#and wanted to make the movie better and “preserve the franchise”

[yllowpages]

[nintendroid]

I finally (sort of) beat Batman Forever for Sega Genesis thanks to this mod!

The first bad video game I can remember owning is Batman Forever. Thirteen years ago on this very blog I aired my frustrations with it and when anyone asks me what my least favorite games are, Batman Forever is always in the conversation.

I love the movie and I'm glad that thanks to the "Schumacher Cut" hype its finally getting it's roses. I have great memories of it as the first Batman movie I saw in theaters, and equally great memories of that following Christmas and getting some of the toys that I loved as much as the movie. While I love Batman '89 and Batman Returns, Batman Forever was MY Batman.

The combination of the cyberpunk setting, amazing soundtrack, Jim Carrey as The Riddler, the McDonalds French-made glasses that remained a staple in my household for years, and a competent on-screen Robin, my memories of Batman Forever as a film and franchise entry got everything right! The only blemish on an otherwise blockbuster experience was the game.

I've tried to play it over the years and never can stick it out. It has a good soundtrack, good graphics and from a distance looks like it could be a good game. What makes it dreadful to play is the unforgiving difficulty, no continues, laggy Mortal Kombat controls that don't belong nowhere near a platformer, timed levels where the terribleness of the controls are made super-apparent and I cant stress enough THE CONTROLS. The wacky button combinations for basic functions are mind-boggling and just plain poor. Batman Forever: The Video Game is the black sheep of the Batman Forever marketing blitz.

Fast forward to 2023. Thanks to the efforts of video game preservation, advance technology and people fed up with the modern state of gaming, retro gaming truly belongs to the players. Apart of that freedom of "ownership" is to right the sins of the past and create the experiences that we wanted as kids but didn't get for one reason or another.

Enter video game modder BillyTime! Games.

William Timington (his proper name) modded the Sega Genesis port of Batman Forever and gave us "Batman Eternity". A version of Batman Forever that scraps the stupid platforming elements and puzzles and gives us what we truly wanted: A BRAWLER.

Batman Eternity is a gameplay overhaul of Batman forever. Its main goal is to remove all platform and puzzle elements from the game and focuses strictly on combat.

Changes Made: -------------------- Both Versions: *Level 3 and 5 have been removed entirely *Several layout changed have been made across all levels *Batman and Robin start with 10 lives in Singleplayer, Co-op and competitive modes. *Batman and Robin have all moves available and can be used at any time. *The Riddler is unlocked in training mode by default. Original Difficulty: -------------------- No health values have been modified and remain the same as the original game. Scaling Difficulty: -------------------- All health values have been changed for all enemies in this version to be universal. After each level or at a Boss portion of each level, the health cap for enemies is gradually raised. Enemy health caps at Level 7.

These changes make for a much more basic and enjoyable experience. It's still not a perfect experience by any stretch but it's so much better than the original. The simplicity makes you appreciate the atmosphere of the game, and the graphics, the music. The controls still aren't ideal but you'll spend so much time just clobbering enemies, you won't notice.

When I finally beat the Giga Riddler at the end of the game, I felt...complete. Like another insignificant, small book in my childhood library finally got the ending it deserved. Dramatic? Yes, but you need that exaggeration to keep things interesting.

If you want to check out the romhack for yourself, check it out here and while you're at it, check out BillyTime! Games Twitter and shoot him a thanks for his efforts.

Thanks William Timington. You belonged in that dev room way back in 1995.

[finalfantasythoughts]

FFXV Thoughts - Development and Evolution

FFXV is one of my favorite entries in the franchise, in my personal top 3/5 (controversial though that may be). However, it's no secret that the game had a development riddled with problems and the result is felt in various aspects of the game. This also ties to why people prefer the "game" (at least the very limited parts we saw) when it was still Versus XIII or just under Nomura's direction. I wanted to look at some of the issues with the game as well as point out how certain elements from the old trailers translated into the final game, even though certain people try to make it out that XV and VsXIII share nothing but a few locations and characters because the final product didn't align with what they thought the game would be. I'm not going to mention combat really because while a bit oversimplified, I still enjoyed it (my biggest gripe is how awkwardly magic was handled). I know I'm beating a dead horse and some people are over the whole situation, but I had a lot of thoughts and wanted to share them as somebody who played XV years later so I had no expectations for a game that despite being shown off over many years, didn't necessarily reveal much. This will contain spoilers for the whole of XV so here's your warning.

I'll start by saying that one of the biggest losses for me personally was the change of the opening the game in Insomnia through the invasion to Kingsglaive. I see why they made the film and I enjoyed it while watching it, but I do wish we could've played it, as that was pivotal to the story and old trailers suggest it was planned to have a lot of introductions there, both character and plot-wise. Not to mention I'm just not very attached to Nyx and the movie original characters. Noctis' Japanese voice actor even revealed that about half of the original script took place here, which makes sense that it'd be dialogue heavy due to character/plot/world introductions, tutorials, early boss fights, etc. (correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe FF7 OG's script spends something like 30% in just Midgar, for comparison). My other biggest loss is the idea that we may have been able to interact more with Tenebrae at some point (a "leak" claimed it would be akin to a dungeon, but who knows).

I do think it's exaggerated how much changed though, at least from a view of the major story beats. Certain things got recontextualized (Kingsglaive being the largest example), but I think more survived than people think. They even used Nojima's original script as the base of the final game. There are many posts that show all the parallels and references to the old trailers, though they are spread to the game, DLC, anime and movie. It also seems that even a lot of Fabula Nova Crystallis elements were preserved, just using different names and replacing the FNC gods with the Astrals. Some of it, like the "eyes that see the light of expiring souls" (most likely a take on the concept of the Eyes of Etro) seem to have been cut, though Noct and Luna are still chosen ones by the gods, and possibly had near-death moments (Noct in the anime, scene with Luna being abused that was cut). Another plot that seems to involve sleep (rumored to be a dream world or somewhere Noct would dream of dead loved ones, something I believe connects to Hamlet if I remember correctly) was seemingly cut, though there are loose moments where Noctis sleeps/dreams (Luna's death, in the crystal with Bahamut, platinum demo, dreams of the Omen trailer aka why Regis sent him away, etc.). I do agree that the final version was in need of presenting itself better; fleshing out characters, events, and locations would have been beneficial for the story. Instead the guys were taken out of infiltrations and big moments regarding the empire which was somewhat disappointing, as the old trailers and interviews made it seem that they would be consistently involved in the politics/war.

At a time, the keyword of Versus XIII was apparently 'misery' and this was appropriate for all the characters. I would say this is still the case; after the fall of Insomnia, Eos is thrown into chaos and each character suffers. Noct is forced to come to terms with his position, destiny, etc. while trying to process the death of his father (and eventually Luna), destruction of his city, etc. Ignis has to worry about Noct and sees a vision of his death in his DLC, as well as going blind which brings into question his value to combat. Prompto has his birth exposed which throws him off psychologically, killing Verstael, not to mention that he was already self conscious and unsure about being part of the group. Gladio (admittedly isn't as intense as the others) has to worry about Iris post-invasion, his pride being wounded easily by Ravus, and feeling unsatisfied with Noct's shift into king. Other characters like Ravus, Luna, Regis, etc. also go through 'misery' throughout the battles with the Empire. The bleak world described in early interviews is still present, especially after the Starscrourge continues to spread and nights get longer, aided by the empire's manufacturing of daemons and invasions of prominent territories (remember in the World of Ruin section they say Lestallum in nearly the only safe place left in Eos). Nomura also stated that despite this being the main theme, it would still be balanced so as to not make the game feel oversaturated with sad scenes and be unpleasant, which I think is present in the final game. I see people expecting essentially no humor or things that are present in every FF, and personally I don't believe XV under Nomura would've done away with some of these things. In my opinion, this game was going to be okay with getting darker, but I also think people blow out of proportion/had the wrong expectations about how far it'd go.

Another argument I see a lot is that the final version of Noctis is completely changed from the original version, which I don't really agree with. Early trailers with the more brooding, cold and overpowered Noct seem mostly (if not entirely) conceptual, not to mention that Nomura specifically said not to let the trailers fool you into thinking these were good descriptors for his personality and that presenting him this way was a conscious decision (probably because it looks cool if we're being honest). In later trailers, we hear Noct speak and he sounds pretty "shounen" (not a bad thing) and his conversation with Stella also paints him as shy but fairly friendly. Now I think the final game version made some changes and shifted his arc to be more about responsibility than revenge (which is what people seemed to predict his arc would be from the old trailers), but again, I think more was preserved than people give credit for.

Then there's the Stella vs Luna debate. This has always fascinated me because even though the interaction between Noctis and Stella is nice (and I wish we'd gotten something similar with Luna), we know virtually nothing about Stella. In fact, it seems between initial planning stages and the 2013 trailer (aka Stella's last appearance), her role had changed. Storyboards show her seemingly as a childhood friend to Noctis like Luna. It's possible they met but didn't know who each other were and would still "meet" for the first time at the party in Insomnia, but I believe Nomura also said that he didn't really like Stella's character when he made her and that she had grown into one that the he liked over time (including when scenarios would've been finished). Between that and the fact that there was no mention of the Stella vs Noctis fight for years before her replacement, it really seems like once the scenario was more developed, her role had changed. I actually like Luna's character as well, she just happens to be in the camp of characters who didn't have their story presented very well. Looking at the XV media, her story is interesting; she essentially is a hostage to the empire and has a fated role forced on her, which she grows into and accepts. From what we see she's determined and capable, yet also reckless at times, and it's a shame we didn't really get to know her because she was interesting in her own right (and while she was a "strong" female lead, I do think the devs overhyped this fact for how little we end up seeing her and how many lines of hers were devoted to Noctis).

People also complain a lot about the Noctis and Luna romance (and some believe there would be better romance with Stella, but I'm pretty sure Nomura said they wouldn't be romantic). To me, the romance was more so born out of Noctis and Luna's high mutual respect for one another combined with cherished childhood memories. Both of their lives changed after Tenebrae was invaded; Noctis was growing up and learning more about his role to someday be king and Luna was a tool of the empire, replaced her late mother as oracle, and was growing physically weaker due to communicating with the gods (not to mention the scenes of abuse that were cut). The fact that Noctis and Luna desired to be around each other always made sense to me and their relationship was tragic in the way of something that's always out of reach, but I feel like the marketing/a couple scenes made it seem like more of a true love story like other FF games which wasn't really the case.

Another point of contention is specifically derived from the 2013 E3 trailer where it was publicly announced Versus would be XV. That trailer featured a lot of crazy set pieces moving through buildings and the moment leading up to Leviathan that lead people to lament those sections of the game for not looking as it did here. The problem is that those seem to be mock up "target goal" looking sections that seem to demonstrate the level of spectacle the engine could create but no guarantee that it would run properly on PS4. People also complain about the Altissia map size being so much smaller in the actual game, but it's possible that all that map in the trailer would only be "explored" in the scripted event we saw.

World of the Versus Epic is another interesting thing that everybody seems to run with as proof that XV was to be a trilogy. Yes Nomura seemed to hint that XV would not be a standalone title (then not long after said nothing was confirmed), but there are so many possibilities. It could've been more like the VII Compilation with spin-off prequel/sequel games or movies or anime specials, etc. I feel like XV was not going to be structured like the VII Remake, and if it were to get full blown sequels, would be more like KH or X-2, XIII-2, etc. especially since Versus XIII's script was completed in 2010 for a single PS3 title (unless the script got significantly longer). If anything, this "epic" could've been a way to continue using XV's assets to carry fans over until Remake and XVI (I believe Roberto Ferrari said that Versus at one point had a tentative date for release in 2014). The only other point is that Noctis' VA said there were "three times as many scenarios" and so some got cut. Now every game seems to have cut scenarios, and given the fact that FFXV has a shorter runtime than the majority of FF games for main story, the only way I could see a trilogy is if they were all relatively short games. But even then, considering the amount of characters and areas that could've been fleshed out more (not to mention all the script that changed for Kingsglaive), many of the cut scenarios probably could've fit in the game had the team had more time/focused less on the open world.

One other thing that I wish had carried over more was the FMV/CG cutscenes and some of the art direction of the older versions that gave the game a bit more of a grandiose feeling, not that I dislike the final's more grounded take. I have a feeling that the lack of these might come from shifting resources to companion media and the fact that they added different costumes, but I loved the aesthetic and feeling these scenes added to the trailers. The older direction also leaned into a more "Shakespearian" vibe. Those elements are still very prevalent in the final version (there's many posts that explain the Hamlet inspiration), but I think some of the scenes that only appeared in trailers gave the game a bit more of a "dreamy" and tense, mysterious atmosphere that I wished would've been pulled from more. Not to mention the trailers always showed intense fights (Stella and Ravus one-on-one's, Noctis and soldiers, empire and Regis, etc.) which didn't get the same focus in the final game.

Finally, there's the theory that KH4 or a possible game based on the Verum Rex commercial from KH3 will be the "true" Versus. Personally, from what we've seen so far it seems like Nomura is using KH as a space to use some concepts that didn't carry over to XV, specifically things like having an open city space, some of the art direction and some aspects of combat. As I've said, I think the XV universe preserved more of the story than some people think, so between that and the fact that KH is it's own universe that doesn't really use some FF things (empires, FNC lore, etc.), I think he's just entertaining some of the things he still wanted to do something with while also possibly taking shots at XV and SE. Could be wrong once more is revealed, but that's how it appears to me.

Anyway, this has gotten incredibly long so thanks for reading if you got this far! To be clear, I really do love XV but some fleshing out of concepts would've done it good. I'll probably make more posts on elements of XV and how they relate to old concepts/FNC etc. so stick around if you're interested in that at all (as well as posts about other FF games, just in a XV mindset since I recently replayed).

Here are some of the links with good amounts of info in one place, if my info seems incorrect or anything, I apologize

[bellaaldamas]

@the-rodent-of-shalott

I hope you do not mind me responding in a separate post to your comment to my reply to your ask box message. In a place where I live any discussion of non-straight relationship can result in a jail time and a hefty fine and it is not the main theme of our discussion of the Daria canon anyway. So here goes:

Everything you mentioned about the statements from the show creators reinforced what I have been thinking and concluding for over two decades about this show.

Namely: the creators were always writing a misogynistic, ageist, ableist, subliminally racist narrative promoting the "not like other girls" culture. The nostalgic memories of multi-dimensional characterization can never negate the fact that the show was as sexist and bigoted as it could possibly be, even by the MTV standards.

That brings me to the point you mentioned: that the producers do not read our rants on Tumblr or elsewhere and never will. The only effective way to influence problematic media which has been plagued by misogyny from both the dudebros/Alphas and the "progressives"/Nice Guys is to vote with the remote and the wallet. Fact is that the producers and the writers do NOT think as in depth as we, media consumers, do. Thus, if it looks like the writers are opposed to certain characters and storylines for bigoted reasons it is because they, sadly, are. But they'll never admit that and will keep framing their bigotry as "progressive and feminist".

Disney is a good example of that. Ever since Frozen, they stopped advocating for women's agency and right to pursue independence and went on to promote an idea that the society "knows better" what a woman wants and needs. From a franchise that celebrated woman's right to break free from oppression and abuse and gain her own independent experiences the Princess Franchise went on to reinforce one of the most patriarchal and misogynistic ideas that women/girls are "too hormonal and shallow" to understand their own minds. That they need wealthy Disney producers, anti-social sisters and equally anti-social ice-harvesters from the mountains AND Snowmen to tell them/us what they/we really need and want.

That if a woman dares to act on her feelings she just makes an "easy victim" out of herself and if she ends up being used and abused it will be HER fault, not the male abuser's who takes advantage of her.

That's the same repackaged patriarchy we observed in Daria.

That's the reason Disney does not even get WHY their Mulan remake which removed one of the most multi-dimensional and interesting male leads - Shang - ended up being a flop. They do not get why women consider it important to see men and male characters who support woman's defiance of social norms and social pressure as being a part of female protagonist's life.

Modern/mainstream feminism caters only to the overly privileged women who can AFFORD to exclude men entirely from equation. Whereas us, regular women, have no such option. We have to include and interact with men (not necessarily in a romantic way but within the professional, personal, medical and domestic sphere). Back in the day Disney acknowledged that and had it's male characters acknowledge the importance of being women's allies as well.

The only instance when modern Disney came back to acknowledging that was the TLM remake. The latter ended up being successful for all it's flaws and some of the changes to the original animated movie that should have never happened (particularly the Ariel ascending to the surface on Eric's birthday and, thus, linking her major act of defiance against her patriarchal father to another man, Eric; and the kiss amnesia which removed Ariel's romantic agency completely and gave all of it to Eric, a man).

However, despite all the aforementioned issues Disney still preserved the original message and the empowering nature of Ariel's story while attaining the purpose of making the movie diverse and compelling - and that's why it was well received by the TLM fans. Even those who, understandably, do not hold other remakes in high regard (especially the Cinderella 2015 and LA Aladdin which missed the point of the original stories entirely and came across as patronizing and pseudo-"progressive"; the actual well constructed LA Remake of Cinderella is the 1997 version starring Brandy - now, THAT was a true subversion of misogyny and Disney's modern pseudo-feminism).

The TLM remake was the deviation and a temporary break from the pseudo-"progressive" pandering, unfortunately. The impeccable casting (particularly the main couple's unmatched chemistry) mixed with the compelling and well written love story between Ariel and Eric, in both the animated and the LA version, is the reason it stands out.

But Disney executives, having bent to misogynistic anti-princess narratives, will never admit that. They'll keep releasing low quality content like Tangled the series (Tangled: Before Ever After) where the entire basis of the main couple's relationship will be bastardized, the male protagonist will be turned into a one dimensional comedic relief and the third parties/new characters will "know better" what the heroine wants and needs. All of that culminating with pseudo-feminist pandering twists such as Rapunzel growing out her hair AND cutting it off on her own (because the armchair critics complained about the abuse victim needing help and support to break free from the life long exploitation in the original film).

Given everything that has been said and released about the Snow White remake we are in for another misogynistic narrative about how women are only worthy of acknowledgment if they have ability, class or other privileges that help them confront their abusers.

TLM remake never glossed over the issue of Triton's patriarchal oppression - it even went as far as to highlight LA Eric's mother (a woman) had more power than Eric (a man) did due to her Queen title. That's why the real growth needed to be attained by King Triton and the Queen because Ariel and Eric never actually did anything wrong, in either the animated or the live action version. In the animated version the growth is attained by Triton and 1989's version of Grimsby who attempted to suppress Eric's freedom of will (before Ursula/"Vanessa" came around and committed her ultimate act of taking away Eric's agency and then made an eerie and predatory remark about it with her "so long, lover boy", in both movies).

Both versions and situations are important to address. It is a prime example of how a remake and the original can complement each other. And the only example, unfortunately, as far as Disney goes.

It is interesting that you brought up the issue of Sailor Moon because Usagi's relationship with Mamoru is a quintessence of the same pseudo-"feminist" misogyny that media has been promoting since 90-s. It would be a mistake to assume pseudo-feminist culture is the "new" media trend because it has been in goes since the loathsome Whedon's shows that presented themselves as a more "empowering" alternative to the "shallow" stories for teenage girls and housewives about women sacrificing for love and for men.

So, the "feminist" alternative was to have women sacrifice everything, including their interests, hobbies, plans and feelings (and even their friends and family), for the Greater Good TM and the mission imposed on them by others.

Because women are always expected to sacrifice and to understand - that's what's "profound".

But women like Ariel (both the animated and LA) are somehow "shallow and selfish" because they dare to prioritize their own needs and emotions over the goals and priorities their surrounding and their society imposes on them.

The treatment of Usagi on part of SM narrative is heinous and sexist. It is the prime example of the 90-s misogyny where woman's desire to live her life the way she wants to is framed as an example of "shallowness" and "selfishness" that she supposedly needs to "grow out of". Meanwhile, Mamoru, a 21+ year old, picking on teenage girls because he has "valid reasons" and "emotional struggles" to feel the way he does is framed as "understandable" and "justifiable" as long as he makes the "superficial, juvenile and selfish" Usagi more "mature and giving". Even though as far as season 3 Mamoru hasn't come remotely close to Usagi's level of emotional maturity. Or even that of Chibi Usa for that matter.

Never mind the fact that Usagi would die time and again for her friends to survive and be happy. According to the narrative, she should never value happiness and life of her friends over the imposed Greater Mission TM because it is an example of the aforementioned "immaturity" and "selfishness". Woman's "growth" is about to recognize she is a sacrificial lamb in the name of the Greater Good - that's what the "progressive" culture and Whedon say, after all.

And that's the thinking Daria producers were perpetuating as well.

It was a mistake to believe they were somehow more "aware" and more "self critical" than the misogynistic media mentioned above. They were not.

The entire narrative of Daria was about celebrating rather than criticizing the "not like other girls" misogyny which has found it's triumph in the modern media. That is why the issue of Brittany's struggles that you mentioned was never addressed either - because Brittany was framed as "unworthy" of having her experiences recognized. Like Usagi, she was one of "the other girls", as she DARED to prioritize her goals, comfort and feelings over the goals imposed on her by the society.

Daria could have been an excellent story if it was a deconstruction of the "not like other girls" stereotype.

If it had Daria acknowledge that it were not the "other women" who were one dimensional and prejudiced - it was SHE who was that way.

At some points she even showed signs that she could come to that conclusion, especially when she interacted with Trent.

But the writers were always misogynistic and bigoted. And that is why the show's direction was misogynistic and bigoted as well. That's why the writers "never liked Trent" - it was never about him anyway. Trent was just a part of the misogynistic stereotype where Daria struggled with her "not like other girls" misogyny but because the writers supported said misogyny they never allowed her to grow out of it.

All we can do is to show awareness and try to be better than that.

[adamwatchesmovies]

Rocky III (1982)

Rocky III is not on the same level as the first, nor the second. It’s a bi-product of being the third chapter in the series. Based on what you’ve seen before, you can basically figure out how the story will end. This also makes it a tremendously entertaining and satisfying second sequel. In many ways, it wraps up all of the character arcs just about perfectly. If you ignore all of the other follow-ups, this would be one of the great trilogies.

Three years after defeating Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) and becoming the heavyweight champion of the world, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is living the dream. However, his manager, Mickey (Burgess Meredith), worries a hot-headed new contender, Clubber Lang (Mr. T), may pose more than a passing threat to Rocky’s title. The Italian Stallion dismisses his warnings until the two meet face-to-face.

The biggest difference between Rocky III and the rest is the villain. Clubber Lang receives little screen time. Mr. T has plenty of presence and you "get" his character immediately. He’s rude, he’s strong, he wants to get to the top and doesn't care how. Anything else? No. This isn’t a flaw once we learn what this film is really about. At this point in his career, Rocky is the champion. He won Adrian’s heart (she’s played once more by Talia Shire). He went the distance and lasted 15 rounds with Apollo. In a rematch, he beat him and proved he wasn’t just lucky. He’s become comfortable in front of the camera, he’s managed his money well and built a beautiful life for his wife, son, and friends. Clubber Lang is a version of his past self. As Apollo reminds him, Rocky has become comfortable at the top. He no longer has the hunger, that “eye of the tiger” which allowed him to become a champion. He’s lost a piece of himself. Clubber Lang has that hunger. He’s got nothing to lose and everything to gain. To be a true champion, Rocky must preserve the fire that brought him to the top and use the lessons he’s learned to stay there. The film’s antagonist is not Clubber Lang. It's Rocky. Do we dig deeply into the Italian Stallion’s psyche? You bet we do.

The payoffs are what make this film so good. Once, Adrian was so timid she was afraid to even ask for the things she wanted. Now, she’s strong enough to meet Rocky head-on. Through their mutual dislike of Clubber Lang, Rocky and Apollo become more than rivals who respect each other, they become friends. The relationship between Rocky and his trainer, Mickey (Bergess Meredith) reaches its bittersweet, logical conclusion. By now, you know the characters so well that even when they don’t radically change, like Paulie (Burt Young), it’s ok. That’s just the kind of person he is and for better or worse, you love him for it.

You can’t talk about this film without discussing the incredible use of music. Eye of the Tiger is such a strong and memorable tune those who haven’t seen the Rocky franchise probably assumed it came from the first movie. Actually, Survivor wrote is specifically for this film and it shows. The lyrics fit the story so perfectly and that final moment before the end credits hit when the tune plays once again? It’s one of the greatest endings ever.

As before, the fight scenes will have you on the edge of your seat. They’re well shot and choreographed. More than the physical strength of the characters, it’s the drama that surrounds them that makes the blows impactful. The performances are strong, even from Mr. T (unjustly nominated for a Razzie that year). You want a bad guy you instantly hate? You got one right there.

It may take more than one viewing for you to truly appreciate Rocky III. Take a good look at the way it handles its characters and how it brings everything full circle. It’s a great sequel and contains so many memorable, iconic moments. If you’ve seen the first two, you can’t afford to miss it. (On Blu-ray, June 19, 2020)

[vermutandherring]

Screenshot taken from the Announcement Trailer

When I said "We need to protect this part of our heritage at all cost", - remake is the last thing I thought about.

I considered it as unsubstantiated gossip or fan dreams. But by no means an official trailer and a bunch of news.

I do not rule out that this is also a good way to attract the attention of not only fans of the series, but also fresh blood. But I was happy to think that Metal Gear is a classic classic. It is a solid line that stretches from the last century to the present, stringing modern experience and context onto a once-created formula. Going through the games of the series one by one, you can feel how the era is changing not only in the development of games, but also around us: events, cultural contexts, historical upheavals and how they are presented in video games. The inheritance of traditions, the development of history, content, mechanics and the smallest details with deep meanings…

This is, of course, good. But let's not forget who really made the franchise memorable. What really bothers me is the game's design decisions and story updates.

Now Metal Gear, like other franchises, grows a tail and curls up into a ring, as if that Ouroboros were to devour itself. I can't say exactly why the issue of remakes triggers me so much. But it seems that lately the game industry is only doing things that are parasites on works that appeared at least 20 years ago (in the case of Metal Gear, almost 40). And this problem applies not only to games, but also especially to movies.

I don't want to hear about "video games are being updated for next generation consoles so new players can play". It annoys me that games are perceived, first of all, as a product that must be sold in millions of copies. After all, a large number of sold copies does not always indicate the success of the project. How many copies of Hogwarts Legacy were sold? And how many of them did the players make it to the end? It seems that video games are closer than ever to art. To modern art, to be more precise. Because both industries are huge soap bubbles inflated by prices, investments and sales expectations.

Source: GAMERANT

But there is also good news. What can truly be called heritage preservation. If this applies not only to consoles but also to PCs, maybe I won't have to suffer with an emulator.

In order to preserve a historical building, it is necessary to make it suitable for use. To save a game, you need to make it playable. And no one can do it better than the developers themselves. After all, what is the point of preserving something if it does not fulfill its intended purpose?

Source: GAMERANT

What an interesting time we live in - Renaissance on the background of decline. What a thrill...

[artist-issues]

Okay, I’m not going to dive too deeply into what you’ve said about Luke and Rey, or how the OT did or did not meet your standards, because I think you’ve established that you mostly agree with me—you just have a difference of opinion on “good pacing.” And I don’t want to argue pacing, purely because we’re discussing TLJ as if the third movie never happened. (TROS just can’t count. 😅) If it had happened, I think that a conversation about pacing could be had in good faith, because we could get the whole picture and say ‘yeah that’s not a very good whole picture and here’s where it went wrong’ or ‘oh yeah, that worked.’

Suffice to say, yes, of course skills earned and information gained can help change a character’s worldview and get them from Belief A to Belief B. But your point was that Rey’s character arc ended in The Last Jedi when she learned the truth about her parents—and that’s “ending” too soon, (unless I misunderstood you.) My counter-point was that her understanding of who her parents were was never the focus of her character arc. It was just one outward example of her inward worldview, (or Belief A) that needed to change. There’s more room for continued improvement in her beliefs.

And that’s the same problem I think we’re having when we talk about Finn. You’re taking too hyper-focused an approach to his jumping in an escape pod in TLJ, or my saying he’s being selfish, when my point is: he believed one thing. Good story happens. Then he believes other things. Sometimes the jump from Belief A to Belief B is big, but not in the best stories: in the best stories, it’s bit-by-bit. 

 He is not running away at the start of TLJ in the same way, for the same reasons that he was in TFA. He no longer has an unbroken pattern of fleeing for the preservation of his own life.

If you can’t get on board with how I phrased it as “selfish attachment” earlier, how about this: going from caring about yourself to caring about someone else is great. TLJ just says, “but you know what’s better? Going from caring about yourself, to caring about someone else, to caring about the fight between the Light and the Dark, at large.” The first mention of which is what revealed to everyone that Finn is not the kind of character who believes in good triumphing over evil, back during his first talk with Maz. 

Just to beat the dead horse (because what I’m saying won’t make sense if you don’t get this point:) You said that the idea is to go from Belief A to Belief B, and sometimes there are interim beliefs in there? 

Well, Finn’s worldview, his broad-strokes Belief A, goes something like “There’s no winning against evil.” 

That is it. That is where he starts. 

Let me back up.

(I’m sorry, I know it’s long enough already, but this is why I like getting into arguments like this; it helps my fine-tune my communication skills and really verbalize what I believe.)

I’m worried that by starting with the idea of “running to fighting” I miscommunicated. So let’s get this clear:

The creators of any good story make the story to teach one big theme (or “lesson,” or “thesis,” or “main point,” whatever you want to call it.) In Star Wars, (the whole franchise, taking The Original Trilogy and the Prequels as standards) that one big theme is “Faith triumphs over fear.”

Then, the characters in the story are meant to either learn it themselves or refuse to learn it, and suffer the consequences. That effectively teaches the one big theme to the audience. That’s the point of having characters.

That theme-learning or refusal-to-learn-the-theme process the characters go through? That’s called “character development.” And the beauty of it is, every character can start out NOT believing the movie’s main theme, from different places. Some of them already believe it, and teach it to others. (Those are static characters, like Ben Kenobi in A New Hope.) Some are pretty close to believing it, but are missing a piece or two (like Luke.) But most main characters don’t believe it at all.

Finn starts out having no faith that good will triumph over evil. Then he moves, by degrees, from that place where fear dictates every decision, closer and closer to faith dictating every decision. He does not get to the end, because TLJ was the last logical, good Sequel movie. But it went like:

“I’m not going to kill for the evil people, so my solution is to run away—never even occurs to me to fight.”

“I really like this girl and she seems impressed by the Resistance; if I tell her who I am I’m afraid she’ll leave and won’t fly me further away from the evil people, so I’ll keep lying to her.”

“Oh, turns out there’s no chance of being protected by the Resistance because they’re serious about trying to defeat the First Order; I know that The Cause is actually a lost cause, so I’m running away.”

“They took that girl I like, the one that’s stuck with me through all this: I got away from the evil people the first time, maybe I can get her away from them too. Not by destroying the evil people, obviously—that’s impossible—but by escaping from them, again.”

“But I’m afraid that the Resistance won’t go for that plan, because they’re so committed to The Cause—so I’ll lie to them and tell them I know the secret to destroying the evil people, just to get me to that girl I like.”

“I got the girl I like, and the evil people killed Han Solo; time to run away again.”

“Oh no, the girl I like got thrown into a tree by powers I’ve never seen before, and she’s not waking up—what if she’s dead? The evil people always find us, they always win. I’m going to make them hurt.”

“I’m somehow alive on a Resistance shuttle? And the girl I like is gone? But she might come back to this situation where the evil people are clearly winning, again? I’m going to go find her so that neither of us gets killed by them.”

“Wow, this other girl who won’t let me leave is really sacrificing everything for The Cause. Plus she keeps giving me second chances even after I lied to her, kind of like the girl I like. Maybe there’s more to this Cause thing than I thought.”

“And she has a plan? Okay so maybe there’s a chance for the whole Resistance to get away, even though none of us can beat the evil people.”

“This casino planet is great; this is the kind of place where I could forget about how much I fear and hate the evil people that can’t be stopped.”

“Oh no wait, actually, they ruin that too. I hate them. Hey, this other girl who’s so passionate about The Cause hates them, too.”

“Maybe that’s The Cause—we can’t stop the evil people, but we can hurt them like they hurt us. I get it now.”

“Yep. They caught us. We really can’t stop them. We can’t even really get away from them. They’ll always keep getting us. I’m about to die. But that’s not as scary to me as it used to be; I think I get why this other girl is willing to sacrifice; sacrifice is worth it if I can make them hurt.” ( <— step taken, away from “running,” but not much closer to “faith.”)

“Like how we just killed Phasma.”

“Now maybe I can do even more—blow up their cannon. Keep making them hurt, with my sacrifice—“

“—Wait, the other girl stopped me?! But I thought she was into this idea of sacrifice to hurt them?”

“Oh, it’s not about hurting? It’s about saving? Is that what she’s been saying all along?”

“When I hear Luke Skywalker is going out to face the evil people alone, I don’t even consider using it as an opportunity to get away; I argue with Poe because now I believe we should fight. We should help him. We should save him, and everybody, if we can.”

“The girl I like came back! She’s alive! They didn’t get her, or us? Because Luke Skywalker sacrificed to save us, even though it didn’t hurt the evil people by costing them much equipment or troops. Maybe that’s the point. Maybe we can win after all.”

Do you see? I wrote all that out (tediously, not very well) to show you how his motives for making choices (from the dialogue he says to the actions he takes) start shifting from their foundation in fear to a foundation closer to faith. Faith that good wins. 

The point is, Finn’s character arc is not complete as long as he can move more and more toward making bigger and bigger decisions of faith rather than decisions of fear. Same thing with Rey. Same same same thing with Kylo Ren. And Anakin.  Same thing with Luke, in the original trilogy!

Every time the character makes a decision in the direction of faith, the story rewards it. And every time the character makes a decision in the direction of fear (which often looks like “control”) the story punishes it. Finn is punished when he walks away from Rey on Takodana to run; she’s taken captive. Luke is punished when he leaves his training to try and control the outcome of his friends’ encounter with Vader; he’s defeated and his hand gets chopped off. 

Does that clarify things? Maybe I’m saying it more clearly than I did at first: The meaningful difference in the character arc isn’t “running to fighting to fighting for even more.” The meaningful difference is “further from fear, closer to faith.” But only in step-by-step moments, a natural progression, where characters like Rose are needed to move Finn forward. 

And I hope I’ve made it clear that I don’t believe Finn was fighting Kylo Ren purely to protect Rey in the forest. The filmmakers give plenty of room in the scene for Finn to react to her being thrown into a tree, for his expression to turn from despair to rage, and THEN for him to turn around and fight Kylo Ren. He’s fighting Kylo Ren for the same reason he was fighting the stormtrooper who called him “traitor” on Takodana; anger. Is the anger born out of concern? Yep. But that’s not all it’s born of. Because the main thing is it’s born out of the wrong thing. It’s not born out of an idea that he can win against evil. It’s born out of an anger that he believes he can’t win against evil. He has no faith. 

Finn is one of the best characters in Star Wars. 

The point with Poe is that he wouldn’t have “saved lives” on Jakku. That’s the point. He was, in fact, really strongly endangering the ability to save the galaxy by sending crucial information out with a defenseless droid while he ran back into a scenario that he had too little chance of accomplishing anything meaningful in. Instead, Kylo Ren gets the location of the droid out of him, everyone in the village still dies, and if it weren’t for Finn, Poe would’ve died too after futilely giving the First Order information they needed thanks to his own recklessness.

And there’s little excuse for that—you can’t claim he was “doing it to save the villagers” when he is a Commander, and therefore has been in battles before, and therefore knew some idea of the tactical disadvantage he was at and the slim chance there was of saving even one of the villagers. Also, it’s not in stark contrast to sacrificing his “own people” in TLJ. Think about it from his perspective. The villagers were innocent; only Lor San Tekka was knowingly participating in war against the First Order. Of course Poe wouldn’t be willing to let them die without demonstrating outrage about it. By contrast, “his own people,” who he sent into their missions knowing there was a high probability of death, were literally there, as volunteers, to make sacrifices in a war. The difference is innocents Vs. soldiers.

It’s not self-sacrifice, if the sacrifice doesn’t accomplish anything meaningful except satisfying your desire for revenge or glory. Foils to Finn in a great way. Real self-sacrifice is something like what Rose or Luke or Holdo do in The Last Jedi—getting nothing for yourself from your sacrificial action, and leaving everything in the hands of those you save with your sacrificial action. (Sure, you might "get" peace, purpose, and the knowledge that you took a step toward saving what you love, but those are bonuses, because the point is that it's not about what you "get" at all.)

I’m not saying that Poe was actively thinking about being a glorious hero in that moment on Jakku, or even in the opening of TLJ. But what I am saying is, he is a character who has grown up around heroes (the only one, besides Kylo Ren, who has done so in our cast) and he has an incorrect view of what heroes do. He thinks they always make the stand, fight back instantly, openly declare war against tyranny with their fiery fighting.

But that’s not always what heroes do. Heroes just do whatever the next right thing is for the greater good—for the sake of those who come after them. Sometimes it’s hiding in a cave and calling for help. (The original plan for Crait.) Sometimes it’s running away to fight another day. It’s not always heroic, or glamorous, or fiery, or even satisfying. 

It’s not a big hero thing. It’s a little link in a greater-good chain—one that acknowledges that there is a chain, that there are more people beyond you, who are willing to carry on and fight after you if you do what hard, unglamorous thing it takes to make sure they have that chance.

That’s why his line “no, we are the spark (the tiniest part, the littlest light at the beginning of something bigger) that will light the fire that will burn the First Order down” is so impactful. 

Kylo Ren

I didn’t say Snoke was not a significant factor in Kylo Ren’s path. I said, to “have the responsibility for those evil decisions put too heavily on Snoke’s (specific) manipulative influence would detract (specifically) from a satisfying “redemption arc” for him. It's what the factor is significant toward, versus what it is should not be significant toward.

Again, I’m really not going to discuss material outside the movies. It would be silly to think that every fan of Star Wars or even casual moviegoers reads those—and that, believing they do, the creators of the films somehow consulted the decisions of characters in those comics before writing their scripts—because The Rise of Kylo Ren was published two years after The Last Jedi had already been released, much less written. So it’s irrelevant to ask the question “was The Last Jedi a film that expanded on the themes of the characters in Movie 1?” And then try to answer that by factoring in "the themes of the characters in a comic that came out two years after The Last Jedi.”

The assertion that an audience cannot forgive a character who “had the choice to break out of it and chose to double down” is simply not true. We did it for Anakin. We did it for Zuko. We do it all the time. 

It isn’t “redemption” if a character doesn’t accept the full weight and responsibility of their actions, as their own, without blaming it on anyone else, before choosing to repent and go back. I already made that point. Assuming that a filmmaker can’t pull a similar story off in “a satisfying way to the audience” is ignorant of lots of stories where it happens, successfully. It’s also ignorant of how far Kylo Ren’s worldview, and his motivations, have grown toward that goal between the start of TFA and the end of TLJ. 

Just because something’s difficult to pull off doesn’t mean the movie that created the supposed difficulty is bad. Actually, arguably, it means that the next movie will have to work harder, and therefore come out better, than a movie set up for an easier fix would have. But all of that is assuming that the problem is difficult to resolve at all, and I don’t believe it is. 

Feels like you’re just ignoring what I’m saying about Snoke. If you’re saying he could’ve been a compelling threat, but needed more screen time and more information given to the audience in TLJ to be that compelling threat, then you are also saying that the Emperor was not a compelling threat in the Original Trilogy. Because the Emperor had less screen time than Snoke when the Original Trilogy finished. And significantly less information verbalized about him by reliable-narrator characters.

I don’t think it’s a question of whether or not the OT was improved by the context given in the PT.

When I say “threatening,” what I mean is, ‘a believable threat to the success of the heroes.’ I don’t mean “frightens me, the audience.” That's not the point. The audience doesn’t need to fear Snoke. They just need to believe that Rey, Finn, Poe, and even Kylo Ren could reasonably fear Snoke. And the movie gives plenty of evidence for them to believe it. No more evidence needed. (If more evidence were needed for Snoke, then more evidence was needed in the year Return of the Jedi came out, for the Emperor to be convincingly threatening.)

Two More Parts 

I think you hit the nail on the head here; the problem isn’t what’s there in the story. It’s what you’re looking at. There is an explanation in the story for the chase scene. You just don’t like it. And whatever, that’s fine. We can shake hands on that, like you said. But I think it says more about your non-objective preference than it does about the objective quality of the story.

Back to Poe. 

If what I said above, plus the movie itself, didn’t convince you, I think I can only beat the dead horse. 

Poe would assume the plan is to “just get in these tiny ships and drift” because he doesn’t know Holdo. He doesn’t like Holdo. He thinks he has plenty of reason to believe she has no plan—but all he really has is one reason; she won’t tell him what it is. (Which she has every in-character reason not to do. She and he would both have to be meta, fourth-wall-breaking, out-of-character characters to have reacted to each other in any other way.) 

Poe is a flawed character. His flaw, which every ounce of his screentime in BOTH TFA a and TLJ supports, is that he can only conceive of one kind of victory—the kind where you don’t do things like “abandon ship,” you “turn and fight.” Or you find a base where you can “turn and fight.”

His assumptions make all the sense in the world—to him. In-universe. They don’t make sense to you, because you’re not him, in the universe. He already thinks Holdo is a poor choice of replacement for Leia the instant he sees her—it’s literally all over his face, all over his dialogue, all over the way he interacts with her. He was biased against her from the start, and she, being who she is and evaluating who he is, is biased against telling him what he wants to know. 

The character doesn’t make you put your hands up in disbelief “because how.” Not when you’re watching it for the first time. You know why? Because the audience has no more idea of what Holdo’s real plan is than Poe does. The musical score, when she tells him to get back to his post and follow her orders with no explanation? It’s ominous. It treats Holdo like she’s a bad guy. You were supposed to side with Poe, up until the moment Leia shows him the lesson he needed to learn all along—have faith in your leader, who is thinking of the big picture. You don’t need all the information. You need to trust your superior. That's why "hope is like the sun (a good plan.) If you only believe in it when you can see it, (when you can see the plan) you'll never make it through the night."

That whole thing is really well-crafted. Only people who have all the information of having seen the movie before, people who expect Poe to not act like Poe, or Holdo to not act like Holdo, have a problem with this. 

Because remember, the main idea is “Faith Triumphs over Fear.”

In Star Wars, fear most often expresses itself as a desire for control. In villains, AND in heroes. 

Poe wants to know all of the plan. Why? Because he doesn’t trust that it’s a good one. Because he only trusts the kind of plan that lines up with his worldview, with his idea of what heroes do.

Hence, what I said about how his instant response to Finn’s intro to their plan is “oh you want to blow up the flagship!” And it’s like, no. No, Poe. Why does everything have to be blowing stuff up, with you? Because it does. Because that's his worldview.

Because that’s what he thinks heroes do. “Stand your ground; don’t run, turn and fight; don’t call for help, outwit; don’t outsit,’ And that’s okay. It’s logical, given who he is and who he’s grown up around and served under. The good news is, he grows beyond that. He doesn’t stay there. 

Just like what I said about the audience needing to believe that Snoke is threatening in-context, not threatening to them in real life--the audience doesn't need to agree with Poe the entire movie in order to like him. They just need to be able to say, "oh, I can see why he made that mistake. I can believe that's who he is." Because it was set-up. Because maybe, in his situation, with his background, you would've felt the same way and made the same mistakes.

Look forward to your response. 

Idk how TLJ can be viewed as a continuation of TFA when it barely keeps the same themes, all the characters act differently, and it barely picks up on any of the story threads TFA left off

[traditional-latin-math]

Idc if Im super late on this, but go ahead and attempt to guess my beloved and behated movies. Also I did 12 beloved because it was too hard to narrow it down.

Beloved

Miracle - Best sports movie of all time, also fuck communism

Second greatest battle scene in movie history

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - It literally doesnt get better than sticking it to the Nazis, Crusader style

Zombieland - Rules are made for stopping the undead

Everything was great, until my crippling cocaine addiction.

You thought Minecraft steve punched his way through his problems?

Greatest battle scene in movie history

I mean, look, he did it alright, but that doesnt mean he wasnt innocent.

We do a little preserving history

I hate motivational stuff, but man, this one makes me want to go make something of myself.

Choosing the lesser of two Weevils may not be enough to stop the French

Pirates of the Caribbean - That's the worst clue Ive ever heard. But you have heard of it

Behated

Hamilton - What if we made an annoying rap musical about the 3rd worst person in American History?

Shut up shut up shut up your environmentalism metaphors arent subtle

Would the blonde lady in the forest please shut the hell up?

This movie precipitated the final fall of modern civilization

We do a little "Obvious White Savior"

IT WAS OFFSIDE, IT SHOULDNT COUNT

Captain America Civil War - Why would he suddenly be pro regulation? Stop pitting two bad bitches against each other and putting me in the situation of picking the less good one.

Woulda been great if it wasnt 33% porn.

The Mummy - Im gonna catch heat for this, but this movie is massively overrated. Too much sand, and yall just think some very mid actors are smokeshows

Star Wars, The Last Jedi - Ruined a beloved franchise, also they finally set themselves up with the opportunity to break barriers and put a black man with a white woman and pissed it away

[musicallisto]

hi love! congratulations on such a wonderful milestone! i’ve been following you for ages so this is almost as exciting for me haha

could i please get a 🍨 for the grishaverse/six of crows? (whichever you feel fits!) i’m straight female who is an istj, slytherin, and 6w5! i also took the grisha quiz and am apparently a alkemi (but would i truly want to be grisha? the jury is still out on that). im 5’7 with blonde hair, brown eyes, and glasses. i’m a sagittarius sun, pisces moon, and aquarius rising!

i’m pretty independent, and believe no friendship demands blind faith. i’m probably too selfish (which i don’t see as a bad thing, personally), and can be quick to anger.

HOWEVER! i’m not all angst. i’m introverted, shy, & frankly bad with emotions (both feeling and expressing), BUT i also love to laugh, and will not stop talking to you about things i like once we’re friends.

i love that first sip of coffee, the silence after it snows, and the stars on a clear night. i’ve had multiple concussions from sports (which tells you all you need to know about my self-preservation skills) but i will take a day in bed reading or watching various franchise movies over adventure most days. i also lovelovelove listening to music — specifically classical!

thank you so much in advance !! and take all the time you need, this is a fun celebration so i wouldn’t wanna stress you out :) congrats again!!

hi! here’s your vanilla milkshake! (also - please come off anon because first of all, you’ve been following me for a long time? my heart melts. but ALSO! you sound like the most amazing and fascinating person and i adore your personality.) i thought of going for a shadow and bone character to diversify a little bit - but who am i to resist the call of kaz brekker?

no words can express my excitement at being able to use an actual gif for Kaz.

we all know Kaz and we all know his emotional turmoil. expect the slowest of slow-burns; expect to even wonder if the candle is lit at all.

But it is, I promise. It is lit and it seeps into his heart in ways that he doesn’t understand, and frankly, that scare him a little.

He’s never been good at that whole falling thing. He’s more than content to sit above the rest, and leave the tumbling to Inej.

So when he has to face the music and understand that you’re not getting away, and neither are his growing fondness for you? He’s totally helpless. Serves him right for not learning how to fall sooner.

At first, he thought it was mere fascination that drew him to you. Sure, it takes a lot for him to be impressed... but even he has to admit that you are a lot. Not in the lot in the exuberant sense of all these merchants, but assured and strong in your mastery of your powers, and in your quiet competence.

You craft most of the poisons and antidotes the Dregs use, and are unafraid to yield them yourself; you don’t mind getting your hands dirty; you’re reliable, loyal, easy to trust, and, surprisingly to him, easy to befriend as well. Although he doesn’t make a big effort to befriend you anyway; but whenever he goes down to visit you in your clandestine lab, he ends up spending much more time than he originally planned talking to you.

It’s just so easy to forget the grime of the streets above in that peaceful laboratory, with the distant sound of violin and chemical solutions bubbling somewhere indistinct. And your total concentration, as you mix up the poisons and conjure the blasting powders with deadly precision, is a magnificent sight to see.

At first, Kaz is guilty of sending you on missions for him, or confining you to your lab. You don’t mind the work, and understand that it is where you are most useful, but quickly tell Kaz that you are not at his disposition whenever he wants to run his errands; that you are his equal, and that you work for the Dregs because someone must feed these poor children, not because you would blindly give up your life for him.

In other words: you owe him nothing, and you’re not his lackey. And he better understand that quickly, lest you leave and offer your services to a cause that will remember you for more than your craftsmanship.

It’s a wake-up call for him, surely; it’s when he realizes that you have an independent soul, that you know no ties nor bounds, that you are neither a Kerch nor a Ravkan nor a Shu, but truly a citizen of your own heart, and that there is nothing tying you to him except your good will.

And the idea that you might disappear from his life as quickly as you barged in is enough to paralyze him for a good second. But then he regains his composure.

And asks you to stay, please.

(Not for the poisons, not for the magic, not for the money, but for me, he almost adds, but he can’t get the words out, and doesn’t.)

From that point on, you go on missions with Kaz and the Dregs, and no longer for them, standing as tall as the other Crows.

And your relationship with Kaz grows seemingly a little stronger for it. He opens up a little more, sometimes slips in a little something that might even be considered a compliment.

The others have told him time and time again that you are a fun and happy person to be around, and he couldn’t believe them, because all he ever saw of you was the focused and precise Grisha synthesizing arsenic or negotiating contracts by his side. But as he opens up to you, and on the rare occasions you’re both at the Crow House, he listens to you excitedly tell a story to the others Dregs crowded around a greasy table, he understands what they mean.

You are fascinating.

It’s not the Alkemi in you, it’s not your deadly aim nor your rigor with your work... it’s you. It’s in the excitement in your voice when you talk about something you love, and the care you put in making space for Kaz in your busy schedule.

“I thought you didn’t want to see me?”

“I don’t want to see you when you boss me around. Otherwise, you’re not so terrible to spend time with.”

(Which, in your shared language of restriction and shiness, means “I appreciate you a lot and enjoy your company more than I let on”.)

It’s in your relaxed face when you listen to classical music... when you’re working late nights at the lab and start humming along to the piano on a beaten gramophone that Jesper, of all people, stole for you one day - a Romantic Fjerdan melody, nothing to do with the industrial rhythms of Ketterdam, and your feet begin swaying to the music without you noticing.

He just stopped by to bring you the list of what he’ll need to take care of the Ice Court guards... but he’s taken aback, on the doorstep, watching you enjoy the music like a careless ballet dancer. He’s never seen you quite so relaxed...

... maybe that’s when he falls for good.

And maybe you know he’s fallen for good when you stop by unannounced at his office at the Crow House to hand him the poisoned blades he’s asked for... and you find him listening to the exact same waltz you were playing when he arrived.

You never took Kaz for the classical music type - you do a double-take before he looks up at you, his face and lips even, but a glimmer of hope twinkling in his dark eyes.

“You wanted?”

“To see you.”

His brow perks up.

“However did I get so lucky?”

But he gestures for you to step in, to get closer to him, to fill his dull office with your heady scent, both poison ivy and white rose.

Maybe, under the right night sky, with the right alignment of stars, and after the right snowfall on a deserted plain, he will hear the same music again, and this time he will clumsily extend this hand.

Not to dance, not even for you to take. Just to hold it out for you. Just so you know he would go to any lengths to keep you safe.

But for now, you have a heist to plan.

800 follower sleepover CLOSED!

[broke-on-books]

Thinking about the effect that the Scooby Doo legacy and stereotypes associated with it have had on the friendships of individual gang members other than just Shaggy and Scooby.

(Some negativity and a lot of personal opinion below, also running on 3hrs sleep so do what you will)

Like this post was actually written after my rant in the tags but in newer Scooby media (with newer counting as everything after the change in art styles and entrance to the 21st century in my mind) it always has to be a spectacle when they do something against the "Laws of Scooby" like they decide to switch up the clue finding pairings for an episode? Suddenly it's the focus of the whole thing, and people are clashing, and blah blah clap the writers on the back for being so self aware!

It's like: listen. Take that one what's new episode for example, in the mall where the toys come to life. They decide to split up the pairings, putting Fred and Shaggy together, and leaving Scooby with the girls. And instead of it being a fun and interesting change, it's just... awkward. Like suddenly Fred and Shaggy can't even have a conversation together? Like they can't even find a common interest to relate over for small talk and I'm supposed to believe that they're friends? And they ARE FRIENDS! First and foremost, friendship is the strongest binding factor in Scooby Doo! These teenagers basically live together and drive around solving dangerous mysteries together. Like for Pete's sake! There's your common intrest right there! It just rubs me the wrong way honestly

This same thing was done (I think I remember) in a few be cool, scooby doo episodes although like a lot of stuff in be cool, they handled it much better, and normally presented a resolution of the gang's friendships at the end of the episode, and would occasionally break the status quo with other team ups.

But still, compared to older, hanna-barbera era (hey, that rhymes!) it felt almost performative, like they were telling us that We, as an Audience had to acknowledge that they were being Different (TM).

Just when you compare it to older cartoons, specifically those where many of the iconic hallmark gags and catchphrases of scooby doo weren't fully cemented, it's a much more chill and relaxed affair. Like Velma can go look for clues with Shaggy and Scooby in WAY, no problem! But if it happens now, there has to be some sort of reason or conflict behind it other than them just being friends, and wanting to hang out!

It's just very interesting, and while an occasional trend, It's one I can find appearing more in Scooby properties I don't like as much, and less in those I do. Like some of the more recent straight to DVD movies! (Can they still be called that tbh?) I love those, and most of them, I've noticed, puts greater emphasis and care on the friendships of the gang than other properties do.

I've especially seen this with the more "popular" or mainstream Scooby media. Like the ones like Mystery Incorporated, the Gunn Movies, etc. try and do something different with the plot (most of the time to great acclaim) but do so at the expense of the characters and their friendship with each other

Like I appreciate what they're trying to do! I do! I like branching out, I loooove changing it up plot wise! But when you don't preserve the heart of the franchise (the scooby gang) it just feels uncomfortable, or flat to me as a Scooby fan.

Like to a more casual fan I can totally see how they can LOVE Mystery inc, or the Gunn Movies, but as someone who watches old episodes and owns and loves DVD releases, it doesn't always feel like the same characters or same story. Like I adore SDMI and what it tried to do with it's plot, but I can have a hard time having fun with it when the gang are arguing and neglecting their real friendships over bullshit relationship drama for the 15th episode in a row. It just makes me a little sad and it's hard to watch as someone who cared about them. It just... I'm a fan who would take a repetitive, carbon copy scooby story with solid and considerate versions of the characters over a story with an amazing plot, but horrible characterization (to the point that you could not PAY me to believe these people are friends) any day

Anyways this got much too long plus my rants in the tags, and I STILL haven't nailed down my point here and I don't think I will so I'll just wrap it up with the fact that Scooby Doo is character driven, and it has survived off those characters for over 50 years. And sometimes it seems that executives have a hard time remembering that when the adaptations most ingrained in the public consciousness seem to show the opposite of this. But I don't know, characterization and character dynamics are something that has changed and evolved a lot over the course of the Scooby Doo franchise's lifetime, and appears in many different forms at different times, making each show and movie (nay, each episode) almost hit or miss in the mind of each fan and their own version of the characters. And I think you can get your best glimpse at what other people see in Scooby through their version of the friendships it involves and how it stands as a central theme

[smallerthanzer0]

the giants of mission impossible like my question I'm crying

YEAH this is exactly it! Ethan Hunt's entire personality is based on giving people the chance to be better than they think they can be and the Entity is operating wholly on the principle that people are fixed entities who will play to the most self-preserving denominator when you apply pressure to them! He never assumes what other people will do, but he knows he's going to put everyone else's life before his own.

and the way he plays it - basically staring into Alanna's soul the entire time he's trying to convince her to work with him instead of Gabriel, being so gentle with Grace when she's terrified and doesn't know what to do, extending the benefit of the doubt to Briggs and Degas on top of the train and actively trying to keep them alive in the hope they'll help with the evacuation, not killing Paris because he doesn't know for sure why she's working with the Entity- drives me insane!!! "As he gets older, more renowned, more powerful, more tired, he gives people those choices for longer, holds out even longer than he would have in earlier movies." - he wants to believe in people so much! he wants to be able to pass the torch! something something the story of aging gracefully and this man who tried to start a family and never could wanting to pass down some kind of legacy before jumping off tall things stops working out for him Ethan Hunt is the manifestation of destiny not because he's so good at his job but because he cares about people until they decide to be better!

(also you're RIGHT Ilsa doesn't join the IMF but she very much does make the Choice - to come back for Ethan instead of staying dead, to go to the bridge and save Grace instead of running. And Grace makes the Choice too, even before she approaches Kittridge as a candidate, to not take the money. makes me wonder if DR2 is headed in the direction of the Choice - and the franchise - becoming entirely independent of the IMF)

your personhood in DR1 post just made me realize the connection between "your story is written" Entity/Gabriel and "we all made the choice" Ethan and I'm about to start chewing on wallpaper

ok so this ask makes me so insane!!!! and i have so many thoughts about ethan and choice in general specifically in terms of the way he treats people. so if you'll indulge me kind asker i have a bit of a rant

this is the topic for another post really but i have. some difficulty reconciling the new IMF lore with the ethan we meet in MI1 (whose first in-character line is 'get rid of that scum', which doesn't exactly indicate a nuanced relationship with crime and criminality) that being said!! i think the main way that i can read ethan having a criminal past/having been given the "choice" in MI1 is in his general relationship with the idea of second chances. from the very beginning so much of ethan's character rests on the idea that he keeps giving people the option to be good. He keeps extending trust, sometimes up to the point of irrationality. even putting himself at greater personal risk to allow others the chance to be better than he thinks they are. for example, everything that happens with Claire. or for another example, his plan in the climax of MI1 hinging on kittridge being a rational man, and luther being a deeply good one. this side of ethan is so so present in DR1 in his relationship with Grace, and also in his one deeply interesting scene with the White Widow (i really need to make a post about my thoughts on that very complicated and fucked dynamic). Ethan's process of team-building, of bringing people into his orbit, is shown to be basically just...giving them The Choice, in small ways, over and over. The choice to help him, to trust him, to not betray him--the choice to be honorable, to be good, to defend people, to be radically selfless in the way that Ethan is, or to try to protect the greater good in their own way....Ethan extends those choices again and again, even when he has no reason to believe the person will do better. Even with someone (a criminal, a disavowed agent, an arms dealer) who he has reason to believe is dangerous--even someone who has betrayed him or hurt him before. As he gets older, more renowned, more powerful, more tired, he gives people those choices for longer, holds out even longer than he would have in earlier movies. this is an essential part of who ethan is.

and getting into the other side of your ask--i think the tendency of the past few movies to set Ethan against villains who embody "inevitability" or "fate/destiny" is really interesting and speaks to some intentional effort to highlight the way that ethan works as anathema to all that stuff. i've been thinking about this and i feel like one really revealing interaction is the line of "if anything happens to them, there is nowhere I will not go to kill you--that is written" because ethan has seen a lot of this fate/inevitability stuff and from what I can tell he doesn't put too much stock in it? I think he hasn't especially since rogue nation, when they defeated lane for the first time, the first "inevitable" villain. what ethan believes in, more than fate or destiny, is people--he believes in his team, he believes in himself, he believes in those around him. Not that they will win, but that they will try. Ethan isn't a force of destiny in himself, he can't promise to protect Grace the way he promises to protect Benji in Fallout (and ultimately fails). But he knows he will try, even die trying, to protect her. I'm trying to put these pieces together and I'm not sure I've figured it out entirely but I think that idea of 'your life will always matter to me more than my own' combined with 'the choice' is kind of where all of this comes together. Ethan cares more about giving the people he cares about the opportunity to be good than he does about his own safety. or even the mission. and over and over that quality of his, his capacity to keep trying and keep extending his hand and keep offering people the choice to be good, ends up really fucking helping a lot of people. and unraveling all the "fated endings" that are thrown at him.

i'm not sure i've really covered all of this or figured this out entirely. but these are some thoughts for you <33 thank you for the ask as you can see it really got me thinking!!!!

[starrybouquet]

yo should i watch star trek? i've been thinking about watching it but there are so many shows and movies and it's verrry overwhelming.

star trek and ncis have both been in my list of shows to watch for a long time, but i never got around to actually watching them. watching u post about them makes me wanna binge watch them but it's SO overwhelming and idk where to start

Okay, first off, you should ABSOLUTELY watch Star Trek. It's GLORIOUS and absolutely bonkers and thoughtful at the same time. You should also definitely watch NCIS because for a show about murder, it is surprisingly comforting 😂

This post got VERY VERY long because I learned I have a LOT of thoughts about how to watch large amounts of television. Uh, sorry 😂I split it up into NCIS and Star Trek, and then....the Star Trek section is still really long. I hope it's not too much rambling, and that it is possibly helpful?? I feel really honored you asked me about this <3

NCIS

NCIS is pretty simple to binge - I just finished watching it for the first time. Pretty much, I'd run straight through NCIS (the original, not NCIS:LA or NCIS:NO) from season 1-13. A few caveats: I enjoyed s1-s2, but I have some friends who were bothered by a few episodes that were transphobic. I mean it's kind of expected, since the show started in 2003 and some of the characters weren't written as the most accepting people, at least at the start But that doesn't make it easier to watch. If you think that will bother you, I'd be happy to give you a list of episodes to watch/skip. :)

From season 3 onward, I'd really just watch in order (you can skip some of the more gruesome ones *glares at two specific season 3 episodes*). I wandered off sometime around season 13/14 but you can conceivably continue on to season 18 which just finished like a week ago, I think?

Oh, and then you can try the spin-offs. Neither have really been able to hold my attention but you might have better luck!

Star Trek

Okay this one is a lot less simple. Yes, there is SO much Star Trek and asking yourself to binge all of it is very very confusing because....this timeline is a good explanation.

Yeah.

Sir, what?

So! There's no right way to binge Trek. I'd definitely start with a TV show. Yes, there are a lot of Star Trek movies and some of them are fabulous, but Star Trek was born on TV and the TV shows are still the bread and butter of the franchise.

There are maybe five good entry points for Star Trek. If you don't like the first one you try, try a different one, since they are similar but every entry in the franchise has a very different feel.

I'd say there are maybe five good entry points for Star Trek:

Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969) The classic, very first Star Trek. Kirk, Spock, McCoy. Absolutely ICONIC. Has a few fabulous, classic high-concept sci-fi episodes and a few absolutely HILARIOUS episodes. If you choose this one, be prepared for a show that's VERY 60s in color and style, thinly-veiled Vietnam War allegories, and a lot of William Shatner.

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994) My personal favorite. Episodic, absolutely brilliant acting, and the RANGE! Literally has a cross-dressing Wild West romp one week and a deep, "machines develop a sense of self-preservation" plot the next. Some of the very best television ever made. The only problem with TNG is it starts reallllly slow. Most people don't really enjoy season 1, and it really doesn't get good until halfway thru season 2. So I'd recommend watching the pilot, then maybe skipping through a few s1 episodes as they strike your fancy. There are a few good ones but also many duds. The nice thing is it's entirely episodic so you can skip without worrying about losing the main thread of the story. After the pilot, I think the only season 1 episode that's crucial for plotty reasons is Skin of Evil (1x23)? Then starting with A Measure of a Man (2x09) I'd watch straight through. The rest of the series is EXCELLENT and quality is, on average, fairly high. (Okay, you can skip the last episode of s2 since it's a clip show. A writer's strike happened. XD) If you choose this route, be prepared for the slow start. And the VERY 80s sci-fi costumes. :)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999) I'm not a huge DS9 fan, but I really, really enjoy their comedic episodes. If season-long arcs and a more gritty, politick-y feel strikes your fancy, this is the show for you. Again, this one has brilliant acting (most Trek does tbh) and a LOT of range. DS9 is set during wartime, so it's definitely got a different feel. I like it but don't love it, but this show has changed the lives of a lot of people, I think, so it's definitely a good option. I think DS9 starts better than TNG, and this is definitely one you want to watch in order. Seasons 1-3 are a little more episodic and then the series-long war arc begins in earnest.

Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001) I have an outsized love for Voyager entirely because of fandom. (J/C fandom has a very large overlap with Sam/Jack fandom!) The premise of Voyager is that it's a ragtag crew (half military officers, half rebel terrorists) trying to get home after being flung 70,000 light years from Earth (which will take roughly 70 years for them to traverse). This is the only show with a female captain and it is TERRIFIC. I'm just saying, if you watch this one, be prepared to ship the captain and the first officer. Because...you will. :) Overall quality of Voyager is, IMHO, not quite as high as TNG. It's again more episodic with some occasional multi-episode plot threads. But the two shows have equally strong captains, and Voyager is definitely a more scrappy ship than TNG's Enterprise. The characters change a LOT over seven seasons, so definitely watch Voyager in order. I think this show actually has one of the better pilot episodes of Star Trek, in a franchise full of notoriously poor pilot episodes.

Star Trek: Discovery (2017-) If you want a "modern" show - y'know, fancy effects and such - I'd roll with Discovery. But it's definitely a controversial entry in the franchise, and one of the less consistent ones, IMHO. But I really like the pilot, and also enjoyed season 2, so you could definitely start here if you're looking for something that's more recent and less, y'know, of whatever era it was made.

For people who love SG-1, I'd probably start with TNG or Voyager? I'm not sure. Discovery is a lot flashier but I think you'll probably enjoy the other four more, if you like SG-1. Totally a matter of personal taste, though.

I hope you got to the end of this, and honestly, if you want to get into either of these shows and are still confused, just message me? I will happily give advice :)

TL;DR

Just binge NCIS from episode 1 onward. If you are very sensitive to transphobia, message me and I'll tell you which season 1 eps to skip.

For Trek: If you love SG-1, I'd start with The Next Generation or Voyager. But honestly, you could start with The Original Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, or Discovery, depending on what you like in your TV.

[duscarasheddinn]

Jurassic Park and its depictions of cloning and hybrids

To paraphrase Dr. Wu, Jurassic Park and later Jurassic World never made dinosaurs (or other prehistoric creatures they use genetic engineering to create) that were identical to the ones that lived in the Mesozoic. The DNA they extracted deteriorated over the millions of years (though way slower than in real life, but that’s not the point because at the time the original novel was written, we didn’t know that DNA deteriorated too rapidly for DNA to be preserved in amber), so they filled in the gaps in the DNA sequence. Given how between half and 60% of the DNA in a banana is identical to that of a human (in real life, and to show you how massive the DNA sequence is, flies and humans have over 90% of their DNA in common), it’s probably safe to say that it’s junk or otherwise something all life on Earth shares. InGen’s scientists probably hoped that the parts they were filling in were junk, but as we all know, they were wrong, allowing some of them to switch sex from female to either hermaphrodite or male and letting the animals breed.

In the original novel, InGen’s T. rex vision being based on motion is a side effect of the frog DNA even though frogs in real life can see things that are standing still (otherwise they’d run into things). In the original movie, it’s just a fact about T. rex that was the case when the real T. rex was alive millions of years prior to the discovery of Isla Nublar or Las Cinco Muertes (aka The Five Deaths or the Muertes Archipelago; Isla Sorna is one of them but Isla Nublar isn’t).

The point is that hybrid dinosaurs in this franchise are something I enjoy but don’t make much sense given how the rest of their creations are already different from the animals that lived millions of years prior.

I also want to mention that I don’t understand why the Indoraptor is listed as part Indominus rex and part raptor when the twist of the previous film was that the Indominus rex was part raptor (even though the audience’s predicted twist of it being part human would have been better and would have explained its intelligence as well as the opposable thumbs and its hunting for sport). Maybe it was a lack of communication that caused this in the film and marketing?

A personal feeling of mine is that since InGen’s creations are not genetically identical to anything from the Mesozoic, calling them clones seems inaccurate because that word would imply that all of their DNA is exactly the same as the original, which is obviously not the case.

[captainpikeachu]

Mellon. Do have any recommendations for the right way/order to watch all the Star Trek shows/movies? I've watched all the reboot movies and a few episodes from TOS, but I want to watch everything in the way that makes the most sense. Also, thanks for your response on my post. Your insight is really interesting!

Hello Friend!!!!!!!!!!

Glad you liked my response on your post! :)

In regards to Star Trek, there’s different ways to go about watching it depending on your personal preference.

Firstly though, just to make sure you know, the “reboot movies” probably familiarized you with the fact that those movies take place in an alternate timeline (The Kelvin Timeline) that diverged from the Prime Timeline in the year 2233, the Prime Timeline is where all the other shows and films take place and is generally the “main” timeline of the Star Trek universe.

So there’s generally two ways someone can watch Star Trek, release order or in-universe chronological order.

Release Order is where you watch it by the order of when the shows or films were released; in this way, you have an understanding of the meta history of the franchise as you’ll have seen things in the same way that a fan from the 60s saw everything in the franchise, meaning when more recent shows or movies drop easter eggs or references to older shows or films, you’re not missing them because you’ve seen what they’re referencing to. For example, say a new show is set in the year 2256 and it references or calls back to an older show’s story plot set about a decade later in the year 2267, if you watch it in release order, then you’d get the wider context of the references. Some shows were released concurrently with other shows or movies, I’ll try to separate them in the best viewing way.

Release Order: (anything bolded is a film)

The Original Series (1966-1969) - including “The Cage” which was the rejected/unaired pilot made in 1965, this will be the first episode if you have access on Netflix

The Animated Series (1973-1974)

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock (1984)

Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home (1986)

Star Trek: The Next Generation Seasons 1 and 2 (1987-1989)

Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier (1989)

Star Trek: The Next Generation Seasons 3 and 4 (1989-1991)

Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

Star Trek: The Next Generation Seasons 5 to 7 (1991-1994)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Seasons 1 and 2 (1993-1994)

Star Trek: Generations (1994)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Seasons 3 and 4 (1994-1996)

Star Trek: Voyager Seasons 1 and 2 (1995-1996)

Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Seasons 5 and 6 (1996-1998)

Star Trek: Voyager Seasons 3 and 4 (1996-1998)

Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 7 (1998-1999)

Star Trek: Voyager Seasons 5 to 7 (1998-2001)

Star Trek: Enterprise Season 1 (2001-2002)

Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

Star Trek: Enterprise Seasons 2 to 4 (2002-2005)

Star Trek (2009)

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Star Trek: Discovery (2017-)

Star Trek: Short Treks (2018-2020)

Star Trek: Picard (2020-Present)

Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020-Present)

Star Trek: Prodigy (not aired yet)

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (not aired yet)

-------------------------------------------

There is also the in-universe chronological order where you can watch in the order of when a show or film takes place in the story universe; in this way, you can experience the story from “beginning” to “end” without having to always re-orient yourself on where in the timeline you are now, though I put “beginning” and “end” in quotations because since this is an active universe, new shows or films could be prequels or sequels or taking place concurrently. Also, with the many concurrent shows and films, I try to separate them in a way that preserves the story focus.

In-Universe Chronological Order: (anything bolded is a film)

Star Trek: Enterprise 

The Cage unaired pilot - attached to The Original Series as the first episode on Netflix

Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 

Star Trek: Short Treks Season 1 episodes: The Runaway, The Brightest Star, The Escape Artist

Star Trek: Discovery Season 2

Star Trek: Short Treks Season 2 episodes: Q&A, The Trouble With Edward, Ask Not, The Girl Who Made The Stars

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (not aired yet)

Star Trek: The Original Series 

Star Trek: Short Treks Season 2 episode: Ephraim and Dot

Star Trek: The Animated Series

Star Trek: The Motion Picture 

Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan 

Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock 

Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home 

Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier 

Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country

Star Trek: The Next Generation 

Star Trek: Generations

Star Trek: First Contact

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 

Star Trek: Insurrection

Star Trek: Voyager

Star Trek: Nemesis

Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 1 (and upcoming Season 2)

Star Trek: Prodigy (not aired yet)

Star Trek: Short Treks Season 2 episode: Children of Mars

Star Trek: 2009 - parts of this movie addresses events of the Prime Timeline, from here on out you could watch the Kelvin Timeline stories Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond if you want

Star Trek: Picard Season 1 (and upcoming Season 2)

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 (and upcoming Season 4)

Star Trek: Short Treks Season 1 episode: Calypso 

------------------------------------------

I hope I haven’t confused you too much! 

I know the lists could seem daunting, but to be honest, there is really no “right” way to watch Star Trek, people have all come into the franchise from various different points and levels of knowledge. But if you do want to watch in a way that generally makes sense, then release order or in-universe chronological order are the best ways to experience the story in different ways depending on what ways suit you better.

Please feel free to message me in private messaging if you want to further chat about how you want to go about watching all the shows and films, I’d be more than happy to help explain any other questions these lists might have prompted or clarify anything that might have confused you.

Hope this helps! :)

[haleigh-sloth]

What do you think of the notion that Hori might be ending the series earlier than expected because he knows Bones and Shueisha/Jump are franchising the hell out of MHA, what with 6 more movies still in the pipeline and an ever-increasing amount of spin-off mangas, all of which he'll feel compelled (or be heavily pressured) into creating tie-in side content for alongside writing the main manga? Or am I overestimating the impact this side stuff actually has on Hori's workflow?

Well first, I don’t think this is sooner than expected really. He said he had intended for the final act to be five volumes, but obviously miscalculated lol. But regardless that tells us he’s serious about ending it now. He’s been trying to end it. In fact, I think it’s possible he’s been trying to end it for a while:

The title here seems kind of finale-ish. It’s only volume 11 (Kamino arc chapters). This kind of matches up with his original intent on not doing villain profiles at first, but then the story “evolving beyond that”. He’s changed his mind a bunch, but I think he’s wanted to get close to the ending for a while now. But the war arc didn’t leave off on the note he wanted, because it couldn’t. So here we are, watching him try to wrap all of that up.

So, I think BNHA needs to end. Like soon. But I’ll get to that. What I’m more interested in knowing is exactly how much input does the author have into the spin off content, light novels, movies, etc. I know they ✨say✨ that Hori has to give the final stamp of approval before things are published. But does he? Like does he read through it all before saying he approves? I’m certain he does some of it, or maybe little parts of everything, but all of it? I ask because it seems that the man can’t even get a firm grip on his own main story line. The editor is ruining all kinds of stuff with his own input, so why should I believe the side content is actually thoroughly run through Hori and that he has the final say? Also, with that impossible schedule I just don’t know how that would be possible. I mean yes you can make time for anything, but there is a LOT of side content coming out constantly. So idk, I’m skeptical of that. I’m also skeptical because it’s interesting how there is NO side content for the villains. And I’m not saying “the villains are better so we deserve content for them 😤😤”, I’m saying that they are legitimate characters with prominent parts in the story so it just makes me wonder if Hori himself doesn’t want to risk certain characters of his getting misrepresented in side content that isn’t written by him.

So branching off of that, I do feel that it’s a bit soon to see just how fast we’re barreling to the ending. But it’s possible that maybe he is ending it sooner than what the story led us to believe in order I preserve the main story he created. Meaning, the sooner he ends it, the less chance of another fucking movie interjecting.

But aside from that, I feel that he’s ending it simply because it needs to end. Like, I’ve never understood why people want stories to just keep on going forever. I get not wanting to leave the world of the story, and that’s where the side content comes in (if you’re into those, I’m typically not). But I’ll never understand people wanting a story to be ruined by being drug out just for the sake of getting new content. Also, if it wasn’t obvious—Hori is reaching his limit. It’s obvious with the sudden breaks he’s taking. Scheduled breaks? Normal. But suddenly not making the deadline because of his health? That’s pretty unacceptable tbh. Not on HIS part, but on the people demanding him to work non stop til he drops dead. Idk how he makes a chapter a week. I really really don’t. But it’s also obvious in the story. The writing is getting incredibly lazy. The last chapter felt like straight up advertisement, and idk where we’re going with this American hero lady. But everything else from that is just being so sloppily handled. He’s tired.

I would much rather him end it sooner than later so that his drive to actually give us a good ending doesn’t die out. Like at a certain point, I’d be worried he’d stop caring about the ending altogether. Luckily, I think he cares a great amount. I also think he really likes his villain characters a lot more than he lets on in interviews and stuff. It’s obvious in the story. So I do think he is going to try to nail the ending for every character, but I’m lowering my expectations for the nitty gritty details on the path to that ending.

Idk that you’re overestimating the impact it has on his workflow, because if he really REALLY does give the final stamp of approval before all that side stuff is published, then wow. What a fucking work schedule. And I thought I had it rough working in CPS. Lol. But I personally am skeptical of just how much input he gives into Team Up Missions and Vigilantes. Vigilantes is it’s own thing entirely and I can’t imagine him basically overlooking two separate mangas. Team Up Missions is just about the kids (if I remember correctly? I don’t read it so idk for super sure) so it’s not hard to make content for them. They’re easy. Lol. The light novels, I feel is a little more realistic for him to have a say in those since those are released way more sparsely than the other content. Those, I believe he looks over. Everything else I’m kinda “hmmmm idk”.

But anyway, I think it’s ending because it freaking needs to. That being said I do hope he’ll give like, little surprise epilogue chapters later down the line. Like how is Shigaraki doing? Toga? How are Touya and Shouto with their family, how are Midoriya and Bakugo doing as heroes, stuff like that. But like….a bit of time after it ends. Kinda how Takaya did with the extra fruits basket stuff. Just surprise us here and there lol. Unrelated, but I hope Hori writes something else later. Only this time with everything he wants and because he’s already become wildly successful, he won’t need to adhere to editors if he doesn’t want to. I feel like if he had free reign of his story, he’d make something really really good. And I hope he makes something later with all the elements he wants. But before that—REST. Lol.

[youngbugandtonystank]

Your answers are always so thought out so I wanted to ask you something! It’s a heavy debate if MCU Peter is worthy to wield mjolnir because of his refusal to kill. But I read a fic where he was able to, not because he was willing to kill, but because he was willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Now, hear me out. What if Spider-Man is worthy because he his willing to accept his sacrifice in order so save everyone?? (I really hope this makes sense, I love your blog btw <3)

Thank you, sweetheart♥

Well, I think you’re 100% right.

When Christopher Markus was asked if Steve was worthy in Age of Ultron, he answered: 

I'd say he's not completely worthy yet.  He still has the secret of Tony's parents' death to resolve.

Sometimes we can’t take the writers/directors logic about the hammer because they change them all the time. Sometimes for Thor’s narrative, sometimes they change the narrative to fit Cap’s idealism and can’t even keep up with the logic that was established before in the franchise.

There was certainly a debate at one point because particularly in Ragnarok, it establishes that Thor can summon the lightning without the hammer. I think Odin even says, ‘It was never the hammer.’ And yet Cap summons the lightning with the hammer. You get to those things and you’re like, ‘It’s too awesome not to do it! We’ll talk about it later.- Christopher Markus. 

In this part, you can see that Christopher didn’t even know that what he said was accurate:

Odin in Thor 1:

Whosoever holds this hammer if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.

Man, I’m sorry but this Russo is my least favorite one lmao:

Joe Russo, stated that Cap was always worthy of lifting the hammer, but chose not to in Age of Ultron in order to preserve Thor's ego.

(I love how for them, anyone who is more powerful than Cap or has done different than Cap is just simply arrogant or has a big ego lmaooo)

Here, again, writers and directors contradicting themselves. So, we’re not going to pay attention to their logic.

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So, Peter was able to hold the hammer with his webbing in Endgame. Take into consideration the word ‘hold’, not ‘lift’. They said Cap couldn’t do it because he felt guilty about keeping Tony’s parents’ death. Peter, in his case, holds Ben’s death over his head all the time. Now, this is something that happens with most of the spider-man versions. But MCU Peter Parker can be an exception since, you know, they made Cap an exception too. 

We’re going to follow the first Thor movie for real reference and we’re going to mix what’s happened in the recent movies.

In the first movie, Thor only regains his worthiness when he sacrifices himself selflessly and at the same time this is what frees him of what made him unworthy in the first place. So, in this case, even if Thor still felt like he did wrong, he could regain that worthiness by showing true compassion and selflessness. In a headspace where he felt like he could truly find redemption. MCU Peter has altruism down to a science. His first reaction to everything is to help people. For example, IW: being on a fieldtrip and deciding to help even if the space war was out of his league. Staying on the ship for his people and Tony. Homecoming: sacrificing human activities and normal experiences to do the right thing. FFH: being the first one to help everyone out (you can see that for him, it doesn’t matter if he’s helping civilians or friends, he puts them on the same ground) instead of running and hiding. And more. 

Loki:  What is this newfound love for the Frost Giants? You, who could've killed them all with your bare hands. 

Thor: I've changed.

Then Thor asks Loki that if the throne is really worth what he’s done and become. You can see the change in Thor’s personality. He really had a change of heart. This means the hammer determines who is worthy regardless of physical strength. In this case, not only Peter can be worthy of Mjolnir but Tony is also worthy. Why? He was always willing to make the sacrifice. For everyone. For the greater good. And regardless of the guilt he’s always carried around, going by the MCU logic, the hammer would’ve seen past through that if he had a real change of heart about said guilt (one of the things that prevented him from separating himself from Iron Man but Tony’s unwillingness to change that guilt is because he doesn’t see himself worthy ‘I wanted you to be better’ his valueless comes with a price for him, therefore he can’t find himself in the same headspace). Because the hammer did the same with Thor and Steve. 

Now, why do I make the Tony and Peter parallel?

Because we can argue that Peter Parker carries the same amount or practically some of the same guilt as Tony Stark; (when you can do the things that I can but you don’t and then the bad things happen, they happen because of you) and because of that, he can never bear to clear his conscience of what he considers his past mistakes (Uncle Ben, Beck hit a nerve in FFH by telling Peter that if he was stronger Tony would be alive, and more), therefore, Mjolnir would not find him worthy. But as said before, MCU Peter is different. I’m sure that if they broke some rules for Cap, they can do it for Peter. 

So, in conclusion, I think you’re right. Maybe next movie Peter finds his true way to redemption. Not for the public’s eye, but for his own heart and principle.