#good storyline good symbolism good dialogue
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TBB S3 Ep 5 Thoughts!!
Love Omega’s new outfit
Batcher hanging out with Cross then, I see
Cross is like the dad who continuesly goes “NO PET” and then when you do get a pet they’re suddenly besties
“ITS ECHO” “perfect”
Ah, the duality of man
Love how there’s no end to this dynamic
“What? No hug for me?” “That depends how good your intel is.”
LOVE Echo matching Cross’s causal sass
These two are gonna push against each other a lot huh?
Yanno, given all the promo material, I was kinda expecting Rex to be with Echo when he arrived (hoping phi, the word is hoping.) (she’s delulu.)
“Especially without Tech” 😭😭😭😭
No surprise reactions from Cross through. Means he already knows.
But also, Cross coming in with the solve <3
Is Hunter,,,, JEALOUS??? of the fact that Omega is spending so much time with Cross? Like that SIDEYE when they walked past each other on the platform
Like, God forbid Omega spent time with the member of the squad who everybody is always suspicious of and spends the most time alone
BUT ALSO!!!
“Don’t hold it against him. His only worried about you.” CROSS YOU BIG ‘OL SOFTY!!!
“I’m older than you are, little brother.”
THE CHUCKLE
AND WRECKER GIVING BACK CROSS’S ARMOUR AAAAAAAHHHH
oooohhh the girls are fighting
“Hey, kill each other later.” SIR THE WAY I CACKLED BYE ✋🏻
“He started it.” Sir, are you 5?
MAYDAY’S HELMET
Echo not wanting Omega to see the straight up Bitch fight between Hunter and Cross
TELL HIM CROSSHAIR!!!!!
Jesus Christ, fucking finally
I wrote a post at some point about Cross becoming the mirror held up to Hunter in which he can view his own shortcomings because of his adamant refusal to change AND ITS HAPPENING
“I risked everything to send you that message and you ignored it.” THIS
Hunter’s mistrust in Cross played a big part in Omega getting captured, but also ofc Cross thinks the message was fully ignored, because no one came to save him either
Also Cross just not hiding anymore that he’s always cared for Omega too I LOVE
Love how quick they put that plan together
Batch is Batching :) (almost) (Tech, my love, come back)
“We’ll try to dig through.” “You’ll try?” “Glad you heard me properly.” I AM WHEEZING
Cross patting Batcher
BIG ‘OL SOFTY
Say did Hunter abandon the bandana for a god damn leather strap
wtf
Cross and Hunter walking back to base side by side, when the last time Cross was walking back to this base was with Mayday dying in his arms🥺
Wrecker hugging them both
AAAAAHHH
“See? They always work it out. And I don’t even see any blood this time.”
EXCUSE ME??
i am worried.
Blood??
Was typical??
Jesus Christ
Don’t know how much I appreciate Hunter getting on a high horse and giving Cross advice
Bird flying away from Cross After always being with him on that base, like the shadows of his past leaving his life, now that this period of his life is over (also sun setting, signifying the day is over)
Good symbolism yes
Okokok good episode! Tbh I thought “The Return” would be Echo’s permanent return to the Batch, but narratively that wouldn’t’ve made sense for him anyway. And I am LOVING the fact that it is actually Crosshair’s return to the turning point in his life, followed by his full return to the batch. Like yeah, last ep they re-met, but he hadn’t fully arrived until the end of this episode and GAAAAHHH I love it!
Also the dialogue is just totally A1 chefs kiss mwah this season (or maybe I just appreciate sarcasm)
Loved this one!! Would love to tag Saturn and Steph because I wanna see their thoughts of Echo being back but idk if they’ve seen the ep already and I don’t wanna spoil them so,,, idk guys if you see this hmu lol
#LOVED THIS ONE#good storyline good symbolism good dialogue#they are stepping UP this season#and that confrontation between cross and hunter?#gonna go rewatch that now bc that was some good shit there#star wars#the bad batch#sw tbb#tbb crosshair#tbb Omega#tbb wrecker#tbb Echo#tbb Hunter#tbb s3#tbb s3 spoilers#tbb spoilers
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Thinking about possible totk dlc again... Listen, we all know we want it XD.
Thing is, I've read the interviews, and I think Nintendo is right. There's just no more mechanics they can add to the game without completely breaking it. Totk is maxxed out on mechanics and options and playability. There really is nothing more they can add ability wise without bogging the whole thing down and causing a million problems, both for themselves and players.
But that's not all there is in a game, is there?
There's master mode, for one. Gold enemies are missing from totk entirely, never mind all the craziness of regenerating enemies, new mob camps just floating around, the gleeok they'd probably put on the great sky island. People loved master mode in botw, there's no reason not to at least drop that button back in.
But... People do have a few complaints. There's stuff they're missing, stuff that leaves loose ends, stuff that wasn't explained well enough. It all mostly boils down to one thing.
Story.
We could have an answer to where the divine beasts and all the sheikah tech went. We could find a giant scrapyard at the bottom of a new/old chasm because hyrule tossed everything in that could be pried up. There could be like five remaining active guardians, just so we can mess them up like we did in botw. There's voids where water is on the surface, there's plenty of space! It'd solve both the 'where tf did they go' and the 'man I wish we still had guardians' issue in one fell swoop.
We could get casual dialogue that all the divine beasts were driven out to sea and sunk! I don't know! Some sort of closure! We could talk about generational trauma responses! The instinctive fear of sheikah tech if there is one! Link is certainly canonically traumatised, did you see him with the first sky tower??
We could get wolfie back! Update his teleportation code so he can keep up with our stupid endeavours and not get caught in crossfire! Make him immune to zonai tech, idk.
We could get a resolution to kass and Penn! That whole storyline ended so sadly, and the lack of kass is straight up disturbing. We could rescue him from the depths where he fell in or smth idk!! Just because you're a bird does NOT mean you can fly a kilometer + straight up in pitch black through a narrow cylinder with lethally toxic sides. Now he's got enough material for life! (and probably trauma. The only food down there is stuff the yiga brought, which - well, it's not like they'd worry about thieves down there.
That stupid chef from lookout landing who ran off to the castle. That's TOTALLY a quest come on :(. Let him come home.
More lookout landing expansion, if you're desperate for stuff that isn't 90% dialogue! Please let me install bigger towers and a bathing area and more shops or SOMETHING. Little outlet stalls from every capital! Let me rebuild the first home in castle town! I! D! K!
More newspaper news! We could randomise it like the spider man ps4 news feed, that was hilarious. Absolute hogwash rumours and stupid feuds between neighbours and the results of pumpkin growing competitions! Mix it up, traysi had bonkers stuff, it was so good. What does life look like from inside the world?
Hylia gossip? We know she doesn't keep strictly to her 'find shrine rewards for increased gains, link' thing. Let her ask link for random stuff for 'power buffs' and give him, like, a random buff that lasts precisely 24 minutes.
Maybe even a 'now we opened the plateau again, people want to investigate' side plot. No one wanted to see :(. I didn't like that the only people up there were yiga :((. Send some new research team dude to wax lyrical and beg link for photos of different areas or symbols.
Gloom hands should be able to attack link in the depths. This would solve nothing and in fact make things much worse, but it happened to me twice and it was so much worse than on the surface lol.
Maybe some idiot managed to make it to a Sky island with balloons but now they can't get down, whoops lol. Some of them really aren't that high up and there's a lot of very determined people XD.
Someone's been captured by the yiga and link has to do a full infiltration and smuggle them the keys to their cell. Come on, the yiga base is underutilised!!
The gerudo stable was being shut down because of the sandstorm turning away travellers. After we solve that, maybe we could help reopen it? It made me so sad...
Link vs the flower lady. She wants a sample of every single flower in hyrule to get it all nice for her majesty! She remembers his crimes...
Link and the new sages could have a silly bonding quest each! Let him test his mettle against them in a spar! I don't know!
The ability to pet dogs and horses! An idle sitting animation that makes link sit down properly to enjoy the view!
Heck, a master cycle equivalent....
There's just a almost infinite amount of options available for real, actual content, it doesn't just have to be new mechanics and new dungeons. Yes, it gets the adrenaline going, but neither the fans nor Nintendo want nor need more of that.
We know the story is more lacking in botw/totk than previous zelda games, an understandable and acceptable sacrifice when you're working with such a huge and complex open world as this, but this is the perfect opportunity to fix that, Nintendo, don't you see? Give that incredibly elaborate coding a break and give the writers something else to chew on.
Tag what quest line or question you want answered in the comments or tags!
#long post#I had a lot of ideas#loz#legend of zelda#tears of the kingdom#totk#loz totk#botw totk#zelda totk#botw#tloz#tloz totk#tloz botw#the legend of zelda#It'd probably be a lot cheaper than installing yet more mechanics into that poor incredible physics engine too lmao#loz tears of the kingdom#tloz tears of the kingdom#totk dlc#Totk ideas
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a linguist plays chants of sennaar (pt 5)
[pt 1] [pt 2] [pt 3] [pt 4]
the home stretch!!
disclaimer: can't promise that i'll have any insights that a layperson wouldn't have, this is kinda just me thinking through the grammar of the language out loud haha.
this post covers the fifth and last language in chants of sennaar and will contain spoilers for both the language and the endgame! it also assumes you know what the symbols mean already.
i.... to be completely honest with you, i did not enjoy this language 😂 i think the experience of deciphering it got lost in favor of the storyline, which isn't necessarily a bad thing for everyone, but hey, i am the one going through each of these languages like a linguistic bloodhound here lol. because of that, i'm not as familiar with these words as i am with the other languages.
before we get into anything else, and also because i imagine that this will be a shorter post because the game itself tells you what patterns to look for, i do want to say that this language strikes me as being incredibly artificial. which is a good thing! it emulates the digital apocalypse vibe that exile gives. but a language that leans so heavily into being constructed and recombined and modulated so easily really gives me the impression that it was created and not organically developed. the only other irl example that comes to mind at the moment is korean hangeul, which was purposefully created by king sejong and is an alphabet, not a logography. like, this is a language that i would make for fun in high school (which is to say, it gives a kind of overly grammatically strict, awkwardly too regular vibe?).
it's kind of funny that this language is where i'm starting to get reminded of conlangs, especially when, well, everything in this game is a conlang. but if we take each of the radicals in this language as affixes/morphemes when they're being combined into one character, then this actually reminds me of a specific conlang (ithkuil, i think?) where you can convey incredibly complex ideas through very few words.
the language of the anchorites isn't quite this complex, but hopefully the comparison gets my point across?
i’m curious if only certain elements can be combined with each other or if there’s a certain order to them, but it’s hard to tell when there’s such limited evidence in the game. interestingly, i believe the anchorites’ language is the only one in this game that makes a distinction between “die” and “death/dead” by combining the noun with the verb “go”. not sure why the developers suddenly made that decision haha.
this language, like most in the game, is an SVO language, which we can see below:
but i think also they (the developers) were trying to convey more complex sentence structures than their language was designed to communicate??? so then you end up w smth like below:
which, if you translated literally, would actually be “you man i wait”. again, super interesting bc i think an actual, more accurate anchorite sentence should be “i wait you man”. they have a more complex sentence here bc of the predicate (“you’re the one”) and the dative (“for”), but really the sense that they’re trying to go for is “i was awaiting the one [who is you]”. i guess it’s possible that different grammatical cases are treated differently in this language, or that, like english, word order is occasionally variable (even tho that option seems iffy bc we haven’t really seen evidence of it before), but tbh i suspect that really it’s that the developers wrote the dialogue and then brute forced it into the anchorite language haha. no shade! (and also impossible to confirm either way lol) just kinda amusing and also it makes sense when it’s p obvious their focus shifted from the language to the story.
this trend continues throughout all of the anchorite dialogue (imo) and makes it kinda slow and awkward to read if you don’t have all of the characters translated. in my opinion, the way that the language functions in the last part of this game makes it pretty clear that the developers meant for you to rely on the given translations during this potion of the game, especially when the translation mechanic is mostly through the matching terminals in exile, rather than speaking with people.
annoyingly, the anchorites’ language is also the only one in the game that doesn’t have words for the other people/cultures in the game (demonyms), which also doesn’t give much to work off of in terms of cultural context, relationships, etc.
again, i’ve decided not to get into an in-depth orthographic analysis of this particular language bc the game itself introduces you to them. one that i noticed that wasn’t specifically addressed in-game is the similarity between “open” and “key”, which is something that i actually also noted before in the devotees’ language. i’m sure there are others, but i’m also sure you can find them yourself!
all in all, a strange ending to this game. if you’ve made it this far in all of my posts—thanks for hanging around! hope you were able to learn smth new :)
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I find it very frustrating that Wyll and Karlach leave no matter what if you side with the goblins. Which feels particularly fucked up that the non-white and non-white coded origin characters are the only two who get this content cut off from them. Gale is the other morally upstanding character and although he's a bit more morally grey than the two of them he's certainly not okay with genocide by any means and yet he still stays.
I get it they are the two most morally upstanding characters and are very emotionally tied to the teiflings but they are then totally exempt from the story and loose a lot of content and depth. They both already have the least amount of content out of the origins characters from Karlach's late addition and Wyll's re-writes and cutting them out of the evil storyline just adds to this. It's especially frustrating with Karlach because she's so easy to miss as well as having less content. According to the DEV's this is on purpose bizarrely too "I would've missed Karlach if I hadn't been reading guides...
AS: That's common, I think.
SV: But it's also on purpose, because the replay value is much stronger if you've discovered things..." from https://www.ign.com/articles/baldurs-gate-3-final-interview-game-of-the-year-2023-characters-endings
I feel also that they could very easily stay for the evil route in multiple ways without sacrificing their characters.
For Karlach she could have a speech at the goblin party post slaughter about how she thought she was free but this is just like Avernus. There's really nowhere where she can relax, nowhere where she can do good. No one that she can form a connection to that won't betray her. But if that's how it's got to be fine she's put up with it for ten years she can do it a little more to be rid of the tadpole.
Wyll could stay if he kills Karlach. This causes him to go through a Shadowheart like change. I think choosing to save or kill Karlach is his biggest and most dramatic moment (partially because he's annoyingly passive so much of the rest of the story but still) like choosing to save or kill the Nightsong is Shadowheart's. And thus should bring about a similar change in him like how Shadowheart shuts herself off if you kill Dame Ayelin.
There's dialogue that I assume is from early access because otherwise it makes no fucking sense like "I fear your lust for power could get the better of you. You are a hero not a politician." that you can say to Wyll. But with this route we'd actually bring out this side to him. At present his reaction to finding out he did an honest to god murder with Karlach is pretty lack luster (I blame the writing as they reuse so much of his saving Karlach lines instead of giving him a properly new scene). Instead of being upset I say he goes through a change and tries to justify himself instead. Like "I had to do it, you don't know what Mizora would have done to me" "I can still be a hero" "it was a one time loop hole who else are we going to find who is heartless". Something like that. We play up the dichotomy between the Blade and Wyll too. Now he only refers to himself as The Blade. He's less willing to hear feedback. He's more defensive. He isn't so much a person but a symbol.
However, he still wants to do good and should still definitely be upset at the goblin party. At the party he should say something like "These people trusted me! Trusted us! I was to be their hero! This isn't over. But I can't have the people seeing me as any more of a monster. So I'll stay with you since you hold the only thing stopping me from growing tentacles." He's still concerned with heroics but it's more selfish now.
When he made the pact with Mizora he gave up his home, only family, friends, previous career plans, everything! This is him desperately trying not to have to loose anything else. He would argue now that at the very least he should be able to keep his reputation, be allowed to keep his secret (which would add to how powerful it is that he grows horns in the other path). He's scared and so young and so the "good" ending would be keeping his pact with Mizora and dooming himself to an eternity of torture. Doing the scary thing anyway and becoming a lemur, a monster. I do consider breaking the pact to be the "good" ending at present but maybe it's just the "good" ending for the other version of him on that path. Because the other version of him is unendingly selfless and so should prioritize himself.
The other option is Karlach and Wyll both live. Get very angry at you for killing the teiflings. Say they'll stay because they're not strong enough to kill themselves and can't risk transforming without the Prism and inflicting that on people instead. So they say they'll stay but are secretly planning to kill you if you don't change. They pull a Minthara . Much like after revealing to Minthara that you can stop the Absolute's voice she'll try and kill you if you destroy last light inn Wyll and Karlach try and kill you. It would at least give them a bit more time with the party and maybe even stay entirely if you change.
#dnd#bg3#balders gate 3#baldurs gate#bg3 wyll#wyll#wyll ravengard#myanalysis#karlach#karlach cliffgate#bg3 spoilers#larian critical#larian pls#larian why#bg3 meta
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Very interested to hear your thoughts on Yellowjackets in light of your cannibalism post
i honestly feel like i was like, themes-baited into watching yellowjackets. i did make it through the first season because i was led to believe there would be certain payoffs and they just never arrived lol.
like, obviously the present-day storyline with taissa is implicitly built off the idea that cannibalism is a threat to her political career specifically because it's coded as an uncivilised act, and her being black (and gay) plays in here. basically her career is threatened by the implication that she's feral, her appetite is out of control, etc. but the show never does anything with this, never interrogates this discourse, and seems (in season 1 at least) to actually be operating fully within this white/colonial paradigm insofar as taissa killing the dog and eating dirt are meant to signal her instability and 'wildness.' (as a side-note, dirt-eating specifically was historically configured as a 'slave disease' in the atlantic world, and the writers seem wholly unaware of this or at least unwilling to engage with it; you can read more about it in rana hogarth's 2017 book "medicalizing blackness".)
i can understand conceptually why people care about shauna/jackie but i simply don't lol. based on where the first season left them i assume shauna is about to eat jackie or something. they are not an interesting pair to me, cannibalism-wise, largely because i think they basically function as a shock-value use of cannibalism as a symbol. like, it really comes across as "holy shit, look at these respectable white girls who are engaging in acts of uncivilised savagery." i find this a problem for the entire show actually, and it is certainly true to its "lord of the flies" inspiration in that sense. but whereas william golding was explicitly engaging with ideas of what it means to be 'civilised' and inverting ballantyne's "the coral island" by portraying the boys themselves as the source of evil, yellowjackets seems largely unaware of such intellectual and cultural context, and seems to want to interrogate cannibalism as an expression of Girlhood without admitting that this invocation of cannibalism is very much a discourse of whiteness and how racialisation works.
besides all that, i simply did not think it was a very good tv show dfgdgfdgf as in, the dialogue is limp, the pacing is whack, the cult/evangelism shit is annoying and unnecessary, and the different storylines are poorly integrated. there are economic reasons tv tends to be bad and i would be willing to overlook mechanical problems if the show was About Something, but it's really not, imo, because it gets stuck on a voyeuristic interest in Girls Debasing Themselves and doesn't even go anywhere with that theme.
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Okay ramble that will probably not get anywhere but I will put it here anyway because I saw yet another post about people struggling to get any writing done. And someone in the comments made a good point. You write/draw so much more as a kid because you're less practiced and ergo less worried about the imperfections that may arise from just gunning it.
And this is true! And this is why I want to tell you if you are struggling to write much, learn to write like a kid again.
You know how with a lot of art you see processes and it always starts with really shitty thumbnails that have silly faces or just blobs of color? Then you have an actual sketch (during which the artist likely moves a lot of shit around on a digital canvas) and then possibly the inking phase or just painting which is more blobs that slowly get sharper and sharper the more the images is rendered.
Yeah uh, do that with writing. Going under the cut because long
Writing as a process is something that is unique to an individual, just like there's 800 ways to slap paint on a canvas. If you look at guide books for writing and none of it is sticking it's not cause you're a failure that technique is just not gelling for you.
And as such I can only speak from MY experience with it but like, here's how I generally stay on top of projects
A) Sketch phase! It's outline time baby! "Ughh but outlines suck" listen I know school made the outline phase of an essay the worst fucking thing ever but hear me out on this. Sure some people CAN write by the seat of their pants but in terms of long projects this does not work out for me. I'm inevitably gonna hit a point where idk where to go from there and it's so hard to map all that out in long form
Listen, outlines are not there to be formal. They're not even there to be fancy. This is time to get down the bare bones and if you have to make it only a paragraph long and then extend that paragraph into multiple then DO it.
Like hell, NONE of my outlines are formatted the same! Some are a paragraph per chapter. Others are just endless bullet points that I split up later. I'm sure in one book due to all the plotlines I'm just going to have a storyline for each character laid out in columns so I can draw lines between them. Whatever works.
And again, do not have to be formal, like here is a legit line in one of my outlines
As for the ruined building… Hypno will cover the damages……….. Right? : )
Go crazy.
B) Now that you have your baselines start working on the actual story. Do you like writing shit out of order? Do it, because with an outline you still have your baselines to reference for any important details you don't wanna forget "Remember [character] is supposed to get a scar in chapter five!" Or write shit in order, and every time you hit a lull consult those baselines to say "oh yeah that's where this chapter was going"
And hey, keep writing it like a kid if that's what it takes to get this crap down. Hit a fight scene you don't wanna write? Slap down some brackets. [Insert a fight scene here where [character] gets his head smashed in so he ends up with this concussion later like a dumbass]. Boom, done, worry about it later.
Worried the dialogue isn't flowing well? Slap open another document or grab some paper and write it out in a play format to keep it moving. Add in all the beats, expressions, and details after.
Not sure if this detail you're putting in is historically accurate? Leave an easy to search symbol in the doc so you can go back to it to research later.
Write the sappy shit. Write with poor grammar (but still like, comprehensible you know what I mean). Slip in adverbs to swap out with strong verbs later. Use a run on sentence.
"But it's gonna sound bad" Who cares who tf cares that's what editing is for ! You go back and refine that shit and clean up sentences and add in all the extra research and pull out the repetitive words.
You gotta quit treating writing like you're supposed to just swing your brush on the canvas and suddenly you have some beautiful scenery. There's layers. There's blobs that turn into refined shapes. There's blending and shading. There's fine lines and thick lines. And sometimes there's mistakes that you have to wait until it dries to go back over it again.
It is a process! Let yourself have FUN with the process.
Okay rant over.
#scribs speaks#I will never tell people how they should write#but so many times when I talk to fellow writers who say they haven't touched their WIP in ages#9/10 I ask if they have an outline and they say no#sir you are trying to write a fic that could be like 20 chapters#give yourself some sketch layers
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What do you think about Mortal Kombat's demonization of Enenra, figuratively and literally?
A surprising author’s choice for sure, especially considering that the only(?) confirmed Enenra we know about is alternative-timeline (MK9-X-11) Tomas and he became a problem for our heroes after being killed and resurrected as revenant. That Mortal Kombat ignores the Enenra’s japanese origin as a spirit of smoke that, as far as I managed to read anyway (x)(x), does not hurt people is not shocking, because this game series is all about epic battle of good vs evil and gore, thus the cultural-mythology materials inspiring authors can - and are - only loosely adapted for storyline’s needs. However, changing Enenra from “demon”[1] status to the worst kind in Liu Kang’s timeline is pretty much uncalled for.
Mortal Kombat 9 in Smoke’s ending states
"Shao Kahn's violent death shook the very core of Smoke's being and dislodged his earliest memories. Tomas Vrbada was only a boy when he was abducted by an obscure cult and sacrificed to a demon. Burned alive, he returned to the mortal realm as an enenra, a creature of smoke and vapor. His captors were helpless against his shapeless form as he lashed out with rage, killing them all. His murder avenged, he returned to his human form, remembering nothing of his former life. Now aware of his true identity, Smoke understands he is no mere assassin. His destiny has been revealed."
Even within this data, there is enough space to make theory that Enanra, though called a demon, itself is not evil and its nature was tainted by the dark magic ritual AND boy’s suffering and rage. For one, the Japanese mythology suggests that Enanra can be seen only by those of pure heart, so sacrificing the young boy fits that idea, as children often symbolize purity. Thus the cult needed Tomas (the pure-hearted sacrifice) to summon Enenra but their trap didn’t work and turned against them. What is also important, this is only one known accident in which Enenra lashed out in uncontrollable violence. Tomas - devoid of childhood memories - hoped "that through the Lin Kuei he will discover his past--and the origin of his power", which suggests Enenra did not cause him any great problems for years. The demon gave Tomas its powers, but there is no mention of an evil voice in his head urging him to kill or any other potential sign there was something twisted inside him.
Enenra the Revenant, like all other resurrected champions by Quan Chi, is twisted by sorcerer’s vile magic and doesn’t necessarily have anything in common with the demon’s nature.
And then, we have MK1 intro dialogue
Smoke: There are many kinds of demons?
Ashrah: The worst are the Enenra.
and of course, this statement may be just Ashrah’s biased opinion - though what the poor Enanra did to her to earn such a bad reputation is beyond me. Or why Liu Kang would even bother to make Enenra the worst kind of demon, when there are plenty of worse things to worry about? On one hand, maybe this is another bad result of Liu Kang’s good-intended inference in time material? On another, and I’m saying it mostly to make fun of this issue, Liu Kang has some bias against japanese culture, as he for sure fucked Hanzo’s life and now he is out there to mess with Enenra (and original/alternative Tomas, the demon carrier).
What I can say more? Justice for Enenra! Justice for Tomas!
[1] Just a side note, as for example in Slavic folklore a lot of supernatural beings are called demons yet not all of them are bound to hurt and kill living people. Personally, I don't pay attention to the name itself, but rather what a given demon represents and so far the MK9’s Enenra is ambivalent at worst. Killing your oppressors is hardly the most evil thing within Mortal Kombat lore. There is plenty more fucked up bastards that deserve the title of the worst demon ever.
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I've known for a long time now that one day your art and enthusiasm and great taste in tropes would pull me into some fandom I never thought I'd join, but I'll be honest, I always guessed it was going to be one of those live action Gotham shows. Sports feels so wholly, entirely out of left field that I don't even know how to react. I've been going through the backlog of Jungle Boy's lore and taking furious notes!
Like, he lost his father, then his father figure mentor turned on him and became his nemesis with a thousand personal remarks? And then his bestie joined his ex-mentor? And then he had to fight his ex mentor and beat him and then kissed him goodbye on the forehead before (symbolically?) killing him and then burying him like he did his father? And by doing so, his ex-mentor committed one final act of cruelty against him by forcing him to make that choice, to make Jungle Boy an agent of his own loss and deterioration, take part in it. And from that point on, Jungle Boy became more focused on going after what he wants and taking it no matter who is in his way? Did I understand all of that right?
And then he becomes best friends and partners with a guy who is like the perfect foil to him: an unstoppable 2nd gen fighter - young, even younger than himself. They have so much in common, and they like each other so much. But. Hook keeps winning. He hasn't lost his father. He hasn't lost his mentors or his friends. He hasn't sacrificed anything. And he. Still. Keeps. Winning. And it's always right there in Jungle Boy's face. And when JB turns on him, out of the blue, the first thing he does is drop to his knees as if...mourning himself? And then the next time he shows up, he's dressing, talking, and acting just like his (dead? is he dead in-universe or...? idk how that works) ex-mentor--
--ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! WRESTLING HAS JUST HAD THIS THE WHOLE TIME? I am going to show up every damn week from now on, and I'm going to have no idea what the moves being yelled out by the commentators are, and I am going to wait on the edge of my seat for the dialogue much like impatiently skipping paragraphs of description. And I'm going to make chips for it! WTF what the actual fuck there's enough for 2/3 books of a novelization trilogy here wtf wtf sports??? I am losing my mind
@emma-d-klutz how I enjoy out convos! ✨️
Yes, AEW actually has really good storylines- especially recently with Jungle Boy! That burial match was one of my favorites when he fought Christian Cage - it was so personal, but I appreciated the end results. Effing great, so choice. I'm wondering when they'll have another reunion soon? Now that Jack went heel *bad guy* and said a few nights again when he was in a team, he was a champion... maybe he'll team up with Cage and Luchasaurus again? Or he'll just be his own bad guy???
SO, the drama with him and Hook kinda felt off to me. A lot of people felt Hook was going to betray Jungle Boy, but I never saw that? Hook has always teamed up with people who've been good to him, and surprisingly, Hook is super chill with them, lol. But now the betrayal of Jack kinda makes me think if Hook will ever have another team up :( unless it was Danhausen or the Hardy Boys etc.
JungleHook was a very young and cool team up! I kinda wish they would've gone for tag titles... but alas...
The side drama is ongoing this upcoming Wednesday! I love AEW and how they have a variety of drama going on in between the fights. LOL - even better when the drama is in the ring...!!!
#emma-d-klutz#aew#all elite wrestling#aew fandom#drama#jungle boy jack perry#jack perry#jungle boy#hook#730 hook#Junglehook#christian cage#luchasaurus#hardy boys#jeff hardy#matt hardy#Danhausen#hookhausen#gifs not mine#click gifs for source
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“The Hucksters:” A sitthroughable 1947 romcom and satire starring Clark Gable
Clark Gable is a veteran returning home from World War II eager to resume his pre-war lifestyle as a playboy ad-man, but ultimately finding the life empty and unsatisfying. He takes a high-paying job at an ad agency, in the course of which he meets beautiful war widow Deborah Kerr, which causes him to change his values.
The movie was ok, but not actually good. Plenty of close-ups of Gable’s face, which reminded me that he was actually a homely man, with big fleshy lips and bad teeth. He was often on the phone with Deborah Kerr’s character, and it was unsettling to see close-ups of his lips doing air kisses.
On the other hand, I can also see why he was a huge sex symbol. He had charisma.
Deborah Kerr’s character was a blank cipher, an empty receptacle for Victorian views of chastity and virtue. She had no discernible personality, ambitions or thoughts other than attaching herself to Clark Gable. Gable and Kerr had zero chemistry together.
Clark Gable’s character was also pursued by an ambitious lounge singer played by Ava Gardner, the only really interesting character in the film. In addition to being smokin’ hot (on account of being Ava Gardner), she was also funny, smart and charming, and made it very clear that the main character could have her anywhere and at any time, for a quickie, lifetime commitment, or anything in between.
Clark Gable’s character, of course, rejects Ava Gardner in favor of Deborah Kerr. Because Ava Gardner’s character was a Bad Girl I guess.
The movie features a hell of a cast doing great work despite a lackluster script and story: Sydney Greenstreet as an evil soap company magnate, Adolphe Menjou as Clark Gable’s unscrupulous boss, Keenan Wynn as a talentless, shameless comedian who’s desperate for work, and more. Truly, the entire cast was great—not a dud in the lot—they just didn’t have much to work with.
And the movie has great midcentury design, direction, and dialogue. It’s visually very nice, except for too many close-ups of Clark Gable.
Overall, I enjoyed it, but I can’t say I’d recommend it.
According to Wikipedia, the movie was adapted from a best-selling novel, which was considered raunchy and racy in its day. Even Gable said it was “filthy” and “isn’t entertainment.” The story was toned down for the movie—as far as I can see, they removed nearly all the spice from it and made it bland and uninteresting.
One storyline involves a fictional talent agent named “David Lash,” played by Edward Arnold. In the novel, he was based on a real agent of the time, Jules Stein, founder of MCA, but the filmmakers were afraid of Stein, so they had characters repeat several times that Lash is an honest man.
In a pivotal scene in the movie, Clark Gable’s character threatens to spread gossip about Lash that will cause people to think Lash is dishonest. Lash is portrayed as heartbroken, not for himself, but because he got in trouble when he was young, went straight and succeeded, and he fears besmirching the reputations of all troubled kids. Gable’s character is disgusted with himself afterward.
It’s an odd scene that doesn’t really work.
But in the book, Lash is presented as Jewish, and Clark Gable’s character threatens to fan the flames of anti-Semitism, which would have been a more powerful scene if the filmmakers had gone through with it.
Also this:
As the start of production neared, Ava Gardner grew nervous about appearing with Gable, an actor she had idolized since childhood. [Producer Arthur Hornblow Jr.] asked Gable to call her, and he told her: “I’m supposed to talk you into doing this thing. But I’m not going to. I hated it when they did that to me. But I hope you change your mind, kid, I think it would be fun to work together.” The two remained friends for the rest of Gable’s life.
Gable also sought to make a nervous Kerr feel relaxed when shooting commenced. He sent her six dozen roses on the first day, and “the two hit it off beautifully from the beginning, on and off the set.”
I don’t know anything about Gable but he sounds like a true gentleman.
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Tilda's Art Collection
youtube
If you haven't seen the making film about the Rijksmuseum collaboration, it's really fun and interesting! I want to leave my thoughts on Tilda's story and connection to her collection and hope to hear your thoughts as well. Especially, if you're familiar with art and paintings, please share your insights!
0. How I read this scene
(From the making film above) This scene is designed for Aloy to understand Tilda's personality and motivation without any background information. Given Aloy has never been to a museum in her life, I assume Devs don't expect us to look up research papers to interpret each painting. So all the hints should be in the dialogues.
There will be two aspects - how Tilda reads it and how Aloy reads it. Tilda explains her side story by showing each painting to Aloy - this is all about Tilda. Aloy's comments/questions show how she thinks about Tilda and the difference between Tilda and Aloy (maybe also Elisabeth). Look at the emphasis on Tilda/Aloy's relationship - they're supposed to understand each other by reading art together.
The scene naturally drags the player's gaze in zigzags and it seems to follow Tilda's life.
You can find the full dialogue script here, thanks to @mehoymalloy.
Woman Reading a Letter, Johannes Vermeer, ca. 1663 + Woman Reading Music, Han van Meegeren, 1935 – 1940
Tilda's early life, before meeting Elisabeth.
This painting has many layers of context... I know it can be interpreted as a clone-related symbol, like Aloy/Beta compared to Elisabeth - but before that, I believe this is to show Tilda's life agenda from her beginning. She was fascinated by the deception of a good forger. I guess she wants to do the same thing so that she can fool other people into believing she is who she wants to be. Like, she carefully designs herself based on her "imagination". That's her foundation. Aloy asked why she does that ("it was a lie, and you knew it.") and Tilda answered that's how she got the right evaluation from other people. This also implies Tilda thinks she can't be valued enough with her true self - a bit sad moment to me.
The 2nd point is the difference between a masterpiece and an imitation. Here, the focus is more on how Tilda tells a difference between the two. This can be applied to Aloy/Elisabeth. Tilda brings the image of the left painting (masterpiece) to the base, and you can see it appears when Tilda is mentioning Elisabeth during the conversation with Aloy. Tilda said if it tells her more, she feels less. If I need to guess, Tilda feels more when she can't really see/read/predict the other person's thoughts. That evokes her imagination, maybe? In the storyline, Aloy doesn't allow Tilda to predict her next move and keeps twisting Tilda's plan. Think Elisabeth was also the same way. Beta, on the other hand, is different from Elisabeth/Aloy in this manner. Maybe that's why Elisabeth was the true masterpiece to Tilda.
Of course, there's a meaning of longing for someone like the woman in this painting. Aloy feels the "emotional burden" (of Tilda), which can't be put down.
2. Selene and Endymion, Gerard de Lairesse, ca. 1680
Tilda's relationship with Elisabeth
This is an interesting description of Tilda/Elisabeth's relationship. Aloy asked if Tilda sneaked up on Elisabeth and Tilda said it was a secret visit. We all know how Tilda approached Elisabeth. It feels like Tilda had a certain reason to approach Elisabeth, possibly wanting to dig into Elisabeth's work or personal life. Guess it didn't go well as Tilda planned, given Elisabeth already knew who Tilda exactly was. I think that was why Tilda felt a strong interest in Elisabeth if we think about what makes a masterpiece to Tilda. Also, isn't it strange that Elisabeth was welcoming to Tilda even if she knew who Tilda is? Err, maybe Tilda was just Elisabeth's type? Anyhow, they fell for each other.
What interested me more was that "two must remain apart" and "Selene is not supposed to fall in love with Endymion". Why? Because Selene took a vow of chastity. Is this about Tilda's internal conflict in a relationship? Or, Tilda was not supposed to fall in love with Elisabeth? Did Tilda (or Elisabeth) have a reason to hide their relationship? Was that why they needed to find a way to come together but briefly? After seeing this, I realized Elisabeth also didn't talk about Tilda at all to any of the ZD members or even to the GAIA.
Aloy seems to be confused about this. Why couldn't you be together? Why didn't you break your vow? Tilda didn't answer these questions but just said her love will forever burn regardless of the circumstance. Maybe Elisabeth asked the same question to Tilda and her answer was also the same.
3. Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1630
Tilda realized the world's ending and tried to save her collections.
As clearly mentioned in the dialogue, Tilda said she saved the collection like Jeremiah. I find two points interesting. The first thing is Jeremiah was a prophet and saw a vision of the city's fate. Tilda might have known what was coming from her sources, earlier than other people saw that. She decided to save the relics, not the people. This could be a major difference between Aloy and Tilda. Aloy is bothered by Tilda's priority and pointed out that Tilda just picked the winning side. Of course, Tilda doesn't agree because she actually saved all the wonders and hence has no regrets. Also, she still sees hope for the future.
I think this moment can be the time when Elisabeth and/or Tilda realized they can't be together anymore. Thinking about Elisabeth's effort to save life on earth, Tilda's choice would be a deal breaker for her. Elisabeth might have blamed Tilda in the same way as Aloy does ("you calculated which side would win a battle").
4. Titus in a Monk’s Habit, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1660
Tilda lost Elisabeth.
Aloy seems to start learning how to read paintings! At first, she doesn't understand why Tilda showing this to her but after Tilda explains the feeling of loss, Aloy fully relates to it. This is connected to both Aloy's loss (Varl) and Tilda's loss (Elisabeth). Tilda expressed her condolences to Aloy - Aloy accepted and decided not to blame her.
About Tilda's feelings - I was sad when she explained how Titus became the only family for Rembrandt and finally is lost as well. That's exactly how Tilda took Elisabeth. Elisabeth is the only and last person Tilda cared for and is lost from Tilda's life. Here, Tilda wants to be honest (very rare moment, right?) about how she feels, and maybe this is the moment that Aloy and Tilda really understand each other's feelings.
5. The Night Watch, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1642
Tilda joined Far Zenith.
Great masterpiece. Many portions of the dialogues focused on the painting itself. The other focus is on the girl - Tilda in Far Zenith. Tilda is saying she's seen something. She is underestimated but she keeps some secrets. I personally think that is not about her love for Elisabeth (or Aloy/Beta). It should be something bigger than just her life. Hope we can see what it was in the next game.
Also, it's interesting that Tilda said "what's real in a painting?". What's real in Tilda's life?
6. A Ship on the High Seas Caught by a Squall, Known as ‘The Gust’, Willem van de Velde (II), ca. 1680
Tilda went to space with Far Zenith.
This painting is deeply connected to Tilda's Dutch ancestry. Exploring the world at great cost but always turned to their home. Also willing to face dangers to make their fortunes. Now their life's work remains here with Tilda.
7. Lidded ewer for the Amsterdam Goldsmiths Guild, Adam van Vianen (I), 1614
Now Aloy moves to the upper floor, which implies she's getting closer to "now". Tilda mentions Elisabeth for the first time in this scene ("How like Elisabet you are - function over form"). Then they talked about how Tilda got these collections from the museum and why she decided to keep them on earth. They are finishing their moments to understand each other and are being ready to talk about real matters.
8. Bacchant, Adriaen de Vries, 1626 + Frenzy, Artus Quellinus (I) (attributed to), na 1648 – in of voor 1662
Tilda doesn't say anything about the two statues - these are symbols of Aloy and Tilda in a current state. Aloy understands why Tilda is showing these so not many words are needed more. Aloy feels how much Tilda suffers from grief, almost madness, and is sorry for her. If we think about how Aloy didn't want to deal with emotions (whether it's hers or others), it is a unique moment for Aloy to understand how the other person feels without any resistance. This is a safer way for her to do so. Wait, is that why Tilda wants to show the gallery first to Aloy before meeting in person? Because Tilda already knows how Elisabeth would react if she brings up her emotions?
This was a long one to write... but I really enjoyed this scene and the Guerrilla team truly did amazing work. I'm pretty sure after a few hundred years, humanity will take video games as one form of art. I hope we can see more thoughtful narratives from games so they leave something in our hearts after playing.
If you like this type of thinking, I also created another post about Aloy and Tilda's first conversation at Tilda's house after this scene.
Lastly, here is the little flow connecting this scene and the next scene from Tilda’s lines.
"Now, lo and behold, here I am".
(smiling at Aloy) "There you are."
#horizon forbidden west#hfw aloy#hfw dialogues#aloy x tilda#aloy/tilda#tilda van der meer#hfw spoilers#Youtube#elisabeth sobeck#aloy#aloy horizon#tilda x elisabet
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Persona 4 (ish) atsv AU. Dw, I don't spoil any plot for either p4 or p5.
We don't use the murder mystery plot, but we keep the whole shadow thing.
First photo is an explanation of shadow selves as a whole and then 2nd is their use in p4.
I haven't quite cooked it through yet but imagine Miguel having to fight his inner demons in a big ass boss battle. There's always a lot of symbolism in it, and I think Miguel's would have a cage aspect like Yukiko did due to isolation being his main go-to for self harm.
Side note I'm sorry about Teddie's dialogue. If it provides any relief, the fandom bullies him constantly.
Alternatively, Persona 5 ATSV.
Miles - Ren Amamiya/Joker (Rejected by the society around them AND constantly defies expectations)
No idea!! - Ann Takamaki/Panther
Lyla - Morgana/Mona (Not rooted in story ties to the respective characters) (Alternatively, Peter Porker by just how goofy both are)
Idk lol - Makoto Nijima (Makoto best romance 🔥🔥🔥)
Gwen - Kasumi Yoshizawa (do NOT Google this character it will spoil Persona 5 Royal IMMEDIATELY. I will include a photo of this character at the end so that you can see her.)
Pavitr - Haru Okumura/Noir (Little bit naive but wants to do good in the world)
Hobie - Ryuji Sakamoto/Skull (Not a lot of connection but both rebel against social norms.)
Margo - Futaba Sakura/Oracle (DUUUUUUUDE THIS FITS IN BOTH FAMILIAL ISSUES AND TECH SMARTS) (alternatively, Peni works as well and she has the Dead Mom trauma too.) (I am not normal about Futaba I get genuinely angry about her storyline.)
Miguel - SOJIRO SAKURA!!! Mature, quiet, a hard-ass but genuinely very kind and loving beneath it all.
Spot - I fuckinG WISH I COULD SAY WHICH CHARACTER BUT IT SPOILS >:( just know he has a very clear character in this.
Ben Reilly - Yusuke Kitagawa (Dramatic af /pos) (Alternatively, Peter B. due to the brokeness of both.)
Aunt May - Munehisa Iwai or Tae Takemi (both help the protagonist in supplies)
As promised, here's Kasumi. She is a gymnast with deep seated family and identity issues that don't get explored until what is technically the "post game". She is worth the wait.
I’ve heard of persona but I’ve never played it or seen any gameplay (until now with the link u sent lolol) and honestly this fits so well!! There was a whole part in spiderman 2 about miles confronting mister negative and fighting him to try and escape kraven, and mister negative sends him to this alternate dimension and sends these shadows to fight him which represent his inner demons while his loved ones (or what sounds like them) call him not good enough and a mistake, and Miles’s biggest fear is for his loved ones to hate him and for him to disappoint them. This fits in extremely well for him especially now with that in mind. Also Miguel having to fight his inner demons is a huge boss battle is something I WANNA SEE!!!
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Video game compare and contrast time!
Another World vs. INSIDE
Ok so I just played the classic 1991 game Another World (also known as Out of This World), and it reminded me a LOT of the 2016 game INSIDE which I played about a year ago -- so much that I'm guessing the creators of INSIDE must have taken some inspiration from Another World.
Apparently I really love whatever type of game this is! And I just felt like doing a compare and contrast of the two games.
SIMILARITIES:
Minimalist gameplay style: 2d action-puzzle platformer with just a few basic controls.
No stats, points, levels, meters, inventories, or other interfaces of any kind.
Fairly short but not too short; can be completed in a few play sessions.
Little to no music, just very effective ambient sounds.
Aesthetically beautiful, with a strong sense of setting, mood, and the feel of the environments.
A protagonist who's surprisingly lifelike, despite not even having facial expressions.
Manages to tell a really immersive story without any dialogue.
The story is open to interpretation, but clear enough to make you WANT to interpret it.
A lot of variety in the puzzles; every stage is different and you wonder what will come next.
Does a good job of building tension and drama.
Lots of narrow escapes.
Trial-and-error gameplay where you're going to die a LOT, but you always get to try again, and it's kind of part of the point to discover how many crazy ways you can die.
A lot of creative worldbuilding that's just ambiguous enough to let you know there's even more going on that you don't see.
A dramatic, surprising, and open ending.
DIFFERENCES:
INSIDE is dark and depressing, heavily dystopian, and maybe-sort-of horror depending on how you define horror. It's really beautiful in its own way, but it also made me cry (and not in a happy way). The deaths are also more realistic and might bother some people, especially since the protagonist is a child. The ending is a lot more sad (and strange).
Another World is an upbeat and colorful sci-fi action adventure. It does have a few survival-horror elements (i.e. everything on the planet wants to kill you), but not in a way that's depressing or disturbing. It's also less realistic and a little more wacky; I wouldn't call it silly but it's got much more of a fun vibe. The ending is not 100% happy but not too sad either, and definitely hopeful.
INSIDE is the sort of story that lends itself toward symbolic and metaphorical interpretations.
Another World is more of just a fun story to take at face value. (Although I'm sure you could still find metaphors in it if you want to, and knowing me I probably will sooner or later. 😂)
INSIDE relies heavily on stealth; the protagonist is small and helpless and the game does an excellent job of making you feel that.
Another World has some stealth elements, but you're also able to fight. You get a weapon and learn how to use it (and it's a very cool one).
While both games are primarily linear storylines, INSIDE has an alternate path with a secret ending.
Another World is one storyline with one ending (but it's engaging enough that I didn't find this to be a problem!)
In INSIDE your character is very alone in his quest (well, except for one possible event, but I won't spoil).
In Another World you make a friend and you get to rescue each other!
Conclusion: If you've played either one of these games, and you liked the gameplay style and story presentation method, I recommend you try the other because you will probably like it too! But if you played one and liked it for the vibe, you might or might not like the other, because the two vibes are very different. Either way, I would consider both games to be masterpieces.
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thoughts on task force z? I’m not sure if you’ve talked about it before but I’m curious what you think of jason’s characterization there
disclaimer: i’m moving blogs. still here to go through my askbox, but you will find me at @boyfridged most of the time.
it's been almost two months, but i've been postponing replying to this ask because i rarely read recent comics, and infinite frontier is a dumpster fire. but i finally got to it!! here are my general thoughts that i noted during that read-through:
so i know that i’ve been talking a lot about how interesting the cyclical nature of jason’s story is, and how it makes a lot of sense for him to be stuck in this loop on the peripheries of the narrative, but reading this series made me want to retract this statement purely because dc doesn't know how to make it work. stories about cycles like that require awareness of why the cycle occurs, research about the source material (how was it perpetuated before?) and a good idea about how the same storyline structure can be written to feel fresh and novel for a reader.
spoiler alert: the storyline did not feel fresh nor novel. it was incredibly dull. i think rosenberg just isn't a very good writer, you know? his dialogues are stiff, and i swear he has not heard in his life about "show don't tell" (and while i'm not even that committed to the idea of "show don't tell" in regular literature, comics entirely rely on show don't tell. not to take the rule too literally, but this is what you have pictures for!! use them to mean something, maybe?)
i think i get why i've seen people praising tfz though, and that's because rosenberg has a surprisingly good general grasp of jason's character (compared with zdarsky, for example.) then again, this is the bare minimum, the bar is on the floor or below, etc. and he could fit that comprehension of jason’s character in a tweet. no need for a 12-issues series.
so, let's take an overview of things that jason says: “you didn’t make me, you raised me” “i made mistakes because i was scared, and i was angry, and i was hurt” “i died trying to save someone i cared about. (…) i died a hero” all good points! all true. so what's the issue? well, to me it's that he would not fucking say that. why does he talk like he's in therapy? when did he come to all these conclusions? the thing about good storytelling is that characters very rarely have a clear picture of their own place in the world; and while it is the case that jason is interesting in the sense that he's always verging on a brink of that awareness, and he is quite vocal about his feelings, the thing is that nevertheless, he rarely brings himself to openly speak about things that matter; he deflects. and it makes sense for him to be quite repressed (it's self-preservation. it's the dialogical nature of identity.) why would a character suddenly start monolouging on their relationships and their status in the narrative (lol.) etc? the whole series is like that, and it's exhausting, because it doesn't mean anything at all. you can tell me all of these things, but how about you show me how and why he came to this realisation? where's the internal conflict? ever heard of symbolism? parallels? plot devices? figures of speech?
on the topic of talking like in therapy, i think the only interesting bit was barbara telling jason that he's basing his identity on his trauma. it has potential, and it makes sense it would be barbara to say it.
but since i'm on the topic of other characters already: every single other character acts like they're a cardboard cut-out. we see the same confrontation with bruce we've seen hundred times before (okay. maybe not hundred but def more than 10 times. hell, there was the same confrontation in cheer that came out the same year, i think?), and bruce sounds like a broken record. i have to stress that i do think there are good reasons for them to be stuck in the same place when it comes to their relationship, but once again, if you want to write about it, try to make a point about why this is the case. and atp, it's just so inconsistent with bruce's current characterisation, that it feels like he just appears in red hood stories as a prop. same with pretty much all the batfam really. since when is the whole batfam sooo eager to agree with bruce when it comes to every single one of his decisions? if you need to make everyone seem to be mindless to make your main character right, then you're doing it wrong. whatever happened to nuance? get off ao3, rosenberg, this is not a whump fic.
in general, i couldn't tell you what that story is trying to say. and i consider myself a very charitable reader. i've found elements in rhato that i thought were note-worthy. here?? there's no substance. at all.
my favourite part must be the ending and jay essentially saying that he wants to heal and start a new life, and steph replying that where he’s going is where the joker was last spotted. ok i see. a classic jason todd move: “starting a new life <3" -> doing exactly the same thing he’s done before but now isolated and even more mentally disturbed. go girl:) this i can stand behind.
btw i haven’t caught up with all of infinite frontier stuff (and I don’t even know if I want to) but why does everyone and their mother know jason’s identity? what is up with that.
also: amazing how you can write a whole series filled with harv & jay's interactions and never once mention that two-face got jason's father killed! but for that you would have acknowledge a storyline in which jason cares about willis and forgives a villain, right? and dc is not doing that.
in conclusion. it was tedious.
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nate affair was a flop storyline to me, didn't enjoy that but the finale had awesome shiv moments, we learn so much about her character. then she got a lot to work with in season two, great exploration of logan and shiv's relationship through her dynamics with several characters. what it takes was a great shiv episode, retired janitors of idaho too. she danced like a peanuts character one time. good tomshiv scenes throughout the show, good scenes with her brothers too but not as many. but baby stuff put me off and mattson stuff is boring too so what's left except sarah snook's impeccable performance. i am just always so sure they could've done more with her. also mad at season three for keeping the shiv and her mom conversation so brief and straightforward - pre season four heavy-handed symbolism with the dialogue there too.
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so, the other day there was another one of those "sam shouldn't be cap, they should make the most of him as the falcon" posts in the tag and some adjacent stuff has been legit straight up haunting me so I guess i'm going to write about it for some ungodly number of words
i) Concern Trolling (Part 1)
The obvious thing straight off the bat is that this is such a disingenuous take. It has all the trademarks of "here's a appropriate-sounding reason for me to take the same position as the reactionary racists without sounding racist myself". It's textbook. They're not opposed to the idea of a Black man leading the avengers and taking on this important title, they're just concerned that they're not doing the character of the Falcon justice. Like, come on. You can smell the bullshit from here.
Now, I don't know this person's mind, and it's likely that they believe what they're saying (weirdly enough, most concern trolls do, to some extent). Moreover, it's possible that they are the rare example of someone who genuinely just happens to have a specific belief that alligns with the reactionaries, but it's just this one thing and they have good reasons for it.
So... let's explore that possibility. What good reasons are there to object to Sam's time as cap?
ii) Is Being Cap Bad for Sam's Writing?
There is this irratating phenomenon from Sam's cap era where he'll be pushed into a role that was clearly written for Steve. This ranges from dialogue choices to physical roles in action scenes. Sam is not super strong - he's a super acrobat and friend to all the woodland creatures. Sam is not a military man - he's a social worker. Sam's politics are more cynical, and more radical than Steve's. Sam's more sarcastic, more of a complainer, but also more flamboyant and more "free-wheeling".
Many of his appearances as cap flatten Sam, make him honestly kind of boring at times. The writing is just whatever bog-standard captain america thing they thought of and Sam's own personality is absent. This is most common in Avengers storylines, where he's not the focus, but even Symbol of Truth - a series ostensively about Sam - ended with the villain monologuing about how Sam "thinks he's america's greatest patriot". And, like, no. No he doesn't. Even for a villain line it doesn't work because it's not just wrong, it's irrelevant. That line could work if directed at Steve (depending on the context), but makes no sense with Sam. He doesn't think he's a great patriot, because he isn't, because he thinks patriotism is dumb. Like, it's kind of his core feature when he's first introduced lol.
What's happening here is that Sam is being handed over to writers who don't know him well, and in some cases don't care about him and maybe even don't like him. This leads to bad writing, ooc appearances and a general sense of a wasted opportunity.
There's a point (made in the original post that got me started on this), that the captain america role is inherently limiting and maybe even inherently boring. I don't agree (see part v), but I would agree that in practice, the role has been limiting on Sam's character and, on multiple occassions, constrained his writing.
iii) The Two Caps Thing
This is something I've complained about before, but the obvious problem with samcap is the shitshow that has resulted from having him and Steve "share" the title.
There is nothing wrong with it in concept, the problem is entirely in how it's played out in practice.
Steve is in a new comic every week, often more than one, often plastered all over the cover. He appears in crossover events, and is often featured heavily in other hero/team's stories. On top of this he has cameos, ranging from small appearances to more meaty roles.
In this same time period, Sam was in Symbol of Truth, and now Avengers. No other series featured him. You'd see him once a month at most. He has cameo appearances in this time, but only a handful. These cameos have been often wordless appearances, or contain a line or two of generic dialogue.
This is ridiculous. It's embarrassing for Marvel. It's an absolute shitshow. They are not "sharing" the title. Functionally, as far as Marvel comics has been concerned for the last two years, Steve has been Captain America and Sam has been barely present.
iv) Concern Trolling (Part 2 - a.k.a. Why the last two points are redundant)
The obvious thing to point out, is that none of this would be any better if Sam was still the falcon, because it's been happening the entire time.
Sam being written badly? Been there since arguably the beginning. Sam being written ooc because the writers don't care about him? Since the 80s at least. Sam being a stock military tough guy? The 00s called and want their ideas back. Sam barely being featured in preference for more wanking over Steve? Yeah, that's literally the late 70s when Jack Kirby took over the series for a stint, and it only got more common from then.
Due to a combination of factors (let's be clear - Racism is the big one), Sam's been written terribly on many occasions since his introduction. And, for the same reasons, he also just doesn't get featured as much, and gets shelved and ignored a whole bunch. It ends up creating a vicious cycle, where Sam isn't around, so no one thinks to include him, and when they do, they don't read anything about him because they don't care, which then leads to them portraying him blandly or even ooc, which does him no favours and makes writers less willing to include him.
Obviously there is still plenty of good Sam writing out there, but my point is that all the problems we see in his cap era are the same problems that have been around for decades. The 00s in particular were bad for literally all marvel Sam's character.
Honestly, I personally think that if Sam had never become cap, he'd barely be in comics nowadays at all.
So, if someone says "i'd rather Sam was the falcon, so that they could explore his unique personality and backstory, and not saddle him with illfitting tropes and bland characterisation - and so they could really give him attention and focus on him" - yeah, that sounds great but it would never happen, and if you have any familiarity with this character's history, you'd know that. It was standard practice to ignore and under-write Sam as the falcon; what on earth makes you think that pushing him back to that (less prominant) role would fix anything?
I think that's why I find it impossible to take this position seriously. If you're a fan of the character, you'd know that the idea of the falcon being done justice by marvel is an unrealistic fantasy. It's hard not to assume that someone is being disingenuous when they suggest it.
v) Is Being Cap Good for Sam's Writing?
If we let this conversation get a little more abstract for a second, and not about Marvel themselves (and the decisions of writers and editors and marketers etc.), there's still a question of whether having Sam be captain america is a good creative decision in and of itself.
I mentioned before how Sam is not a patriot, and he openly derides the whole cap thing throughout the 70s. So, you could say that there's something ooc about him being cap... but I'd disagree. Sam's decision in 616 (and MCU while we're here) was made after Steve asked him to do this, leading to his own mixed thought process on the matter. I think that's good drama. Sometimes having a character be pushed into doing something they wouldn't normally do is good actually, because it puts them out of their comfort zone and gives us a story.
Similarly, his move to become cap again recently was also because of a push, a pressured decision - this time from Misty and the Avengers.
Sam's 2015 series is genuinely great. The art is great, the characterisation is strong, and it bridges the gap between Sam in the 70s and the present day in a really satisfying way - it feels rooted in him as a character in a way so much of his writing isn't. Is it perfect? No, but it is good. And I bring it up here to make a very important point: having Sam be cap opens up an entire range of storytelling possibilities that aren't there with him as falc.
It changes his position relative to other superheroes, it changes his relationship with Steve, it makes him more important in people's eyes - it's Sam in a different, more complicated stage in his life. A stage where he's beholden to more people, has different responsibilities. It's good, actually.
Like, I get that this is heresy in comic book world but yes sometimes changing the status quo is good, actually.
vi) Clinging Onto the Falcon
I do think that Sam's unique history as the Falcon should not be abandoned in favour of the cap stuff. He's a bird prince and a free wheeling flyboy and all of that. That past identity is still his, even if he's using a different title.
One thing that has bothered me in the post samcap era is that sometimes Redwing is treated like he's Joaquin's now. Like, Redwing is a full on person with human-level intelligence and one of Sam's closest friends, and sometimes he gets treated like an accessory to hand over to the new falcon. It's weird and dumb. In general, Joaquin has a different relationship to the whole bird thing to Sam, and his character isn't a one-to-one replacement for him. Just like how Sam is not anything like a replacement for Steve. Fundamentally, they play different roles.
Redwing is still Sam's partner, the bird thing is still Sam's schtick, the Falcon is still kind of Sam's identity - it's just shared. And I think remembering this - bringing all the aspects of sam's identity together - is part of the solution to the less than satisfying writing we've been seeing.
vii) Conclusion....???
There's nothing inherent to Sam being Captain America that makes him difficult to write well, and the premise is actually a great springboard for storylines that do centre him and respect him. Do they all do that currently? No, but the problem there is upstream of what superhero title he has.
What Sam needs is basically just more material - he needs a new solo (which I would assume he'll be getting between now and the film release because bRaNd sYnErGy), he needs other substantial appearances outside of that, he needs multiple writers throwing their towel in the ring and giving a more varied perspective, and maybe needs a couple of memos from editorial with some guidelines on characterisation (and art).
Like, ok I am basically saying that in order to fix unsatisfying writing, the writing needs to be better. But yeah. Whatever, it was like a one sentence post that set me off on this...
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A Brief Swim Into Adaptations, Fan Fiction, & the Tolkien Fandom
To cut to the chase: adaptations are separate entities from a book. Different mediums demand adjustments to storytelling. If an adaptation is technically well-executed, then I theorize that viewer approval largely hinges on how much they expect the adaptation to match their reader experience.
Personally, I don't want to sit through 12 hours of predictable film nor 5 seasons of TV. And other Tolkien fans demand it. To each their own.
It's a common saying that adaptation is fan fiction. It can have large overlaps for sure. To me, it boils down to intent. Adaptation seeks a faithful translation of source material. Fan fiction creates a story from source material with discretion to faithfulness. Adaptation = Galadriel as a warrior. Fan fiction = Galadriel as a Nazgul (I’d watch it).
Adaptation decision-making is a combo of creative vision, practical production needs and politics. Many fans don't consider this when faced with changes. Example: in the PJ's LotR, Glorfindel got axed. Arwen rescued Frodo instead. A decision related to time, importance, and politics. Plus, in 2001, a major film without female roles would be accused of sexism and limit audience appeal. Both would've impacted box office numbers & award nomination. With Glorfindel axed, Aragorn’s backstory changes and so does his character arc somewhat. So on and so forth. None of these changes stemmed from PJ's own preferences.
The Tolkien fandom is notorious for a strain of pedantic and vocal desire for purity. I could go much deeper into Tolkien fanboys. But for now, I’ll focus on one big component: Tolkien left readers with the literary version of the Winchester Mystery House. Per his prerogative, massive (un/intentional) blank space open for interpretation. Particularly in deep lore, which isn’t novelistic, but rather, synopses. People fill in blank spaces differently. Also, what other fandom requires readers to study the author for interpretation of said blank spaces?
Another factor is a fan’s goal for consuming the adaptation. Is it for entertainment or communion? All in all, the Tolkien fandom is a tough crowd to please.
Studio-produced adaptation relies on fandom money and/or time. People deserve to get what they “paid” for based on communicated expectations. If film producers/show runners claim it’s Tolkien then the work would, at minimum, reflect aligned themes, motifs, and symbolism in storylines, dialogue, and visuals. Moreover, devout Catholicism aligned. I do think RoP does a good faith attempt with Tolkien’s own intentionalist views through Galadriel. Otherwise, call it Tolkienesque.
However, while compelling, the show’s “touching the darkness” theme reflects show runner JD Payne’s Mormon’s beliefs more than Tolkien. So if Galadriel doesn’t eventually feel pity for the orcs she expressed genocidal rage toward in the next 4 seasons, it’s arrogant fan fiction. I sat through 8 hours of time and I get to call it out. Beyond that, creativity in blank spaces is fair. Case in point, Disa singing.
Technical execution is a separate area. Even fan fiction demands narrative logic and flow is valid. If nothing else, make it make sense within the context given.
More another time.
Thank you for reading! Your likes and reblogs are appreciated. Got feedback?
What did you like? Got theories or insights to share?
Disagree? I love good faith debate and sparring!
Need clarity around points? Got feedback on readability?
Spot an inaccuracy? Hey, Tolkien's work is complex. Drop it in comments or DM.
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