#and the one that's got a really bonkers personal appeal

[olderthannetfic]

The “noncanonical pairings are usually wish fulfillment” thing is so bonkers because there’s so much variety in terms of what is “non canon.” By the strictest definitions of canon, something like Anthy/Utena isn’t “canon” in the original anime series because they never explicitly say they’re romantic lesbian lovers or kiss (except in the ending theme, which people often don’t count), even though the entire fucking show is about that relationship and it makes significantly less sense if you interpret them in a platonic way. Same with something like Yuuri and Victor in Yuri on Ice. Most people would call those “canon” (I would with both) but I’ve seen people fight over it because it’s not “explicit enough.” A lot of people who are used to really didactic storytelling — which, lbh, is clearly a lot of people in fandom spaces based on the discourse that gets started here — don’t really know what to make of works like Revolutionary Girl Utena that rely a lot on symbolism and allusion, and in expecting their audience to do the work to meet them where they are rather than getting down to where the dumbest possible viewer is.

Then, on the next level, you get relationships that were built up to in some way, but then the writers later decided to take it another direction. You get ones that got a lot of subtext, but they were a same-sex relationship or an interracial relationship or something else taboo in a time before that was permissible in mainstream media of that kind. You get ones where it was the actors interpreting it that way, but not the writers; or the writers, but not the directors; or the directors and script, but the actor didn’t play it that way. (A good example of both of the last two examples: Garak/Bashir from Star Trek Deep Space Nine, whose actors have both admitted to playing them that way and supporting the ship, and where the creators have basically said they saw that there was something there but knew they wouldn’t be able to get away with that on a Star Trek show then.)

On the next level down, you might get something where it fits into a well-established romantic trope but the creator somehow has no idea of but the fans pick up on it — for instance, maybe they would only see it as romantic if it were between a man and a woman, but this is two women, and they don’t recognize how it’s going to look different to someone who is less heteronormative in their thinking. Maybe the creator just has such a strong bias against some particular combo of characters that they don’t want to acknowledge what they wrote by accident. (Like how J.K. Rowling was so mad that so many of her readers liked Draco Malfoy even though it’s pretty obvious to anyone else what’s so appealing about how she wrote that character, but for relationships rather than individual characters.)

And then of course, you do get some ships that are just completely out of left field, someone projecting a particular dynamic really hard that they wish was there on some characters that don’t have that kind of chemistry at all to anyone else watching/reading/etc. One of my fandoms had a really vocal group get really into a ship like that recently (because the person who started it framed it as “progressive” and herself as a bit of a BNF so a lot of younger discourse-addled people went along with it who also thought the more popular main ship was “problematic”) and it was annoying because they were so self-aggrandizing about how there was all this hidden subtext that no one but them was seeing because we were all less social justice enlightened than them or something. When it was really just that those characters didn’t have that dynamic at all, but they THOUGHT they should. There was a lot of hilarious misinterpretation of scenes that were in context, not remotely shippy, but one character was touching the other one very slightly or something.

But IME, those kinds of ships getting any kind of substantial following is rare. Most fairly popular ships that are non-canon, including pretty much every non-canon juggernaut ship I’ve ever seen (going back to DS9, Garashir is like 45% of the DS9 fanfic on AO3 last time I checked, so it’s definitely a juggernaut ship), there is at least SOMETHING there that comes from the original work. Even if it’s just “these two guys have the kind of buddy-cop dynamic that slash shippers often like to envision in romantic ways,” “this guy and this girl are the kind of lifelong childhood friends that we’re used to being romantic in anime like this so a lot of people started shipping them immediately,” “these two girls have the kind of Fuffy/Catradora/etc. friends-to-enemies-to-friends-again-to-lovers dynamic that makes a lot of femslashers lose their minds,” etc. Even with those three examples, while it may not be *intentional* on the part of the creator, it’s bizarre to say those people are “projecting” when they’re responding to those couples fitting into longstanding media trends that a lot of people identify. “Projection” to me is something like the earlier example I gave of the obnoxious people in my one fandom, where they are just determined to make some square peg fit a round hole because they’re desperate to have everything be round. And again, I don’t think that’s nearly as common as a lot of people, and especially salty het shippers who want to demonize the popularity of M/M or F/F in their fandoms, seem to think it is. (Also, like het-only shippers aren’t the ultimate in seeing romantic dynamics with every time a man and a woman are close at all, and throwing a fit when it doesn’t happen in canon, lol)

(I also think some of these people confuse the “projection” for people who are more dedicated rarepair shippers, where the motivation is often more “okay this might not be here but WHAT IF” than sincerely thinking the work is actually doing something that it isn’t really doing. Again, I’ve met people who are into rarepairs who just seem to have a really bad lack of understanding for what “subtext” is and confusing anything they wish was there with “subtext,” but I think those people are a rarity. For a lot of people who like rarepairs, the fact that it’s not at all what canon is suggesting is something they are aware of and that is The Point. It’s “I know the work doesn’t actually suggest this, but how can I change it so that it does”)

--

In my experience, that particular flavor of oldschool homophobe invariably ships tons of het that is not actually canon.

They just don't like it when 1. anything that's not their favorite gets popular and 2. people think a character could be queer without it being literally stated in the first episode/page.

[moondal514]

10 Fandoms, 10 Characters, 10 People

Thanks for the tag @jaywalkers <3. I love your list of characters, you’ve got great taste : )

Rules: name 10 of your favourite characters from 10 different fandoms, then tag 10 people to do the same

1) Andrew Minyard from All For the Game

My blorbo of all time probably. No character has given me brainrot and writing inspiration the way he does and likely no character ever will. This post sums up his appeal perfectly

2) Lan Wangji from Mo Dao Zu Shi

My newest blorbo from my most recently joined fandom. What can I say, I’m a sucker for incredibly queer competent stoic prob neurodivergent men that are absolutely insane about one person. When I watch the MDZS donghua, I literally have to pause every time he comes on the screen just so I can stare at him a bit, so you could say I’m a bit obsessed

3) Kim Theerapanyakul from KinnPorsche

He’s this weird little guy that is simultaneously the most competent character in the show and the biggest cringe-fail loser. He looks so suave and cool on the surface with his whole Taylor Swift by day mafia prince detective by night thing but then you realize he’s actually a complete nerd with a whole ass literal murder conspiracy board hidden behind a giant selfie portrait of himself and I love him so much (also he’s played by Jeff Satur, who makes my aesthetic attraction senses go haywire, but that’s neither here nor there)

4) Kyuzo from Samurai 7

My 1st fictional crush and prob my earliest blorbo. My type in favorite fictional male character (hypercompetent stoic character that doesn’t talk much with bonus points for iconic hair) can 100% be attributed to him. His story was the earliest villain redemption arc I can remember encountering in media (this was the 1st anime I ever watched so I was like 4 or 5 when I 1st saw this guy) and so for me I always think of him when I see people talking about iconic redemption arcs (sorry Zuko)

5) Midorima Shintarou from Kuroko no Basket

At the peak of my high school sports anime phase, this guy was my favorite. He’s tall, he’s green, he’s an anime glasses character™️, he’s tsundere, he’s prissy, he’s weird af, he’s got one of the most bonkers basketball skills ever, and he’s even an astrology girlie. What’s not to love

6) Merlin from BBC Merlin

BBC Merlin is the fandom that sucked me in at a time where I thought I was growing out of fandom and fanfic (spoiler alert: I very much was not) and it’s responsible for completely changing my relationship with fandom into something much more intense than it was previously. And it’s all thanks to this funky skinny wizard man who for whatever reason captivated me enough that I read hundreds of thousands of fan-created words about him for nearly a year and a half

7) Jasnah Kholin from The Stormlight Archive

She’s one of the rare canonically asexual female characters, and she’s even from a major fantasy book series too! I fixated on this character long before I knew I was ace (though perhaps that should’ve been a clue lol), mostly because I just thought she was so cool and I found her whole “why would I want a relationship when I’m busy with all this shit to study” attitude so relatable

8) Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender

I wanted to be her so badly when I was a kid y’all have no idea. She just made such an impression on me because she’s so cool and so strong but also unapologetically and obviously feminine and that really struck a chord with young me and is prob the reason why I didn’t really have a “not like the other girls” phase cuz she was revolutionary for little me’s idea of how a “girl” can be. To this day she is the character that to me has the coolest powers ever

9) Cassandra of Troy from Greek Mythology

It’s prob weird to include her but I was a real greek mythology girlie (in that I was into it before Percy Jackson came out) and Cassandra has always my favorite. The tragedy of her story has always been very appealing to me and upsettingly relatable in a lot of ways

10) Kym Ladell from Purple Hyacinth

Ms. Kym one of those characters that’s ostensibly the comedic relief except nope she’s hiding oceans of pain under her smile. She’s got trauma and a tragic backstory that she hides from the rest of the main characters in one of the strongest “this is fine” performances you’ve ever seen

Tagging: @stabbyfoxandrew @alcego @paradoxolotl @halfpintpeach @justadreamfox @wulfrann @quensty @ittyybittybaker @seasy33 @nanatsuyu

#moonie writes #aftg #mdzs #kinnporsche #samurai 7 #knb #bbc merlin #greek mythology #purple hyacinth #cosmere #moonie posting #atla

[sunburnacoustic]

INTERVIEW: MUSE on ‘BLACK HOLES AND REVELATIONS’

— Ian Winterton interviewing Matt Bellamy for The Leeds Guide magazine in 2006.

It’s midday on a Friday and I’ve accidentally got drunk. Now, the floaty, vaguely tripped-out feeling may be down to the four pints I’ve just glugged down, but I’m more inclined to blame the fact that I’ve been locked in a bar in London’s Soho Hotel with a dozen journalists for the playback of Muse’s new album. It’s a fantastically weird mix of prog-rock, electro, metal and sci-fi noodlings Hawkwind would have been proud of. And, at the stipulation of the band’s management, we had to listen to it twice, “in case we missed something”.

So, yeah, I’m feeling a little odd when, in a suite upstairs, I get to meet the man behind the madness, Matt Bellamy. In contrast to myself, he turns out to be both sober and sane, not to mention thoroughly pleasant and polite. With his designer casual clothes, prominent cheekbones and scrunchy hair, you’d sooner imagine him folding up jumpers in a swanky clothes shop than fronting one of the UK’s most successful rock bands. Then again, Muse have never been associated with rock ‘n’ roll excess. I put it to him that the band’s clean living is one reason they’re still going strong a decade after their debut album.

“We’ve had some very good times on tour in the past,” he says a tad defensively. “And we were young guys and at one point we were all single, but I don’t think we need to tell everyone about it. We’ve always wanted to get attention for being good musicians and for making good music.”

And good music they most certainly do make, although it’s not to everyone’s taste. For some, it’s silly, pretentious and overblown. To those who’ve drunk from the cup, however, it’s silly, pretentious and overblown. AND THAT’S THE POINT. With Black Holes And Revelations, Bellamy and his fellow bandmates – Chris Wolstenholme (bass) and Dominic Howard (drums) – have really pulled out the stops. In between beers during the playback, I jot down the names of other bands that come to mind, producing a list that includes New Order, The Scissor Sisters, The Pixies, Pet Shop Boys, Ennio Morricone and Spinal Tap.

In amongst the electro and the flamenco, it’s still the same old Muse: Bellamy’s falsetto vocals, pounding drums and loud ‘n’ fast rock guitar. For me, all the disparate elements of the album come together on the brilliantly titled closer Knights Of Cydonia. It begins with laser-guns and horses galloping.

“We really pushed that song to its limits,” says Bellamy. “We pushed the fantastical elements so far, maybe too far, so it sounds like a sci-fi film. Cydonia is the area of Mars where they think there’s that big-faced temple thing. Mars used to be the same distance from the Sun as we are now and so some people think that maybe there was a civilisation there. I find that idea quite appealing.”

“I think that’s a little far fetched,” he laughs, adding, “It’s a slippery slope. Once you start reading that stuff it takes you over a bit. I quite like alternative thinking. My girlfriend studies psychology and she’s working in a hospital in Milan where there are patients that actually believe the end of the world is nigh and that sort of thing. It’s interesting hearing about people who’ve been completely overtaken by these theories.”

How are they going to reproduce the sound of such a wilfully diverse and bonkers album live?

“With great difficulty!” Bellamy exclaims. “But we’ve actually got a fourth person in to do some of the electronic stuff for the first time. Morgan Nicholls, who’s actually in The Streets, took over on bass when Chris broke his wrist. It turns out he’s a really good keyboard player. We decided that next time we should give him a go.”

As thousands of fans can testify, Muse are awesome live – and, unlike most bands, they’re actually better playing huge gigs. Are they excited to be playing Leeds and Reading?

“Absolutely,” enthuses Bellamy. “Reading and Leeds are the biggest rock festivals you can play.  When I was younger I remember seeing bands playing there – I saw Jeff Buckley, one of my all-time heroes, there in ’94 and I remember thinking if I could get up there it would be amazing. Also, it feels nice to be a band that can do a gig like Glastonbury but also do Reading and Leeds, which is more of a rock audience. It’s nice to be able to move between the two.”

Just look out for those giant lizards.

#Muse interviews #black holes and revelations #Matt Bellamy #He lives his life unbothered and has hopefully never looked back/read an old interview of his ever #Us fans we’ll suffer through it </3 #muse band #matt bellamy #muse #muse interviews #2006 #But also lol at Matt trying to deny that they led pretty normal/clean lifestyles for rockstars #Yeah some shenanigans here and there but as far as rock music industry troubles went they genuinely were one of the least #troubled bands out there like the music industry has broken people worse

[rei-caldombra]

Mashle- The Surprise Hit of Spring 2023 Anime (for me)

I was very pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this show. I had not heard of it at all before it aired and just checked it out because the premise sounded fun and very appealing to me. For anyone who doesn't know, short summary is that it's basically Harry Potter but Saitama from One Punch Man is the main character.

I went into this expecting it to be a parody where it just craps on stereotypical H.P style magic school stuff, which I did want to see. Not because I hate magic (I don't), but because I think the premise of a physically overpowered character entering a magic school is a great way to parody it. I also am into fitness so I enjoyed when it indulged a bit in that area. These points have their appeal but likely would not keep me interested for 12 episodes if all it did was make "lol magic sucks" gags. What really made me get into the show is how it still takes magic seriously for the other characters and world as a whole. Characters with powerful magic are not treated as jokes or made to appear weak. To me the comedy feels less at the expense of magic and the characters and more so just laughing at what Mash can do to circumvent it. I feel it does a good job of poking fun at magic while also appreciating what it can offer.

I must mention the most insane and truly noteworthy thing about this show. It’s absolutely bonkers. This is a fantasy anime that not an Isekai. Someone remembered you can do fantasy without an Isekai and still do “fish out of water” elements! Joking exaggeration aside, this is genuinely a breath of fresh air. In case you did not see my last post on Vending Machine, I do not inherently dislike Isekai. But as you likely know the anime space is oversaturated with Isekai and has been for years now. It's nice to not have the thought of "real world" stuff taking away from the fantasy.

The show is actually pretty funny. I don't think the gags about Mash overpowering magic ever got old or overplayed. What helps with this is my point before about how the other characters were allowed to have magic on magic fights that were taken seriously. This broke up the routine of waiting to see what funny way Mash brute forces his way through things. And in these fights the other characters were genuinely capable of defending themselves for the most part. If Mash always had to come in and save them, or if Mash always felt completely invincible, I would have liked it less. But towards the end we do see that there is genuine danger.

I do have some criticisms, the biggest being some of the characters. Mash, Dot and Lance are solid characters with fine characterization and likeability. Mash and Dot in particularly are a bit more memorable. None of them are outstanding but I genuinely like them and think they bounce off each other pretty well. On the other hand... I'm sorry but Finn is such a nothing character. After his introduction he does not do anything of note other than talk with the characters. He does not directly participate in any fights and his presence offers very little other than reacting to the main 3's strange personalities. Lemon is also not very interesting or memorable and sadly is a very stereotypical female character in a group of male characters. Like Finn she does not really get to do anything and ends up being a damsel in distress at the finale (just remembered that he did end up needing to be saved too). These two largely have the same problems but it's a little more notable for Lemon since she is the only relevant female character and gets relegated to not having any genuine role in the story until she needs saving. I personally do not think her crushing on Mash is as offensive as her treatment in the story, but it is again very stereotypical and does not give her any unique identity. The main 3 all have clear personality traits but I really can't think of anything for Finn and Lemon. Both these characters to me have nothing really to them and lack agency in the story.

To end on a positive note, the OP and ED are both bangers. The action scenes are also solid, with some very interesting magic powers and ways that Mash combats them. I really enjoyed the fights as a whole. The presentation of the show is pretty solid.

I think it's a pretty good show. Putting aside my issues with Lemon and Finn, it has a lot of good jokes, great action scenes and interesting concepts on how magical and physical capabilities can collide. I'm looking forward to getting the next set of episodes next year, and I'm really hoping we get some redemption for Lemon and Finn.

But keep in mind that what comes later does not always affect what already happened and imply there was foreshadowing or hidden depth. Their characters can be improved, but it won't change how mediocre I feel they were here. I don't like when people try to use hindsight from future content to say, "they were actually great characters all along" when it's clear from the writting that it was not intended from the start. Sorry, I won't buy that with this lol. Thanks for reading!

#anime #review #mashle #spring 2023

[ladyloveandjustice]

Spring 2022 Anime Overview: Some More Good Food

I’ve talked about three interesting anime about awesome girls from the Spring 2022 season, but what about the rest of my watch list? Well, Spring was smorgasboard of scrumptious shows and here are my thoughts on the rest of what I saw!

(Note I left some in the backlog because there was SO much good-sounding anime this season and I had a feeling summer season would be pretty barren in comparison...and it is. So I’ve recently started Ya Boy Kongming and will probably watch Aharen-San too, but they won’t be getting reviews)

Spy x Family

This one was such a smash hit I don’t feel like I need to say much about it. The golden premise is that we’ve got a highly fictionalized, extremely loosely cold war inspired setting in which a spy needs a fake family to infiltrate a fancy school and stop a war. For this purpose, he just so happens to adopt a daughter, Anya, who’s a telepath (he does not realize this), and then (in part thanks to Anya thinking it would be cool and setting it up) he ends up fake marrying an assassin (without either of them realizing it). The entire family is keeping secrets to each other and desperately trying to pretend to be normal, but despite all the subterfuge, they develop a love for each other that’s clearly real, and find people who can accept them for their weird quirks.

Spy x Family is just a good time, a great mix of action and comedy with loveable characters. It has an extremely broad appeal and the animators clearly knew they had a hit on their hands, because they bought their A-game when it comes to beefing up both the action scenes and the comical expressions and jokes. It’s a top quality treat to watch all the way though.

Pretty much the only thing to watch out for in this anime is the sadly all-too-common character who’s way too obsessed with his sister (and he’s a member of the secret police, so all around garbage person), though since the sister in question is married, much stronger than him, and they’re both adults, it’s far less…horrific than anime can usually get about it. (I will say his dub actor makes him unhinged enough I found myself laughing at some of his lines, and he did fulfill his role as a catalyst for shenanigans).  Having read ahead in the manga, he also doesn’t show up too much.

Overall, SXF is an easy rec. Whether you’re here for ass-kicking, cuteness, or to laugh a bit, it’ll scratch that itch.

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War Season 3

Speaking of animators who always bring their A-game, Kaguya-sama is back and as always it’s a spectacle. Especially the rap episode, which was bonkers and has to be seen to believed. Glad it’s canon Chika said motherfucker...twice. It’s still very funny, but doesn’t quite reach the hilarious heights of the second season and there were a couple more uncomfortable jokes- namely the series’ first ever mention of queerness is Chika mistaking Shirogane and Hayasaka-in-disguise-as-a-boy as being in a relationship and getting excited nosebleeds over it while also mentioning once that she’s “not sure if I should stop them or cheer them on”, so, not great.

However, on the character development front, this season was really great for almost everyone (except Chika, weirdly, because as the other characters have gotten nicer and gained depth, she stays the same and thus comes off meaner. Still pretty funny though!) We got to see Hayasaka assert her needs more with Kaguya, both Kaguya and Shirogane reevaluate their priorities, Ishigami continues the develop in a positive direction and…we make REAL PROGRESS on the central relationship. That’s right, actual solid progress on a will-they-won’t they rom com and the central premise of the series itself is challenged in a satisfying (and fun) way.

One thing that always bugged me a bit was that while we see a lot about what Kaguya sees in Shirogane and how she’s changed because of him, we don’t see her from his point of view and why he likes her as much, and this season actually fixes that by showing how he fell in love with her and how she inspired him and shaped a lot of his time in the school. There was solid growth for the characters and it will be interesting where they go next!

Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie

Sometimes you just want to watch a show about good kids being sweet and adorable, and that’s exactly what this series is. Anyone who comes in expecting a strong comedy will be disappointed, but if you’re down for a soothing, slower paced romantic slice of life, you might end up liking it.

The central idea of the series is Izumi is a very terminally unlucky, danger prone soft boi who has a cool, princely girlfriend who protects him, and a I’ve seen a lot of people react like “ugh, are gender roles so restrictive that even having a girl who’s cool AND cute is considered subversive enough center a comedy around” but that like…clearly misses the point of the series, which is allow you to imagine being in the the position where you can watch your girlfriend be cool and dashing and sweep you up in her strong arms, which as a lesbian, I 100% am here for.

‘Cool Girlfriend’ fantasies are nothing new, but what sets Shikimori apart as enjoyable is it doesn’t go into the aspects of that  fantasy that usually lose me- like the part where the average joe boy stumbles into being better than the cool girl at everything, because he can only be worthy if he outdoes her, or the part where the boy doesn’t have to put in any effort while the girl centers her life around him, or the part where she gets her clothes shredded…you get what I’m saying.

Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie works because Izumi works just as hard to make Shikimori happy as Shikimori works for him. It’s clear WHY she likes him- he’s genuinely very kind and, despite being cursed by the universe with bad luck, he spends most of his time thinking about the people around him and doing his best with what he has rather than being resentful. He also appreciates Shikimori for who she is and loves her dashing nature. Shikimori and the supporting cast also have enough interiority we’re actually able to spend an entire episode without Izumi in it at all.

Granted, Shikimori’s backstory- “I was just following along imitating other people in my family, which very coincidentally meant I was being more traditionally masculine and doing more masculine activities, until I discovered my TRUE dream (after reading a single chapter of shoujo manga), which just very coincidentally involved being more feminine”- is such a eyerollingly common cliché in anime that Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun parodied it, but the end result is Shikimori discovered she didn’t have to hide the protective, rambunctious “cool” parts of herself even if she wants to be cute too, which while a common ending to this cliche backstory, isn’t a bad message.

It also did that thing I really love in anime like Kimi ni Todoke where two girls are set up to be romantic rivals, but instead a girl is like “well, liking this guy is something we have in common, actually, how could I hate you for having the same feelings I do?” and it becomes a point of bonding and reason for them to be friends. Look, is a little idealistic to hope for that for messy teenagers? Yes. Does it make want to cry and do I still absolutely love seeing a story where, where the cliche of women fighting over a man instead becomes a point of solidarity between girls? Also yes. Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie is a world where good, sweet kids support each other no matter what, and it’s heartwarming to spend time with them. 

In this cute friend group, Shikimori isn’t shamed for being traditionally masculine in some ways and nobody ever gets on Izumi for being in a more traditionally feminine role either. It’s not anything earthshattering or amazing, but it’s a sweet anime and sometimes it’s nice to escape to a world like this and enjoy the chill vibes.

Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 3

Unfortunately, I found this entry of Bookworm to be a lot weaker than its previous seasons, perhaps because of it’s truncated 10 episode runtime. It’s still a good show with interesting world-building and there’s a lot of big status quo shakeups for Myne…but it all feels pretty rushed, especially considered how huge and sad a lot of things that happen at the end are. Light novel fans have mentioned it does dash through the plot comparison to the source material, and that makes me curious to check them out. Basically, still good, had some shakeups, but I was left just a little wanting- that’s really all I have to say about it.

#spring 2022 anime #anime overview #spy x family #kaguya sama love is war #ascendance of a bookworm #shikimori's not just a cutie #my reviews

[4d-hypermoth]

The Game Awards, but just the announcements I care about:

Pony Island 2: Panda Circus - I have very vague memories of watching a playthrough of the first game, and the sequel looks absolutely bonkers in the best of ways. Also SUNGWON!

Usual June - Not much to say except it looks cool and I hope it turns out good.

Windblown - Never played Dead Cells despite everyone saying it's great, but man they really did just brutally murder those little animal dudes. Awesome.

God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla - Free update!? Based. Also that was absolutely a cyclops, I'm curious if they tie back in some Greek mythology stuff.

Big Walk - I have no idea what this game is but it better win Game of the Year 2025.

No Rest for the Wicked - Not quite sure what the game itself it, except that it's gorgeous.

5 New Sega Games - JET SET RADIOOOOO- ahm, I mean, this might just be the highlight of the entire show for me, despite how little was shown. Sega has so many cool old games that haven't seen the light of day in so long (though Streets of Rage had a game somewhat recently I think?). Anyway I'm going to break this up into individual sections despite each one having about 5 seconds of footage, lol

Jet Set Radio - Obviously this game was in production well before the release of Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, but I guarantee people are going to be way more hype for this thanks to Team Reptile. Seeing DJ Professor K in this new style sent me to a higher plane. Can't wait for more on this one.

Streets of Rage - I'm not really a beat 'em up enjoyer, but it's interesting that this game is going 3D.

Shinobi - This game looks very pretty. High hopes for this one. Hope it takes notes from all the big indie platformers of the last decade.

Golden Axe - This one looks veeeery interesting. I'm only vaguely familiar with OG Golden Axe, but the art style and the game being 3D have certainly caught my eye.

Crazy Taxi - HEY HEY HEY IT'S TIME TO MAKE SOME CRRRAZY MONEY ARE YOU READY? HERE WE GO! Very curious how they adapt this one into a modern title. YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH

OD - I'm not interested in playing this (I mean we don't even know what the game is besides horror... with really detailed faces), but it's a Kojima game so I'll nonetheless watch it from a distance. Hideo Kojima and Jordan Peele is a wild combo.

Black Myth: Wukong - Holy shit it has a release date. This game has looked insane since it's reveal, hope it lives up to the years of hype.

Tales of Kenzera: Zau - Everyone's fixating on the Critical Role logo lol. This one's got style and I hope it does well, but I'm not really a metroidvania guy so I'll probably pass.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth - Cid real!

Blade - There are very few potential Marvel projects I'd be interested in this point... luckily Blade is still cool XD

Not a game, but after that Old Gods of Asgard performance... do I need to check out Alan Wake 2??? XD

Guilty Gear Strive updates - The original gun-wielding menace has returned. Dig the new outfit. I know at least one person who will be thrilled at Elphelt's return. Curious as to how this 3v3 mode will play.

Was not expecting Elden Ring DLC news - they literally said that it was still a ways off, so idk why so many people were expecting a trailer. Happy for Monster Hunter fans, even if I'll never get the appeal of those games. So many shooters with forgettable titles and/or minimal gameplay shown. And apparently Fortnite is a games platform now? Weird.

Congrats to Baldur's Gate 3 for winning the things. See yall next year when Foamstars sweeps the Game Awards.

#game awards

[kb-amnewt]

Movies are my JAM!

The wonderful and beautiful @return-of-miss-mgm tagged me in a recent post, and I've decided to follow suit. The following are 9 movies that really meant something to me. My list of movies goes on and on, but here's some that stood out at the time.

Evil Dead 2 was one of the first horror movies I really remember watching. It's been one of my favorites for a long time to the point where I've listened to the commentary multiple times. It really set itself apart by appealing to my sense of humor, and including a level of derangement I rarely see in films since.

Godzilla vs Megalon is an absolute classic of a Godzilla movie. The showa era of Godzilla films is definitely a favorite with their weird story-lines and their occasional 4th wall breaking moments. This one holds a special place though as being on my son and I watch together frequently. Plus it features Jet Jaguar, a fan created hero for this specific film.

Singin' in the Rain makes my list as one of my favorite musicals ever. Gene Kelly was a marvel in his own right and this roll was a perfect fit and he got surrounded by talented costars. The whole movie just makes me feel good and makes me want to dance. Plus I can sing along to the whole darn thing.

Spirited Away was my fist Hayao Miazaki movie. I think it is a beautiful and stunning movie just as much as the first time I saw it. I think the story is sweet and weird. The world it painted was strange and whimsical while also having its dangers. I've since learned that most Studio Ghibli films have the same effect, but still, this was my introduction to a great collection.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind just hits super hard on my interest in aliens. As with most Steven Spielberg films it was kind-of a big deal what with the budget he normally works with. The fact that so much of the movie is done with practical effects really drives home how much better it is to be creative with whats available. It's one of the reasons I wanted to get into special effects in the first place. (along with the evil dead movies) Also you get to watch Richard Dreyfuss go absolutely bonkers for a solid hour and a half.

Tremors 2: Aftershocks made me not want to walk off the bike path behind my house for fear of getting devoured. Eventually it turned into a comfort movie that I would play it on my laptop to help me fall asleep, which I can admit it could be seen as a little odd as this installment in the franchise introduced the shriekers, which I would not describe as comforting to hear. Again, lots of practical effects as well as a very entertaining Michael Gross.

Little Shop of Horrors is again one of those top tier musicals for me. I can sing the whole movie. It's a fun, weirdly dark story wrapped up in a delightfully uncanny package. The baddies get their comeuppance via a hungry meat-eating plant voiced by Levi Stubbs. The special effects are mind boggling and the choreography leave nothings to be desired. Put simply, I love this movie.

Labyrinth to me is not just a great movie. I am incapable of thinking of this movie without also thinking of my wife. We've both loved this movies since before we met and now it's something we can experience and enjoy together. The day our son asked us to watch it together was one of our favorite experiences together. We've since seen some of the puppets, props, and costumes in person. The combined work of David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, Jim Henson and his team made a piece of art that has brought my family closer together. (And like that I've made myself cry a little)

Scream was another favorite of mine when it came to the horror/thriller genre. Obviously at this point I know whodunit, but there's still enough substance there where I can watch it time and time again. It puts so many tropes on blast while following many of those very same tropes to a T. Upon re-watching you find that it frequently tells you exactly whats happening or about to happen without you realizing it. The cast was great, the cinematography was on point, and I've had a thing for Drew Barrymore since I was in high school.

All in all I have varied taste when it comes to films. I tend to bounce around from kaiju films, to musicals, to horror, and back to light-hearted animation. I have far to many favorite movies to count but these 9 should hopefully give some insight into what helped form my love of the art of cinema. I'm curious what some mutuals might have in there lists so hopefully I can look forward to what, @drgoblins @fat-tea-fat @kolkhozmilf or @transfatfemme @bigfatbuck @brendakthedonutgirl @the-grove and @chubote have in mind. Of course anyone is welcome to give it a go, I don't always remember everyone who's following me back.

Thank you for coming to my post, I hope I'm not bothering anyone by tagging them. This list was in no particular order.

#movies #film #rant

[dc-said-bi-robin-rights]

Part 1 of This Is Halloween:

It was no secret Rose Wilson loved partying.

She wasn’t what anyone would call a particularly outgoing and sociable person—some people would even go as far as to call her antisocial, which wasn’t actually the same thing as ‘not sociable’, but whatever—but there was just something about a good party that enraptured her. The press of so many bodies in close proximity. The vibration of the music. The booze. The ability to blame all your bad decisions on the booze. Even the smell of a good party—an objectively unpleasant mixture of vomit, sweat, and the scent of various alcohols—appealed to her at some level she couldn’t really rationalize.

It probably had something to do with her father’s serum, like most things in her life apparently did. She can’t remember the thought of parties ever really appealing to her before she was injected… but then again, she hadn’t exactly had the most standard childhood, had she? Maybe she would have grown up to be a party girl even if Slade had kept away like he promised he would. Hell, maybe she’d have grown up to be a party girl even if her mother hadn’t died before her eyes when she was a little girl. Maybe her love of parties has nothing to do with her past or her enhanced senses at all. Maybe she was just someone who liked partying.

Whatever the reason may have been, the end result was always the same: her standing in her trademark leather jacket with a plastic cup in her hand surrounded by drunk strangers who either blatantly wanted to fuck her or thought her fashionable new eyepatch was the coolest thing to ever exist. She’d liked the first group more than the second one in those early days. At least they didn’t make her feel like one of those old-timey circus freak types people used to come and laugh at back in the day.

And, well, it was easier to forget things while on top of someone screaming your name at the top of their lungs. Even if they’d probably struggle to remember it the following morning.

And then, the Titans.

The Titans threw some shit parties.

It was honestly bonkers, the way the Titans managed to slice off everything fun about partying with an almost surgical precision but keep every single element of the activity that could make it awkward and uncomfortable. They even banned booze.

At a party.

No problem, Rose had thought, naively convinced she wasn’t hanging out with the actual lamest people on the fucking planet. I’ll just bring some of my own and stash it in my room. She could try spiking the punch every once in a while, maybe give herself an excuse to laugh at her teammates the way she knew they laughed at her. Or she could keep it all to herself and get drunk off it when the memories and the past and the visions and everyone’s consistent, inherent suspicion of her got too frustrating to deal with. It wouldn’t be a substitute for the real thing—for family, for love, for having people who’d actually give a shit whether you lived or died—but she was increasingly beginning to suspect such things just weren’t meant for her. That all she had, that all she’d ever have, was her swords, her jacket, and violence. Violence that ran in her blood. Violence that, for a single fleeting moment, had kept her warm on the snowy mountainside where her future was stolen from her. Violence, violence, violence. Violence in sex, violence in love, violence in the heart of a stupid little girl with stupid little dreams who’d believed a man who said he’d make everything better and paid the price.

But nope. Tim had gone and put a stop to that, too. And he’d done it by getting Wendy and Marvin—and geez, not to speak ill of the dead, but those two sucked—to search her room and pour her alcohol down the drain.

Hooray for the Patriot Act, she guessed. Less so for anything resembling fun around this place.

After that, the hits just kept on coming.

Loud music after ten? Banned.

(“But… we live on an island.” “So?)

PDA? Banned.

(“You’re kidding, right?” “Nope.” “It’s a party.” “So?” “People make out at parties.” “Not at ours they don’t.”)

Skinny dipping? Banned.

(She hadn’t obeyed that one, she recalls fondly, thinking of Eddie)

Explicit material ? Banned.

(“It’s a picture of myself, Tim.” “It still counts, Rose. Besides, don’t you know sending those is dangerous? I, uh, know you probably trust whoever you were gonna send this to, but more than 80000 women a year…”)

But way too personal conversations, complete disregard for personal space, and people getting way too comfortable touching her without permission? Oh, you better bet that was not only allowed, but encouraged. Some garbage about team unity and bonding and bleugh. Count her out. If that was what parties in Titans Tower were gonna be like, she’d pass, thank you very much. It’s not like she couldn’t get her kicks elsewhere… y’know, once the possibility of her father kidnapping her again the moment she set foot outside the Tower died down.

Which it never quite did.

So, no parties. None worth remembering, anyway.

And then Tim stepped down as team leader. And, for the first time since she first joined the team, Rose Wilson had an opportunity. Because while Tim may have been as unmoving and self-imposing as hard rock, Cassie… well, really wasn’t at all like that, much to her surprise. That’s not to say she was lax or anything, far from it, she was easily the most stubborn, bossy person Rose had ever met… but she could be reasoned with… persuaded.

Convinced.

So Rose had done just that. It’d started off small, at first. M’gann had always been weirdly curious to try out weed but utterly refused to just do it in secret because she thought it would be disrespectful to Cassie, so all Rose had to do to get her onboard her agenda to liven up the place was dangle the possibility of an inter-team petition to loosen the anti marijuana rules beneath M’gann’s nose and she took the bait hook, line, and sinker. Eddie, for his part, had been something of a harder sell thanks to that incident but in the end all she had to do to get him on her side was flutter her eyelashes enough times for him to get the picture and he was falling over himself to agree to anything she proposed. As usual.

Bart had come easy too, and all she needed to do to get Kon to sign up for the effort was accuse him of faking his punkness, which just left Blue Beetle and Mia to convince. She hadn’t bothered, though. At that time, Blue Beetle was still too scared of her to directly argue against something she’d proposed and Mia was still in the kind of honeymoon era that meant she was just happy to be included in the team’s affairs in the first place, which meant that neither of them would oppose the proposals she meant to bring to the table even if they disagreed with them (and Rose wasn’t even sure they did). For all intents and purposes, the team was hers.

And just as Tim had rallied the team to implement nonsensical rules that constrained their own independence, Rose rallied them to get rid of those same rules. It had been hard, way harder than it should have been if she was honest with herself. There were some rules that had be struck down one after the other just based on the way they were written and others that her support would evaporate if she openly tried to rally against, so she had to be smart about the way she went about it. And that’s not even mentioning the balancing act that was holding her fragile coalition together—M’gann would jump ship if Rose gave her what she wanted too early but Kon and Bart weren’t exactly the most patient guys around and there had been points where even Eddie seemed on the verge of giving up on the effort entirely whenever Cassie dug her heels in against a particular proposal. Rose had to switch tactics, but how?

The answer had come one day in the form of a heated sparring match that… well, turned into something else halfway.

After that, it had never been too hard to convince Cassie of anything.

Rose can’t help but smirk a little at the thought as she examines herself in front of the mirror, turning this way and that in order to better inspect the intricacies of her homemade costume. She’s a pirate this year, a costume choice that had surprised no one when she’d mentioned it the day before during dinner. It had been a little predictable, given her eyepatch, but Rose didn’t mind being predictable every now and then. It just meant that people knew you and knew what you were like, and wasn’t that what she’d wanted in the first place? People who noticed? People who gave a shit?

Maybe being predictable is just the prize of having a family.

Dismissing the thought for later inspection, she pulls up her fishnets for hopefully the last time—they kept slipping slightly whenever she moved, and it was starting to annoy the shit out of her—and picks up her bandana, tying it around her head and knotting it at the back. She’d traded in her swords earlier today for a pair of golden-hilted plastic cutlasses that now hung from her hips and swung against her legs whenever she walked, but they added too much allure to her look to simply abandon them, so Rose sighs and begrudgingly readjusts her belt too, knowing it definitely won’t be the last time she’ll have to perform the action tonight. She allows herself a quick selfie in front of the mirror to cheer herself up before getting to work on the tiresome task of working her hair into pirate braids.

Rose has always liked Halloween, even as a child… though admittedly that had initially been more because of the candy the holiday came with than the ‘dressing up’ aspect of it. That had only started appealing to her after she turned twelve and her mother, seeing how much her daughter enjoyed making mud potions and pretending to curse the odd insect that wandered into the compound after dark, gifted her a costume of a witch. It was an ugly thing, made for a child twice her size, with a tattered pointy hat that dropped way too often and a ratty fake broom with most of its horsehair falling out, but Rose had loved the stupid thing and her mother had loved seeing her in it.

She wonders if her mom would love her pirate costume the way she’d loved her old witch costume. Would she think it was too homemade? Too elaborate? Too slutty? Too simple? Too orange? Too gray? Would she like the textured, scale-like design of the outer edges of the corset or would she think it was too much like her actual costume? Was the collar too much? Should it be a tied collar instead of one with a buckle? Was the contrast between the gray and orange of the corset and the black and gold of the belt eye-catching or just distracting? Maybe it was neither, and her belt needed more golden buckles along it to truly stand out. And what about the fishnets? Should they go all the way up? Did the sliver of exposed thigh make her look more alluring or like she was trying too hard?

She doesn’t even care about the answer. She’s never cared about what people think, at least not when it comes to the way she dresses. She just wants to be able to ask. She just wants to be able to shoot her mom a pic and a quick text saying ‘hey mom, how do I look?’ and get… what, exactly? What would her mom think?

She has no idea. And that’s the entire problem—the fact that she doesn’t even know! The fact that she can’t just ask, because she’s dead, or missing, or whatever, and she is never going to know if she doesn’t find her.

She has so many things she needs to ask. Questions that are important. Questions that aren’t. Questions that will never get answered if she really is dead.

Questions like where were you?

Why did you leave?

How did you survive the fall?

And… when did you stop looking for me?

It’s the only possibility that makes sense. There’s footage of her everywhere now that she’s Titan, and her secret identity is pretty much just a formality at this point, considering that her father doesn’t really hide who he is anymore and anyone who’s anyone already knows anyway. How is that she’s the one looking for her mother and not the other way around when her face—and more importantly, her hair—regularly shows up on every newspaper from here to Canada and…

She feels a clump of hair being torn from her scalp, and she stills for a moment before taking a deep breath and forcing her hands to relax.

Nice job, idiot, she chides herself.

Can’t even braid your own hair right.

#rose wilson #ravager #rosecassie #cassie sandsmark #cassierose #dc comics #wonder girl #cassandra sandsmark #mia dearden #speedy #speedy dc #miarose #rose x mia #mia x rose #cassie x rose #rose x cassie #teen titans #tt03 #ttvol3 #teen titans vol3 #teen titans vol 3 #teen titans 2003 #teen titans volume 3 #fanfic #teen titans fanfiction #tt2003 #dc bombshells #but as costumes y’know? #halloween #I wrote this to get the Rose thoughts of my head after Ravager Knight Terrors’ mediocre debut

[rookie-critic]

City of Angels (1998, dir. Brad Silberling) - review by Rookie-Critic

The third stop on my Nicolas Cage weekly movie nights was an odd choice. After two absolutely unhinged films like Con Air and Face/Off, why would my friends' next choice be a rom-com between Cage and Meg Ryan that happens to be a remake of a beloved 80s film by auteur Wim Wenders? The answer was simple: The song "Iris" by The Goo Goo Dolls was written for this movie, and that was intriguing enough to give it a slot, and honestly I'm the kind of person who wants to devour an actor's entire filmography, especially for an actor like Nicolas Cage, so I didn't mind at all. I didn't have super high expectations going into this one, I'd never even heard of it before and, looking at the reviews, they didn't seem too favorable. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how well written, well acted, and just generally well made this was.

Cage and Ryan both give absolutely stellar performances, with Cage actually managing to draw a tear out of me with a line delivered towards the end of the film. Special shout out should also go to Dennis Franz, who is unforgettable as Nathaniel Messinger in the film. While the story may seem a tad ridiculous on the surface; an angel wants to become mortal after falling in love with a human woman, the film does a very good job of bringing that frankly wacky premise down to Earth and making it believable within the rules the movie sets up for itself. I know I've already mentioned that Cage gives a stellar performance in this, but I don't think I've really sold it enough, so I'm going to keep talking about it. This isn't Cage unhinged, this is Cage subdued. It's such a straight-laced, non-bombastic performance that I'm not sure I've ever seen out of him before. Even taking Pig into account, which by all metrics is a more subdued performance from his average outing, still has aspects to it that are wacky, and only one scene in this entire film sees Cage approaching his normal levels of insanity, but even then it fits within the confines of the character. I know that a lot of the charm surrounding Nicolas Cage is his crazed, frantic acting, but when I see him in films like this, like Pig, it makes me a little sad, because I know that he's more than capable of giving a truly incredible performance. One that's memorable for how good his acting is as opposed to how bizarre and bonkers it is, which, again, has its own charm and appeal. I don't necessarily want Cage's reputation as a wildman actor to go away, I don't want his legacy to consider how genuinely talented he is, as well.

While I don't understand the Tomatometer's 57% for this film (inversely to how I don't quite understand Face/Off's 92%), there are aspects of it that don't work for me. For one, while the dialogue is amazing, Ryan and Cage have absolutely no chemistry. Cage is definitely not the rom-com scene partner that Tom Hanks is to Ryan, and it shows. It really is their chemistry because, as I stated earlier, their performances are both stellar, but I just got nothing in the romance department out of them. Another lackluster piece of this puzzle is that it does lean over into overly sappy territory more than once, for sure. A lot of the music cues, while the songs themselves are good, were almost too much. One in particular, when Sarah McLachlan's "Angel" plays during a pivotal romance scene, was actually too much. This very possibly could be because of that song's connection to the ASPCA commercials from the mid-2000s, and if that is that case I can't really hold that against the film, but the on-the-nose nature of the song's titular line and the style of music it is was more of a hindrance than a help, as was the case for the scene where "Iris" plays.

One last thing I'll say in the con category is with a specific scene in the film in which we are shown flashes of black-and-white clips that don't really seem pertinent as well as black-and-white versions of things that had happened earlier in the movie. From what I understand, the black-and-white aspect of this is in reference to original Wim Wenders film, Wings of Desire, in which it is a major plot point that angels can't see color, which is all well and good except for the fact that this had never been established in City of Angels up to that point, which makes it very jarring and confusing as to why that was been presented that way. It also still doesn't answer what those other, unrelated clips were. The closest thing I think for them to be are shots from Wings of Desire that were placed there as a way to homage the original film, but I have no idea if that's true or not, and it still wouldn't make sense as to how they relate to Seth in this film. Regardless, City of Angels was great. It's one of the better genuinely fantastic performances I've seen out of Cage, the writing was awesome despite its leads' lack of chemistry, and most importantly, I had a fun time watching this with friends. What more can you ask for?

Score: 8/10

Currently available for rent/purchase on digital (iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, etc.) and on DVD & Blu-ray through Warner Bros./Regency.

#City of Angels #Brad Silberling #Nicolas Cage #Meg Ryan #Andre Braugher #Dennis Franz #Colm Feore #Robin Bartlett #Joanna Merlin #Sarah Dampf #film review #movie review #1998 films

[cerealmonster15]

FOR SHIP BINGO, obligatory jamiazurido and also uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh rookvil and hell science club duo and also rook/jade idk I'm in a rook shipping mood I guess lol

oh good im ALWAYS in a rook mood in general this appeals to me specifically let's GO

jamiazurido my beloved. MY BELOVED I LOVE THEM SOOOOO MUCH i think about them. constantly.

i simultaneously believe they could work So Well Together and either cancel each other's Bonkers Behavior out or make it WORSE and would probably be. so insufferable fkldsjflsjd but it would WORK for THEM 😌 and they could bond over. The Issues.

ok ROOKVIL:

theyre simply married. soul mates even. inventors of Being In Love :) idk if it shows up well but i wrote HELP over(neutral) this time jflkdsj I GO NUTS THINKING ABOUT THESE TWO. THE CANON WAY THEY INTERACT IS LIKE. HELLO. HUSBAND BEHAVIOR CONSTANTLY

SCIENCE CLUB BOYS:

i feel like this chart doesnt do the lowkey ships justice fkldjsfkl i GREATLY ENJOY science club boys i fucking LOVE when theyre on screen together!!!! that one scene w/them in beans 2 where rook is clocking treys behavior and the screen slowly zooms in on him while hes rambling and then suddenly backs back out to show trey looking So Freaked Out is the FUNNIEST thing to me i always laugh SO HARD at that part lkfdjslfs!!!! i like them as a shipmore passively tho like to me theyre club besties but also i would not mind if they held hands and also kissed. that would be very pog or whatever!!! and i think personally that rook's by default a little in love w/most of his friends anyway sdljkfjls rook invented gay subtext except theres nothing subtext about him actually he just blatantly fawns over everything and anything. and we love him for that!!!!

ROOKJADE HEHEHEE:

UNDERRATED. CHAOTIC DUO OF THE CENTURY i love them SO much they are SO FUNNY together i want them to INTERACT MORE!!!!!!!!! they would directly enable and feed off of each other's little freak behaviors!!!! they literally do that in canon!!!!

boys who like weird and interesting occurrences see each other and go "oh i have GOT to stalk him through the woods at a close distance" fjsldfjks THEYRE SO FUNNYYYYY i circled 'crack ship' bc like. theyre bonkers. but it's not REALLY a crack ship not to ME. but also kind of. idk LOL i just want them to Be Weird Together 😌

[BINGO]

#asks #felix-the-lemon-king #ty felix u get me 😌

[mrultra100]

Even with how I doubt myself, along with all of the other Pokemon that I love and can’t put into a team, this is now my own personal team of 6, all based on not only my tastes, but also things like personal experience, aesthetics that I like, some special quirk to them like a certain Ability or move, that sorta jazz.

Hisuian Samurott- It was very hard for me to decide my favorite starter. Skeledirge, Venussur, Incineroar, and Swampert were all good contenders. But, at the end of the day, the spiky-shelled otter samurai managed to win out. Part of why I loved Legends: Arceus was how it went about with the new regional forms being a good majority of new Pokémon, and that rings true for the first starter-based regional forms in the series. While I considered regular Samurott to be a alright Pokemon, it doesn’t have enough of the same charm for it to be on the same rank as favorites like the aforementioned Venusaur and Skeledirge. The Hisuian variant completely flips the script on that, by turning Samurott into a much more spikier, samurai-focused, Water/Dark bruiser. The design and pattern of its shell, along with its mustache, have made this Pokemon a lot better. If we get more Legends games with regional final evos like this, I’ll be all for it.

Pincurchin- Of course, my favorite Pokémon just HAD to be here, and I’m not complaining about a single bit of it. Pincurchin is a banger in of itself. Yes, it does look weak, but this is my team, I make the rules here. If you do it right, a Pincurchin is able to be a pint-powerhouse in its own right. I’ve had this Pokémon for both my Shield and Scarlet teams, so I know what I’m talking about. Also, it’s cute as a button. Gotta give it extra “points” for that. (Yes, I couldn’t resist making a stupid sea urchin pun, I’m not sorry)

Tyrantrum- As dinosaur-crazy as I am, Tyrantrum was actually what got me into being really into T. Rex. Long before the days of the lipped, sparely feathered, chonky swimmers that we know and love, the world’s most famous dinosaur just didn’t appeal to me as much as it does today. Who would’ve thought Pokémon would come and help with that? Not only is Rock/Dragon a cool type combination, nor does it have a banger ability (Strong Jaw), I actually had a Level 100 Tyrantrum during the X and Y days. I wish I actually brought him over to future games, as he was sadly lost to history, but he basically was my main man.

Yanmega- I have to give kudos to Legends Arceus again for making me appreciate another Pokemon that I didn’t thought up at first. Not only does Yanmega tap into my liking of bugs very well (A title rivaled by Vikavolt, Lokix, and a few other Pokémon), it certainly has that kaiju feel to it. The one that I used in Legends was named Megagarius. That name alone should be pretty obvious to anyone who knows even a LICK of Godzilla.

Mimikyu- Long before Pincurchin came onto the scene, I considered Mimikyu to be my favorite Pokémon. Since I’m a sucker for some good ol’ gothic horror, how can I even say no to the little guy? Fun typing, equally fun ability, and even more delightfully creepy backstory aside, this has to be one of the cutest of all Pocket Monsters out there. I’m so happy that everyone has decided to show the little guy with love. He rightfully deserved it, dammit!

Glimmora- I am so, SO sorry to Clodsire and Revavroom, but the funny crystal flowersponge has them both beat. Not only does it have a fun and interesting type, along with a absolutely bonkers ability that makes it a threat to face as the first Pokémon, but Glimmora’s design might actually be one of the best in the franchise in a long time, even with many others rivaling it. I’m not gonna go into full detail about its inspirations here, as I’ve got a full-on post planned for it in the future, but as a quick taste for now; Think of this Pokémon (and its pre-evolution) as a three way between a nightshade flower, a hunk of copper sulfate, and a deep-sea sponge.

Given how Tumblr doesn’t let you add in more than 10 pictures for some stupid reason, I can only afford to add in 4 additional ‘Mons that got close to being in the team. While the sheer agony of 6 slots makes it hard to come up with a team that you’d be cool to spend a lifetime with, made even more harder that there are now more than 1000 of these things now, I find it interesting to stay true to yourself when making a Pokémon team. Who knows? If you’ve struggled come up with a perfect team like me, you just need to list down which interests and aesthetics suit you the best. Maybe then, you could find the team that screams “You” the most.

#pokemon #ultra ramblings #team building

[tungle-squentacles]

rewatching mandalorian with @ravioliofthesea and i wrote an actual essay-sized bulleted list (with his contributions) about how That One Scene in s2ep7 makes me bonkers in discord messages. i am importing it here. spoilers for aforementioned episode below

mando is in a position of extreme vulnerability. the only people with him are a shitty criminal that tried to put him in prison once, and a fuckingf imperial warlord. the criminal is helping out here

because of point 1, mando's body movement is limited. he's not used to emoting this much, so he holds his body stiff and rigid. he looks down at the table and barely moves his face, only glancing at people frmo the corner of his eye. when he's approached by that one guy he is frozen. this is a contrast to his usual helmet body language, where he cant really make small, subtle movements in his armor. his helmet keeps him from having peripheral vision, so he can't really corner glance people either. the discomfort in this scene is so visceral god

when first approached by the guy he stares straight at him like a deer in headlights. the dude is frozen

also the fucking harsh light?? in his face?? the light is coming from the window, lighting the side of his face that the warlord is looking. it's like he's in a fucking spotlight, which is how he probably feels right now. the side that mayfeld is on is in shadow (mando feels slightly safer with him)

mayfeld is very respectful of mando. a lot of this is subtle body language, but when mando gets confronted by the warlord guy he awkwardly and very bluntly pulls in to save him. also after shooting the guy mayfeld immediately hands him the helmet and looks away when he puts it on, then assures him that itll be private. he also avoids making eye contact with him

(from @ravioliofthesea) the helmet is mando's sense of security. it's how he's able to stay calm, but this is unusual state of complete vulnerability. mando looks to the table, then to mayfeld for security after the warlord says something especially shitty, and immediately looks him full in the face after mayfeld shoots him and it's clear they're in danger. this is where mayfeld responds by handing him his helmet after mando glances at him mayfeld immediately looks down to avoid eye contact

mayfeld is probably the best character to talk to the empire guy. he doesn't really care about personal honor, he is extremely survival oriented. the empire guy tried to appeal to him with morals and personal honor and greater good bullshit. if it was mando or anyone else, they would have questioned him or tried to debate him. mayfeld recognizes most of all that being a war hero doesn't fucking help anyone if they're dead. he also recognizes that the civilians they fought in his war were also trying to fight for their own survival

the transition from cold to hot anger in this scene is VERY. very good. mayfeld is able to contain it for most of the scene but the scene slowly gets tenser and tenser. you can tell he is ABSOLUTELY seething mad and it is SO satisfying to tell him that what's dead is dead. then he shoots him and then everyone else. one can guess that he's in a state of extreme anger (dead cohort) and panic (in danger). it's Go Man Go

combination of the past two points: it's such a mayfeld thing to do to just fucking shoot him. the guy cant be debated with he's off his rocker and also a military official🤢

he also deserved to be the one initiating the fight. fuck that guy

yeah the message here (fuckign. shoot the guy) is pretty blunt. i love it

this is also probably where he got his nihilism in the first place. did he have ideals? who fucking cares anymore man his entire cohort fucking died

the thing about what mayfeld said about still rules broken in harsh circumstances turned out to be true lol. as said above this is coming frmo a pretty survival-oriented person in the first place

in short the acting in this scene is VERY good and also military leaders who are Like that have it on sight

#squent post #media recs #the megalaundryman #mandalorian s2ep7 #mandalorian season 2 #mandalorian #the mandalorian #dredged from the soup #i love going insane about media on call with friedsn #anyway someone talk to me about this i want to go more insane about it #yeah this is fucking big. sorry for not indenting the bullet points can someone show me how to do that

[planet-coaster-cheats-i2]

planet coaster cheats new 6CON?

💾 ►►► DOWNLOAD FILE 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Rename a ride “FRONTIER”. Rename a security guard to “LOCKETTMAN”. Rename a shop to “MCLINTHE”. Rename a staff member to “DAVID GETLEY”. Cheats revealed include first-person Go-Kart racing on your tracks, increase the criminal levels, faster coasters, stop rides breaking down and. Planet Coaster is a game that seems to have bottled a feeling of pure joy and made a game from it. There's an infectious level of happiness that seems to radiate from it, coming from the soundtrack, the atmosphere, the guests, the rides, and so on. But, have you ever looked at your park and wanted just a little bit more control over it? Has there ever been a rollercoaster that is awesome looking but doesn't quite work? Have you ever wanted to drive one of your Go-Karts? That, and a lot more, are options using some of the cheat codes in Planet Coaster. Here's a guide to every cheat code in the game:. I'm sure all of us, at some point, have looked down at a Go-Kart track in Planet Coaster and had a strong desire to jump in on some of that action oursaelves. I mean, you'll definitely have an unfair advantage over the other guests considering you designed the course, but they don't need to know that, do they? If you've got a favorite guest making their way through your Go-Kart course, you could always give them the advantage. Create your own high-speed race by giving all the drivers that bonus, if you'd like! Just know that, no matter what happens, Andy Chappell is going to win. And lose, you get the joke. Think the criminal pursuit chases are a little too subdued in the game? This turns on physics for these chase encounters, enabling guests to go absolutely flying when they come in contact with the security guard. This cheat increases the spawn rate of miscreants in your park by, like, a lot. You'll want to make sure you have plenty of security guards around before you activate this cheat, but once you do, you'll get to see some awesome Benny Hill-style chases all throughout your park. Your coaster is almost there. But it's just not quite extreme enough. The good news is, this is a solvable problem. Enabling this cheat lowers the coaster friction a little bit, allowing your coasters to reach some higher speeds, and probably make some guests that much sicker in the process. Okay, now it's getting out of hand. Less friction is one thing, but no friction? Get ready for some truly crazy rides. There are some serious possibilities for absolutely bonkers rides being made with this cheat enabled. While I can see the appeal of the previous cheats, this is one that I'm not sure that I understand, unless you're making a funny video. You'll want to make sure you have a veritable army of janitors around and ready to get to work because the park is going to be a complete mess after a few seconds. Just want to take a stroll around the park from a guest's perspective, but be in control the whole time? You totally can! Activating the TEGIDCAM cheat does just this, enabling you to wander around your park at your own pace, looking at whatever you'd like to see, riding whatever you'd like to ride, and so on! In my opinion, this cheat is absolutely awesome; I can spend hours just walking around the park I made having a good time hanging out in it. Looking for a little bit of an extra challenge? This cheat isn't going to immediately reduce all of your rides to useless piles of scrap metal, but you will definitely notice an increase over time. If you're on the complete other side of the fence, you might prefer to not have to worry about your rides breaking down at all. You'd like to run a nice park where you don't necessarily need to micromanage everything; you just want to build some cool rides and not really have to worry about them very much afterward. That's totally cool! That's what's great about Planet Coaster ; there's really no wrong way to play it, just do what makes you happy. Pokemon Go: October Raid Guide. Splatoon 3: Tower Control Guide.

[survey--s]

293.

Which state do you consider to be the most boring state? I’ve never been to America but I read a book by Bill Bryson where he talks about Iowa being really flat and full of potato farms, so I’ll go with that, lol.

Did you ever own a Koosh ball? I have absolutely no idea what that is.

If any chef from the Food Network could cater your wedding, who would it be? Bobby Flay or Robert Irvine.

Do you remember Krum from Aaahhh! Real Monsters? I’ve never seen that show in my life.

What's the last thing you ate that was red? Uhh, meatballs in tomato sauce but they were pretty grim, I’m not gonna lie.

Do you remember the first time you ever went into the ocean? No. I was probably only about two.

Have you ever stolen from your parents? Yeah, money as a teenager.

If you owned a dalmation, what would you name him/her? Dalmatians are utterly fucking nuts, lol. Gorgeous dogs but I could never own one - they are just bonkers. But if I had to have one, I’d probably name it after one of the 101 Dalmatians because, well, why not? lol.

What Asian country would you like to visit the most? Why? Japan, just because it’s the one that appeals to me the most. I’ve already visited Singapore and Malaysia.

Have you ever thought that a passer by was the one? Nope.

Ever told someone that your fake jewelery was really real? No. Did you ever watch The Adventures of Alex Mack? I think I watched a few episodes but I couldn’t tell you anything about it now.

Who has the worst public restrooms? I’ve never been anywhere with truly awful restrooms.

What did you use gel pens for? Writing colourful sets of revision notes, or writing postcards/letters back in the day when I had pen-pals.

On what pages of the yearbook are you on? We don’t really have yearbooks here.

Name a car that's made in the US. Jeep.

What is Botox made from? It’s a toxin.

What country music star should be honored in the Hall of Fame? Dolly Parton, for sure.

Would you eat cat food for $500? Yeah, it’s just meat in gravy.  Who is the last person you smelled? Mike, I guess?

Do you like going to the dentist? I don’t like or dislike, it’s just one of those things you have to do.

Have you ever smelled a dairy farm? Sure, they’re everywhere around here and they smell horrendous, lol. We have about five or six within a five mile radius of our house.

Name a song that got overplayed really fast. Shape of You by Ed Sheeran. Have you ever had an ultrasound? Yeah, when I had issues with with my periods and they needed to do scans of my womb to make sure I didn’t have any tumours or fibroids or anything.

Do you shop at Payless? We don’t have that here.

What Friends character are you most like? I’m a mix of Monica, Ross and Chandler, for sure.

When's the last time you had a popsicle? A couple of days ago. It was really warm here up until today lol.

#survey #surveys

[parachim]

Here I am doing this the second month in a row! Enjoy!

 Fiction The Intestine of the Basilisk @natsinator (AO3) Oh to be a little robot stuck in a time loop partially of your own creation. The best part of this is the tiny bit where the mining operation machine assumes the body of the boss' sex robot and kills everyone. Catching Fire Suzanne Collins I read Hunger Games around 2014ish? I think Collins has compelling writing if nothing else, and sometimes you just want to read something that you know will be gripping in the moment even if it may not be ultimately satisfying so I returned to the series. I sort of love the fucked up glimpses of the culture of the Capitol we get? It's over the top in a YA way, but not so much so that you can't believe that at least maybe it could happen like that in this universe. Mockingjay Suzanne Collins Collins' is trying to say something about media in this one and it doesn't completely work for me. It's just a little too silly to imagine them making cool action war videos that are all style and no substance with their top fighters when there is an actual war going on. Though the US military puts a lot of money into movies and video games that achieve some of the same purposes of the glorification of war, so it's not like something similar doesn't happen in real life. Kind of wish that the book had managed to pull off Katniss getting with both Peeta and Gale. I think it could've worked without it being too forced and it would have been fucking awesome. Does this series suffer from the 'happily ever babies' trope? Somewhat, yeah. But it does a much better job at it than the HP series does at least. I read The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes last year and I thought that was really good. Thought it was supremely quality to write a novel from the POV of the villain who does not get any real comeuppance within the novel.  How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe Charles Yu Starts out strong, if not at least intriguing and then goes nowhere at all, just like the character stuck in his little time travel machine. There are some glimmers of brilliance here (the depressed mother being given a one hour memory time loop to live in over and over again as some sort of elder care is bonkers) but ultimately it suffers from 'extremely sad man continues to be sad' disease. The protagonist has a holographic AI assistant who he admits to having feelings for and it doesn't go anywhere! I think that he should've at least been able to consummate that relationship in whatever way he could. Like can we give this man one W?

Gregor the Overlander Suzanne Collins This was Collins’ debut novel. It does exactly what it needs to do in terms of being an unlikely hero’s call to action story for middle grade readers. It doesn’t really do much beyond what you expect it to do, but I can see the appeal to the voracious fifth grader.

Nonfiction Burning Questions: Essays and Occasional Pieces, 2004 to 2021 Margaret Atwood I like getting a look at someone who has had a pretty long career in the writing world. It's pretty hilarious to me that some of the first reviews for Handmaid's Tale were so critical. Makes me think about how there probably are a lot of really quality books out there that didn't get very far because they got a few bad reviewers in the beginning. Likewise, I think there are a lot of lousy books that end up as best sellers because someone pens a particularly good review. Some of these essays probably could have been cut for having low substance, but when you're Margaret Atwood you can have anything you write published. Kind of drove me a little nuts how many narrators this audiobook had. I understand that it's easier to have almost every essay read by a different person (saves time) but I think I would have preferred if the accent of the various readers was always the same since I have to readjust to listening to a new narrator each time. The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing Alfie Kohn The main argument of the book is homework is bad, actually. And really, he's probably right. I think there are some valid use cases for homework (mostly essay writing because imo it's too hard to write when there are other people around you) but so much homework is absolute bullshit. Especially projects assigned to elementary schoolers that the success of mostly depends on how much effort the parents put into them. Instead of homework for homework's sake it would be better to just let children do something they actually kind of enjoy after school rather than busywork.  Pedagogy of the Oppressed Paulo Freire I feel like I am simply Too Stupid to understand this book. Anything that is mostly theory I clock out too fast. I understand the Point being conveyed here is that the system of education is typically designed to keep people who are already down, down in a systematic fashion. But so much of this book just washed over me. Probably would be more productive of me to process this book in a graduate seminar, but that's not the sort of thing I can waltz right into these days. Tell Me Where It Hurts: A Day of Humor, Healing and Hope in My Life As an Animal Surgeon Nick Trout I'm really into day in the life as x occupation books, as well as books on the field of medicine. This book checks both those boxes. There's some clever prose and funny stories but it's not wildly funny - but it does do everything that it needs to do. Surviving Death: Evidence of the Afterlife Leslie Kean Do I believe in these recounts of reincarnation, talking with ghosts, supernatural experiences etc.? Not really? I think I'm agnostic about it in that I could perhaps be compelled to believe, but am skeptical of it generally. I do like the idea that you as a mortal human could get a chance to come back in one form or another, so I guess I am primed to hope that these things could be true at the very least. The opening section with the toddler recounting his life as a WWII fighter pilot is, if not true, at least a very compelling story. If you want to construct a narrative that really works, this one really *feels* like it could be convincing. "I want to believe," as they say. The other examples get progressively less convincing as the book goes on. The people who have had loved ones die and then experience some unexplained phenomenon well, I mean, that could happen. Who am I to take that away from them? Though the book becomes very weak as it gets further into spirit mediums and seances. Mediums I could buy that maybe they could have some psychic link to something. I can rule out that there's a few people who could perhaps do this in a way that is meaningful. Sort of wish the author talked more about her dud experiences with mediums to round it out. Writing only your most compelling evidence just screams bias. The seance section at the end is too goofy. It's too hokey for anyone other than the most ardent believer to buy into. I just don't see how little ghost hands manifesting in paraffin wax is anything other than the continuation of outright fake seances of the Victorian era. Wish the book had ended before it got to this part.

#kavkareads

[ntshastark]

*pretending i didn’t watch 1 (one) episode and disappeared for a month*

hhhhhhh i had to prepare for a trip and then there was the trip and then there was backed-up work stuff and then i didn’t have internet for a whole week and then my computer was at the repair shop bUT ANYWAY

bridgerton season 2

(part 2 - ep. 2)

Episode 2

i know i joked before about kate imposing her own wants on edwina on this scene, but it’s all even more bonkers when you consider book!edwina does dream of a love match!!! but this one just wants ~a PrINcE oR a DuKe, pERhaPs~ so i guess this is all just a representation of cvd’s head while plotting this season and kate is the one braincell that remembers reading the book

==

using the shaving scene as an opportunity to declare that it’s a fucking crime how they got rid of anthony’s mutton chops, especially considering how proud johnny was of having grown them himself

(i swear i try to keep the hair/wardrobe historical accuracy complaints to a minimum - even bc i’d talk about nothing else otherwise)

==

in my heart, this lumley dude is the series version of mr bagwell

==

(this doesn’t make sense at all considering the whole siena thing but shh we’re pretending that never happened bc we didn’t plan ahead even though all books have been out for years and we knew exactly how anthony’s story goes in them)

==

in a better universe, they had their own little side plot and i shipped them so much

==

i still don’t understand why lumley was so receptive of anthony here when they’re both courting edwina???

==

i think he’s in love with him actually

==

literally WHY is he anthony’s hype man all of a sudden?????

==

genuinely don’t understand how is show!polin so much more appealing to me when they’ve stripped colin of all his personality

(the one he has on all books besides his own, i mean. if we consider just rmb, this is a perfect adaptation)

==

HOW DID THEY NAIL KATHONY’S DYNAMIC SO PERFECTLY AND YET FUCKED UP THEIR STORY SO BADLY

==

every time edwina demonstrates interest in anthony i lose some of my will to live

==

pet peeve: white wig instead of powdered hair

==

don’t forget humble

==

i want to know so much about this dude

==

ok but why did they include those random zebras

really hope they just happened to be on-location bc imagine if netflix actually spent money on this

==

love how he paints this as something exceptional, as if any woman back then would’ve even had the choice

==

THEIR FACES

==

i’ve said it before, but anthony is a menace to society

==

i wonder if “our” here means just himself and the people whose opinion he’s talking about or if this is supposed to imply benedict went to university with lord byron, because if it’s the latter i demand a spin-off

==

god i can’t wait for benophie

(i’m choosing not to acknowledge the rumours of season 3 being polin instead of benophie until they’re confirmed

at least on here, dms are a different matter)

==

i just really hope edwina marries lumley off-screen

==

and this is my sign to skip ahead, as i refuse to subject myself to this scene again

==

honestly don’t understand why accidentally bumping into a servant on your way out would be considered making a fool of oneself??? they’d surely just blame the dude??

she could be referring to her talk with edwina, i guess?? but lady danbury didn’t hear any of that so it makes no sense

#do i even tag spoilers??? it's been over a month at this point #f: the bridgertons #s: bridgerton #mari liveblogs