#I FINALLY SAW SPIDERVERSE AND HOLY SHIT

[weatheredcopper]

(this is kind of a bad photo sorry) but gwen stacy my most beloved <3333

[illegiblehandwriting1]

ah yes. having an unedited 5.4k fight scene. this is fine. i'm so normal

[dreaming-mushroom]

I finally saw Spiderverse and OHHHHHH MY GODDD. YEAH. YEAH IT REALLY IS THAT FUCKIN GOOD. HOLY SHIT. I will now not shut up about it block #spiderverse spoilers if you don't wanna see em

[kurozu501]

Finally saw across the spiderverse and holy shit. Oh my god. I need the sequel injected into my veins yesterday but ill make do with rewatching this movie like 4 more times.

[zinziinziiin]

finally saw across the spiderverse

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

THE EVERYTHING

HOLY CRAP THAT LOOKED AND FELT SPECTACULAR

spoilers from this point onwards:

was all of it just foreshadowing itself? because it really felt like the whole movie was a mirror of itself

hobie is the coolest motherfucker on any of the planets and I love him? I love him. how did he even get close enough to a cop captain for his canon event

#/fuck_miguel (without the / and _) is an established tag apparently and with GOOD REASON!! he's fucking awful, horrible, terrible, mean, etc. but I still think he's hot because (among other reasons) he moves like a slut and knows how to use his claws (:FlushedHimeno:) so #/TEAMMIGUEL4EVER AND I CAN"T TELL YOU HOW MUCH OF THAT IS A JOKE

gwen is so fucking trans holy SHIT how is anyone denying this. jesus christ. hair's still cool and I think everything she ever does is justified because again she's so trans and that makes her the most correct person in the room at any given time

miles' face is so adorable. how could anyone be mean to him. I know gwen was not always doing right by him and I literally just said she's right no matter what but still. he keeps saying he's not a kid any more but a) he's not even 16 yet and b) look at him. he's baby. but also you go boy be independent and cool and do what you think is right!!!!

there were a BUNCH of blink-and-you-miss-it moments so I have GOT to get this on DvD for when my internet's ass and I inevitably want to rewatch it

there were so many cool comic book style moments and I feel like that's really gonna help me when I GM my masks TTRPG campaign because that was something I was actively hoping to improve. my buddy (who is a player in my campaign) said they like describing things cinematically as well so this is the best of both worlds

AND THE SPOT IS SUCH A COOL VILLAIN FIGHT GOD DAMN I LOVE THAT POWER

I <3 ALL THE COOL SPIDERPEOPLE THERE WERE SO MANY GOOD DESIGNS IN THERE. I CAN"T EVEN PICK FAVES THERE WERE MORE THAN I COULD COUNT

more thoughts to come later?

[demonicintegrity]

Okay I’m going to see Barbie today so I should probably have my misc thoughts on Across the Spiderverse down. (Spoilers incoming) Speaking of:

#1) tiktok spoilers my beloathed. They also don’t do the movie justice (I’ll get back to that)

#2) artistic styles my beloved.

The love and care to the craft of the story is so evident from the start. Gwen’s retelling of Mike’s story is in her universe’s watercolor style. And oh my god it’s so beautiful. I’m such a sucker for pretty watercolors and Gwen’s universe SPEAKS to my soul. Beautiful. Mwuah.

Speaking of Gwen, the analogy of her being trans and coming out is definitely there. While her being trans may not be a problem for her father, her struggle with a secret superhero identity absolutely is a parallel to being a trans kid. Her best friend knowing included. Her running away from home especially.

And it’s beautifully portrayed. And her father’s arc developing at the end, where he says he’s no longer a policeman if it’s gonna be that at odd with her being a hero because he loves her more than that, is the kinda sentiment I and every other trans kid with unsupportive parents wish they had. It’s about growth, it’s about the person being the priority not a stubborn hold to flawed ideology.

#3 Miles my boy, his story is definitely that of loneliness. Which arguably is queer-coded in of itself. He finally finds his people and now they’re separated and he misses that. Especially since the separation is inherently tied to the safety of everyone, sometimes it’s really hard to connect with other queer folk because of that. But i don’t think that’s the intended focus, it’s more of a coming of age thing.

Also holy shit he is YOUNG. He is fifteen!! I was a freshman in highschool when I turned fifteen! No wonder he’s so pissed when everyone is telling him what to do and how to do, that is like the quintessential age of being treated like both an adult and child and it’s infuriating. But it’s the perfect age for this kinda story. Because the very valid attempts of trying to find a happy middle are there, two cakes and all. But it also means it’s still the first few attempts, hence the fate of the two cakes. The technique is still being refined and he’s still figuring out his priorities.

Do what he’s good at (science) and push for something he really wants (his friends back) or something else entirely?

People have pointed out he’s incredibly artistic. And it’s good! Now that doesn’t always means it translates into a career well. From firsthand experience I can tell you art as an outlet isn’t the same as art as a career. It’s kinda kicking my butt with the difference. But that doesn’t mean it’s a very real option! And something he can pursue with science as well.

Adjacent to three: the age discourse. Now I heard plenty on it but I was withholding my judgement until I saw the movie itself. That being said, when I first saw spoilers Hobie read like an adult and after watching the movie he is definitely is in my mind.

The three other spiders (Gwen, Miles, Pravitar) all have a focus of actively being in school in their intros. A highlight that they are still teens dealing with teen issues and mentalities. Hobie doesn’t. Hobie’s intro doesn’t mention school. Hobie’s intro talks a lot about politics and ideologies and he carries himself like an experienced adult. (Obvs teens are into politics and all that, i did that as a teen too, but school often comes before that, just as their own intros mentioned.) He speaks with wisdom and experience and takes the others under his wing. He’s also not deferring to Miguel. And he pushes back in a much different way then Gwen and Miles do. For them, even if they don’t agree Miguel is still an adult and that age authority needs to be respected. For Hobie, it doesn’t seem to be a concern. (Yes yes he’s a punk, but respecting your elders is still prevalent in punk and queer cultures as well.)

“But Integrity the love triangle!” There is no love triangle. Gwen is not interested in Hobie, she’s expressly interested in Miles. Looks up to Hobie sure, but she’s clearly more attached to Miles. Hobie also explicitly states he just wants to look out for her. (Re: queer adults taking in queer runaways)

“But Integrity the toothbrush and jumper! And Pravitar going oooohh!!” First of all, Gwen is functionally homeless. She ran away and has been a runaway for literal months. Her stuff is obviously gonna be a mismanaged. And again, going with the fact that her story is a trans allegory, she’s going to stay with adults that take her in. First Miguel and Jessica, and then Hobie. Reading Hobie as a queer adult taking in a queer runaway child and looking after her makes the most sense to me. She also had an expressed interest in Miles that is very long running.

As for Pravitar? I think he’s just pot stirring. He’s (I think) the youngest and definitely acts like it. He’s openly treating them as a soap opera, not with an malicious intent of course, but it’s entertaining gossip for him. A fun tense twist is the fact that Miles doesn’t know. (Probably because he didn’t recognize miles as the anomaly. Genuinely was introduced that Miles is Gwen’s friend and so it’s wild he doesn’t know her closest friends.)

Also: there’s a chance this is suppose to parallel Gwen meeting Mile’s parents.

Your crush should know about and have met your family. For Mile’s that means meeting his parents. For Gwen that means her family of spiders. (She’s trans, found family is a huge priority here esp since her father is not currently in the picture.)

Anyways: Hobie reads as an adult. Gwen is not in a love triangle. I’m scared of touching ao3 for this fandom, even with filters it’s Bad.

#4 with circling back to how the tiktok spoilers/general fanon don’t do this justice, Miguel. He’s is not that fucking mean to Miles. He is genuinely sympathetic and does try to explain to Miles multiple times what “needs” to be done. His fatal flaw is that he carries so much guilt for what happened in the universe he infiltrated that he now feels the need to carry the weight of everything to make up for it. He says as much! If he could see it possible to have a good story, he’d love that but its just not possible for him.

Now granted, holy shit he does go fucking bonkers on Miles. We see the shock in Peter B’s expression. I do not think that is the norm for Miguel’s behavior. At least, not witnessed behavior and thus not behavior he wants to be seen/is proud of. Dude seems like he’s holding on by a thread and it was snapping a little bit there. And like, idek if I can fault that entirely cuz a literal child just sent him on the chase of a the century. Dude’s stressed and not coping well. Amazingly sympathetic antagonist for this reason. It’s an idealogical divide, a quite radical one at that.

#5) the music is sooooo fucking good. Again, the love put into this movie is so palpable.

#6) The Spot. I adore his character!!! I adore this arc and his art direction and his everything!! And I don’t currently have the words for it but I do feel his story is a good analogy for how society picks and chooses it’s outliers. Spider-Man is a hero and loved for his mutations provided he’s a hero and even then it’s very conditional and on a whim. The Spot isn’t. He can’t get a job looking like that, and super heroism is filled in New York by Spider-Man and it’s hard to exist let alone move around looking like that.

There is no support for him. And that speaks for any outlier of society. Queer, race, neurodivergent, “ugly”, and what have you. It’s only natural he gets upset. He lashes out at the easiest person to blame, the present Spider-Man. Even though it is not Mile’s fault he was in that room or employed there, or any of that. But he was a catalyst, and it’s easier to have the blame one person than a web of circumstances.

And there’s a kinship in a way. He brought the 42 spider here. He was bitten by it. Whether they like or hate each other that’s a helluva link. Call it dominos or butterfly effect or fate or what have you, there’s a link to both of their circumstances.

Speaking of, #6) 42 Miles!!!! I adore him. It seems in this universe the lack of a Spider-Man has caused crime cartels to run more rampant. Possibly supervillain run, but I can see overtime the general crime running rampant under them.

I wanna know this timeline, how this has happened. What was this descent? I’m so excited for Beyond. And obvs 42 Miles is gonna play a huge part. I think he will aid our Miles, even if at first begrudgingly. He’s a scared kid and he and Aaron see that. I hope and think they will take pity on him.

I’m wondering if 42’s arc will parallel our Mile’s. Trying to sort priorities and manage grief and loneliness while writing your own path. I bet it will.

Speaking of Beyond: I hope it takes years to make. Give those artists a break and pay them and give them a reasonably timetable damn it. I also hope for more Hobie he’s a catalyst here and I want to see lots of him and he needs dedicated time to animate to achieve that.

Okay misc thoughts done I gotta get ready fkdndkdndn

[primeministerofantarctica]

i finally saw spiderverse!!

holy fucking shit

[gflscer]

Finally saw across the spiderverse and holy shit it was so good. I don’t know how I’m gonna wait to see the next one

[alittleannihilati0n]

ANYWAYS just saw across the spiderverse and HOLY SHIT IT WAS SO GOOD!!! so uhm I'm probably gonna be soooo annoying abt this movie but I just wanna put out my theory for the next movie. Hopefully I'll remember to flesh it out more, but I really don't think spot is gonna be the final boss, I totally think it's gonna be Miguel. I'm divided between two theories as to that, one being that Miguel isn't actually Miguel, but rather someone impersonating him with villainous intent, the other being that he's been using spider venom too long and is basically losing his humanity and basically a monster. I just have a gut feeling, plus I feel like spot isn't a deeply-developed enough villain to be the final boss, y'know? I think he'll be more of a catalyst, plot-wise. Fuuuuuuuuuck I love this movie

[bocceclub]

I am perennially 6 months behind pop culture so I JUST saw the new spiderverse finally and holy shit

[vexy-hexy]

Finally saw the new Spiderverse movie!!!

Fucking loved it but I CANNOT BELIEVE IT JUST FUCKING ENDED LIKE THAT, HOLY SHIT?!??!

Really taking a page out of Infinity War's book, huh guys

Side note, I almost threw hands with a group of teens who wouldn't stfu throughout the movie

[evilminji]

Holy shit ( o.o) there really IS so many ways? Things could go wrong? The "Dans" would be everything from Joker-esc Clowns to vampires to ghosts possessing their own rotting corpses. Danny's stuck in other people's bodies. Danny's that aren't Danny's anymore.

Like? Yeah, MOST of the Danny's want to hang out with each other. Lived "good" lives. But a decent chunk? Lead fucked up lives. Probably have the nice QUIET side of the Hang Out. Good for hiding. More then a few LIVE there now. Destroyed their Portals and just manage their parts of the Zone, because somebody has too.

And there? WOULD be Tucker's? And Sam's! And their KIDS. Jazz's. Other people, who everyone from certain area seems to instantly recognize but just... doesn't exsist in others? Mostly Danny, but unlike the Spiderverse? He WOULD bring his precious people wouldn't he?

And you know? Pretty sure they legit can't get drunk. But they COULD, with permission, be susceptible to Tucker's Tuckman Persuasion ability. The IDEA of drunkness. Enjoy some mixed drinks, you are definitely getting drunker with each one. They make you feel calm. They work like alcohol does. Because he is telling you is does, so it will.

Certainly tastes better then cheap beer. Though they can get that too, if you miss the taste.

I bet? The keep building more Areas. "Wings" to the Hang Out. Like a slowly growing fractal mess. Because people keep needing things, spaces for everyone but also just for them. Like?

What about the little Danny's? The kids. Who deserve to have proper, safe, child friendly environments to BE kids in? And the Lady Danny's? The genderless Danny's? They feel out numbered and want a place to talk about THEIR stuff. Or the traumatized Danny's? Who can't be around X or Y? Or the-

Actually, what our current project list? This seems like a lot of hallways and doors...

You think this is why Clockwork meddled? Cause no WAY they didn't, collectively, decide to just? Be neighbors or something? Only to WHOOPS, sry Clocky! We kinda built around your Lair! Consuming into OUR Lair in sorta a "tree growing over everything in it's path" sorta way. But, hey! If we knock out this wall? You have direct access to the Star Room!

And like? Good LUCK Observants. Getting to him now. He has achieved his goal of: Endless amusement (The Danny's are hilarious), never lonely again (again, infinite Danny's), freedom from his chains (Danny's do not appreciate slavery), AND? Best of all? Now he has THE Kings of The Infinite between him and anyone who wants to fuck with Time. He can finally DO HIS JOB.

Peace at last~

He's the Cryptid of the Hang Out. Everyone swears they JUST saw him. He gave them vague and probably helpful (at some point) advice. Where? Uuuuuuuuh... t-that way? Maybe? No, wait! It was totally up those-! No, that's not right... huh...

Yeah, we should really start making "you are here" signs.

Okay but... Many True King AU?

Think SpiderVerse. Think literally INFINITE Zone. Consider that Danny is probably not the ONLY Danny. But one of many. Consider... They Are King.

Yes, all of them.

They defeated Pariah. Yes, all of them. Did it happen all at the same Time? Yes. Somehow, by Clockwork's will most likely, it did. Were they working together? Aware if each other? Not in the slightest. They are just as shocked as you are.

But Danny is Danny.

Different lives, different species, different parents. All the same soul. Somehow found its way here. A great and terrible moment of Awe. A fixed moment in Creation. Like the Beginning and the End, he was simply? Unavoidable. Inevitable.

Danny.

Some of him are old men. Worn and weary, ground down by life. Some are far too young, confused but brave in a world too big for such small shoulders. There are scars amongst them. Terrible events and stories. But also hopeful ones. Heros. Good men, ready to take the burden.

Doesn't make the confusion any less, of course. When Danny meets... Danny? Who is not a clone. Who came through a portal in his parents basement. Who's exactly the same... except his house's street number is two off. Or is Danny's? Danny 1?

Wait! Why do YOU get to be 1?

Yeah, fair point. Pick a star name and get out your map. Time to figure out how many Danny's there are. And if any need help. But first! Where is YOUR portal? Mine is...*scribbling noises*

@hdgnj @the-witchhunter @mutable-manifestation @hypewinter

[kareofbears]

persona 5 strikers thoughts and feelings

This is going to be a long post. Like, the type of post you’d only really have time to read when you’re trying to sleep but you’re not ready to be unconscious yet so you’re just looking for something to do to spend your time with minimal effort. 

So in 2018, a masterpiece was born into the world: Into the Spider-verse was released and it was amazing—it’s honestly the best spiderman movie we have without a doubt, and it’ll be very far into the future before Spider-verse is beaten as the best spiderman movie. Them’s the facts. Then in 2019, Spider-man: Far From Home was dropped. It’s a great movie! Great characters, great continuation of who these characters are and works fantastic as a continuation of a story. It’s really hard trying to take the torch of a previous movie (or in Marvel’s case, juggling twenty something movies) and come up with a new movie that both works on its own, as well as being the next step in this series of films. Thus, with that idea in mind, I think it’s kind of unfair to judge into the spiderverse and far from home, because these are two movies with two completely different objectives in mind. 

Okay, so this is still a persona 5 strikers post, I promise, but the idea is the same: Persona 5 could basically do whatever it wanted—new story, new characters, new everything, and it’s just plain old awesome. However, Persona 5 strikers did not have that sort of freedom. It was bound to the original game, and it had its own rules and stuff it had to keep intact, characters they had to work with, and on top of that, it had to justify its existence as a sequel (lets pretend money doesnt exist lmfao). 

SO, the big question is: did it do that? Did it justify its existence? 

And my answer: holy fuck did it ever do that

I came into this game knowing the extreme bare minimum. I knew there was someone named Sophia, and i knew there was roadtrip, and i knew there were Personas. That’s my knowledge of it before i played it on the Switch.  I should also clarify like, early on, that i was not expecting anything from this game. At all. I was the world’s biggest cynic of this game—if you scroll down my p5s tag far enough, youll just see me complaining about a game that hasn’t even come out yet. I was fully expecting to have this be a Waifu show, and any male character that isn’t Akira to just be shoved aside like some kind of nerd in a high school hallway, and i have never been more pleased to be wrong. In fact, i actually owe it an apology, because of how fucking rude i was for no reason!!! Because this game deserves everything to be honest. 

Persona 5 strikers is, frankly, insane. Insane in the sense that it got to pull shit off that just would never have existed in the original game, because the original game is scared. It had to be as impressive as possible and garner as much attention as possible. Strikers does not have that problem—every single person who bought that game does not need to be convinced that persona 5 is a good game. They already played it. That means Atlus can just fuck around and have a good time, and man did they have a good time. There’s still scenes that still shock me if i think about it too hard, because i’m used to atlus having to follow this sort of rule set when it comes to persona 5 (or any of the main games im assuming, but i havent played them.) And on top of that, there’s still shit that’s Atlus Trademarked Branded in a good way. The style of story of story telling, and revealing the mystery that is so integral to what p5 is, is still there. 

So, to make this even a little bit comprehensible, i will make a list! 

First of all, What is this game?

In short, this game is an OVA of an anime. It’s bonus side content that has one thing in mind: to showcase these lovable characters more by putting them in fun situations. That’s it, and it is just phenomenal. That was the main point of, i’d say, like forty hours of the game. It’s just fun times with fun characters. 

But to get deeper of what i think is happening, or what they were thinking during the development, is that this is a second opportunity. Persona 5 (as we all know) had a lot of problems, and we were not quiet about those problems. We yelled it all out, made posts, made complaints on every social media platform ever. And Atlus heard all of them, and Strikers is a way to mitigate those mistakes. Aside from being a fun OVA, Strikers also works to be a deeper exploration of these characters—more specifically, the characters that did not receive much in the original game. Creating this sequel is having the ability to redo what they felt (or to be more specific, we felt) in the original game while adding new ones. I will get to that in a second.  

The format of the game 

Absolutely brilliant to throw them on a road trip. P5V already forced us to experience Shibuya for 200+ hours, and im so glad that they didn’t do that again. Going from town to town, making us experience these new places alongside our favorite characters is so good, and it just makes sense. It’s fun, it’s lighthearted, and it’s actually shockingly good. But one thing i do want to talk about early on is the way the story unfolds and the villains that they use, and what they do with it because it’s very interesting. 

So as we explore japan and stuff, we encounter jails, and with those jails comes an antagonist. This antagonist works to be a parallel to one of our characters. That character will find it in their hearts to feel bad for the antagonist, because the antagonist could have been them had the original game not happen. At first I thought all of the thieves were gonna get an antagonist, and i was really hyped for the ryuji one. And then came to hour forty of the game where i realized “yeah that’s not gonna happen. There’s just not enough time.” And i was right, and the game ended. But i am not salty at all, honestly, because the people who got a direct antagonist were: Ann, Yusuke, and Haru. (we wont count zen and sophie). 

Is there a trend??? Yes. these are all characters in the original game that have received the worst treatment by atlus. The three of them are basically cast aside the minute they finished their original arc, and its horrible! BUT that’s why this is the path that atlus chose for them—to give them more depth, and screentime, and a way to show their inner self. That isn’t to say that the ones who aren’t those three (makoto, futaba, mona, akira, ryuji) didn’t get anything. Futaba still has her thing at the end with ichinose, and she was very prevalent and animated during the rest of the game. Mona and Akira have to be a focal points, that’s just the nature of the game. The other two though, I will talk about in depth in a second.  

Makoto

Y’all i poke fun at shumako fans sometimes cause its kind of easy and fun, but i honestly love makoto. In my very first playthrough of p5 (my first ever jrpg game, first persona game, i had no idea what i was doing), i had only maxed out two characters: ryuji and makoto. And i know she had a lot of screentime and love in the original game which is great, but i truly felt like she was dissed in this game. Her only roles were

A driver

Someone to tell them “we don’t have a choice. Let’s keep going and see where this takes us.” (seriously, if you replay this game, you will see how much she does this)

Idk, i just wish she had more to do, especially compared to how much love they gave the other characters. 

But let’s talk about some of the new characters! 

Zenkichi

Damn you atlus. Damn you and your insistence at bringing in cop characters. I was fully on board with hating zenkichi, i was fucking ready for it. I was convinced that there was nothing they could do convince to like zenkichi. I was immune to their copaganda. 

And then i ended up loving him, which makes me sad a little bit. I didn’t realize how desperate i was to have an adult who has a persona. Someone who wants the world to change just as much as they do, while still having that aspect of them that makes them adult. Like??? As someone who is technically an adult, its a breath of fresh air. An adult. Who fights. For justice. Using a persona. And god i love akane so much, and her obsession with the thieves (that scene is probably in my top ten fave scenes of the game). Also what i loved about zenkichi is that he fucking hates the cops!! He hates the system of the cops!! And thats why i actually really started to love him!! Because i thought it was atlus saying that the systematic problem of the police cannot be solved by one person, and zenkichi threw away his badge. I actually cried at that part!! 

But then he became a cop again, and i was just :/ but as a character, i really love him to bits and would love to do a study on him, or at least use him as an outside pov. But! i absolutely love his persona, since im a les miserables fan hehe

Sophia 

she’s probably my favorite new aspect of the game. I was ready to not like her—again, i just suck like that, lmfao—and when i saw her, i was scared that she was just another waifu. I mean, she was very cute after all. But then as the game went on, i thought she was a little too cute. And even further into the game, i finally slapped myself in the face and realized oh my god shes not a waifu. Shes a sister. 

That blew my mind, im ngl to you. A female character that isn’t supposed to be romanced? By jove, what a miracle! 

And she…is an amazing character. Im sorry, i just love her so much. I love her so much that she  probably ranks as my fifth or sixth favorite character which is surprising even to me. Everything about her is delightful and invigorating. She’s funny??? Her comedic timing is amazing, and she has such chemistry with the rest of the team. She’s actually useful to the plot, and while her character design is a little too on the nose for me in terms of cuteness (i mean, good god she’s wearing oversized sweater to show how cute and tiny she is, and her hair has literal hearts in it), she is absolutely lovable. 

But what i actually really wanna gush about for a second is sophia at the last stage of the game. You get the idea, i dont really like to get excited over things, so at this point i figured that there was nothing this game could do to shock me. 

And then sophia had a persona awakening. 

Like. holy fuck did i yell. I didnt realize what was happening until the music had already kicked in. and its just so fucking smart!!! Sophia??? The ai?? With no heart?? gOT A PERSONA???? AWAKENING??? BECAUSE SHE LEARNED WHAT THE HEART IS AND THE PASSION THAT YOU NEED IN ORDER TO GET A PERSONA??? I started crying honestly, because it was just so smart. And looking back on it now, its obvious!! Of course it would lead to this, it only made sense that the culmination of her character arc leads to her getting a persona, nothing else would have been as good. Also, her voice actor is just amazing?? When she was talking to ichinose at the end, i actually got incredibly emotional because of the line reads. Its just so spot on and it really captures the essence of sophia.

Muah. five stars Atlus. You got me. 

Ryuji <3!!!!

Oh man. Oh boy. Okay. so where do i start. 

Yall know i love him. Hes probably my favorite fictional male character of all time, and he is the one i was the absolute most cynical about in this game. I was expecting literally nothing. Nothing. Like. nothing. I thought he was just gonna keep being used as a joke, or a gag, and he’s gonna be super horny all the time for the other girls and it was gonna make me mad and there was gonna be some insane homophobic/queerphobic jokes in every other scene and i know i was being unfair, but i cant help it. 

And then i played the first two hours of the game, and i cried the entire time. Because ryuji has never been better than he is in this game. Its crazy. 

The ryuji in persona 5 strikers is who ryuji should have been/how he should have been treated this entire time. From the actual funny jokes (for example, the gold bar joke + his reaction to it in the beginning of the game), defending his female friends instead of being the one people need to defend from (natsume arc), and the fact that he was the one to be there with morgana and akira in the very beginning of the game. Its such a small thing that they didnt even need to do, but it was such an integral part of the original game for me, that i just was convinced that nothing like this was going to happen. But then it happened. Its just small stuff like that that could have been overlooked but it wasn’t because this game? Persona 5 strikers? Fucking loves ryuji. 

The actual respect they gave this boy is insane and i wasn't ready for it. Like, they gave the shujin trio lunch, they gave the little charm of the katana when they were in natsume’s jail, and, in my opinion this is the second-best thing that they could have given ryuji is sophia. Ryuji and sophia are the pinnacle of a brother & sister bonding relationship in the game that isn’t akira & futaba. And its really prevalent too?? Small stuff from the beginning of the game (pulling her out of a jail, calling her shorty), but then you have the iconic “shut the fuck up” scene, and that scene was so well characterized and written and voice acted, that somehow him saying “fuck” was the least exciting part of that scene to me. Ryuji is an older brother to her, like its undoubtable, and its only further cemented at the end of the game where Ryuji helps out ichinose because he knows how much sophia cares about her. This game. Love ryuji. And i love. This game. 

You know what else i love? Akiryu. 

Guys. i was fully prepared to starve in terms of akiryu. But theres just. So much of it. I wont get too deep into it, because i think this aspect of the game for me still needs marinate a little bit. Like, what was that last shot when EMMA died and Ryuji walked to approach Akira so they could relish in their victory together?? And the smile from both of them??? What the fuck. That was amazing. Also Joker being saved by Ryuji when he was about to fall from the cliff to save sophia??? WHAT. The LEADER AND HIS RIGHT HAND MAN? WHAT. anyway. If theres anything i want to keep for myself in my own brain, its the akiryu aspect of this game, so i wont talk too much about that part of things (instead, itll probably manifest in fic lmfaooo). 

Sure, there’s tidbits of stuff i dont like that they gave ryuji: sexualizing ann in that one cut scene and making him touch the jails even though it hurts, and i recognize those and frown at them, but for the most part, i am blown away with how they treated him.

Basically, Ryuji has never been better. From the opening of the game with him being the first text message and the one to sling his arm around akira, to the very last cut scene where it was ryuji wordlessly leaving because he’s so confident that they would never be separated for long, this game adores Ryuji and i am so so happy to say that.

The Royal aspect of things

Yeah, i had to talk about this, but itll be a short thing i just wanted to point out. Because the last part of this game...is persona 5 royal. Which is curious. Like taking reality and giving that power to someone else so you dont have to experience suffering anymore? And even like, the final section just looked a lot like the top half of maruki’s palace?? And whats even crazier is that we had a boss fight with sophia, just like how we had a boss fight with sumire? Royal and Strikers have like, the same thesis statement. It’s kind of uncanny.It’s interesting, it’s like atlus came up with these two ideas, and then just decided they liked both of them so much that they just did it twice. I don’t mind though—actually, in terms of how the last Palace/Jails go, i probably like them both about equally. 

Though i did love the final battle in this one more than i did in royal. Splitting into teams?? Thats cool as fuck, and really innovative and i didnt see it coming. It also kicked my ass. A lot. 

Now for the last stretch: the small stuff!

The music — bomb as fuck. In my heart, Daredevil is ranked the same as Rivers. Axe to grind is also amazing, but Daredevil owns me

Akechi — i really debated whether or not to talk about him, but i figured a bullet point should be enough. Im really shocked that he wasnt in this at all. Like not even a name drop. If this is an OVA, and the point of the game is to please the fans, and akechi is arguably the fan favorite character, i was really ready for something. But there was nothing, except for the pancake hallway if that even counts as a reference. Thats it. Thats all i wanted to say about him.

The humour — FUCKING HILARIOUS im convinced that in my fifty hour playtime, five of that is dedicated to me laughing and unable to continue the game 

Akira — so much personality! His lines of dialogue are crazy sometimes (like. Whats up with him saying Ryuji has ‘nice abs’ when they were in bath? Im crazy and even i dont know what the fuck that could mean) 

Battle system — oh my god i almost forgot to talk about this. I love it! I kind of miss the turn based aspect just because i found it very comforting for some reason, but this hack and slash style of gameplay is so invigorating because i do feel like it justifies shit like the baton pass and huge attacks.  This battle system fully encompases how the Phantom Thieves are supposed to fight, you know what i mean?

Anyway, thats my thoughts on strikers. Loved it. Amazing. 9.3/10, wouldve been higher but Konoe’s Jail almost bored me to death. Also im a monster and i didnt do any requests that isn’t a fun one, teehee. As if i play persona 5 for the persona aspect of things.

[bunny-hoodlum]

I finally finished watching Arcane!! I don't even know where to start. Half of the time watching it, I'm getting game lore commentary by my SO haha. He used to play LoL. I think his main was Ezreal, but he likes a bunch of other charas, I just can't of all of them right now.

It was cool that they used Jinx's theme song in one of the episodes, it's when Silco is walking up behind her and she's rocking out.

My SO said this was 6 years in the making. That tracks with when Ekko was added, if I'm correct. Not enough Ekko btw, but I look forward to next season for sure. I immediatelt attached to Heimerdinger so it's even better seeing him kinda mentor Ekko.

Oh yeah, my SO geeked out when Jayce appeared. Then he was excited when Caitlyn was with him, too.

Man, everyone got trauma in this show.

I guess the Hexcore turned off Viktor's transmutated limbs in retaliation?

Btw I learned that blue arcane is neutral. Amber is good? And purple is bad. And that shit was decaying at first, then it just turned straight up eldritch the second time around.

Real sad about Sky, holy crap.

I wanna go on about the fight scenes but IDK how to put into words... Aside from cinematic and kinetic and stylish and awesome. But what stands out is the equality of beatings I guess? Lol.

Jinx is visually and aesthetically my type lmao. She's like Tank Girl and Black Rock Shooter while being Harley Quinn-crazy. Such a tragic yandere and she just fucked things up worse at the end there. IDK how Jayce gonna survive. That inevitably feels like some plot armor shit.

I squee-ed when I saw babby Ekko. Yeah, I'm way out of order with all of this.

IDK if I'm gonna jump on the shipping train for this franchise, but once I immerse myself in fan stuff, we'll see lol. I'll prolly be more interested in TimeBomb at this point.

Oh yeah, at first my SO thought Vander was going to be changed into Urgot but then he realized Warwick made more sense and we literally got that glimpse of him.

I have mixed feelings about Mel, but I think she's just a neutral-good type and now that she's likely been iced, I feel sad to see her go. Maybe this means Noxus is gonna go to war on Zaun -- Well, IDK if Zaun even got properly recognized. I think they still needed Jinx in Stillwater before they would recognize the new nation.

This is all I have to say for now!! What an amazing new show!! Takes the Into the Spiderverse cel-shaded and 2D effect combo to its ultimate level and I can't wait for the next season!!

[squireofgeekdom]

yeah rewatching it with that context !! im fine !!

i did not have the context the first time to catch that it’s got her first creative team on the cover and i love it 

This is all flashing by in SECONDS but it’s ALL there you SEE Gwen kicking the lizard with that final blow you see him turn back into peter as he flies through the air you see the residual scales on his skin when Gwen is there as he’s dying. like it goes So Fast but it’s There and. holy shit yall.

WAILS

and she understands so. so much.

and god that throws the whole ‘peter you don’t have to be the one who stays’ into so much context like she’s only been spider woman for two years like. spider woman is probably still on the run from the cops in this context she’s questioning whether she can ever make up for this or if she’s doing more harm than good and she’s being hunted im. im. and if she can get another peter home even if it’s not hers. god. god.

and the whole ‘i’ve been there’ *to* peter b about seeing someone that’s not your version of them. god. god. she landed in this new york shortly before this spider man died and she saw a blonde version of her dead best friend up on tvs announcing he’s dead. and then she works with this version of peter and im JUST. 

(also I’ve definitely seen folks looking at the one trailer shot where it looks like gwen is crouched over a prone person in at least part of a spider-man looking outfit and thinking oh that’s where the whole gwen backstory of not saving her best friend and why there’s the whole ‘i’ve been there’ and no gang. we already got that. her peter was the lizard and we saw what happened - super quick! but it was on screen. yall. yall i don’t think this is backstory. we’re very likely going to have to watch gwen watch another peter possibly dying like. in her arms. again. (which also! happens to her shortly after her origin in the comics spiderverse event! she goes to another universe to try and help get another peter to safety and he dies in front of her! ahahahah earth 65 gwen stacy goes through. so. so much. 0.0 ))

My brain has decided that I require more spider-people stories so thanks to a chance bookstore encounter with volume 2 plus my library's hoopla account I've now read vol 0-2 of Spider-Gwen and oh god. Excuse me while I sob about earth 65 Gwen Peter and Harry.

[dephinecormier]

objective: list seven comfort movies and tag seven people

ngl i’m really not a movie person (i like tv shows more - tends to have more room for character development) tbh the only real time i watch a bunch of movies is when i’m on a plane and it’s a long haul flight which obviously couldn’t happen this year and considering that my memory is shot to hell and i don’t remember things that happened even today, imma only do six (believe me it took me awhile to even get five)

i was tagged by @moonlightandromache thank you!

The Old Guard - also known as the one (1) thing that has managed to capture my attention after i’ve been drifting aimlessly from one show to another after schitt’s creek ended. 1) charlize theron 2) holy shit the found family trope i love??? 3) charlize theron (i’m joking but also not really but the rest of the cast too i...yeah)

Portrait of a Lady on Fire - "you dreamt of me?” “no. i thought of you” do i have to say anymore?

Imagine Me and You - my old comfort movie although i’m not a fan of the well...cheating. but regardless it was one of the first few gay movies i watched that had a happy ending and i go back to it occasionally 

Knives Out - one of the most enjoyable movies i remember seeing last year that was really unexpectedly good. went in with no expectations and sort of saw the ending coming towards the last like five minutes but it was still good as hell. my friend and i spent the next two hours raving about it and it was just a really nice mental break from the finals hell i was living in

Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse - again another movie that was unexpectedly good. i went in to watch it having read no reviews about it, only there for miles morales really and was blown out of the water from the animation to the soundtrack to the storyline!

Arrival - idk i just really like the fresh take on language creation and how it was affected by how the aliens experienced time. but also i don’t remember that much from it other than that considering i was sleep deprived on a flight the last time i saw this

tagging: @robinbuckley @supcrgirl @whycantwegivellove @bebe404 and whoever else wants to do it i guess