#because I do not have the Cans to do an in-character skit for each Avenger haha

[lieutenant-pride]

i kinda wanna rant about agatha all along

for better or for worse i looked in the general direction of an mcu property again and spoiler alert, it's mostly for the better

really i just wanna blurb about it and why i think it's a standout in the mcu catalog, and why i feel i'm enjoying it compared to all the other work i've seen in the mcu - and some work outside of it, to an extent!

(ACTUAL spoiler alert for under the blurb for guardians vol 3, multiverse of madness, wakanda forever, deadpool and wolverine, and - of course - agatha all along)

the preface: my history watching stuff with any attachment to the mcu involves quite a few of the mainline movies that were released leading up to avengers infinity war and endgame. back then, i had much less of a problem with the writing decisions made within the work because i really was just looking for popcorn films out of these - and to be fair, i can't take shots at others who want that now, either! some of my favorite films predating infinity war were thor ragnarok and black panther

after endgame, i kinda fell off the bandwagon and didn't really want to indulge many of the series actively from that point on, though i didn't really pinpoint why for a bit after that. i didn't engage with any of the tv shows in phase 4, aside from seeing clip shows of wandavision and what if here and there. what sort of helped shape why i was losing interest in the mcu and its style of writing - and works that ended up shaped by that style of writing inside and outside of disney's reach - was watching the four post-endgame films i had any passing interest to see: guardians vol. 3, multiverse of madness, deadpool and wolverine, and wakanda forever. each of these illustrated my issues with previous films clearer than before, in different ways.

Guardians Vol. 3 is a film that was heavily hindered by the past films' comedy chops hamstringing the serious character story for rocket raccoon. much as i wanted to invest in this heartfelt story they were putting together for him, it IS a guardians of the galaxy film, so how can it hold water if it's all serious all the time? it led to a tonal dissonance, especially with the usual irony sprinkled into that humour that you see in a lot of films within the mcu? much as it tried to bring me in, it still actively pushed me out

Multiverse of Madness has a worldbuilding issue in what it allows its villain to do and when: Wanda in this film - namely during her Dreamwalking moments - can just do straight up anything she wants, as long as it makes her a horror film level threat to the heroes. this, unfortunately, leads you to ask, with alarming frequency: "Okay, if she can do X, then why doesn't she do X again now, instead of Y?" this is also combined with the fact that the rules of her magic only get the slightest hint of boundaries during this film. sure, we can say it's the darkhold empowering her the whole time, but if this book allows her to do so much, why does she go through the catalog of spells and pick a new one with each situation, when some of those spells could work alarmingly well for her in later scenarios?

Deadpool and Wolverine was a lot of fun - in isolation. unfortunately, what it also did was paint in bright-ass colours what's a big problem with all the films actively a part of the MCU, by upping the dosage to 11: irony poisoning. this film wants nothing more than to look at old comics and pop culture and old flops and behind-the-scenes info about movies that fell flat, then turns to you and goes like "hey remember this thing? you like these fun jokes and characters? you like these memes? see how these things don't wanna be comics but we do?" it's a film that is very deeply tongue-in-cheek. and hey! that's fun, to some degree. it's just when you realize it's an SNL skit stretched out to feature film length that you kinda have to look at it - and other ryan reynolds work, after a bit - and kind of wonder if he wants to make anything new that's not busting open the fourth wall at every opportunity.

Wakanda Forever is the outlier here. where the others illustrate my frustrations, wakanda forever gave me a glimpse of something i wanted to see more of: a story that wanted to tell itself to you, that didn't want to hamper itself down with the same saturation of jokes that others in the MCU have. this was a film that wanted to put - front and center - a story about a brilliant and powerful woman grieving her paradoxical lack of power to save the ones she loves, and her struggles with grief as revenge begins to cloud her vision. the usual chops and attempts at levity are still there, but perhaps because there's less of them and they're timed better, there's more room for the real story to breathe, and for us to really focus on that struggle Shuri goes through. i finished watching this film and actually liked it quite a bit compared to the rest!

so yeah, by this point, i was much clearer on what i wasn't loving about the mcu: it's the damn irony poisoning and - as a friend of mine once put it - they're films that make all the actual fights about who "has the more powerful blue". the mcu films largely aren't willing to invest enough time in themselves to properly set up the stakes, and have those characters acknowledge them as they move forward, instead focused more on spectacle and quick quips.

now, that does make for fun popcorn movies, sure, but after getting a hypersaturation of that, i kind of wanted more from it? if i was getting a world of magic or sci-fi or superpowers, i wanted more than just a vague gesture at how powerful each of these things were, i wanted them to actually set up stakes and lay out clearly and consistently what made the villain a threat - and treat them like one consistently! and if the villain isn't the big issue, then i wanted to see what really was: the internal conflict was something i wanted more of, as well. i wanted characters that actually struggled with what choices they made or showed integrity in those choices, that held up their actions with conviction, instead of taking a lazy jab at it

agatha all along released, silently at first, mostly something i heard of because - on release - there was already buzz about billy kaplan being who teen HAD to be. i didn't watch it right away because i didn't care about the tv shows too actively before, so why do it now? and plus, what if it was just the same as the clip shows of wandavision i had seen? the best of it would just become clip shows on youtube eventually, right?

sometime later - had to be a little under two weeks ago, since it was just after episode 5's release - i got bored and said "you know what, how about i give this show a chance, after all?"

thank you, bored me, that was a pretty damn good decision

the first episode was a trip into the hexed mind of agatha, looking at the world through her vision as billy tries to break her out of it. it was a bit deceptive at first, but it was fun enough to keep me on board, even though i knew the tone had to shift considerably from there. the first couple of episodes did great at laying the groundwork for the series to come, and i wasn't as aware of it early on, but it was becoming clearer there was something different here

especially because each episode seemed to make it progressively harder to "just censor the queer bits" let's fuckin gooo!

but while one of my earlier grievances was more quietly alleviated, another seemed more loudly crushed by episode 5's climax. not necessarily the reveal that billy was billy all along, but the events leading up to it: there were characters in world moving on from a death that JUST HAPPENED - a murder, even! - and this leading up to billy's explosion and character reveal. this moment, where agatha celebrated her return of her powers even after killing one of her coven; where the two senior witches, while frustrated, seemed to shake off the death shockingly easily; and billy, the most junior of the bunch, has to deal with these people he thought he trusted just shaking off the death of someone he had made a friend of! there was actual character-led drama here! tension from characters acting accordingly led to a big shift in the dynamic and a character taking extreme action! i'm INVESTED???????

(the earlier grievance that was quietly handled was my worldbuilding and magic system issue, because this story wanted to genuinely believe in the magic it crafted and made sure, with each step, the rules it wanted to craft were followed. the funny thing is, by working mostly with characters that had little-to-no power as well as those who just couldn't control what they had, we were able to focus more on building the rules up through non-powered means and using the knowledge of the craft they practice first. i think we can also have a discussion on how maybe the balance of "exposition" vs "show don't tell" is a bit too tipped to the former's side, but i think that's something for another day, after the series finishes)

from there, episode 6 happens, and it just cements this show - in my mind - as probably my favourite mcu series. first of all, because if episode 4 didn't already do it, 6 made sure that there was just no room to censor out the gay bits, fuck yeah. secondly, it builds on the character we were already being introduced to quite well: using billy's past life as a source of internal drama was a natural choice, and it's done quite well, allowing you to invest deeper in what this kid's going through and why he's hunting so fervently for the witch's road, and what he expects to get out of it. even the final section where agatha interrogates his convictions (which by the way, definitely is where i'd start asking about exposition vs show don't tell) is great - not just for him, but for agatha, as we see HER convictions on display as well!

i kinda wanna wrap up my thoughts - and also episode 7's barely come out - so i won't touch on that one; just know that 7 is also peak, potentially even the best of the series to date

agatha all along was so deceptive to me because i was almost expecting just a general witch-y spinoff of what we got of her in wandavision, and what i saw of her made me think she'd just be another quippy villain that gets her own spinoff like loki (that series might be good too but i just don't like loki that much...?) what i got instead was a series focusing on agatha trying to get her powers back alongside a teenager with his own mysterious intentions - both seeking out a perilous option to get what they seek, alongside initially skeptical comrades who all get their own level of development as time goes on. what i got was a series that was invested in building upon the ideas of witches and magic that wandavision built some foundations on, delving deeper into the topics and showing us how other witches think and feel about their perception and struggles in the modern world. what i got was a disney series that didn't just say there was a gay character; it said there were many, and a few of them even make out on screen and have ex-lover drama! what i got was a series that took its world seriously, and a goddamned breath of fresh air out of the mcu!!!

so yeah agatha all along's pretty damn good, hope it keeps up the momentum in episode 8

[the-firebird69]

LADY DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE BEAUTIFUL LADY SHOOTING#jesus #marvel #aveng...

Looking here that it's me and I'm Deadpool and there's a lot of these people doing it coming up with their own skits and acts and jokes and the sort of missing the idea and the idea is on a skilled assassin and I make funny jokes and stuff but I guess they don't want to look like they're very deadly that's okay. Our friend here says there's another one you can do is go the other direction in a movie clockwise and Chase the sword like a dog chases a tail so I saw her later doing it and I almost lost my lunch. And people started laughing it's a good gig going to these things the kid is sitting there was nothing today was torture and he's doing it just to get 50 cents or something out of us and this kid next door is such a dick Trump is such a loser he's a massive piece of s*** it's just some sort of mental patient dreamer and it's horrible and yeah we remember who he really is this sucks don't let him do anything to let him have anything everyone lets him go and now here we are paying for it it's expensive isn't worth it idiotic trip that we're on so I'm thinking about you saying that they're sending stuff out there they're sending it out it's a lot of stuff and I've seen it there's loads of stuff and he says we're harvesting all over the world that were harvesting in there and we know that some kind of schedule it is a ton of plants and they planted a ton of stuff huge things of corn and giant things with weeds and barley and wheat and massive numbers of cattle and towels they're just everywhere and it's just tons of food that's going to come out everywhere all over Earth and they're trying to change the serials things cuz they're such crap a lot of food is not even edible it's so gross but they put it in there's a lot of it now that's edible it's changing it used to be that most of it was edible it's really a bizarre place grocery stores you can walk down the cereal aisle and nobody has bought any cereal for months and you go through and you pull it all out and you throw it away and we reorder and really people are now ordering like two boxes and finding that nobody buys it that cereal that he ate is the most popular cereal on Earth everyone loves it it tastes great and it's his design and they said no way and it binds you up and it clears you out and it tastes great and it's fun to eat I have like two bowls this morning. He says that's good that's enough I'm all dead pulled out and yeah that's pretty much an immersion and it says I think it's wolverine that's good

Deadpool

Olympus

That's good that's great

So you can't do any characters we don't have any Comic-Con I'm grounded or whatever so you have to wait till next year almost for some kind of raise because of the Continental Congress and your brother's job as a senator and we do know he got several raises if this is coming up and October it's not very long to wait the check won't be there until later but usually there's a stipend right then and there and they get a position like that back in the day to give it the same day well unless you're walking around and they come find you and hand you a check that's what it was like nowadays people say you can't find me it was standing right next to you lots of times it's hard to see if the boy is there you think you're standing there and he's somewhere else he's a little strange sometimes you find what you think of somebody's staring at you and there's no one there and it's him trying to make sure you're still there when you're going and he's walking out cuz he gets suspicious he just has a superpowered thing it's kind of weird it's like hallucinating it can't really figure out what the hell you still get for except Dave did some kind of number I always think those too was shoot each other and blaming people and Emily blunt is the witness and I can't believe it she put the guy back together and thought it was her husband when he was mutated into him she said it too has blood all over me and the stuff is all over the place and of course I saved some of it and it did not test out right so I thought it was a strange guy and it wasn't and I know who it was and we need the sample and there's going to be a group together to go look and he's trying to find that movie and people have and we know where it was and we are going to be probably quite horrified he has something to look up and we don't know what it is

Mac daddy

Olympus

[geenawrites]

'Black Widow' and undermining Dramatic Intent (II)

[PART ONE]

The 'Civil War' Effect

4): Elements that could’ve made Black Widow Natasha's personal journey are reduced to quick conversational bites told to Natasha instead of experienced by Natasha and the audience first hand.

The film could've built the story around her family selling her off to the government (on some eugenics mess). It could've set the stage for the subplot regarding her mother’s search for her until she was murdered, and Natasha trying to learn about her past pre-assassin.

For all the moments where we simply see her on her own, a lot of that alone time isn't used to explore how she feels, what she's thinking, or a personal throughline. It's just a montage of her looking gloomy and wearing comfy sweatshirts.

The only time Natasha truly feels like she is the emotional center of the movie is the opening act of the film. There, she’s portrayed by Ever (Gabo) Anderson and not Scarlett Johansson.

And as a film touted-as a vehicle for Johansson, that is bad. But also underlines why Florence Pugh’s Yelena was considered the real protagonist of the movie.

Black Widow could've been about Natasha wanting to reclaim her past from the Red Room (her abductors) because she reunites with her sister and parents (her surrogate family), and needed to finally deal with the consequences of killing Antonia (her ghost).

Instead, Black Widow is really Yelena’s story and emotional journey. Yelena justifies the presence of Alexei and Melina more-so than anything in Natasha’s history. As centered as Natasha was in the prologue, it works more as a establishing point for Yelena versus something like Natasha’s lost family or working with Clint Barton in Budapest.

Yelena being tasked to save the Widows (by the elder Widow who created the mind control cure), killing Dreykov, and destroying the Red Room are immediate issues that directly impact her arc and development as a character. Natasha is largely along for the ride, bringing Yelena where she needs to be in each act.

Natasha isn't as centered in her own her film as she should be. Simply compare the structure of her story to the structure in the Captain America (x2), Ant Man (x2), Thor (x3), and Iron Man (x3) films, and how those narratives focus on Steve Rogers, Scott Lang, Thor Odinson, and Tony Stark. Those films are about their emotional journeys while maintaining a healthy supporting cast that don't overshadow them.

Black Widow in comparison feels more like Captain America: Civil War, which is more of an Avengers film than it is a Captain America story. The emotional center of Civil War is Tony Stark and Zemo. Steve and his cast are simply underpinning Stark and Zemo's arcs. It also tries to introduce a new character (Black Panther) with the exact same story beat (revenge) as Stark and Zemo, and a MCU-wide subplot (Sakovia Accords) that ultimately goes nowhere later on.

The consequences of Civil War "Avengering" a solo film are on display in Black Widow in a big way. It's introducing new characters, and trying to tackle a trilogy's worth of storylines (the Red Room, Budapest, the Widow family, Civil War-fallout).

She doesn't even get a decent postmortem send off. The post credits, wherein Yelena mourns Natasha, is turned into a comedic skit and a teaser for the Hawkeye series. It's not allowed to remain a moment of mourning between two sisters separated by literal death.

As an Executive Producer of the film, I know this was not lost on Johansson. She might be an awful person, but she doesn’t strike me as someone so unaware of her environment that she set the stage to be undermined by her co-star. No, I think, given the timing, Johansson knew this was always going to be about setting up her successor.

Wrong Time, Wrong Place

Choosing to set Black Widow after Civil War was just a poor choice on Marvel’s part. Natasha circa 2016 has more or less come-to-terms with her history as a state-sponsored assassin for both Russia and the United States. Her arc as seen throughout the Avengers and Captain America films has come full circle following the events of The Winter Soldier. Now all she has left going forward is the arc dealing with Thanos' genocide and resurrecting everyone.

There is nothing to mine in terms of personal character drama because, at this point, she has laid it all to rest. It's nothing that torments her akin to Bucky trying to square away with his past as an amnesiac assassin.

All of Natasha’s threads are focused on the break-up of the Avengers. At first, seemed like her arc was going to be about not falling back into bad habits (being mistrustful of everyone). That it was going to deal with how she felt let down by the team (after trying to be the reasonable party among everyone), but the film doesn't really commit.

After that one conversation in Budapest, "getting the Avengers back together" isn't even a focal point. We just get awkward callbacks that tell the audience that Natasha isn't on the same level as Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor.

Yelena forgiving her family is used to tack on the sudden parallel idea that Natasha has been convinced she can personally bring the Avengers together again as a surrogate family once things work with her Widow Family.

Again, even in her own film, Natasha is playing the sacrificial matriarch of a Boy’s Club (whose event films she features only as a supporting character. Something I think people are only just realizing). That says to me the MCU never valued her beyond her ties to the male Avenger cast.

”You’re such a mom!” becomes a lot less funny in that context.

If this film was immediately set after The Winter Soldier or even Age of Ultron, wherein all of her history and SHIELD’s was leaked for public record, then there might’ve been a chance for an emotionally resonant story arc.

How would a Natasha scrambling to create new covers, and new ways to protect herself, deal with the sudden public attention of the world knowing that she was a foreign assassin that bought her way into the United States and became a celebrity superhero? How would a post-Winter Soldier solo film deal with Natasha’s past in way that she didn't become overshadowed by her own supporting cast?

How would a post-Age of Ultron solo film handle her past as informed by her nightmare (which stuck closer to her history as a trained dancer in the comics) on top of the events of The Winter Soldier?

But even as a post-Civil War narrative, Black Widow should've really cared to explore how Natasha felt about having to revisit her history with the Red Room, on top of being betrayed by Alexei and Melina. Instead of giving all those emotional beats to Yelena, actually show us Natasha confronting them beyond “it wasn’t real!”

How would the story turn out if parent with the biggest hand in the facilitation of her abuse (Alexei) wasn't turned into a flat comic relief character? What if he actually got chance to really consider her grievances, show remorse for his actions, without being turned into a “ha, ha, he’s do dumb (and fat)!” punchline (after setting him up as the total opposite in the prologue)?

Melina could've been an interesting co-antagonist working with Dreykov, but the film skirts past how she is complicit in the harm that her daughters faced (Yelena especially) with a fake Heel Turn moment that only undermined Dreykov as a threat.

And that’s really the problem with Black Widow. The film, or rather Marvel Studios, doesn’t want to really tackle Natasha’s past or pain like they were willing to do with Steve Rogers in The First Avenger, and The Winter Soldier.

Maybe because that would mean approaching the story with the emotional maturity of The Bourne Identity, a PG-13 film that was plenty violent without being excessive. It was also emotionally resonate by dealing with the fact that Jason Bourne was, pre-amnesia, a US assassin that did awful shit.

Instead we get a plot about mind-control, and magic red dust that can break said mind control (that apparently requires invasive surgery of the brain).

Whedon seemed comfortable with getting close to the actual violence that was asked of Natasha (vs. done to) by the Russian government as a kid. The screenplay for Black Widow can talk past Natasha willingly doing awful things, but doesn’t want to confront that by having her or Yelena deal with an army of assassins who are walking down the same path Natasha did, fighting and killing for another government without any sort of mind control.

This is why Natasha's assassination of “Dreykov’s Daughter” (Antonia) as the thing that happened in Budapest also doesn't land. The movie doesn't want to deal with how Natasha learned to live with murdering a child to buy her freedom into America. They make it so that she didn’t kill her, actually, just gave her a bad case of pizza face. She’s not even the one that pulls the trigger, the film suggests that it was Hawkeye.

Her mustache-twirling villain of a father, who somehow survived the explosion and building collapse with zero burns or broken bones, is the one who does all the truly horrible things to his daughter (turning her into a mindless slave).

The Original Sin that Natasha is defined by is swept under the rug in the same way her history as a killer is blurred by the script. It’s akin to rewriting Xena’s history with Callisto as the killer of her family and village, and deciding, “No, Xena didn’t kill them. They all survived with minor burns! Callisto can now forgive Xena!”

Natasha's Antagonist

Dreykov is a weak antagonist/villain because the screenwriting seems determined to accredit the abuse of the Red Room entirely to him instead of making a systemic issue. What started off as a clandestine organization for the KGB throughout most of the MCU is rewritten in Black Widow as the personal playground of a thinly veiled Harvey Weinstein analogue who puppeteers his personal assassins to do bad things, thus rendering them all innocent of their wrongdoings. It makes them "perfect victims" in way.

(Johansson has gone on record saying that this film was influenced by the #MeToo Movement. Well, celebrification of it, anyway)

Dreykov doesn’t challenge Natasha, or her family. There’s never an immediate danger or stakes being driven by Dreykov. He’s not doing something they have to stop “before time runs out”, he doesn’t have anything on any of the characters that could push their actions.

He takes a backseat to the family hijinks, so the journey to finding and destroying the Red Room has no urgency (Natasha being dead already notwithstanding). As the supposed architect of their misery, he’s about as threatening as Mason (Natasha’s Black Best Friend who buys her things while in hiding).

Dreykov fails like the rest of the MCU’s villains (not named Erik Killmonger) because there's no depth to the character. There's no real loyalty to the character as a demonstration of his power or influence. Again, all his victims are blameless in their violent actions. No one with speaking lines or face time (that isn't a G.I Joe grunt) is working with him because they believe in his goals or ideology.

Complicating that matter is that the script never reveals what his goals or ideologies are besides, "I can create chaos with an army of assassins. I am so evil."

It’s wild to me that so many are rushing to defend the implementation of this sloppily written (and miscast) character because, “he works as a villain because he's a human trafficker” and “he mind controlled his own daughter.”

“He does terrible things”, or a character representing awful things that happen in the real world, isn't enough to make an effective villain. If that was all it took, then 90% the MCU’s villains wouldn’t be so forgetabble.

(He’s not real, I shouldn’t be reading posts like, “he doesn’t deserve screentime b/c he’s an awful human being! He earned his lazy death scene.” Girl, what???)

If you’re gonna tackle human/child trafficking as defined by one antagonist, then really make it part of the story. Make it something that Natasha and Yelena are actively trying to stop. Don’t montage it over a bad Nirvana cover and then shift gears into a G.I. Joe scenario in a floating fortress.

If you're gonna make Dreykov the abuser of so many women, then make it crucial to your protagonist's narrative. Don't add a silly Angry Beavers plot where his stinky musk can control a woman's bodily functions because as a weak analogue to "how men police women's bodies".

Because Natasha has no real conflict with Dreykov, confronting him in the climax goes nowhere. Dreykov is Yelena’s antagonist. It's why Yelena gets to kill him instead of Natasha, so it would've made more sense for her to confront him instead.

The film eventually establishes he's no real threat to Natasha because the writing pulled a Xanatos. The character feels like he exists only so Johansson can sass him, and make a callback to the Loki Interrogation scene (a scene that only worked because of the audience misdirection.)

Dreykov could've been an effective villain if he was anything like the Headmistress characters in the Samee-Waid Black Widow series from 2016.

The Headmistress and Anya (the new Headmistress later on) were characters with emotional connections to Natasha and the Widow children she was trying to save. They taught these girls to believe in the totalitarian philosophy of the ruling class. Natasha and the other Widows couldn't live without them until they were able to escape their influence.

The Headmistresses were women, which makes it plain that women are also perpetrators of abuse. It isn’t just something that men do, which is how this script has approached this subject entirely (Captain Marvel did the same thing as well). Abuse being exclusively a male theater of action.

Antonia's death could've been meaningful in regards to Natasha and Dreykov as characters if Dreykov cared that Antonia was murdered by a Red Room assassin. Natasha admitting that she killed his daughter and regretted it would've made a lot more impact than just having him shrug it off because he's so heartless and so evil.

Or, as other people have said, imagine if it was Antonia who was the antagonist gunning after Natasha because of what she did, not only to her, but her father as well.

It would not only render the mind-control plot pointless, it would re-center the focus on Natasha, and force the writers to do something else with Yelena, Alexei, and Melina (assuming they're even necessary in this scenario). Then, Natasha would have a genuinely threatening antagonist because the stakes are personal on both sides.

It would've been a hellva lot more meaningful than using Taskmasker as a plot-twist (after hyping the character up as the controller of the Red Room and Natasha's personal nemesis).

Callisto’s story as a villain resonates because she cared about what she lost, and Xena knew there was no real forgiveness for what she did to her. Imagine if they approached Natasha’s role in Antonia’s death like that.

(But that's probably asking for too much nuance from Disney and Marvel.)

Conclusions

In story that wants to be about the abused reconciling with their past and family, the film effectively robs the abused of their autonomy by going the extra of mile of making them zombies. In the same way the Star Wars sequel trilogy avoided Finn’s history as an indoctrinated and enslaved Stormtrooper, Black Widow doesn’t want to deal with the ramifications of indoctrination.

How people buy into and protect organizations that strip them of their humanity by making them complicit in violent systems. Oh, sure, they’ll nod and wink at it (as they do with Natasha and Melina’s past), but they won’t go any further than that.

Instead of dealing with how a forced hysterectomy effects Natasha physically and emotionally, we get a joke that isn’t any better than Natasha calling herself a monster, or the “time of the month” joke that got rebuked by the director and the cast.

Instead of reflecting on her time with SHIELD and the United States, the United States is portrayed as "the good-guys who gave her a real family” (ignoring even the half-hearted criticism of the US that The Winter Soldier made), while Russia is still out there doing nefarious Cold War Things and ruining people's families. All of which just feeds into uncritical Russian stereotypes and Red Scare that the film’s foundation is built on.

I enjoyed the film, but the more I think about it, the more I realize Black Widow really does nothing except undermine Natasha's darker elements and self-imposed redemption arc (as written by Whedon).

On top of rewriting key elements about the Red Room (the movies being broken as the comics is a true irony), It minimizes Natasha's violent past to make her into a clean, and boring superhero whose solo film thinks lamp-shading sexism is the same as subverting it.

[trainsinanime]

I just rewatched Avengers Infinity War, and I gotta say: Yep, I still dislike it as much as I did when I watched it in cinema. It’s still for the same reasons, but it’s amplified when you already know how it ends (and how it gets resolved). Sadly, I have family members who have never watched the MCU movies and want to watch them with me, which is great normally, but you can’t really skip IW and Endgame here.

The main issue is still the plot, which is simply “villains go on a fetch quest” and “whatever heroes are around try to stop them”. The previous Avengers and Civil War movies/movie were by no means all flawless, but they made the issue personal to the heroes, and discussed actual topics, even if they did it on a fairly simple and superficial level. Here, though, which hero ends up on which team is largely arbitrary, and there would be nothing missing from the plot if you just swapped a few people around.

But also, none of the characters are great in this. The movie just blatantly copies the style of every previous movie; you can see the bits that are Thor Ragnarok, the bits that are Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, Black Panther, Doctor Strange and so on, and they’re all doing essentially skits; tiny, simplified versions of their characters. And that’s all they do. Like Avengers 1 and 2 or not, but at least it had something, anything to say about its characters other than, “look, they’re here too!” And when those movies had the different characters snark at each other, which they already did way too much, at least it was snarking about something, not just snark for snark’s sake, something this movie absolutely loves.

Now, I know a lot of people really liked this movie and Endgame, and that’s fine, even though I don’t get it. For me, it’s a thing very similar to comics. This is really a perfect copy of the big mega Marvel comics crossover, and it faithfully recreates all the flaws of these very annoying books. There’s a reason why I prefer solo titles, both in the movies and the comics. People like to complain about how soulless and mechanical the MCU is, and you know, that’s not always totally correct but it’s far from all wrong either. For example, they sure do like to remake Iron Man but with a different guy a lot (Stephen Strange, Shang Chi). But Infinity War and Endgame are on a whole other level, with the way they’re full of style and devoid of substance; full of pathos but without any actual depth or character.

Plus, Thanos and his plan are just stupid. I hate that we’re supposed to take him seriously, or treat his plan as anything but 100% crazy. No, Thanos does not have a point. He’s just a stupid guy with the simplest, stupidest example of “horrible plan but for reasons” that these screenwriters could come up with. I still think he should have done this because he was in love with Lady Death; that would have been funny at least.

Sorry for all the negativity; I try to keep my dash more positive most days, but I just had to let this out. I’m seeing a lot of MCU backlash right now, and a lot of that is deserved, but a lot of it is also specifically Endgame and Infinity War backlash. But these are specifically the worst movies of the lot, amplifying all the worst aspects of the MCU and ignoring all the things that made us like these movies in the first place. I’m not looking forward to watching the second one.

[daredevilexchange]

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See what this is about here, or if you’re using the app here.

What’s your fannish ID? Just Shelby! I like to use my actual name across all platforms so people can find me easily! 

What types of fanworks do you create? I make a lot of digital art! I really enjoy drawing fanart of characters! Most of the art I create gets turned into stickers and prints that I sell in my Etsy shop (theshelbylernershop)! I really love drawing expressions and looking at the small details in a persons face. It’s amazing how dramatically an expression can change with just a simple line stroke here or by moving the eyebrow up just a millimeter. And there’s something I call the “special move” that takes a portrait of someone going from “just some guy” to “oh it’s the character!” Which can sometimes be just moving or adding in the tiniest detail. I love that!! I have branched out a bit into making TikTok skits where I incorporate some comedy stuff and drawing stuff! It’s a lot of fun!

What are your favourite types of fanworks, when you’re not creating? Definitely art!! I LOVE the art that other people create! I have so many prints saved on my Etsy because there are just a ton of talented people out there! I also appreciate how there are very serious and beautiful pieces that look like they belong in the louvre and then like…spicy avengers pinup art….which also belongs in the louvre😤🤌 also TikTok because the people there are so funny!!

What do you like in particular about this fandom? You see what got me into DD wasn’t the post-NWH craze! About a week or two before the movie came out (I hadn’t heard any of the speculation of DD making a cameo), I decided “hey let’s watch that Marvel show with the blind guy in it…people say it’s really good!” And then when I saw NWH, I was halfway through the first season and was like 😳 Omg Matt??? From there it’s just been a downward spiral. I LOVED the series and symbolism of it. I’m really into “dark religion” (I blame Supernatural for that) and so the symbolism in the some of the shots and themes just *chefs kiss* I love it. The anachronistic feel of it is super satisfying to me as well. You have churches (which are classical, clean, holy etc.) as a backdrop for a bloodied and bruised vigilante. Sister Maggie cleaning Matt’s knuckles after a fight was something so perfect to watch. And of course after completing the series, the scenes in the church with her hit so much harder. I love the humanity above all in the series. And I love that people love that too. Matt is just a guy (“a really good looking guy” hehe) and showcasing the fact that he is first and foremost human with human thoughts, feelings and emotions is just so refreshing. I mean this series showed two grown men crying during an argument with each other, can’t say I’ve seen that in other marvel productions. I could go on and on about things that made me fall in love with this show and these characters but those main themes are my favorite. In terms of the people in the fandom, they’ve all been so creative and funny and welcoming and I love being a part of it!

Do you like participating in fan events? I like participating in group events because it brings likeminded people together! I ESPECIALLY love conventions because it gives you an excuse to leave the house in full costume and go talk with other enthusiasts. I think when you have something you like and have no one to talk to about it, it can feel a bit lonely! But when you have these events or online campaigns, it can make the experience a little more fun since you have other people who like the same thing!

What about your creating process? To get my creative ~juices~ flowing, I like to go through my “sh*t I wanna draw” album on my phone! I save pictures or poses to an album from Pinterest so when I want to draw, I have something for inspiration! I do like to listen to music and watch a TV show I’ve seen a bunch of times while I draw but sometimes I go for hours in silence because I’m so in the zone. Sometimes, especially when watching DD, I’ll find screenshots of particular scenes that I like or facial expressions I find to be particularly unique and draw those out! I don’t always finish them or clean them up but they’re fun to do!

Do you interact a lot with other fans? I don’t interact with a TON of other fans mostly because I’m so new to the fandom. Most of my interactions take place on TikTok just because people are more willing to comment and joke about things there. I find Instagram and Twitter to be more “silently enthusiastic” about fandom culture, at least on my account. I’d love for people to be more vocal about their thoughts and ideas! Like hey…come say hi!

Is there any particular piece you'd like to showcase for this post? I picked my “God’s Soldier” piece for the post because I spent a lot of time on it and it’s definitely my favorite piece I’ve created for DD!

Do you have other fandoms you’d like to talk about? It might not be a surprise to say that I started in the MCU as a Bucky Barnes simp. I’ve been a casual Marvel fan ever since I was a kid watching Spider-Man with my older brother. But when Wandavision came out, I did a little rewatch of some of the films and had my eye caught by a certain angry old man with one arm. I LOVE Bucky’s tragic history and story arc and just everything about him. So naturally I’d have the same love for another guilt-ridden, tragic guy. I keep seeing people call it the “Bucky to Matt pipeline” and how’s its a straight line. Also I think the two have some pretty funny similarities: -both are played by 39 year old, foreign-born, dark-haired actors whose first and last names start with the same letter (Sebastian Stan and Charlie Cox) -both characters signature look is only seeing half of their face (top half and bottom half) -both characters first and last names start with the same letter (Bucky Barnes and Matt Murdock) -both are filled to brim with guilt and blame themselves a lot -both have blonde and generally happy go lucky besties -both actors are literally the complete opposite of their characters Those are just some things I found to be funny, I certainly have a type when it comes to MCU characters! 

Is there anything else you want to tell us about yourself? Let’s see….I’m 22, a Cancer, she/her, I have a bachelors degree in traditional animation and am going to be graduating with my masters in entrepreneurship this spring. I love to draw and I have own an Etsy shop :)

Where can your fanworks be found? https://shelbylerner.tumblr.com/ https://instagram.com/shelby.lerner?r=nametag

Thank you, @shelbylerner​ !

banner by @context-is-for-kingpins !

[ID on a white background, four black triangles that look like spotlights from above. Each illuminates one of the Defenders silhouetted in white: Jessica, Luke, Danny, Matt. A hand on the left is holding a pen writing the words Content Creator Spotlight. There is a little Punisher skull on the pen. End ID]

[blindtaleteller]

PROMPT: OOC Interview with [X] Clint ‘Cuyler’ Barton

" Been a while since we did one of these.. but. You know the drill man! This is your first interview, yeah? Want to explain why and where you’re from? “

     Cuyler (Clint Barton D14:) Besides trolling the hell out of tags with Viedimadr? *grins* Ah, mostly that’s keeping the core element I guess. Most Bartons are the quintessential superhero, at least in the range of having that alter-ego. Might not wear a mask ‘til Ronin in the MCU? But --and especially with how my character works pre-Avengers; sharing past the job isn’t exactly any of our fortes? We have a family to protect, and if you do the math of how old the kids are even in Ultron: that family has been a thing since before we take the higher ground up out of the paid-SHIELD-killer status I’m in that Nat does mention in the original Avengers. Also usually save it up between the pages and occasional poke into tags and skits here on the dash.

     Cuyler (Clint Barton D14:) As for where I’m from! *he leans back and hooks his hands behind his head* We’re Universe Fourteen; two doors on the left down the connecting Vestibule from Lisan’s Universe, and one to right of the Ego-centrics with Grey Knight and Leadsprite. Ours starts out different in the respect that, Fury ends up getting the Scepter tap instead of me; and the resulting conflict goes very differently.

“ Such as? “

     Cuyler (Clint Barton D14:) We never even hit New York; Fury tries to snag me in, and under the Stone’s influence that means trying to at best grab my kids since he’s one of the only two people attached who know about them. Loki ends up breaking form and getting in the middle of that. Yanks us off world and out of Fury’s sight, with the goods. That’s where we picked up with our first published bit ‘The Warming Stone’ anyways.

” Speaking of.. what do you think about the split from the original timeline? “

     Cuyler (Clint Barton D14:) I’m having a lot of fun with it myself. And I’m pretty sure Laura is somewhere outside the room clapping in agreement; she’s quieter than most but a constant presence and; she and Lo get along real well. Anyway. End up dealing with that whole ‘the city is flying, we’re fighting an army of robots; and I have a bow and arrow’ overwhelmed mentality a lot sooner because of it? I like the existential twists that come with the Dark Fairy Tale elements and whatnot that get thrown out there and right into our faces pretty much immediately, what with running face-first, on foot, into Jotunheim of all places through that doorway in Illinois. We did some collabs with the other guys that run through there, on top of the research and expanded on some of the wildlife ourselves to manage that? So that was some actual fun. This side of the pool I can absolutely admit us Bartons are a bit masochistic? *laughs* I am pretty sure we enjoy exploring those bits and how we’d react to them. I’m no different in that respect. I mean.. how would you react to being a dinner sized meal for labrador-to-great-dane sized snow-caterpillars with the elongated teeth of freakin shark? Or finding out the hard way there’s giant predator owls flying around about the size of a plane that eat those, just as an example? Never mind trolls, or frost giants, or anything else that manages to survive in that kind of insane climate and might decide to try and eat you just to see if you taste good.

” Probably stay inside forever if I was going to be honest? XD Anyway, Is there anything you’d change about your current story? “

     Cuyler (Clint Barton D14:) Considering we’re still building back there? Not yet. I mean, too much fun so far. I mean we’ve done what.. four parts at this point? All during what we’re currently calling the Traveler Phase from Earth to Asgard through the doors between Illinois, Jotunheim, and Vanaheim. Which is interesting in itself. I mean whole other world, and things are shaken up before we even get there and (in part because of the fact that) we end up dependent on our Loki pretty fast. I think maybe my only change there would be in maybe doing another part for Extras that includes ‘Ogre’ .. who hasn’t even shown yet at that point in the story. He’s our Bruce Banner; or more specifically our Hulk? Thing is finding a space that won’t interfere too heavily with the book when we do it though. We could excuse the bits in the Traveler Phase because we intended to shorten it when we got there anyway; maybe cut straight to Asgard with that as a supplemental extra; a lot like the GROUNDED kids did with their out-takes featured in the same platovember series.

“ I imagine messing with Universe Three’s next installment’s been helping that along? “

    Cuyler (Clint Barton D14:)  Oh yeah, definitely. That mirror of Bruce’s is pretty similar in mindset and approach.

” That said, do I have to ask if there’s anyone in particular you like to watch or get into reading over their shoulder when they’re at it? “

    Cuyler (Clint Barton D14:) Oh definitely The Bean right now, for sure? But there’s a list.. *grins* GROUNDED and DREAMS being woven together finally, especially with  some of the inter-universal roles being brought up is a big one. Looking forward to whipping out that sword.. heh. Though, watching the ESCAPE kids from the other forming Vestibule has been an interesting ride now that they’re not entirely cloistered in Tuscon, or their hotel room. I know what’s up there outside of Traverse too, which helps. And there’s Josh. I think everyone’s been waiting for that fireball to explode across the page? The fact Tony, Lo and Fury managed to somehow make that nutcase all on their own with just a few lines still makes me laugh. Walsh is a character and a half. I’m looking forward to getting my chance at screwing with his mirror in our Door. Leigh is a weird bit of fun too, but Josh is definitely one of those at the top of the list, and who you chose for a face in close rep, is interesting. Maybe Vix too as far as characters go? But he’d a little lower down for me at the moment.

“ Stab, stab pull..? Heh. Which is your favorite upcoming group from the books/portions of Mixology aka the Lokiverse at large? And which are you most curious about? “

     Cuyler (Clint Barton D14:)  Ha! yeah; stab-stab, pull. Loxley’s got an interesting bunch next door. *rubs his hands up over the top of his head and back down* Honestly, MONSTERS and ASHES. Ah, that’s Door and or Universes Three and Twelve for those that don’t know. Three has a similar bonding mechanic between Bruce and Lo I’ve been interested in, while ASHES hits on other things, including a rockier relationship and overall dynamic between his Bartons and Redbird (that’s his Quill) that tends to go dark in the personal aspects a lot. I guess I like that struggle between them, personally. Loxley brushes something similar going on post-Ronin with his family dynamic with his internals and his Lo’s concerns for that; but I think Lili and his crew hit that at a whole other angle from around five years prior on? With, a whole other take on the family dynamic that Laura and I have with Lo by the time we leave Asgard. And that’s curious to me.

” I put you guys through a lot of shit in the name of storytelling. Any parts you have complaints about? “ 

   Cuyler (Clint Barton D14:) None, planned or otherwise.

“ ..that was fast. “

   Cuyler (Clint Barton D14:)  What can I say? I enjoy the twisty shit, at least on this end of the pool. Ignoring the reservations, and dealing with the danger-fear of getting hurt in ways that can’t be fixed with stitches or band-aids, of accepting that kind of bond knowing how it started and risking the idea that finding out why might not make that danger less or that person better or more relatable than perceived to be able to accept them farther even after that investment?

  Cuyler (Clint Barton D14:) The contradiction of pride and ego versus conscience and the guilt when it belongs there getting in the way -and even dealing with when it should be toned down that results in having one,  even if it’s just a sliver in places and playing that out along with dipping into places mostly ignored or washed over in the Universes; is interesting and fun to me. Danger included. I have a little less guilt than my mirrors in a lot of directions that gets placed elsewhere after we come back to Earth; and I enjoy that dynamic and what we’re trying to explore there. That whole; ‘what if he was loyal, without he stone’s influence’ aspect, in our own flavor is a LOT of fun to play with. It’s a very different Universe, but holds hints and background pieces, and similarities enough, as well as the core; that it’s a feasable alternative to the canon line. Which is extra fun, for the personal aspects or ‘humanity’ we manage in the process? So no.. no complaints. Not yet anyways.. heh. We’ll see how I feel when you start actually touching actual, hands-on Gagnarok fixes and alternates though. Outside of that Cosmic-FrostIron bitty from a few doors down anyway. That’s gonna be a mess.

  “ Whee.. yeah. MONSTERS gets that honor first, most likely.. “

  Cuyler (Clint Barton D14:)  Good. Bean can handle that best, I think... or maybe worst. Either way it’s gonna be entertaining for me..

For those interested, Cuyler’s published stories are found below in chronological order (they were posted out of order in part because of the prompts themselves and some parts were planned ahead to take certain slots.) The title names are the links to each part.

The Warming Stone (part 1)

Fathers (part 4)

The Hart (part 2)

Between the Reds (part 3)

[glapplebloom]

My Birthday Gift to myself, a review of a Crossover that honestly should have happened already.

The comics begin with telling us don’t worry about continuity. After all, Queen Chrysalis with her Changeling Army are using their magic to summon something to attack Equestria. Meanwhile the Transformers are doing what they always do and have the Autobots take on the Decepticons. And it just so happens they were also working on interdimensional teleporting.

So basically the entire story is having some transformers pair up with one of the main six and Spike. While Silver Quill’s Review mentions that its not always favorable to the Transformers, I think this series doesn’t want you to know that much about either of them. Like I never heard of Winblade before this series and I’m pretty sure pure Transformers fans don’t know that Pinkie Pie hosting a televised cooking show is not something normal in MLP.

But while Twilight and Optimus are the sandwich holding the comic together, the filling is where the meat is. Starting with Arcee and Rarity taking on Starscream and his various recolors. I don’t remember much of Arcee because my knowledge is mostly of the first cartoon (and Prime is MUCH different) and I don’t recall seeing her often. But Rarity really makes you appreciate Arcee as a character. The two compliment each other very well. And like Dash before them, they beat Starscream.

The second issue begins with Spike in the Transformers universe teaming up with Grimlock. Its so cute to see Spike star struck with Grimlock, most people’s favorite Transformer for good reason. But even he is no match for the Constructicons when they combine. Luckily Spike manages to learn Cybertronian and the Controls for their base in a short amount of time to help out. Grimlock giving Spike praise. If there is a sequel I would love for these two to pair up again. They’re like a big bro/little bro relationship.

Remember when I said about Pinkie Pie seemingly having a Television show? Well she has one in this comic where she has a cultural exchange with Gauge (one from the IDW own comics) while being interrupted by Shockwave wanting to know how much Energon can a Pony produce. The two beat up Shockwave with Gauge quickly adapting to Pinkie’s antics, unlike Shockwave. And it ends with both trying the other’s dish but not liking it.

With Issue 3, we got Soundwave Vs Fluttershy and Discord. Its amazing how  Inspectornills imagine the Pony Rumble as Soundwave’s son to having an official interaction between Soundwave and Ponies. And of course unlike Inspectornills’ version, Fluttershy wins over Ravage, Ratbat and even Soundwave. Discord helped a little too. I will say this is my second favorite of the Pony/Formers skits.

And even though I have no idea who Winblade is, I got to say this is the least like story. After all, we’re in an interdimensional crisis and these two decide “hey, let’s race each other”. Of course more Starscream Recolors show up but you know by now how Dash can deal with them. And this time with a Transformer helping.

The fourth issue is here and it begins strong. My favorite story out of this crossover has to be Applejack Vs the Insecticons. While AJ does not get a Transformer buddy like the others, it makes up for that fact by giving the Apple Family an Avengers Portal Style entrance. If I had the money or talent to recreate this scene I would.

And like a sandwich, it ends with the big war we’ve been waiting for. The Autobots and Equestria Vs the Decepticons and Chrysalis’ Army. Everyone who wasn’t in the story makes a cameo here: Trixie, Starlight, Tempest, the Student Six, Bumblebee, Ironhide, a fun battle all around.

And it ends with the Good Guys winning, everyone going back to their respected home worlds, and the promise of a possible sequel. Overall, it is a very fun read. Like a great popcorn flick. Some low moments and if you’re a total die hard you may not like how a character or so are represented, but overall a definite fun read. I am totally open for more crossovers with Ponies. Like maybe with a certain Hedgehog,,,

[mysterylover123]

My Top 10 Halloween Episodes

mysterylover123

Happy Halloween Everyone! 

I’ve been rewatching my favorite shows’ Halloween episodes as a means to prepare for the holiday (and get ideas for things to do!) and I’ve decided to compile a list of my Top 10 favorites. These are the episodes I consider the best, the most packed with spooky goodness and Halloween surprises, of all the shows I’ve seen. Let me know if there’s one I should check out!

#10. The Simpsons “Treehouse of Horror V”

“NO TV AND NO BEER MAKE HOMER SOMETHING SOMETHING.” “GO CRAZY?” “DON’T MIND IF I DO!”

While I do wish Simpsons had stopped at Season 10 like most, I can still acknowledge its absolute mastery of the Halloween episode with this annual anthology. And like most, I can also concede that the best of the best, the creme-de-la-creme, is the 5th one: The Shinning parody of course, first and foremost, is absolutely classic and deservedly so. Having recently endured a week without power, and thus NO TV AND NO...NOT BEER BUT COFFEE...I totally get where  Homer is coming from. The other two segments, and other Halloween eps, are also strong as well. But you can’t have a proper TOP 10 HALLOWEEN EPS list without a Treehouse of Horror. So here it is!

#9. Spectacular Spider-Man The Uncertainty Principle”

“Twas the night before Halloween, and no folks were stirring, not even Green Gob...lan.”

Spidey is one of the few superheroes with both the whimsical roster of characters and the appropriately spooky rogues gallery to make for great Halloween episodes. While Spider-Man and his amazing friends in 1981 started out with it’s own Goblin Halloween ep, my nod has to go to Spectacular’s ‘Uncertainty Principle’, a suitably creepy episode featuring all the stuff you want around this holiday. The cast in whacky costumes, spooky decor, and creepy plotlines about the Green Goblin and the arrival of the Symbiote. It’s even more horrifying in hindsight when you find out what’s really going on in the series finale...but for itself, it’s a suitably spooky time. Also, Spider-Man dressed as Spider-Man for Halloween.

#8. Angel “Life of the Party”

“Some are saying it’s an even better ritual sacrifice than the one last year.”

The absolute master of the Halloween episode is uncontrovertibly the Buffy-verse. I have 3 entries on this list alone, and it was hard to resist including a forth. But for now, let’s start out with Angel’s sole incursion into the Halloween genre, an Office Party ep from their 5th season. Spoiler alert: Season 5 is about Team Angel taking over Wolfram and Hart and trying to use it for good. The Halloween party there is a big deal and Lorne is going nuts from planning it. Consequently, we get a wild ride of demon guests, LorneHulk, Team Angel doing crazy things, and whacky Halloween decor. Spike smiling and partying out like a loon is definitely worth htetheprice of admission.

#7. Friends “The One w/ the Halloween Party”

“I am a woman who spent a ton of money on this dress and wants to wear it until she is too big to fit into it.”

I had actually never seen the Friends Halloween episode until this year. I definitely enjoyed it; the cast’s costumes are funny, the various Halloween antics are adorable - especially Rachel being pushed around by candy-randy kids - and the Halloween-y atmosphere is quite convivial. Though as a comic book nerd, I must point out how completely absurd Joey’s suggestion of ‘who would win, Catwoman or Supergirl’ being Catwoman. Like, seriously? A nonpowered thief vs a freaking Kryptonian? Even people who don’t read comic books should know the answer to that one! Were people in the year 2001 really that clueless? But anyway, on a more somber note, this was apparently the first one they shot after 9/11, and ended up Lisa Kudrow’s favorite, because a stranger thanked her for making them laugh. Aw!

#6. South Park “A Nightmare on Face Time”

“Oh, and Kenny? Stay gold.”

SP has a number of Halloween episodes, but my favorite has to be this one from 2014. There’s two main plotlines and they’re both Peak Halloweeny goodness. First, there’s Randy reenacting The Shining as his new Blockbuster  video goes under due to Netflix stealing business, which is absolutely hilarious. Then there’s the boys as The Avengers, hoping to win a costume contest despite Stan having to FaceTime. This part is full of trick-or-treating goodness, with each of the costumes being perfect for the kid (WE HEAR KENNY’S VOICE! ALBEIT DISTORTED!) and the comedy of how seriously everyone takes Stan’s ipod battery dying being absolutely killer. Certainly wins the prize for Funniest Halloween Ep Ever. (Also, Kyle’s thor costume. Thor would obviously look so much cooler with that hat.)

#5. Buffy “Halloween”

“It’s come as you aren’t night!”

The second of the Buffyverse Halloween entries on the list. Not just a great Halloween ep but a great Buffy ep too, this one is absolutely rolling in seasonal riches. Pumpkin patch vamp fight! Halloween decorated Bronze! Ethan Rayne turning everyone into their costumes is such a clever gimmick, and as usual with a Buffy ep they do more with it than just that. Noblewoman!Buffy, Military!Xander and Ghost! Willow are each a treat to watch as they try something new with their lives. I’m a little annoyed by the “not like other girls” sappy Bangel ending, but otherwise, this one is just golden. (My shipper heart rejoices in the Cangel Bronze Date and Buffy being awfully flirty with Willow as well, for the record). 

#4. Parks and Rec “Halloween Surprise”

“You can’t plan your future, Leslie. You just gotta let it happen.”

Parks and Rec is another one with a plethora of great Halloween eps to  choose from (something about blonde female leads I guess). This one takes the spot for being the most substantial, plot-wise, of all four, including lots of changes in the story and a great lesson at the end - though also for having the best costumes (Rosie the  riveter Leslie! Princess Diane), the best celebration (Screening of Death canoe 4 Murder at blood Lake sounds like an absolutely delightful way to spend a Halloween) and the best ending (BEN PROPOSES TO LESILE OMG). The only thing it’s missing is April, who only cameos at the start. But she gets plenty to do in the other Halloween eps, so I’ll forgive it.

#3. Frasier “Halloween”

“I’m  Waldo. From Where’s Waldo. You know, the guy you  can’t find because he blends into the crowd.” “I don’t know, but I’d love a demonstration.”

Frasier is absolute peak sitcom comedy, especially with the Farce plotline. This one is a great, sophisticated classic, with Niles throwing a Library association ball - which means everyone must dress as a character from literature. Niles is Cyrano, Martin is Holmes, Frasier and Daphne are from the Canterbury tales, and Roz is O from the Story of O. The real conflict of the ep is “Is Roz Pregnant” and everyone mistaking who’s pregnant by whom. The  climax is Niles proposing to Daphne who he thinks is the one pregnant from an imaginary fling with Frasier. It’s funny, glib, and absolutely whacky, with some extra Halloween shenanigans to keep you occupied, like Niles’ weird old-timey theme and the parade of trick-or-treaters constantly interrupting the skits demanding candy. Definitely don’t miss this one!

#2. Gravity Falls “Summerween”

“We’re getting older, there’s not that many Halloweens left!’

There’s definitely something about supernatural shows and Halloween episodes that just creates that extra level of quality. GF is a great show all around, and this little gem of a Halloween ep is one of the best of the whole series. It’s got everything: The Summerween Trickster, the trick-or-treating, the try-hard scares and the mad dash for candy. My favorite thing about it, though, would have to be the conflict between Dipper and Mabel about what to do for Halloween. They were always debating whether it were better to grow up too soon or try to stay a kid, and this one uses Halloween to illustrate that: Dipper torn between the Grown Up party and the Kid Trick-or-Treating, and the poignant way that rings true for all of us here in the US - that day when you finally realize you’re ‘too old’ for trick-or-treating - really makes this one strong. 

Hon Mentions: The other Parks and Rec episodes; Buffy All the Way; the camptastic Smallville episode “Thirst”, the How I met Your Mother Halloweens

#1. Buffy “Fear Itself”

“Don’t taunt the fear demon!” “Why, can he hurt me?” “No, it’s just tacky.”

Like I said before, no one does Halloween like Buffy does Halloween. And this one is the best of the best, of the best. Everything you could want from a Halloween ep is right here. Pumpkin carving, check. Crazy party, check. Whacky costumes, check. Spooky real scares, check. The Gang’s costumes are a parade of awesome (ANYA AS BUNNY!) and the concept of exploring each member’s Greatest Fear is an absolute winner. I love every time a TV show tries to do a Greatest Fears episode, because it’s just a concept I get a kick out of - such a great way to explore our characters’ most primal needs! - and this is b y far the best. The atmosphere, the subject matter, the costumes, and  the writing, which is seriously killer in this episode (”Prepare to have your spines tingled and your gooses bumped by the terrifying...Fantasia.” “Maybe it’s because of all the horrificthings we’ve seen, but hippos wearing tutus just don’t unnerve me the way they used to”) all make this, in my opinion the best Halloween ep of all time.

[theantisocialcritic]

Archive Project - March 30, 2014 - Marvel Comics Reboot

I'm feeling bitter today because of a series of misfortunes last night surrounding my car, a monsoon and the events that followed so i'm in the mood for taking out my frustrations on the closest target possible: Comic Book news... For those who aren't well informed about the Comic Book industry, one of the big promotional items that Marvel and DC do are called "Events". In these "Events" major, universe altering shenanigans take place in which all of the major active characters join up to resolve whatever issue is in their midst. Marvel is most prevalent with their Events and unusually manages to release about 2 a year. Last year's events were known as Age of Ultron and Infinity. In Age of Ultron, Ultron (an android and long standing Avengers nemesis created by Hank Pym (AntMan) who is set to appear in next year's Avengers 2: Age of Ultron which will likely have nothing to do with this event) does some stuff and is eventually stopped by Wolverine.. Yah I haven't read this one yet.. The graphic novel is $75.00… The big ultimate reveal of the storyline however was that recent time travel shenanigans caused by The Avengers and The X-Men have started to cause fractures in the structure of the Universe itself. Its later revealed in the current run of Guardians of the Galaxy that the fractures are so severe that many people are literally falling out of the universe through holes into the void of space between universes. To make things more complicated, Angela, a non-important character from Spawn comics falls through ones of these wholes into the Marvel Universe and joins the Guardians of the Galaxy.. literally because Neil Gaimen hates Todd McFarlane.. Which is way to complex of a topic to break into right now so i'll just post this MovieBob skit explaining it: Comics… Are… Weird……. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBGv416fFzg Following these events came the Infinity event. Frustrated by the actions of Earth's superheroes, the Earth comes under attack from two sides. A race of ancient beings known as The Builders (basically the Forerunners from Halo) and the armies of Thanos (purple guy from the credits of The Avengers) are seeking out the destruction of Earth. The Builders reveal that the Earth is apparently the Axis of the Universe. The time travel shenanigans have not only cause the fracturing of the universe, but the collapsing of the entirety of existence as many of the alternate universe have begun to crumble. When the universes are destroyed, the Earths of two universes collide and destroy both of the Axis of each Universe, destroying them both. The only way to save both universes is to destroy one of the Earths. Of course though, The Avengers aren't cool with Earth being destroyed so they split their team between protecting the Earth from Thanos, who is on an interstellar children murdering spree, and rallying the civilizations of the universe to fight against the Builders. Builders fail, Thanos takes an ice-nap. Yippee! Unfortunately, now the entire universe is on the verge of falling apart in the near future. Iron Man turns to the secret society known as the Illuminati, a group composed of the leaders of most of Earth's factions of superheroes, to create a plan of how to deal with the destruction of the universe. After observing warring between alternate dimension Earths, the Illuminati begin militarizing the Earth to prepare for the possibility of inter-dimensional war. Meanwhile, the Avengers twiddle their thumbs and fight the "evil Avengers", an alternative universe version of the Avengers.. that are wholly EEEEEVIIIILL and turn out to be some of the worst villains i've ever seen in a superhero comic… This has been the lead up to the current Event known as Original Sin. A yet unidentified villain has murdered the Watcher (essentially the Marvel Universe's quasi-narrator). Now the Avengers and SHIELD have to work out mystery of who murdered the Watcher before this villain uses knowledge he has stolen from the Watcher to terrorize Earth's superheroes. And thats up to date. Original Sin is on-going. Recent news from Marvel has suggested possibilities regarding the two just announced upcoming events that will be coming out this fall and next spring: Axis and Time Runs Out. Axis actually sounds pretty fun! In concept an Avengers/X-Men team up event in which the two teams fight against an evil super villain team created by Red Skull! Though I will admit creating this event at this point feels a little weird since Marvel just did Avengers vs. X-Men only about 2 years ago… I'm also very excited for Time Runs Out. The build up for this event will start this fall with Avengers #35 which pushes the timeline forward 8 months and sets the universe on the edge of it's demise. The Avengers must assemble and stop the destruction of their universe once and for all. This sounds cool! What doesn't sound cool is The Escapist's take on what this event will cause for the Marvel Universe… http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/134649-Marvels-Time-Runs-Out-Event-Teases-Possible-Universal-Reboot Marshall Lemon at The Escapist suggested that the Time Runs Out event is in fact an excuse for a Marvel Universe reboot… Which made me want to flip a lid… Continuity reboots are something that is mostly done by DC Comics and its the reason I don't read almost any of their books any more. Their universe has had the fun sucked out of it by repeatedly rebooting the status quo of their comics and making the 75 years of it's history convoluted beyond the point of fun. They waste the potential of some of the best conceived characters in the history of cereal fiction  with their bad writing and practices designed to make the comics a more "approachable" place for new readers. I'm afraid this is what Marvel Comics has in mind… Line wide reboots tend to be really good for business for comic book companies and if Marvel gets into its head that they can make money doing that then the decades of continuity and history will be made pointless. The Marvel timeline is more a less a straight line without a lot of changes that dramatically change the dynamic of the universe beyond characters. I don't want to see these books get rebooted on the whim of people who don't care about these characters. And thats my issue with Marvel. If you thought that was confusing.. welcome to my head! Thank you for reading! Live long and prosper!

[hailavengers-blog]

Runaway Angel // Peter x Reader

Requested: Can I request one where Spider-Man saves a teen girl from being kidnaped and he sees a hydra emblem on one of the guys? Knowing they must've targeted the girl he brings her back to the tower. She's a runaway from another state and she was trying to get to the avengers for help cause she has hidden wings and some powers. (anon)

Word count:  1,458

Warnings: Attempted kidnapping, short blindness

Author’s Note: Wasn’t sure if you wanted smut so I didn’t include it. Peter is my favorite Marvel character so I had fun writing this, but I think I focused a lot on the reader. Thanks for the request, don’t be afraid to leave more! <3

While you knew wandering the streets of New York alone at midnight was ill advised, you didn’t have the willpower to force yourself to hole up behind some dumpster to try to sleep. Not when you were so close to them.

As you continue down the dark street lined with apartment buildings, an eerie feeling made the hair on the back of your neck stand. You quicken your pace along the empty sidewalk. While you were aware of your capabilities, you knew if whoever was following you was one of them, there was little you could do against the skilled agents. You barely escaped them last time.

As you round the corner, only two blocks from your long-awaited destination, you’re blinded by a black bag being pulled tightly over your head. You feel a body pressed against your back as they catch your hands and pull them behind you, like you were being arrested. You scream in protest, kicking out with your legs, unsure of where the assailants are or how many there are. The blow of a fist connecting with your ribs knocks the wind out of you. Gasping for air, you feel yourself being lifted from the ground and carried.You manage to scream for help once more, resulting in an elbow to the jaw, effectively silencing you.

As you try to get a grip on the situation, you hear the unmistakable sound of a brawl taking place around you. However a sound you’ve never heard before occasionally breaks away. It almost sounds like silly string hitting a cement wall. As grunts and groans erupts around you, you feel the assailant carrying you begin to sprint, desperate to escape whoever is attacking the men. You stomach drops as the man suddenly falls to the floor, but you never hit the concrete. Instead you are suspended midair from your abdomen, as if you had a harness on. Slowly you begin to extend your legs to feel for the ground. When you find it, you raise your hand to remove the bag off your head. When you pull it off, you’re amazed by what was holding you up.

A thick spider web has wrapped itself around your body. You gently touch it with your fingertips, but regret it because it’s very sticky and your fingers get caught in the mess. You follow the webbing up above you to see somebody perched on a street light, the webbing in his hands. You instantly recognize the red and blue costume.

“Are you alright?” Spider-man asks. You’re surprised at the immaturity in his voice. He can’t be any older than you are. You look around to see 4 men pinned to the floor by his webs, all knocked unconscious. Each one has a marking tattooed in various places on their body. You’d recognize the skull and 6 tentacles anywhere.

“Yah, I’m fine. Thanks,” you say breathily. Spider-man cocks his head as the animated eyes on his suit narrow.

“Is that... a hydra tattoo on them?” he observes. You nod.

“That’s actually why I came here. I’ve been looking for you and your... coworkers,” you say with a tight smile. He jumps from the street light, front flipping because it was totally necessary.

“Why is Hydra trying to kidnap teenage girls?” he thinks out loud as he rips the webbing attached to my shirt.

“Actually, just one teenage girl. I’ll tell you everything if you bring me to the Tower,” you say. He stands there for a moment, debating something in his mind.

“I’m not sure I’m even really allowed up there.... I mean, yes! Yes, of course I’ll bring you to my, uh, coworkers,” he says, assuming a proud hands-on-hips stance. You chuckle before we begin your walk to the Tower, after Spider-man webs the Hydra agents on the floor more securely. You two awkwardly skit past a few stragglers out walking so late at night, Spider-man’s suit attracting a lot of attention. We eventually make it to the very intimidating Avengers Tower. You look to Spider-man to do a special knock or maybe do a retinal scan, but he stands there as helpless as me.

“I’m, uh, usually here with Mr. Stark and F.R.I.D.A.Y. always lets him in,” he admits. Suddenly a British women’s voice softly speaks.

“Hello, Peter. What is your business here?” it says welcomingly. Spider-man’s suit’s eyes suddenly widen.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y.! What happened to ‘secret identity’?” he exclaims. You try to suppress a smile as he has a mini freakout next to me.

“I promise not to reveal your secret identity, Spider-man,” you assure him. He sighs and speaks to F.R.I.D.A.Y. again.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., I need to speak with Mr. Stark,” he states.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Stark is not available right now. Would you like to spend the night here and wait for him?” F.R.I.D.A.Y. asks. Peter looks to you for help but you just shrug.

“Uh, I guess so?” he says unsurely. Suddenly the glass doors open, warm air beckoning us in. You two tentatively stepped inside and followed the tiny lights F.R.I.D.A.Y. lit for us. After an awkwardly long elevator ride you find yourselves in a long hallway with many shut doors, besides the two open ones. You walk together to the adjacent doors and look inside. The doors both lead to bedrooms. Peter tells you to get some rest before slipping into his own bedroom and closing the door. You hesitantly do the same. After showering (for the first time in days) and putting on a t-shirt and sweats you found in the drawers, you lay in the large bed and contemplate how tomorrow is going to go. However you mind keeps wandering to the thought of Peter being there with you. You tell myself he only helped you because it’s his job, but you can’t help thinking of the young boy underneath the mask.

                                     ****************************

You wake to the sound of Peter’s voice just outside your door.

“Mr. Stark, I didn’t know what to do so I came here last night, but F.R.I.D.A.Y. told me to wait until morning. I just... wanted her to be safe and I figured this was the safest place in New York,” he sighs. You couldn’t resist the small smile that appeared when you heard the last sentence. 

“Alright, kid. You were right to bring her here, Hydra’s obviously got a bounty on her head and from what I hear from Steve, I can’t imagine they had anything good in store for her. Let’s see what her deal is,” Mr. Stark says. You sit up in my bed when you hear a knock.

“Come in,” you say, your voice shaky. This is what you’ve been waiting so many years for, the reason you road a train from Ohio to Pennsylvania alone. The reason you hitch hiked all the way to New York City, sleeping on park benches or in hotel lobbies. 

The door slowly opened to reveal no other than Tony Stark, someone you had only seen from TV screens, dressed in a black underamour t-shirt and grey sweats. Next to him, a boy, wearing the same thing. He has curly chestnut hair, messy from sleep, with eyes the same color. I realize this must be Peter, AKA spider-man. You were right to think he was around your age, he can’t be older than 16, although his build is quite muscular. His boyish charm attracts you, but you focus your attention on Tony for now.

“Hi, Mr. Stark. My name is (Y/N)... I-I need your help,” you stutter. His eyebrows raise in question. You notice Peter hasn’t taken his eyes off you. “Hydra has been trying to kidnap me for weeks now.” Tony shifts his weight and crosses his arms.

“And what would they want from an ordinary teenage girl?” he snarks. You sigh and purse your lips. This is the first time you’ve purposely shown another soul your powers.

Slowly you climb off your bed. You begin to take your shirt off. Tony and Peter shield their eyes, but you have a sports bra on under. You feel your bones and muscles shift as your wings unfold themselves in the open. With a wingspan of 10 feet, you’re not really sure yourself how they hide themselves under your skin. You stretch them out, the white feathers glistening under the sunlight pouring in from the windows. Tony and Peter stare in awe.

“This is what they want, to answer your question.”

[annsparksthegmr]

Dangan Thieves AU - Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu

*comes bursting through the door*

So thanks to @shsl-shipper-gamer-fangirl and her Danganronpa Thieves AU, I decided to give it some thought and tackle a duo I not only love from the series but how they’d play out. That being said, here’s below as to how I believe the Ultimate Swordswoman and Ultimate Yakuza could work into this AU. In advance, sorry for the lack of visuals I’m not very good at Digital Art yet but if anyone would like a crack at making some for this I’m game.

PS - Also thanks to @kitucan for the Komeada design and idea for that character. Helped me out when thinking about these two. There is also a little skit at the end using that Komeada.

How I see them in their roles is quite simple and fitting: taking inspiration from the events leading up to the first dungeon of Persona 5 (this is considered spoilers if you want to be completely blind), it could be seen that what leads Fuyuhiko to awaken his Persona is if Peko get harmed trying to protect him like in DR2 or having a situation just like Ann and Shiho in P5. Either way, it would lead Fuyuhiko into joining the party to save/avenge Peko and then his Persona. However, I don’t really see Peko joining the team as a party member. She seems to me to act like a regular Confidant and somewhat like Sae/Sojiro role for the party. (if anyone would also like to help flesh out this idea then be my guest)

This post will only contain Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu because this was so long. I will be working on Peko Pekoyama on a separate post. And who knows… I might end up doing Sonia Nevermind, Ibuki Mioda or Mikan Tsumiki after these two…

[I’ve fallen into this AU and I can’t get out. You might expect more of this AU characters being worked on by me in the future. Once again, I’d like to thank @shsl-shipper-gamer-fangirl for creating this AU and I hope to contribute more in the future. And maybe just not the characters…. ;)]

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu

Arcana: Magician

Codename: Gangster or Boss (Mainly Peko calls him this) / Eyepatch / Baby

Outfit: An American gangster outfit complete with a red tie, fedora, gloves, and a white scarf. On the tie and the rim of his fedora is design of white dragons. (Or if all else fails then look up the Mafia outfit from Resident Evil 4. I mean how could it not be his outfit?!)

Mask: A black masquerade mask that covers over his eye but swoops around and covers most of the right side of his face (Where the scar is in the game). There is a black eye patch also over the right eye that has a white, round dragon pattern on it.

Persona: Agrippa (A German magician, occultist, alchemist, humanist, and early feminist. Makes sense in my mind to give him this Persona.)

Skillset: Strong Fire + Gun Skills, yet weak against Ice

Initial Weapons:

Melee: Tekko

Ranged: Submachine Gun

All Out Attack: “DON’T CALL ME A KID” written above a stone wall with the silhouettes of shadows with splashes of red on the wall as they collapsed. His catchphrase would be “That all you got punks?!”

Persona Awakening Dialogue:

Agrippa: “Well, looks like the child finally woke up. Tell me, who will avenge Peko if you don’t? Clearly, surrender is not the answer; her death as your tool and her very existence would be forgotten, no? Are you willing to allow yourself to be that kind of man?”

Fuyuhiko: “No!! All I ever wanted was for Peko to be herself… No matter what I’d become I wanted her by my side as herself, not just be a tool! And if that means I have to kill the Mastermind himself… I will avenge Peko!”

Agrippa: “Excellent. That’s the resolve you have to have, to lead and avenge your precious Peko…. With my assistance of course. I am thou, thou art I… The contract is forged at last by your resolve for your justice. Your time with your resolve will bring a new light to your future for years to come. As long as you don’t lose sight of this fact, your strength and mine are one.”

Fuyuhiko: “I won’t let them - no, I won’t anyone down anymore! I will avenge Peko and others who this Mastermind has fucked over… and it starts here! I won’t let anyone look down on my anymore! Time to get them, Agrippa!”

Quotes:

“Where’s the challenge? They’re all weaklings.”

“Know what… I could really use a break.”

“Alright! Level up!”

“Guess who’s getting more badass?” (Skill Up)

“Sweet! We got ourselves a chest!”

“What kind of loot did we gain?”

“Ace, let’s regroup and take a breather in the safe room ok?”

“When are we getting to the Treasure? We’ve been here for hours.”

“Shadow up ahead Ace. Shall we fight?”

“Mind if we go a little overboard? I’m… getting impatient.”

“...Shit! I’m going to pass out at this rate…!”

“How’d you get spotted Ace?!” or “Fucking bastard!”

“Are you sure we need to fight these weaklings?”

“That felt very one-sided.”

“...Might want to come back later to fight that.”

“Why are there only weaklings here!?”

“Heh, another victory under our belt.”

ENDURE: “Damn it… that hurts like shit!”

PROTECT: “Pay attention, you idiot!”

BATON PASS: “Leave them to me!”

HARISEN RECOVERY: “Hey Dipshit!!” or “Seriously you idiot?!”

LOW HEALTH: “...Shit. Looks like I pushed myself too far…”

GETTING HEALED: “...Thanks for the heal.”

PHYSICAL ATTACKS: “Outta my way!” “Time to knock some sense into you!” “Looking for some pain idiot?!”

HEALING SOMEONE BY USING AN ITEM: “Here you go!”

PERSONA: “Agrippa!” “Yo Persona!”

FOLLOW UP: “Don’t be sloppy!”

COVER FIRE: “Yo Ace, need some cover?”

GIVING BUFFS: “Be useful okay?!”

ATTACKING: “Take this bastard!” “Just die already!

ATTACK MISSES: “Stay still bastard!”

COULDN’T FINISH OFF ENEMY: “Shit! Somebody cover me!”

FAINTING: “No… I can’t die here…”

GETTING RESURRECTED: “I won’t give up here, you here?!!”

Burn: “AH! Fucking shit!! Why the fuck is it hot here!?!”

Freeze: “Fucking hell. When did the temperature get this cold?!

Shock and Paralyze: “Why… can’t I… move!?”

Confusion: “Wait… what’s going on here?!”

Rage: “I’ll kill you and sell your organs bastards!!”

Despair: “No… Peko... don’t leave me!!”

Dizzy: “Huh? Why is everything fucking spinning?”

Brainwash: “So this… is truth.”

Forget: “Peko…?! Why can’t I…?”

Hunger: “My stomach… its killing me.”

Sleep: “Zzz… Peko… zzz…”

Silence: …

Mouse: “Squeak~?!”

Mementos Chats:

“You know Ace, you’re not that bad at driving…. most of the time.”

“I should be keeping extra rounds of ammo on me.”

“This eye patch also doubles as my mask? At least it doesn’t hamper my sight much.”

“I still don’t understand this weakness thing; why doesn’t everything die after getting shot by a gun?”

“At least fighting shadows is better than being stuck killing each other… right?”

“Hey!! Watch where you’re driving! You’re not joyriding with passengers.”

“Being a Dangan Thief… I wish Peko could join us…”

“As long as we’re down here, let’s stay on task; we don’t want to cause suspicion to the Mastermind ok?”

Fuyuhiko: “Say, does Mementos lead to anywhere specially or are we just mindlessly exploring?”

Chiaki: “We have to wait and see.... *yawn* but I’m enjoying my time here. I can play all the mobile games I want here!

Fuyuhiko: “Why is my outfit more… layered than everyone else’s here?”

Hinata: “If that’s true, how come you’re so agile?”

Fuyuhiko: *whispers* “...So does Ace know about Blackjack or what?”

Chiaki: *whispers* “I think it's best to keep spoilers secret for now.”

Fuyuhiko: I sure hope Peko is okay; I won’t forgive the Mastermind for what they did.

Hinata: That’s why we’re fighting here and I’m sure Peko will be just fine.

*Bonus. How they choose Fuyuhiko’s Codename - Featuring Komeada*

Hinata: Speaking of which, we need to give Fuyuhiko a nickname.

Chiaki: … How about Fedora?

Fuyuhiko: No way I’m going to be called Fedora. Next.

Komeada: How about Eyepatch? After all, that new scar has given you a boost in hope.

Fuyuhiko: *raises his gun* ...Can I shoot the clown over here?

Chiaki: You can’t just shoot your teammate over a silly code name! What would Peko think? Hinata: She wouldn’t approve of this.

Komeada: Please, shooting somebody as hopeful like me would only help the Mastermind. You wouldn’t want to be called Baby right?

Fuyuhiko: *lowers gun* You get off easy this time… but before we go on, nobody’s calling me Baby.

Chiaki: We are getting nowhere with a codename. Any ideas Ace?

Hinata: ...How about Gangster?

Chiaki: Gangster? Now that you mention it… The attire does resemble more of a Mafia outfit than a Yakuza. *sweatdrop* No offense.

Fuyuhiko: Gangster huh? *folds arms to think* Now that you mention it, it's better than calling me, Boss. I’ve got no complaints about either of those honestly.

Hinata: Alright, then let’s go with that then.

[revenblue]

What do you think makes a fic a crack fic?

A fic that is inherently ridiculous in some way. That’s about all that’s required imo.

There’s an overlap with fics that make you go “what the fuck”, but it’s not 1:1. (I mean, one of my actually-serious fics got the “what the fuck” reaction too.) But either way, the inherent ridiculousness is what makes it crack.

Gratuitous crackfic recs because I honestly love crackfic:

The Epic Tale of Rodney & John, Two Girl Scout Cookies in Love [The Pix or it Didn't Happen Remix] by bitter_crimson [Stargate Atlantis, Rodney/John]

Cookie porn, crumbs, strong language, extreme crackiness. Very image-heavy. No spoilers.

I don’t know the fandom but I don’t think I need to. Classic crackfic. (Note: contains smut.)

Fillings, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa byAWomanOfLetters [Supernatural, Dean/Cas]

Based on a typo in someone's fic summary.

In which Dean and Cas finally reveal their secret fillings for each other.

I’m not into this fandom either, but it’s another anthropomorfic so I couldn’t resist.

The Bodacious Blessing of the Fairy GodRossi byDeejaymil [Criminal Minds, team-as-family]

Emily is emo trash, Morgan can't narrate to save his life, and Rossi's perverted even when not being given the opportunity to make innuendos about magic wands. All Hotch wants to do is get some goddamn sleep, but there's an argument breaking out about whether or not motorbikes belong in feudal England and there aren't enough corners in the room to put every one of his team in their well deserved time-outs.

By the end of tonight, fairytales are going on the list of 'nice things we aren't allowed to have', along with Trivial Pursuit, Cluedo, and Monopoly.

Dee is an amazing writer. That is all.

Is this what Walt would have Wanted? by OverMaster [Disney in general]

Random Disney sketches of questionable humor.

It’s much better than it sounds. Mostly skit-type things (think asdfmovie) with some continuity between them.

Whip Crack by Quarra [MCU, Steve/Bucky]

Tentacle Monster Steve is captured by Hydra. They send in the Winter Soldier with a bull whip to break him, but as far as Steve's concerned the most beautiful creature he's ever seen walked in to his cell and started waving a sexy black tentacle at him. It's love at first sight.

In case you wanted angst with your crack. (Note: contains smut as well.)

Doppelgangers by starkly [MCU, team-as-family]

Steve makes the mistake of taking Thor to the zoo. Tony makes the mistake of buying nine penguins. Everyone else thinks they’ve made the mistake of joining the Avengers in the first place.

All the penguins are named after Tony ;)

Rose: Beta Karkat's fic. by mercurialMalcontent [Homestuck]

CG: …CG: WELL?TT: This is certainly something.CG: OH GOD. DON’T SUGARCOAT IT, ROSE, IT WON’T MAKE IT TASTE ANY BETTER GOING DOWN.TT: As my dear ectoslime brother would say: calm your tits, Karkat.TT: It’s very interesting in a way I’m having trouble putting into words.

Idk if this properly counts as a crackfic, but it’s definitely somewhere in the vicinity.

Band of Gold by cosmogyral [Homestuck]

"Fine. Assuming that no court on earth discovers that you are an interdimensional spy in deep disguise," Rose corrects herself, flopping down on the bed to lie next to you, "we are now legally married. In the State of Nevada. You are now my beautiful wife."

You think about this for some time.

After a while, you say, "We have to tell everybody."

Accidental marriage crackfic yay~

The Tragic Tale of Link and Mr Pointy by Elf Asato [Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time]

LinkMaster Sword smuttishness.  'Nuff said.  Vaguely related to Sheik and the Mailbox.

The author has a whole series of these, this is just the most memorable. (Note: cracksmut.)

Shipping Sickness by Skywriter [MLP:FIM]

Twilight Sparkle flagrantly abuses her Come-To-Life spell, and learns a little bit about love in the process.  Also, puns.

This one even comes with bonus crackship :D

Group of Weirdos: Ocarina of Time by Mr. Light Chicken Bulbs [Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time]

We're all used to the parodies where Link's a brain dead oaf who screws everything up. But now, the bosses our protagonist defeats join his cause and assist with the reclamation of Hyrule, trying their hardest to stop the 'hero' from ruining everything.

I haven’t read this in years but I remember it (and the sequels) being pretty cracky.

Phineas and Ferb: Take Two! by AnimationNut [Phineas and Ferb]

Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes of Phineas and Ferb? Well, now you can find out. And believe me, some weird and crazy stuff goes on with that crew.

Variation on Literary Agent Hypothesis (characters are in-universe actors acting on the show), and everyone’s a troll to each other.

And now for some shameless self-promotion:

Spearow's Adventure [Pokémon, Pokéshipping]

One day, long ago, a young Trainer went into a forest with their Spearow.

This is not that story.

This wasn’t intended to be a crackfic, it just turned out that way. XD

Hearts, And Minds, And Souls, And Hearts [Phineas and Ferb]

Phineas is having a baby and the baby is Ferbs

If you ever see me talk about a “crack incest mpreg songfic”, it’s this. ;)

Take Your Time [Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap]

Take Your Time, or, Why Vaati Waited For You To Arrive Before Starting The Final Stage Of His Evil Plan, The Lazy Bum

Tl;dr it’s a story about procrastination. :P

Hopefully that gives you some idea of the (or at least my) definition of crackfic, anon ♥

[theoutermenace1986]

Getting things off my chest

So I haven’t been on a whole lot lately, mainly due to work and life getting in the way of things. Recently, however, I’ve really felt the need to get on and write off some serious emotional issues I have going on right now and why. On 4/20, I lost a very important friend to  suicide. His name was Robert James Nichols and he was one of the sweetest guys I knew. He could tell you a terrible pun and even if you groaned, it would brighten your day. He had a smile that was bright and infectious, a laugh that would make everyone in the room laugh, a voice that you could recognize a mile away, and a reputation for being a mischievous [never malicious] jokester with a talent and flourish for making anyone’s day better. He had a passion for cooking and would frequently invite people to his home, have them pick out a recipe, and it would become a cluster of people working together in a kitchen and cooking up some of the best and heartiest meals - enough to where you could have invited a dozen people and had food left over. He was proud of his Canadian heritage, earning him the nickname “Canadian Rob”, and he even possessed a small red maple leaf tattoo with the words “Made in Canada” around it. He was flirtatious, but always in the best of taste, and while he could sling a lascivious joke, he only did so in company that he knew would appreciate the humor and know that he meant no harm. He was conscientious of others and would put their needs before his own because he was a selfless individual who wanted nothing more than to be the best person he could be, the best gentleman he could be, but most importantly - the best friend he could be. Robert James Nichols was also a lifelong combatant of depression. He was never shy about talking about his mental illness, and while there would be periods of black melancholy that would make it difficult to get him to socialize and be among people, he did his best to be there for everyone. He fought long and hard against his mental illness, battling the inner darkness that tried dragging him down, telling him he was never good enough, and things that not even he would speak of that only he seemed to believe. He would always be worried that he wasn’t doing enough and his greatest possible fear was letting people down and being a bad friend. He was seeing a therapist, a psychiatrist, and on medication, doing the best he could to fight through this. He had always been a proponent for healthy living, mind, body, and soul. He was forcing himself to update his facebook, even if the messages weren’t uplifting - he was giving us his honesty on his emotional and mental state. We wanted to know - good or bad - because we are his friends and we loved him. We wanted to help the best possible way we could. But there are some things that not even that can stop. His funeral service will be held on Friday, and instead of flowers, there will be an option for donations to the Child’s Play Charity, an organization Rob was very passionate about, which provides children in terminal hospitals and domestic violence shelters with entertainment and fun. I can’t imagine life without Rob, considering how much of an impact he had on my life. We butted heads a few times, as friends do on occasion, but that never stopped us from loving each other and being there for each other in whatever way we could be. I met so many of my lifelong friends through Rob and so many things I have come to enjoy - whether it’s manga, video games, or being in the kitchen - have been because of Rob encouraging me to try new things. Rob taught me to be a better person and I feel like while I’m not going to be myself for a while, the best thing I can do to carry on his spirit is the keep being the goofball that he saw in me. He enjoyed the fact we could tell each other bad puns, lecherous jokes, and laugh at funny things together. We could talk about funny things and pranks we’d pull at conventions with enough time and effort. I’ll never forget how in my freshman year at college, he was in my drama class. We had to perform a short skit based off a fairy tale, and his character was a flamboyant dragon who only wanted to stay in his cave, cook, and watch the Judy Garland marathon. Our “knight” demanded a duel - to which Rob responded, in a boisterous tone “BUT I’M MISSING JUDY!!! BANG BANG BANG WENT THE TROLLEEEEYYYY!!!!” I had to bite my fist to keep from laughing. He introduced me to my honorary bro, Indie, at Animazement. Rob was dressed as Rude and Indie and I were both variants of Reno - thus the joke of 2 Renos, 1 Rude was made and a friendship that has continued on for over 10 years was forged between Indie and I. I’ll never forget how in the weeks proceeding The Avengers, we watched all the movies on his wall projector, starting with Captain America and going all the way up to Incredible Hulk, eating popcorn, drinking beer and soda, and having a wonderful time in the company of good friends. He met my now husband when we all decided to go to the pool together. They got along famously and Rob tried to fling my husband into the pool....to no avail. They instead flung each other in and laughed about how they were solid like rocks. When Rob came to my wedding, he came on his bike, knocked “Shave and a Haircut” on the door, and when it was opened, he had his biggest smile and announced “DON’T WORRY, I’M JUST HERE FOR THE CAKE!” He was a personality that will be missed, but more important - he was one of the most influential friends I have ever known. I don’t know where I would be right now had Rob now come into my life, but I’m sure it would be very different. I can say that in all truthfulness and sincerity that I am glad that I existed the same time as Rob. I’m glad I could call him my friend.

[fontasticcrablettes]

Finished Berseria!  Rambly thoughts below.

Ok so in general it was.... good.  I was really hesitant about this game because I disliked Xillia 2 and Zestiria so much, so come after two flops I was prepared to hate this one, too.  But, it definitely wasn’t as bad as either of those.  It also isn’t one of my top Tales games either.  Like I said in my ranking post, I think it’s good.  Not great, not bad, but good.  

Most of the things that irritated me about it are things it inherited from Zesty.  When they got into malevolence, I groaned.  However, I think they did a better job of explaining it and using it here.  In Zesty, it seemed like such an arbitrary thing as well as squashing any drama, since any time Sorey started to express emotions, Lailah forced him to bottle them up.  It seemed more streamlined here.  Also, when Lynx and I were working on the Zesty rewrite, a lot of the concepts we created were used here.  Our idea for dragons was pretty similar to what therions were here.  I also liked how the characters were ultimately fighting to defend malevolence.  Wiping it out completely created an Age of Lifeless Beings, and it’s better to live with wickedness than not live at all.  It made for a much more dynamic conflict with Velvet et al fighting to allow humans to be flawed but free, against Artorious fighting for humans to be safe and without grief, but suppressed.  

I would have liked the game more if it wasn’t tied to Zestiria and just stood on its own.  Zestiria just left such a bitter taste in my mouth that every time there was a plot link, I got salty.  Even more so when they did it better.  I liked Zaveid well enough in Zesty, but I liked him a lot more in this one.  I think he got more development and personality here and he wasn’t even a party member!  

One of the things that did hold the game back though is the cast.  They just... didn’t really click with me.  I avoided most skits, or just skipped through them and skimmed really quick to get the gist of the dialogue.  I didn’t get a strong sense of camaraderie from them the way I did with the Vesperia or Xillia casts.  And for a lot of them, the depth came too late.  Magilou was just kind of... there for most of the game, being unpleasant and hanging around just because.  Then near the end her backstory comes out and she becomes more interesting, but that’s too late in the game to start getting invested in someone.  

I also didn’t find Velvet interesting until after the confrontation with Innominat, when she stopped being so one-tracked minded about avenging Laphi.  For so much of the game, she was just so deadset on this one revenge mission that I found her rather boring.  “He killed my brother and I hate him and want to kill him no matter what the cost” is a good starting motivation, but after 50 hours, it’s a little stale.  Whenever she slipped and showed more sides of her personality, I got excited, but it usually didn’t last.  

And Rokurou... seems like a fun guy but also I don’t find him sympathetic at all.  Like from my understanding his whole thing was that he wants to kill Shigure because he’s envious. Ok this is a game where you’re sort of playing as the bad guys and Rokurou is a demon but... Shigure seemed like a decent guy.  He never really did anything notably evil besides generally supporting Artorious.  I really could not get behind Rokurou’s quest at all.  I wasn’t rooting for him and when you’re not rooting for one of the protagonists... there’s a problem.

Eizen’s alright.  His whole “That’s what you get for travelling with The Reaper >:(” schtick is kind of narmy but I really like him opening up as a nerd.  Not exactly my kind of character but nice enough.

I really Laphicet.  I generally don’t like the kid characters in these games, but Laphicet was one of the better kids, like Elize.  His gradual journey of discovering an identity for himself and becoming his own person was heartwarming.  

And then there’s Eleanor.  Oh, Eleanor.  If you’ve spent any time on my blog you know I have Strong Feelings about Eleanor.  She is by far my favourite character in the game.  Her journey of slowly realizing the Abbey were the bad guys and questioning everything she believed about the world and her place in it was the most interesting character development in the game.  

The game had good villains.  I really like Oscar.  He’s one of those great antagonists in that he isn’t a villain, but he is an antagonist.  From what Oscar and Teresa know about how the world works, they’re in the right.  They really are trying to save the world and help people and do what’s right.  They’re heroic in that respect.  But there’s more going on that they don’t know about and that makes them antagonists in the game.  An antagonist who thinks he’s the hero is the most compelling kind.  

Also, fuck Bienfu.  I hate everything about him.  I often just muted my computer whenever he spoke so I wouldn’t have to hear his voice.  

So in general, the party was ok.  I didn’t actively dislike them but I don’t really care about any of them or their relationships with each other (with the obvious exception being Eleanor and Laphicet).  

Did not like the battle system.  The whole stage system irritates me.  It seems like there’s a lot less freedom in battles.  If I want to use an art to open a combo, but it’s set to stage 3? Too bad, that always has to be the third arte in a combo.  Or I can go to the artes page and rearrange things, which I did quite often.  This enemy is resistant to martial artes? Well fuck time to go re-set my entire arte tree to put elemental attacks on stage 1.  In no other Tales game did I have to rearrange my artes so often, which is a pain in the ass.  It also seemed to encourage button mashing.  At least in, like, Xillia, pulling off a combo meant remembering the configuration for each art and switching the button positions wen necessary.  Here, you can just smash A over and over and run through a cycle of combos.  

Graphics.  Sometimes they were good.  Other times they were muddy.  I liked them best in strong light, when it was closer to cell shading.  The default lighting had all the colours muddle together and it just looked bleh. No Tales graphics have held up as well as ToV’s strong cell-shading.  Trying to render hair realistically will just make it look like ass in a few years when graphics surpass it.  

Oh and I reeeeeally don’t like how rarely they showed the in-game models.  Every time I talked to someone and the other party��s voices just... spoke from thin air.... I started moving the camera around and examining the background, or picked up my phone and did something else while half-listening.  If someone is talking, I want to see them!  I want to see expressions on their face!  When it’s just a disembodied voice, there’s nothing to look at.  It’s boring.  Also, how often they used the skit style cut-ins for plot relevant scenes.  While these were the most dynamic skits I’ve yet seen in a game, they are still a lot more floaty than in-game models interacting.  Skits never actually touch each other, or look directly at each other, or do anything but talk at the camera with random coloured backgrounds.  The scenes aren’t grounded in the environment.  It as bland and also frustrating because when I put them in silly costumes, I want to see cutscenes with them in those costumes!

Ok so to wrap up.

Pros:

Eleanor

Fixed Zesty things

The Geoboard!!!

All those mini-games were great.  I love Character Cards

Good villains

Interesting plot

Katz Souls are fun to pick up and a neat way to guide the player to where they need to go

Inoph and Denore bottles are a good compromise of warping at will without it being completely free.  

Cons:

Battle system frustrating

Bienfu

Other than Eleanor and Laphicet, party kind of meh

Eleanor and Eizen are the only party members who have nice character designs

What exactly is a demon? How sentient are they? Inherited the same worldbuilding ???s of Zestiria

Equipment was a pain of comparing and contrasting and weighing pros and cons and fuck man I just want to get back to the game

Overuse of skits

Weird boring disembodied voices for small scenes