#The movie and game characterizations are not going to be 1 for 1

[pianokantzart]

How likely do you think it is that Mario and Luigi Brothership has any sort of direct reference to the movie, and how would you feel if they actually did that?

I wouldn't bank on a direct reference, but I know that Nintendo and Illumination worked pretty close together on the film, with Shigeru Miyamoto himself acting as co-producer. Given the huge success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, I'm thinking Nintendo is taking measures to very subtly make the games and the film reflect each other.

What happened with the cover of Princess Peach Showtime comes to mind:

Say what you will about the design change in and of itself, but you can't deny that whatever happened there was influenced by the movie.

I think something similar (but much more subtle) might have happened here:

It's easy to see how that pose might have been based on that shot from the film, but it's also nothing so drastic that people who are only familiar with the games are going to feel out of the loop. Or perhaps it's just a coincidence. Who knows, really.

If there does end up being a direct reference to the movie in "Mario and Luigi: Brothership"? I'd be thrilled. The Super Mario Bros. Movie is the thing that got me hyperfixated in the first place, so I'm always going to be on board with references to it.

[cryptidstealingyourcreditcard]

What things in HTTYD 3 do you feel like should have been different/fixed?

OH BOY DO I HAVE SOME OPINIONS ON THIS BRACE YOURSELVES

also thank you so much for asking me

let’s start off with the characterization. first, hiccup. where did that pathetic little freakazoid from httyd 1 go??? where did his sass go?? why is he just a cookie cutter stereotypical hero now?????? and i’ll talk about the fact that he just let toothless go later.

fishlegs- it’s been a while since i watched this movie, and if im being perfectly honest i don’t remember much about him in it. but im pretty sure he was kind of just there, yk? like he wasn’t as anxious or funny or nerdy or caring or sensible as he was before. he just seemed kind of bland to me.

snotlout. this fucker. this little bitchboy. he was done so fucking dirty in this movie. why was he so pathetic???? like yeah i get making him mess up occasionally cause haha funny comedic relief. but like. he’s not helpless???? like this is the kid who was literally trained to be the perfect picture of a viking his whole life. he’s the model viking. this is the kid who single handedly took down multiple full grown outcasts on their own island with nothing but a small metal rod and spite at the age of fifteen. he won every thawfest game for years! he’s a good fighter! he’s not useless. and his personality???? GOD. WHAT THE FUCK. why is he flirting with valka, someone who is much older than him and widely viewed (out of canon) to be his aunt??? why the fuck would he say “who died and made you chief?”????? he cried at stoicks funeral! yeah, maybe he would’ve been that much of a dick in the first movie, but there have been three shows, one movie, four(?) shorts, and multiple comics since then!! he’s has so much character growth that they just threw away because haha funny. also his beef with eret was completely unnecessary like even when he was beefing with dagur at least there was some previous thing that started it. his beef with eret just came out of nowhere??

and astrid. they just turned her into the stereotypical hero’s wife. where did her personality go???? and i get the symbolization of her hair progressively getting looser as she gets less uptight and chills out and matures but like… i miss her fuckass emo bangs. give them back. her whole character isn’t supposed to exist solely to support hiccup so why is that the only thing she does in the hidden world???? justice for my girl

now. the twins. oh boy do i have some opinions here.

they were done so fuckikg dirty i’m going to crash the fuck out like why. just why.

let’s start with tuffnut.

starting strong with the fact that he loses his own twin sister who shares a whole dragon with him. then there’s his whole beard thing, which like, isn’t entirely out of character but it sure as fuck wasn’t in character either. now let’s circle back to losing ruffnut. because WHAT THE FUCK TUFF. and then when he realizes she’s gone he just says he’s more worried about her captors?????? DUDE. BRO. MY MAN. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TUFFNUT WHO FAKED HIS OWN DEATH JUST SO THAT HIS SISTER WOULDNT FEEL PRESSURED TO STAY FKR HIM. WHAT HAPLENED TO THE TUFFNUT WHO, WHILE STUCK IN A DRAGON TRAP IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, HAD AN ENTIRE IMPROMPTU CONVERSATION WITH BARF ABOUT HOW RUFFNHT MAY FEEL TRAPPED AS A WOMAN IN A MANS WORLD. WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO THE TUFFNUT WHO LOST HIS GODDAMN MIND WHEN RUFFNUT GOT CAPTURED??? WHAT HAPLENED TO THE TUFFNUT WHO HAD WHOLE ASS HUNTERS RUNNING FROM HIM SCREAMING BECAUSE THEY CAPTURED HIS SISTER???? “that’s my sister out there, astrid. and if this goes wrong, and we don’t save her, i couldn’t live with myself” MY FUCKING ASS. just like snotlout, he was so uncharacteristically insensitive it was insane.

and RUFFNUT.

MY GIRL WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU????

they literally just made her a dumb blonde. she’s not that fucking DITZY. barring httyd 2, she had never previously been boy-crazy. she’s not a flirt, she’s not thirsty, she doesn’t care about romance. and the fact that she said she “never looks back”???? WHAT???? what happened to my girl who faked a breakdown to steal a key from a guard??? what happened to the ruffnut who is constantly giving hiccup inspiration for new inventions????? the fuck do you mean you never look back???? and the fact that she thought she annoyed grimmel into letting her go?? come on ruff. you’re better than that.

and speaking of grimmel. what was that weak ass villain???? dude was just a normal guy. even johann was more intimidating than him. you will never be viggo grimborn. bitch.

and toothless. TOOTHLESS. toothless.

first of all, they flattened his nose. he’s so squished now. on top of that, they rounded his head more, gave him much more prominent brow bones, and pushed his eyes entirely too close together and made them SO square. he’s supposed to look sleek and scary, not boxy and nonthreatening.

and why is he acting like a horny dog??? he’s literally never done that before. the slobbering, and dancing with his own shadow, and ditching hiccup without a second thought was so not like him, and not in a “he’s in love” way. it was in a “the writers don’t know the character” way.

and the fact that he left hiccup once he got his tail????? there was an entire short (gift of the night fury) dedicated to hiccup giving toothless an automatic tail and toothless saying he didn’t want it, he wanted hiccup. be so fucking for real rn dreamworks.

the whole ending was just stupid asf low key

[dumbgoondog]

Hey! I loved your Gojo alphabet, your understanding and characterization of him feels so perfect. I would love to see more like that, (especially for Mahito or Kenjaku haha). I also love the aesthetic of your blog. Have a great day!

Thank ya hun, happy to satisfy. Just for you, here’s Mahito, and I’ll get Kens later.

Mahito NSFW Alphabet

MDNI +18

Cw/Tw — Mentions of killing, blood/minor gore, Mahito is a tw, dub con, stalking

(A)ftercare - he’s not… the best at it. He’ll cuddle ya, maybe say he liked it even. That’s about it though. He’ll probably start reading immediately after. Don’t mistake that for him not caring though! You don’t get to leave his side for at least 1 hour. He will follow you or just not let you move.

(B)ody Part - chest. Not for breasts or pecs or any of that. Your heart. He wants to hear your heart, to feel it. He doesn’t have one, literally, but he really likes their sound.

(C)um - He’s a freak. Where doesn’t matter, but you get to have a very fun guessing game of what is about to come out. Sometimes it’s normal, white cum. Sometimes it’s eggs, like fish eggs. Sometimes it’s slime, thick and stretchy. Fuck you, cuz he’s doing big sperms, spworms, as well. Lay out boundaries otherwise that’s an issue you’ll be having.

(D)irty Secret - there are no dirty secrets, he is dirty. There is a clean secret tho. He really loves doing domestic things with you. He’s fascinated by the human experience and life, even if he mocks it. Going on dates, movie nights, cooking together, making social media posts, all of that is his secret desire. He won’t say it, you have to figure it out.

(E)xperience - I’m of two minds, he has some or none. If he has any experience, he’s absolutely used a transfigured human more for the experience than anythin. Otherwise none because he’s just never thought about it for himself. I DO think he loves watching people go at it. Like a creepy freak. I’m talking breaking and entering homes to watch couples. Going to love hotels and watching. Sometimes he’s mocking about it and judging their performance other times he just stands there. Watching. No expression.

(F)avorite Position - Centipede, naga, anything where he gets to be long and fully grappling you. He wants to watch you, to feel you, from every angle and every way.

(G)oofy - your silly carefree Mahito, should be goofy in sex yeah? Wrong. It’s not that he’s deadpan and serious, or that he doesn’t want to ruin the moment. He’s just super focused! Every single time. He’s listening to your heart, your soul, your sounds. You are the most fascinating thing ever, and he doesn’t want to be distracted by anything not even for a second.

(H)air - That depends. Either he has no hair except on his head or he has his furry pants and he has a sheath. Sometimes though he’ll have hair! … because he’s shapeshifted into something.

(I)ntimacy - yes but not how you’re thinking. He’s a curse, his definition of intimacy is different. He’s very primal. For him it’s making sure you feel good, that you’re covered in his mark, that you smell like him, and poor Jogo the one time he walked in, Mahito went fully feral and split off a clone to fight Jogo while he still kept fucking into you but changing to be on top and mounting you like an animal and biting your nape, snarling. You’re his mate, he protects you, and during sex your souls are dancing together so his brain is going crazy.

(J)ack off - Never. Not until you. He walks away from every interaction biting back the desperate urge to pounce on you. He’s a dog. He’s stolen your clothes, your pillow, any toys, this man has a shrine to you. It’s fucked up.

(K)ink - Somnophilia. He wants to fuck you while you sleep. With your consent of course! If you’re not okay with that would you mind if he jacked off while you slept? It’s the curse part of his brain talking, it’s in his nature to want you while you’re vulnerable. It’s also in his nature to want you to be safe while you’re vulnerable.

(L)ocation - anywhere and everywhere, with and without an audience. On every piece of furniture, in every changing stall at stores, in the park, in the forest, graveyards, everywhere. He secretly really really wants to do it in a coffin in a graveyard. Not one that’s being used, but maybe, but you get the idea.

(M)otivation - Your smell, your blood, your heart, you. Oh pain too, his own or others.

(N)o - he will not shape shift into a child, animal, or anything like that. He’s a freak, not a monster.

(O)ral - you, in his mouth, now. Fingers, thighs, neck, tongue, oh he loves tasting you. Having you in his mouth. He has a theory it’s his latent desire to eat you, as a curse.

(P)ace - overwhelming, overstimulating, rapidly changing. He fucks like a rabbit most of the time, otherwise it’s whatever he’s in the mood for or what you ask for. He’s very happy when you ask him for things.

(Q)uicky - yes. Anywhere, anytime, audience or none. Most people can’t see him anyways! He wonders if on the cameras your hole is just gaping and spasming from pleasure while he fucks you.

(R)isk - his only limits is not being a child or animal. Punch, kick, stab, use a wound, it’s all on the table if you say yes!

(S)tamina - he has a good deal, but not to much above average. Once he cums he’s usually done, sometimes he’ll go for two or three rounds tho

(T)oys - he likes watching you use them on yourself, not on him though. Specifically you using them. If he’s making you feel good he’s using his body. Not because he’s insecure, but because he can shape shift to do whatever that toy is doing.

(U)nfair - He LOVES teasin ya. Sexually and non sexually. He loves your reactions! Try to tease him and he’s chasing you. You are prey and he’s a predator playing with his food. Not the other way around

(V)olume - he’s so loud and never shuts up. He’s talking about everything he’s feeling, how you look, how you sound, and if applicable, getting you pregnant. Yeah. Making little hybrids, knocking you up, taking care of you while you’re pregnant, he’s really into it. It’s part primal, partly the desire for that domestic life.

(W)ild Card - Yandere. Full on stalking, collecting any of your belongings like it’s treasure, tracking your schedule, stalking socials, learns all your friends names and their history’s. He’s not going to kill any of them… if he doesn’t have too. If they make you happy he can cope if he doesn’t like them. The creep at the bar though? Dead. Any bullies? Probably dying too.

(X)-ray - Camando, or because he thinks it’s funny, the laciest black lingerie you’ve ever seen.

(Y)es - Collars, or eternity collars, for both of you! Matching ones! Watch his tail wag and eyes just fucking sparkle.

(Z)zz - he doesn’t sleep. He can’t sleep. He will meditate tho, more often than not he just reads.

[elexuscal]

Want to be a better writer? Read

Read Widely

An oft-repeated bit of advice for writers is "you gotta read". That said, I pretty often see people confused about what this means-- or arguing about a narrow set of what "counts" as reading for that advice.

This is my attempt to wrangle with my own perspective on how to execute on that advice, according to my own attempts over the last few years to live up to that. (And indeed, while this is primarily aimed at fiction writers, this'll probably be broadly applicable to writers across a wide variety of genres, formats, and even mediums. just move things a little to the left if they don't apply)

If you want to get better at writing, what should you read? More or less, everything. But to give some guidelines:

1. Read Widely Within Your Genre

Genres are more or less conversations composed of stories. They are built upon break out hits, popular tropes, emerging trends, current concerns, stylistic flourishes. You can't be part of the conversation if you don't know what's already been discussed. You don't want to bumble your way into a genre you barely know, talk a big game about "revolutionizing it", and end up writing a trite replication of a 50-year-old pillar of the genre.

2. Read Widely OUTSIDE Your Genre

At their best, genres are conversations. At their worst, they are the bland copying of other peoples' homework. You need to bring new conversational partners in (or, to mix metaphors, new DNA) to keep things fresh. I'm a spec fic person first and foremost, but I make sure I mix that diet up with other genres, from "literary" fiction, mysteries, romance, etc, because they'll teach you the elements your own preferred genre(s) might be missing.

3. Read Non-Fiction

Non-fiction are stories too, just stories about true facts. (Some of those stories are truer than others; some are more convincing; the two aren't necessarily the same). Learning how those narratives are built is vital. Not to mention, the information itself can inspire you— real life science, history, sociology, economics, etc, are fertile beds for world-building, characterization, and plot.

4. Read From Other Backgrounds and Cultures Besides Your Own

I'm hardly the first person to say that the publishing industry, like so many industries, primarily elevates certain voices— white, western, male, often privileged— over others. This is gonna give you a bit of a narrow perspective of how the world works. It is also likely to give you a narrow perspective of how stories are constructed. There are a LOT of pieces of writing advice that's treated like universal (the Three Act structure, the Hero's Journey, etc) that are really just extremely common in Western literature, and looking at pieces from outside it will expand your ideas of how to create stories.

5. Read From Other Time Periods

Honestly, this is sort of just a different take on the last one ('The Past Is A Different Country', or so they say), but it's different enough that I want to clarify it. Tropes and trends and story convention change over time. Read stories from 50 years ago; 200; 500; 2000. Plays, fairy tales, ballads, poems. Seriously, ancient mythological epics are SO cool to read because you truly feel connected to a storytelling tradition stretching back generations.

6. Read Books for Kids and Youth

The best kids books have stunning clarity of purpose. They have to be REALLY good at communicating their information. Learn from that.

7. Consume Other Mediums

I wish we had a better word for this, because 'consumption' does bring to mind someone just ploughing through food endlessly without thought or discernment, but we don't have another word for the breadth of ways we enjoy media. Watch television and movies and short films (and consider how those formats differ). Listen to podcasts and radio plays. Watch stage plays. Read the scripts of all the above. Read comics and graphic novels. Play video games. Watch the news. Listen to music. Go to art museums and galleries of all stripes. All of these have different strengths and weaknesses, different pacing, different styles. Learn from them.

8. Pay Attention to the Media You Might Not Even Think About As Media

Yes, we're taking the last one even further. I'm talking about the media often overlooked, either because it's often denigrated by society, or because frankly, it just blends in the background. In the first category, that's stuff like reality TV and social media posts and graffiti. In the second we have things like Facebook Marketplace posts or the backs of cereal boxes or the technical manual for your new air conditioner. (Advertisements live somewhere in the Venn diagram overlap between the two.) These all also have their own structure, styles, and merits.

9. Read Bad (and Simply Mediocre) Media

Recommendation lists will usually be filled with examples of good stories, because, well, they're good. But if you're reading in part to learn how to write, there's a lot to be gleamed by pieces that just... miss the mark. Whether it's clocks or cars or electronics, when things break you can gleam insights into how they're supposed to work; much is the same with the not-so-great media.

10. Read Indie Stuff

Pretty much every medium's industry has formal publishers who help distribute art, and in theory, vet for quality. They are, broadly, successful at that... but as I've discussed before, those same publishers can often act as gatekeepers, with an overly narrow view of what counts as "quality". Across mediums, the indie space is often where you'll find the most unique, experimental, and boundary-pushing art. It can be harder to navigate, but oh, is it worth it.

11. Read Fanfic

I'm sharing this on Tumblr, so I suspect I'm mostly preaching to the choir here, but nonetheless. In addition to the aforementioned benefits of indie media, fanfiction is capable of teaching you how to write transformative works. I'd argue transformative works have always been the bedrock of human storytelling, and that has not changed at all in the modern day. Mainstream media is choc-a-block with remakes, reboots, and adaptations, most of it bad. Why? Because they don't know what makes for a good transformative work. So open up AO3, my children, and read!

12. Read Other Writers' Thoughts About The Writing Process

Well, since you've gotten to the twelfth point, you've succeeded there.

Okay, but seriously, I put this so low on the list because I do think it can sometimes be overstated; it is very easy to get lost in the weeds of theory over simply just writing. But it is good to process and reflect on all the things you've been reading, and this is a good way to do so.

And above all else, as you explore the wide wealth of pieces people throughout time and cultures have created, to paraphrase my friend Artemis: be curious about it. Curiosity is where the cool things happen.

[artist-issues]

I’m going to make this post as an intro to Sonic characters for people who don’t know them. For fun.

And also because the new Sonic Movie series I just feel like there are a lot of potentially newer Sonic fans or people who blur the two and they’re really not the same character.

I mean, Movie!Sonic gets the goodwill and acceptance of fans, even though he’s not the game Sonic, because of how genuine and earnest the effort is. And it is genuine and earnest, but it’s also hit or miss. Plus like 1% of my friends know anything about Sonic, so I’m going to make this little post both to remind new Sonic fans of who the characters actually are, from the games, and also to introduce them to my friends. Because they’re all basically confused that I like Sonic.

Starting with the main four you see everywhere:

Sonic the Hedgehog

(I’m not going to go into like, Classic Sonic vs Modern Sonic or the different genres of games and gameplay or whatever. I’m just going to talk about the general characterizations of the character. If you want history, here, in a nutshell: SEGA made an old-timey pixel game to give them a mascot that could rival Super Mario Bros. and they did it in a smash-success with a much more brightly-colored and, at the time, much more sophisticated and cool character than Mario. And then in the 90s he got upgraded to the sleeker, less-cartoony anime character you see everywhere, but people got sad and missed his retro look, so now sometimes his Retro Self makes an appearance as it’s own character.) Sonic’s two superpowers in his natural state are that he can go fast and roll into an energized ball. But he never had lightning in his quills—he just has quills, and it’s implied that they’re sharp, so he can roll up really fast and make himself a spiky wrecking ball.

There are no canon explanations for why he can do the super-speed thing. It’s just his thing. It’s also not treated, in any game, like an amazing Chosen One ability; generally, the Bad Guys tend to go “you think your speed will save you?!” Or something like that. Nobody reacts like he’s got superpowers. Everyone reacts like this is a normal thing for a blue hedgehog to be able to do. Also, nobody is like “after” his “power.” People in general mostly treat Sonic like he’s a really athletic guy who happens to be cool, and the thing they’re most in awe of is generally his personality. Since this post is about characterizations, let’s talk about that personality.

The whole point of the Sonic Story, always, is “Keep Moving Forward.”

Sonic himself is the main propellor of that theme. He’s a teenager (loosely) and he’s heroic, and he’s cocky and committed to doing things “his own way.” He has theme songs about it. But all of those aspects of who he is are just the shiny package around the Main Point of him, as a character: “Keep Moving Forward.”

Sonic never gets angsty. Sonic will not get bogged down in grief. Sonic refuses to dwell on failure. (He also refuses to accept failure but that’s kind of adjacent.)

Even the game mechanics of him, as a character, are all centered around that theme. Sonic games aren’t about speed, as in, how fast you can go. They’re about momentum. When something stops you, you get up and try to build up speed and work through the level again. Literally. The character falls into spikes, loses all the rings (points, second chances) he was carrying? He gets up and dashes forward again. But here are some story examples:

In the most-beloved Sonic game of all time Sonic gets tricked into locking himself in an escape tube and getting launched into space in front of his grieving friends. He doesn’t panic or freak out. He puts on a cocky grin and says, “it’s up to you now!” And gets blasted away. But even then he doesn’t give up, he tries something that should-be-impossible just to see if he can, in his final moments. And it works.

Even in the worst game of all time Sonic makes a really close friend (yeah that’s what we’ll call it) and risks everything including his own life to save her over and over, and in the end they find out that to save the world they have to rewrite time and erase their moment of meeting. And Sonic goes, “Just smile, and do it,” basically.

In the anime a beloved little girl who had a love interest in the main cast and who’s story was the central plot of the second season sacrifices her life and has to leave Sonic and all his friends behind to do so. And while they all grieve and are devastated (and so’s the audience,) Sonic comforts them, but serenely goes, “It was really great having you around, Cosmo!” And blasts off to his next adventure.

In the same anime the audience-surrogate character, Chris, a little human boy who loves and befriends Sonic, has to leave him to go to his own dimension not once but twice, and the final time he’s blasting off in a trans-dimensional rocket and he it’s on a schedule so nobody even knows he’s leaving, let alone tell him goodbye, he’s crying, the other characters are reacting sadly in future-flash-forwards, but then Sonic just appears, speeding along to keep up with the rocket’s trajectory, and cheerfully goes, “I’ll be seeing ya, Chris!”

Not once but twice special friends of his that he’s dedicated to helping die in the video games, both times because he didn’t react quickly enough—which is his whole thing, speed—but after a moment of grief he gets up and figures out a new path to keep carrying on with the adventure.

He gets sickened at least four times I can think of off the top of my head—usually with a magical or digital or technological curse or malady of some kind. Every single time, the affliction usually has something to do with Sonic having the choice to either feel sorry for himself/focus on himself, or fix his eyes on the goal and keep moving forward. For example, he gets hit with the Cyberspace corruption because he keeps accessing a forbidden dimension to free his friends, even though he knows it’s killing him to do so. Or with the zombot plague, it literally can only be kept in remission if he keeps moving forward physically and refuses to slow down. 

All of this is not to say that Sonic doesn’t ever experience grief or rage. That happens all the time. But it’s usually just a brief reactionary moment, and it propels him to win a fight or keep going—and he never takes it too far and gets murderous or vengeful. (Once he almost did in the anime but he stopped, and that’s where the whole “Dark Sonic” you may see floating around comes from.)

But the point is, he’s a positive character, a very secure, very confident character. He knows exactly who he is. He knows exactly what he wants to do. He likes doing it with friends, but he literally will save the world by himself every time, for the rest of time, if for some reasons his friends won’t go with him. Often a staple of the character is that he will run off when everyone else is having a victory party, or he’ll disappear before the people he’s saved can thank him: because he’s just as happy chasing adventure on his own as he is with any friends. 

So Movie Sonic gets that wrong. 

Super Sonic, also, they get wrong. The whole point of Sonic being able to turn into Super Sonic is this Chaos Emerald thing—here, really quickly: the Chaos Emeralds are very powerful mystery items that, when they’re all together, have the power to create change, or “grant wishes,” based on what the heart of the user is feeling. If that sounds vague, it’s vague on purpose so they can do just about anything when the storytellers need them to. But suffice to say: they’re almost always used like batteries, sometimes batteries to empower “Transformations,” and if someone transforms with them into something evil, they turn grey and appear to lose their power. 

BUT SUPER SONIC can fix them. It’s just Sonic, nigh-invulnerable, glowing gold and able to fly—specifically because he’s such a positive guy. It’s literally his positivity that turns him into Super-Sonic. 

And in the movies, he turns into Super Sonic to grimly end a big fight, or to get revenge on Movie Shadow. When in actuality, he should be grinning and flashing around happily. “Super Sonic” is short for “Super Positive Sonic.”

So that’s Sonic. The main point of the character is that everybody else in the story is weighed down by:

failures

insecurities

the past

legacy, 

their heritage, 

and one or two of them are even slowed down by fears for the *future* as a change of pace. 

But Sonic is consistently associated with the confidence and cockiness that comes with “living in the moment” and “keep moving forward.”  

So the next three or four characters are very influenced by Sonic, for that reason. 

Miles “Tails” Prower

Tails is Sonic’s best friend and is treated like his little brother. He’s a technology whiz, and he has a huge brain. They’ve really been capitalizing on that in the most recent portrayals of Tails, especially in the movies: he’s the “gadget guy” and he speaks in technobabble. 

But the part of Tails that was really awesome, the part that actually had an arc, didn��t have much to do with his big brain, in the beginning. It had more to do with a) his young age and b) his mutated tails. 

Because focusing on those two things made him a great example of one of those Character-Focuses that Sonic does not get weighed down by: Failure. Or, more precisely I guess, Insecurity.

Because of his two tails and his young age, Tails meets Sonic and he thinks Sonic is the most amazing person in the world. He’s cool and confident and really capable. Sonic lets Tails follow him around, and from Sonic, Tails learns how to use his mutated tails and believe in himself. Because every time he falls or fails, Sonic sets the example of, “get back up and keep moving forward.”

Not that the technology-thing isn’t a big part of Tails, too. His name is a pun on “Miles Per Hour.” Which is a way to calculate speed. So as a character, Tails is always running calculations: he’s always trying to see if he measures up (to Sonic), see how to solve things, comparing himself to Sonic. So over and over the games sort of have him “come of age.” He’s usually separated from Sonic in some way, or Sonic appears to “die,” and Tails is left to save the day. Usually he does. 

But the main point is that, even in the games themselves, Tails is an example of how “Keep Moving Forward” is too hard for anybody to do if they don’t have friends. Actually, all three of Sonic’s main-friends are examples of that lesson. Tails, for example, can pick Sonic up after he falls into pits or low areas in the game levels, and carry him out so he can keep running. It’s like a metaphor. 

Generally, the appealing thing about Tails is that he’s always there for Sonic and he has total faith in Sonic—and Sonic returns that favor by having total faith in Tails.

Knuckles the Echidna

Knuckles is Sonic’s first “rival,” which turns out to be a recurring character-type in the franchise. But because he was the first, now he’s just one of Sonic’s best friends. (He also introduced “lore” to the Sonic games. Before Knuckles, they were sort of cartoons.)

Knuckles is can hit really hard, climb walls, dig, and glide (by catching air in his dreadlocks. So. If that doesn’t scream “Rad Red.”) 

Knuckles is a dupe in the movies, and he’s a dupe in the games. But that’s only one facet of his character. Remember how I said Tails is the Character-Focus of “Insecurity?” Knuckles has a Character Focus of “Heritage.” You can see that in the movies, too. They did an okay job with Knuckles. 

Basically, Knuckles is the last of an extinct race, and his job is to guard a really big magical Emerald called the Master Emerald. The Master Emerald can trump the Chaos Emeralds, and it sits in a big shrine on an island, and causes that island to float (it’s called “Angel Island.”)

Because every other echidna is wiped out, Knuckles doesn’t have anybody to ask for advice on the best way to do his job, or protect his home (he’s basically a crabby hermit.)

So he just does it his way.

But that’s the thing about Knuckles, and about Sonic rivals. They usually take one character trait of Sonic and then SPIN IT OUT OF CONTROL.

So, Sonic likes to do things “his own way,” right? Knuckles likes to do things his own way too—but like, on steroids. He won’t budge if he thinks the Master Emerald is in danger, and he prioritizes it over everything, everything else. If the world is in danger but the Master Emerald is ALSO in danger, Knuckles usually says “let the world burn, I have to save this Emerald.” Or his island. Whichever comes first. 

Sonic’s more “adaptable” than Knuckles, is what I’m saying.

While Sonic would never be saddled with a type of “guardianship” that forces him to stay in one place and never grow, Knuckles refuses to abandon his post, ultimately. You do see him grow a little bit: he does go on adventures with Sonic and Tails, so he’s not always chained to the Master Emerald and his island like a Guard Dog. But he still takes that same singleminded approach to every problem: for example, in the anime, when they think their little girl pal Cosmo might be a spy, Knuckles is like “okay then let’s take her out…”

… because he starts to see whatever his mission is as the new metaphorical “Master Emerald Which Must Be Protected At All Costs.”

Whereas Sonic would never do something like that. Sonic always believes in doing things his own way: but his “own way” would never hurt somebody who’s only-bad-by-accident. He’d find a way to stop the bad guys and save the naive person they’re using. Knuckles would just punch everything—innocent, misunderstood, doesn’t matter.

But I will say, the thing Sonic teaches Knuckles (because remember, it’s always Sonic teaching other characters) is that he can adapt. He can change his mind. The first thing Knuckles changes his mind about is Sonic himself. 

When they meet, Knuckles has been tricked by Eggman (main bad guy) into thinking Sonic is after his Master Emerald. Sonic turns out to be the hero, and Knuckles gets a little more open-minded from that point on. Now they’re friends.

One of the other prime examples of Knuckles learning to be more open-minded is his repeat-rival/lover: Rouge the Bat.

(Rouge is a super-spy-jewel-thief-treasure-hunter. She comes to steal the Master Emerald, and Knuckles throws hands, in his usual straightforward way, and doesn’t like Rouge. Except he does. And after saving her life, she gives him back what she’d stolen—and he apologizes to her for being too rough and from then on they have like a flirtatious maybe-friendship maybe-rivalry. So there’s another example of him changing his mind, opening it up, a little.)

Amy Rose

This is the Girl Character. She just showed up at the end of Sonic Movie 2. She has undergone the most change out of the Main Four over the years, because…well, because this is the West, and because ideas about what an acceptable Girl Character can be have changed.

For better or worse, Amy Rose is Sonic’s Love Interest. She’s introduced as a fangirl of Sonic’s who is rescued by him—because he’ll rescue anyone, not necessarily because he has any special interest in her—and then she follows him around.

Amy’s “powers” are that she can run fast (to keep up with Sonic) but she’s got a really big hammer. That’s it. (We don’t know where it came from or how she always has it with her or what it’s made of, it’s just a big hammer.)

Her deep backstory (which faded away in the early 2000s but is making a reappearance because it’s “trendy” to be a witch nowadays,) is that she had special tarot cards that told her Sonic was going to have a big impact on her life, or was her destiny, or something like that.

Bottom line: she steadfastly believes that Sonic is her One True Love. 

Sonic, initially, was portrayed as running away from her affection because he’s either not interested or he just doesn’t want to be tied down, and she’s clingy and possessive.

And initially, Amy was portrayed as chasing after him endlessly, no matter what. That was her character. But slowly, they’ve added in stuff and reshaped her so that she has her own fighting ability (big hammer) and is more about “loving all creatures in general” than “obsessively loving Sonic.”

The thing that I would say stays thematically similar about Amy, even from her damsel-in-distress-clingy days, is that she never gives up.

So her Character-Focus is “Insecurity” like Tails…but more intensely. More like “Self Focus.”

Amy’s whole sense of who she is comes from Sonic, and how close she is to him. But he literally won’t stay close to her, so she complains and gets mad and keeps trying. But her first big moment of “character development” comes from watching Sonic, who never focuses on himself—he always looks at what needs to be done for the day to be saved, and wastes no time feeling sorry for himself or wondering if he can do it. 

Amy starts realizing that she should stop focusing so much on herself and how people treat her, and focus on “helping others.” That happened late in the story, around the time Shadow the Hedgehog was introduced. But since then she’s slowly but surely become more (bland) about “helping others” than “helping herself,” so that’s been pretty consistent.

And of course, the Villain. 

Dr. Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik

Eggman is the villain, he’s only recently become more than one-dimensional, and he was intensely unlikeable (except ironically) until recently. But his whole thing is that, as a character, he’s Sonic—if Sonic were an opposite-day parody of himself. 

Instead of a cute/cool animal Eggman is a gross bloated human.

Instead of a fun-loving free spirit Eggman is a calculating mastermind usually encased in a fortress or battle-mech.

Instead of saving creatures Eggman imprisons them to power his robots. 

Instead of enjoying nature, by the way, Eggman wants to pave over everything and populate the world with robots.

Instead of living and letting-live Eggman wants everyone to obey his every command.

Instead of having friends he cares about and would do anything to save Eggman has manipulated and double crossed every non-machine relationship he ever has.

But paradoxically, some things about him and Sonic are similar. 

Sonic does things his own way and won’t let any circumstance or person change that—so does Eggman. (They have a theme song about this.)

Sonic stubbornly refuses to give up—so does Eggman.

Sonic chases every impulse—so does Eggman.

Sonic is cocky and won’t be intimidated by eldritch powers or unstoppable forces way over his head—same for Eggman.

Sonic is competitive and will sometimes do things just for the thrill or just to prove he can—so will Eggman.

Sonic picks himself up after failure and tries again, and can’t be kept down—so does Eggman.

Recently they’ve tried to make it Eggman’s “thing” that he’s kind of a lonely soul. That nobody has ever appreciated his genius, so he’s content to remake the world to be full of robots—but whenever he has the opportunity to feel kinship with mankind, he actually begrudgingly finds a way to welcome it. 

The movie did just recently start nodding at that character-theme. But this first happened in the early 2000s, when he started the adventure off chasing his grandfather’s legacy, and ended it by helping Sonic and the gang save the human race. He’s also helped end alien invasions, and in the anime, actively fights aliens, too. It’s culminated nowadays in Eggman creating a little Artificial Intelligence girl named SAGE who he winds up feeling affection for and wishing she could remain his “family,” (which isn’t really character growth, because he always wanted to invent a world of his own where non-organic life forms adored him, so.)

Now he’s getting likeable. His sheer tenaciousness and the fact that when the chips are down and non-mortal, evil entities threaten the world, he jumps in and draws the line out of stubborn “if I can’t have the world nobody else can” is weirdly likeable. 

Let’s talk about just one of the other characters you’ll hear about, so they’re definitely going to be in the movies at some point:

Shadow the Hedgehog

Shadow I’ve already made more than one post about. He’s bizarre, on the surface. If I try to explain to you that Shadow is not a cartoon hedgehog like Sonic—he’s a Frankenstein’s monster made of alien DNA invented to cure all disease and grant the human race immortality while inexplicably being shaped like a hedgehog and wearing rocket-skates and shooting lightning out of his hands and teleporting—

then you’re going to go “that’s so weird.”

And it is.

But they managed to make it feel totally acceptable and correct in every iteration.

In the movie, he’s not a science project brought to life by a mad scientist made from the DNA of an alien and a hedgehog. He’s just an alien, himself. So that’s…that’s somehow more believable.

In the games, however, Shadow the Hedgehog is Sonic’s thematic shadow. He was thought up as this dark, twisted version of Sonic himself.

The best way I can describe it, and the most succinct way, is:

Shadow the Hedgehog is Sonic the Hedgehog, if Sonic had, at a young age, saved a bunch of birds from Eggman’s robots only to have those birds turn around and peck Tails, his best friend, to death right in front of him, burn his home to the ground, and somehow lock Sonic away to stew on that traumatic event for 50 years afterward. He’s like an alternate-universe Sonic, where instead of positive and carefree, Sonic is negative and full of nothing but cares.

Shadow was created by Eggman’s grandfather. In the movie, Eggman’s grandfather is a psychotic old villain bent on revenge. But in the games he was a kindly old genius who just wanted to use his intellect to benefit the world, starting with his sick granddaughter, Maria. He made a ton of stuff, it all pops up in the games all the time, but the main two things he made were a) Shadow himself and b) a big space station that doubles as a giant laser cannon.

It’s a laser cannon because he was hired by the military to make weapons. He kept cheating them out of weapons and inventing like, healing pouches and living water-robots and stuff, instead, though. Shadow was supposed to be a weapon—a living weapon—but Eggman’s grandfather doubled his purpose and used him as a part of his research into curing his sick granddaughter Maria. 

Shadow came to life on the space station and spent an undetermined amount of time bonding with Maria, his only friend, and testing out his superpowers, and dreaming about the day they’d go to earth, the planet he was made to protect. Shadow’s superpowers are: teleportation, time-warping, and controlling Chaos Energy (he can shoot lightning out of his hands and turn into a living energy-bomb.) But then the military got scared of what he could do, even before he’d really done anything, and raided the space station. In all the confusion, they captured Eggman’s grandfather and chased Maria and Shadow into the escape-pod room. She knew they were after Shadow, so she made him promise to live his life protecting the people of Earth and giving them a chance to be happy (which is a very Sonic the Hedgehog wish to make) and then jettisoned him out of the space station. But not before one of the military soldiers got trigger-happy and shot her to death in front of Shadow’s eyes.

So. You know. The humans he was brought into existence to protect murdered the little girl best friend he was brought into existence to cure. And then her sacrifice almost didn’t matter because they captured him anyway and locked him away and he woke up looking for revenge. 

But then Sonic (and AMY people forget AMY) showed up and stopped Shadow, and reminded him of Maria’s real wishes, and his real purpose. So from that moment on, Shadow becomes this self-sacrificial character.

But remember, all Sonic Rivals (and Shadow is the Ultimate Rival of Sonic) take one character trait of Sonic’s and they blow it way out of proportion. So which one is Shadow’s? 

Shadow has a lot of the same character traits as Sonic. He is cocky, but with him it usually comes off as “I’m objectively the most powerful thing ever created.” He is competitive, but with him, again, it’s usually just to prove the previous statement. He is caring about his friends, but not demonstrably caring; it’s all hidden. He is a teenager, but because of everything about his existence, you can’t tell.

So what does that leave us with?

Shadow is basically Sonic’s “Never Give Up” mentality, on steroids. But like Knuckles with the “I Do Things My Own Way” extremity, Shadow usually takes his borrowed-Sonic-trait way too far. Sonic will never give up on reaching the goal, but he will change the goal if it means some good will come out of it. For example, in one of the video games based on King Arthur’s Knights (stop laughing, it’s the best one) Sonic has to reach a certain milestone within a time limit to be knighted and save the world. He doesn’t let villains, traps, or rivals get in his way—but as soon as a little girl is crying on the side of the road he willingly drops all chances of getting to the milestone in time and becoming a knight…and potentially even saving the world. Just because he’s not going to leave a little girl crying on the side of the road.

In another example, Sonic always jumps into smashing Eggman’s robots with both feet. But when Amy tells him one of Eggman’s strongest series of killer robots is actually “nice,” he shrugs and goes “whatever you say” and moves on immediately.

So Sonic will never give up on his goal—unless he finds out there might be a chance for somebody to do the right thing. Even if he doesn’t believe in that person, and he’d rather fight them and get it over with, if one of Sonic’s friends protests, Sonic is easygoing, shrugs his shoulders, and believes in his friend’s judgement. Because for Sonic, it’s not a personal vendetta. He’s too cool to make everything about himself.

But Shadow? It takes a lot to convince Shadow that when someone does something wrong, they shouldn’t immediately be neutralized. Even though he, himself, was wrong and had to learn to do the right thing once. His “Never Give Up” mentality is very “Mission: Complete.” Mostly because he was invented to save everyone, but the people he had a personal interest in saving all got tragically murdered a long time ago. So now he does everything out of a sense of grim duty, and gets very little pleasure out of it.

That’s kind of the beauty and tragedy of his character, and it’s why it’s so fun to watch him interact with Sonic. Because any time he has to team up with or duke it out with Sonic…you see that deep down, Shadow enjoys the competition. And it’s fun to see him just enjoy something. That’s what Sonic brings out in him.

The main thing Sonic brings to the table with a character like Shadow is that Shadow is entrenched in the Past. And Sonic is all about Keep Moving Forward. So Shadow takes that lesson more like “marching orders” than Sonic’s “race” mentality. But it’s still a cool dynamic.

Anyway. There are many more characters that are awesome. I particularly like the “Redeemed Robot” characters, and there’s this interdimensional Princess who’s awesome, too, and many people are going to be mad that I didn’t include Metal Sonic on this post.

But this is just the rough overview. If you’re not into Sonic, that’s fine. But just to set the record straight on one of my favorite franchises ever: it has a profound point, the main character is as likeable as say, iconic characters like Percy Jackson and Luke Skywalker, and the movies are nice because they’re a genuine labor of love, but not because they get Sonic exactly right.

That’s all.

[miimo96]

Things I Do and DON'T wanna see for Sonic 4

⚠️SPOILERS AHEAD FOR SONIC 3⚠️ DO NOT READ yet

With the introduction to Sonic 4 being Announced, here something's I wanna see happen in the 4th Sonic movie, now keep in mind these are just things I wanna SEE happen in the 4th movie and not that I know they're GOING to happen, it's just something I think Paramount/ SEGA should decide to do if Sonic 4 is going to be PEAK

1 thing I would absolutely love to see adapted into the Sonic films is the inclusion of rail grinding, Since it's obvious that we're going to be getting a metal Sonic storyline and therefore possibly a time travel one, I think seeing Rail grinding in probably an Apocalyptic future setting would be absolutely an amazing thing to see in live action, especially since it's pretty much a staple in Sonic games and hasn't really been adapted yet. Another thing I would love to see is the inclusion of the iconic Soap shoes, since this movie was basically taking inspiration from Sonic A2, not including the soap shoes was surprisingly a shock to me, especially since they're so iconic in that game, However I understood their reasoning probably being that they're just not in style anymore and therefore wouldn't really be serving a purpose, other than just being fan service, HOWEVER, if they were to include them in the 4th movie being that we're probably going to be seeing a possible Apocalyptic setting, then seeing Rail grinding and Soap shoes would definitely be a possible thing, especially since the Soap shoes would Definitely fit in with the overall futuristic vibe

Next up is Sonic and Amy's relationship, tbh I HONESTLY do not want her to just be solely obsessed with Sonic, I get that's her character and all but there are so many different ways you can go about it, With how she's been characterized recently, I think she'll be more than just that but I really hope they actually go that route and change her, as much as I hate the show, I really love how she's depicted in Sonic Boom, her design is beautiful, her voice is on point, and her relationship with Sonic is just so damn cute because she's not just a damsel and is actually an effing fighter and leader, Also 1 more thing I whole heartily want to see, is Sonic to just be awkward around amy and actually have him experience/ fall in love for once, most Sonic games and shows like to keep him closed off from amy and kinda deny his feelings for her, i think it would be cool if they would break away from that trope and actually have him acknowledge his feelings for her instead, Maybe that's just because I'm such a huge Sonamy shipper and have been since the beginning but it's whatever lol

Finally one thing I DON'T want to see them do again for this film is bring back Dr eggman, I feel like This will be the absolute perfect opportunity to determine weather or not the Sonic movies are ONLY Successful because of Jim Carey. if they decide to not bring back robotnik and actually decide to focus on a whole New villain and are still able to succeed in the box office, then this will undoubtedly PROVE that the Sonic films are the BEST way to do a video game adaptation and were meant to be successful with or without Jim Carey, because let's be real, if it wasn't for Jim Carey's performance then the Sonic movies wouldn't be doing as nearly as good as they are now, that isn't to say they're BAD cuz they're NOT, it's just to say that they wouldn't do as good or as well if it wasn't for robotnik. Going forward without Robotnik I think would be a Great way to test the franchise and not only give a New Villain a chance to shine, but would also prove to Paramount, that they can still COOK with or without Carey, in my opinion, having Metal Sonic be the Main Villain of the next movie would not only give you the chance to adapt other Sonic villains in a unique way, but I think probably make THIS ONE the SCARIEST villain of all time, especially with Metal/NEO Sonic.

A Villain with No emotion, No alternate motive, no remorse, No DEEPER meaning other than simply having the "I Want to KILL YOU" mindset and is just STRAIGHT UP Evil is something I haven't seen done in a Long time, tbh you can probably make him the Ultron of the Sonic universe and have him JUST be evil and it wouldn't bother us at all as long as you write him well, Plus robotnik LITERALLY had the greatest character arc in this film, from wanting to take over the world, to ending up being the one who saves it, yeah it doesn't get better than that. I Guarantee you that if Robotnik DOESN'T come back and we Actually get a new Villain that will be the BEST move for the Sonic films as a whole and I think will have the chance to ACTUALLY expand on more of his cast from here out, anyway those are just my thoughts but whaddya think?

[familyvideostevie]

I have loved tlou since the first game came out and I really loved that episode so I’m super interested in why you felt is was bad if you’d be comfortable sharing!

/gen

you know what, what the hell. sure! thoughts and spoilers for tlou part ii and s2 below.

first of all, super happy for anyone who loves the show and the way it adapts the story. my beef is my beef! i have like, a lot of things i don't like about they way the show characterized joel and ellie in s1 that are probably the foundation for some of this, but the main thing i Do Not Like about they way they're setting up s2 is the positioning they seem to be doing to the status of ellie and joel's relationship as it exists a few years after the end of part i, the day before/day of joel's death (since it seems to me they cherry picked from the timeline of the patrols/the dance, etc).

now, in part ii, we drop into ellie and joel's life a few years later with only very small indications that something is wrong. she asks jesse about joel right away, she entertains maria's inquiry into their relationship in a way that seems very teenager-ish. when dina asks, ellie is a little cagey, but she talks about him to her. she says she's thinking about inviting him to a movie. whatever. and then we all know what comes next, right? when joel dies, we don't know how bad it was. we don't know that they are, essentially, estranged. as we find this out as the game goes on it makes everything more intense. her loss, her desire for revenge. because she's fighting for something that was taken from her. and then. after we've fought so hard and after we've gotten abby's side of the story -- then we get the dance flashback. and we learn that despite their estrangement, joel steps in to defend ellie and dina from seth and it makes her so angry for just a second because how dare he still love her enough? how dare he, after she told him not to? because if joel loved her enough to damn the whole world, well. what does she do with that? but in the cut scene in the game -- after she said i don't need your fucking help, joel, to me, ellie regrets it. for just a second, she regrets it. cause they have not spoken! by her boundary! she told him in salt lake -- we're done. and he accepted that. so it makes sense to me that she's been coming to her own conclusions about what she wants from him and she goes to the porch because she needs to talk it out. and then they are on the cusp of reconciliation and then it's gone forever.

okay. so, my beef with what they've done in the show. they made joel angry about the whole thing. they made him upset that she's icing him, they made him frustrated that she's upset with him. that she doesn't understand why he did what he did, why he lied to her (i assume she knows that by now), that he thinks she should just accept it and treat him like she loves him. be nice to him. doesn't he deserve that? this, to me, is a million fucking miles off. even for the characterization of joel they've written in season 1! because, in my opinion, the whole fucking point is that he accepts the consequences. he killed that entire hospital full of people, he took away a cure, he saved her because he had to. he made that choice and he sticks with it until he dies. in the game, joel accepts ellie's estrangement. he doesn't push her, he doesn't cross her boundary. because at least she stays in jackson once he tells her the truth, because at least she's alive. because that is the only thing that has ever fucking mattered. and everything else he can live with.

even when faced with death -- a death he doesn't understand, by the way, nor does he seem to care to because of course this was going to happen someday -- he doesn't regret it. he only cares that she's okay. and not for nothing, to me they keep this under wraps in the game. he respects her lines and never crosses them until the dance. it's a private thing. and so it's tragic because no one knows or understands what she's lost when he is killed. and then for the rest of part ii we have this example of joel doing something he believed in unequivocally and feeling no guilt for it even if it cost him, in a way, everything, because did it really? ellie is alive, so he can live with it. and then we have abby and ellie, who are discovering what they can live with and what they can't.

so. i guess i just think it undermines, well, everything, to have joel behave this way. is it making him more complex? not really. it makes ellie look like a petulant child. it makes us wish she would treat him better (which will probably be the show's version of a gotcha when it comes to the narrative truth of the matter). it's making him more realistic, maybe, but when did we start caring about that? part of what is so compelling about him is he is, in many ways, very black and white (which they seem to be hinting at with this refugee plot but don't get me started on that). part of what is compelling about the last of us is we are required to live with his choice, too. we have to understand that everything that happens is a consequence of that and we are the only ones who really understand just how much. ellie doesn't, joel doesn't, abby doesn't. no one has all of the pieces but us, the player/viewer. and i just think muddling a line in the sand that was there for a reason is, well. stupid. what purpose does it serve to show that joel would damn the world for ellie, but he won't respect her boundaries after the fact? he would go so far for her and no more?

yeah. that's my main beef. i have like, 100 more things, but. this is long enough. thanks for asking!

(for the record, there were things i liked, too! i liked the stalker, i liked the game callbacks (the grocery store, ellie's journal and her cleaning her gun at the workbench, the incredibly random easter egg of the employee of the month board even though that actually happens in Seattle, whatever). I'm interested by dina, i think jesse is fantastic. we'll see! I'm going to be watching and I'm going to be critical but I'm still excited to see where it goes. )

[un-pearable]

internally: decent movie. more tolerable than the previous for most parts. rewatchable. FINALLY has a soundtrack that sounds like sonic and DOESNT have gratuitous plot-irrelevant human scenes. sonic gets to do sonic stuff!!!!! characterization makes sense given previous movies and (very slightly) nudges him towards something potentially interesting. not inventive AT ALL (missing everything intriguing about SA2) but could be worse

externally: while some lore omissions make sense given the world established by the previous films, those choices are boring and others they make are completely baffling changes. rouge omission harms the whole thing. i dislike the entire direction they’ve taken with their sonic characterization and the themes and they fundamentally miss key traits for everyone involved . why did we do this. what was the point

it’s fun. more consistently enjoyable than the previous but that’s mostly bc the scenes that bothered me with the aggressive Carryness had tails in them so i could just watch him be cute.

lore change to make him another mystery alien is annoying but frustratingly makes sense given the context. i’m not torn up over it <- don’t care about shadow and didn’t expect much going in . the missing part of maria’s story is ridiculous though (why is she just there??????)

i love herrrr i love her 70s energy and outfits and i will incorporate the roller skates. its soooo cute . the godzilla movie with the biolizard is pretty funny but that’ll totally piss off diehards. i do think they do good job of showing shadow + maria as friends and why he cares so much about her but that’s mainly just the scope of a film vs a video game

COWARDS THOUGH . SAYING “THEYRE CHILDREN” ON SCREEN TO INTERRUPT A SHOT-FOR-SHOT RECREATION OF HER DEATH??? THATS THE POINT. SHES A CHILD. ITS A TRAGEDYY

the shots directly from the shadow 2005 intro…. unbelievable . hilarious

akira bike slide ON VERTICAL BUILDING is cool i’m here for it

low budget flight and actual sonic-esque music…. i accept my crumbs

knuckles is lame. literally stolen joke from sonic boom w the team knuckles stuff. i wanted him to fight sonic over the ME so bad

the wade reveal is physically painful like i knew it happened in the show but he sucks sucks and right after the only satisfying scene w the humans (shadow fuckin up tom) . ME you deserve betterrrrr

torn on the overall message. i think it’s a more coherent film than the last two and the message isn’t terrible - it aligns with sonic’s overall freedom and choice vibes. but having shadow be a tag along to eggman’s schemes is a weird choice given he was pretty explicitly the one who wanted to . yknow. blow up the earth in the first place and just gave eggman the tools in SA2. this version takes a lot of agency out of his story bc gerald is here. which is weird since the whole explicit theme is choices!!

fucking gerald. can i kill someone. mr carrey i hate him

extremely dragon ball combat. which is fine but unexciting . WHERE the fuck did the emeralds go at the end they just??? gone??? they detransform and (incorrectly) sonic falls out of super and shadow dies but the emeralds flat out do not appear in the film again after they initially transform . what happened

FINALLY giving us a heart to heart AND live and learn for the fight ONLY TO CUT AWAY TO TWO MINUTES OF CARREY SHENANIGANS. illegal . egregious. im glad he’s dead

the shift from sonic having to inspire shadow to be better and move onto his past to . shadow pulling a ‘you’re just like me’ is lame. hello again scourge .

like it’s a logical change especially given the target audience and the kind of stories that are popular rn but it’s sooo less interesting than SA2’s thing

shadow being confronted by sonic bc he challenges his belief of being exceptional and makes him reconsider what it’s possible to be -> shadow being sonic’s narrative parallel bc they both had one (1) human they liked who they would do anything for

^^^ it’s bad. not unwatchable like sonic 1 but bad change. makes sense for this established universe tho so i get it

tails is great . colleen should be paid more

WAIT THINKING ABOUT LIVE & LEARN AGAIN. I CANT FUCKIN BELIEVE IT at least they had the music still playing when they cut back to the fight scene but that bullshit w the egged men. torture

yay shadow dead!!!!! no that final endcredit didn’t happen

the moon shot was cool. sadly now sonadow fans will claim the moon <- IT WAS SONKNUX TERRITORY FIRST

rouge would have made this film 1000000000% better

why so many metal sonic???????? hi amy

at least she’s cute i’ve seen so many bad edits since 2020 at least she’s cute. i’m intrigued w the cloak choice what’s going on here. just to hide the outfit so they can change it? reference? hmm

fascinating implication for whatever 4 is going to be. in my heart carreybotnik stays dead and we get a pseudo heroes where metal is pretending to be him. but alas i fear the family focus for eggman in this film is leading up to. him making metal sonic and treating him as his kid. which could be fucked up in fun ways but i’m so tired of carreyisms

they did say 2027 though which is an extra year than the last two got…. what are you budgeting guys

why oh why is shadow consistently the only character who gets any emotional arcs or storytelling it taunts me…. can’t even hate the guy bc he’s the only one with interesting stories . this story sucks and it’s still better than what knux got . orz

sayonara shadow the hedgehog

[saphire-dance]

Welcome to the Transformers Fandom

Did you just see Transformers One? It was good, wasn't it? Do you want to be fannish about it? This post is for you.

First thing to know is we use the tag maccadam. This practice dates back to when the live action movies would flood the Transformers tag with actor pics. Maccadam is where you will find the robots. It is a reference to Maccadam's Old Oil House. A bar found in some continuities. You can still use the Transformers tag

Speaking of references. Let me introduce you to your new best friend: TFWiki. The Transformers Wiki is the place to go if you want to know anything about Transformers. Shows, Movies, Comics, Books, Toys. It's all there. We're spoiled with how good this wiki is. Thanks, guys.

Now you don't have to watch more Transfomers to be a fan. If you loved the movie you're already a fan. You don't have to ever watch another thing and you are still a fan and welcome here. But I'm betting you want to see more Transfomers. Here are some other continuities and where to find them. This is not an extensive list. This is a starter pack.

The Transformers (1984) AKA Generation 1 AKA G1. The original that started it all. Dubious 80s animation and some of the greatest voice actors of all time. Available on Tubi for free.

Beast Wars AKA TFBW. If G1 started everything Beast Wars is what kept it from dying out. Absolutely bleeding edge computer animation in the 90s. It's, uh, very dated, but the story and voice acting still hold up and I recommend giving it a chance. Available on Tubi for free.

Transformers Animated AKA TFA (yes we fought the Star Wars folks over that tag) Debuted the same year as the first Live Action Movie. It is very anime influenced and shows a very different side to our favorite characters. One of the more popular shows in the fandom. Available on Tubi for free. Also on Pluto

Transformers Prime AKA TFP AKA Prime. Another very popular show with the fandom. Part of the Aligned continuity which featured books, games, and other shows. This is probably closest to Transformers One in characterization and I would recommend making this your next watch if you can. The First season is on Netflix with the rest available on Tubi. Yeah I don't know what is up with that.

Rescue Bots AKA TFRB This is a Show for Preschoolers, but don't let that scare you away. It is one of the best Transformers shows. Somehow also part of the Aligned continuity. Season one is on Netflix and it is also available on Pluto

Transformers Cyberverse AKA Cyberverse AKA TFCV. A fun Bumblebee focused show. Very few humans. Season 1 is on Hasbro's YouTube channel, Season 3 (????) is on Netflix, Also on Pluto.

Transformers EarthSpark AKA TFES. The most recent show. Lots of new characters and a new side to Megatron that I love. On Paramount+ and YouTube premium.

Live Action Movies. There are 7 live action movies the first 5 are directed by Micheal Bay and are collectively known as the Bayverse The other two movies Bumblebee and Rise of the Beasts, are also sometimes lumped in with Bayverse. It is debated if they are reboots or prequels. Personally Bumblebee is my favorite. They are all available on Paramount+

Comics. Comics have been part of Transformers from the very beginning. First with Marvel and later with other publishers. Marvel Dreamwave and IDW are the best known publishers. IDW is still very popular in fandom. Currently comics are being published by Skybound. Unfortunately finding out of print comics can be very difficult/expensive and I recommend checking TFWIKI for summaries if you can't find them.

[thalthanmadanus]

Here are some Drarry fic ideas that I had for a very long time and would still catch dust in my samsung notes if I don't just give them away. If anyone liked one feel free to take it lol.

1. Harry Potter x Jumanji

It's kinda self explanatory but I was thinking, either in 6th year or 8th year, the Jumanji board would appear in Hogwarts, there would be chaos everywhere before the gang would find the source and so 4 students from every house have to play. Draco is the snake, I was thinking Neville could be the lion, Luna the raven, and yeah for Hufflepuff I blanked out lol ( it could be Zacharias or Justin but eh). I thought the plot happening in 6th year would be funny if Draco disappeared from Hogwarts for a moment (entered the board) and Harry who was stalking him from the map gets so sus and confused so he tries looking for him. They find the board. They play. And just like in the movie, an older Draco comes out llmfwzgtgbkgb. Cue Harry's little crush. 8th year could also work.

2. Harry Potter x fanfic

Basically, a published biography about Harry comes out.... and a fandom about it also comes out lol. Harry finds out the book (his life??) has a fandom and they're writing fanfics and the most popular ship is Drarry lol. He gets so confused, calls it bullshit, checks some fics and then goes: damn 🫠 why are these fics good tf? and then falls into the Drarry hole. He gets so deep into the fandom, enters servers, discusses characterizations (dissociation go burrrr) and goes into fights about them. He's number 1 Draco apologist, defending his character (lmao) everytime an anti appears. He's also a huge fan of a Drarry author who in Harry's opinion "gets Harry's and Draco's personalities"... plot twist that author is Draco.

This is such a meta heavy prompt in my opinion...

3. Harry Potter x time travel

A typical harry potter fic where Draco accidentally time travels to the past EXCEPT he doesn't become younger but actually stays his age while his younger self also exists. I don’t particularly care for which year he time travels to but I think the fifth year would be interesting or 6th year.. oh yes, also Draco becomes a teacher at Hogwarts lmao (in disguise ofc) and that’s why I think a 5th year or 6th year would be very interesting. Especially 6th year. I had in my mind that older Drarry are already established so when Draco goes back in time he's just looking at younger Harry and Draco like this 🙄 also I like the idea of younger Draco being suspicious of this new teacher (his older self) meanwhile Harry actually likes this teacher. I also like the idea of Older Draco and younger Draco interacting (positively). It could work for a nice character study.

4. Harry Potter × Life is Strange

Now imagine 6th year but either Harry or Draco have Max's power.

If you don't know, Life is Strange is a video game about Max who develops the ability to rewind time and even stop it after trying to save her friend from getting shot.

I think this would work nicely with Harry, him developing this ability just a second after Sectumsempra happens and keeps on rewinding time over and over again trying to find a way to talk with Draco that doesn't end up in him being cursed or Draco almost dying.

5. Harry Potter x time travel 2

Both Harry and Draco accidentally time travel to the thirties and have the brilliant idea of adopting tom riddle. That's the prompt. lol. Drarry as parents for Tom.

[jamisonwritestf2trash]

Masterlist!

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Better late than never, yeah? Nowhere NEAR a comprehensive or full masterlist, but it’s what I could manage to do. I’m just glad to have it all together, it took, WAY to long 😭  

Also! This will now be attached to my pinned post!

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Random TF2 Headcanons (Pt.1)

Random TF2 Headcanons (Pt.2)

Random TF2 Headcanons (Pt.3)

TF2 Mercs Pizza Preferences! 

Scout and Scout's Mom Headcanon 

TF2 Mercs at an amusement park!

What Do The TF2 Mercs Hate?

Would Red and Blu Mercs Get Along?

Red And Blu Team Differences!

TF2 Mercs and The Will Wood Songs I Think Fit Best. 

What Rhythm Games Do The TF2 Mercs Like and Why?

TF2 Mercs and Their Hobbies!

What's Songs Do The TF2 Mercs Like?

Soldier Headcanons!

How Do the TF2 Mercs Write?

TF2 Mercs At The Beach!

TF2 Mercs Reactions To Finding A Puddle After It Rains!

TF2 Mercs As Animals!

What Are The TF2 Mercs Favorite Animes?

TF2 Mercs Go To The ✨️Barbie✨️ Movie!

TF2 Mercs Cooking And Baking Skills!

What Kind Of Pajamas Do The TF2 Mercs Wear?

What Would The TF2 Mercs (+ Miss Pauling) Do If They Saw A Kitten Mid-Fight?

TF2 Mercs Halloween Costumes!

Mini Headcanon About History

What Are The TF2 Mercs Favorite Bands/Music Artists?

Medic And Junji Ito's Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack

A Rant About Medic

Would The TF2 Mercs Survive In Their Favorite Video Game World? (+ Their Favorite Video Games)

How Would The TF2 Mercs React To Being Given A VR Headset?

PhDs and the Mercs

TF2 Mercs Getting Their Nails Painted/Nail Designs

Mini Headcanon- The Best Compliment You Can Give Each TF2 Merc!

Medic's Past Headcanons (Also Some Archimedes Content!)

What Would The TF2 Mercs Jobs Be If They Weren't Mercenaries?

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HeavyMedic Angst/Comfort Saga:

Thoughts On Medic Reacting to Heavy's Death (Self Harm Warning)

Pt. 2

Pt. 3 (Suicide Warning)

Medic talking to Zhanna 

HeavyMedic Fluff As an Apology For The Angst!

Zhanna Gets her Brother Back, Medic Gets his Lover Back.

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The TF2 Mercs Favorite Books!

Medic and Creepypastas!

How Would the TF2 Mercs React to a Close Teammate Dying In Battle? (Angst)

What Subjects Would The TF2 Mercs Teach?

What Mythical Creatures Would The TF2 Mercs Be?

SpyDad Post

Thoughts On Spy (Comic Spoilers)

Drunk Sniper Thoughts

The TF2 Mercs With A Pet Bunny!

Drunk Scout Thoughts

SpyDad Angst

What Instruments Do The TF2 Mercs Play? (Minus Medic and Sniper!)

SniperScout Angst Headcanons (No Respawn AU)

Scout's Reaction to Losing His Voice

TF2 Mercs Comforting A Trans Man/Nonbinary Person On Their Period!

How Scout got his Top Surgery

The TF2 Mercs Reactions to A Nightmare!

Soldier and PTSD

SniperScout First Date

❤️Red Demo + Blu Soldier💙

Scout and Chronic Pain

Swordvan Headcanons!

Sniper Loses an Eye HC (ft. Swordvan)

Spy/SpyDad Characterization

Medic Thoughts

Hyperflexible Spy and Scout

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Headcanon Ask Game Ft. The TF2 Mercs:

Heavy

Demoman

Sniper and Engineer

Soldier

Spy

Scout

Pyro

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Thoughts on the Heavy Part of HeavyMedic

❤️Red Sniper + Blu Spy💙 

Mercs Reaction To Finding Snow In The Morning!

The TF2 Mercs Spice Tolerance!

TF2 Mercs as Taffy Flavors

Talkative Medic Thoughts 

DemoSolly First Date 

Mixed Headcanons

The TF2 Mercs Favorite Flowers + Their Reaction to Receiving Them 

What Merc is the Worst at a Checkup?

HeavyTF2 Tummy Fic (Body Positivity) 

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Jamison Breaks Down the Meet the Merc Videos (Work in Progress):

Jamison Breaks Down: Meet the Medic

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Ask Game Headcanons Pt.2 Ft. The TF2 Mercs:

Pyro

Medic

Engineer

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Engineer Headcanons

Fête des Pères 

TF2 Mercs as Cats!

Updated LGBTQ+ Mercs Headcanons (Pictures)

Nazi Medic Thoughts (It's bad.)

Medic TF2 Thoughts 

Spy's Past

Medic's Past

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Flufftober 2024! {Under Construction!}

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Thoughts on Spy in Expiration Date

Trans Mercs (+ Miss Pauling) Headcanons!

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TF2 Ship HCS!

EngieScout Hcs

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Master list 2 coming soon...

[martwy-basen]

watched emesis blue and just. whoa.

(omg, i'm sorry for taking so long😭😭 uni. you know how it is.) (making this extra and unnecessary long to make up for the waiting AND bc i love yapping about tf2.)

emesis blue,,,, oh, emesis blue. do i have to say things about it. they say if you have to watch a video essay explaining the movie, then the movie was bad. emesis blue has multiple explanation videos, and some of them are longer than the actual movie itself. so do with that what you will.

personally i still haven't watched any explanation videos, mostly bc they are so long. but also because (and, watch out, this one is fucking stupid) i like movies i don't understand. i like to watch something and not know what i just watched. if i liked it, then i liked it, and sometimes that's not enough for me, but, sometimes, it is.

i probably should've started with something like "this is a good movie. and here is why:" or "this movie fucking sucks. and here is why:", but i didn't, so maybe let's ignore the way things should be in general. i watched emesis blue in february, to get into that valentines mood, so do forgive me if i forget/skip anything, but i'm sitting on my train back home and i'm just going to list everything i remember about the movie and say things about it, alright?

i know that i'd enjoy emesis blue much less if i watched more movies. emesis blue has a lot of references to different pieces of media, for example, the medic turtleneck look in the end?? it was inspired by cesare from "the cabinet of dr caligari". it's actually a pretty common trope, but it still counts.

as it turns out, my fav quote from emesis blue, "it's eternity out there", isn't an original quote. it comes from stephen kings' short story "the jaunt", and with context is just as creepy, if not creepier, as in emesis blue. it also has plenty of references to "the shining" (demo and engie bar scene, medic in the bathroom in the end, the wave of blood coming from the respawn machine). there's sooo much more, so if you're interested i recommend looking it up, but my main point is: this movie relays on many references to different movies. so i feel like if you're a cinephile, you'll either love them or think they take away from the originality of emesis.

however, this movie has tons of good stuff as well! along with the characterization of the mercs (and not only them!), especially medic, soldier and spy? it's amazing. people quite often complained about their favs not getting enough screentime in emesis, but i think it's important to remember that those weren't the mercs we know from the game/comics/even the meet the team videos. yes, they wouldn't exist in that way if it weren't for those sources, but they were mostly far away from the original material. heavy on mostly.

also, and i can't praise it enough and in my head it actually covers every "bad" thing about emesis: this is a full ass, 1 hour and 48 minutes movie made COMPLETELY and ONLY in sfm: probably the shittiest computer graphics tool to exist, which is, mind you, STILL IN ITS BETA VERSION. i can't say much about it, since i never had a chance to use it, but, man, people who can actually make something in sfm that doesn't defy the laws of logic irl should be feared. and emesis blue is a WHOLE DAMN MOVIE created in that tool. which takes us to another point, because

that movie is just BEAUTIFUL. you may hate the plot, you may hate the references, but you can't ever deny that this is a work of art, cinematography wise. which, again, i don't know much about, but i know when something looks breathtaking, and that's what emesis looks like. which was, again, made in sfm.

also. the voice acting? personally i think it was amazing. it isn't exactly about the characters sounding exactly like their original voice actors, but hearing medic sound so much like his tf2 version, but the goofy side of his voice gone? it fit perfectly. same with scout. my beloved scout... his fate hurt me the most, i believe.

final verdict? i loved emesis blue, i did. i literally names my stick bugs emesis and blue. i'm still however waiting to watch the explanation videos, i feel like they're either gonna add or remove from the experience, but i'll never stop being mesmerized by the fact that emesis blue is a fan movie made in source filmmaker that looks absolutely stunning. i simply couldn't tear my eyes from the screen and, mind you, i fucking HATE thrillers/horrors. i'm so glad i decided to give this one a chance. what did you guys think about it? please, PLEASE share with me!!

[hurtspideyparker]

I’m sending this because I saw your post on the tags. You’re not a Tom Holland fan, you’re a Peter Parker/Spider-Man fan. You only talk about this character on your blog. You’re a Marvel stan. I doubt you can't even name more than 5 Tom projects that aren't Spider-Man movies. You’re not obssesed with him, you’re obssesed with his version of the character which is not the same as being a fan of the actor and support his career outside of one thing.

Well this is a very rude way of supporting someone who only promotes kindness and adores his work with Spider-Man.

First of all, this is a Marvel side blog. So I only post about Marvel and adjacent things on here, in my personal life and other blogs I do have other interests. I will also say I have a hyperfixation on Marvel, especially the MCU, and my favourite character since I was a child is Spider-Man. So yes, that is my favourite Tom Holland role, he is my favourite spidey, so my blog focuses on him a lot. And the thing about hyperfixations is 1. I can't control it and 2. I am literally mentally ill about him.

But I do absolutely adore Tom Holland as an actor, so I'll take this as an opportunity to gush about some of my favourite projects of his!

The Crowded Room: If someone says Tom isn't a good actor I know for a fact they've never seen this. The amount of roles he plays in this, heavy and variable, was remarkable. Switching between the accents, mannerisms, even down to the way they stand. I was in complete awe, especially when he would switch between them without cuts. I watched an interview where he said he doesn't memorize scripts completely, but he learns the characters so deeply that he knows what they'd say and do anyways. To do that in a role like this just shows how seriously he takes the art. The story in and of itself was very moving, well written, and paced beautifully. I loved all the characters and how they fit together in order to protect Danny. 10/10 would recommend, there is heavy subject matter and I cried when he was on the stand and they didn't believe he had DID (especially when the man who loved him also started doubting if Ariana was real), and then again when he said Adam was him :(

Cherry: Incredibly real story, hurt my heart that people go through this. Tom did a fantastic job being respectful of the subject matter—a veteran with PTSD who falls into drug addiction and crime to fuel it. You can see his character harden over time, and I have a crush on the version of Cherry when he was in college hehe. The way he loves Emily so intensely through it all, how reverently he treats her, and his total breakdown when she overdoses. He rather have her clean and away from him than be together in their suffering. And it has a happy ending! Ngl Tom with a mustache made me giggle, just looks so silly lol. I know he can't grow facial hair to save his life

Uncharted: While Tom is fantastic in those heavy roles and I love seeing him cry, let my boy have fun! This movie was a great action movie, and idc about all the video game nerds who says he isn't a good fit for Nathan. He might not be Nathan, but he is BORN for action babyyy. Suave, intelligent, and sweet. I know he had a lot of fun with this role and is a big fan of the game, so happy he got it! I am still hoping for a sequel because I need Tom in more action and light-hearted films

Chaos Walking: The sci-fi aspects of this are really cool, and a unique way of commentating on patriarchy. The plot twists were cool and Todd Hewitt is my sweet little feminist king. He's so funny to me, bro is trying his best, I definitely view Todd as an underdog who has all this responsibility put on him. World building and characterization was sick, wish it got a bit more love

The Devil All the Time: Okay this movie was objectively really good but SO WEIRD? I felt very discomfited after. But Tom's character was definitely my absolute favourite, what a terrible journey he goes through. Even though the movie was odd Tom made it all worth it. A genuinely good guy pushed to do terrible things because of other terrible people, like yes you get em king!!! Had me on the edge of my seat

The Impossible: The fact that this was his first film!? SO INTENSE, and yet he did fantastic. Tom Holland didn't really plan to be an actor, he truly just had greatness thrust upon him. Scooped up as Billy Elliot, then scouted as Lucas in this film. He genuinely has a natural talent for this stuff, this movie is based off a true story and seeing the devastation and little Tom covered in dirt and grieving his family that is still alive, oh gosh. Heavy but the happy ending will make you cry.

Can I also say lip sync battle as one of my fave projects? I need this man to do more dancing or at least physical work. So enamored with him and his confidence. It's interesting looking back on that video after a recent interview he spoke about how young he was and eager, but as an adult (and the adults around him at the time) being more hesitant and cautious about putting yourself in the media like that. It's been cool watching Tom mature!

Films I would not recommend as a Tom Holland fan:

How I Live Now: Tom isn't in it that much, and it was a really slow, disturbing film. I felt sad, gross, and uncomfortable watching it, just for Tom to barely be seen. Do not recommend

Edge of Winter: Also a very disturbing film. Tom was in it more, but it's mostly a slow horror film without much closure, and Tom's character isn't that interesting. Bland and uncomfortable

Now I'm not interested in his animated voice work, and I don't like period pieces, so I haven't seen those films. But if they're great enough and Tom has a good role in them pls feel free to recommend!

I just want to say you don't need to hit a quota to be a fan of someone. If you like one song, book, film... you're allowed to call yourself a fan! Gate-keeping art is not cool, and even if someone only likes one character then that sure is one fantastic character. Spider-Man is something very important to Tom; it's a big part of his career, he met his future wife through it, it changed his world to become his childhood hero. And his depiction of Spider-Man is something very special to me. It isn't just the character, it's him; the freshness, the awkwardness, the naivety he brought to Peter that Andrew and Tobey didn't choose to do. It is such a fantastic character to show off his physical skills, humour, his range from childishness to the grief and fury. You look at him in Homecoming and compare it to NWH and you see how Tom has evolved the character. I'm in awe of every thing Tom Holland does, but Spider-Man is 6 huge projects of his and to be more, which shows so much of his skill.

I also love his interviews. He's a very down to Earth, sweet, and genuine man. I think he's funny, charismatic and confident, but has fantastic work-life balance. I watched that 2 hour interview of his talking about spirituality and mental health, and seeing where he is now with Bero after his struggles with alcohol warms my heart. I wish I could have seen his Romeo & Juliet production, but in the least I think it was a nice break from the big screen for him. And best believe I was fighting for my life in comment sections for his costars—the racism was disgusting. One day that man is going to be a father and we'll never see him again, and I'll support that too. Can't wait for his Nolan film, can't believe how far he's come so quickly, and oh yes, I'm most excited for more Spider-Man films ;)

[caravanlurker]

awh damn wtf. poor claptrap… you’d think as the near-kinda face of the franchise they’d keep that characterization in check since it’s why a lot people liked him at all

I know it can justify it in-universe as years of Living In Borderlands taking their toll but euh

Giving Claptrap’s role in Borderlands to Vaughn and then making Claptrap into an asshole for no reason whatsoever is absolutely garbage writing no matter what way you slice it

[zeldaelmo]

Hellooo

I'm looking for good Zelink AU fics. I've already read all of yours, so.

Do you have a rec list or some fic you'd like us to try? Zelink in modern setting, fantasy anything but canon lmao (I've read too much of that)

BTW have you read Hit list by zestycrouton? It's high-school au and pretty old fic from ff.net. One of the best fics, all characters so well developed, it felt like you're watching a movie before your eyes. Yeah, I highly recommend.

Ah, thank you for reaching out and what an honor that you've read all my AUs! 🥰

So, here we go. I try to stick to stories that haven't been recommended over and over.

My friend @deiliamedlini writes a lot of AUs. I'm linking the Pirate AU, but there are tons of others, too. Some get dark, and don't think she won't kill characters off just because they've grown on you. 😂

Speaking of Pirates, my friend @mistresslrigtar also has one. She also has an ongoing rock star AU that I also recommend!

If you're looking for something short, you should check out @ladyhoneydee 's work. She writes a lot of modern AU and everything comes with a manageable word count! This is a sweet coffee shop AU, but she has tons of others, too.

If you're more looking for stories that have that 'game feel' but are based on own ideas, I'll direct you to @nocturnalfandomartist's blog(s). She has several AUs going on, with concept art and all!

I've only started to explore @abbyz-elda 's work but what I read so far I enjoyed greatly. Currently listening to this one with my screen reader when I'm out running, but I recommend the Sci Fi AU 'A Link to the Stars', too.

Next on my read list is @flutefemme's TP 1920th AU. I read enough of Flute's fics and snippets from this one that I'm confident to recommend before reading.

Another friend who loves AUs is @louwhose. Recommending this one because it's the last I read:

I also enjoyed @sparklyhyperbole 's fairy AU and the ongoing fic.

And last but not least, Puppy Love by @liv-andletdie .

I'm very, very sure I've forgotten a ton of authors and stories, so please reblog and add your own recommendations and/or self recs!

More about Hit List under the cut. TW: mentions of school shootings.

I skipped Hit List as one of the few fics when I went through all the zelink fics on ff.net and Ao3. I heard that the characterizations etc are really good, but since it's about a school shooting, I didn't want to read it. I'm not doing well with violence in general, and a story that deals with any aspects of a school shooting is not what I want to read for fun. That being said, that obviously doesn't say anything about the quality of the fic and isn't supposed to discredit the story in any kind. I heard others enjoy it greatly. It's just not for me. 😊

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 12/24/2024

pair of portentous tuesdayposts: this one is christmas eve and the next one is new year's eve

trying something new with the reading section, where i list off a bunch of books i bounced off and briefly explain why. let me know if this is interesting, or if it's more interesting when i finish a book i sort of enjoyed and really dissect what didn't work for me like with that annoying evil wizard book a couple weeks ago.

listening

the true champ of the past few weeks has been friends at the table's (an actual play podcast about critical worldbuilding, smart characterization, and fun interaction between good friends) horror/weird west season Sangfielle, and i know i have listened to about sixty hours of it bc i have played about sixty hours of stardew valley. i am currently on ep 49, one before the last finale episode, and it feels like it is wrapping up in a very rushed and weird way? maybe i will feel differently after listening to the six coda episodes wrapping up everyones' characters?

the song of the week is fleet foxes’ white winter hymnal, which is morbidly festive without being strictly christmas-y and is not salting the open emotional wound within my chest that is The Holiday Season. album released 2008. christ im old

-

reading

the concept of this gag award is EXTREMELY funny to me. i wish the EFF sent them a little physical trophy. perhaps a challenge coin.

bounced off a lot of stuff. the six larger books and the far top right are all from my absolute favorite thrift store with the worst vibes, who regularly has a 8/$1 media sale bc they actually want to be more of a kitchen goods and home decor thrift store and don't really want to constantly be overflowing with records no one buys. yet here they are.

i really do need to find a good indie used bookstore around here that will take books and give me back slightly more in store credit than in cash. bc i would like to fill some missing chunks of trilogies/fill out the star wars shelves a little more. but every time i have gone to half price books i have had an unpleasant time.

lumberjanes/bravest warrior/adventure time were not making me feel nostalgic and in fact made me quite sad instead (more in a memento mori way than in subject matter) so they're going to a friend's kid

glad i looked up Heartthrob (despite the really good premise of woman haunted by her heart donor) on my library's comic app bc the third one seems to mostly take place in a mental hospital which is really never a vibe i want

GRIFTER has art i don't love and a bland storyline about an ex-marine who is the saddest boy in the world and can also detect literal space aliens living among us. no thank you

tangle's game has a close-call near-sexual assault in the first chapter. no thank you! cool dystopic social credit score premise but no thanks!

gil's all fright diner is about the king of vampires and the duke of werewolves but they're hicks. the narrator hates that they're dumb hicks. did not jive with the authorial voice on this one

i bought Two Tickets to Tangiers in high school bc it looked cool and have only cracked it open now, almost fifteen years later. fifteen year old kay did not yet have the context clues from the cover that it would be a very racist travelogue

i need to stop trying agatha christie. i am never going to like agatha christie

-

watching

somehow i have seen the first tinker bell fairies movie three times this week bc that's all my bestie's toddlers want to watch. a really stupidly stacked cast??? how did all these people have free time in 2008???

-

playing

finished the community center in summer 2 of stardew valley (wildly popular and very intense farming sim) and would have finished it in winter 1 if not for the FUCKING pufferfish. i hate fishing minigames and i especially hate the fishing minigame in stardew so i am excited to leave it the fuck alone for a while.

my cauliflower got stupid mchugelarge?? i do not know why they did that. also a meteor fell on my farm and gave me a bunch of really valuable ore, just like real life meteors.

i do kind of regret picking the beach farm bc so much of my day is spent watering, but i am trying to lean harder into animal products and being more of a fun silly flower farm instead of the intense agriculture i find myself doing. i have the greenhouse, i have a small patch of sprinklerable land, i will simply make sure to buy some of every seed each season and if i really need something i will toss it in the greenhouse.

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making

people are being very gracious about their mediocre colored pencil portraits. most of my gift budget this year was two flat rate boxes to my siblings. silly little pet portraits are very cost effective if you already have art supplies, nice paper, gumption, and very cheap small frames.