#and it’s got the most insane cast of characters with the best dynamics imaginable

[victory-cookies]

I think reexperiencing pete theplug has made me more transgender. somehow

[featherstorm2004]

So what's going on with Fyodor and Sigma? theory pt2

I made a post earlier about what happened in the season 5 finale and Fyodor and Sigma. But I wish to expand on it a little because a thought came to me as I was reading other posts discussing what happened and or what will happen. Since it's very likely that the man we see Atsushi and Akutagawa fight at the finale is an alternate universe version of Fukichi, or at the very least some time nonsense brought upon by his sword that leads to the possibility of an alternate Fyodor.

More specifically a young Fyodor, before whatever happened to make him well *gestures to the rest of the series* imagine the possibilities of that!

the OG Fyodor would still be dead which then wouldn't spoil the impact of his death and we have to deal with this new version of him that has absolutely no idea what's going on. They're's a detective agency that's out for his blood, the mob also has a score to settle and there's this insane clown obsessed with him that's carrying his rotting arm everywhere! Also he's wanted in basically every country for you know starting the apocalypse.

And that's where Sigma comes in, because like it or not he's the only character in the series who has any concrete knowledge on the OG Fyodor due to their deal. Which also means he's the best character to pare up with him from a narrative standpoint, since he'd probably be the only person in the cast that'd be more willing to interact with this new Fyodor and who knows maybe bond with him. and he could give this Fyodor the answers to what the hell his future self was up to.

But I'm mostly focused on the bonding part of this equation because of what Dazai said to Fyodor at the end. The reason Fyodor failed was because he trusted no one but himself, he had no bonds that weren't transactional or where the other party worshiped him. But that's not the case with Sigma anymore, after their deal Fyodor unintentionally made Sigma his equal, after all a lot of the reason Fyodor was such a threat was because he was an unknown. People knew literally nothing about him which also meant they had nothing to use against him.

But that also meant that there was no one to care if anything happened to him either... which as we know lead to his death. And of course you could argue that Nikolai cares about Fyodor, but I would classify that as more of an obsession since it's abundantly clear that they're relationship was unequal, I mean Fyodor was planning to have Nikolai kill himself for the plan with zero remorse and even if he regretted it later Nikolai did successfully kill Fyodor.

As for Sigma, what made him so interesting in the beginning was that he literally knew nothing, he was a complete blank sate reacting to this magical world he'd been plopped into. He was the completely average Joe used as a pawn in a game between two manic masterminds, but that's not the case anymore.

With the deal he made he has now become the most well informed person in this story, which leads to new things. Such as conflicting ideals, perspectives and wants, I mean the man has probably spent this coma watching every single second of the OG Fyodor's life! if that's not a way to get one character to care about another one then I don't know what is!

But yeah I guess what I'm saying is I want more Sigma and Fyodor interactions, they're dynamic is so underrated. I might expand on this later but that's all I've got for now.

[brw]

If you could write a Wonder Man ongoing volume 4, who's your supporting cast, your villains, and your overall plot? And how much gay sex will Marvel allow you to hint at before they tell you to stop?

Gosh I wish I could put asks in my drafts and edit them still. Okay my ideal Wonder Man V4 does have a similar basic principle to V2, because I really think being active as an actor and as a superhero at the same time is one of the things that really sets Simon apart from other characters. And this would come across in some of the reoccurring cast members; I'm imagining a high-brow director whom Simon is supposed to have lunch with constantly to discuss potentially playing a part in a new project, but something keeps popping up before he can get there. Probably a parody of Wes Anderson or something. Two actors, one from his d-list projects and one who's actually pretty famous and just happens to like Simon as a person and keeps forgetting he is also an actor because they see him as a superhero. A film editor who absolutely fucking hates him but keeps running into him, the hatred comes from hours lost having to edit out Simon's red eyes when he forgets to turn them off. A few more people involved with filmmaking, and I want to get obscure with these jobs, I'm talking the Best Boys and some caterer he accidentally became friends with. Simon meets and talks to a lot of people on sets and modelling and interviews, and that comes across in his social circle which covers a wide array of all the different people who are part of the filmmaking experience.

But I also need superheroes as my supporting cast, so obviously Vision and their kids are there. I'm thinking just Vin and I'm not going to explain how he came back, he's just there and now spending time with his uncle. Bobby Drake is in California now, or was before all that shit happened in his mini? I think it'll be funny if Simon and Bobby get to know each other but don't really know how close the other is to Hank and manage to become pretty close without mentioning him once until like, Hank happens to stumble into the room and immediately tries to escape because he's terrified over the concept of these two getting all chummy. Hank Pym is going to be Simon's scientist of choice whenever he needs a smart guy, and you better believe I'm going to try and fix the weird "Hank Pym likes Simon more as a grandchild than Vision because Simon looks more human" deal they've got going on. Hank Pym's job is to smoke his pipe and give scientific advice while Simon has to stop XYZ from destroying California. Hank McCoy is going to be an elephant in the room who Simon pointedly does not mention but he does get visibly morose and somber every time the X-Men are brought up. Then after, I dunno, issue 12 or whatever, they eventually meet and after that point of reconciliation Hank is back in Simon's life actively.

Okay, villains! Eric, obviously, because you can't have a good Simon story for long without bringing in Eric. There's a lot I would want to do to fix Eric and fix his dynamic with Simon, genuinely would probably be a first arc of the series because it's that important to me I remind people these two have an interesting and nuanced dynamic and Eric does love his brother no matter how much he tries to pretend he doesn't. Some members of the Revengers, sans Tom Foster, who are bitter over Simon dropping them very shortly after getting captured. I think this is where Simon's pacifism will be more ironed out as a political mindset as much as a personal one. Maybe he and Tom strike an alliance to take them on together? Not sure. Alkhema I think will also be there to give us that Ultron vibe without Ultron actually being there. And because I'm insane, some villains from the original run of Guardians of the Galaxy when Hollywood was a thing are going to travel back in time to try and kill Hollywood when he was young and less powerful, and Simon learns he outlives essentially most of the human race and grapples with his immortality (again) (but fun this time because Vision is there to help with the realisation you will outlive everyone) (and they love each other and have a sappy moment over it together because I can do what I want). I'll also have some original villains I think but those are more single issue types.

OVERALL PLOT—Wonder Man is back in Hollywood and is looking worse for wear. Following Deadpool using up most of his money, Simon is desperate, taking up roles he normally wouldn't consider for the cash. But his return to the Hollywood studio set doesn't go unnoticed, either by his audience or by the many enemies he made last time he was in Tinseltown. One of these roles is a superhero reality show, which Simon would never normally consider but does give more and more thought as his financial situation dips. Being a pacifist, he can't go back to Avenging, a point he has to seriously consider and think about as things progress. Is it worth compromising his beliefs for money? Is it worth compromising himself as an artist, compromising his dignity in exchange for success? Is it possible to do what you love and what you're passionate about in this business and still make money? And how much can directors and producers use his body and powers for a scene before it slides from helping out, to exploitation? All questions will be thought about, considered, and maybe even answered by the end :) that's right, my ideal Wonder Man series is all about the exploitation of the arts under capitalism and the fact that many have to compromise artistic passion for money.

Which brings us to the last point–honestly Simon doesn't really have sex very often which is a saving grace where that's concerned. I think I would manage a few lingering or knowing stares with say, Freddy or so, and even an overtly homoerotic moment with Hank because people love those but the moment I start going down the inevitable "Simon is clearly not into women romantically or sexually, is very repressed about this but it still comes across he's into men" route I think is when I have problems. I also want Simon and Vision to have a talk kind of like that Malcolm in the Middle scene where the brothers both think the other is gay and go about it by saying shit like "and it would be ridiculous, really, if I hated you because you didnt like the same sandwich as me. I like cheese, but you might not, and that's okay" because I like fun and whimsy. I think I would make it further than you might think but when we hit homoerotic Wonderbeast scene #3, that's when the emails will start coming in I imagine.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - 2 GREAT Shows Ended & 1 Crappy One

March to April 2022 wk 1

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.

Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying the most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

My Ride (GaGa) Ep 10fin - BL grew up with this pulp - a truly lovely and special little show featuring the extremely rare pairing of sunshine/sunshine AKA a cinnamon roll couple. Mature explorations of relationships using one of the softest, sweetest and most innocent friends to lovers vehicles. Kindly, overworked doctor meets broken-hearted motorcycle taxi driver in an “other side of the tracks” slow burn romance. The support cast is excellent, making for great friendship groups and family dynamics. With honest queer rep that adds to, but doesn’t impede the story, and genuine conversation about the nature of class, wealth, and classism, not to mention communication, honesty, and respect for boundaries, you can’t go wrong with this show. In other news, I am a sucker for a single dimple. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 9/10 

Cutie Pie (YouTube Sat) Ep 7 - This is a cute little show when they’re awkwardly trying to date each other and be domestic. I love a grocery shopping trope. MaxNat giving us some really good kisses. Nuea & Syn are also cute. AND a BounPrem cameo. Pretty much they just there to shill for a gay marriage. But okay. I like the gay mafia cabal they got going on at Pentagon. The public love confession in the club was kind of insane actually, but that’s sort of the way the show is going. Also I guess that’s what gay clubs are for... making out. Owner has to do it and show how it’s done. 

La Cuisine (GaGa Sat) Ep 4 - This series is so soft and sweet. I love the way Ram is making his intentions clear without ever crossing a line very much the gentleman, it matches to Choup’s shyness really well. But I don’t see how they’re going to progress anywhere with these personality types. Meanwhile Sky is THE BEST boy. Being on the phone talking with your crush all night long is so first love, I can’t even. But I’ve actually never seen it depicted in a BL. I remain wild about this show and I love that they are confronting the cost of celebrity. 

KinnPorsche (iQIYI Sat) Ep 1 - I loathe the opening credits and song, not that this matters much. Initial thoughts: We in for 50% car porn 50% actual porn? OK. I’m game. The fight sequences are really good. Kinn’s eyebrows are like seriously aggressive caterpillars - I’m half afraid they’re going to strike out on their own, take up the rainbow flag and join the march in Not Me. I was thinking about live blogging this one, but honestly that’s all I have a lot to say so far. I didn’t take a lot of screenshots, which is usually a sign I don’t have a ton of feelings on a show. So far KiinPorsche is fine, good even. I’m interested. I’m looking forward to the next episode. But the most exciting thing for me was the ombre (hombre, heh heh) suit, and it’s not whipping me into a verbal frenzy. Not even the suit. However, if I feel different next week... 

Dear Doctor, I'm Coming for Soul (iQIYI Weds) Ep 1-2 - I could imagine MaxTul anchoring this series but I’m glad to have Karn (the soul reaper Tua Phee) & Nut (Doctor Prakan) back on my screen. I like the nurse with the crush. In fact, I like all of the characters. The acting a solid too. I’m finding the music a little intrusive but I LOVE the premise so I’m willing to forgive it a few growing pains. Also we can’t ask too much from a New directed piece these days. 

Cupid's Last Wish (YouTube Sun) Ep 1 - I like it a lot more than I expected. I like that they are basically boyfriends before anything goes down. I like the will betrayal as a fissure point (witnessed a few of these myself). I love that Korn can recognize Win behind his sister’s eyes instantly. Mix is acting his little heart out. I’m into it. I’m keeping it in rotation. 

Miracle of the Teddy Bear (grey Sun) Ep 1-3 - This is NOT a premise that interests me. It consists of 16 short eps, airing Fri-Sun on Ch3 & 3Plus, reruns with subs on Netflix Asia, nothing else international. (Apparently it’s already super popular in Thailand.) I gave it a try on DC and I really do love the cast. I really like the leads dynamic, and the actor playing the teddy bear is adorable. But I find the inanimate objects talking really creepy. I ADORE the secondary couple - I always love a younger Ernest age gap romance. I think if it comes up on my radar again I’ll keep watching, but I’m not fussed. 

Enchante (YouTube Fri) Ep 10fin - Well that was a thing. Honestly it probubly should get an 8/10 by my rating system but I was so disappointed I’m giving it a 7/10 and not bothering to write a review. RECOMMENDED WItH RESERVATIONS Live blogg ep-by-ep recap here.

The Tuxedo (GaGa Sat) Ep 5 - These two are very good at flirting. But I’m not sure I can ever forgive the rich kid character. Another BL that is squandering great chemistry. So I guess that isn’t just only GMMTV’s purview.  

Love Stage!! (AISplay or grey Sat) Ep 8 - the subber I follow is on vacay so no report this week, I’m getting behind on this one.

My Secret Love (GaGa? Mon) Ep 1 - I thought this was supposed to air on Monday but... nothing, and no info on MDL either. So perhaps I had the date wrong? 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Cherry Blossoms After Winter (Korea Viki Fri) Ep 6 - OMG SO CUTE. So awkward. College boyfriends campus couple. SO SOFT. Argh. I’m dead. Also it looks like Korea might serves us a little coming out drama next ep (not normal for them) gonna be interesting to see how they handle it. Delicately, I’d guess. I wonder if HaeBom’s gonna find out and leave, for TaeSung’s own good, and then TaeSung self destructs. That’s how I’d write it with this kind of pairing. 

Blue of Winter AKA Judo Boys (Korea Weds YouTube) Ep 5fin - I don’t know, it was odd, like Strongberry decided to do a pulp? Not terrible but not good either. 3/10 NOT RECOMMENDED, I don’t know what I’m watching and neither does it. 

Blueming (Korea IQIYI Weds or Thurs) Ep 1-11 - it’s ongoing if you want to watch it for free week-by-week, but my FairyBLParent got me VIP so I watched it all at once. I LOVED it. You’ll need to get through the first 5 eps though. YOU CAN DO IT!  Review here. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 9/10. 

Gossip

Star Hunter’s next Thai BL What Zabb Man (described as a chaotic romance, of course). Got a description: Poon is a hardworking guy who quit school to take care of his little brother after their parents died. He’s struggling to make a food stall work and then one of his customers recruits him as a chef for a hotel. The hotel owner, Tian, turns out to be someone he already hates, but once challenged to cook well, Poon can’t resist. Tian falls in love with Poon's cooking but won’t admit to it. Enemies to lovers commence. 

New Thai BL Buddy Line Y Animal AKA Buddy Line Y(aoi) Animal (seriously?) dropped a trailer. From the same people who brought us The Yearbook and based on 4 y-novels written by Scriper, slated to be released this year. Stars Man & Tile (Yearbook), Oat (Make it Right), and unknowns. 

Taiwanese BL (ish) Papa & Daddy has had a recast for season 2. The actor playing the seme role has been replaced. 

To My Star stars, Son Woo Hyeon & Kim Kang Min are cast together (again) in non-BL Kdrama, The Golden Spoon. So far they have been in Tale of the Nine-Tailed (not BL) and To My Star 1 & 2. 

Spring of Crush AKA Love in Spring (coming soon from Watcha (Light On Me, Semantic Error - we LIKE them). Is rumored to be... wait for it... A FULL LENGTH KDRAMA!!!!! Yes my darlings: 16 episodes at 30 minutes each!!!!!! Stars Yoo Youngjae (formerly K-pop BAP) and Kim Song (from School 2017). This is a historical cross dressing rich/poor romance and I AM SO EXCITED. 

Korea’s Dramatist Studio released location photos of their upcoming BL original Happy Ending Outside The Fence feat Leo (VIXX) and Ha Jung-woo. I guess they are keeping that title. OKAAAAAYYY...  

Korea has picked up Dongmul's A Shoulder to Cry On for adaptation, both leads to be played by idols, and it will be 12 eps. Story features forced outing, pubic shaming, sports, confident gay seme, and enemies to lovers. I’m getting Tharntype + Semantic Error + Light On Me. I’m not mad about this.  

In Case You Missed it

Yes there really is a new Thai GL on the horizon. It has been a LONG time. 

Also, Thailand is bring us some messy queer affirming chaos content Saneha Stories 4. Not much known about it with no MDL listing, but here’s the trailer. And of course, never trust it will actually be made or accessible or LIKE the trailer. I’ve been trying to get ahold of Saneha Stories 3 forever (it’s a trans romance featuring Ohm T, Yoon, and Gun K). So anyway 4 has: 

multiple GLs, 

Nut (Grey Rainbow, Dear Doctor) being hella closeted maybe dating a girl + Plustor + Earth K 

a trans man (played by Tul, yes of MaxTul), 

a trans lesbian character,

a (maybe) poly relationship with BoothNewyear + pregnant lady

an asexual storyline with KaownahTurbo

What we want is, of course, this just as a hella queer Friend Zone, but I think this is probubly a series of short vignettes. It’s looks very very messy and not BL but interesting. The kind of thing GaGa should like. Maybe they’ll pick it up. 

Upcoming Japanese uni BL (live action yaoi adaptation) Mr Unlucky Can Only Kiss! AKA Fukou-kun wa Kiss Suru Shika Nai! starts April 21st. About a boy who is always unlucky, and one who it always lucky, who accidentally start dating. No inter distribution info but it’s from the My Beautiful Man people so... Gaga maybe? 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Star and Sky: Star in My Mind takes over Enchante’s frigay time slot for GMMTV. Star Hunter’s new offering, What Zabb Man! starts Saturday (no inter distribution). And the Cherry Magic movie is releasing (in Japan). 

This week’s best moments?

Cherry Blossoms, this show could not get any cuter. 

Not my favorite of Yoon’s pairs but that was  spectacular confession scene in My Ride. 

Butch Queen of the Universe. Now accepting tribute. 

Sky in La Cuisine = best boy. 

Phai in La Cuisine = best tsundere bestie. Is that a thing? Well, it should be. Just look at him go...

He actually says nong saow to pink-haired girl and Kitty. I cooed with the queer acceptance of it all. 

Look, I don’t like Our Days, but this bit with the boom mic was absolutely hilarious. 

The *gasp* heard ‘round BL fandom. 

BounPrem for the marriage equality shill. 

[osmpalliumduo]

Dream smp actor au my beloved

First season

Dream is a very famous actor, his movies got recognition very quickly regardless of being a pretty new actor, the most popular out of all of his movies being “Manhunt” an action movie that has a lot of improv and fighting scenes

After his second movie of Manhunt he decided that along side with some of his close friends and co-workers to start a tv-show called the Dream smp

It took a really long while to get all the actors for the first season, a lot of planning and getting people to work on sets and props

Some of the actors Dream got to participate were his close friends Sapnap and George who were in the cast of his last movies “Manhunt”

Tommyinnit was a kid Dream found in a small community of actors called “Hypixel: Sky Block series” he went ahead and literally snatched him from that serie and added him as one of the main leads of the storyline of his serie

Tubbo was kind of a addition out of the blue, Tommy after joining the cast decided to take Tubbo with him, a fellow friend and co-worker in the Hypixel series. Dream didn’t had a problem with it after realizing that both kids were insanely talented

Wilbur was, in Dream’s words, the best addition to the cast he could had ever imagined, Wilbur had been in the past in several other popular shows like “SMP Live” and “SMP Earth”

Wilbur not only did an excellent work as an actor but also added so much into the story, helping Dream several times with the storyline and script, eventually becoming a co-writer of the script over all season one

Making the serie itself was hard, but getting everything together and editing was a whole lot of work

But the most difficult thing was actually acting, the thing was that the whole cast of the serie got along so well, that when it was the time to actually act, getting in character was kinda impossible

Even for Dream was difficult to get in character

The whole war declaration took at least five shots because Dream kept breaking character or Sapnap kept wheezing

Eret’s betrayal was one of the last scenes to be recorded because it was just really really hard for the cast to actually act hurt or not joke between lines

The Tommy vs Dream duel was so funny to the cast, even more when Tommy was done with makeup and he literally had an arrow inserted in his stomach

So many memes, so many

The L’manberg era was one of the most difficult to act and write, the cast being new and not used to the whole atmosphere

But when the election and pogtopia era hit in, it was much more easy for the actors to take everything much more serious

Jschlatt and Technoblade were added to the cast and it was insane for everyone, both actors being really close friends of Wilbur because of their old projects together (SMP Live, SMP Earth, etc)

The election arc was, described by the whole cast, as one of the best parts of the whole season

Quackity would pull this insane improvs moments between shots and everyone would just have to run with it, getting a lot of extra but very cool scenes

Tommy and Tubbo would just pull the strangest faces in shots whenever they knew that the camara focus wasn’t in them just to try to make each other laugh

Niki and Awesamdude would sneak food into the set all the time, bags of chips, coffee, chocolate, sometimes even cake

Wilbur, Schlatt and Quackity had this whole competition between them where they would literally live inside the set and whoever stayed the longest would win 100 dlls

The pogtopia era was more easy to record, but much harder to act

Wilbur had lots of trouble being actually mean to Tommy and overall acting as an antagonist

When recording sometimes he would just stop and ask Tommy if he was okay and make sure to let all of the cast know he didn’t meant what he was saying

Tubbo Schlatt and Quackity had overall a very good time recording, most of the time laughing after hard scenes and joking around

Not Schlatt and Techno collectively suffering cus they got at least three hours of makeup prep because of tusks and horns 😭✋

The pogtopia set was one of the hardest to archive, this one having legit stares and buttons on the walls

Tubbo and Wilbur fell down those stares at least five times, Techno almost convinced Dream to use a harness on set

Technoblade revealing the vault full of weapons and stuff for the revolution was such a difficult scene to make because everyone kept messing around with the cool props

Schlatts death was easy to act, as soon as he died he made a peace sign and screamed “I’m outta here!” And proceed to walk out of the set😐

Moving on, Philza’s addition to the last episode of the season was something most of the cast wasn’t aware of, most of the reactions (besides Philza and Wilbur) being completely genuine

Philza is known for his famous serie called Hardcore and a couple of appearances on others people’s series

The end of the season was something hard to do, people had to use harnesses and when explosions occurred they had to be literally thrown into the air getting a lot of genuine screams

Tommy was supposed to be the president of L’manberg but he decided to pass the power to Tubbo in a moment of improv, Dream and Wilbur liked that scene a whole lots

The cast made Wilbur a funeral party after the last shot, lot of people got drunk while Phil just took care of the minors and made sure they didn’t get in trouble <3

Second season

The second season was something that all the fandom awaited eagerly, wanting to see what had happened with L’manberg and the beloved characters, so Dream and Wilbur made sure to make everything perfect, everything connecting points on the story

Ranboo was one of the new additions, a new actor that worked on his own going from place to place, the well known place like Hypixel, Bedwars (Invited by Purpled) and in his own side of TikTok

Dream found out about him and decided to add him just on a go, he of course wasn’t ready for the big impact the boy would have in the story at all

Now, Ranboo is one in the suffering gang, every morning having to spend hours in makeup along side with Tubbo (horns) Wilbur (ghost) and Tommy (exile appearance)

By the way, Ranboo’s storyline was supposed to be separated from the whole L’manberg and Exile story, but Tommy and Tubbo liked him a lot so decided to add him on their storylines

Tommy was supposed to burn down George’s house alone, but the same day they were recording he asked Dream to add Ranboo. And Tubbo decided to make Ranboo his minutes man out of the blue with simple improv and Ranboo went along with it

Oh, talking about Exile

If the cast thought Pogtopia had been hard to act??? Wait for the Exile arc

Literal pain, for literally everyone involved

Tommy is a lil shit but it was legitimately difficult for Dream to be actually that villain and manipulate and ahg, pain

Tubbo and Tommy had so much trouble recording the whole fight scene at the wall, it took at least three days to get the shot right because Tommy and Tubbo couldn’t stop breaking character or laughing

Oh yeah, it was difficult to this kids to stay away from each other, they were so used to working together that it was legitimately difficult to not be together

Which caused for Tommy and Tubbo to sneak into eachother sets and try to chat and just vibe together which would end up with Ranboo dragging Tommy away from Tubbos set and Quackity doing as well with Tubbo

New L’manberg was nice to record, Tubbo tells when he is asked about it, it was a really nice change for the dynamics, including Ranboo and Fundy more, tho he missed Tommy dearly during the recordings

At the very end of exile, one of the last shots, most exactly when Dream has to blow up Tommys stuff, he accidentally tripped with one of the props and ended up breaking a leg

The recording went straight to Twitter where people lost their shit over the scene, mostly because Dream tried to continue the scene with improv but Tommy lost his shit and they had to take the whole shot again after Dream got checked up

Technos execution was planned to happen really early in the season but Techno kept forgetting that he had to get on set so they had to move it slightly at the end, the end of exile and the execution hitting at the same time

The butcher army cast had the idea of the bloody aprons, Dream had this whole thing were they would have this really cool uniforms but they just went “nah, bloody aprons”

Ranboo was supposed to have one as well but he tried to use his character’s morals to get out of it, he succeeded, no bloody apron for Ranboo :)

The whole execution scene at Technos house was so funny to record, things without effects are extremely hilarious

Quackity kept messing up his lines, Tubbo kept falling and tripping when he had to run, Ranboo just didn’t knew what to do, Fundy kept blocking “hits” that he was supposed to take

Techno just wanted to be finished already, he was so tired 🥲

Moving on, the whole death scene where Techno uses the totem of undying was mostly made with editing, the anvil was a green square made out of foam, and the totem was just a green stick

Really funny without effects, really badass after editing

Moving on! Tommy living in a hole was literally not planned, Tommy was supposed to try and hide inside Technos room but he said fuck that and made the team make another entire set for something that would last tops a week 😐

Techno and Tommy had a blast doing the whole “Welcome Home Theseus”. The scene was taken perfectly the first shot because the both of them were so excited for that scene

Finally Tommy can leave the suffering makeup gang cuz his character is healthier now 😌✌️Techno is now taking his place suffering in makeup prep because of his scars and tusks

The day of the Festival was so important to the storyline so everyone was extremely nervous before recording, but it was okay, the whole episode came out really well

Tommy and Techno had to use green capes between the invisible shots and it was just hilarious for everyone on set

Tubbo accidentally forgot his speech and had to improvise in front of all the crew

Dream fell at least twice when he was “building” the walls around L’manberg again

Tubbo and Tommy kept laughing or apologizing to eachother while in the fighting scene

Tubbo accidentally slipped and the disc Mellohi accidentally broke when he was about to give it to Dream 😬

The whole Doomsday deal was something really really hard

A lot of what happened was made with editing so most of what happened on set was just green screens and sounds out of computers to let the actors know what was happening

Technos dogs were actually from a fan! This fan had this whole adoption establishment and decided to let the cast use em for the recording! They even got a tour :)

Technos and Tommy’s whole exchange during doomsday is supposed to be heartbreaking and sad to watch, but Techno and Tommy have such a good relationship that they just, kept laughing, Tommy kept making faces and Techno’s voice wasn’t genuine while saying his lines

Ghostbur’s exchange with Phil almost didnt happened because Wilbur kept refusing to spend five hours in makeup prep lmfao

The whole cast did sang the L’manberg anthem after it was blown up, even Dream and Techno. The clip of the cast just singing will forever stay in Twitter

The aftermath of doomsday was a good change of things, much more calm recording sessions for at least a few weeks

Snowchester was something that Tubbo came up with as pure improv, he liked the idea of some kind of retirement place so he decided to add it after doomsday

Ranboo moving in with Phil and Techno was complete improv as well from Phil’s and Techno’s part, Ranboo literally had no idea what was happening when Phil invited him to live with em

Ranboo literally got snatched lmao

Endgame or the final disk war was surely something

The prop team had to make bout four new sets in the matter of a week, the most hard one to make being the mountain one

Tommy and Tubbo knew that the whole episode would be hard to record but they were still extremely hyped just because they got to record together again as besties

Makeup time at the end was about eight hours, Tommy suffered a lot while Tubbo was just used to it at this point

THE WHOLE PRISON SCENE WHERE ALL THE SERVER GOES THROUGH THE PORTAL??? PAIN.

Everyone is lost, no one knows when to cross, people are missing armor, no one knows where the fuck George is, Punz keeps breaking his sword accidentally, everything is falling apart

Quackity wanted to play a prank on the cast by appearing shirtless in the super intense scene but everyone was so tired of recording that Quackity was actually shirtless in the final shot

Dream stayed in his obsidian box at least half an hour because Tommy kept messing up his lines

At the end of the season, where Dream is finally taken to prison Wilbur makes his appearance to Tubbos and Tommys surprise

Their reactions were genuine because only Dream and Wilbur knew that part of the script

Overall, the end of the season was amazing and the fandom went insane with it

Extra stuff <3

Nobody knows if Skeppy and Bad are actually dating or not, it is a mystery for everyone

Most of the pets used in set were borrowed from fans :)

The Drista saga are used as comedic relief or filler episodes, Drista being actually Dream’s lil sister who insisted in wanting to appear in the show as a god

Michael is actually Technos little brother who went to the set a couple of times cus Techno was babysitting him. He made his way into some of Ranboos and Tubbos shots, after that they decided to adopt him and make Michael canon just cus they liked the kid a lot

Dream decided to give Karl the chance to have a spin off of the show called Tales of the smp after realizing his talent at storytelling. Karl had the possibility to get new actors for the serie but he decided to use the same cast and just make them act differently, the fandom loved it

Wilbur and Tommy had this cool idea between them and after a while of writing and planning they decided to start their own show called the “Origins SMP” featuring some of their friends from other shows, not only the Dream smp

[thanks for reading lol, I think I got slightly carried away]

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 1/25/22

BOY you sure do have to read a lot to get to the recipe in this one

listening sheldon allman’s album Folk Songs for the 21st Century is a goddamn delight. one of the tracks, crawl out through the fallout, is on the fallout 4 radio and i don’t think it’s even one of the strongest songs on the album. i am particularly fond of Big Brother bc i am a sucker for cheerily ominous songs.

You'll disappear in a wink Unless you can double think You'll vanish into the blue Big brother is watching you

reading hexed by michael alan nelson. this is a urban magic/horror series about a bitchy twentysomething what steals magical items that i wanted to like very much but didn’t quite hit for me. i think after the second issue when they switched artists and she got WAY hotter i went “oh. one of these”. props to mr nelson for writing an almost entirely female cast that all feels distinct tho! i wanted to like this much more than i actually did! while it did get stronger as it went along, the pacing remains wonky throughout and it kept telling and not showing through the medium of yanno The Comic, so big emotional beats either flopped or hit in a (probably) unintended way.

the mother-daughter stuff in particular didn’t quite hit for me. i feel like there could have been a more interesting emphasis on cycles and blood vs chosen family? this is an admirable attempt by a dude who manages to sidestep a lot of the strong female character pitfalls, but i don’t think i’ll remember this in a month bc i am unable to keep the plot of any comic book in my head for longer than that and it was simply Fine. honestly it takes a lot for me to go WHOA that was a good fuckin comic.

watching neither of my housemates had seen the lost boys (1987, dor. schumacher) so i had to fix that. this is a movie of pure vibes. the plot is whatever. i simply want to watch some EXTREMELY earnest child actors interspersed with a decaying beach town (my housemate said her new gender is “beach menace” and i’m stealing that) and the best worst fashion you’ve ever seen. i want every single shirt and also this jacket in that movie in my closet by five pm.

“tumblr user girlfriendsofthegalaxy tell us about the vampires” okay so vampires are inherently homosexual for [INSERT ANY NUMBER OF ACADEMIC PAPERS HERE] but i think this is a movie where you could really walk away muttering “wow they really all fucked each other huh” and not QUITE a canon on-screen threesome but. damn fuckin close.

unrelated, i like child vampires and wish we got to see them more often but think i personally would go insane if i was trapped in an elementary schooler’s body with my fully grown adult brain

playing vicariously enjoying @dying-suffering-french-stalkers​ (known sixties/seventies and french and sixties/seventies french media enjoyer) journey through the lupin iii franchise from afar. i absolutely do not have time to get into another long-running franchise with a tall sad gunman at this time but i do have time to play a short queer visual novel bc i feel like i know most of the basics and dynamics ty wendy for your excellent reporting

Is Lupin Still Flirting? is an incredibly charming watercolor visual novel on itch.io. i am a little sad about it not being on steam bc it’s so much better quality (little quality of life things, layout/structure, the music and sound effects have the correct timing and are appropriate, lovely art) than most free visual novels on steam but the licensing rights would be a nightmare. i got through two endings in about half an hour, and i imagine you could get through all five in two, two and a half hours?

great day to be a loopzoop or a polygang fan bc lupin has been caught while setting up a date for fujiko, the bonus scene is with zenigata, and there’s a goemon route and a jigen route!

making THE RECIPE

i do not know what this recipe as written is trying to accomplish. i do not know if it is a workaround of an existing home country recipe or this specific grandmother (notorious for using the same tiny jar of pre-ground white pepper for five years) made it up whole cloth and went “i’m polish so these are polish noodles :) “

Polish Holiday Noodle Dish: 1 lb. dry Mueller noodles - (sometimes pkg has been 12 oz.)  Just make as usual. 1 lb.  Farmer's Cheese or Large curd cottage cheese 1 very large Vidalia onion (chopped so it sautees readily) Grated Parmesan cheese 1 stick unsalted butter  (or can start with quarter & add more if needed) Chop onion, Sautee in butter in large pan so they get golden. Put aside. Boil noodles - 1 minute less than package directions.  Drain. Add Noodles  to onion pan & toss together with Farmer's Cheese/Cottage Cheese. Add at least a Half Cup grated Parmesan Cheese, while tossing lightly.  Can cook mixture over medium heat for a few minutes 'til mixed together. Season with some Black pepper if you have a preference. Pour into casserole/foil pan - lightly butter bottom so noodles don't  stick. Sprinkle extra parm on top. Bake in 350° oven - uncovered 30 minutes - check - if melted & bubbly - done.   - if not, give it another 10 minutes.

it doesn’t. actually i don’t know how to describe the taste. it certainly has a taste? it’s oddly sweet? it’s Fine but i would not make it again on purpose? i added salt, pepper, rosemary, oregano, thyme, and diced bacon to this altho it would have been better with kielbasa or bratwurst and fresh chives and WAY more parm. it could definitely use more sauce, my sister added half again the amount off large curd cottage cheese and liked her results much more.

it looks absolutely tragic and i think that’s a feature not a bug

[couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name]

how would you do a percy jackson adaptaion?

okay, so I know this is a controversial opinion right off the bat: I really don’t think it should be an animated series.

A large part of the appeal of the series is that it’s a fantasy series set very very firmly in reality. Literally, apart from the camps, you could go to every location hit in the books. Riordan mentions specific streets, buildings and landmarks, and that was cool when I first read them. I remember being a kid and waiting for him to set a scene in a place near where I lived! I remember trips to New York and being able to envision an epic war happening in the streets. So I think any adaption needs to be live action just to keep that same feeling alive, while I’m not knocking on animation, I just feel like taking the story out of real life would make it loose a little of the charm. Like, the scene where Manhattan is completely frozen in time? It would be haunting to see that in real life, but I feel like it would be less impactful if it didn’t…you know…look real? The series should be done in a way that makes you truly feel like you could just turn a corner and walk straight into a snake woman going about her day. 

Now: another large part of the appeal of the series is how funny it is, but a lot of that…is Percy’s inner monologue. He doesn’t actually voice most of it, there was even a book where Annabeth described him as being quiet. So, I think the best way to work around this: make it Interview With A Demigod. 

Imagine it’s got an interview with a vampire-esque setup- and this even works because within the riordanverse, the books canonically exist because Percy sat down with a ‘camp scribe’ and had his quests recorded. So, like, this isn’t even entirely out of left field. But just imagine, a college-aged, maybe a little older Percy, I can see it so clearly in my head, he’s wearing a sweatshirt that at first glance looks like it says NYU but a trained eye will see it actually says NRU for a camp jupiter easter egg, he’s sitting in some dinky little diner (maybe it can even be a monster donut or something with a clever greek myth related name) with a guy who’s recording the conversation on some old-ass tape recorder that keeps acting up but they can’t record on a phone because of the whole technology thing. Every now and then it’ll cut back to them to get some great Percy thoughts out there. They open with older Percy saying the ‘look, I didn’t wanna be a halfblood’ and then explaining where he was when the whole mess started. Once he get’s to “was I a troubled kid?” the screen fades from older Percy to 12 year old Percy getting in a fight with Nancy and her gang, and the voice over says the ‘Yeah, you could say that’ part as we see him get threatened by the principal to behave on the field trip. Boom, we’ve got an opening. Lowkey….I’m seeing Jordan Fisher as older Percy, but I’m not 100% married to the idea. 

And before anyone tries to argue that showing an older Percy would spoil he’s not gonna die in last olympian- like, reading the books, we all knew he wasn’t going to die. It was a first person narrative and he was consistently speaking in past tense lmao like we Knew he was gonna make it. We still enjoyed the series. It won’t ruin anything.

I want part of the score of the adaptation to be instrumental versions of songs from the musical, I think that could be a sweet nod to that team. 

They really need to nail camp halfblood. I know that goes without saying, but in order to keep the pacing of the story decent we can’t spend as much time falling in love with it like we got to with the book. The book is like, 24 chapters and the quest starts at chapter 12- for a movie or tv show, that’s just gonna feel like it’s dragging. So, the insanity of the camp needs to smack you in the face right away, and then it needs to endear itself to the viewers quickly after that. Don’t try to ease the viewers (or Percy) into the mythology is real thing, rip it off like a bandaid. He’s on his way to meet Chiron and Mr. D for the first time and even if he’s not comprehending what he’s seeing, there’s nature spirits and harpies all around going about their day. Hestia waves at him and then disappears into the flames. Hecate kids can be seen casting a spell on the porch of the Hermes cabin. The Stolls are seen pranking some Aphrodite kids. He sees someone surely die on the climbing wall but then you hear a faint ‘I’m okay!’. The Apollo kids put a rhyming curse on another cabin. Pure chaos all before he gets the ‘so, gods are real’ speech. And then after that…show how warm Luke is to him at the cabin and at dinner. Show the kids all goofing off at the campfire and really make it clear that they’re children. Show the strawberry fields rolling in the wind and Percy sitting on the beach. The whole couple weeks where he’s searching for powers and learning greek and latin with Annabeth can be a montage. Make it clear how hurt and scared he is when he finds out he needs to leave.

It needs to really get you feeling how Percy’s feeling, every laugh, every tear, every moment of fear or confusion needs to shine clear through. Like…think of Spider-Man Homecoming, the Washington monument scene. All things considered, it’s not the most high-stakes scene we’ve ever seen in that franchise, and when it cuts to the kids in the elevator, they’re worried but not quite freaking out, but that scene feels very high stress to watch because the movie is good at getting the viewers to feel what Peter feels. A Percy Jackson adaptation needs a touch like that, because Percy’s a very emotional kid and that’s what a lot of the scenes hinge on.

Lowkey- I’d love it if the casts of both the previous movies and the musical had cameos or bit parts (the movie cast did Nothing Wrong, it was the rest of that team). It’d be hilarious to see, like, Jake Abel as the owner of the poodle, or Logan Lerman as Older Percy and the reporter’s waiter that keeps trying to get in on the conversation, or Brandon T. Jackson as a satyr who’s still stuck grooving out in the Lotus Hotel and Casino. Kristen Stokes as a nature spirit, Chris as one of the ghosts stuck in the waiting room of DOA Records, just like any of those casts having small parts would be fun and sweet. 

There should be a lot of easter eggs for the bigger riordanverse. Promotions in the background for the new Tristan McLean movie. Gabe’s got a true crime documentary about the missing Grace children playing during his poker game. Mr. D is reading a paper about Rachel Dare’s father’s newest project. At some point while they’re still in New York they pass the Kane family’s mansion or whatever it was called. Annabeth keeps a picture of little her and Magnus on her nightstand. The barest of hints about the Triumvirate. Seeing kids in camp jupiter gear in some background shots, just out of notice of our main characters but implying the camps are going through similar problems (BITCH….if we got a titan’s curse adaptation…and we had a shot of Thalia in the foreground….but in the background we saw a blond boy in purple with a golden sword….well I would simply loose my Goddamn mind).

And show us how easily the mist lets things blend in, too- like, everyone thinks ‘Monster Donuts’ is just a normal chain, it’s just on an average street block, but if Percy looks through the window he can see who’s behind the counter. Show someone swindling some guys in a park and you have to look twice to realize he’s a gegeines. Like…how people are still trying to find all the background ghosts in haunting of hill house. I would LOVE to see a bunch of background monsters and mythical beings just going about their day as much as the mortals are while the gang’s questing. 

The effects need to be fun. The whole story needs to be fun, but one weird thing about the past movies are that like…in their attempt to make it gritty, none of the fantastical things happening on screen actually felt that exciting. We need bright colors and interesting choices, consistently cool action shots, a liveliness that makes you feel like you’re in the center of the action. I have absolutely no doubt Disney easily has enough funds to pull off great effects.

The characters need to be….in character lmao. Annabeth needs to be cocky and bratty with the skill set to justify it. Percy needs to be a sweetheart who pretends to be hardened because that’s what people assume he’s like. Grover needs to have dry humor and a Too Old For This Shit attitude whenever percabeth start bickering. Luke needs to be nice and friendly but in a specific way that you can look back after the betrayal and see he was trying to groom everyone. Sally needs to be loving, protective and strong. Chiron needs to feel defeated and determined at the same time. Mr. D needs to….be Stanley Tucci lmao

Also, I’d love if the adaptation could expand more on things that got brushed along in the books- Percy and Beckendorf’s friendship, Silena and Clarisse’s dynamic, make Nico’s crush on Percy a little more obvious, give Rachel some more development. One thing that haunts me about the books is Sally never found out that Gabe hit Percy. Absolutely they don’t need to make the abuse explicit, but I also personally feel like a lot of Percy’s mindsets throughout the series are somewhat a result of Gabe, and I’d like if that got, you know, acknowledged. Maybe in the scene where he figures out Gabe abuses Sally he could say ‘does he hit you too?’ or something to that effect. They could also go more into detail about Annabeth’s family, give Zoe some more depth….like the possibilities I’m screaming.

Okay this is already long and I’m getting tired but I can so clearly see a great adaptation in my mind….Disney please come through….It’s what we deserve…. 

[jazy3]

Thoughts on Grey’s Anatomy: 17X12

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Well that was an intense episode. Wow. I have to say this episode left me shaken, but I think that was the point. To put it in your face and make you take notice. The other bad stuff going on in the world doesn’t just stop because there’s a pandemic going on as much as we all wish it would. In this episode the show covered a lot of ground. They showed the Black Lives Matter protests and talked about previous protest movements that have taken place. They tackled police brutality and anti-black racism and violence and how traumatizing and fatal a simple traffic stop can be if you’re black.

They showed anti-Asian racism and the difficulties of treating someone who doesn’t think COVID-19 is real. They addressed issues about health care reform in the United States and how the most vulnerable people in society are the hardest hit right now. It was a hard watch. It boggles my mind that there are people out there that think COVID is a hoax or that health care professionals are getting kickbacks of some kind. People who believe that have a greatly over estimated view of how government and health care institutions operate. The idea that a government or a hospital would ever be in a position to do such a thing is absurd and the idea that people would perpetuate that on a mass scale is just ridiculous.

The patient that Bailey treated who was a COVID denier infuriated me! How can people be so stupid? So ignorant? So disrespectful? I get why Bailey freaked out and had to take a minute. I would too. I love that she still tried to help the man get better and tried to frame things in a way he could understand. But he still refused and while she was gone, he signed out AMA. Ultimately, he was killed by his own ignorance and I felt for Bailey when she was ranting to Teddy about how ridiculous it all is.

This was a small moment but when Bailey comes over to talk to the COVID denying patient he calls the surgical resident whose treating him, Dr. Mabel Tseng, a nurse. After Bailey corrects him, he doesn’t apologize he just calls them ‘her’. So not only does this guy think COVID is a hoax but he’s also racism and sexist. I like that they showed that just because there’s a pandemic going on and the focus of the episode is on anti-black racism and police violence that doesn’t mean that the racism and sexism that other people experience magically goes away.

I like the way they handled the protests and showing the different ways people choose to respond in times of crisis. Richard went to march, Jackson realized he felt like he wasn't doing enough, Catherine continued to try to work within the system, and Hayes had to make difficult choices about whether to let his boys go to protests and was injured when he had to step in front of someone who tried to attack his sons. I hate that this stuff isn’t fictional. I hate that there are real people out there getting hurt and killed every day for no reason.

As a white person I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for parents and guardians to have to make decisions about this kind of thing. How do you keep your child safe when the people you are supposed to call in an emergency want them dead? What do you do when the state itself considers you disposable? A non-human object? Do you march and protest and try to make your voice heard and make a difference? Or do you stay home and keep to yourself and try to help in other ways? What do you do knowing that just being at home does not keep you or your child safe?

One bright spot in this episode for me was seeing Hayes interact with his sons and getting to see more of their dynamic. Watching him grapple with figuring out what the right thing to do was with regards to letting his boys protest or making them stay home was heartbreaking. Also the fact that he was so blasé about getting hit on the head with a Billy Club to the point that he needed stitches to Jackson really got me. The fact that he had to step in front of his children to stop them from being attacked by a neo-Nazi is insane and I hate that real people in real life have to deal with this.

I loved getting to learn more about who Hayes is as a parent and his relationship with his boys and his sister-in-law. I loved the scene at the end there where he told them he realized he was wrong and that this was their country and if they want to protest, they should but only during the daytime and only with him for safety. I particularly liked that scene because they’ve established that Hayes is Irish and that he grew up and spent most of his adult life living in Ireland before moving to Switzerland and then the U.S. But his wife Abigail was an American which would make his boys Irish American and most likely dual citizens.

His boys are black and biracial, and they were born in another country and recently immigrated to the U.S. This episode takes place at the end of May in 2020. Trump was still in office and things were going from bad to worse. Which is a very scary time to be all of those things for Hayes’ boys, so I get why he struggled with this. But I also understand why he decided to let them protest. As Hayes says this is a moment. I wish that coming up on a year later we could say that things have radically improved. And while there have been some improvements not enough has changed. In the U.S., Canada, and so many other places.

The scenes with Winston being stopped by the police were scary and I hate that that is the reality for so many people. A lot of the issues they showed in this episode with regards to how black people are treated are just as much of a problem here in Canada. The rates are less in some cases because our population is lower than the U.S. and we have stricter gun control laws, but the issues are just as real and as heartbreaking. I felt like I was going to throw up watching those scenes.

It was so hard to watch, and I was so scared for Winston. What really got me is that I knew Winston wasn't going to die because they upped him to a regular cast member at the start of this season but for the real-life people who go through this that is not a guarantee. They don't know if they are going to make it out alive at a simple traffic stop. My heart broke for Winston and for Maggie. As a white person I cannot imagine the terror that black, brown, and Indigenous people in my own country and elsewhere must feel every time this happens. I got why Maggie was so distraught and unable to focus. I would panic too.

It would be extremely difficult for anyone to focus on their work when you know the police could be murdering your fiancé at that very moment. I'm glad that Richard was there to help and support her so that she could then help her patient. I definitely think Maggie and Winston are endgame. I got that vibe from the beginning and I still feel it now. I’m starting to feel like this season’s finale will feature Maggie and Winston’s wedding.

I also thought the scene where Jackson came to talk to Catherine about why she didn’t take him to protests as a kid and why they don’t go to protests was interesting. Jackson was upset because he suddenly realized that he felt like he wasn't doing enough or being involved enough. He wanted to know why his mother didn't take him to protests and why she taught him to work inside of a system that was never made to include people like them and still isn't. He's angry because that clearly isn't working. Catherine for her part felt like she had suffered enough and just wanted to keep her son safe and took what Jackson said as a personal offense.

This is one of the aspects of Catherine's character that I really don't like because she takes things really personally that aren't really about her at all. I liked seeing some more follow up to what Jackson and Mama Ortiz were talking about last week and Jackson's ongoing fight to really help people in Seattle in a more systemic and long-lasting way. I have no idea where Jackson is headed at the end of the episode and I'm really interested to find out. I also liked the scenes in the hyperbaric chamber where Levi heard Meredith's voice in his head telling him what to do and not to panic. He’s really coming into his own as a doctor. He’s no longer the bumbling idiot who dropped his glasses into a body cavity on his first day.

I thought the editing and the inclusion of Meredith’s voice was really well done. I’m disappointed that Jo is switching specialties and choosing to go into OBGYN because as I’ve said before I don’t feel that they’ve given us enough set up here. I thought we got some great set up in that one episode about her switching to Urology and being mentored by Catherine and I’m sorry they’re not going that route. She briefly talks to Hayes in this episode and they’ve worked a few cases together now and she still hasn’t brought up her desire to switch so I think it’s safe to say that Hayes won’t be mentoring her or training her. My guess is that Carina will be the one doing that. Although I can’t understand why Jo hasn’t approached her on screen or mentioned that by this point.

I think this storyline will only last so long if the show gets another season. There’s only so much content they can create out of ‘Jo delivers babies and sleeps with Jackson’. I think Jo will make the switch and then will get bored quickly and wind up re-specializing again in either pediatric, fetal, or neo-natal surgery. It was nice to see Teddy back at work and doing better and I really loved the sweater that Amelia wore in the brief scenes that she had. While watching this episode my best friend and I were talking about how those of us who lived through the pandemic and this time of social unrest will probably never want to re-watch certain episodes of this season and other shows or media from this time because it's just too hard.

It's too painful. It's too raw. I understand now why people who grew up during times of war and social unrest don't want to talk about it. Don't want to look at anything that reminds them of that time. We're still in it and I already feel that way. Onto next week’s promo! And it looks like I was right! Derek is coming back in what appears to be his last appearance. Him and Meredith are shown talking and embracing and I think Meredith is going to wake up and return to the land of the living once and for all. It’s also been revealed that April will be returning not next week but the week after. I’m excited to see what April returning will mean and how it affects Jackson and Jo’s storylines.

Until next time!

[aion-rsa]

Friday Night Dinner: the Best Episodes

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Friday Night Dinner is ten.

That’s ten years of crimble-crumble, humble bumbling, manic misunderstandings, and more lovely bits of squirrel than you could shake a dead fox at. For thirty-seven Friday nights across six glorious seasons the Goodman family – shirtless dad, Martin (Paul Ritter); long-suffering but ever hopeful mum, Jackie (Tamsin Greig), and their visiting prank-wanker sons Adam (Simon Bird) and Jonny (Tom Rosenthal) – served up a banquet of laughs to a hungry nation, ably assisted by chronically persistent, reality-adjacent next-door-neighbour, Jim (Mark Heap) and his faithful dog, Wilson, and a host of other regulars and monstrously memorable one-offs besides. 

In celebration, then, of one of the most smartly-observed, perfectly-cast comedies of recent years, in chronological order, we count down ten of the show’s best.

The Sofabed

Series 1, Episode 1

Most first episodes – nay entire first series – of new comedies can be scattergun. Maybe the characters haven’t quite coalesced, or their fictional universe doesn’t feel ‘lived in’ yet. Not so with Friday Night Dinner. The show arrived fully-formed, with the Goodmans seeming as real as any family in your street; perhaps even your own family.

All of the gags, rituals and dynamics destined to run and grow and fold back in upon themselves throughout the series’ run are here: Martin’s secrets, conspiracies and hearing difficulties; Jim’s constant interruptions; Adam and Johnny’s brutal one-upmanship; the salt-in-the-water prank; Martin’s fondness for shouting ‘shit on it’.

The first episode revolves around the selling of a sofabed (with a brief sojourn into conspiracy when Martin inveigles his children into helping him hide the old magazines Jackie has ordered him to destroy), a simple enough transaction that turns to tragedy when death comes (quite literally) calling. Martin’s mis-hearing and misunderstanding of a crucial piece of information whilst standing at the bottom of a stair-and-couch-based conga line brings the series first proper belly-laugh, and with it the realisation that Friday Night Dinner is going to be something special.          

Mr Morris

Series 2, Episode 2

Mr Morris, played by Harry Landis, is a marvellous comic creation. With his predilection for getting topless and dressing people down at the dinner table, he’s like a malignant, mirror-universe version of Martin. With the eyes of Mr Magoo and the moustache of Adolf Hitler – and something of the bearing of both – Mr Morris, Granny’s new and very married boyfriend, quickly establishes himself as the dinner guest from Hell.

After crashing into their house and blaming them for the damage, the pugilistic, preening, proud, petty, and pretty much certifiably insane pensioner goes on to engage in horrendously public displays of affection with Granny; shout angrily over the phone at his 95-year-old wife; make Adam and Johnny pay for the, well, johnnies he later planned to use on their grandma; accuse Adam of sexual assault, and then challenge the whole household to a half-naked fist fight. Just another Friday night at the Goodman’s. 

The Mouse

Series 2, Episode 6

‘Mouse’ marks the first time that Jim manages to get his feet under the dinner table of the Goodman home, and it’s everything you could have hoped for. And more.

Normally the family manufactures its own chaos during the weekly meal – with extra helpings of misunderstandings, feuds, schadenfreude, embarrassment and horror – but here the Goodmans are cast as the straight men to Jim’s one-man reality-wrecking crew. While interpersonal connections and rituals are alien to Jim, the Goodmans’ set of mannerisms and catchphrases are his greatest challenge yet. His interpretation of their Jewish faith is equal parts sweet to absolutely bonkers, and only Jim’s anxiety, eagerness to please, incomprehension, and molten naivety keeps things from becoming insulting.

All of the Goodman rituals to which the viewer has become accustomed rain down on Jim in a hail of friendly fire, leading him to gargle on ‘Jewish water’ and scrutinise his dinner plate for hints of squirrel. The moment where Jim briefly considers whether he should eat the episode’s eponymous mouse as it scurries onto his dinner plate is pure comedy gold. 

Christmas

Series 2, Episode 7

This episode features the first appearance of Rosalind Knight as Martin’s mother, or ‘Horrible Grandma’ as she’s known to the family. Christmas is supposed to be a time of peace and celebration, but that’s not an easy ask when your guest of dishonour is a terrifying little lady who’s equal parts Livia Soprano to the Shushing Library Spook from Ghostbusters. Very few Christmases contain the line, ‘Thanks for raping our grandma’s dog on Christmas day’, fewer still see a grandson sharing his grandma’s dog’s oxygen mask, but then nobody does Christmas like the Goodmans. And they’re not even supposed to be doing it.

There’s a surprisingly beautiful moment at the end of this episode, courtesy of resident oddball, Jim, that – like all of the other rare occasions on which the show veers towards sentimentality – is quickly undercut by a well-timed, and very welcome, gag. 

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The Girlfriend

Series 3, Episode 1

Adam finally meets his match: an eight-year-old girl who blackmails him into a chaste but never-the-less irritating and inappropriate ‘relationship’ following the discovery of a racy, unsolicited picture of his girlfriend’s sister on his phone, while his girlfriend is there at the Goodman house for dinner. Thus unfolds an evening of unusual foot-washing, forced transvestism, secrets, lies, panic, and a stunning coup de grace from Jonny, who helps put the final nail into the coffin of his brother’s fledgling relationship.  

The Fox

Series 3, Episode 2

Martin likes to squirrel away a great many things, many of them ridiculous, most of them out of sight of his wife. But Johnny and Adam probably weren’t expecting to discover a dead fox in their father’s chest freezer, much less find themselves enlisted to help move it around town like a hitman’s hairy bounty until the heat died down long enough for their father to have it stuffed. The funniest thing about Martin’s many hare-brained (or, in this case, fox-brained) schemes is the energy he throws at them, the sort of logistical chicanery seldom seen this side of the CIA. Watching the men of the family toddle around hither and thither with a dead fox, hiding it in the dining room, hurling it in cupboards, wedging it through windows, is exactly as funny as it sounds, and – as always – just when you think Martin’s got away with it… he hasn’t.  

The Two Tonys

Series 4, Episode 1

Martin is an exceptionally quick-thinker. Unfortunately, his speed of thought is seldom married with precision, and he usually finds himself blurting something out at the start of an evening and spending the rest of that evening teetering on the edge of oblivion, with his long-suffering wife ready to push him off. His blurt-out in ‘The Two Tonys’, though, is perhaps his most desperate and ill-considered. In a bid to encourage Jason Watkins’ Tony – a loathed associate from years ago Martin had invited to dinner believing him to be another, better Tony – to leave the Goodman home, he forces Jackie to go along with the ruse that her mother has just died. This gambit, like all Goodman gambits, backfires spectacularly, and what follows is a farce worthy of Frasier, everything culminating in a desperate chase and the furious weaponisation of a pineapple. 

The Funeral

Series 4, Episode 5

Friday Night Dinner deals with death incredibly often, and incredibly well, wringing joyous laughter from that most terrifying and inevitable of our shared fates. Here we have another delicious dose of Horrible Grandma, who’s in town to lay to rest her dear departed brother, Saul. Martin is pressured into giving Saul’s eulogy, even though he never really knew or liked his uncle all that much. Cue a day of stress, arrests, tense stand-offs and tantrums, ending with an uninvited Jim appearing at Saul’s graveside clutching four black balloons, while Martin proceeds to recite Saul’s death certificate in lieu of a proper farewell. Immediately following a Grand Prix-inspired coffin malfunction, Jim’s dog Wilson enters stage-left to put a necro-quasi-cannibalistic spin on the ending of Todd Solondz‘s Happiness.      

Dad’s Birthday

Series 6, Episode 4

Horrible Grandma might make for a terrible dinner guest, but she makes for a perfect guest star. This time, we bid her goodbye for good, but not before a great deal of caustic put-downs, cathartic showdowns and perhaps the funniest, most macabre magic trick of all time, courtesy of resident ‘magician’ Jim.

Females

Series 6, Episode 6  

‘Females’ wasn’t intended to be the final episode of the series, at least according to comments made by series’ creator Robert Popper immediately following its transmission. And it still might not be the end. But it’s hard to imagine a better, funnier or more touching swan-song for the show, with or without the tragic death of Paul Ritter.

Adam and Jonny finally have ‘females’ (as their progressive dad has always called their prospective girlfriends) in their lives at the same time, and Jackie is overjoyed to be welcoming them into her home. She thinks the evening is going to be perfect, which is rather naïve of her considering that she’s married to Martin.

Sure enough, Martin manages to contaminate every course of the meal with shards of broken glass, a calamity he’s forced to reveal to everyone but Jackie, going on to enlist their help in somehow preventing the matriarch from choking to death, while simultaneously preventing her from discovering the depths of his dangerous ineptitude. Martin is, of course, thoroughly rumbled, but before Jackie can strike him down with great anger and furious vengeance, two pregnancies are announced in quick and joyous succession.

‘Females’ is solidly, classically funny, but it’s the episode’s smaller, more intimate moments that will linger longest in the imagination: the brothers’ new-found, prank-less affection for each other; the subdued but sincere affection between Jackie and Martin as they discuss their new roles and the future; and the now suddenly larger Goodman family dancing as one in the living room. As codas go, it’s a damn near perfect one.

If Friday Night Dinner comes back, let it be in twenty years when Adam and Jonny are middle-aged. For now, I hope Martin gets to enjoy many long years as a granddad.

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Friday Night Dinner series 1-6 are available to stream in the UK on All4 and Netflix.           

The post Friday Night Dinner: the Best Episodes appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[monotonous-minutia]

So I weirdly actually did a thing I said I was going to do.

Here’s a handy dandy list of Nozze productions to avoid if you, like me, love Cherubino, and believe he is a precious sunflower that needs to be protected at all costs.

After watching about 20 productions of this opera (though not all of them in full) I have compiled the following list.

Truncated because it got pretty long:

*Some of what is written here is subjective so I apologize if I end up disparaging a production you’ve seen and enjoyed. But I tried to stay objective and focus on the specific details that made the production safe or not for Cherubino.

**If you’re morbidly curious and want to know what, exactly, goes on in the first two listed here, perhaps message me first to ask before seeking them out to see for yourself, to prepare.

Salzburg 2006

Do not watch this one.

It’s weird, disturbing, and borderline sadistic. I can appreciate odd productions if they look at operas in new ways, try a different take, or magnify certain elements to bring in a fresh perspective. This production does none of that. It’s just weirdly disturbing for no apparent or forgivable reasons. I’ve spent a decent amount of time searching for answers on this one but none of the critiques I’ve found have any clue what this is supposed to be, so whatever the director was trying to say, their attempts failed miserably and left an atrocity in their wake. EVERYONE in this damn thing (except Cherubino) is a freaking asshole, the set is minimalist to the point of being irrelevant and confusing, and there’s this weird, winged Cherubino look-alike going around controlling people like puppets and making them do weird dance moves during their numbers. Obviously this director did not know how to embrace the concept that some people can just stand still while they’re talking or singing. Also, people hardly ever make eye contact and it’s unnerving, like they’re all zombies. There are a lot of other small, weird details that just keep building to make this thing a terrible production overall. The worst thing about it is poor sweet Cherubino. He’s an innocent, delicate flower that’s abused by everyone in unbearable ways. I don’t even want to go into it. I beseech you not to watch this because it’s honestly kind of traumatizing. Just pretend this one doesn’t exist and you’ll be okay. 

Redeeming factors: absolutely none. Cherubino is adorable and too pure for this world but that just makes the whole thing ten times worse because of all the terrible, terrible things that happen to him.

Dutch National Opera 2016

Proceed with caution for this one. It’s a shame because the production itself is pretty decent, and Susanna and the Contessa are great. The set is interesting—versatile, rotating, lots of doors that are utilized in interesting ways. It’s mostly portraying the somewhat-empty house that the cast is moving into it (at least that’s what I gathered). Reasons to avoid: Figaro is an asshole, the Count is downright gross, and Cherubino is treated terribly by almost everyone (except the Contessa and Susanna, bless them). The only part I like is the Act 2 scene between the three of them where they are all very sweet to each other and Cherubino is delighted to dress up and the kindness he’s shown here by the ladies makes up for some of the other things that happen. The worst stuff I won’t get into; I can’t talk about it without getting super upset. In general, Cherubino is terrorized by the Count on multiple occasions (physically threatened, punched, and thrown around), Figaro is super mean to him, and he doesn’t really get any closure at the end except that Barbarina dotes on him and he clearly loves her so we can imagine that he’ll be okay. It is a joy to watch him being super awkward, dreamy, and cheeky; I just wish he’d been given a better production.

My recommendation for this one, if you do want to watch it, is skip “Non piu andrai” and go right to Act II, although there’s one aspect that’s hard to explain without seeing that. For now let’s just say: there’s a reason Cherubino is wearing a beanie at the top of the second act, and it’s Figaro’s fault. You don’t need to know what else happens. (My rec: skip forward like ten minutes after the last recit, then seek backwards until you see Susanna sitting on a crate holding a remote which is the start of Act II. That way you don’t have to see the scene even in fast-motion.) At any rate please don’t watch that scene. I want to find the person who staged it and punch them. The rest is bearable; just be warned, it’s not fun or pretty.

Honesty hour: Figaro is mean enough too that I want Susanna and Rosina to run off together and just marry each other because their chemistry here is amazing. And take Cherubino with them and keep him safe and loved forever.

Redeeming factors: Interesting set, great leading ladies, insanely adorable Cherubino, and also it’s insinuated that the Contessa actually leaves Almaviva at the end; she even threatens him with his own hunting rifle and everyone else just watches in morbid fascination. She does put the gun down at the last second, but she doesn’t go to him after, so maybe he gets kicked out. We can only hope.

Salzburg 2015

Tbh this one’s just weird and probably not worth your time anyway. The set looks like the wall of the house was cut off so we can see all the rooms inside, upstairs and downstairs, at the same time. It’s an interesting device showing how all of the scenes interact, but it’s no utilized very well. There’s so much business in multiple rooms at one time that it’s hard to focus on the people who are talking and singing at the moment. The cast is mediocre. We get Pisaroni as the Count which should have been worthwhile but isn’t because of the weirdness of the production. It’s honestly hard to tell what or who anyone is supposed to be here. Plus there’s blatant abuse from the Count to the Contessa and it’s hard to watch especially because I’m more used to a huggable Luca and this doesn’t do him justice imo. Additionally, I typically stan gay Basilio, but here he’s got a thing for Cherubino, and Cherubino is super not into it so it just comes across as gross. Mostly Cherubino is just pushed to the sidelines (the Count literally locks him into the closet for most of the end of the first act). So it really minimizes his character in general and is disappointing to Cherubino fans.

Redeeming factors: Susanna is really cute, Figaro is nice, “Non piu andrai” is not sadistic, but this is mostly because everyone leaves the room when he starts singing it so he’s just talking to himself which is weird anyway. At least there is nothing Unspeakable although I do wish I could wipe this Basilio out of my brain. Also Margarita Gritskova as Cherubino being dapper and sweet and I’d say Pisaroni but I’m not a fan of him being the mean old Count when he should be playing those sweet Rossini baritone roles.

Salzburg 1995

Susan Graham is Cherubino and she’s super adorable, although she’s taller than almost everyone else which is awkward and amusing. However everyone is VERY mean to Cherubino. Even Susanna. He gets thrown around a lot which is just sad to watch. The production overall is kind of unremarkable and the picture/sound quality isn’t great either. Watchable but just be prepared for an annoying amount of meanness from characters who should be a lot nicer.

Redeeming factors: Susan Graham is amazing and adorable. That’s pretty much it. Someone tell me what is up with Salzburg and this opera, seriously.

Royal Opera House 2006

This Cherubino is a precious duckling who gets thrown around by everyone, especially Figaro, which is super sad. Honestly so many of these are ruining the character of Figaro for me. This one is watchable and decent except for Mean Figaro. The set is elaborate and detailed but sometimes the background action with the supers gets distracting. The rest of the cast is alright but I wish they would be nicer to Cherubino who hasn’t done one single thing to warrant the abuse. I recommend avoiding it for those reasons but it’s not as bad as some of the others.

Redeeming factors: Intricate, pretty set, Dorothea Röschmann being an adorable Contessa, and Cherubino being gawky and cute.

To balance out the depressingness here are some Nozzes that I highly recommend!

Garsington 2017

My absolute favorite, a pure delight. Though there are no big names here, the entire cast is amazing. The set is glorious, detailed without being distracting, super versatile to fit all the scenes, and the final act is actually in a garden and it’s just so PRETTY. The chemistry between Figaro and Susanna is lovely; they obviously adore each other and are a great team throughout all their plots. The Count is reasonably dislikable without being detestable, so the apology at the end is actually kind of believable (though it’s hard to pull off in general). He and the Contessa actually have an interesting dynamic so you can kind of see how they might make things work in the end (some of their arguments are more banter-y than mean and they actually make out briefly in “Susanna, or via, sortite” as if they’re kind of turned on by each other’s fury). The supporting cast is great too, full of personality and mischief. The staging is lighthearted, genuine, and intricate. THIS is what a Nozze should be! Cherubino is adorable, cheeky, super loveable, a SHAMELESS flirt, and best of all everyone loves him (except the Count obviously). Figaro is really nice to him too and “Non piu andrai” is really cute because he and Susanna are teasing him the entire time but it NEVER gets mean and it’s honestly so refreshing. Highly recommend this one!

Met 1998

Featuring my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE CHERUBINO, the incomparable Susanne Mentzer, as well as my favorite Contessa ever, Renèe Fleming. I could talk about those two forever. They are both individually fantastic and their collaboration is amazing. I died, to be honest. Also features an amazing Susanna courtesy of Cecilia Bartoli and a simply adorable Danielle de Niesse as Barbarina. Figaro is pretty mean to Cherubino especially during “Non piu andrai” (seriously what is it with directors and this number) but it’s nothing compared to so many others so it’s watchable especially because Mentzer is fantastic and she steals the entire scene without even saying anything because she’s amazing. Her Cherubino is just the sweetest, sassiest, most adorable, energetic, and expressive Cherubino ever to bless the operatic stage. She’s exactly what Cherubino should be in every way and the production fully supports it. Watching the entire Cherubino-Susanna-Contessa scene in Act 2 is one of my favorite things in the world. The production itself is classic, detailed and true to the period, busy without being distracting, and the rest of the cast is good too.

Liege 2018

A very cute production featuring a super sweet Figaro who teases Cherubino but is not mean to him. Cherubino is sassy and endearing and very much the flirt with every lady in sight, and is pretty popular among them. The rest of the cast is good too and we get a particularly sassy Susanna (whose chemistry with the Contessa is lovely). The set is simple but very pretty. Another lighthearted, sweet, and genuine portrayal that stays true to the heart of this opera.

Glyndebourne 1973

A classic; lots of familiar names, lush period set/costumes, and staging that’s simple but effective. Featuring the insanely adorable Frederica von Stade as Cherubino. Her smile melts my heart every time. A mostly nice Figaro and great leading ladies.

Obviously there are way more productions out there, and I’ve watched more than this, but these are the ones that to me are most noteworthy from one end of the scale or the other.

This list may get longer as I watch more, but I think I’m going to take a break from Nozze for a little bit (or more likely just re-watch the Garsington one and Mentzer’s Cherubino over and over again).

[miss-mishka]

The Old Guard (Image, 2017) vs Youth (comiXology, 2020): A Completely Biased Comparison

I don’t really know what this is, kind of a crack review, because I had more to say about these two recent reads than I could fit in my Goodreads reviews. So it will be a long read if you opt to proceed. Be warned: ADULT LANGUAGE BEYOND THE CUT, I make no promises that my words will be coherent throughout & sarcasm will abound as I discuss two mini/limited issue comic series’ that I’ve recently bought into.

They are: 

1)The Old Guard, 2017 Image Comics 5 issue miniseries release, written by Greg Rucka, illustrated by Leandro Fernandez

Main cast, above, left to right: Sebastien le Livre aka Booker; Nile Freeman (no alias, currently); Andromache the Scythian aka Andy; Nicolo di Genova aka Nicky; Yusuf al-Kaysani aka Joe. Noriko is also a related, but not pictured, character.

2) Youth, 2020 comiXology Original 4 issue miniseries, written by Curt Pires, art by Alex Diotto

Main cast, above, from left to right: River, Jan, Kurt, Frank. Trixy is also a main character, but not featured on this group cover. (That wasn’t deliberate on my part.  Since it’s a new series, I wanted a cover shot to help you if you want to shop for the series & this was the only one with most of the group clearly visible.)

So now let’s get to some plot.

The Old Guard is a group of warriors that are much harder to keep dead that your average person.  Their ages range from Andy, estimated over 6,000 years old, to Nile, 27 per issue #4. The hows & whys of their ability to recover from injuries up to & including death, are completely unknown, but the ability can end with the same lack of understanding as it began. Andy has found 6 others like her in her time on Earth. 1 has died.

Youth is the teenaged couple Frank & River running away from their home town, meeting up with the older teenaged, possibly early 20s,trio that comprises rest of their group. While fleeing cops, drunk & high after a party, the group’s van is struck by what appears to be a meteor. It does, but doesn’t kill them. They each get a special power from it & all can suddenly fly.

Their enemy/obstacle/villain:

For The Old Guard, it’s big pharma bro Steve Merrick; his security chief, former CIA agent & the one who led Merrick to Andy’s team, James Copley; and the ‘mad’ scientist Dr. Ivan.

For Youth, this is it.  Bootleg Nick Fury and the government resources at his disposal.  (Take note, this is the one clear win that Youth has over ToG.  I love & want more Don.)

Relationships:

Joe & Nicky

Andy & Noriko

Frank & River

Frank & Trixy (just hooking up to help ruin the actual relationship above)

While both comics have their group dynamics, they also have a clear gay couple at the center of their storylines.  For The Old Guard, it’s Joe & Nicky.  For Youth, it’s Frank & River.  But Frank seems to be questioning, as he’s drawn to his new female acquaintance, Trixy. Kurt & Jan also seem attracted to Trixy, but the relationships between those three are not explored in these issues.  River is most definitely immune to Trixy. So, Frank & River fall into the dysfunctional relationship category while Joe & Nicky, together over 900 years, are #RelationshipGoals.

So what’s the 411?:

For The Old Guard, Andy, Booker, Joe & Nicky sign on for a job from Copley to rescue some kidnapped schoolkids. Izza traaaaaaaaaaap! While the team decides to go on the offensive & track Copley down after he’s learnt their secret, Nile is killed in action only to find that she’s one of the ones that don’t stay dead easily. Andy goes to retrieve the new ‘recruit,’ the first since Booker in 1812, while the guys go to a safehouse to search for Copley.  When Andy & Nile finally arrive at that location, they find Booker recovering from severe injuries while Joe & Nicky have been taken. It becomes a rescue mission for their captured brothers in addition to the seek & destroy goals for Copley.  Along the way, Booker & Nile bond.  Andy’s a tougher nut to crack. While Booker tries to locate their targets, Joe & Nicky are being tortured by the mad Doctor “for science” in hopes of discovering a profitable immortality drug for Merrick’s biz. Booker conveniently finds the whole Merrick operation taking place in Dubai, so off they go for their rescue mission & revenge.  But...well, IZ ZA TRAP! Booker’s done with this undying thing & has sold the team out to see if Dr. Ivan can cure him of life while using the others to defeat death.  Andy & Nile, though, aren’t helpless lil ladies.  Neither are Joe & Nicky.  With rescue under way, Joe & Nicky convince the doctor to let them go, then kill him, then find the others, meet Nile for the first time, kill Merrick as one happy new family, take off for Malta(yeah, in the comics, they’re THERE again), vote Booker off their island for 100 years & then leave him alone to be found by one very salty Noriko - she’s well-brined after 500 years in the ocean & batshit insane, to boot. That’s the first of three arcs planned for this group.  About 160 pages over the 5 issues & not a panel wasted, in my opinion.

For Youth, River’s got a lousy step-dad, Frank has a lousy job; together they hate their town & lives, but maybe kind of love each other.  So River says let’s steal my stepdad’s cherished old Mustang & run off for California.  The car gets a flat, but there’s no spare to replace it & they ran away with no money because they’re teenagers.  While broken down in a Walmart parking lot, the car draws the attention of Kurt, who grew up learning some mechanical stuff, appreciating the classics & is willing to offer help. Upon hearing that it’s a flat tire & the couple has no means to replace it, the decision is made to torch the car (it’s a Mustang, HOW DARE YOU?!) & get into the van with Kurt & his two female travelling companions. The five barely exchange names before they’re off to a party where alcohol & drugs mix to make Frank & Trixy horny for one another. River sees them making out & starts to leave when the cops show up to raid the party with all it’s underage & illegal happenings.  River, such a sweetheart, is ready to leave Frank & Trixy to be arrested, but Kurt makes sure they all get away together in the van.  A high (emphasis on high cause Kurt did some cocaine at the party) speed chase ensues with just a little awkwardness among the group as they realize that Frank & River were together & Trixy only kind of cares that she was pulled into their mess. Before there can be arguments, hairpulling slapfights or other drama over the man, the speeding vehicle is demolished by a meteor slamming to Earth.  Except it may have been aliens? In issue #2 we see this:

After this faceoff, these celestial beings go at it, destroy what appears to be their home planet & create the space debris that hits the van & gives the youths powers.  It totally killed Jan for a little bit, but that’s ok because Jan has the best powers.  She came back from death & can track other powered people without Prof X’s massive Cerebro setup, which is handy when you’ve got Bootleg Nick Fury tracking you down because of the ‘anomaly’ that hit you. Trixy?  She’s got a temper.  When Don Thunder descends upon them with a small army of soldiers, Trixy turns them into twisted piles of gore and metal.  I’m not sure what she did, but it was messy.  I imagine in a movie the squish, crack, snap, pop, burst & splat sound effects would reign in that moment.  With that dealt with, the group makes plans for what they should do next.  Which is apparently, rob an armored truck (can anyone guess whose idea it was?) because they have no money for food or lodging.  The heist does not go to plan because the guard driving the armored truck is distracted so he doesn’t see River standing in the road trying to stop the vehicle until the newly powered kid STOPS the vehicle.  I’m pretty sure the guards, especially the driver whom they made sure we knew had a pregnant wife, are dead.  Frank’s upset about this, blames River, who honestly could have flown off as soon as he realized that the truck wasn’t stopping as planned & the now very strong River smacks Frank into a wall.  This pairing is not destined for 900 years together, I imagine Yusuf would continuously chop off his hand rather than strike Nicolo in a non-fun & consensual way.  But the Youth gang still grabs some money bags and flies off.  While multiple people capture it on their cell phones.  Modern technology is an enemy to both the Youth & Old Guard. The kids take their money & go party.  Alcohol & drugs again.  Frank & Trixy making out again.  This time when River sees his man with the girl, he declares the relationship over & storms out of the club.  Killing a few people & knocking a sizable hole in the building to fly off while Frank freaks out & Trixy realizes this guy might be too much drama for her edgy self. We’re at the end of issue #3 which closes with this gem:

The more you know, right? Issue #4 has Don recovering from his injuries after Trixy’s finishing move failed to eliminate him (Dictionary: fore*shad*ow, verb: be a warning or indication of (a future event)).  He sees video of the armored truck robbery on the news (O! these pesky kids with their cell phone cameras & viral videos) & he’s back on the hunt for the gang.  River’s gone back home to the place he always went to to be alone when his stepdad was too much to deal with at home.  Frank finds him there, because he had been shown that spot.  It was their spot. It’s a sweet reunion where Frank still loves River despite the carnage so long as River still loves Frank with the cheating.  A win-win lost-lost. And our Bootleg Nick Fury has his remaining eye on the lovebirds & is ready to attack!  Jan, Kurt & Trixy see breaking news of the fight Frank & River put up against the government goons & Trixy is outvoted by the other two that they’ll go help their acquaintances of like 48 hours.  The time they take deciding & getting there, though, puts them unfashionably late.  Frank is seriously injured causing River to go Dark Phoenix so that the others can get Frank to safety.  It fades to black, skips forward 3 months & implies that Frank’s going it alone in California where he was meant to be with River, but River is gone. (So obviously not dead, but captured by Thunder who clearly has his own powers because River’s Phoenix fire definitely didn’t kill this Superspy.)  But Trixy’s all consoling and explains how Jan is locating other kids with powers - posthumans, they’re called -  all around the world & they’ve decided to start searching for them to create a bigger group.  Frank says it’s like the X-Men, but Jan isn’t quite Xavier level leader, so I say more New Mutants. Frank declines to be part of it. Trixy leaves him on a nice, sunny beach & goes to find Jan who portals them here, the most obviously “Not X like” structure in the world for their not a Bootleg X-Men/New Mutants series to take place in in the future: 

(JFC, the colors alone are classic Wolverine! Originality. Did you maybe want to try that with this series?)

For the end of “Season 1″ of Youth, which implies there will be more.  The single issues of the 4 part mini account for 125 pages & I consider several of those pages wasted. 

Final Verdict:

With powerhouse publishers like DC & Marvel having decades worth of this content, Youth was entering a very crowded arena.  The only thing it focused on as a lure to draw attention from the big leagues was the relationship between Frank & River, but representation has come a long way & Youth needed more. More story development, more group dynamics, more SOMETHING. Because I read the series in a world where I now know that The Old Guard exists & what Greg Rucka did with that series in simple & overt representation is a master class that Curt Pires needs to attend before any 2nd season talk for Youth. The world, my world, is ready for immortal gays. We’ve seen it, we need more.  If River’s still alive, as I suspect, then there’s potential, but it shouldn’t magically erase all the issues that Frank & River had as a couple.  They are not anywhere near the level of Joe & Nicky.  And if/when Youth returns it needs to focus on the characters that we’re supposed to engage with & keep the focus on ALL OF THEM.  Comics take art, with or without words, to tell some incredibly entertaining & complex stories. Don’t waste the space on blackness & block quotes, no matter what Marlon Brando is doing with mailboxes. Create the visuals & worlds in your head & tell the story with your heart so it comes to life for all of us.  That’s what Rucka did with The Old Guard & I want to see more writers, artists & publishers striving to attain that level for us.  I’m spoiled to it now & you can expect this kind of insanity from me if you fail to reach for this bar.

If you cannot tell by the end of all this, I am completely biased in favor of The Old Guard & if you can afford it, but haven’t done so yet, BUY THE BOOKS! Youth gets points for effort & dragged for everything else.

[writingpostmidnight]

TV Show Tag

thanks for taggin me @waterberry-strawmelon 🥰

Rules: Pick 5 shows, then answer the following questions. Tag 5 people.

realizing rn that i don’t watch a lot of tv shows???? i’ve been real into various youtubers lately & not watching actual tv

Star Trek: The Next Generation

The Umbrella Academy

The Good Place

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Disjointed (🤷‍♂️)

Who is your favorite character in 2?

i’m a simple gay. it’s klaus for sure. i mean come on.

Who is your favorite character 1?

data! he’s the reason i got into the show when i was a kid, and i still have a huge attachment to him. i see a lot of parallels in his “android trying to be human” plot and my experience as a trans person and as a mentally ill & neurodivergent kid.

What is your favorite episode of 4?

ooo okay this is hard ?? i do really like the coral palms episodes where jake & holt are in witness protection and being bc they’re dynamic is def my favorite of the entire cast. i also love almost all the doug judy episodes (except the most recent one ugh cops still be coppin).

overall though, i’d have to say season 5 Ep 9: “99.” we got rosa being confirmed bi. we got road trip content. we the squad supporting holt. good shit.

(also controversial opinion alert? i don’t like the last few seasons’ halloween heist episodes that much. i’m a Sensitive Babey and i just want them to be nice to each other. plus the way they get during the recent heists just feels kind of ooc to me?? idk)

What is your favorite season of 5?

Disjointed only has 2 seasons (or “parts” as they’re called on netflix) with ten episodes each 😔. i guess the first season, but there’s no dramatic shift in quality or whatever. the second season puts a lot more focus on romantic relationships and a realer plot & it’s fun, but i’m really just in it for the found family stoners & dumb little gags sjkssj.

Who is your favorite couple in 3?

chidi and eleanor. it’s the obvious choice, but i’m not exaggerating when i say that their romance completely changed the way that i viewed love, soulmates, and fate. before this how i used to believe hardcore in soulmates (not to knock anyone who does, i’m not the authority on the universe jsksjdks).

but chidi realizing that soulmates don’t exist in the good place when he spent his entire life wishing for one perfect person, and choosing to be with eleanor because he grew to be deeply in love with her was just *chef kiss.*

it made me realize that there’s something insanely romantic about just choosing to be with someone. maybe i didn’t know them in past lives long forgotten. maybe they aren’t a part of some cosmic plan. maybe it’s even lovelier that i’ve gotten to meet someone, to get to know them, to get close to them, to fall in love, to try, to choose them, to make them my soulmate. i’m rambling on i just loved that the good place explored that idea.

Who is your favorite couple in 2?

dave & klaus, obvi. klaus deserves l o v e

What is your favorite episode of 1?

oh there’s wayyy too many good episodes for me to figure out my absolute fave. i love love every data-centric episode tho. i also love the episodes where they time travel jdksks.

What is your favorite episode of 5?

i’d say part 1 ep 3 “rutherford b haze” (yeah this show’s about as intelligent as the ep titles would suggest). the gags and jokes in this one one crack me up tbh.

it does have a weird ‘did u just assume my gender’ seeming joke at the beginning that annoys me, but it has some trans rights jokes in other episodes so i can ignore it.

the commercial gags alway SEND me, & they’re real good in this episode.

What is your favorite season of 2?

there’s only one season out 😔

How long have you watched 1?

my family are all big fans of star trek, so i watched episodes here and there growing up, and i think i binged it in its entirety the summer after i turned eleven. i’ve rewatched it a Lot since then tho shdjshd

How did you become interested in 3?

everyone was hyped for it on tumblr, it was by micheal schur of parks n rec and b99, so made myself sit through the pilot, and then i was hooked. (actually i got bored halfway through the pilot and came back three weeks later when i finished binging b99 again and then i was hooked.)

Who is your favorite actor in 4?

andy samberg hands down. i mean come on. i think half of my sense of humor comes from watching him on SNL and thelonelyisland’s youtube channel as a kid. he’s hilarious.

Which do you prefer, 1, 2, or 5?

TNG. it’s a big comfort show. it’s interesting & immersive enough to distract, but fun enough that it’s not stressful.

Which show have you seen more episodes of, 1 or 3?

i’ve seen all the episodes for both! i’ve definitely rewatched TNG more tho.

If you could be anyone from 4, who would you be?

Gina because she’s not a cop jeksjsnsksn.

Would a crossover between 3 and 4 work?

imagine: jake peralta, rosa diaz, captain holt, amy santiago, etc., all arrive to the afterlife neighborhoods so they can confront their moral failing of being cops and ascend to the good place 😍 BDBSNSN

Pair two characters in 1. Who would make an unlikely but strangely okay couple?

honestly let geordi and data date. cowards.

Overall, which show has the better storyline, 3 or 5?

JDKSKSK THE GOOD PLACE BY A LONG SHOT. the good place gave me a spiritual, moral, emotional, and existential crisis. disjointed made me laugh when i was high. i love them both.

Which has better theme music, 2 or 4?

ugh. b99’s theme annoys me. so much brass. not a brass fan. uhh i think the umbrella academy’s theme is mostly strings and i like strings. also, tua has the best soundtrack jshdjsbd bops.

mkay i’ll tag: @winter-soltis @thelittlestspider @history-be-written @jorzuela @minniemao (ignore if u wanna)

[thisiskevison]

thanks for the tag @madsdefencesquad

The first character I first fell in love with...

Definitely Jack. The pilot episode of TIU was so magical and such an amazing introduction to the entire Pearson family, but Jack Pearson was the reason I stayed committed until I fell in love with the rest of the cast. Milo does so a good job with his character that I couldn’t wait to see how Jack grew as a father, as a husband. That man should have lived forever! It still hurts. 

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now...

Probably Madison. For most of the first two seasons, I never really paid her character much attention. I appreciated her role in Kate and Toby’s group, though it didn’t become obvious why she was there for a while. But I guess, I don’t know, I don’t think I really imagine she would ever become a major player in the show. And then, she became Kate’s best friend and showed just amazing and sweet she is. Madison has the biggest heart, despite going through a lot of really dark and painful stuff, and deserves all the love in the world. I would’ve never guessed how much I adore her now, if I’m being honest. 

The character everyone else loves that I don’t...

Ah, though I’m really sure what the consensus is about him, I’m gonna have to say Toby. He’s never really done anything for me as a character, even though he is a good dad to Jack and a supportive husband (for the most part). Most of the time, he kind of just gets on my nerves and I don’t really know what that’s about. But I’m hoping that might change going forward. You’re got two seasons to make me love him TIU! 

The character I love that everyone else hates...

The fandom has come a long way with Miguel, but he’s still not a favorite. Poor guy. But who could have compared to Jack Pearson. Absolutely no one! The guy was a superhero. He’s never tried to replace his best friend and deserves to be respected and loved as a member of the Pearson family. 

The character I used to love but don’t any longer...

Not the biggest fan of Randall at the moment, but he’s still a favorite. Regarding the clinical trial, he believed he was doing what he thought was right. He just went about it all wrong, by emotional manipulating his mother. But I don’t completely absolve Kevin of blame either, they both said some really ugly things to each other. TIU is masterful at displayed the truth of human nature. Though I adore Randall, he is not a perfect person (none of them are) and that is okay. 

The character I would totally smooch...

Kevin wasn’t my thing in the first season (or two), but things have changed mightily since. Justin Hartley is not hard to look at and Kevin’s character development has been the best. Oh, yeah. I’d kiss that guy, no problem. 

The character I’d want to be like...

Gonna have to go with my girl Rebecca here. I have so much respect for her as a mother, as a mother, and a woman. The amount of love and grace she’s displayed is insane. The reason her family is so close (even if they are a bit dysfunctional) is a testament to her character. Sure, Jack was incredible father and husband, but he’s also been gone for a long time. Rebecca is the nucleus of the family and she should be proud of the family she raised. 

The character I’d slap...

Marc, Kate’s best friend. I don’t really think this one needs much explanation. What a dick! 

A pairing that I love...

Pretty obvious, but it’s got to be Kevin and Madison. Already, my hopes are high for these two. Individually, they both deserve so much love and happiness and I truly believe they can find it with each other. They have so much potential, it’s crazy. S5 can’t come fast enough!

A pairing that I despise...

Despise is a strong word and I know this is an unpopular opinion, but Kevin and Sophie aren’t the pairing for me. Don’t hate me! Even before Madison was even a consideration to end up with Kevin, this relationship was never my favorite. Though there is an element of their dynamic that can be appealing (high school sweethearts, first love), they should not be together. While I believe they will always have love for each other, there is too much pain and history there. By being together, they learned valuable lessons that helped them grow as people. There’s just no denying that. 

[lokilickedme]

(Okay, I’m going to do this in probably 3 parts because it’s long)

So The Department sorta happened because I wanted to get back into a regular weekly-updating online fic because, frankly, two reasons:

1) I’m worn out/exhausted/a bit burned out from working on novels and very little of anything else for the last year and a half, and

2) I crave/need the instant validation of the comment section at AO3, which you don’t get when you write a book :/

So I called a break, put away my manuscripts for a couple months, and am just indulging in some fun writing for a little while.  And since I wanted something new (sorry WIPs, your time will come again) this is what we ended up with.

I don’t remember exactly what made me go with the police department premise.  The potential for assholery and rampant egomania, most likely?  Well, you know I love that shit when it hides something slightly more noble underneath...and I think I wanted a big ensemble cast because I just adore the dynamics that can occur in groups of disparate personalities who have known each other for a long time.  That way they interact when they know each others’ secrets and there’s that one person new to the group who isn’t in on any of the jokes?  Good stuff right there.

I do remember that the first ideas for this story came to me during the Professor Jeff’s Super Science Show at the library (yeah your guess is as good as mine on that but it happens literally every time).  But if I’m being honest, I’d say it probably had more to do with Benny Hill than anything.  I have this bad habit of sitting on the couch with my laptop on my knees, headphones on, head back, inventing scenes in my head that go along with whatever music I’m listening to.  I’ve got this one insane playlist full of goofy tunes my 7-year old has requested for staging Thomas The Tank Engine crash scenes (don’t ask) and on this particular night that’s what I was listening to because why not.  On that playlist is a 30-minute loop of the Benny Hill Theme.  And all I could see in my head was a foot chase on ice and snow between a female officer, an out of shape Chief of police, a giraffe-legged office assistant, and a probably methed-up wannabe criminal who didn’t actually do anything major but was running anyway because he was bored.  It struck me funny and I toyed with the idea of sticking it into something I already had started, because I do love me some chaotic slapstick.

So the next day I’m driving the boys home from the Super Science Show and I’ve been playing around with it in my head again, and it’s taking shape into something that I know I’m going to have to work with.  We pass the Pupuseria Virolena Salvadoran restaurant downtown, and I start laughing because I’m suddenly hearing David Tennant trying to say that in his Scottish accent.

On the spot I named him Hawk and made him Captain.  And now we have one of our characters, and by the time we pull up in our driveway ten minutes later I’ve got stuff needing to be written down right now.

(the rest is under the cut for length)

Chapter 1 - Prologue - Your Boatload of Bad Decisions Has Left The Harbor

I was so anxious to get into the story but it needed an introduction, or else Greta being in this podunk town wouldn’t have any weight.  So we’re introduced to our heroine, who isn’t so much a heroine as just a decent if slightly too self confident special division officer who had some bad luck.  It’s not elaborated on yet in the story, though it’s heavily referenced multiple times that she disobeyed an order and made the decision to continue a high speed pursuit that had been called off by her superior officer, the above-mentioned Captain Hawkins, whom Greta has something of a relationship with (yeah they’re screwing, what of it).  And in the wake of that decision, Greta’s partner is killed and she’s brought up on charges, suspended, ordered to counseling, and finally shipped off to a small town in Minnesota so she can keep working while her final fate is decided by an investigative committee back in LA.

The opening chase scene was written from things I learned when I was a kid and my dad did vehicle tweaks for the Fort Worth police department from his auto shop.  The officers used to hang out drinking Cokes and telling stories while dad made (possibly illegal) modifications to their cars.  I was there a lot, sitting under his work bench with my books and pencils, listening to everything and remembering it all.  And I thought it was so damn cool.  So here we are.  What else was I gonna do with that information?  Might as well put it to use if it’s gonna be taking up real estate in my head for all these years.

For the record, I really liked Greta’s partner Joe and hated to kill him - but we needed a catalyst, and the cheerful best friend who sings Italian arias during chases while joyfully blasting out windshields is always gonna be the loser in the goner lottery.  For once the male hero dies to further the female lead’s storyline.

Heh, take that Marvel.

Anyway, sorry Joe.  There will be more about you in later chapters, so...gone but not forgotten.

Chapter 2 - Minnewhatever

This part starts out with the last bit of backstory we need to proceed.  Hawk sending Greta off to Minnesota, a place whose name she never does remember or say correctly.  She doesn’t figure she’s actually going to be there long enough to bother learning it, but Hawk informs her that her exile is likely to last at least a year, and he gives her very little reassurance that she won’t be serving every minute of her sentence.

Greta’s feeling a little betrayed here.  She and Hawk have been sort of a thing for a while, friends and colleagues and lovers, but he’s washing his hands of the entire situation and she’s left angry and a bit bereft.  But she still figures he’ll do something to get her out of it, if she’s patient and behaves herself in the new place.

Fast forward to day one in Weemeetwa.  While drowning her aggravation in a bottle of the good stuff, Greta meets her first new acquaintance and decides to just go with the cranky fuck-it attitude that she’s been harboring since the incident, gets shitfaced, and goes home with the guy.  This might have been a dual-purpose shag; Greta’s still feeling betrayed and abandoned by Hawk, so it’s a screw-you that he’ll never find out about - but that doesn’t stop it from feeling good in a vengeful sort of way.  Plus it’s cold and she’s alone and the guy - Andy, a tall sweet longhaired cutiepie with an Irish accent - is all too willing to buy her a drink and take her home for some cuddles.

In the morning Greta wakes up in a strange place full of groaning regret and ends up giving Andy a ride to the station.  She doesn’t count on seeing him again, so there’s no breath wasted on goodbyes.

Chapter 3 -  A Logging Truck, A Mountain, and A Blonde Walk Into A Bar

Now we meet most of the department.  Creeley, a gruff roughhouser with a rude streak forty miles wide, Sarah, the only other female in the department and possibly the only person alive who can keep the boys under control, Kevin, the quiet dispatch agent with an impressive mountain impersonation skill, and finally (for the moment) Chief, the slightly too good-looking and highly put-upon boss of them all.

I knew I wanted Tom Hiddleston to play Chief Tommy Davis.  This is Kong Skull Island-era Hiddleston crossed with The Night Manager, with a handful of extra pounds around the middle and a frustrated sigh that goes on forever.  He’s meant to be an ex hockey player who was waylaid on his way to the major leagues, so he’s strong and sturdy, but an injury benched him years ago and a career in small-town law enforcement has put him a bit to pasture.  Middle aged, somewhere between 40 and 45.  He’s got some stuff in his past but he’s happy now, for the most part, just living his life watching over the town.

Jason Momoa is Bobby Creeley, for obvious reasons.  I knew I wanted a rowdy, rude, loudmouthed team member that’s always crossing everyone, but who everyone knows will be there no matter what if anything goes down.  He’s instantly Greta’s nemesis from the moment she walks in the door.  Gigantic and shaggy with a permanently amused nature and a fear of literally nothing, he’s simultaneously everyone’s best friend and worst enemy.

Sarah Lancashire has been finding her way into a lot of my fics lately as side characters, so it’s no surprise she ended up here as Sarah Pearl.  Steely, tough, and highly immune to the idiocy around her, Sarah is the worn out voice of common sense that the department is running perilously short on.  She’s also my first and foremost girl crush, and I’ll admit right now that I wrote an AU ending almost immediately that involved Sarah and Greta ending up together.  It would be natural to assume Sarah would fall into the default role of mom to the group, but there’s a whole lot of oh hell nope wrapped around that trope.  She would set them all on fire if anyone would let her have some matches, but Chief made a rule against that a long damn time ago.

Dave Bautista has been hanging around the back door of my muse stable for the longest, just minding his own business and waiting his turn, but I never really had any place to stick him.  Well Drax, your time has come baby.  I chose him to play Kevin Saylor based on his GoTG scene in which he tries to convince the crew he’s invisible.  And that’s Kevin, in a nutshell.  Huge and intimidating but quiet and intensely matter-of-fact in manner, he’s in charge of dispatch and immediately inspires Greta’s hatred of using the radio.

My first (and really only) faceclaim for Greta Morley was Zoe Saldana, but I waffled briefly for a couple of weeks, trying to cater to a few readers who told me they wanted to imagine themselves in the role.  I planned to stick with that, and I tried, I promise I did.  But every time Greta opened her mouth I heard Zoe, and by the time she went on her less than fleet-footed pursuit of Wilson with the longsuffering Andy by her side, she was locked in.  Greta’s harboring some serious regret and raw emotional wounds from her not too distant past, and some time out in the American Midwest should be a much needed recovery sabbatical.  Should be.  But isn’t gonna.

Speaking of Andy...Andrew Hozier-Byrne was and is the only person I ever considered for the role of Andy Burns.  Too tall, too clumsy, too cute, too sweet, just a whole bunch of too everything - he was perfect for the role and I may or may not have written it exclusively for him.  Okay yeah, I wrote it exclusively for him.  Andy’s the local cryptid, nobody really knows a lot about him.  He may or may not be a drug dealer.  He may or may not be officially employed by the police department.  He may or may not be Irish or hypoglycemic or a blackout drunk or as goofy as he seems.  Nobody really knows, and to be honest nobody really cares, because if you need it done Andy can do it...if he can remember you asked him to do it.

So Greta has arrived, for better or for worse.  Cree immediately starts in with the sexist remarks and butchering her name, a favor she returns by embarking on what will become a neverending trail of obliterated mis-renderings of the town’s name.  Creeley and Kevin kick off another of many running gags by arguing over whether or not anyone knew she was coming, and before things can get too stupid, Chief makes his first appearance.

And now things start to get interesting.

To be continued at chapter 4, Randy Andy and The Chief of Weemeetwa

@whatevervivie

[brothermouzongaming]

E3 2019 overview

I wanted to take the time to look at and talk about some of the games we’re more than likely seeing at the conference. E3 is...dying and it’s misleading trailers don’t help, but despite this, the show is still important and at least gives us a little insight into what may come in games/tech. So let’s cross our fingers and dive in. I’ll be focussing more on main titles and not DLC and updates. Available footage will be linked in the corresponding title.

Avengers project (Crystal Dynamics/ Square Enix)

It feels like ages since the teaser for the Avengers project dropped. Since then I have been trying to keep my hopes high, I even thought it was canceled for a time when we heard literally nothing since that trailer. I know nothing about this game, but I just hope Crystal Dynamics and Square are treating something this big with the care it needs. The last thing Marvel, more importantly Disney, want is another Battlefront 2 situation on their hands. If Square can incorporate their over the top combat style to the Marvel universe, it could be amazing, incredible, invinci- okay I’ll stop.

Borderlands 3

Getting back into Borderlands just before the big press release was very serendipitous. Something about this made me even more excited for some of the additions coming like loot instancing, slide/mantle (finally), secondary fire weapons, more diverse and varied play spaces, and a lot more. So many of BL2 and the Pre-Sequel’s flaws are glaring with me having played them recently and to see the long-awaited title addressing these exact issues so comforting when I get to thinking about this next adventure into the wastes. It isn’t some massive leap forward or anything, it’s more Borderlands and there’s nothing wrong with that to me. Finally, an online optional looter shooter that isn’t some strange mmo lite, long live the king. Randy Pitchford is a weirdo but I’m not gonna hold that against the devs lol.

Cyberpunk 2077

This is more than likely going to be my game of the show. E3 is typically full of surprises and anything can happen but in all honesty, I just can’t see much coming close especially since we aren’t seeing Death Stranding (thattrailertho). I was literally giddy when they released the gameplay trailer that they showed press and influencers and the FPS RPG looked very good but not unrealistic. Recently it’s come out that the game is “pretty different” from that showcase and that statement interests me as much as it gives me pause. Regardless, we are going to be seeing more of this game with CDPR claiming they’ll have an even bigger presence than last year. I just hope that we get solid gameplay footage and not buzzwords and theatrical trailers.

CoD 2019

Black Ops 4 came out guns drawn and it really impressed at first. Since that time Activision has found a way to completely reverse the conversation around BO4 and where the franchise is headed/ is as a whole. Activision needs a win, and with this being their main and essentially only franchise it has to be big. The rumor is that it’s Modern Warfare 4 which would be a “soft reboot” if that is the case. If not this year then next, I’m surprised it’s even taken them this long so hopefully all this time will lead to something good. Honestly, I’m shocked we’re still getting annual releases of this game. I don’t forsee CoD lasting much longer and this tug at our nostalgia may be a sign of that. 

Destroy All Humans (THQ Nordic)

I spent so many hours with my friend Walter terrorizing the meat bags between the tools the game devs gave us and some gamer creativity that was a relatively new aspect of gaming compared to nowadays where player creativity is often an aspect of gameplay. THQ has reported something insane like 50+ games in development which...sounds like a stupid choice but if this is one of them it’s definitely going to get people’s heads turning. Can you imagine what they’ll be able to do with today’s tech? They don’t have to go crazy but then again for the sake of a concise vision but...maybe they should?

Dino Crisis (Capcom)

Let’s talk more about old ass games I’m completely shocked could be coming back. So in light of Capcom bringing back past titles and breathing new life into them, it is reported that Capcom is looking to bring back...Dino Crisis? I swear to god if they make Dino Crisis before Viewtiful Joe and Onimusha? POWER STONE ANYONE?? I’m more than willing to suspend my meh-ness because Capcom has proved that not only can they bring back an old game we love, but they can do it damn well. If this is true, then maybe there is hope for some of my favorite Capcom titles from the past but mother of god why Dino Crisis?

Doom Eternal

Doom 2016 was one of the best first-person shooters I’ve ever played. “Smooth as butter” isn’t something I would use to describe most games but god damn if that game wasn’t lubed up before they packaged it because it’s damn slick. So imagine the stiffy I got when that gameplay was dropped and mobility was increased. Can we talk about the grappling hook shotgun? The new demons and takedowns to dispatch said demons? God knows what else is under the hood for us to find out when it releases let alone when they talk about it during the conference. A more open level design in tandem with the conventional “kill room” here and there is gonna really spice up the combat especially if exploration is properly rewarded. Rage 2 was a disappointment but I do have hope this is gonna live up to the hype the way it did the first time.

Gears of War 5

Lawd Microsoft needs a win. This is quite clearly their attempt at a blockbuster event like God of War was for Sony. Everything about the trailer screams “Oscar bait but for games” and I hope they do the damn thing. Make me sad I don’t have an Xbox dammit! This could be a big step for Gears and could even lead it down a more character focussed design. The world of Gears of War is rich for a deeper explanation, and I know that isn’t what Gears is known for but I won’t be told that they can’t do both. It appears to be heavily cinematic though gameplay can be seen in the trailer above. It seems interesting and I hope they really make something worth owning an Xbox for. The fans deserve it.

Halo: Infinite

Did I say Microsoft needs a win from the software perspective? Cause they do. The Xbox One is fine, the One X is a huge step up and is the most powerful console but there are next to no exclusives for this console. Ya know, the reason why you buy a certain console outside of interface and services. What better way than to bring back the most successful franchise Microsoft has associated with. There’s talk of it having an open world which is jarring initially especially when the history of Halo is rich with environments that tell stories alongside the mid-range combat. If they can properly expand that baseline to fit an open world format, it’ll be amazing. Whether or not they can is the question.

Harry Potter: Magic Awakened

Warner Brothers does a great job of shooting themselves square in the foot. They just put on the finest shoes money can buy and BAM queue the red kool-aid fountain. Shadow of War is the pinnacle of such stupidity with the way the monetization completely bankrupted the integrity of the game. The brief footage that was up involved a third-person real-time action reminiscent of the original games. Warner Bros. jumped on the trailer takedown but it’s safe to say the cat is out of the bag and casting spells in the kitchen. This could be a unique adventure involving a custom character, it could involve something more directly related to the books. Anything is possible but if we heard about it this year it wouldn’t entirely surprise me.

My Friend Pedro

A twin stick shooter of a different kind. Imagine stranglehold but cartoony, John Wick but even more comic book like. It looks like the entire game is going to be centered around ballerina jumping through levels and enemies leaving every enemy in your wake riddled with bullets. It seems light, fun, and self-aware in it’s silliness which can lead to the most fun type of games.

Session

Oh boy, SKATE was my jam back in high school and if you’re anything like me you’ve been waiting for the next game/ literally anything like it to come along. Session appears to be that game, we weren’t told a lot when it was revealed so I’m hoping that E3 will lead to some more information on gameplay and ya know, a release date. 

Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order

Anthem is in shambles and in my opinion, it’s this year’s No Man’s Sky. Between the games they put out, and the Star Wars games they put out (or don’t put out depending on your perspective); this does not bode well at all. Respawn is working on the project and their track record is very good, but I can’t help but worry about what EA is planning. They always find a way to put their hand directly into a project and do exactly what needs to be done to ruin it. Sometimes that’s on the front end in development and planning or lack thereof, and sometimes it’s on the back end with moving devs to other projects/ not hold their devs to the post-launch promises they tend to make and not fulfill. This story of a padawan in hiding after Order 66 is ripe for gameplay development and storytelling. So long as Respawn has the vision and can execute, all we need is for EA to stay the fuck away and let them work. We’ll see.

honorable mentions: Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Vampire Bloodlines 2, From Soft and George R. R. Martin collab, Fable remake, Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad, Wolfenstein Young Blood, Afterparty, Beyond Good and Evil 2, Bleeding Edge (Ninja Theory’s new game), Last of Us 3 (v hype just not a lot of info)

[argitasalindri]

Broadway Trip 2018

Dec 20th - 24th, 2018: 5 days, 6 shows This was a poorly planned trip as I did the entire planning at the very last minutes. No budget was allocated for this trip initially, but then I decided to cancel my trip home this winter break. And I decided to spend the ticket money for Indonesia on this Broadway trip. Gladly, it turned out to be the best Broadway trip I have ever been into. 

During this trip I managed to make new friends (one of them is the head security for “The Band’s Visit” so I got a VIP treatment - got to see all of the main cast and took photo and chatted a bit, Etai Benson even offered me to get into the backstage area but I said no because this means less opportunity to meet with all of the cast), scored two rush tickets in one day (matinee and the evening performance) 2x, I crossed off several of my must-watch shows, and I got to tell Christy Altomare how awesome she is. In this trip, I also got my first exposure to plays and found them captivating (after years and years of obsessing over musicals).

So, below is the list of shows I watched during this Broadway trip and my brief comment on each show: 

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (PLAY) - 2018 Tony winner for Best Play - Brilliant. Thrilling. Magical. Those are the best three words that I could find to describe the entire theater experience. There were so many jaw-dropping and “what???” moments. I felt like I was on the edge of my seat most of the time. You may have read the script book and hate the plot twist, but trust me, the theater experience would still be beyond your most imaginative mind. 

To Kill a Mockingbird (PLAY) To Kill a Mockingbird on Broadway has a very interesting take from the book. The three kid characters (Jem, Scout, and Dill) were played by adults actors, but they were brilliant. Will Pullen (Jem), Celia Keenan-Bolger (Scout), and Gideon Glick (Dill) were able to captivate the audience in this Americans’ favorite classic. Jeff Daniels is the perfect Atticus Finch!

The Band’s Visit (MUSICAL) - 2018 Tony winner for Best Musical -  I was in for a real treat!!! The Band’s visit has such an awesome cast, great music, hilarious humor, and powerful messages. Katrina Lenk is a true talent with such a powerful vocal and deep character. Etai Benson is so funny playing a guy that has no idea on how to talk to a woman. Ari’el Stachel has this velvety vocal that complement the cool American jazz that is mixed in this intense middle east musical. Adam Kantor, the telephone guy, sort of stole the show in the final song, Answer Me. Sadly, Brandon Uranowitz was not there to play Itzik’s character. Overall, this musical is soooo beautiful and tells us about the longing of human interaction. The problem faced by the characters are so relatable, I feel like they could represent any of us. I was sad that Tony Shalhoub (2018 Tony winner for Best Actor in a Musical) is no longer with the company. The new Tewfiq was awesome too, I even thought that he portrayed the stern side of Tewfiq a little better than Tony. But Tony got a lot better rendition of Itgara’a. I can see myself coming back to see this musical for the second, third, fourth, or fifth time.

Anastasia (MUSICAL) I don’t normally go for cartoon-adapted musicals, but I have to make an exception for Anastasia (in addition to Lion King). Christy Altomare, the girl that is currently playing Anastasia, is insanely talented. I was there just to see her performing live. It was not dissappointed at all. Her singing voice sounded exactly like the her studio-recording voice. And she is humble, down to earth, and super nice in person. I got to say that story wise, there were not that many surprises in Anastasia as I have watched the movie (there were several slightly different plots), but the set was regal. It has a pretty cool stage dynamic and nice choreography. Musical scores were easy to listen to, and pleasing I might add. All and all, Christy Altomare is the highlight of this musical. She was born for this role! 

The Play that Goes Wrong (PLAY) If you want some good laugh, go see “The Play that Goes Wrong”. A comedy play from the genius brain of JJ Abrams. This play is very technical (in a very complicated way), I couldn’t stop thinking how are they manage to get out of the theater without any bruise every single night. Also, I like the fact that they came up to the audience during the pre-show performance. They even brought an audience on stage. 

Once on this Island (MUSICAL) - 2018 Tony winner for Best Revival of a Musical - This was my first experience being in a circle-shaped theater. Perk: there is no bad seat. I was skeptical at first, thinking that I should just walk around the city for my last day in NYC. But I got to make the best out of this trip. So I decided to stand in the rush line and ended up having a great time during the show. Once on this Island also has a pre-show performance (just like “The Play that Goes Wrong”), it was a very creative way to tell the audience not to use our phones. I really enjoyed the close interaction between the cast and the audience. Also, I was blown away by Isaac Powell’s singing voice. Boy, that guy can sing. I was 3 days early for Lea Salonga’s comeback performance, but I was still having a great time. The stage set was so creative with sandbox, water, and a boat! One word to describe this show: creative!