#Yes I’m spoiler tagging an anime that’s over ten years old

[anoptimisticsnarker]

So, regardless of what happened, what are your current favorite ships in Code Geass right now?

Given I’ve seen up to episode six of the second season, all of my favorite ships are either sunk are their odds aren’t looking so hot at this point.

I don’t think I can find a new ship for the second half; I’m still not over how one of the ships in the first half ended. Oh, the pain of losing Euphie still stings… 🥲

[symphonicmetal101]

Wishlist For Someone Special

Ok, so I'm feeling really sappy and just a little lonely. All my friends are boring and my family members are too young for me to take to do some stuff.

This is kind of a wishlist of things I wish I had someone to do with or look forward to doing eventually...not necessarily romantic, but I wouldn't mind if it was. (broskis, I ain't never been on a date, not even, like, a platonic one, so bear with me if it seems ridiculous)

Stargazing- lying on a blanket in an open field or in the bed of a truck, just watching the stars, pointing out constellations, and making up stories

Watching the Northern Lights- bundling up in our warmest winter clothing, grabbing a couple campchairs and hot chocolate as we watch them dance and flicker.

Laser Tag- sneaking around, just trying to one up each other, or being on the same team and still- try to one up each other😂

Paintball- a little more painful than laser tag, but still fun. Checking up on each other afterwards to make sure there aren't any really bad bruises

Graffiti- I've always liked the way it looks. I would love for someone to teach me, or for us to learn together in one of those public graffiti houses

A Willow Tree- I would love to find a weeping willow tree and climb it's branches, only to sit and read there with my loved one enjoying their company.

Just Drive- just take a roadtrip with someone I love, blasting music, laughing, singing, and snacking as we blaze down the roads. It doesn't have to be long.

Visit an Animal Sanctuary/Reserve- I find animals fascinating, but also find that sanctuaries and reserves are more educational and often more humane than zoos.

Volunteer at the Food Bank or SPCA- just general acts of service. They make me happy.

Pillow Fortress- I didn't really get to make blanket forts when I was younger, so I want to try doing something even bigger! I want to convert the couch into a cuddle palace.

Spontaneous Dancing- idk man, it just makes me really happy. My dad used to twirl and dip me when I was little, so that's probably where it started.

Cooking/Baking Together- so what if we make a bit of a mess? So what if we screw up the recipe? It doesn't matter, it was time well spent.

Cleaning Together- Growing up as an only child for ten years and then becoming the oldest means I've done chores alone for a long time. I want someone's company, maybe we'll talk, maybe we'll work in comfortable silence, or maybe we'll blast music. I don't care. I would be happy just to know I wasn't alone.

Learning One of Their Hobbies- I want to learn something they know!! Please, let me understand a little better, I just need them to be patient with me.

Forest Walks- especially in Fall. I want to walk down an old trail, listen to leaves crunch under our feet as more fall from above I want the blustery weather to give us rosy cheeks and noses by the time our walk is over.

Horseback Riding- I've done it before, but I would love to bring someone with me. You have more experience? Great! I love to see that confidence in you. You've done it a couple times? Yay, we're in the same boat! Never done it at all? That's ok! I'll do what I can to help you!

Outdoor Movie Night- we don't have drive- in theaters anywhere nearby, but give me a sheet, campchairs, and a projector? I've got us.

Indoor Movie Night- let's bundle up and cuddle together while we watch a new movie. Or maybe it's a classic. Idc.

Try New Food- let's go somewhere for lunch and pick something completely foreign...(I am not eating guinea pig again though, thanks.)

The Wharf- if one of us happens to live by the ocean, we'll be frequent visitors. Not necessarily the beach, bit on wooden planks where the salty sea air still reaches you. We can watch the boats come and go. (Fisherman's Wharf in B.C Canada is fun. There's a really good Mexican food place😂 There's a blind seal named Sammy that lives there, and you can buy a bucket of fish to feed him. Be careful though, seagulls are vicious, being pecked by one sucks...yes, I needed a bandaid and my finger was sore for a long time. Idk if it's still like that, it's been a while. Sorry, just reminiscing a bit.)

Painting- let's buy a couple canvases and paint and see what we can do! It doesn't have to resemble anything, just do what feels like you.

Splatter Painting- dear god I've wanted to try this for so long. Just full on globs of paint and flicking it towards the canvas. (I was never allowed to do it because it was seen as a waste of paint. I couldn't even do it with an old toothbrush on a small canvas😑)

Video Games!- Please teach me how to play! Video games are banned in my family. I mean, I've done Just Dance, but that's about it. Mobile games have been kept a secret...basically just teach me to play and don't make me feel bad about playing, and I'll love you forever, mkay?

Ice Cream Date- again, idk. The idea just makes me really happy, whether we're sitting in a small shop, eating and talking. Or maybe we're walking, maybe holding hands, trying to point things out to each other, but our hands are full, but there's no way we're letting go. Or maybe we're sharing a cup of ice cream on a park bench, just people watching.

Thrift Store Outfits- I want to go to a thrift store and pick out the most ridiculous outfits for each other. We don't have to go anywhere, but just humour me when we're alone by wearing whatever I found for you, and vice versa.

Writing- writing a poem, a atory, a quote, or learning calligraphy and just writing their name- I want to write something to you

Books- let's go to the library and choose a book for each other, one that neither of us have read so we can talk and ask questions, come up with theories as we continue to read.

Books pt.2- if you write me a note and give me a book telling me why it's one of your favourites, I'll melt. I'll do the same for you, and soon we'll have a few more things to talk about and enjoy together

Music!- you bet your bottom dollar I'm going to send you music that reminds me of you, and I would be overjoyed to recieve the same.

Music! Pt.2- if you happen to play, sing, or dance, let's make something beautiful together! If not, I'll teach you!

Improv/rp- just making stuff up as we go, not caring if other people hear our conversations.

Trampoline Park/Something Similar- I just want to try it. Don't care if I break my leg, I want to try it. I'll care if you break your leg though.

Plant Shopping- again, idk. Just the idea of choosing a succulent or two to take care of together sounds nice.

Dance Classes- maybe you're already an amazing dancer, I'll let you take the lead. Maybe you just know the basics like me, we can learn together. (I know how to do the basics for, like, salsa, cumbia, bachata, swing, and waltz, that's it. Please teach me more🤩)

Sewing/Knitting/Crocheting/Fabric Work- useful skill! And maybe we can make something for each other. (Spoiler alert: you're getting a pillow case, mask, or a scarf, I can't do much yet😂)

Rage House- let's just let loose! Make a mess! Yell! Doesn't matter, all of it's legit. I just want to destroy stuff.

Weird Cuddles- again, just the idea makes me happy. If you're lying down, I may as well just flop on you, right? Or maybe somehow we end up upside down. Cuddling while we read books or listen to music. Ok so maybe just cuddling but it feels weird because I'm touch-starved👌

Late Night Calls- I've never done this with anyone under happy circumstances. Could you help me change that? It would be nice to have the last thing before I go to sleep be reassurance and happiness.

Calendar/Planning- let's make a calendar together with pictures of the places we want to go one day. Let's talk to each other so we know what we both want and make sure we put it down.

Scuba Diving- this is something I've wanted to do since I was little- actually it was the first job I said I wanted. I don't want to do it as a career anymore, but I would love to try it with you.

Finding Random Things- little things that remind me of you. Maybe I was out and found a heart shaped rock. Or I heard a bird sing and managed to record it. Or maybe there was a cute keychain at the store that reminded me of you. And that would be enough to make me smile.

Ride a Double-Decker Bus- I've done it before, but the excitement that comes with the thought of riding one again makes me giddy. Just being able to see the city and people from a mobile throne😂

Bike Riding- let's explore nearby, just riding together. Maybe you have trails you want to show me. You can lead, I'll follow. Or vice versa. If we get lost at least we can laugh about it later.

Camping- lets share a tent and a campfire together, roasting smores as we laugh and tell each other stories. Maybe we'll try and sing a few songs too.

Punch Buggy- just playing the game properly will make me happy tbh. It's been 8 years of bending the rules😂

Board/Card Games- yes. I will get competitive. But that's half the fun. Also, I would like to play these properly as well lol

Museum Date- maybe somewhere local, or maybe we were driving by and decided to stop, or maybe we actually planned to go. Let's learn something new together, take some pictures.

Comfy- I didn't know what else to call it. Basically, take out, sweat pants, (messy buns), snacks, drinks, and a good show. Bonus if it's storming outside.

Rain- watching it rain, listening tonit rain, going outside and dancing or running in the rain, jumping in puddles- I want to do it all with you.

Little Gestures- little things we develop as we get to know each other, faces that we come to understand, hand movements we start to copy. Idk, I find it really cute.

Ok guys, sorry this isn't what, well, any of us were expecting. I guess this is my Valentine's Day post?? Idk. If you read it, I hope you liked it.

Feel free to put who you thought of in tags or comments, real or fiction. Or add to the list if you want. I would love to know😊 I know there's a lot of "I wants" but that's because for the first time, in a long time, I feel comfortable admitting that.

51. Mutual comfort characters

[mst3kproject]

The Equinox

'Aleczilla51297′ appears to have made a tumblr purely for the purpose of telling me I need to review Equinox and Godzilla vs Hedorah.  I decided to do Equinox first because I’ve already seen Godzilla vs Hedorah, which is one of the preachier Godzilla movies but does have that hilarious bit where the big guy flies by using his atomic breath as a rocket.  If Equinox turns out to be a #fuck this movie entry, then Godzilla can act as a sort of a palate-cleanser.  And so, without further ado:

Something blows up, a woman called Susan dies, and a dude gets run down by a driverless car.  My Dad would feel vindicated – he finds the whole idea of self-driving cars untrustworthy.  The victim, whose name is David Fielding, ends up in a mental hospital, where he tells his story to a psychiatrist.  Seems that Dave, his pal Jim, Jim’s girlfriend Vicky, and Vicky’s friend Susan, headed up into the mountains for a picnic with their old teacher Dr. Waterman. These people are all idiots.

The four young people arrive to find Waterman’s cabin destroyed and a creepy old man living in a cave nearby, who gives them a locked book. Because the characters don’t know they’re in a bad movie, they don’t realize that the book is clearly the fucking Necronomicon, and decide to crack it open and read it while they eat their KFC. To nobody’s surprise, they’re soon being chased around the countryside by dumb stop-motion monsters.  At the end everybody’s dead but Dave, who’s in the mental hospital waiting for the fulfillment of a prophecy that said he would die a year and a day after the original events, but that’s not a spoiler because it was the opening scene.

Let’s go over the shit that happens when these four clowns arrive at Dr. Waterman’s.  The cabin’s destroyed and the park ranger who discusses it with them says his name is Asmodeus.  Does that sound like a signal you should get the hell out of there?  No?  Okay, how about when they find a castle they can’t remember being there before?  Still no?  Well then, on their way to the castle (which later vanishes behind a wall of invisibility, probably because they couldn’t afford interior sets), they come across a cave with Green Goblin laughter echoing out of it, and weird velociraptor footprints all around.  Would you leave, or would you light up some torches and go check it out?  What about when you find a partially-mummified corpse in the cave?

The whole first ten minutes of the flashback that comprises most of the narrative is a litany of things I’m pretty sure anybody would flee from in real life.  I don’t believe much in the supernatural but if I saw all that I would be sure that multiple crimes had been committed and that I wanted no part of it.  The characters of Equinox, however, insist on investigating themselves, and continue to make stupid, stupid decisions for the entire run time.  Yes, let’s all go in a group to check and make sure the monster is dead.  Let’s hang around and bury the bodies ourselves instead of getting back to civilization for a police report and a good stiff drink.  Let’s collect the picnic stuff before we leave because that basket cost at least $15 at Wal-Mart.  It’s the kind of movie where you start to get annoyed that the characters aren’t dying fast enough.  When we finally get back to the opening shot I mainly felt relief that the movie was almost over.

The MST3K movie Equinox most reminds me of is The Day Time Ended: there are people in the middle of nowhere and, for some reason, a bunch of random stop-motiony things happen that never actually add up to a story.  Stuff comes and goes without serving any purpose other than to be creepy.  Who was Crazy Cave Guy?  I at first assumed he was the missing Dr. Waterman but Waterman turns up later and immediately dies, so what’s going on with this other guy?  What’s about the cave mummy… who was that?  Was the man who showed up to snatch the book actually Dr. Waterman or just a demon in his form?  Why is there a random graveyard in the middle of the woods?  Why does the psychiatrist have a creepy monster mask on his wall?  What’s up with Asmodeus apparently trying to rape Susan without even unbuttoning his pants, and later possessing her so that she does the same thing to Vicky?

Dialogue specifies that Dr. Waterman was a geologist, which seems an odd choice for somebody to be translating ancient documents.  I mean, there’s no reason why a geologist can’t have a side interest in ancient manuscripts, but when a movie takes the trouble to tell you something like that there’s usually a reason why.  Geology is never important to the plot, even tangentially.

It must be said that Equinox makes slightly more sense than The Day Time Ended, in that we’re actually given a reason why these events are happening.  Dr. Waterman had acquired and translated the Necronomicon and could not control the demons he summoned (I am convinced that Sam Raimi saw Equinox when he was around twelve and thought, shit, I could make a better movie than this!).  A huge tentacle creature destroyed his cabin, and then there’s the sabre-toothed ogre, the giant green caveman, and of course, the devil himself.  These creatures have a motivation: they are determined to get the book back, whether through force or persuasion.  The events could still happen in any order, but it all has a common core, rather than being just a collection of Concepts.

In capable hands this story could be made to work (see previous parentheses), but sadly none of the hands involved in making Equinox were remotely capable.  The acting is abysmal, mostly just people standing around awkwardly reciting their lines. All the dialogue was then dubbed over in post-production, which makes it even more stiff and awkward.  There’s a bit where a guy reads a letter as if he has to sound out each word.  The direction and music are bland.  Even the costumes are awful.  You’d think it would be hard to fuck up costumes in a movie set in the present, but it looks like everyone just turned up to set in their street clothes and they went with that.  Good costuming can tell us a lot about characters but the outfits here say nothing. Also, both Vicky and Susan are blondes in blue shirts, and once Susan’s hair falls out of its bun they’re basically indistinguishable.

The characters have no discernable personalities.  How they react to things changes from scene to scene, with nobody’s motives clear.  The only thing that remains constant is Jim wanting to leave while Dave always wants to stay and take care of something or other.  Stuff happens that could result in character development but none of it is ever followed up.  The most notable example is when Dave feels terrible guilt over having apparently killed Dr. Waterman, but this is forgotten a few minutes later and we never even find out if the dead man were really Dr. Waterman.

The effects are uniformly bad, but not usually enough so to be entertaining in themselves.  The castle is an obvious matte painting and the stuff on the other side of the portal, whether it’s Hell or the Dark Dimension or I don’t even know, is just the same spot in the woods with an orange filter over it.  There’s a stupid spinning thing used to represent Asmodeus exercising assorted dark powers.  The devil and the sabre-toothed ogre are both stiff and shitty stop-motion puppets.  The animation is surprisingly competent for a movie with the budget of Jr. High drama club, but they’re still not good.  The one exception is the giant green caveman, which looks dumb but is quite convincing as occupying space and interacting with the characters.

One might expect that this movie would be about the temptation of evil.  The monsters in it are summoned using a book of dark knowledge, and in trying to get the book back Asmodeus offers Jim anything he wants – money, prestige, women, you name it.  Problem is, there’s never any sign that the main characters are in fact tempted.  The crazy guy in the cave wants nothing from the book except to get rid of it.  He passes it on to Dave and Jim with evident glee.  Dr. Waterman’s interest in it, according to his notes, was purely scientific.  He summoned demons just to see if he could do it, but he doesn’t appear to have gained anything thereby except the knowledge that it works.  The main characters never even attempt to use the book, even to get themselves out of this mess, they just run around trying to keep it out of the hands of the monsters.  I’d say it’s like if every character in The Lord of the Rings was book-Faramir, but only a colossal nerd would use an example like that.

Honestly, I think this movie was about the wrong characters.  Dr. Waterman’s process of discovering the book and learning to use it, only to realize he’s unleashed things he cannot control, would probably have been a much more interesting story.  The characters from this film could have shown up at the end to fish the book out of the mess, with the implication that they will be its next victims.  This would have been a much better way to explore the ideas of temptation, making a Faust-like character out of Waterman as he is tempted not by riches or fame, but by knowledge and power.

Equinox is not quite #fuck this movie bad.  In order to earn that tag, a film has to be unwatchably dull and/or morally repugnant. I didn’t have any trouble sitting through Equinox but I also didn’t really enjoy the experience.  As movies about demonic forces go, it’s pretty bland and nothing much really seems to happen.  I guess that means I have to forgive Aleczilla51297 for sending it to me, but I’m still looking really forward to a Godzilla film or two.

[i-was-bored-so-this-happened]

Rae Watches Primeval

1x01, AKA, The Beginning Of The End or Right Back Where We Started From

Tagging @its-all-ineffable if any of you lot out there want to be tagged in all of these let me know

Under a Read More because the Primeval notes always end up longer than with other shows....

Spoilers. Spoilers everywhere

Wheeeee litol trolley

I have been in one (1) Asda and honestly it was disappointing

H....How did that Gorgonopsid throw all those trollies at Helen at once? How did it blow up a car? 

~THEME MUSIC~

Where Is Mark Wakeling’s [Captain Ryan] Credit?

STEEEPPHHHEEEEENNNNN

Leathery McLeatherJacket

I’m sure I’m going to say this a lot during this series of posts and I think I said it in my 3x02 rewatch, but this is Peak Puppy Connor

Love how they both point to Archaeology

Stephen. Stephen just put the bag over your shoulder instead of carrying it under your arm

Nick: *throws away paper* Connor: Actually, that’s my dissertation Nick: *picks it back up* Connor: *mentions aliens* Nick: *chucks it again*

Can we just have more Nick rambling about fossils and evolutionary puzzles?

I love how Nick doesn’t immediately chuck the paper, but instead gives it to Stephen to read first

Take your own advice, Nick

AHHH A SCOTTISH PERSON SAYING LOCH RIGHT THANK YOUUUUUU

Hearing loch pronounced correctly is something that can be so personal...

Honestly though, such married energy from Stephen and Nick here

Connor: Your wife wouldn’t ‘ave ignored it Stephen, in the background: The fuck did you say?

God I love the music in this show

Connor: It’s not like the Forest of Dean’s far away though. Stephen, in the background: Now you’ve done it, we’re going to have to go now

abby. she so cute

Considering Abby is 5′4″ her boss ain’t that tall

Look at Nick and Stephen with their popped collars

Was it a requirement that every show featuring in the 2000s featuring A) Aliens or B) Dinosaurs play “What’s That Coming Over The Hill" by The Automatic

Abby if I can hear it that loud you will be deaf by the time you get to Ben’s house

“We never expected a personal call” How else did you think someone would come to the house to take the lizard away???

RRREEEEEEXXXXX

But why chuck the cow into the tree instead of eating it? 

This Gorgonopsid is great at throwing stuff with decent accuracy, are we sure it doesn’t have hands

Okay but why’s Nick at the bar while he leaves Stephen and Connor outside though?

CLAUUDDIAAAA

Oh I hate it when men are just, “But, seeing as you’re so pretty, I’ll do xyz/I’ve never seen a [insert job here] as pretty as you” and so on. No. Yick

We love how Claudia sees Nick and goes, “Yes, he looks like someone I can trust right now, I would willingly kiss and also pretend to date him.”

Claudia: One more sleazy chat-up line and I was going to have to kill him

Claudia KNEW who Nick was! Even better than my prior points, she went, “Ah, that’s Nick Cutter, evolutionary zoologist/palaeontologist, he’s someone I would trust, kiss and pretend to date.”

ANOMALY!

Ben: I’m running away from what I believe is a leopard who dragged a cow up into a tree, and here is this big spinny ball of light I’ve never seen before, better stop panicking and shove my face through it

That may be an actively erupting volcano right there

Abby out here being an apprentice Leathery McLeatherJacket

I feel like we don’t talk about Animal Tracker Stephen enough

It got dark real quick

“I Predict A Riot” is literally on my Primeval-esque playlist, I didn’t even realise it was actually in the show

Is....is that really what those ball things do when they break? Do they explode?

Abby: A TORTOISE?

Note: At some point, Connor popped the collar of his coat like Nick had

Ben’s mum honestly thinks her, what, ten or eleven year old son? Managed to A) Wreck his room so bad 2) Smash the window C) Destroy the wall around said window?? And apparently that’s Abby’s fault?? Because she “filled his head with nonsense by....” taking him to the forest? Saying he may have found a new species of lizard? Ben’s mum, come on...

“I blame the telly” A second ago it was all Abby’s fault! That’s why Ben got mad, cause she had to tell him a lie!

“Let him go,” Nick, how were they meant to stop it?

“Where’s it gone?” Claudia, did you not see it walk into that light right there?

CAPTAIN RYAN!!!! AH!!! CAPTAIN RYAN DESERVED BETTER!!

LOOK how happy Connor is just letting the anomaly suck up metal things and then, “Oh. That was my front door key.”

Lester! Assholey Season One Lester, but Lester!!

“So much for thinking outside the bloody box.”

Did Stephen and Connor already sign the Secrets Act and then bounce? Or is it not their turn yet? Cause they’re out here all day

Everyone’s wearing exactly the same clothes except maybe Claudia

And you say you don’t have Connor energy, Ryan

Claudia’s skirt has POCKETS!

And so begins one of the most awkward moments in the whole series

Stephen’s wearing a necklace

Connor’s wearing four layers of clothes

YES, REX, LAD

Note: We’re re-doing the living room right now, so there’s a lot of noise, so I’m missing some stuff

Shnazzy, somewhat dramatic music as Stephen....stands on some logs

Love how Ben’s class is coincidentally clearly doing a topic on dinosaurs right now and Ben himself loves dinos

What’d he do to get detention?

Those door were clearly broken before the Gorgonopsid walked through

Okay, but the teacher should be able to hear the dinosaur through the door and walls

“Pick on someone your own size.” Stephen, how tall do you think you are

Parkour!

Again this Gorgonopsid is throwing impossible shit, this time a pair of lockers

Stephen. Stephen it’s an exterior fire door. Stephen you just have to push the bar. See the bar? StEPHEN

Claudia has put her heeled wellies back on. Yes, high-heeled wellies are a thing. You’d think putting stiletto heels on wellies would kinda defeat the purpose of the welly, but they sell

This makes me want to write some original season 1-2 episodes for Alex Hart. Anyone else interested? Could explore the no-Claudia timeline too...

I don’t think I’ve ever had a Yorkie bar....The Yorkie Bar slogan from 2002 to 2012 was “Not for Girls” Fun Fact

And there’s Ryan’s body....

Oh man, Nick’s going to cry

........You’ve been there for an hour already?

Ma wife

Ryan: You stay, I stay Nick: That’s just childish

Wh....why are the guys in the white hazmat suits taking pictures or Nick? Let dude breath

Wilhelm Scream

Stephen Ex Machina

And Stephen’s just fine with that? The front of that pickup’s an accordion now! The Gorgonopsid was knocked out! But Stephen, the fragile little human? Was he even wearing a seatbelt??

“Some...force, out there, ripped the boundaries of space and time to shreds. Maybe it’s happened before, in which case, everything we thought we knew about the universe is wrong. Or, this is the first time, in which case, what changed? What happens next? Believe me, it’s very very far from over.”

Nick’s rearranged the photos on his desk since we last saw them. Either that or whoops continuity

Also that’s Stephen’s magnifying glass right there. Either whoops continuity again or Nick picked it up from Stephen’s desk just to put it down on his own

See, when there’s zero noise here, Nick knows someone is there. But when Helen breaks into Nick’s house and is still there when he’s there, he doesn’t notice

That ammonite be doing some funky shit

Also now we can see the ammonite, which means Helen may have taken that picture of herself with her, because it’s not back where it was before

Helen got really far away in those few seconds

[kid-crashed]

Jon Kent and Damian Wayne in the Young Justice Animated Series

It’s been a good long while since Young Justice: Outsiders came out, so I feel like I can finally write about this without worrying about tagging spoilers and ruining lives or something. This is something I thought about the second this episode aired, and I’ve been waiting to write it. So here it goes!

Young Justice: Outsiders was obviously exciting for many reasons, but some of the most excitement came from introductions of well beloved characters, such as Jason Todd and Damian Wayne (seen in Episode 6) and Jon Kent (seen in Episode 9). Anyone who follows Super Sons already knows that this is a massive deal, because it establishes that Damian and Jon both exist in the same animated timeline for the very first time, as well as it being Jon’s animated debut.

While I’m obviously extremely excited for the possibility of a Super Sons animated moment, it got me thinking. The screen shots above show that Damian and Jon are both infants, likely somewhere around one (1) year old. This is completely different from the three (3) year age difference we’re used to, and while this difference might not seem like that big of a deal to some people, it has the capacity to completely change their character dynamics.

Let’s start by looking at Damian:

We all know Damian’s backstory by now; raised in the League of Assassins by Ra’s and Talia Al Ghul, until he was ten (10) years old, when he moved to Gotham to live with Bruce Wayne. It was at this point that he became Robin. This is a pretty concrete point in Damian’s character, and is very unlikely to change. At some point in the YJ series, he needs to become Robin. But lets take a minute to think about what kind of person he was at that age: arrogant, violent, stubborn, and desperately trying to prove his worth to a father he just met. At this point, he was a killer, and regularly fought with just about every member of the Batfam, Bruce and Dick in particular, as he tried to break the habits he’d been brought up with. 

In the context of YJ, we can assume that Dick would at some point bring Damian along to join the Team, but the question is, at what age? Damian joining almost immediately fits pretty well with how quickly he was introduced to the Teen Titans. But, at that age, he was hardly a team player. It wasn’t until he was about thirteen (13) that he really started developing actual friendships. However, the age Damian joins the Team - in my opinion at least - would depend very heavily on when the other “Next Generation” heroes join. 

This brings us to Jon:

Jon is known for being the complete antithesis to Damian. Rather than being raised to be a loyal machine, he was raised to be a loyal friend. Jon is a character who puts family first, and thinks of his friends as family. He’s truly a breath of childish fresh air in an industry that loves feeding us doom and gloom. While he is beloved by the majority of the fanbase, other characters were very apprehensive about him when he first got into the hero business at ten (10) years old; not-so-coincidentally, the same age as Damian. 

However, Jon is also the character in DC comics with the most amount of pressure on him. You imagine being the son of Superman for a moment, and growing up knowing that every single person you meet expects you to one day take over that title. Do you think you’d be able to handle that? Let alone at ten years old? I certainly can’t. Yet it seems like Jon doesn’t actually realize just how heavy that weight on his shoulders is.

While Supers are known for being power houses, and every team seems to want one, Jon was a kid, and very new to his abilities. He was unpolished; constantly making mistakes, misjudging his own strength, overshooting his speed and flight, and who could possibly forget when he lost control Manchester Black, or when he went full Super Nova and nearly killed the Teen Titans? It became very clear at the end of the first Super Sons run that Damian was actually the only other young hero that trusted Jon, which is why they continued to function as the newest take on a dynamic duo. 

How does this all come back to Young Justice: Outsiders? Well it’s actually very simple. All of that mistrust that characters were going to have in Jon was immediately erased the second the series did this:

Right here is the next generation of the Team. We all know it, and unlike previous heroes, this is the first generation that’s growing up together. Unlike every other iteration of the Justice League, Teen Titans, Young Justice, and literally every other team you can think of, these kids are all going to grow up watching each other’s powers come in. They’re going to know each other’s weaknesses and flaws, from weekly play dates, birthday parties, and any other hero-family get-together; some of them might even end up going to the same schools in this universe. Yes, Jon is the youngest out of them, but that just means that every single one of these kiddos is going to watch him grow up, knowing that S on his chest will always be there.

Let’s think about what we know about Jon again. He’s charismatic, funny, loyal and true, and has this uncanny ability to be able to talk to literally anyone, regardless of who the are, where they’re from, or what circumstance he’s in. You know what those traits line up perfectly with? A natural born leader. 

Growing up in this environment, where all these super kids play all the time, it’s so easy to imagine Jon growing up and being this larger than life personality that everyone just naturally seems to listen to. Jon would be the kid coming up with new games to play, and teaching them to everyone else. He would be one of the team captains when they play kickball, soccer, or any other sport. He would be genuinely interested in everyone’s hobbies and skills. He would be the one everyone turns to when they need someone to talk to. If someone’s unsure about him, chances are they’ll just do what everyone does; take one look at that S on his chest and just start listening. 

The series progresses. There’s another time skip, and Damian and Jon are now both ten years old, taking on their respective superhero mantels for the first time. As all young heroes in this series eventually do, they join the Team. Perhaps around the same time, perhaps Damian joins a few months before hand, or vice versa. But that doesn’t matter, because the effect will be exactly the same.

Damian is harsh. He’s vindictive, and unemphatic; the exact opposite of what everyone expects a Robin to be. He refuses to take orders, and is very clearly trying to fight his was to the top of the food chain. Plus, he comes right in and kicks Tim Drake out of the Robin title, someone who could very likely be the current leader. Chances are, everyone would hate Damian from the get-go. Meanwhile, everyone would be looking forward to the day Jon joins. They all knew he would. It was just a matter of time. 

Rather than being introduced to each other with a clear difference in experience like in the comics, Jon and Damian are now on relatively even playing fields because they’re the same age. Damian would have more combat skills, but Jon’s already an integral part of the group, and he’s a fast learner. Obviously they would but heads, likely even more than they did in Supers Sons. 

One of the biggest debates we see in every single season of YJ is “Ok, but who’s in charge?” This would undoubtedly come up as Damian flat out refuses that listen to any leadership if he doesn’t deem them worthy. Even at ten (10) years old, he would likely be fighting for that position of head honcho, because at this point in his life, Damian’s driving forces are his ego and his ambition. Unfortunately for him, at ten (10) years old, with that personality, and after having just left the League of Assassins, he’s completely untrustworthy. 

Jon on the other hand is a perfect candidate for eventual leader. Everyone would have followed Kon, the Superboy before him, to the ends of the Earth. Superman led the Justice League at one point, plus he’s, you know, Superman. Here we’ve got that legend’s kid, with all the makings to eventually take over the whole operation. He’s young, and pretty green, but chances are every single person on the team would have it in the back of their minds that this kid was born to lead. 

The biggest problem? Jon has a tendency to crack under pressure, and second guess himself. There is a chance that Damian rushing to be in charge would force Jon to be pushed forward far too quickly, long before he’s ready. Meanwhile, Damian’s smart as sin. No one on the Team would be able to deny that Damian’s a perfect strategist, who analyses and memorizes every skill set and strength of the people he has to work with. He can come up with a flawless plan at the drop of a hat. Meanwhile, Jon would be the kind of person to lead with his heart, and build morale on a foundation of morals and trust.

That’s going to be the conflict between Damian and Jon in Young Justice because of how they were introduced in the series, and with their lack of age gap. Damian doesn’t have the time to grow and gain everyone’s trust before Jon becomes Superboy, where as Jon wouldn’t have the chance to learn before getting pushed into leadership positions he isn’t ready for. They’re likely going to but heads even more than before, and right now, there’s no way to tell if they will ever be able to achieve the friendship they have in the comics, or if they’ll be stuck as rivals.

Is it too early to make assumptions? Yeah. Probably. Who knows what the writers have planned. But I don’t think there’s any way to doubt the conflict they just created for themselves.

[origcmibir-a]

I’MMA SPEAK MY THOUGHTS ON RA.YA AND THE LAST DRAGON now that I’ve fully digested the film. SPOILERS and full thoughts under the cut, but basically I think it’s a good, fun film, not one that’s heavily complex and certainly NOT worth an extra thirty bucks if you have disney+ (i watched it on one of those free movie streaming services,) but still, nice and with those classic disney tearjerker moments. I think it’s a good enough film to watch when you have the time, but it is NOT worth the 30 dollar price tag.

I personally liked Sisu as a character. I didn’t find her too annoying or cringy, and Awkafina does a good job being her typical quirky self but also more emotional and serious moments as her. As for her design, I admit it already kind of appealed to me for being a snakey, water-aesthetic looking dragon, but I do think it could have been played up far more. The original concepts of Sisu were played up more than just, elsa-looking-river dragon. She had whiskers, scales, bright violet fins and a tail that seemed reminiscent of a leafy seadragon. But even then, they chose to water down that version into the final product we got in the film. The design of the dragons had so much more potential and Disney has the resources and the money to animate a much more complex model. Don’t tell me that they don’t, when Laika created THIS fucking thing and animated it in STOP MOTION--and they’re making a lot less money than the mouse house.

Do I like the other characters? Yes I like the other characters. Raya I didn’t care so much about, but Boun? Tong? The freaking con baby? I cared for those guys more than I cared for Raya if I’m being honest. Not that Raya is a bad character, but you can absolutely tell what her message is gonna be and what her greatest vice is because she literally says it every five minutes. I’ll get more into that in the moment, but SPOILERS I didn’t start crying until the moment Boun decided to give up his piece of the dragon gem and lean against the petrified Raya’s form before his soul was taken by the druun. Like, this is a ten year-old, Disney, what the fuck, he’s IMMEDIATELY SACRIFICING HIMSELF AFTER RAYA DID DISNEY WHY DID YOU MAKE HIM LEAN AGAINST HER LIKE HE WAS ACCEPTING HIS FATE -- ( Legit though I clapped when Raya sacrificed herself. Not in the mocking way but in the ‘good job, you did it’ way. Commending her for her sacrifice. Didn’t cry til Boun gave himself up )

But anyways, the weakest part of the film is definitely how heavy handed its message is. Zootopia is a wonderful film because it’s subtle about its message until halfway into the film. It gives you plenty of realistic cues and hints for you to figure it out on your own through action and it doesn’t fucking spell it out until that final third. Raya doesn’t do this; we already know what the message of the film is going to be about, because as if they didn’t already advertise it in the trailers, the word TRUST is said like once every two minutes or so. And its a shame, because it’s said a lot more than it’s shown -- yeah, they definitely show it, but the scenes where the moral is shown compared to heard is so very little. I really liked the moment where Sisu dies. The tension between Namaari and Raya screams their distrust for them instead of words. Namaari’s grip tightening on the trigger of her crossbow; you can tell she wants to trust Sisu, but she’s both thinking of her mother’s request (to take sisu and the orb and make her people look better by fixing everything,) and the possibility that Raya and the others might jump on her. Likewise, Raya reaches for her hilt as Namaari tightens her grip, and lashes out out of fear and distrust that she was actually going to shoot. This ultimately culminates in Sisu’s unexpected death. I wish we had seen more scenes like THESE over the frequent,��‘you just need to TRUST somebody’ ted talks by sisu and the equally frequent ‘WE CAN’T TRUST ANYONE’ rebuttals by raya. those scenes of show don’t tell are certainly there, but they aren’t nearly as common as the ‘tell’ part :/

Loved it when Raya absolutely lost it and went after Namaari out of rage over Sisu’s death. Gave me strong Kubo vibes.

One thing I will give kudos to the writers to is how they wrote the common ‘last minute revival’ trope that so commonly plagues disney films -- they actually establish within the first minute of the film that those who are taken by the druun are returned to life after the druun are exterminated. So you know from the get go that all humans who are killed will be resurrected if the druun are vanquished. Though that does leave the biggest plot hole that I’m still wondering about: the dragons. In the prologue scene, the dragons who are turned to stone aren’t revived after getting rid of the druun. It was only after they were extinguished that humans began warring with each other over the dragon orb. Raya explains that the dragons didn’t come back because humans didn’t deserve them, but is that really true? Pretty sure that’s just an emotional cop-out/statement made by her in the moment?? Basically what I’m wondering is, why the heck did all the dragons come back at the end of the film?? Sisu and her siblings would make more sense, as they were the creators of the orbs, but what brought all the dragons back to the world?? I don’t heckkin know, man.

As an animation nerd, I wish we got to see more scenes of Sisu flying or swimming in the river. They barely scratched that itch that the flying scenes of HTTYD or the atmosphere of Finding Nemo. They could have definitely cut out some of those trust ted talks for lengthier segments like that.

Anyways, it was still a good movie. Not worth your thirty bucks but I’m pretty sure any disney fan would get a kick out of it. It isn’t, however, my favorite disney film and it’s far from that. It’s not meh but it’s not breathtaking either.

[phantomphangphucker]

A Sister Always Has Her Reasons - PhannieMay - Day 8 Sisters

Summary: A man stands trial for his actions and Jazz knows this isn’t right, even if everyone including her brother disagrees.

Warning: reference to drug addiction, mentions of almost world destruction.

Spoiler in the tags.

Jazz stands in front of the chained and restrained ghost, who ceases his glaring at the crowd, confused by her actions, as she shouts, “no! You’re not even going to give him a chance?! It’s been years!”.

Even Danny joins the Observants in gaping at his sister, whispering at her, “Jazz are you insane? You know what he’s done. What he’s capable of. What the hell are you thinking?”.

Jazz is one of the few people that can’t actually hear him though, due to not having a ghosts heightened senses. So she doesn’t respond or acknowledge Danny’s bafflement as one of the Observants speaks, “he’s responsible for the near destruction of earth, ghost zone and all existence on it. He can not be allowed free, kept conscious or even be allowed to continue to exist”. Another, more curious, Observant chimes in, “what say you that should even debate as to otherwise?”.

Jazz glares around the room, looking downright pissed at their suggestion to destroy the man behind her, “he's still a person! People mess up! Yes he messed up beyond anything imaginable or tolerable. And yes he did it completely willingly. But circumstances matter! Could even a single one of you claim he was genuinely in a sane and healthy state of mind?”.

“And what makes you think he’s any different now or will ever be?”

“What was essentially solitary confinement for years is going to have an effect. To think otherwise is completely foolish! Whether that’s due to the lack of contact or the inability to harm anyone, doesn’t matter. When you separate a person from actions and others, the effect is always profound. At the very least he had time to think over everything he’s done”. Danny watches as the chained man stares at the ground as she talks, and he can’t help but remember Vlad from the futures words, “if any good came out of this, it’s ten years without ghost powers. Gave me the chance to see what a fool I had been”. But he’s not sure if a second chance here, is such a good idea. The stakes are so much higher, all that future Vlad had to atone for was being a crappy person and multiple attempted murders; that hardly compares to nearly wiping out all life and death.

“At the very least you could give him the chance to lead a different life than the one before. Someone’s past does not determine their future! Especially if you give them a clear path to change”, Jazz shakes her head angrily at one of the Observants and talks right over them, “even if he didn’t take any opportunity to change before, why would he?! Routine is a hard-fought battle to break, even more so when everyone treats you like nothing but a villain and a monster! Why would you stop doing something if everyone is just going to assume you’re doing it anyway?! And that’s not to mention that he was happy doing what he did and believed nothing could stop him, yes it was wrong and yes he deserved the punishment he got for it. But punishments shouldn’t be a life sentence unless the persons proves they cannot change!”.

It’s pretty clear that a good portion are actually seeming almost guilty, Hell even Danny looks a bit guilty. But Danny’s notorious for his kind heart so Jazz doesn’t let that get her hopes up.

“The fact that he enjoyed it and was happy, sounds reason enough to argue he will not change”

“Many drug addicts love what they do more than anything in the world, they change their ways all the time, and that’s an addiction. That’s harder to change than habitual behaviours. People don’t stop doing something they enjoy unless they’re given a reason that is, to them, good enough. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t consider being destroyed a damn good reason to at least try”.

Danny watches the chained man, who’s staring defiantly at everyone and holding himself as straight as he can from his kneeling position; it’s clear he’s being aggressive and assertive, likely even trying to intimidate but, “I think my sister might have a point. I’ve seen horrible people change their ways before and if anyone is familiar with all the wrong this man has done, its me”. Shaking his head at Jazz’s small smile, “I can’t say I believe he’ll truly change. But I can’t deny that it could be a possibility and that he may simply choose to behave even if he doesn’t want to”.

Many Observants mutter around before one speaks up, “ClockWork, what say you? You have seen all he’s done in ways others have not, do you believe change is so much as an option?”.

ClockWork addresses the Observants in the form of an old man, “while I can not speak on his future from here, due to complications. I am inclined to agree with the King. Though, I will not claim to the same optimism as that of the princess”.

The Observants return to muttering amongst themselves only for a short while, “we hear your plea and will grant that he not be destroyed, however, neither ClockWork nor King Phantom has the time to nor should they be burdened with, keeping watch over him”. A couple others nod in agreement and frankly, Danny knows having him watch over this man would be a bad idea.

One of the Observants stands up, “I propose that since the princess is the only one to argue for him, that she take the duty herself”. Half the crowd gapes at this Observants as another, clearly unimpressed one, stands up, “how is a human girl to control him? Intelligent and capable though she may be, that would not be enough should he act out”.

“I am not some petulant child”, nearly everyone snaps around and watches the man cautiously now, as he’s spoken for the first time since arriving to be judged.

Jazz takes this as her chance to interject, “I’ll take the responsibility if that’s what is needed for you to give him the chance to be different than he was”. Danny is once again baffled and rather freaked out at her, managing to maintain the demeanour of a king though, “I agree that this idea is far too dangerous. He has tried to kill or harm you explicitly before. He will do it again”.

Jazz glares up at her brother, “if you assume he cannot change then he will not. I am not about to make that mistake. Your relationship is too personal with him for you to be objective about this”. Addressing everyone now, “I would think by now every Fenton has proved themselves capable of way more than ever expected. I understand the distrust towards him, but surely there can be a fail-safe of some kind”.

Everyone is silent for a while, excluding the Observants, as they debate options. Quickly electing that anything too restraining would only increase the likely hood of disobedience but that it would also need to be something constantly available to either put him down or seal him instantly; they did not want a repeat of Pariah.

The head Observant stands to make the decision, as the chains holding the man dissipates, leaving only the collar, “he will remain bound as he is now and he will not be permitted to be further than 20 feet away from you at any given moment, excluding for extreme extraneous circumstances”.

Jazz nods curtly though frowns, “while I do not approve of collaring anyone like an animal, it is clear to me you see no other options. I request it be removed if he does indeed prove himself”.

“We will see about that, we will be watching for any slight misstep. On either of your parts”.

Jazz looks the way she does when scolding her brother over washing the dishes, as she retorts, “then I must also ask you give him room to mess up, everyone relapses sometimes. You can not genuinely request he be perfect or wholly good”.

ClockWork speaks up before an annoyed Observant can, “biased though they may be, they are perfectly capable of being fair”.

That same Observant, now glaring at ClockWork, “he will be granted no more wiggle room than any other ghost, anything beyond what could be reasonably classed as mischief or mild harm will not be ignored”.

The man watches Jazz with scrunched eyebrows, never even acknowledging his collar as to not give the Observants the satisfaction, as the Observants call the trail concluded.

Jazz spins around and gives him a soft though clearly strained smile and puts her hands on her hips, talking with warm friendly humour, “well, looks like you’re stuck with me. So I’m watching you, mister”. Jazz pats him on the arm before motioning him to follow as they go to level the courtroom.

He tilts his head but follows after a beat, more out of curiosity and confusion than anything else. Coming up a bit behind her, arms crossed, “why? I tried to kill you and everyone else”.

Jazz smiles and closes her eyes softly as she turns her head back to him, “someone has to be objective and because that’s what sisters are for, my not so little brother”.

End.

[attract-mode-collective]

Exactly 79 Photos & Videos Concerning The Game Boy (plus other handhelds)

So... hope you’ve all been following me on Twitter, which is more or less the unofficial new home for Attract Mode. Mostly cuz Tumblr’s days are, alas, numbers, plus I haven’t warmed up to Medium as much as I had hoped to. Though I’ve actually spent the past two months republishing every single post that contains mainline Game Culture Snapshots, so it has remained somewhat useful at least.

Now, for a while there, I had been compiling every single thing tweeted. But because I’m now so damn active on that end… plus I’m busier than ever with other projects… I’m way behind with those digest posts, and the very idea of playing catch up legit gives me anxiety. Yet I have been sharing lots of cool things, which all deserve to be in the blog proper… and because a lot of them are specific to the Game Boy, I figure, why not just focus on that?

Like the above, which is a technique for producing full color photographs via the Game Boy Camera, and yet another thing that I can’t believe hasn’t made the rounds!

Sticking with Game Boy photography, here have a pair of mods that will greatly enhance picture quality. The first involves mounting SLR lens onto a Game Boy Camera (via ekeler.com)...

And the second has one shoving a Game Boy Camera into a SLR itself (via @MaxKriegerVG)...

As someone who was into video games as a kid, and also interested in photography, the Game Boy Camera was the first camera I was able to call my own. Am pretty sure this was the case for others as well?

I also remember seeing this ad in Nickelodeon Magazine (which I would eventually writer for, not too long later) and being absolutely gob smacked (via nintendroid.org)…

Though as much I loved Nintendo brand of FUNtography, I would quickly discover… as did everyone else I also assume… that taking pictures is serious business (via @PolandNintendo)…

Not only did I have a Game Boy Color, but I also had the Game Boy Printer (I still own both, for the record). Unfortunately my snapshots from Link’s Awakening have long since faded, but as with many things, you can find copies online (via gameandgraphics.com)…

Speaking of the world of print, coming soon is a handy guide to Nintendo handy game machine (via miki800.com)…

That one magazine ad featuring Princess Peach catch your eye as well? Well here’s a much better look at it (via suppermariobroth)…

I love handheld gadgets of all kinds, yet some of the popular ones confuse me. Like Hudson’s Shooting Watch; it makes no sense to have a gadget that can detect button presses without a game attached. Guess I’m not alone (via instagram.com/kazzycom)…

A realization I made while sifting through Game Boy related content is how popular the color yellow is with many. Cuz Pokemon? Anyhow, the final post from a blog that specializes in gorgeous photographs of gorgeous hardware, which I just brought up again very recently (via hard-aware)…

How your parents used to trade Pokemans online (via melonjaywalk)…

And no, Game Boys weren't the only things that one could connect to keitais ya know. And yes, Game Boys aren’t the only portables I’ll be showcasing (via anthony10000000)…

I own quite a few VMUs and am always looking to expand my collection… but nothing yellow, sorry. Instead, I want the one covered with dolphins (via anthony10000000)…

So my new favorites artist is Eri Kitamura, and not just cuz she makes pretty looking Game Boys…

She also makes pretty looking girls playing Game Boys (well, this one is technically listening to music)…

Was originally going to post the first thing from Eri that caught my eye, which is a Game Boy with a girl on it, but instead here’s a Game Boy with a girl on it playing a Game Boy…

Time for two more videos from the same individual responsible with the process for producing color photographs at the very top. And it’s what everyone has been waiting… specifically the backlit Game Boy Color mod everyone has been waiting for.

The process is detailed in this two-part video, and here’s the first one (it’s about 50 minutes long cuz spoilers: this shit ain’t easy)…

And here’s part two, which is ONLY 40-ish minutes long…

The author of the videos actually has a store, so if the process seems a bit too daunting, you can purchase a pre-modded unit for $250. Actually, this one is $260, cuz of the dual shells. Quite the price tag, yet somehow totally worth it (via instagram.com/esotericmods)…

Now might be a good time to mention how… remember that GBA with the GameCube finish from eBay a few months back? Well, I decided to get the one that resembles a Super Famicom, something I’ve been lusting over for years.

Well, here’s what the aforementioned seller had in his listing…

And this is what I got instead…

Yeah, that green shoulder button is not the right shade. After some complaining, I got the seller to admit that the one in the picture was hand painted; he didn’t know where it get ones that it’s exact color as on a Super Fami controller.

He also had a no refund policy, yet I bitched & moaned enough to warrant an exchange, for another Cube-esque model, one sans the stick. Cuz it’s comparatively boring to look at, here’s a version with the stick…

Again, mine just has the standard d-pad. As for my replacement… the colors of the A & B buttons are not an exact match, once again. But it’s close enough (am mostly just sick of dealing with that guy, aka johnnys_merchandise, whom you should all avoid btw), plus I have started to scour AliExpress for replacements.

BTW, my failure to obtain a modded handheld that channels another form of hardware has me wondering if I should go for something completely different instead (via instagram.com/wakuwakuisland)…

Up in the mountains, flower bloom amongst Game Boys & Game Boy Colors, whereas deep in the forest, you’ll find mushrooms and Game Boy Advances (via pxchinko)…

Some say memories are fuzzy, though for others, they're leafy (via lyosphe)…

I’ve looked all over for tinycartridge's original post, but no luck, so you can all instead have my personal copy of the earthy wallpaper that was shared years ago (and which I still to this very day)...

The Game Boy Micro, DS, and DS Lite are like family, and like siblings, there can the occasional squabble (via benkyo-es)…

@frankcifaldi: When I met this guy in 2003 and he told me he was going to make an extensive fan site about the Supervision, a Taiwanese Game Boy knockoff, I was like "sure dude." 15 years later he actually launched the thing??

Meanwhile, the Game & Watch Perfect Catalogue just came out, with the full low down on all 59 models. BTW, had no idea there were 59 in total until @ionadisco mentioned it…

How Game & Watches were sold in America; I fondly recalls this ad in-between the pages of Amazing/Spectacular/Web of Spider-Man (via suppermariobroth)…

And how Game Boys were sold in Japan, one day one apparently, which would explain this salesperson’s rather perplexed demeanor (via flashbak.com)…

Silly as it sounds, and as silly as he looks, the US version of Firebrand is nonetheless a warm & welcoming face from my childhood (via nintendometro)...

Mario dropping a knowledge bomb (via suppermariobroth)…

Here’s Peach seemingly kicking Toad’s ass in Super Mario Bros Deluxe, which I’ve been meaning to tweet for a while now, but now seems like the right time & place for obvious reasons (via nintendometro)…

A cute comic about someone finally beating a game after ten years, or at least I believe that's the case (you know, language barrier and all; via @desune593)

Sailor Moon seems to enjoy handheld gaming more so than in the arcades (via uglygreenjacket)…

It saddens me that ravages of time is robbing me of my precious memories, including the names of 90s anime, hence why I had to ask on Twitter who exactly is this (answer was Tenchi Muyo; via shxtfased)...

It’s SethEverman, just playing some pokemon blue…

Speaking of music, it again saddens me that I wasn’t about to make the trip to Japan to catch chiptunes at Square Sounds, and various associated venues. At least @bit_shifter_ took this great snapshot of Glomag at Cyberpunks Osaka…

Meanwhile, here in NYC, we actually still have record stores. And you can grab Josh’s latest release, his first in 12 years(!) at Rough Trade (via bit-shifter)…

Though back to Japan; attended Square Sounds would have also afforded me the chance to check out Tokyo Game Show, where I could have gotten that VMU shaped USB drive that was being sold at the Sega booth (via miki800)…

A few weeks before TGS, there was an earthquake in Japan, in northern island Hokkaido. Many were left without power, but one person was able to keep up with the news, thanks to an old DS peripheral that basically provides bunny ears (via kotaku.com)…

On a semi-related note, here’s someone watching old ECW VHS tapes on their Game Gear (via heavyelectricity)…

Sorry, but the only other thing I have that’s related to Sega’s Master System on the go is this gif from a pizza ranch salad dressing (yikes) commercial, which was cross-promoting Sonic Chaos (via sonicthehedgeblog)...

I have no idea why I'm so amused by this Getty Image of a Neo Geo Pocket that was confiscated at summer camp. Or perhaps no explanation is needed? (via hellomrkearns)…

Speaking of the Great Outdoors, here’s my buddy Steve enjoying some Mario Kart 8 in the middle of a forest (via instagram.com/vitaminsteve)…

And speaking of Mario Kart on the Switch, Bowser seems like a pretty cool dood to have a car trip (via suppermariobroth)…

The Switch is so beloved that people are doing fan art, not for any particular game but the simple the act of playing with it (via annazees)…

Granted, one of the best things about the Switch is all the different ways in which one can play (via kanekoshake)…

If you enjoy your Switch on the go and are looking for a way to store games… and are a diehard Breath of the Wild fan as well… plus if you have access to a 3D printer (via miki800.com)…

It’s a tribute to Star Wars… games… all of them… featuring Princess Leia focused on her DMG (via deviantart.com/robduenas)...

BTW, do you still have your Game Boy? If not, here ya go (via anthony10000000)…

When the realization hits that your Game Boy Color library is incomplete (via @Bootleg_Stuff)…

Back to my buddy Steve, who visited the Primark at the Staten Island mall and took pics of the game related apparel that, sadly, were no longer in stock by the time I was able to swing by. With the one thing I really wanted being this shirt…

This pair of Super Mario Land X Air Jordans is only $1,350.00 (via miki800.com)…

I’m sure you’ve seen him already, but for the sake of completion, here’s that grandpa from who rigged this bike with 11 phones to become a Pokemon Go master (via bbc.com)…

Yet another sign of our times, literally (via fuckdragonballz)…

This image features a PSP and a MacBook, both of which are from the mid-2000s, yet feels very late 1990s/early 2000s. Why? Those USB cables (via jcgraphix)…

And last but not least, here’s Paris Hilton with her DS in 2005 (via @ParisHilton)…

[burnouts3s3]

Sweet Blue Flowers, an anime review

(Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit unprofessional blog post written by an unprofessional blog poster. All purported facts and statement are little more than the subjective, biased opinion of said blog poster. In other words, don’t take anything I say too seriously.) Just the facts 'Cause you're in a Hurry! Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price for Season (MSRP): 38.12 USD Animation Studio: J.C. Staff Licensed and Localized by: Nozomi Entertainment, a studio of Right Stuf Inc. Audio: Japanese Audio with Subtitles available Length per Episode: 25 Minutes on average. 21 Without Intro and Ending song. Number of Discs: 3 DVD Discs in total.   Episodes per Disc: 3 or 4. Also on: Amazon Video and Crunchyroll, a subscription based service that allows streaming for shows. Free streaming is available with ads. Bonus Features: Clean opening, TV spots, character art gallery, and original U.S. trailer. How much I paid: Nothing. I viewed it on Crunchyroll. Number of Episodes: 11 Episodes Price per Episode: 3.50 USD on physical. 1.99 if bought digitally. My Personal Biases: I actually saw Sweet Blue Flowers a while back but never reviewed it. I like other shows in the Shoujo Ai genre such as Mai Hime, Mai Otome, Maria Watches over Us, Strawberry Panic and yes, even Kannazuki no Miko/Destiny of the Shrine Maiden.   My Verdict: Beautiful. Heartwarming. Cute. Incomplete. Like most anime adaptations based off a manga, Sweet Blue Flowers makes the mistake of trying to adapt directly from the source material. Unfortunately, with already slow pacing halting to a standstill, most viewers may not have the patience to sit through Sweet Blue Flowers. Add to that Akira’s development happening later in the series, and you have a beautiful but unfinished story that’s told. Give this one a shot and read the rest in the manga.   Warning: SPOILERS Sweet Blue Flowers, an anime review

When the term adaptation comes to mind, the team working behind the project has to make a decision on how closely to adapt from the source material. Too often, many creative teams take the source material as a bible and shoot from there, not realizing the act of translating from one medium to another means certain elements get lost in the shuffle and things that worked in the manga do not work on the screen. While long running Shounen titles such as Naruto, Bleach, Dragonball Z, One Piece, Fairy Tail, Black Clover, My Hero Academia, Yu Yu Hakusho, Hunter x Hunter, and others benefit from direct page to screen adaptation, Shoujo Ai or Yuri series usually have to operate on not only a limited budget but a limited run time as well. And doing a direct adaptation of a long running manga for 12 episodes can usually result in disaster. Someone once said “You can make a good adaptation out of anything, but sometimes you have to rip its guts out.” This is why series like Kannazuki no Miko/Destiny of the Shrine Maiden worked (in spite of itself, I’ll remind readers and fans of the show) since it added characterization and plot elements that wasn’t in the original source material and wasn’t directly adapting it (Thank God!). Meanwhile, a show like Sasameki Koto/Whispered Words stumbles because it’s trying so hard to do a direction 1 for 1 adaptation from manga to screen that newcomers who weren’t familiar with the manga got bored. (You want to know how badly Sasameki Koto did as an anime in terms of sales and viewership? The anime series bombed so badly, it isn’t even localized in the States and was rumored to kill the Yuri genre for the next few years.)   And unfortunately, trying too hard to adapt directly from the source material is the main thing that kills Sweet Blue Flowers. Akira Okudaira, who is an entering high school student into Fujigaya Girls Academy, becomes reacquainted with her childhood friend Fumi Manjōme whom she has not seen for ten years. Fumi is attending Matsuoka Girl's High School where she quickly becomes friends with a handsome third-year student named Yasuko Sugimoto. Akira joins her school's drama club with her friend and classmate Kyōko Ikumi, who is in love with Yasuko, though Yasuko turns her down. Yasuko and Fumi become a couple, and Fumi comes out to Akira who is at first unsure on how to act, but still tries to support Fumi's new relationship. The main focus centers on Fumi. Fumi, despite being the taller of the two girls, is a shy unsure introvert unsure of her own sexuality and sexual orientation. She deals with heartbreak after heartbreak, seeing girls she has crushes on, such as her biological cousin which she had a fling with to Yasuko, an older girl who might or might not have sexual feelings with her. Fumi’s day to day strife and her coming to terms with her sexuality is one of the more interesting struggles of a lesbian character having to see play on screen. It’s subtle but tangible. Every so often, you see the shifts in movements and physical ticks that show off how uncomfortable Fumi is and certain scenes where characters are simply talking idly hit like a truck. As I go back and re-watch the series, I lot of things that flew over my head the first time started making sense. For example, I actually related to the character of Yasuko Sugimoto, thinking she made a good pair with Fumi, only to realize on subsequent viewings that Sugimoto was actually using Fumi for her own emotional growth. It’s an interesting take on abusive/toxic relationships; Sugimoto doesn’t intend to cause harm but her own immaturity and impulsiveness end up causing harm anyway.   So when Sugimoto asks to come back to Fumi after Sugimoto hastily broke up with her and Fumi flat out rejects her, it’s just the best feeling in the world. Fumi has actually grown in her own way and found confidence in herself without needing to be in a relationship. The biggest casualty of the show is Akira. While she’s present and does have character, her development is sidelined since it comes much later in the series. As such, it’s weird how the show keeps coming back to her as though she were an important figure when the show itself covers more about the relationship between Fumi and Sugimoto. Based on the show’s advertisement and introduction, you’d expect Akira to be a bigger part of the show. So it’s unfortunate she’s pushed to the background for the Sugimoto and Fumi relationship. Worst yet, since the chapters in question were rather short and minimalist, the anime had to pad out certain scenes to stretch them out. For example, Fumi has a conversation about how to use her phone. This plays no major role whatsoever in the plot of the episode. The final episode ends on Christmas Eve as Akira and Fumi spend time looking at their old elementary school. It is at that point Fumi realizes she’s been in love with Akira this whole time. But before the two can pursue their eventual relationship, the anime series ended. Yuri adaptations do not tend to sell well and with the lackluster sales and ratings, Sweet Blue Flowers, the anime, was cancelled while the rest of the story continues on in the manga. Ken’ichi Kasai’s direction is subtle but powerful. Fumihiko Takayama’s writing takes the best of the manga and explodes it onto the screen. Takefumi’s Haketa’s music will move your heartstrings. But, the story is sadly incomplete. Unfortunately, there a little to no extras in the DVD/Blu-ray Release. Just the Opening and Ending song with no text. CAVEAT: I don’t hate Sweet Blue Flowers; it’s just that adapting a manga this slow and this subtle was always going to be an uphill battle. Add to that the short amount of content (11 episodes, not even 12!) and the high price tag, as well as Akira not getting the screentime she does in the manga, I’m going to definitely have to say wait for a drop in price point. (Again, Yu Yu Hakusho 20 bucks for 28 episodes. I can get 39 episodes of DBZ for 20 bucks. Sweet Blue Flowers is 38 dollars for 11 episodes.) As an adaptation, Sweet Blue Flowers not only does justice to its source material but at times transcends it to give the fans what they want. But, taken as its own work, taken as a simple 11 episode series, taken as meant for people who are ‘not’ fans or familiar with the source material, I can only assume they would be left with a feeling of “that’s it”? Verdict: Wait for a sale or watch it on Crunchyroll. If you’re truly interested in the story, try the manga instead.

[dani-ellie03]

Fic: Wednesday’s Child (21/23)

Title: Wednesday’s Child Summary: The next time Emma Swan wanted magical help, she was on her own. Because now they were stuck with a pint-sized savior who clearly had an attitude problem and a terrified but pretending not to be pre-pirate. Spoilers: If you’re current, we’re good. Rating/Warning: PG-13, mostly for safety. Family angst/fluff, as per usual. Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time and its characters were created by Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz and are owned by ABC. I’m just borrowing them but I’ll put them back when I’m finished! Author’s Note: We all know by now that I never apologize for any feels I might give you, right? O:)

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{1} {2} {3} {4} {5} {6} {7} {8} {9} {10} {11} {12} {13} {14} {15} {16} {17} {18} {19} {20}

At ff.net and below.

Tagging @shealivedarnit (If anyone else wants to be tagged, let me know!)

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If working as a fourth-grade teacher for twenty-eight years had taught Snow anything, it was that ten-year-olds could not do a single thing quietly. No better had this point been brought into stark relief than when the harsh whispers of her new favorite ten-year-olds attempting to be quiet tore Snow from her peaceful slumber.

"Wait, if you won't let me carry the tray, at least let me take the glass of milk off of it. I'm surprised it's all still in the glass, the way it's sloshing around in there."

Though she kept her eyes closed, Snow smiled. That sounded like Emma.

A breathless Killian answered her. "All right, yes. Will you take it, please?"

"Yeah, I got it." There was a pause and when Emma spoke up again, her nervousness was apparent even in her whisper. "You really think she's not going to get mad that we're waking her up?"

"David said she wouldn't." Snow could imagine the shrug little Killian must have given Emma just from his tone. "Why? Do you think she will?"

Another beat went by as Emma seemed to consider her answer. "No, not really. I've just … never done anything like this before. Waking up the grownups, even to do something nice, isn't usually a good thing."

Oh, how Snow's heart ached at Emma's admission. The poor little girl had never been close enough with any of the adults in her life to warrant not getting in trouble for disrupting their sleep. Those people were all damn lucky that Snow had no idea who they were because if she did, well, she might not be responsible for her actions.

"Well, I've never done anything like this before, either. At least, not that I can remember. So we'll just have to do it for the first time together."

Despite her pain and anger at the reality of her baby girl's upbringing, again Snow smiled. Killian Jones, in any of his forms, always stood behind Emma Swan. He constantly supported her and encouraged her and took down those walls she'd hidden herself behind and helped her truly feel the love that was extended to her.

And Emma Swan, in any of her forms, responded positively to his encouragement. For even here, standing outside the bedroom door and facing a situation that had seemingly always ended in punishment for her, she took a deep breath and said, "Okay, let's go."

The enticing aroma of cooked peppers and onions, along with the earlier mention of a glass of milk and a tray, left no doubt as to what the children were doing outside Snow's bedroom door. While part of her wanted to remain still and let the children surprise her, as had clearly been the intention, the hesitance of Emma's little whispered voice forced her to sit up and prop the pillows up against the headboard. Hopefully Emma and Killian would feel a little more comfortable if they didn't feel like they were disturbing her.

Soon enough, the bedroom door creaked open to reveal a tiny Killian, his dark hair still sticking out at odd angles from sleep, holding a breakfast tray with two slices of cinnamon toast, a couple strips of bacon, and a somewhat messy pepper and onion omelet. Emma stood behind him, blonde waves falling around her shoulders, with a glass of milk in one hand and a mason jar containing a single daisy in some water in the other. Emma's sheer relief to discover Snow already awake and sitting up was palpable.

As such, Snow injected her tone with a light lilt. "Well, good morning! Dare I ask what I did to deserve two of my favorite children serving me breakfast in bed?"

Killian's cheeks flushed a light shade of pink, which Snow found utterly adorable. Emma shrugged almost shyly. "David showed us how to make omelets and he said you'd like it."

Ah ha. Now the lack of Charming's usual omelet perfection made sense. He'd had four little hands helping him with this one.

Despite Snow's enthusiasm, both children appeared unsure that their gesture would be as appreciated as Charming had suggested. "I don't just like it," Snow assured them with a smile. "I love it! Thank you both very much! What's on the menu today?"

"Bacon, an omelet, and toast," Killian said as he stepped fully into the room and propped the tray up over her knees. "Emma has the milk because walking up the stairs with a full glass on a tray is hard."

A chuckle escaped Snow's lips at the honesty of Killian's answer. "I bet it is," she said as Emma set both the milk and the daisy on the tray with the rest of the meal. "Everything looks delicious!"

Still, the children seemed uncomfortable and a discouraged Snow had no idea why. In an effort to set them at ease, she patted the empty side of the bed. The smiles that lit the children's faces at the silent invitation to climb up with her made her heart sing.

As was typical, Charming had sent up more food than Snow could possibly eat in one sitting so she handed each child a strip of bacon. "What have you two been up to this morning?"

Soft but excited little voices filled her in on Emma's and Killian's early morning adventure feeding the animals. By the time they got to the part about little Neal accidentally feeding the chickens a Cheerio, Emma was giggling. "It was really funny," she said, making Killian giggle as well. "You'd think we'd given them candy or something! They really, really liked the Cheerio."

"Do you like Cheerios?" Snow asked, though she already knew the answer.

Emma wrinkled her nose. "They're all right but I like Froot Loops a lot better. Or Cocoa Puffs. Or Lucky Charms, which are really just Cheerios with marshmallows."

In other words, she preferred a breakfast of sugar with a side of grains to give it an air of legitimacy. It was nice to know some things didn't change.

"What do Cheerios taste like?" Killian asked.

"Cardboard," Emma answered quickly.

"Now, Emma, they taste better than cardboard," Snow laughed.

"Not by much."

Thankfully, a smiling Killian did not at all appear turned off by Emma's not-so-glowing recommendation. "You can try some when we go downstairs," Snow assured him with a smile of her own. "You can decide for yourself if they taste like cardboard."

"They totally do," Emma stage-whispered, once again making both Killian and Snow laugh.

As Snow ate, the children filled her in on their cooking lesson. "David said we did a wonderful job," Killian said, pride evident in his voice. "He told us to bring this one up to show you what we learned and that he'd make ours while we were up here."

Now Snow was happier than ever that she'd given away her bacon. The poor kids hadn't even eaten yet! Still, the way Charming had lovingly taken them under his wing and let them in on the secret of his perfect omelets touched her more than words could express. "You two did do a wonderful job. This is delicious!"

That was the truth, too. While the omelet had come out a little messy, as the kids clearly hadn't gotten a handle on flipping it properly, it tasted perfect.

Both Emma and Killian beamed, melting Snow's heart.

After she finished her breakfast, she lifted the tray off her legs and climbed out of bed. "Come on now. I bet I know two children who are positively famished!"

"I know I am," Emma said with a sage nod. "Everything smells so good that my stomach is all growly."

How Snow didn't wrap her in the hugest hug known to man due to the adorableness of that statement, she would never know.

The kids bounded down the stairs, leaving Snow in their wake. Oh, how on earth could she possibly let them go? They filled her with so much joy, so much love. Watching them blossom under her and Charming's loving care had been nothing short of a miracle. It had only been a couple of days of Emma and Killian being little – hell, not even a full forty-eight hours – and the six of them already become a family.

Of course, they were also a family with Emma and Killian as adults, too. Snow had been struggling with the conflict of missing the adults and wanting them back but also wanting to keep the children since Regina had knocked on her door two days ago. She wouldn't miss the confusing feelings coursing through her but damn, she would miss these kids.

Henry had awoken at some point and was setting the table when the three of them entered the kitchen. Charming stood at the stove putting the finishing touches on the rest of the family's omelets and Neal sat in his high chair, happily squishing some of the scrambled egg on his tray between his fingers. The baby was also fully dressed because Charming apparently didn't mind extra laundry.

"Yeah, we're apparently having a two-for-one sale on eggs today," Henry smirked when he spotted his grandmother's arched eyebrow.

"That's 'cause we collected two tons of eggs this morning," Killian nodded sagely, making Emma giggle.

Snow wished she could bottle the sound of her baby girl's laughter and keep it for all eternity.

After first exchanging good morning kisses with her husband, Snow, true to her promise upstairs, strode to the cabinet, retrieved the box of Cheerios, and poured a small handful into Killian's waiting palm. The boy popped a Cheerio into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. "These definitely taste much better than cardboard," he proclaimed after a moment.

"Nuh uh," Emma teased. Her apparent distaste for the cereal didn't stop her from snagging a couple of Os from Killian's hand, Snow noted with amusement.

"They're not as good as garlic bread or the cookies we made," Killian allowed, "but they're a fine food for early in the morning."

Just before everyone sat down to eat – or observe her family, in Snow's case – a tiny little voice asked, "Mary Margaret?"

A surprised Snow looked down at the sound of her little girl's tentative voice. "Yes, Emma?"

The girl glanced at Killian, who nodded encouragingly. After taking a breath, she said, "We're sorry for falling asleep in your room last night."

And right there, Snow's heart clenched in her chest. Children fell asleep in their parents' rooms all the time. How lonely these poor children must have been to believe they needed to apologize for such a natural, everyday thing. She crouched down in front of the children and took each child's hand in hers. "Oh, sweetheart, you don't have to be sorry, either of you. It actually made me very happy."

"It did?" Killian asked, his little brow furrowed in a frown.

Snow nodded. "Emma, I don't know if you remember because you were very sleepy but you actually cuddled up with me. I swear to you, my heart was dancing on air. We love you both and it warmed my heart to know that both of you were comfortable enough with us to relax and let yourselves fall asleep."

To Snow's utter shock, both of them wrapped her in a hug at exactly the same time. And as she hugged them back, she found herself fighting tears of joy and of comfort and of love. After taking a moment to think about how the gesture would be received, she placed a kiss on each of their cheeks. Their arms tightened around her, making her glad she'd taken the leap of faith.

After a moment, she felt Charming and Henry join the hug. Everyone held the embrace and Killian was the first to whisper, "I love you all."

"I love you all, too," Emma added.

"And we love you both," Snow and Charming murmured in unison, tears spilling over now. This was what they'd longed for. This was what they'd hoped and dreamed and desired. This was everything they'd wanted to accomplish during this time of Emma and Killian being little. These two lonely little children now knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what it was like to love and be loved.

An insistent knock at the door interrupted the lovely moment. A stone forming in the pit of her stomach, Snow pulled out of the embrace first, sniffled back her tears, and wiped her eyes. She knew exactly who was at the door and what would have to happen next and she was not looking forward to it in the slightest.

Her hunch was proven correct when she pulled the front door open to find Regina standing on the doorstep, a small black velvet bag in her hand. Snow's heart sank. "You figured it out?"

"We figured it out," Regina said, holding up the bag. The faint clinking of the glass potion bottles inside provided even further confirmation.

More tears leaped into Snow's eyes but these were not tears of joy this time. Their time with the children had come to an end and she was not at all ready to say goodbye.

-----

Chapter Twenty-Two

[professor-beatrice-hotchkiss]

#cluecrewquestionnare

Tagged by @detectively <3

rules: copy and paste, answer the questions, tag 10 mutuals to do the same!

1. What is your favorite Nancy Drew game and why?

CUR because it’s so involved and it was one of the first ones I played for a second time

2. Have you played all 32 games in the series? If not, which ones haven’t you played? If yes, which one did you play first?

Yep! My mom and I were trying to figure this out, we can’t remember which was first. I think it was SSH but my mom remembers thinking SSH was “the best one yet” implying we’d play one before. 

3. What is your favorite line from any character in the series?

“Welcome to the witching hour. Isn’t it marvelous to be up and about when others are sound asleep?” #relatable 

4. If you could change the ending to any game, which one would it be (no spoilers, though)?

I don’t think I’m creative enough for this question

5. Which game is your least favorite, and why?

I haven’t played them all recently so some of the newer games are so far back in my memory that it doesn’t seem fair to pick haha

6. Which character is your favorite? Why?

Either Hotchkiss because I just love her or Joe because I too love puns

7. Which character is your least favorite? Why?

Probably Rick Alren because he’s just so “ugh get over yourself” 

8. How do you feel about the whole Nancy/Ned vs. Nancy/Frank situation? Do you ship her with someone else? Who, and why?

Ned deserves someone that stays near him. Nancy deserves someone as jet-set as she is (cough fRANK) 

9. Do you have any fun headcanons about any of the games or characters?

Nan is hella bi

10. If you could visit any of the locations of the games, which ones would they be and why?

Any castle or any building with secret passages.

11. Did you read any of the original Nancy Drew books? If yes, do you like them? If no, would you consider reading one?

I’ve actually only read the first ten this past summer. I collect the old ones tho!

12. What is one thing any good detective can’t live without?

A... magnifying glass? 

13. Which game had the best soundtrack?

All? Of? Them? Idk I listen to a massive youtube playlist of all of them on shuffle. (Actually, you know what, all of them except SCK)

14. What is one thing you wish HER would’ve included in any of the games (a conversation, interaction, location, feature, etc.)?

FRANK FINALLY CONFESSING HIS LOVE

15. Do you have any ideas for a future game? What is it?

Nope I’m not creative enough for this. 

16. How long does it take you to finish a game from start to finish?

Like 3ish hours? For one I’ve played before. A new one where the walkthrough hasn’t come out yet and I’m playing with my mom, like at least 2 days.

17. Did any of the games scare you? If yes, which ones? If no, why?

DOG scared me as a kid, going outside at night was a frightening task

18. Why did you join the Nancy Drew fandom here on tumblr?

Because it’s so much more pure and friendly than the rest of tumblr

19. What is your favorite Nancy Drew joke (from in-game or even floating around the internet)?

Literally any of your memes

20. Who is someone in the clue crew you’ve always wanted to get to know?

All of you

21. What are three unpopular opinions you hold about the games?

1) I like MED 2) I think MID will... exist... eventually 3) The newer games feel too easy

22. Do you have any fun theories about any of the games?

Villians that got away will cOME BACK

23. Who was your favorite animal character featured in the games?

C’MON BOB

24. Do other people in your life know about your love for Nancy Drew?

Lmao yes 

25. How long have you been playing these games?

Since I was like 7 or 8 so like.... 12+ years (...wow)

Anyone who hasn’t been tagged yet! Do the thing!! 

[jackcarson-foxfutureworks]

MY TOP TEN MOST ANTICIPATED GAMES

I really like talking about games.

I think that's all the reason I need to tell you about the upcoming games I'm most excited about.

The games on this list don't have to be launching next year, hell, they could launch next week and still make it on and since this isn't the usual one game article, I'll be briefly covering each game as to avoid a super long piece.

Also look out for "My Top Ten Games of 2017" and the interestingly named "The Top Ten Games I Played in 2017", both of which should be popping up towards the very end of December or January at the latest.

BEWARE OF MINOR SPOILERS FOR RELATED GAMES

It would be unfair of me not to talk about Red Dead Redemption 2 on this list, but due to a lack of information and game footage ever since the first trailer dropped almost a year ago, I can only award it an honourable mention.

However, what I have seen looks breath-taking. The environments in the trailer are truly beautiful, ranging from starry forest nights to sunny open plains, it looks like Rockstar has nailed the aesthetic.

Elsewhere, there does seem to be some variation of The Magnificent Seven surrounding the characters, but that's as far as the plot goes so far. Hopefully, the announcement on the 28th of this month will shine more light on the matter.

Red Dead Redemption was a masterpiece. Fingers crossed the sequel follows suit.

Now, I know of exactly one person who is definitely going to be disappointed about my decision to put Monster Hunter: World in the 10th spot and no amount of reasoning will appease them.

I was introduced to the Monster Hunter franchise very late and although I've had fun with the two I've played (Freedom Unite and Generations), there's a couple of problems I personally find that hold it back.

For starters, despite playing plenty of games that involve grinding resources, I feel Monster Hunter goes that extra irritating length of not always giving you the materials you need. The combat at times is a little clunky and the slow animations that stop you from moving are god damn obnoxious, to say the least.

That said, I'm excited to see Monster Hunter make the leap to current-gen consoles as this has seemingly improved the clunky movement and unnecessary animations while adding a more seamless open world and deeper hunting mechanics.

Although Metro Exodus currently suffers from the same affliction as Red Dead Redemption 2, it prospers from two previous games that have set a well-established tone for the series and having played the redux versions quite recently, it's fresh on my mind.

I've felt Metro has always been a very under-appreciated series. Sure, the last two lacked the freedom of the Fallout or S.T.A.L.K.E.R games but it blended survival horror and action wonderfully while retaining a haunting post-apocalyptic atmosphere.

And while scampering across the massive wastelands of Washington or Boston is jolly good fun, sometimes it's okay to be confined in the more intimate tunnels of the metro and its soulful communities.

Despite all that, Exodus looks to be ditching the semi-linear tunnels for an open world approach, and while I'm itching to see more of the surface, I just hope it doesn't cause Metro to lose its claustrophobic charm.

I didn't own a PS3 when The Last of Us stormed onto the scene and so by the time I had the chance to play the remastered version on PS4 I already knew all there was to know about Joel and Ellie's equally heartwrenching and heartwarming journey.

Credit to Naughty Dog then that even when I'm ten steps ahead I'm still hit with a ton of emotional bricks. I'm a sucker for storytelling, so combine that with fantastic games and you've got yourself the formula to tingling all the right spots in me.

Just knowing that I'll once again be able to tag along with Joel and Ellie as they set off on a new adventure not only fills me with beaming delight but intense trepidation.

So, yeah...the Battlefront reboot didn't nearly live up to the expectations set by the 12-year-old Battlefront II, the question is can the sequel of the same name break the shadow that currently hangs over it?

I'm optimistic and considering what's been revealed so far, I might just be rewarded for it. Battlefront II is finally going to include all eras of Star Wars from planets to characters (Darth Maul is the coolest, hands down! Don't even fight me on this!) and a campaign mode which intriguingly focuses on an elite squad from the Empire.

I'm stating the obvious when I say I'm a big Star Wars fan, but I have even greater love for Battlefront II on the PS2, and since I can't remember the last time there was a standout Star Wars game after it, there is a lot on the line for 2017's Battlefront II.

If I had a pound for the number of people who are going to skip this part of the list...I'd still be totally skint, because not many people read my blog as it stands :'(.

Yes, I have played a lot of Call of Duty in my time, especially the Modern Warfare series. It's definitely not everyone's cup of tea and it's certainly not what it used to be. Enter Call of Duty: WWII which is taking a welcoming step back in time and a massive step forward for the series in my eyes.

Returning to its roots of WWII will not only catch the attention of old CoD players who might've moved on by now, but it allows the series to remain an arcade FPS while alleviating the intense groans brought on by the extravagant Michael Bay set pieces and futuristic copy/paste combat.

I, for one, am really looking forward to what Call of Duty: WWII has to offer. With a seemingly Hollywood blockbuster campaign akin to the cinematic experience presented in Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers just to name a few, this year Call of Duty has the potential to rise like a phoenix from the ashes.

There's no denying that id Software is the granddaddy of the first person shooter and if it wasn't for my tremendous love for RPGs and Bethesda Games Studios, then they'd easily be my favourite studio.

2014's Wolfenstein: The New Order wasn't id's first foray into reviving a classic franchise of theirs. That belongs to DOOM 3. And it wasn't the first time we'd see a rebooted Wolfenstein game as that is attached to 2009's unfortunately mediocre outing simply named Wolfenstein. However, I believe it is thanks to the success of The New Order that lead to the recent new wave of classic FPS franchises making their grand returns, namely DOOM in 2016 and the upcoming Quake Champions.

I'm getting slightly sidetracked, but having grown up playing classic first-person shooters like Wolfenstein 3D, DOOM 1 & 2, Half-Life and Quake, it was a blast from the past playing a ruthless, no holds barred, gun-toting badass like B.J. Blazkowicz again.

The New Colossus looks to up the ante even further, with more absurd moments and bloodier gauntlets for the Nazi-crushing one man army.

Bring 'em on!

I adore Far Cry 3. It improved greatly upon Far Cry 2's rigid feel and drab appearance with smoother combat and beautiful tropical visuals and gave me one of my all-time favourite video game villains in the form of the criminally under-utilised Vaas Montenegro.

Roll on to Far Cry 4 where I slip into the shoes of bland yes-man Ajay Ghale as opposed to the compelling fragile mind of Jason Brody and his deteriorating sanity, and you've pretty much got Far Cry 3, aside from an overall more captivating cast of characters and awesome wingsuit. Even Pagan Min fills the role of the charismatic and maniacal psychopath but at least he gets to see the end of the game.

At closer inspection, Far Cry 5 doesn't seem to differ too drastically from the formula set in the third and reiterated in the fourth, or even Far Cry Primal, but why should it? It works, it's fun. The open approach to tackling most of the situations you'll find yourself in is freeing, especially for the uber experimental player. The change in scenery won't hurt either and with the world affairs currently unfolding it's all the more relevant and relatable.

Did I mention you get a dog called Boomer, who let me tell you, is a F**KING GOOD BOY!

When was the last great open world Spider-Man game? If you said anything but Spider-Man 2 (specifically the PS2 version as the PC port is a completely different game) then you are wrong. If we take away the open world criteria I can hazard a guess many of you would say something along the lines of Shattered Dimensions or Ultimate Spider-Man, maybe even Web of Shadows.

The point I'm trying to make is that Spider-Man for the PS4 is looking like a suitable candidate to overthrow Spider-Man 2 as the Greatest friendly, neighbourhood Spider-Man game. It looks slick, it looks punchy, it looks humourus. Furthermore, it looks to be borrowing the Arkham style combat which is just ace and the web-slinging seems to have its momentum building back.

Coming recently off the fantastic showing of Spider-Man: Homecoming, I'm all in for some more web shooting antics and humiliating the bad guys.

We need more light-hearted superhero games to fill the dark and dreary hole that the gritty Arkham series left and right now Spider-Man is our best shot.

Zombies games will never get boring for me. I'm sorry if according to you I'm "what's wrong with over-saturated genres" but I absolutely love mowing down hordes of undead in Dead Rising or methodically slicing them apart in Dying Light.

It's not just eviscerating the walking dead that gets my juices flowing, but I believe the use of zombies always opens the door for some scrumptious storytelling. The last days of mankind and the lengths the living are willing to go to just to survive are some of the most intriguing aspects of a zombie-infested world to me. The crazed panic of the initial outbreak, the heartbreak of destruction and loss, the band of struggling survivors just hoping to see a new dawn. Enthralling stuff I tell you.

In my opinion, Days Gone might just tick all those boxes and then some. The sheer intensity of those zombie chases is definitely going to force me into showering several times in a single day to clear the sweat. And despite what little gameplay there is to chew on right now and the severe lack of a release date over a year after its announcement, I still stand firmly in support of Days Gone and pray it won't be long until I finally have it in my hands.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor was easily my favourite game of 2014. It satisfied my fantasy adventure itch, my Lord of the Rings itch, and my Arkham combat itch. That's not even mentioning the groundbreaking nemesis system, the likes of we've still yet to see anyone even attempt to replicate.

Fast-forward 3 years and the sequel Shadow of War is right around the corner, October 10th to be exact, and I can't stand the wait any longer. The Lord of the Rings franchise is my all-time favourite kind of media entertainment and since there doesn't seem to be any more movies on the horizon, the games are all I have left.

Outside of my fanboy nature, Shadow of War is refining the nemesis system in order to make it deeper in layers. While Shadow of Mordor's nemesis system was built around creating rivalries within the ranks of orcs, in Shadow of War, it's to build a report with your own army of orcs. And with new additions such as tribes, bigger and more varied regions and fortresses, the personal experience is only going to get richer. Promote a soldier and see your bond grow closer leading to added bonuses in battle or shun them and risk watching as they turn against you to serve the Dark Lord.

Never before in a Lord of the Rings games would I ever expect to form a friendly connection with orcs as the hero.

One does not simply wait to play Shadow of War.

And that's all she wrote.

Hope you enjoyed this new type of article, especially when I'm planning two more by the end of the year.

Don't be shy, let me know what your most anticipated games are? I won't judge, honest.

Until next time

Stay inside, play video games.

When your girl sees you cracking open a cold one with the boys.  

[yoyo-inspace]

Black Sails 4x02 - 4x03 thoughts

This is late. Sorry about that. It’s because I was waiting to see the episodes with a friend of mine. 

I had some thoughts I wanted to get out before 4x04, and some of you seemed to enjoy this last time, so I thought, why not do it again?

Two brilliant episodes overall. I’ve already talked a bit about my thoughts on especially 4x03, which you can find here, here and here as well as in all of my tag rants in Black Sails posts on my blog. 

Going to follow the formula and do a character by character/group by group break-down below the cut. This got really long. Look forward to me having long ramblings about narrative techniques, being angry about Black Sails making me care, being very worried for everyone’s future and what’s really the deal with Berringer’s locket. 

Spoilers, obviously.

John Silver A pirate king coming into his own is something beautiful to behold. I thought Silver actually took a bit of a backseat these two episodes, except for the very last part of ep3. He was, quite literally, tied up, and didn’t get as much of a chance as before to be an active player. But that won’t stop him. He just keeps on talking, and how beautifully he does it. He realizes while being held by Hands that embracing his role as the next Teach is his only way out of this, and after that, I think the power it gives him is quite intoxicating. He didn’t start out like this. He didn’t want that man to die in his name. But Silver is morphing in front of our eyes, morphing into becoming Long John Silver. 

He’s also more and more taking over the narrative from Flint. This has up until now been Flint’s show, and it is turning into Silver’s. He’s even taking over the entire Odysseus metaphor with his ‘no one’ stuff going on! 

I don’t want to believe his pseudo-friendship with Max is completely over, though it definitely took a pretty bad hit these episodes. I totally understand them both here, really. John have obviously no idea about Max’s intentions. He still thinks he’s the same as he’s always perceived her. He’s getting caught up in this cycle of vengeance and violence that he can’t understand that she’s not up for playing that game anymore, something that we see is quite constant with all the ladies here. 

His reunion with Madi was beautifully done, from both actors. Like, some A+ filmmaking there. I was actually really happy to see them reunited. 

I really enjoyed his banter and relationship with Hands. I’ll get to that more a little later, but damn, I didn’t expect to enjoy it that much. His reunion with Flint was a bit cut short for me, but it kind of made up for it with all the “we” and confidant-type talking, and bringing another grumpy ginger onboard and trying to make them get along. All these grumpy gingers and princesses and random townsfolk falling for Silver. He needs to stop being so damn charismatic or this is going to turn into a harem anime

His entry into Nassau was basically him being pirate Jesus, and I quite enjoyed that. He was super badass in the fight, and in the end, he’s the one who gives Israel the nod to cut Berringer’s throat. Again, with a look he can get someone to kill for him. He inspires loyalty in people, something I don’t think he ever expected. I’m really worried however where this road is going to take him, and those closest to him. 

Israel Hands DAMMIT BLACK SAILS, YOU’VE GONE AND DONE IT AGAIN. FIRST FLINT AND NOW ISRAEL HANDS? STOP MAKING ME CARE SO MUCH ABOUT RANDOM CHARACTERS FROM TREASURE ISLAND.

Now don’t get me wrong. Israel Hands is a terrible terrible person. He slit the throat of a nine year old. I mean yes, we can argue all day back and forth that Flint attacking Charelstown/the fort probably killed quite a lot of kids (actually, we saw it do so), but we have to keep in mind that this is fiction. If we were going to judge all of these characters on actual real life moral standards, we should probably not be behind anyone. The narrative of these things are set up to get us to sympathize more with Flint, and there is something more horrific to most people about the calculated murder of a nine year old by slitting his throat than a bombardment of a beach with casualties. I think those are important things to take into calculation (though I mean, still all horrific, you know). 

And yet. AND YET. Black Sails somehow manages to make me intrigued by this murderous, old, sad man. Why did he stay? Did he really hate Teach, or was he still waiting around for him? He’s clearly one of those people who feels like he needs a leader. He wants someone to follow, to believe in, who tells him what to do. Silver was able to win him over with words.

As I see it now, he still hasn’t become that Devil on Silver’s shoulder that they talk about in interviews. But I can see how that’s going to play out. His murder of Berringer was very symbolic. He’s creating a new pirate king, and a new Nassau, just like last time.

What fascinates me, is that ten-twenty years down the road, Israel Hands is still with Silver. Still somewhat loyal, if questioning. He’s still there. It’s curious.

They’ve done a marvelous job either way of mixing the historical Israel Hands with the fictional Treasure Island one. He welcomed John Silver to step into their legendary roles, and he’s going to guide him through it.

“I’ve never seen good come from goodness yet.” This man has one messed-up way of looking at the world. And I can’t wait to see it impact the rest of our characters. 

James Flint Oh Flint. He’s mellowed out so much, hasn’t he? Like yes, he had his thing with Billy in episode one, but here all his arguments are rational, he’s calm, him and Madi are getting along so well, which makes me so happy. When she quoted Don Quixote at him I nearly died, okay?

I was so glad he realized the risk to the slaves when taking the Underhill estate. I live for Flint being rational and logical. Also how he spared that lady and her child, and didn’t mortally injure Underhill. That probably all went out the window later, but still. I’m so glad.

Then on the other hand, without his anger and hatred to lead him, with him letting Silver take the lead, what is left for him to fight for? Is he in the end going to let Captain Flint return to the sea? Is Captain Flint going to bring James with him? Who knows at this point.

I think it’s a really valid interpretation to say that he’s in love with Silver at this point. I think it’s also valid to say that these are not romantic feelings. It could be both at this point. At the same time. The point is, Silver means a lot to him, and this is acknowledged by everyone. Would I like them to go in a silverflint direction? Yes. Do I think it would damage the story if they didn’t? No.

That look he gives Madi and Silver when they reunite is interesting. Or rather, it’s interesting that they focused on it. I didn’t see it as sad, per say, more melancholic. Bit happy to see them reunite. Maybe sad that he doesn’t have that anymore. But I think it’s really just as valid to read in any kind of emotion in that scene, Toby Stephens plays it very ambiguously. 

I think my favorite Flint moment from these two episodes though, is his little speech about England, and how no one can remember the world before it, so no one can imagine it after it. It was really nice. And I sat there, and I was thinking “You’ll never see it, but slowly, slowly, the New World will revolt, England will go away. Others will take its place, but slowly, the world will become a better place.” (Which, really, I know we live in a scary world and there are scary things happening. But we have never been better off. And we need to hold onto that as well as we can, because we don’t need to move backward.)

Madi She really is the one holding all of this together. When she whistled to her men to draw their weapons I actually went “YES” out loud. Her concern for not only her people but all of the slaves on the island is touching and so important. Her talking with Eme was great. Just. Madi speaking with other ladies, with Featherstone, with Idelle. Madi making way for Silver to go into Nassau. Madi keeping the peace between Billy and Flint for as long as she could. Madi defending the pirates that stayed loyal to them, defending Flint. Love it. 

Speaking of her talking with Eme, what a great scene. Both her talking about how much both her and Flint has lost (I mean, whether or not that’s ever going to be canon, on a fanfiction level? I’m all for this ot3) when Eme questions why she’s still with the pirates. And when she finds out Silver’s alive? Such a great scene. 

I mentioned above, but her reunion with Silver was amazing. The slow turn, the running. Yes. I like. Though someone should give Flint a hug in the process. I don’t think Israel Hands is volunteering. 

I’m still worried for Madi. I don’t think she’s completely safe just because of her most likely being John’s future wife. My mind actually most go back to that shot from a trailer with John looking completely destroyed. But who knows what causes that? But with Billy bringing up that Madi could be in danger, that feels like such a Chekov’s gun that something is bound to happen at some point. I’m just worried what. 

Billy Bones *Sigh* Where do I start with you, Billy? I mean, I know you don’t grow up to become the greatest person, swindling a kid for money and stressing a man to death, but still. 

No but, to be fair, I get where Billy’s coming from, how he’s putting his men first. But from the viewpoint of myself, I just can’t empathize with putting the slaves’ lives at risk like that. And if he really killed the Underhill family (even though that could be a lie by Berringer), that has basically killed most hope I had for Billy to pull through this in any way a likable character for me. However, I was glad to see him join with the rest of the pirates in Nassau when the big battle went down. 

I’m pretty sure he’s trying to sow distrust between Silver and Flint, and I am not liking it. I don’t approve, Billy. I’m gonna sack Dr Livesey on you soon. 

Max I really just want to put Max in safety somewhere. Out of all the ladies right now, who are all being the voice of reason, she’s embodying that most of all. Violence breeds more violence. Oppression breeds resentment. She is fighting for civilization, but she’s fighting for the type of civilization we should strive for. Because let’s not fool ourselves, while it’s all fun to joke about war against civilization, the pirate world is far from perfect. 

The civilization they’re fighting is oppressive, but that’s not the civilization Max is fighting for. She wants to be safe, she wants to be loved, she wants to be respected. She’s a lesbian, a woman, and a woman of color at that. She’s everything English civilization would deem unfitting. And yet she’s on that side. Because she sees hope in civilization. She doesn’t want the world Rogers or Berringer represents (and really, their version of civilization is just a thin layer covering up more brutality, on an even larger scale than the pirates). She doesn’t want the world of pirates to return either. What she wants is a world where she, as she is, can be respected. And I’m sorry Max. It’s going to take a very long while until the world going through that kind of change. And yet I hope that by the end of this, Max will escape and get out unharmed. She’s trapped in the middle of a war she wants no part of, between two versions to view the world that she doesn’t agree with and doesn’t fit with. And I think now more than ever, Max is one of the most relatable characters in the show.  

Berringer I’ve seen a lot of complaints that by having Berringer look sadly at a portrait of his wife and child, the show was trying to force some sort of sympathy on us for him. 

I disagree.

I think what they did with Berringer was actually quite brilliant. He’s an absolutely loathsome person. He’s by no means supposed to be seen as anything but the villain. But just like with Peter Ashe, a despicable human being, we’re still giving a glimpse of that they’re people. With lives, sorrows, losses, dreams. That doesn’t make them any less villainous. It just makes them human. It’s not meant to give us sympathy for them. But it’s there to show us that there are no black and white villains in this show, just as there aren’t in the real world. Yeah, there are characters they haven’t done this with, like Alfred Hamilton or Ned Low. Because there are just straight up butcherers out there. 

But with a character like Berringer, they showed us that, hey, yeah, a character can be a human, everyone has a past, everyone has relatives and a background and a story. This story wasn’t relevant to our understanding of this character - but he had it. He was a person. With a life. And who knows what kind of life drove him here. That’s not meant to give us sympathy for him. That’s realism. We still hate him. It still feels like a triumphant moment when he dies. But to have him drop that locket in the moment of his death - it’s reminding us that we’re not cheering on for the death of a cardboard cut-out. We’re cheering the death of a person. However loathsome he might be. 

By that I don’t mean we should feel sorry for it. This is, after all, fiction, and as I said earlier, we are allowed to have different morals in fiction or else we wouldn’t be able to consume any fictional media whatsoever. I’m currently in a production of Medea, and to be able to discuss, say, the feminist implications of that play, you can’t treat Medea as you would treat an actual human being that you knew who killed her children. That’s not how it works. You need to be able to separate two different realities and sets of morals in your head. 

But I do find it interesting that they choose Berringer to do this with. Unlike with Peter Ashe, were we learned of his ‘good’ sides before the bad, we are completely overwhelmed with just how brutal and awful Berringer is. The show does go out of its way to show us that we should loathe him. And I don’t think the show is trying to tell us not to. But no one comes onto this show, this narrative, as a blank slate. They all have stories. Berringer’s story isn’t something we are told, it’s hinted to us. We can still cheer his death. We don’t have feel sympathy for him. I barely think think we’re supposed to. But he didn’t come here as a blank slate to spread terror among the people of Nassau. He came from somewhere. And in his mind, he was going somewhere. All these characters have their own stories. We just happen to focus on some of them. And to show us that so blatantly, in a story that’s ultimately about stories, I think was perfectly fine, and actually just shows how much thought is put into every character they bring onto this show, even though we will probably never know the half of it.

Eleanor Guthrie Oh, Eleanor. It feels so fitting that it’s Max who makes her see clearer. She tries more than Max to hang on to this idea she has about what civilization is supposed to be. She’s willing to make so many compromises, because she feels that in the end, that’s how it’s supposed to be. But men like Berringer doesn’t factor in to her idea about civilization. She presumed that monsters were something kept to the pirate side of things. But monsters are everywhere. Very human monsters, but monsters all the same. And then it doesn’t matter if you have civilization at your back. These are monstrous actions done in the name of civilization. And I think Eleanor is slowly starting to realize that while she wants to play the game, in the civilization she’s fighting for, there is hardly any room for her. 

I do think she honestly loves Rogers, or rather, what she feels he represents. I think she wants to distance herself from the person who loved Vane, who was to her eyes, brutal and uncivilized. But I think Eleanor is about to realize, that there’s no line drawn between when a man is civilized and uncivilized, it just depends on where you put them, in what situation. She inspired Vane to brutally murder Low. It was to protect her that Rogers brutally killed Teach. It’s a circular story. And I am starting to doubt that Eleanor is ever going to be able to escape from her own narrative, that seems to be just running in circles, trying to find a way out. 

We shall see how her escape from the fortress (because that’s what I assume will happen) goes, and if she does manage to appease her grandfather. Even if she does, I wonder if that’s going to turn out to be the world she has imagined it to be, the world she wants. Out of all the ladies, Eleanor is the one that I think is most likely to die. Not that she necessarily will, but she’s a character so closely tied to Nassau. And if Nassau perishes, which we know in the end it will, what is left for Eleanor?

Woodes Rogers Woodes Rogers have finally shown his true colors, and it’s not quite what we were expecting. I think we as an audience made the exact same mistake as Rackham (I’ll get to that). We assume Woodes is who he presents himself to be. But he told us already. We just didn’t listen. 

“But there are things you leave out of the book. Things you leave out because if it got around polite society what you’re capable of when pushed, they might stop inviting you to their dinner parties. All you know about me is what I want you to know.”

We mocked him, along with Rackham, saw the polite civilized facade of a British gentleman, representing the system but not quite sure what he’d gotten himself into. Yet Rogers proved to be better at managing his story, the story people told about him, than nearly everyone else has been. This show is ultimately about what story you build around yourself. And Rogers has crafted a pretty good one. 

He is the perfect symbol of civilization. He’s the British gentleman when he has to. But when dark times calls for dark men to do dark things? He’s there. Surrounded by violence and fear and anger, he exhibits those exact traits. Yes, he did it to protect Eleanor. And yes, Blackbeard would probably not have been much kinder to Eleanor had he gotten hold of her. Yes, the pirates have done terrible terrible things. 

But I think the key is in how this scene is presented, and also the context of it. Woodes is trying to present himself as the civilized option to the pirates. But what he did was such a display of cruelty, showing a planned, calculated approach to torture, which I think is what for us, as an audience, sets what he did apart from things we’ve seen the pirates do. It’s very classical narration, in that sense. We have a much easier time seeing the horror of this, and being terrified and disgusted with it, than to see the horror of the people of Charlestown dying or fleeing for their lives as Flint attacked, because we felt Flint’s anger at Miranda’s death, at Peter’s betrayal. We felt justified in cheering for Flint at that moment, even though we logically know that what he’s doing is terrible. This is how storytelling works, when you have these types of protagonists. 

I think also what sets what Rogers did apart, is how proud he was of it, how he saw this as his ultimate display of power. He didn’t have to torture Blackbeard. He was making a point. Which in the end, turned out to be his mistake, as I’ve talked about at great length here. He loses this fight, because the narrative is taken from him by Teach. His display of power becomes a display to his men of what kind of person he really is. It becomes a display to the pirates what they’re up against. Because who would side with someone who refuses to give a man like that a simple death? By trying to show that he too can be monstrous, to make an example and to make them fear him, he became the worst monster himself, and at that point, people won’t be scared, they’ll rise up. 

By showing is the crew and the pirates horrified reaction to his actions, the show’s creators have very clearly stated that “This is not something you’re supposed to be okay with”. That’s the story they’re telling. Whatever his reasons where, and I understand them, it was motivated by pride and he fell into some sort of manifestation of hybris. I’m not saying don’t keep on liking Woodes as a character, because the show is saying he did something awful. I like my fair share of characters that have done far worse. But whatever your opinion on Woodes is, the narrative they’re telling is clearly saying with everything it can, that this was wrong, and that Woodes lost that fight. 

Jack Rackham I’ve always liked Rackham. But I think this season more than anything, I’ve come to care a lot for him. It might be because he and I share that weakness. Of wanting to be remembered for something. Anything. Even if it’s just a footnote next to someone like Charles Vane or Blackbeard.

What he and Anne wants are so different, and while I feel for Anne, and I want them both to get away to safety, I identify more with Jack. And I felt so sorry for him here.

I was confused at first as to why he raised the white flag. But then I realized, he fell into the trap we all also did. He thought Rogers was not much more than he appeared to be. He thought that by giving up, he could save the woman he loved and the idol he looks up to. I think he just couldn’t see himself killing them. Because that’s what he would be doing if he attacked. While not the strategic choice to make, it was definitely the emotional side of him. And it hurt. Because he must feel so guilty. He didn’t know what would happen. And every time Teach was dragged out of the water, you bet he thought it was his fault. He underestimated Rogers’ capacity for cruelty.

And in the end, once again, just like when he lost Charles, he’s left standing at the side-line, being saved by the people he admires and looks up to. I’m scared for Rackham. I don’t think he’ll make it out of this season alive. And I think that to see that happen a second time, he’s going to become more reckless than ever. He wants to prove himself, and now he feels guilty not only for Charles but for Teach, and I think his promise to Anne of a simple life is going to be left in the dust. He admire Teach so, so much. And to see him die and saving him in the process, while also feeling that it’s his fault, it’s going to mess him up big time.

Don’t get me wrong, Jack has done some horrible things. When I say I identify with him, it’s mostly for that specific reason. But I do feel sorry for him. He tries so hard to do what he feels will help, but he’s constantly having that instinct competing with his need to be remembered. He wants to be brave and be remembered, and he keeps failing. In the end, the bravest thing he ever did was slitting the throat of Anne’s abusive husband. But no one will remember him for that except for Anne, and he doesn’t realize that that could be enough.

Anne Bonny Anne is stuck. And I’m scared what it will take for her to get out, if she even will get out alive.

She’s this brutal killing machine to the outside world, which is why I find it so fitting that once she found herself in s2, her goal has simply been to settle down. To live a normal, happy life. And she wants to do that with Jack (and I bet with Max, if she actually knew the truth of what had happened).

Speaking of Max, I loved Anne’s conversation with Jack in the dark. This island makes you do things you don’t want to. She doesn’t want to kill Max, but I think she also starts to realize that maybe this island made Max do things she didn’t want either. And I want them to reunite but I’m worried that might not actually happen.

The moment she and Jack promised to retire after this was all over, I knew that that would not happen. I think her happy ending with Jack is not possible anymore. The question is if there’s still a chance that she can get away on her own. Jack can’t figure out a way to prioritize his life with her over his own legacy. In front of Anne are two roads, as I see it: Be destroyed with Jack and his quest for legacy, or leave him. And I’m not sure what she’ll choose in the end.

Edward Teach RIP Dadbeard.

Of course, Black Sails managed to make me care for Teach just as he was about to die. Because why not?

I mean, I find all the jokes about Blackbeard being boring funny, but I never saw it like that. I wasn’t as invested in him as the others, but I saw his pain and anguish about Charles and I felt sorry for him, I did. But it was even more at the front in her conversation with Jack. And I admire those two men being able to take their feelings of wrongdoing and vengeance and place them into something that is productive to their cause. They both loved Charles, and in the end, I was impressed that for two characters that are so focused on this kind of toxic masculinity ideal (one in upholding it and one in achieving it) were able to think about what Charles would have wanted, and that he would not have wanted them to take revenge on the woman he loved. 

I actually really loved the story about Charles and the bird. I thought it was a nice bonding moment between Jack and Teach, because they are more similar than they think. It reminded me of Gates and Flint talking in the storm in s1. I don’t quite know why. 

But back to the point, it is their decision to follow what Charles would have wanted that what leads both of them to their ruin.

Or is it? Again, I’ve talked at length about how Teach, even in this darkest hour, takes the narrative away from Rogers, and turns into a martyr for the pirate cause. And that’s a victory in the end, just like Charles’ hanging. He followed in Vane’s footsteps. Which makes his death shocking, yes, but not for shock value, just like Vane’s. 

I do have to say that I got very fond of the Teach-Rackham-Bonny dynamic, and I’m going to miss it. 

Quick notes

I loved all the people of Nassau coming together to revolt. Such a good scene. An angry mod is stronger in the end than a few soldiers.

Especially all the ladies that you could see. 

I LOVE IDELLE AND FEATHERSTONE 

The Flint-Silver-Madi parallels with Thomas-James-Miranda is killing me.

I have so many fanfic ideas

Israel waiting for Silver to give the command is so important to me and DAMMIT I care about Israel

[fountainpenguin]

I'm a "Fairly OddParents" fan. I see you are also a "Fairly OddParents" fan, who has just joined the "Danny Phantom" fandom. What is the show about, and what are three reasons to consider watching it?

His theme song has allll the answers:

But if you didn’t watch it or it wasn’t enticing enough, a fourteen-year-old boy named Danny Fenton dies after walking through an interdimensional portal invented by his parents to a world called the Ghost Zone, but because he was halfway in the Ghost Zone, he survived (I think that’s why he lived, but the electricity also might not have been strong enough to fry him all the way). 

Now he has some ghostly superpowers that he’s still learning how to use (so sometimes his arms randomly turn invisible and he has to hide it), and he takes it upon himself to catch all the ghosts that escape through the portal and cause chaos in the world of the living. 

Also, all his enemies figure out his secret identity pretty quick- he actually has to keep the secret from his ghost-hunting parents, who would love to dissect him if they catch him. What a twiiist! Luckily he has two awesome besties.

I did some research and apparently Butch came up with this idea while he was driving in the car with his mom. When he brought it up with her, her reply was, “That’s nice, Butch. Oh look, there’s a desert tortoise”. I feel you, dude.

My top three reasons to watch it? Hmm. They’d probably be:

1) You’re a Butch Hartman fan, I’m guessing, and this show is done in a similar animation style, though with older kids instead of ten-year-olds. There’s a lot of humor, along with some sad and/or dark undertones just like FOP. And if you watch the show now, you won’t have to risk me spoiling much in case I turn to analyzing characters and episodes on this blog later.

The show has a heavy focus on characters. Danny’s friends Sam and Tucker aren’t just Danny’s best friends- they’re each other’s best friends too. If they aren’t with him, they hang out together and have their own fun. They never get shoved to the side- they always have a plotline going on even when they don’t join Danny in the day’s ghost chase. I like that a lot.

2) The world-building, characters, and continuity are amazing! I mean, there are a few little animation errors like people in crowds disappearing, but the whole series is continuous in the same way “Gravity Falls” and “Star” are. We seem to have a lot of cartoons about young teens battling monsters, huh?

There are some really cool antagonists in the show, all the way from a villain who wants to marry Danny’s mom to a confused dead high schooler who thought Danny was a bully picking on poor nerds and wanted to teach him a lesson. 

Also there’s the Box Ghost. You guys need to see what BookwormGal did with the Box Ghost in her post-series ‘fic, “Harmless”. I need to do some fanart. I’m still screaming about it. Joke characters whose powers can actually be terrifyingly powerful in the right contexts? Oh man, sign me up, baby! She’s better with characters than I am. Why can’t I be as creative and cool as her?

I’ll leave the rest of the world-building details for you to discover for yourself, because that’s more fun than me drowning you with spoilers. Also, each episode is twenty minutes long, rather than ten minutes like FOP, so you get a lot of details and it doesn’t seem rushed. Also also, Danny’s parents are awesome, and they even have names! Jack and Maddie! His older sister is Jasmine and she’s a total psychology nerd and I like her a lot, of course.

3)

Yes hello, I’ll take an underrated boy with two prosthetic limbs to go, thank you.

This kid makes me smile. It’s a shame he doesn’t show up until Season 2 Episode 3, “Pirate Radio”. I’ve watched that episode ten times in two weeks, and “Fenton Menace” at least five times too. This kiddo’s mine. I love him.

The funny thing is, Youngblood actually is mature beyond his years, in his own way. Apparently he’s really good at reading people (seen especially in “Fenton Menace”), which is an interesting trait to give a child character- and especially a child character whose smarts aren’t the focus of his personality at all!

I’m serious. Part of the plot in “Pirate Radio” is that he’s a natural leader, whereas Danny struggles to get anyone to listen to him. Everyone listens to Youngblood. One of the other villains teamed up with him one time, and the level of respect they have for one another is really admirable. They’re like Max and Scarlett from “Pahkitew Island” (which is another awesome show I like, but I don’t talk about it much here because I have my own sideblog for Total Drama stuff), except Ember actually likes Youngblood to some degree and the rest of the characters don’t hardcore ship them. Huzzah, platonic friendships!

Youngblood fascinates me. He’s really brave and smart, but it’s dunked behind a layer of childishness because he’s the kid who never wants to grow up. He teamed up with Ember because she wanted to take over the world. What was he getting out of this deal? A power source for his ship so it could fly. That’s it. He just wanted his ship to fly because he’s a kid and he thinks it’s awesome. He can fly, he has a shapeshifting best friend he can fly on, but his ship-! Gah!

And he actually acknowledges that he’s aware a lot of people consider him little more than a brat, but he totally owns it. He has absolutely no shame. You cannot embarrass Youngblood. He’ll just chuckle along with you. He’s great.

He’s easily distracted and silly and cute and I love him. This is the boy who spends the first half of an episode invisibly poking and slapping Danny just because he can. And can we talk about him being at the Christmas party without his parrot shortly after “Fenton Menace”, because that makes me sad.

And if you want another reason, the “phandom” is still very, very active even ten years later. It’s actually kind of scary (Why do you think I use the “Going Ghost!” tag instead of “Danny Phantom”?) Ahaha… I’m out of my league again. We’ll see what happens when Phanniemay rolls around and when I finally slide a ‘fic out there. Do I start with future ghost weddings, hospital angst, or backstories? Hmm…

[dani-ellie03]

Fic: Wednesday’s Child (15/?)

Title: Wednesday’s Child Summary: The next time Emma Swan wanted magical help, she was on her own. Because now they were stuck with a pint-sized savior who clearly had an attitude problem and a terrified but pretending not to be pre-pirate. Spoilers: If you’re current, we’re good. Rating/Warning: PG-13, mostly for safety. Family angst/fluff, as per usual. Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time and its characters were created by Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz and are owned by ABC. I’m just borrowing them but I’ll put them back when I’m finished! Author's Note: This ended up a bit heavier than my normal fluff but it was clearly time for it because it came out on its own.

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At ff.net and below.

Tagging @shealivedarnit (If anyone else wants to be tagged, let me know!)

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After a bit of soft conversation among the adults, little Robin began to fuss, which Regina took as her cue to usher her sister and her niece back to the vault. "We still have a lot of work to do," she explained, "and we were on the cusp of something before lunch. I don't want to lose that momentum."

"Of course," Charming agreed. The two magical experts losing their momentum was not high on the list of things he wanted, either.

"Thank you for letting us come over," Zelena said, her tone surprisingly sincere. "They're precious." After letting the sentiment settle for a beat, she resumed her typical teasing. "Plus, now I have the perfect blackmail pictures."

"Hard to blackmail people with pictures you've already sent everyone," Regina reminded her, rolling her eyes.

"Everyone in this house, maybe. Not everyone in Storybrooke."

Charming and Snow both swallowed snickers. Zelena wasn't going to do a single thing with those pictures except aww over them occasionally and they both knew it.

After walking the Mills ladies to the door and making sure they left safely, Charming and Snow headed back to the living room to check on their charges. Henry had engaged little Neal in a rudimentary game of catch that involved rolling a ball across the floor to each other. A surprised Snow raised her eyebrows, clearly wondering how Henry had gotten the baby to sit still that long. Now that Neal was walking, keeping him in one place for more than a few minutes at a time had become ridiculously difficult.

Evidently not wanting to interrupt the miracle happening between nephew and uncle, Snow instead ducked into the blanket fort to tend to the sleeping children. It seemed little Emma was every bit the bed hog as her adult self; she'd already vacated her own sleeping spot and had taken over half of Killian's.

His heart exploding with love, Charming watched as Snow gently guided Emma back onto her own pillow to give Killian a little more room and then spread one of the blankets padding the floor at the outer edge of the fort over them. "Sleep well, sweethearts," Snow murmured, ghosting each of their temples with a kiss.

Whether it was coincidence, Charming would never know, but both children snuggled deeper under the covers at Snow's gentle touch.

By the time Charming and Snow ducked out of the fort and stood up straight, Neal had decided he'd had enough catch. He toddled toward the blanket fort only to be scooped up by his father before he could enter. The poor baby frowned, babbled some gibberish that sounded awfully insistent, and thrust a chubby hand towards the fort.

It took Charming a beat to recognize that his son was annoyed with being thwarted. "I know you want to play with your big sister and Killian," he said, swallowing a snicker, "but they're napping now and you'd just wake them up."

Now that he didn't have a baby or two ten-year-olds to entertain, Henry begged off to read in his room upstairs. "And no, I'm not reading Bunnicula without them," he teasingly assured his grandparents.

Since Henry and the kids shoving the armchairs aside to make room for the fort meant said armchairs were free for sitting, Charming and Snow plopped down themselves to take a well-deserved breather. Snow set Neal up with some Mega Blocks on the floor at her feet where she could keep an eye on him.

For a long moment, Charming and Snow sat in comfortable silence. From his vantage point, Charming could look out onto the front yard through the window and was pleased to see the sun peeking through the remainder of the clouds. The occasional strong gust of wind and the puddles in the driveway were the only indications that a storm was raging less than an hour ago.

"Looks like Killian will be a bit calmer when he wakes up," Charming said, nodding towards the window.

Snow turned in her seat to look out the window as well. "Yes, looks like." Facing forward, she caught her husband's gaze. "Is it weird that I find it a little unsettling to see him so … hesitant? He's always so decisive and he has so much experience behind him that it's easy to forget that he was once a scared little kid, too."

"It's not weird at all," Charming assured her.

She gave him a small, grateful smile. "I just hope we're doing enough to make him feel comfortable with us."

"I hope so, too," Charming agreed honestly. "He seems to have settled in decently enough; they both have. It's just … he seems so lost. He and I talked a little bit when we were feeding the animals this morning and it's abundantly clear that he misses Liam terribly. All he wants is his brother back and Snow, that's the one thing we can't give him."

Charming had so far managed to dodge all of little Killian's questions about Liam but he wouldn't be able to dodge them forever.

"No, we can't," Snow agreed, swallowing hard as her gaze traveled to the fort where the boy in question lay sleeping. "All we can do is try to help him get through the next couple of days. When Regina and Zelena turn them back to adults, the question of Liam will be moot anyway."

Snow had a point, one that Charming strangely kept forgetting. That the children would eventually return to their adult incarnations was always there in the back of his mind but it was hard to keep that certainty in the forefront when looking at them and talking to them and worrying about them.

Almost as if she could read her husband's thoughts, Snow heaved a sigh. "I didn't expect it to be this hard."

Without even having to ask, Charming knew she was still feeling guilty about the misunderstanding that had sent Emma running. "Snow, this morning wasn't your fault."

A small but unconvincing smile tugged at her lips. "Maybe but I should have been more careful. Before yesterday we only knew the generalities of their childhoods but now we can plainly see how utterly lonely they were. It hurts to see how tentative they are, how hesitant they are to trust. The way Emma examines my face every time she asks me a question guts me, Charming."

Oh, gods, how he knew exactly what she meant. It gutted him, too.

"And it's not even just that! I miss them, the adult them. I want the Emma and Killian we know back but I also don't want to let go of the little kids in that fort." Snow finally tore her eyes from the fort, shaking her head and dropping a pained gaze to her hands. "I don't know, I'm not making any sense."

"Snow, you're making perfect sense," Charming assured her, and gods, she was. She'd just spoken of the conflict in his own heart, the conflict of adoring this opportunity to be with these children and not wanting it to end while also wishing he could have adult Emma and adult Killian back. Of wishing he had an eternity with the children while being aware of the ticking of the clock counting the seconds since he'd last seen his adult baby girl and son-in-law.

He longed to make everything sunshine and puppies and rainbows for the kids while also knowing that all the sunshine and puppies and rainbows in the world wouldn't take away the pain they'd already lived.

After a brief glance over at the fort to make sure the kids were still asleep, he murmured to Snow, "I don't want to let them go, either. These are the moments we should have had with her and I am clinging to every single one of them. I'm treasuring every second I spend with them, trying to commit every detail to memory because I don't want to lose any of it. But at the same time, I'm counting down the minutes until Regina calls us and says she's figured out how to turn them back because I miss our Emma and Killian so much it hurts."

He paused to swallow the lump that had risen in his throat and blink back the tears that had welled in his eyes. "This is hard, Snow. It's hard looking at our baby and seeing a hurt, reticent, frightened little girl looking back. It's hard looking into her eyes and seeing no recognition of who we really are to her. It's hard watching our baby learn how to trust all over again when all I want to do is just pull her into a crushing hug and never let her go. And Killian … he makes me profoundly sad. Seeing him as a little boy who just misses his brother has made me realize that he spent centuries like that. He turned to piracy after losing Liam and revenge after losing Milah and all the while, he was just a lost little boy who missed his family."

Snow tried to no avail to blink back her own tears. "I knew they both had it bad, Charming, but seeing them like this? Gods, I don't know how they survived it."

"They survived it in any way they could," Charming told her softly. "They survived it by putting up those walls of theirs. They didn't let anybody get too close because of how much it would hurt when that somebody went away."

"Such an unimaginably brutal way to grow up."

What else was there to say to that? Snow had spoken the absolute truth.

Charming again glanced over at the silent fort and smiled when he caught Emma once again infringing on poor Killian's personal space in her sleep. Once a bed hog, always a bed hog, apparently.

"Which is exactly why we're doing what we can now, Snow," Charming reminded her. "It was your idea to take this time and give them some of the happy experiences that, as is blatantly obvious, they very much need. No, it won't fix everything. It can't rewind time or change the past or keep them from feeling any of the pain they've experienced but it will help. These kids now know that someone somewhere loves them and when they turn back, if we've eased even an iota of that pain for them, it'll be worth it."

Snow took a shaky breath in and held it a moment before exhaling and drying her eyes with her index fingers. "Thank you."

"What, for telling you your idea was brilliant?" Charming teased. "You're welcome."

That thankfully got her to chuckle, which had been his intention. After taking a moment to settle her emotions, Snow cleared her throat, nodded towards the fort, and asked, "What should we do with them when they wake up?"

Charming considered their options. It was still too wet from the rain for outdoor play, though he did need to check the animals now that the storm had passed and let Wilby run around for a bit. As much as Wilby enjoyed taking care of his new lost lamb, he was typically an outside dog and was itching for the time and space to run free. Henry might be up for another round of video games but Charming wasn't sure he wanted the children to spend a second afternoon in front of the television.

The memory of making dinner with Emma the night before rose to the surface and suddenly Charming knew of the perfect activity. "Emma did ask yesterday if we could make pasta from scratch."

Since Snow enjoyed leading cooking lessons of any kind, it was not a surprise that she jumped readily aboard his train of thought. "I'm prepared for the impending mess if you are."

"The dustpan and broom will be at the ready," he chuckled. "I know Emma will pretty much be in food heaven having spaghetti twice in a row but we'll just have to make sure no one else minds."

Snow ticked family members off on her fingers as she made her way down the list. "Neal's a baby who eats what we give him, Henry's a fourteen-year-old boy who eats anything and everything as long as it's food, and Killian, even in his little state, is fine with whatever Emma is fine with. I have a funny feeling no one's going to complain."

"Well, when you put it like that," Charming said, chuckling, "I think another cooking lesson is just what the doctor ordered."

Snow let her gaze drift to the blanket fort, where her tiny daughter and son-in-law lay sleeping. Preparing dinner as a family was the perfect way to make the children feel even more at home. "Yes, I think it is, too."

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Chapter Sixteen