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artbyblastweave · 1 month

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Okay, Time for that belated Shrinking Rae post-

In the comics, Shrinking Ray's "arc" (bearing in mind an extremely liberal definition of that term, they had exactly one scene showcasing this) was that he was implied to be developing an inferiority complex; he's not necessarily incompetent, but he's out of his niche, his clever shrinking-based plans kept getting upstaged by brute-force solutions from the more conventionally powerful heroes like Invincible. He's the scrawny, nerdy little guy with the joke powers, he never gets a win, and in most fights he literally isn't visible. In the fight with the Lizard League his death is framed as pathetic and ineffectual- there's one or two panels between "I'll make you pay!" and getting eaten alive by Komodo. All of this is doing a couple of things- it's emphasizing that again, this is in fact a story and setting where superheroes sometimes just die really badly with limited fanfare- a thing that IIRC hadn't happened since the original Guardians team wipe in issue 7. Second, it's an indicator that the new Guardians are structurally kind of on the ropes. They're heavily staffed by second stringers, they exact second they have to split their forces they suffer a 66 percent casualty rate, and that's with backing from two capes who aren't actually part of the team. Grim! Anyway, when they do the adaptation Shrinking Ray becomes Shrinking Rae, because they want to tweak the gender balance of the cast and the pun is too good to pass up. But I think that there was a reasonable reluctance to transfer the "arc" from the comics one-to-one, because to be blunt, "Ineffectual Nebbish Glasses-wearer who whines a lot and dies pathetically," paired with absolutely nothing else, is gonna read as misogynistic if the character is a woman now. So in the adaptation Rae is markedly more competent. We're introduced to her taking down a much larger opponent by fucking around inside his ear canal, which becomes a favored trick of hers. There are traces of the self-esteem thing- the visual gag where she physically shrinks about a foot when getting chewed out in the briefing- but the overall throughline isn't "look at this loser who somehow ended up on the guardians." In the Lizard League fight, she doesn't get eaten- she's deliberately trying to execute a Thanus maneuver and just fucks it up, seconds after successfully killing a different villain the same way. And there's a second where it looks like it might work, too, before hope is cruelly yanked away. Which makes for a markedly cooler death scene- but who died? What was actually going on with her? Anything? In some sense she's cooler, but it's kind of an undifferentiated cool. She had what, Six lines? Seven? On balance I think Rae is still doing her fundamental job in the story, which is to pad the Guardians roster for a while and have someone who actually dies and stays dead as a result of the Lizard League fight- but I think they definitely missed an opportunity to give her some more texture than her comic counterpart had. Part of me thinks that the show would have been a good place to go even harder on Shrinking Rae being in over her head, but in a considered way, to emphasize that the Guardians aren't well managed- maybe tie it into the tensions between Robot and Immortal regarding sustainable team management practices. Part of me thinks you should go the other way, that if you're gonna do away with the idea she's underwhelming you should blow up her role, have her actually say and do some things that affect the story or the team dynamic in any noticeable way, because as it stands she's kind of visibly siloed as the designated mauve shirt. I'm definitely of one mind that this showcases something I suspected was gonna bite the show in the ass, which is that they're (laudably) diversifying a secondary and tertiary cast whose main role in the source material is often to die badly or fade out of focus.

#invincible #shrinking rae #invincible spoilers #thoughts #meta #invincible comic #invincible season 2 episode 5 #800 words of meta on a character with six lines and a brooklyn accent jumpscare

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yellowocaballero · 1 year

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does cass in reverserobins!AU ever learn cantonese? she's so associated with hong kong for me, i think she'd enjoy hong kong cinema, from the slapstick action comedies (all the stunts and fights!) to the artistry of the new wave (i think cass would love wong kar-wai so much) i feel like she'd have so much fun trying dim sum, with the waiters lifting up every lid to reveal the dish in a cloud of steam like presenting a gift. the bustling markets and stalls where she can people watch too

(whew took half a sec to get back to this)

And :O!!!! It's so cool to have an American superhero associated with Hong Kong. They could definitely use a hero like Cass. I think she'd be in foodie heaven - Cass loves new experiences and exciting her five senses, so she'd go crazy over the huge new variety of food. Poor woman grew up on Denny's, I think.

I think she'd also find being in new cultures super exciting, but a bit scary. She reads body language, and people in other countries have different body language! She'd be learning the Cantonese Of Body Language for sure hahaha. But I think she'd be fascinated by the diversity and would love discovering how different people in different countries express themselves. As I said, she loves new experiences - I can see her really loving to travel!

TBH English was difficult enough already for her, and I don't think she liked learning it, so I think she doesn't learn any languages other than ASL and English. I see her learning the minimum of language so she can express herself comfortably and stopping there lol. I'd say she's bad with languages, but she has to be pretty impressive to learn English at such an old age anyway!

And I always kind of HC'd that Cass actually doesn't like movies with live action humans! I can only imagine that she's watching a tearful dramatic scene in a movie, but she can read the micro-movements in the actor's bodies and all she sees is the actor saying 'I'm bored!'. Action movies might also have that dissonance - the choreography can be awesome, but would she see a fight, or would she just see a half-active copy? I think it would depend on the quality of the actor and the film - I think the bad films would be boring, but the great ones would be so exciting. I can see her going either way on enjoying those Hong Kong action films - but I also really love them so I'm biased to say she does haha (if you have any recs I'd love them :o)

I think it would be awesome for reverserobins!Cass to do this, so I'll say she does. After she and Steph graduate college, they go on a big round-the-world adventure trip and visit a ton of different places, and they spend a week in Hong Kong because Cass HAS to eat as much dim sum as physically possible. She'd love it!

This is a tangent, but to be honest the comic treatment of Cass in the '10s was really, really racist. They didn't know what to do with her anyway, so they gave her a magic spell that made her learn English perfectly and then brainwashed her to be this evil Dragon Lady who barely had anything to do with anything. And this was about after they exploited and tortured Steph to death for Man Pain because the comics have never known what to do with either of them. And during Batman Inc they shipped her off to Hong Kong, and it felt again like they just really didn't know what to do with her and went 'Hey, she's Chinese, put her in China'. It was frustrating to read as a Cass fan. But the nice thing about that is that people who are not boring and who really love Cass could explore all the stuff I just mentioned and make a cool story out of it! Nobody did tho -.-

#cass watches ballet opera nature documentaries and stuff like that #thanks for the q!! that was fun to answer #my writing

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katatonicimpression · 2 years

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OK so Monet briefly cameos in Ms Marvel and Wolverine (may not be the exact title) and no shade to this comic because it's fine. It's under no obligation to do a bunch of service to my faves anyway, and it really is just a small, inconsequential cameo.

But I fucking hated it.

So this just me ranting about the shortcomings of her writing recently.

So in this comic, she's in Penance almost the entire time. She doesn't use her other powers, she doesn't appear to even fly. And for some bizarre reason Armor protects her with her forcefield which like... girl she's nearly indestructible even without Penance, and in that form she's meant to be harder than diamonds. They're fighting little robot alien bugs. She shouldn't need this.

Secondly she has one line referencing x-corp, and it's like "I should be doing spreadsheets right now". And it's not even a good joke. Like, it's not the main x-corp joke (I.e. lol these superheroes are cosplaying as CEOs), it's just lazy and unfunny. Monet isn't a workaholic, she's just inclined to brag about her business "success".

This particularly stood out to me because the Infinity Comic series did a Generation X reunion where Monet is featured in a small role but kind of perfectly. She's super competent, badass, aloof and fabulous. She doesn't change into Penance because she doesn't need to, she just uses her powers to save the day... like she should. X-Corp is mentioned, but in a way that makes sense - that is, kind of tongue-in-cheek. (Also she shares clothes with Jubilee and it's a very important moment for me)

X-Corp itself handled Monet pretty well I think. This is I guess a relative statement because the last series that had her as a regular was Weapon X-Force which was horse shite as far as her character was concerned, and before that Uncanny X-Men (2016) that was mostly kind of an insult towards her. In contrast, X-Corp had a good grasp on her character and wasn't hellbent on degrading her at every turn. (I said this was a rant, okay? I'll be charitable to those series some other time). X-Corp itself also had a fun absurdist sense of humour and I enjoyed a lot of it.

Now, since Hickman threw this Penance situation on Monet and never even tried to make sense of it (I think it might actually be a retcon from his perspective - I.e. he's presenting it like this has always been her power), X-Corp had to deal with the question of how this power works, what this transformation means to her.

The approach they go with makes sense, she's Monet most of the time but shifts into Penance when she wants too, and also when she's really upset. Penance is literally a metaphor for social isolation and trauma so this is a good place to start.

But a lot of subsequent cameos have treated it as if her main/only power is transforming into Penance.

Also some of them are super insulting (e.g. spending most of Empyre unconscious)

I fucking hate this.

Giant-Sized X-Men: Storm (may not be the exact title) genuinely did Monet justice. It kept her in character and packed in a lot, including things that a lot of other writers forget (I.e. that she's a genius, and that she doesn't like Emma).

And I really do like her appearance in House of X... I'm just worried if the consequences of this Penance thing are actually a bit mixed. And I hate that I'm saying that because I am in love with the potential of this concept. But so far no writer has seriously engaged with what this means for her beyond the ONE SCENE that X-Corp had time for.

Being trapped in Penance is canonically a recurring nightmare of Monet's. It's canon that at least part of why she's depressed to the point of suicidal ideation shortly after leaving school is because of this. Because of what being Penance was to her. Because it was the form she was trapped in for years while her brother periodically ATE HER BONE MARROW. This is not a simple thing for her. It's not just a cool new power.

This could be such a great thing to explore but I guess they just said "nah".

I'm just really bothered by the fact that in the last FOUR YEARS, Monet's best appearances are:

A one shot that's primarily about another character

A five issue series that, thanks to covid, fell apart before it really got started and is mostly comedy anyway

A cameo in an infinity comic about dungeons and dragons.

I can't. I just can't.

#monet st. croix #salt #cw mental health #cw suicide mention #penance

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dark-horse76 · 11 months

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The Wicked + The Divine: The Faust Act

Read this one last night. It's one of the ones I picked up from the library a few weeks ago. I'm trying to keep an open mind with regards to storylines/characters (i.e.: is it something I'd consider on the too weird side, like Saga or Ask For Mercy) - which mostly means picking up anything/everything that's not like the 10th volume of something (*cough* like the volume of Saga that the library has lol *cough*) and avoiding looking at it too much beforehand or reading the blurb because that may mean fighting my initial reaction of "urgh monsters/weird stuff no no no this is too weird" - tbf, a lot of the superhero stuff also leans into the 'too weird' side for me, and I'm doing mostly okay with that so I'm trying not to miss stuff I'd otherwise enjoy. But once that reaction kicks in, it's hard to stop it / go against it, despite the fact it's become obvious over the last year that I don't actually know what's too weird for me, really xd

So, yeah, basically I'm just grabbing everything that isn't Marvel off the shelf (they don't have a lot of DC, and I've read most of what they do have and/or just not interested in the rest - the Marvel stuff mostly falls afoul of the 'I vaguely know what this involves and it's too weird for me' xd) and chucking it at the librarians to get it checked out asap before I have time to change my mind xd.

ANYway. This one is about some gods who get reincarnated every 90 years or something and then have like 2 years to live before dying.

I read a review that said it's basically a superhero book, which I think I can see (though not yet sure I agree), even though they didn't do any superhero-ing (or, really, villain-ing) in this book.

I started off not sure about it, then really liked it, then finished it by not being sure about it again lol. I really liked the character of Luci (Lucifer). I think I'm a bit at a disadvantage reading this, as I'm very much not familiar with a lot of myth, and this obviously leans heavily on it. Like, I'm very familiar with Lucifer / Christian myth. Passingly familiar with Odin and Norse mythology. Vaguely familiar-ish sort of with Greek/Roman. And pretty much know nothing at all about any other myths. And I took a whole class on mythology in college! Although to be fair to me, that was 1 semester, mostly focussed on Greek/Roman, and it was also like 15 years ago lololol.

But even if I finished reading it feeling unsure about it, I still want to find out what happens next - so I guess they did their job lol. There are a few more volumes in the story - unfortunately, none of my libraries have them, so I'll have to wait until I feel like buying a book I'm not certain I'm into. But I don't dislike it. Like, if someone bought it for me for my birthday/Christmas, I'd be pleased.

The art and colours are gorgeous. I mean, look at this:

I also liked that it was a simpler comic to read. None of the headache-inducing, inscrutable fight scene panels like in some of the Batman-related books I've read. But it's still complex. I definitely do want to read it again and again, because I suspect there's layers and things I've missed in just one read.

Every so often, there was a page like this:

And it changed depending on what was happening in the story. I thought that was really cool lol. To be honest, the first time I noticed that that page was doing that, I immediately thought, "I have to buy a physical copy of this for myself," because it makes me want to just...study it (and the story) like a bug xd.

Sadly, I am, again, not well-versed in myths, so for the most part I don't actually know which symbols go with which gods, but it's fun that this book has made me interested in finding out - and in trying to see if knowing more gives me any clues about them / the story generally xd.

It just occurred to me that I also know nothing about Faust - know the name but never read or heard anything of the story - so I probably missed something there, too xd.

The very first page of the comic included a quote from Doctor Faustus, which I liked a lot and made me put that on my reading list:

Ah, Faustus, Now hast thou but one bare hour to live, And then thou must be damn'd perpetually! Stand still, you ever-moving spheres of Heaven, That time may cease, and midnight never come

#reading comics #the wicked + the divine #vol 1 the faust act #kieron gillen #jamie mckelvie #matthew wilson #image comics

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electronswrites · 2 years

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What do you think about the "Dark Knight" Trilogy?

I think it's partly to blame for everything wrong with modern comic book movies, because they performed really well, so studios thought: Oh, audiences want stories about comic book characters, but with all of the sci-fi, magic, camp, fun and joy (everything good about comics basically) stripped away, and that's basically every comic book movie we've gotten since then.

IDK who decided fantasy needs to be more "realistic," but if there's one thing I'm definitely NOT looking for in my escapism, it's a "more grounded take." Do you know what's incredibly realistic? Real life. And do you know why I like fiction? Because it's not real.

I'm not saying those movies were terrible, I just wish they had bombed at the box office so I didn't have to continuously suffer through "oh, this isn't magic; it's actually [the most boring five minutes of your life you'll never get back]" scenes over and over again every time I go to watch a comic book movie, because God forbid that anything ever be fun or silly. We have to be super serious in our movie about a man dressed like a bat fighting crime. 🙄🙄🙄

And, I really hate that they cast so many PoC characters as white people. They cast an IRISH actor to play RA'S AL GHUL. Brah. Get the fuck out of here. NO. And of course there can't be a Lazerus Pit, because, again, God forbid anything be cool or fun in Nolan's joyless colorless universe. That would be terrible!

And of course we can't have a Robin, because this is a super serious comic book movie. Instead, we'll showcase Bruce's more human side with a forced love triangle featuring a woman with as much personality as a wet piece of printer paper. God, she was insufferably boring. And I will give them credit, the actors for Two-Face and the Joker were great at their jobs and delivered compelling AF performances. But Christian Bale was not a good Bruce Wayne. He just... annoyed me. A lot. He really gave me the impression that his Batman cared more about his ego than he did the people of Gotham. Which, is a pretty obnoxious character trait in a superhero.

Honestly, those movies are a perfect example of how to make a comic book movie for people who hate comic books. I could feel Nolan's contempt for the source material radiating off of his script. I could see him rolling his eyes at me. "Oh, you like magic? You like fun campy villains? Fuck you, here's Bruce Wayne's depression beard."

I'm just so sick of watching movies made by people who clearly don't like the source material and think fans of the source material are cringy and annoying. Same thing with these new Star Trek movies. "Fuck you for liking the original series. I'll wipe it from the timeline." Like, damn, if you hate the original stuff THAT MUCH, why don't you just create original characters for your generic action movie then?

But they can't, because they want the name recognition from Batman, but not the actual lore and mythos. So I'm forced to get my hopes up and be disappointed time and time again. So, yeah, they were pretty mediocre. Didn't care for them. Soundtrack was incredible though. Definitely recommend listening to that.

#batman #dark knight trilogy #by electrons

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ambivalent-anarchy · 3 years

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Defending Peter Parker (Round 2: Tom Holland)

Here <- Andrew Garfield

Soooooo I'm doing this cuz I'm bored to show y'all how dumb some of your arguments and criticisms of the live action spidermen are. I did Garfield already. I'll do Maguire if someone shows me where people have hated on his spidey cuz all I ever see for him is people treating him like he's the most perfect Peter Parker to ever exist. I'd never tell anyone how they're "supposed" to feel about a situation so I won't do that and also don't take this seriously I'm just a dumb teenager. I'm just taking the dumb opinions y'all like to pass as fact and rebutting them with actual facts.

"hE's OnLy So PoPuLaR bEcAuSe He'S hOt"

😐If this is your main critique of Tom Holland's spiderman, pls go find another one. This is so overused. The "they're only famous cuz they're hot" excuse has been used for every hot actor/actress ever. At this point, it isn't even real criticism, you just come off as lame. And yeah, alot of people like him because he's hot, but that's definitely not the only reason.

"hE's NoT sPiDeRmAn. He'S iRoNbOy!"

UUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHH okay let's get to it. (If you can't tell, I really hate this argument)

1) Let's be real. The fandom pushed irondad wayyyy more than the actual movies did.

2) If you still use this argument after Far From Home, you missed the whole point of what FFH was supposed to be.

I was scrolling through tumblr and I saw a great point that someone made.

That entire movie was about him coming into his own as a hero, facing his problems head-on, and dealing with the threat by himself. That was the point of the whole movie. Yes, he had the Stark tech to help him make a suit, but he designed it himself, and then he went up against a threat that had incredibly powerful Stark tech at their disposal and still won. By himself. Everyone was asking who the next Iron Man would be and Happy even flat out said "You're not Iron Man." Because he isn't. He came into his own. He is established now.

Peter started the movie a bit lost without Tony and just wanting to deny his responsibilities and get away for a while.

He ended the movie finally accepting himself for who he was and even having to fight against Stark technology. He had to rely on himself and instead of worrying about this title that's been put on him, he has to just go with his own instincts (all the way down to his web shooters running out and having to literally just rely on his mind and his body) and look his responsibilities in the face. Idk a better way for him to have broken out of being "ironboy".

3) Plus, they needed some way to bring Spiderman into the MCU. And Tony is practically the MCU's Bruce Wayne when it comes to "adopting" children. Of course he was gonna be the one to bring him in.

"He HaS tOo MaNy MeNtOrS! tHeY nEeD tO sToP hOlDiNg HiM bAcK aNd LeT hIm GrOw Up AnD bE aLoNe!"

Hahaha no.

Tony- okie dokie that's only one

Happy- Happy Hogan is not Peter's mentor. He literally helped him out in ONE scene. That is not enough to be a mentor.

Mysterio- He is also not a mentor. Storywise, he was Peter's scapegoat to caste his responsibilities onto because he didn't want them/feel he was worthy of them. And then later he was a villain. Just because the two have one small pep talk, doesn't mean he's a mentor.

I think most ppl that say this stuff really just don't want Peter to have any help. What you guys fail to realize is that getting help does not make you any less of a hero. You can still be a solo hero and get a peptalk every now and then. Batman, Superman, Ironman. They all get help from people in their movies and I don't see anyone complaining about it or saying they need to be alone.

Also, grow up? This dude is literally a sophmore/junior in high school. They talk so much about how he's literally a kid. Alot of the spiderman comics take place with him still being in high school. He doesn't have to be an adult. And as far as maturity goes, it's not like he's a dumb kid. He's just a teen doing what teens do.

"nO uNcLe BeN!"

Come on guys. How many times have we seen this origin story? We all know it.

The story takes place when he's ALREADY spiderman so Uncle Ben is ALREADY dead. (They even have his suitcase in FFH). Just because they don't really mention it doesn't mean it didn't happen. We don't need to see the same origin story again. I mean, does every Batman movie mention Bruce's parents dying in the alley? No. Cuz we all already know it does. Origin stories are integral but the MCU wasn't erasing his, they were simply just starting after it.

And in every spidey story Uncle Ben always teaches him "with great power comes great responsibility". Well if you watch the movies, MCU Peter learns his lessons in responsibilities sooooo we're covered there.

"When you can do the things that can, but you don't, and then the bad things happen, they happen because of you."

Yeah yeah we all love Uncle Ben but him already passing doesn't mean the story's bad. That's just where they wanted to start lol.

"ThErE's No ReAl CoNsEqUeNcEs WhEn If LoSeS!"

Homecoming: If Vulture would've won, there would've been more easily accessible alien weapons available for criminals like the Shocker, the Tinkerer, etc. Also Vulture would have been a criminal loose on the streets. Regardless of his intentions, he was a guy willing to kill for what he wanted.

FFH: What Mysterio was doing, even though it was an illusion, was actually causing casualties. His workers talked about it to him over and over again. Especially if the last attack in London (i think?) would have worked, alot of people would have died. Also the world would have been tricked into depending on someone that actually couldn't really keep them safe.

Lol but regardless, Peter doesn't have to be dealing with a gigantic threat. The whole thing about being a superhero is doing what's right, regardless of how big or small the situation is. He's literally fought with the Avengers. I think he's proven himself.

All in all Tom Holland is the best (for me personally). I never have an issue when he's on screen and he's really just so awesome😊

Tagging great ppl: @allegra-writes , @yumings , @spideyyeet , @sunkissedspidey , @tommyunderoos , @chaoticpete , @sovereignparker , @thesherlockianavenger , @bubblebucky , @eridanuswave , @ithoughtthiswastwitterbutfr , @kidney9-9 , @gwenvrse , @the-weird-bisexual , @kelieah

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cultofstan · 3 years

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My love for Bane!!

Before you read, I want to make it clear that there are some nsfw parts to this posts. If you are under 18, please don't read!

This post will go over various details and reasons why my heart belongs to the big green giant know as Bane from Batman and Robin (1997). Get ready for a long read, because I've got a lot to say.

(If you haven't check out my Bane Wallpapers, go do check them out! They bring me so much joy, I hope they do the same for you ppl too!)

His mask is very cool and unique, because if you look closer you see they used Bane's comic book mask as a base and then just changed the mouth area and added black eye pieces on top of the red piece he normally sees out of. Imo, it is the best movie Bane mask we have ever had! A lot of people hate the multiple tubes coming out of his head, but I think it makes things extra spicy! A constant reminder that your not just dealing with any normal super human, you dealing with a venom infused one that can fight you like it's nothing! The bulging veins that can be seen in certain lighting is a detail I feel deserves more love. It adds to his big and tough demeanor. You can really tell the venom is working wonders on him! The zipper on the top of the head and the fact that his mask is most likely made of tight leather or latex brings thr entire thing together and is truly a marvel to look at! I absolute love it!💚Imagining him slick that smooth, stretchy, husky mask on while the venom starts to pump into his brain and muscles just does things to me. If Bane offered me a chance to wear it, venom or not, I would do it in a heart beat! It would probably reek of sweat, his bad breath, and of old leather, but I wouldn't care. Just the thought of inhale all those smells brings me a joy I can't describe! 😍

When I was a kid, in addition to his lovely mask, his clothing choice was another thing I loved about him. It looks like Bane is just wearing a black cotton tank top with some black sturdy pants, but I've always the headcannon that it's actually very flexible black latex one piece! It makes a lot more sense when you notice his collar, chest harness, wrist bands, crotch diaper, and boots are also make out of a harder leather with spikes and studs! I swear, half of my clothing choices/dreams come from this man! His boots, for the most part, are very frankenstein/gothic inspired with thick sole and it going all the way to his knees. The copper rivets are the only things that make them stand out, imo. I've had thoughts were in order to prove my love to him I have to lick or kiss his boots while he judges. I'd hate it for the most part, because they probably taste like dirty and dust, but I want him to know that I do love him, so I'd do small smooches starting from his toes and work my way up his leg until I'm straight up licking his boots. I'd get so carried away he'd probably make me stop pretty quickly so I don't get sick 😂. His spiked collar and wrist bands are easily the clothing items I want the most! Any time I see someone on the street with spikes in their clothing I immediately think about him. Because he's worn them for so long, they're probably not that tight or rough but still firm enough to not sag. Maybe even a little flaky in certain parts. I don't think I'm comfortable with myself enough to wear a collar in public but I've come so close to buying spiky wrist bands or gauntlets it's crazy I don't actually own a pair yet. One day, I'm sure. His crotch diaper, for lack of a better name for it, is the one thing I'm 50/50 on. Some days I think it really adds to his look, especially with the spikes that go out. Plus, to a certain extent, it makes practical sense because that way heroes cant go from behind his and try to restrain him, or can't throw too many kicks, without getting poked/cut by the spikes. But other days I think it just doesnt look that great, because it ultimatly looks like a big metal diaper, it takes away from his intimidation. Plus, I won't be able to give him proper hugs! (I want to give daddy all the hugs he deserves! 💚) His chest piece is what brings everything together. The little Bane symbol is so cute, I've always looked for a pin or something to buy but no luck. I actually used to have this Bane cape that I won at Six Flags when I was little. I cut the symbol of his face out of it and tried multiple times to attach it to my jean jackets but I suck at sowing. 🥲 The leather straps that hold the chest piece compliment the other leather pieces of his outfit. The metal looking chest piece looks wonderful and adds a layer to his character that I both love and hate. In this movie he's a drone, a mindless agent that is only allowed to follow orders. I'll will discuss this in a bit. But for the record, I hate the fact that Bane is written as big dumb idiot in this movie. It's the one big problem I have with him, which sucks because I literally love everything else about him!

I've probably watch the Bane transformation scene in Batman and Robin, like, a thousand times. No joke. I didn't realize it then, but seeing a short, thin, twink become a tall, hulking, king really hit my desires in the right way. Like, now, I know for sure that's one of my kinks and it makes me so damn happy! Granted, I've never been skinny in my life, but I've always wanted to be a musclar and strong man, so it makes sense why I love this scene so much. It's a literally fantasy of mine brought to life! More specifically, I've always wanted to be a type of strong that allows me to run miles like it's nothing, throw punches that instantly knock someone out, and lift so much weight that I borderline have a superhero body. Don't get me wrong, this is seriously mentally unhealthy because I know it's kind of impossible considering my personality and the actuality of gaining so much muscle, but I believe as long as I realize it's a dream and not beat myself up over it, it's not too bad of a thought to have. Actually, if you think about it, this Bane is kind of a plus size body representation. Sure he's got giant arms that can crush my bones like tooth pics, but he's pretty bulky with a big belly. That might be too much of a stretch to say, and I totally understand if people don't agree with. That being said, I have to say it, this man probably gives the best hugs in all of Gotham! He's so big that you don't even need a jacket in the house! Just let him embrace you and you'll never feel alone or cold again! His thick hands holding you in really tight, his muscles locking you in and warming your arms, while his gut pushes you back a little of your feet, like he wants to swoop you into his arms and carry you! 🥰 He'd be careful with his spikes of course, don't worry. A detail that sends me over the moon about Bane in this movie is his green skin. I can't put my finger on it, but it really adds to the whole transformation and therefore my thirst for him grows even bigger! Especially because it's completely unique to the movie. It looks so good that I wonder why the comics haven't adopted something similar.

I could go for hours about how I think the writers butchered Bane's character in this movie, but I want this post to mainly act as a positive appreciation post/background for head cannons that I might post about him one day. So to end, and give a taste, I'll finally talk about Bane being a drone in this movie. In weird way, because he's played as a mindless servent, it makes this version of Bane one of the easier Bane's for me to fantasies about. This is because in the movie, it's implied Bane only follows Poison Ivy because she was the first person he didn't see as a threat. Plus, I wouldn't be surprised if she used some of her suductive powers on him. (I would too, just saying) So, with that established, I like that he's a mindless drone because it means that, in my head, he's not exactly my "servant" but he will basically do whatever I say. Why? Because I will prove to him I not a threat either, and only want to love him!! He'll have a concuious and his own goals, and I'll follow along and help because I trust him and want to support him, but, for the most part, he will do what I say and love me in return. I could explain this more, but I want to save the juicy parts for the follow up post I have planned for this. 😏

If you've read this far, thank you. From the bottom of my hear. I've never wrote something this personal or long. I hope I can continue to do more of these, if I'm passionate enough.

#bane #batman #Robin #batman and robin #leather #Mask #dc comics #comics #superhero #supervillain #Spikes #Studs #Green #Black #red #i love him #daddy

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kon-chuu · 2 years

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a blog post about spider-man movies and no way home (spoilers)

hey guys, frex here. i watched the new spider verse live action adaptation and i gotta say i like what they did minus a few glaring issues that stem from either being an mcu film, production woes, or the burden of living up to the title of being a spider-man film

now, i've never been connected with comic spidey since the beginning. my first exposure was actually the raimi movies. i used to see spider man everywhere, from video games to bags to other forms of merchandise depicting this version of the character. really cool stuff. i truly got into it when us third world countrymen just snatched a bootleg dvd copy that contains the entire trilogy (albeit spider man 2 was a bit broken so i never really saw the origin of octavius before i was older, but it was still a different kinda experience back then. different from the norm. after that, i saw iron man, the avengers, raimi's spider man made me a fan of superhero films back then

now, later on, the first andrew garfield spiderman movie came out, and i thought the poster and the suit looked like peak and thought that it was gonna be a tragic, dark, but engaging movie. not to mention, garfield was a really good actor and after seeing no way home recently especially, you can see that he's put a ton of effort into portraying peter/spider-man. but when i actually went to see the movie, i kinda felt a bit, how do you say that, disappointed?

i did not remember feeling engaged or intrigued at the time and thought that it was overly aggressive and too dark to think of it as fun or enjoyable. maybe i'll revisit it, but it kind of turned me away from any non-raimi spiderman movies for a bit (and unfortunately, until far from home came out)

i also saw tasm2 in a dvd, and let me tell you, i felt confused. sort of alienated, and oddly enough, bored. i didn't feel for gwen's death or the villains introduced, i thought andrew was interesting here, but i also thought that it just ain't what i was familiar with. as of right now, after seeing a bunch of comics, i can say he did a more comic-accurate spidey than tobey, but during 2014, i didn't understand.

eventually, 2016 rolled around, and they took the world by storm by revealing civil war, a captain america film, that featured the avengers. note that i didn't know anyone besides iron man and thor, and even then, i only got bored for anyone besides tony because i was a measly little kiddo. but still it was a hype enough event not only because we are seeing two of the most popular marvel heroes of the last decade fight each other, but because, for the first time in this universe, spider man makes his debut.

i was hyped, but at the same time, skeptical, because i still did not think that they can pull of a spiderman that goes up the standards raimi put as an adaptation of the famous hero. and ofc it didn't, though it shouldn't really matter considering that he debuted in a CAPTAIN AMERICA film first and foremost, but my feelings still remain.

he then gets his standalone movie, directly attributed to at civil war's post-credit scene, and after watching that, i felt a bit unusually confused. i know i saw it some time before infinity war, and the story is simple teen drama stuff, but like many other fans out there, i think they played it a bit far too safe here. while you may acknowledge that stark reprimanding peter as an exception, i feel that it wouldn't generally matter anyway as he would be given the iron spider suit, and multiple times, he'd still get out of situations without consequence, which is strange considering in previous adaptations, the life of peter parker and his balancing act as spider-man is priority one topic.

though i will say that i honestly disagree with the notion that his overreliance on stark is a narrative or writing problem and that i see it more as a necessity for something greater, like a character flaw or something. it also puts a burden on stark as well, e.g. the infamous "i don't feel so good" scene and is interesting to see considering it's his worst fears realized, depicted on screen since the first avengers + iron man 3.

this character flaw is also something i believe that would be eventually explored and solved anyway, an example being "get up spider man" and numerous depictions of independence here and in far from home (which, funnily enough, takes place after tony's death in endgame), but that begs the question, he still uses stark's tech, isn't he still sort of relying on his advantages than the household junk peter in previous iterations had worked with?

not to mention, this is alluded to through the design of his suit; the first homemade one, the night monkey, his ffh suit and more to be discussed in spoiler territory, but still, spider man is inherently just ragged and tattered in comparison to stark, and it really creates the dissonance between his previous iterations and his current percieved state as "Iron Man Jr."

the background itself is also less.. organic too? in the first and second spider-man films, civilians with jobs contribute to assisting spider-man and is never really solved in no way home, but it's something i kinda liked about the raimi films that creates a relatable message in how anyone can do something. the relatability of spidey and many other people is part of why he's popular, and i wish was shown more, but when the mcu at this point tackles dimensions, titans, and more, i don't think it would appease anyone, which is weird, because of something i'll elaborate upon in the actual no way home section

which starts right now, so SPOILERS for those who haven't watched the movie yet

ok 3

0 (haha gotcha)

i watched far from home from a rip, and i also did so for no way home, even if it took some convincing. not to mention when your country's theaters haven't opened yet, you're bound to find alternatives

we start with ffh's ending, where beck reveals the identity of spider-man and the world starts pushing various allegations on him and his closest associates. even with (lol) murdock's expert defense appeal, the consequences of stardom and the subsequent rejection into MIT causes peter's doubts and anxieties about whether his friends are going to make it anywhere themselves if he's there

the irony in this is that it's a pretty selfish wish by itself considering he sees himself among them rather than just their progress in life, and is further shown when strange was about to cast the spell and he constantly makes exceptions out of the fear that he won't be there for them or that their bonds will be null and void

as soon as that happens, and peter heads out to the MIT (chancellor?) to convince her himself for michelle and ned to be accepted, only to be interrupted by the infamous doc ock.

i really love the choreography in this fight in particular, but idk about the scene in general, offset by being a bit goofy and i felt nothing for some time. hell i'd argue even about ock in general here minus a part in the end

gobby appears, and i will not elaborate (jk) this, in contrast to villains that have godly abilities and powers, he just happens to be an experiment similar to steve rogers and with oscorp technology. would that be a candle against thanos? no. but right now, he stands as an amazingly presented evil with well-done portrayal that i was worried would just be cheap and doesn't consider the character arc that was in the first raimi spider man movie, but no, they actually poured effort into depicting him well and well enough. i didn't like that they cured him in the end, because it kind of objectifies the goblin rather than being norman's actual inner demons, but he was still well-done nonetheless

electro and flint appear, and i gotta say, electro is amazingly (no pun intended) done here. the design i feel is a combination of ps4, comic electro, and whatever mad thunder scientist you can think of with the base character being low tier god, not to mention i feel engaged with him in comparison to how i felt with tasm2. flint on the other hand, i dunno, i thought he didn't do much since his arc was done in spider-man 3, so yeah.

lizard i thought was cool but i didn't find tasm1 memorable enough at the time so maybe i'll revisit that to see the deal with him.

later on, they are gathered to be imprisoned and sent back by strange to restore balance, but spidey had other plans, and out of sympathy. also really liked that it wasn't because he was tricked or anything, and it really contributes to the meaning of decision and responsibility. note that throughout his operation of fixing the villains, his aunt may supported him, despite all else and what would eventually lead to her demise

unfortunately, peter's actions had consequences alright. the movie liked to tease that every problem will just be solved peacefully, but there are just villains that want to do horrid things for the sake of it. goblin brings this to light and shows a twisted take on tobey's gift and curse dichotomy quote. villains seeing their abilities as a blessing and not punishment. really good quotes by him here as well, and i loved the fight where holland just can't seem to knock his face off him

it eventually culminates in him bombing the place and, sure enough, aunt may dying. now see, a lot of interpretations in the internet depict this movie in particular, or the entire homecoming trilogy, as spidey's origin story, and i actually like this idea artistically, since his aunt may here represents the nonexistent uncle ben as she gives the responsibility speech and dying, which traumatizes peter.

the scene is played really well, because for all the distracting quick cuts and the quality of a shit camera, the tone is very intact in how dark it is. weird because in the trailers and most other mcu movies, it constantly cuts to a whedon-style quip, but here, it just lets the moment sink in. the rain and stuff.

even stranger is that it remains consistent even when the moment was cut by ned summoning andrew and tobey. goofy reactions and all, but you gotta know where they left off, most esp andrew coming from gwen's death, and the reason they opened the portal was to find and reassure peter about his decisions, and when doubts rise, the other spideys continue off of may's last words and talk about their uncle bens. really heartfelt and motivational, kinda cried on that one i'll be honest

we then transition into falling action phase when peter and co create antiserums and fight atop the statue of liberty. liked the interactions between the spideys and their respective adversaries, and the choreograhy's great, cgi and vfx not so much (and there seems to be recycled shots from spider man 3 and tasm1, but i guess pandemic just didn't work well for everyone). once more not a fan of how everything unsolvable prior just gets solved and got me worried that the ending will become so predictable (and strange is back too!!! yay!!!)

albeit there is, again, my favorite interaction among them with octavius and raimi peter. it's probably the second thing to appeal to my emotions during the entirety of this movie. ock just came off of mid-sm2 and peter was way after sm3, so it is in a way, heart-wrenching to me as a raimi fan since the beginning in addition to the elfman ost playing in the background, though i wish sandman had a bit more, they barely talk to each other and he's the one who had killed ben in tobey's world. it would be even more poetic cause of what happens next:

they were about to send everyone back, but goblin destroys the cube in time, and strange can't seem to contain it vry easily, with mcu spidey having one of the rawest fights i've seen. again goblin isn't ultron or thanos, but the sheer tension and emotional height just makes this moment frightening and sad. holland peter, for everything osborn had done, most especially to his aunt may, was about to murder him when in a quick reaction, tobey saves him.

this is another really amazing scene cause not only is there no dialogue to convey the scene well, but it also has some really subtle meanings. in sm1, peter didn't want to kill osborn, and his death led to one of his greatest regrets, to himself and to harry, who had dedicated most of his act to revenge over this very incident that eventually led to his death.

second, this is also, once more, pretty poetic. spider man 3 was all about tobey peter learning to forgive sandman over his murder of uncle ben. he had remembered his thirst for revenge and is something he decided to grow from. despite knowing that he'll get stabbed in the back and face the consequences, he still wanted to do what he believed was right, and it's just... man.

but yeah, pete gets stabbed in the back, though goblin gets injected by the antiserum to cure him. i didn't like this tbh cause, again, it objectifies the side of green goblin but i guess there's not much to do atm

after that, peter urges strange to use the spell again to make everyone forget he was spidey so he can live as peter parker, but that had already failed for far too many reasons, then there came a large realization that really shows a very consequential, character defining thought

that the world can't live without spider-man, but it can live without peter parker

that is the true burden of wearing the mask. there are not as many heroes as there are regular people, but heroes still need to be there to protect many others, even if it means the greatest sacrifices

there also happen to be less people who know peter throughout the multiverse than they know spider-man, so that would be a cheaper option anyway, in exchange for a harsh, personal cost

pete shares a final kiss with zendaya prior to that spell activating, and says goodbye to his best friend ned. this is probably the worst thing to happen to him, as he had nothing to lose at this point and that many others should live on without his selfish decisions

the spell is activated and while spider-man still appears in news outlets and whatnot, his identity remains unknown, and unfortunately, as it should be.

pete comes to the shop mj was working in, and upon seeing ned, reintroducing himself as another customer, and was about to get her to remember, he saw the bandage, and mj's response pretty much told him that doing it will just put her in harm's way again. so he proceeds to make a selfless decision, heads to aunt may's grave and see happy, then move into an apartment.

not just any apartment like a condo or a middle class house. just a run-down, deteriorating room. no high tech stuff, just the sewing machine and academic materials (considering he's to take a diploma-equating exam to enter college, and not MIT cause he doesn't have stark relations anymore) he's brought. look familiar? how'd you think other versions of him lived?

in the end, he wears his sewn suit and swings across the city to become the well-known friendly neighborhood spider-man.

also funny that it didn't end with anyone saying "what the fuc-" in the end but i guess it chose to be tonally consistent at this point. wish brock/venom said it though, his entire sequence got me laughing

the suit itself, i wish it wasn't fucking cgi animated cause it looks so bad, and the cinematography wasn't that great. tone down the blue, too. music for the final swing's great though, as for the emblem itself, being tobey/andrew-inspired in addition to the homecoming suits

to conclude this post, i will put my final thoughts in the movie. this has been me discussing my thoughts on the spider-man live action adaptations, notably the famous and infamous ones, and how i've gotten to know them as a kid, in addition to my statement on no way home. is it perfect? no. is it as good as spidey 2? nah. but don't let that bother you, cause this movie is still well-made enough to justify its own existence in addition to celebrating spidey's movie history.

8.9/10, watch it. really.

thanks for listening to my first blog post ever and i hope you all look forward to the next ones. peace out

#blog #no way home #spider man

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fly-pow-bye · 5 years

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Powerpuff Girls 2016 - “Checkin’ Out”

Written by: Jake Goldman, Haley Mancini

Written & Storyboarded by: Benjamin P. Carow, Caitlin Vanarsdale

Directed by: Nick Jennings, Bob Boyle

A special night time version of Fly Pow Bye this week! Thankfully, this store is open 24/7.

Our episode begins with Townsville under attack by a nameless alien invasion, as led by an evil alien that bears a striking resemblance to Vilgax from Ben 10. First Logan from Never Been Blissed, and now this. Wonder when Dollar General Gwen will show up. He has come to destroy this world unless they give him something he really wants: a nice dinner.

Earth has a ton of great chefs that can easily fulfill that request for that nice dinner, and they probably would accept. I'm sure there's at least one guy on the planet that will drive him in his yellow Chevy in his quest to go to the fabled "Flavortown." However, Dollar Store Vilgax seemingly only wants meals from people that look like bug-eyed aliens, and the Reboot Puffs take it upon themselves to satisfy his hunger. This sounds like a start of a commercial for Powerpuff Girls Macaroni and Cheese.

Wow, that mac and cheese has really gone bad! No, this is actually a dish called Plat de Fantise de Gelee de Cereales. In English, a fancy jelly cereal dish, and that's assuming they meant to say "fantaisie." I should not knock them on their French, because I'll admit that I used Google Translate for that. This is what Blossom decides this alien would really like, mostly because the site said it was "out of this world". Certainly doesn't look like anything of this world, so it's probably fitting!

Bubbles looks at this dish and says that this dish is so fancy, that they have to go to the fanciest supermarket in town...

...Savings Pig! See, the joke is that this store doesn't seem like a delicatessen, and the "savings" implies that it's a discount store. That seems to be a running theme in the reboot; they went to discount superhero clothing stores on quite a few occasions. I would have preferred Malph's, but I guess it wouldn't be as funny if that was said by a redneck impression.

They manage to get all but two of the ingredients...at least, that's what Blossom claims. Did the recipe really call for an unwrapped chicken drumstick and a sausage? Also, even if this is the Savings Pig, how can the Reboot Puffs afford all of what's in that cart on a 6-year-old's allowance? It might be hard to convince the cashier that the fate of the world should be payment enough. Chances are, we may not even get that far.

Blossom tasks Bubbles and Buttercup for cereal and jelly, deciding to get the two items that the dish is named after last. The dish's name is in French, but they do have someone who can speak French on the team, along with every other language. This episode...kind of uses that later in the episode? Bubbles asks what kind of cereal, and Blossom says that the recipe doesn't say. I would think that would be important, but I guess they couldn't spin a plot like this on us if it was specific:

Blossom: I don't want to sound over-dramatic, but the fate of the world rests on what cereal you pick.

(dramatic thump)

Yeah, Bubbles, calm down, it's only the end of the world.

Buttercup is tasked to find the jelly. The recipe isn't clear on this one, either, but I could see Buttercup just assuming what flavor it is. She is an uncaring rascal, after all. Moving past the jelly sauce and the jelly mayo, she finds that the regular, plain jelly has been moved. Buttercup scoffs at this sabotage against the world, which may be a little more literal considering the world is in peril, and she's on the case!

Literally, as the scene goes into this black-and-white film-noir-esque comic style, as Detective Buttercup, PI starts to investigate the disappearance of this rare ordinary jelly.

If you haven't guessed yet, this is a three shorts episode, where each Powerpuff Girl gets their own story that combines their supermarket sweep and their imagination. I must say, this visual choice for Buttercup is a highlight of the episode, and it is really disappointing that Buttercup's part in this is the only part that really does this. It would have been interesting to see this reboot's version of The Bare Facts. They do borrow one thing from that episode, and really don't do it as well.

We suddenly cut to Bubbles trying to decide which cereal would be the best to add to this dish. There's Rainbow Raspberries, Marshmallow Majorettes, Count Von Sugar, and Leprechaun Lingonuts. It's made by leprechauns, for leprechauns, as proven by an actual leprechaun that happened to be shopping. By that name, I hope it's not made with leprechauns. Unfortunately, none of these cereals jump out to Bubbles as something that would appeal to aliens! If only Quisp still existed!

It's not that they don't jump out, period, as, suddenly, the mascots for all of those cereals hop out of the boxes, ready to advertise themselves to this impressionable youth. Surprisingly, Bubbles doesn't start screaming and flying out of the store in horror like that one Sprite ad. Instead, she starts a dance party with them!

Thankfully before Bubbles gets to twerk again, we immediately cut to Blossom getting in line, knowing fully well that Bubbles and Buttercup can find jelly and cereal in time. Thankfully, she never heard about the Bubbles getting the mail situation, and it's probably for the best that nobody does. She uses the express line, with a rule against having more than 115 items.

However, she notices the line is taking too long, and notices the elderly woman in front of the line has 116 items in her cart, one more than the limit. Shocked at this crime, she goes up to a clerk and demands that she takes her away, and she gets ignored. But how, this misdemeanor might cost Blossom a whole 3 seconds of the poor cashier scanning that one extra item before she can save the world!

Suddenly, Blossom gets into an imagination spot of her own, where this old lady is the Witch of 116 Items, sitting on a pile of them on top of the only bridge to town, preventing everyone from going home! She imagines herself as Lady Blossom of the Savings Pig, giving a little more meaning to the store's name by making Blossom look even more ridiculous.

That's all we get out of that plot before they cut back to the Buttercup plot, where she terrorizes a hapless clerk who was just stocking some Soup Soap. She demands to know where the jelly went, or she'll give him a jawbreaker! This is a set up for a joke about the candy, but it feels a little forced. If someone is holding me against a wall, threatening me with something called a jawbreaker, that candy would be the last thing I'd think about.

He obliges when offered said jawbreaker for that info, saying it's in Aisle 64, and Buttercup just leaves. The clerk then demands his jawbreaker, and Buttercup, ever so thankful of this clerk who gave her all the information she needed, throws it at him with enough force to actually break his jaws. Oh, that rascal!

We don't get to see what happened to that clerk as this transitions to...the Blossom plot? In the span of 3 minutes, they changed the focus 5 times, and they couldn't even be bothered to take turns. This episode just rapidly changes between these three plots randomly, as if a baby just decided to start teething on a remote control. We get one joke, and then the scene changes, and then another joke, and then the scene changes, rarely can the plot actually breathe. It gets kind of annoying.

A partial thing that might be causing more harm to this kind of editing, also seen in episodes like Splitsville, is that Blossom's part is lackluster by comparison. Bubbles and Buttercup get pretty relatable situations, letting their imaginations fly with being indecisive and finding relocated items. Blossom, on the other hand, is getting angry over something most people would just brush off. Seems to be a general problem with Blossom, actually.

Anyway, she gets pelted by witchcraft-propelled groceries. That's all we get from this cut; it might as well have been tacked on to the earlier scene.

We smash cut to Bubbles, even if there was a very good opportunity to use those groceries as a transition, who is now in a cereal wonderland. This land is filled with cereal, their mascots, and some pretty shameless copyright infringement! Along with the other characters that are certainly on the side of parody, we have what is clearly Toucan Sam and Tony the Tiger just dancing along. Tony does look a little bit different with his yellow shirt, but that's clearly just Toucan Sam. They didn't even try to make him look different; he even has the same nose colors.

There's a possibility that they owed Kellogg's some product placement for making that Powerpuff Girls cereal from decades ago. I doubt it.

Everyone, except for Tony and Toucan Sam, the latter of which only appearing in that one shot, asks Bubbles to choose them, even telling her to take them all if she can't decide on one. Just like the Buttercup plot, this is relatable, though in a different way. Anyone had those times where they couldn't decide between one thing or another, even something as minor as cereal choice, and this is a decent metaphor for that mental state.

But we don't have time to think about that, because we already switched to the Buttercup plot. Buttercup manages to find Aisle 64, represented in her imagination as this secret warehouse with a little peephole. It's a nice touch. Eventually, the perpetrator of the jelly scandal smacks her with the door, and runs off with the last jelly jar in the store. Buttercup chases after him, and we get another smash cut to Bubbles.

The episode switching the channel yet again, we see that Bubbles finally decided on giving the aliens some Cherry Chimpanzees with their jelly. The other mascots don't take it too well. Again, a good sight into this kind of mental state; no matter which option you choose, you always get the feeling that the other choices were better. By the way:

Leprechaun Lingonuts mascot: When we're done with her, she'll be seeing stars...and rainbows, and...

That joke was funny. Maybe it's funny compared to the "it's not even made of real chimpanzees" joke that Not Count Chocula says, but still. Both FoodFight and this episode have obvious Count Chocula clones; I guess it's far less risky to skirt that copyright when he's already a parody.

Meanwhile, Blossom is cutting up all of those groceries, ending with Blossom making a cheese board, a fruit bowl, and a ham sandwich. The joke is...she's cutting up food? After effortlessly slicing and dicing like a Slap Chop, the Witch says this completely original line:

Witch of 116 Items: You fared well against the appetizers...but how will you do against the main course?!

Yeah, you're no Broccoloid, lady.

After a sword slice transition, something this episode needed more of, we see that Buttercup catches up to the jelly-thieving crook. She decides to reveal who he really is: Big Peanut Butter! Sort of like Big Tobacco and Big Pharma, Big Peanut Butter was in a conspiracy to make him more desirable for the recipe. He snaps his fingers, and his goons show up, ready to take her on, crunchy-style. Buttercup, undeterred, says this one liner:

Buttercup: I always know how to get out of a jam!

I'll give them this: it's better than "let's strawberry jam out of here."

Unlike Bubbles, who runs away at the sight, Buttercup isn't afraid to punch out all of the goons in a slideshow beatdown. And then Buttercup realizes she's now surrounded by four heavily bruised customers, plus a poor clerk with a broken jaw. Okay, that actually didn't happen...as far as this episode is concerned, anyway.

She asks the monkey what she can do about this. Gasp, Bubbles talking to animals that can't talk back?! One minor bit of disappointment is that she just talks to it in English just like Lassie. All the pieces were set for another animal impression; it's an animal, Bubbles can supposedly still talk to animals, and, even though he's a cereal mascot, that monkey can't even talk!

This monkey's plan is to melting them all with milk. Can't say it's not a fitting end for this part, though she should thank the shooting stars and four leaf clovers that Captain Roofofyourmouthkiller wasn't one of the options.

We quickly go through everyone else's ending in the same haphazard way the rest of the episode goes through, which fits a lot better since this is what leads to the conclusion. Buttercup, even with her ability to fly super fast, even keeping her green contrail that doesn't make sense with the part's style, she couldn't stop the Jelly from crashing into the ground.

As for Blossom, the Witch just ends up running out of items. Seeing an opportunity to attack, she takes out some baguettes and starts to slideshow beat down her into submission with them. Why baguettes?

Because that's what she was holding outside of their imagination. Okay, I slightly lied about lying about Buttercup, though we never get to see who or what she beat up outside of her imagination. The Reboot Puffs get banned from the Savings Pig, leaving them with no other option but to serve the aliens a casserole made of whatever they had in the cupboard. To make this long story short, they get away with it. They even say they got away with it.

Buttercup: Uh, did we just get away with this?

Blossom: Yup.

Yeah, in your universe, maybe. Oh, and thanks for forgetting the lesson you learned in Imagine That, girls. That is how the episode ends. Once again, the day isn't saved thanks to the Powerpuff Girls. They just get away with it, don't they?

Does the title fit?

Perfectly describes one of the plots in this episode, at least.

How does it stack up?

While the way I ended this review made it seem like I was going to give this a Disgusted, I couldn't really give it one in the end. I can't really knock this episode's creativity. The Buttercup part is a good send-up of the usual film noir tropes, the Bubbles part has a few decent jokes, and the Blossom part participated.

In the end, it's not okay enough for a Happy, nor is it offensive enough for a Disgusted. In the immortal words of Fake Tony the Tiger, this episode is grrrr-medio-grrrr.

Next, this show lays another bomb.

← Brainlord ☆ Drama Bomb →

#ppg 2016 #powerpuff girls #cartoon network #fpb ppg 2016 #fpb reviews

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maneaterwithtail · 5 years

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A lot of people were acquainted with him through his prolific participation in News & Politics, but to me Aaron was always an author, one half of the team behind Hybrid Theory. That fic was a bastion of creativity, drama, and wry humor; a ludicrous and ambitious premise, played gloriously straight. It provided me with much-needed hope and entertainment in years past. His death comes as a punch in the gut, and takes the wind of optimism out of my sails.

I never knew him well, and now I never will. Rest in peace, Aaron. The world is lessened by your absence from it.

-orm Ember

I didn't want to write this.

Not just for the obvious reasons, that nobody likes to say goodbye to a friend like this. I didn't want to make this about me, because it isn't about me. I wanted to say something about him, to tell his story, to express the tiniest part of the loss I feel in a way others could understand.

But I came to realise that it wasn't for me to tell his story. I can't. That story was for him to tell, and unfortunately, he cannot. The only story I have to tell is the story of us. So that's what I'll do.

I met Aaron Peori when we were both new in high school, about twenty-five years ago. Glace Bay High was the tenth of the eleven schools that I attended in my eleven years of schooling, and so by then I was almost as well-practiced in "meet new friends" as I was in "meet the new local pack of bullies". Walking home, I noticed one guy about my age that always walked alone, reading a book. In other words, a fellow nerd, a weirdo, an outcast. Like me. After a couple of days of spotting this lone reading fellow, he happened to be reading a book by Christopher Pike, an author I also had books by. That was, as the saying goes, an opening.

"Hey, isn't that a Christopher Pike book?" I asked this stranger, casually, as if I hadn't already known.

He looked up at me, not even showing any surprise that some weirdo had walked up and asked about the book his nose was in. "Yes," he said, peering at me owlishly from behind his glasses, then after a moment added, "He's a good author."

By the time we reached home that day, we were already good friends. From that point on, in fact, we were virtually inseparable, aided by the fact that he lived almost literally in my backyard.

From the very beginning, we were creative collaborators. At first, we were using GI Joes and a few other toys in elaborate setpiece dioramas that spanned his house's enclosed front porch, and sometimes spilled out to occupy part of the year as well. Factions, sacrifices, betrayals, and no doubt embarassing-in-retrospect dialogue were all a part of those first afternoons and weekends.

I think he first got a copy of the Marvel Super Heroes RPG from his cousin. Before I'd met him, Aaron and his cousin had both been drawing their own comics about a space-based superhero team called Sonis. Now, with a tool that you could use tell stories about superheroes, and rules to arbitrate - our new great dioramas were ones made of words, not toys. I quickly made my own "expanded universe", about a group of mercenary superheroes called Heroes For Hire.

At that point, what turned out to be a very long-lasting pattern was set. Aaron was the GM, and I was the player. Aaron created the worlds, and I lived the characters in them. He did want me to be the GM sometimes (it's more fun being the player!), but I was always uncomfortably aware how much better at it he was than me, and so I felt intimidated to pit my own lesser stories against the epics he created.

As time went on, another pattern that would be long-lasting emerged: Aaron and I's stories became vastly greater in scope. He rewrote the resolution system of the game to account for much higher power levels than the original design used (Ochre feats!), and eventually we dispensed with the rules altogether, playing completely free-form with no set rules and only the occasional dice roll. I learned to handle multiple characters at once, and bored at the success easily reached by my insanely overpowered characters, learned to find more fun in getting them in trouble instead. Aaron learned to handle the narrative challenges faced by trying to craft stories about protagonists who had literal "I win" powers, and weren't very likeable to boot.

Very little of Heroes For Hire would be something I wouldn't be embarassed to show off today, but my former internet nom de guerre "Blade" comes from the most central and overpowered character of those days.

About a year before I left Cape Breton, Aaron and I discovered two things of lasting consequence: anime, via his having a comic adaptation of the movie "Project A-ko" in his huge box of comics that I would regularly raid, and fanfiction, which I had been introduced to via USENET by another friend of mine, Mark MacIsaac. After I left, Aaron had more free time, and thus he started writing a story that combined two of his favourite things: the then-popular anime Ranma 1/2, and Star Wars.

Aaron wrote prolifically, longhand on sheaths of paper, in his inscrutable and typo-laden scrawl. My role in those first stories, for all they were credited under both our names, was just to type these up and edit them - but that wasn't a small task, to be fair. I can type 60wpm despite still pecking with two fingers instead of touch-typing, a skill that dates to those early manuscripts.

That level of collaboration, though, wasn't enough. Soon we took to role-playing games again, and I took on various Ranma characters in lengthy phone conversations where he was once again the DM. Those games formed several of the plots for Ranma: Curse of Darkness, and the entirety of the plot of Kyoto Chronicles (sadly never actually finished), along with other stories both Ranma and non that never made it to the internet. Again, he would write the scripts and I would type them up, now with more creative control and editing.

The time came when we once again lived in the same city, able to really collaborate with both of us writing scenes. All of this finally culminated in Hybrid Theory, our longer-than-Lord-of-the-Rings magnum opus, and something we were both pretty proud of despite the various flaws and that we totally botched poor Rei's character arc.

After writing something like that, we were sure, it would be easy to write something for professional publication. But unfortunately, it never came to be. Circumstances separated us again, several promising projects got stalled after a few chapters, and then the grinding workload he faced at his job hurt his ability to write consistently.

But Aaron never stopped writing fanfiction. His mind never stopped working. Most of what he wrote was "junk" in his words, and he wouldn't even show it to me, but he was still thinking up stories and worlds and his favourite thing of all: elaborate fight scenes. He once told me he could write in any series, no matter how crappy or derivative, "as long as the main characters can run up walls".

It frustrates me that I cannot prove to anyone here how brilliant Aaron was, because that brilliance was hidden behind the various flaws in his prose style. His prospensity for typos never did much improve, though he could at least spellcheck stuff he wrote on a computer rather than longhand. He never got hung up like me searching for the exact right word, and so he often just used the same words over and over. For those that read his last work, I can only explain that I took out a ton of "snaps" - "snapped her head back", "snapped his wrist forward", "the snake snapped out" and yet there are STILL that many in there. I was going to do a much more thorough editing pass when it was finished.

But that is all surface-level. Where Aaron excelled was in his vision for a setting and story. He could take the ridiculous and make it somehow sublime - indeed, he often challenged himself with making ridiculous or cliche concepts work. He could keep track of a million dancing pieces and know precisely which should enter the stage, and from where. It's not that I didn't contribute meaningfully to our collaborative efforts, but I often felt like a child with crayons colouring in the lines of a sketch by Da Vinci. Even if my colouring was good, it wasn't the masterpiece.

His players knew, though. Another habit Aaron kept for the rest of his life was GMing (though he enjoyed playing, when the opportunity was afforded to him), even if he couldn't do it as much in recent years. Aaron was a masterful GM, able to coax out strong story arcs and dramatic moments from players of any skill level, able to make NPCs that the players hated or loved or both, able to coax rambunctious player parties into dramatic clashes and events that never felt railroaded. But perhaps even more than that, he was a master of making game rules work for him instead of against him. Aaron loved role playing game rules: one of his primary hobbies and uses of his spare cash was to buy new gamebooks, even if he never planned to use them for a game. He'd devour them, expertly analyse their strengths and flaws, modify and house-rule them to his liking, and even a notoriously tricky game to GM like Exalted flowed smoothly in his hands.

His set of replacement Dragonblooded charms are still the best and most flavourful charmset ever made for them. And he always maintained that the best game system to run Star Wars with was the pulp action game Adventure! - which was the very last game I'd play with him. He was, as always on these matters, completely correct.

In another world, even with the problems we had, I'm sure Aaron could have been a published author. The problem, if problem it was, was that Aaron's prolificness stemmed from his own joy in writing and creating. Ultimately, if he was more interested in writing about a magical self-insert Sakura than he was in something "professional", then that's what he did. He took note of criticism and changed things if he got it, but ultimately the only critic whose opinion he internalised was himself. He wrote because he enjoyed writing. If somebody else enjoyed what he did, great. If nobody did, he'd write anyway.

Aaron and I were so close that my father asked me if we were gay once. We weren't - I'm straight, and he was (unknowingly at the time) asexual. But we loved each other anyway. We had the kind of easy camraderie and understanding where we could nostalge and talk for hours upon hours, week upon week, and never get bored even when we didn't have really anything to talk about. We were never bored of each other's company. From that very first day we met, we understood each other in ways that nobody else ever did, or ever would. I never pictured my life without Aaron in it. I was going to be a writer, I knew at 15 years old, with Aaron. I was going to move back to Canada someday - and live near Aaron.

There is a hole, and it cannot be filled. It hurts, and it will always hurt. And yet I am greater for having it. It is unthinkable to wish that I didn't have it. My life without Aaron is unthinkable. I'll have to think of it, maybe another day, but not yet.

Aaron's last few years were difficult in some ways. He stuck in a predatory, horrible job that left him perpetually sick and exhausted, the only thing in the 25 years I knew him that actually forced him to stop writing and GMing for any length of time. He was too proud to take help, too tired to look for an alternative. He nearly died of a perforated ulcer a few years ago, and that added "chronic pain" to his ailments, and being him, he would only take painkillers when it became unbearable. It was unsustainable, we knew it, but he was always reaching for that promotion that would finally bring the shorter hours he had been asking for. In the meantime, he'd always say "Don't worry about me, I'm fine." I wish he had been right.

And yet.

In those same years, Aaron discovered himself. He discovered that he wasn't the strange not-wanting-sex freak he had grown up thinking he was, that there were many people like him out there. He got in touch with the emotions he had suppressed within himself due to a traumatic childhood experience, and while he sometimes had difficulty handling his newfound sadness (he was striken by grief like I'd never seen over the death of his grandfather) or anger (political topics were verboten in our conversations over the last few years), I believe that for all the pain and overwork and lack of creative output he was still in some ways never happier than he was these last few years.

He told me once that he wanted to find a partner of either gender, who didn't need or didn't want sex, but could be with him and hold him close when he needed it. I cried, and told him I knew he could find someone once he was out of that job. He deserved it. He deserved that happiness too.

This forum (although not solely) had a lot to do with him discovering himself, and that is why I felt I had to post about him here. You meant more to him than you know, and to some of you, though I don't know your names, I owe a debt I can never repay. Whoever you are, thank you so much. You helped him in a way I couldn't. The joy and hope of his last years came from the help you gave him.

And that's the end of the story of us. Aaron was exhausted, pushing himself beyond what he ever should have - now, at least, he can rest. Aaron was in pain, but now the pain is gone. There was nothing good or right or kind or acceptable about it, but it can't be changed, it can't be helped.

Goodbye, Aaron. I love you. Thank you for writing stories with me.

-Chris Mcneil addressing sufficient velocity forums

#rip #fandom #author of hybrid theory #major custom exalted charm wonker #writer #internet opinion guy

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