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digital-chance · 9 months

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steve rogers - a brief (nonsensical) character study/analysis

so i rewatched all the mcu movies with steve roger in them using this lovely youtube video. spoilers for the entire things! consider this your warning.

here's my takeaways in no particular order:

he still wears the same clothing style he wore pre-ice. often button ups, work boots, plain denim jeans, sometimes a leather jacket (often brown). later on in the mcu he started wearing plaid flannels which is funny to me because he does not give a SHIT about modern fashion. give him his old man clothes please and ty. adorable.

marvel did not give the man much character development. they said he's going to go through war and hell and death and fuckery of emotions. sure he's going to learn how to move on but that's off screen and don't really expect much change fuckers. this fucking pisses me off if you can't tell. he's such a long-time character with so many areas where he could be developed and marvel just said fuck that he's an "old man and a soldier with some funny moments" and that's all you're getting.

also he had 5 minutes MAX of screentime in infinity wars :(((( fucking hate that give my man justice

he's so funny????? and so fucking sassy???? like how did I not know this???? love the guy

he broods a ton when he's sad and cracks jokes to cheer others up when they're sad. very sweet but I feel like that marvel could have expanded on this in some way.

he's also very acrobatic which is somehow surprising to me but also at the same time it makes sense??? idk man but you do your flips bbg

also love the way they planned his fights. they really use his full body. reminds me of old greek and roman statues with the flexing muscles. (those are my favorites statues if you can't tell) it's satisfying to watch and I want to draw it or make a statue of him now tyvm.

in endgame tony started talking about his ass which sparked an entertaining side tangent. like you really didn't need to???? but I'll take it. i forgot that steve called HIS OWN ass the "ass of America." I was in and still am in shock from this whole situation.

when he met his other self (or smth I don't remember) in endgame one of the last things he said to other steve was "bucky is alive" (see points below). interesting how seeing the compass with peggy didn't phase other steve much.... also that fight is fucking ridiculous 1000/10

he says so much romantic/gay shit about bucky??? like "even when I had nothing I had bucky." very angsty and homoerotic I love it

the ending with peggy and him being old is plotted so shittily. literal garbage. i wouldn't have minded him being with peggy at all (love her sm btw don't mistake this for me hating her) if they had done it right and given cap a plausible reason and justification for him staying. sure, he misses her. sure, visiting her. but wouldn't staying with her fuck up everything??? literally everything????? like the avengers wouldn't exist everything????????? FUCK that ending.

not exactly fully cap/steve but chris evan's shoulder to waist ratio is absolutely delectable. love that they highlight that with the suits designs.

also what the fuck was infinity wars when he had a fucking beard and longer hair??? loved it but it kind of came out of left field. plus he looked a little silly fighting with the long hair bc it kept getting in his face. you would've thought that he would wear a helmet during that fight but Not Today ig...

last point I promise. but the romance with sharon carter (i forgot her name but i think that's it) was GROSS. whats her face is peggy's GRANDDAUGHTER. so now that he's too old for peggy he had to go for her granddaughter?????? YUCK. especially so because he went to peggy ANYWAYS in the mcu. to the comic writers and marvel: stop. that's fucking gross and quite honestly unneeded.

kind of a serious man with some unexpected twists, like the humor. and that was just the MOVIES. fucking hate some parts of the comics. (why are there so many universes ughhhhh) love steve though what an interesting fellow. might add on more thoughts later if i remember/want to.

#thoughts #steve rogers #mcu #fuck the mcu #captain america #the first avenger #ysbwm research #character analysis #character study #very homoerotic

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lordkingsmith · 4 months

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TAG GAME!! List your Top 5 Comfort Movies (right now), your Top 5 Discomfort Movies (right now), and your Top 5 Movies you would save from a world shattering event. Then tag 10 people.

Thanks @augment-techs for the tag, I don’t wanna get the post too long so I’m gonna make my own 😁💖

Comfort movies;

The Last Unicorn

Star Wars: A New Hope

Labyrinth

My Little Pony The Movie

MMPR 2017

Discomfort Movies

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

(Could have been better, wasn’t, it’s now the glimmers of better plot lines that never happened that bother me, but it’s still so pretty and I will give it that)

Frozen 2

(It was unneeded and just…could have been better. Beautiful but unneeded)

Grave of the Fireflies

(A bad experience watching it ruined it for me, unfortunately, and now it’s just hard to sit through because of both subject matter and past experience)

Maleficent

(It wanted to be Disney’s version of Pan’s Labyrinth and isn’t)

Power Rangers: Once and Always

(Nostalgia hit me hard enough to cry)

Top Five Movies I Would Save From A World Shattering Event

Hilda and the Mountain King

Nimona

Sleeping Beauty

The Dark Crystal

Shrek and as a bonus Puss n Boots 2: the last wish

(fun fact-Shrek is considered by some to be the perfect modern retelling. it's basically beat for beat the Arthurian legend "the ugly bride" and is a story about Gawain. Shrek is in the Gawain role here. If only Disney's lesson from Shrek was how to tell the perfect modern retelling. not....what they actually learned. while I've never seen anyone else bring this up, Puss in Boots 2: The Last Wish is perfecting the Shrek formula; it's a perfect modern retelling of a gentleman/godfather death story, but the recontextualized story is so seamless nobody realizes it's based on a dozen very specific fairytales, it can stand wholly on it's own feet. I've never seen anyone bring up the many stories Death references in the places he shows up and the things he does (if you consider Puss considering fighting a game, and Death ALWAYS plays games for someone's life/to teach a lesson, and his relationships with doctors and candles, suddenly you start recognizing the stories but I digress) And I only know this because Death in fairytales is a literal obsession. My favorite fairy tales are the one where Death is a character literally haunting the narrative. these are movies that if you really analyze explain how to re-contextualize classic stories into modern understandings and settings, and I feel this is a lesson people need to remember and relearn. for this alone, again, they have to be protected at all costs from destruction)

and I tag; @storywrites @ajgrey9647 @wreyeder @uccelletto-di-kokuyo @skyland2703 @queerlilchinchin and anyone else who would want to :)

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extra-vertebrae · 2 years

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Do you have any tips for designing monsters that are actually creepy and/or unique?

A good thing to do would be to familiarise yourself with design tropes, Anon! Nowadays popular design tropes are pretty easy to spot and follow, thanks both to the nature of the internet, and to increasing homogeneity in mainstream entertainment.

Learn about the Uncanny Valley and why it upsets us as much as it does. The Uncanny Valley provides an interesting and ready window of opportunity for tapping into baser repulsion without directly aiming for fear.

Learn about the basics and overall fundamentals of design, and cap off that knowledge with an understanding of anatomy and general biology. An effective design does not have to be anatomically "correct" or plausible, but it certainly helps in setting your design apart. In particular, understanding movement can elevate a design heads and shoulders above the rest alone, and can make a design creepier or more engaging than it would be as a simple visual. The Uncanny Valley also applies to movement - if something just misses the mark in how we recognise it as "supposed" to move, it triggers a distinct warning in us. Del Toro employed uncanny movement as a major design aspect to the monster in Mama, and it was very effective in elevating that design.

Try to avoid drool and an overabundance of teeth as your main selling point. I see this often and feel it needs a direct mention for those looking to design something effective. The failings of many designs that involve drool and teeth can be chalked to an artist only focusing on the face of the creature and not the rest of the body. If the face is the only part of a design where you were engaged, it is not a good design and people will see right through it. The face should support your design, not be the only aspect worth looking at. Teeth and drool by themselves do not an interesting creature make; being consumed is a common basal fear, but teeth are everywhere - make your teeth count and make sense.

Learn about fear - take some time to read about phobias, common causes of death, and what instills worry in the mind and hearts of people. A lot of small, unassuming things worry and disturb us, and these are very rich wells to draw from. This applies especially to designs that hinge their effectiveness on an idea or a presence rather than only their visual form. I would suggest you watch the 1982 film "Poltergeist" (not the remake) for an example. The presence within the home has no set form, and the scene where the presence is described by Tangina Barrons, the Medium character, is intensely effective. We never get to truly see what haunts the house, only what steps it takes and what illusions it conjures to keep the family apart.

Look at the work of as many artists as possible. The more designs you expose yourself to, the wider visual library of ideas and approaches you will have to pull from, mix, match, take apart, and re-render. The same goes for looking at real-life design - look at animals! Look at insects! Look at worms! The natural world holds design secrets that would be right at home in a science fiction novel. You will never see these animals referenced in mainstream media, because they are so unbelievable just by themselves.

Watch movies with effective creature designs in them, for the exact same reasons as above. As you watch, consider for yourself why those designs are effective to you, what was it about them that struck home? Was it a visual design aspect? Or was it something more nebulous - the concept or the action, rather than the design? Not all effective creature designs wear their effectiveness in the body, it's in the action, the sound, or the idea; or, even, the metaphor.

Keep the K.I.S.S. model - Keep It Simple, Stupid - in the back of your mind. A number of designs fail because they are cluttered and overwrought with unneeded and nonsensical details. Does attaching a bevy of blood bags to a creature truly make it more effective, or is it just noise?

As a final point: when designing, design for yourself. This is generally my personal route of design. I study and consider for myself first, and other people only when I'm paid to do so. I do this in part because the goal of my designs is to satiate something within me first - either to fulfill a personal definition of "functional", a personal definition of "beautiful", or a need to make myself uncomfortable. This personal lens is what gives my designs (as well as the designs of other artists) their specific flare.

I hope this answers your question, Anon!

#art talk #ask

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popentertainment-moviereviews · 2 years

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BARBARIAN (2022)

Starring Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, Justin Long, Matthew Patrick Davis, Richard Brake, Kurt Braunohler, Jaymes Butler, J.R. Esposito, Kate Bosworth, Sophie Sörensen, Brooke Dillman, Sara Paxton, Will Greenberg, Derek Morse, Trevor Van Uden, Zach Cregger, Kalina Stancheva and Devina Vassileva.

Screenplay by Zach Cregger.

Directed by Zach Cregger.

Distributed by 20th Century Studios. 102 minutes. Rated R.

Well it started out well. That’s something, right?

I’ll even go so far as to say that the first 30-40 minutes of Barbarian was terrific – a promising set up for a smart and funny and creepy genre film.

But boy howdy, did it ever fall apart quickly after that. The story got more and more nonsensical as it went on, venturing into new unneeded characters and plotlines popping up out of the blue. Not only that, but the characters also kept performing actions that were just so amazingly stupid that I walked out wondering what the hell I just watched.

I mean, I get that you have to give a certain amount of leeway in horror movies. The victims are always doing the wrong things, otherwise you would not have a story. As the commercial says, why go to the running car when you can hide in the creepy shed? However, even in the realm of stupid horror reactions, this group is particularly boneheaded.

It had a wonderful set-up, though.

Tess (Georgina Campbell), a young woman in Detroit for a job interview to work on a new documentary film, shows up at a little Airbnb which she had rented in the middle of a torrential downpour. The house itself seems cute enough, although it is in the middle of a wreck of a neighborhood which looks like something out of Khaboul. However, when she tries to get the key from the lock box, it turns out there is no key there.

It turns out that a guy named Keith (Bill Skarsgård) is already staying there. Keith seems to be nice, seems to be a popular musician, seems to be down to Earth and he had also rented the house. Somehow, they got double booked. It is the middle of the night, and no one is in the real estate office. It is pouring and a medical convention has the local hotels booked, so Keith suggests that she stay over with him.

So they stay together. He gives her the bedroom and sleeps on the couch. But who opened her door in the middle of the night? Who is making noises somewhere in the house? What is causing Keith to have nightmares? Doesn’t Keith look an awful lot like Pennywise the clown? And what is that strange hidden room off of the basement?

Then, suddenly these two characters are disposed of (so to speak), although one returns to the action later. Instead, the lead is taken over by a smarmy Hollywood actor named AJ (Justin Long) whose career is being ruined by a #MeToo charge. By coincidence, he is also the owner of the house in Michigan (which is where he is from, although it appears he’s never actually been to the house himself). Suddenly unemployed, nearly broke and with lawyers’ fees piling up, he goes to the house to see if he can sell it.

And any chance this had of being a good movie dies a violent death.

The inconsistencies and ridiculous plot points start to pile up. As noted earlier, every character does the exact wrong thing, often putting their lives in mortal danger for people they barely even know. There is even a flashback which kind of explains what happened, although the timeline consistency of this explanation makes absolutely no sense. And don’t even get me started on the VHS tape that has apparently been playing on an endless loop in the basement for about 40 years.

Barbarian is a dark and sordid film, which I guess is okay, many horror films are. It certainly has more than its share of surprises and first-time writer/director Zach Cregger (previously best known as a member of the comedy troupe The Whitest Kids U’ Know) certainly has an interesting visual sense.

Too bad his movie turns out to be a complete mess.

Jay S. Jacobs

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#Barbarian #2022 #Movie Review #Georgina Campbell #Jay S. Jacobs

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lunarblue21 · 1 year

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I would've been crushed, personally, since the majority of the Original Ice Age is Diego's story arc from villain to a villain protagonist who has seen what love really is and so is willing to step to lay down his own life for his newfound herd, and I've never seen it as "forced" at all, since I feel that if he died it would've been a waste of his character and terribly unfair as well, since his death at the end - whilst a heroic sacrifice - would've been horrible if they left it like that. You can see the effects on Manny and Sid already, and I think that if Diego had died, Manny wouldn't have been able to cope with it since once again he'd lost someone he'd grown really close to and he was still working through the stages of grief for his own family. To have Diego remain dead would've been a cruel blow to Manny, especially and I can rationalise this because the sabre and the mammoth form a bond tested by fire throughout the film, and in the other movies Diego is pretty much Manny's bastion, even if he doesn't get that many lines; since it's Diego's presence that matters to Manny. And re the other commentator saying you could easily write Diego out and it wouldn't be noticeable, in my opinion that would be awful, since Diego is a critical member of the herd in his own way (my guess is that the first person who replied has only seen Meltdown and the Christmas special) and in DoTD you can really see the beauty of his and Manny's relationship, since it's the crux of the film since Diego's struggling with Manny's busyness over the birth of his second child to the point that he neglects his friends, making Diego feel unneeded, and the film is all about establishing just how important Diego is to Manny - and the rest of the herd. So, in short, if they had kept the original ending I would've cried loads and been quite depressed, since I love Diego and his role in that film and all his character growth, and to kill him off would negate all of that. By the by, it was Denis Leary who actually protested that they keep Diego alive, because he said "it would make the kids cry" (you can find this on the special features of the Ice Age 2-disc special edition) and if you ask me, he was right! Diego dying in the Original would've been too emotionally hard to undergo after the audience had gotten to know him, and he is a critical member of the herd, so he is very much needed! ;-;

#Ice Age meta #Ice Age #Manny #Diego #Diego's 'death' scene #analysis #mine #reply to a discussion at imdb #Ice Age feels #Mango feels #q

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raamitsu · 7 months

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Omg I realised something just now reading one of your answers to an ask. I thought that since both Gojo and Geto are dead we will never learn what were Gojo's last words to Geto. I personally don’t think that someone else that we didn’t saw was present in that moment, and I don’t think that Gojo told someone something so intimate. So, with both of them dead, we will never learn.

But! Kenjaku has Geto's memories... it would be terrible I know, but a flashback of that moment could still be possible. Or Kenjaku just saying what that words were... anyway we have a chance.

(Or Gojo is still alive, please be alive.)

[ Apologies to you and everyone who sent me an ask yet I was so late at responding them 🙏🏼✨ ]

"I personally don't think that someone else that we didn't saw was present in that moment, and I don't think that Gojo told someone something intimate."

— To clarify my words (by reading this statement of yours), I didn't mean to say to show the flashback coming from any of those two cuz yeah they're already dead but sometimes flashback can be "played" on screen without the need of a third party's memories or either the person who keeps it. I'm not sure if I have successfully clarified my words enough lmao but it is like when a director of a movie/series intended to show a certain flashback to honor the last moment of a person. It looks like a remembrance upon the characters' contribution to the story.

Even if Kenjaku has Suguru's memories, I doubt he cares enough to speak it out loud. Imagine going through someone's memories as a bad guy and found many "unneeded to be spoken" things - but it would be a different case if Gege proceeds to push STSG's bond and chemistry down our throat repeatedly to move the plot, but this only can be possible if Satoru was alive and Sukuna has been defeated. Interestingly, Kenjaku is a quite spiteful person. Not enough baiting Satoru with Suguru's uniquely soft greeting to him, but he even sarcastically said "how romantic" when Satoru made a deal to fight him on the same date as Suguru's death. Really, though. That smelly talking brain bitch is also an intelligent strategist - which makes him even more interesting. Who knows what else he got in store for us? He's too mysterious to be left unwatched.

#ur ask has been answered <333 #anon ask: done!#jjk 236

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waeirfaahl · 10 months

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About 2 season of Primal and about the horned entity

1 season of Primal is one of my favourite series of all time. Gorgeous animation, breathtaking and brutal fights, stunning music, mesmerizing prehistoric world with dinosaurs and various animals and magical tribes, perfect combination of drama, humour, horror, adventure and emotional relationships of incredibly relatable characters. By far, 1 season of Primal is the pure masterpiece. Hence, 2 season had really great potential for epic story in unique setting and with various new creatures, magical tribes or even supernatural beings.

But 2 season happens (and it doesn't explain how the vikings found Mira, who travelled many miles with Spear and Fang, and why they so wanted to capture her again, but didn't capture her friends from her tribe), and with the first two really powerful episodes, the other episodes and the story itself in this season are bad. I was incredibly skeptical and even negative toward the idea of adding modern humans, because it simply made 2 season primitive, boring and bland. Evetything what made 1 season and the series itself so unique, deep, tragic and fresh in therms of setting, story and conflicts was erased. The ambiguity, maturity and complexity of 1 season (with wild world, where everyone tries to survive) is erased. Even the fight scenes in 2 season are downgrade, as well as the villains die in bland way (falling from height as in most Disney movies). 2 season has several absolutely unneeded, one-dimensional, faceless and stereotypical villains (the tyrant queen with typical cliche "Oh no, they capture and enslave people!"), and the certain ones even have hypocritical shades (vikings "Oh no, I and my tribe enslaved and killed people, so how dare Spear and Fang to kill my tribe, protecting their friend we enslaved!"), who just happens here and has no importance for the story and characters. The queen is the brightest example. (and how the f*ck many sea dinosaur didn't attack and eat/kill vikings and Egyptians, if they travel in ocean/sea?!)

The Egyptian queen and this sub-plot with enslaved Africans are just waste of time, pointless waste of time (Spear had all chances and moments to easily kill her in 7 or 8 episodes)— especially with the fact that Kamau and his family obviously died after the fire viking arrived. So what's the f*cking point?! So 7, 8 and 9 episodes have to be removed, as well as 5 episode, which is literally The Big-Lipped Alligator Moment, coming from nowhere.

Not to mention Genndy's creepy preg-fetishes again. Now I'll make it clear, I have no problems with Fang laying her eggs with detailed demonstrating her cloaca. The problem here is in Genndy's boasting by this scene like "If it never was in animation, so you have to add this type of content!" — oh yes, there never were animated films, where characters are pregnant or give birth, right?! No "Feherlofia", no "Spirit the stallion of Cimmaron", no "Krtek", no "Ice Age 3", no "A hen into the wild", for example?! I even don't want to make jokes about hentai with specific genres, where this "groundbreaking" aspect happens for eternity.

And not to mention the f*cking blatant necrophilia Genndy forced Mira to do in the finale. Yes, if many people scorned the scene where Fang gives birth, the scene between Mira and dead Spear in the finale bothers me much much more. Absolutely disgusting sh*t, which literally humilates dying Spear and breaks the logic! Really, Spear has the most serious and fatal burns. He experiences unbearable pain and he had to die almost immediately. But somehow he is still alive all these hours for Mira's coming and somehow he still has genitals and somehow he f*cking was able to make a child to Mira for a few seconds before death — that moment destroys the logic and every grasp of reality!

I can not for the life of me understand, why the author is so obsessed with pregnancy and childbirth (so he shows it in almost all his projects) and "You have to make babies before death or any other trouble! It's your main purpose!" idea — I won't be surprised, if the ending in "Fixed" will be about this, i.e. the protagonist dog will mate before his neutering, so his female friend will have pups. Not to mention the author's obsessiveness in giving daughters (lots of daughters, lots of sudden daughters) to some awesome male characters, especially to the ones who always were asexual and lonely and never interested in carnal pleasures, in getting wife and making children. Plus, due to the fact that every main female character in Genndy's shows is literal Mary Sue (except Mira), I am afraid for 3 season and Spear's daughter, because Tartakovsky can turn her into Mary Sue, whose only excuse for all-powerfullnes is "My daddy was cool, so that's why I am cool! His genes made me cool!".

I was against continuing the show, I was against the idea of making 3 season, because the final scene (above) was at least poetic, but more I am against the anthology idea. But my main issue in 2 season is the horned deity, who's either Surtr or Vidarr or some kind of revenge/hell god (Genndy said it's unstated, who this entity is). And the main problem is that this character literally is a plot device. He's absolutely real in the story, he's not some symbol or whatever, and he affects on the events in the story. He has no motivation and goal for things he does in 2 season. He was created simply because the authors were unable to make logical events for Spear's heroic death in successful attempt to protect his friends (if they so wanted to kill Spear).

Seriously, the viking and his son died in 6 episode — the end of the conflict. But the horned entity in exchange of Eldar's resurrection offers the viking-father to bring Spear and Fang to him/it. WHY?! What this entity wanted from Spear and Fang?! And why he/it offered/ordered this exactly to the viking instead of own demonic servants, if he/it didn't want to do this by self?! What is the benefit for him here and in what?! Absolutely no explanation.

The biggest WTF-moment happens in 10 episode. The viking, even being in demonic form, is scared of Spear, who kicked his ass, and although the viking seriously injured Spear and hurted Fang, they both were still alive, but the entity grabs the viking into the underworld, absolutely ignoring Spear and Fang. THEN WHAT THIS HORNED THING WANTED?! Seriously, a third-party incomprehensible character comes from nowhere and gets into someone else's conflict already completed in episode 6, continues it and eventually resolves it himself in episode 10! What kind of nonsense is this?!

What's a point to add this random supernatural sh*t, if it has no development, no personality as a real character, no explained nature and role, no motivation and goal to be here and to do something?! The horned entity is a plot device, the function for the events the author wants to happen, ignoring plot or logical holes and contradictions in favor of "higher messages/symbolism".

#spear #fang #primal #fang primal #spear primal #genndy tartakovsky

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wack-ashimself · 2 years

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I was not a fan of the ending of Strangers things 4...

Of course, spoilers.

It felt like the WHOLE season was leading up to 'to be continued' cuz outside of papa finally dying (love how they NEVER covered how he survived being attacked by a monster in the first place), and them tying all the seasons together, you get absolutely no closure. No real character growth either (outside max and 11). They only have a cameo of dustin's gf, and she's fucking adorable! I will admit, tho, I am glad they went full murray this season. He makes every scene pop!

#1-Eddie's death was unneeded and dumb. Him stalling the bats did NOTHING for ANYONE. We all knew SOMEONE had to die, but bringing in a character and killing them off seems to be their motif (see max's brother). Eddie was...better than almost every lead. Seriously. You fucking dicks. And it was such a pathetic death too. Know how I guessed he was gonna die? ONE scene just before he died with dustin, wrestling, and saying 'don't you ever change.' I was like 'that is totally a last line of a dying/going to die person.'

#2-Either the trio being caught by the vines/tentacles happened WAYYYYYY WAYYY after almost everything else OR the bad guy didn't want to kill them. Cuz they were on those walls a LONG fucking time. But the editing/timing of that scene was fucking dumb.

#3-the whole 'we killed the bad guy, oh wait, he's wounded, and he ran away to do bad deeds another day' HAS BEEN DONE YOU LAZY FUCKING FUCKS! Seriously, I could not NAME all the movies and shows that did that. It's growing as I speak I bet...know who that panders to? Simple children.

#4-This wasn't the finale, but it bugged me: bringing in a neck bomb device to control 11 only for it to be removed MINUTES later? No fucking point in even fucking doing it. Just keep her drugged or something. Cuz if she is there to save the world, threatening to kill her helps literally no one. Not even the doc. Makes NO sense. 'Last ditch effort' to do WHAT? If he kills her, they're all dead. WHY even threaten?

#5-You coulda easily killed the hippie stoner pizza dude. He...was okay. But kinda like the vanilla in neopolitan ice cream: the last part anyone wants...

#6-Max isn't dead. Bad guy kidnapped her to feed off of her or some lost in limbo thing. Otherwise, they would have straight up killed her. So it's not really...interesting. Or a 'what's gonna happen.' Trust me. If they 100% killed max, I'll eat my words but...as my best friend said about her 'she's my favorite on the entire show.' She is LOVED by fans. They won't kill her. She's...too big to fail. lol

#7-I wanted the reunion of 11 and hopper way sooner and longer. It was like one of the best moments of the series, and you guys didn't even milk it. I usually ain't one to say milk a scene, but get a big pail and MILK THOSE SCENES IN THE FUTURE!

#8-a white straight dude threatening to break the arms of a small black girl? That does sound like the 80s...made me uncomfortable tho. The things you could do/say before the internet....would blow your minds.

#9-I know it's all about the looks/screenshots, but far FAR too many scenes do NOT look natural. Entering/exiting always felt....choreographed. The scene where they all look at the dust/ash coming from the sky, 11 marching up front and touching the ground? None of that felt real. Why would all of them stop perfect....it's just...it looks good, but not relatable, real, or authentic. It's almost accidentally breaking the 4th wall by going 'remember this is a SHOW! So let's give them a performance. Dance monkeys.'

#10-The parents, like all of them but joyce and hopper, are terrible fucking parents. They just don't care. It's more about appearances with them.

#11-The bad guy controls almost all living things in the upside down, but doesn't consider, once, to have a couple attack dogs guarding his body? I know by the time they got to him, he was weakened, but they didn't even show the unconscious bodies of the things. BATS was your go to? And your only line of defense besides vines? What a dumb mother fucker. I'm sorry, but if I was a bad guy in any of these shows, it'd be one episode. I'd win, everyone would be dead. These bad guys are so...cocky, they don't think. Which...ok, saying it out loud: maybe he was SO confident of winning, he didn't believe he'd need attack dogs? But,. still, WHY THE BATS then? There's just so many plot holes/errors in his judgement....

#12-the final fight scene was boring. I waited HOURS to get to the big fight, and it was lackluster. Everyone remembers the rock concert on the trailer. No one cares about the vecna/11 fight. I mean, we ALL knew exactly what was gonna happen. It happens EVERY season. 11 doubts herself, looks to be down for the count, then magically thru sheer will power & friendship becomes a god....so by the books. The final season better make it good.

#13-so...on the run from a government organization looking to kill her....and....she...goes....to...her old house? They have hopper's addy. When ANYONE sees hopper, they will know where he's at....and why wouldn't the government go to check on ALL her known associates and locations? Just....it's a nice scene, but entirely impractical.

#14-The little kid sister is my personal fav character. She stands up for what is right, EVERY TIME. NO character has done that. Every single one has kinda sold out at one point. Ok, maybe not dustin...but he's like a teddy bear.

#15-...............no one working a pizza place at anytime in history would just let you do what you want in their building for a joint unless they hated their job, knew they were quitting and moving away. Hippies aren't even that stupid or giving.

#16-paul reiser's character better be alive. I like him. (he's also hilarious in the boys season 3. Is this his comeback?)

#17-again, not the ending, but papa had to be shot THREE TIMES WITH A MILITARY SNIPER? Is that explaining how he fought off the dog monster in the previous season? Cuz he's fucking ripped or something? Those bullets GO THRU. They do not stop. He had HOLES in his body. And if he truly cared for 11, why wouldn't he remove her collar IMMEDIATELY. She could have saved your dumb evil life. Everything with papa pissed me off cuz it was 'all over the place, we'll figure it out later' (and they never did. HOW THE FUCK DID YOU BRING BACK SOMEONE WE THOUGHT WAS DEAD AND NEVER ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN IT! DICK MOVE!!!!!)

#18-seeing that white boy jock get confronted that his gf wasn't perfect, flip out, and get the shit beat out of him was fun.

#19-I also did like that they failed in the end, but...that, again, just leads back to the whole 'to be continued' vibe of this season. This whole season was backstory and foreshadowing. Nothing seems to matter this season except moving to next final season. Outside of the story of vecna, 11 and hopper meeting...this season was filler for the most part. It was WAY better than last season, but that's only cuz they finally made all the seasons connect.

#20-you could have killed hippie dude, any of the parents outside hopper and joyce, even any one of the leads minus dustin (they aren't that good at acting as I thought....some people do get worse the more they do something. Mike and Will were fucking awful in practically every scene this season), but you TOOK EDDIE YOU FUCKS! It deserves two points on this list!

So yeah. I don't care that they killed eddie, per say, but how/why he died was fucking stupid in every sense of the word. Go out in a blaze of glory? Nope. Fall off my bike and get picked to death by murder bats. woot woot.

I may just watch the last episode of the next season. Just get to the meat of it. Cuz....it took about 5-6 episodes for this season even to be interesting. It's not a horror movie. Maybe sci fi thriller, but it's not scary. I don't think ever once this series scared me. So quit trying to do dark/foreboding scenes and MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN!

End of rant. I had type this or scream this, and I am not in a yelling mood just yet....

#spoiler #spoilers #stranger things #stranger things 4

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forgottenghosty · 2 years

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I looked forward to seeing The Batman. HBO was free this weekend … I have almost 3 hrs of my life gone…

Robert Pattinson was good as Batman and Bruce, I enjoyed that.

What I did not enjoy was the long ass pace, bad editing that caused it , the constant playing of a Batman theme that sounded like a death march for its own movie and too many villains just shoved in to explain how they know each other!

They went to a club so many times they should have just had Bruce move in and buy it!

They could have cut out both Catwoman and the Penguin and so much dead narrative driven dialogue that was not needed that the movie would have ran smoother and been under 2 hours!

Obviously spoilers!

Catwoman was basically there just to be shoved into Batman’s face as an awkward unreturned love interest and plot device to explain why she was in Gotham and working for Falcone cause spoilers and quite obvious, she was his Daughter!

Her whole plot device was her mother was murdered by her father and then he let her be taken to be an orphan.

She worked for him without him even knowing she was his, she even called him dad and he went what?!. She did it for revenge and barely at all for her friend who worked as an escort for him, though they pushed hard for that being the reason at first alone.

Penguin was so boring the car chase I felt I’d fall asleep through. Only one scene I laughed super hard cause of him and that’s cause Batman and Gordon kidnapped and hogtied him and solved the riddlers message while he just stood there. The man literally said, “you know I’m still here right?” Before they began to leave and drive off as he waddled and screamed about them untying him. That was the best of him.

The riddler souls have been the only focus along with Falcone. That should have been the only two villains in the movie as the riddler weeded out the scum and Falcone tried to keep control of his ppl.

I will admit I did not see the flood coming but was like this is new let’s see something cool.

But I never would have thought as Gotham as hurricane related and that was just like what? When they talked about shelter from the flooding.

I enjoyed the twisted take on riddler like a saw zodiac killer that uses social media.

Did not feel it was very new using the camera angles similar to the Joker in the Dark Knight for filming his videos at times.

It took forever to get places and so much was not needed that could have been left out.

It had potential but suffered in pace, focus, editing and the music drove me insane! It was either I wanted to fall asleep or wish for any other Batman theme as it sounded like someone repeatedly playing a funeral march every 20 to 30 mins.

It was a poor choice for a theme!

It would have been an interesting tune for the start of the film, but co start playing felt like it was playing it own funeral march as it slowly and painfully died in front of me!

Every time it got good and interesting the next scene was so drawn out I forgot what I had seen and felt.

Again, Robert was a good Batman. The riddler was good too. It was the editing and poor choices that killed this movie slowly.

I was watching it with my parents at and soon we started yawning and almost falling asleep an hour in. We all complained and struggled.

My mom left mins from the end cause she couldn’t take it anymore.

I felt like I was gonna nod of until Batman did something with the riddler or Bruce did anything other then have way too long of conversations.

Andy Serkis was barely in the movie!

Honestly, if they cut it and edited it to less then 2 hrs they’d have a better movie in whole.

I’m not against seeing another one with Robert, but if it’s this long and badly paced and over stuffed with unneeded character inclusions and dialogues, I I won’t be able to watch it.

Every time I thought the movie was over it kept going! Infinity endings!

Joker was unappealing as well.

I’d rather watch Robert act opposite Phoenix’s Joker!

Honestly it had so much I would have enjoyed if it was cut and edited better and minus unneeded characters included for plot movements that weren’t even needed for that!

#the batman #spoilers #3 hours of my life gone #Robert was good but the movie failed #riddler could have been a stand alone villain in the end

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ayuuria · 3 years

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Inuyasha Translation: Animage Magazine February 2010 Issue

Please do not repost this translation without my consent! This includes screenshots of any type and amount. If you wish to share this translation, simply link to this post.

For more information regarding the use of my translations, click here.

This was a translation request from @officialinuyasha. This article was published back when “Inuyasha the Final Act” was still airing.

Proof of the Successor

Tenseiga was a sword that was cut off from Tessaiga along with Meidōzangetsuha. Then is Inuyasha worthy of wielding the Tessaiga? Sesshōmaru has finally gone into serious mode. The unprecedented brother showdown is about to begin!

Sesshōmaru in “Inuyasha The Final Act” gave off the impression that he developed a compassionate heart in comparison to before. Not only did he have a soft gaze when he attended Kagura’s death but he also put himself at risk to save Rin who fell into the underworld.

However, on the one hand, he continued to hold a heart that stoically yearned for insatiable power. The one offensive technique that Tenseiga, “The sword of healing”, obtained: “Meidōzangetsuha”. At first, it could only open a small meidō in the shape of a crescent moon, but after several ordeals, it matures to the point that it can open a gigantic meidō close to the shape of a circle. All of this came about from Sesshōmaru’s ability.

However, no matter how much of a powerful sword Tenseiga becomes, Sesshōmaru was unable to throw away his obsession with Tessaiga. It was then that he learned through his battle with Shishinki that Tenseiga was a sword that was cut off from Tessaiga. Did his father give him Tessaiga’s unneeded aspect? Sesshōmaru, whose pride has been hurt, purposely goes along with Naraku’s trap.

Inuyasha vs Sesshōmaru. The not so long-ago clash between the brothers over Tessaiga is about to begin. Who is the rightful successor!?

Brothers with the Same Father

A full-fledged demon and half-demon but the two resemble each other somehow.

While they both have the same father, there’s a big difference in ability and thought process towards humans between Sesshōmaru, a full-fledged demon, and Inuyasha, a half-demon with a human mother. Inuyasha previously loved Kikyō and desperately protects Kagome. Sesshōmaru on the other hand, had no interest in humans. However, Rin’s existence has brought about change within his heart. Just as his mother said, did Sesshōmaru perhaps inherit his attachment to humans from his father?

A Strengthened Tessaiga

From numerous past battles, Tessaiga has become the most powerful weapon.

Tessaiga was originally a fang of Inuyasha’s greater demon father. Tōtōsai forged it into a sword and it became Inuyasha’s weapon. Afterwards, Inuyasha mastered various techniques such as the Wind Scar, Backlash Wave, and Adamant Barrage. In addition, Tessaiga has the ability to transform itself as well as becoming the barrier breaking red Tessaiga and the demon vortex cutting dragon-scaled Tessaiga. Furthermore, from the clash with Sesshōmaru, Tessaiga will climb to new heights.

Tessaiga and Tenseiga

The powerful weapon Tessaiga and the dead reviving Tenseiga

Inuyasha’s father entrusted him with Tessaiga. Meanwhile, Sesshōmaru was entrusted with “Tenseiga”, a sword that can revive the dead. Sesshōmaru exasperates dissatisfaction with Tenseiga as it cannot be used in battle. However, from obtaining Meidōzangetsuha, Tenseiga has become a powerful weapon. Sesshōmaru raised Tensaiga from only being able to open a small, crescent moon shaped meidō at the beginning, to being able to open a gigantic meidō in the shape of a near circle. However…

The Truth Behind Meidōzangetsuha

In order to strengthen Tessiaga, father used Sesshōmaru and Tenseiga?

Meidōzangetsuha was technique that their father stole from Shishinki. According to Shishinki, their father did not know what to do with Meidōzangetsuha and thus had Tenseiga created in order to cast it off of Tessaiga. Perhaps their father entrusted Sesshōmaru with Tenseiga in order to complete Meidōzangetsuha which a half-demon like Inuyasha couldn’t handle and then have (the technique) entrusted to Inuyasha someday? This gave birth to doubt within Sesshōmaru.

Naraku’s Trap

While realizing it is a trap set up by Naraku, Sesshōmaru purposely goes along with it.

Through Shishinki’s words, Sesshōmaru’s attachment to Tessaiga strengthened. There was no way Naraku would overlook the movement in his heart. The mirror fragment that Kanna (who died) left behind. While it was only a small piece, it did not lose the ability to take and duplicate an enemy’s technique. Sesshōmaru, who receives the fragment from Byakuya of the Mirage, puts it on Tenseiga while knowing it’s one of Naraku’s traps and challenges Inuyasha to a battle.

The Role of Sesshōmaru, Narita Ken

— Episode 15 “The Rightful Successor” depicts a fierce battle with Inuyasha. What were your thoughts when you enacted (that episode)?

Narita: I felt very tense through the whole thing and it was as though the content was reminding me of the movie. (translator’s note: He’s referring to the 3rd Inuyasha movie, Swords of the Honorable Ruler)

— Sesshōmaru says to Inuyasha “Show me Inuyasha. Proof that you are Tessaiga’s successor and not I.” and commences battle with him. Narita-san, how do you comprehend his feelings towards his father regarding Tenseiga and his anger towards Inuyasha?

Narita: I believe all of it is hatred. Only one with power should have a perfect sword. I think that natural thought is the sole source of his anger towards Inuyasha.

— In episode 15, do you think Sesshōmaru was truly trying to kill Inuyasha? Or was he merely testing him?

Narita: I believe it was both. Those without power die. There is no love or sympathy in that.

— In a previous conversation with Yamaguchi-san, he stated that Inuyasha and Sesshōmaru are jealous of each other. Having acted in “The Final Act” up to the midway point, how do you once again perceive Sesshōmaru’s relationship to Inuyasha?

Narita: I think there was jealousy at the beginning. However now, it’s not something that petty but rather, who’s stronger. I think it’s this single point.

— Sesshōmaru relinquishes Meidōzangetsuha. What do you think this will bring about for him?

Narita: Growth. More strength.

— I would like to ask regarding the two in Sesshōmaru’s team. What sort of feelings do you think Sesshōmaru has for Rin?

Narita: A part within his heart. Like a nostalgic part that he lacks.

— In episode 9, Sesshōmaru saved Rin who had fallen into the underworld. In that episode, which scene left an impression on you?

Narita: The last scene where Sesshōmaru says, “You’re alright now”

— In addition, in episode 9, Sesshōmaru’s mother appears. What is your impression of her? What do you think mother and son have in common and what in way are they different?

Narita: That coldness. Indifference. She also had a comical aspect which I did not expect.

— Regarding the fussy Jaken, what do you think is the reason Sesshōmaru moves with him despite everything?

Narita: I think it’s because it can’t be helped. Like someday he might be useful for something.

— Jaken has a lot of funny lines. If there is a line that left a lasting impression on you, please tell us.

Narita: There’s so many that I can’t say just one.

— The amount of people that Sesshōmaru has connections with is gradually increasing. What sort of growth do you think he will achieve going foward?

Narita: I wish that Sesshōmaru himself never changes. I want him to maintain his sublime aloofness.

— In addition to giving the fans a message, please tell us how you will prepare to act Sesshōmaru in the second half of the series.

Narita: Thank you for always supporting me. In my mind, he has not changed. Any sort of love or kindness has nothing to do with his solitary world. Even if he becomes able to understand the hearts of humans, his heart will never be like the others. Please continue to watch over us.

Our Beloved Lord Sesshōmaru!?

From the point of view of Inuyasha’s party, Sesshōmaru is unsociable and completely does his own thing. But to Jaken and Rin, his existence is precious. Here we have a special feature regarding the two’s “love” for Lord Sesshōmaru!

The very powerful Lord Sesshōmaru. Why someone like him who has lived his life without relying on anyone, purposely moving together with Jaken and Rin? If you were to say it, I think it’s because the two of them are very cute. At first glance, Jaken is a middle-aged small demon with an underhanded personality that makes unnecessary comments and lies. However, you truly cannot hate that sense of restlessness. Rin, on the other hand, is a genuinely cute girl. Sesshōmaru listens to their arguments without the slightest change of expression but in reality, could he perhaps be biting down that amusement in his heart?

Finally, the best part about the two of them is their overflowing “love” for Lord Sesshōmaru. Sesshōmaru is of the strongest class within the “Inuyasha” world but when you see the two of them getting close to him, you can’t help but think the 3 of them are having fun in spite of it all.

Character Bios

Sesshōmaru As an aloof existence, Sesshōmaru has lived his life as he pleases. However, the existence of Tessaiga and Tensaiga leads his heart astray. And now to the brother’s showdown!

Jaken A small demon who serves as Sesshōmaru’s servant. While he makes blatant lies, he’s an existence that one can’t hate. He does not intend to lose to anyone when it comes to loyalty to Lord Sesshōmaru.

Rin A girl who lost her life after being attacked by man-eating wolves but was revived by Sesshōmaru’s “Healing Tenseiga”. Innocent and cheerful, she bares a carefree personality. Her special trait is her severe jabs at Jaken’s remarks.

The One in Charge of Reactions

The extremely cool Sesshōmaru does not break his facial expression easily, no matter what kind of enemy appears or what the enemy says to him. It is there that Jaken fulfills that important role. It is when Jaken is surprised and talks back to the enemy that the (conversational) exchange between Sesshōmaru’s party and the enemy begins to proceed. In other words, Jaken is in charge of reactions within Sesshōmaru’s party. There are times where he unintentionally goes overboard though…

The Life That Was Saved Twice

In episode 9, Rin is kidnapped and taken into the underworld. Sesshōmaru struggles hard to save Rin but Tenseiga can only revive a person once. Without the aid of Sesshōmaru’s mother, Rin would have remained dead. Sesshōmaru looks at Rin softly as she slowly opens her eyes. It was a scene that made you wonder what Sesshōmaru would do when Rin grows up.

You See, the Greatest Combination Within “Inuyasha” is the Silliness and Jabs of Jaken x Rin.

Jaken makes exaggerated and underhanded remarks and Rin jabs at them. There are some periodic gags that are sharp within “Inuyasha the Final Act” but the combination of these two is superb. For example, in episode 3

Jaken “Lord Sesshōmaru’s heart is perfect!”

Rin “He’s strong and kind~”

Jaken *teary eyed* “I don’t know anything about kindness.”

After that, there’s episode 14 that made the voice actor for Jaken, Chō-san, roar with laughter.

Jaken “I’m included with the small people?”

Rin “Master Jaken, you’re small in a lot of ways. Your height, heart, and personality.”

I wonder which dialogue between Jaken x Rin made all of you laugh the most?

The Role of Jaken, Chō

— Episode 15 “The Rightful Successor” depicts a fierce battle between Inuyasha and Sesshōmaru. How was the recording?

Chō: It was terrific. Especially Inuyasha’s yelling as there was a high amount of enthusiasm.

— Jaken appears to be the spokesperson for Sesshōmaru’s emotions (sometimes he gets it wrong though). What sort of feelings do you think he has towards Sesshōmaru?

Chō: Love itself. There’s something there that’s not just a master-servant relationship.

— Jaken has many humorous lines but having acted up to episode 15, which scene left an impression on you?

Chō: I love his reaction when Rin told him “Master Jaken, your personality and heart are small”

— There is silliness and jabs with Rin and they make a good combo. What is your impression of the dialogues with Noto-san? What is the fun part about acting?

Chō: Rin makes some pretty sadistic jabs. Jaken, who’s a masochist, is surprisingly happy with them.

— Jaken sometimes makes obvious lies. It is a refreshing level of falsehood but why does he do that?

Chō: He’s childish.

— What do you think is Jaken’s happiness?

Chō: Lord Sesshōmaru’s happiness.

— In addition to giving the fans a message, please tell us how you will prepare to act Jaken in the second half of the series.

Chō: I will play around while focusing!

The Role of Rin, Noto Mamiko

— Episode 15 “The Rightful Successor” depicts a fierce battle between Inuyasha and Sesshōmaru. How was the recording?

Noto: It had quite a tense feeling, and it pulled me deeper into the story.

— In episode 9, Rin fell into the underworld and was saved by Sesshōmaru. How did you feel seeing Sesshōmaru doing his utmost at the time?

Noto: I once again felt that Rin was truly precious to Sesshōmaru.

— Among the Rin scenes up to episode 15, which one left an impression on you?

Noto: I like the scene in episode 9 where after she’s saved by Sesshōmaru and opens her eyes, she says “Lord Sesshōmaru……” with a feeling of relief. There are a lot of other impressionable scenes so it’s hard to narrow it down (laughs).

— There is silliness and jabs with Jaken and they make a good combo. What is your impression of the dialogues with Chō-san? What is the fun part about acting?

Noto: Chō-san’s Jaken is the best!! Just the fact that I can dialogue with him makes me happy! Rin is quite harsh so acting that part is fun (laughs).

— What sort of feelings do you think Rin has for Sesshōmaru? Also, if Rin becomes an adult as is, how do you think those feelings will change?

Noto: It might be a little different from family, but I think she considers him as someone who is irreplaceably precious. When she becomes an adult…… I can’t really imagine it (laughs). It would be wonderful if she comes to (romantically) love him (laughs). However, I have a feeling (her feelings) won’t change. With Rin as she is now.

— What do you think is Rin’s happiness?

Noto: I think it’s being together with Sesshōmaru and Jaken.

— In addition to giving the fans a message, please tell us how you will prepare to act Rin in the second half of the series.

Noto: “Inuyasha the Final Act” is a truly passionate drama!!!! I plan to act with everything I’ve got alongside everyone until the end so please treat me well!!

#Inuyasha #Inuyasha The Final Act #translation

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mimecrime · 3 years

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I rate the Burton/Schumacher tetralogy bc I just finished it

Batman

Great start!!! Jack Nicholson was easily the best part of the film. He does a great job and creepy facial reconstruction tops it off so well. I love the subtle Burton flares this movie has, especially the commercials and news segments about Jokers Smylex products. Also have to give credit for being the first dark depiction of batman. This movie pretty much changed the way he was perceived and portrayed permanently. Although Michael Keaton’s performance is a bit stiff, and there’s some “”””controversy””””” about his morals here I couldn't care less because he’s the least interesting part of the whole thing. I liked this :)))

8/10

Batman Returns

hmmmm. Wasn’t a fan of this one. Two, wait no THREE, very disconnected villains and an unnecessarily complex plot. I found it disappointing that the main villain ended up being Christopher Walken (i forgot the characters name) rather than Penguin or Catwomen. Like. They were right there the whole time. Mostly it just didn’t really leave any kind of impression on me. I will say though, I liked Catwomen’s “origin”- dying and getting eaten by cats is definitely original and weird and grotesque and I for one respect that :) HOWEVER, I hate her. I hate this thing DC does where all of their female villains/heroes have the power of sexy and that’s really it. gross. Do better. With that said I do like the costume choices and everything about Danny Devito’s Penguin is laughable for better or for worse. I found him quite enjoyable, but the weakest among the other three movies villains.

4/10

Batman Forever

GAY. I love this stupid movie. Set design is great, costumes are phenomenal, and this take on Gotham’s appearance is really cool. I adore Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones together in this. Both individually and as a team they’re great. Just a couple of evil goofs >:). I don’t even mind Val Kilmer as Batman in this, but his love interest is dreadful. Sorry Nicole Kidman. Anyway, this one’s a lot less dark and a lot less serious but I welcome the colorfulness and silliness. We are following the theme of “batman is the least interesting part” in this one. However, Chris O’donell’s Robin is good! I loved the inclusion of his family in the circus and the driving point which was their deaths later on. Also the Robin and Alfred bond was a nice touch. I’ve seen this one so many times. Batman Forever my beloved.

10/10

Batman & Robin

Not very solid in terms of things like character interaction. Ivy unfortunately fell victim to the same treatment as Catwomen. I dislike her in this for the same reasons I dislike Harley and Cat; it just felt messy. Once again though, great costumes! That has been a very strong constant with these movies! Sets were pleasing too. Bane was perfect. Big and dumb. It worked out well in this setting and situation bc any more and it would have felt forced and unneeded. Oh. and Mr Freeze. Acting isn’t the best here, he’s hard to understand at some points, and he’s not so much of a villain per se, but I just can’t help but love Arnie’s performance anyway! Maybe it’s because he had such good potential with his goal and the fact that he eventually got a good ending but either way he’s fun to watch. I suppose I should actually talk about Batman (notice how I mostly focus on the villains?)... yeah George Clooney is the worst batman. It just feels like he doesn’t belong the whole time. Not good. Overall felt scattered and a bit unconvincing... plus the severe lack of Tim Burton took it’s toll.

5/10

i know my opinions here are a bit controversial but frankly. have a cow man. Thanks for reading

#batman #batman forever #tim burton #joker #riddler #penguin #robin #batman returns #batman & robin #twoface #catwoman #poison ivy

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365days365movies · 3 years

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May 7, 2021: TRON (1982)

Starting to leave lo-fi sci-fi with this one.

Can I just say, I am VERY excited for this one. Mostly because it’s hard to get more ‘80s than this movie, specifically in terms of computers. I’ll explain. Y’know Jurassic Park? Yeah, the same movie I’ve brought up far, FAR too many times this month. Is...is that my favorite sci-fi movie? Shit, it might be? I’ve read the books, I’ve seen the movie COUNTLESS times...I’m pretty sure it is! Huh. Go figure. Anyway, where was I?

Oh, right! Remember the most irritating character in the movie? This is, in my opinion, older sister Lex Murphy. In the book, for the record, she’s a VERY different character. She’s the youngest sibling amongst the two, and she’s a sports nerd who hates dinosaurs. And she’s also the most annoying character in the book, so at least they kept that consistent. However, you may be saying to yourself: “Jesus, this dude really loves Jurassic Park. Even in the intro for Tron, he’s talking about it. Why the hell does he keep bringing it up?”

Well, allow me to explain. When I was 9 years old, I was super into two things: dinosaurs and reading. You may think that I wasn’t very popular in school as a result. And the truth won’t surprise you. Anyway, on January 3rd, 2001, it was a cold morning in the supermarket when

...OK, lemme get to the point. IT’S A UNIX SYSTEM!

See, this moment when Lex hacks into the computer to reactivate the locks (a task given to Tim in the book, but whatever) does two things. One, it makes Lex relevant in a film and story where she’s almost entirely unneeded. And two, it established something in the minds of movie-watchers everywhere: a completely misguided idea of what computer programming is.

And this is just one of MANY examples of Hollywood weirdly representing computers to the public. This was kind of a trend throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, as computers were beginning to become available to the public. Examples are:

WarGames (1983), dir. John Badham

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), dir. James Cameron

Revenge of the Nerds (1984), dir. Jeff Kanew

Weird Science (1985), dir, John Hughes

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), dir. Russo Bros

That last one isn’t a great example, and it’s not even within the right time period. I just love Arnim Zola, and he NEEDS TO RETURN to the MCU. Goddamn it, I want this guy back, complete with his full robot body! COME ON FIEGE, LOOK AT THIS GUY! That last one may or may not be my fanart for the character with my own design NEVERTHEGODDAMNLESS!

Look, all you gotta do is connect the various machinations of Arnim Zola to the foundations of AIM, which is easy given their link in the comics. Zola and his fellow Paperclip scientists helped fund Aldrich Killian’s AIM, and the project to give Zola his sick-ass robot body eventually wound up being a part of the project that would create the hovering robotic chair used by this guy.

THIS IS ALL I’VE EVER WANTED PLEASE

...Ahem.

Anyway, the weird-ass ways that Hollywood’s represented computers, hacking, and all other associated things can be traced back to 1982, when the first film to use mostly computer generated imagery for its setting was created. This was, of course, Disney’s TRON. And while I haven’t seen it before...I’ve see its sequel in theaters?

On a related note, Tron Legacy might be a mediocre film with a mediocre soundtrack, but GODDAMN DO IT LOVE THE FUCKING VISUALS. It’s genuinely my favorite aesthetic. That whole “outlined in light” thing? Goooooooh, BABY, how I love it.

Style over substance, but OH THE FUCKING STYLE

Anyway, despite that, I’m looking forward to seeing where the whole thing came from. I dig that style, too. Is there a name for those aesthetics? Let me know, so I can devote my life to it forever. Anyway, shall we get started?

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap

So, we start this movie off with a BANG, jumping into an arcade where two kids are playing none other than Lightcycle, and jumping into said Lightcycles to meet one of the drivers, Sark (David Warner). A sadistic program, he takes great pleasure in executing programs in Lightcycle races.

One of these programs, in fact, is being brought into imprisonment now, to be set against Sark in a race. The program, Crom (Peter Jurasik), speaks with fellow prisoner Ram (Dan Shor), where we get some idea of the lore of this place. Many programs believe in “the Users”, god-like figures who they believe created them and tell them what to do. However, the mysterious Master Control Program is rounding up the programs that believe in Users, taking over their functions or executing them. Diggin’ the lore so far.

In the real world, we meet Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), a computer programmer commanding his own program, Clu (also Bridges), and...look, I’m not sure what they’re doing, but OHHH. IT’S A UNIX SYSTEM, BABY. The beautiful bullshit that this movie uses to denote computer activity and programming, it’s...MMMMMMMMMCHEF’SKISS, it’s so FUCKING GOOD!

Anyway, Clu’s apparently being sent to find some information, but he’s caught by Master Control. Jeff Bridges shows off some pretty over-the-top acting, but it’s charming as hell. Clu’s interrogated by Master Control Program (also Warner), and killed, or “derezzed”. This frustrates Flynn, but why?

Well, we get a clue from MCPs concentration with Ed Dillinger (David Warner), who arrives at his office in the COOLEST FUCKING HELICOPTER I HAVE EVER SEEN. I will never make enough money to have this helicopter, but maybe one day I can do it to a car, holy shit. Anyway, Dillinger lands and enters the ENCOM building, where he speaks with his computer table, which contains MCP.

Is this a thing with computer programmers? Do they, like, physically talk to their programs, and the programs talk back? Is this a thing that happens? Are the conversations interesting? Are IT people literally computer-whisperers? I gotta talk to my friends in computer sciences and IT about this.

Apparently, Flynn’s been snooping around their servers for a specific file, and they’re trying to stop him from getting that file. Meanwhile, in an office in the building, a man named Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) is blocked out of the system in an attempt to flush out Flynn’s location. Bradley’s summoned to the office for what seems like a routine interview, but is actually more of an investigation. Doesn’t go anywhere.

On a side note, by the way, it would appear that MCP is somewhat in control of Dillinger. Although, how and why is unknown. In any case, he’s attempting to amass power. Additionally, the fact that he’s directly speaking to one of the Users is...interesting. And on a second side note, Bradley is preparing something, a security program called “Tron”. That might come up later.

MEANWHILE, elsewhere in the building, a group of scientists are conducting an experiment to digitize solid matter and transport it into computers. It succeeds with an orange, much to their delight and celebration. One of these scientists is Lora Baines (Cindy Morgan), Flynn’s ex-girlfriend and Alan’s current girlfriend. They go to the arcade to reconvene with Flynn, much to Alan’s irritation.

Flynn not only owns the place, he’s also a game whiz, brilliant computer programmer, and recently fired ex-employee of ENCOM. He’s also been sneaking into the ENCOM system, and he details exactly why he’s moving against them. While working for ENCOM, he had started writing programs for some very complex video games, which could’ve have made him quite a bit of money. But Dillinger stole his files, and uses it to climb up the ranks to Senior Executive of ENCOM, while Flynn lounges in relative poverty. He’s planning on getting into the system to get evidence of Dillinger’s wrongdoing.

The trio plots to take down Dillinger and get the evidence together, breaking into ENCOM that night. Meanwhile, Dillinger’s meeting with Walter Gibbs (Barnard Hughes), a co-founder of the company, and one of the other scientists who made the digitizing machine. Dillinger says YOUR TIME IS OVER OLD MAN, and brushes off his concerns about he’s handing the company.

He’s not the only one with issues, as MCP decides to take over FOR Dillinger. Apparently, Dillinger’s talents are stealing data and creating Cybernet/HAL 9000. Good job, buddy. But that may end, when Alan goes to finish and install his program, Tron, which will hopefully take MCP down. Meanwhile, Lora and Flynn go to the basement with the digitizing machine. At the computer terminal, MCP decides to stop Flynn by...well, you know where this is headed.

Yup! Flynn’s brought into the computer by Lora’s machine, and is digitized and put into the game grid. And since we’ll be spending a lot of time there, I think I need to acknowledge something: I really love how this movie looks. The CGI is rudimentary, but it’s used surprisingly well. Consider that this is also made in an era where this is the kind of imagery that computers could literally generate at the time, and you’ve got a pretty great movie in-context.

Flynn, now in those spiffy program duds, is sent by the MCP to compete in the Game Grid, under Sark’s supervision and tutelage. He’s thrown into the brig with the other imprisoned programs, where he learns more about this world. Once brought into the throes of the Game Grid, he’s told that those who believe in the Users are to be trained poorly, ensuring their inevitable death. Meanwhile, those who renounce their belief will be spared. And of all the programs who still believe in the Users, there is none quite as powerful...as Tron (Bruce Boxleitner again).

We see Tron’s badass skills in Ultimate Frisbee. And OK, it’s not Ultimate Frisbee, but you throw discs that contain all of your essence and all of the things you’ve learned in your time there. You basically pour your entire essence and being into the disc as you throw it. So, really, it is Ultimate Frisbee, according to that one dude who’s REALLY into Ultimate Frisbee.

Flynn is commanded to play one of these games, and he winds fairly easily. However, when he defeats his opponent, he’s almost about to die. However, Flynn refuses to finish him off, leading Sark to do so instead. And Sark is tempted to kill Flynn as well, but he holds off at the last moment.

Flynn finally gets to meet Tron, where he feigns being a program that knows of his User, Alan. Of course, Tron looks exactly like Alan, which is why Flynn blurts out his name. But as they’re discussing this, Flynn, Tron, and fellow prisoner Ram are sent to compete in the Lightcycles. And, yes, I’m now looking for a game like this on my phone, because GODDAMN to I love Lightcycles. Can’t WAIT for the Disney World ride, oh my GOOOOD.

So, our guys get in the Lightcycles, and they outmaneuver Sark’s guys. They’re actually able to escape the arena and the Game Grid, making it outside the citadel. They encounter a, uh, bitstream, and soak up some energy before moving on. On the way, though, they’re nearly killed by Sark’s guys in tanks, and Tron is separated from Flynn an the unconscious Ram.

Flynn and Ram finds a place to rest and hide, and Flynn discovers that, as a User, he actually has the ability to somewhat manipulate the reality within the computer, and he makes a version of MCPs ships, the Recognizers, which resemble the villains in Flynn’s game that Dillinger stole. Now realizing that Flynn is a user, Ram asks him to help Tron, before dying and disappearing into pure code. Whoof.

Tron, meanwhile, ends up finding an input/output program named Yori (Cindy Morgan), who helps him in his escape. She takes him through the city, where we see some interesting designs for control programs, almost like a Hunger Games Panem sort of deal.

Flynn has trouble driving his ship, as he meets a “bit”, a small bit of data that only answers in yes or no. He, too, ends up in the city, and you start to notice that this film has a really heavy influence in our cyberpunk concepts and fashions today. Honestly, I really dig this whole thing. Kevin uses his programming powers to disguise himself as one of Sark’s guards, while Yori and Tron find their way through the main citadel of the guards.

They make their way through to the access tower, where they ask the program Dumont (Barnard Hughes again) to let them access the interface that will allow them to speak with the Users, specifically Alan. Reluctantly, Dumont agrees to let Tron through, where he goes to the access port. Which, for the record, looks awesome. He goes to speak with Alan, and he does that one pose. Y’know, the famous Tron pose that’s on the poster?

Yeah, that’s the good stuff. Anyway, he gets information written onto his disc that’ll allow him to kill MCP. Neat. And unfortunately, that’s exactly when Sark and his guys show up, taking Dumont away as Tron and Yori escape. Yori gets them onto a Solar Sailer, a device that will transport them to the central computer. Tron fends off some of Sark’s guys with video game noise kicks, and the Solar Sailer arrives to take them away.

Sark chases after them, but the pair manage to outrun his very cool-looking ship. MCP threatens to destroy Sark for his failure, but he promises that he’ll be able to get them. On the ship, Tron looks down at the side to see Flynn hanging on. Turns out that he was one of the guards that attacked the two. Tron pulls him up onto the ship, and Flynn reveals that he is, in fact, a user. He also reveals that Users aren’t exactly the gods that programs believe them to be.

Anyway, how’s Dumont doing?

Ah.

Well, the Recognizers find Tron, Yori, and Flynn, and chase after them on the light beam the Solar Sailer is on. However, with his User powers, Flynn manages to get the Sailer onto a different beam, while pulses on the original beam destroy the Recognizers.

Doesn’t end up mattering much, though, as Sark finally catches up and intercepts the group. The Solar Sailer is destroyed, and Yori and Flynn are thrown in the brig with Dumont, who’s still alive! Can’t say quite as much for Tron, apparently. But, again, I can only assume that Ton is still alive. We’ll see, though. Sark denies Flynn’s identity as a User for some reason (I mean, MCP told you who he was, but OK), and he sentences them all to death. Outside the ship, of course, is Tron, who’s hiding and waiting for the right time to strike. And that is when we finally see him.

Glorious. Absolutely goddamn glorious. MCP is taking the remaining programs that believe in Users, Dumont included, and incorporating them into his mass. Meanwhile, Sark has found Tron, and the two are fighting with a classic game of Ultimate Frisbee. Tron nearly defeats Sark entirely, but MCP revives him, and gives him the power to take out Tron. He grows gigantic, and it looks genuinely really convincing.

Flynn prepares to take out MCP once and for all, and kisses Yori just beforehand, which is weird as shit. He jumps into the program, and controls it just long enough for Tron to throw his disc at it and land the finishing blow. And with that, MCP is ended, and the threat of take over is gone! The I/O towers light up, and the Video Warriors have won! Don’t ask me what that means, I study birds.

And with ALL OF THAT DONE, Flynn gets the proof he needs from a print-out that, to be honest, I feel like he could’ve just typed up himself. It doesn’t look like that much. But, still, MCP is gone, Dillinger’s screwed, and Flynn now gets a cool-looking helicopter of his own, as the new CEO of ENCOM. And from there, he will become a deadbeat dad that abandons his kid to live in computers forever. Or something like that, it’s been a while since I’ve seen Tron Legacy.

And that’s Tron, a goofy movie of its time, but one that’s a lot of fun all the same. And with some effects that, to be honest...I actually really liked! But more on that...IN THE REVIEW! See you there!

#tron #tron 1982 #steven lisberger #jeff bridges #bruce boxleitner #david warner #cindy morgan #barnard hughes #science fiction may #sci-fi may #user365 #365 movie challenge #365 movies 365 days #365 Days 365 Movies #365 movies a year #useranimusvox #userbrittany

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therealbrigeedarocks · 3 years

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Mortal Kombat 2021

No mid or end credits scene.

I cannot, for the life of me, remember the last movie I watched that had as many clear set-ups for plot points and/or exploits only to have the story go in a different direction altogether.

I’ll elaborate on the major one I thought they were taking this plot underneath the cut.

I swear to God, it felt like the costumers/director didn’t want any kind of color aside from black in the character designs. I don’t expect everyone to have a Bright Ass Palette, but you could’ve put Sonya in a dark green tank top at least.

Do FUCKING NOT get me started on the absolute fucking disrespect shown to Sonya Blade in this, fucking goddamn Christ I was pissed for most of this movie mainly because of how they did my girl dirty.

That said, the actors for Sonya, Kano, and Mileena were great and I hope to see more of them in the future. Honestly I don’t think I hated anyone in this? Everyone did a good job.

A+++++ for getting, you know, actual Asian actors to play the actual Asian characters. I know it shouldn’t be a big deal but this is Hollywood and Hollywood fucking sucks in terms of PoC casting most of the time.

Nitara was absolutely fucking useless and I hated her hairstyle and costume. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but if any woman character needed unneeded boob armor/cleavage in this movie, it was her.

The shittest special effect in this whole film were Raiden’s lightning eyes. Everything else was pretty great. The blood and gore were done well but also not too detailed/realistic, if that makes any sense.

Goro was basically an Orc and that’s fine by me, but I think the reason he doesn’t look as Beefy as I hoped is because his face was maybe a little too sharp rather than broad. He’s technically the same size as he should be in the first games, but, ya know, it would’ve been okay to make him a little taller.

The theme is good as far as I’m concerned because it sounds like it’ll be dated super quick which, let’s be honest, is half the appeal of the 1995 theme. The other half is shouting MORTAL KOMBAT.

As far as I’m concerned, this film ends with the biggest absolute Fuck You sequel bait it could’ve done. No, I don’t think it was neat, I think it was a tease and a slap in the goddamn face.

As for the plot point I thought they were heading towards...

...Ok, so, like...the character of Cole Young is unnecessary. He could have just as easily just been Johnny “What The Hell Is Going On” Cage. Same actor could’ve filled the role. No one needs Johnny Cage to be white. Maybe they wanted to avoid the idea of Cage being dumb/disbelieving as he’s been in previous films, whatever.

But the thing with Cole is...he’s a descendant of Hanzo Hasashi aka Scorpion.

The first scene in the movie involves the death of Hanzo and his family by the hand of Bi-Han aka Sub-Zero. His wife, his son, and Hanzo all die.

But there’s a baby daughter who survives and goes on to eventually make Cole.

Now, they make a point of showing Hanzo’s body disappear into the earth/flame with his descent into Hell. Maybe it was meant just to show his descent. Maybe. But it is given enough screen time that it makes you wonder why show it for that long if at all.

Like they were laying out a plot point about Scorpion not having a body to return to...but having a descendant.

A descendant that COULD have inherited his powers.

Or who he could’ve taken over to have a body again.

Either way, they could’ve had a reason to have, you know Scorpion, arguably the most popular Mortal Kombat character, on screen for more than 15 minutes and given him a reason TO BE A FUCKING MAINSTAY AND HAVE ANOTHER SCORPION VS SUB-ZERO FIGHT IF THEY FIND SOME WAY TO MAKE HIS LITTLE BROTHER-ZERO MAKE SENSE.

I mean they made Liu Kang and Kung Lao cousins so like why not?

But no. Cole gets his own -meh- powers, Scorpion is basically a summon and fucked if we know if he’ll ever show up again.

#random crap #rants #reviews #mortal kombat #mortal kombat 2021

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nama-ri · 3 years

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Deeper Than Rivers (ch2)

Next chapter! I promise the story isn’t all angst :’)

Summary: Namaari and Raya, two opposing forces who are more similar than they know. Together they’ll face the Drunn, find Sisu, and perhaps find themselves again too. A deeper look into Rayaari and the emotional turmoil they go through alone and together. Pre, during, and Post movie.

No one batted an eye to the traveller in the red cloak, a large hat tilted over her face, casting a shadow over her features. Not to say she was unnoticed among the white clothes the natives wore. It was simply that it wasn’t odd to them in the market. Trade, though heavily inhibited by the Drunns, still happened. In Fact many Talon merchants and even a few Spine were also in the busy market place by the docks. Tail had stopped communication awhile ago, and it was rumored that they succumbed to the Drunn given their desert land.

Raya can’t say she missed the Tail Cheif. She was brash and selfish when they met before. A distinct memory of the tanned skin women shoving her aside in her greed to grab the Dragon Gem during the chaos that ensued after everyone poured into the temple. It seemed from the stories she heard that the chief's paranoia only grew when she got a piece of the gem shard. Though Raya thought she got what she deserved for her hand in breaking the world, an old buried part of her Heart panged at the thought of innocent Tail citizens perishing along with her.

Quickly she shoved that soft part of her back down. Through her experience as basically a rogue she had learned that there was no room to be soft. It pained her to kill her own innocence but the many experiences of betrayal over her travels made it clear it was a necessity.

Speaking of betrayal. Raya pondered how she’d make it into the Fang palace where she was sure the scroll was. Her plan to pass as a random trader worked just as she thought. Of Course no one heard anything about the Heart princess after the night the Drunn had been released back into the world, so it was easy for her from the start to pretend to be someone else. Just another refugee from many of the destroyed villages of the land.

Passing by a few stalls set up, she considered her options. Her disguise would not pass in the well guarded palace. She would stick out like a sore thumb. She’d have to sneak in at night Raya realized as she glanced at the large stone buildings on the other side of the Fang island. “Oh toi” She mumbled under her breath taking in the smooth white walls. She was confident in her ability, confident in her years of hard living and her original training as a Gem guardian, but this was still gonna be a hard task to tackle.

As she studied the palace, leaning in the shade of an alleyway something caught her eye. A familiar undercut.

“No way” Raya was dumbstruck for a second. No way it was that easy to find Namaari. Furthermore, she had kept the same hair style for 4 years?! The thought of the Fang princess cutting her hair to match her Mother was amusing as a child but it was even more funny now. Raya couldn’t help but smile at that thought. “What a mommy’s girl” she snorted, following the figure discreetly. Of course she knew she was just as much of a daddy’s girl herself but that was before, Raya thought bitterly. Her mind quickly growing sour again.

Yep that was definitely Namaari. Wow.

When Raya finally caught up to the other princess, though still far enough to not be noticed in the crowd, she had to physically stop her jaw from dropping open. What the hell?? She was taller than her!

That was not the thought she should be having but her child-like pettiness flared. Namaari wasn’t the same thin girl she met and beat in the Dragon Temple 4 years ago. No, that Binturi was now taller and, Raya noticed reluctantly, buffer.

Raya’s eyes followed the girl, no warrior, before her. Taking in her broad shoulders bared for the world to see in her sleeveless top. The strength in her smooth steps and air of power as she moved forward nearly parting the crowd as she went. Raya was gawking really, a slight blush on her face before she could stop herself.

As if sensing the eyes on her, Namaari looked back over her shoulder and Raya barely ducked behind a barrel in time. Seeing Namaari’s body was one thing, her face was another. Peeking from behind her hiding spot she just caught the Fang’s sharp jaw and intimidating eyes set in an impassive face. Gone was the bright eyes or cute face she remembered. Something struck her heart at that, it was a mirror of her own loss.

‘Okay so she grew up, no biggie’. Raya tried to convince herself moving from the barrel as Namaari turned back and continued her walk. ‘She grew up hot’, a small voice echoed her previous thought in her head.

Wait a second hot?

Well sure attractive, anyone in their right mind would be able to see but that was besides the point, Raya had seen plenty of attractive people. She was attractive too if she did say so herself. Unlucky for her Namaari just so happened to be hot. Whatever, didn’t change a thing. But the muscles, that might make a fight harder if it came to it. Yes, it was perfectly natural to be staring at the Fang like this, she was just sizing the other up. Nothing else. Raya continued to trail Namaari, though from a far greater distance now as she revised her plan. Maybe she can ambush the Fang princess? Get her to take her to the scroll. That was far easier than scaling the high walls of the palace and searching randomly in a dangerous place.

As she was lost in thought on how to get Namaari alone she spotted another Fang warrior, she guessed by their dress, walking up rather quickly to the princess.

“Shouldn’t be- market. -ought to get back” Were the only words she caught over the chatter of the market. Oh no, she’ll lose Namaari if she decides to head back right now. Lucky for her, Namaari looked just as annoyed to be told to leave. Raya moved closer to catch what they were saying.

“I won’t be long Atitaya, it will be fine” Namaari assured in a commanding tone, though it was undercut as she rolled her eyes like a child. The other warrior, Atitaya apparently, just huffed.

“Whatever you say princess” Atitaya bowed, making the younger girl frown, ears getting red.

“Stop, oh dragons, I told you that wasn’t necessary” Namaari whispered to the warrior in front of her hushed and hurriedly.

“I know, I know” The formality broken, Atitaya slung an arm over Namaari’s shoulder laughing quietly. Well that was a little shocking, Raya’s eyebrows shot up as she watched the interaction. From what she knew about Fang, they were militaristic and strict in their formalities to a fault. Cold, she remembered hearing from the villagers of Heart back when they were still alive. She had actually seen it herself throughout the day as she watched guards in the marketplace. This outward show of affection was weird. Especially weird as it included Namaari who Raya had chalked up to being the representation of every bad Fang stereotype.

“You always tease me” Namaari grumbled. As the pair continued on the way. “I told you it’s embarrassing and unneeded out of formal settings” That just made the older woman smirk.

“Well you never know who could be watching” a mischievous smile on her face “like maybe your mother” Namaari stiffened noticeably at that. Noticing the sudden rigid posture the general slowed her pace removing her arm from the clearly uncomfortable girl's shoulders “Hey hey, it’s okay she’s busy in a council meeting right now” Atitaya back tracked.

Atitaya, though not actually family, may as well be. Orphaned by the famine that plagued Fang when she was 17 she was taken into the royal palace and given a second chance. She will always be grateful to Chief Virana for that, but she couldn’t say she entirely agreed with how she treated Namaari. Forcing her to grow up faster then maybe need be.

After the death of her husband, the Chief in her grief had shuttered away all her emotions, throwing herself into her work and people. No one could say she didn’t love anything, she loved her people. She was of course admired greatly by all of Fang for her steadiness in the face of starvation and all other forms of destruction. No she was an amazing Chief.

But Namaari.

She loved Namaari, but since the loss she could never really allow herself to fully show it. Now her tenderness only showed through a strong squeeze on the shoulder or a compliment given in an emotionless voice. It was sad, Atitaya thought.

She remembered the day she found the Fang princess, still only 10 at the time, in the serlots pen weeping silently among the large cats. She had felt odd at the time, not knowing what to do as a young soldier finding her princess in such a state. But she still sat with the child, not being able to just leave her, letting her cry it out. When she finally asked what was wrong, Namaari had only replied in a soft whimper that she felt she was all alone.

The General, then a soldier, knew Namaari loved her dad and was hurting since he died. But as the young Fang continued to speak. It dawned on Atitaya that Namaari has been cut deeper than anyone thought previously of the often quite child. With the other children either too scared or resentful to hang out with her, and her own mother to preoccupied in work she was left to deal with her heavy emotions alone.

Years passed, and Atitaya rose through the ranks. As she did she also became sort of an older sister figure to Namaari. Someone to lean on, though they didn’t show their friendship too much publicly. She watched with a sad heart as the princess took on more than she should have, striving and surpassing the high standards of even her mother. But in the process hiding her pain away to battle alone in order to not seem weak.

They didn’t speak about Namaari problems as much as she grew older, but Atitaya still knew the other was struggling with a host of emotions despite her strong facade. Just like back in that serlot pen, except Namaari wouldn’t let her in this time. Atitaya was there since the beginning and so she knew why the younger Fang tensed at just the mention of her mother.

“Hey lets just find those flowers, then we can head back before the Chief even notices” she quickly said trying to cheer up the Fang princess, who took a second to relax again.

“Yeah” Namaari finally replied and began walking again, this time with Atitaya following a little behind. An invisible rift between them that only grew it seemed.

‘Flowers? What the dragons?’ Raya thought, witnessing the short interaction but having no clue of the undertext. What exactly was all this about?

#rayaami #rayaari #rayaari fic #raya and the last dragon #raya #sisu #namaari #raya and namaari #ch2

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