#at least bring del back. you brought every other fucking character back

[spookyhoax]

listening to cracker island for the first time and remembering when gorillaz used to make satirical societal commentary instead of parading today's hit artists out as a feature on every song because damon albarn is too old and out of touch to give a shit about making interesting points anymore

[lumateranlibrarian]

Let’s talk about Claudia and Soren, because I’m pretty sure their conflict is going to be one of the biggest parts of The Dragon Prince’s endgame.

The Dragon Prince’s main recurring theme is breaking the cycle of revenge and hate, and how that duty falls on the newer generations when their predecessors failed to do so. This theme is so prevalent that we see the children of The Dragon Prince being placed over and over in chilling parallels to their parents.

Rayla’s parents were the last line of defense for the Dragon Prince’s egg, and yet they failed to protect it, running away or losing their lives (or so we’re led to believe); Rayla chose to be the last line of defense for Zym and Zubeia during the final battle. In her confrontation with the exact same man her parents faced, she was put in the same position, and was also willing to die to save Zym (and would have if Callum hadn’t pulled that spell out of his ass, but that’s beside the point).

Ezran sits on the throne of Katolis, and has to decide whether he’ll let a man driven by vengeance and fear tell him how to use his power. This man inevitably decides that dark magic will lead him to his goal. Like Harrow in his final days, Ezran chooses peace over conflict - and yet, for this choice, Ezran is ousted from his throne and placed in a prison he later escapes (unlike his father, unless you consider a birdcage, subsequently escaped, to be a prison too - oh, wait).

And then. Soren and Claudia.

Buckle up, ladies and gentlemen and variations thereupon. Shit’s about to get real.

The scene where Soren snuck away from Viren’s army, leaving Claudia behind, was masterfully executed, and I’m still both delighted and heartbroken over it all. But to map out why it was so excruciating, we have to go back a few episodes. Specifically, the finale of Season 2.

In Breathe, Claudia apologizes to Ezran for her actions attempting to capture him. When Ezran admits that he knows about his father’s death, Claudia empathizes with him by explaining the circumstances of Viren and her mother’s separation.

CLAUDIA I know it’s not the same, but… when I was a kid, my mom and dad split up. I remember hearing them fight a lot at night after we went to bed. And then one day, they told us Mom was moving back to Del Bar, where her family was from. And then they said… we had to choose. And Soren chose Dad. How could I choose? How could I do that? Then my mom looked at my dad, and she told me to stay. She said that I had to stay with Soren, that this was my home, and my brother and I needed each other. And then she left.

EZRAN But how could she do that? Why would she leave you?

CLAUDIA I think she needed to leave for herself. To be happy… somehow. You might have noticed my dad is pretty intense.

EZRAN You must miss her.

CLAUDIA Losing her has been the hardest thing that’s ever happened to me.

EZRAN When you grow up, sometimes there are changes you don’t expect, and you have to face things you’re not ready for. Callum told me that.

CLAUDIA You are so lucky to have a brother like Callum.

EZRAN I know.

CLAUDIA And… I’m lucky to have my brother. Soren is a doof, but he’s my doof! I know he would do anything to protect me, and I would do anything for him.

Pretty upsetting, right? I can understand why a young Claudia would be so torn - after all, no child wants to make the choice between losing one parent or the other. And Claudia clearly recognizes that it was not abandonment, when her mother left - rather, it was her mother doing what was right for herself. Of course, Claudia didn’t come to this realization immediately, and says as much. It just took a long time for her to get there. Again, an understandable response.

Hold onto that! It’s a surprise tool that will help us later.

So, with this in mind, let’s proceed to Season 3, Episode 7, Hearts of Cinder.

Soren has seen some shit.

Where to even start? Viren told Soren all but explicitly to kill the crown prince and his brother. And when Soren and Claudia confronted Viren about this, Viren gaslighted the shit out of his son, to the point that even Claudia was convinced Soren had misunderstood their brilliant, intellectual father for the umpteenth time. This left a deeply upset Soren was wrestling with what he knew and what he was being told. Every time Soren tried to ask for more information, he was harshly rebuffed by Viren, or more gently brushed to the side by a (perhaps willfully) naive Claudia. He knows what Viren wanted him to do with Ezran, and this has been weighing on him for a while. When Ezran spared his and Claudia’s lives, and then was himself thrown in jail (a fucking ten year old boy cuffed in the same prison cell used to contain a treasonous archmage), Soren finally put his foot down and said, actually, fuck this.

And, before I get into the quotes once more, I’d like to point out: Soren isn’t actually stupid. He has his blatantly obtuse moments, yes, but he did come up with the plan (and muster the sheer audacity it took to pull it off) to get Ezran out of Katolis. That doesn’t happen by being an idiot.

Anyways, hold on to that. It’s a surprise tool that will help us later.

By the time Viren, with Aaravos’ help, manages to siphon the power of the Sun Elves’ city, Soren has seen enough. And when Viren straight-up assumes that Soren will be blindly willing to be the first transformed soldier - perhaps because he assumes Soren is too easily led to refuse - Soren says no. He says, I don’t want to do this. I’m scared.

You know how the rest of that scene goes.

Let’s get to the good stuff.

Soren flees, and Claudia goes after him.

CLAUDIA Soren. What’s going on? Where are you going?

SOREN I can’t stay here anymore, Claudia. You’ve seen what’s going on. What Dad turned Kasef into. What Dad turned into.

CLAUDIA Maybe he’s just doing what needs to be done.

SOREN Claudia, you’re changing, too. But it’s not too late. Come with me, Claudia. You can leave him!

CLAUDIA Please, Soren, don’t… don’t do this to me. Don’t make me choose. Not again!

SOREN Okay. Goodbye, Clauds.

CLAUDIA No! No! No, no no!

Do you see the parallels? Yes? No? All right, let’s go.

Both of these scenarios have arisen because of some sort of discord between Viren and his (I hope) loved one

Both loved ones (the children’s mother and Soren, respectively) decided that they could no longer stay with Viren, and had to leave.

Both loved ones gave the remaining family members a choice, to stay with Viren or come with them.

Claudia couldn’t decide, or Claudia wouldn’t decide, and this drove her to intense distress.

Hoping to spare Claudia pain, the leaving party told her to stay with Viren and Soren (or, just Viren), and Claudia had to watch someone she loved walk away.

The writers are bringing their A-game here, in case that hasn’t been made abundantly clear yet. There are a couple of reasonable assumptions we can make, going off these pretty blatant similarities:

Claudia and Soren’s mother was likely also upset about Viren’s growing reliance on dark magic. Or at least, that was a part of it.

Claudia and Soren’s mother returned to live with her family in another city, far away. This raises the possibility that Team Zym and associates are now Soren’s “family”, and like his mother, he’s not likely to go back.

Remember that first “surprise tool”? Claudia, while heartbroken now like she was then, may be able to forgive Soren for leaving her, as she came to understand her mother’s reasons for finalizing the divorce and moving away from the capital. Whether she does, and if doing so leads to reconciliation, however, remains to be seen…

This scene was beautifully executed, and kudos to the writers, animators, and voice actors for a superb character study. I am curious, though. Claudia has been closely paralleled with Viren, here. It’s possible that Soren has had several moments in the series so far where his actions and motivations mirror his mother’s, and we just don’t know about it because of how little we know of her.

But wait! We’re not done. I did say I think a final, major confrontation between Claudia and Soren is part of the endgame, right? Let’s dive into that.

Point: Claudia is either more powerful or more dangerously driven than Viren. Why do I say this, given all the crazy shit Viren’s done, especially under Aaravos’ counsel? Because Claudia brought Viren back from the dead. She has done what Viren either never could, or never dared to do. If Viren had been able or willing, he would have saved Sarai.

(If that’s not true… if he chose not to save Sarai, in favor of collecting her last breath in order to make a cursed weapon that could bring down Thunder… well, any shred of redeemability Viren had is now gone in my mind. Because how do you look your friend, a grieving husband, father, and king in the eye when you hold his wife’s last breath in your hands and say, “This is all I was able to save,” when it’s a lie?)

Point: Viren failed Aaravos. Viren failed Aaravos, but Claudia has managed to perform what is, as far as we know, the impossible. From the split second glimpse we have of her face immediately after Viren is revived, it seems like she just cast the spell - her eyes are pure black, but quickly fade to their original color, much as they did when Claudia restored Soren’s ability to walk using life force siphoned from a pair of deer. We also know that Aaravos has been spinning himself a new form over the two days before Viren was revived - it’s possible that Aaravos doesn’t yet know what Claudia has accomplished. What will Aaravos do, I wonder, when he learns about the impossible prodigy he has access to? It’s implied that Claudia still doesn’t know about Aaravos speaking through the caterpillar, but that hardly matters to a master manipulator like Aaravos. When you want to conquer Xadia, do you want a broken, old pawn, or a young and innovative replacement instead?

Point: Soren is not stupid. He’s not booksmart, obviously. But he’s got a keen eye for strategy. How do I know? Because he made Captain of the Crownsguard at the age of 18. Because it took him all of two seconds to see a dragon brought down by ballista during the battle to realize that the only way to give the dragons a fighting chance was to keep them in the air. Because he planned - no, he masterminded - Ezran’s escape from the dungeons and subsequent journey across Xadia to get to Zym before Viren. And because he timed it just right, Viren has no idea Ezran has escaped until the final battle - if he even knows at all, given that the only interaction we see is between them after Ezran’s escape is on the battlefield, with Ezran and the illusion Viren created by Claudia.

Point: The Illusion Viren.

This frame was the one that, of the entire season, truly stole my breath away.

Viren (well, illusion Viren, but that’s not the point of this frame) is the dividing factor between Claudia and Soren, and he has caused this rift between them due to his intent towards Ezran. Soren’s compassion and duty towards Ezran has allowed him to see the truth of Viren’s actions, whereas Claudia’s compassion for Ezran has blinded her to the fact that her own father could act so horribly to him.

And, if you’ll indulge me for just a minute, I have to wonder - why was this the ploy Claudia chose to use, to distract Soren and Ezran from the threat at the top of the Storm Spire? She has adamantly been opposed to the idea that Viren would ever orchestrate Ezran’s death, including several clear warning signs and Soren’s testimony. So why did she use this illusion - of Viren going after Ezran, clearly trying to kill him - against Soren, when his resolve to protect Ezran from Viren is what led him to the Storm Spire in the first place? Claudia is horrified when Soren demonstrates that he is willing to kill his own father to protect Ezran (who is, by the way, still a ten-year-old boy, king or not). But isn’t this what Soren has been saying all along? That Viren has been telling him to kill Ezran, and that Viren is wrong, and Soren believed this so much that he chose to leave rather than continue gong along with Viren’s plans? So, whose resolve is Claudia really testing here - Soren’s? Or her own?

I think it’s the latter, honestly. But back to our regularly-scheduled programming. Where was I?

Ah, yes.

Endgame.

So what do we know? Claudia is quite possibly the most powerful dark mage in the world. She’s chosen to continue aligning herself with Viren and Viren alone. Soren is a strategist driven by duty, and is surrounded by other warriors of similar mind and similar or even better skill. Unless a new threat emerges beyond the alliance of Viren and Aaravos (which isn’t impossible, of course), the two siblings are in direct opposition to one another. Claudia must live with the fact that her brother was willing to kill their father, and has left her to pick up the pieces. Soren must live with the fact that he was willing to kill their father, and that Claudia’s manipulation is what drove him to it.

The two of them have also, believe it or not, grown up with vastly different influences during their formative years. Differences in treatment from Viren aside, there’s an implication that Claudia and Soren have been on separate paths for a long time. Claudia is clearly Viren’s favorite - he has actual conversations with her, listens to her questions and attempts to answer them (whether the answers or truthful or not is another issue). Meanwhile, Viren puts very little effort into understanding Soren. Likely, he believes he already does, as Soren isn’t, shall we say, the most complicated of individuals. So, Claudia gets private tutoring under her father, and academic and intellectual training that Viren can relate to and challenge and encourage. Meanwhile, Soren, the family jock, goes into the castle guard. It’s not clear what all this would entail, but I imagine he trained with other recruits for a time in his own age group, reported to a commander or other superior officer, and probably received some sort of advanced training when it became clear he was a prodigy in his own right - after all, it’s not your average eighteen-year-old who is placed in charge of the security of a monarch. To sum up, Claudia was favored and likely spoiled to some degree by her father, whereas Soren excelled in military boot camp, which requires recruits to learn how to carry their own weight and take responsibility for protecting others in a very different sense than Viren’s supposed dedication to the realm.

Narratively speaking, despite first impressions, Claudia is the sibling with more cards stacked against her. She is falling faster and faster towards the point of no return with dark magic, whereas Soren has fought for every inch of his venture into the light. I’m anticipating larger confrontation between the two siblings than what we have seen so far. My heart breaks for both of them, but when I think of how future generations of humans and elves will tell the story of the Dragon Prince, these tragic siblings will fill one of the most resonant threads of the epic.

Ezran rode into the throne room that was his by birthright on the back of a massive, black-furred beast whom he charmed into loyalty. Rayla tackled a madman off of the highest peak in Xadia, and Callum dove selflessly after her. Claudia raised her father from the dead. Soren crossed miles of hostile territory in a single night to warn the Dragon Prince of a coming army.

There is a story being told here. Sometimes, history repeats, and sometimes, it rhymes. Cycles are meant to be broken, but only time will tell how Claudia and Soren handle the one they’re trapped in.

Can I just say, though?

Claudia is going to make one hell of an epic villain.

Bring it on.

[dalekofchaos]

List of ways they could’ve handled Luke in the Sequel Trilogy

My other Sequel trilogy wasted potential posts

Rey

Finn

Poe

Rose

Luke

Han

Leia

Kylo Ren

Hux

Captain Phasma

Snoke

Actually use Luke in The Force Awakens. Don’t waste Mark Hamill. Don’t exclude him from marketing. Don’t force him to be on a mountain and say no lines whatsoever.

Have Luke’s big reveal be on Starkiller Base. Use Mark Hamill’s suggestion. ‘You can still have me come in at the very end, but how about this. How about Leia’s trying to contact me telepathically, she gets frustrated because there’s no answers, so she rushes to the new Death Star’–that’s three, so far.”He continued, “‘And she almost gets there but she gets stopped by two Stormtroopers and, just before she’s abducted, one Stormtrooper turns to the other one, blows him away, pulls off his helmet and says “Hi, sis, I’m here to rescue you.”‘ I say, ‘It’ll blow the roof off the joint, I’m still in it at the very end.'”“I think it’s more effective to have people that really have a history with Han Solo witness his death and be unable to stop it,” the actor claimed. “His wife, the mother of his child, his best friend, instead of two characters that have known him, what, 20 minutes?”

Use Mark’s other suggestion. After Finn is knocked unconscious, have the person who lifts the Skywalker Lightsaber be Luke. Luke duels Kylo and defeats his nephew and saves Rey and Finn. I know Jedi and force sensitives are more durable than normal people, but if you are thrown into a tree, you are going to be unconscious for at least an hour. So yes Luke being the one to lift the lightsaber would’ve been much better. It would’ve been a great entrance. The entire audience would have been cheering as they witness Luke’s return. Luke helps Chewie getting Rey and Finn aboard the Falcon and returns to D’Qar. Reunites with Leia and ends with Luke, Rey and Finn flying to the Ancient Jedi Temple on Ach-To preparing to train the new Jedi. 

Luke grieves for Han

Luke actually trying to help Ben as a Padawan, but it is in vain as he already turned to the dark side and made his choice.

Luke will tell Rey why he left the map behind. He wanted Leia to come and find him. It is revealed that Luke  did not run away, did not even consider running away, but rather went looking for the Jedi’s beginnings find the balance of dark and light–Luke Skywalker felt Rey and Finn awaken across half the galaxy, and settled on Ach-To, and waited.

Let Luke and Rey have a meaningful mentor and student relationship. Luke trains Rey, Rey develops her skills and Rey has a father figure that shows her place in the galaxy

Reveal that Luke is Rey’s father. After Rey falls into the dark side cave, Luke finds her and brings her near the fire and is there to comfort her. Then the revelation happens. Rey says “I’ve never felt so alone.” And we get Luke telling her “the force is strong in my family. My father had it, I have it, my sister has it and my daughter has it” “There is a reason you dreamed of this place.” “You were never meant to be left on Jakku…I thought you died the night in the academy.” “All those years. I was so alone.” “I know. I’m sorry.” “Did you ever try to find me?” “Of course. For so long I searched the galaxy for you. Everyone said that you had died that night in the temple, that I should give up searching. But through the force, I could still feel you. I knew you were still alive. Every face I seen, it was your. Every voice I heard, it was yours. It drove me crazy. I came to this island, turned away from the force because it was so hard. Feeling that you were somewhere in the galaxy and being unable to find you. Seeing you in front of me right now… I’ve never felt so lucky.” And Rey with tears in her eyes. “I waited so long for you and your finally here” they embrace, father and daughter reunited.” Rey then asks about her mother. Luke sadly says “her name was Mara Jade and she loved you very much.” Rey why she was left on Jakku. “Because of your cousin Ben, Kylo Ren.”  Luke tells her that after a decade of training Ben, and fighting to keep the dark side at bay, Ben turned to the dark side because his family kept the secret that Darth Vader was his grandfather. He still wanted to help his nephew and save him from Snoke. One night he went to him to talk to him, Ben saw this as Luke being afraid of his power and Ben was the one to strike first. And then he woke up to see the other Jedi Masters dead. His wife Mara Jade dead and even the younglings dead. Only six other Jedi left with Ben, those who would become the Knights Of Ren. Rey left with Ben because she trusted her cousin and she couldn’t find Luke or Mara.  and Ben left her on Jakku where no one would ever find her because a part of him couldn’t kill his cousin.

If we had to have a broken Luke, what would bring him back, is his father. Basically have a Lion King moment with Anakin and Luke. "You have forgotten who you are and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself Luke, you are more than what you have become." would've meant more in my opinion if it were Anakin who reached out to Luke than Yoda.

Luke wants to save Leia. He  lifts his X-Wing and heads towards The Supremacy. Boards the ship and confronts Snoke. Luke will reveal his Green Lightsaber and Snoke’s own Black Lightsaber. They fight, while Rey and Kylo fights. Luke defeats Snoke, but Kylo cuts Rey’s hand off. Enraged, Luke knocks Kylo out with a force repulse. So Luke gives Chewie the signal and gets Rey to safety, while Luke heads back to his X-Wing. 

On Crait as Finn is about to make his sacrifice, we see Luke’s X-Wing firing and destroying the mini death star. 

Luke is actually there with his moment with Leia. He is there in person, not a force projection, he. is. there.

A true fight between Luke and Kylo. Kylo Ren orders every ship to fire on Luke AT-M6’s all firing but to everyone’s surprise, all blasts stop frozen in midair. Luke wipes the salt off his robes and sends the turbolasers right back at the AT-M6s and TIE-Fighters. Brings down the transports and Kylo’s shuttle and the Star Destroyers in orbit. Kylo descends from his crushed shuttle, preparing to kill his uncle. We have a real lightsaber battle between Luke and Kylo. Luke has his green lightsaber. Their blades clash. Their dialogue remains the same, but Luke is there. Luke is toying with Kylo, similar to how Vader toyed with him on Bespin.  When Kylo makes his dramatic slut ™ lunge at Luke, but Luke dodges and cuts Kylo’s hand off. And finally Luke gives his “see you around kid” but Luke does not die, he leaves to board his X-Wing 

It ends with Rey, Luke and Leia together, brother and sister holding onto Rey’s hand. A father and his daughter and her aunt. “We have everything we need

What they chose to do with Luke instead

Luke is not marketed at all in The Force Awakens and is on a mountain and is only there as a cameo with no lines whatsoever

The Force Awakens established that Luke left a map to be found. It is never brought up. Han said he left to find the Temple to the First Jedi. It is never brought up. Funny how what was established is never brought up in the movie whatsoever

Luke, Han and Leia do not reunite at all. 

Luke gives up. Luke Skywalker is a beacon of hope and optimism and love against all odds, and the fact that that was twisted into being depicted as some foolish youth naivety, and that the only way to make him “human” was to retract all that and make him a bitter, jaded man is so fucking disgusting. Even more disgusting is in TLJ novelization had him dreaming of never leaving Tatooine and having him live under the Empire's dominance. He does not even care that his sister’s life and the Resistance she is leading is in danger. Jedi do not give up. You might say that Yoda and Obi-Wan also gave up. But for those two, the Sith took over the galaxy, they had to go into hiding to protect and guide Luke and Leia. Obi-Wan wanted to save Leia and guide Luke. Yoda always wanted to train Leia as a Jedi and bring Anakin back to the light. He was reluctant to train Luke but he still did his duty as a Jedi Master. They did not just give up and wanted to die and they did not betray their characters at all. Luke spends most of Last Jedi on a windswept island, brooding in solemn silence and frozen by indecision. He doesn’t connect with Rey on any meaningful level, doesn’t impart wisdom or knowledge, and never reasserts himself as the powerful Jedi he once was. A brief physical duel against Rey ends with her as the undisputed victor, completely killing his deserved mythos and her potential character arc in one fell swoop. It’s clear in that moment that he has nothing to teach her, and nothing to contribute to the overall narrative. The boundless potential that seemed poised to explode at the end of The Force Awakens fizzles here but never ignites.  And without any training at all, Rey defeats Luke Skywalker and Luke acts all cowardly and begs her to leave. He does buy The Resistance time and saves his sister, but it was ultimately pointless. He wasn’t even there and he dies pointlessly. What we got was not Luke Skywalker. Luke Skywalker is hope and optimism. Luke Skywalker is showing that no matter what, compassion, faith and love will always prevail. Luke is the hero that inspired an entire generations to aspire to be better, aspire to be heroes. Luke is what we wanted to see and what we got was not Luke Skywalker. Luke is someone who thought Doctor Aphra was a good person, she proves him wrong but he still had that hope for her. Luke believed that Darth Vader of all people still had good in him and was willing to die and he was able to reach his father. In Battlefront II’s Story, Luke saves Del Meeko because he asked and he offered Del a better life, a choice. Inferno Squad has committed atrocities in the name of the Empire, yet Luke still gave Del Meeko a chance. Canon Luke Skywalker is a kind hearted hero who will never run from a fight or knowingly leave a loved one in danger and will even save his enemy. This is Luke Skywalker. Luke is compassionate, adores his family, would never leave them. The Luke Skywalker I knew would never even think about killing his nephew in his sleep when there is always another way. Luke believes in the light and was willing to die to save his father. Darth Vader committed atrocities for decades, Luke still believed there was good in him. He would never give up on his family nor would he even consider killing his own nephew in his sleep just because he sensed darkness there. He would never abandon his sister at death’s door when she needed him most. The Hero’s Journey that he was following was ignored completely and he just gave up and wanted to die. And he dies instead of reuniting with Leia properly. Mark Hamill wanted Luke to live until Episode IX where he would pass on what he learned to Rey. No big battle with Snoke, no passing on, instead Luke dies and all we’re getting is force ghost Luke. Luke Skywalker was a hero to an entire generation.  Luke was the true heart of Star Wars. His was the journey we followed from idealistic farm boy dreaming of adventure, to reluctant warrior, and finally to savior of the entire galaxy. The original trilogy built him up, and The Last Jedi finally broke him down. I for one mourn my hero’s passing.   

Luke Skywalker tries to murder his nephew in his sleep and  is blamed for Ben Solo’s fall and Kylo Ren. Luke would not even think of trying to kill his nephew in his sleep. He would try to talk to him and try to pull him back to the light. His sister brought Ben there for protection and guidance. Even if that did fail, you did not need to make Luke attempt to murder him. You did not need to make Luke, Leia and Han at fault for Kylo Ren. Kylo is a grown ass man, he is responsible for his own actions. Kylo was going to murder the Jedi and younglings regardless, he already fell to the dark side. No one is responsible for Kylo’s actions but Kylo Ren.

Rey and Luke have no meaningful relationship. There is no teacher and student relationship. Luke teaches her nothing. Rey is already all powerful for.....reasons. He doesn’t even impart any sort of wisdom, guidance or a semblance that they even had a relationship or that he taught her anything. All he was towards Rey was a bitter old man trying to get the girl to leave her lawn. And all of a sudden “we passed on all we know” SINCE FUCKING WHEN??? Rey learned nothing all movie and we are to expect she learns everything off screen. We were deprived of a positive Rey and Luke mentor and student relationship and we were given complete garbage. What we should've gotten was Luke teaching Rey to feel the force, to build her own lightsaber and that attachments can lead you to the dark side if you let them, but they won't lead you to darkness if you control your emotions. A battle between Rey and Luke against Kylo and the Knights Of Ren. Rey abducted and Luke has to lift his X-Wing and board the Supremacy to save Rey. Luke fighting Snoke and Rey against Kylo. Rey loses her fight and loses a hand. Luke stops Snoke and takes Rey to escape. Luke blasts away the battering laser. Fights Kylo on Crait with his green lightsaber. Escapes and reunites with Leia and Rey. Instead we are given nothing.

Luke doesn’t grieve for Han. Han Solo is Luke’s best friend. They have been together for decades. We are not allowed to see Luke react to Han’s death or Luke to grieve that his best friend is dead. Han was a big influence and friend it was dismissed as if he barely knew him. To quote Mark Hamill on the matter “They had time for me to milk that big alien but to show any human emotion? Nah"

Luke’s last moment with Leia is ultimately pointless. He was there as a projection. His last moment with Leia was made meaningless. He wasn't even there. It was a great moment with Mark and Carrie, but it was ultimately a giant fuck you to everyone who loved Luke and Leia and wanted to see them reunite. 

Luke’s confrontation with Kylo is ultimately meaningless. We are not allowed to see Luke Skywalker as a powerful Jedi Master. He does not wield his Green Lightsaber, he does not bring down all the AT-ATs, the transports, shuttles or bring down the star destroyers in orbit. He’s not even there thus making the confrontation with Kylo ultimately pointless. He toys with Kylo, but we don’t see a lightsaber fight between them.

Luke is only coming back as a force ghost and from the sound of it, it will only be a cameo. 

Mark Hamill was ultimately disgusted with the direction they took with Luke. He is heartbroken that he never got to reunite with his friends and that Carrie is no longer with us. He now wishes that he’s done with Star Wars. He went from being excited to returning to the role that made his career and the character that he loves so much to being broken and apathetic. Crying on set and just being absolutely miserable throughout the whole affair. Mark did not return to play Luke Skywalker, he returned to play Jake Soywalker. It’s like Mark said “should’ve left well enough alone” Should’ve left the original trilogy alone and made your own story, but no, you had to break down Han, Luke and Leia to pointlessly build up these new characters. Mark Hamill and Luke Skywalker deserved better

Mark tried to warn us

[artificialqueens]

Red Delicious, teaser chapter (Jinkx/Dela) - Emerald

Summary: Optimistic and terminally delightful Dela, a first grade teacher, has high hopes when she starts a new job at  R. A. Charles Elementary. It will be a great year! If only it wasn’t for the absolute mess of a colleague she has to suffer. But she won’t let it bring her down, jinkx Monsoon -sober or not- will not ruine this for her.

AN: I have been wanting to get to write something to post here for a while, so I am testing the water. This is a little like teaser chapter to scope out the interest and all. Comments and constructive criticism welcomed.

I wanted to do something where the story’s characters were closer to their drag personas than their out of drag ones, cause I feel like Jinkx and Dela specifically are very much character queens who work hard into crafting a character that is very distinc from Ben and Jerick. Also the title for those who don’t know come from a type of apples. I though apples = teacher and also rred reminds me of Jinkx and Dela for some reason.

This will be a group fic, but mainly focused on Dela and Jinkx, but everyone else mentioned here and that will show up eventually will have their own storylines, so aside from Dela/Jinkx, you should be getting down the line some past Dela/Shangela, some future Biadore, I may put in an Andrew for Courtney cause they cute okay, as well as some plot related apparition by Cracker, Aquaria (but not shippy, they’ll be related here) and even Nick aka Kamikaze Monsoon.

Story:

Call it strange, call it nerdy, but there were very few things Dela enjoyed more than the empty halls on the morning of the first day of a new school year. She could feel her entire body tingling as the heels of her Mary-Jane shoes clicked on the freshly mopped floor, knowing every step brought her closer to this new adventure. She had spent the past week meticulously planning everything. She had all her lessons planned for the next three months, rearranged and decorated the new classroom to her liking and even took the time to buy a handful of new books and toy to make sure her future first graders would have everything they needed to enjoy their very first year in a big school. Ms. Crème was nothing but absolutely ready.

The same couldn’t be said of most of her new colleagues. In her few days of preparation, the brunette hadn’t seen many of them. She knew Shangela already, the PE teacher having been the one who basically helped the other woman get the job (“Hey, it’s the least I can do after you let me basically live rent free at your place for months! You know you’re too nice, right?” the energetic Texan had bluntly explained shortly after Dela had sent her yet another box of chocolate to thank her), and had met the administrators, Ms Visage (“Oh please, call me Michelle, I’m not here to be a dictator” the dark haired woman had repeated at least three times during their encounter) and Ms Del Rio. But, Dela figured, it was only the first day, there would be more than enough time to meet everyone.

The light in the classroom next to hers was turned on when the teacher reached the door, and despite having a lot more work to do before the bell rang… she couldn’t resist her curious side. Surely it was good manners to attempt to meet your work neighbor. Dela had big plans for the years, projects and ideas that needed more manpower than she could offer. Forging right ahead a great relationship with a colleague would only help.

She did the polite thing and knocked on the little window and waited. Maybe she should’ve turned away right then, but when Dela got ahead of herself, it was hard to stop. The door wasn’t locked and she decided to let herself in. At first glance, the room seemed empty, but the new teacher lingered, amazed. Every inch of every wall was covered in posters of various kind, most of them plays and musical theatre, a few funky ones with some of the older grades’ lessons, and at the back of the class a massive section covered in pillows and beanbags and books. It was like stepping straight into the teacher’s brain and whoever that was, Dela was certain they would get along perfectly.

“Who the fuck are you?” the slightly drawled out voice, sudden and surprising coming from the door startled the new teacher who whipped around, coming face to face with who she guessed was her new colleague. Standing quite tall, around six feet, vibrant curled ginger hair in quite a messy state, massive sunglasses perched on her nose hiding half her face and smelling faintly of booze and weed, the newcomer glared down (or at least seemed to, hard to tell behind the glasses) at Dela, hands on her hips. “Oh, hello there!” the brunette plastered on her biggest smile and rushed over holding a hand out to her colleague. “My name’s Dela. Ms Crème if you’re formal. I’m your new neighbor, with the first grade class. I just wanted to come and introduce myself and–” She was silenced by the other one raising her hand in a silent command. “Man you’re bright and early and… loud. Can I have a second here? Jesus fucking Christ.” If Dela was unsure of the state the mystery woman was, it was more and more apparent by the second. The signs of a severe hangover were hard to miss, but before the dark haired beauty had time to express her shock and indignation (teachers were supposed to be role models! What kind of example could this mess be to her student?!) the redhead lazily offered a hand to shake, wrist bend as if she was actually offering her hand for the other woman to kiss. Maybe that’s what she was attempting to do, but Dela still felt compelled to reach out and shake the hand, as polite as ever. “Jinkx. Just Jinkx. We’re not on a last name basis yet. I can see it in your eyes, you’d friend me on facebook within the next 7 minutes and we’re not there yet, cupcake.” It was hard to read the woman. That almost constant lopsided way her deep red lips stretched out gave her a constant malicious air, but she sounded absolutely serious. Hands still grasping each other, definitely after a time much longer than was expected, the two teacher were apraising each other. Friend or foe, it was unclear. It was painfully obvious their styles clashed terribly, yet they were still standing together weren’t they?

The bell rang, and Jinkx groaned again, breaking free  finally. “Well… that was time wasted. Do you mind closing the door on your way out? Your kids will be too noisy.” Without as much as a glance to her new colleague, the redhead moved around, slowly, muttering under her breath, actively trying to ignore the unwanted presence in her space. It took Dela a moment or two to process what just happened. She wasn’t use to it. In her world, people lended a hand when need, people got to know their neighbors, showed some basic human compassion. Was that what the year would be like? Surely it couldn’t be.

On her way out, she waved goodbye to the other teacher, but didn’t get eve an acknowledgment. Well… that was off to a strange start.

[jadedbirch]

ARTIST CLAIMS ARE NOW OPEN!

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SUBMIT CLAIMS BY APRIL 23rd

1. Good ships scuttled on the deep

His fingers follow flecks of blood down to the point of his captain’s cheekbone. A thin pink scar, no wider than John’s fingernail, marks Flint’s pale skin. Flint’s eyes close completely. “I thought it was a welcome,” John says. Silver and Flint become lovers following the battle on Maroon Island. S4 AU with established silverflint relationship and some canon divergences.

2. Pray For The Wicked On The Weekend    John Silver spends his days in a faded green pickup truck filled with salt-loaded shotguns and silver and holy water on the back roads of the United Stated hunting monsters and demons and things that go bump in the night, and he’s fine with it, because it’s the easiest way to forget what he’s lost. But there’s something coming, something that he can’t face alone. So where else would he turn but the best Hunter the US has ever seen. Even if no one has heard from James Flint since Thomas and Miranda Hamilton went missing.

3. patron saint of lost causes

It takes two weeks to get Flint off Skeleton Island. Or rather--it takes two weeks for the island to let them go. In which Skeleton Island is a living character and brings a host of nightmares through the mist which force Silver and Flint to confront the dangers of their minds. Featuring surreal dreamscape horror as Silver literally battles figures from his murky, unnamed past and Flint moving through a river of blood and ghosts until he and Silver finally meet in the middle. Influences include Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth and The Devil's Backbone and Maria Luisa Bombal's work.

4. Let It All Unbreak You Post season four. Alone in taverns, at different points in time, Flint and Silver ponder what went wrong with their different relationships. They drink, remember and regret. They reflect upon the little they had together, and regret not making it work after the war with Madi or Thomas, while knowing very well that the very reason it all went wrong is that they had changed too much, had given each other too much, yet were not brave enough to admit it to each other when it was still time.

(Ships: Silverflint, flint x miranda x thomas, flint x thomas, silver x madi) (Angst, definitely not fix-it, no happy ending)

5. Pirate Sex is In Vogue

My fic is a modern AU primarily through email correspondence between Silver and Flint, although other mediums (such as texting and phoning) will be introduced as the story evolves. Silver is a crack erotica writer and Flint is the librarian who just wouldn't showcase his books at the Nassau Public Library, despite the insistence of the latter. They become unexpected virtual pen pals after Flint sends a heated rejection letter and grow closer through their correspondence, helping each other confront the inner demons of their personal lives. There will be polyamory, since Flint is involved with Thomas and Miranda by the time he and Silver fall in love.

6. Tell me we're dead and I'll love you even more

In the year 1725, or thereabouts, John Silver finds himself driven by a winter storm into an inconsequential little port town, barely a speck on any civilised map. Returned to the life of a drifter, tired and rough around the edges, he is resigned to waiting for the weather to pass before he can sail on again to the next town, and the next, and the next. That is until he overhears a conversation in the inn about a local fisherman, one Captain Barlow, and his tall tales of tempests and becalmings, devils and sharks, and Silver finds a new future opening up to him, haunted by the spectres of his past. Whether landed in this place by fortune, or fate, or even divine intervention, he finds he cannot leave again without following this trail that leads from an old and half-forgotten tether knotted deep between his ribs to somewhere that feels familiar and safe, like home. The way won’t be easy; it’s paved with notable absences and painful unspoken truths, and there’s as good a chance as any that he’ll find a knife to his throat before he can so much as say ‘Long time no see, Captain’. Still, all roads do seem to lead to them baring their souls to one another in the dark, and Silver would be lying if he said he hadn’t missed it.

7.  An Epilogue

After the events of Treasure Island, John finds James and Thomas. There’s a gradual awkward descent to domesticity when pirates retire. Madi brings Jim Hawkins with her from London. This is the ultimate fix it where there are no unanswered questions and everyone lives happily ever after. SilverFlint, SilverHamilton, SilverFlintHamilton, SilverMadi

8. Stealing Hearts

A 1920s AU with Flint as a mob boss, fighting a corrupt police force/police system, and Silver as a thief who gets caught up in all of it.  

9. Space Raiders of Nassau

The space station Nassau is in open rebellion against the interplanetary Imperial Alliance.  Captain James Flint is in deep shit for rearranging the face of a fellow raider captain.  As punishment, Nassau's leaders assign an inside man to his crew, with a very convincing cover story (that they're married). Complicating things further is the fact that Flint's shifty new husband, John Silver, knows a lot more than he's telling about their secret mission. Their own survival as well as Nassau’s future depend on how successfully they can navigate the dangerous skies… and each other.  

10. The Pirate Captain's Wedding Once he has his hands on the thief Flint is willing to do whatever it takes to get the page from him. And then Billy & Gates say marriage is the only solution left on the table. Or rather matelotage – the time honored pirate form of matrimony. Billy says it’s the only way to regain the crew’s trust, by marrying one of them, and Gates agrees. For once Flint’s desperate enough to agree to it. He never expects to actually fall in love with the little shit. Canon-Era Season1/Season2 AU– with angsty developing feelings, public consummation, & There Is Only One Bed night after hot sticky sweaty night. 11. The devil's gotta' earn

Supernatural AU. James Flint has been a hunter for over a decade now and he knows people join this profession for plenty of reasons and few of those are happy ones. Some people just seek the thrill, some want to protect the so called innocent, some - like him - are out for revenge and John Bloody Silver apparently is just trying to get rich. [Borrows mostly from first seasons of Supernatural, little to no prior knowledge of this show required. Miranda lives, Thomas tragically does not. Lots of angst, few monsters of the week and a demon or two.]

12. touch me James is a widow, bartender and owner of the gay-bar “The Rainbow“. After Thomas' death it had been John who had lift him up. One day one of his usual dancers - because what is a gay bar without your occasional striptease - can't perform. John offers to fill the space and James has to face that John is more than just a friend. Slow burn and StripperJohn!AU

13. Adamantine Flame Flint is a forest god called The Flame and Silver is part of the cult that worships him that resides on the fringes of the underworld. 14. [Title TBD] Silver never met another werewolf before. Well, realistically, he knew he must have because he wasn't born a werewolf so someone had to have done this to him. But that didn't count since his memory of the whole incident was lackluster at best. He knew others had to be out there somewhere though and he wanted to find at least one, just to know he wasn't all alone. Flint was surrounded by werewolves all his life. Always part of a family, always knowing someone cared for him. Knowing he had someone to care for. The memories were as vivid as ever, of a time when he cared for someone. But they were gone and he knew he was meant to be all alone. 15. set my soul on fire

Nothing quite like getting out of prison to make a man feel like pulling off the biggest heist you’ve ever heard of. But he can’t do it alone - he’s going to need some money, a plan, a crew, and of course, his partner. His incorrigible, oral fixation-having, blue-eyed devil of a partner. Who is this smooth, seasoned con man with his eyes on the prize? James fucking Flint, naturally. And his partner? John Silver.Viva Las Vegas, baby.

16. cat dad

Modern au. Flint's life is fine. It's quiet and it's fine and he's fine. Well, except that his upstairs neighbor is a dick and his relationship with Miranda is strained and maybe quiet isn't all it's cracked up to be. But then a one-eyed cat enters his life and with it one John Silver. Flint's not sure how he feels about that, but he's working on it. Plot includes cat shenanigans, cooking, fluff, and feelings. 

17. [Title TBD]

A post-canon rendition of the Silver and Flint reunion wherein rather than seeking each other out the two are brought back together by outside forces. There’s a wedge of sour history and new lives built between them but love and desire become hard to deny when every path you set out on to leave someone behind sends you hurdling straight back to them. Treasure Island divergent/ignorant, though I pull some things from TI including the bird. (Includes SilverMadi and FlintHamilton as side-pairings, warning for canon Black Sails side-character death.) 18. The Spark

it's a Girl Genius AU

That's it, that's the whole shtick. It's basically the plot of the show, but clockwork-punk with mad geniuses (of course Flint is one), Urca being chock full of Aztec tech a'la Mysterious Cities of Gold, and dr. Howell and colleagues taking medicine to some quite Frankenstein levels - convenient with so many characters who should know better than to fucking die.

Also John Silver might be a construct.  The prosthetics are not nearly as complicated as in treasure planet, but at least one person has a gun arm? dirigibles are "Supposed Not To Be Invented Yet", but not for the lack of trying. Silverflint revolves around having "The Spark" and personhood and is shaping up heavier than i intended... luckily they will have plenty of people to set them to rights - i'm aiming for a happy polyfamily forming in the background.

19. he’s funny that way

1920s Atlantic City. Everybody knows the only way to leave crime boss Eleanor Guthrie's business is through a funeral - either delivering the sermon or laid out in the casket. Still, Flint leaves anyway, because he likes to make his life as difficult as possible. Case in point: his new partner, the scruffy, irate, one-legged racketeer with a pretty mouth, a quick tongue, and a rye recipe even Pussyfoot Johnson wouldn't spit out. His new partner's making sure he's not joining the church and taking a celibacy vow anytime soon - but will anyone be able to save Flint from his early - or long overdue - grave?

20. Ship to Wreck 

"I don't know if you've noticed, Doctor," Silver snaps, incredulous, "But every moment the Captain is unconscious in that bed is another step away from five million fucking dollars. As if that weren't enough, we're locked in a ridiculous show of force with a madman who seems keen on blowing us sky high unless we concede to his demands; we've got a crowd of men up top losing their Goddamned minds because they've been promised a fight that we cannot presently even hope to deliver; and--" Silver pauses, exhaling hard. "Actually, you know what? There is no and.  I’d say that’s about enough shit to make us all a little tense, wouldn’t you agree?" "Hm," Howell says, mildly. A post 204 fic in which: Flint gets a fever, Silver has a panic attack, and Howell gets a migraine. Includes, among other things--Silver trying and failing at playing nurse; Silver trying and failing at controlling his feelings; Flint being dazed and delirious and soft; some singing, some yelling, and heavy doses of mutual pining. Love, obviously, turns out to be the best medicine. 21. More Than One Odysseus

Reunion fic, about two years after 4.10. Quite a lot of talking and a little of the following: fishing, sex, hunting, bathtubs, Jewish surnames, books, stories and Terra Australis. Canon-compliant, not TI-compliant. A few animals killed (for food, not sport).

22. Seedlings

"If there's anything I can help you with-- Or if you'd like to order flowers for an upcoming occasion--"

"All right, honestly?" Handsomely disgruntled customer looked Silver dead in the eye and said, "I'm looking for a gift that says, 'You are making a dreadful mistake, and you will regret these actions for the rest of your days. Call me when you've figured out what a fucking hash of things you've made.'" He spoke the way some people chewed tinfoil.

Silver felt two things: lust like a plague of locusts, and the words 'uh-oh' waft through his brain.

On the second anniversary of the worst day of his adult life, John Silver─temporary florist, burgeoning gardner, and former thief─meets James Flint. It is only love at first sight for one of them. (Or is it?)

23. The Curse of Aeaea

Inspired by the connection between Flint and Odysseus: Silver and Flint find themselves dealing with a very Circe-like situation. Once the curse affects Silver, they have to figure out a way to end it or be trapped on an island that’s not on any map.

(Animal Transformation, Body Horror, Poor Coping Mechanisms, Circe’s Curse, Odysseus, Post-Season 2, Pre-Season 3)

24. With Strange Aeons Months after the disappearance and presumed death of Captain Flint and Long John Silver, Max smuggles Jack and Anne to Oglethorpe’s plantation. Thomas learns that not only do the three of them have a friend in common, but he is not the only one whose dreams are haunted by a strange city and a terrifying name. Meanwhile, Flint and Silver try to escape an island trapped in time, impossibly built and impossibly old. Along the way they’re forced question reality, each other, and themselves.

And in his house in R’lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming. (Prior knowledge of Lovecraft is fun, but not required.)

[rachelkaser]

Gears 5 is an experiment -- one that (mostly) failed

Gears 5 is a game from a studio that really wants to try new things. It’s a new entry in a very entrenched franchise that tries to bolt said new things onto an established-to-the-point-of-obstinancy gameplay formula. It’s an interesting experiment -- and, though the experiment wasn’t successful, I think it does set some important groundwork for the next game.

There were quite a number of franchise games that came out this year that excelled specifically because they returned us to the kind of gameplay we’re used to from them -- Kingdom Hearts 3 brought its JRPG madness after years of development hell, Devil May Cry 5 tripled down on its over-the-top action. Hell, Ubisoft basically slapped some pink paint on Far Cry 5 and shoved it out the door as Far Cry New Dawn and it was perfectly acceptable.

All Gears 5 had to do was basically that: Give us more of the same gameplay we’ve had all along, and we’d have gobbled it up. So I actually am surprised that developers The Coalition have chosen to experiment with it as much as they did.

But here’s the thing: While I do think the attempts to add new spice to the formula didn’t work out in this instance, I think they could if they were properly incorporated into the game. I’m not using the word “failed” to mean the game was bad -- because it wasn’t bad. But it definitely tried some new stuff, and failed to successfully incorporate that new stuff into the final product. With a few select changes, I think it could definitely pull it off better when it’s time for Gears 6.

Empty lands

The biggest new change is, of course, the open world. I’ve already expounded on most of my thoughts in my review for The Next Web, but I’ll add one thing I didn’t cover there: The characters don’t interact with each other nearly enough to justify the empty spaces. Especially during the second (and final) open level where you’re parasailing around this Mars-like red hellscape with four of the main characters packed onto the vehicle together, and they’ll say maybe ten words to each other. I feel they could have done more to alleviate the boredom.

This wouldn’t be a huge problem -- the story moments serve to build the character relationships sufficiently -- except when it comes to the final moments of the game. Then the game takes a very sharp turn into territory it has heretofore not tried.

I’m going to drop some truly epic *SPOILERS* here, so consider yourself warned.

In the final moments of the game, heroine Kait Diaz is attempting to fight off the Swarm Queen, a.k.a. her imperfectly resurrected mother Reyna. The Queen somehow manages to snatch up Kait’s two best friends, JD Fenix and Del Walker. Because she only has one knife to throw at their tentacle-y restraints (long story) she can only save one of them.

Okay. So. Two problems with this.

Problem One: The Options

I imagine that, when the developers were drafting the story for this game, there was a moment when one of the staffers raised their hands and asked the obvious question: “Why would anyone want to save Del?”

It would have been a fair question, too. While Del is a perfectly likable companion, JD is both the son of series hero Marcus Fenix and was himself the protagonist of the last game. Kait was without question always going to be the player character for Gears 5 -- Gears 4 was already her story, and I’m sure The Coalition realized what a splash it’d be to have the main character of the latest in this notoriously testosterone-fueled franchise be a woman. But still, going into Gears 5, JD will have made far more headway with the average player than Del.

So what’s the solution? The Coalition appears to have taken a two-pronged approach to solving this problem, stemming from the same incident. In the prologue of the game, JD instigates a disastrous Hail Mary attack in an attempt to get his squad unpinned in a big battle, which results in the death of Lizzy Carmine. After this incident, he becomes positively Byronic with his perpetual broodiness and bad mood.

To compound this sudden personality change, he’s retroactively revealed to have been part of a major war crime (that apparently took place between games, because I don’t recall it ever being mentioned before), in which he ordered his fellow Gears to fire on civilians. Needless to say, this turns Del against him, and his hostility towards Kait over his suspicions about her lineage alienates her as well.

While this is happening, Del proves himself to be a true mensch, siding with Kait and accompanying her on her quest to find out how she’s related to the Swarm. He supports her when she has a meltdown upon learning the truth, covers her when she tries to get the Swarm’s hive mind burned out of her brain, and even gives JD hell when he comes slinking back to join the two with his proverbial tail between his legs. I can’t say he’s exactly given much character development, and he’s certainly no Dom despite that blatantly being the hole he was created to fill. But his friendship with Kait definitely feels more developed and meaningful this time ... but only because JD’s not around.

I can say that this whole palaver works, in that I did feel torn about who of the two I wanted to save. But it’s robbing Peter to pay Paul, kneecapping JD in a false attempt to uplift Del. The reason I mentioned before that the characters needed to interact more on the open world traversal is because I think it would have been perfectly plausible to have the characters bond more deeply and therefore make the final choice more difficult purely by having them interact more in this big empty space. It just feels like there had to have been a better way to balance this than by completely altering JD’s character.

To put it into perspective, the entire prologue is about giving JD a good reason to not be in the game for a few acts so that Del can get some more bonding time with Kait. And while I have no proof of it, I’m convinced that this whole thing happened because the developers started with the idea that the game was going to end with Kait’s choice, and then they built the rest of the story around it.

Which brings me to the next problem...

Problem Two: The Suddenness

The choice of who to save, Del or JD, is literally the only time in the entire game the player is called upon to make a choice of any kind. The rest of the campaign is purely linear. The problem with including choice in your narrative is that you can’t throw in such an important one in at the literal final hour -- at least, not without it feeling stupidly contrived.

I had this same problem with Resident Evil 7, which also throws in a last minute “who do you save” option. In that game’s case, it was essentially what would have happened if Gears 5 hadn’t built Del and Kait’s friendship up. The choices were Mia, main character Ethan’s wife whom he’d spent the entire game trying to rescue; and Zoe, a woman Ethan had known only a few hours.

The vast majority of gamers I saw had the same reaction: Why would you ever save Zoe? Mia is Ethan’s wife and rescuing her is the only reason we’re in this nightmare, so if you don’t save her, the entire game was for nothing. And even if you pick Zoe, she dies anyway and you get the bad ending. There’s also a whole story DLC about Zoe’s uncle coming to rescue her after Ethan leaves her behind, which it just assumes is what you did, so why the fuck was this even an option?!

As an example of how this works when done properly, see the first Mass Effect game. What that particular game did well -- and what the sequels, though I love them, failed to do quite as wonderfully -- was weave in both big, meaningful choices and smaller ones. At the one minute, you’re trying to decide if you should make a pleasant or harsh dialogue choice. At the next, you’re trying to decide whether or not you should exterminate the last living member of an alien race.

It’s all building up, not necessarily to the final battle, but to the mission on Virmire. In this pivotal mission, you must decide which of two teammates to save. Both have had your backs for every moment of this multi-hour RPG, and the prospect of losing either one is heartbreaking. But while it’s a gut punch, it’s not wholly unexpected -- the entire game has been priming you to make exactly this kind of big, meaningful, terrible choice.

Gears 5 doesn’t build you up to its final decision. You’re basically playing Rooty-Tooty-Duck-n-Shooty, then all of a sudden the game asks you which of your two closest friends you want to see die. I don’t feel anything from this choice, because I wasn’t emotionally prepared to be making a choice, if that makes sense. It feels so out-of-the-blue that I more or less detached from it -- I definitely didn’t feel that sense of deep conflict and upset that I did during the Virmire mission.

Heck, at least when Wolfenstein: The New Order did this, it had the courtesy both to do it at the beginning of the game and to not pretend it made any real difference... and I still felt more deeply affected by that choice than I did by the one at the end of Gears 5.

This dabbling in open world, in player choice -- it’s not done well in Gears 5. But I sense this is something the developers are just trying out. Just because I don’t think the attempt succeeded doesn’t mean I’m not interested in seeing them trying again. There are the seeds of something really good here, even if they didn’t grow in this particular soil.

If The Coalition can figure out a way to fill their open worlds and make player choice a core part of the narrative rather than something to surprise the player with at the last minute, it could actually make Gears 6 into something interesting and different.

[neoraven]

NWA TNA Episode 1, June 19th 2002

17 years ago NWA TNA started the weekly PPV experiment. I went to every single one. Now I'm going to watch them for the first time since I was there.

(this review brought courtesy of Toby Keith and the red white and blue)

In 2002, I was a teenager set adrift by 9/11 and the alienation from starting high school. For better or worse, every week I started going to National Wrestling Alliance - Total Nonstop Action shows on Wednesday night. I loved WCW and was bitter about the botched invasion going on, and here was a new WCW in my backyard.  It looks like there were 111 weekly PPVs, I'm not sure exactly how many taped ones / clip shows ended up happening, but I never missed one for injury, illness, or even vacation for the better part of two years. It was basically my ECW, for someone who was too young to follow ECW when it first aired.

I'm not really sure what the format of these is going to be. It's kind of a recap + live blog + review,  I'll give matches the standard 0-5 star ratings with 1/4*'s possible, so it's really a 20 point scale. I'm going to hopefully figure out a better way to get screen captures going forward. Also, these first couple were taped in Alabama, not at the TNA Asylum in Nashville. Hopefully if my memory holds up, I'll be able to give some live notes and memories from being there for some of these. I have an old hard drive of pictures taken that I hope I can recover. I won the "Best Fan of the Night" and "Best Sign" contests a couple times to get to go backstage, and I also generally hung out before the shows and after the shows to talk to the wrestlers coming and going like a groupie. Later on, I was even on the TNA "Street Team" helping to market TNA and hand out flyers/ads during Smackdown tapings.  I was also the moderator for the brief TNA Online Message Board, which I truly wish I had screencaps/archives somehow of all the…wildness there.

NWA TNA #1 June 19th 2002

Don West is the first person out of the gate, introducing Ed Ferrara after pyro and a brief introduction. Ed's all about TNA and introducing the girls dancing in cage as some sleazy music plays. Appropriately, he throws it to Mike Tenay, all business at ringside. TNA chants kick us off. Don West's hawaiian shirt is a thing of legend, and it's distracting me from Tenay's long explanation of the "Gauntlet For The Gold".

Jeremy Borash eventually is in ring announcing a parade of legends. Harley Race, Dory Funk, Jr, Jackie Fargo, Bullet Bob Armstrong, Corsica Joe & Sarah Lee, Bill Behrens, Ricky Steamboat. "All Our Base Are Belong To Us" shirt spotted in the stands. The Dragon compares the belt to every major championship in pro sports, the Stanley Cup, etc. He will special referee the finals of the match, and that brings out the one and only - Jeff Jarrett. His TNA theme "My World" is a lowkey banger that nevertheless completely haunted my life for 2 years. His big mouth earns him the first spot in the match. Ken Shamrock is here after that, and he joins Jarrett in burying the Battle Royal match. Finally, Scott Hall saunters through the crowd in a strip club(!!!) t-shirt as his awesome theme "Marvelous Me" plays. To round up, Ken Shamrock's theme wasn't great. "Hey Yo" sign spotted.

Goldylocks is backstage with Total Nonstop Action and the original midget killer "Puppet the Psycho Dwarf". Oh no. He's gonna spill some midget blood. Jeff Jarrett angrily kicks over a tiny music stand in the background hilariously. Then we go to the girls in cages and honest to goodness our first wrestling match -

6 Man Tag Team X Division Showcase AJ Styles, Low Ki, and Jerry Lynn vs The Flying Elvii (Sonny Siaki, Jimmy Yang, and Jorge Estrada)

An X Division showcase awaits. The legends surround a tiny monitor backstage. The generic faces' intro music is bland. The flying Elvii have a nice little knockoff theme at least. Siaki has Big The Rock Energy while the other two mug. The Elvii refuse handshakes and all hell breaks loose. Triple dropkicks and flying splashes to the outside. Styles reverses a back suplex into a phenomenal forearm, and I'm not going to attempt to catch every move. As an aside - Total Nonstop Action has taken a full 18 minutes on air before someone punched someone. Siaki and LowKi is a pretty appealing matchup. The former does a crisp Samoan Drop. Styles and Yang get in and have a very crisp, quick flurry of moves together. Jerry Lynn crushes a cradle Piledriver, and Siaki runs in and hits his neckbreaker finisher. LowKi accidentally brains AJ, and Yang capitalizes with the Yang Time for the pin. Considering who went on to hold the X Title, this is an odd result, but commentary was generally putting over how the mismatched team was going to compete in the X Title Round Robin coming up.

The Flying Elvii in 7 minutes, Yang Time pins AJ Styles **3/4

Midget Showcase Teo vs Hollywood

Hollywood starts it before the bell. From the promo, I thought this was a triple threat with Puppet. Hollywood kicks out of the "Tadpole Splash" from the top rope. Ed Ferrara says in response to Teo's claims to be a ladies' man - "He's the right height". Teo finishes Hollywood with an ugly swanton.

Teo in 3 minutes, Swanton?, 1/2*

Now West and Ferrara are in the ring hyping the Lingerie Battle Royal next week. The New Francine, Miss Joanie, Shannon (Daffney?), Alexis Laree (Mickie James!), The Incredible Sasha, Erin (Baltimore Cheerleader?), Elektra from ECW, Miss Taylor Vaughn, Darisa Da?? I didn't catch her name as Ed starts rambling about a kid in a candy store. Maybe I'll catch all the names if they're introduced with title cards next week. Francine grabs a mic and calls Ed "pudgy" and says none of the women compare to her. Elektra stands up to Francine and starts a catfight.

Goldylocks is in the back with Mortimer Plumtree. His character peaks with his name. He manages a tag team that bullied him in high school for reasons that are never explained. He leaves to walk "The Johnsons", Richard and Rod, to the ring.

Tag Team Match The Johnsons w/ Mortimer Plumtree vs Psychosis and James Storm

The latter is an odd pairing for a few reasons. I honestly didn't remember James Storm started off without Chris Harris and America' Most Wanted. He even has the prop guns firing blanks in the ring, which was always a nice touch. I feel like this is where I mention that the Johnsons are in full body suits and masks that make them look like walking penises. In other news, Psychosis is going without his trademark horned mask. Alicia from WCW is on the stage scouting the match. There's a fella in an XFL jersey in the stands. What year is it? "Buff your(sic) still the stuff" sign spotted. Ferrara "These Johnsons just look good". They hit simultaneous clutching suplexes to take control of the good guys, but Mortimer interferes to let one of the Johnsons hit their finisher on Cowboy. Post match, the ref pays off the lady watching the action.

The Johnsons in 4 minutes, Samoan Drop into Neckbreaker, *

Stan and Bo Dupp harass Goldylocks in the back until they run into the brothers' shared girlfriend in a quick nothing segment.

Borash introduces 1993 Rookie of the Year and Winston (yes, cigarettes) Cup Points Leader Sterling Martin. K-Krush is out to save us from the race car drivers. He's getting booed, but this would be a face promo anywhere other than Huntsville Alabama. K Krush "Damn you, and Damn Alabama" Brian Lawler is out to save the NASCAR dopes from the angry black man. He cuts an angry promo about "your kind" while the crowd howls in racist jeer. It's a pretty ugly segment considering "Grandmaster Sexay" Lawler is still clad in his Too Cool black rapper cosplay outfit.

Backstage, Jeff Jarrett is choking Jackie Fargo.

Tag Team Match Christian York & Joey Matthews vs The Dupps w/ Fluff Dupp

For better or worse, now I know their girlfriend/cousin's name now. After the crowd roared for the pasty white NASCAR duo, commentary is really going in on how these two wrestlers are completely fucking stupid and southern. The Dupps' intro is very boring twangy banjo crap, and they're not much better in the ring. Matthews hits a move called the Virginia Necktie that looks pretty nice. I think the non-Dupp team is working face, but it's hard to tell who the crowd is popping for. The Dupps win with some cheating and Fluff interference.

The Dupps in 4 minutes, Crotch shot, 1/2*

Before the Gauntlet For The Gold, we get a Toby Keith music video. He is singing "Angry American". Jeff Jarrett walks out and pushes Toby Keith off his little stupid stool and the crowd goes wild and honestly, I screamed in joy and Jeff Jarrett turned face for my money when he says "Nobody wants to hear that damn song, and take your Angry American Ass OUTTA HERE".

The Gauntlet For The Gold 20 Man Battle Royal for the NWA Heavyweight Championship Of The World

Buff Bagwell runs down for number 2 and the bell rings. Maybe it was for the main event finally starting but honestly the crowd goes pretty wild for Buff Bagwell laying hands on Double J. Buff hits a couple signature moves, but gets tossed before the next entrant. Ragin' Cajun Lash Laroux Is 3. He falls victim to The Stroke and is eliminated fast. "Somebody pissed in Jeff's Cheerio-s this morning!" Here comes Screamin' Norman Smiley at 4. The second largest pop of the night so far comes for the Big Wiggle. Jarrett tosses him anyways. Apolo comes down at 5, getting more offense than the previous entrants combined. K-Krush is 6. His signature axe kick gets tremendous boos, they hate him. Slash w/ James Mitchell is 7. Del Rios is 8. He is some kind of bodybuilder and it shows. Slash bites his way out of a belly to belly suplex as the announcers stress everything is legal. Justice is 9, I think this Is the future Abyss, but I can't swear to it. He hits a Black Hole Slam and now I'm 99% sure. Konnan is 10, yelling "Arriba La Raza" on his way to the ring. Abyss sells Konnan's facebuster a la HBK vs Hogan and I love it. 11 brings out Joel Gertner "I'm gonna be with 5 girls in Huntsville because I don't settle for less" He gives an X-rated introduction for the man they call Bruce of the Rainbow Express, led out by Lenny Lane. I'm not gonna bother listing all of the homophobic euphemisms the announce team runs through explaining who the Rainbow Express are. Rick Steiner is 12. He dumps Slash and Abyss with a couple impressive shows of strength. Malice is 13, dealing out chokeslams. Bruce, K-Krush, Del Rios,  Konnan, and Steiner go out quickly thereafter. Scott Hall is 14. Toby Keith? is 15. He suplexes and tosses Jarrett. Not that anyone cares, but Toby Keith leaves through the middle rope to chase Jarrett and is never officially eliminated. 16 brings Wildcat Chris Harris. Vampire Warrior, former Gangrel, runs down seemingly early as an entrant with no music? The on screen countdown timer disappeared during the Toby Keith situation. Dangerous Devin Storm, aka Crowbar, is probably 18. Steve Corino comes in at 19, the only former NWA Champ. Ken Shamrock is out at 20. "Hall was framed" sign spotted. Brian Christopher/Lawler is number 20 and I realize now that Toby Keith was not an official entrant. Brian clears out Chris Harris, Vampire Warrior, and Crowbar mostly by holding the top rope down when they ran by. He dumps Corino shortly after. Christopher and Apolo get dumped by Malice next. Then the cameraman somehow misses Malice back body dropping Scott Hall over the top, leaving Malice vs Ken Shamrock to go to a  pinfall or submission.

Malice vs Ken Shamrock, Special Referee Ricky The Dragon Steamboat

Malice gets some advice from Father James Mitchell at ringside.  After going back and forth, Shamrock gets an awesome cross arm breaker reversal of a choke slam. After a long tease of tapping, he gets the rope, maybe with James Mitchell pushing it a little toward his client. A big boot leads into the Ankle Lock and Shamrock refuses to break it on the ropes, after even a 7 count, leading to heated words with Steamboat. Shamrock wins with a Belly to Belly to a big pop despite his heel tactics. Cue pyro, and hoisting the tiny gold belt.

Ken Shamrock wins a 5 minute match following a 33 minute battle royal, Belly to Belly. **

The match was a little too long, even with Jarrett speeding up the beginning by tossing the opening entrants as fast as possible. Speaking of Double J, he fights with legends and security backstage before emerging with a microphone. He punches the legends after moaning about the battle royal until Toby Keith and Jackie Fargo come back out to book Scott Hall vs Jeff Jarrett next week, the show ends with them brawling up the ramp.

That wraps up episode 1! They have some marquee singles matches next week in addition to crowning the first X Division champ, I'll see you then to wrap up the two first Alabama shows before settling into The Asylum.

[theunabridgedgamer]

Shutter (Vol 1 - 3) Review

Talking psychotic robot clocks, grand old school adventure, and cyber roman lion bounty hunters. This one has it all, and is one hell of a journey.

Also, bear in mind, minor spoilers.There is also one specific quotation from the end of Volume 2, but it is block quoted so it can be easily skipped. I try to avoid the majority of the story’s twists and turns, but some examples and key points needed to brought up. I apologize for the inconvenience.

So, without further adieu, this is…

Shutter (Volumes 1 - 3)

Writer: Joe Keatinge Artist: Leila Del Duca Letterer: John Workman Colors: Owen Gieni Cover Artist: Leila Del Duca Format Read: Collected Trade Publisher: Image

You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to do this one!

Shutter is a prime example of what makes comics so different from other media. It is as heavily reliant on its vivid visuals as it is its razor sharp writing, and it blends the two (along with twists on several comics conventions) into a riveting tale of famed explorer and photographer Kate Kristopher dealing with the sins of her father while trying to figure out her own identity. Also, things like this happen:

Yes, that is an assassination hit being ordered in Sunday newspaper comic strip paneling. The story uses this sort of framing device at several points, actually, and while you’d think it might clash with an otherwise more “Gabriel Ba but somehow more intensely on acid than usual” aesthetic, it works remarkably well. In fact, the story seems to pride itself on continually breaking traditional barriers without even a hint of smugness or pretension. It knows the story it wants to tell, it wants to tell it as well as it can and it does not give a shit how crazy the means to tell that story may become.

It uses flashbacks sparingly yet has an incredibly complicated history for all its characters. It changes narrative framing to seemingly minor characters, building them up only to kill them off or shift course entirely until far later down the line, like something out of Urasawa’s Monster. The world is too complex to be fully explained in one series, let alone a single book. The sheer density of it all hits you like a freight train, and you just cling on for dear life as it rushes along.

And when I say it rushes along, I mean it flows fast as all hell. The sense of momentum to Del Duca’s art is amazing, and makes me hope that some day this comic will get turned into something animated. Each panel looks like a frame of animation given an extra polish of detail. You have to linger on each page and just soak in all the details. The earthy tones of the world give Shutter a rather grounded feel, and are contrasted by the bright hues whenever conversations get intense or bullets start flying. The layers Gieni adds punctuate the world when other colorists might have simply given the line work all the emotional reigns.

Owen Gieli’s coloring, lighting and shading, on top of Del Duca’s expressive line work and use of perspective; just absolutely astounding work all around.Credit must also be given to the lettering by John Workman. The lettering is not only varied and impactful, but the bubble placement is always directing your eye to the next critical moment.

The story itself is also quite endearing, despite the larger than life setting and progressively large cast of characters. At the heart of all things is Kate, daughter to the famous (and now deceased) explorer Chris Kristopher, and current travel photographer. She’s got a flat with her transwoman friend Alain and a talking robot cat clock. Life was always an adventure for Kate, but after her father’s passing, she’s tried to put those times behind her.

However, when a gang of rabbits, ninja spirits, and a robot start fighting over Kate against a lion mafia hit squad (yes I just wrote that sentence with a straight face), things quickly begin to unravel as all of Chris’ past choices all start to come crashing down on Kate. A quick visit to the old family home leaves Kate with more questions than a struggling 20-something ex-adventurer can handle, leading to a struggle to regain control in the face of a world determined to force her down a path she refuses to go down.

Among the early revelations for Kate is that her father sired several children, some of which would very much like for Kate to be dead, and others just as innocent as Kate in the ongoing schemes for power and revenge. Along the way, cyber-foxes, secret societies, and even inter-dimensional entities come to blows with Kate and her ever shifting group of allies.

If there’s one thing you are probably noticing at this point, it’s that a core focus of the entire series is on defying expectations and cutting your own path, even if you struggle for it. From the way the story is told to the actions of our protagonist, the traditional Campbellian hero’s journey gets tossed out the window in favor of a protagonist who actively says things along the lines of “no, f**k that noise, we’re doing this my way” and grapples with the consequences; which is part of what makes Shutter so interesting.

In improv, you’re taught to always say “yes”, no matter what, but Shutter makes a compelling argument for how much more interesting things can become in a story when you dare to say “no”. Volume 2 encapsulates this beautifully with Kate’s rant when she stands before a coallition of her enemies who have been pulling the strings and causing suffering for all those she cares about:

I’ve been trying to deal with it all. Sometimes very poorly and definitely too reactionary because I hoped it’d go away on its own. Sometimes I caved in and ended up doing some really stupid shit, like running off with a minor and possibly killing a fox or jackal or whatever she was, instead of using my brain. And the whole time you all keep relentlessly coming at me with this issue or that whatever, and I kept trying. And I kept messing up. Because everything you all want out of me isn’t who I am.

Everybody feels like I have to deal with their crap or alter my life to suit their needs and do things their way. But guess what? FUCK EVERYBODY! You all want me? You all got me! But on MY terms. Kate Kristopher is back. By popular demand. And she’s going to fight every one of you morons until your collective bullshit is straight up non-existent. Any questions?

So long, Hollywood bog-standard “the chosen one” narrative storytelling! While some stories have taken this concept and rolled with it, like Avatar: The Last Air Bender, Shutter does all it can to flip that notion the hell off and tells it to go jump in a lake.

It’s a sentiment that appeals to us all, dealing with a world that always demands more of us than what we’re often prepared to give, and is a universal story as a result. The at times absurd scenarios Kate and company find themselves in work because the unusual is normal in the world of Shutter. You can’t get lost in the grass critiquing a particular political angle or detail because the world is intentionally built to shut up that noise and get everyone to sit down and focus on what it’s actually trying to tell. It’s kind of a reverse mute-button, going full blast to keep your attention.

For example Chris Jr., Kate’s secret little brother, has to use a shotgun on someone at some point in self-defense. They address it and talk briefly about it, but in the context of survival and making snap decisions, not the gun itself. Alain being trans is a part of her character development, they even devote a flashback to it, but that’s not even a tenth of Alain’s character as Kate’s best friend and an awesome ass-kicker coming in to save the day. The existence of deities is known and some pay reverance to arcane aspects of the world but others don’t and no one blinks an eye either way. Ghost ninjas aren’t terrifying so much as a nuisance, with people dismissing their ancient moans as a running gag for the first volume.

it’s not that the story doesn’t obviously have a liberal slant, and it’s far from pro-spirituality, but also isn’t taking potshots at anyone (unless you’re part of an ultra-secretive Illuminati-esque organization, in which case, um, hi!). And in our current online and political landscape, that is a refreshing change of pace.

As if I haven’t gushed enough, it must also be said that good gravy are the amount of cogs in motion in this story just utterly insane. I wasn’t kidding when I said the story could pull Monster levels of bouncing about, with character development for the whole cast and a litany of sub-plots playing out. Also, unlike certain video games, these sub-plots do get properly fleshed out over time, even if the narrative can ignore certain plot beats for a time before bringing them back into focus.

There’s also a sequence in chapter 3 that goes so meta that you almost double-take at the sequence on display. It’s pretty typical for such a surreal universe to have a crazy drug-induced dream sequence, but Shutter goes out of its way to really knock your socks off, and that’s all I’ll say.

Beyond that, I fear I’d spoil too much of the experience for you describing what happens. The series so far has reached Volume 4, and I’ve got my copy patiently sitting on my desk as I write up this review. Each act of the story has taken two volumes, so I’d imagine it will take at least until Volume 6 to wrap everything up.

If you’re interested in catching up before Volume 5 gets collected, you need to decide if you are going physical or digital. Digital copies have been fairly cheap on Comixology recently, but I honestly plan to get the copies I have digital in physical form at some point. The volumes do cost $15 a piece, but the art is just so much more vivid in physical form, with some of the best covers I’ve seen in ages.

                                              In Summary

Shutter is probably one of my new all-time favorite series. It’s fresh, interesting, laser-focused and realistic of its limitations but also ambitious as hell within those very same boundaries. I can’t wait to see how Kate’s quest to solve the conspiracies and save her friends pans out, but odds are good it’s going to be one hell of a final fight. Until then, it’s going to be a very trippy, hilarious, poignant, and beautiful ride. Available at: https://www.amazon.com/Shutter-Vol-1-Wanderlost-TP/dp/1632151456/ref=pd_bxgy_14_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=EYFQSKZBNEHSEWH74TY8 For: $3.99 - 14.99 (Depends on if you get it digital, especially in the case of sales, or physical) Next Time: Giant Days (Volume 1) FOR REAL THIS TIME!