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anhed-nia · 4 years

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BLOGTOBER 10/7/2020

I missed THE GOLDEN GLOVE at Fantastic Fest last year. It was one of my only regrets of the whole experience, but it was basically mandatory since the available screenings were opposite the much-hyped PARASITE. As annoying as that sounds, it was actually a major compliment, since what could possibly serve as a consolation prize for the most hotly anticipated movie of the year? Needless to say, I heard great things, but I could never have imagined what it was actually like. I'm still wrapping my mind around it.

Between 1970 and 1975, an exceptionally depraved serial killer named Fritz Honka murdered at least four prostitutes in Hamburg's red light district. Today, we tend to think of the archetypal serial killer in terms of ironic contradictions: The public is attracted by Ted Bundy's dashing looks and suave manner, and John Wayne Gayce's dual careers as politician and party clown. Lacking anything so remarkable, we associate psychopathy with Norman Bates' boy-next-door charm, and repeat "It's always the quiet ones" with a smirk whenever a new Jeffrey Dahmer or Dennis Nilsen is exposed to the public. The popular conception of a bloodthirsty maniac is not the fairytale monster of yore, but a wolf in sheep's clothing, whose hygienic appearance and lifestyle belie his twisted desires. In our post-everything world, the ironic surprise has become the rule. In this light, THE GOLDEN GLOVE represents a refreshing return to naked truth.

To say that writer-director Fatih Akin's version of the Fritz Honka story is shocking, repulsive, and utterly degenerated would be a gross understatement. We first meet the killer frantically trying to dispose of a corpse in his filthy flat, wallpapered with porno pinups, strewn with broken toys, and virtually projecting smell lines off of the screen. One's sense of embodiment is oppressive, even claustrophobic, as the petite Honka tries and fails to collapse the full dead weight of a human corpse into a garbage bag, before giving up and dismembering it, with nearly equal difficulty. The scene is appalling, utterly debased, and yet nothing is as shocking as the killer's visage. When he finally turns to look into the camera, it's hard to believe he's even human: the rolling glass eye, the smashed and inflated nose, the tombstone teeth and cratered skin, are almost too extreme to bear. Actually, suffering from a touch of facial blindness, I had to stare intently at Honka's face for nearly half the movie before I could fully convince myself that I was, in fact, looking at an elaborate prosthetic operation used to transform 23 year old boy band candidate Jonas Dassler into the disfigured 35 year old serial murderer.

Though West Germany remained on a steady economic upturn beginning in the 1950s and throughout the 1970s, you wouldn't know it from THE GOLDEN GLOVE. If Honka's outsides match his insides, they are further matched by his stomping grounds in the Reeperbahn, a dirty, violent, booze-soaked repository for the dregs of humanity. Though its denizens may come from different walks of life, one thing is certain: Whoever winds up there, belongs there. Honka was the child of a communist and grew up in a concentration camp, yet he swills vodka side by side with an ex-SS officer, among other societal rejects, in a crumbling dive called The Golden Glove. The scene is an excellent source of hopeless prostitutes at the end of their career, who are Honka's prime victims, as he is too frightful-looking to ensnare an attractive young girl. These pitiful women all display a peculiarly hypnotic willingness to go along with Honka, no matter how sadistic he becomes; this seems to have less to do with money, which rarely comes up, and more to do with their shared awareness that for them, and for Honka too, it's been all over, for a long time.

Not to reduce someone’s performance to their physical appearance, but ???

To call Dassler's portrayal of Honka "sympathetic" would be a bridge too far, but it is undeniably compelling. He supports the startling impact of his facial prostheses with a performance of rare intensity, a full-body transformation into a person in so much pain that a normal life will never become an option. His physical vocabulary reminded me of the stage version of The Elephant Man, in which the lead actor wears no makeup, but conveys John Merrick's deformities using his body alone. Although there is an abundance of makeup in THE GOLDEN GLOVE, Dassler's silhouette and agonized movements would be recognizable from a mile away. In spite of his near-constant screaming rage, the actor manages to craft a rich and convincing persona. During a chapter in which Honka experiments with sobriety, we find a stunning image of him hunched in the corner of his ordinarily chaotic flat, now deathly still, his eyes gazing at nothing as cigarette smoke seeps from his pores, having no idea what to do with himself when he isn't in a rolling alcoholic rampage. The moment is brief but haunting in its contrast to the rest of the film, having everything to do with Dassler's quietly vibrating anxiety.

Performances are roundly excellent here, not that least of which are from Honka's victims. The cast of middle-aged actresses looking their most disastrous is hugely responsible for the film's impact. These are the kinds of performances people call "brave", which is a euphemism for making audiences uncomfortable with an uncompromising presentation of one's own self, unvarnished by any masturbatory solicitation. Among these women is Margarete Tiesel, herself no stranger to difficult cinema: She was the star of 2012's PARADISE: LOVE, a harrowing drama about a woman who copes with her midlife crisis by pursuing sex tourism in Kenya. Her brilliant, instinctive performance as one of Honka's only survivors--though she nearly meets a fate worse than death--makes her the leading lady of a movie that was never meant to have one.

So, what does all this unpleasantness add up to, you might be asking? It's hard to say. THE GOLDEN GLOVE is a film of enormous power, but it can be difficult to explain what the point of it is, in a world where most people feel that the purpose of art is to produce some form of pleasure. This is the challenge faced by difficult movies throughout history, like THE GOLDEN GLOVE's obvious ancestors, HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER, MANIAC and THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE. Describing unremitting cruelty with relentless realism is not considered a worthy endeavor by many, even if there is real artistry in your execution; some people will even mistake you for advocating and enjoying violence and despair, as we live in a world where huge amount of movie and TV production is devoted to aspirational subjects. (The fact that people won't turn away from the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, no matter how monotonous and condescending they become, should tell you something) How do you justify to such people, that you want to make or see work that portrays ugliness and evil with as much commitment as other movies seek to portray love, beauty, and family values? Why isn't it enough to say that these things exist, and their existence alone makes them worth contemplation?

A rare, perhaps exclusive “beautiful image” in THE GOLDEN GLOVE, from Fritz Honka’s absurd fantasies.

You may detect that I have attempted to have this frustrating conversation with many people, strangers, enemies, and friends I love and respect. I find that for some, it is simply too hard to divorce themselves from the pleasure principle. I don't say this to demean them; some hold the philosophy that art be reserved for beauty, and others have a more literary feeling that it's ok to show characters in grim circumstances, as long as the ultimate goal is to uplift the human spirit. Even I draw the line somewhere; I appreciate the punk rebellion of Troma movies as a cultural force, but I do not enjoy watching them, because I dislike what I perceive as contempt for the audience and the aestheticization of laziness--making something shitty more or less on purpose. A step or three up from that, you land in Todd Solondz territory, where you find materially gorgeous movies whose explicit statement is that our collective reverence for a quality called "humanity" is based on nothing. I like some of those movies, and sometimes I even like them when I don't like them, because I'm entranced by Solondz's technical proficiency...and maybe, deep down, I'm not completely convinced about "humanity", either. However, I don't fight very hard in arguments about him; I understand the objections. Still, I've been surprised by peers who I think of as bright and tasteful, who absolutely hated movies I thought were unassailable, like OLDBOY and WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN. In both cases, the ultimate objection was that they accuse humans of being pretentious and self-deceptive, aspiring to heroism or bemoaning their victimhood while wallowing in their own cowardice and perversity. Ok, I get it...but, not really. Why isn't it ever wholly acceptable to discuss, honestly, what we do not like about ourselves?

The beguiling thing about THE GOLDEN GLOVE is that, although it is instantly horrifying, is it also an impeccable production. The director can't help showing you crime scene photos during the ending credits, and I can't really blame him, when his crew worked so hard to bring us a vision of Fritz Honka's world that approaches virtual reality. But it isn't just slavishly realistic; it is vivid, immersive, an experience of total sensory overload. Not a square inch of this movie has been left to chance, and the product of all this graceful control is totally spellbinding. I started to think to myself that, when you've achieved this level of artifice, what really differentiates a movie like THE GOLDEN GLOVE from something like THE RED SHOES? I mean, aside from their obvious narrative differences. Both films plunge the viewer into a world that is complete beyond imagination, crafted with a rigor and sincerity that is rarely paralleled. And, I will dare to say, both films penetrate to the depths of the human soul. What Fatih Akin finds there is not the same as what Powell and Pressburger found, of course, but I don't think that makes it any less real. Akin's film is adapted from a novel by Heinz Strunk, and apparently, some critics have accused Akin of leaving behind the depth and nuance of the book, to focus instead on all that is gruesome about it. This may be true, on some level; I wouldn't know. For now, I can only insist that on watching THE GOLDEN GLOVE, for all its grotesquerie, I still got the message.

#blogtober #2020 #the golden glove #fatih akın #heinz stronk #jonas dassler #margarete tiesel #difficult cinema #horror #slasher #serial killer #period piece #adaptation #historical #biopic #fritz honka #i may have been watching a lot of powell and pressburger movies recently #sorry...

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joealwyndaily · 5 years

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Joe Alwyn — Red Magazine (Jan 2020) interview

You’d think that a back-to-back Hollywood movie career and a megastar girlfriend might have changed Joe Alwyn, but he’s quick to assure Nathalie Whittle that his feet remain firmly on the ground.

“So you didn’t see the part where the aliens attack?” asks Joe Alwyn, a playful smirk on his face. He’s referring to his latest film, Harriet, which I had a sneak preview of the previous day, although the fire evacuation (false alarm) meant I missed the ending. The biographical drama tells the story of Harriet Tubman (played by Cynthia Erivo), the historic abolitionist who escaped slavery and led hundreds of others to freedom. Alwyn plays her insufferably cruel and capricious slave master Gideon Brodess. He is, of course, joking about the aliens. At least, I hope he is. Today, we’re tucked away in the corner of a dimly lit bar at London’s Covent Garden Hotel. It’s the sort of drizzly afternoon that might dampen the moods of most, but not Alwyn. He appears cheery and at ease, sporting country casuals: a grey mohair jumper, blue jeans, and brown boots along with an unkempt beard; perhaps an attempt to disguise the boyish good looks he’s become known for. He stops to interrupt me only once with a look of alarm: he’s forgotten to offer me something to eat or drink. I can have anything I want, he assures me.

At 28, Alwyn has had the sort of career trajectory that most aspiring actors wistfully dream about for years, even decades. His education included a degree in English literature and drama at the University of Bristol, followed by a BA in acting at London’s Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. But within two weeks of his graduate showcase, Alwyn received a life-changing phone call. He refers to it as the thing “I owe everything to.”

“I’d just signed with an agent and I was kind of pinching myself, you know, how surreal is that?” he says. “She sent me a portion of the script for a film, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, that Ang Lee was directing. I’d grown up watching his films — Brokeback Mountain and Life of Pi — so I couldn’t believe I was even going to do a tape for someone like that. I got my dad to film me in a scene in my bedroom and some mates to film me during a lunch break. The next thing I know, Ang wants to meet me in New York.” Cue a series of auditions and screen tests that led to Alwyn bagging the title role in his first big-budget Hollywood film. He was just 24. “It was so much so fast that I didn’t really compute what was going on,” he concedes. “Before that I was just a poor student who barely understood how people got auditions, let alone landed jobs.” Did he have any jobs before that? I ask. “I did have this one job in London,” he says wryly. “Do you know that frozen yogurt place, Snog?” I’m struggling to picture Alwyn serving up frozen delights. He’s laughing now. Was it a good gig? “Exceptional!” More laughter follows. “I mean, I was paid some money! Then I worked in a menswear shop. I did what I could to make some extra cash.”

A far cry from a frozen-yogurt counter, doors started opening to bigger and better opportunities as soon as Billy Lynn hit cinemas. The next script Alwyn read was Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Favourite (released in 2019), in which he secured a small but riotous role as young baron Samuel Masham alongside acting greats Olivia Colman and Emma Stone. “Putting on giant wigs and running around in make-up and chasing Emma Stone through the forest — what more could you want?” he laughs. The film earned widespread critical acclaim, receiving seven BAFTAs and a record 10 British Independent Film awards.

Having further honed his craft in subsequent films Mary Queen of Scots and gay-conversion therapy drama Boy Erased, Alwyn is about to enter into unknown territory. This Christmas, he’ll play Bob Cratchit in his first-ever TV drama, BBC One’s A Christmas Carol; a “darker, twisted, less glossy” version of the Charles Dickens classic. He’s “feeling good about it,” but I’m curious as to how he’s approached this change of scenery. Was he not nervous? “Oh, very. I tried to watch other people. It’s the second time I’ve worked with Guy Pearce [who plays Scrooge] and I asked him a lot of stuff, which probably annoyed him. I watched the way he works and the questions he asked on set when he was approaching a scene.”

Two people who will definitely be watching Alwyn’s TV debut are his mother, a psychotherapist, and his father, a documentary-maker. “They’d better be watching!” he laughs. Born in London’s Tufnell Park, Alwyn recalls being given stacks of videos every birthday and “watching them to death, until the tapes burned up.” One of his favourites was The Mask of Zorro. In fact, he was so obsessed with it that he and his best friend took up fencing lessons at a local community centre in Crouch End, where, by chance, he was spotted by a local casting agent for the hit British romcom Love Actually. She asked him to audition for the role of Sam; he breaks into a wide smile when I ask what he remembers of it. “I didn’t know much about what the film was; I was most excited about the fact I got the day off school! But I remember being in a room with Richard Curtis and Hugh Grant reading scenes, many of which didn’t make it into the film. And I left the audition thinking, ‘I really recognize that guy from somewhere’.”

Alwyn didn’t get the part. Instead, he forgot about acting for a while, with the exception of summer holidays, where his parents would send him and his older brother off to “some drama camp as a way of preoccupying us.” He explains that when he later realized he wanted to act on a serious level, he kept it a secret. Was it because he was worried how his parents would react to a somewhat precarious career choice? “Well, it meant putting myself out there in a performative way, and that wasn’t necessarily something I did or was used to doing. It felt like it should be quite a ‘look at me’ job, and that wasn’t really how I felt growing up. I wasn’t a painfully introverted kid, but I wasn’t a particularly extroverted one, either. So maybe I was self-conscious about the idea of saying to people, ‘Look, I can do this’.”

He credits drama school with giving him “permission” to go for it. “Plus my parents were great about it. They’re both freelance themselves, so while they recognize the perils, they also couldn’t say to me, ‘We can follow what we want, but you can’t’. There wasn’t a boundary, which helped a lot.”

I wonder if it’s been difficult acclimatizing to the level of fame that’s come as result of his roles. “There have definitely been changes that have taken some getting used to, whether it’s sitting down and doing an interview or someone recognizing you,” he says. “There are things that have changed in my life, but I still very much feel like the same person. It probably helps that I’ve been hanging out with the same friends literally every day since I was 12 years old. Maybe it’s when those things change that people change, I don’t know.”

It’s fair to say that the level of interest in Alwyn has, in part, been heightened by the fact that, in his spare time he plays the role of Mr. Taylor Swift. The pair reportedly met in late 2016 and became in item shortly afterwards. I’ve been warned ahead of our meeting that Alwyn “doesn’t talk about that”, and he’s keen to justify his stance in person. “I feel like my private life is private and everyone is entitled to that.” he says. “I’ve read stories recently about people like Ben Stokes and Gareth Thomas, which are a gross invasion of their privacy and of their lives. It’s disgusting. That’s not journalism, that’s just invasive.”

It must be tough, I suggest, being in a relationship that is surrounded by so much scrutiny. “I just don’t read the headlines,” he says. “I really don’t, because I can guarantee 99% of them are made up. So I ignore it.” Recent rumours suggest the pair are engaged, and are owed in part to one of Swift’s latest songs, Lover (’My hearts been borrowed and yours has been blue. All’s well that ends well to end up with you’), as well as a piece of string tied around Swift’s finger in a Vogue cover shoot. According to die-hard fans, this means something. But to Alwyn, it’s clear it means nothing at all. Is he never tempted to respond to the mistruths, to shut them down? “No, because it’s just pointless,” he sighs. “It won’t change anything. I just don’t pay any attention. I have my life and it’s kind of separate to all that stuff.”

I’m curious as to how much time he gets to simply enjoy the success he’s experiencing. “There’s lots of time not working, I wish there was less in a way!” he laughs. “I go to the pub, play football, go to gigs, watch TV (he’s just finished season three of True Detective), pretty normal things. There’s no ‘secret life’. But ultimately, I worry about finding the next job; that’s the truth. In the midst of everything, there’s always that feeling of ‘I’m never going to work again’. It’s a cliche, but you can’t just sit there waiting for the phone to ring. You have to try and take control. You’re at the mercy of the things you seek out — the directors and the connections — so I try to be on top of that as I can and read what I’m sent and be discerning. I try to pick wisely and follow up on people and leads that I’m interested in.”

Is there an end point he wants to get to, where he’ll feel like he’s made it? “Things have certainly shifted in my twenties,” he says. “Success to me now is doing things that make me happy and that make me feel fulfilled, doing what I want to do and being on the right track. Not in terms of being on a results-based track, but just doing something I love.” He pauses and smiles. “That sounds a bit sentimental, doesn’t it?”

#joe alwyn #interview #red magazine #there's one paragraph i could do without but otherwise this is great

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prorevenge · 6 years

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Owner screws me over, screws up(s) his business.

To start, I won’t be saying the name of the shipping company franchise I worked for, suffice to say the title is very telling. This is a rather long story, so buckle in. You can skip the backstory and look for the revenge near the bottom. TL:DR at the end.

The Backstory

About five or six years ago I was relatively new to the workforce, having worked one minimum wage job at Mickey D’s. I had been there almost two years, but had little experience elsewhere. Well this one lady always came through early every morning to order a large Diet Coke, and would take a few minutes to talk to me. I mentioned to her that I was displeased with my bosses and the working conditions, and she invited me to come apply for a job at Not FedEx because they were always running low on employees! That should have been my first red flag.

The second red flag went completely over my head, because at this point I was 17 with no previous job experience. When I walked in for an interview, the boss (who I will call Jeph, because it sounds close enough to his name to allow him to remain anonymous) told me it would take five minutes. I wasn’t asked about my relevant experience, my goals within the company, or even told what position I was applying for. I assumed all interviews were different and went along with it, and started the next week with training. Everything went well for the first month. I basically just packed boxes, took down customer information, and sorted mail into the mailboxes we managed. The real trouble started after I was given my one month performance review.

I was deemed to be a valuable asset to Jeph’s franchise, and rightfully so. At 17 I was able to lift more and work better than the 20 and 30 something employees, and due to the work ethic my parents drilled into me I was never slacking off while at work. I was then informed that I would be swapping between Jeph’s two franchises, roughly 30 miles apart. (For context, the franchise I APPLIED TO WORK AT was roughly a mile from my house, so I could walk if I couldn’t get a ride.) Every other day I had to drive out to the location and somehow justify this with my slightly above minimum wage job. ($7.50 for those not in Texas.)

Overall my boss was a massive douche. His physical appearance could best be described as “troll like” with a shirt almost bursting, the top always undone to showcase his aging chest hair, and a face not unlike that of A&F owner Mike Jeffries. He openly cheated on his wife, bragging to coworkers about it constantly. He charged people one dollar for any amount of extra tape they needed on their package, despite the fact that we got roughly two rolls for that price in bulk. He had a special price calculator installed on the computers that charged people roughly 10% more than the package would be elsewhere. He would push employees (who he insisted didn’t work in customer service but sales) to never offer anything less than three day shipping even though we offered standard 7+ days and even cheaper options. I watched him actively lie to customers, claiming it was the price they had to pay blah blah blah, and almost yell at them to go to another store if they didn’t like it. But I digress.

Now here was the first dickish thing that my boss did to me specifically. Until this point, I was only working around 20 hours. After I graduated to working at both stores, Jeph had me sign a brand new W-2 for his second store, which was under a different company. (He owned both, naming one Blue (name for a .44 caliber bullet) and Blue (proper name for visible light)). Again, I had very little idea that this wrong because I had never had to deal with this before. He proceed to add another 20 or so hours to my schedule, bringing me up to 40 hours or more. But since I worked for two separate companies I never earned a dime of overtime or benefits of any kind.

At this point, I started accruing more and more duties, as my boss and coworkers started to trust me more and more. Buy my fourth month of employment (out of a total of eight) I was performing managerial duties such as: opening the store, counting the registers, closing the store, ordering product such as boxes and tape, and preparing shipments for transport. The work alone justified a raise, not to mention the hours I was being asked to work. However when I floated this idea by my boss, he very rudely insisted that since he had a manager for each store already, I was just doing my job and couldn’t earn a cent more.

Then came the second dickish move. We had a large company contract some drop off stuff with us, a telecom company we will say rhymes with Hey Tea and Tea. Customers would bring in their old cable boxes, wires, remotes and the like, and we would scan them and ship them back to Hey Tea and Tea, the company THAT LEGALLY OWNED ALL OF THIS HARDWARE. The customers would not pay us a nickel, but the telecom company would pay almost double what it actually cost to ship the package. There is no way Jeph could look that gift horse in the mouth and decide he was still owed the stable and all the horse’s tack as well, right? Surprise, surprise, Jeph had to take it one step further. ANY and ALL parts/cables/WiFi adapters/USB drives the customer returned to us that didn’t have a scan tag on them, Jeph would pull aside and either strip for copper or sell on eBay. And he would force us, the employees to package his eBay sales or copper wiring into boxes and ship them for him. He even popped batteries out of remotes and recycled them somewhere to get a tax credit. None of his employees ever saw a penny of this money (not that I would have accepted it). We estimated he raked in roughly three to four thousand a month just from stealing alone. For those of you bad at math, that is the price of TWO brand new 2018 Honda Civics.

The Revenge

The third (and fourth) final dick moves are what solidified my hatred for this boss, and my desire to strike back. They both came in the same week, roughly the same time, and both viscerally repulsive. My favorite coworker had recently gotten pregnant, and although the father got the hell out of dodge when he found out, she was doing very well for herself. She and I frequently closed together, and she promised she would bring the baby to sit in the back for the dull hours we had to kill from 6-10. We also had an annual store review from corporate that week, so our boss called a late night meeting after we closed one day. Our boss started out by saying that he was proud of our pregnant coworker for working so hard even with her “disability.” (Yes, even his sense of humor was slimy.) Then, in front of all fifteen employees, HE FIRED HER. He told her that because the Christmas season was coming up, and she would only slow down the store being pregnant and all, he had to let her go.

After she left, hatred seething in her eyes, he turned back to the fourteen of us who were left stunned, and continued on like nothing had happened. He proceeded to tell each of us our jobs for this weekend, leaving mine for last. My job, because I used to drive a decently sized mini van, was to ferry the corporate required supplies, cash for the safe, and OUR ONE WORKING FIRE EXTINGUISHER between the two stores while he kept corporate distracted between visits.

At this point I had taken enough shit from this guy, and I formulated my plan. I started by calling the Hey Tea and Tea fraud department, and telling them everything I knew. I took pictures and emailed them directly to the rep I was talking to, who seemed a little too excited about fraud being committed. I then scheduled a visit from a Hey Tea and Tea rep at the same time corporate was supposed to show up. My next step was to call Not FedEx and explain exactly what I just told y’all, with a few extra things thrown in that I couldn’t share for privacy reasons. They promised to send a rep as well, to the same store, at the same time.

The final step was put into action that Saturday. I dutifully loaded up my van with the supplies, cash (upwards of $4000 if I remember correctly), and fire extinguisher, and headed out. Except I did the exact OPPOSITE of what Jeph wanted. I took the crap to the first store he owned, which was the second one to receive a visit. After he texted the team saying they were moving on, I packed up all the shit and drove it to the other store they just left. Now I am unsure exactly what happened at the other store, but from some coworkers I pieced together that the Not FedEx rep showed up right after I left, but didn’t stay long, and the Hey Tea and Tea rep showed up just before Jeph had arrived and had time to hide his ill gotten gains in his office. The one coworker who was close enough to the office during the corporate meeting said there was lots of angry words being thrown and threats being made towards Jeph and his position as a franchisee. He also lost his franchises the ability to ship for Hey Tea and Tea, at least for a period of time.

Regardless, the very next day I was off because I was (and as cliché as this sounds I swear to God it’s true) helping my grandfather who just got out of the hospital. I receive a call from Jeph, saying I needed to come in right away, and work a double shift as well as close the store. I told him I couldn’t do that, and I was taking a personal day. He fired me right then and there, citing my usage of the work computer to run a photoshop business during work hours. (I’m assuming he was referring to the graphic design work I did FOR HIM, FOR FREE, which he asked me to learn how to do.)

The sad epilogue to this whole story is that he is currently still in business, and still running the same scams he was before. He WAS however fined for not having proper supplies in his stores, as well as forced to use corporate’s package rates rather than his own. So in some small way my revenge worked. He currently has a two star review on Yelp for both of his his businesses, and I hope to have a party outside his store one day when it goes belly up.

TL:DR: Boss is a total douche bag to me and customers, steals from a contract company, fires a pregnant woman for “slowing down the store” then gets his ass reamed by corporate and loses the major contract.

(source) (story by Chewbacca_Q_Wookie)

#prorevenge #by Chewbacca_Q_Wookie #pro revenge #revenge stories #pro revenge stories #pro #revenge #revenge story #last10

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inhumansforever · 7 years

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Secret Warriors #11 Review

spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers

The Warriors battle with the dreadful Mr. Sinister comes to its climax in this penultimate issue; from the creative team of Mathew Rosenberg, Javier Garrón, Will Robinson and Israel Silva. Recap and review after the jump.

Karnak and Mr. Sinister have been desperately trying to out maneuver and out manipulate one another, moving about the Inhuman peoples like so many chess pieces. The endgame is afoot and Dante has chosen to offer Sinister the crucial ingredient in exchange for the safety of his niece, Ariella.

The installment begins with the Warriors flanked by Iso and the New Attilan Guard, demanding to know why Inferno had destroyed the throne and absconded with one of their aircraft. The Warriors are able to put the pieces together quickly, realizing what it is that Dante has done. Unwilling to waste time explaining the matter to Iso’s forces, Quake orders a quick retreat… a command that Magik accidentally interprets as a call to attack. After a brief and violent moment of confusion, Quake clarifies the matter and Magik teleports the Warriors away.

Elsewhere, Inferno has sought out Mr. Sinister, offering himself and a Terrigen Crystal in exchange for his niece’s freedom. Utilizing her pirated access to the national security and surveillance apparatus, Moon Girl is able to pinpoint the location and The Warriors arrive to confront Sinister. Which leads to this wonderful exchange between Lunella and Sinister…

A brief fight ensues, but ends quickly as Sinister and Inferno disappear, leaving baby Ariella safely behind. Quake and the others bring Ariella back to Moon Girl’s lab where she is looked after by Leer and Devil Dinosaur. They then get ice cream which Lunella insists is needed in order to fuel her devising a new course of action to foil Sinister’s schemes and save Dante.

Karnak arrives, claiming that he had located the Warriors by way of the vast network of resources under his disposal now that he has seized control of the Ennilux Corporation… though, in truth he just scoured the local ice cream parlors knowing it to be Lunella’s favorite ‘brain-food.’

At first, Karnak is unconcerned with Mr. Sinister’s having Dante. He knows that Sinister’s research will remain stymied as long as he doesn’t have a sample of true Terrigen to work with…

Of course this all changes once it’s revealed Sinister has indeed obtained a crystal…

Karnak knows exactly where to find Sinister and the scene switches to the Tower of Wisdom somewhere off in an undisclosed desert. Sinister walks out wearing bloodied scrubs as though he’d just performed some terrible surgery. He’s confronted by Karnak and the Warriors and the reader is offered up a rather exposition-heavy info-dump on what it is that Karnak and Sinister have been hoping to achieve.

Both have been working toward the recreation of the Terrigen Mists, though for their own purposes. Karnak is looking to offer up a future for his peoples, a means through which the Inhuman race can continue on and subsequent generations of Inhumans can go through the transformative process of Terrigenesis. Sinister merely wants this technology in order to mutate subjects and make super-powered minions to do his bidding.

Indeed it’s then revealed that the monsters that he and The Dark Beast have used as enforcers are actually latent Inhumans whom Sinister has transformed into ‘Unhumans’ by way of an imperfect variation of Terrigenesis.

Sinister realizes that Karnak has gotten him monologuing… that surely he must be stalling for some reason. And this reason is made evident when Magik teleports in the calvary in the form of Iso’s security force. We’re treated to a neat splash image of the various Inhumans Magik has brought to the battle, including a number of familiar faces we haven’t seen in quite a while (such as Reader, Naja, Flagman, Kacy, Mosaic, Grid, Panacea and Auran).

Sinister flees as his Unhumans engage the Inhumans in battle. Karnak and Moon Girl chase after Sinister, following him into the Tower. Sinister knows he is outmatched in terms of a physical fight so he resorts to grabbing Moon Girl and forcing Karnak to stand down by threatening to kill her.

Karnak and Sinister continue to banter at one another, prattling on over methodology and credit. Sinister brandishes a glass beaker of the proto-terrigen mist he has created. The two are distracted in their argument and Moon Girl seized on the opportunity to kick up her foot, breaking the beaker Sinister had been holding.

Although the substance is not a true synthesis of the Terrigen Mists, the compound is nonetheless quite poisonous to Mutants. Sinister breaths in the fumes and appears to perish from its poisonous effects. Moon Girl is horrified at the prospect that she had accidentally killed him; though Karnak assures her that she did what she had to.

Sinister’s Unhumans have been routed by The Inhumans. Karnak and Moon Girl emerge from the Tower, bringing a recovering Inferno with them. Iso and others demand answers and Karnak states that everything he had put in motion was for the benefit of The Inhuman peoples. He claims that the follies and hardships the Inhumans have endured have been the result of inadequate leadership. The Royals have fled and Iso has failed to keep New Attilan safe.

And Karnak knows how to make things right. He is confident that Sinister’s work can be completed and a new source of Terrigen can be obtained. Furthermore, he has seized control of The Enillux Corporation and it’s bountiful assets can be utilized to reinvigorate Attilan. All it needs is proper leadership; and the leader Karnak feels The Inhumans need is Moon Girl.

Lunella is stunned by this turn of events. She has no wish to lead the Inhumans, she doesn’t even like the Inhumans… she doesn’t really like people in general. Karnak attempts to convince her that it is a responsibility she must shoulder. Faith and tradition have led to the Inhumans’ downfall and it requires intellect to make things right. He hands Lunella to deed to Enillux, a symbolic stand-in for a royal scepter…

Lunella is unswayed. Karnak’s logic might be sound, but it is a cold logic, one in which the ends justify the means, where the needs of the many outweigh the sacrifices of the few. Logic aside, it is an ideology that Lunella refuses to embrace, that she does not want to be a part of. She makes her choice quickly and hands over the deed for Enillux to its previous owner, Ahura.

Reader returns from checking out the tower, reporting that Mr. Sinister has vanished. Moon Girl is relived in that it means she is not a murderer.

A distraught Karnak is seeing all of his plans crumbling before him. He again tries to convince the others to see his logic. Ms. Marvel counters that it would simply facilitate exchanging one monarchy for another… that a ruling system strictly adhering to pure intellect would be no better, no less constrictive than a ruling system strictly adhering to culture and tradition. A mere exchange of one folly for another.

Inferno takes particularly umbrage with Karnak’s notion of sacrificing the few for the benefit of the many, especially considering that he had been offered up as just such a sacrifice. Karnak cuts back at Inferno, saying that at least he would finally be of use - that it could at last make him the hero he wishes to be.

Still the leader of The Inhumans, Iso remains unsure as to what to do. The research that Karnak and Sinister had attained is pivotal to the future of The Inhuman people. Yet were they to accept it, follow this path it would be a future written in blood. Iso and Ahura seem to arrive at the same conclusion and turn to Moon Girl to confer. She is on the same page and knows what needs to be done. She asks Quake to use her powers to destroy the Tower of Wisdom, burying Karnak and Sinister’s work under its rubble.

Quake agrees and she brings down the tower and Karnak can only watch in despair.

The mission accomplished, the Warriors disband. Iso offers them a place in New Attilan, but they decline. Ms. Marvel and Moon Girl both prefers to live at home and Quake still has own things to attend to. With Sinister’s scheme’s foiled, Magik sees her work as done and will return to the X-Men. Dante, however, does wish to return to New Attilan but Iso states that he is unwelcome. He had attacked guards, destroyed the throne and absconded with the last of the Terrigen. He is a criminal in the eyes of New Attilan and both he and Karnak are now banished.

And it is with this harsh proclamation that the issue comes to an end with a note that the story and the series as a whole will be concluded in the next installment.

It’s hard to know where to begin… Despite the jokes and funny bits regarding ice-cream headaches, the central thematic of this arc was actually rather heady. It is basically an analysis of consequentialism and the impossible decisions one is forced to make when trying to control a people’s destiny. Karnak and Sinister are two sides of the same coin. They both want to shape the futures of their respective peoples… and neither are willing to be stopped by the terrible sacrifices needed to achieve their goals.

We now know what it was that Karnak saw in Lunella that so enthralled him. He saw her as the pinnacle of intellect and a mind unencumbered by the obstacles of sentimentality... the kind of leader he feels the Inhumans need, one that will not be snared by the flaws of emotion and guilt.

Clearly Karnak disagreed with Medusa’s decision to save the Mutants by destroying the Terrigen Cloud. Medusa destroyed the cloud because it would kill all of The Mutants and she did not want a future for The Inhumans that was predicated on the genocide of entire race. In Karnak’s mind this was foolish. In the grand scheme the progress of any life will always come at the expense of another. Evolution is genocide, it merely happens so gradually that it is beyond conscious notice.

Karnak believes in consequentialism, he believes that the ends do indeed justify the means… that one must simply sidestep and ignore the feelings of guilt that enacting those means will bring about. Yet Karnak is mistaken in believing that Lunella would share in this ideology. She is super intelligent and super logical, but that does not mean that she is also super cold and unemotional. To Karnak, emotion is the opposite of logic and Lunella, as the most logical, should also be the most resistant to emotion… the most able to make the correct choices in leading even if those choices are callous and harsh.

Yet Karnak is mistaken. Intellect and emotion are not opposites but rather qualities that can exist alongside one another.

Not all matters can be quantified, there are some things that are simply beyond understanding… and emotion acts to fill in those gaps. The ends cannot justify the means because there are aspects of the ‘ends’ that cannot be fully understood.

Perhaps the Inhumans would have flourished with The Mutants demise… yet letting The Mutants die would have fundamentally changed who the Inhumans are. The true essence of who they are as a people would have died as well, leaving behind some new creation that wouldn’t truly be Inhuman.

Karnak cannot see this. Faith and emotion exist in the blur of our perception, it lies in those areas beyond what we can see. Karnak’s perception has become so precise and clear that this blur is omitted, the synergy is deconstructed and gray is separated into discrete components of black and white.

And who knows… perhaps he’s right. Maybe the constructs of emotion and soul are just myths and illusions that people foolishly accept. In the end it doesn’t matter in that Lunella, and The Warriors, as well as Iso and the rest of The Inhumans do not want this future of prosperity if it requires a fundamental change in their morals... in the immeasurable quality of their collective sense of soul.

Karnak’s flaw wasn’t that he was wrong, but rather than he was mistaken in believing others could be coerced to see things the way he does. His logic is sound, but fails to make allowances for the fact that who a person is, who a people are, is just as anchored in illusions as it is in fact… and teasing the two apart is impossible and ultimately futile.

I love this pedantic sort of nuttiness, but imagine it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and Secret Warriors #11 may strike some as overly wordy and a too-fast conclusion that rested too heavily on exposition. Which is fair, because it does… It could have used a little more action, a bit more focus on the big battle between The Inhuman and Unhuman forces. And the wrap up was rather quick and overly tidy. Ahura just showing up out of left field and stating that everything has been cleared up in terms of The Inhumans being viewed as terrorists was a touch lazy. But what can you do? Ends justifying means and all that… this way the 12th and final issue can attend solely to the Warriors themselves without having to tie-up loose plot threads.

Another great showing from the art team of Garrón, Robbison and Silva. A quick but not unsatisfying resolution to the tale and definitely a recommended read. Three out of five Lockjaws.

#Secret Warriors #spoilers #Mathew Rosenberg #Javier Garrón #Wil Robinson #Israel Silva #review #inhumans

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lil-blue-one · 7 years

Text

The Definition of Insanity - Chapter 10

Gray had given up being sociable within ten minutes of getting on the boat. Between Natsu throwing up his guts and the other Dragon Slayers laughing at him; and the girls all squealing and gossiping he had decided he needed to get away. It was still in the back of his mind that he would absolutely need to fight these people soon, and he had to clear his head.

He tried to go down into the belly of the ship but instantly ran into a wall of runes. He couldn't even see Freed around, but knew it must have been him that put up the barrier. Fuck knows what the nerd was doing down there that needed such secrecy. Makarov was locked in the office on top of the deck with most of the S-Class wizards, excluding Laxus who refused to join them for whatever reason, which left him with one choice.

Anyone else would have been bothered by the frigid temperature of the platform that he sat on, but being an ice wizard came in handy from time to time. It was on the back of the boat, far enough down that anyone looking over the side would have to lean over and stare straight down in order to see him. He took off his shoes and dangled his feet in the water, allowing the current to flow past him and cool his body down even further. Juvia was off somewhere doing… who knows what. Probably still talking to the girls up top. He would never admit it, but he kind of missed her. He would love to be spending this time on tactics, but it appeared that the water wizard had other ideas.

"Gray-sama?"

Gray was shocked out of his thoughts by a quiet voice, and lay back on the ice to look up at the person who had shouted his name. The first thing that he saw was soft blue hair falling in waves over the wood and a smile on her face.

"'Sup, Juvia."

Juvia waved down at him, and before she even spoke he knew he would be heading back up to her and talking to everyone else on the boat, just like she would want him. Well, at least he could possibly find something out that could help him. He allowed his platform on the back of the boat to grow, raising him up until he could stand on two feet and step back onto the boat. Juvia grabbed him up into a hug almost instantly, and he buried his nose into her hair.

"Do you at least realise you have me wrapped around your little finger?"

Juvia giggled into his chest, before pulling him away and back to the main body of the ship. It had started to heat up again the closer they got to the island, and he found himself stripping off more and more of his clothes as he went along, starting to think that this was definitely a disadvantage for the both of them. An ice wizard and a water mage fighting in blaring hot sunlight? How could that be called fair, in any sense of the word?

"Could you stay still for two fucking seconds?"

Gajeel groaned as Bickslow spun on the edge of the ship, folding his body in half so his hands clasped onto the railing before kicking his legs up backwards and over his head. He stayed upside down for a while, before he twisted on his hands and stared at Gajeel, his cape dropping down over the edge of the boat as his tongue lolled out of his mouth. The Dragon Slayer wasn't suffering from motion sickness right now, but watching the Sieth's constant motions in this heat was still insufferable. The man had retrieved a large bag full of creepy wooden dolls from the hold of the ship almost as soon as they had set off, handing it to Lisanna who had sighed but ultimately took it without any further protest so Bickslow could perform his show.

"What's the matter there, Rust Bucket? Worried in case I fall in?"

Bickslow shifted his body at an almost impossible angle so he was lying almost parallel to the water below before flexing his arms and bringing himself back up, just to prove that he could. A lot of things Bickslow did seemed to be just to prove that he could.

"I will be honest, never took you for a concerned type."

Gajeel groaned as he narrowed his eyes at the other man, noting the bright green glow that came from inside his mask. He was enjoying this far too much. The Dragon Slayer had already removed his shirt and changed his trousers for some swimming shorts that he had thankfully had the presence of mind to bring with him, but it was still getting more and more sweltering the closer he got to the island. How Bickslow was surviving in his normal, ridiculous clothing he would never know.

"Or maybe you're jealous that you don't have this kind of control over yourself? All of those muscles, they don't do you much for acrobatics, do they? Are you too heavy?"

The Sieth remained staring him in the eye as he lifted one arm up slowly, supporting himself solely on his left arm as he flipped the Dragon Slayer the bird, and Gajeel pretended not to notice Lisanna giggling behind him. He bit back a growl and made a quick decision, watching Bickslow as he swung himself around on the one hand. The guy could practically fly, right? Surely he was just testing either how good his balance was or how quickly he could get his babies underneath him, he was helping with training! The totems were currently just flying around the ship, annoying everyone they could. If he had to justify it to anyone he could always say he was helping out the whole ship.

He waited until Bickslow had started to lower himself down to lay perpendicular to the waves again, timing it perfectly to where he would have the least balance and shooting his right hand out, a long pillar of iron forming out of his arm to hit the Sieth square in the back. To his credit he managed to hold still for a few seconds, wobbling slightly and Gajeel thought he would be able to right himself before his elbow gave way and he fell off the side of the ship.

What the Dragon Slayer hadn't expected was that the high pitched shriek that erupted from the Sieth's mouth as he flailed into the water. The Dragon warned him of someone charging up from behind and he spun to the side, arms up to defend himself when he realized it was Lisanna rushing to the railing to look overboard.

"What the hell happened?!"

Laxus' shouts almost deafened Gajeel, and he had to fight to stop his hands covering his ears. The other Dragon Slayer was by Lisanna's side, pulling his shirt over his head as electricity started to spark off his skin. He was halfway over the railing before Evergreen grabbed him and pulled him back onto the ship. He sent daggers her way, and when she spoke it was with a calming cadence Gajeel had never heard from her.

"If you go in there right now you'll electrocute him. We need…"

She was cut off by Freed almost appearing by her side. He was moving remarkably fast as he burst out of the ship's hold, sprinting for the edge. He'd already shucked his coat, and he paused a moment at the rail as he tied his hair back.

"He was screwin' around on the rail an' I knocked his ass in the water. He should thank me, it's fucking hot up here!"

The Rune Mage's glare startled Gajeel a little, his right eye shifting colors in anger.

"He can't fucking swim!"

All of his anger melted away immediately at the other man's words flying back to him as Freed leapt from the ship after his teammate. Lisanna immediately dove after him, her legs becoming a tail as she shifted to her mermaid form. Gajeel stepped forward to move to the rail, but his momentum was immediately reversed, a shock going through his body.

"Hey, watch it!"

Natsu yelled as he pulled himself from his nausea to grab onto Lucy, shoving her out of the way moments before Gajeel slammed into him, Elfman seamlessly sidestepping as the two of them tumbled to the ground. The Iron Dragon Slayer growled as he pushed himself up, glaring across the deck at the blonde standing where he'd just been. Laxus' sides were heaving, sparks flickering across his skin, leaping between him and any metal within a few feet of him.

By this point everyone on the boat had appeared, either to offer help or watch the spectacle. Bickslow's totems had descended into unholy screaming, zipping around the ship in random directions as Mira tried desperately to round them up, shoving them into the hands of the other guild members to try and wrestle to keep them still. Gajeel could see Levy's hand at the ready beside her, charging up a protection spell. When she spoke her voice was quiet, the kind you would use to talk down someone on the edge of a tall building.

"Hey, Laxus, maybe we should calm…"

"You tell me why I should FUCKING calm down."

Lucy grasped onto Natsu's top as she watched the blonde man crowd over to Gajeel, sparks multiplying as he raised his voice. She hadn't ever seen him like this, helplessness transforming into pure rage on what had happened to the Raijinshuu. She had always assumed Laxus didn't have a weakness like the other Dragon Slayers, but now she was seeing that he had three.

Freed had no chance to keep up with Lisanna as she powered downwards through the water towards Bickslow. The man in question was flailing in complete panic, arms and legs moving completely independently of each other as he tried to claw himself back up, the water around him illuminated a bright green as his magic raged out of control. His clothes had soaked through with water now Freed had lifted the protective runes on them, and they were dragging him further and further down into the depths.

He grabbed onto Lisanna like a lifeline as soon as she pulled level with him. She wrestled with him for a moment, trying to drag him up before realising his struggling and waterlogged clothes were making it too difficult for her. She flashed a worried look over to Freed as he caught up to him and Freed responded with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Bickslow was still struggling, pulling Lisanna further and further down with each kick as he tried to get up to the surface in his panic.

The first thing to do was to deal with his magic. If he took the two of them over down here they would all be dead. Freed drew a quick rune across Bickslow's skin, making sure to channel it onto him solely as Lisanna unclasped his cape and let it bloom down through the water. As soon as she saw the light in the water dim down she unclasped his mask, pulling it away from his face and letting it plummet down.

Glancing up above her and weighing her options she knew she had no chance of getting back to the surface with even one of the men beside her, let alone both of them. Freed wouldn't be able to get up there on his own, they were too far down even though they had stopped sinking any further into the water. Bickslow was clasped onto the skin of her back, although at least he had stopped flailing around and Lisanna looked at Freed and pointed to her neck to indicate their need to breathe. She hoped beyond hope he had a rune to help with that.

Freed's face flashed in recognition, his hair floating up behind him and clothes billowing out from him as he moved his hand through the water with a purpose. The rune trap appeared quickly between them, and Bickslow spluttered as he took his first breath of air. He looked between the two of them gratefully, before Lisanna beckoned Freed closer to her side.

"I can't move the trap, I'm afraid. I can make it movable but it'll take a while and the ship will probably be at the island by then."

Bickslow whimpered, the idea of spending that much time underwater really didn't appeal. Lisanna looked down at where he was clinging to her and carded her hand through wet hair.

"Come on. Take a deep breath, I'm gonna try and get you both back up. You may need to… grab onto me."

Bickslow simply nodded, too afraid to even try to talk right now before filling his lungs with air. Both men wrapped arms around her waist and chest, Lisanna supporting them with arms under their shoulders before starting to pump her tail to shoot them up towards the surface as Freed kicked his legs in an attempt to help her out, if only a little. She felt Bickslow squeeze her tighter as they left the relative safety of the rune trap and reentered the cold water above them.

Her arms let go of the men as they neared the surface, prompting Freed to look at her in confusion as Bickslow simply buried his face in her side. The magic started to wrap around her arms even as she was still submerged, but waited until her shoulders were up and out of the water before they sprouted feathers and she was seamlessly in the air, and heading towards the ship which had by now floated a few hundred metres away.

Bickslow started coughing as soon as they got out of the water, but when Lisanna dropped them onto the deck he rose onto all fours and spluttered salt water onto the deck. His babies all screamed excitedly, and no one holding them had any chance of keeping them still as they all struggled to return to their Papa. Freed started to strip out of his wet clothes, debating whether or not he should waste any magic on drying them off with runes as Laxus ran over to the two of them, barely containing the worry that was etched on his face. Bickslow took a few deep shuddering breaths before looking up at Freed, and Lisanna watched as they had a fast unspoken conversation. Lily and Wendy hovered above them, the girl knowing that as soon as she landed she would be useless. Bickslow waved her away with one hand, assuring her that he could see to it himself.

Gajeel had tried to follow Laxus, the Dragon inside of him refusing to back down from the challenge that had been posed to him by the Lightning Dragon Slayer, but he was quickly interrupted by Juvia standing in his path, chest puffed out as she squared up to him. His Dragon noted an old friend, before he began to feel heavy rain drops fall across his skin. He watched in the background as Lily landed on the ship, instinctively covering his ears from the Thunder he expected to follow the sudden rain storm.

"What the fuck was Gajeel thinking?"

Her hands shoved at his chest before Gray grabbed her bicep to try and calm her down. Gajeel looked down at her and was torn between the pride he felt that she felt strong enough to square up to him and the anger that she had turned against him for a sin he was sure he hadn't committed. He opened his mouth to respond before he felt the familiar feeling of his stomach turning and he fell to his knees as his motion sickness overtook him.

He looked up to try and spot Levy despite the way his stomach was threatening to release its contents any second, and finally saw her stood at the other end of the ship, hand still raised from where she had dispelled the magic that had been helping him. The most obvious thing that he could see was the green glow that was surrounding her as she looked blankly off over the railing of the ship.

Erza watched as Levy stood perfectly still at the side of the ship before sighing and making her way over to where Bickslow still lay on the ground, grinning as he watched Gajeel groan in pain as he clutched his stomach.

"Bickslow… let her go."

The Sieth groaned, rolling onto his back and looking up at the woman.

"But why? He pushed me off a fucking boat. I'm not hurting her, and all she's gonna do is immediately help him out again."

"What do you expect? It's not like Gajeel has ever had any kind of impulse control."

Freed's voice was filled with sarcasm, and Erza was just about to open her mouth to keep arguing with him, but Gray appeared by her side and looked down at the Seith for the first time since he had gotten back on the ship.

"Where's your mask gone?"

Bickslow rolled his eyes, pulling his hands up to interlink behind his head as he looked up at Gray.

"As it turns out, a huge metal mask appears to be some kind of dead weight when you're being dragged underwater."

Gray sighed, Juvia rubbing his arm now she had calmed down slightly and the rain had stopped completely. She looked down at him, voice questioning him in a way that made it almost impossible for him to refuse to answer.

"Did Bickslow not bring a spare one?"

Bickslow sighed, flexing his abs to sit up and cross his legs in front of him, before pulling off his shirt and dropping it into a pile next to him.

"Surprisingly, I didn't expect to be pushed off a fucking boat. Why is no one getting that?"

Gray rolled his eyes back at Bickslow, trying to ignore the constant heaving noises that were now erupting from two Dragon Slayers at the same time.

"You can't do the trials without your mask, you'll just be taking everyone over all the fucking time! It's not fair!"

Gray wasn't expecting Lisanna to get in his face, squaring up against him as she stared at him in challenge.

"You do know that his eyes are a part of his magic too, right Gray? Shall we forbid Juvia from making it rain to get stronger too, hm?"

Juvia narrowed her eyes, and storm clouds started to roll in again. Lisanna looked back at her, eyes full of challenge as she made sure to defend Bickslow even if he didn't defend himself.

"That's enough!"

All movement on the boat stopped as Makarov's voice ran out, and everyone turned in sync as they looked towards him standing next to the wheel of the boat.

"Leave all of your fighting until we're on the island. We will be there in less than half an hour, if you children can keep it together for that long."

Everyone looked down in embarrassment, but Makarov hadn't finished.

"Bickslow, release Levy from your control. I will agree that your eyes class as a part of your magic and I won't forbid you from using them, if you don't want to."

Bickslow sighed, and in seconds Levy had dropped slightly, shaking her head in confusion as she tried to clear her mind.

"Gajeel, please refrain from pushing anymore of your guild members off the boat."

Gajeel simply groaned in response, incapable of articulating any further around the pain in his stomach as Levy rushed to his side and hurried to recast her spell. Makarov nodded, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at all of his children.

"Thirty. Minutes. Can you all play nicely until then?"

Everyone drifted off into their own respective corners of the boat, waiting for their arrival on Tenrou Island before they got started on the trials properly.

A hushed silence fell over the boat as the distinctive outline of Tenrou Island appeared over the horizon. Every single person on the boat was remembering what had happened the last time they had been there, and none of them were able to joke around about anything with that memory in their head. Once again the boat stopped a fair distance away from the island, the first trial actually getting to the island of their own volition.

"S-Class Nominees!"

Makarov had expected everyone to turn around to face him, but they were all still enraptured by the sight of the island in front of them. He couldn't blame them, really. No matter how many times he saw the island it still held a certain hypnotic quality about it.

"Every single one of us on this boat has been here before so I won't bore you with any preamble. If our current S-Class wizards could please make their way to the island?"

A wave of magical energy swept across the boat as all four of the S Class wizards took to the air. Mira's black wings unfurled from her back as she picked up Gildarts, and without another word they flew off towards the island. Laxus took one last look at his Thunder Legion, nodded to each of them before jumping into the air, his entire body turning into lightning as he overtook the two other S-Class wizards and bolted towards the island. Erza's body swirled with magic as she requipped into her Black Wing Armour, and followed the other three off the boat and towards the island. Everyone watched them go, collectively holding their breaths when they realised that four teams would have to fight them in the near future.

"The rules of the first round are slightly different this year."

Makarov's voice rang clear across the boat, as every member still present turned to look at him.

"The goal is to meet me at the base camp which is located in the same place as last year. This year there are nine paths. Two combat paths, four intense combat paths and finally one serenity route. Two teams will face each other, four teams will face one of our S-Class wizards and the final team will be allowed to pass without challenge."

Everyone nodded to each other, this was all very much the same as it had been the year before. The teams all gravitated towards the side of the boat closest to the island, each of them wanting even the small advantage a quick escape would supply.

"Without further ado, I would like to start this year's S-Class Trials!"

The first person to move was Natsu, already excited to get out of the boat and into the cool water beneath, hoping that it was going to relieve the churning in his stomach as quickly as possible. Grabbing onto Lucy he sprinted towards the edge of the ship, regretting it almost instantly as he ran straight into a barrier of runes.

"Oh for fuck's…"

Everyone spun around to look at Freed, smirking over at all of them before he swished his hand through the air and his eye flashed darkly as two runes flew from it. His wings unfurled from his back and he took to the air, with Cana following not long after on her own just as magnificent set of wings. She lurched a little bit as she tried to adjust to them, but quickly caught up with Freed as she got the hang of it.

Gajeel looked at Levy at almost exactly the same time as Elfman looked at Evergreen, and the two women immediately started to rewrite the runes. Lisanna sidled over to Bickslow, looking at him expectantly as he hoisted his bag of dolls over his shoulder.

"Hey, Bicks, did you want to start rewriting the runes?"

Bickslow looked down at her in confusion as his totems chattered in excitement around him.

"What makes you think that I would know how to rewrite the runes?"

Lisanna looked at him incredulously, as Levy broke through the runes and she jumped into the ocean below along with Gajeel and they started quickly heading towards the island.

"You're on a team with Freed just like Evergreen! You should know how to rewrite these runes like she does!"

Bickslow shrugged, sitting back down on one of the loungers while the others all swore about Freed's runes again.

"Just because I'm on a team with Freed doesn't mean I know how to do all of this bullshit."

Lisanna stood over him, crossing her arms as he rolled his eyes up at her.

"You knew he was going to do this, he did exactly the same fucking thing last year, why didn't you brush up on how to undo these!?"

Bickslow sighed, rolling his head back to look up into the sky as all of the totems huffed in annoyance around the two of them.

"I mean, you knew he was going to do this why didn't you learn how to rewrite them?"

Lisanna took a deep breath, about to start shouting at him before Gray threw his trousers at her in annoyance.

"Can you two just shut the fuck up? We're all in the same boat as you, literally, and you are just making this worse!"

Lisanna huffed, throwing herself down heavily onto Bickslow's lap and only protesting slightly when he wound his arms around her waist and tugged her down to lie more completely on top of him.

It was ten minutes later when the runes disappeared with a pop from around the boat, and there was a mad rush to get off the boat and head to the island. Natsu pulled Lucy off the railing where he had been pacing impatiently waiting for the runes to fall. The girl screamed as they hit the cold water, but was swimming towards the shore within seconds. Gray and Juvia followed not soon after, a bubble of water erupting around the two of them as Juvia started to power them both towards the island. Bickslow jumped onto his totems, the five small dolls screaming in excitement as Lisanna transformed her arms into wings and followed after him, the totems getting louder as they noticed they were being followed by others as well. Pantherlily took to the air about the same time, carrying Wendy over the waves and speeding up as they hoped to not be the last team onto the island and getting lumped with whatever the last path left open to them was.

Makarov smiled as he watched the last of the teams hit the shore, each running into their own path. He knew which path led where, of course, and he knew that the first round of the trials was shaping up to be the most exciting yet.

A/N Here comes the trials! As always, we love hearing your thoughts and theories on the chapters! Much loves!

Fanfiction.net - https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12459916/10/The-Definition-of-Insanity

Archive - http://archiveofourown.org/works/10706709/chapters/25286475

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swan-archive · 7 years

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so: ya gal viewed a Certain Notorious Play the other night in SF

a little post-mortem, because i just KNOW you all needed another one of THOSE

Michael Luwoye was a wonderful Hamilton. i know it’s catty to rag on LMM’s voice, but really, the sheer DIFFERENCE it makes when you have an actor with a powerful voice in the role. doesn’t even compare. he roared and howled and bellowed and felt like a tiny compact hurricane bursting off the stage. amazing.

- i specify “tiny” because he was VISIBLY SHORTER than both Solea Pfeiffer and Amber Iman. TINY HAM IS CANON

- Luwoye’s act 1 young Ham was maybe the cutest thing i’ve ever seen! he was SO thrilled to meet Burr and SO excited to make friends and SO jazzed to go out drinking and revolution-ing with them, just so desperate to be liked and find a place and make his name. cute boy. excitable boy.

- not to monster au at yall but Luwoye literally SNARLED “call me son ONE MORE TIME” and uuuuhhhhhh it’s all canon, all monster aus are canon now, i don’t make the rules, i just live in fear of them like yall do

- and then the turnaround between that and a more tired, more morally compromised, running-out-of-options Ham in act 2! a really deft character shift and one that was delightful to watch.

- interesting little character moment: from what i’ve heard/seen most Hamiltons jump right back into the game after “Say No To This,” bantering with Burr and bouncing off to the meeting with Jefferson and Madison to Get Shit Done. Luwoye did not play it like this. his Hamilton was visibly wrung out and sick at heart at the beginning of “Room Where It Happens,” answering Burr in clipped monosyllables and not looking at him and standing all stiff and still until he started to mimic Burr’s “talk less / smile more” in an intentionally crude and sorta nasty style. this Ham was not happy to have to take a page out of Burr’s book.

- Luwoye’s “Hurricane” was a powerhouse. the rapped section was this howl of defiance that nearly knocked me out of my seat, Ham standing there and daring God to do His worst and vowing he’d get back up again. ooooooof. intense.

- Luwoye emoted like a MOTHERFUCKER. his break in “It’s Quiet Uptown” was gutting. tears literally dripping off his face.

- this cast seemed...lighter on the Lams than other productions, which was a bit disappointing, but at Laurens’ first verse in “My Shot,” Luwoye did that hilarious deer-in-the-headlights fullbody freeze at him as he had a Strong Gay Moment

Joshua Henry’s Burr felt very different from Leslie’s as it comes across on the cast album/b**tl*g, but in a super compelling way. i think i saw an article that referred to his Burr as more of a “showman” than Leslie’s, and if i’m remembering right, i agree with that description. Henry!Burr was very mobile and raggedly charming, always had a disingenuous wide-eyed smile hitched up, except for...when it slipped. the untrustworthy self-serving mercenary Ham sees by the end of act 2 was very much in evidence here.

- and his Burr broke SO EARLY! by “Winter’s Ball” he was already visibly/audibly like WHAT THE HAP IS FUCKENING re: Hamilton’s ascent. his “Wait For It” right on the heels of that was so angry. you could feel his desperation as he tried to justify his methods to the audience, and his unspoken understanding that nothing he is doing makes sense. this was a Burr who, on some level, KNEW that his schtick was not going to remain tenable for long, even if he didn’t know the exact nature of his own breaking point. suuuuuuuuuper engaging to watch.

- ahhahahaha and his delivery of the “...Okay,” in “Non-Stop” was HILARIOUS it was like “hmm yes please keep doing this thing where you say nice things about me perhaps”

- ...also, not to be crass, but somewhere around “Non-Stop” i became suddenly and powerfully aware of how his thighs looked in his costume and uuhhhhhhhhhhh. can we just like. get a Yell Heah real quick for Buff Burr? Yell. H e a h

- act 2 Burr spiraled REAL quick. his “Room Where It Happens” was wild-eyed and electric and frantic and by the time they got to “Your Obedient Servant” and TWWWE he was just a WRECK. where Leslie’s Burr gave at least the impression of making a measured choice to shoot to kill, Henry’s was clearly running on fumes and not in control, and it was terrifying and great.

- and not to go too out of order but can i just say, “Aaron Burr, Sir” is kind of a throwaway exposition-y song, but having it played between two black men? REVELATORY. INCREDIBLE. “fools who run their mouths oft wind up dead.” we were five minutes into the play and i was already like ulp

Emmy Raver-Lampman is the great love of my life and she will be my bride one day, even if i have to defeat Daveed Diggs in unarmed single combat for the privilege. i will do it. i will do whatever it takes to know the touch of her hand. are you listening, Emmy? i’m right here. i’m right h e r e

- my favorite thing about her act 1 Angelica was how YOUNG she played her. which, granted, she is a younger actress than Renee/Karen/Mandy, but i thought it was a really powerful interpretation given that Angelica really is only two years older than Eliza, is still not all that old herself when Eliza’s doing her giddy “Helpless.”

- okay. okay, so. Emmy’s “Satisfied.” okay. a YOUNG “Satisfied.” instead of a mature regretful reflection on a decision that had pros and cons on either side, the regret and the loneliness and the love felt incredibly raw and immediate. Emmy’s interpretation was very “yes, i made this choice, and oh my god what if this was IT, what if this was the END what if there is nothing like this for me ever AGAIN, i cannot take it back and i would not take it back but oh god oh god oh god” and it. destroyed. me. she had that flutter in her voice that you get when you’re crying and laughing at the same time at the second “to the groom / to the bride” and holy shit it was devastating

- also: G5 BITCH TEAR OUT MY THROAT WITH YOUR TEETH

- another fun thing about Emmy’s Angelica was how utterly unimpressed she was with every man she interacted with! her teardown of Burr almost felt like an afterthought in how easily it came out. her chemistry with Luwoye wasn’t as immediately sparky as, say, Renee and Javi’s, but their back-and-forth was very banter-y and instantly comfortable and you really got the sense of two people who could have clicked together given the chance.

- her act 2 interactions with Ham were delightful too—at the end of “Take a Break,” the staging has Angelica start to chase after Ham when he leaves all “i can’t stop until i get my plan through congress.” this was not an “i languished in a loveless marriage in London i lived only to read your letters” chase as Emmy played it. it was a “bitch i have been on a boat for THREE MONTHS and if you think i’m gonna just be like oh hahah whatever we don’t need to hang out when i came all the way over here to see your wife and you then THINK AGAIN—” chase. it was Good. her rejection of Ham in “Reynolds Pamphlet” was so complete and crushing too—it was obvious that Ham was not even on her mind, she was there for Eliza.

i expected to like Amber Iman as Peggy/Maria, but i didn’t expect the extent to which she would steal the stage whenever she was featured in a song! she was so lively and read so well from the audience and was just a joy to watch.

- her Peggy was HILARIOUS. where Jazzy’s Peggy in “Schuyler Sisters” seemed more bratty-kid-sister-i-wanna-go-home-i’m-tiiiiiiiiiiired, Amber’s was like “you guys. you guys. we’re going to get mugged. we’re going to get shot. we’re going to get mugged, and then shot, and then murdered for good measure and WHY IS NOBODY LISTENING TO ME FUFKDCHSDKSFKHEJ” and the fact that this came across so strongly when she was sharing the stage with The Great Love Of My Life and could not have rightfully expected to claim any part of my attention is a credit to her

- the faces she was making at every male cast member who came within 2 feet of her were HILARIOUS. THE FUCK IS THIS. THE FUCK IS YOU. this was a Strong Lesbian Peggy for sure.

- and then her Maria! her Maria was magnetic. she played her as complicit but very obviously unhappy about it; whenever she stepped away from Ham as he did one of his monologue bits you could see the tension and nervousness and distaste on her face, but then he’d turn back to her and the mask would snap back up. not to toot my own horn but like...I Have Been Right This Whole Time.

- and then that red dress just draws the eye whenever Maria’s onstage, such that you couldn’t help but seek her out and watch her standing there silently as Ham drove himself over a cliff into the ocean. she was RIGHT THERE for all of “We Know,” standing there under one of the staircases next to Ham as he went off, watching watching watching and UGH it was such a little thing but it was so good.

i was surprisingly not as sold on Solea Pfeiffer as Eliza as I thought i would be? she had some great moments and was overall a strong performer but for whatever reason they never quite added up to a cohesive whole for me. whatever. still gonna marry her

- her “That Would Be Enough” with Michael Luwoye was actually deeply tragic in a way i’ve never seen/heard from any of the other Eliza/Alex pair-ups. these were clearly two people on completely different pages, having conversations right past each other, and that hurt me very deeply as someone who ships the thing. but it was in my mind also very believable characterization! whatever. i wanted to die. TALK ABOUT YOUR FUCKING FEELINGS, CHILDREN

- actually one of my favorite moments of hers was a teeny tiny one in “Take a Break,” during the verse where Angelica is reading the comma sexting letter. Eliza is onstage but out of the spotlight at this point, tidying up, and she’s bent over and closing the piano when they get to the “my Dearest...Angelica.” for a second she raised her head and half looked over her shoulder and i was like OOOHHHHH SHIT because it felt very, like, “Eliza knows about this flirtation but trusts Angelica not to overstep her bounds BUT is still deeply unsatisfied with how it is playing out” and i just. liked it. good shit.

- i think there’s a spectrum of “Burn”/post-“Burn” Elizas; in my mind i look at it as the spectrum of ice Elizas (exemplified by Pippa) to fire Elizas (exemplified by Aubin Wise/Lexi Lawson). Solea’s “Burn” fell closer to Pippa’s on that scale, very cold vengeance and restrained but ugly hurt, but after that song she ran even colder than Pippa’s Eliza. she didn’t break at all in “It’s Quiet Uptown,” not even when Ham did. her air was this frigidly magnanimous “yes. you did this to us. don’t presume to do it again,” and she looked to be the one supporting him as they exited. i don’t know that that’s my Eliza, but it was interesting to watch.

didn’t have super strong feelings about any of the revset/dual cast folks, aside from surprisingly Jordan Donica as Laf/Jefferson! was not expecting to jive on him, given Daveed is such a charismatic actor in both those roles, and he was clearly working hard for the trickier raps, but he was very funny and fun to watch.

- as Laf, he really got across the sheer Badness of Lafayette as a person, in the sense that he was deeply uncool and trying real hard and just. not. quite. making it. he was also very good at the physical comedy bits given that he is built like a man who is half human, half giraffe, and half random bag of pipe cleaners stashed in the back of the crafts closet of an elementary school classroom.

- seriously he is ALL LIMB. he TOWERED over everyone else onstage. A MONSTER. A MISSHAPEN GIANT

- he also played a very slick and menacing Jefferson who was constantly using his height advantage to attempt to intimidate Ham. didn’t work, obviously, but made for some very striking tableaux in the cabinet battles.

Ruben Carbajal had a lovely voice but i believed him more as Philip than as Laurens because HE LOOKED LIKE A LITERAL CHILD. HOLY SHIT. chubby cheeks and petulant pout and all. it was nuts. where is hamilton casting getting ahold of all these FETUSES

- as i mentioned i preferred Anthony’s Laurens but i did enjoy what a fratty little fucker Ruben’s Laurens came off as. like a hummingbird given human form. that was fun.

Mathenee Treco was a good Herc, kinda camp gay dad friend? which was unexpected but fun. his Mads was a little more vital than it seems like other people’s tend to run; he came off as someone who would overreach himself and then break down into coughing. something a little different.

i eh...didn’t particularly care for Isiah Johnson’s Washington. it was a fairly played straight Local Dad Fed Up With This Shit, Just Wants To Go Home And Build A Deck, which like...isn’t wrong, but there could be more, you know? eh. nothing’s perfect i guess.

i think it was @duckbunny who characterized Rory O’Malley’s King George as “bratty spoiled rich child throwing a temper tantrum” to Groff’s “sleazy abusive bf” King George? or maybe that was someone else? anyway i believed it, both because of his very round babyish face and because of his lack of poise compared to Groff’s King. he was scaryfunny. i habitually skip kgiii’s songs when listening to the cast album, so i was pleased to find myself enjoying all of them live. still think either “What Comes Next?” or “I Know Him” could’ve stood to be cut and replaced with...almost anything else to cover the costume change, really, but they’re fun, no big deal.

this has very little to do with anything but the ensemble featured dupes for Carleigh Bettiol, Betsy Struxness, and Ariana DeBose, i wasn’t sure what to do with this information, perhaps you are not sure what to do with it either, we can just hang out and be puzzled together, it’s chill

#swan talks #hamilton for ts #the story of how this ticket was obtained is that my mother who is lowkey out of her mind in many ways may god bless and keep her #sat on the phone for NINE HOURS the day ticket sales opened up in order to obtain one. single. ticket.#which she then gave to me because as i may have mentioned: she is lowkey out of her mind god bless and keep her a thousand times #i was in the eighth row. close enough to see the light shining off emmy's septum ring #and dear reader let me just tell you: i fell in love INSTANTLY.#('weren't you already in love with her' yes but i did it again for good measure try to keep up chad)#also sorry about the formatting my theme is fucking weird about bullet points? hopefully this is readable

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minhthangcoi9993-blog · 6 years

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Review Game Detroit: Become Human

It’s a testament to the breadth of Quantic Dream’s branching storylines that I felt terribly guilty as the credits rolled after my second playthrough of Detroit: Become Human, as I’d played against my personal moral compass to test how far I could push the story’s exploration of the morality of artificial intelligence. This was very much the opposite of my mostly peaceful first run, and Detroit obliged my wickedness to a surprising degree, leaving a trail of bodies of those who had previously survived in my wake. And while it never seems to know when enough heavy-handed expositional dialogue is enough, Detroit: Become Human manages to be a frequently moving melodrama that bends to your choices with meaningful results.

Each of those playthroughs took around 10 hours to complete, and during that time Detroit’s pace rarely lags thanks to the deft juggling act it performs, alternating between three android characters across multiple chapters: Kara, a housekeeper who must care for a little girl named Alice, Connor; a prototype police model whose assignment is to round up ‘deviant’ androids, and Markus; a carer model who believes androids should share equal rights with humans.

The trio of performances is excellent. Bryan Dechart is delightful as Connor thanks to his deadpan innocence, which makes for a great foil against the whirling dervish of his cynical partner, Clancy Brown’s Lieutenant Hank Anderson. Valorie Curry brings quiet strength to Kara, and excels at selling her love for her ward, Alice, who is quite possibly the least charismatic video game child to have ever existed. Jesse Williams employs all of his dreamy Grey’s Anatomy warmth as Markus and is never unlikeable, no matter how you choose to play him.

Based on your choices, you can change their personalities and the tone of their individual stories. In my first playthrough, for example, the relationship between a humble Connor and the android-hating Anderson played out like a knockabout buddy comedy. In my second, I let Connor’s ambitions take over, and his story was of a different genre.

Though Markus appears to fundamentally remain endearing no matter what you do (unlike Connor, who really can be played as a hero or villain), there’s a tug-of-war going on within him that throws up some of Detroit's most interesting moral quandaries. Kara’s story seems less tonally flexible but is the quietest and most intimate, which provides a welcome contrast to all the running and explosions you can opt into in the other two stories.

Play more Jelly Doods

Hot new 60 Second Burger Run

For the most part, supporting characters adapt to the way you choose to play, but there are occasional misfires. When I played as ‘nice’ Connor, for example, Anderson was far too aggressive toward him to be believable. When I played as ‘mean,’ or even ‘indifferent’ Connor, his fury made a lot more sense. At one point, Markus gained a lover very abruptly, and I felt I’d missed a slow burn somewhere. It’s noticeable when your choices feel they’re going against the grain of a more robust story.

I found all three of Detroit’s central characters to be dramatically interesting, which meant putting them in compromising situations – or worse, killing them – was a real fear throughout. It’s testament to the writing and performances that I found making decisions “just to see what would happen” teeth-clenchingly hard.

I'm a Real Boy

The backbone of Detroit’s story – meaning the one that’s relatively fixed in place despite the choices you make around it – is big, ambitious fun that takes Phillip K. Dick's question of whether androids dream of electric sheep to the nth degree. In doing so, however, it does suffer from a multitude of plot holes. Marcus appears to gain magical android powers when it suits him; Hank is impressed when Connor solves the most basic of mysteries; and one twist makes absolutely no sense if you look back on that particular storyline after having finished.

These were noticeable (and often pretty funny), but they weren’t deal-breakers for me. Detroit is audacious and silly as hell, but it’s got real heart to it. There were enough moments of quiet tenderness to keep me emotionally invested, and the stakes were suitably high - particularly in its final act - to keep me thrilled.

With this in mind, there is a lot of clumsy exposition and dialogue I was willing to forgive, as one would while watching a fun B-movie. But occasionally, Detroit ignores the standard writing rule of “show, don’t tell” to such an extent I was yanked out of the story. Bad guys spout monologues that spell out Detroit’s themes in capital letters. (There’s a compartment for androids on public transport, in case you didn’t get what Detroit was going for here.) Select side characters, like Hank’s harrowed police chief and the inexplicably wise and mystical Lucy - are loudly cliched, so we understand what their roles are without any real character development.

With the remarkable performance-capture technology – and performances – Quantic Dream has at its disposal, there’s no real reason for such heavy-handedness. Nor do I think Detroit is incapable of subtlety; some of the scenarios here are unusual and profound. But I wish its ideas had more room to breathe before being trampled by someone spelling out the meaning for us.

Characters are certainly capable of non-verbal expressiveness. The level of detail you can see in their faces is astounding; facial hair, blemishes, freckles, and moles are rendered in stunning detail, particularly in checkerboard 4K on the PS4 Pro. The animation is just as good; as Kara and Alice hurry through the rain on a freezing night, hunched over and miserable, I could have been watching two humans from the side-streets.

The world here feels very real, too, built with a sense of history. This is a miserable, dark version of a future Detroit where androids are so omnipresent that they’re old news, sold in chain stores for the price of a discount mobile phone. Little details from the sidelines tell the story of a burst tech bubble, like basements filled to the brim with discarded models or a street performer advertising the fact he is playing “human music.”

Though the path you are guided through in Detroit’s world is as linear as previous Quantic games, I felt like there was more time to enjoy these beautifully detailed environments. One of my favourite sequences involved chasing graffiti tags to find a particular location, which ended up being an eerie, silent excursion in a forgotten corner of the city. There’s also a marvelous scene in an abandoned amusement park which still creaked with enough life that I got a sense of what it might have been, once upon a time.

The way you interact with Detroit’s environments hasn’t evolved much from Quantic Dream’s usual formula, which is unobtrusive and mostly works. Action sequences are generally executed using timed button presses, swoops of the thumbstick, and occasional motion control, which evoke the action you are performing on a case-by-case basis. An android detective mode allows you to scan your environment to reconstruct crime scenes, and fast-forwarding and rewinding through these is a lot of fun, as is a new ability to ‘pre-construct’ scenarios before you execute them. I would have liked the opportunity to play around with the latter ability more than I was allowed to, in fact.

Like Beyond: Two Souls before it, though, Detroit: Become Human struggles to justify its multiple fight scenes with meaningful interactivity. Clicking on buttons at just the right time while struggling with an angry android encourages a welcome sense of participation in the fight, but you have to screw it up disastrously to fail. I understand that making combat a proper challenge runs the risk of introducing an immersion-breaking sense of trial and error, but I was left wishing the stakes were just a little higher after I ‘won’ each fight without really trying. Why make them interactive at all if the input feels so meaningless?

Of course, the way you play Detroit is primarily through the choices you make within it. While there’s that backbone of a story that can’t be shattered, which can occasionally result in frustration when it makes a decision for you to keep you from straying too far off the beaten path, I found its branching paths to be multiple and deep. Quantic Dream has been smart in making this multitude of paths transparent through flowcharts introduced at the end of each chapter, showing you just how differently it could have played out if you’d made another choice, enticing you to play through again.

Not every alternate choice leads to a drastically different story, but some will. Sometimes it might lead to the same result, but by a surprising new means. Sometimes it might change your relationship with another character and unlock a path that wasn’t there before. Sometimes it might result in death, whether that be of a supporting character or one of the central trio (they can all die at points throughout Detroit), or a dramatic action sequence with unexpected consequences. Comparing endings, not only between my first and second playthroughs but with other players, was astounding, particularly when I assumed everybody’s story had wrapped the same way as mine and found that nobody’s had.

For me, this is the biggest draw of Detroit. One playthrough really isn’t enough to see what it has to offer, and characters and world-building are interesting enough that it was a pleasure to go back to see what I’d missed in scenarios that are deceptively complex.

The Verdict

Detroit: Become Human is a poignantly pulpy interactive sci-fi drama where your choices can impact events to a greater and more satisfying degree than in most games of this type. Though I wish its story had been handled with a softer touch, especially considering the subtlety that can be conveyed through its tech and performances, its well-written and acted central trio were vital enough to me that I found myself feeling genuine distress when they were in danger and a sense of victory when they triumphed. Most importantly, Detroit offers a multitude of transparent branching paths that entice further playthroughs, and choices have a permanence that raise the stakes throughout.

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