#and some villains make cameos at the end ^v^

[pabsterthelobster]

The "Ascended" Spidersonas

For the third volume of Spider-Verse comics that came out in 2019, the concept of the "Spidersona" that was popularized by the release of the animated film Into the Spider-Verse was acknowledged by way of integrating three different Spidersonas each issue into the comic multiverse through short character profiles at the end of each issue. The former half of these 18 characters would even show up in the final issue of the run in person, with Sun-Spider getting some particularly special treatment afterwards.

Spidersona hero names are bolded and real names (if avaliable) are in parentheses.

Issue 1

Spider-Requiem (Polymnia Swan) of Earth-98117: Created by Cotton Valent from Thailand, Ms. Swan, named after the Greek Muse of Dance, hides her scarred face with her mask and uses her webs to control handmade puppets in combat.

Spinster of Earth-93191: Made by Antonio Demico of France with a design inspired by both the French Revolution and the original Madame Web, the Spinster can generate webs from her prehensile hair which she can then use to spy on conversation like a

V of Earth-43890: As written by V-0-3 from Poland, V is a robotic Spider who lives in Kyoto in the year 2177 who fights crime both physically and digitally, being able to connect herself to the internet to stop cybercrimes.

Issue 2

Spidair of Earth-91202: As written by Dice Shimi of France, Spidair was bitten by a spider from a space laborabtory and possesses thick skin that protects him from extreme temperature immunity as well as the ability to glow brightly to blind enemies.

Sea-Spider of Earth-19192: Being able to breathe underwater and wielding a hook and grappling pistols, the sona provided by the UK's James Gifford is a Spanish nobleman who sails the seas aboard his ship the Aracne.

Spider-Sting of Earth-38418: As explained by Tori Apiradee, Spider-Sting's powers are more acidic in nature, with webs that can erode concrete and bricks.

Issue 3

Sun-Spider (Charlotte "Charlie" Webber) of Earth-20023: Considered the breakout hit of these sonas, Dayna Broder's Sun-Spider has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which makes her hyper-flexible at the cost of needing to use crutches and a wheelchair for stability. She has received her own dedicated story in Edge of the Spider-Verse as well as a vocal cameo in Across the Spider-Verse.

Garden-Spider (Petunia Parker) of Earth-71925: After being shrunken down in size, Petunia tends to her garden, swinging from the flowers like they were skyscrapers to fight against villainous insects like the Aphid. Her creator is Alyssa Ragni of the US.

White Widow (Venice Doadi) of Earth-23233: Carly Henson describes this sona as coming from a future timeline, possessing the ability to secrete toxins from her bare skin, which she coats both her webs and clawed fingers with.

[soleminisanction]

What comic issue did the whole kon v steph showdown happen? In which he basically called her a poser? I’m wondering what the rest of the young justice teams reaction to her was. I think greta tried to kill her at one point? I don’t think she’s very well liked among that team, but it also makes me wonder if she’s very well liked in the wider hero community at all besides her small group of vigilantes she’s enmeshed herself with through getting involved w Tim and to a lesser extent Batman? What are your views?

Teen Titans (2003) issue #13:

That's it in its entirety. The bit with Tim and Conner is very much the story's B-plot, the A-plot is focused on Beast Boy and the rest of the Titans back in San Fran.

As for Steph and Greta -- it is true that Greta is the one member of YJ that Steph ever truly interacted with during that time period. I actually wrote up a whole thing here about the arc of those interactions, but it was kind of off-topic with your question and also long enough that it really deserves its own post, especially because lining it all up together without the multi-year gap between plot points gave me a revelation about how the story actually went.

I'm going to try to get that post up in the next day or so to prove my point but the summation here is: the first time they met, Greta explicitly didn't try to kill Steph -- but afterwards, Steph framed it as "she tried to kill me in a jealous rage" and people took Steph's side because part of Greta's story was that her "good people bad powers" thing made her kind of sus and that's what eventually drove her to join Darksied.

So while Steph did get mentioned in YJ, including getting brought in to help as part of the invasion of Zandia in issues 50-52, her only significant contribution there was a very brief stand-off with Greta and getting stuck in a bubble with a several other 90's characters who I'm pretty sure don't exist anymore.

The only other person I recognize here is Lagoon Boy. The pink filter doesn't help.

Other than that, the only interaction Steph's had with any member of Tim's friend group is the one issue of Teen Titans (2003), #66, where they're doing this membership drive thing and Steph (recently back from faking her death) tags along so they can pretend that maaaaybe she's going to join the team, but actually she's just there to have a very brief interaction with Traci 13 and Bombshell.

And an even briefer, awkward stare-down with Cassie that's only there because she and Tim's budding romance had been awkwardly cut short just so he could back to Steph the very instant she got back from faking her death no matter how little sense that made.

And then Steph wasn't even interested in joining the team anyway she was just there for quote, "moral support" as Tim told Cassie he needed to take a break for a while and focus on the pre-Final Crisis chaos going down in Gotham.

Stephanie has never spoken to Bart, Anita, Slobo, or Ray so far as I know. She's never even met Cissie because the Arrowette who went to Zandia turned out to be Bonnie in disguise.

Pre-Flashpoint, the only other people she'd met outside of Gotham are Supergirl (whom she met in World's Finest (2009)) and Squire, who's still technically a Bat even if she lives in England. Stargirl and Miss Martian show up alongside Bombshell and Supergirl towards the end of Steph's solo series but they come out of nowhere only because BQM had wanted to make them part of Steph's entourage at some point but didn't get the chance, so I don't really count them. Nor do I count her showing up in a group shot at the end of the Gail Simone Wonder Woman, since that was just a line-up of cameos from every female hero she could get at the time.

So with all that as the preamble, to answer your second question: no, I don't think Steph is very well-liked by the wider superhero community. I also don't think she's disliked. I think the vast majority of heroes and villains have no idea who she is.

If they know her at all, it's probably as, "That girl in the purple that Cass is always hanging out with" or "Robin's ex-girlfriend who faked her death that one time" or maybe even as, "There was a girl Robin at some point right? I feel like I heard that somewhere," particularly since there was a big media shake-up after War Games. Heck, they might even know her as, "Cluemaster's daughter; she runs with the Bats, yeah? Heh, sucks to be Arthur" since he's actually gotten around more than her just by virtue of being on the Suicide Squad.

But as Spoiler, as Batgirl, as a hero? Basically unknown outside of Gotham. She's always been too much of a supporting character to develop those kinds of connections.

[lazerv4]

Deadpool & Wolverine

Just my raw thoughts not a review or anything

BE WARNED, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS

It’s been a while since I left the theater immediately wanting to rewatch the movie I just saw but Deadpool & Wolverine somehow managed to succeed at the task with flying colors and while it’s easy to tell it’s not for everyone, if you are a chronically online person that likes Marvel enough to keep up with rumors and developing projects, this movie is a love letter to you. The movie begins with the thing that had everyone worried the most, how will this movie work while also not tarnishing Logan, well the answer is Deadpool find Wolverine’s skeleton and proceeds to use it to kill like 100 TVA guys as he dances to Bye Bye Bye by N*Sync in probably my favorite action set piece in MCU history (maybe it’s recency bias but I really did like it a lot), it's ridiculous, it’s funny and fully gets you on board with the tone of the movie while also dropping the opening credits in a memorable set piece which I would compare to the iconic Devil Trigger opening of Devil May Cry V just with a very different tone. After this opener we flashback to catch up with Deadpool and see him very down on his luck as not only has he given up superheroing but Vanessa left him and he now works a dead end job as a used car salesman, the movie doesn’t linger on this for long as we get to a small celebration of Wade’s birthday with all of the Deadpool cast from the previous movies making an appearance before the TVA interrupts and takes The Merc With A Mouth to their headquarters to give him the signature new costume for a new sequel and pitch him the idea of joining the MCU which he seems on board with until they mention his universe being destroyed which upon further explanation we learn is because of the loss of their “anchor being” which is a person so important to that universe that without them it starts to slowly deteriorate until death in this case that would be James “Logan” “Wolverine” Howlett as portrayed by Hugh Jackman through all the previous Xmen films ending with his death in Logan.

And so begins Deadpool’s journey through the multiverse to find a replacement Logan in a roguish attempt to save his universe stumbling upon many iconic points in Wolverine’s history such as the X hanging, the Hulk fight and what I thought was General james Howlett but sadly I was wrong, that said we still get a few other versions of Wolverine like a height appropriate version of Jackman as well as a surprise cameo version played by Henry Cavill. All this comes to an end when Deadpool find a drunk Wolverine fucked up enough that he can take him back only for the TVA representative Paradox to explain to him that this is not how this works, that is in fact the worst Wolverine and he wants that universe destroyed ASAP so he is gonna hurry this along by sending them both to the Void from Loki. The bulk of the movie takes place here and it’s mainly an excuse to have a ton of memorable cameos as right of the bat we meet Chris Evan as Johnny Storm reprising his role from the 2005 Fantastic Four as well as almost every minor villain in the Xmen franchise until they are taken to meet our main villain Cassandra Nova who is played expertly by Emma Corrin and has some wicked powers that enhance her presence. Skipping a little both Deadpool and Wolverine escape the grips of Cassandra fight a lot and then meet the resistance compromised of Dafne Keen’s Laura/X-23 from Logan, Wesley Snipes’ Blade from his late 90s early 00s trilogy, Jannifer Garner’s Elektra from Daredevil and her own movie in the early 00s and Channing Tatum as Gambit from a doom project film that just never happened after being stuck on development hell for years. This dumb group of misfits is the heart of this movie, as they start an assault on Cassandra Nova to help Deadpool and Wolverine we get a showcase of what makes them all so great or in the case of Gambit what could have made them so great as they touch on every aspect that made them cool with Blade even repeating his iconic ice skating line as well as fixing the issues the character had previously like with Elektra in just a great action sequence that is also gonna be an all timer before they are teleported back to their reality by an unwilling Cassandra who happens to have one of the teleporting rings from Doctor Strange which she uses to also come to their reality so she can absorb the timeline destroying bomb and gain even more power because she is just a girl boss like that I guess. To do this, she employs like a good 50ish Deadpool variants that we know get to see our main duo fight with Jackman finally putting on the iconic cowl which just makes it so much better as they manage to kill all the Deadpools before realizing that they also have Wade’s signature healing factor which means we are stuck here forever but then the unexpected happens as Peter shows up and apparently all Deadpools love their Peters and he begins to be celebrated which allows our main characters to go and try to stop Cassandra. Upon finding Paradox the duo learns that the only way to stop the telepath now is by fusing the dark matter and the normal matter reactor which would kill them so they prepare for the worst before Deadpool tricks Wolverine into staying outside and goes for the sacrificial play as he struggles to make it before Logan manages to break in and gives Wade his hand and stabs his claw into the reactor triggering the reaction which causes an epic orchestral choir version of Madonna’s Like a Prayer to start playing as we see both our heroes hanging on as the machine starts to beat Cassandra and eventually kills her before it all blows up and the timeline’s health is completely restored. The movie has a dumb little fakeout trying to convince you they both died but it’s short because we know they are built different and they come back to wrap up the film before deciding to get some shawarma and then Deadpool asks Wolverine if he would just like to stay with him to which he agrees as we see both sharing another meal with Blind Al before the camera turns to their masks and the movie wraps.

The audience for this movie might be niche but as someone that is (un)fortunately in it I had a blast and loved every second of it, I can more easily look past all it’s flaws and weird inconsistencies like wtf even are anchor beings because the movie was made for the very obsessive rumor crazed fans like me to have a good time and I would be lying if I said getting something like this wasn’t incredible. I loved this movie and will probably continue to even if I do start noticing more of it’s flaws. It might not be the highest most intrinsically made piece of filmmaking but sometimes you don’t need that and just a lot of heart will take you there and this movie has that in strides. The credits go through a lot of b roll and blooper footage from all the Fox films in a nostalgic but also sort of reverend way mourning the past but also celebrating all that it did, the Fox universe was not perfect but it definitely got the perfect send off.

[hazbinhappy]

My Hazbin OC - Sunnie :)

I really went in on her background and it is very much subject to change but her look is solidified 🫶🏽 look at the pretty princess (and Velv cameo) i promise my handwringing is good it’s just the pen i used 😭

Here is some of her Hell background! (More like most of it lmao ngl I might just private post headcanons and blurbs of her unless yall wanna see her suffer or have a bit of a fun time)

I need to make it known: I do not condone a single thing Val ever has and will do that man is a bad and deserves to be in Hell. Making this OC a moth was purely based on the fact her and Val represent 2 different things about moths: Val is the symbolic meaning for endings/death and mysteries in night while Sunnie is the literal moth, they are beautiful and cute little creatures! She was going to be an orchid mantis because she was going to originally just be a girl who dated guys and played with their feelings before ghosting them but I liked this route more! But yeah I am not his supporter but I think he’s an interesting character/villain and I want to see him be explored more as long with the other V’s because they need more to their stories! Like Vox and Alastor! More Velvette!! Valentino and Angel backstory??? Anyways my want for more history and every character is for another day! do expect to see her more <3

i think when you wake up in Hell you don't have many memories from your past life (you can start to remember more if you try, but some people don't find any point). when she woke up in Hell she didn't remember much past who her family and friends was and her death

she went to hell for killing a girl who assaulted her friend

she met Velvette while she was trying to find photography work! she saw that Velvette (or at least her assistant) had put out an ad on Voxtagram (is that what it was called?) and immediately applied and sent in her portfolio

she thankfully got hired....but she had to sell her soul which was unfortunate, but hey a job and free housing

after a couple months Velvette mentions how Valentino wants a photoshoot done for Angel Dust

Sunnie vaguely remembers those names in passing and doesn't remember if she's ever seen a photo of them

when she goes to the studio to start taking photos she freezes when she sees Valentino

she knew he'd be Hell of course, he wasn't a good man

but she never thought she'd see her father again

he's talking to her as if she's any assistant until she starts speaking back to him

Angel notices the weird vibes, but he just poses and leaves

Val and Sunnie don't talk, but it's an unspoken thing that no one will nor should know (so not even Vox or Velvette know)

she grew to resent him once he passed so he has this ideal little girl stuck in his mind while she has a father who exposed to a lifestyle she shouldn’t have known

she knows about the hotel and has considered it occasionally because she wonders if her mom is in heaven (she died when she was a little in elementary so when Val died she went to her maternal family)

but she doesn’t because she genuinely cares for Velvette (if Velvette genuinely love for her is up in the air because she owns Sunnie's soul sooooo, but she seems to care about her)

she spends most of her time just taking random photos for Velvette's professional account, but she does have silly photos of other works (even from the other V's)

she tries to avoid Val most of the time, but sometimes it's unavoidable

they don't...really ever have an actual heart to heart about how things are now, but he has reached out and she's never replied unless it's "your late to the shoot" "velvette wants to know what time you're coming"

maybe one day she'll reach out, but it won't be anytime soon cause she hates him so much for the time being

Her Life background!

like i said they're relationship is based off of Marty Hodas and his daughter's relationship! She always seems kind of put off of growing up in that sexual environment and just didn't like it and Marty Hodas was considered like the King of Peep Shows/Porn

i like to think Val only had her as his kid and she was his little princess and he took her everywhere and didn't care as long as she wasn’t directly involved

Anice did stay away from that as she grew up, it became easier when Val died (apparently in the 70s) when she was 13 because she lived with her maternal family who weren’t involved with that

she did have a nice friend group! speaking of friend group they were drunk driving and all 5 of them (2 guys, 2 girls, and her) died in a multiple car wreck in 1985 (yes they stayed friends in Hell!)

she was going to college to be a photographer!

she wasn't necessarily a doormat, but she didn't often speak up about how she feels about things

I know I said she didn’t like her dad once she realized what he did and what she grew up around but she kept validating what he did by saying he was a single dad and had to take care of her and not leave her at home

so in a sense she idolized him, but in a parental way

adolescent psych doing me some good

to expand on the murder thing: her guy best friend (he’s not like a small dude either he’s big) was about to be in a not good situation so anice stabbed the girl. Was she happy about it? No, she felt like a monster. But her and friend stayed friends and covered it up. It was traumatic and it was a secret only for them to carry to their graves. She still hasn’t told anyone and won’t.

she really loves strawberry shortcake and care bears without shame and was a collector of them (she did sob when she realized she wouldn't have any of them when she died)

God I wrote a lot and drew a lot over the past 3 days so I’ll leave it here idk if I’ll revise her and change things up but a 100% is that her mom is in heaven because her mom ACTIVELY stayed away from that part of Val’s life. They only married to avoid people gossiping otherwise they weren’t together in the slightest.

ummmm YEAH so that's Sunnie/Anice and i love her

[thetimelordbatgirl]

A big reason why I like the Black Panther films is that you can totally ignore everything else and the story works fine. You can forget Civil War, Infinity War, and Endgame, just watch the first film and then its sequel. I didn’t like Captain America having his third film be changed to Avengers 2.5 just because marvel wanted to compete with Batman V Superman that same year, or Planet Hulk getting a half-assed adaptation in Thor 3, or Wanda stealing the show from Doctor Strange in his own sequel. Cameos can be fun but those were a bit much. The worst offenders are the mcu Spider-Man movies because Peter is shown being pretty dependent on characters like Iron Man, Nick Fury, Doctor Strange, and even versions of himself from older movies. And both Iron Man and Doctor Strange were responsible for the villains showing up in those films.

I will say due to the...really badly handled introduction of Skaar in She Hulk, its likely we could potentially get a Planet Hulk adaption down the line hopefully, but at the same time, as you pointed out, they already took half of that adaption in Ragnarok with Hulk landing on another planet due to leaving for space at the end of Age Of Ultron (another set up that went in weird places...at least it didn't go nowhere I guess like most MCU set ups lately). And your not wrong on the others: Civil War was basically MCU trying to compete with Batman Vs Superman (and yet somehow, Batman Vs Superman is the one getting dragged still when I'd happily rewatch it over Civil War) while also giving Captain America's film to Iron Man basically, and Wanda basically took over a film that wasn't hers to the point every character is depowered just to make her look better as remember: Doctor Strange is meant to be a powerful sorcerer as is Wong and the other sorcerers and even Miss America in the comics is pretty powerful, but they all depowered just to make Wanda this powerful villain that takes over his film that should have been him facing Mordo with the set up first Doctor Strange did, but nope I guess (and given how they planned to have Wanda kill Mordo before it was cut from film...maybe Mordo escaped being in this film...at least main universe him, anyway...).

And oh god, don't get me started on the MCU treatment of Spiderman. At least when you watch the OG trilogy and Amazing Spiderman films, you know they spidey films and you see Peter doing everything on his own with his villains having some form of connection to him. MCU???? Tony Stark caused the first two villains and Peter just happens to get caught in the messes each time and No Way Home can try all it wants: Strange should have told Peter about the spell PRIOR to doing it and therefore, if Peter did still do his stupid mistake, it would be his fault, but no, Strange doesn't, and therefore Strange's fault too. Plus its funny as hell they clearly wish they got to do Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus and Electro and Sandman, but they didn't, so they drag the prior Spiderman films versions of them into this Spiderverse rip off and force a connection between MCU peter and Spiderman films Green Goblin via fridging Aunt May, because beyond that, MCU Peter has zero connection to these villains and the other two Spidey's have more development with the villains then he does.

Like, there's fun little cameos everyone whose seen prior stuff can enjoy (Doctor Who coming to mind here along with DC's Shazam! and Black Adam), and then there's the MCU having the cameos take over the whole film somehow, meaning your forced to watch prior stuff to understand. And as much as I can agree Black Panther is easy to watch because it doesn't rely on prior stuff (with the only set up being in the end credits where we see Bucky), gonna have to sadly point out Wakanda Forever does have that stupid Valentina stuff shoved in to set up Thunderbolts, though gonna assume that was on higher up's end and not Ryan Coogler's end, since its basically apart of their pattern in the MCU at this rate.

[katatonicimpression]

so, the other day there was another one of those "sam shouldn't be cap, they should make the most of him as the falcon" posts in the tag and some adjacent stuff has been legit straight up haunting me so I guess i'm going to write about it for some ungodly number of words

i) Concern Trolling (Part 1)

The obvious thing straight off the bat is that this is such a disingenuous take. It has all the trademarks of "here's a appropriate-sounding reason for me to take the same position as the reactionary racists without sounding racist myself". It's textbook. They're not opposed to the idea of a Black man leading the avengers and taking on this important title, they're just concerned that they're not doing the character of the Falcon justice. Like, come on. You can smell the bullshit from here.

Now, I don't know this person's mind, and it's likely that they believe what they're saying (weirdly enough, most concern trolls do, to some extent). Moreover, it's possible that they are the rare example of someone who genuinely just happens to have a specific belief that alligns with the reactionaries, but it's just this one thing and they have good reasons for it.

So... let's explore that possibility. What good reasons are there to object to Sam's time as cap?

ii) Is Being Cap Bad for Sam's Writing?

There is this irratating phenomenon from Sam's cap era where he'll be pushed into a role that was clearly written for Steve. This ranges from dialogue choices to physical roles in action scenes. Sam is not super strong - he's a super acrobat and friend to all the woodland creatures. Sam is not a military man - he's a social worker. Sam's politics are more cynical, and more radical than Steve's. Sam's more sarcastic, more of a complainer, but also more flamboyant and more "free-wheeling".

Many of his appearances as cap flatten Sam, make him honestly kind of boring at times. The writing is just whatever bog-standard captain america thing they thought of and Sam's own personality is absent. This is most common in Avengers storylines, where he's not the focus, but even Symbol of Truth - a series ostensively about Sam - ended with the villain monologuing about how Sam "thinks he's america's greatest patriot". And, like, no. No he doesn't. Even for a villain line it doesn't work because it's not just wrong, it's irrelevant. That line could work if directed at Steve (depending on the context), but makes no sense with Sam. He doesn't think he's a great patriot, because he isn't, because he thinks patriotism is dumb. Like, it's kind of his core feature when he's first introduced lol.

What's happening here is that Sam is being handed over to writers who don't know him well, and in some cases don't care about him and maybe even don't like him. This leads to bad writing, ooc appearances and a general sense of a wasted opportunity.

There's a point (made in the original post that got me started on this), that the captain america role is inherently limiting and maybe even inherently boring. I don't agree (see part v), but I would agree that in practice, the role has been limiting on Sam's character and, on multiple occassions, constrained his writing.

iii) The Two Caps Thing

This is something I've complained about before, but the obvious problem with samcap is the shitshow that has resulted from having him and Steve "share" the title.

There is nothing wrong with it in concept, the problem is entirely in how it's played out in practice.

Steve is in a new comic every week, often more than one, often plastered all over the cover. He appears in crossover events, and is often featured heavily in other hero/team's stories. On top of this he has cameos, ranging from small appearances to more meaty roles.

In this same time period, Sam was in Symbol of Truth, and now Avengers. No other series featured him. You'd see him once a month at most. He has cameo appearances in this time, but only a handful. These cameos have been often wordless appearances, or contain a line or two of generic dialogue.

This is ridiculous. It's embarrassing for Marvel. It's an absolute shitshow. They are not "sharing" the title. Functionally, as far as Marvel comics has been concerned for the last two years, Steve has been Captain America and Sam has been barely present.

iv) Concern Trolling (Part 2 - a.k.a. Why the last two points are redundant)

The obvious thing to point out, is that none of this would be any better if Sam was still the falcon, because it's been happening the entire time.

Sam being written badly? Been there since arguably the beginning. Sam being written ooc because the writers don't care about him? Since the 80s at least. Sam being a stock military tough guy? The 00s called and want their ideas back. Sam barely being featured in preference for more wanking over Steve? Yeah, that's literally the late 70s when Jack Kirby took over the series for a stint, and it only got more common from then.

Due to a combination of factors (let's be clear - Racism is the big one), Sam's been written terribly on many occasions since his introduction. And, for the same reasons, he also just doesn't get featured as much, and gets shelved and ignored a whole bunch. It ends up creating a vicious cycle, where Sam isn't around, so no one thinks to include him, and when they do, they don't read anything about him because they don't care, which then leads to them portraying him blandly or even ooc, which does him no favours and makes writers less willing to include him.

Obviously there is still plenty of good Sam writing out there, but my point is that all the problems we see in his cap era are the same problems that have been around for decades. The 00s in particular were bad for literally all marvel Sam's character.

Honestly, I personally think that if Sam had never become cap, he'd barely be in comics nowadays at all.

So, if someone says "i'd rather Sam was the falcon, so that they could explore his unique personality and backstory, and not saddle him with illfitting tropes and bland characterisation - and so they could really give him attention and focus on him" - yeah, that sounds great but it would never happen, and if you have any familiarity with this character's history, you'd know that. It was standard practice to ignore and under-write Sam as the falcon; what on earth makes you think that pushing him back to that (less prominant) role would fix anything?

I think that's why I find it impossible to take this position seriously. If you're a fan of the character, you'd know that the idea of the falcon being done justice by marvel is an unrealistic fantasy. It's hard not to assume that someone is being disingenuous when they suggest it.

v) Is Being Cap Good for Sam's Writing?

If we let this conversation get a little more abstract for a second, and not about Marvel themselves (and the decisions of writers and editors and marketers etc.), there's still a question of whether having Sam be captain america is a good creative decision in and of itself.

I mentioned before how Sam is not a patriot, and he openly derides the whole cap thing throughout the 70s. So, you could say that there's something ooc about him being cap... but I'd disagree. Sam's decision in 616 (and MCU while we're here) was made after Steve asked him to do this, leading to his own mixed thought process on the matter. I think that's good drama. Sometimes having a character be pushed into doing something they wouldn't normally do is good actually, because it puts them out of their comfort zone and gives us a story.

Similarly, his move to become cap again recently was also because of a push, a pressured decision - this time from Misty and the Avengers.

Sam's 2015 series is genuinely great. The art is great, the characterisation is strong, and it bridges the gap between Sam in the 70s and the present day in a really satisfying way - it feels rooted in him as a character in a way so much of his writing isn't. Is it perfect? No, but it is good. And I bring it up here to make a very important point: having Sam be cap opens up an entire range of storytelling possibilities that aren't there with him as falc.

It changes his position relative to other superheroes, it changes his relationship with Steve, it makes him more important in people's eyes - it's Sam in a different, more complicated stage in his life. A stage where he's beholden to more people, has different responsibilities. It's good, actually.

Like, I get that this is heresy in comic book world but yes sometimes changing the status quo is good, actually.

vi) Clinging Onto the Falcon

I do think that Sam's unique history as the Falcon should not be abandoned in favour of the cap stuff. He's a bird prince and a free wheeling flyboy and all of that. That past identity is still his, even if he's using a different title.

One thing that has bothered me in the post samcap era is that sometimes Redwing is treated like he's Joaquin's now. Like, Redwing is a full on person with human-level intelligence and one of Sam's closest friends, and sometimes he gets treated like an accessory to hand over to the new falcon. It's weird and dumb. In general, Joaquin has a different relationship to the whole bird thing to Sam, and his character isn't a one-to-one replacement for him. Just like how Sam is not anything like a replacement for Steve. Fundamentally, they play different roles.

Redwing is still Sam's partner, the bird thing is still Sam's schtick, the Falcon is still kind of Sam's identity - it's just shared. And I think remembering this - bringing all the aspects of sam's identity together - is part of the solution to the less than satisfying writing we've been seeing.

vii) Conclusion....???

There's nothing inherent to Sam being Captain America that makes him difficult to write well, and the premise is actually a great springboard for storylines that do centre him and respect him. Do they all do that currently? No, but the problem there is upstream of what superhero title he has.

What Sam needs is basically just more material - he needs a new solo (which I would assume he'll be getting between now and the film release because bRaNd sYnErGy), he needs other substantial appearances outside of that, he needs multiple writers throwing their towel in the ring and giving a more varied perspective, and maybe needs a couple of memos from editorial with some guidelines on characterisation (and art).

Like, ok I am basically saying that in order to fix unsatisfying writing, the writing needs to be better. But yeah. Whatever, it was like a one sentence post that set me off on this...

[cielospeaks]

wholesomeness meme

i get annoyed by how bad i think some series i enjoy are but i dont like those moments that are trash and dont think they deserve the attention so instead have my most good vibes ey moments from things i could think of rn lol

dont talk to me i cant this is the actual best: this is stuff im just. keyboard smashes, shuts down, etc etc.

the losh scene in ouas: this short had no right to be as awesome as it was. this scene was so well and fun-ly animated im losing it

nwh saving the villains: moments of movies that live rent free in my head i appreciate this so much.

losh updates in florida: let me in let me in!!!!!

screaming incoherently: i love this a lot. awesome af.

the other witw/losh cameos in ouas: beautiful. wonderful. keep on doin what youre doin

nwh in general: heavy wepons guy voice i love this movie

schubby festival (+ sendai live): loid events are few and far between but every time i have a reason to scream abt my favorite lab experiment composers i will be

its so wholesome im gonna mclose it: im not even spiteful this is the best

guifei wanting to play a trio w the boys: so far the only character to have voice lines w them and not act like a creep. looks pointedly. anyways a good person and i appreciate her. pls come home

caro making lotr memes: caro deserves better. its also cute the two lute buddies are next to each other lol

senpai in ouas: he had a small role but its adorable. honestly this would be higher? idk. maybe this is just ouas in general bc there were a lot of genuinely wholesome moments (there were some bad ones but eh im not here for that lol)

the ending of k h 3: let -clap emoji- these -clap emoji- kids -clap emoji- eat -clap emoji- ice cream -clap emoji-

i am physically upset we dont get more shit like this in the series: ok the rage starts to show. im a little spiteful or more than before but this is still good af

cyrano being sexy and charly being wholesome: this was by far one of the best white days, probably on par with the like. gang roleplay with izou. cyrano is by far the best design the game has had in years

poke mon s v having such a banger main plot: compared to the previous one which just wasnt for me s v just hit me hard. i am not immune to silly sandwich lizard bike or wholesome slow burn friendship story. the only reason i think its lower is bc there were some aspects of the dlc that really turned me off, and i feel like souered a really good, pretty much perfect original story. also given that principal clavell is my favorite character since sub mas that really says something : )

beli voice lines in the museum and q pot: these are only lower bc im more angry at why we cant get this sort of good content. caro's thing just fricking punched me in the gut with the memes, but bel is cute af in these and i like him just being a nuisance and weirdo : )

seithr king dom hearts ing that shit: this is why youre very high tier, i love that you stood up for what you believed in and went against the main characters and their flawed beliefs in order to save people you cared abt (aka. alternate timeline versions of yourself). thats the good shit thats what im here for!!

lunar new year events in i dv: gosh i love these. the older men characters are your friends, and theres more focus on a variety of characters that isnt all negative like in the main canon. more of this pls.

hans being freed for the ending of the short: idk. i feel like the people in this short had more heart than most of the people who worked specifically for his movie/that crowd, which is why the usual abuse scene was a haha funny star wars joke and he got free at the end. also folklore bros i want to believe -prayer hands-

this tickles me a little: honestly this series is already so good or hasnt let me down yet so im happy and very touched but not like. foaming at the mouth like some of the others.

t f 2 resurgance by voice actors: i appreciate this so much yall are so wholesome. wish i lived closer id love to play meme songs for you sometime

tw st having good writing and letting the boys be silly boys: i love how the guys share brain cells and are like the embodiment of that vine with the shirtless guys jumping about the speaker. thats why i love them and why i got into the series

gin is alive: good for him!!! im so glad he isnt dead!!!! this was really nice but i feel like ive not been following as long as the hardcore fans but im still so happy, i was worried abt him. good hes ok. pls thrive my boi.

aladar in ouas: my friend!!!! this tickled me so much. thank u ppl who made this for being actually cool.

cameos in the void plot: i thought this was really sweet! very lore much yes! so far im enjoying this story and am trying to be hopeful. idk the more recent plot stuff (like idk. 10ish years back to now?) hasnt hit as hard as the stuff when i was like 10 yrs old but ill be hopeful :)

[asknarashikari]

Revice The Mystery 3-5:

Hiromi's gonna be OK!

I started suspecting it was Kaido when he changed back into his outfit.

Only knew for sure when He transformed into an Orphnoch and Vice Said he didn't use a stamp.

Didn't expect him here.

Anyway, when George imitated Philip, and thought he might actually enter Gaia Library if he does it enough times, I actually yelled out "You're not Philip!"

Those Kaijin parts were freaky as fuck.

Kaido using a goddamn stagename while teaching guitar, how idiotic.

I did not expect the Deadman being made from a Deadman Kaijin Stamp rather than the Orangutan Proto ViStamp.

I actually spoiled myself accidentally, and knew Suzu was a Villain.

But I expected the Maid to also be a part.

The Worms didn't Clock Up.

Terui really being treated like a Main Rider with all his post series Cameos.

(Not even sure if Shinnosuke and Go even know about Double)

Otta-san is really hot headed.

I couldn't help but wish Kaido would Henshin, either into a RioTrooper, or inherit Faiz

I actually thought Kaido died when the Orphnoch Kaijin Stamp was made.

I did not see anything about the Deadmans here, other than a casual mention by George.

But the End Credits imply all three appeared?

Oblivian was pretty cool.

Working like a Phase 2 deedman, other than the Stamp self-destructing, made sense.

Both Eagle and Condor appeared!

Quite the W celebration.

And Accel Trial!

I'm thinking that George saved the Kaijin Stamp research just for the sake of having it, rather than actually doing anything with it.

Though making a Rider System out of it would be so Cool.

Next time, back to normal episodes.

But man, I can't help but think Revice would've been a cooler anniversarry celebration if Kaijin Stamp kaijin were the main enemies and Legendary Rider cameos happened more often.

Revice is good as is, but it ain't much of an anniversarry celebration.

Admittedly most of the references to the pre-W series flew over my head, but yeah.

Lol Ryu's Main Rider treatment... Honestly I didn't expect Minehiro Kinomoto of all people to be so enthusiastic about returning. He's returned the most times out of anyone in the W cast, since he also reprised his role in Drive and Zi-O V Cinemas. Seeing Trial again was a real treat though :D

George being sus as usual... and even lying to Ryu's face about it... ngggh

And I swear I'm going to die when I see the ED's MV. Hiromi and Ikki (but mostly Hiromi) singing and playing guitars? HELP.

As for Revice's anniversary aspect... well, it's the same deal as with Fourze, actually. Both series came out just after a major milestone celebration season which heavily integrated the anniversary aspect, Decade and Zi-O respectively. It would be like, "Didn't they just do this, why are they doing it again so soon?"

For some perspective, one of the criticisms that flew about when Ryusoulger revealed a dinosaur theme was that it was only six years since the last Sentai to have a dinosaur theme, Kyouryuger. In contrast, Zi-O was only three years ago, and not even a year had passed since its most recent release (V-Cinemas which were crossovers with Decade, no less). And then Sougo and Oma Zi-O showed up in Superhero Senki, too- the same movie ReVice made their debut in!

Everyone would just have Zi-O on the brain if Revice just went with a heavier anniversary theming, and it would heavily impact people's expectations of Revice from the get-go.

[handlewithkara]

What do we KNOW about Mon-El’s return on Supergirl?

I thought maybe it would be worth it writing a short primer for people who are curious, or who have heard the news and don’t know what to think.

Q: Is Mon-El back on Supergirl? 

A: Chris Wood (Mon-El) and Jeremy Jordan (Winn) were seen in costume shooting scenes for a big battle scene on Supergirl (as was Mehcad Brooks as James Olsen/Guardian). This is likely the final battle against the villains to take place in the series finale. This means he is back shooting scenes, but it might be as little as just one episode, we don’t know for sure. 

Q: What if he is just a vision or a doppelganger? 

A: It’s very unlikely because both Mon-El and Winn are back and we have pictures of them in a second scene wearing different outfits. That other scene looks like a funeral scene with them as guests. 

Q: Is it just a background cameo? 

A: In the behind the scenes pictures and videos we have of the big battle scene Mon-El is fighting at the front next to Kara, doing a superhero landing with her, while other characters like J’onn, Alex, Kelly, Lena and Andrea are further in the back. He seems to have a prominent position in the battle right next to Kara. 

Q: Are Karamel back as a couple? 

A: We don’t know. So far nothing we have suggests this. At the end of the battle Kara hugs J’onn, not Mon-El. Some pictures show them high fiving, which could be a reference to Karamel high fiving in 2x10, but that is just speculation, might not end up in the episode or might be between the actors, not the characters. 

For what it’s worth, it seems like Kara isn’t romantically attached to anybody else, there are strong hints that the one guy who showed an interest in dating Kara (William Dey) isn’t going to make much progress and might even die or at least leave. (Oh and so far nothing suggests Imra or Shadow Lass or anybody like that being there with Winn and Mon-El.)

Q: Why do people think that Kara will go to the future with Mon-El and Winn? 

A: At this point this is just speculation, but speculation with some basis. Part is of course that some people think it would be a cool ending, that there is precedence of Kara doing that in the comics and cartoons and Smallville, the other piece of suggestive evidence is that there have been shooting reports of scenes of characters in various locations that look a bit like they might be from a a “where are they now?” montage and Kara is noticeably absent from those scenes. 

Q: Won’t they bring him back just to ruin him? 

A: While we don’t know for sure, it looks like he has a neat position in the battle AND Chris Wood already did a cameo for Supergirl’s 100th episode. That episode gave him a decent amount of screentime, overall treated him fairly respectfully and included a very lovely scene of Mon-El giving Kara advice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7UHxw0A2sU While that scene wasn’t 100% hardcore unrefutable romantic, it was generally very appreciated among shippers and like I said, felt very respectful of their relationship and open to be read as something deeper.   

TLDR: Mon-El is back, but we don’t know exactly for how long. He seems to have a reasonably cool role and at least some fans think that it could end up with Kara leaving for the future and join the Legion (whether romantically or platontically in regards to Mon-El). At this point, nothing proves this theory, some minor evidence suggests it and nothing contradicts it so far. 

We will keep an eye out and report if there are any hints or confirmations inside or outside the show. Consider following @peggystormborn as somebody examining Supergirl episodes for clues. 

Q: Do I have to start watching from the beginning of the season to get caught up?

A: Probably not, in those scenes Kara was stuck in the phantom zone and didn’t have too much screentime due to Melissa’s real life maternity leave. Kara is returning in the episode when the show comes back, together with her father Zor-El who was stuck in the phantom zone, so that will probably be a good entry point. However, there is a pretty cute double episode about the young Danvers sisters if you do want to check out the earlier episodes.

[blind-rats]

For the fans, it’s never about the “happy endings”. People misunderstood that it seems to get a good storyline, either it has to be happy or dark. It’s not that simple. It’s not Happy Ending vs Dark Ending. It’s about good storytelling and characterization.

For years, fans cared more about the characters. When a writer only focused on the plot, and not the character, then they would usually sacrifice the progression, the development, the investment, the connection, and the fans who actually watched the show FOR the characters since the beginning. Good storytelling is when it elevates the character (good or bad) into something layered.

Season 1: 

Aaron was arrested for Lilly’s murder was a good thing; something that should be done. The baddie finally was captured, even got hit by a truck. 

Logan wanted to jump off the bridge was a cliffhanger; something that would keep the fans tuned in for the next season. 

Lianne took the money was IN character; she wasn’t a good mother and Veronica finally admitted that. For a whole season, V thought that by solving Lilly’s murder, her mom would return, but in the end, it didn’t matter. V accepted that. It sucks, but it was progress for Veronica that she finally let her go, although she lost the money. There was balance for these plots and these characters, that is why season 1 was the best.

Season 2: 

Keith missed the flight wasn’t about a happy ending -- it was a set up for the next season because he received a mysterious assignment from Kendall. Again, it kept the fans wanting more.

Season 3: 

Logan beat up Gory was a set up for the next season. Like I mentioned before, if the show wasn’t canceled, it would give Logan a darker path or a lighter path in his life. It was supposed to make the fans wanting more; what would happen to Logan? What would happen to him and Veronica? There was a lot of speculation at the time, but it wasn’t supposed to be the ending.

Keith lost the election, according to RT himself, because he helped Veronica. Which was IN character. He helped Veronica, and it ignited another rivalry between him and Jake Kane again. It was supposed to be another set up for the next season, and it wasn’t supposed to be the ending. 

The Movie:

There are so many retcons in this movie that fans noticed and many expressed their displeasure because the storytelling of the movie was a bit weak, BUT they are still IN characters. Yes, there are some changes, obviously you can’t have the same characters from a decade ago. Logan was matured, Wallace was matured, Mac was matured, Weevil was matured, even Piz was matured. 

Veronica was trying to find herself and decide what kind of person she wanted to be. At the end of the movie, she decided that she wanted to help people. And that is why many fans liked the movie because the character progressed into the next stage. The character didn’t stay stasis.

The movie had so many flaws, especially with cheesy dialogues, unimportant cameos, and frankly not so good plots. But when fans have waited for so long for the conclusion of the series, to have characters finally get their deserved/bittersweet endings, is a good thing.

The Books (The Thousand Dollar Tan Line and Mr. Kiss & Tell):

Maybe because the books were (co)written by Jennifer Graham, a woman, a fan, she knew about the characterization of the characters. Fans immediately noticed the differences between her writing and Rob’s writing; which parts were hers, which parts were RT’s. 

Nobody cared nor remember about the professor and the murderer/rapist, but everyone mostly remembered about Haley, Lianne, Aurora, Hunter, Petra, Jade, Norris, Grace, and even The Gutiérrez cousins.

Notice that all of the memorable characters in the books were absent from season 4 because RT didn’t write them in the books and he felt that he didn’t need to explain their absence.

Logan and Weevil had a good relationship, and they both were friendly with each other. That was progress and should be allowed to continue.

Logan and Veronica had stability and a good relationship even when there were some problems. Even when Leo (who was inserted by RT) was there. But it was pretty much good characterization for both of the characters. Something that was missing in season 4.

Season 4:

To those who said that the whole season was great except for the ending, didn’t pay any attention. From the very beginning, fans were being introduced to a lot of new characters that fans didn’t know nor care like it was some sort a new show. They have their own storylines, their own plots, even their own endings. It would be fine if this was a brand new show, but it wasn’t. It was a continuation of the previous installment. The new characters from the books were much more nuanced compare to the new characters in season 4.

The show focused more on the plots instead of the characterizations. They focused more on the special guest stars instead of the regular cast.

The characterization of Veronica was WAY OFF; so different and seems to be regressed to her former self when she was 17 years old. She was rude to everyone including Logan and Wallace. She didn’t know what was going on with Keith. She was nonchalant about filming others having sex. She was using drugs. She was drinking and shooting a gun. She was mocking Wallace and Logan for having stability. She was more interested in having a fling with Leo but she refused to break up with Logan.

Fans would accept Veronica’s regression if there was something happened to her. Why she behave like that? What was the reason? She was having a life she chosen from the movie and the books, and yet she wasn’t happy. Because of what? What kind of trauma that made her regressed? No reason at all? Because normal life is not something that a detective should have? And that’s when the characterization was down the drain. When a character doesn’t have a motivation to do what’s right or what’s wrong, their behavior is considered to be OOC. 

Matty, a new character, a white rich sociopath girl, wasn’t Veronica, and yet the fans were expected to treat and view her like she was Veronica. 

Marcia, the new chief of police was a wasted character. She wasn’t a foil for Veronica, wasn’t an enemy of anybody, and she spent her time in the precinct only.

The assassins from the Mexican cartel had too many plots and not enough characterization, and frankly, the fans didn’t care about them, especially when the writers sacrificed Wallace and Mac.

The death of Logan wasn’t just the only thing that was considered worse, but the fact that they immediately didn’t see the aftermath. They never showed the emotional impact and didn’t even give the characters and the fans to mourn the character. RT tends to leapfrog a plot, even in iZombie, and put exposition instead. 

The death of Logan was wasted, done by the most insignificant villain in the history of the show that didn’t even have a proper characterization and development. But the show promoted him like he was one of the best things ever happened.

Logan’s death wasn’t caused by a heroic moment or something dramatic. It was last minute and immediately swept under the carpet.

Veronica spent her last monologue talking about exposition. it was an ending. It wasn’t something that fans wanted to tune in, unlike the previous seasons, movie, and books.

So the whole notion that every season ended in a dark ending is partly untrue. Plot-wise, it should served their characters. It should elevated them into something better or something darker, but it was interesting nonetheless. Season 4 didn’t have that at all. All the characters were gone, finished. Veronica rode off to the sunset without any kind of satisfying ending, good or bad. Bad, mostly.

This is why Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul and Cobra Kai are praised because of the writings and characterization. We see the progression of the characters of Jimmy to Saul, who is not a good person, but still layered. We see the development of Johnny Lawrence; from a bully to an anti-hero. Or Hawk from a nerd into a bully himself. IT'S THE CHARACTERIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT accompanied by good storytelling. It’s not (just) about happy/sad ending.

It’s also not just about killing off the main character. There’s a reason why fans are still angry with the ending of How I Met Your Mother or LOST. So many people are pissed with the ending of Dexter and Game of Thrones. Don’t forget about The 100, Gilmore Girls, and Arrow. Not because of the dark endings of those shows, or the killing off the main characters. It was because they wasted so many years with the characterization and development just to get subverted endings that the writers seem to pat themselves on the back, ignoring any fans who had been there for the start.

And RT’s betrayal to the fans isn’t just about killing off the main character. It was the way he did it. He was using the fans to revive the show, using the fans’ money to revive it, knowing that he would kill off a popular character, knowing that he would piss loyal fans and the fandom, who had been very supportive with his works and projects, and yet still done it, just because he despised a character he created for so long. Even BBC News knew this trend and called him out. It was the way he exploited the fans that were considered to be a betrayal.

[abduloki]

Marvel and DC

Source : Reddit

Before I began, let me say that I am both a Marvel and DC fan. If you’ve been following my tumblr for awhile you might noticed that I post both shows.

Zack Synder’s Justice League proves that they have the right idea for their Cinematic Universe. The only thing is that they tend to squeeze everything within one film or throw in as much characters and cameos as possible, rushing through the story to get to the grand finale without having to develop the individual characters first. 

Take for example, Cyborg and Flash who did not get much story coverage in the original release in 2017. I was amazed by their stories in Synder’s Cut, showing us the side of them that we did not get to see previously, that I wish they would’ve done a solo film for Cyborg and Flash before Justice League, just like what they did with Wonder Woman. 

Although it’s cool if they make solo films after Justice League too, like Aquaman. But I feel that making their solo debut first before putting them all together would’ve been great, because it enables you to get to know the character better, into knowing what kind of person he or she really is, that it hype you up to see them all meet in the end.

It took Marvel 10 years to get where they are now, from the first Marvel Cinematic Movie of Iron Man in 2008, before they unleash the titan, Thanos in 2018. Darkseid is like the DC equivalent of Thanos, that deserves a grand entrance at the end where all the heroes finally came together to fight him.

Even the Arrowverse took some time building their multiverse, starting with their solo shows of Arrow, Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, Constantine, before putting them all together for a big showdown with the grand villains. (Speaking of DC tv shows, I’m still pissed they cancelled the Swamp Thing!)

Anyway, although Batman v Superman was great but I feel that the story with Doomsday could’ve been split to another film of its own, as the core story was the conflict between Batman and Superman. And the dream sequence of Batman where future Flash warned Bruce about Lois confuses the fans too.

What I’m trying to say is that DC has the potential and the right direction but they can’t rush through things, just to compete with Marvel. That’s what I felt watching the 2017 Justice League, seeing how they try to make it more “comedic” and “colorful” as the first Avengers movie. 

DC is already unique and great in its own way, it is what differentiate them from Marvel. Just look at the DC Animated Universe, all the animated series and movies are simply awesome because they didn’t rush through things and focus on delivering a straight forward but compelling story-telling. 

[duelofthefatesmp3]

i DO actually wanna know how youd make kotor 3 !!!!!

this ask has been sitting on my inbox for so long on PURPOSE! i wanted some time to re read the revan book + watch some swtor gameplays so i could give a concrete answer about why the book and swtor arent satisfactory and what i would do instead (im not like. a storytelling god so i this is just my PERSONAL idea). under the cut!

to begin with, what's wrong with revan the book and swtor, mai?

i am very fond of swtor i think it was such a nice idea to have an "open" world game set in star wars old republic time. but ultimately, it was not a good conclusion to revan and meetra's storyline! now, i don't really know what happened in the development of the third kotor game (if there ever was a plan for one) but it's clear they dropped the ball on that and decided to start a whole different project. i don't think we can blame disney for that one, because it was announced on 2008, launched in 2011, and disney had just bought star wars that year. so who knows.

the thing is that it's painfully evident that a bunch of the story that was gonna be in the third game, ended up in the book + misc parts of swtor. much of the book feels like a gameplay.

now, it was clear when the book was planned that they wanted to keep revan's story open so when the game came out, they could have a cool Revan storyline so he could make a cool villain appearence and draw in some of that kotor nostalgia. which ehhhhhh. uh. i don't really think did any favors for revan's character. he didn't have a satisfactory arc (I'm not saying "a happy ending" because good arcs aren't always happy) but at least some closure?

revan went through many big events in his life. we didnt need to keep his ass in stasis for his fun villain moments 300 years later. we already had what we wanted from him: jedi turned sith turned jedi again to defeat a terrible threat. that was it we could have let it there and it would have been cool! but then they decided to drag and drag his story just to leave him right where he was before. he just suffered a little more in the in-between.

you could say he finally redeemed himself of all of his crimes this way, but wasn't that the whole purpose of the first kotor game (and would have been the purpose of the 3rd?)

swtor does not centre revan in his own narrative. he's a side character for the player to experience. and look, i get it, we've had a different protag on each game, why not have another one in this one. well, because the protagonist has no personal relationship with revan. meetra was one of his closest friends, and fought with him. there is a connection that can be exploited. but the swtor protagonist is just some guy 300 years in the future who happens to stumble into revan and his life. not even his descendants get to fully interact with revan.

also, there is the fact that revan is not the centre of the game itself, only of a particular storyline. and it's weird, because swtor could have happened without revan's involvement.

ms. meetra surik, ms. bastila shan, women of the world I'm sorry

so it's no news that star wars is misogynistic as fuck right. cause it is.

so you decide to make your gender neutral protagonist a guy. then you decide to make your other gender neutral protagonist a woman. cool. now let's guess who gets underdeveloped, turned into a plot device without reason, and promptly fridged in the most unceremoniously fashion just to fullfil some manpain moments. which one do you think got that treatment.

i know the revan book is supposed to be about revan, but why make meetra go through a whole arc just to undermine her character and turn her into the faithful servant of the guy? she leaves everything behind for him, sacrifices herself for him, hell not even dead is she not serving the guy. and she was the second game’s protagonist! she beat up a bunch of powerful people and now she’s just meh, there? she had so many interesting ways to interact with revan (meeting kreia, revan’s first master, encountering another force consuming entity, etc.)

meetra went through a whole arc about dealing with the guilt of doing something horrible and having the consequences of it cut her from the force. we see her broken, then slowly come back to the world and reconnect herself with the force, then stop running and face the consequences of her role in the war. thats such a cool character with tons of potential! and nothing happened!

then we got bastila who is. a whole deal. so you make her go through a “promising jedi who defeated revan, to questioning reluctant companion, to fell into the dark side, to was redeemed thanks to her bond to revan, who helped her come back because he’d been through the same experience” arc, and then you decide to push her to the side to have a baby?? which is... its clear that the writer didnt know what to do with her (or with the other characters outside of canderous) so hey, lets get her to marry revan and have a baby.

my ideal kotor 3

to preface, im not a game developer, so some of my choices could be stunted by what a kotor rpg can do lol. of course, it would follow the same mechanics and have the same format as the first two, because consistency!

the fun way to start the game, would be from scourge’s perspective. we get to play as a sith! i’d even say you get to change scourge’s name and gender and looks (i know sith have different looks)

in scourge’s storyline, we get from his arrival to normound kaas, to his talks with nissyris, to his missions working for her. in some of these, we can make scourge lean into the dark or the light side! fun! plus we get some exposition with dialogue options. it all continues untill we get to nissirys story about the emperor. we get a fucked up cutscene of his childhood and then BOOM when its over, we see revan waking up from a nightmare and their pov starts.

ok, as for revan’s story, since we’d have to pick it up from where kotor ended, i’d have a little cutscene of revan back into the ebon hawk, with bastila, and them telling the crew to take them to courascant. then cut to a council meeting where revan and bastila get scolded in private, then rewarded by the republic. i would also like to see some revan mournink malak’s death mayhaps. since he was their childhood friend and all.

i would 100% scrape the marriage and two years passed part. as the book said, the council had no use for revan aside from the legend(tm), so why would they stay in courascant. revan was very alienated from the jedi at that point, despite being back in the “light side”

then like, to revan asking around for meetra and other jedi from the mandalorian wars, we can cash in that atris cameo, then revan starts to have these visions about the sith emperor, and maybe we could get a playable dream sequence about revan’s fight with mandalore the ultimate (I KNOW I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT.) and we get the whole exposition to mandalore telling revan that the sith are behind it all. i believe we should get a bunch of these flashback/dream sequences of revan’s past doing shit. cut to revan burying the mask in a planet, then back to the present. we see a bunch of mission and juhani scenes trying to reach him, but he keeps pushing them away. revan and bastila meet canderous, travel to the ice planet, meet clan ordo (god i love clan ordo) you get the whole quest, you decide weather to spare veela or not, maybe you get a cheeky mandalorian companion (force sensitive mando oh?) and leave canderous behind.

we can visit like, a couple more planets searching for clues maybe, etc. then when reaching nathema, you are forced to go alone as revan, get to explore nathema a bit (raiding ancient location yay) nathema as a location can be so fun because you can have it weaken you hp bar and also you cant use the force (which, in game is pretty cool)

then we get to scourge and nyssiris arriving to the planet, they fight but since theres two of them and revan doesn’t have the force, they beat the shit out of them, and while running away, they get in a fight with bastila and the companions in the ebon hawk (ebon hawk shooting game my hated). bastila manages to get a glimpse of revan’s thoughts before they take them away. but the ebon is so ruined it takes bastila, t3 and the mandalorian a while to fix it, and they get stuck into the unknown regions for a while. the ebon hawk is left in an outer rim planet with t3 fixing it, bastila and the mandalorian run back to the jedi council, only to get caught in the middle of the jedi civil war. we can have bastila choosing to hide in courascant and trying to make sense of what she saw, reading texts about the sith empire, trying to plot a course to where they took revan (more atris! but shes pissed at her now)

cutscene to meetra’s pov, leaving malachor v behind, getting calls from everyone at the hawk (atton my beloved) but just as she’s leaving she gets a force message from revan, calling for her to find him and sending visions of normound kaas. then, through her force bond with visas, she tells her not to go because they’re gay and in love and whatnot.

then boom, she gets intercepted by bastila’s ship, with the mandalore and the other mandalorian (yes i do love having a bunch of mandos on board) and they go on their way to find revan.

now i want there to be an underlying message of “we can’t take our friends with us because we have to do this ALONE we’re powerful JEDI we don’t need our FRIENDS.” meetra gets asked if she wants to bring any friends and she’s like “no. we have to do this alone.” along the game you get constantly contacted by other game characters, you get the chance to talk to them or ignore them.

so, we get back to nathema, and meetra has a whole “holy shit this is just like darth nihilus but ten times worse. but i beat darth nihilus. i can do this!” then she finds peace in this place without the force, we get a whole speech about how the odds arent against them, they find a way to normound kaas, and get going.

in normound kaas i thought about them getting a whole mission about how to infiltrate the citadel, only to get helped by scourge. he joins the party, we get a little flashback of all the years he spent trying to make revan remember and they storm the citadel. we get to fight the dark council members, fun! then we get to free revan and the game switches povs. bastila hands the mask to revan and he has a cool “yes im revan im pretty cool” then a nice heartfelt yet rushed reunion with everyone.

then have a small CONVERSATION WITH MEETRA where she talks about the sith triumvirate she defeated and revan is impressed with her and is like “we are the last hope of the jedi, we’ve learned to walk between light and dark, we’ve done horrors but we can still make things right, our experience has made us more powerful etc.

then they fight the imperial guard, ALL OF THEM, meetra revan and scourge make it into the throne room, they all fight the emperor. meetra shows the emperor that she has seen the void, she has cut herself from the force, and she’s not afraid of him, revan supports her, talks about redemption and hope  and NOW.

NOW. how the alternate endings could go:

if you decide to take scourge through the light side, he manages to form a forcebond with meetra and revan since they’ve both teached something about the duality of the force, they get 100% stronger, but its still not enough. UNTIL. a bunch of ships (jedi and mandalorian, even non republic ships) arrive to dormound kaas, the gangs from each game storm the room and together they make the emperor and his guard a bunch of punching bags. they beat him! (unknow to them, this was a backup body because the emperor can do weird shit like that, and has only debilitated his plan, but he’ll come back dont worry). then they fly back to the republic, to tell the chancellor about the sith threat, and preparations for the war begin. meetra and revan get to live happily ever after for a while, then they die away from the jedi or the sith (waaah im thinking about them helping canderous rebuild the mandalorians, and them doing it since they killed so many mandos in the war)

BECAUSE IN THE END KOTOR IS ABOUT LEARNING TO PROCESS TRAUMA AND RECOGNIZE YOUR MISTAKES AND LIVE WITH THE GUILT WHILST TRYING TO FIX THE MISTAKES YOU MADE ALONG THE WAY. AND ALSO TO HEAL FROM TRAUMA YOU NEED A SUPPORT SYSTEM SO EVEN THOUGH IT MAKES SENSE TO YOU YOU SHOULDNT PUSH PEOPLE WHO LOVE YOU AWAY. AND THINGS AREN’T BLACK AND WHITE ITS COMPLICATED SO YOU DONT END UP BACK ON SQUARE ONE YOURE A CHANGED PERSON.

or

if you decide to dark side scourge further, he betrays revan and meetra, they all die, and the emperor unleashes his angry lightning or whatever on everyone + a bunch of visions of all the enemies of past mocking them, and their loved ones suffering. and since you’ve had that “im not calling my friends bullshit” no one comes, you die there, and the emperor is only stalled for a few years. swtor ensues. scourge becomes the emperor’s hand.

now you could of course bring revan and meetra up in swtor, but maybe only as force ghost guides, or have some of the other characters of the game have relevance (visas tries to heal the miraluka planet 2021)

WELL THAT WAS A LOT OF WORDS. HOPE THIS IS SATISFYING ENOUGH

[jadelotusflower]

Roundup - September 2021

This month: Saving Fish From Drowning, Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass, Anne Boleyn, Cruella, The Chair

Reading

Saving Fish from Drowning (Amy Tan) - I've always enjoyed Tan's work (particularly The Joy Luck Club, both the book and film) - Fish is somewhat of a departure, following a group of American tourists in Myanmar, narrated by their recently deceased friend Bibi Chen. The novel begins with a preface in which Tan explains she drew inspiration for the novel based on real events chronicled by a San Franciscan psychic's "automatic writing" channeling Chen's spirit (in truth a complete invention on Tan’s part, both literary device and metaphor).

Bibi is a compelling narrator, full of wry commentary of her friends as they bumble their way through their trip, the tone of the novel quite light despite some of the dark subject matter around the political situation in Myanmar (the novel was written in 2005 and set several years earlier) and the nature of intervention - the title referring to fisherman who "save fish from drowning" by netting them. It was at times difficult to keep track of all twelve (!) of the main characters and who was who outside of the few who get the most attention of the narrative.

An interesting read, about the stories we tell ourselves and others, and the fictions we believe for comfort and hope.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass and what Alice found there (Lewis Carroll) - I've been making more of an effort to work on my novel lately, which makes some reference to these works so thought it was due for a re-read. It seems impossible to consider these separate novels given how conflated they have become in pop culture - even the Disney film takes elements from both - they act as either a duology, or alternatively a single story told in two parts.

I personally much prefer Looking Glass, perhaps because I imprinted on the 1985 miniseries as a child (which adapts both novels, but we only had the second part on tape) - best known for it's celebrity cameos in silly costumes - including Sammy Davis Jnr, Donald O'Connor, Ringo Starr, and Carol Channing, among others, and the danger of the Jabberwocky as a manifestation of Alice's fears quite a nice idea that isn't found in the original text.

Perhaps Looking Glass, while remaining absurdist, is more cohesive than Wonderland with the chess motif and central motive for Alice to reach the Eighth Square and become a queen. I do however find the constant poetry tedious, and wonder whether both Wonderland and Looking Glass are better remembered for the concepts rather than the actual text.

Watching

Anne Boleyn (episodes 1-3) - I didn't think we needed another film/show about Anne, but I was always going to watch it. This series relies upon familiarity with history as it begins with Anne's final, doomed pregnancy - opening with the haunting words “Anne is the most powerful woman in England - she has just five months to live.”

There's nothing especially new here; rather a mood and character piece as Anne's isolation and desperation grows. It is of course built around the central, compelling performance of Jodie Turner-Smith, in every single scene and not afraid to shy away from Anne's sharper edges while remaining profoundly sympathetic, surrounded by a court of whispers, her existence on a knife's edge. We know only what Anne knows, and we see the smaller, heartbreaking moments usually passed over in other adaptations - in her grief following the stillbirth, Anne sits up in bed almost catatonic, milk leaking from her breasts, her attempt to walk back the infamous “dead man's shoes” comment, and the long days of her imprisonment.

Then there’s the beautiful costumes - in a court of dark furs, Anne wears bold primary colours and velvets that catch the light, that them become more subdued prints once she is in the Tower.

The other notable feature is the casting - described as "identity conscious" rather than colour-blind, representative of the othering of Anne and her relatives. Another standout is Thalissa Teixeira as Anne's cousin Madge Shelton, fleshed out as her confidant and the only one who remains true to her. It's a fresh perspective and a worthwhile watch, particularly for Turner-Smith's performance.

Cruella (dir. Craig Gillespie) - Spoilers. I wasn’t planning on bothering with this, but my sister wanted to watch it and I’d been told by several people that it was actually quite good. Look, I'm not saying they lied, I just think they were able to look past things that I was not.

Because actually, the core story has potential and the film has enjoyable elements (notably Emma Thompson), but simply falters every time they try and shoehorn references to the source material, and there are some truly egregious attempts - Roger is the Baroness’s lawyer for some reason? And writes the familiar Cruella De Vil song about how awful she is when she's just given him a puppy?

It doesn’t work as a prequel, or villain origin story, or even a reboot, since Cruella’s character journey is over by the end of the film (I have no idea what the purported sequel is going to be about) - in fact "Cruella" is just a persona Stone's Estella adopts (complete with a terrible affected accent), and there is no conceivable way for her to become the wannabe puppy murderer we know from the book or any of the film adaptations. Oh, and Pongo and Perdita are siblings! Well done, Disney. Slow clap for you.

Also, with a runtime of 2 hours 16 minutes it is Interminable and the whole thing is saddled with a terrible, unnecessary voiceover. Seriously, they should show this in film class to demonstrate when v/o hinders not helps.

They were likely going for a Maleficent-style re-imagining, but where that succeeded (somewhat) in a completely new retelling right down to a different ending to the source material, this wants to have it's cake and eat it too - it wants to have the Cruella aesthetic (the car, the hair, Hell Hall, the camp accent) but doesn't ever let her be a villain, or even the beginnings of a villain, but that's that's reason she's so memorable in the first place. It puts all the pieces in place for the story we know, and yet that story simply cannot happen with this version of Cruella.

In the end, it's a story of a fundamentally decent person who maybe goes a bit overboard in retaliating to bullies, and swindles a sociopath to reclaim what's rightfully hers. Cruella De Vil! I just couldn't get over this fundamental misapplication of the source material.

In many ways, it almost feels as if this was pitched as a sequel, with Cruella in the Baroness role. It would have fit a lot better with the aesthetic, the time period, and the concept of punk disruption of classic fashion. Or, it was a completely unrelated story of a plucky orphan who rises in the fashion world, that at some point was grafted onto the Dalmatians property. Either one would have worked better, frankly.

I am probably being overly harsh. If you switch off your brain and enjoy the clothes it’s fine. But honestly, if you want your live action Cruella fix, just watch the Glenn Close version, because it is superior in every way.

The Chair (season 1) - I watched this for Sandra Oh, and I was not disappointed, because I got to watch Sandra Oh. On the other hand...it's not that I didn't like it, I just...wish it had been better?

The story revolves around Ji-Yoon Kim, the first woman (let alone woman of colour) to become Chair of English at a "minor Ivy" university, as she tries to juggle the clash of old style academia and new, raise her daughter as a single mother, and deal with a series of controversies caused by one of her professors (and love interest). It's the latter I feel sucked up way too much time and was ultimately unsatisfying - particularly the end, which was played like a moral victory but really rubbed me the wrong way. If this gets a season 2, I hope they dump Jay Duplass' fuckup sadsack because hoo boy, am I sick of that kind of male character.

But Sandra Oh is wonderful.

Writing

The Lady of the Lake - chapter 5 posted, 4215 words (10,261)

Against the Dying of the Light 1954 words (11,976)

Here I Go Again - 414 words (12,948)

Novel - 1039 words (1484)

Total this month: 7,622

Total this year: 48,435

[aion-rsa]

Money Heist: What to Know About the International TV Phenomenon

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If you haven’t tuned into Money Heist yet, you’ve been missing one of the hottest series on Netflix right now. It’s sexy, absurdist fun, an action soap opera like no other, so addictively bingeable that it has stolen the hearts of a worldwide audience. But it’s more than escapist fare. Money Heist has also become a rallying cry of resistance that is changing the world. 

It almost didn’t happen. Netflix picked up Money Heist entirely by chance. If they hadn’t, the original series might have easily vanished into obscurity for English-speaking audiences. Once Netflix got it, it blew up and became their most watched non-English series.

Money Heist was originally broadcast on Spain’s Antena 3 channel in 2017 under its native title La Casa de Papel (The House of Paper). The first season was 15 episodes, told in two parts. The initial part garnered a healthy 45 million viewers but viewership plummeted when the second part was broadcast. With only half the audience remaining and the story complete, the show seemed at its end. Netflix acquired the series as part of an international catalog of titles, re-edited it into 22 shorter episodes, re-released it internationally later that year. The streamer didn’t even bother to promote it when they added to their queue. Nevertheless, it found a huge audience outside of Spain and viewership skyrocketed.

Season 1 is about a meticulously planned heist of the Royal Mint of Spain. The Professor (Álvaro Morte) is a criminal mastermind who assembles a gang of thieves. Each thief adopts the name of a city to conceal their true identities from each other, akin to the robbers in Reservoir Dogs. The story is told from the perspective of Tokyo (Úrsula Corberó), a brazen spitfire femme fatale who steals every scene she’s in. The thieves capture the Mint, taking dozens of hostages. Their plan is to print millions in unmarked bills. Meanwhile, the Professor plays a cat-and-mouse game with Inspector Murillo (Itziar Ituño) who is hot on his trail. 

Don’t Fall in Love During a Heist

Through Tokyo’s narration and copious flashbacks to the planning of the crime, Money Heist tells a gripping story of the ultimate anti-heroes. As tensions mount, the gang is at one another’s throats while navigating the Professor’s deceptive instructions. The Mint is surrounded by cops and time is running out. Gratuitous shots of ticking clocks increase the pressure, the same device deployed by original Mission: Impossible TV series to heighten suspense. Stockholm syndrome takes hold as the hostages fall for their captors. In classic Money Heist style, the main hostage who joins the gang adopts the name “Stockholm (Esther Acebo)”. The Professor and the Inspector engage in a deliciously dysfunctional romance. It’s all exceedingly sexy with the beautiful actors often scantily clad, and has a subversively sharp sense of humor. 

Despite its ludicrousness, Money Heist is so addictive in many ways. First off, it masters the cliffhanger. The suspense is relentlessly palpable and no matter how ridiculous some of the deus ex machina resolutions are, they’re still great fun to watch. Just like Game of Thrones, this show is merciless. Beloved main characters die in shockingly poignant death scenes. This keeps the suspense very real. You never know if your favorite character is going to make it. Of the seven thieves that enter the Mint with Tokyo – Berlin (Pedro Alonso), Denver (Jaime Lorente), Helsinki (Darko Perić), Moscow (Paco Tous), Nairobi (Alba Flores), Oslo (Roberto Garcia Ruiz) and Rio (Miguel Herrán) – three don’t make it out. 

Secondly, it’s about those characters. The ensemble cast delivers great performances across the board. Every role is rich, complex, and well-developed. Everyone has his or her strengths, weaknesses, and back stories and their emotional journeys resonate deeply. No one is entirely innocent. You can’t help yourself from rooting for them, even the villains. 

And third, Money Heist has style. Its passionate soundtrack has captured the ears of the world. The use of color, particularly red against darkly composed frames, is exquisitely captivating. Money Heist is a thrilling roller coaster ride that just has to be experienced. 

Enjoy It Until the Party is Over

The global following shocked the cast and crew. After season 1 wrapped, the show seemed finished. As the cast watched their social media following grow exponentially (an experience catalogued in Netflix’s documentary, Money Heist: The Phenomenon), they knew something was up. By 2018, Money Heist garnered several nominations and wins across the European awards circuit and even won the coveted Best Drama Series at the 46th International Emmys.

Consequently, Netflix reassembled the cast and crew for a second season, this time with a much bigger budget. Even though season 1 was self-contained, the show’s creator Álex Pina dreamed up a second season, one that was on a much grander scale, thanks to Netflix’s backing.

The second heist is in four parts. That may sound confusing because the upcoming season 5 will be split into two parts as well. Season 5 is actually parts 3 and 4 of the second heist story arc. “Heist 2” is already 16 episodes deep and it’s only the halfway point. 

For the second heist, the gang must reassemble to rescue one of their own after Tokyo makes another grievous mistake. And that rescue hinges upon robbing the Bank of Spain. New gang members join the survivors of the first robbery, and another more ruthless adversary, the pregnant Inspector Sierra (Najwa Nimri). Sierra is a more ruthless opponent than Murillo was for the first heist. When it comes to the Professor’s psychological chess game, Sierra flips the chess board upside down. Season 3 (Part 1 of the Bank of Spain heist) debuted exclusively on Netflix in the summer of 2019. Season 4 (Part 2) was released almost a year later in April 2020, and it was seen by 65 million households. That’s a million more viewers than watched Tiger King when it ran around the same time. 

Realizing they had a bankable hit, Netflix released Money Heist: The Phenomenon. The documentary showcases the astonishment of the cast and crew as they navigate their new found popularity from a show they thought was done. A season 2 opening scene, filmed in front of the historic Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral in Florence, Italy, was almost ruined when rabid fans rushed the crew. However, do not watch Money Heist: The Phenomenon before seeing the show because it drops some major spoilers. 

We Are Dali

To hide their identities, the gang wears masks based on the famous Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dali, replete with a red hooded jumpsuit. They force their hostages to wear the same costume to confuse the police. This Dali mask has become a new symbol of international rebellion, supplanting the Guy Fawkes mask from V for Vendetta on a global scale. Beyond Comic-Con cosplaying, the Dali mask has been appearing on protestors and in effigies around the world. Footage from these real life demonstrations appear in the show. 

Money Heist has had a profound effect on international football (“soccer” for we Yanks). Massive displays of Dali mask banners appeared at Saudi Arabia soccer stadiums. At the Karaiskaki Stadium, Greek soccer fans unfurled a huge Dali banner too. After their team won, they rushed the field wearing Money Heist costumes. Brazilian soccer superstar Neymar de Silva even makes a cameo in season 3 as a monk who wryly comments about his disdain for soccer. Silva claims Money Heist is his favorite show.  

There were even real life copycat heists. France fell victim to a shop hold-up and a hotel robbery where the perpetrators wore Dali masks. A 2019 daylight heist of the Mexican Mint was thought to have been inspired by the show. Perhaps the best one was when Justin Bieber’s five-billion-view music video ‘Despacito’ was hacked on YouTube. The hackers replaced it with an image of Money Heist in full Dali regalia with guns pointing out, accompanied by a call to ‘Free Palestine.’ 

Consequently, there has been some backlash. Cyprus banned Dali costumes for Carnival. Turkish journalists and politicians have admonished the show, describing it as rebel propaganda. The Professor describes it best in season 3. “The mask has become a symbol throughout the world of resistance, of indignations, of skepticism. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that it has inspired many people.” 

Ironically, Money Heist pilfered Dali’s image. The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation never gave the show its blessing for the use of the artist’s likeness. There’s no doubt that Dali is spinning in his grave for not getting paid royalties, but he must appreciate the surrealism here. 

Bella Ciao!

Beyond the now iconic Dali mask, Money Heist also revived a rebel ballad, the Italian protest song Bella Ciao. Bella Ciao means ‘Goodbye Beautiful’ and it was the anthem of anti-fascists of the Italian Resistance during WWII. Originally about toiling in rice fields under an oppressive boss, the lyrics evolved to describe the Resistance’s commitment to the cause with their lives. When translated from Italian, the lyrics end with “This is the flower of the partisan who died for freedom.” 

The Professor’s grandfather fought in the Italian resistance so he sings it with Berlin, his older brother, and teaches it to the gang. The song is frequently reprised throughout the series, most tellingly during the season 1 part 1 finale end credits. A montage of black-and-white footage decrying the evils of money fades to red as Bella Ciao plays.

Since Money Heist, over a dozen new versions of Bella Ciao have climbed the charts across Europe, with the Professor’s rendition placing first in Austria, second in Germany, and in the top twenty in Belgium, France, and Switzerland. It’s been covered by several EDM DJs like Steve Aoki and Hardwell. Bella Ciao has become a common chant at soccer matches, and was heard at the 2019 World Cup. When Open Arms rescued a boatload of fleeing immigrants docked in Lampedusa, the refugees sang Bella Ciao to celebrate their newfound freedom. 

The Last Times are Beyond Comparison

What might the finale hold? When we last left the gang, they were reunited in the Bank of Spain and determined to win ‘the war’ in honor of their latest fallen comrade. But Inspector Sierra got the drop on the Professor. With a gun to his head, she declared “Checkmate, son of a bitch.” Anyone who knows the show understands that it is volatile and unpredictable so it’s anyone’s guess what happens next. 

It’s clear that this is the end. When production wrapped on May 14th, Netflix tweeted “Thank you to all the fans for being part of La Resistencia! We can’t wait to show you how this story ends.”  However, Netflix is never one to kill a goose that lays golden eggs. 

Money Heist creator Álex Pina already launched another Netflix series, Sky Rojo. Season 1 premiered back in March 2021 and season 2 is slated for July. It’s the story of three women on the run, somewhat reminiscent of Thelma and Louise, only the threesome are prostitutes. It’s stylish and sexy, and received some critical acclaim. But it has nowhere near the impact of Money Heist. 

A Korean adaptation of Money Heist is in the works with Kim Hong-sun directing. Cast as the Professor is Yoo Ji Tae, who is most remembered for his mastermind role in Oldboy, and also had a part in a Korean TV adaptation of The Good Wife. Playing Tokyo will be Jeon Jong Seo, aka Rachel Jun, a newcomer with two feature films under her belt. 

This summer, an immersive event “Money Heist: The Experience” is set to tour London, Miami, Mexico City, New York, and Paris. Each city will get a different version of the experience, adapted to the venue, and the venues won’t be announced until just prior to the events open. This is another collaboration between Netflix and Fever, who previously staged “Stranger Things: The Drive Into Experience” in Los Angeles. 

Most of the cast of Money Heist were too engaged with filming the final season under pandemic restrictions to take on any new projects. The notable exception of Úrsula Corberó. Corberó is cast as the Baroness in the upcoming G.I. Joe Origins film, Snake Eyes. 

Money Heist held the title of Netflix’s most watched non-English series until a French show, ironically also about a heist, stole the crown. Lupin robbed Money Heist of the title in January 2021 racking up 76 million views. Lupin Part 2 debuted on June 11. When Money Heist returns, will it steal back Netflix’s most watched non-English series crown? Hopefully so. For Nairobi!

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Money Heist, Parts 1-4, are available on Netflix now. Season 5 Volume 1 debuts on September 3, Volume 2 arrives on December 3, 2021. 

The post Money Heist: What to Know About the International TV Phenomenon appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3yesomz

[annypuff]

hiii anny! i saw your rb about movies, and i came running hehe

some of my favs but i'd love to you know if you've seen/ general thoughts:

- dodgeball: a true underdog story - dreamgirls - ford v ferrari - shawshank redemption

wildcards for funsies:

- the spongebob squarepants movie (2004) - the fault in our stars - monty python and the holy grail

granted, i am american so these are all hollywood films (i think). if you have any movie rec's i'd love to read 'em!

hi hi!! i love to talk about movies !!! (even though my list is not long lmao)

so from your faves, unfortunately i've only seen, in its entirety, dodgeball :') as for wildcards, spongebob and fault in our stars LOL

ask me about a film! - post

dodgeball: a true underdog story never seen | want to see | the worst | bad | whatever | not my thing | good | great | favorite | masterpiece if this movie is ever on tv, i never change the channel lol ben stiller is so weird and justin long is adorable. i also love that lance armstrong cameo.. aged like milk lmao

dreamgirls never seen | want to see | the worst | bad | whatever | not my thing | good | great | favorite | masterpiece

ford v ferrari never seen | want to see | the worst | bad | whatever | not my thing | good | great | favorite | masterpiece

shawshank redemption never seen | want to see | the worst | bad | whatever | not my thing | good | great | favorite | masterpiece i feel reeally bad about this one because i know it's great, i rmbr watching parts of it but i knew i never got to the ending.. so it's def on my to watch list!

the spongebob squarepants movie (2004) never seen | want to see | the worst | bad | whatever | not my thing | good | great | favorite | masterpiece THIS MOVIE IS SO GOOOOOOD!!! like MEMES came out of it.. lmao they really hit the nail on it as a movie, it did not feel like a tv special like some show movies tend to feel like??? i almost can say it's a comfort movie too. plankton is such a good character and movie villain (aimed at children of course) and the premise that spongebob isnt deemed mature enough to handle situations but then it being okay to be a kid AND save bikini bottom really touches my heart LOL i need to watch that again

the fault in our stars never seen | want to see | the worst | bad | whatever | not my thing | good | great | favorite | masterpiece i really love coming of age things but i only go for them in movie format if im in the mood. im not too sure if it counts as coming of age but i tend to categorize "teens going thru shit" as that lmao but this movie in particular i initially didn't care for, mostly bc of the overuse of the goddamn book cover LMAO but i was bored enough one day to watch it and boy did i cry!! im actually a very big crybaby, it doesn't take much to make me tear up. but i will tell you, i was heavily more invested in ansel elgort and nat wolff's friendship than anything else lmao i sobbed SO hard at nat wolff's speech.....

monty python and the holy grail never seen | want to see | the worst | bad | whatever | not my thing | good | great | favorite | masterpiece sorry, i do want to see it but it's super low on my priority, i've seen clips here and there though!

[kindred-is-obsessed]

Reasons you should be watching Craig of the Creek

Not enough people are watching this wonderful show, so I thought I’d do my best to introduce people to it. It’s made by former Steven Universe crew Ben Levin and Matt Burnett, so if you’re missing Steven Universe while it’s on hiatus this is a great way to keep away the hiatus blues, or if you just enjoy in cartoons. It’s great for a whole list of reasons, which broadly fall into the two categories of great representation and great storytelling:

Canonical queer representation

-       The witches premiere in the episode The Curse. If you aren’t sure if you want to watch this whole show definitely watch this one at least! It’s my absolute favourite not least of all because it’s about teen goth girls in love. It has a sequel The Last Kid in The Creek which is also wonderful, and the witches cameo throughout the series. I don’t want to spoil too much but The Curse is essentially about the two not wanting to be separated and struggling to admit their feelings for each other. (Spoilers: they do and walk off alone, blushing, staring at each other lovingly, while the kids aww at them)

-       Bernard and his girlfriend watch a cooking show hosted by a gay couple.

-       Other cameos, hints and coded queer kids such as JP’s sister (who has fancy dinner reservations with Kat, a woman with a shaved head who compliments Kelsey’s fake sword). There’s also Raj and Shaun (two very close friends), as well as several very boyish tomboys, including Handlebarb and Turner.

-       All public bathrooms I’ve spotted in the show have gender neutral signs on them which is nice.

POC representation

-       Craig, the main character, is black and has a loving family explored in depth, including an activist grandmother working for the council, a wise and fun grandfather, a supportive fun dad who loves his amazing wife, an adorable assertive little sister, and an angsty overachieving older brother who just wants to be a good grownup who loves his family and girlfriend.  

-       There are MANY characters of colour. There are black and brown characters, Raj is Indian, Stacks is Hispanic (and it’s implied she is an immigrant), there are several Asian characters, Kelsey is Hungarian and Jewish, a persistent background character wears a hijab (I’m pretty sure she was named at some point but I can’t find her name anywhere. She definitely has lines at one point). I’m sure there are others I have missed. No one is a stereotype as far as I am aware.

Subtle neurodivergent representation

-       JP is possibly on the autism spectrum. I’d love neurodivergent people’s opinions on this, but while the representation isn’t canonical or obvious I think it’s good that while JP is represented as having different thought processes from his friends, he isn’t made fun of for it, at least not by them. It’s noteworthy I think that he’s the eldest of the core trio, probably because he finds it easier to relate to younger people who still share his imagination and care less about his unique way of thinking. His neurodivergence is explored most explicitly in the episode Jextra Perrestrial, so if you’re interested in this kind of representation definitely check that episode out.

Non-nuclear family representation

-       While the main character is a member of the typical nuclear family you see on TV (except black, and actually interesting) most of the other families we see are not.

-       JP is raised by his mother and older sister. His father is never mentioned and their house is definitely in worse condition than the others we see. His family works hard to take care of each other. His sister is a nurse and both her and her mother are away a lot of the time, but they both love JP very much. JP’s sister also happens to be really openly body positive. I love them a lot.

-       Kelsey’s father is an only parent. There’s still a lot of mystery surrounding how Kelsey’s mother passed away. It’s a very subtle but important part of Kelsey’s character and comes through in really bittersweet adorable ways (not limited to Kelsey using her “half-orphan”ness to guilt trip a man into giving her money)

-       Other kinds of families are scattered throughout the show, including families that move around a lot, a home-school kid with a strict mother, and more.

Unique approach to fantasy and sci-fi

-       You know how most kids show will take a kid’s fantasy and bring it to reality? Well Craig of the Creek keeps the fantastical and nostalgic element of that line of thinking but never confirms or denies whether the kids fantasies are real or in their heads. And not in a Scooby Doo way where the fantastical elements are explained away, but are hinted as a possibility right at the very end. Instead, two perspectives (the fantastical perspective and the realistic perspective) are woven into every episode.

-       This means there are two ways to interpret every episode. You can view the witches as real witches, or as goth teenagers. You can view Helen as a kid from another dimension, or a home-school kid who is never at the creek at the same time as the other kids. You can view Deltron as a cyborg from the future, or as an imaginative kid from a big city.

-       This is super unique and fun to watch. They come up with so many new ideas and its always fun to figure out what’s actually happening, while still getting to relive childhood fantastical nostalgia.

-       Almost all of these episodes use this to talk about an issue, but these issues can get quite complex and are definitely not shoved down your throat.

Overarching mystery plot about a colonialist kingdom / cult

-       Love the slow burn storytelling of Steven Universe’s Diamond Authority? Love putting together the mysteries of Gravity Falls? Then you’ll love this plot about colonialism, classism, bullying, peer pressure and more and its mysterious build up including cryptic graffiti art and flower symbolism.

-       Even before this arc properly begins, Craig of The Creek primarily centers around the microcosm of the Creek. Many of the episodes have a lot of commentary on society, politics and how different factions of people form and interact.

-       The show is over 50 episodes in and this arc is only just starting to kick off so now is the time to catch up and watch.

-       Fun complex villain(s)

Complex relatable characters

-       Want commentary and nostalgia about horse girls, children’s tea parties, weird kids, angsty teens, young weebs, dweebs and more!? Every childhood obsession is represented in this show.

-       Adults! All the parents and older teens in this show are just as rich and complex as the kids. They are all so interesting and fun.  

-       Want characters with arcs, aims, fun relationships and complexity!? Look no further! Redemption arcs! Revelations! Found family! It’s all here!

Great art and soundtrack

-       Cute background and character designs that make you nostalgic as hell and are also beautiful and well thought out.

-       Sometimes the art design is changed up for a particular episode to portray a certain fantastical / sci fi element. It’s very fun and engaging. 

-       An opening song that’s fun to sing along to, bittersweet ending song that makes me want to cry, a couple of musical episodes including a super fun rap musical episode, and a great OST

Queer headcanons

-       There are tons of ways to interpret the show but here’s some of my head canons just to get an idea.

-       (Note that despite my headcanons I use the pronouns for the kids that they use in the show cause I’m not certain about any of it and they’re kids who haven’t come out yet and also for clarity and consistency’s sake – I’m not saying trans people are not their genders. Don’t worry I’m nonbinary)

-       I headcanon that all the main trio grow up to realise they are queer. They strike me as that weird group of friends that doesn’t fit in with the other kids and aren’t quite sure how they all came to be friends, only to later realise they all showed early signs of breaking gender roles and that’s why they stuck together.

-       Craig definitely grows up to realise he’s gay, bisexual or queer. His admiration for characters like Deltron and Green Poncho are definitely crushes that he mistakes for a strong sudden and eager desire for friendship.

-       Kelsey probably grows up to realise she is nonbinary, a trans boy or a WLW. I mostly headcanon this because I relate to her a lot and I’m nonbinary and queer so I said so. She reminds me a lot of myself as a kid. She throws herself into books, mostly fantasy for escapism. She fantasises and writes a lot for the same reasons. She dresses like a tomboy (She always wears her hair up in the same bun which strongly reminds me of my own childhood hair dysphoria) and she hangs out solely with male friends.

-       JP gives me strong trans lesbian vibes, or to a lesser extent nonbinary vibes. (I know his sister is WLW coded but take it from me there can be more than one queer in a family). He is interested in girls, specifically Maney the horse girl (he even joined the horse girls for one episode). He wears a long V-neck shirt that is essentially a dress ALL the time. He’s aware that he’s different and while self conscious sometimes, mostly just wants to express himself the way he wants to. He also chooses to go by initials JP over his very gendered name Johnathan Paul (In a recent episode he names a ship after himself, calling it “The SS Johnathon Paulina”).

-       (Sidenote if you do start watching this show and I see any nasty shipping of these characters in non puppy-love fashion so help me god)

 Other reasons

-       The show is at times very intertextual and references Princess Mononoke, Super Smash Brothers, Sailor Moon, Lord of the Rings, and a billion other things. It also has some fun cameos, including background images of the Tres Horny Boys from The Adventure Zone, a TARDIS from Doctor Who, and a Cookie Cat from Steven Universe.

-       Honestly, this post hasn’t done the best job explaining why I love this show so much. You honestly just have to watch an episode to understand fully what I’m talking about, so give it a go! Watch The Curse at least, it only goes for 10 minutes.