#I already had to cut dishonored 2 from the d’s cause it would just take too long to do two full playthroughs

[onewhoturns]

Y’all are gonna pick all the longest games for this a-z, I should just cut all the long ones from the next couple polls lmao

[xoxardnekoxo]

Movie Review: Mulan (2020)

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

Ah, Mulan. One of my all-time favorite Disney movies. I loved it so much I had a life-size plush Mushu, a Disney Beanie Baby talking Mushu, a Mulan Barbie, every action figure made, a chirping Crikee, and even a Mushu/Crikee alarm clock. It’s no surprise that when Disney announced a live action version of this movie, I was all over it. The three-time delay in theaters due to the pandemic was disappointing, but then again, so was having to pay $30 on top of a monthly fee I already pay for Disney+.

When the movie was first announced, we knew right away that three things would be lacking that were in the beloved cartoon:

1. Mushu 2. Shang 3. Songs

I immediately jumped on this band wagon at the announcement of no Mushu:

Supposedly the actual country of China strongly disliked Disney’s animated interpretation of an actual legend from their homeland. I don’t know the full details, but I do know that with that in mind, Disney wanted to make the live action version of the movie more authentic to the actual story. This really wasn’t meant to be a remake of the cartoon, but a more accurate take on real events.

I know it’s Disney and that usually means music, but honestly, I’m okay with no songs. I outgrew musicals 15+ years ago. I was even okay with no Shang (but it makes no sense when there is an obvious, if unfulfilled, love interest in this version as well).

Much as I love Mushu, I was still eager to see this movie because I’m a fan of Asian culture in general and was curious to see how this movie would play out. Imagine my surprise when I learned that this version would consist of a phoenix and a witch.

How is that any different than a dragon? Is it because dragons are kind of sacred to the Chinese? A phoenix is similar - it’s a bird that is reborn from fire. And a witch? I highly doubt that actually happened in the original story. Did it? I don’t know, but my point remains.

Unlike the cartoon, Mulan in this adaptation knows quite a bit about combat already. We can see her as a child using her skills quite often, and her father tells her to contain her (strong) chi. Speaking of chi, it’s mentioned quite a lot in this movie. Apparently what makes Mulan such a strong/good fighter and leader is her strong chi. Chi is mentioned so much all I could think of was this:

(Chobits anime)

Mulan doesn’t have her dog (Little Brother) in this movie, but she does have a little sister. Interestingly enough, the original story depicts her as having a younger brother, but he was too young to fight. So if Disney was going for accuracy, they still could have gone that route and stayed true to the source material.

As with the cartoon, Mulan does meet the matchmaker, but she doesn’t go in alone. She goes in with her mother and sister, the latter of which is terrified of spiders. Instead of a lucky cricket causing a catastrophe during this “audition,” a spider decides to scurry in and scare the younger sister, prompting the cacophony. So really, it’s the sister’s fault Mulan brings dishonor in the matchmaker’s eyes.

Mulan’s father is frequently chastised by her mother for encouraging her boy-like behavior. “She is your daughter, not your son.” Rude. But remember, this is a different era. The only way a female could bring honor to her family was to be a good wife and bear sons. Still, harsh.

So we all know what happens next. One man from every family has to join in a fight against some turd determined to take over the empire, in this case one who is using a witch to help him, and Mulan takes her father’s place since she fears for his life. But she has good reason to - the poor guy needs help walking and even her mother said he won’t return from battle this time. Way to sugar-coat it, lady.

So we get to the men’s camp... no wait, first, we get lost and a phoenix (symbolic, since it appears no one else is able to see it at all) shows up to guide Mulan to where she needs to go. Yes, instead of asking the ancestors for help, her father asked the family guardian (phoenix) to watch over her. Okay.

Eventually we get to a large tent shared by all the soldiers. Yes, this time, they don’t all get their own individual tent. And of course, all the men are running around half dressed, throwing things at each other, rough-housing, you know the drill. It’s especially amusing when one of them loses his towel and Mulan immediately closes her eyes and cringes.

Then the commander asks for a night guard volunteer. Mulan proceeds to volunteer for this every night to avoid having to shower with the men. Too bad they all start to notice the smell. Funny, in the cartoon, Mulan absolutely did not want to smell like a man at all. It takes her quite some time before she’s able to sneak into the river to bathe. Too bad one of the guys decides to follow her in and she has to hide herself. :D

During training, rules and penalties are revealed, and the penalty for pretty much doing anything wrong is death. Except one thing - dishonesty. Dishonesty brings expulsion from the army as well as dishonor to the family. Don’t talk to a woman or you’ll die, but pour out some water to make the buckets lighter during a strength exercise and get humiliated.

So we eventually get to a big battle scene with all the flying arrows, and Mulan, of course, winds up by herself fighting the witch. The witch can obviously tell that Mulan is hiding her true self, so she’s all, “You’re going to die pretending to be something you’re not.” Then something pierces the wrap Mulan uses to hide her chest and she decides the best course of action is to go back to her comrades as her female self. The whole “big reveal” scene is her taking her hair down (which she does not cut with a sword by the way - in fact, she doesn’t cut it at all) and walking out of the fog and introducing herself. To me, that was very anti-climactic.

The cherry on top of that is when, after being expelled from the army for dishonesty (weird though, another rule was to not consort with women at all and yet she actually IS a woman and isn’t killed), she returns to the camp and the men immediately accept her for who she is because she’s all, “The emperor is in danger and I know how to save him.”

So the commander allows her to lead a group of men into the Imperial City to save the emperor, who is quite a warrior himself - he breaks out his armor to fight the Hun (not Shan-Yu, I don’t even remember what his name is this time), then Mulan shows up and of course she and the witch team up because, hey, why not? They’re both misunderstood women always being told to stay in their place, except the witch is controlled by the Hun and Mulan is free.

The witch can transform into a hawk or something like that (probably a shout out to Shan-Yu’s pet from the cartoon) and she actually flies in front of Mulan to save her from getting pierced by an arrow. So of course she dies in our protagonist’s arms and is all, “Take your place.” And of course, as expected, Mulan saves the day. And let me just say, how many times can one possibly kick an arrow and send it flying straight toward a designated target? It happens at least five times in this movie, and just once is a one in a million shot. Yeah, cool effect, but totally not accurate, Disney. I thought that was the whole point of this movie - more accuracy to the source content. And you also wanted to appease China. Too bad it didn’t work this time around, either.

The movie ends with Mulan being offered a position on the emperor’s army (nice cameo by Ming-Na Wen, the original voice of Mulan from the cartoon!), but she chooses to go back home - where her sister has been matched to someone who isn’t afraid of spiders.

Yay! Then Mulan’s commander and some other guys show up and offer her the same job the emperor did, only in front of her entire village, so everyone knows she has now brought honor to her family and the country, prompting the matchmaker to faint because she was proven wrong.

So then she does take the job after all, and that’s pretty much the end. Shang isn’t in the movie but there is one fellow soldier she seems to have fun with in practice combat, and he’s super eager to accept her as a woman, even saying she’s the best soldier they’ve got. But nothing comes of that - the two part ways as friends, but honestly, I think it’s okay in these circumstances. Throwing a love story into this rendition just wouldn’t work.

So all in all, not a bad movie, but I think I probably should have waited until it was available on regular Disney+ or DVD instead of spending $30 on premiere access. But I would have spent that going to the theater anyway, so I guess it’s not so bad. I do know a lot of people absolutely hated this movie and it’s gotten bad reviews. I didn’t mind it, but I think my favorite live-action Disney movie so far is Aladdin. This one is probably in second place, though. I think the reason people dislike it so much is that there are so many things missing that were in the cartoon. But again, this is not meant to be a remake of the cartoon - it’s meant to be a more accurate version. But you just can’t make everyone happy.

Overall, I’d give the movie a 7/10. It could have been better, could have been worse. I still prefer the cartoon but it was interesting to see this version as well. Now to see what other live action movies get made... and we’ll see if The Little Mermaid can beat this with a black Ariel. I think I should audition for the role of Snow White - I have the short hair, pale skin, and am always talking to animals. If Ariel can be black, Snow White can be fat!

[grannyrcgs]

Dishonored Thesis; A study on T h e V o i d

           I am a brave human being, and as such this thesis will work on previous understanding of magic, magical theory, and comprehension of magical mechanics-- AND IS JUST FOR FUN. Everything below is cut in to “chapters” for a more functional arrangement and easier reading.

          Please note nothing here has been too heavily referenced in writing, but that does not necessarily mean that it will not contain spoilers for Dishonored, the DLC Knife of Dunwall, The Brigmore Witches, and Dishonored 2.

Enjoy.

               —— Thaumaturgic technicality of void brands ——

            A void brand in Dishonored is the mark etched in to the skin, typically on the left hand, by the ascended psuedo-god The Outsider. All we truly know about the void brand canonly is the mark is given without regard for merit to individuals who have piqued The Outsider's interest; bearers of the mark can use runes to strengthen their powers and gain new abilities; there have only been eight people in the world who were given these brands (unclearly inferred that Corvo Attano and Emily Kaldwin are both counted in this number, later on); and The Outsider places no conditions on marked individuals, allowing them to use their powers as they see fit.

              There is suggestions that the marks of The Outsider cause discomfort and are related to an internal access of power rather than an external one. The Rat Boy has a notation that his mark itches soon after receiving it, Emily comments that it burns but from the inside, and Corvo is seen shaking and clenching as his hand is branded in a burning ember fashion-- none of these examples come from exterior forces however. Most reactions regarding the mark (such as smoke coming off of it when corvo changes abilities) are triggered by some internal change.

                Here’s where the fun theories come in-- the mark isn’t what gives the branded powers. If that were the case, then the occult dedicated to the worship of The Outsider, those who carve brands in to their hands, might theoretically have access to some low key abilities such as Void Gaze. No, instead of considering the mark as the source of power, consider it a key and the branded person the lock. It does not unlock The Void, it does not unlock mystical powers... instead consider that it unlocks the potential of perception within a person.

                  This brand does nothing more than allow the person to see reality in a way that surpasses that of the normal mortal limitations.

            —— Perception and manipulation of the void.  ——                                       —— Delilah v.s. Daud & Corvo ——

                    What does perception have to do with The Outsider’s gifts? Frankly speaking, everything. Perception is the world as we understand it-- through touch, taste, sight, sound, smell,-- via all of our senses. Occasionally we hear tale of a sixth sense, someone who hears more than the average person, or sees strange things in the night. Small changes in perception can cause big differences in how we live our lives and experience the world; now imagine not just a sixth sense, but a seventh, and eighth, and ninth, and so forth and so on- it would be too much to comprehend and theoretically break a person.

                    So what does the brand change about the person it’s gifted to? It gives access to a level of perception so far beyond that of a normal person while skipping all of those stacking levels of stress and pain. By the act of The Outsider himself placing this brand upon a person’s hand he is allowing them to experience a perceptive ability that’s already cohesive and stabilized-- on that of a godlike level but with a siphon cap on the expanse, at which, may be accessed at any given point so their senses are not overloaded. This siphon cap prevent unnecessary damage to the host of the brand, but extensive use and expanse of said cap can still render the host incapacitated (mentally, permanently, or otherwise).

                    What caps this siphon off? Naturally, it’s limited by the own bearer’s ability to tolerate perceptive change in the world itself. Between Corvo, Daud, and Delilah we see that their individual strengths revolving around this perception comes at increasing intervals in the aforementioned order. Corvo, while the youngest brand, is arguably the most powerful at that point in time. He can overtake Daud easily... however, that does not necessarily mean Corvo had stronger abilities.

                   Between the three of them Delilah showed the most capability in handling a larger intake of perceptive overwrite, as suggested by her ability to impose her will upon other people, and even inanimate objects. She is the perfect example of what exactly could be the perfect step up from human to something much closer to what The Outsider actually is. Delilah can spread her gaze far and wide (as seen by interacting through a statue of herself back in Dunwall, all the way from Brigmore Manor), and can spread it between multiple subjects (such as all of the statues in her garden). The impressive thing here is how much control Delilah has when asserting her power.

                      The idea behind these powers are that you exist, in a sense, above reality. For most people reality is what they take in;; for the marked, reality is what they expect it to become (to an extent). When Delilah talks through a statue it is not that she is causing the statue to move, but that the statue is her. And as such, all of the statues are connected to her consciousness in a way that allows her to utilize them as an outlandish (and tacky) security system of sorts. They all see, they all hear, they can all speak, and to an extent they can all move-- She is the statue and the statue is her. This idea is later reinforced when Delilah successfully creates clones of herself. There is no true Delilah; they are all Delilah simply spread out in to various concentrations. Arguably the one with the most concentration of her consciousness is “more real” than the others, but effectively she could adjust it to take place in any of her collective consciousness.

                      Daud does something similar as Delilah, but not at nearly as high of a tier. Summon Assassin is a power unique to Daud-- in the sense that while he and Delilah both have Arcane Bonds and spread their perception passively to their followers, Daud can actively alter the positions of those he has shared his bond with. Summon assassin does not materialize ethereal beings; oh no, each and every one of these assassins have names, experiences, personalities, and sense of the world outside of where they were summoned to. In Daud’s case, he is not shifting his consciousness in to another place, but instead perceiving that the person he wants was already there to begin with. It’s an incredible feat to bend reality in such a way that it believes you are right and it was wrong-- which is exactly what Daud is doing. Though as powerful as that sort of ability is, it proves to have its limits even to Daud, as he can only call one person at a time.

                      To a lesser extent, Corvo mimics the ability to bend reality to his will via Devouring Swarm-- he’s seen thousands of rats across Dunwall. Picking them up from one spot and putting them where he wants them is no small feat, but it is hardly a great victory.

                —— Points of interest in power developments ——         —— Polymorphic diversity in brand abilities ——

                      This is the part where we get nit-pickey about the differences between the known abilities of the void. Daud and Corvo blink, however Delilah apparates. The difference is a simple factor; Daud and Corvo move themselves physically and quickly through time and space, while Delilah shifts through dementions to appear where she desires to be. Watching closely, Delilah leaves no physical trail of manifestation when she vanishes-- and is likely using those multiple points of consciousness (or imposed will) to bamf around. Daud and Corvo, however, will still break tripwires, tip over bottles and glasses on occasion, or catch the passing alert of a particularly watchful guard. This implies that when Corvo or Daud blinks, that they are simply (once again) telling reality that “No, I was supposed to be OVER THERE!” and reality is going “Oh??? Really??? Oops, let me fix that.” and shifting them over to the desired location. Given the differences in transversal methods, it could be assumed that those are the reasons Blink is limited to where Corvo or Daud can see, and why Delilah can zoom halfway across the void after you kill one of her clones.

                         Corvo has no means on his own to locate charms or runes-- the heart is an artifact that is later passed on to Emily, should the player choose her as their character, which implies he no longer has that ability (and neither does Emily in that same sense). Daud has Void Gaze, which allows him a limited view through the eyes of the void itself to see people, sources of power or contraptions of interactions, as well as sense runes and bone charms in a near by vicinity. And Delilah is rumored to be able to catch glimpses of the foreseeable future; something previously only hinted to have been accessible to Vera Moray (Granny Rags) and The Outsider himself. The ability and strength at which one may gaze in to the void seems to be dependent upon the branded’s own ability limit and how open their perception has become to such things.

                           Meanwhile, Delilah has advanced her own magic to the point where she can inflict control over other people’s arcane bonds (as seen with Billie, who exhibited powers from BOTH Daud and Delilah) and has created a whole set of abilities unique to her and subsequently her coven. (See such things as summoning roots with Pull, creating a vocal screech that knocks you back, and shooting shadowy thorns like darts from her wrist)

                          All powers are based on the branded’s ability to imagine them. So for people like Daud and Corvo who are functional and utilitarian styled in mind, their abilities all posses a basic function with little to no physical manifestation beyond what’s necessary-- but then if you look at Emily and Delilah, there are excesses of flourishes that show room for growth and seeds of expansion and creativity. Perhaps part of what has made Delilah so powerful in regards to her control over her abilities is that she was an artist before being branded. Already she could create and imagine things that were simply outlandish. Emily, having been influenced by such things since the age of ten, and watching her father for the fifteen years afterwards opened her mind to the possibilities of more. Shadow Walk, for example is perhaps more flashy and excessive than it needs to be-- but it’s creative. Something not seen in out more militaristic branded characters.

                             Meanwhile, looking through all of this, doesn’t it seem familiar? Specifically, looking at who The Outsider favors and speaks to more. The Outsider speak to Delilah more than Daud, because Daud-- militaristic and functional in his time and scheduling-- has become predictable by nature and follows the time table set of life. And while The Outsider speaks to Delilah with scorn and dislike, for many years he has stopped speaking to Daud altogether. Creativity is interesting.

                                          —— Music box technology —— —— Mathematical reinforcement and augmentation of reality ——                 —— And it’s affects on the void and void users ——

                             Now with all of this talk about magic and how it’s fueled by perception, let’s talk about the Overseers and why their music boxes work the way they do. The Holger’s Device, or music box, is a box of alloyed metals which produces "mathematically pure" notes,that acts on the theory that there are hidden waves throughout the natural world--  according to the studies of the Abbey of the Everyman, founded by Benjamin Holger.

                                What these music boxes do are impose notes that resonate and force the laws of reality-- those things which create our perception, and keep the state of nature stable.  If, as previously used, the outsider’s powers allows the user to tell reality “You goofed up”, then the music box used by the warfare overseers instead tells it “You are exactly as you should be, they are lying to you, here is the proof.”

                                These music boxes have been shown being used in strange means-- creating gusts of winds strong enough to knock Corvo back, and even having been able to repel Corvo and Daud as if encroaching on to an invisible barrier; implications behind this stand that if you access too much of the void (since such tactics are not utilized early on against the branded) you begin to exist just barely outside the scope of perceivable reality.  The looping notes in the cylinder of the Holgers Device likely play a music/numerical collaboration of such mathematical sequences like the Fibonacci ratios so as to forcefully augment and impose a strict structuring in to the reality around it. The universe naturally craves order, and these devices create it-- almost forming a cemented bond that prevents those who have the mark from bending it. And what cannot bend will only break; chances are the branded would break before an augmented perception of structured reality.

                                This also comes to explain why those of weaker persuasions (like Daud’s assassins, who are not directly branded themselves) actually come to fall before the continual sounds of the playing Holger’s Device (such as the scene in Knife of Dunall, where you rescue Billie). The Holger’s Device is literally stripping them of their arcane bond, forcing them back in to mortal bonding of perception. I imagine it’s like going from somewhere with a high air pressure and temperature to somewhere of a low air pressure and temperature very quickly-- it causes your head to hurt,  throb, and it makes you very dizzy and disoriented. While not the same, the experience is similar in that you are all but blind and deaf in terms of what you can now understand in terms of how your reality is working.

                                    Those who have been fully branded are not likely to fall to the music boxes because they are something permanently outside of perceptive reality-- but those still within its boundaries can be stripped of everything they’ve become adjusted to, and be left in sensory shock or overload.... all by a few musical notes.