#and rex is such an interesting protagonist

[sobie-is-scared]

Getting into a fandom after its peak, or after the piece of media is finished can be so weird? I still see posts on my dash from 2018 about trollhunters excited about the new season and I binged it all including 3below and wizards in 2021 I believe? It's like seeing ghosts of the past.

The exception being Danny Phantom phandom, which, not unlike Danny himself, is kept alive purely by sleep deprivation, delusion, and spite. It kind of became its own thing separated from the show, but I did rewatch it recently with my cousin, and gotta say, shit's still dope. Not as existentially mortifying, sure, but still a solid show.

Okay that woukd be all, goodnight trustate area

[brightsout]

yesterday i tried the new netflix interactive thing with laura marano and i got paul twice 😭😭

[howdidthisevenhappenanyway]

more cody/quinlan crumbs and I desperately want to make some terrible art about it

when the dead tree flowers update

Chapter 11 is now up!

[worstcharacterpoll]

[Image description: A tournament bracket of 32 contenders, labeled "Tumblr's most hated." The matchups on the left are Vriska vs. Pearl from SU; Rex from Victorious vs. Rick Sanchez; Ansem the Wise vs. Gul Dukat; Kylo Ren vs. Kokichi Ouma; Scrappy Doo vs. Sheldon Cooper; Pierre from Stardew vs. Mort from Madagascar; Seraphine from League vs. Heimskr; and Jurgen Leitner vs. Andre Glacier. The matchups on the right are Walter White vs. Light Yagami; Buck Cluck vs. Ross Geller; Bramblestar vs. Starlight Glimmer; Goro Akechi vs. Pariston Hill; Katsuki Bakugo vs. Berdly; Angel Dust vs. the Impostor; Olaf from Frozen vs. Hooty; and Zenos viator Galvus vs. Tony Stark. The bracket is red on a black background. End ID]

Here is the official bracket for the most Hated Character on Tumblr! Each round will last 24 hours, with a 12 hour break in between. Round 1 should start Feb 9, 2023 at 9:00 AM CST.

As a reminder, this tournament is for the characters that you hate the most, so always vote for your least favorite of the two options. The winner will be publicly executed.

FAQ under cut:

Q: Why did you put in x character and not y character? Aren't there more hateable characters from that franchise?

A: I wanted to keep the competition light-hearted, funny, and interesting. I intentionally avoided most shitty parent characters, dictators, characters who were meant to be hated, etc., as well as characters heavily associated with bigotry and sexual assault, and gravitated towards characters that were more divisive in fandom. Exceptions were only made for characters I am familiar enough with and can use my own judgement for. Using Zenos as an example: He is a villain who is very evil and meant to be hated, which I mostly avoided when taking suggestions for things I wasn't familiar with myself. However, he's very divisive between people who think he's a good interesting villain, people who don't think he's a good villain and don't like him in the story at all, and people who want him carnally. Walter White is also meant to be hated, but he has a meme status, and as a villain protagonist I think he's more interesting than most "meant to be hated" characters. Also, there are certain franchises that I simply didn't want to include. If JK Rowling wasn't such a real and horrible political presence, owing all her influence to Harry Potter, I would've definitely put Snape on the poll. As it stands, I don't really want to give HP any attention. TL;DR answer: Because it's funnier that way

Q: But I LIKE that character :(

A: As mentioned before, I specifically gravitated more towards characters who are more divisive rather than universally hated. They are usually more interesting, and there is more variety with those types of characters - you don't have shitty dad character #1 vs. shitty dad character #2. I actually looked for "anti-(character)" tags and discourse about that character when making decisions about who to include. lol If you actually like some of these characters (uh, my condolences), vote against them in their respective matchups.

Q: Is it too late to suggest a replacement?

A: Yes.

Q: Why are you doing this?

A: I feed off of hatred and violence. I want to see who tumblr users REALLY hate.

Q: Why Pearl?

A: It was quite a while ago now so I get it if people don't remember, but Pearl discourse used to be a big thing and people argued that she was irredeemable for many of the things she did early on in the show. If you remember the "Pearl hates the Irish" meme, that was a parody of how much people hated her

Q: Why Hooty?

A: I haven't seen the Owl House but I'm told many people think he's annoying. Also he's voiced by Alex Hirsch and fuck that guy he did my boy Ford so dirty I'm still mad about this

Q: Why Starlight Glimmer?

A: MLP:FiM is another show I didn't really watch but she was a villain who got redeemed and became a main character and a lot of people think her redemption arc was rushed and botched and she actually made a lot of people quit watching the show. One of my close friends really really really hates her and I don't think that's an isolated incident

Q: Why Berdly?

A: Annoying. Personally I think his arc of becoming less annoying was pretty fun but a lot of people still hate him.

Q: Why Bakugo (instead of Mineta)?

A: I actually debated this a lot and held a preliminary poll which Mineta actually won. But then I decided democracy is dead because Mineta really wouldn't be as interesting as Bakugo in this tournament because he's basically universally hated. Bakugo is more interesting because people who hate him REALLY hate him, while people who love him REALLY love him. Kind of like Vriska. I think. I never read Homestuck and I don't plan on ever doing so.

Q: Why Tony Stark?

A: He's a heavily divisive character because he's a war profiteer billionaire with a superiority complex, but the narrative treats him as a morally pure hero. Also, he's MCU Spider-Man's mentor and most of MCU Spider-Man is basically defined by Tony Stark and he's not allowed to be his own character. There's a bunch of other stuff but I didn't watch and I don't care about most of the MCU. Personally I'm a really big Spider-Man fan and I despise him for what he did to Peter Parker but I shall refrain from making this a long rant.

Q: Why did you include characters that you're not familiar with?

A: I didn't want to exclusively have characters from my interests. I wanted a bit of variety. Before the poll started, I accepted submissions for candidates, and basically trusted submitters to send in decent characters. Some of the characters I ended up with may go against the vague guidelines I set for myself, which kind of sucks, but that's how it is now.

Q: This bracket sucks.

A: Make your own tournament then. I'm just some guy making a tournament on tumblr dot com for free. Don't take it too seriously.

[whencyclopedia]

Edward the Elder

Edward the Elder (r. 899-924) was the son of Alfred the Great (r. 871-899) and the King of the Anglo-Saxons in the early 10th century. He is known for his military victories over the Vikings of East Anglia and the East Midlands and for consolidating his dynasty's control over southern England.

In 865, about a decade before Edward was born, the Great Heathen Army invaded England, destroying the royal dynasties of several English kingdoms, including East Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria and establishing Viking rule across these territories. It fell upon Edward's father, King Alfred of Wessex, to lead the English resistance. He defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Edington in 878 and agreed to a peace treaty with their leader, Guthrum (d. 890), who retreated east to rule over much of the territory conquered by the great army, commonly referred to as 'The Danelaw'. Alfred would spend the next two decades fortifying Wessex, reforming the army and promoting learning and literacy amongst his subjects. He also brought Mercia under his overlordship, after which he took the title 'King of the Anglo-Saxons', denoting his rule over both the Mercians and the West Saxons.

Edward succeeded his father in 899. Most of what we know of his reign comes from a collection of land charters and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which presents him as a relentless and successful warrior-king. His epithet, 'the Elder', was not used during his life but was later used to distinguish him from his great-grandson, Edward the Martyr, King of England (r. 975-978). Though well-regarded as a ruler by medieval chroniclers and modern historians, Edward often remains in the shadow of his more illustrious father. However, there has been more interest in Edward recently due to the TV series The Last Kingdom, in which he is portrayed by Timothy Innes. Yet, the show depicts Edward as a king struggling to step out of his father's shadow, with many of his achievements being accredited to the show's protagonist, Uhtred of Bebbanburg.

Early Life

Edward was born c. 874-877. His parents, Alfred and Ealhswith (d. 902), a Mercian noblewoman, were married in 868. In addition to Edward, the couple had four more children: Aethelflaed (d. 918), who married the Ealdorman of Mercia and later ruled Mercia herself; Aethelgifu, who became the Abbess of Shaftesbury; Aelfthryth (d. 929) who married the Count of Flanders and another son, Aethelweard (d. 920). The earliest mention of Edward in contemporary sources comes from Bishop Asser – a Welsh priest and scholar at Alfred's court – in his work the Life of King Alfred. Asser recounts that Edward spent his youth at the king's court, studying religious and secular texts and was taught to show "humbleness, affability, and gentleness towards all." Edward was also trained in warfare, and while still in his teens, led the West Saxon army to victory over the Vikings at the Battle of Farnham in 893. Around the same time, he appears to have become a regular member of the king's council and married a woman named Ecgwynn, of whom we know little about, although the couple had a son, Aethelstan (d. 939), and a daughter, Edith.

Great Viking Army in England, 865-878 CE

Hel-hama (CC BY-SA)

In the final years of his father's reign, Edward was granted the title 'rex' (king), suggesting he had been appointed co-king alongside his father or, more likely, was given his own kingdom in Kent to provide him with experience ruling before he succeeded his father. Primogeniture (father-to-son succession) had not firmly been established in Wessex; succession was still elective to a certain degree, with the crown passing to the aetheling (prince), favoured by the nobility. Edward's main rival for the throne was his cousin Aethelwold (d. 902), the son of Alfred's brother, King Aethelred of Wessex (r. 865-871). As much of the West Saxon nobility owed their position to Alfred, they were naturally inclined to support Edward's succession, but his experience in warfare and royal administration went a long way to secure their support.

Continue reading...

[princesslunamoon19]

My Review on the Venom Trilogy

My god, can't believe I haven't make a blog review like fine wine. The reason I made a comeback blog mood because I finally watched Venom Trilogy from 1 and 2 was a movie marathon as the 3rd movie was on cinema in 2 days total. Therefore, it's just a share of my personal thoughts, opinions and criticism like after watch all 3 in a go as a fresh perspective.

Spoiler Alert!!!! for those who doesn't want to spoil basically knowing about all 3 trilogy of Venom (2018),(2021) and (2024) that I didn't warn u.

Venom (2018) Scoring: 8/10

A great introduction to the characters. Loves the concept that the protagonist is from a rational to a complete loser. The awkward moments are on point. Easy to remember the side characters' situations to motivation. The parasite lore is straightforward to understand. I like the story's antagonist's motive, evil, malicious, and cunning. The depth of the antagonist is Chef Kiss ~ Also, I like Dr. Dora plot and sabotage Drake plans and the very scene she's stuck with Drake of confession is thill. The Dymanic between main protagonist and love interest is comedy base even tho making the intention of doing the back and forth situation. Adding another the 3rd party (Dan) is alright even tho he just there in scenes happen. The protagonist shows a good depth of evolution of acceptance and grief in his situations and learning his mistakes.

Is more towards gore than horror. Introduction of Parasite travel building intense is good hype watching the first time. Comedy is up tops that middle part onwards. The action scenes are epic with slow effects and quick moments are hype. The ending is cute as an opinion.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) Scoring: 6/10

A complex story plot with a good follow becomes the focus of the story. Love the villain power dynamic and backstory pilling up on them. Enjoy the male antagonist really carries the movie. The female antagonist is somewhat a mix when the red parasite interfere about it. This is just me but, I really don't like her powers using at moments by moments or the red parasite demanding her to mute.

The actions scenes are chaotic good during the beginning and middle part as for close to the ending, I felt is a bit fast pacing. As for the police investigator guy, Love interest and 3rd party really don''t put up the fight by capture by villains tactics. Also Dan do something yay. As how it ends is more on symbolic to the 1st film about self-reflection and communication of understanding a person to another.

Venom: The Last Dance (2024) Scoring: 4/10

The story plot is a whole and very contradicting to the 1st movie. The Codex MacGuffin is bad. stupid. dumb. Necessary to rely upon the entire story. God of the Void, really lacks and might as well he has a sidekick into the story to make it interesting. I don't even want to compare the comics. Way to much things going on that protagonist need to deal with Goverment and Aliens which I'm good with that concept but is travelling action movements which doesn't cover up the backstory of how Venom got the MacGuffin? To be honest, the entire of Rex, Dr. Panye and Chirstimas Tree is a mess as Rex idk was he an antagonist or he is an idiot. Dr Panye backstory is very filter and really doesn't help of the plot and Chirstimas Tree... I don't know what she do as one side with Dr. Panye then side Rex then again back to Panye... OH I AM AWARE THEY ARE SHOWING GAY SYMBOLIC BUT BRUH filter is doesn't help with the story.

The only thing I like throughout the movie is different colour parasite to the host and fight which I don't know how are the host alive ? As didn't the 1st film said along with "maintain a perfect host" but I guess that's dump now. As for the family trip thing, even tho is filter but is better than scenes showing on Rex, Dr. Panye and Christimas Tree in their own space waiting for shit to happened.

Lastly the ending in fighting scenes... they really save the entire plot showing acid is the tool to burn shit and I seriously don't know what the hell that let the main character btw haven't seen the acid only knows the acid by plot convenience. Loosing Venom is ugh.... like there are better ways to kill off a character in my opinion. Espeically, I understand the ending scene but... it doesn't really pilling up of symbolic to appreciate of empathy and resentful to life. I think what kill the message is plot convenience.

Overall of likes and dislikes characters:

Best Character: MRS CHEN!!!! in all 3 films. Hands down my favourite character in the entire series.

Least Character: God of the Void. Really no idea what he is doing.

Best Villain : Drake the businessman.

Overall Personal Ranking:

Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)

Venom (2018)

Venom The Last Dance (2024)

[iwtvfanevents]

Rewind the Tape —Episode 6

Art of the episode

Just like we did for the pilot and for episodes two, three, four, and five, we took note of the art shown and mentioned in the 6th episode while we rewatched it.

Love's Coming-Of-Age: a series of papers on the relations of the sexes

Edward Carpenter, 1896

Carpenter was an English writer and philosopher, and an early activist for gay rights and prison reform. In the opening of the episode, Louis is shown to be reading his essay "Marriage, a retrospective" you can read this essay, as well as the rest of the book, in the Internet Archive, here.

The Poems of Emily Dickinson

First collected and published in 1890

Dickinson was an American poet who published only ten of her approximate 1800 poems during her life. Before her passing, Dickinson had asked her sister to burn her writings, and you can read more about how her sister Lavinia came to publish them instead, with major editions, in this LitHub piece.

Pelléas et Mélisande

Claude Debussy & Maurice Maeterlinck, 1902

Referenced in Lestat's lyrics, this is an opera in five acts about a love triangle, which ends in tragedy for both its titular heroes, the mysterious Mélisande and her husband's younger brother, Pélleas. An interesting detail: after Pelléas and Mélisande's demise, they are survived by their daughter.

Three Peaches on a Stone Plinth

Adriaen Coorte, 1705

Coorte was a Dutch Golden Age painter of mostly small, intimate still lifes, and little is known of his life.

Still Life with Blue Vase and Mushrooms

Otto Scholderer, 1891

Scholderer was a German painter of portraits and still lifes, and was acquainted with another painter we've seen already, Manet.

Cumulus Clouds, East River

Robert Henri, 1901-1902

Henri was an American painter, first featured in episode one.

[All three identified by @diasdelfuego.]

After Lestat moves back into the house, new furniture, new decorations and new art appear all over, leaving little trace of the previous domestic violence (that is, except for the "reminders" that Claudia insists on keeping).

La Nausée

Jean-Paul Sartre, 1938 [Identified by @saintarmand, here.]

A recent release at the time of this scene, this novel by French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre deals with an isolated and melancholy protagonist.

Baby Strange

T. Rex, 1972

The song playing during Louis and Daniel's first meeting is by an English band, an early example of the glam rock genre.

If you spot or put a name to any other references, share via DM or in the reblogs, and let us know if you'd like us to add them with credit to the post!

Starting tonight, we will be rewatching and discussing the finale, ...The Thing Lay Still. We hope to see you there! And, if you're just getting caught up, learn all about our group rewatch here ►

[jinxekkotimebomb]

The reason I love Rex as a protagonist so much is that he has some stereotypes of typical protagonists of JRPG stories. Kind-hearted, optimistic, 'dense' and gets the girl in the end. However, beneath the surface, he's a much more interesting character that people tend to give him credit for.

He was orphaned when he was young. His father and mother died trying to save Rex, and he ended up in Fonsett raised by Corinne and his foster siblings. Rather than wallow in despair of his situation, which would be understandable to others, he decides to instead try to help others around him.

He becomes a salvager, both out of a desire to help his family but also to search for 'Elysium' which in Rex's eyes is a place that can be the start to a better world for everyone. Rex becomes fixated on this dream to a degree where he's unable to focus on anything else.

To Rex, this hope for a better world where people won't have to suffer is a coping mechanism. Without this dream, Rex would lose hope and despair in the world similar to how Jin did when he lost Lora and ended up taking by his desires of revenge.

Rex nearly lost hope a few times on his journey. First time when Pyra and Mythra were kidnapped and Nia and the rest had to snap him out of it. The other when he finally reached Elysium, and he realised that the place he dreamed over wasn't how he pictured.

If not for his friends and allies who accompanied him on his journey, Rex wouldn't be able to keep up his sense of self. However, due to everything he experienced on his journey, his desires for helping others became stronger and stronger.

Pyra and Mythra's love for Rex makes sense to me. Rex is the first person to ever see them as individuals and now 'the Aegis' a power to be used. Nia's love for Rex also came from a similar place. Rex loves the world and all the people who are different from him.

I love how Xenoblade 2 portrays Rex's growth from a young, immature child who wanted a world where suffering didn't exist, to a man who became a pillar of hope for many and helped the world change in the way he wanted, with the help of those who helped him change.

[xenoblademisadventures]

Which Xenoblade protagonist would win in a fight?

Assuming they're fighting 1v1v1v1, Elma would win, because she does not need the power of friendship to shoot a man.

If we allow love interests to assist, seeing how at least half of the protagonists are quite literally married to their swords, Rex would win. He simply has the numbers advantage.

[supremechancellorrex]

I can see why a lot of casual viewers struggled to care about the Ahsoka show. I struggled to care and I've been watching Ahsoka's character journey since 2008. The operative word being "character", because the Ahsoka I saw in the Ahsoka show was a shadow of the character I once knew. Older and wiser doesn't have to mean boring and stiff, but that's the direction they went with as they had Ahsoka 'struggle' with the fallout of events that happened off-screen. And any interesting moments we did have soon played second fiddle to budget LiveAction!Sabine and Ezra, because apparently upstaging the main protagonist who the show is named after and cutting their screentime to accommodate Sabine throwing a strop at her temporary animal ride for not wanting to get fried is what passes for writing these days in Star Wars.

The fact they let LiveAction!Hera and Jacen (*shudders*) keep interrupting Ahsoka's Clone War flashbacks and take up valuable time was just the urine on the cow crap pie. We could have seen more Captain Rex, Ahsoka's best friend who always had her back all her life, but we didn't, which shows how much they care for the source material and bringing these characters to life.

[power-handmaiden]

Day 87: Domald Tromp Pounded In The Butt By The Handsome Russian T-Rex Who Also Peed On His Butt And Then Blackmailed Him With The Videos Of His Butt Getting Peed On

Yesterday's topic of fake news, unfortunately, never stopped being relevant. The pee tape, though? This one definitely anchors me in its place in the reading timeline. It's a fun bit of recent history to revisit.

Unsurprisingly for anyone familiar enough with Dr. Tingle's presence online, he does a good job of embracing that moment where we were all laughing at the pee tape, without mocking or shaming the expression of kinky sexuality. The story is more interested in criticizing the protagonist Domald Tromp for acting only in self-interest, and as someone who never considers that he might face any consequences for his actions.

I'll be honest, I mentioned this when I read the last Tromp story, I can't get into the sex scenes when he is a participant. Still, I appreciate that this Tromp is capable of a little more self-reflection than at higher layers of the Tingleverse, and at the end recognizes our need for some levity in difficult times. Just like the pee tape news itself, this story was something to make people smile at a time when there was a lot to worry about.

[nitrateglow]

Spooky Season 2024: 37-38

The Vanishing (dir. George Sluzier, 1988)

During a road trip through the French countryside, a young woman named Saskia inexplicably disappears at a gas station. Last spotted getting into a stranger's car, she is never seen again. For three years, her boyfriend Rex-- who had accompanied her on the trip-- is torn with grief and obsession, the uncertainty of Saskia's fate ruining his life. However, he is contacted by a person who claims to have been the man last seen with Saskia. He offers Rex a chance to find out just what happened that day, though the offer may be deadly.

I'm just going to be upfront: a movie hasn't disappointed me so much in a long time. The Vanishing is a beloved piece of work, often hyped to hell and back as the most chilling movie of all time. Stanley Kubrick allegedly thought it was the scariest film he'd ever seen. As a result-- and this is embarrassing to admit-- I was lowkey nervous about watching The Vanishing. I literally put off watching it for years.

Well, I finally saw it and... it's fine. A decent psychological film, but nothing I would deem a classic. I wasn't chilled and the ending-- which so many people describe as a sucker-punch-- well... I did not have the same reaction. The payoff didn't seem worth what struck me as a very tedious film.

I love me a good slow-burn, but this film's story didn't grip me like I thought it would. You're told who the kidnapper is from the start and the movie is more about learning WHAT happened than WHO dunnit. It's about the main character finding closure after this terrible thing happened to a loved one. He isn't even interested in getting justice, only getting knowledge. I love that idea and think it's a unique angle on this kind of thriller, but the execution was just lackluster. The characters are presented in a cold, emotionally detached way, and I didn't really feel much suspense, especially once the protagonist and antagonist started engaging in lengthy philosophical discussion. It's all very remote emotionally-- that's likely the director's intention but it just didn't work for me.

That being said, it's not like I hated this movie, because it does a lot well. The sociopathic kidnapper is especially interesting. He's presented as an unassuming family man and not an obvious creep, making his malevolence more chilling and believable. The creepiest thing in the movie for me was not the shock ending, but the scenes of the villain figuring out how to lure women into his car so he could sedate them with chloroform. The matter of fact presentation worked well there. (Also, his weird facial hair is terrifying enough on his own.)

Now, it could be I just hyped The Vanishing too much in my head. I was expecting something like Don't Look Now, a slowburn chiller about grief with a horrifying ending that stayed with me for days. That movie brims with passion though and this one is much icier. Now, that clearly works for most people. It just didn't click with me.

Pearl (dir. Ti West, 2022)

It's 1918 and Pearl lives a life of lonely tedium on a Texas farm with her German immigrant parents. Her mother is a harsh, cold taskmaster. Her father is paralyzed and borderline vegetative. Her husband is off to war. The farm animals are dying off and poverty lurks constantly. The one thing keeping her going is her dream of movie stardom. However, when this dream proves tougher to achieve than realized and her home life deteriorates even more, Pearl's sociopathy pushes her over the edge.

Tonally and visually, Pearl could not be more different from The Vanishing. The Vanishing is no frills and detached, while Pearl sports a Douglas Sirk color palette and boils its lead character's emotions to a fever pitch by the finale. Writing-wise, I was disappointed by both, largely due to pacing. The middle sections in both movies drag a bit.

However, I had a better time with Pearl and that goes down to Mia Goth in the title role. She is ASTONISHING, one of the best villain-protagonists I have ever seen. Her loneliness and desire to escape her bad home life make her understandable and even sympathetic to a degree, but she is still a dangerous character, unable to empathize with other people. At turns, she broke my heart and scared the shit out of me.

An important thing to note is that this is a prequel to an earlier film by the same director, X. I have not seen that movie and know basically nothing about it, other than it's a pastiche of '70s exploitation horror. That being said, I still thoroughly enjoyed Pearl and didn't feel I was missing any key information. It's a stylish, slowburn thriller and though the middle sags a bit, I would still highly recommend it.

[blackkatmagic]

That was a very satisfying calf stabbing! and padmé! ah, yes, very good! i love how granta is collecting loyalty and building a family, learning how it is when peolpes love you and are family. that whole interaction with hevy was so so Good! this is a coming of age story where the protagonist learn it's good to love and be love (and he only met his love interest twice!)

xD Excuse you it's been three times, assuming we're counting the moment where Granta lied to Rex's face about having red paint all over him.

[clueless-fan-critic]

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse: The Edge of the Sony’s Spider-Verse.

Alright. Let’s get to the meat of the business sandwich.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is the sequel to 2018 smash hit film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse that honestly broke all of my expectations about the film being a two-parter with too much info. I honestly loved the movie just as much as the first with its iconic animation style, charming characters, and impactful story. Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson, it felt like the film was greatly cohesive without any confusion to the plot. It feels as if the film was not just a mandatory assignment but also a passion project made in the years before it was production. While I’m a fan of Marvel and the MCU (to some degree), I’ve definitely became a Spider-Verse fan.

Let us get into this Spider-Man classic once again.

The Animation

Alright. Let’s get this out of the way.

The animation was incredible and awe-inspiring much like the first film, but pushed into overdrive. Each animated world has its own style that reflects a different version of Spider-Man. From Hobie Brown’s collage-like style to Pavitr Prabhakar’s bollywood inspired environment. Gwen’s dimension is especially colorful with the watercolor style reflecting her comic book covers. Almost every character has a distinct style to their animation from 1960s campy to 90s angst. While the movie visually stunning and dynamic, let’s get into what’s going on story wise.

The Characters

The main characters of the movie are definitely Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy. They both are different sides of the story that reflect the theme of who someone is as Spider-Man and what kind of story they have or what they want out of life. In a way, it continues the ideas and themes about expectations with choosing their own path in spite of others’ opinions and expectations.

Afro-Latino protagonist Miles is someone who’s dealing with the crossroads of who he wants be while grappling with the expectations from his family. He’s also struggling with balancing his two lives as a teen and a superhero with his responsibilities to his family. When face-to-face with Miguel O’Hara, the Spider-Man of 2099, and the fact about canon events, Miles chooses to go against it believing he can save people without risking the Spider-Verse. The phrase “I can do both” is what caught my attention because it is possible for some people, but not a choice for Spider-People in that they must experience canon events for the sake of the Spider-Verse.

Gwen is faced with the rigid expectations of what it means to be Spider-Man and how she faces the choices she makes. Gwen makes the decision to go against Miguel and the Spider-Society to save Miles on the wrong Earth, deciding to become her own hero that she wants to believe in.

The Spot, Johnathan Ohnn, is the main villain of the movie with his power to make dimensional portals after the collider exploded in the previous film. They at first portray him more of a joke character, but then slowly build him into a terrifying threat with colossal amounts of power at his hands. This is shocking because I always thought of him as a lackluster villain despite having a cool power. They actually made what could of been a joke into someone more terrifying in concept alone.

The numerous cameos from the Spider-Society range from interesting to hilarious. One of them is an obscure spider-person in a wheelchair and with crutches named Charlotte Webber or Sun-Spider of Earth-20023. Others include a cowboy, cat, t-rex, and even dune buggy. They all could just be glorified cameos with no substance, but they actually bring out the abstract craziness of the Spider-Verse and what it means for future of the franchise as a whole.

The Story

The whole story centers around Miles Morales and his journey into becoming Spider-Man, but also Gwen’s journey and how the Spider-Verse is being threatened by the Spot.

The villain is definitely the Spot and his crusade to destroy Miles, but the antagonist is Miguel O’Hara’s ideology about the Spider-Verse. Miguel’s insistence of maintaining the order of the Spider-Verse goes directly against Miles’ idea of what it means to be Spider-Man. Miles wants to save his father from a fated death as a police captain, but Miguel wants to let it play out so that the universe isn’t destroyed because of canon events.

The idea of canon events creates the division among the Spider-People where they choose to let people die to preserve the universe or risk its destruction. This idea is pretty similar to what Doctor Strange presented in No Way Home with letting the villains die than risk the universe. I think because Miles doesn’t follow the canon, he can break the cycle that all the Spider-People endure and have them even question the very system they follow.

I liked how the story left us on a cliffhanger that made us crave more of the movies and possible spinoffs. Leaving us wondering what will happen to Miles on Earth 42 with his evil doppelgänger or what Gwen’s plan is now that she’s leading a splinter team against Miguel and the Spider-Society.

Afterword

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a miracle in the landscape of sequels and two-parters. It has pushed itself to a whole new level of animation with unique colors and styles. The story and characters are pushed to their limits with dilemmas of preservation and duty along with freedom of choice and finding one’s way. It reminds us that no matter who you are, you can still be unsure of what you want and still be okay with questioning things.

Now I can’t wait for Beyond the Spider-Verse next year.

[bluef00t]

speaking of Atomic Robo and Hellboy, one similarity they have that I've always thought was interesting outside of all the staple pulp stuff was the "government granted human status." it's more of a point of tension for Robo than it is for Hellboy (as far as I remember), but do you have any thoughts on it? It feels kind of unnecessary cause I don't think it would really stop them from doing what they do if they didn't have it, but it is an interesting bit of lore that's unique to them.

Answering this and the related asks under the cut:

(annoying pedant voice) really, everyone's legal human status is "government granted". But I get what you mean. I suspect it's a byproduct of needing a ~super durable ageless inhuman~ protagonist who can still move around the world the way any human character could. And you're right, it's almost an afterthought in Hellboy.

I suppose it's largely genre: fantasy horror focuses on the spiritual and science fiction focuses on the material. For Hellboy, the true battle for his humanity is over his soul, his destiny, which are very tangible concepts in his world! Does he have the free will to live as a man when he was created and summoned as a pawn to bring about Ragnarok? Even he isn't sure, and the question upsets him as much as it does anyone in charge of him.

Logical issues like voting + property rights are more relevant to Robo's world. Tech is regulated by some major government agencies, covering his life's work and his body. Robo is sure he's a person in every way that matters; that's not a point of debate. But starting Tesladyne was made possible by deliberate PR + legal decisions recognizing him as Tesla's heir rather than his property.

It's interesting, placing these side-by-side. Usually fictional robots are the face of predetermined purpose (and the struggle to transcend that) while demons are figures of chaotic freedom (and clever navigation through rules and deals which bind them). But Hellboy is rewarded for filling a role he was practically raised for; Robo takes a rather Faustian bargain behind his dad's back. Those swapped patterns recur all over both series' humor and drama.

I guess government-granted humanity has been a point of tension for both—in Conqueror Worm, Hellboy quits the BPRD over how they treat another nonhuman agent as dangerous and disposable, and in Savage Sword of Dr. Dinosaur, the media circus around the missing WMDs includes a call to reclassify Robo as a weapon—but there's never a moment where losing human status is an actual threat. It's not like the "war on terror" has any trouble dehumanizing actual humans; and let's be honest, Hellboy has MUCH bigger problems on his hands. (Hand?)

That's something Alan has in common with Hellboy. "Does the government think you're a person?" kind of takes a back seat to "so are you going to end the world when you grow up?"

Robo's vamps are functionally just fast zombies while Hellboy gets the full package of classical vampire lore. Though they both have exceptions, Rex Cannon as a pretentious scheming science vampire and those Nazi experiments as mindless infected fantasy vampires.

Vampires are a pretty broad pulp category though and there are WAY wackier enemy similarities, like, both comics I mentioned last section end with a giant Worm-that-looks-like-a-caterpillar erupting out of the ground?

Every time I think about the overlap, particularly in the early volumes, I remember this (Q&A with Clevinger on somethingawful)

I don't know if this is funnier if he means the '04 or '08 movie, since Scott Wegener is doing such an obvious Mignola pastiche on the first couple issues. Like, was that resignation, or a "oh I just assumed we were on the same page about that" moment. Also, interesting to cite Shadow from Beyond Time as the point of divergence from Hellboy, since that's the most Lovecraft that Atomic Robo has ever gotten. But I'd say the same thing. Maybe the similar enemy makes the differing approach that much more obvious.

Right, this question was about vampires. Pour one out for every Hellboy enemy with a world-takeover plan who got interrupted by Rasputin's Kaiju Ragnarok Hell World Extravaganza. You know, it really takes guts to end your world and mean it.

I like it a lot!

I'm not 100% sure what "genuine" means to you. "Authentic" in style? The Lobster and Jack Tarot are such direct homages that I'd only have a miniseries' worth of interest in them alone before I hit the "why am I not reading an actual period comic, again?" point. But they're quite fun as archetypes of genre history for our main character to look up to.

(I almost said "to have as a role model", but maybe not. The Lobster and Jack Tarot are definitely played as shooting in the face first, asking questions never.)

To extend their adventures to the modern day, the Hellboy/Atomic Robo/Tom Strong style of neo-pulp protagonist ends up a bit super-human. (Really, they're just continuing the pulp tradition of constantly surviving things that should definitely kill a normal person.) But they avoid the kiiinda condescending attitude some superhero authors have towards unpowered pulp-homage mentors, maybe because they're inheriting not just an aesthetic or idealized sense of justice, but the whole adventure philosophy. Their new abilities aren't here to make the old guard obsolete.

Not that they don't get a bit of genre shock. Lobster Johnson the proto-superhero dies trying to stop a crazy Lovecraft fantasy Nazi scheme—but death in the world of Hellboy is not as simple as "failure", and becomes a part of the fantasy-horror landscape himself when he helps out Abe in the 21st century. Jack Tarot the crime-fighter spends an embarrassed climax scene tied up and dumbfounded by the sci-fi nonsense he stumbled into, but Helen picks up right where he left off. Actually, Robo's world is friendly to a number of genre heroes—the Sparrow, the She-Devils, and the Science Team Super Five.

Maybe by "genuine" you meant "real in-world"? In that case, I actually like that they play both sides. A bit of the pulp magic is stored in the medium and the funny ways that kids latch onto fiction before they know how to sort it out from reality.

I also appreciate that the net is thrown wider than just comics: Hellboy reads pulp periodicals and was in a crappy B movie once (though that's not exactly a happy memory), while Robo as a 1920s kid is into radio plays. (I wonder how he feels about the rise of podcasts?)

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I don't think my brain really reads things "out loud". I can say if a voice sounds wrong to me, but I never know what's right until I hear it. I can at least say that pre-WWII Robo has a more boyish golly-gee-willikers tone in my head.

Weird side note, but half this post has been weird side notes so I might as well say it: I found the Atomic Robo Nuts and Bolts podcast and was not prepared for what either artist or writer sounded like. Based on online presence alone (and, okay, maybe my personal stereotypes of comic writers vs artists) I would have guessed they were the other way around entirely. Even knowing now, Martin and Louis still don't have "voices" in my head!

[dany36]

after months of putting it off i finally finished xc3 future redeemed with 25ish hours in yaaaay time to put this thing to rest with some extremely junk thoughts below (with spoilers of course)

i gotta be honest, i wasn't really looking forward to playing through this dlc ever since it was announced. it came out in...what? april? may? i forget, but it was around the time that i was playing the dlc for horizon and then i think totk dropped after that and i just kept using that as excuses to not pick it up and play through it. plus i wasn't a fan of the design for older shulk (yeah yeah i know inspiration from dunban but idk just personal preference that i didn't vibe with it) and well rex is probably my least favorite protagonist tied with the dude from tales of arise (lmao i forgot his name), and really overall i didn't care to play as them again, so i mean not the most perfect material for me to look forward to.

anyways, some positives:

-seeing colony 9 again was cool but the excitement to callbacks to places in xenoblade 1 kind of wore off in xc3. so when i heard the original colony 9 overworld music it didn't make me flip my shit as when i would see references to it in the base game. it was more of a oh that's cool i guess. same with valak mountain even though when i played DE i was so excited to see it again.

-might be because it was a dlc and the world wasn't as unnecessarily huge and empty to explore as in the base game but i actually was having a better time exploring this world than the base game's. finding relics and containers was actually useful and rewarding (and necessary i'd say!) this time around instead of finding your nth useless drop-off container or whatever those things were in the base game that i just stopped bothering to pick up.

-oh in comparison to finding and sending of husks which i again lost incentive to do very early in the game, finding city survivors was better because at least you would get to see colony 9 grow etc.

-the chain attacks are still as fun as ever and FR is no exception. it was great hearing the chain attack music again!

-i felt like the bosses were harder this time around? alpha kicked my butt several times before i was able to beat him. i mean i certainly didn't have the best gems (sorry, not gonna go farming!) and didn't unlock all the slots for accessories/gems/affinity growth but it was a nice change having to be on my toes and carefully plan my chain attacks instead of just doing whatever like i would do in the base game lol.

-glimmer actually? sorry that your dad is rex but your healing powers saved my ass so many times in the last battle that now you get an honorific mention. like...this girl was just ON. TOP. OF. IT. i'm a bit confused about the instrument theme that she had going on though--was this an xc2 reference that i'm forgetting or something? like did pyra/mythra really like music? lol. anyway i really liked her and nikol's friendship and the bits that we got to see of it, it's why i never changed their unity combo because they are besties and they always attack together :) OH and that sidequest that ends with A volunteering to teach glimmer how to play the lute was cute, especially since that sometimes you get to see them practicing together at rest spots. i wish we had gotten more types of those sidequests but well, can't have it all i suppose.

-A. i was very wary about her character starting the dlc but she actually ended up growing on me, design-wise and battle-style wise. her friendship with matthew was interesting and i liked how she would compliment matthew's wild and reckless side. idk not much to say here other than i thought she was cool despite me being judgement about her character initially lol.

-matthew. pretty fun protagonist. it was like having reyn as a protagonist except with a bit more smarts. again i was wary about his character starting off but his personality as a protagonist was refreshing and he was pretty fun to play as, too.

the negatives:

-the secret locations were...pretty lame? they were in the base game as well so idk what i expected. i'd get to a secret location and i'd be like oh....is that it? i don't remember xc2's secret locations or how they'd compare but i know most of the time xc1's would get a little bit more of a reaction from me.

-the affinity scenes oh my god. they were so boring and meaningless to watch most of the time. i think i watched at least like 80% of them and there wasn't really anything that would make me look forward to watching them like xc1 future connected's. i think in one of them you're just talking about the fighting machines that they're building in colony 9? or looking at a tomb?? like idk i certainly wouldn't feel like i was growing my "affinity" with any of the party members! plus the fact that they were just like shots of the scene you were looking at instead of seeing the characters interact (like with FC's) would just make them feel even more souless. idk maybe i'm just so jaded about this whole thing now but i just didn't really feel it when shulk talked about fiora at the overlook park or dunban outside of his house. i guess it also doesn't help that he's talking about them with people who don't know anything about his world so that must be weird to him too. so i mean idk i'd always look forward to the heart-to-hearts in xc1 and affinity scenes in FC and here it was just like maybe one or two that i was like "wow i'm so glad i got to see this!"

-ok this is pretty random and i'm not sure it's a negative but i was just reminded of this when talking about the previous point: towards the end the whole party is walking together towards prison island and within earshot of everyone else shulk is talking to A and he's like "hey, A, when I refused to become a god..." like lmao imagine being nikol or glimmer and hearing THAT sentence. like WHAT hahahaha like SIR what do you mean!!!! anyway!!!

-na'el. i'm sorry but...why am i supposed to care about her again other than she is matthew's sister? she likes kids and likes to play the piano? unlike N who i got to sympathize with after learning his origins, i never really cared much for na'el and actually was like "whatever lady, i don't care much for you!" whenever she'd show up, so i wasn't able to really to connect to matthew's struggle or whatever. like i know she's supposed to remind us of N/moebius with her being like "i don't wanna fight anymore i just want things to stay as peaceful as they are RIGHT NOW in the city!!" but idk i never found her character to be too sympathetic or interesting for me to care about, so her whole thing was just....pretty weak to me which is kinda bad considering how much of the game seems to revolve around her.

-again this isn't exactly a negative but one thing that confused me was that i'm PRETTY sure matthew mentions the queen of keves being imprisoned in the castle, which is something that nia also mentions when you rescue her in the base game. so is the reason why shulk and them are not worried about that atm is because...of the truce...with Z...and...alpha being the main threat?? i mean I GUESS but unless i misunderstood (not sure because as soon as i heard that i was like uhh HELLO??) it just seems kind of weird knowing that melia is captured (unless matthew meant the "fake" melia which to him would be the "real" one since he wouldn't know) and they're just like yep!! that's right! she's imprisoned! anyways.

uhhh this is getting way longer than i wanted it to be so i'm just gonna wrap it up and say yep, that was A DLC alright. i mean again this is just me being jaded but after i finished xc2 and saw that they were trying to connect xc1 with xc2 i was just like...why lol. considering how i thought xc1 ended pretty well?? i just never really cared about how this whole thing would connect, so i don't really remember ANYTHING about xc2 other than how much i did NOT enjoy it, i never played its dlc because i didn't care about the lore. while i was playing the dlc i know some xc2 stuff flew right over my head, and i'm rusty on my xc1 lore, but again, xc2 disappointed me so badly that i just never really bothered to keep up with the overall lore. i enjoyed some parts of xc3 yes but after i finished it i was never like oh i hope they make a dlc of this and that!!! unlike when i finished xc1, where i DID want to play Future Connected because of how miserably things ended for melia in regards to her dead family, her people, her half-sister who apparently hated her (BUT LUCKILY RECONNECTED WITH AT THE END), and her whole hometown being fucking destroyed. might be me being biased because melia is like one of my favorite characters ever but i mean...who wouldn't want to know what would happen post-xc1 to such a tragic character? which is kind of funny to say considering that we more than likely would not have gotten FC if it hadn't been for xc2 lol.

anyway, overall i don't really feel too strongly about this dlc. i was just mostly going through the motions and trying to get it done so i can just move on with my life lol, i got other games to play. like sure it was great seeing the worlds at the end unite once and for all and apparently there were some xenosaga references towards the end to make this whole thing be in the same universe (which flew over my head since i'm not that familiar with xenosaga), so that's cool and all, but idk rex and shulk sacrificing themselves and the game trying to make me feel sad by having nikol and glimmer run up to them because those are their dads!!! ;( just made me shrug and be like "ok i guess??" yeah i'm tired lol.

oh well, for now time to wait for the next game in the xeno series!!!!