#and the rest part i saw was a man explaining squid games in an unknown to me language

[ask-basil-omori]

Maybe you should join Squid Game. If you wanna. Did you watch it yet, btw? :3

I wouldn't join that.. I'm sorry..

I think I watched a bit of the start, but I couldn't really handle it..

[siryouarebeingmocked]

Dr. Strange 2: Witness the power of this fully armed and operational Disney VFX budget!

I liked the movie. The multiverse/magic stuff looks great, and if you watch Strange 1, then Far From Home, then this, you can see a pretty clear progression.

As someone whose knowledge of Sam Raimi is literally just "Saw all 3 Spider-Man movies and Darkman," I appreciate his directorial flourishes. You can tell he's flexing here, especially with the bigger budget.

I like Wanda and Strange’s arcs.

I do have some issues with America, though.

SPOILERS

There's an LP channel called Spoiler Warning. They once MST3K'd Mass Effect 3, and mocked the halibut out of the blatant attempt at pathos in the first level. "But Shamus," Josh would snark, "a kid died!"

In case you aren't familiar with the game, Shepard tries to save a random little kid hiding in a vent. The kid refuses to come out. Then later, as Shep leaves, they look down and see the kid, hopping on the last shuttle out of Vancouver.

The big bad space squid enemies laser it, and then Shepard has bad dreams for the rest of the game. Because a generic kid died.

And that's what America is. She's A Kid. Extruded teen product. Servicable. She the meat and potatoes of characters.

The movie examines Strange's pride. In the first movie, he was an egotist who thought it was All About Him. In this movie, he doesn't, but he still thinks it's on him to fix the problems-

Sorry, I just had to take a moment to make sure they didn't mix up a few script pages from Iron Man 2.

Kid sidekicks are supposed to bring out new character traits in the main protagonist. Robin contrasts Batman's dark grittiness (Well, except for Damien and Dick, where Damien was the dark one and Dick was the lighter one.). Jimmy Olsen contrasts Superman by just being A Guy who keeps getting caught up in super-shenanigans.

America can't use her powers on command-

Sorry, I just had to take a moment to make sure they didn't mix up a few script pages from Into the Spider-Verse.

And the climax of her arc is to learn how awesome and powerful she actually is-

Sorry, I just had to take a moment to make sure they didn't mix up a few script pages from Captain Marvel.

Jokes aside, "believe in the me who believes in you!" is a perfectly...functional plot here. It works. She works. It’s...kind of a contrast with Strange’s arc? But she's a pretty flat character. Maybe if the movie started with her trusting only in herself. I don’t mean the weaksauce stuff we got, I mean straight up paranoia. She only trusts herself, which is a dark mirror of Strange’s arc. And Wanda’s too! She’s only going with Strange because she’s out of options.

Now, the cynical part of me says this is because of woke shenanigans. The optimist says it might be because they want to give her a full arc of her own in some other series or movie. Or because they already had two major character arcs in the film.

Incidentally, it turns out America’s power has been taking her to the ‘correct’ universes all along. Which includes universes where good things happen to her. Which explains why she’s so relatively-well-adjusted.

Incidentally, America is gay in the comics. I hoped they wouldn't try to include a subplot about a 15 year old's sexuality. And they didn't.

They did something...else.

So, in this film (and maybe the comics) America is apparently from an idyllic, peaceful lesbian(?) commune-

Sorry, I just had to take a moment to make sure they didn't mix up a few script pages from Wonder Woman.

-and accidentally knocked her moms into some unknown other dimension when her powers kicked in-

Sorry, I just had to take a moment to make sure they didn't mix up a few script pages from Inhumans.

Oh, right, Inhumans. Black Bolt is on the Illuminati. I was hoping for the Tom Cruise as Superior Iron Man. John Krasinski as Reed Richards was

They also finally gave Professor X the iconic yellow wheelchair. Maria Rambeau is Captain Marvel, like her daughter was in the comics for a while.

(Aside: I loved Monica in Nextwave as Kermit to the team's Muppets, and know nothing else about her regular appearances.)

And they bought back Anson Mount as Black Bolt, which was

Was it fanservice? Yes. Was it fun? Yes. Was Reed Richard useless? Yes.

Oh, and it bugged me how many shots seemed framed specifically to show off America’s Pride pin. Which I could ignore if it wasn’t that new racialized version I dislike*. Maybe it’s in honor of her moms, idk. She is also, quite possibly, the most special person in the multiverse, because there is apparently only one of her, likely for plot reasons.

These minor things aside, yeah, worth a few bucks.

* Ironic how a flag about bringing people together is now implying some LGBT people are more important than others.

[pandoricpies]

Evil Fripp AU: Part 1

Based off of a post by @rebecawolfforest because idea overload; Avalon confronts Fripp about his suspicious practices

This was it. It was all or nothing. The man had finally made up his mind. He was done being complacent, done being threatened by a creature who barely measured up to his shin. It was time.

However comforting these thoughts seemed, they were as fickle as foolish hopes could be. Avalon wasn’t an idiot; he knew what the small blue squirrel was capable of - manipulation, mind control, torture. It came as no surprise to him that none of his fellow druids had attempted to do the very thing he was about to. Well, except one.

His brother had tried this before. The young man of twenty-three had grown tired of their supposed ‘leader’s’ shady practices and decided to take matters into his own hands. Of course, Avalon agreed his brother was dangerous. He recklessly researched and used unknown magic - dangerous magic. His carelessness however was not what earned him his banishment.....

He asked too many questions.

Avalon shivered in the cold evening breeze, shaking off these intruding thoughts. He wouldn’t make the same mistakes as his idiot older brother. He wouldn’t storm into Fripp’s Chamber, demand answers, and threaten the creature to get them. Instead, he would enter with a level head and calmly lay out his concerns to Fripp. The man was content in knowing he had the resources to fight back if the need surfaced.

Avalon continued his way up the rather steep incline to the entrance of the Secret Stone Circle, keeping an eye out for the beginning of the circular path. He averted his eyes from the small cottage placed at the side of the path. The man swore he could still smell that sweet perfume she always wore.

His feet finally began to follow the swirling path that would manifest the entrance portal. Undeniable nerves began to brew inside him. He knew Fripp wouldn’t appreciate the sudden traitorous behavior. His intent ruled over it all though; he needed to save those girls.

Those girls, those teenage girls, the one’s entrusted with saving an entire island. They needed to be worried about passing a history test, not demon squid monsters and psychotic old men. Avalon was determined not to let these ones fall through the cracks, not let the madness tear their friendship apart....

Not let him tear them apart.

The familiar soft twinkle of the portal began to grow louder as he made the final turns. Avalon stopped, staring at the pink portal as if it were a ticket to another life. This would certainly change his. With one last deep breath, he entered the magical gateway.

A cold shiver ran up his spine as he was teleported to the large stone circle, his feet finding the hard ground. Gathering his bearings, he took a look around the circle, his eyes scanning feverishly for the little blue creature. Fripp wasn’t there - he must be in his chamber.

Avalon sighed nervously, feeling the sweat grow in his palms. The worst was yet to come. He made his way over to the green portal, the portal that would take him to the creature - and his fate.

Here goes nothing.

After another trip through time and space, Avalon finally saw his target. Fripp was sitting at his desk, propped up on five lavishly decorated pillows. He looked up, a twitch of his nose the only indication that he recognized Avalon’s presence.

“Fripp, I’d like a word.” Avalon started, clearing his throat after speaking. He didn’t want to sound nervous. Show the first sign of weakness and that squirrel would be all over it.

“Hm?” Fripp squeaked, not taking his big brown eyes off of the old book in front of him.

“I’m here to inquire about the girls. Specifically Joana (MC) and furthering her training.” He explained. Avalon mentally punched himself - he was starting too passively.

“What of it? I’ve told you I will train her when I’m ready.” The creature finally looked up, eyes glaring at the man.

“All I’m saying is, the longer we let her go without the proper training, the more we run the risk of an accident. I’m sure you-“

“And are you implying that I allow you to train her? After what happened with the last one?” Fripp spoke, the spite evident in his voice. He loved to bring that up.

“I-No, I’m not. I’m simply advising that we take the measures necessary to ensure the safety of her and the other soul riders.” Avalon spoke through gritted teeth, unpleasant memories flooding his mind.

“I’d suggest you leave the advising to the high druids.” Fripp said condescendingly, waving his paw at the man as to dismiss him. This only fueled Avalon’s anger.

“I didn’t just come here to talk about them Fripp. I’ve come to discuss the rest of your recent doings. From sending young, untrained apprentices to do your bidding- not to mention the fact that you pin those girls against each other, telling Anne she’s excelling wonderfully and bitterly dismissing Alex, it’s wrong!” Avalon exclaimed, his voice louder and more dominating. The blue squirrel looked up at him, closing the book with his magic. He hopped from the tower of pillows to a side pillar, then onto a high bookshelf - just to be above Avalon.

“Perhaps you’ve forgotten who’s in charge here. I have reasoning behind my actions.” He turned his nose up at the man, little arms folded across his chest.

“Damnit Fripp! You really think I’m that blind? I know exactly what you’re up to! The secret meetings, the unaddressed letters with a ‘DC’ written in small black ink in the corner, your shallow response to the accident-“ Avalon was cut off abruptly by sharp pressure at the back of his skull. He heard heavy breathing from behind.

“Are you suggesting you’ve been going through my mail?” Fripp asked, his voice becoming hauntingly short and shallow. This was exactly what he had been afraid of.

A wand to his head, Fripp’s anger boiling over....

Nowhere to run.

“I’d always known it’d come to this with you. From the time I met you as a little boy, you were always curious... far too curious.” Fripp shook his head, pacing back and forth on the top of the bookshelf.

“And to add, Elizabeth’s demise was no accident. He stopped, turning his head toward the man, a small smile creeping on his face, “it was simply a step in the right direction.”

“Damn you! After everything she did for you, you bastard!” Avalon yelled, wet tears born of anger and sorrow stinging his eyes. He dared not move, but how badly he wanted to unleash his rage against the creature. How could he....

“Enough of the games Avalon. You’ve obviously discovered far too much.” Fripp nodded to someone behind Avalon, the wand being pushed even harder into his skull. Pain radiated through his head.

“What are you going to do, kill me? You need me. I’m the best seer you’ve got. I’m the only one who can tell if your poor followers are lying to you.” Avalon spoke, knowing full well his voice was shaking. Not from fear, but from the anger that continued to rage inside him.

“Oh no. That was not my intention at all. Death does not cause the most pain to a man. It summons an end. There can be no pain after the end.” Fripp explained, his eyes calmly moving around the room. It was as if he were discussing what color the drapes were to be changed to.

“The mind, my friend. The mind is the organ the man seeks to protect most. When the private mind comes under attack, the man begins to fold within himself. For there is no privacy nor comfort left for him.” The squirrel continued, his voice maintaining the calm composure. The subject matter made Avalon sick to his stomach.

“Your mind, Avalon. I will take away every last memory you have of her, of that wretched woman.” Fripp said, leaning off of the bookshelf as to be closer to the man’s face.

The man felt began to feel sick.

“I will take away the friendship, the care..... the love you two shared.” He continued, that same eerie smile returning.

Avalon swallowed, his stomach turning more and more with each word. He wouldn’t....

“I’ll take it all.”