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runephoenix6769 · 3 years

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“What is with the Blake / Yang hate this week? Folks seem particularly fired up.” I asked this question on a forum because of something I’ve noticed the last few days on discussions about Blake and Yang/Bumbleby/shipping in general. I keep seeing the same answers. “It ruins the team’s dynamic.”

Welp, I’m pretty certain none of those people would say that Raven/Tai and Tai/Summer ruined the team’s dynamic. Or that Ren and Nora are currently ruining the team’s dynamic. What is this holy than thou crusading to protect the sanctity of the team dynamic? Rwby has always been first and foremost about interpersonal relationships. It’s what drives the actual plot. Character growth, failing relationships/friendships. How they change over time, either to grow or crumble.

“It’s being shoehorned in, for fanwank.” How? How is it being shoehorned in? Give me a narrative breakdown as to where/how/when this occurs? Compare it to the Sun/Blake narrative and show me the glaring differences between the Yang/Blake narrative to prove that bumbleby was never planned yet blacksun was? (Sidenote. Anyone that has been asked to do this on the forum has yet to do it.)

“Yang showed interest in boys.”“ Yes, yes she passed comment once. In vol 1 episode 1. 8 VOLUMES AGO. She has shown not a lick of interest in guys since. Its almost as if she’s like any normal 17 year old girl who is growing into adulthood and figuring herself out, who might be realising her interest in Blake isn’t strictly platonic and is trying to navigate that whilst also grappling with what that means with regards to their friendship. And dealing with an over arching situation that is, ya know, potentially the end of the world as they know it. It’s about two years in universe, right? Which is about right of an amount of time for what its happening between them to play out. It only feels like longer to the audience because, well, its taken 8/9 years to tell the story up until that point.

“The Fans are too loud/vocal/come on too strong.” Ok, this one I agree with, we are loud and vocal and that might come across as coming on strong (here’s a huge) BUT, there is actually a genuine explanation for why it seems that way. If you really think about it, objectively.

Hear me out. Fans are excited about the potential representation we don't otherwise usually get in media. I mean, if you have 10,000 pieces of media and only ONE of them represents lgbtq people, of course we’re gonna be excited and talk about the ONE quite a bit with others who are like us. This might also be the first time we’ve seen anything like this, or seen ourselves represented in a somewhat positive light. It stands to reason that the other 9999 pieces aren't going to hold our attention as much, esp if its the same hetero romance played out a bajillion times before, right? I mean, if you have a group of people who are constantly represented in the 9999 other shows, their voices are going to spread thinner, right? They aren’t going to be gathered all on one place, talking about the same thing because there are 9999 other choices to connect them to other people. They aren’t going to care as much if their straight ship happens/doesnt happen

“Hey, I can move onto another piece of media that is churned out by the status quo. No big deal.”

Hetero romances are ten a penny. Flick through netflix, hulu, crunchy roll etc. Where as if you have a group of people who are only represented in ONE show out of the 10,000 those people are going to gather in one place to connect with others and its only going to seem like they are louder due to the densely packed space. These same people have been majority silent about the other 9999 pieces of media as their voice isn't usually represented in a positive light - being queer characters are usually brutally murdered or sidelined. (Thankyou Hays Code.)- or not even represented at all. (Bury Your Gays is a trope for a reason, folks.) And we are NEVER the titular characters. We’ve been living on crumbs and subtext for decades! Not to mention showrunners who actively queerbait the hell out of us for ratings and viewership. The almighty Pink Pound as its often referred to in business. “But why do they have to make them gay?” You’re not made gay, you’re born gay. It just takes longer for some people to realise than others. It can be a gradual realisation. And this is quite possibly the case with Yang/Blake, slowly coming to realise their own burgeoning sexualities and attraction to each other.

”Why do they have to be gay?” They don't need a reason to be queer! They just are! Queerness is only a part of a person, not their everything. It’s actually quite refreshing to see Yang/Blake being portrayed as much more than their potential sexuality. Ask yourself, ‘Why does a character have to be straight? And why doesn’t a straight character have to constantly reaffirm their sexuality? Why is ‘straightness’ assumed by default?’ Heteronormativity, is something that has been perpetuated by decades of media. (helped by the Hays Code with its out of date moral code. To be other is to be punished within the narrative.) That straight is the default setting. It’s not! We exist! Everywhere! We always have and we are going to talk to each other about it when we see a glimpse of ourselves represented in what has been a relative Sahara Desert when it comes to queer content were we are not villainised. “The romance is detracting from the plot.” Two seconds ago, people were claiming that the romance was none existent. Which is it? But Nora and Ren’s romance that is being held up as a mirror to bumbleby is fine? That Jaune relentlessly pursuing Weiss was perfectly ok. Neptune openly hitting on female characters is fine.

“I don’t have a problem with LGBT. I just don’t want it forced down my throat.” Again, out of 10,000 pieces of media, this is just ONE show. Nobody is forcing anyone to watch it or participate. Queer people have had to stomach literal 100′s of years of straight media forced upon them. Since the very conception of the written word and narrative storytelling. In plays, theatre, art, music, tv, film, on billboards, advertising, in places of education and learning etc etc. Queer people are bombarded with it whilst also being surrounded by negativity towards queerness.

“They are shoving it down my throat!” part two Is hand holding, compassion and expressing concern for another person and comforting them somehow offensive? Renora kissed, not a problem. Arkos kissed, not a problem. Show me in the sand where the line is drawn. What is the difference? Please explain this to me? Why is the expression of queerness somehow offensive? Is this because decades of media have perpetuated the false idea that all queer people are sex crazed perverts? That you’ve been groomed into thinking that queer sexuality is only based in the act of sex itself? That queer sexuality couldn’t possibly be similar to heterosexuality in its expression?

That it couldn’t possibly be about attraction, emotional, mental and maybe one day blossom into physical between two consenting adults, a pure expression of love the exact same as heterosexuality.

That some how queer love stems from some sort of deviancy or mental health issue. That queer people are some how bad or evil, and therefore their expression of affection is wrong? Oh, I wonder where those beliefs have possibly stemmed from? “Why are they in my face?” part three. 50% of of the titular cast are potentially queer. Blake and Yang. But if you look at the overall cast ensemble that runs at minimum 16 any given volume, that’s a measly 12.5% (prolly a lot smaller if you actually counted the whole cast that appears in rotation each volume) Also, someone did the math. Blake - a titular character- actually has less spoken lines that Jaune. ffs. B&Y spent neatly a whole two volumes of 8 apart. 25% of the narrative as it stands on entirely different continents.

I fail to see how it being in someone’s face could be the case.

“I just don't see it!”

That’s ok and perfectly valid But listen when people who have lived this experience are telling you that their experience is being portrayed on the screen. That they see themselves being represented. OK, This completely got away from me. In conclusion. They are more straight people than queer people and media often reflects that. We are usually the silent minority, we are sick of it but we are used to it and we are very excited that things seem to be finally changing.

It’s two characters in an large cast in ONE show out of 10,000. Its a piece of media that, for a change, hasn’t been 100% curated for straight people. We are often not allowed to play in the sand box and if we are, we’re told to play with the broken toys, be grateful and quiet. So when we are given a sandbox to play in with new unbroken toys, we are gonna dog pile in there and make a ruckas, calling our friends over. What I’m trying to say is, it’s gonna get rowdy. and here’s something to think about. “When you are used to privilege, equality feels like deprivation.”

#rwby #yang xiao long #blake belladonna #bumbleby

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ignitification · 3 years

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So I don’t know if you answered this before (I follow a few meta users and lose track sometimes of who I send what to, I worry about repeating myself 😬) But what is your ideal ending for the main 3 villains along with Spinner and Compress?

Hey! Don't worry, I never answered this before and even if I did, it wouldn't be a problem!

As for my ideal ending... I think that while I do have a rough draft of what I would like to see, it might change depending on some things which I expect to happen (later rather than sooner) or that could instead not happen in the arcs to come. Basic line is that I would like for the main members of the League to have their own 'happy ending' - but at the same time, I would not be keen on accepting every possible HEA if certain other conditions are not met (I know I am talking in hypos, but for now, pass me the mystery, I have a lot of thoughts and I don't want this to be longer than necessary).

I’d begin with Spinner. Spinner’s entire character is the representation of Heteromorph-Quirks discrimination in their society. Not that Spinner is only limited to his Quirk, far from it, but I personally see his ideal ending to be towards this path: as someone who is highly emotionally intelligent, loyal and belief-driven Spinner’s ideal ending would to be seen him campaigning and/or being in the representation of acceptance of Hetermorphs in society. Apart from his affiliation with the League I don’t think there are grave crimes on his account, which is why his redemption is not one of the priorities when it comes to his character. Therefore, for Shuichi I’d like to see him using his skills to actually break and reform that prejudice and bias society has held towards him (to be honest, it would be interesting to see him and Tsuyu interacting). I find his ending however to be yet shaky, and I have no clue honestly where HK is going with him, we haven’t seen him in ages and I hope that during the last arcs he gets more screen time.

While Spinner is the one, notwithstanding everything, I find the easiest to imagine, with the rest it is a bit more complicated, because as I mentioned before I’d like for some circumstances to happen in order to have their own fate decided.

Atsuhiro is arguably to this day, the member of the League we know less about. we had a glimpse in his backstory, with his thieving progeny, and we saw his face for the first time around 20 chapters ago. It’s really not much - and further than that, he is now in unknown medical condition in the hands of the police or whoever is managing the country in this moment. However, he is also one of the key figures of the entire League and I guess that more than his ending, which I never thought about, I am looking forward to the development of his character. There is so so much to explore, and yet we have got nothing so far. However, I’d like for him to actually take care of the League in his own way and to see him use his abilities in stealth ways which are not for crime purposes (imagine the potential he might have if only he could put his magician and escape skills to the right purpose), but at the same time I think Compress is one of the most independent people of the entire series, and while he cares deeply for his friends, he is a free spirit, so I actually would like to see him travelling. I know this sounds like a poorly written head canon, but my ideal ending for Atsuhiro would be to be free to travel and see the world, while sending selfies of himself to Toga in which he calls himself old man.

The main three pals, instead are even more difficult because their factual conditions and finales are both somehow set and yet have a lot of flexible possibilities to construct around. I’d like to see Toga living her teens in a settings where she has friends she can rely on and that accept her as she is. She is terribly detached from everything that she should be enjoying at her age and while she tries hard to actually experience them she is always limited by the role society has assigned her. (also therapy). So, I’d like for her to be enrolled to school again, and learn how to use her Quirk - normalising the stigma of Quirks which are not ‘suitable for society’. Also, it would be interesting to see how her relationship with Ochako plays out, and since HK defined Uraraka one of the rays of hope of the final arcs, I’m looking forward to it. But yeah, my ideal ending for Toga is to be accepted and loved by someone who she can fully relate to. And give this girl a medical license (yes, I see her as a doctor).

Dabi and Shigaraki, instead are just a white page. I’d like for Dabi to conciliate his identity as Dabi with his Touya personality, and to actually go back to his family. Making amends, having healthy conversations with Shouto. Being someone who can inspire. Just quench his thirst for recognition and finally heal the wounds. Basically, I’d like for him to accept that he deserves to survive and that he is not limited to whatever Endeavour taught him. For Shigaraki, I’d like instead another type of ending entirely. I want for Tomura to accept that it was not his fault that he killed his family, and to let go of this fueling anger that spurs him on. (being adopted by Aizawa, while we are at it - after all, seeing Eri and Shigaraki interact might be healing for my soul). I need for him to adopt a dog. Kill AfO. Destroy society and rebuild it anew, so that he can safely say that if someone would be going around homeless someone would actually hold his hand. I really dislike the theory going around of All Might taking care of him, I really don’t want that, just on a personal level. It would be better instead if Inko ‘adopted’ him and him and Izuku developed a relationship where Izuku just needs Tenko to sit, and finally cry and mourn and just let go. It’s a mess. Also yes, I’d like for him to drop the name of Shigaraki Tomura and be again Shimura Tenko. Visit his grandmother’s grave. Heal. Grow.

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solacekames · 5 years

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8:08 AM PDT 8/16/2019 by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

The NBA great and Hollywood Reporter columnist, a friend of the late martial arts star, believes the filmmaker was sloppy, somewhat racist and shirked his responsibility to basic truth in 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.'

Remember that time Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. kidney-punched a waiter for serving soggy croutons in his tomato soup? How about the time the Dalai Lama got wasted and spray-painted “Karma Is a Beach” on the Tibetan ambassador’s limo? Probably not, since they never happened. But they could happen if a filmmaker decides to write those scenes into his or her movie. And, even though we know the movie is fiction, those scenes will live on in our shared cultural conscience as impressions of those real people, thereby corrupting our memory of them built on their real-life actions.

That’s why filmmakers have a responsibility when playing with people’s perceptions of admired historic people to maintain a basic truth about the content of their character. Quentin Tarantino’s portrayal of Bruce Lee in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood does not live up to this standard. Of course, Tarantino has the artistic right to portray Bruce any way he wants. But to do so in such a sloppy and somewhat racist way is a failure both as an artist and as a human being.

This controversy has left me torn. Tarantino is one of my favorite filmmakers because he is so bold, uncompromising and unpredictable. There’s a giddy energy in his movies of someone who loves movies and wants you to love them, too. I attend each Tarantino film as if it were an event, knowing that his distillation of the ’60s and ’70s action movies will be much more entertaining than a simple homage. That’s what makes the Bruce Lee scenes so disappointing, not so much on a factual basis, but as a lapse of cultural awareness.

Bruce Lee was my friend and teacher. That doesn’t give him a free pass for how he’s portrayed in movies. But it does give me some insight into the man. I first met Bruce when I was a student at UCLA looking to continue my martial arts studies, which I started in New York City. We quickly developed a friendship as well as a student-teacher relationship. He taught me the discipline and spirituality of martial arts, which was greatly responsible for me being able to play competitively in the NBA for 20 years with very few injuries.

During our years of friendship, he spoke passionately about how frustrated he was with the stereotypical representation of Asians in film and TV. The only roles were for inscrutable villains or bowing servants. In Have Gun - Will Travel, Paladin’s faithful Chinese servant goes by the insulting name of “Hey Boy” (Kam Tong). He was replaced in season four by a female character referred to as “Hey Girl” (Lisa Lu). Asian men were portrayed as sexless accessories to a scene, while the women were subservient. This was how African-American men and women were generally portrayed until the advent of Sidney Poitier and blaxploitation films. Bruce was dedicated to changing the dismissive image of Asians through his acting, writing and promotion of Jeet Kune Do, his interpretation of martial arts.

That’s why it disturbs me that Tarantino chose to portray Bruce in such a one-dimensional way. The John Wayne machismo attitude of Cliff (Brad Pitt), an aging stuntman who defeats the arrogant, uppity Chinese guy harks back to the very stereotypes Bruce was trying to dismantle. Of course the blond, white beefcake American can beat your fancy Asian chopsocky dude because that foreign crap doesn’t fly here.

I might even go along with the skewered version of Bruce if that wasn’t the only significant scene with him, if we’d also seen a glimpse of his other traits, of his struggle to be taken seriously in Hollywood. Alas, he was just another Hey Boy prop to the scene. The scene is complicated by being presented as a flashback, but in a way that could suggest the stuntman’s memory is cartoonishly biased in his favor. Equally disturbing is the unresolved shadow that Cliff may have killed his wife with a spear gun because she nagged him. Classic Cliff. Is Cliff more heroic because he also doesn’t put up with outspoken women?

I was in public with Bruce several times when some random jerk would loudly challenge Bruce to a fight. He always politely declined and moved on. First rule of Bruce’s fight club was don’t fight — unless there is no other option. He felt no need to prove himself. He knew who he was and that the real fight wasn’t on the mat, it was on the screen in creating opportunities for Asians to be seen as more than grinning stereotypes. Unfortunately, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood prefers the good old ways.

#once upon a time in hollywood #kareem abdul-jabbar #bruce lee #quentin tarantino #quentin tarantino is a racist fetishist piece of shit

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sareesonscreen · 3 years

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S1 E4: Saucy Deep Dives: Third Person SIngular Number

After spending the last two months watching and examining Bollywood hits, it’s been very exciting for us to introduce our audience to hits from all across South Asia. In this episode, we are thrilled to be watching a Bangladeshi favorite made by one of the most famous contemporary directors there.

Mostofa Sarwar Farooki came into the scene in the early 2000s, at a time when mainstream television and cinema largely existed either in the form of family entertainment or copy-pasted “hero’s journey” scripts made for quick consumption.

This is where Farooki came in with his more casual and approachable filmmaking. His stories revolved around the relatable everyday struggles of ordinary people. This also meant utilizing colloquial language in his cinema (which was rare, given that the media at the time would only depict formal Bangla or a standard dialectical Bangla [for rural stories]).

Third Person Singular Number (2009) was Farooki’s third movie, which solidified his position as one of the most notable contemporary directors in Bangladesh.

Third Person Singular Number is conceptualized as a fairytale-like story of Ruba (played brilliantly by Nusrat Imroz Tisha, Farooki’s partner, and long-time muse), who is confronted by the challenges of being a single woman in South Asia, after her partner (note, not husband lol) is sent to jail. Ruba struggles with constant harassment as she attempts to find housing and employment. The Prince Charming character of this movie comes to us in the form of Ruba’s childhood friend - Topu (a successful musician in Bangladesh, both in the movie and IRL), whose support helps in making Ruba feel safe. Her feelings for Topu force Ruba to engage with her conflicted relationship with her mother (who left her father for her lover) as well as her fidelity to her jailed partner.

One of the most remarkable things about the film is its deliberate focus on Ruba and how it centers her perspective - this is extremely apparent in the cinematography and Farooki being able to employ the feminine gaze aptly. The first half of the movie depicts at length the various ways in which women become victims of sexual assault - be it at home, in public, or in professional spaces.

There's this one scene in particular, where Ruba becomes hesitant to go to the police station as she recalls a news story from a couple of weeks ago where a woman was r*ped at one. A male gaze retelling of this would tell the audience through action - a flashback where the woman is facing violence, or perhaps when Ruba was reading the paper, or conversing about it with someone. But in this story, Farooki chose to make this woman materialize in front of Ruba and tell the story herself. Not only giving voice to an unnamed woman who had met a horrible fate, but also creating a moment of emotional connection between the two women. It humanized what is often just reduced to news headlines, statistics, or water filter conversations. There are hints throughout that she is an unreliable narrator. Resulting in the (spoiler alert!) the fairytale-esque second half of the movie. Fairytales, historical romances, and fan-fictions often serve as great mediums for social commentary, particularly on the dynamics of power (esp. geared towards women). The fact that the only escape available to Ruba from her bleak reality is an absurd Prince Charming figure speaks heavily to the harsh reality of the real Rubas of the world. For them, her ending would not be a possibility.

The use of space in the visuals of the film was also noteworthy, with Ruba being shown to feel trapped or caged in the company of predatory men (even including her own partner, whom she feels stifled by later in the film). This is often done through the use of close and medium shots, along with physical obstructions in the shot. Meanwhile, her relationship with Topu is shown to be much more affectionate and easy-going; this is depicted with a wide shot of the beautiful kashbons of Bashundhara. Not only was this technique used to remark on the state of Ruba’s mind (which is rare given that male directors rarely highlight women’s perspectives), it also commentated on the wider issue of South Asian women and how they are often made to feel small and struggle to find space (be it physically or metaphorically).

This beautiful work with space is further used to remark on the silence of the other women in the film (notably, Ruba’s cousin, friend, and mother). Unlike Ruba, the only woman with a voice (and the narrator, of course), these women are often seen in the confines of layered cage-like homes (with distinct obstructions like columns, furniture, etc. present in every layer). These characters, like their real-life counterparts, often exist in the crevices of their own homes and are stifled by the domineering presence of the patriarchal structures and insecurities around them.

The two noteworthy women characters (aside from Ruba) are her cousin and her mother. Both of whom we know very little about. However, in their fleeting moments on the screen, some of them make attempts to defy patriarchal structures around them in small but significant ways – Ruba’s mother by being courageous enough to follow her heart and leave a marriage and her cousin by helping Ruba despite her mother-in-law’s objections.

Another interesting thing is that despite Topu being Prince Charming, his character was given depth by not making him entirely selfless and sacrificial. Topu’s expectations were conveyed to the audience in a subtle but effective manner, using scenes like his outrage in the forest after Ruba backs out of having sex with him (though sex was never mentioned, only alluded to), as well as the ever-awkward buying condoms at a chemist shop (an entirely silent and secretive transaction, btw).

Ruba’s character in the film is shown to be determined, independent and tenacious even while she struggles with the oppressive realities of being a woman under patriarchy. One of the focal points of the movie is her strained relationship with her mother (who passes away, leaving no possibility of redemption or reconciliation ). The film uses an interesting technique of showing Ruba’s internal demons manifesting as younger versions of herself, hypothesized to be metaphors for her id (6-year-old Ruba), ego (present Ruba), and superego (13-year-old Ruba) as she battles over her feelings for Topu and consequently her feelings of resentment for her mother. Though her relationship with her mother is significant to Ruba’s evolution as a character, very little is shown of her mother and her motivations. Despite trying to give Ruba some semblance of closure with her mother at the end, the film falls short in creating multiple well-written women to enhance the story and the emotional connection to the characters.

We’ve also had the pleasure of having Raidah of Raidahcal on this episode. She does wonderful work addressing contemporary feminist issues in Dhaka, Bangladesh. While we all had different takes on the movie, it was wonderful to have Raidah’s unique insights and perspectives. Be sure to check her out. We’ve also had the pleasure of collaborating with her on her podcast Raidahcal in an episode exploring feminist economics – we would love for you to check it out as well!

She also asked us a question that made us pause a bit: Why are men given passes for not portraying women's realities accurately just because they are creating sophisticated art?

And this made us realize that there is a very thin line between centering a woman's perspective in a film, versus presenting an intrusively voyeuristic gaze to watch her struggle. Ultimately if the author of the art is not able to distinguish the two for everyone watching the movie, is all that nuance pointless? This ambiguity within the film became more clear to us as we left our own echo chambers and were faced with a wonderfully challenging guest and the realization that the film is sometimes as good as the viewer wants it to be.

Even on our Sauce Meter, this film fared better than some of our previous takes. Here’s a breakdown of our scores.

1. Is there at least one character who adds a nuanced representation of a diverse South Asian identity, without stereotyping and tokenization?

Ruba, the protagonist of the film is a complex, well-rounded character and a woman – the film also uses an unfamiliar perspective by centering the story around the experiences of a woman vs a man (which is considered the default) – but she is one of the few non-male characters that get significant screen time, so not full points.

0.5

2. Are the primary characters (especially women and marginalized characters) portrayed with agency, individuality, and motivation?

Despite Ruba being limited by the sexist nature of the social structures around her – notably her struggle to find housing and employment as a single woman, she is shown to have agency and individual motivation – she is also shown to want autonomy and finds ways to assert herself despite inhibiting circumstances.

0.75

3. Are women and marginalized characters shown to be cognizant of their identities and how they exist within the social context?

Taking half a point off because there are limited representations of women and other marginalized characters, but the glimpses we get into other women apart from Ruba all seem to be painfully aware of how their choices and abilities are limited by oppressive patriarchal structures. Notably, her cousin despite having limited control over her life and household still tries to help Ruba, and Ruba herself has several moments where she points to the tribulations of being a woman in society.

0.5

4. Do the women and marginalized characters have meaningful relationships with each other?

While the women’s relationships with each other are not given a lot of screen time, they remain focal plot points. In particular, Ruba’s relationship with her mother is instrumental in the evolution of Ruba’s character and arguably even her liberation, however, the movie does not do these relationships complete justice and dedicates very little time to other women or marginalized characters in the movie.

0.25

5. Does it challenge any flawed notions upheld by capitalism, patriarchy, and the caste system?

The movie successfully subverts stereotypical representations of women and even defies traditional ideas of marriage and power dynamics between men and women and for that, it gets a full point!

TOTAL SCORE ON THE SAUCE METER: 3/5

What did you think of our rating of Third Person Singular Number? Did we reach too hard? Let us know!

- Usha and Rekha

Listen Now

#Season 1

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justanotherpersonsuniverse · 4 years

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Ether Solrac: I have come with even more Chloé Couffaine AU headcanons and these are even crazier than the last.

*First off, I've been thinking of a miraculous this Chloé could use and honestly I think the best fit is actually the dragon. Think about it, dragons are usually powerful but vilainized by the people and they're known for being super possessive of their hoard. What better match for an absolute rebel with a heart of gold that's super protective of her family and friends that she sees as her hoard. Sort of a "I'll become the monster so that no one else has to" thing.

* On that note I think Sabrina should get the bee. The bee is supposed to be a representation of will right? Make her story about her learning to speak up for herself as she stands up to her father and overcomes her self-doubts to learn to follow her own morals/values and become a truly independant person. Sort of learning to be her own "queen"

* Now there was an ask that mentioned a Chloé x Sabrina x Alix polyship and now I absolutely love the idea. Spin around the original concept of them being the mean girl squad and instead make them Team Rebel. Chloé and Alix are already best friends and they see this sweet innocent girl in desperate need of letting her feral side out so they almost immediately adopt her as part of the group.

* The connection between Chloé and Sabrina has more or less been cemented but I was thinking of something extra crazy for the Chloé and Alix part. This Alix is one that has already altered the timeline. She comes from a timeline where Chlolix was a already established and they had a more or less canon Chloé that has been through her redemption.

One day she gets warned of an urgent anamoly way back in the past, she stops it from causing a catastrophic event but in doing so, there was an unintended butterfly effect that set up the Chloé Couffaine universe. Alix is conflicted becuase as much as she wants to change things back she can't risk the timeline, not only that, but this Chloé looks so much happier than her own, so open and happy with the girl she is, that she can't bring herself to change that either. So now she has mixed feelings seeing the girl she technically loved be so different and yet so similar at the same time.

It probably doesn't help that this Chloé has made her the best friend and can be incredibly affectionate with those she truly cares about and trusts. She ends up falling for this Chloé just as hard, if not harder, than the "original" Chloé.

As for Alix and Sabrina, she quickly admits that Chloé was right when she said that Sabrina was "a precious cinamon roll that must be protected at all costs." Without the damage canon chloe did, this Sabrina is still shy but not as afraid to actually open up. And when she does, Alix is floored by how great a conversationalist Sabrina can be, and how much she enjoys listening to the girl speak her mind. Both her and Chloé become determined to solidify this side of her and even bring out that feral streak they've been catching glimpses of.

* For the student council elections Sabrina actually becomes the president with the support of Chloé and Alix in an attempt to bring her out of her shell. Also this helps give Marinette a god damn break becuase holy shit that girl does not need so much on her plate...

* Caline has a huge crush on Anakra ever since she first met her at a parent-teacher conference. Chloé is their biggest shipper. (Also this is here becuase this blog created this ship and so it shall remain until its final days. Is it a blessing? Is it a curse? I personally love it, but I'll let you all be the judge.)

* Chloé has a pair of pitch black pilot sunglasses that she puts on whenever she thinks "shits about to go down." Anyone remember Ash's Squirtle and how it always took out its sunglasses whenever it wanted to be dramatic as fuck? That's Chloé.

I'm sure I'll think of more but I think that's enough for one post.

——

FFFFFFFUCK I LOVE THAT.

POOR ALIX OH SHIT

I think unrequited Chlolix is amazing, especially with these timeline shenanigans, especially if she’s keeping that hidden even after Chlobrina hits canon. It’s melancholic.

I’m now imagining some “TELL YOUR DARKEST SECRET” akuma showing up and hitting Alix- Chloe somehow gets pulled into it, and they pass out.

They fall into Alix’s mind, into a replica of where they fell asleep, then It warps the world and like some screen projector, shows what happened. Chloe watches a brief moment of the past timeline in silence, of the loving looks in her own and alix’s eyes, Alix waving at Chloe and saying she’ll be back once the timeline is fixed, and how that never happened.

She looks back at a shaken and horrified Alix, who never wanted Chloe Couffaine to see that. From both shame, guilt, and hurt. And it’s just.. painful cause Chloe Couffaine just doesn’t see Alix that way and can’t force herself to. And Alix just smiles and says “I know. You’ve always done what you wanted. It’s what I love about you. Here and then.”

She just goes silent before speaking again “Im really happy, that, you’re happy. You know. That’s all I’ve ever wanted you to be. Happy. Okay. and you are right now, and that’s everything to me. Even if you aren’t.. uh- mine anymore.” Chloe asks if this means Alix knows who her birth mom is and Alix nods, but says “Trust me, I think it’s good that you don’t know” and Chloe nods. They hug, and Alix does her best not to break down, but after seeing those memories again- she can’t hold it in, and she admits that it genuinely feels like someone she loved died.

The projection dies and they’re left in the room again. Chloe being conflicted a bit, as she had no idea and felt a little hurt that Alix never told her, and Alix feeling tired.

No one asks what happened.

#chloe couffaine au #because fuck you ya know?#chlobrina #chlolix #ether-solrac #submission #writing

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qrow-babie · 4 years

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hi this is literally the first post ive ever made to tumblr since im not a really social person but theres been something bothering me since RWBY V7E12 and i just need to LET IT GO.

It somewhat feels like Clover’s character was written by 2 different people who had different ideas for him and it’s this scene.

“I enjoyed working with you, you know. Even with that endless cynicism of yours.”

Like... I’m not the only one who felt this was out of character, right??? That scene was the only thing that seemed off to me when it comes to character inconsistency. This is from the same guy who said all of this to the same character.

Clover is very uplifting and generous to Qrow here, but the one comment on Qrow’s cynicism felt... off. These two scenes show that Clover isn’t afraid to speak his opinion, but him calling someone (especially Qrow) out for being “cynical” felt really weird to me. Clover has no reason to think of Qrow as cynical, and we as the audience had no reason to believe that Clover disliked that about Qrow either, because all their interactions prior to this episode have been extremely positive and friendly.

If Clover was supposed to be like Qrow’s opposite, they should’ve shown it more instead of giving us flirty and friendly interactions between the two. It really wouldn’t be that hard. One controversial comment about how Mantle was being handled with both of them having juxtaposing facial expressions would’ve been all I needed, they wouldn’t even need to talk, but no. Literally ALL of Qrow and Clover’s interactions together are positive, but in their fight scene, Clover’s kind of an asshole to Qrow when reminicing about how they were friends. You could argue that “cynicism” isn’t really an insult, but the way it was phrased and the context definitely made it seem like it was. Y’all have no idea how long I’ve been thinking about this ONE PARTICULAR line and it’s driving me crazy.

Clover jumping out of the aircraft first felt more in character than that particular scene alone. Oh yeah, I let this scene slide as “in character”.

Listen, I’m not really a hardcore shipper. Yeah, I like fair game, but I also knew that Qrow and Clover would most likely be friends with the media’s track record of LGBT+ representation. Even with the flirtatous interactions, I thought of them as flirting in a friendly way. I liked them as friends and Clover’s death and Qrow’s reaction still BROKE. MY. HEART. (Possibly due to all the fair game content I’ve been consuming oops). Normally I like giving shows the benefit of the doubt, and I did give RWBY some benefit of the doubt at first, but this was some next level shit.

Trying to wrap my head around what this accomplishes for Qrow’s character arc is impossible. Although they had numerous positive interactions, they BARELY had any interactions. They had ONE long interaction in the back of vehicle, and it was all wholesome, but they were hardly established as FRIENDS before V7E12. I’m not saying that this is or isn’t queerbaiting, but everyone who is arguing the basis that this wasn’t queerbaiting because they were never established to be gay are hypocrites. For all we know, they could’ve just been CO-WORKERS trying to pass the time and just happened to be together every time the camera panned on them. Let’s be real here, they only started throwing the word FRIEND around on V7E12, and it was used borderline manipulatively. Objectively, we had no reason to believe Qrow and Clover were anything more than co-workers who killed time together and joked around sometimes prior to V7E12, so how could you say Qrow was so upset over Clover’s death because they were “friends” when it wasn’t explicitly said they were until that very episode. Seems pretty FORCED to me (sound familiar?). I feel like this situation is comparable to Shiro in Voltron: Legendary Defender as it was very hard to tell that Shiro was gay prior to the ENDING of Voltron. Yes, we get a glimpse of Shiro’s lover, Adam, but we literally get ZERO indication that they had any romantic relationship going on (unless you followed Voltron on social media) and BARELY any indication that Shiro was gay until the ending. So yes, it is possible to queerbait and not be explicitly told in the show that the characters are GAY (Got a little offtopic there, sorry).

It’s really hard for be to believe that Clover’s death wasn’t for shock value. If his death was really meant to “test” Qrow’s newfound sobriety, their friendship should’ve been more obvious, impactful, and meaningful. But these two barely got screen time. Yes, they aren’t the main characters, team RWBY and JONR (is that what people call them? lol idk) are, but that brings the question why would you need to test the sobriety of a side character???

That being said, I don’t think CRWBY is “homophobic” or “queerbaiting” (I’m lowkey getting there, though) or “bury your gays” (I literally never heard of this term until this whole controversy came up so I’m not 100% sure on my stance on this) intentionally and I’m not accusing them of doing such on purpose. I very well can see how Qrow and Clover’s interactions could be seen as “just friends” as that’s how I interpreted them as at first too. Regardless of how you see the situation, please be polite and respectful to each other. I really hate when people use overexaggerated words like “fanatic” and “homophobe” so loosely. And don’t attack CRWBY. Seriously, shit ain’t cool.

Sorry, I tend to go on long tangents and repeat myself, LOL. Although I seem pretty sure of myself, I’d love to know what other people think about this, especially if you have an opposing opinion. I love talking about and analysing these sorts of things. Thanks for reading. 🥺💕

#rwby #rwby7 #rwby volume 7 spoilers #clover ebi #qrow branwen #rant #i need to widen my vocabulary im so sorry #take this with a grain of salt pls #im dumb #fair game

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kryetara · 3 years

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𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐑𝐄 𝐎𝐍 𝐀 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐎𝐔𝐓. 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬. 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 ; 𝙱𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙳 𝚆𝙾𝙻𝙵. you’ve never set foot inside before, as it usually emits quite the intimidating aura ; this time the dare is set. you’re pulled in before you’ve the words to protest. as soon as you make entry through the narrow, glossy black and peeling door frame, you realise it’s not the glaring bouncers lurking at the entrance that cause such unrest. it’s the pair of watchful men that share a couple of old leather sofa’s tucked into the furthest corner of the bar, both nursing glasses of liquor, that well up such an atmosphere. you can’t exactly make our their expressions, nor their features ; but you’re more than aware they’re watching you. // a dissection of the infamous blind wolf bar.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐃 𝐖𝐎𝐋𝐅 is a small bar / nightclub located on postway mews, ilford. the street is a one way affair just wide enough for a car or taxi to slip through, with scratched double yellow lines on the concrete, doorways to the backs of houses and shops, litter perpetually dusting up the corners where the road meets brick wall. there are no spaces for parking, save for two small slots for the owners, and the outside of the bar is painted a dark grey, with usually one or two bouncers posted at the entry. they have no identification, and don’t seem to be wearing any official representation of formal training. at the small hours of the night that break into morning, there is usually a small crowd gathered outside with plumes of smoke coiling about them, and the music is played loud enough to mark presence a number of streets away.

once inside the doorway, you will find that the blind wolf was once a well loved, well respected, tucked away club, but has gone uncared for for a number of years. the floors, walls, ceiling, almost all the furniture, is the same shade of dark coal grey that the outside is painted in, and it has no homely feel to it whatsoever ; strips of cyan blue neon lighting attached to all the corners of the ceiling. the bar itself is wide and tall, and windows to the outside world are layered up so well that even during daylight, hardly a scrap of sun breaks through. the centre of the room is a glittering but tired dance floor, and set up in the corners are tables, chairs, and a number of weathered booths. in the far right hand side of the room sits a long, l shaped bar, again painted charcoal grey, and lit with cyan neon. the choice of drinks is fairly extensive, but nothing is immediately accessible ; the catwalk of the bar is usually empty, save for the tall pumps, as the crowd that frequents the place is the sort of crowd to knock things off and break them. a strip of glasses line the ceiling, but are coated visibly with a layer of dust, ironically shown up by the strip lights above. behind the centre of the bar is another neon sign, reading ‘ 𝙷𝙾𝚆𝙻 ! ’. the room is littered here and there with scratched beer mats, shards of broken glass, and standing in one place for too long will cause the soles of your shoes to become temporarily stuck to the sticky black tile floor as a result of spilled drinks left uncleaned. the carpet around the corners isn’t much better ; again, dark grey, but home to unending amounts of stains.

looking to the far left of the room, you will find two small, two person black leather sofas, a low, glass coffee table, and a large black leather armchair. this part of the room is elevated, one step above the rest, and has black wooden fencing ; this section is off limits for the general public, and is the throne of the club’s owner, 𝙺𝙴𝙻 𝙼𝙴𝙷𝙼𝙴𝚃𝙸, where he sits with others of the albanian clan mehmeti. most evenings the spot is home to a simple pair of them, usually kel and murrat, but is the hub for them all ; patrons of the bar must fear when all mehmeti siblings are in the nest, for their beady eyes are always watching. many approach this exclusive corner, many are then led out the back through a doorway beside the bar by one of the family, many dealings of all forms are to be had here. when the corner is empty, and no mehmeti is present that night, the walls can breathe a sigh of relief. but these times are short lived.

the doorway to the back of the bar is small, and adjacent is a set of creaking wooden stairs. ascending one flight and you will find a number of ominous bedrooms ; one more flight, and you will come across a white wooden door with a lock. beyond this door is a small box sized room, with one tall window, a desk, chair, and most importantly, a safe. the space is largely empty of personal effects, but evidence presents itself that one 𝙸𝚁𝙰 𝙳𝚄𝙽𝙷𝙰𝙼 frequents the room ; one of his coats draped over the seat, a green plastic lighter in a small dish by a computer screen. this room is off limits to all bar the mehmeti’s, and their money-man.

directly behind the bar through the back doorway sits a larger office, with a desk, sofa, bookshelves, and many sets of drawers. there are no windows in this room, and the door again sports an ominous lock ; it feels as though it’s removed from the rest of the place, as though entry will plunge you into a different part of the world ; it feels just as much an interrogation room as it does a workspace. it is lit by a hanging bulb in the centre, and has old, oak furniture, that perhaps give glimpses as to what the place used to look like before the mehmeti’s bought it out ; perhaps at one stage just a simple local pub.

the blind wolf has an infamous reputation among the locals for being a ‘rowdy’ place, unsettling at best ; often on the radar of police, who creep past in the small of evenings almost daily, tipped off once or twice at unsavoury behaviour. the mehmeti’s are good at covering their tracks, however, and as of yet the only one of the family with a criminal record is kutjim, sentenced to comitting abh a number of years ago. as a result, kutjim spends the most amount of time away from the bar, so as to try to minimize suspicion. fights break out a startling amount usually in the street outside, but the walls aren’t strangers to the occasional thrown glass, punch thrown, or hair pulled inside ; almost a spectacle for some of the family ; harshly punished by kel, whenever it presents itself. they can’t afford any attention drawn to them.

on quieter nights, when the only people who come in are either friends, family, or a number of regulars, it’s not uncommon to find our dunham behind the bar, serving drinks. he will on occasion stand in for staff who don’t show up on busier nights, even after working for hours upstairs ; perhaps a more solid means of continual distraction.

with every passing day, ira grows more and more at home in the place. he starts making small repairs here and there, and begins to inject some much needed care in the blind wolf ; beginning to feel more possessive over it as time wears on ; much to the distaste of some of the mehmeti’s, kel included.

#iii. 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝. / metas / headcanons.#v. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭. / the blind wolf bar.#finally x #i love a good meta here and there x #idk i just felt like going Ham about blind wolf #its such an important part of ira's story ....#with such an unknown future ...#ii. characterization. / metas.

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gargaj · 4 years

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A breakdown of the Revision 2020 Threeway Battle shader

Those of you who have been following this year's edition of Revision probably remember the unexpected twist in Sunday's timeline, where I was pitted in a coding "battle" against two of the best shader-coders in the world to fend for myself. Admittedly the buzz it caused caught me by surprise, but not as much as the feedback on the final shader I produced, so I hope to shed some light on how the shader works, in a way that's hopefully understandable to beginners and at least entertaining to experts, as well as providing some glimpses into my thought process along the way.

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Recorded video of the event

But before we dive into the math and code, however, I think it's important to get some context by recounting the story of how we got here.

A brief history of demoscene live-coding

Visual coding has been massively opened up when graphics APIs began to introduce programmable fragment rendering, perhaps best known to most people as "pixel shaders"; this allowed programmers to run entire programmable functions on each pixel of a triangle, and none was more adamant to do that than a fellow named Iñigo Quilez (IQ), an understated genius who early on recognized the opportunity in covering the entire screen with a single polygon, and just doing the heavy lifting of creating geometry in the shader itself. His vision eventually spiraled into not only the modern 4k scene, but also the website ShaderToy, which almost every graphics programmer uses to test prototypes or just play around with algorithms. IQ, an old friend of mine since the mid-00s, eventually moved to the US, worked at Pixar and Oculus, and became something of a world-revered guru of computer graphics, but that (and life) has unfortunately caused him to shift away from the scene.

His vision of single-shader-single-quad-single-pass shader coding, in the meantime, created a very spectacular kind of live coding competition in the scene where two coders get only 25 minutes and the attention of an entire party hall, and they have to improvise their way out of the duel - this has been wildly successful at parties for the sheer showmanship and spectacle akin to rap battles, and none emerged from this little sport more remarkably than Flopine, a bubbly French girl who routinely shuffled up on stage wearing round spectacles and cat ears (actually they might be pony ears on second thought), and mopped the floor up with the competition. Her and a handful of other live-coders regularly stream on Twitch as practice, and have honed their live-coding craft for a few years at this point, garnering a considerable following.

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Just a sample of insanity these people can do.

My contribution to this little sub-scene was coming up with a fancy name for it ("Shader Showdown"), as well as providing a little tool I called Bonzomatic (named after Bonzaj / Plastic, a mutual friend of IQ and myself, and the first person to create a live coding environment for demoparties) that I still maintain, but even though I feel a degree of involvement through the architectural side, I myself haven't been interested in participating: I know I can do okay under time pressure, but I don't really enjoy it, and while there's a certain overlap in what they do and what I do, I was always more interested in things like visual detail and representative geometry aided by editing and direction rather than looping abstract, fractal-like things. It just wasn't my thing.

Mistakes were made

But if I'm not attracted to this type of competition, how did I end up in the crossfire anyway? What I can't say is that it wasn't, to a considerable degree, my fault: as Revision 2020 was entirely online, most of the scene took it to themselves to sit in the demoscene Discord to get an experience closest to on-site socializing, given the somber circumstances of physical distancing. This also allowed a number of people who hasn't been around for a while to pop in to chat - like IQ, who, given his past, was mostly interested in the showdowns (during which Flopine crushed the competition) and the 4k compo.

As I haven't seen him around for a while, and as my mind is always looking for an angle, I somehow put two and two together, and asked him if he would consider taking part in a showdown at some point; he replied that he was up for it - this was around Saturday 10PM. I quickly pinged the rest of the showdown participants and organizers, as I spotted that Bullet was doing a DJ set the next day (which would've been in a relatively convenient timezone for IQ in California as well), and assumed that he didn't really have visuals for it - as there was already a "coding jam" over Ronny's set the day before, I figured there's a chance for squeezing an "extra round" of coding. Flopine was, of course, beyond excited by just the prospect of going against IQ, and by midnight we essentially got everything planned out (Bullet's consent notwithstanding, as he was completely out of the loop on this), and I was excited to watch...

...that is, until Havoc, the head honcho for the showdowns, off-handedly asked me about an at that point entirely hypothetical scenario: what would happen if IQ would, for some reason, challenge me instead of Flopine? Now, as said, I wasn't really into this, but being one to not let a good plan go to waste (especially if it was mine), I told Havoc I'd take one for the team and do it, although it probably wouldn't be very fun to watch. I then proceeded to quickly brief IQ in private and run him through the technicalities of the setup, the tool, the traditions and so on, and all is swell...

...that is, until IQ (this is at around 2AM) offhandedly mentions that "Havoc suggested we do a three-way with me, Flopine... and you." I quickly try to backpedal, but IQ seems to be into the idea, and worst of all, I've already essentially agreed to it, and to me, the only thing worse than being whipped in front of a few thousand people would be going back on your word. The only way out was through.

Weeks of coding can spare you hours of thinking

So now that I've got myself into this jar of pickles, I needed some ideas, and quick. (I didn't sleep much that night.) First off, I didn't want to do anything obviously 3D - both IQ and Flopine are masters of this, and I find it exhausting and frustrating, and it would've failed on every level possible. Fractals I'm awful at and while they do provide a decent amount of visual detail, they need a lot of practice and routine to get right. I also didn't want something very basic 2D, like a byte-beat, because those have a very limited degree of variation available, and the end result always looks a bit crude.

Luckily a few months ago an article I saw do rounds was a write-up by Sasha Martinsen on how to do "FUI"-s, or Fictional User Interfaces; overly complicated and abstract user interfaces that are prominent in sci-fi, with Gmunk being the Michael Jordan of the genre.

Image courtesy of Sasha Martinsen.

Sasha's idea is simple: make a few basic decent looking elements, and then just pile them on top of each other until it looks nice, maybe choose some careful colors, move them around a bit, place them around tastefully in 3D, et voilà, you're hacking the Gibson. It's something I attempted before, if somewhat unsuccessfully, in "Reboot", but I came back to it a few more times in my little private motion graphics experiments with much better results, and my prediction was that it would be doable in the given timeframe - or at least I hoped that my hazy 3AM brain was on the right track.

A bit of math

How to make this whole thing work? First, let's think about our rendering: We have a single rectangle and a single-pass shader that runs on it: this means no meshes, no geometry, no custom textures, no postprocessing, no particle systems and no fonts, which isn't a good place to start from. However, looking at some of Sasha's 3D GIFs, some of them look like they're variations of the same render put on planes one after the other - and as long as we can do one, we can do multiple of that.

Rough sketch of what we want to do; the planes would obviously be infinite in size but this representation is good enough for now.

Can we render multiple planes via a single shader? Sure, but we want them to look nice, and that requires a bit of thinking: The most common technique to render a "2D" shader and get a "3D" look is raymarching, specifically with signed distance fields - starting on a ray, and continually testing distances until a hit is found. This is a good method for "solid-ish" looking objects and scenes, but the idea for us is to have many infinite planes that also have some sort of alpha channel, so we'd have a big problem with 1) inaccuracy, as we'd never find a hit, just something "reasonably close", and even that would take us a few dozen steps, which is costly even for a single plane and 2) the handling of an alpha map can be really annoying, since we'd only find out our alpha value after our initial march, after which if our alpha is transparent we'd need to march again.

But wait - it's just infinite planes and a ray, right? So why don't we just assume that our ray is always hitting the plane (which it is, since we're looking at it), and just calculate an intersection the analytical way?

Note: I would normally refer to this method as "raytracing", but after some consultation with people smarter than I am, we concluded that the terms are used somewhat ambiguously, so let's just stick to "analytical ray solving" or something equally pedantic.

We know the mathematical equation for a ray is position = origin + direction * t (where t is a scalar that represents the distance/progress from the ray origin), and we know that the formula for a plane is A * x + B * y + C * z + D = 0, where (A, B, C) is the normal vector of the plane, and D is the distance from the origin. First, since the intersection will be the point in space that satisfies both equations, we substitute the ray (the above o + d * t for each axis) into the plane:

A * (ox + dx * t) + B * (oy + dy * t) + C * (oz + dz * t) + D = 0

To find out where this point is in space, we need to solve this for t, but it's currently mighty complicated. Luckily, since we assume that our planes are parallel to the X-Y plane, we know our (A, B, C) normal is (0, 0, 1), so we can simplify it down to:

oz + dz * t + D = 0

Which we can easily solve to t:

t = (D - oz) / dz

That's right: analytically finding a ray hit of a plane is literally a single subtraction and a division! Our frame rate (on this part) should be safe, and we're always guaranteed a hit as long as we're not looking completely perpendicular to the planes; we should have everything to start setting up our code.

Full disclosure: Given my (and in a way IQ's) lack of "live coding" experience, we agreed that there would be no voting for the round, and it'd be for glory only, but also that I'd be allowed to use a small cheat sheet of math like the equations for 2D rotation or e.g. the above final equation since I don't do this often enough to remember these things by heart, and I only had a few hours notice before the whole thing.

Setting up the rendering

Time to start coding then. First, let's calculate our texture coordinates in the 0..1 domain using the screen coordinates and the known backbuffer resolution (which is provided to us in Bonzomatic):

vec2 uv = vec2(gl_FragCoord.x / v2Resolution.x, gl_FragCoord.y / v2Resolution.y);

Then, let's create a ray from that:

vec3 rayDir = vec3( uv * 2 - 1, -1.0 ); rayDir.x *= v2Resolution.x / v2Resolution.y; // adjust for aspect ratio vec3 rayOrigin = vec3( 0, 0, 0 );

This creates a 3D vector for our direction that is -1,-1,-1 in the top left corner and 1,1,-1 in the bottom right (i.e. we're looking so that Z is decreasing into the screen), then we adjust the X coordinate since our screen isn't square, but our coordinates currently are - no need to even bother with normalizing, it'll be fine. Our origin is currently just sitting in the center.

Then, let's define (loosely) our plane, which is parallel to the XY plane:

float planeDist = 1.0f; // distance between each plane float planeZ = -5.0f; // Z position of the first plane

And solve our equation to t, as math'd out above:

float t = (planeZ - rayOrigin.z) / rayDir.z;

Then, calculate WHERE the hit is by taking that t by inserting it back to the original ray equation using our current direction and origin:

vec3 hitPos = rayOrigin + t * rayDir;

And now we have our intersection; since we already know the Z value, we can texture our plane by using the X and Y components to get a color value:

vec4 color = fui( hitPos.xy ); // XY plane our_color = color;

Of course we're gonna need the actual FUI function, which will be our procedural animated FUI texture, but let's just put something dummy there now, like a simple circle:

vec4 fui ( vec2 uv ) { return length(uv - 0.5) < 0.5 ? vec4(1) : vec(0); }

And here we go:

Very good, we have a single circle and if we animate the camera we can indeed tell that it is on a plane.

So first, let's tile it by using a modulo function; the modulo (or modulus) function simply wraps a number around another number (kinda like the remainder after a division, but for floating point numbers) and thus becomes extremely useful for tiling or repeating things:

We'll be using the modulo function rather extensively in this little exercise, so strap in. (Illustration via the Desmos calculator.)

vec4 layer = fui( mod( hitPos.xy, 1.0 ) );

This will wrap the texture coordinates of -inf..inf between 0..1:

We also need multiple planes, but how do we combine them? We could just blend them additively, but with the amount of content we have, we'd just burn them in to white and it'd look like a mess (and not the good kind of mess). We could instead just use normal "crossfade" / "lerp" blending based on the alpha value; the only trick here is to make sure we're rendering them from back to front since the front renders will blend over the back renders:

int steps = 10; float planeDist = 1.0f; for (int i=steps; i>=0; i--) { float planeZ = -1.0f * i * planeDist; float t = (planeZ - rayOrigin.z) / rayDir.z; if (t > 0.0f) // check if "t" is in front of us { vec3 hitPos = rayOrigin + t * rayDir; vec4 layer = fui( hitPos.xy, 2.0 ); // blend layers based on alpha output colour = mix( colour, layer, layer.a ); } }

And here we go:

We decreased the circles a bit in size to see the effect more.

Not bad! First thing we can do is just fade off the back layers, as if they were in a fog:

layer *= (steps - i) / float(steps);

We have a problem though: we should probably increase the sci-fi effect by moving the camera continually forward, but if we do, we're gonna run into a problem: Currently, since our planeZ is fixed to the 0.0 origin, they won't move with the camera. We could just add our camera Z to them, but then they would be fixed with the camera and wouldn't appear moving. What we instead want is to just render them AS IF they would be the closest 10 planes in front of the camera; the way we could do that is that if e.g. our planes' distance from each other is 5, then round the camera Z down to the nearest multiple of 5 (e.g. if the Z is at 13, we round down to 10), and start drawing from there; rounding up would be more accurate, but rounding down is easier, since we can just subtract the division remainder from Z like so:

float planeZ = (rayOrigin.z - mod(rayOrigin.z, planeDist)) - i * planeDist;

And now we have movement! Our basic rendering path is done.

Our little fictional UI

So now that we have the basic pipeline in place, let's see which elements can we adapt from Sasha's design pieces.

The first one I decided to go with wasn't strictly speaking in the set, but it was something that I saw used as design elements over the last two decades, and that's a thick hatch pattern element; I think it's often used because it has a nice industrial feel with it. Doing it in 2D is easy: We just add X and Y together, which will result in a diagonal gradient, and then we just turn that into an alternating pattern using, again, the modulo. All we need to do is limit it between two strips, and we have a perfectly functional "Police Line Do Not Cross" simulation.

return mod( uv.x + uv.y, 1 ) < 0.5 ? vec4(1) : vec4(0);

So let's stop here for a few moments; this isn't bad, but we're gonna need a few things. First, the repetition doesn't give us the nice symmetric look that Sasha recommends us to do, and secondly, we want them to look alive, to animate a bit.

Solving symmetry can be done just by modifying our repetition code a bit: instead of a straight up modulo with 1.0 that gives us a 0..1 range, let's use 2.0 to get a 0..2 range, then subtract 1.0 to get a -1..1 range, and then take the absolute value.

vec4 layer = fui( abs( mod( hitPos.xy, 2.0 ) - 1 ) );

This will give us a triangle-wave-like function, that goes from 0 to 1, then back to 0, then back to 1; in terms of texture coordinates, it will go back and forth between mirroring the texture in both directions, which, let's face it, looks Totally Sweet.

For animation, first I needed some sort of random value, but one that stayed deterministic based on a seed - in other words, I needed a function that took in a value, and returned a mangled version of it, but in a way that if I sent that value in twice, it would return the same mangled value twice. The most common way of doing it is taking the incoming "seed" value, and then driving it into some sort of function with a very large value that causes the function to alias, and then just returning the fraction portion of the number:

float rand(float x) { return fract(sin(x) * 430147.8193); }

Does it make any sense? No. Is it secure? No. Will it serve our purpose perfectly? Oh yes.

So how do we animate our layers? The obvious choice is animating both the hatch "gradient" value to make it crawl, and the start and end of our hatch pattern which causes the hatched strip to move up and down: simply take a random - seeded by our time value - of somewhere sensible (like between 0.2 and 0.8 so that it doesn't touch the edges) and add another random to it, seasoned to taste - we can even take a binary random to pick between horizontal and vertical strips:

The problems here are, of course, that currently they're moving 1) way too fast and 2) in unison. The fast motion obviously happens because the time value changes every frame, so it seeds our random differently every frame - this is easy to solve by just rounding our time value down to the nearest integer: this will result in some lovely jittery "digital" motion. The unison is also easy to solve: simply take the number of the layer, and add it to our time, thus shifting the time value for each layer; I also chose to multiply the layer ID with a random-ish number so that the layers actually animate independently, and the stutter doesn't happen in unison either:

vec4 fui( vec2 uv, float t ) { t = int(t); float start = rand(t) * 0.8 + 0.1; float end = start + 0.1; [...] } vec4 layer = fui( abs(mod(hitPos.xy, 2.0)-1), fGlobalTime + i * 4.7 );

Lovely!

Note: In hindsight using the Z coordinate of the plane would've given a more consistent result, but the way it animates, it doesn't really matter.

So let's think of more elements: the best looking one that seems to get the best mileage out in Sasha's blog is what I can best describe as the "slant" or "hockey stick" - a simple line, with a 45-degree turn in it. What I love about it is that the symmetry allows it to create little tunnels, gates, corridors, which will work great for our motion.

Creating it is easy: We just take a thin horizontal rectangle, and attach another rectangle to the end, but shift the coordinate of the second rectangle vertically, so that it gives us the 45-degree angle:

float p1 = 0.2; float p2 = 0.5; float p3 = 0.7; float y = 0.5; float thicc = 0.0025; if (p1 < uv.x && uv.x < p2 && y - thicc < uv.y && uv.y < y + thicc ) { return vec4(1); } if (p2 < uv.x && uv.x < p3 && y - thicc < uv.y - (uv.x - p2) && uv.y - (uv.x - p2) < y + thicc ) { return vec4(1); }

Note: In the final code, I had a rect() call which I originally intended to use as baking glow around my rectangle using a little routine I prototyped out earlier that morning, but I was ultimately too stressed to properly pull that off. Also, it's amazing how juvenile your variable names turn when people are watching.

Looks nice, but since this is such a thin sparse element, let's just... add more of it!

So what more can we add? Well, no sci-fi FUI is complete without random text and numbers, but we don't really have a font at hand. Or do we? For years, Bonzomatic has been "shipping" with this really gross checkerboard texture ostensibly for UV map testing:

What if we just desaturate and invert it?

We can then "slice" it up and render little sprites all over our texture: we already know how to draw a rectangle, so all we need is just 1) calculate which sprite we want to show 2) calculate the texture coordinate WITHIN that sprite and 3) sample the texture:

float sx = 0.3; float sy = 0.3; float size = 0.1; if (sx < uv.x && uv.x < sx + size && sy < uv.y &&uv.y < sy + size) { float spx = 2.0 / 8.0; // we have 8 tiles in the texture float spy = 3.0 / 8.0; vec2 spriteUV = (uv - vec2(sx,sy)) / size; vec4 sam = texture( texChecker, vec2(spx,spy) + spriteUV / 8.0 ); return dot( sam.rgb, vec3(0.33) ); }

Note: In the final code, I was only using the red component instead of desaturation because I forgot the texture doesn't always have red content - I stared at it for waaaay too long during the round trying to figure out why some sprites weren't working.

And again, let's just have more of it:

Getting there!

At this point the last thing I added was just circles and dots, because I was running out of ideas; but I also felt my visual content amount was getting to where I wanted them to be; it was also time to make it look a bit prettier.

Post-production / compositing

So we have our layers, they move, they might even have colors, but I'm still not happy with the visual result, since they are too single-colored, there's not enough tone in the picture.

The first thing I try nowadays when I'm on a black background is to just add either a single color, or a gradient:

vec4 colour = renderPlanes(uv); vec4 gradient = mix( vec4(0,0,0.2,1), vec4(0,0,0,1), uv.y); vec4 finalRender = mix( gradient, vec4(colour.xyz,1), colour.a);

This added a good chunk of depth considerably to the image, but I was still not happy with the too much separation between colors.

A very common method used in compositing in digital graphics is to just add bloom / glow; when used right, this helps us add us more luminance content to areas that would otherwise be solid color, and it helps the colors to blend a bit by providing some middle ground; unfortunately if we only have a single pass, the only way to get blur (and by extension, bloom) is repeatedly rendering the picture, and that'd tank our frame rate quickly.

Instead, I went back to one of the classics: the Variform "pixelize" overlay:

This is almost the same as a bloom effect, except instead of blurring the image, all you do is turn it into a lower resolution nearest point sampled version of itself, and blend that over the original image - since this doesn't need more than one sample per pixel (as we can reproduce pixelation by just messing with the texture coordinates), we can get away by rendering the scene only twice:

vec4 colour = renderPlanes(uv); colour += renderPlanes(uv - mod( uv, 0.1 ) ) * 0.4;

Much better tonal content!

So what else can we do? Well, most of the colors I chose are in the blue/orange/red range, and we don't get a lot of the green content; one of the things that I learned that it can look quite pretty if one takes a two-tone picture, and uses color-grading to push the midrange of a third tone - that way, the dominant colors will stay in the highlights, and the third tone will cover the mid-tones. (Naturally you have to be careful with this.)

"Boosting" a color in the mids is easy: lucky for us, if we consider the 0..1 range, exponential functions suit our purpose perfectly, because they start at 0, end at 1, but we can change how they get here:

So let's just push the green channel a tiny bit:

finalRender.g = pow(finalRender.g, 0.7);

Now all we need is to roll our camera for maximum cyberspace effect and we're done!

Best laid plans of OBS

As you can see from the code I posted the above, I wrote the final shader in GLSL; those who know me know that I'm a lot more comfortable with DirectX / HLSL, and may wonder why I switched, but of course there's another story here:

Given the remote nature of the event, all of the shader coding competition was performed online as well: since transmitting video from the coder's computer to a mixer, and then to another mixer, and then to a streaming provider, and then to the end user would've probably turned the image to mush, Alkama and Nusan came up with the idea of skipping a step and rigging up a version of Bonzo that ran on the coder's computer, but instead of streaming video, it sent the shader down to another instance of Bonzo, running on Diffty's computer, who then captured that instance and streamed it to the main Revision streaming hub. This, of course, meant that in a three-way, Diffty had to run three separate instances of Bonzo - but it worked fine with GLSL earlier, so why worry?

What we didn't necessarily realize at the time, is that the DirectX 11 shader compiler takes no hostages, and as soon as the shader reached un-unrollable level of complexity, it thoroughly locked down Diffty's machine, to the point that even the video of the DJ set he was playing started to drop out. I, on the other hand, didn't notice any of this, since my single local instance was doing fine, so I spent the first 15 minutes casually nuking Diffty's PC to shreds remotely, until I noticed Diffty and Havoc pleading on Discord to switch to GLSL because I'm setting things on fire unknowingly.

This is fine.

I was reluctant to do so, simply because of the muscle memory, but I was also aware that I should keep the show going if I can because if I bow out without a result, that would be a colossal embarrassment to everyone involved, and I only can take one of those once every week, and I was already above my quota - so, I quickly closed the DX11 version of Bonzo, loaded the shader up in a text editor, replaced "floatX" with "vecX" (fun drinking game: take a shot every time I messed it up during the live event), commented the whole thing out, loaded it into a GLSL bonzo, and quickly fixed all the other syntax differences (of which there were luckily not many, stuff like "mix" instead of "lerp", constructors, etc.), and within a few minutes I was back up and running.

This, weirdly, helped my morale a bit, because it was the kind of clutch move that for some reason appealed to me, and made me quite happy - although at that point I locked in so bad that not only did I pay absolutely not attention to the stream to see what the other two are doing, but that the drinks and snacks I prepared for the hour of battling went completely untouched.

In the end, when the hour clocked off, the shader itself turned out more or less how I wanted it, it worked really well with Bullet's techno-/psy-/hardtrance mix (not necessarily my jam, as everyone knows I'm more a broken beat guy, but pounding monotony can go well with coding focus), and I came away satisfied, although the perhaps saddest point of the adventure was yet to come: the lack of cathartic real-life ending that was taken from us due to the physical distance, when after all the excitement, all the cheers and hugs were merely lines of text on a screen - but you gotta deal with what you gotta deal with.

A small sampling of the Twitch reaction.

Conclusion

In the end, what was my takeaway from the experience?

First off, scoping is everything: Always aim to get an idea where you can maximize the outcome of the time invested with the highest amount of confidence of pulling it off. In this case, even though I was on short notice and in an environment I was unfamiliar with, I relied on something I knew, something I've done before, but no one else really has.

Secondly, broaden your influence: You never know when you can take something that seems initially unrelated, and bend it into something that you're doing with good results.

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, step out of your comfort zone every so often; you'll never know what you'll find.

(And don't agree to everything willy-nilly, you absolute moron.)

#demoscene #live coding #livecoding #shaders #glsl #programming #gamedev #game development

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amplesalty · 4 years

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TV Binging: Pushing Daisies (2007-2009)

The facts were these...

At the risk of immediately dating this entry, the entire world is in the grip of a certain public health crisis right now and it seems everyone is taking that time to learn a new language, plunder their local supermarket for baking ingredients or just dive into that long neglected Netflix watchlist for something to pass the seemingly never-ending lockdown hours. For unknown reasons, my brain turned to the late noughties sensation of Pushing Daisies. Maybe because it’s relatively short, only two seasons totaling 22 episodes, or maybe it was a means of finally putting it to bed after two previous failed attempts to watch it all.

For the uninitiated, the show centers around Ned, a small business owner with the unique ability of being able to bring the dead back to life with just a touch of his finger, albeit with a few asterisks attached. Chief amongst them is that if he touches that person or thing again, they go back to being dead, permanently. And, if that person or things stays living for longer than sixty seconds then the power of the Universe, the Grim Reaper or Final Destination kicks in and takes something else in its place. This was something Ned learned at a very young age when his mother died suddenly of a brain aneurysm and in the act of bringing her back to life, he inadvertently killed the father of his neighbour and childhood sweetheart, Charlotte ‘Chuck’ Charles.

Cut to 20 years in the future, or 19 years, 34 weeks, 1 day and 59 minutes later as the narrator so handily informs us, young Ned has become ‘the pie-maker’, running The Pie Hole where he’s able to massively slash his overheads by being able to make delicious pies by simply bringing rotting fruit back to life to serve as his ingredients. It’s amazing the profits you can turn when you can entirely cut out the middle man of fruit suppliers isn’t it?

Plus he makes a little money on the side by helping a local PI named Emerson Cod. Why do all the hard work of investigating a crime when you can simply have a corpse brought back to life for sixty seconds, long enough to ask them who killed them.

It’s through this little business arrangement that Ned stumbles upon the unfortunate news that Chuck’s body was fished from the sea after she seemingly fell overboard on a cruise. With the prospect of a $50,000 reward for information on her passing, Cod is quick to get on the case but in the heat of the moment, Ned has other motives than money and neglects to re-dead his childhood crush.

Thus the series blossoms into what I would describe as a murder mystery meets fairy tale type show, with Chuck now tagging along as one of the Scooby Gang as they solve a new case every week. That’s probably a pretty apt comparison too considering Ned’s dog is often around too, a dog that he also brought back to life and has been keeping around for twenty years. Though, Ned isn’t a massive stoner and Cod doesn’t wear an ascot. He does have a couple of knitted gun holsters though if you want to equate that as his ‘fruity’ accessory.

The reward is something that feels a little shoehorned in early on, they always seem to go out of their way to make a point of saying something like ‘police are baffled and are offering a reward that leads to an arrest’ just so there’s a reason for Cod to get involved. It does eventually settle into someone coming to Cod directly to hire his services, whether that be a grieving widow or family member of a falsely accused wanting to clear their relatives name. That just made a bit more sense to me. You kinda have to look past the fact that the police never seem to be actively involved in any of these cases as well, allowing Cod and co to just swan around doing their thing until they’re able to turn in the real killer at the end of the episode and cash their reward. It always seems that they have a knack of turning up like two minutes too later to someones murder. They do make a point of turning this on its head in one episode though when they find Ned at a murder scene and figure him as the killer.

And maybe it’s just me being a chauvinistic pig but good lord you cannot escape boobs in this show. Or maybe not just me, punch ‘Pushing Daisies cleavage’ into Google dot com and it looks like a few people were talking about this at the time. It felt like one of those things that, once I noticed it, I just couldn’t unsee it. Women always leaning over or camera shots from above looking down their dresses. Just cleavage everywhere. It seems to come up at slightly inappropriate times, like Chuck’s aunts who are socially repressed and virtual shut ins but are stilled dressed up the nines, boobs pushed up and spilling out.

It kinda makes sense for Olive though, waitress at the Pie Hole and with a thing for Ned so she’s just trying to seduce him but without much luck. Doesn’t mean they don’t go out of their way to show off the twins outside the restaurant though such as when Olive takes ownership of the swimming costumes that Chuck’s aunts used to use as part of their synchronized swimming stage show.

Speaking of Kristin Chenoweth’s set of lungs, she gets to show off her musical background a few times throughout the show by breaking into song . It feels a little out of place as there isn’t any other musical acts in the show but she does a great job.

A more family friendly point of design is just how beautiful this show looks at times. Like, pretty much the first thing you see in episode one is young Ned and his dog running through down a vast hillside of flowers. It’s a really vibrant use of colour that runs throughout the whole show, whether it’s sets or costumes, and really adds to this whole fantasy vibe aided by the fantastical nature of Ned’s special power.

Businesses that pop up as part of the story have these grand, bespoke designed buildings that seem like they would never logically exist in the real world like this honey business with a beehive theme...

...and interior decorations centered around hexagons.

Even something as clinical as the city morgue almost leaps off the screen with a bold red and white striped building. Though, I feel having an entrance labelled ‘deliveries’ brings back a little bit of the coldness you would expect. They might be dead but give them some dignity, they’re not pizzas.

You occasionally get these childhood fantasy sequences as well from when Ned and Chuck would play together as kids, imagining the world in claymation before they would inevitably destroy it as they pictured themselves as giant monsters.

It ties into the characters as well, everyone wearing very colourful clothes except for Ned who only ever seem to dress in blacks or greys.

Except for when he has to act under false pretenses, pretending to be someone else in order to get information from someone or to distract a suspect. To play amateur psychologist for a moment, with someone neurotic as Ned, it’s like a visual representation of his inner self no longer confined, no longer suppressed under the weight of the problems he’s bottling up and pushing deep down within himself. For a brief moment he’s able to break free from the shackles of his black and white world and into rich and living colour. It’s like a strange inverse of how things might usually work where a splash of colour would make someone or something stand out amongst an otherwise drab background. Somehow Ned’s lack of colour draws the eye.

On a more technical level, it is often quite obvious how superimposed the actors are against the fancy backgrounds and that can be a tad distracting. The editing between scenes can sometimes lend to the creative feel of the series, there are a few episodes where instead of the usual wipes you get something more appropriate to the story of the episode. For instance, in one episode centered around a magic theatre show, the transitions are the closing and opening of the stage curtains. It’s a little touch but it adds to the whimsy.

It all adds up to what might the most cutest, adorable thing I’ve ever seen, for the first few episodes at least. Maybe it’s a case of getting used to the whole thing but early on there’s a bit of a feeling out process (or non feeling as the case may be) between Ned and Chuck, the smiles they share or the ways they have to vicariously show their affection by hugging Cod. Him being the unwilling third party in this unconventional relationship doesn’t help take the edge of what might be a saccharine affair. There is a slight sense of ‘will they, wont they’ about Ned and Chuck,, subverting the usual TV payoff of a big kiss by doing so through plastic wrap.Makes you wonder how they explore their other urges under these circumstances. Or maybe that’s just the lockdown thirst kicking in again...

I think the distance they have plays with your head a little bit. There’ a coyness to it that puts you in mind of a bunch of awkward kids at a school dance too nervous to dance with each other. Or maybe Ned standing two feet away from Chuck, holding his own hand and pretending it’s Chuck’s is just an eerie glimpse into the post apocalyptic world we’ll have to enter at some point and all our conventions of greetings and physical contact have been shattered.

For the rotating cast of peripheral characters the show goes through as each investigation comes and goes, it’s nice that a few a started to re-appear now and again, such as Paul Rubens’ Oscar, Christine Adams’ Simone or David Arquette’s Randy Mann. That last one is a name, not a description (a Randy Man, a Macho Savage). It helps build this broader world and story elements, albeit I’m torn on the latter. Oscar, for instance, suspects something is not quite right about Chuck and she worries that he’s going to uncover her secret. It never really goes anywhere though and, whilst you could argue that like any good mystery there is the odd red herring along the way, it still feels like a little bit of a bait and switch considering that are other things in the story that don’t get paid off.

I’ll have to look into the timeline for how the series came to a close because it definitely seems like they knew considering there’s a very tacked on epilogue to the final episode that tries to tie up some of the loose ends, but there are still some left that aren’t. Namely the presence of Ned’s father that he had thought had been long gone for some twenty years but had been closer than he thought the entire time, with the show giving periodical teases of him sitting in the Pie Hole or a more thrilling cameo as he sweeps in to rescue Ned and Olive from their untimely deaths as they cling to a branch on the edge of a cliff.

The fact that he does so whilst wearing a mask and wearing gloves is more of a way to lead Ned towards certain conclusions on the identity of this mystery man but I can’t help but wonder what the implications are on the gloves in particular. The mechanics of Ned’s power seem to be that contact in order to bring the dead back to life has to be made skin to skin, so maybe Ned inherited this power from his father and his father brought Ned back to life at some point? Maybe him abandoning Ned at a young age was done to eliminate any risk of him accidentally touching him again and making death permanent? I’m not sure that would hold up considering he later walks out on his new family and twin boys so this would require three different people to all have seemingly no memory of their own near death experience. Maybe it’s all been repressed, that wouldn’t be surprising considering all the childhood angst present in this show.

You know what else I’m confused on? The distance between Coeur d’Couers, where Chuck’s aunts live, and the Pie Hole. Maybe I’m misremembering or misheard but I’m sure in one episode the narrator mentions that they’re 161 miles apart, yet characters seem to go between the two like they’re five minutes away. One of the aunts arranges a secret date at the Pie Hole later on in the same night but that’s a pretty massive distance to cover considering they make a point that they’re only traveling on buses. I know travel is all relative to American’s considering the massive size of their country but that’s a pretty ridiculous distance to cover for a slice of pie.

#TV Binging #Pushing Daisies

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spaceorphan18 · 4 years

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Marvel Movie Night: Spider-Man

Kicking off Sam Raimi’s original Spider-Man trilogy! Whoo! It’s interesting - Spider-Man was one of those things that I wasn’t initially into (totally here for the X-Men). Then I really fell in love with this trilogy. And then kind of fell out of love with it. And then Tom Holland came along leaving this in the dust. Coming back to it again I find it… endearing? But like the original X-Men films, despite being thought of as great for the time, I don’t believe it holds up that well now that we’re nearly twenty years later. (My god, am I getting old?)

Let’s back up and talk about this film in context for a second. X-Men was revolutionary in its own way - bringing the comic book genre into a space that could be taken more seriously. Spider-Man, however, was the first glimpse of what films based on Marvel properties would later become. Unlike superhero and action films of the time, it was brightly colored. It was cheesy, but not overly campy. It had humor and emotion. And, not surprisingly, audiences reacted positively!

But now that we’ve had twenty more years of Marvel films, does it hold up? Kind of? Is it a good Spider-Man film, yes if the context you’d like your Spider-Man films to be in is taking directly from the Silver and Bronze age era of comics. Is it a good film overall? Meh.

I don’t spend a whole lot of time in Spider-Man related fandoms, but there is a big chunk of fans that prefer this film and its sequels to the other two Spider-Man franchises. And while I don’t agree (though I support everyone having their own, varied opinion), I can see why this might appeal to those fans who had been reading the comics for years.

The first half of this film is directly lifted out of Amazing Fantasy #15, the comic issue Spider-Man made his debut in. The filmmakers did, really, a fantastic job of bringing it to life -- the origin story, Uncle Ben, the ‘great power’ line, Peter Parker’s guilt, the spider-bite, and so on and so on. It’s there. This film feels like a Silver Age comic book brought to life. On the one hand - that’s pretty remarkable. I don’t think the comics had ever been directly referenced in the same way prior to this. On the other, it brings along with it all the downsides of a Silver Age comic. The dialogue is incredibly stiff. The acting feels forced. And everything has that -- ‘ah, golly shucks’ mentality about it. It felt dated in 2002. It feels even more dated now. But the novelty of it being THE COMIC BOOK was pretty revolutionary for the time.

Peter Parker/Spider-Man

Of course there are hundreds of polls out there, and I’m sure a few dozen YouTube videos about who the best Spider-Man is. Honestly, there’s a lot of subjectivity that goes along with it. I think each of them has their pros and cons, so let’s take a second to talk about Tobey Maguire in this film. One thing I think Tobey Maguire does really well, especially for being nearly thirty by the time he got the part, is play the nerdy and awkward Peter Parker… or at least at least the nerdy and awkward Peter Parker that was written in the 60s by Stan Lee. Maguire does a great job of doing the part he’s supposed to be playing - the problem is, and I feel this way about all the characters, is that he doesn’t feel like he’s playing a real person. He feels like he’s a comic book character thought up during the 60s.

What about the Spider-Man side of things? I’m going to give this a pass more than I probably should. First of all, Spider-Man is supposed to be rather chatting, and this Spider-Man is near silent. But that’s more so due to the lack of ability with the suit. And I don’t blame the filmmakers for keeping Spider-Man off the screen for so much of the film. Not only does it make those times Spider-Man is there feel more special, but it saves them from having to do a lot of things that, maybe, didn’t the technology wasn’t fully ready for yet.

Look - I think while it was definitely moving in the right direction, the action sequences in this film are probably some of its weakest points. Everything is incredibly stiff and/or ridiculous looking. Sure, there are some great moments of Spider-Man swinging around the city. But most of the stuff between he and the Green Goblin have not aged well at all.

One last thing - the organic webshooters? Nope. Nope, nope, nope. Ew.

Aunt May, Uncle Ben, and Great Responsibility

So - Aunt May (and Uncle Ben) in the comics are older. It’s… kinda unrealistic, unless Peter’s parents were much, much older when they had a kid. Uncle Ben says in this film that he’s 68. That’s grandparent age -- and I’d believe this whole thing much more if they were Peter’s great Aunt and Uncle. That said, Cliff Robertson and Rosemary Harris were perfect choices for their roles. Robertson especially plays the closest to an actual person as he grumbles about unemployment and new technology he’s having trouble with. But more so, he does such a great job with his Great Responsibility line, that there’s really no reason for other Spider-Man films to do it. It’s in the culture now. We get it. Meanwhile, Harris’s Aunt May, well, looks exactly like Aunt May. Aunt May, in general, kind of annoys me, so I suppose we’ll leave it that.

The Osborns and the Green Goblin

First, James Franco as Harry Osborn. There really isn’t a whole lot to this character - it feels like he’s talked about more than actually on screen, and I feel like we don’t get to see that much of Peter and Harry’s relationship. That said, Franco does brooding rather well - and is pretty consistent at keeping the brooding up throughout the film. He’s fine, but sometimes feels like he’s there because the movie wants him to be in it.

Willem Dafoe is Norman Osborn, and here’s my thing. Dafoe is a pretty good actor. He does the whole split-personality thing rather well, and makes an incredibly convincing villain, especially when everything about the Green Goblin is, well, incredibly contrived. Really, I think the Oscorp stuff is the dumbest stuff in this film because it strictly adheres to comic book logic. And while I also understand there were obvious limitations and complications making such a ridiculous suit, that Green Goblin costume is terrible. Dafoe was much more menacing without it on.

Mary Jane Watson

**sigh** Okay. Let me start by saying that I like MJ in the comics, even though, yeah, this is a pretty good representation of her (or more so the kind of character she was forty years ago) here. I don’t even mind Kirstin Dunst. This version of MJ bugs me though. Part of it is the story framing. Everything’s from Peter’s POV, and it doesn’t make any sense. What is it about her, besides the fact that she’s pretty, does he even like? They never actually spend time together - and when they do, Peter’s giving her soliloquy about how wonderful she is. The problem is that we’re never really given a reason, other than pretty, to understand why. Do they have anything in common? Not really. Do they make a connection beyond his constant saving her from bad situations - whether it be emotional or physical? Not really.

Everything about their scenes is just over-the-top a majority of the time. Like -- this is a big sweeping romance, hear the music? See the close-ups? Add tears, more tears! But I never buy an actual connection between the two of them.

The one thing that does actual work, and I will give them a ton of credit for, is that upside down kiss in the rain. That’s pretty damn iconic. And kinda hot. It’s the only time that the movie allows the romance to do something other than follow the tired tropes of boy-likes-girl, boy-rescues-girl, boy-gets-girl. Ug.

J Jonah Jameson and the Daily Bugle

JK Simmons and the Daily Bugle is hands down the best thing about this film. It’s witty and almost satirical with everything looking straight out of the 60s comic book. It gets the humor that the comics often has and runs with it. I have no complaints, it’s really, truly amazing. And I have to wonder if this entire film would work better if it had taken place during the 60s and was a tad more on the satirical side. I feel like the world would have made just a little more sense.

Final Rating: 3 out of 5 Spiderwebs. I think this film is a great embodiment for what Spider-Man meant to a whole group of people who grew up with the character. As a film, I think it’s standard issue, and besides letting comic book movies be brightly colored and fun, I don’t think it does anything special with the story it’s telling. And much like the original X-Men film, while I’ll give it credit for being special for the time it came out, I don’t think it holds up now.

Next Up: Oy, I’m gonna have to watch that Ben Affleck Daredevil film now. :P

#marvel movie nights #spider-man

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thoughts-of-loyalty · 5 years

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Fire Emblem: Three Houses 2/13 Trailer Analysis - Gameplay Elements

After such a long wait for information about the newest Fire Emblem title, we finally had a trailer drop on 2/13 , giving us another glimpse of the game we have been so eagerly anticipating. While still very much so a Fire Emblem game, it has no doubt taken a lot of people by surprise, given what we’ve learned about the cast and story - while we figured Byleth was being referred to as teacher by the narrator, I don’t think we expected for Byleth to be a teacher at an Officer’s Academy for nobles.

Regardless, the game is due to launch on July 26th, so a lot of what we’ve seen in this trailer is likely what we’re due to be seeing in this game. While I am analyzing the trailers we’ve been given, due to the sheer length I will be focusing on the gameplay for this post. If you want a refresher before reading, you can see the trailer here. The analysis is below.

In the first look at gameplay, we see Byleth approaching the Black Eagles house - presumably, the trailer decided to go with Byleth instructing the Black Eagles. It looks to be a meeting before the house travels out to fight the bandits, which will likely be the pre-mission structure for some of the earlier maps. Of note is in the upper-left corner of the screen, which reads “Entrance Hall - Day.” The former isn’t particularly interesting, but I find the latter worth noting: while a time system isn’t exactly new to FE (in Fates, certain events would be available at certain times of the day or after a day had passed), it makes me think it will play a role in this one as well - perhaps you can only teach during the day, which can be interrupted by events like needing to go into battle, and there are nighttime events unrelated to teaching.

As we see shortly thereafter, the presumably-aforementioned bandits that were located by the knights are confronted by the Black Eagles. While this just mostly pre-battle map stuff, I did notice he’s standing on a glowing tile (it’s even more glowing in the Japanese trailer, interestingly enough). There’s a couple of potential meanings for that, such as it being a heal/”throne” tile (where Kostas stays holed up to give himself a boost/recovery like most bosses) and/or a seize location (the two can be identical, after all). It’s impossible to say for sure, but it does make me wonder...

We get an overall look at the Black Eagles in this shot. There’s a few things of note here, so let’s delve into it: 1) Byleth (and as we can see below, Bernadetta) both have a total movement of 4 squares, which is rather low for a Fire Emblem game - Not counting Heroes, I think only Gaiden and Echoes have movement that low to start with for non-armored units. Given that we’ve seen Byleth with 5 movement in the previous trailer, I believe movement ranges might have been decreased, though why is still up in the air. 2) Almost every single unit has three upwards facing green arrows to the bottom-right of left model, and both Byleth and Bernadetta have those same green arrows in their little info box on the bottom-left of the screen, to the right of their HP. Notably, only Dorothea is lacking this indicator. What this means is unknown for the time being, but it makes me wonder.

Bernadetta is selected to be the one going forth, so we get a slightly clearer view of some of the basic UI. In the top left, we see a small tab dedicated to describing the current highlighted terrain and it’s effects - in this case, Flatlands, which is noted to be “Terrain with no special effects.” In the bottom left, we’re informed of basic info on the unit - their Name, HP, Level, currently equipped weapon, a 3DS-esque overworld sprite, and those triangles again. Nothing more to say, however, so continuing on...

We see the updated drop down options menu. For one, it seems “Attack” has been shortened to Atk (I kinda hope they undo that, personally, it’s weird to see it shortened). “Combat Arts” has also been shortened to “Arts” (a bit iffy on that, too, but I’m not as bothered there). We can also see “Gambit,” which has possibly replaced what was “Formation” prior. “Equip” and “Items” were also options beforehand, but it’s likely “Equip” has been merged into “Items” like in prior games. Meanwhile, while “Trade” was technically not seen beforehand, no one was close enough to allies in the previous trailer, so it’s probably there now for that reason. “Magic” has also been removed from the options - whether it’s due to Magic being merged with “Attack” (and “Heal” having it’s own location) or because Bernadetta can’t use magic currently, I couldn’t say.

Given that Bernadetta prepares to attack, we then get to transition into the combat preparation menu. It bares a lot of resemblance to the previous menu, containing a lot of the same layout, only a bit more uncluttered. On the bottom-right, we can see that it’s been laid out into more organized boxes. Defense has also presumably been changed back after it was “Endurance” last trailer, but it seems “Resistance” may be “Resilience” now. The top-left is much the same as beforehand, albeit we now see those triangles to the right of the Bernadetta’s HP and Bernadetta’s class is “Noble,” presumably a class she shares with everyone else that isn’t Byleth and maybe Edelgard (her class in the previous trailer was Aristocrat, but in the Japanese trailers, Bernadetta and Edelgard share the same class, so it’s likely she’ll have been made into a “Noble” now).

On the top right, we see the weapon menu, which is very much similar to how it was in the prior trailer. One thing of note, however, is that the “Mini Bow” Bernadetta is carrying lacks the Feather icon that the Iron Bow has. This indicates that said bow isn’t effective against flying units, so I figure the bow probably has some extra effect to make it worth using alongside the Iron Bow (such as how the Short Bow had lower weight and better crit in the GBA games, or 1 range like in Fates).

We now get to see the combat forecast menu, and it’s about what we’d expect it to be compared given what we saw last trailer (seen to the right), pretty much the exact same layout as before. That said, it seems we now have an idea of what that tab above the weapon’s is for, as the “None” has now been replaced with “No Combat Arts.” There’s also a icon above Bernadetta similar to Byleth’s, so it’s probably a skill icon of some sort. Finally, there’s two weapon icons next to said icon with “Lv 1″ at the bottom right, which wasn’t there before: what exactly this means isn’t clear, perhaps it’s just an indication of current weapon rank but it’s impossible to say for sure.

Continuing from the above, we can see that Combat Arts can be cycled through in the same ways as weapons/spells in other Fire Emblems. In this case, Bernadetta swaps to Curved Shot - introduced in Shadows of Valentia, it decreased HP by 1 to increase damage by 1 and hit chance by 30%. This Curved Shot seems to increase range by 1 (something that probably didn’t see use in Shadows of Valentia due to bows having 1 massive 5 range already) and a damage increase of 1 as well (no way to tell if it also increases hit chance, as Bernadetta had max hit chance already). It also doesn’t use any HP, but given the 3 placed above the Bow’s 50 durability, it makes me think that Three Houses will have weapon durability be used up to trigger Arts.

As a final note, in Echoes, every Combat Art would prevent follow-up attack from triggering (with a few exceptions like Double Lion, which functioned akin to doubles a la later-game Brave weapons). While Bernadetta couldn’t double beforehand due to not being fast enough anyway, I’m thinking this will remain as well to help continue the balance there.

On the right, I included the Japanese trailer’s representation of the same - interestingly, the range does not increase by 1 (and we can tell it IS supposedly the same skill because that’s the same name for Curved Shot in Japan). I don’t know what to make of this discrepancy yet, but I’m certain it means something...

Now, just a more minor thing, but they’ve definitely put a bit more effort into making the allied soldiers look a bit more unique than those “Blond dudes in blue clothing” that was nigh-omnipresent beforehand. Definitely good to know that what we saw in the first trailer was not everything we’d be seeing beforehand.

And then we get to see a Critical Hit in action, which definitely tells us that what we saw at the tail end of the first trailer with Byleth was a critical hit then, too. And it looks like they forced that critical, too, unless Petra is such a broken unit she’s got a natural 100% critical rate with an Iron Sword. That said, I can’t complain too much, as...

We finally get to see a post-battle experience gain screen - something we haven’t seen at all up to this point, so this is pretty valuable to us. I also made sure to take a screen shot of the before situation, so we can see exactly what she gained. So, let’s break down everything we see, bit by bit: 1) The top is the standard “Until Next Level” experience bar most FEs have, but there’s a slight twist: it looks like Petra needs to gain a total of 110 experience instead of the regular 100. Why exactly this change exists is difficult to know for sure, though here’s hoping this doesn’t impact unit progression too significantly. 2) We also see her gain points in what is referred to as the “Professor Level,” which seems to likely be akin to Weapon Ranks in most FEs. We see her gain 3 points in Swords, and 2 points in what we later know to be Authority; interestingly, given the clip beforehand, it’s impossible to say why she gained it, given she didn’t seem to be doing anything out of the ordinary, nor why it only gained two points. I have a theory I’ll elaborate on later tying into this, though. 3) We also see her gain a single point in a bar under a tad labeled “Until class is mastered.” While we can likely tie toward class progression seen later in the video, I’ll elaborate how I think it ties in during that analysis. 4) There’s finally an experience bat under a tab labelled “Until Battalion levels up,” and she gains 15 points in “Empire Infantry.” Now, it’s easy enough to know what those are: the generic soldiers fighting beside her. But what I’m curious about is what will occur as they level up. Does leveling them up grant access to different types of infantry, or does is that tied to “Authority” and does leveling those up grant access to new gambits? To be seen, I suppose.

We then transition to a scene presumably in the Garreg Mach Monastery, where Ferdinand and Sylvain are poised to duel each other with Training Lances. This reminds me of some degree to the Arena in a number of FEs, as well as the duels one could have in New Mystery of the Emblem. There’s a couple of interesting things to note here: 1) The tab at the top indicates this is “Round 2,” likely indicating some fight preceded this one in some way. Whether it’s Ferdinand fighting his way through some students or it’s several paired into duels, it’s impossible to say. 2) The reward for winning the duel is apparently 300G and an Intermediate Seal. We later learn that the latter is required to change classes, as it’s listed as such when Edelgard class changes to Brigand. As it’s unknown how else these will be earned, these duels might be important when it comes to improving your units. 3) Sylvain and Ferdinand have both Lances and Axes to choose from (and Ferdinand also has Swords), though both use Lances to duel each other. This makes me think that units in these situations will be saddled with the same weapons so as to make the duels relatively fair, presuming the weapon triangle is present. 4) Back to the Arena comparisons, we see that the player is given an option to withdraw in the bottom right. The player obviously accepts the duel, given they have no chance to lose, but it’s nice that we’re given the option to back out of duels we can’t win/don’t want to risk before they begin, especially since we’re given a combat forecast to help us make our decision. 5) Finally, most of the Arena duels in previous Fire Emblems (even in New Mystery’s Barracks duels you had to pay to enter) had your units facing generic enemies. As we see Sylvain in the Monastery earlier, but not as part of the Black Eagles, this makes me think most of the enemies one can fight in the Monastery will be picked from other houses. Whether we will end up fighting generics as well in these duels, or maybe even teachers, is unknown. We also don’t know for sure if arenas exist outside of the barracks, as they did in New Mystery, so who knows how this will end up being?

We’re then given a look at the teaching mechanics that this game looks to be pushing as a major mechanic. At the very top, we see a meter with the number 3 below it - given the various icons beside “Turoring” and “Auto-Tutor,” it’s likely that you get a maximum of 3 tutors before you run out of time that “day”, so that one can’t abuse the tutor system. Both Tutoring and Set Goals is explored in more detail later in the trailer, so I’ll save those for later. Auto-Tutor, considering the 3 icon, is likely allowing the game to determine which someones are selected for tutoring; this would no doubt be useful for those who either don’t want to be bothered to figure out/use the tutor system or just can’t decide - hopefully, there will be options to select auto-tutor after using up a few tutor plans in case one figures out a couple to tutor but can’t figure out what to use the final one(s) on. Group Task is a complete enigma, given that we’re never given a peek at how it works - while it obviously involves students working together, the time costs involved and how it is used is still unknown. There’s also “Start Class” as the final option - this makes me think that you first select who you want to tutor and set up the goals/group tasks, and then select this option to put it all into action; that said, Tutoring vs Start Class could be different matters entirely, like classes being focused on everyone gaining progression in Goals while Tutoring is focused on individual students. To be seen, I suppose. Finally, of note is the rather empty classroom - only Edelgard, Dorothea, Bernadetta, and Ferdinand (hidden behind the “Group Task” bar, visible very briefly after Tutoring is selected) are visible in this shot. Perhaps this means tutoring will be limited to select students if they’re around, akin to how you had limited options with who you could spend time with in the Private Quarters portion of the My Castle. Of course, it could mean nothing and you’re not limited by who is seen on-screen.

Here we see Tutoring in action, with Dorothea as the subject of a tutoring session. While Byleth decides aid her in learning how to use Reason magic, we can see that technically every option is available (including Hvy Armor, Riding, and Flying lower on the list, considering the sidebar has lower to go). Below the Skill Details box, we can see her Current Goals is Sword and Reason focus - to be elaborated upon later. Above that, meanwhile, we can see a bar with a Smiley icon, below which reads “You can train one more times.” This likely means, in the English trailer version, Byleth had already instructed twice before.

Focusing on the “Skill Details” box, we can see that deciding to tutor her in Reason magic would yield 6 EXP to that rank - +4 from Base (likely meaning tutoring in general offers a certain base growth) and +2 from “Strengths.” The latter likely means that Dorothea is incline toward growth in the categories marked by the Blue upwards arrows (It likely does not mean it’s because of her focus - you’ll see why under Linhardt’s instruction). There’s also a Red downward arrows, by what is later identified Faith magic - likely meaning that she would have a penalty if one tried to tutor her in that. Interestingly, Faith is also marked by 3 stars, but what those could mean is unknown.

In the Japanese trailer, meanwhile, we can see her getting instruction in Swords, which gives us a peek at that other icon I left for now. Now, my best translation efforts via Google Translate (And I only found out after Serenes Forest already translated it...) revealed it to say “Teacher correction,” which... probably isn’t 100% accurate. But this makes me believe that selecting skills tagged with the index finger add a bonus to EXP gained related to Byleth in some way (maybe Byleth is trained in the marked skills, and tutoring the students in skills he’s proficient with offers a bonus). We can also see the “Tutor Bar” from the classroom above Dorothea in the Japanese version, but it’s mysteriously missing in the English version. Wish I knew why, but who knows for sure.

We can see what gains is made from the tutoring now, with Dorothea gaining EXP x 1.5 - whereas the prior screen said she’d gain 6, she gains 9 instead, going from 62 to 53 (in the Japanese version, the same happens, where she gains 12 EXP instead of 8, going from 15 to 3). I can’t offer up a good reason why she’s gained 1.5 times the expected amount. Perhaps those smiley faces indicate mood, with students earning more EXP if in a good mood; alternatively, it could be based on supports between Byleth and his students, or maybe it’s just random and we had some brute-forced luck. Again, to be determined.

Above her dialogue tab, on the left, we see her portrait in a small square with a yellow arrow pointing upward on the upper-left corner and a heart in the upper-right corner. We’ve all pretty certain to see supports in some capacity, so it’s likely that indicates a support gain because of him tutoring her. As an aside, in the Japanese version, Dorothea has two arrows instead of one - this can likely be chalked up to focusing on a skill she’d have better gains in (since she has two bonuses in Swords to Reason’s one bonus) being responsible for the increase, but I can’t say for sure.

This is the Set Goals option of the teaching mentioned above. At the beginning, Linhardt’s current focus is Reason and Faith Focus, but the player in the trailer decides to swap Linhardt’s focus to Faith and Riding instead. Given that Linhardt’s best skill is Faith, it’s not surprising, but I guess they want him to branch out into being a horseback mage later. In the bottom-right of the screen, we see X can bring up the status screen, likely so one can see how well their focuses will work with their stats.

I’ve danced around discussing this beforehand, but Heavy Armor, Riding, and Flying are given growth ranks starting from E, like every other skill in the game. While not fully surprising, as it’s likely to serve as a gateway for Nobles seeking to reclass into classes with those traits, it makes me wonder if there’s any particular benefit to leveling up those skills beyond that point. As we know, the weapon ranks give us better weapons as we rank up, but will there be an equivalent for the others? Or do the ranks act as gateways throughout, forcing us to to level from E to A/S to access, say, the Paladin class? It makes me wonder.

Returning back to focusing on the screenshot, one thing of note is one can possibly select to have only one focus at once, given that there’s a None option below Flying. What sort of benefits one could achieve from choosing to focus on one skill instead of two is uncertain, given that it goes unexplored (my best guess is faster growth, but that’s just a guess), but it seems like it’s an option all the same. Unsurprisingly, one can’t double down on the same focus (as the confirmation screen doesn’t pop up until after Linhardt selects Riding, despite Faith being double under the Custom Focus), so if you’re going to focus on one skill, guess one probably will have to use the None option.

The English version unfortunately cuts away too early, but we see aftermath of it in the Japanese trailer. There’s not much, but there’s a few things to glean from it. For one, we can see that Linhardt doesn’t automatically gain a Blue arrow for Riding when it’s selected, despite it being his new Focus, meaning it’s not a Strength for him. While understandable, given that this would help prevent abusing easier EXP gains, it likely means Strengths are set in stone (and so are the Red arrows, too) and branching out from that would take extra effort. Second, when Linhardt’s custom focus is selected, it gains an E next to it (on the top left box), while the previous Reason and Faith focus is placed below, indicating that the Custom Focus is equipped. This tells us that the students have preset Focuses (likely tailored to their Strengths, like Linhardt with Reason/Faith and Dorothea with Swords/Reason) and will probably keep them around as quick-select options.

Finally, I should make it clear that the Japanese and English builds are different, and while most of what they do is the same, their selections do result in notable differences . For instance, in the Japanese trailer, the Tutor bar was at 2 the whole time, while in the English trailer, it was at 3 the whole time. I bring this up because this number doesn’t change when the Goals are changed in the Japanese trailer. This thankfully means tweaking a student’s Goals won’t interfere with your tutoring, so changing around your student’s focuses before tutoring them won’t eat up any of your allotted time.

And Linhardt shows us that one aspect of Faith is healing, likely having replaced staves this time around. He uses the spell heal to restore 11 HP to Byleth. Fire Emblem has never been fully consistent with the calculations, generally using “Healer’s Magic +10″ in older games, “Healer’s Magic/2 +8″ in the Archanea remakes and Awakening, and “Healer’s Magic/3 +10″ in Fates. This makes me believe they’re following FE11/12/Awakening’s formula for healing (or I hope so, otherwise Linhardt’s healing is trash), given how low the restored amount is.

Now, in theory, this is taking part after Linhardt’s goals have been switched to Faith and Riding, but obviously, Linhardt isn’t on a horse in this scene. Most Fire Emblems haven’t had their healers dismount to heal their targets after combat, so I don’t think this is the situation either. This leads me to believe that even if you decide to focus on a certain movement-altering skill, you still need to increase your Ranking before you can see it in action (I’d guess to E+ at the very least?). Thankfully, I believe that this isn’t too major an issue in the game. As you’ll recall under the bit during Petra’s gains, we see her make gains in both Swords and Authority after battle, and I said I’d discuss my theory on it later. Here it is: I believe that units will gain EXP in their current focus regardless of whether or not they’re currently making use of said skill. Of course, I can’t prove this, but I do hope this is the case because otherwise progression will take forever.

Moving away from the teaching and its results, we cut to Caspar fighting a “Western Church Soldier,” wielding “Iron Gauntlets.” Interestingly, when using these gauntlets, Caspar has a x2 next to his Mt, and deals two consecutive hits to the soldier before he can counterattack. There is no indication he used any sort of Combat Arts, too, considering it generally shows above the unit’s name if one is active. Therefore, it seems like it may be an innate feature of the gauntlets weapons is to attack twice consecutively a la Brave weapons. I figure that as a trade-off, they’re weaker than most (consider that he’s dealing 7 damage per hit despite facing a not particularly powerful unit). But what exactly the case with that is will be seen when we learn more, I suppose.

The trailer then hops back over to the more scholarly side of things, where we see Edelgard preparing to take the Brigand Certification Exam. This seems to be an equivalent of sorts to exiting a trainee class, which I believe we’ve established is likely what all of the students (and possibly Byleth, in a unique one of his own) start out in. Given all the classes shown on the left side, it’s likely that all classes will be available to every student and rather they must be trained up in certain skills before one can access them.

On the right side, meanwhile, we get to see peek at what exactly these “exams” will contain. Speaking of Exam Contents, there’s a ZL and ZR option to the left and right of where it says “Exam Contents.” It mostly makes me wonder what the other screen(s) will show, I figure something like “Here’s how this class change will change this unit’s stats” but I can’t say for sure, but just make note of those buttons there.

We also see, below that, a basic blurb describing Brigands in the standard Fire Emblem style (like if you tap/highlight a unit’s class). Lower down, we see ”Exam Skills” which notes Axe being C or higher - whether this is a requirement or recommendation isn’t fully clear, however. That said, we do see we are required to have an Intermediate Seal - something we see is a prize when Ferdinand duels Sylvain, making it one known way to obtain these seals.

Finally, we can see a “Pass Rate,” which Edelgard has as 100% going in to this exam, meaning she’ll become a Brigand with no problem. This makes me wonder: will these be binary rates, with either a 100% if you meet all the requirements and 0% if you don’t? Or will there be a bit more variety, like having extra points in Axes, or even reaching B, guarantee better success than having just a C rank, thus making success semi-dependent on luck if going on unprepared? Impossible to say, of course, but it’s definitely something I’d keep an eye on going forward.

Of course, Edelgard passes and is promoted to Brigand. This part progresses no further, so there’s no indication of what effects this will have on Edelgard as a unit beyond changing class and focusing more on axes, such as growths or class change stat influences. We’ll probably see more as time goes on.

We then cut to a scene of Ashe (who is likely from the Golden Deer) having a meal with a blond-haired girl (possibly from the Blue Lions, but unknown for sure) having a meal together. The dialogue over the meal indicates it to be some kind of team-building, but whether this is meant as the equivalent of a Support Conversation, simply a means to help build supports, or is unrelated to supports and simply tied to building bonds for gambits. Hopefully, we’ll learn more in the future.

Now, we see the beginnings of a Gambit Boost in action, being a part of a Gambit led by Edelgard. The Gambit is targeting a monster (identified as Black Beast) these units are nearby, with the particular targets being in front of Edelgard (with two arrows in front of Edelgard, interestingly). We can also see Byleth with a glowing sword (which has been identified as the chain sword from the prior trailers), making it unclear when exactly in the game this is. Interestingly, Byleth is the only one with a particularly unique-looking weapon, so it’s possible he’ll be getting one before the others (presuming Edelgard/Claude/Dimitri do as well).

In the Japanese version, there’s a few differences in presentation, but the end result is still the same. For one, Edelgard and Ferdinand are facing a bit to the right (compared to being front-facing in the English version), and the squares below and arrows above the Black Beast in the English version aren’t present. Otherwise, however, they’re positioned in the exact same way as before.

We then see the “Gambit Boost” activating, which involves Byleth, the black-haired guy from the Black Eagles we’ve seen a few times, Ferdinand, and Edelgard. The four being in close proximity to each other and the Black Beast seems to be relevant to their performing the gambit, which raises the future question of how complex or simple the Gambit Boosts can be.

Meanwhile, in the Japanese version, there’s a few differences. For one, Byleth and Ferdinand have swapped positions, but there isn’t any visible reason why. Byleth and the black-haired guy have visibly different outfits, with Byleth being much more armored and the black-haired guy sporting red robes (Ferdinand’s outfit might be somewhat different, too, it’s difficult to tell) - which points towards most units being rather customizable, possibly even allowing Byleth to become an armored unit.

Finally, we the (beginning?) of the Coordinated Gambit in action. Edelgard twirls her axe, which is the indication for a bunch of “Assault Troop” soldiers to charge forward, hitting the Black Beast. It possesses 14 Mt (likely using similar damage calculations as normal attacks), a 100% hit rate (does that mean that gambits have a chance of missing?), and 0 Crit (again raising a question, this time if gambits can cause critical hits). The Black Beast, meanwhile, has absolutely no indication it can counter Edelgard despite her being right in front of it - perhaps this means Gambits can allow units a form of attack without putting themselves at risk.

Finally, despite being referred to as a “Coordinated Gambit,” there’s a significant lack of coordination being displayed here, especially after the whole big thing with the Gambit Boost before. There’s a couple possible explanations for this, however. One could be that their involvement could be the reason why Edelgard isn’t at risk of taking a counterattack. The other option is that Edelgard is the first of a few gambits set to take place, and we only get to see the first because the trailer doesn’t want to spoil. Whatever the reason, I’m sure the game will eventually make it clear.

#fire emblem three houses #three houses #fire emblem 16 #FE16 #potential FE 16 spoilers?#edelgard #byleth #ferdinand #dorothea #bernadetta #petra #linhardt #caspar #fire emblem three houses trailer analysis #three houses trailer analysis #2-13 trailer #gameplay analysis

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dexi-green · 5 years

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Avengers:Endgame Thoughts !!SPOILERS!!

Just some random thoughts and questions and such about the movie. There are spoilers so…don’t read if you haven’t seen it and care about spoilers. I tried to organize it a bit but we all know that’s impossible.

Okay so..I’m not the biggest fan of the Russo Brothers and what they have done with their Marvel films. There have been some improvements, and some things that just can’t be helped and I just want to make that known first. I don’t really hate any of the films they made, they are definitely enjoyable, and fun, have great moments.

I’ve been a bit critical about how they used some of the big storylines from the comics in the films, because they never felt the same (they never can honestly, comic books and films are different formats, different ways of storytelling) but this honestly is the closest to the annuals. This is the closest to waiting an entire year after reading comics each month, to the big huge event. It feels as big as those. Civil War didn’t to me, Age of Ultron didn’t, Infinity War kinda, but this. This felt huge. Especially when actually watching it.

This is a huge fanservice film. You could probably enjoy it without any prior knowledge, or without seeing all the other films, but god, it’s better if you do. Soooo many little throwbacks and easter eggs and payoffs from the earliest films and the comics. So I highly suggest the other films, I think every single one film has some sort of tribute in this one. (I’m making a list of references and such so I’ll see)

So one of my biggest gripes out of the way…the Joe Russo cameo. It completely pulled me out of the film. The scene itself could’ve been a nice little thing to see what Steve has been up to during those five years but…just watching and listening to what was mostly Joe Russo talking and inserting himself into the universe…eh :/ It’s not like a Stan Lee cameo, he didn’t have a hand in creating these characters and we don’t owe the Russo Brothers as much as we owe Lee and Kirby and Simon and Ditko and Bendis, etc. I think his cameo in Civil War and Winter Soldier was better, he barely talked in WS and not at all in CW, was barely on screen, it was fine. I just felt it was a little too much… His cameo was longer than Stan’s.

Also that was their way of making the “first openly gay character in a Marvel movie.” they even said that, “We felt it was important that one of us play him, to ensure the integrity and show it is so important to the filmmakers that one of us is representing that.” which...is really a cop out I feel. That LGBTQ representation, the smallest line of being on a date, could’ve easily gone to Valkyrie/Brunnhilde’s character, seeing as Tessa Thompson says her character is queer and played her that way (take one look at Tessa’s or Brie Larson’s twitter or some interviews, it isn’t hard to see they support it), and Tessa is actually Bisexual in real life. But whatever I guess...

Though it was definitely funnier than the other movies the Russo’s have done, and DEFINITELY prettier. I’ve had a big issue with the color grading and scene composition in the Russo’s movies. Say what you will, Joss Whedon knew how to make a comic splash page translate to screen, but the Russo’s did...the airport fight scene. The scene’s in their films that did have great composition were pulled straight from the comics (like Steve Vs. Tony, Shield vs. Repulsors) Okay. But, in Endgame it definitely looks better. There are memorable scenes. There are shots that I thought...okay thats art. The end battle had some shots, like Thanos in the foreground pointing his sword, and his army behind him. When Tony was looking out of the Benatar and saw the glowing light that is Captain Marvel. When Okoye, T’Challa, and Shuri walk out of the portal to the final battle, it’s a bit hazy, almost dream like, gives the feeling of Steve seeing them and not knowing whether this was real or not. The colors still look a bit dull in some scenes, but at this point it seems like the Russo’s are resigned to gray and mud and mess to get that gritty “realistic” vibe that for some reason is what people want and not the escapism, fantasy, cosmic stories that comics can be.

I did really like the small nods towards how relationships formed or degraded throughout time, or how people changed, especially during the five years we didn’t see. We got a little nod towards Carol and Rhodey’s relationship from the comics with…a nod and a good luck and a lingering look. Natasha calls Rocket fluffball, I think it was, and says she gets e-mails from him. Bruce and Natasha are on some sort of not dating but close friends terms after hardly interacting in Infinity War. Definitely acknowledging Age of Ultron and not just making it a joke and trying to push it aside. Nebula and Rocket seem to have gotten closer, probably due to all of their friends dusting. Rocket and Bruce seem to be on some level of friendship, or at least acknowledge each others connection to Thor. Okoye calling Natasha, Nat. Carol has been coming to earth somewhat regularly. Tony and Nebula playing the paper football game, her giving him the food even when he offered it to her, (It reminded me of the blueberry bit in the first Avengers) working together to try and get somewhere. TONY AND MORGAN!! He raised a whole five year old kid. He definitely seems like a stay at home dad, especially since Pep is the CEO of Stark Industries.

It’s really nice (and sad) to see how some people’s lives moved forward. How people tried to move on, how all these different personalities coped with the loss. Seeing Cassie has aged was definitely a favorite. Cassie has thought her dad was dead for five years, and for Scott he was only gone for five hours, but he comes back to his little girl as a teenager. At the end, when we see them together with Hope, we know that Scott now has to go forward knowing he missed five years of his daughter’s life, and is probably going to try and make the most of it. Maybe that means giving up Ant-Man, or having her join in (we need Stature, I mean come on, we need another young avenger). But it was nice to see that time didn’t just stand still until the Avengers found a fix. It kept moving forward.

I wish we would’ve gotten a bit more of Wakanda/Wakandans. Okoye was still alive, and I think M’Baku survived the Snap as well, but I don’t think we saw him until the final battle. We only got a couple glimpses of Wakanda. Which I guess makes sense because with both T’Challa and Shuri gone, Wakanda needed leadership (though I’m unsure as to whether Ramonda dusted as well), but it would’ve been nice for Okoye to maybe be a little involved in the efforts to get the stone, especially considering Wakanda is so advanced. Even without Shuri there could’ve been something they could contribute. T’Challa really had like one or two lines basically but okay.

I sorta didn’t like Thanos dusting away. I was a bit off put at the beginning when Thor cut of his head because to me, that was Nebula or Gamora’s kill (though seeing as both Gamora and Nebula seemed somewhat sad after seeing him die (Gamora after she seemed to kill him in IW and Nebula after Thor went for the head) MCU Gamora and Nebula might not want to do that). I understand it though, Thor was angry. At the end I was hoping that Thanos wouldn’t dust so we could get that kill, and sort of mirror Tony’s fear of being the only survivor, but… I guess it’s the writer’s poetic justice. It’s not bad, but I just kinda hoped they would go a different way with it.

I love when the music cuts out and Quill is just dancing and singing to himself. “So he’s an idiot”.

“I bet the raccoon didn’t have to climb a mountain.” “Technically he’s not a raccoon you know?” “oh whatever he eats garbage.” Are they talking about Rocket...or...Thor?

That girl power scene? We love it. “Don’t worry” “She’s got help.”

I love how they pass around Tony’s Gauntlet like a football, trying to get it to the van. But when Peter had it and was thrown to the ground and was curled up clutching it, I was so prepared to cry.

Same with Rocket trying to protect Groot.

No vision. I didn’t really find myself even thinking of him all that much during the film. We got a line or two but that’s about it. It makes me wonder about the ‘WandaVision’ show and whether that title was just to throw people off, or if he is going to be in it.

I’d be really interested in seeing more of what happened during those 5 years. Maybe I just want to see more of Tony as a dad? Maybe… But to see how everyone tries to move forward. Like what does Cassie do? Did her mom and step-dad dust to? Was she alone? Did the Avengers check on her? I think Bruce mentions he spent 18 months in a Gamma Lab. I would love to see how he came to terms with Hulk. I would love to see how the Asgardian’s settled. Etc. I think there are some interesting stories there, maybe for future shows or comics or stories.

CAROL DANVERS / CAPTAIN MARVEL

I love that Carol Danvers had a small moment/lingering shot when they were looking at everyone who dusted and she saw Nick Fury. Another little nod towards a relationship without being overt and having her mention to characters how Nick Fury was a close friend. I mean that was the reason why they came out with the Captain Marvel movie before this. So the audience members who saw both would understand Carol’s role, powers, motives, and relationships before so they wouldn’t have to squeeze it all into this movie.

I also forgot that Captain Marvel was even in this movie after the last time they showed her in the beginning because I was so wrapped up in everything else, so when she showed up at the end I was genuinely surprised and excited! They really hyped her up to be the most powerful hero, but didn’t overuse her or make her OP at all. They gave everyone else their time knowing that she has the future MCU ahead of her. I think they spent a good amount of time on the original avengers as this really was their send off, knowing the rest of the characters have future films/shows to shine in. (Which kind of makes me forgive the lack of Wakanda..but still…)

The look on Thanos’ face when Carol showed up, amazing. Her exchange with Peter? Pure and beautiful. And that little *dink* when he tries to headbutt her? Pure comedy.

Thanos pulling the power stone out of the gauntlet to use against Carol was...forgive me...a power move.

THOR ODINSON & LOKI LAUFEYSON

I know a lot of people think Thor’s mental health/PTSD was just played as a joke, but I don’t think it was. I mean there have been times they tried to sweep Tony’s mental health under the rug and times where (maybe just the fandom) treated Tony as a villain for how it showed itself.

Thor didn’t want to think about it. Thor was done. He wanted to drink and forget. He didn’t want people to talk about Thanos, or Loki, or anything that happened. He made a new home for all the Asgardians and then retreated into himself. When we first see him, Bruce stops and asks Thor if he’s okay and tells him that he was in a similar dark spot as well and that Thor was the one who helped him out. It’s a sweet moment, yeah it’s sandwiched by some jokes, but it's there. As is the moment when Thor talks to his mother for the last time. Frigga gives him piece of mind. Let’s him know that she knows what her fate is, that it isn’t his fault, which is one weight off his shoulder. She lets him know that he doesn’t need to be whatever he thinks he needs to be, just to be who he is. He doesn’t need to be an Asgardian King, or whatever else his father wanted, if that's not what Thor wants. Being himself is enough to be worthy. So he fights that final fight (completely okay in the fact that Steve is worthy as well, even saying he knew it! So he must’ve knew Steve was pretending not to be able to pick it up all the way in AOU), he makes Valkyrie/Brunnhilde King/Queen of Asgard, and he goes with the Guardians, because that's where he wants to be. He’s not being who he is supposed to be, but who he is. Which seems to be someone who wants to have fun and save people who need saving. Which I think is a nice mirror to Chris Hemsworth’s relationship to playing the character. He said that he prefers the fun, comedic Thor that Taika made with Ragnarok, and doesn’t as much like playing the uber serious Thor from previous films. He even said he’d be open to more Thor movies if Taika Waititi was directing.

While I hope we see Thor in Guardians Vol.3, and his story didn’t feel as final as Steve and Tony’s did, he did come full circle. From fighting tooth and nail to be a worthy king, to finally accepting who he truly is and being comfortable with accepting that. Sort of mirroring Loki.

Speaking of Loki...His scenes in this movie were definitely more humorous than anything. I know people wanted a better end for him. I’ll be honest, I liked his end in Infinity War (though I did believe he might still be alive because he didn’t revert back to his Jotun form when he died in IW). But for all the same reasons as Thor. He started feeling tremendous envy and hate for his brother and father, felt the need to prove himself, though he took a very different route than Thor, he got to a point where he accepted who he truly was. A Jotun, and an Odinson, Thor’s brother, Prince of Asgard. So to me, yeah it would be nice to see a different ending for Loki, (if they do bring him back I feel they either can’t kill him or have to kill him for real), I’m content with his entire arc.

BRUCE BANNER / HULK

Bruce has finally come full circle as well. He started off wanting to actually kill himself because of the Hulk, but now he has found the ‘Professor Hulk’ middle ground. He even says he sees it as an ‘evolution’ (X-Men reference/hint maybe??). After Ragnarok and Infinity War, something during those five years lead both Hulk and Bruce to accept each other. Just imagine how happy Hulk was when those kids came up asking for a photo. It’s no longer “Earth hates Hulk”. Hulk is a hero, he has fans! Young kids who aren’t scared. Bruce doesn’t have to be scared of running rampant and out of control and hurting innocent people. He doesn’t need to be locked in a cage. He can be completely who he is without holding back.

Bruce admitting that he tried to bring back Natasha with his Snap…oof.

NATASHA ROMANOFF / NATALIE RUSHMAN/ BLACK WIDOW & CLINT BARTON / HAWKEYE / RONIN

I actually really liked the beginning and how they handled Hawkeye’s story. Him helping Lila with her Archery and her walking out of frame, then when it cuts back to where she should’ve been only some dust particles in the air? Amazing, show not tell. We didn’t need to actively see Clint’s family dust away (honestly it makes it sadder that he didn’t see it either, didn’t know what happened, they were just gone). And we didn’t need a scene of him talking about it. We just got into it. The Ronin story isn’t my favorite but I’m glad too much time wasn’t spent on it and only the parts that mattered were addressed. That his family is gone and he’s angry. Natasha still cares about him deeply and has been looking for him.

Also..who puts mayo on a hot dog?

Natasha and Clint’s relationship is one that I really like. It’s this pure friendship and salvation from the beginning. Clint was the one who made the call to not kill her, but rather show her a different path. In Endgame, Natasha does the exact same for Clint. She takes him from being a ruthless assassin, angry at the world, to fighting for the good guys again. They are family. She is Aunt Nat to his kids, friends with his wife. She knows about his family and ‘secret’ life when no other Avengers did. It’s because of him (and Nick Fury) that she has a family not only in them, but the rest of the Avengers. But it just makes stories like Infinity War/Endgame and Civil War sadder for her because, almost all the other Avengers have a life outside of the team, and have families to go to, but not her. So when they break up, and aren’t talking, she is left alone. No wonder she stays at the compound. When Rhodey is telling her about Clint and she starts crying, it’s so sad, because he was her family and he just left.

Natasha and Clint literally fighting over who gets to sacrifice themself? Big oof. Natasha really makes me like Clint’s character in the films. And as much as I love the “refund theory” of Steve returning the soul stone to Vormir and getting Natasha back, and I would love a better send off (like with Thor) I think her story has really come full circle.

One of the biggest themes I noticed in her arc throughout the films is choice. When she was in the Red Room, she had no choice but to do what she was told, because of what happened there she doesn’t get the choice of having children or not. In Winter Soldier she felt like she felt like the choice of fighting for the ‘good’ guys was an illusion. Etc. But here is the biggest choice she can make, and she decided that she’d rather die so everyone else, everyone she cares about, can have a chance. She wasn’t going to let someone else make that choice for her. She did it despite Clint’s protest. She finally found something, someone she chose to die for. And the imagery of her on the ground not only mirrors her position in Tony’s vision from AOU, but the pool of blood draining from her is almost literally her getting the red out of her ledger like she mentions she wants to do in Avengers. “I’ve got red on my ledger. Now I need to wipe it out.” She has finally atoned for all the bad she has done.

I know she didn’t get a funeral scene or a big send off, but I think that was as to not overshadow or take away from Tony’s. Which is sad. Maybe we will get a better send off in a different film or show. We did get those lines from Clint and Wanda about hoping she knew that they did it, that her sacrifice wasn’t for nothing. Which is small, but it is the person who cared about her the most.

Also...did no one tell Clint and Natasha that they would need to sacrifice someone to get the stone? Surely Nebula knew...

STEVEN ROGERS / CAPTAIN AMERICA

“I can do this all day.” “Yeah, I know.” Even Steve is tired of himself.

Scott: “That’s America’s Ass.”

Steve, later, looking at his own ass on a past version of himself: “That is America’s Ass.”

My mind immediately when we heard Sam’s voice over Steve’s comm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB1D9wWxd2w

Also on that note... I absolutely love that Sam was the one that Steve choose to carry on Captain America’s legacy. In the comics both Sam and Bucky take up the mantle and I was sincerely hoping Bucky wouldn’t in the films. At least not at first. Bucky has so much interesting story to explore from when he was the Winter Soldier and still has so much healing to do from not only that time, but everything he was thrust back into when he was still settling in Wakanda..and being dusted. In the films, Sam is perfect to be the Captain America of modern times. He knows how the modern world works, he’s been in the military, dealt with war (both earthly threats and extra terrestrial), and I feel he’s emotionally/mentally stable enough for it. Hell he ran a veteran support group which inspired Steve to run a support group for survivors during the five years after the snap. Also, I don’t think I need to get into why having a Black/African-American Captain America in these times is amazing. I would love to see him in a movie, but if we get a live action show on the Disney+ streaming service, I think that would be great.

When they showed someone sitting on the bench, I was like okay that’s Steve. But how skinny and small he looked I thought it was going to be Pre-Serum Steve...but no, we got old man Steve. Which surprised me, it shouldn’t have but it did, because when he left and they couldn’t bring him back I leaned over to my sister and said “he stayed in the ‘40s”. But I had like 1000 thoughts running through my head every second of this movie. (except when the theater fell silent when Tony...ya know) It sorta reminded me of Logan for a hot second...

I’ve seen some people say, "It's not in character for Steve to live a life and not fight".

Every single movie has been building to Steve getting more and more tired of fighting. First he sacrifices himself for everyone else. Then he is woken up to fight in a war, and a world, he barely knows anything about, and starts seeing that privacy and freedom might not mean the same things they use to. That the governments meant to protect the people have even more secrets and lies, and are becoming more violent and ruthless. His whole vision sequence (and basically entire arc) in AOU was about how he needs war and to fight but how he doesn’t want that to be the case. He wants to go home. He wants the 40s. He wants Peggy. He wanted Bucky. He wants a family and a life. It hints that sometimes he may feel he doesn’t deserve it, or that the time for that has passed.

He didn't leave Bucky behind, Bucky knew full well what was happening and didn't seem too bothered. He knew and was happy that Steve had this chance. He loves him and wouldn't keep him from that. More than likely Bucky sees a future for himself as well, just not in the 40s. Bucky could have went back with him if he wanted to. But he didn't. Sam even offers to go back with Steve, Bucky standing right there and Steve says it's okay. Bucky doesn't protest. Bucky is smiling. Plus we don't know exactly what happened. Maybe Steve would have still fought here and there, maybe he did help that timeline/universe Bucky. He did still have the shield with him. Or maybe he was a house husband/dad while Peggy worked. Whatever he did he was clearly happy and content with all his choices and no one protested.

I actually really love this ending for Steve. He finally gets to rest. He finally gets the woman he loves. He can be content knowing the world is safe and that there are others willing to protect it. From the skinny, sick, kid who was always searching for a fight and felt he was (or had to be) alone in the world. He found a family, his love, a life.

TONY STARK / IRON MAN

I really love that for the scene in the 70s they used James D’Arcy to play Edwin Jarvis. He played Jarvis in the Agent Carter show, and I think most people who watch any of the shows know that the shows are payed dirt in the MCU movies. So as someone who loved that show, loved the characters and actors, seeing that was great! It intertwines the show more closely to the films, and it was nice for Tony to see the other man who raised him even for a second. Yeah it would’ve been nice to see Paul Bettany, but I feel he is more connected to J.A.R.V.I.S Tony’s A.I rather than the actual person of Jarvis.

I love that Tony gets a reunion/closure with his father (similar to Thor’s with his mother). Before his own untimely death, he gets to talk with his father and really see things through his eyes and learn what his mind set truly was. Now that he’s a father himself he understands a bit more the struggles Howard had, he knows Howards own self doubts. That despite everything Howard cared, and that Howard’s own father was cruel to him. And they get to share that last hug and is able to thank him! Just like he wanted to in Civil War. He gets to say I love you, and thank you for everything.

Peter says he “got all dusty. Then [he] must’ve passed out”. So like...no time passed for those who got dusted in the snap...

I was sorta hoping Tony would wield Mjolnir as well, but he didn’t :/ but it’s fine. He doesn’t need it. He wields the Gauntlet/Infinity Stones.

Something Kevin Smith brought up that I hadn’t really thought of was that Tony was completely set. While he definitely had regrets and felt guilty, he had a good life in front of him. He 100% could have just lived the rest of his natural born days out with his family and been as happy as he could have been. But seeing that picture of Peter, and knowing all that was lost, feeling guilty, and just being the self-sacrificial man he is, risked it all for everyone else. Knowing it could go wrong, he still did it.

Tony’s scene towards the beginning was the first time I almost cried. After he gets rescued, and they are talking in the compound. He is so skinny and in a wheelchair and hooked up to the IV. Cap starts talking, like he always does, and Tony just is not here for it. This is exactly what he said was going to happen, this was the culmination of all the PTSD and anxiety he has had for 8 years. It happened, he was right. No one wanted to listen to him. People gave him so much shit for Ultron and the Accords and literally everything that he has ever done, and this happens and he (pardon my language) snapped on Steve. It was heartbreaking. Because he tried so hard to prevent it. Steve told him they would lose together but he was alone. He watched the kid he cared about disappear in his arms, had no idea who else he cared about who could’ve done the same, and he was alone in space (well Nebula was there, but..he didn’t know her really, they were forced to get to know each other. Remember she showed up when they were already battling Thanos). He was suffering, believing he was going to die. No oxygen, no food, no water…and when he gets back Steve just wants to jump back in, and get information out of him? No. He has had enough. Steve lied. Sure maybe he didn’t mean to, but he said they would work together and then Civil War happened. He made a decision in that movie to be on the opposite side of Tony. I’m not saying that Steve wasn’t justified in his actions in Age of Ultron, or Civil War or anything after, but just that from Tony’s perspective, Steve was continuously putting other people and things in front of him. He probably thought that Steve would make an effort if they were truly friends, and if he truly cared Steve would’ve done more to salvage their friendship but didn’t. I have a whole thing with Steve and how he acted but I just know Tony was hurt, and one person he thought he could turn to, wasn’t there. And the line he closes out his rant with? “No trust, liar.” That hit like a ton of bricks.

When Tony asks Dr.Strange if this was the one they won, Strange says he can’t tell him or it won’t happen. But later Tony looks at him and holds up one finger, telling him this is the one. He told him because he knows that Tony already knows and has come to terms with what has to happen. Tony knows he has to get the stones and Snap Thanos away, knowing that it could kill him. So Dr.Strange just affirmed it for him. If he would’ve told him earlier, than Tony might’ve thought of a different plan, or thought he could make it out, maybe he would’ve gotten excited and cocky. That also means that from the moment Strange looked into the future in IW he knew Tony was going to die. Yeah he knew Thanos needed the time stone because the Snap needed to happen in the first place for them to reverse it, but he also knew Tony was going to make this sacrifice, and couldn’t die just yet. I always thought that Tony was the key after Infinity War, but now it explains why Dr. Strange’s demeanor changes after that.

I almost cried a lot during this film but I actually cried during Tony’s death and funeral scene. Bookending the entire saga with “I am Iron Man”. How Rhodey goes up to him, then Peter (Tom Holland never fails to make me cry when he’s playing Peter), mirroring the last moments in Infinity War, “We won. We did it Mr.Stark”. Then Pepper goes up to him, and has to look at him and he seems almost...catatonic. He isn’t responding, just staring at each of them. Pepper has to watch her love, her husband, the father of her child, die. But she still reassures and comforts him, telling him he can rest now… and i’m about to cry just writing this omg… Then the light of the arc reactor blinks out and you know for real that he’s gone. Tony leaves a message for them knowing his fate, book ending the film from the message he was leaving at the beginning of the movie, to the message he’s leaving for them now. He loves Morgan 3000. Just knowing over the years, Morgan and Pepper will go back and watch this message. Morgan will grow up knowing her father saved the universe with his own hands. They will probably have suits and old tech around that she will be able to look at and play with and tinker with (because you cannot convince me Tony Stark’s daughter won’t be as much of a tinkerer as him). The “Proof Tony Stark Has A Heart” display is sent adrift in the lake outside their home, Little Morgan sitting with her mom. And every person who Tony has come to know and love is watching. Millions more probably mourning all over the world (and in our universe as well). Tony started as an arrogant, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, rich kid with more brains then he could handle, and become the self sacrificial saviour of the universe. He’s been through the worst things, kidnapped, tortured, betrayed, watched people die in front of his eyes, get hurt because of him, etc. But always was looking for a way to make things better for everyone else. He is 100% the heart of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Robert Downey Jr. is the heart of the MCU. Him and Jon Favreau and Kevin Feige took a chance on a movie that was guaranteed to do the best in 2008, improvised through a film with little to no script and built an empire. Robert is Tony Stark in sooo many ways other than both having rich and famous dads. Tortured, and regretful pasts that they rose above. I cannot sing the praises of this character or this man more. So I will end it here. It will sad to go forward without the character, but we really won’t be. Tony and Robert are cemented in every Marvel film and every film to come.

Thank you to all the creators, crew, directors, writers and actors. Robert Downey Jr., Kevin Feige, Jon Favreau, Stan Lee, Joe Simon, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, etc. <3 Thank you!

#avengers #avengers endgame #spoilers #endgame spoilers #marvel #tony stark #iron man #captain america #steve rogers #natasha romanoff #thoughts #personal #opinion #avengers spoilers

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Penn Badgley on His Twisted Stalker in 'You' and the Dark Side of 'Gossip Girl' Fame

New Post has been published on http://gr8gossip.xyz/penn-badgley-on-his-twisted-stalker-in-you-and-the-dark-side-of-gossip-girl-fame/

Penn Badgley on His Twisted Stalker in 'You' and the Dark Side of 'Gossip Girl' Fame

Penn Badgley, best known as Dan Humphrey, patron saint of Brooklyn loft-dwellers and scraggly MFA students, is finally playing another TV heartthrob. Except the heartthrob is a funhouse mirror distortion of a romantic lead, deploying his good looks and ardor to stalk the object of his affection and terrorize the people she loves. Meet Joe, the anti-hero of Lifetime’s You.

You is everything a Lifetime show starring an ex-Gossip Girl dreamboat shouldn’t be. It’s sardonic, biting, and more than a little terrifying. As a meta-commentary on the dangers of media representations of romance—particularly the notion of getting the girl at any cost, even if she doesn’t want to be got—You is essentially critiquing the kind of series it could have been.

Viewers tuning in expecting a “21st century romance” will find instead a gripping satire, anchored by Badgley’s truly sick performance. It’s the perfect role for an actor who has emerged from the singular experience of being crushed on, obsessed over, and adored by millions of strangers. When it comes to Joe, Badgley’s greatest concern is that he isn’t creepy enough—that, despite the actor’s best efforts and protestations, the world will fall in love with him all over again.

Joe is a bookstore manager who spends his days ogling first editions and female customers. When he first encounters Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail), You’s love interest, he narrates her entrance in a brilliant internal monologue that’s at once intellectual and obsessive, complimentary on the surface but misogynistic at its core. He wonders if, finally, he’s met someone who isn’t like all the other girls—someone who’s actually deserving of his intelligence, and his adoration. Almost immediately, he concludes that Beck is begging for his attention. It’s in the loud bangles that she wears, and her V-neck shirt. She’s asking for it. Joe knows what he wants, and more importantly, he presumes to know what she wants too. So when he finds Beck on social media, hunts down her address, and proceeds to stalk her, inserting himself more and more aggressively into her life in ways both seen and unseen, it’s all under the guise of facilitating her happily ever after.

Joe sees himself as the romantic lead; we quickly come to realize that the story that’s playing out in his head is not the one we’re seeing on screen. As Joe huddles in Beck’s shower after breaking into her house, he quips to himself, “I’ve seen enough romantic comedies to know that men like me are always getting in jams like this.” The genius here is that Joe isn’t wrong. Placing classic rom-com plots within this predatory context helps the viewer to critically examine what we’ve been sold as romance. In You, stalking behaviors and boundary pushing are revealed for what they really are—early signs of an unhealthy relationship that are likely to escalate. Badgley sees Joe as “a monkey wrench or a grenade,” following common romantic narratives to their disturbing conclusions and breaking them down in the process. “He’s like, I’m following the logic,” Badgley explained in a phone interview with The Daily Beast. “I’m infatuated, and I will stop at nothing for the object of my affection. This is what I’m packaged and sold, and no one’s been able to tell me differently.”

“Of course he must be held accountable,” Badgley continued, “because everybody needs to account for themselves, but at the same time, at some point, everyone is an innocent child. And at some point that innocent child receives a miseducation.”

In the name of love and chivalry, Joe is determined to learn everything about Beck and protect her at all costs. First, he zeroes in on Beck’s sometimes-boyfriend, Benji. Joe doesn’t see himself as a predator taking out the competition, but as a savior who knows that Beck’s ex is no good for her. Benji, he believes, doesn’t understand the real Beck—the one whom Joe has constructed from fleeting conversations, social media, and glimpses of her outside a window.

Badgley knows a thing or two about Joe’s brand of asphyxiating affection. As the star of a mammoth teen drama, Badgley was watched on and off screen. Actual New York City high schoolers stalked the Gossip Girl set in the hopes of seeing their favorite cast members. Many Gossip Girl actors, including Badgley, were romantically linked in real life, further blurring the lines between television and reality. So Badgley understands how it feels to have a stranger think that they “know” you, when what they really know is a character, or a product of their own imagination.

When asked how he relates to the central themes of the show on a personal level, as someone who has experienced “semi-obsessive fame,” Badgley responded, “Well not semi, pretty full-on obsession.”

“I think as an actor you can become an object of desire, which is something women are already accustomed to more or less around the world—I’ve definitely been, I mean I don’t want to sound sensationalist, but I’ve literally been molested—just in the literal sense of the word—by many people in the moment. Because that’s what they do.” Badgley was thoughtful and cautious when discussing this; he doesn’t want it to be taken the wrong way, and is quick to acknowledge the privilege that being a man, not to mention a white man, affords him. But recent events have caused him to revisit these experiences and reconsider them—Badgley cited Terry Crews as one catalyst, saying, “these things very much happen, you know.”

“And it’s interesting to even hear you have that reaction, like ‘I’m sorry,’ because I didn’t even think of it that way then,’ he continued. “You’re led as a man, particularly, that when it happens you should feel great about it. Particularly when it comes from someone who’s feasibly an object of your desire as well. And I think that’s the interesting thing about this show, is that Joe looks like me, he acts and talks like me to a degree, so I think the audience is supposed to be like, ‘Aw that might be nice if someone was that infatuated with me.’”

He is absolutely right. Joe, like Dan Humphrey before him and like Badgley himself, is a good-looking man. He possesses stereotypically attractive traits—he’s charming, funny, intelligent, and caring. He also locks people up in a sound-proof cage in the basement of his bookstore.

Badgley has previously described the show as a “litmus test to see the mental gymnastics that we’re still willing to perform on a cultural level, to love an evil white man.” Will viewers buy into the romance narrative that Joe is writing, the love story in his head, against all odds and evidence to the contrary? Badgley said that he knew while they were making the show that “it stood the chance to be as compelling as it is—and I sort of hated everything about that sometimes.”

“I don’t want to sound sensationalist, but I’ve literally been molested—just in the literal sense of the word—by many people in the moment. Because that’s what they do.”

— Penn Badgley

“I was really frustrated,” he continued. “I was like, why is this the story that we’re telling? And by we I don’t just mean the creators of the show, I mean anybody who’s participating in it by watching it.”

Nothing could be timelier than considering Joe, and viewers’ reactions to Joe, as a window into the “mental gymnastics” of forgiving, empathizing with, or even coming to love a predatory man. And while Badgley might be deeply conflicted about his character, he’s excited about the potential for meaningful debate and conversation. “I think that a lot of the conversations that we’re having around the show are elevated and have a depth that I really appreciate because, for all the faults and all of the perils of the times we live in, we are becoming more sensitive to some things.” Citing the Me Too movement, he continued, “I think it’s significant that a show like this is coming out now, because if it had come out any other time, we might not have been having these necessary conversations around it. And we might have been all too ready to consume something that I think actually has some really dangerous seeds in it.”

Which isn’t to say that Badgley didn’t fight like hell to make Joe as unpalatable as possible. “In the pilot episode,” he recalled, “The director was trying to get me to be at some points less disgusting. Like when I’m masturbating on the side of the street, he really wanted me to close my eyes. And I was pretty adamant—I don’t remember what they ended up using, but I only closed my eyes for one take, because I was pretty adamant about not wanting to do it. And it’s because it was so much creepier with my eyes open. Like, why are we trying—Joe is masturbating on the side of the street as he watches a young woman…and we’re worried about it being too creepy?! Do we not think it’s already crossed that line?”

“So I was always kind of on the sidelines like, we don’t need to defend Joe. We don’t need to defend Joe.”

In addition to its sinister lead, You offers a taxonomy of “bad men,” as Beck navigates predatory professors and casually cruel exes. Joe is well-attuned to these gendered injustices. He describes Beck’s hilariously douchey hook-up as “the poster boy for white male privilege,” and is enraged when Beck’s advisor makes a pass at her and takes away her teaching job when she doesn’t put out. It’s a sharp and instantly recognizable portrayal of the “woke” dude who convincingly masks his internalized misogyny. Joe thinks he’s saving Beck from a lesser breed of men, when he is actually the worst man of all. And there’s a lot of competition.

“Joe is masturbating on the side of the street as he watches a young woman…and we’re worried about it being too creepy?! Do we not think it’s already crossed that line?”

— Penn Badgley

Badgley described the You set as a “learning experience,” pointing out that “by and large, all of the people responsible for this thing are women.” He lists Caroline Kepnes, author of the novel You, and Sera Gamble, who co-wrote and created the series with Greg Berlanti. “But really she’s the one at the helm, and I think Greg would immediately concede that,” he adds. “And most of our directors were female, most of the writers were female, most of the cast was female. There were just a couple of men involved.”

“So quite often, it would just open up this—I would just listen to why it is that the women involved were interested in this thing, and how it is that they saw it.” But at the end of the day, to hear Badgley describe it, playing Joe was a lonely and at times deeply uncomfortable experience. Talking about the allure of the project, Badgley cited fascinating themes central to the series and source novel, but added that, “The prospect of actually embodying Joe—being the sole person who actually has to embody Joe was not actually something I was really excited about at first. It’s a very different experience to watch Joe than to be him, and I’m the only one who has to do that.”

With a laugh, he concluded, “I guess like everything that I’ve done, I have a conflicted relationship to it.” It doesn’t take Joe-caliber online research to uncover Badgley’s ambivalence towards his most famous role. In the past, he’s pointed out that neither the show’s ending nor Gossip Girl itself made any sense (true), and called his character a “judgmental douchebag.”

Badgley has spent years being mistaken for Dan Humphrey, a fictional character. No wonder he’s pushed back against interpretations of You that posit that Joe is just an updated version of Dan Humphrey with a better internet connection—the well-read, cynical outsider who falls for the bubbly blonde (and stalks her every move online). It’s an easy first instinct, and “Dan Humphrey is back”-style headlines abound.

But Joe isn’t Dan 2.0—a role that Badgley doesn’t seem keen to revisit. Instead, he’s an opportunity to parody the Gossip Girl character, exaggerating the obvious flaws that teenage fans probably overlooked. Rather than a reprisal of the beloved role, viewers will find a clever takedown of the bookish outsider archetype (judgmental douchebag indeed). It’s not a stretch to say that Badgley’s murderous new character is taking a sledgehammer to Dan Humphrey and delivering a final, fatal blow.

Badgley might not be playing Dan, but he is returning to TV in a splashy starring role—and his face has been plastered all over New York City. Asked if he’s ready to be back in the spotlight, Badgley is once again conflicted. After Gossip Girl, “I definitely took a break,” he explained. “I definitely had to question if I wanted to keep doing what I’ve been doing. But I’m excited—I think.”

“When it comes to the fame side of things,” he continued, “I don’t think anybody, whether they’re famous or not, could claim to understand that phenomenon or have any sort of power over it. So I’m just cautious and careful.”

“For the time being I’m interested in this show, I’m excited by it, and like I said, if these kinds of conversations can be had, that’s great. And if I’m gonna be ‘more famous’ or whatever, if that comes along with it then…sure.” He sighed, unsure again. “I mean, it’s not one thing! With it comes blessings, and with it comes burdens, and that’s life, right? So I just suppose we’ll see.”

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Taking back the market: An auditory dérive through Pueblito Paisa

Dérive (“drift”) in psychogeographic terms, suggests to derive the meaning of a place by passing through its varied ambiences with a playful and constructive awareness of the space and the encounters which it facilitates (Debord 1958). The concept offers a lens through which I will explore microclimates within the Seven Sisters market in Tottenham. My approach to this study was heavily influenced by spacial theorists such as Henri Lefebvre and David Harvey, whose book “Rebel Cities” I happened to be reading at the time of discovering the market. Pueblito Paisa, strongly resembles Harvey’s idea of a “microstate”, which he describes as an autonomously functioning fragmented state, that is born out of the stark polarization of wealth in highly urbanized cities (Harvey 2013, p.15). In the market, I’m also reminded of the concept of heterotopia, which according to Foucault, is a non-hegemonic space of “otherness” and, in the case of Pueblito Paisa, illustrates the result of social heteronomy, a product of class systems within urban capitalist centers. In this heterotopia however, “ethnic, gender and language inequality are key factors in encouraging agency and entrepreneurship which contribute to a sense of belongingness, identity and self-representation” (Roman-Velazquez 2013).

This fieldwork project, in the shape of diary entries and a sound map, reflects an exploration of the market through dérive. It aims to shed light on the complex social fabric that forms Pueblito Paisa’s community and illustrate the important role that such communities play in today’s urban context.

The market (When referring to the market, the names “Latin Village”, “Seven Sisters market”, and “Pueblito Paisa” are used interchangeably.)

Latin Village, located at 231-243 High Rd., contains 39 shops, of which 23 are owned or leased by Latin American retailers (Roman-Velazquez 2013). After Elephant & Castle in Southwark, The Seven Sisters market has the second highest concentration of Latin American business in London (Cabrera 2017). Since 2004, Haringey Council and Grainger development company have been negotiating a regeneration scheme for the area which requires the demolition of the market to make way for 196 non-affordable residential units and 40,000 sq. ft of retail space. Although the developers promise to provide a new long term home for the Seven Sisters Market within this space, the market community fears that it will disintegrate and be unable to afford the rent in the new development (https://tottenham.london/WC).

1. December: My first visit to Pueblito Paisa

I’m sitting in Latin Village’s Peruvian restaurant, “Pueblito Paisa Café”, which looks out on to the Seven Sisters station, allowing a glimpse of the outside world and reminding me that I’m in London. The restaurant is the only place I’ve spotted any other “gringxs”, by which I’m referring to people like myself. Regarding most of the market community is Latin American and speak little to no English, I completely forget my geographic location.

Music is ubiquitous. Almost every shop has its own speakers, playing a selection of Bachata, Salsa, Merengue and Cumbia tracks. Multiple tv-screens hang above the aisles, displaying the, mostly Youtube, playlists. Music is a vital element of the market’s soundscape and its impact on people’s uplifted mood is striking. Conversations are interrupted by familiar tunes, when spoken dialogue turns in to a song, whistle or dance. While wandering through the market like a tourist, I meet Alejandro Gonzalez Gortazar, a Cuban journalist and artist who’s been in the UK for 10 years and has known the market equally as long. He’s helping his friend Fabian, who owns the restaurant “Monantial”, with renovations. Having heard that the market would soon be moved to a temporary location, I am surprised to see people investing time and money in improving a space which developers were threatening to demolish. He happens to break for a cigarette so I take the chance to approach him and introduce myself, hoping he would be able to tell me more about the market. Luckily, he’s eager to speak and begins to talk about Pueblito Paisa’s foundation. According to Alejandro, a group of Colombian immigrants discovered the market about 20 years ago, which then was a half vacant market run by mainly African traders. Noticing they could rent stalls for cheap, they took their chances and started businesses, sending out for kin in Colombia to join in on the opportunities.

All of the market’s stalls have a commercial purpose, but still people seem to be using the space as a community center. There’s a notion of informality and inclusiveness at Pueblito Paisa which allows the general public access to and usage of the space without the pressure to consume or spend money. I think that markets function as important places of integration and solidarity for diverse communities and vulnerable people, where they can find affordable (and sometimes even free) food, social networks and even job opportunities. So why talk about Pueblito Paisa? And why through my eyes and ears, a gringa who has no prior connection to the market or the Latin American community.My sense of “rootlessness”, having been raised in Austria by a Canadian mother and an Iraqi father, has sparked my interest in the formations of “homes away from home” by immigrants and displaced peoples. At Latin Village, sound strikes me as one of the most powerful stimulants in recreating this sense of home. The omnipresence of Latin-American music, Spanish speaking voices, the sizzling of empanadas in the deep friers. Modern technology has enhanced the mobile notion of sound, allowing displaced people to reclaim space through sound and reestablish a sense of “home” wherever they go.Pueblito Paisa offers a fascinating location to study sound’s capacity to communicate impressions of a vibrant community’s social dynamics which is experiencing a period of transition. The Seven Sisters regeneration plans will uproot a well established community and possibly eliminate its collective memory. All I feel that my project can achieve is to exhibit the importance of this market to the livelihood and wellbeing of a community which is overlooked by developers interested in little more than reproducing capital wealth. To create documents that will allow the continuation of Pueblito Paisa’s existence, if only in people’s memory.

6. December: Second visit with Rita

(Screenshot taken of Seven sisters market through Google Maps Street View)

We’re sitting in Pueblito Paisa Café’s conservatory again, juxtaposed between two realms, Latin Village and Seven Sisters. The market is invisible, hiding in plain sight behind trees and vegetable vendors on High Rd., making it hard for passersby to assume what lays behind. This invisibility has offered the community a safe place to establish and express itself freely but the market’s lack of visibility has also made it hard for the community to gain the support they need to protect it.

This time with Rita, my Spanish speaking friend who’s offered to help with translation, we meet Fernando and his colleague Nixon of El EstanQuillo, Pueblito Paisa’s most dynamic hang-out, functioning as a grocery store, butcher, bakery, café, bar, and dance club. Nixon is a baker from Colombia who came to London and found work in Fernando’s shop two years ago. The space is a melting pot of sounds, where the noise of a juice mixer blends with Colombian christmas music and the chopping of meat. All the while kids, sipping on their hot chocolates, watch their parents dance with Corona bottles in their hands. Just across the aisle, we find Fabian from “Manantial”, replacing the carpet in front of his restaurant, completing the renovation process that Alejandro started last week. Later I find out through Mirca Morera, the founder of the Social Enterprise Latin Corner UK and one of the leading women fighting to save the market and protect the rights of its traders, that Fabian is a victim of the 7/7 bombings and is currently facing eviction charges on false accusations by the council appointed market facilitator, Jonathan Owen.

Just next door is the salon of a lovely Portuguese hairdresser, who is repainting her storefront and invites us to the reopening of her shop the following Saturday. Mirca will later tell me that she has a heart condition relies on the income and stability that the market can offer her, to ensure her health and livelihood. While she chats to us about family and work, her warm and welcoming spirit makes us feel like she’s always known us. Some in the market recognize me and wonder how I am and where I’ve been. Many traders tell me that their customers to them are friends before potential income-sources. “When a frequent customer doesn’t show up for a couple of days, I begin to worry and, if possible, call them to see if they’re alright”, Victoria Alvarez tells me. Vicky is the president of the association El Pueblito Paisa Ltd, owns two businesses in the market and is the face of the current crowd-funding campaign striving to raise 7,500 pounds towards a legal defense fund to preserve the market and its community.

9. December: Third visit with Paul

We’ve decided that Latin Village reveals elements of the failing system we live in.

Pueblito Paisa succeeds in protecting individuals who have fled economic hardship and possibly persecution, by offering them job opportunities and social networks. Rather than just facilitating economic reproduction, the space functions as a safe place guaranteeing the community’s happiness. Here, individuals do not self-maximize for the sake of reproducing their own wealth, but rather self-sustain for the sake of reproducing their own and community’s happiness. In an ideal reality, where governing systems enforce city development to improve the life quality of its citizens, particularly minorities and the most vulnerable, the protection of spaces, like Pueblito Paisa, woul be of highest priority.

Upon arriving at the market we head straight to El EstanQuillo to visit Nixon and Fernando. “Bomba En Navidad” by Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz, who Nixon adores, is playing while customers dance beneath the christmas decoration. We go over to see the Portuguese hairdresser who’s celebrating the reopening of her shop. She invites us in for snacks and drinks and to dance to some Reggaeton tunes together with her family and friends. After getting in touch with Latin Village UK over Facebook in the hopes of learning more about the organisation’s activities, Mirca invites me to the market to chat this evening. I find her sitting at her little community desk which she has set up in her stepfather’s video and music shop, “Videomania”. Her table is surrounded by artwork made by children from the market community, for who she organizes regular field trips to universities and museums. A trained educator, Mirca adores and is adored by the market community. With slogans and hashtags like, “take the Victoria line to Latin America”, she’s targeting the anglophone community through Latin Village UK’s campaigns. She’s also taken her plead to the UN triggering an intervention by the UN working group on business and human rights. Mirca and Vicky Alvarez seem to be the informal mayors of the market. They know the names and stories of everyone and fight restlessly to make their stories heard. They tell me that half of Pueblito Paisa’s business owners are female and that the market plays an important role in offering women, especially from Latin America, the opportunity of employment or entrepreneurship. These opportunities have raised their self-esteem and empowered their agency in a city which makes it extremely difficult for migrants, particularly female, to integrate into the job market.

Above: Images from Latin Village UK’s crowdfunding campaign: https://www.instagram.com/savelatinvillage

Below: Video still from Latin Village UK’s campaign video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luEy65Y5n7s

16. December: Fourth visit alone

I’m on the tube heading back South, siting across from three men who left the market the same time as I did. They recognize me, smile and start speaking to me in Spanish, the market’s notion of community clashing with London underground’s nature of anonymity. It’s an incredibly precious feeling, realizing that inside this vast city, a sense of familiarity amongst strangers is possible.

Back at the market, I sit inside Vicky’s salon, chatting to her and Mirca while outside the market begins to fill up for an evening full of music and dance. Vicky tell her life story, of how she arrived in London from Colombia about 30 years ago. It was only until her father was murdered due to the Colombian conflict, that the UK granted her asylum and she was able to flee the country. She lost four of her siblings during the war and has undergone immense trauma, making her a very anxious person today. She tells me that the current market facilitator, Jonathan Owen, uses harassment to tear apart the market community and make way for developers to start working on the regeneration project. Many community members are Colombian refugees and suffer from PTDS. Vicky fears for the mental health of the community and is convinced that Jonathan’s bullying and threats may evoke anxiety and flashbacks of the terror they lived through in Colombia. “We are not just a shopping market, we are like a psychological clinic, a therapeutic market.” (Roman-Velazquez 2013). I am deeply humbled by Vicky and Mirca, who fight day and night to protect the market. Not to ensure their own livelihoods, but to defend their community’s right to existence, free cultural expression, and mental health and stability.

In the bathroom, which goes dark after 9PM when electricity is cut, I meet Lorena who is holding up her phone to illuminate the bathroom. She notices that I’m new to the market and asks me how I like it here. “I love it, what about you?”. She laughs, “me? I am Colombian, of course I love it! It’s the best place in London”. We continue to chat about life in the city while she holds the flashlight over the sink while I wash my hands.

Pueblito Paisa is a place of casual heart-warming encounters like this, a public space in its purest form, which is open to all and is shaped by the diverse people who use it. These are the spaces we need most in increasingly urbanizing cities like London where urban commons are reclaimed by profit-driven developers who are privatizing the city for their own economic benefit. It is places like Latin Village that remind us that cities can exist for people and not only for profit. It is places like this that make me feel “at home”.

“Dériving” in Pueblito Paisa: A sound map

Follow the link for the soundscape and its description (to trace the dérive, refer to the map above):

https://soundcloud.com/emily-sarsam/pueblito-paisa-an-auditory-derive

Follow the link for a Spotify playlist of music heard at Pueblito Paisa:

https://open.spotify.com/user/1111197818/playlist/1y5DaUkpu0nnBbowCwv2hM

References:

Cabrera, Maria. “We need to recognise the latinx community in the UK: Save Pueblito Paisa.” http://www.gal-dem.com/latinx-community-pueblito-paisa/ (accessed December 30, 2017)

Costa-Kostritsky, Valeria. “‘I won’t be displaced again’: the fight to save London's latin market.” https://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/valeria-costa-kostritsky/fight-to-save-london-latin-market (accessed December 30, 2017)

Debord, Guy. “Theory of the Dérive”. 1958. http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/2.derive.htm (accessed December 30, 2017)

Harvey, David. Rebel Cities: From the Right to the City to the Urban Revolution. Paperback edition. London: Verso, 2013.

Roman-Velazquez, Patria. Valuing the work of small ethnic retail in London: Latin retail at E&C and Seven Sisters. Presentation given at Department of Sociology, UCL. 23 March 2013. https://latinelephant.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/valuing-small-ethnic-retail-space_ec.pdf (accessed December 30, 2017)

Photographs & Map:

All Photographs and the map are my own.

Photo 1 (cover) : An aisle in Pueblito Paisa, 2017.

Photo 2: El Pueblito Paisa Café, 2017.

Photo 3: El EstanQuillo, 2017.

Photo 4: Tiendas Manuelita, 2017.

Photo 5: Horvipan, 2017.

Photo 6: El EstanQuillo, 2017.

#latin village #pueblito paisa #colombia #london #tottenham #haringey #gentrification #soundscape #seven sisters

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