MCU at some point either as Nicholas Hoult or Kelsey Grammar, but overall I just want Beast to return at some point as he is my favourite and I feel he needs more of a chance to shine.

Professor X:

I am thrilled with this movie for showing the darker side of Xavier, the only problem is rather than hinting at his darker side as they did in The Last Stand, they went down a hubris egotistical route before even starting to hint at his darker side which made what he did to Jean seem more like it was feeding into his hubris than actually doing the wrong thing for what he believed to be the right reason.

Also, as I said with Beast, Xavier simply came across as incompetent a lot in this movie and most of it seemed to be because he thought he was above reproach. When he agreed to send the X-Men into space to save those astronauts he was called out on his reason why by Mystique and yet played it off as him keeping the peace between humans and mutants so that they don’t go back to being hated.

When the team try and detain Jean, he is fine letting everyone put their lives at risk to try and stop her but when Beast has a taser ready to shoot, Xavier stops him and the cops in order for Mystique to talk her down which leads to her death...why not just let Beast taser her and then let Mystique talk to her back at the mansion?

Then when Hank and Xavier are having that talk, Xavier simply talks about how Mystique was in First Class rather than taking responsibility or apologising for not letting Beast take the shot, and even tries to turn it around on him for making him feel bad after burying his foster sister...bullshit!

I don’t know why or how the X-Men are suddenly public superheroes because Xavier was the one during First Class who stated that anonymity was their first line of defence and now the President has an X-Phone, it just seems like something the Avengers or Justice League would be but not the X-Men.

Also I loved it when he got talked down by Storm and Nightcrawler, it was simply the last straw that he had lost the respect of his students and team.

Don’t get me wrong, James McAvoy did a great job in the role as always, he like Hoult is one of those actors I will watch a film for regardless, but there was just something that didn’t feel as organic as the Xavier he had built up for the past 8 years.

I know McAvoy was filming Glass around the same time as this and you can tell because of the weight that he put on for the Beast role in that, but while McAvoy got the look of Xavier down with his fashion it was just something about the character’s motives that seemed really off.

Mystique:

This was a straightforward character assassination for a great X-Men villain, particularly with what Rebecca Romijn did with the character in the original trilogy to have it being so desecrated in the 30-45 minutes that she is in here is such a shame.

For one thing, she is never called Mystique once in this movie. Secondly, the make-up has gone from lizard-like to fancy dress. Third, as much as I liked Jennifer Lawrence’s delivery in this movie I detest the fact she died a hero, and that she was eulogised as “doing what she did best, dying trying to protect her friends”...

Mystique is a villain, she has moments of anti-heroism and her soft spots are often shown for her kids, but other than that she is manipulating, cold and calculated. She would definitely not die and be eulogised as “being the spirit of the X-Men”.

Also I say in the comics she has a soft-spot for her children, that’s great but in seven movies they have not established any familial connections between her, Rogue or Nightcrawler...despite many opportunities.

I do have positives though, as I said I did like Jennifer Lawrence’s delivery. I thought her line about how it usually being the women saving the men and changing the team name to X-Women was a good line, even though Mystique, Storm and Jean are really the only female members of the team they’ve shown in the First Class trilogy but they are still the more interesting ones, aside from Quicksilver and Beast.

I also liked it when she suggested to Hank that they leave the X-Men and run away together. I understand why Hank said no but I do agree that if they had done so it would have saved both of them.

Her duration in this movie simply felt like J-Law waiting to be released from her contract, you could tell that from her opening delivery to Nightcrawler as she exasperatingly says “Yes Kurt, we’re going into space” and the scene when the other rocket explodes and Mystique looks like she’s waiting for the inferno to take her.

Overall I am saddened that this is how Mystique ends in the movie universe, but at least there is still some good takeaway from her in the movie.

Magneto:

Could Magneto just pick a side and stick with it?! For one thing Genosha just seemed like a wilderness estate rather than a Mutant safe-haven. But while he was trying to be the peacekeeper here as soon as he hears of Mystique’s death he is right back into being a bad guy, but then a pep talk from Xavier and he is back being a good guy again.

I wouldn’t mind but he berates Xavier by saying “you’re always sorry and there’s always a speech but it never matters”, yet after Xavier gives a speech in the train he is somehow won over.

I really enjoyed the display of his powers in the movie, as always. The fact he and Jean battled to control a helicopter and both actors didn’t oversell it or make it look memeable is a testament to them both.

But I loved it in that street battle when he pulled up that underground train from the subway and managed to use it as a barricade between the building and the outside. Then later he equipped the SWAT agents’ guns in a full-on firing brigade against Vuk...yes it didn’t work but it was awesome.

I’m not too happy with where his story ended in this movie, the fact that he is now being Xavier’s saving grace seems a little bit against type for the character and also the fact he would either abandon Genosha or welcome his ethical enemy to Genosha just doesn’t sit right.

Cyclops:

I still enjoyed this version of Scott Summers than James Marsden’s performance, but I do agree that Cyclops’ visor really prohibits the actor wearing it from getting across much emotion in the scenes.

To be fair, Tye Sheridan does try and succeeds a lot here, but I still didn’t feel bad or empathetic for him most of the way through this movie.

I think his optic blast power is one of the best the X-Men has both visually and from a power stand point, and I loved how the Blackbird has apparently become equipped with a blaster pod for Cyclops’ optic blast. I did want to see more of that but really Cyclops is the only member with that kind of power. Storm can easily carry out her powers regardless and the rest need to be within a certain distance.

Nightcrawler:

I felt myself very confused by Nightcrawler towards the end of this movie. When he tried saving that one SWAT agent whose son was a fan of his but was too late and so got angry, it just seemed very out of character to me.

Yes Nightcrawler has been involved in conflict in the comics but in the original trilogy he was very much the religious pacifist type of character. Going full demon could have been an interesting pathway for the character considering his father is Azazel, but literally slotting it in for five minutes of the final film does seem a bit like a throwaway plot point.

Also, despite it still being Kodi Smit-McPhee, I felt a lot of the freshness he brought to the character in Apocalypse was gone here, maybe because they didn’t show him as much but a lot of the humour from the last movie he had was gone here.

Vuk:

Everyone is simply calling her Jessica Chastain and to be fair it makes no difference what you call her because she’s barely developed as is.

Firstly this massive mystery role of hers is revealed to be the leader of a D’Bari army who seek the Phoenix power that destroyed their homeworld to help them remake Earth into their new homeworld. That’s great, and the D’Bari were in the original Dark Phoenix saga story, but nothing else is done to make Vuk menacing or threatening or even interesting.

I don’t understand the stomach twisting power they seemed to have, because it seemed like the biggest threat these aliens offer is to give their victims the worst stomach cramps imaginable, but the most laughable trait of theirs was literally charging at Jean as the Phoenix during the end of the film...even Vuk did.

I’m not saying they were bad as villains, they certainly filled that role, but they didn’t offer anything new or threatening and they certainly didn’t exceed what Apocalypse did.

Quicksilver:

Quicksilver was shelved in this movie. Not only was he in the movie all together for probably 3 minutes less than Mystique, but also they cut everything about him that made him such a likeable character in the previous two movies.

The humour was barely there, there was no brilliant slow motion speed scene, they still didn’t establish the relationship between him and Magneto despite Apocalypse seemingly teasing it would be explored. I know he got injured during the confrontation between the X-Men and Jean but to not even be mentioned for the rest of the movie except for a 5 second appearance right at the end?

Storm:

I will give Storm credit for being the only character in this movie to be called by their moniker, but Storm is only called by her moniker. Mystique calls Cyclops, Nightcrawler and Quicksilver Scott, Kurt and Peter on mission but also calls Storm Storm. Why not Ororo?

Also her powerset, particularly with Alexandra Shipp, seem very limited. The younger version of Storm only really seems to produce lightning and electrical attacks with the occasional heavy breeze. Here though she seems to also produce ice cubes for parties...because that’s a good use for one of the strongest X-Men?

Future:

I am unsure about the future of the X-Men now, while I cannot wait to see what the MCU does with them, Feige has stated that it won’t happen for a while at least.

I am hoping they start drip-feeding them in soon, say with Storm in Black Panther II and maybe Professor X in Doctor Strange II if they introduce the Illuminati.

I have loved these past 19 years of X-Men movies, yes there have been bumps in the road but it is a great comfort to watch and I don’t ever feel like they’re a guilty pleasure.

Overall I rate this movie a 7/10, it’s not an offensive movie like X-Men Origins or The Last Stand but it isn’t as strong as X2, First Class or Days of Future Past. I would still love to see a faithful Dark Phoenix saga movie maybe over the course of a couple of movies rather than just rammed into the one but I cannot really mark it down too much because it gave me the nostalgia I have whenever I watch an X-Men movie.

So that’s my review of Dark Phoenix, what did you guys think? Post your comments and check out more Marvel Movie Reviews as well as other movie reviews and posts.

20 notes · View notes

metalgearkong · 5 years

Text

Captain Marvel - Review

3/25/19

Directed by Anna Boden (Marvel Studios/Disney)

Captain Marvel is the 21st feature film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and wields the series’ first entry lead by a female hero. YouTubers and bratty bloggers across the internet have given this film a scathing reputation, even before showing in theaters. Say what you want about Brie Larson, I see her as an eager actress who is beginning to break into the mainstream, and is equally excited as she is nervous about being under the spotlight, carrying so much responsibility, and already under so much scrutiny. Somehow I’m charmed and endeared by her imperfection, especially in the PR realm, even if I don’t think I’d click with her in person. Captain Marvel is what you might expect from this franchise: a special effects-heavy character study about an iconic hero, cleanly connecting her to the greater MCU.

Our protagonist is living her life as a Kree warrior under the name Vers. She has been a part of a Kree attack squad for 6 years, primarily fighting against the Skrull across the galaxy, but can’t recall her life before this time period. Chasing a Skrull to Earth (which had a classification name of M-55 or something to that degree) Vers attracts the attention of the retconed-named SHIELD. I say retconed because at the beginning of Iron Man which took place in 2010, and Captain Marvel taking place in 1995, it doesn’t make sense why they didn’t have an acronym for SHIELD in 2010 but call it “SHIELD” way back in 1995. Vers meets a younger Phil Coulson and Nick Fury, as they begin to learn who she is and where she came from. Vers becomes friends with Fury fairly quickly and easily for an extra-terrestrial (in my opinion), or does Fury know she’s human, despite her supernatural abilities and origin? I thought her adapting so easily felt a little generic and lazy for the script, even if she is a human down to the DNA.

This is a “hero’s journey” origins story of the character leading the MCU heroes beyond Avengers: Endgame. That alone relieves a lot of the tension of the film, as we’re all but guaranteed she will come out alive and on top, but this is a minor complaint I have about a lot of the MCU films, and something that is an inherit problem in a shared universe format. However, as stated, this is not the cynical cash-grab many fragile egoed men would have you believe online. I am proud the MCU now has a leading female hero, and one who doesn’t predominantly define herself with sexualizaiton, or has a story centered around a relationship. She feels like she could have been male or female (for the most part), which is exactly how Elen Ripley was originally written for the Alien franchise. Her forgotten past certainly integrates struggles of a woman in a predominantly man’s world (the US Air Force) but this was the only aspect of her story what was fundamentally feminine. Either way, Vers realizes she’s a human, and used to be named Carol Danvers, and suffered an accident that gave her energy powers and amnesia.

What I wanted more clarification on are who the Kree truly are, and not just their job, but fundamentally what makes someone a Kree. Carol is obviously a human, but her squad clearly contains other humans and non humans. Were the Kree just a joint force where any race could join? If so, what would keep Carol from learning about Earth knowing she and other Kree were humans? What makes all Kree bleed blue if they’re from different races? Why was Earth treated as such a mystery, especially when the dominant race is identical to herself and certain squad mates? Its these sorts of details, and details mentioned before, that kept me from being immersed fully in this movie, and wish they were better hammered out in the script. I was glad the Skrull, or at least primary Skrulls seen in the movie, were people wearing make up and masks, and not yet another CGI creation. Ben Mendelsohn plays the Skrull leader Talos, and its yet another charming yet genuine role by one of my favorite Auzzie actors. Talos’ personal story is one of the better aspects of the film, and I wish he and his race got more attention than they did.

Ironically, the more powerful Carol gets, and the more of her powers she discovers, the less interesting the action got. I liked seeing her struggle with her emotions and learn to use her unique powers wisely at the beginning of the film. Once she unlocked her full potential later on, I may have liked the triumphant moment, but seeing a CGI girl shooting energy blasts and flying through space was less tense than the stunt and martial arts-centered fights earlier in the movie. The technology to de-age Samuel L. Jackson is excellent, as its easy to forget the man is in his 70′s. Phil Coulson’s effects don’t look quite as good unfortunately, but he has far less screen time. I loved Carol’s smaller "fish out of water" moments, and her somewhat sarcastic and upbeat personality, even if she did cross the line into being straight up rude in one or two scenes (her personality needs some consistency). Her nod to the late great Stan Lee also marked a small, but satisfying final cameo for the Marvel founder. I loved seeing Carol interrogate people making sure they weren’t a Skrull and her going too far on occasion I found charming and funny.

I can’t say how relieved I was to discover this entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe wasn’t the SJW propaganda the internet was making it out to be. Captain Marvel may not be a top tier Marvel movie, but it serves as a satisfying sci-fi/superhero origins story, leaving a lot of potential for the future. While Carol Danvers’ personality did teeter precariously between clever and overly cocky some of the time, I chalk it up to her finding who she is as a person both personally, and figuratively as the writers of the film. I have no doubt her sequels movies and presence in future cross-overs will round out her abilities, limitations, and personality exactly as we’ve seen with the legacy characters. I’m excited to see what lies for her onward, even if the film wasn’t as groundbreaking as they wanted it to be, and if the script was missing some important details as well. I’m also hoping deeply that Carol Danvers isn’t a human deus-ex-machina for defeating Thanos in Avengers: Endgame, and somehow the plan to reverse the “snap” and putting down the purple giant remains complex, nuanced, and meaningful.

6/10

7 notes · View notes

pass-the-bechdel · 5 years

Text

Continuum season one full review

How many episodes pass the Bechdel test?

80% (eight of ten)

What is the average percentage per episode of female characters with names and lines?

30.6%

How many episodes have a cast that is at least 40% female?

One, episode 1.05, “A Test of Time” (41.18%)

How many episodes have a cast that is less than 20% female?

Zero.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Twenty-two. Seven who appear in more than one episode, five who appear in at least half the episodes, and one who appears in every episode.

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Forty-four. Fifteen who appear in more than one episode, eleven who appear in at least half the episodes, and three who appear in every episode.

Positive Content Status:

Perfectly average, with nothing terrible, but nothing of note, either. (average rating of 3.0)

General Season Quality:

Solid. It attempts to merge police procedural element with a more serialized narrative, and generally succeeds at both. It is also clearly a series that realizes the potential of its premise and is interested in exploring it in depth.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) under the cut:

Let’s talk about heroes.

Heroism, in stories set in versions of Earth that are meant to resemble ours—see: the MCU, Supergirl, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, earthbound Doctor Who stories not set in the future—tends to be associated with maintaining the status quo. As disruptive as heroes often are by nature and necessity, they generally don’t work to change things for the better in a general way, but rather, to ensure things don’t get worse. Society, by implication, becomes “good enough”—something worth keeping around as is. This tendency is occasionally questioned—not surprising, given all the ways the status quo isn’t actually good for many people—but the story’s internal rules mean that the conclusion is often a half-hearted “eh, what other option is there?” with the occasional “but that way lies tyranny!” While this stance isn’t entirely without reason, it’s also often frustrating. Inaction and tyranny aren’t the only choices, so why pretend that they are?

This right here is one of the main reasons why I really appreciate Continuum, and why I would probably do so even if the show weren’t as consistently solid as it is. It is a show entirely built around the idea that the status quo is untenable, and that trying to keep things as they are can only bring about the destruction of the human race at the hands of the 1%. While it’s far from the only series with a social conscience, it is one of the very few to declare that what is needed is massive, widespread and disruptive social change. That it does so while also being a police procedural, a genre that tends to be almost inextricably tied to conservative politics and an affinity for the status quo, is all the more impressive.

I’m fascinated by stories about people vs. the future—it’s the absolute impossibility of the struggle that gets me. I mean, how do you fight change? Sarah Connors’ battle wasn’t just about deadly people-killing robots; it was a fight against progress, a refusal to acknowledge that humans will continue to advance technologically no matter what you do, and “winning,” in those terms, meant undoing the previous fifty years of existence. Team Machine’s battle against Samaritan hit the same points: in the end, if didn’t matter whether one particular artificial super-intelligence was atomized, because another would take its place—maybe not soon but eventually.

While Liber8’s struggle has some similarities to these fights, it is, in the end, fundamentally different. The Corporate Congress and the mass demotion of actual people to second-class citizens isn’t inevitable the way the advent of artificial super-intelligences is. There’s no reason why humanity can’t continue progressing technologically AND choose not to bring back indentured servitude. If the terrible future happens, it’s not because the arc of humanity inevitably bends towards corporate dystopia, but because the people in positions to change things…didn’t. Also, while artificial super-intelligences are still years away, Continuum’s apocalyptic future isn’t really the future at all. Corporations aren’t going to wait fifty years before they choose to actively reduce people’s freedoms in order to obtain ever greater profits; it’s what they’re doing at this very moment. Liber8’s battle is much more urgent and immediate, and that ups the difficulty level of the storytelling immeasurably—it would have been very easy for the series to fuck it all up.

Fortunately, Continuum, for the most part, hasn’t. It’s not perfect—its theory of oppression largely ignores the role of marginalized identities, and how these shape the way oppression is performed and perceived (and no, making most of Liber8’s members people of color isn’t enough to address this)—but the series’ heart and storytelling instincts appear to be where they need to be. They actually care about the issues at play, and that’s mostly evidenced in the fact that it treats Liber8’s fight as legitimate. It could have been the easiest thing in the world for Continuum to be the story of cop vs. terrorists FROM THE FUTURE!, and for Liber8’s motives to be nothing more than the motivation to get the story going, or a cover for more traditional nefariousness. Instead, it is the whole point. Continuum is a series about getting from point A to point B, and about just how complicated things can get.

Speaking of complicated: Kiera Cameron.

While Kiera is very much a genre show protagonist—Continuum is very much a genre show—she actually reminds me more of a character from an entirely different sort of story—The Good Wife’s Alicia Florrick. This is a good thing, since Alicia is one of the best protagonists on television and I love her for many of the reasons I love Kiera. I love that she’s an introvert who doesn’t make friends easily. I like that she likes systems, and feels most comfortable inside them. I like that she is fundamentally selfish. I like that neither she nor the series is exactly concerned about her being approachable or cool. Perhaps most importantly, I like that while the series is never short of sympathy for her, it is also very clear that her goal is completely incompatible with the good future.

Unfortunately, none of the show’s other female characters manage to equal Kiera, or even come close. While there’s no glaring missteps I can identify in the show’s female representation—aside from the usual ones—there’s no real revelations, either: Sonya, Garza, and Betty, are, for the moment, just alright. Somewhat ironically, the one-shot female characters do better than the more promising ones, in part because they’re more numerous and varied, and in part because the series can’t afford to punt their development to a future date. While this feels like the result of circumstance rather than intention—with so much to cover and so little time to do so, something had to give—that’s really just an excuse. There’s no reason why the characters who got prioritized this season had to mostly be men.

If there is something noteworthy in the way Continuum approaches gender, it is in Kiera’s relationship with Carlos, which is my favorite dynamic in the show. While I tend to look askance at calls for more purely platonic relationships between sexually compatible characters—I’m not often confident they’re made in good faith—I do like the idea in theory, and this relationship is an excellent proof of concept. Kiera and Carlos could get together. There’s tons of evidence that they’re compatible, and he’s a better person than Kellogg or—ugh!—Alec. Heck, there’s absolutely no evidence here that they aren’t going to get together in the future. But it’s not happening now, and neither the characters or the show think there’s anything wrong with that or that it makes their relationship somehow lesser. It isn’t that romance isn’t important or it’s incompatible with depth or great storytelling and character development; the elements of the relationship that I like— push and pull, between people who disagree on a lot but respect each other and are more than willing to meet each other halfway—could easily still be there if they were together. It’s just that sometimes, it doesn’t need to be there.

(I’m team Kiera / no one, myself.)

Kiera’s relationship with Alec, meanwhile, is not nearly as compelling, in large part because Alec is the element of the show that least works. I understand his place in the narrative, and I can totally see how a character like him would end up eventually helping create the corporate dystopia, but this doesn’t make the present-day version of the character and his immaturity any easier to take (his future self is fine). He’s not intolerable, and I like the family drama that surrounds him—the best episode of the season is all about the Saddlers and Randols—but he’s also not great, and given just how many characters and concepts are fighting for attention, that’s something the series can’t afford.

To mix metaphors, Continuum is a high-wire act, juggling so many balls that it is in constant danger of collapse. There’s a let’s-prevent-the-terrible-future time travel narrative, with all the usual complications of time travel stories. There’s a good half-dozen fish-out-of-water narratives. There’s a traditional police procedural, except that it also involves future technology. There’s an exploration of class warfare and capitalism, and the evolving roles of activism and terrorism within it. There’s family drama. Taken together, it’s arguably more than can be properly explored in ten episodes, and that the series did as well as it did is genuinely surprising. While I’m not sure it can keep up the balancing act indefinitely as it continues, I’m interested in seeing how long it lasts.

#Continuum #Continuum Season One #Bechdel Test #Female Representation #MimeParadox

6 notes · View notes

purplemoonfox · 5 years

Link

Watch the damn video. The title is upsetting but the video is good.

IMHO, yes and no to the tinfoily possibility of why this film flopped as presented by the video’s maker. I’ll explain why. Basically I agree wholeheartedly, but I don’t go in for conspiracy theories as such. One of these days I’ll write down my thoughts on Star Wars, fandom,society, and the early 2000′s. It’s part of my continuing if unwritten theory on All Else Aside, Why Advertising Should Be Heavily Regulated, closely related to Corporations Are Not People, Fuck Off Don’t @ Me. Also closely related to Ethics: The Class No One Likes In Business School Which Is Hilariously Ironic For A Lot Of Reasons. Little under grad me was sitting in a business school once and my friend walked over laughing. Apparently he’d overheard some business kids whining about how boring and useless ethics class was.

I’m a bit of a misanthropic shit with a bone to pick if you can’t tell.

Anyway--

If you asked me whether Disney had some grand, literally planned out conspiracy in torpedoing this movie, just so they could welch on a deal made with one of the previous execs, I’d say you’re reaching. Frankly, as they say, Disney is a business. Regardless of whatever face it puts on, Disney is a business. If they wanted it to flop they didn’t want a $70 million plus deficit. That’s why it freaked the fuck out after Solo flopped, which isn’t fair to Solo since poor Solo, which grew on me massively since I was somewhat bewildered by it at first (if anyone’s curious I’ll talk about that later) was in a somewhat similar situation when it went up at a weird time of year against DP2, the marketing was absolute shit because they’d practically given up after the backlash against a young Han Solo full stop, and they used a filthy casual generalist’s character (Han Solo) to showcase some very specialist in fandom’s details like (SPOILER?) Maul being alive again. But I do like the point the video maker made about the DVD release and winter movies, and the release environment.

So let’s re-establish some points that the video maker made.

1. This was a personal passion project from the beginning, not a studio or company thing.

The directors struggled since 1987 to get this thing into motion and it was on an agreement made with an exec that it was ever put in motion.

2. This film spared no expense.

The visual animation in this film is very well done. But it’s basically Disney animation tossing out all the stops. Which, honestly, was what they generally do when innovating, but...this is an animator’s and director’s movie. In a sense it’s an art film done by masters of their craft, but marketed by someone who is more interested in what sells. You want to know when we’ll get less Star Wars and MCU? Stop buying quite so much of it all. I say, as I’m going to run out and get me some sweet Dooku comics. Shut up. It’s not hypocrisy if I know what I’m enabling...LOL.

But here’s another thing that the video maker lauds, but forgets that studios can be really fucking finicky about this kind of off the wall risk-taking---

3. It’s anomalous in a lot of ways.

That’s going to scare people in the industry because it’s not the tried and true that often wins the Benjis the easiest for the least effort. There’s a reason we now see so many franchises with long-running film series and remakes and sequels and so on--they have established characters in established universes that makes marketing have an easier time of establishing rapport with an audience and attracting attention. They don’t have to make anything new; new doesn’t even make as much money. Treasure Planet came out in 2002 for reference, POTC: Curse of the Black Pearl came out in 2003, so it was in that time period when movies didn’t necessarily have interconnected franchises and were instead relatively more separate iterations unto themselves, kind of like Rocky or Rambo, so it was a little before the era of massively planned out story arcs. I don’t think Marvel ever really had a plan to make the MCU as we know it today, I don’t think George Lucas knew what the fuck he was kicking off when he released TPM in 1999, which is to say the resurgence of Star Wars in concurrence with the rise of modern fandoms starting with the release of Pokemon in 1996 and continuing to play a big part in the lives of Millennials nostalgia is one of the few marketing techniques that work on us...and yes I can show studies. But studios chased that profit relentlessly and it eventually coalesced into something like a plan oh god I’ll move on or I’ll go into Star Wars and we’re not here for that.

I think people rely too much on the assumption that there must be some kind of dedicated conspiracy to bring outcomes like these, like they’re never the product of an unhappy outcome of multiple issues going on independently and congruently. Sometimes that involves personal issues on the part of the people making the decisions that affect something. Roads to hell and all that.

Okay.

The company wasn’t excited about it, it was something those newer CEOs couldn’t pull the plug on once they inherited it. And the company may not have wanted to make the second? Yes, all possible. Even likely. I’m also strongly reminded of Erich von Stroheim’s Foolish Wives, which got him banned from directing for life and established the supremacy of studios over directors forevermore.

Risks too many risks are anathema to a moneymaking entity in the black. These directors may have dragged Disney out of the shitter but now they were sitting comfortably on a pile of cash, and risk is a lot less costly--when you want to take it. When.

I’ve read some, not much, about social economic status and behavior. Rich people have less to lose when taking risks, so they can say cute things like “well just go off and do it and see what you get!” and possibly just face a setback, when for someone in a lower income status the possible outcome of risk is actual destitution. The former sees only potential benefit, the latter only danger.

Moneymaking institutions, on the other hand, tend to resist risk and change when the possible outcome is less money. If anything, they want just enough innovation to draw interest, but not enough to surprise or put people off. Side note: if Disney ever teamed up with Wal-Mart I’m going to call it Shin-Ra and no one can stop me. Disney in the shitter? Fuck yes, take risks--what we’ve got isn’t working and we desperately need to make money somehow. Disney not in the shitter? Fuck no, don’t take risks--what we’ve got is working and you’re possibly going to do something people won’t like so we won’t make money. Who cares if the two people at the head of the project are the reason you’re sitting on a mountain of cash right fucking now? A board without the risk of default only sees dangers, they’re not seeing potential benefits.

If anything there was a level of resignation and “fuck it, let’s let them do this because we kind of have to and see how it goes, this was their project, not ours” and a lot of “see, told you so! Now get back to work!” that went on. But it’s a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy that they won’t own up to, in that lack of an advertisement campaign in the run up to the release. They set the movie up to fail not because of a planned conspiracy but because of a risk-minimization impulse and...then make less than astute assumptions about what it was about the movie that caused it to fail--then plan off of all that.

Now. Going to change gears a little and go on a bit of a tangent, because it relates to that very last point--the part about moving forward.

Remember when this happened. The early 2000′s. What was emerging right around the early 2000′s? That’s right. CGI animation. Did Disney scrap their whole animation studios and pare it down to projection work after that spate of less-than-stellar performances before the Disney Renaissance? Did they blame animation itself for its faults? No they did not, but it would become a convenient whipping boy.

I got into a pretty unpleasant argument a few months ago when, having been asked what unpopular opinion one has on a thread, I said that I wished Disney hadn’t closed their 2D animation. I love 2D. I really do. Most of the people who replied were like “you do realize that isn’t an unpopular opinion kthx” and I was like “ok fair enough.”

But then this mouth-breathing chucklefuck that apparently can’t read labels thought it was cute to try and tell me why I’m wrong for me to have my own fucking opinion what a cute notion. He was a fucking twit, but I got a few salient points out of it to roll over in my head anyway. I strongly suspect he had something to do with the industry itself because of the points he made. He didn’t change my mind, but some points are worth thinking about.

1. Disney is for kids. Okay. Not if they don’t want to tap into more than just parents strapped for cashs’ pockets, but the movies are still made to be accessible and engaging for younger people, so I rolled my eyes and moved on.

2. Related to the first point, kids don’t like 2D animation anymore because they’re used to 3D because that’s what all their other entertainment is is. Why?

3. INNOVATION. EVERYONE WANTS INNOVATION AND GETS BORED WITHOUT 100% FULL THROTTLE VISUAL INNOVATION. YOU’RE JUST BEING A BITTER OLD NOSTALGIA HOUNDING HAG.

Medium aside, the rest to a movie is really just window dressing; Moana had fantastic and original music as well as otherwise being visually stunning too, granted, because in no way am I hating on 3D itself; the point is it’s not an opera singer standing in for the voice actress, much as I love Beauty and the Beast’s animated soundtrack, but music can be played regardless of animation medium. And you’re damn right we could’ve had a Polynesian Princess before now.

Of the two I found the second point more interesting and less inane. The third was just...charming.

Now. Just to go back to Star Wars real quick to make a point; the OT is filmed in a way consistent with the time period it was made in. I’ve known people who tell me that they prefer the sequels and that ANH, ep 4 the one with the Death Star for anyone wandering in, not the one with Ewoks or Hoth, is boring. Why? Because it’s filmed like a movie from 1978, which means its pacing is different and so are the camera angles and so on. Because, uh, it’s a movie from 1978. What an original fucking concept. If you need a comparison for what was otherwise more or less the standard of SFX in the day, pop in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, 1979 I’m not hating on Trekkies, I love you guys. Star Wars is phenomenally ahead of its time. For an older version, guys, I may loathe Citizen Kane with every fiber of my salty little being, but I will give it full credit for the innovations it made in camera angles and scene setting.

All of this is not to forget The Princess and The Frog in 2009, which was great, but it didn’t smash through the roof like this was the end of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

So. We had Treasure Planet, whose release was a wretched cluster of fuck. We had Winnie the Pooh, which isn’t...well, guys, it’s not an original story, and then we had Home on the Range, which I’ve never seen. I enjoyed Brother Bear, but I swear the being a bear for most of the movie kind of killed the ability of a lot of people to put themselves in their shoes. Because let’s face it--if we’re going for blaming thematic issues, romance is still a part of the Disney theory, even if we’ve finally reached the point of questioning some of its normal tenets--not marrying someone you just met and why is everyone dancing come to mind oh Flynn Rider you fucking gem you. But none of that is made impossible by the medium of 3D. And why the fuck is everyone ignoring Mulan and Esmeralda in all this anyway. Well, poor Esmeralda always gets the short end of the stick. I swear though that woman did convince me that I could be fucking badass in a skirt though.

Meanwhile we see the rise of Pixar. In 1995, we had Toy Story my mother dragged us to see that movie seven times in theaters. Now that I think about it I shouldn’t be surprised that the woman was fascinated with the concept of a secret world anonymously devoted to the person that plays with them in a way that makes them literally dolls on shelves, since...reasons. Monsters, Inc., in 2001, Finding Nemo in 2003, The Incredibles in 2004, and Wall-E and Up in 2008 and 2009, respectively--after the acquisition by Disney in 2006. They haven’t done quite so well recently, their stock has taken on more sequels decently good sequels, granted, not the shitty made for video stuff that Disney put out, and some others. I’ll be annoyed if they make a sequel for Wall-E; I don’t know what that would look like. Maybe rediscovering the concept of competition over resources and nostalgia for the good old days of space. Nah. That just sounds like why Tolkien never wrote a sequel to LOTR.

I brought that bit about Treasure Planet (2002), Brother Bear (2003), Home on the Range (2004), and The Princess and The Frog (2009) up to mainly make the point that after Treasure Planet’s lackluster response until The Princess and The Frog, Disney gave it anything but relatively normal big-name projects...and then topped it off with Winnie the Pooh in 2011, which was never going to be a blowout hit. I like Winnie the Pooh itself enough to not disdain it, but I don’t like it enough to spend money on a fucking movie ticket. Mostly just tolerated it in Kingdom Hearts if not ignored it when I could.

Now, you might think that the immediately previous statement basically made my point entirely invalid, but I also brought up that bit about the highly successful Pixar, which they bought in 2006. They pretty much lost interest and moved on to the shiny new thing; The Princess and The Frog really only got made because John Lasseter and Ed Catmull wanted to make it; Disney had meant to shut 2D animation down. Then it had some controversy, though to my knowledge the film did its best to resolve the issues. Furthermore, despite the fact that we were supposed to get more animated films because it did well, The Princess and The Frog, despite its success, we got the rug pulled out from under us when they didn’t get enough money.

Look. Every thirty years or so, somebody swears that they just invented 3D screens. While not on a television, they’ve had “how to make visual representation look 3D” since 1838. No, not 1938. 1838. It’s a stupid gimmick, and it will be a stupid gimmick the next time they bring it up, too. They have tried to sell 3D tv screens in the past, and it failed then, too. The point I’m trying to make is that sometimes it’s not the medium that’s at fault, although some people in the industry itself seem to blame it for not being “new” enough, as if it’s not their failure to innovate effectively and then do their due diligence that’s to blame. Disney basically shot themselves in the foot over Treasure Planet and hand-drawn animation in general, and threw up their hands, affected to forget that any of that ever happened, and blamed the gun that they suddenly found sitting at their feet--not because Treasure Planet was fated to be a failure from inception, or that 2D animation is intrinsically inferior to 3D and/or is less interesting to small children because it’s just older if that were the case and frankly, that point about kids and 3D and preference...well, Paw Patrol isn’t every kid’s show in existence, there are 2D animated kid’s shows, and Pixar would never have bothered researching Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin for wordless language while making Wall-E.

#treasure planet #movies #idiot commentary #no one ever asks for it #theres good reasons i'm an idiot #disney #animated movies #3D animation #a whole fuckload of references that i won't list

2 notes · View notes