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linkspooky · 5 years

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Icarus: The Fall of Hawks

The system also tells him to ignore people he can save if he thinks it will be more beneficial in the long run. But Ultimately, Hawks continues to put his trust in the people that are using him, because he sees no escape and no alternative.

The icarus symbolism surrounding Hawks character is already a common fandom theory, but I decided to give a comprehensive take. The closest thing I could find to an original post on this theory was: this one.

The winged hero Hawks draws many mythological allusions to the boy Icarus most famous for flying too close to the son causing his wax wings to fall apart.

Son of Daedalus who dared to fly too near the sun on wings of feathers and wax. Daedalus had been imprisoned by King Minos of Crete within the walls of his own invention, the Labyrinth. But the great craftsman's genius would not suffer captivity. He made two pairs of wings by adhering feathers to a wooden frame with wax. Giving one pair to his son, he cautioned him that flying too near the sun would cause the wax to melt. But Icarus became ecstatic with the ability to fly and forgot his father's warning. The feathers came loose and Icarus plunged to his death in the sea.

The story is inextricably linked to Hawks’ character, foreshadowing that his two flaws, his admiration of Endeavor (the sun) and his habit of flying too fast will cause him to fall into villainry.

1. Hawks: Set Up by the Hero Commission to take the Fall

Foreshadowing occurs in a literary text when the author gives clues and hints about what is to come in the story. That in itself is pretty well known, but there’s more to it than just giving hints. It has a lot to do with the way stories are structured. Basically, stories are all composed of set up and pay off.

Foreshadowing is not just for cheeky hints or setting up which characters might die, it’s a sign that the author as a whole has the story planned out. The reason that scenes in stories get an emotional reaction out of us as readers, is because authors set up these characters as somethnig for us to get invested in, build up those emotions, and then eventually pay them off on the expectations we have built up.

Which is why when reading stories a general good strategy is analyzing What does the author want me to think? What are they trying to lead me to? Ideas are introduced, developed and get paid off more and more as the story progresses. A good story will continue building up these ideas with the intention of leading them somewhere, which makes them purposeful. This goes hand in hand with the concept of chekhov’s gun, that is every idea that the story spends time on will eventually become meaningful in some way.

'Chekhov's Gun' is a concept that describes how every element of a story should contribute to the whole. It comes from Anton Chekhov's famous book writing advice: 'If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired.

To wit: The reason why all this icarus symbolism is surrounding Hawks is not just because he’s a cool flashy character that’s popular, he’s actually one of the most important characters in the story right now tied to the flaws and exploitations of the hero system that Horikoshi has been setting up since chapter one in the manga with this line. People are not born equal, that’s the hard truth I learned at age four.

Here’s a quick example of developing ideas in the story especially tied to Hawks. The first time we here Destro is when Gentle explains about him as one of the legendary villains he aspires to be like, the arc before Hawks is introduced as a character.

The next arc after the school festvial arc, Destro’s book is shown as inspiring one person the same way it did Gentle while hawks is talking with Endeavor.

After the class A vs B arc, in the My Villain Academia arc not only do we learn that Destro has a son and followers that are still alive, but at the end of the arc Hawks is shown interacting with the liberation followers. Ideas are introduced, developed to give them more depth, and most importantly they always show up linked to Hawks.

Why does Hawks always up in association with Destro? Esepcially when hawks is not a quirk supremacist like the rest of the MLA. It’s because as a character, Hawks’ deepest desire is liberation, and yet it’s also the thing that he’s furthest from. The character with wings who can freely fly in the sky, is chained down with the most responsibility.

There are two important pieces of foreshadowing in Hawks’ introduction chapter. First that he shows a dissatisfaction with the current hero system around him, and a tendency to see through others especially when they are putting on airs.

The second is this shot in particular, the spotlight in the background like a sun in the center of the sky with Hawks ascending towards it and losing feathers the same way Icarus would.

The other most important detail from this chapter is how Hawks is described. Not only did he make the top ten in his teens which makes him a young man like Icarus in the story, there’s also the oft repeated phrase with hawks - He goes too fast. Going too fast, flying too high, too quickly, these are all things that come come before Icarus’ fall. Special attention is drawn to how young he became a hero which we will get to later.

In chapter 186 there is a piece of foreshadowing used mainly as a joke, that also ties in with the idea of liberation with Hawks character mentioned earlier. This is a point taken from the meta linked at earlier, but considering what we now know about Hawks’ character that he is a kid raised by the hero system who has to kowtow to the higher ups this internal dialogue could easily resemble Hawks.

They key difference being Hawks never lets himself admit to having these feelings, or acts on them. He is much more concerned with keeping up his carefree facade.

From as far back as I can remember, I’ve lived my life as a bootlicker. It’s been suffocating.

While the scene itself is a joke, the connection to Destro’s book and the idea of liberation are both themes that connect strongly to Hawks. Another connection is a similiar scene that took place in Vigilantes which directly references Icarus in the same context, a man getting naked as a part of his quirk. Vigilantes is the canon prequel of My Hero Academia and has several plotlines important to the main story, even Aizawa’s canon backstory so this is highly relevant.

Once again this is set up as a gag but my flight is a forbidden one is an idea that could easily relate to Hawks. After all, Hawks has wings and yet cannot use them for himself, and cannot take flight on his own because he is under the thumb of the Hero Commission.

The way Hawks’ powers work is also important. He has feathers that give him wings that can fly, and yet because he is able to autonomously move his individual feathers we see him often giving up his feathers for other people and multitasking for several people at once. Quirks are often a metaphor for their users, Hawks has wings to fly, but his feathers don’t belong to him, the more he gives up for other people the more he loses his wings.

When Hawks uses all of his feathers he is unable to fly anymore and starts to fall, the same way the wax melted and the feathers flew apart the only thing Icarus could do was plummet.

Hawks feathers also become useless to his when they burn up. This, and the cover page featuring Endeavor burning his wings up not only sets up an eventual conflict with Endeavor, but one that Hawks’ quirk will most likely be weak to the flames.

The scene with Dabi. Hawks is introduced to us with the light backlighting him as he ascends towards it. Now, in the conclusion of this arc, the light in the background of the scene is where Dabi moves towards while Hawks himself covered in shadow walks away from light and descends into the dark foreground.

There are also two more joking points of foreshadowing in this chapter, both setting up an eventual confrontation with Hawks and Endeavor. The first is Endeavor noticing the suspicious timing, and the second is Endeavor threatening to roast him which he has threatened at several times already. Even if it’s a joke it’s a serious threat, Endeavor has been characterized as someone incapable of handling his emotions and lashing out in violence several times in the past.

Not only is Hawks set up to fall however, the hero commission sets him up to fall as well. A one man investigation into the League of Villains as a double agent. The hero commission outlines it for him, he will receive no back up, and nothing in return for his service. There is already a team set up by the commission to fight the league of vision, but they came to Hawks specifically for this reason. He works alone. He cannot say no to them. They knew before asking him he was already going to say yes.

It’s a situation where the Hero’s commission has nothing to lose and everything to gain. Hawks will either fall or fly completely on his own. If the villains kill him, they lose a hero but that’s it. If Hawks messes up his mission and gets caught, the commission can pretend that he really did turn traitor and abandon him. Hawks is completely expendable to them, and yet any information he can grasp is valuable. At the same time, Hawks has everything to lose and nothing to gain. Being a hero is Hawks entire life. He literally has no name outside of his hero name. As stated above he could easily be abandoned by the hero commission if the mission fails, and yet at the same time the only thing Hawks gets out of this is the idea that some people will be saved by his actions. Even though he is specifically instructed not to do anything to save people in front of him if it would jeapordize the mission.

While yes, Heroes working to save people and sacrificing themselves for the sake of others is a good thing, hawks always sacrifices himself all the time. Being a hero not only consumed his whole childhood, but also his life. This is not Hawks volunteering to do it on his own, this is him being given a mission he cannot refuse and going along with it.

The hero commission sets Hawks up to fall in their place. Hawks gives up his wings for them, and because of that he falls instead of flying.

2. Flaw: His Trust in Endeavor and the System as a Whole

Hawks is a child that was taken in by the hero commission and abused by them. Hence the reason why he was such a young rising star is because he had no childhood to speak of. The only way his family could be uplifted out of poverty was if he followed the track they provided for him. He is treated like a prodigy, but really he spent all of his time as a hero, and was given no other option but to become a hero.

Which is why Hawks admiration of Endeavor is ironic, considering that Endeavor attempted to do the same thing to his own son. Not raise his son with love and care, but rather breed him, train him since he was a child, and raise him not as his own person but as a hero to be used for his father’s ambitions. Hawks, Shouto, both of them were reduced to the powerful quirks they had and not treated as people. Which reflects the point that the Meta Liberation Army could have had if they were not quirk supremacists, that quirk society being dominated by strong, flashy quirks, and judging people by those quirks ends up limiting the path ways people can take in life.

This contradiction makes sense when you take into account Hawks’ upbringing. Hawks has a complex reaction to his abuse. He genuinely does want to save other people as he works himself to the bone doing it, and yet he’s also aware the hero system is using him. Part of Hawks resents the hero system, and yet Hawks is also a product of that system who still reflects the ideas he was raised on whether he wanted to or not.

This is why Hawks comes off as being such a two-faced person. He’s in a lot of major ways, in denial about his own place in life. He acts casual and friendly, and yet he’s more burdened and more isolated than anyone else. He deflects almost everything other people throw his way with humor, isolating himself even further. He also contradicts himself quite a lot, he calls out Endeavor onstage and then in the next scene he says he was doing that for Endeavor’s sake. Both are probably true, Hawks resents the hero system, but he also has to have the appearance of a friendly, willing to help others hero, because that’s the only way he’s survived so far. He likes to keep himself aloof and unattached to others because that is literally the only freedom he can grasp yet.

When Hawks says he never was a big fan of All Might, it’s most likely because Hawks sees himself in All Might. The idea of someone who as a hero is forced to save absolutely everyone and have the entire peace of the country resting on only their shoulders, only to be used until they break down is a nightmare to Hawks.

Not only does Hawks not want to be shouldered with the responsibility, not because he’s lazy, but because he knows how exploitative it is but he also does not see himself of ever being able to carry that much. The hero system that Hawks was raised on made him believe that a brute firepower quirk like Endeavor’s that is good for defeating villains is what will put people most at ease, not the constant saving of others, or interactions with people, or the creative use of his quirk that Hawks employed.

Not only is Hawks whole life defined by his quirk, but he is also taught that his quirk is not good enough. The only person who will put other people at ease, is a quirk like All Might’s. Only an extremely powerful quirk that’s suited best for fighting villains.

Hawks even says he does not want to take up the role of All Might, and it’s in part due to his feelings of ineriority, but also his want to escape his life and find some small freedom. Which is when Endeavor, the embodiment of the toxicity of hero society says that he hates guys like Hawks the most. Even though Hawks’ intentions here are pretty clear, instead of trying to step down and let Endeavor take the spotlight and support him from the shadows. Endeavor represents the individualism of hero society, but Hawks is trying to play support. He was raised by hero society, but also Hero Society actively condemns the kind of person that Hawks is.

Once again we see the contradictions in Hawks behavior. He is one of the most selfless heroes in the series as he continually lets himself be used, and yet Hawks pretends that he’s a coward who does not put himself on the line, or fight directly risking his own life.

It’s not just putting on an act, Hawks is also taught to believe that if he stays back adn plays support, if he does not defeat the villain head on with a violent quirk that he is weaker.

Which is why despite representing the exact kind of opposite hero that Endeavor is, he turns out to be a fan of Endeavor. This is because Endeavor is everything Hawks was taught that he was should be, but not. Endeavor fights for number one, he has a powerful quirk, he has the highest villain defeat record. All the things which Endeavor values are the things the hero system values, whereas Hawks believes he’s selfish for wanting a little personal autonomy for himself.

Endeavor is able to be strong in a way that Hawks never will be, because Hawks is not nearly as selfish as Endeavor is. Of course he does not see the victims of Endeavor’s actions quite yet, so he would mistake that for Endeavor able to make his willpower a reality in a way that Hawks cannot and gave up trying to do.

It’s not just putting on an act, Hawks is also taught to believe that if he stays back adn plays support, if he does not defeat the villain head on with a violent quirk that he is weaker.

Hawks is a victim of the hero system, and even is able to see its flaws, but due to his own taught inferiority, and how much he lets himself be used for the sake of helping others he cannot see himself as a victim or change it from the inside in any meaningful way.

Not only that but he fails to see the important flaws in someone like Endeavor, and isntead chooses to still believe that the hero system is ultimately in the right because they are on the side of saving people. Icarus is a tale of self destruction. Hawks is selfless to a self destructive extent. He keeps letting himself be used by people who see him as nothing more than an asset to them, because he believes it to be for the greater good. However, the current system always utilizes people like Hawks, vulnerable, expendable, Hawks is always the one who has to sacrifice his own personal freedom even though he has given his entire life to the system.

The system also is not as interested in saving people as it is in numbers, look how it talks about giving their all to rescue a kidnapped boy as some kind of failure of priorities. As if it was wrong to immediately try to help a child.

3. Flaw: The Man Who Flies too Fast Alone

Hawks always contradicts himself, despite the fact that he’s obviously much better as a support and rescue type hero, Hawks always fights alone. His biggest flaw is how much he always takes on himself, the fact that he flies too fast.

Hawks is aware of the fact that he is used by the system. There are several signs that Hawks is actually a manipulative person. Not in the sense that he is a bad person who tries to use others, but rather he developed the ability to manuever and manipulate other people as a way to cope and find what little freedom an security he could. His personality is a big indicator because Hawks almost never shows his true face and is almost always deflecting. He makes it hard for others to get a read on him by being such a two-faced person, which grants them less control over him and him a little bit more freedom.

At the same time Hawks is shown repeatedly to have information then others expect him to have. Endeavor gets surprised when he mentions Shoto, and the Hero’s commisison gets surprised when he is already aware of the team investigating Kurogiri and yet he never reveals his source on either occasion.

Instead once again he falls back on his common strategy of deflection to stop them from pressing on the issue. Hawks is someone who wants to rely on others more because he feels powerless on his own. Yet, at the same time Hawks has been taken advantage of so many times it’s impossible for him to trust others. Not only that, but Hawks has also been taught that he should be strong enough to do everything on his own, that is the individualism hero society promotes.

This is also how Hawks had to be in his early life. The only reason his family got money was because he was of use to the hero commission. He always had to be at the top of his class, always had to be useful, always had to finish on his own. Hawks always does things on its own because it’s a learned habit, he’s never had anybody else to rely on. Not only that but his way of living has always been unstable he might have been dropped back into poverty if he did not continually rise to meet the expectations of others.

Which is where we are presented with yet another contradiction of Hawks character, he is always working all by himself, but he only ever works for the sake of others. His only selfish desire is some time off for goodness sake. He is blessed with tremendous talent but has never been able to use it for himself, because since childhood he has been put to work for the sake of other people.

Hawks also says that he took Tokoyami on as an intern because he wanted information, which once again Hawks is constantly shown to be privvy to information he does not know and trying to collect more. This is because Hawks does not trust, because he cannot trust. He will be used by the other people around him. That is why he tries to seize as much information for himself as possible. Hawks being manipulative is just him trying to control what little he can, because if he does not do that then he ends up being the one who is controlled. The more knowledge he has, the more power he has.

People who feel helpless as a child due to circumstances entirely out of control will try to grasp for control in any way they can. That is why easygoing Hawks always does things on his own, because not having to rely on other people gives him more control. He can control himself, but not others. Easygoing Hawks is a bit of a control freak.

This scene becomes interesting if analyzed from that level. Hawks says he has no interest in training the next generation, it makes sense somebody who was raised from childhood as a hero and nothing else would probably have no interest in raising other children as heroes. His last line becomes much darker as well.

Those who can fly, should! Why keep yourself grounded?

Hawks is someone who keeps himself grounded all the time, always giving up his own freedom for others, and yet we see freedom is the thing he yearns for the most. He is intoxicated with the idea of freedom, the same way Icarus became intoxicated once he gained his wings and looked at the sun.

In his phonecall with Dabi we get a lot on Hawks’ internal monologue. First he admits to the fact that he plays happy-go-lucky idiot and lets people assume that they can use him, in order to control their perceptions of him. His way of manipulating others has always been to try to let them use him, instead of trying to make use of them because that is what Hawks has been taught. His value is that he is useful. He tries to navigate the system from the inside rather than breaking out. He keeps letting himself be used.

However, once again Hawks words to Dabi do not sound entirely like lies, or they could even be lies to himself. Being on this side of the equation helped me realize that we’d be better off without heroes and heroics. How much of that is a lie when Hawks was exploited into becoming a hero, when his deepest wish is to be allowed to be something else other than a hero for a little while?

It’s easy to see how Hawks got to the point where he seriously could consider Killing Best Jeanist. The people who are injured or taking time off are not useful to the system, they need to be sarcificed for the greater good. He was told by the same system to let people die if it would save more people in the long run, that he cannot be the hero he wants to be. That he has to dirty his own hands for the sake of everyone else. Hawks is constantly going against his own wishes to do what is right for other people.

Hawks says not to let a person’s resolve go to waste, because he believes that all of his determination, that all of his flying too fast is going to lead him somewhere. His determination is indeed a heroic quality, but it’s something that makes him keep sticking with the system rather than giving up on it. It’s something that makes him believe that he can overcome all of this on his own. However, no matter how hard Hawks works for the hero system, the only ones who have something to gain from it in the end is the hero system and not him. His hard work and determinations only guarantees he becomes more useful to them and will be used more.

In this light, Hawks’ belief that he can handle everything on his own is hubris, his determination to become such a good hero that he will get time off is a flaw. The only ersult is that Hawks is used more and more as a cog, and he grinds himself down further and further.

However, just like All Might could not save the entire country of japan all on his own shoulders forever, Hawks’ good boy act is also something that will not last him forever. The more he’s exploited the more he will break down. The ones to catch him when he falls is most likely not going to be the heroes system, because they are exploiting him and forcing him to work on his own because he is expendable that way. If he falls only he falls alone. Hopefully, when Hawks does fall, Dabi and the league will be there to catch him and sympathize with him in a way none of the heroes ever could.

#hawks icarus theory #icarus theory #mha meta #hawks icarus #hawks meta #hawks #my hero academia meta #meta

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zanrai-kid · 4 years

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What Your Favorite The Adventure Zone Ship Says About You

Inspired by @spritecranberryofficial, the artist formerly known as @doubleca5t

Taagnus (Taako/Magnus) - You believe that no force on Earth can destroy the bond between a twink and bear who are begrudging allies to best friends to lovers.

Magnus/Merle - Your favorite game of all time is Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator.

Merle/Taako - You see a three-way love triangle in every trio, even when two of the trio only begrudgingly tolerate each other.

Taako/Magnus/Merle - You heard the phrase “Tres Horny Boys”, and took it as a challenge.

Taakitz (Taako/Kravitz) - You describe your love life as “yearning for the sweet embrace of death”.

Taako/Magnus/Kravitz - You believe death is the quickest way to establish common interests. Also, you’re shipping TodoDekuIida.

Magnus/Lucretia - Your ideal relationship dynamic is jock/group mom.

Lupretia (Lup/Lucretia) - Your ideal relationship dynamic is punk/group mom.

Davenport/Lucretia - Your ideal relationship dynamic is group dad/group mom who both joke about adopting all their friends.

Merle/Lucretia - You just want a vacation from other people’s bullshit.

Merle/Davenport - You’re just here for some men under 5 foot.

Magnus/Johann - You unironically appreciate it when someone plays “Wonderwall” well.

Magnus/Lup - All of your DnD characters are Lawful Good, but somehow use Chaos as a means to an end.

Taako/Magic Brian - You are a firm believer in the inherent eroticism of goofy accents.

Sweet Flips (Carey/Killian) - You want a girlfriend who will kick your ass upon request; you also want to join in when she’s kicking someone else’s ass.

Blupjeans (Lup/Barry) - You believe “hapless nerds falling in love at band camp” are underrepresented in modern fiction.

EDIT for @lesbian-flutist Lup/Lucretia/Barry - You believe in band nerd/math nerd/band and math nerd solidarity.

Sloane/Hurley - Your ideal relationship dynamic is the film Thelma and Louise.

Johnchurch (John/Merle) - Your ideal relationship dynamic is the film The Seventh Seal.

Istus/Pan/The Raven Queen: You’re a sucker for Mythology shenanigans.

Taako/Barry - Your desire for good things to happen to Lup is outweighed by wanting to see hapless mlm nerds smooching.

Lydia/Edward - This ship being incest is outweighed by how much you think Jesse and James are better protagonists than Ash.

Taako/Angus: Not even entertaining you clowns FBI OPEN UP

Garfield/Taako - Your ideal date includes a Costco trip, after which, regret ensues.

Sazed/Taako - Your ideal date includes a home cooked meal, after which, pain ensues.

Dracula/Taako - Your Tinder bio is “19th century femme seeks creature of the night”.

Magnulia (Magnus/Julia) - You just wanted good things for Magnus, and, my god, does the man deserve it.

Any Characters from (K)nights - I’m not even talking about an anime, and yet, somehow, you would still tell people to read the manga.

Any Characters from Elementary - You also tell people to read the manga, but you also recall the lawless days of Johnlock.

Any Characters from Fur - You reference deep lore in fandoms other fans don’t believe is real.

Nadiya/Irene - To you, “two people reincarnating as the polar opposites of their past life” is just “a second chance at love”.

Irene/Remy - You believe Rebecca Sugar’s best song is “Giant Woman”.

Remy/Nadiya- You believe in the powerful bond of two people trying to reign in a mutual friend.

EDIT for @tombstonedb Kardala/Minerva - You thought, “You know what’s better than one buff magic big gorl? Two buff magic big gorls.”

Errol/Augustus - You liked the Amnesty arc, but wish it had more ghosts.

Dylan/Jeremiah - You believe any modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet should turn Juliet into a guy.

Errol/Dylan - In a setting full of cryptids, you hard swerve into Team Jacob.

Gandy/Isabella - You’re a sucker for a good meetcute, pun intended.

Ned/Duck - You haven’t recovered from the fact Gravity Falls ended nearly four years ago.

Ned/Boyd - Your ideal relationship dynamic is “Be Gay, Do Crime”.

Ned/Barclay - Your ideal relationship dynamic is “Bigfoot is real, and he tried to eat my ass”.

Ned/Victoria - You think the greatest achievement in cinematic history is the beginning to the movie Up.

Ned/Sherriff Owens - You wish having some yucks with Johnny Law was considered less frowned upon.

Duck/Billy - Your desire to get with the Mothman is only outweighed by your crush on Ryan Gosling.

Duck/Beacon - You just want to date a smug British person, and really, who wouldn’t?

Duck/Juno - You are a huge fan of Camp Camp.

Duck/Leo - If you were a couple years older, you would have previously shipped Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker at the time of the prequels.

Indrid/Ned - You are a monster fucker.

Indruck (Indrid/Duck) - You are also a monster fucker, but softer.

Indrid/Aubrey - You run a monster fucker blog, but are not a monster fucker.

Indrid/Billy - You are a certified card-carrying cryptid fucker, searching on Craigslist to get rawdogged by two in the back of a Denny’s parking lot.

Mama/Barclay - You exude rural boomer energy without the rural boomer mindset.

Danbrey (Dani/Aubrey) - You follow exactly 18 bi pride Tumblogs, but can’t understand why you have so many duplicate posts on your feed. Spoiler alert: they probably reblog each other’s posts.

Aubrey/Janelle - Either your ideal relationship dynamic is student/teacher, or you’re a Janelle Monáe stan.

Hollis/Aubrey - You are a firm believer in the power of calling people who go to the mall “posers”, while simultaneously buying your accessories at Hot Topic.

Aubrey/Jake - You are a firm believer in the inherent eroticism of sharing dank memes.

Hollice (Hollis/Jake) - You are a firm believer in the inherent eroticism of early 90s extreme winter sports movies.

Duck/Minerva - You are a firm believer in men 👏 getting 👏 pegged 👏

Sternclay (Agent Stern/Barclay) - You wish Inspector Zenigata and Lupin III would stop dragging their feet and commit already.

Any Characters from Inheritance - This is just the same joke as Merle and Magnus, except you post about Dream Daddy on Tumblr AND Facebook.

Deadbeat Dad/Anyone else from Inheritance - Robert is best Dream Daddy, Amnesty is best arc of The Adventure Zone. To you, these are facts.

Firbolg/Fitzroy - This is just the same joke as Taako and Magnus, but you also desire the fall of capitalism.

Fitzroy/Argo - You, Griffin, and Clint all simultaneously thought “You know what’s better than one fancy himbo fighter? Two fancy himbo fighters.”

Argo/Firbolg - You’re already pushing for a catchy ship name for these two. Might I suggest “Surf n’ Turf”.

Fitzroy/Buckminster - You have a whole blog devoted to scenes of swords under chins.

Buckminster/Leon - You think Arthurian legend can be summed up as “Several bros, sitting round a table, two feet apart from each other ‘cause the church said leave room for Jesus”.

Buckminster/Rainer - You believe behind every man’s facade is a girlfriend of immeasurable power, waiting for her time to shine.

Rolandus/Zana - You believe in big edgy backstory energy solidarity.

Rolandus/Rhodes - This is the same joke as Argo and Firbolg, except I am now suggesting “RoRho”.

Crimson (Crush/Jimson) - Your Netflix viewing habits are, exclusively, She-Ra: Princesses of Power and The Dragon Prince.

#taz #the adventure zone #ships #doublecast #doubleca5t #meme #amnesty #balance #commitment #dust #elementary #fur #dadlands #graduation #nights #knights #inheritance #shipping

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entergamingxp · 4 years

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Devil May Cry 3’s Switch Port Pulls My Devil Trigger

February 20, 2020 8:00 AM EST

Devil May Cry 3 on Switch is a solid port of one of the greatest action games ever made and now sports a few tweaks that will allow fans and veterans to push their capabilities even further. SSStylish!

Devil May Cry 3 on Switch is fantastic. Of course, that was true of the game for its original PS2 release and has remained true regardless of what system or version you’re playing on. As such, it’s nice to see that the Switch port is no exception to that rule.

While some could make a case for last year’s excellent Devil May Cry 5 being the pinnacle of the series, that crown unquestionably went to DMC3 previously. Playing it once again now with the new tweaks that the Switch port brings? It is clear as ever to see why it’s still at the zenith of action games even after 15 years. Few other games of its style can match the enjoyment it can provide for those willing to put in the time to master it.

It wasn’t an easy ride for Capcom to get to this point, though. The original Devil May Cry started life as a PlayStation 2 installment of Resident Evil, but the shift in style and tone was evident enough that it was then transitioned into its own title. Action became the heavier focus in combat and mechanics, and the project was given a new name and life as DMC. Dante’s demon hunting adventures and light-hearted, devil-may-care attitude (how fitting!) were well received.

By contrast… the 2003 sequel was anything but. Hideaki Itsuno was brought on to replace the unknown director and try to salvage the game, but it was a little too late. Mercifully, the mistake that is Devil May Cry 2 did not spell the end of the series. With Itsuno leading from the outset, DMC3 returned to many of the established factors that had made the first a success.

“Devil May Cry 3 on Switch is fantastic.”

Devil May Cry 3 serves as a prequel to the previous games, presenting a younger and more arrogant Dante at the beginning of his demon hunting career. From the first introduction to the player character, he’s flipping chairs before sitting on them, mocking his opponents, then charging headfirst into the fray with a smirk and a one-liner.

What follows is a game that presents a grim and serious gothic horror facade, only to completely slice it apart with its own sense of style. Dante traverses a demonic tower and the areas around it, exploring and seeking upgrades or secrets within as he climbs higher. But the bulk of the gameplay is the action. Demons and monsters are scattered all throughout, which you have to kick the crap out. You’ll get new skills and weapons as you go, but even from the outset, Dante feels like a stylish badass.

And style is crucial here! It’s entirely possible to run through the game and not really embrace the systems on offer. There’s a fun, challenging, and ultimately solid and complete action game here for anyone who wishes to partake. You’ll probably get something out of Devil May Cry 3 even if you’re the one-and-done sort of player. However! The game is at its best not when you’re playing just to finish it, but to absolutely style on it.

During combat sequences, you’ll have a style meter that grows depending on how long you can keep a combo going without taking damage or falling into too much repetition. Watching that rank rise from D all the way to SSS is addictive and I constantly found myself trying to push it further. I’m far from a perfectionist, but there were times where I’d want to just replay a mission or try again to get a better score. It definitely invokes that old school arcade mentality of pushing oneself to new heights.

At the end of every mission, you’re awarded ranks depending on how much time and damage you took, or how stylish you were. Doing well and looking badass gives you more currency to play with, and thus more moves to unlock and tools to utilize. The feedback loop of doing well in order to have more moves to do even better with is intoxicating. Further, there’s multiple difficulties to select for those wishing to challenge themselves or replay the game.

In fact, DMC3 is somewhat legendary for only unlocking Easy mode after you’ve died three times. This happened to me in one of the first major boss fights, and it really spurred me to grit my teeth and push on through. How could I take that lying down? The subsequent victory was all the more satisfying for it.

“The game is at its best not when you’re playing just to finish it, but to absolutely style on it.”

Dante has four different Styles that you can select from, each giving you different offensive and defensive options. Trickster focuses on dodging, Royal Guard on defense and parries, Swordmaster on melee weapons, and Gunslinger on ranged. Defeating enemies with a style equipped grants it experience, with level-ups furthering what you can do with them. Additionally, you’ll collect new weapons and guns as you progress, each with their own moves, gimmicks, and purchasable upgrades or skills. Since style points are awarded for minimizing repeated moves, you’ll frequently be switching up what you’ve got equipped and changing weapons on the fly.

This is where the new additions to the Switch port segue in nicely. On starting a new game, you can select between Original and Free Style. The original version lets you select a single Style, two melee weapons, and two guns that you can switch between on the fly, which can be changed during mission select or at Divinity statues. Free Style, on the other hand, lets you swap out your arsenal or styles at any time, even in combat. For those really wishing to push themselves and master the systems on offer, the wealth of options this provides is significant, and a welcome feature!

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Even so, should you never choose to engage in this at all, Devil May Cry 3 is still a solid game from beginning to end. All the inclusions from previous Special Edition updates and ports are present here, also. You’ve got a playable Vergil mode after you beat the game, the Bloody Palace survival mode is available after the first mission (and now features fully supported couch co-op for the Switch version, built up further than the Doppelganger mode), and the gallery is fully stacked from the outset.

As for the performance on Switch, it’s perfectly fine. Yes, it’s a PS2 game from 2005, so that’s to be expected. Despite a few minor touch-ups, this isn’t a remaster or overhaul. Don’t go in expecting something with the graphical fidelity of, say, Devil May Cry 5. Nonetheless, the game ran smoothly and without errors for me on both handheld and docked. The controls are responsive and fully customizable for any configuration of Joy-Con or Pro Controller. I personally had no trouble seeing and reading things on the handheld screen — aside from needing to turn the brightness up slightly. That said, I don’t tend to experience the difficulties of reading small text that some users have reported for other Switch games, so your mileage may vary.

“The very best games in this stylish subgenre of action titles always aspire to and rarely achieve the level of quality that DMC3 attained.”

With all that in mind, should you pick up Devil May Cry 3 on Switch? For returning players, it’s hard to say. The new additions are largely extensions of the combat system potential, bringing additions from Devil May Cry 5 back to its predecessor. If you’re already well acquainted with the game, then it might not be worth going to grab a second copy. That said, if you’re a combo technician looking to take your DMC3 sessions to the next level? This is the version for you. Those looking to take a favourite game for a spin on a portable system will also not be disappointed.

If you’ve never played Devil May Cry 3 before though, I would absolutely encourage getting into it. Itsuno and his team approached development with a go for broke attitude, and the results speak for themselves. The very best games in this stylish subgenre of action titles always aspire and rarely achieve the level of quality that DMC3 attained. DMC4 and 5 may be great games for series veterans, but Devil May Cry 3 is likely why those veterans are fans in the first place. The sheer ridiculousness of the action and Dante’s antics are a sight to behold, whether you’re just planning to see it once or want to become a master. You deserve to see Dante at his best.

February 20, 2020 8:00 AM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/02/devil-may-cry-3s-switch-port-pulls-my-devil-trigger/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=devil-may-cry-3s-switch-port-pulls-my-devil-trigger

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briangroth27 · 7 years

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Rogue One Review

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story wasn’t a tale that needed to be told—we already knew the original Death Star plans were stolen by Rebel spies—but it was definitely told very well! My favorite characters were Jyn (Felicity Jones), who provided a strong grounding force and emotional through-line, K-2SO (Alan Tudyk), who was excellent comic relief without being a buffoon, and Chirrut (Donnie Yen), whose belief in the Force despite not being Force-sensitive was an interesting addition to the mythology. And Darth Vader (James Earl Jones)…Vader unleashed was terrifying! Forget Boba Fett, I’d like a Vader solo movie. Rogue One had a wealth of well-choreographed and varied action, the scope was as epic and wide-reaching as it needed to be while keeping the story focused, and the additions to the Star Wars canon didn’t needlessly complicate or overwrite anything (though some lines and moments are certainly re-contextualized).

If nothing else, these standalone films should explore different sides of the Star Wars universe; show us new points of view rather than rehash all the same circumstances and belief systems we’re already getting from the main trilogies, and Rogue One did just that. Jyn felt totally different from fellow “plucked from obscurity” leads Luke, Anakin, and Rey. I enjoyed seeing a more morally gray side of the Rebellion through Cassian (Diego Luna). War can make things murky, even when you’re fighting on the right side, and Rogue One definitely showed that. Riz Ahmed’s Bodhi gave us a different flavor of defector than we saw from Finn in Force Awakens, so it’s good to see they aren’t resting on familiar characterizations when introducing people of similar backgrounds. Chirrut’s belief in the Force despite not being a Jedi displayed a new way of thinking about how the “common man” relates to it, which was cool. Since the Force flows through all living things, it makes sense that different people can tap into it—or at least be affected by it—in different ways (much like the Night Sisters on Clone Wars). I definitely want to see more Force “denominations” that challenge the Jedi and Sith “all or nothing” approaches. I’m hoping to see similar variation in Force-use in Rey from Luke’s training, since he wasn’t raised or trained with a strict Jedi upbringing.

I love that this series is giving us more female leads! While the women of Star Wars have generally been great characters, there are too few of them. I’m glad Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) got to speak more than in the original trilogy, but I would’ve liked to see more than four women in the movie (and then, only Jyn had a major role). It wouldn’t have been hard to make one or two other members of Rogue One women. Still, good on them for such a diverse cast otherwise! I’ve gone back and forth on this, but ultimately I felt we got enough personality from all the characters to understand and care about them. The possible exception is Baze (Jiang Wen), who I didn’t get a great feel for outside of his relationship with Chirrut (which I read as romantic, but that wasn’t confirmed). Saw Gerrera (Forrest Whitaker) didn’t get much screentime either, but he’s been/will be fleshed out more on Clone Wars and Rebels. His inclusion here was a neat bridge from the animated shows to the films; if only Marvel Studios would do the same with their television and movie sides.

I liked that there was no opening crawl; it helped set this apart from the main story films, though I do wonder if people new to the saga were thrown off as to where this takes place in the timeline. I didn’t think I’d like a story about complete strangers whose fates were all but revealed in the opening of A New Hope, but Rogue One really won me over! I’ve seen it discussed elsewhere that doing these prequel stories could lead the Star Wars braintrust to always play it safe and tell tales about familiar mythology rather than truly expanding the universe; Han Solo could easily be about winning the Millennium Falcon from Lando and doing the Kessel Run rather than some totally new adventure from Solo’s past, and I hope they don’t fall into that trap. I don’t need every bit of world-building trivia in the original trilogy to be its own movie; that’d make these characters’ lives very small. Instead, they should think outside the Episode 4-6 box and invent new legends and adventures. Just because looking back worked for Rogue One doesn’t mean they should box themselves in completely.

If you haven’t seen it yet, Rogue One is definitely worth seeing before it leaves theaters!

4/5

Major Spoilers…

I really thought Jyn was going to be revealed as Rey’s mother, but obviously that’s not the case. I’m OK with things going this way; I enjoyed her arc through the film and the way she ended up inspiring the Rebellion into real action and getting them their first win. Galen (Madds Mikkelson) giving Jyn a Kyber Crystal necklace was a nice touch given their use as a Death Star power source, even if it seemed set up as something important that wasn’t quite paid off later on. I was surprised she didn’t get to kill Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn); that definitely felt like where her arc was going, but having Cassian do it instead didn’t rob Jyn of her agency or the dramatic weight of avenging her father. Jyn still got to complete her father’s mission, after all. Vader’s castle being located on Mustafar was a nice touch, since Palpatine will want him constantly angry and unfocused. I wonder if the reason for his bacta tank dip in his first scene will be revealed at some point; routine maintenance or the result of something like his battle at the end of Rebels season 2?

I didn’t expect them to fire the Death Star at all, so seeing minor attacks from it were surprising, effective and impressive. The whole Battle of Scarif was really well-paced and intense, while the dogfight above the shield was especially well-choreographed. Almost everyone had a mini-mission too, which was cool. Even though everyone went out fighting, the movie didn’t feel grim or depressing. I don’t know if it’s because we know they’ve helped strike the death blow against the Death Star, that they all went out fighting in honorable/meaningful deaths, or some combination of the two, but I didn’t walk out of the theater thinking things were pointless or hopeless. It’s entirely possible Carrie Fisher’s cameo specifically calling out the hope they’d won played into that, too.

Thinking back on the film, I really like how it re-contextualized and justified parts of A New Hope. If Leia’s lie about being on a diplomatic mission (to peaceful, weaponless Alderaan, no less) were supposed to be taken as a believable facade, why would they be firing on a Star Destroyer and fighting the Stormtroopers through the entire ship? They wouldn’t, but if they’re in the middle of a running chase and Vader has her dead to rights (he already knows there’s no ambassador on board), it makes more sense and makes her lie that much more brazen and gutsy. That Leia was intentionally going to Tatooine to pick up Obi-Wan for Bail also makes more sense than her randomly coming across the planet he was hiding on (and how, with the whole planet at their disposal, the droids “happened” to land right near where Ben was living). The Death Star’s massive design flaw being an intentional addition also works better than Imperial incompetence IMO. Technically, the transmissions were beamed to the “mother ship” and then given to the crew of the Tantive IV before it disconnected, but I don’t mind that bit of narrative flexibility in Vader’s Episode 4 line.

I don’t have a problem with fan service and character cameos—it can be a lot of fun if done right—but I do think Dr. Evazan and Ponda Baba being on Jedha was too much. They added nothing to the movie. Beyond that, I was happy with all the shout-outs to the canon (Here’s a handy guide to all the other cameos and Easter eggs!). For example, learning just why the Rogue Five position was open for Luke was a nice touch. It also makes sense for characters like the team in Rebels to have been present for the Scarif fight, given the Rebellion was very small at this point. I wonder if we’ll see the Battle of Scarif from the Ghost crew’s point of view at some point. Especially after Carrie Fisher’s tragic death, I’d love for Leia to become a recurring character on Rebels to detail her other early adventures with the Rebellion; it didn’t seem like this was the first time Bail sent her on a mission.

Here’s an interesting look at the large wealth of footage from the trailers that didn’t make it into the final film. I’d definitely be interested in seeing how that version went down! I also find the method of editing this film—cutting together scenes from other movies to gauge how long they typically are—a little bizarre. Those scenes should be however long you want them to be in your movie; there’s no need to look to other’s films. Visualizing the movie this way could lead to a lack of originality in basic film composition, and that’s something we definitely need to avoid.

#star wars #rogue one #jyn erso #felicity jones #chirrut imwe #donnie yen #alan tudyk #k2so #darth vader

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