#but of COURSE they had to hit my one specific fear with the main plotline lmao

[moonrise-illustration]

I just finished the first season of The Magnus Archives and AHHHHHHH

[aion-rsa]

DuckTales Season 3 Episode 22 Review: The Last Adventure!

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This DUCKTALES review contains spoilers.

From the opening moments of DuckTales’ final episode it feels like the end. Almost everyone is here. There’s an extra care put into the scenes, a knowledge that we are in the last hour of their adventures. A last moment of uncomplicated joy before things get messy. And at the center of it all?

Webby. In the beginning she seemed to be the POV character of DuckTales, the one everything seemed to focus around. Some of that was caused by the original air dates of the episodes accidentally putting all her focus episodes at the start but it was a feeling that never left me. The show was an ensemble piece but there was something about Webby that kept her at the forefront. Something that made go, “if anyone had to lay claim as the main character of DuckTales, it’s her.” Boy, was I right about that!

The finale puts her in the middle of everything and finally pays off the mystery set-up at the top of the season. We finally learn about her past and as its slowly revealed it tugs on Webby’s biggest heartstring. Family. 

Her clones May and June press her with questions about the family. How none of the people she has connections with are related to her by blood. They aren’t her REAL family. Scrooge’s family isn’t hers. Her friends aren’t family. They play on a fear that’s been deeply held within her, that for all the talk of family is what you make it they still aren’t REALLY family.

It calls into question that critical core element of this new DuckTales. One could argue the show has done a LOT to say family is what you make it and this shouldn’t be a problem for Webby but come on, she has two sisters right in front of her. That would mess with her head and make her feel insecure.

This question of family extends out of Webby’s plotline and to all the others, especially Donald and Della. Donald wants to go off on a big trip with Daisy, intentionally leaving the family behind for the first time in who knows how long. This is a major step for him. He gave up his life to help raise Huey, Dewey, and Louie. He’s stuck by them even as they lived at the mansion. The guy deserves some time with the person he cares about without the weight of responsibility he’s carried for so much of his life.

Della though can’t take it. She tries to get him to reconsider. She has excuse after excuse but the real reason comes out, she doesn’t want to lose any more time with him. She was gone for so long why can’t he stay and make up for that lost time? He could, but as much as Donald loves Della he’s finally putting himself first. Of course Della accepts it because she’s Della and she’s great. I’m so happy they did this with Donald, the guy deserves it. Just because Della wants to spend more time with him doesn’t mean he HAS to. He can take time for himself, he can be his own person, he doesn’t have to be defined by the loss of Della anymore. Of course he’ll still see her and the rest of the family, he’s just going off to start his own part of the family. That’s a crucial element of family as well; you don’t always have to be together.

But of course when Webby and Huey get kidnapped Donald is right there to help and so is everyone else. The whole family rallies together, though Beakley is off on her own. Earlier in the episode Beakley revealed to Webby that she retired specifically because of her. That Webby was more important than anything else and, as we later learn, she gave up taking out F.O.W.L. to do it. There’s a running theme of how much you’ll sacrifice for your family here, as Beakley puts it, “when you find your family you’ll give up everything for them.” It’s well threaded throughout the episode, the biggest example of it of course being the giant mission to storm the temple.

It’s here the family comes up against the biggest nemesis of the series, Bradford. Bradford’s whole deal is that he was the first Woodchuck (and a terrible one.) He wants to rid the world of adventure, contain all the chaos it brings. What does all this mean? Why is he doing this? On first watch it’s a little unclear but when you zoom out Bradford wants to keep the world in order, in check. No deviations, nothing unexpected, no challenges, nothing unpredictable. He claims he’s a businessman, not a villain… but of course he’s a villain because a LOT of business people ARE villainous. Wanting to keep the world in check and playing by their rules is how they keep control. How they stay in power.

Adventures threaten that. They give power to those who don’t have it; they allow a wonder and mystery to fill the world. To give people hope, to bond them together. For Scrooge, it helped create his family. So of course Bradford would try to shut that down, he’s better served if people are unhappy and under his thumb as a businessman. Controlling Scrooge’s money was also a great bonus.

Bradford threatens the very heart of the series, adventures. He uses Webby specifically to gain the ability to take Scrooge’s adventures away… but of course he underestimated the family. He thought creating Webby’s clones would tear them apart, that separating everyone into cages would keep them from rising up… but you can’t stop the Duck family and Webby is the heart and soul of that. Even when she learns she was just another clone that doesn’t stop her for long. For anyone else that might have been a bigger blow but when she learns that Beakley saved her when she was a baby? That Beakley gave up everything for her so that someone would love her? That keeps her going.

That and the fact she’s (more or less) Scrooge’s daughter. Yeah she was made by F.O.W.L. but WHATEVER SHE’S REALLY A BLOOD PART OF THE FAMILY! At this point I was taken aback. Why does Webby NEED to have a blood relation to the family? Why can’t she just be a friend who became a part of the family? Isn’t that what DuckTales has been preaching for its entire run, you don’t have to be related by blood to be family and even if you ARE related by blood that doesn’t always mean you’re like family to someone else.

Some might consider this an easy cop out, a way for Webby to get what she always wants… but it’s so much more than that. Okay yes, Webby was sort of made from Scrooge’s DNA but that still doesn’t automatically make her a part of the family. They could easily reject her for not being “real.”  But everyone in the McDuck family loves her and that’s why she’s family, blood or not. Plus, the rest of the episode goes out of its way to show that damn near every good person the team has met is part of the family. So yes, Webby is now confirmed to be related by blood but that doesn’t undercut DuckTales’ message about family. Lena and Violet are part of the family, Gizmoduck, Darkwing Duck, Gosalyn, Launchpad, EVERYONE. As Webby tells May and June,

“Family are the people who stick by you. Fight for you. Blindly invade a sinister villain’s secret strong hold for you. Family would do anything to keep you safe and sacrifice everything to love you no matter who and what you are. Like Scrooge, like my granny, like you two.” That’s family and that’s DuckTales. Scrooge is willing to sacrifice it all, to give up adventuring… but FAMILY is the greatest adventure of all! It’s so powerful it breaks the most powerful magic contract of ALL TIME. BOOM, FAMILY! 

‘The Last Adventure’ was nothing short of an absolute masterpiece, the closest thing to a true 2017 DuckTales movie we’ll ever get. The action was big, damn near every character from the show made it in, and it capped off everything so beautifully. It’s stunning how many references and characters are squeezed in here but it never feels rushed or over bloated. All the references work, whether you know the deep cuts or not. My personal favorite was the revelation that Manny is no intern… he’s actually The Headless Manhorse of the Apocalypse AND HE LIVES AGAIN… voiced by Keith David. It’s such an elaborate Gargoyles reference but even if you don’t know that it’s hilarious to see this new side of Manny.

There’s too many moments to talk about. So many little bits that could deserve full articles on their own. Della using her leg like an axe, B.O.Y.D. being just a head, or Launchpad becoming Gizmoduck! If you’ve been reading all my DuckTales reviews you know how much I’ve loved the character of Lena and just seeing her there at the end as part of the family made me smile and warmed my heart. She went through so much and look where she is now, she has people who love her AND she’s a superhero. 

As the credits rolled and all the characters we’ve all grown to love soared past the screen for the final time, it hit me just how much I’m going to miss DuckTales. I’ve reviewed every single episode of the series and it has been an immense privledge. The level of care and creativity that went into every single aspect of the series did not go unnoticed. The people behind the scenes truly delivered something special, a series that will stand the test of time as not just a worthy entry into the Duck universe or just a Disney cartoon series, but as an absolutely wonderful show all on its own. It was incredibly funny, joyously warm, and knew how to hit you with some major life lessons. Lena’s story arc in particular will always stick with me and works as a gut wrenching portrayal of the effects of abuse. Her story was just an example of DuckTales as its strongest, when it was able to use it stories to hold up a mirror to our own lives and safely let us explore them. While also giving us a lot of laughs.

DuckTales has power; it’ll keep having power. Now that the show’s ended I have no doubt more people will check it out on Disney + and realize how special it was. How great it was. How even if it still had more stories to tell it still gave all it had. 

Thank you for everything, DuckTales. You’ll never be forgotten. 

DuckTales Quotes To Make Your Life Better

-“No, no maniacal laughter! We are not common villains.”

-“Come with me if you want DEW-live.”

-“Yes I was right! …. Oh no, I was right.”

-“I LIVE AGAIN… Again.”

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

-“Please hold all startled utterances of disbelief for the end.”

The post DuckTales Season 3 Episode 22 Review: The Last Adventure! appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2Q9vozW

[ckret2]

would you mind explaining "Careless whisper" "I will always love you" and "Friend please"? no pressure though!

Oh god you chose two of the meme-iest songs! Both in one post! I can’t believe it!

Okay.

This took me forever to write because I wrote half of it and then got distracted for weeks and didn’t get back to it until I got a fresh ask today with some more songs and I was like, crap, I should finish this one.

So the first three paragraphs in this post still apply here, I’m not gonna copy paste them, go read those paragraphs if you haven’t yet. tl;dr i’m answering questions about why i included songs on my radiosnake spotify playlist because i like rambling for thousands of words at a time, also the playlist is based on a fic i wrote.

Feel free to keep sending me questions about more songs on the playlist. Explanations under the read more, assuming the read more works, which I make no guarantee of because this is tumblr.

Careless Whisper (Lyrics)

… except, the jazzy version.

So lemme tell you a story about how “Careless Whisper” came up and then I’ll explain why it actually belongs on the playlist.

The only way I can outline a story is by sitting down with another person and rambling the plotline at them, copy pasting it into another document, and bam that’s an outline.

Right now, in the disjointed process of outlining a sequel to Cold Day In Hell, I’m sort of chunking random ideas at a couple friends to see what sticks. One idea is that, when Alastor is drunk, he’s 90% worse at pretending he totally doesn’t care about Sir Pentious at all. If they’re ever drunk at the same social event, he will subtly (not subtly at all) follow him around all night like a puppy and hang on to his every word, automatically playing this sort of nonsense in the background.

One of my friends announced sadness that it didn’t start off with “Careless Whisper,” so I checked Postmodern Jukebox (the fastest/easiest/most common way to translate a modern song into Alastor Aesthetic) to see if they had made a jazz cover (they had), and I reassured my friend that the PMH cover definitely played every second song while drunk!Alastor was mooning over (and/or looming over) Sir Pentious.

And then I went oh goddammit the lyrics actually fit, dammit, now I’ve gotta put it on the playlist.

So I put it on the playlist.

Here’s the great thing about song lyrics. Even if everyone knows that the lyrics mean one thing, language is inherently ambiguous and you can totally just decide to read the lyrics a slightly different way if you really really want to and the exact wording doesn’t make it impossible. Everyone KNOWS that “Careless Whisper” is about cheating, but it never SAYS it’s about cheating (like, it says “cheat a friend,” but like the singer could’ve cheated their friend at cards? it doesn’t say), so you can just decide that it’s about any other kind of betrayal in a relationship! Like, say, blowing up your ally’s steampunk airship fleet. The song never says it ISN’T about a steampunk airship fleet.

So let’s just establish right now that this song is no longer about cheating. That’s out the window.

In the original song, “dancing” is probably intended as a metaphor for having sex. In THIS context, it is literally dancing. The emotional core of CDIH, the moment around which the rest of the story rotates, is the night that Alastor and Sir Pentious dance together. And although Alastor no doubt dances plenty of times after leaving Sir Pent, he’s certainly never going to dance like that again—like he’s with a lover, like he wants to be touching his dance partner, rather than either alone or while distastefully putting up with physical contact with someone who doesn’t matter to him.

The interpretation of the line “careless whispers of a good friend” that I think is probably Most Common is that a friend of the singer’s lover warned the lover that the singer is cheating on them, and the singer thinks that the fact that the lover now knows is worse than not knowing at all, because now that the lover knows they can never go back to normal, hence why the friend was being careless. Aside from any questions of, like, whether or not that’s a sound opinion at all—I’ve always interpreted that line differently. Since the singer refers to their lover as a “friend” (“should have known better than to cheat a friend”), I’ve always assumed that the singer would refer to themself as their lover’s friend, and so the “careless whispers of a good friend” were the whispers that the singer themself made that started whatever affair it is they had.

And so that assumption—that the “good friend” that said something they shouldn’t have is the singer—is the interpretation I’m carrying into the song’s inclusion in the playlist. In this case, it’s Alastor’s decision to lie to Sir Pent about how he feels about him (claiming that he never cared & that he was just screwing around with his emotions) before running off that are the “careless whispers” because, although not exactly whispery, they do have the same effect as in the song: ever since he said them, there’s been an unmendable rift between Alastor and Sir Pent (which was, like, his objective, but he’s still not happy about it)—and, more than that, it was very careless. Alastor had intended for his actions to just push Sir Pent away, not to effectively ruin Sir Pent’s ambitions to rule hell completely. But, that’s what happened. Because he didn’t think anything through. He just said and did the very first things he could think of to push Sir Pent away. Extremely careless.

And, of course, the specific version that got included was chosen because it sounds jazzy. Yay for PMJ, making all sorts of songs Alastor-ready.

I Will Always Love You (Lyrics)

… except, the super dark version.

So I figured out at some point that the easiest way I was gonna find Alastor music was through jazz-style covers of songs a la Postmodern Jukebox, 1) because PMJ has been actually mentioned as among the limited varieties of modern music that Alastor would listen to by virtue of the fact that they do covers that sound like what he used to listen to, and 2) because Puff here isn’t actually a fan of jazz and it’s a lot easier for me to slowly wade into the water via jazzy covers of songs I already know than it is for me to fling myself into the deep end like “appreciate Jelly Roll Morton! Appreciate Jelly Roll Morton NOW!!!”

(I am slowly and laboriously training myself to be a fan of jazz, because Alastor is a RADIO HOST from NEW ORLEANS in the ROARING TWENTIES AND A LITTLE BIT OF THE THIRTIES, i will NOT be writing him while in complete ignorance of a subject that probably occupied a huge portion of his life.)

So due to the fact that I was looking for PMJ-esque genre-switching covers of songs, I drifted over to other genre-switching song cover acts like Chase Holfelder to go through the songs and go “hm wonder of any of these work." This song is an exception to the genres I’m looking for for Alastor, but it still makes the list because like, the vibe is just right.

Have y'all ever actually listened to/read the lyrics to "I Will Always Love You” before? Not just the AAAND IIIIIIIII-IIII-IIIIIII WILL ALWAAAYS LOVE YOOOOO-OO-OOOU bit but the actual lyrics. They’re sad. The lyrics are “I deeply love you but if I stayed with you I would only hold you back so i’m going to leave you because it’s for the best but i’m super sad about it and i always will be.”

Now, that doesn’t 100% line up with Alastor’s situation. Because, like, obviously, he was doing the exact opposite of holding Sir Pent back when they were together, and fearing holding Sir Pent back was not the reason he left.

But it is among the reasons he avoids the hell out of him now. The primary reasons, of course, are still “being in love is scary and i do not want to do that so maybe if i avoid him i can continue pretending that i am not in love?” and “lmao he justifiably hates me now so why try"—but #3 on his list is the recognition that, since they broke up, Alastor’s actions have caused a constant cascade of events that have held Sir Pent back ever since. (And Alastor also suspects that there might actually be some kind of legitimate curse or fate or something going on here—that part of Alastor’s role in hell is playing the part of Sir Pent’s personal hellish divine punishment.) So he didn’t leave because he’s sabotaging Sir Pent’s ambitions; but he sabotaged Sir Pent’s ambitions because he left.

And therefore, as a consequence, he should stay away from Sir Pent now. He shouldn’t beg forgiveness and a second chance—because he doesn’t deserve them, and because he might make it worse.

This particular cover of the song really kicks the anguish up into high gear. The most common Whitney Houston version is like, okay she’s brokenhearted, but also somehow somewhat empowered by the brokenheartedness—like even though she’s leaving sad and bitter, in her heart she knows that the decision she’s making is for the best for her beloved, and she can draw strength from that. There is no drawing strength from the decision in the Chase Holfelder version—just using it up. It’s like he’s burning through all of his reserves of strength to push his loved one away. When Whitney hits the big note, she’s pulling power into herself to belt that out. When Chase hits the big note, he’s pouring out every last bit of power left inside his body. You can imagine Whitney walking away from this song with her head held high and her back straight but Chase is just gonna collapse to his knees with his shoulders hunched and head bowed—completely empty, a husk. That’s the vibe I want with Alastor—that every single day of his self-imposed exile he’s losing a little piece of himself, hollowing himself out. He can’t draw strength from it.

Typically, when I’m picking songs for this playlist, I don’t pay much attention to the gender of the singer (my only main priority on this playlist is that by the time it’s done I want the genders of the singers to be roughly balanced on both Sir Pent’s part and Alastor’s part), but in this case I think the fact that the singer is male contributes to it working for Alastor the way another version with a female singer wouldn’t. Not entirely sure why—maybe because, even though the voice doesn’t sound anything like his, it’s easier to actively imagine Alastor singing the song when it’s got a male voice? Maybe because, thanks to Sexism In Society, a woman saying "I’m leaving you because I’d get in the way of your dreams” more easily comes across as “Oh… I am simply not good enough for you… I’d hold you back…” while a man saying “I’m leaving you because I’d get in the way of your dreams” more easily comes across as “I wouldn’t hold you back, I’d push you down. I’m dangerous for you.” And the latter fits Alastor better.

(But hey, if any of you know of any versions of “I Will Always Love You” with a female singer that makes her sound dangerous as hell, feel free to recommend them to me. Not because I’m looking to replace the version I’ve already got but just because I’d really like to hear it.)

Currently, it’s listed as the last song on the Alastor portion of the playlist. I recently reorganized it so that the Sir Pent portions and Alastor portions each flow from the shallowest/most surface emotions down to the deeper/truer/more hidden emotions, and even before I did that reorganization, “I Will Always Love You” has been the closing song on Alastor’s side since it was added to the playlist. That feels like the right note to leave it on: after everything else has been said, once every other layer and lie has been stripped away, the deepest and truest and last thing Alastor would have to say to Sir Pent is “I hope life treats you kind and I hope you have all you’ve dreamed of” and an anguished screaming declaration of love.

Friend Please https://genius.com/Twenty-one-pilots-friend-please-lyrics

So remember when I said that language is inherently ambiguous and if you want you can totally just choose to read words differently if the wording doesn’t actually prevent that interpretation? This song is clearly about suicide. I have decided for the purposes of this playlist it is not about suicide anymore! It’s still about depression but not about suicide! When the singer was like “Please don’t take your life away from me” what he meant is “Please don’t take your life, and also, I am emphasizing that if you do so you are removing yourself from my life to try to show you how much you mean to me,” but how I have decided to interpret it for this playlist is “literally do not remove your life from my life, as in, like, don’t run away and stop talking to me.”

So. As I mentioned in my last song meta post, there’s sort of two—not genres, but like, musical aesthetics that I’m drawing from for Sir Pent: Victorian-ish/steampunk-ish sounds, and emo stuff because Vivz said that’s what he actually listens to. Twenty One Pilots fits the criteria for emo for me—idk and idc if other people consider them emo, they toured with Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco, they count as far as I’m concerned—so they’re actually among the bands I’ve been intending to specifically look at for potential Sir Pent Songs.

For the most part, they’re, like, too good at the sad millennial vibe. But that song works.

“Friend, Please” comes low on Sir Pent’s portion because it’s deep in the more genuine emotions—I’ve actually considered putting it last and may still do so, it would make a nice counterpoint to “I Will Always Love You"—actually I’m gonna go do that, gonna go shuffle the playlist, there, good—and it’s also something that he couldn’t/wouldn’t say until after he knows about Alastor’s deep thoughts. Reinterpreted so that it’s not about suicide, it becomes about a friend who’s still depressed, but the focus of the song becomes about the friend’s self-isolation—a self-isolation that’s fueled by denial and self-delusion, the friend convincing themself that they’re alone, always will be, and can’t/won’t have anyone else in their life again that they can depend upon.

Which, although he doesn’t necessarily seem to be depressed, is certainly the vibe Alastor gives off in the show—that despite his overly-friendly overly-familiar attitude, he probably keeps everyone else at a great emotional distance. In canon he might be okay with that. In fic, he’s doing that at the expense of pushing away a person he loves very much—and then pushing away anyone that could help him cope with that loss. Leaving him very alone and perpetually disguising himself as fine with that. Maybe, when he can go years without having to see Sir Pent, he can be fine with that.

But I have Big Plans for that sequel and you know item #1 on the list is "stick Alastor and Sir Pent in a position where they’ll have to cross paths all the time so that it’s like threading a giant needle with barbed wire, stabbing the needle into Alastor’s heart, and slowly dragging the barbed wire straight through.”

And after that? Living like a ghost, claiming he’s fine when he’s been completely emotionally drained, is gonna be a pretty accurate description of his mental state.

Right now, Sir Pent is in no way close enough to Alastor to know that—and in no way sympathetic enough toward him to care even if he did know. He still hates Alastor for completely ruining his life. But there’s still that part of him that used to care about Alastor and still could come to care about him again. And if that part gets revived, and if he gets close enough to Alastor to see how miserable he’s made himself by trying to push everyone away and denying that he’s pushed his own mental state into as bad a state as it’s currently in, his reaction would be “you absolute dumbass” followed by trying to shout some sense into Alastor by pointing out that every one of his problems is caused not by external factors, but by his own damn screwed-up perception of the world. Like, every one of his problems he made himself, and he can unmake them. He’s just got to uncover his eyes first.

It’s easy for fandom to just, like, characterize Sir Pent as an all-around dumbass—strategically, socially, emotionally, etc. Until and unless we see otherwise—and see it so firmly that even I can’t find ways to headcanon around it, and believe you me, I can headcanon my way around a lot of things—I choose to believe that the only areas he’s definitely a dumbass in are “understanding modern slang” and “remembering NOT to charge into battle without considering the odds the second he sees somebody he hates.” This means that I like to believe he also has a reasonable level of emotional intelligence, and a healthy level of compassion that he can deploy, when he so chooses, on someone he considers worthy of that compassion. He’s evil, yes, but self-professed evil, which means self-aware evil; which means that even though there’s gotta be something fucked up with his worldview for him to choose to be evil, it is a choice he’s making, not something he’s doing specifically because he believes it’s right/necessary. And he can turn it off when he decides he’s with someone that deserves it.

Now, is Alastor on that list? Not currently, hell no. But there’s potential for him to make it on the list—that potential for Sir Pent to care about him again, to want to see him throw off the things that he’s using to hold himself back, to want to see him become better and happier, to want him back in Sir Pent’s life—buried somewhere deep beneath Sir Pent’s burned emotions and decades of resentment.

[comicteaparty]

March 25th-March 31st, 2020 Reader Favorites Archive

The archive for the Reader Favorites chat that occurred from March 25th,  2020 to March 31st, 2020.  The chat focused on the following question:

How many pages/how long is the ideal webcomic for you?  When do you feel something has gone on too long?

Feather J. Fern

I know I usually think anything that is over 500 chapters a bit too long for a manga series, but I do have a bunch of long running favourites. But they are comedy and gag series. I do like an ending to my stories, sometimes if it keeps oging and going, I know more is good but sometimes more is too much. I know a webtoon I really liked ended around 300 episodes, and it was long running.

I think as long as I can see the end of something I don't think it's too long. Also no chapters that don't contribue to the plot. Sometimes a lot of the time, people pad out a fun chapter for webcomics but it is just too long and starts to get boring. 4 to 5 pages of fun times it a good refresher, but when it's like 20 pages of just them chilling at a pool with NO CHARACTER DELEVOPMENT (Like this is key, if there is a plotline about teaching a character to swim, that makes sense, if there is no delevopment that's a problem)

carcarchu

you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. a webcomic can keep going as long as the content continues to be meaningful and productive but once an author starts needlessly dragging stuff out just for the sake of continuing last past the point where they actually had anything meaningful to say with it that's when it's gone on too long. i'm all for fun bonus content like "what happened after the main story ended!" but there's limits to how far that can go. once the "bonus content" goes on near as long or longer than the actual meat of the story it starts to get painful to read. i'd much rather see a series end with dignity than see a long long drawn out conclusion that no one actually wants to slog through. on the flipside a series is too short when there's not enough time to develop an attachment for the characters or you DO develop an attachment and then poof story's over

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Yesss, very apt quote there.

There are some ongoing comics with multi-thousand-strip archives that I'm caught up with, and when something has kept me interested for that long, it feels like the creators have hit a perfect groove and could keep it up forever. Skin Horse has lapped 4k, Schlock Mercenary is over 7k, and Kevin & Kell leads the pack at a bewildering 8k... But part of why it works is that they're very episodic, ensemble-cast series. They can introduce new problems at any time, resolve those while introducing more, jump to a whole different group of characters for a month in a row without missing a beat. The ideal length for a comic that's "one central story, tightly-focused on the arc(s) of a small core group of protagonists, all building to a single main climax" is way shorter, it would feel badly-paced and exhausting if it dragged on that long.

Nutty (Court of Roses)

As someone who expects their comic to reach fairly far in length, I don't think I'm comfortable judging any comic for any length it has ahahah. If it continues to hold my attention, length doesn't matter to me at all.

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

I agree that as long as the pacing is good and the overall direction is clear, the specific length isn’t too important to me

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I’ve followed really long webcomic series like The Pirate Balthazar, and it really depends how flexible you are with genre. Because I noticed that in a few cases, if it goes on long enough, the webcomic may shift in tone. I like PB because I don’t mind its shift from action comedy to slice of life comedy, but many people might not share the same sentiments. I usually think a webcomic grows and develops as the artist/author grows. Maybe the changes will appeal or alienate the readers.(edited)

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

I'm of the "the longer the better" camp, but I like the story to be neatly structured into volumes, each their own little finished story that still add up to a bigger whole. Kinda like a good novel series, you know?

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Massive comic archives do intimidate me at first glance - but if I'm hooked after the first chapter, then the path to the end seems all that more reasonable and fun. If the first chapter doesn't grab me, though, then the comic's length starts looking like a chore. I guess that's the case for any story, but yeah, personally, it's all about that first little hill. Get me over it, and it's smooth sailing from then on

RebelVampire

For me ideal length would actually probably depend a bit on genre. For things like horror or slice-of-life, I tend to prefer comics be a bit shorter. For me horror loses its fear factor after a point if it goes on too long. And slice-of-life I find better in small doses. Then there's things like fantasy and sci-fi, who like novels, generally should be longer cause you need more time for world-building. Then there's gag-a-day which in all essence can go onto infinity as long as the writing is still good. That being said, with the exception to gag-a-day, for genres I prefer shorter, I generally prefer them to be less than 300 pages, and for fantasy and sci-fi, I prefer less than 600. Which sounds like a lot of pages, but I've read plenty of comics with that amount that are still ongoing. Now of course, plenty of exceptions here, because if a comic is still good, it could go on for much longer for all I really care. However, just based on my personal experiences, I find for a good majority anything more than that and the comics are more likely to start dragging and padding their story too much. Also, these choices are for practicality cause I've seen a lot of comics get defeated by indefinite hiatus, and I find comics not finishing a huge disappointment. Not that I blame creators for having to move on in life, but just because I understand doesn't mean I don't get sad.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Oooof, 300 pages is not that much for fantasy to me, haha That's less than 10 chapters in the case of my comic. As a reader however, I agree with much of what was said before: as long as the story still has purpose, the length doesn't really matter. But that's more a matter of pacing than length. The only time length deters me is when I'm reading a comic for the first time, and it's over 100 chapters and still ongoing. Then, the concern becomes: "How will I ever find the time to read all this?" But there have been a few comics I started reading relatively close to when they first came out, and they went on for years and 500+ chapters. As long as the pacing is still good, it can go on forever imo.

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

How do you feel about long comics with dedicated jump-on points so that you don't have to fight through the really early archives, like schlock mercenary? Because for me it makes a huge difference if there's a dedicated "join the story here!", or if you have to start from the absolute beginning.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Ah....

I'm not really a fan, because I'd feel like I'm missing something

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Same

RebelVampire

I imagine that was directed at Cronaj, but I actually do want to answer that cause it's an interesting subtopic. And my answer is can't do it. I'm a read for the absolute beginning or no dice even when give the option. I've tried jump-on points, and I really struggle because there'll be a) pre-established relationships between characters (even if its just insider jokes) I can't connect with and b) a fandom that does know the beginning and will chat about it and you wind up auto ostracized

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah, like I know some people who can jump into the a TV show starting from like, episode 4 season 2 if they get some basic explanation of prior episodes. I am not one of those people.

Same with comics

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Same

I feel so left out

And I'll have to keep asking potentially stupid questions

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I can't even ask questions because I don't have enough info to form questions

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

the sad truth

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I feel that too usually I have to go on the show's trope page to catch up

but at the same time, I also still feel a bit left out

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

If the comic is worth reading, the first 100 pages are worth reading to me

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Yep

Me too

It's more a matter of, do I have the time to read this comic at all?

Which I wish didn't come into my decision at all, but it does :/

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

It's understandable, really

not enough time in the world

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

so basically

make it worth the readers' while

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

For the right readers.

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

fair enough go straight for the jugular and don't hold back XD

eli [a winged tale]

I love longforms and if I’m invested, I’m there for the entire ride, no matter how long. Will agree with Rebel that it’s heartbreaking when long stories go on hiatuses (but of course, that’s life). As for jump points, I’m one where I can hop on and if I’m intrigued, start from the beginning. I have built in season trailers for this since one of the webtoons, Hooky, seemed to have used it to good effect. One interesting thing that I love is seeing the art grow with time. It’s always so interesting to see the change and the growth.

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

fair enough go straight for the jugular and don't hold back XD

@shadowhood (SunnyxRain) LOL your quote always sound like you're a hunter ready for a kill

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

OH MY GOD

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

that's a great point, Eli. I feel he same. Where it depends on the series, I don't mind long form, but I have to read from the start, because the later episodes will have relationships or events I have 'missed out'. I can tell when a creator has either a) interest in world building, which explains a longer series, or 2) interest in relationship development, which tends to be a little shorter in stories. I've read comics that are in-between which is fasinating and imo, hard to juggle. Oh yes, artstyle change motivates me and what I often recommend to friends. Even if your artstyle isn't up to your standard, it will slowly evolved. It gives me inspiration not to redo series. (if I can help it)(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah, if the art is CLEAR enough -- both simple event/action-wise and mood-wise -- then it's good enough. It doesn't need to be amazing.

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

a lot of long term webcomic series also tend to improve on their art

so as you post it, over time you'll find yourself improving because you've forced yourself to draw so much

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 115: Hard-Boiled Villain Antics

Previously on BnHA: The provisional license exam concluded. Everyone from class 1-A passed except Todoroki and Bakugou. The exam committee announced there would be a special training course for the ones who failed, and they would then receive their licenses as well. They want all the students who made it to phase two of the exam to ultimately succeed because with All Might gone, the world needs as many quality heroes as it can get. The U.A. kids said their farewells to the other schools and prepared to board the bus home. Deku inquired about the weird girl from Shiketsu Academy and was told she had already left, and that furthermore she’d been acting strange for the last few days. We then learned that the girl, Camie, had actually been Toga in disguise, and that she has a shapeshifting quirk which allows her to take on others’ appearances once she drinks their blood. Oh, and. Now she has Deku’s.

Today on BnHA: We take a break from our intrepid hero hatchlings to check in with Twice from the League of Villains. He stares broodingly out the window like a noir character, listens to the news talk shit about Endeavor, watches a group of Tarantino tribute villains rob a store, and gets a phone call from the villain broker Giran. We learn that the League has temporarily split up and are recruiting to expand their organization. We also learn that Twice has more than a few screws loose, the reason being that when he was younger he used his duplication quirk to clone himself, only to have the clones all murder each other one by one until he was the last one standing. If that isn’t fucked up enough for you, perhaps I can interest you in the new villain introduced in this chapter, who goes by “Overhaul” and has a penchant for dismembering peeps. Or perhaps you’re more a fan of the classic villain, in which case the chapter ends with All Might meeting up with our old friend All for One, so, you know. Enjoy that.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 151 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

who the fuck is this

he’s staring darkly out of his window and hating all the people he sees walking past

but also there’s a black speech bubble thinking the exact opposite. “I think it’s fantastic”

is this that Twice guy, maybe

I was wondering what you were up to, yes. good catch there

“THIS MAN STARTS HIS MORNINGS A LITTLE MORE HARD-BOILED THAN MOST.” yes, the really hardcore way to start your day is to hate people from windows

holy shit this ominous fucking chapter! right from the get go!

“unleashed.” and the text underneath: “a world where All Might is not coming”

I’m thinking it’s safe to say the villains are winding down from their little break

I’m so curious how Tomura is doing. prediction: still crazy

the narration is saying that the news networks and Internet are constantly buzzing with “idle chatter fanning the flames of anxiety”

jesus christ this is so similar to the real-world climate in the last few years. anxiety and fear-mongering

oh shit the newspeople are talking about Endeavor

depends on whether you’re the type who can accept assholes who beat their wife and kid

(I personally am not)

they’re being really polite about it, but they’re saying that you can’t help but contrast him against All Might

he’s “coarse”

“he just looks like an ordinary person pretending to be a superhuman” I’ll take it a step further; he looks like an asshole not even trying particularly hard to pretend he’s a nice guy. and yeah, he’s strong, but not even in the same realm that All Might was

oh my god it’s a list of top “Moogle” searches for Endeavor. this is the most 2010s shit I’ve ever seen in a manga omggggg

yeahhhh, public opinion is just not on this guy’s side. and good riddance

basically he’s become “the symbol of weakening heroes.” exactly. I feel like all these people must just be like, “is this really the best we can do now omg”

is Endeavor Donald fucking Trump

this is one of the best chapter openers I can recall reading in a long time. there’s something fascinating about watching a well-established fictional world get shaken up and seeing how the people of that world respond. it’s reminding me a little of the post-Goblet of Fire Harry Potter universe. and why do I have a feeling that by the time this series ends, we’ll have progressed all the way to Deathly Hallows in terms of grittiness

the narration is continuing and saying that just as All Might brought hope to everyday citizens, his presence was a curse to villains

and now that curse has been lifted, so “it’s no surprise at all that it’d turn out this way”

and it’s showing some guy robbing an ATM or something. not sure what he’s carrying, but anyways he’s busting through a wall looking happy and deranged

now a pro hero is showing up to stop him

but another villain is cracking the back of the hero’s head with a huge metal pipe

and two more villains are waiting over by their getaway truck

nice Tarantino reference there. bold and unsubtle and in-your-face

and the narration is talking about how villains are feeling more emboldened and more free to run around without fear of consequence. and that the more daring they get, the more villains they inspire in turn, and it goes on and on. “running a red light isn’t scary if everyone does it with you”

we’re seeing the exact same thing happen irl nowadays with racists and nazis and the alt-right and such, aren’t we. my escapist manga is really starting to hit close to home here

now Twice is getting a call from someone

isn’t this the guy who introduced Toga and Dabi to Tomura

damn, manga, you’re really going to make me go all the way back to like chapter sixty-something to check this. fine

yep, it is. chapter 68

he says that in the past two weeks there’s been a surge of black market requests for things like suits and related items

he says it’s all thanks to the League of Villains

really it’s thanks to one specific villain that did all the work and is now imprisoned though. just saying. though no doubt he won’t mind Tomura getting the credit

anyway so Twice is asking why the broker guy called him

probably cuz Toga got Deku’s blood, so now the gang is getting back together to hatch some more schemes

yep

so Twice is like yeah of course I heard, and the broker dude is like okay catch you later then

gotta say, I was already fond of Twice just as a funny and eccentric (you have no idea how much my brain struggled to find an adjective to use in place of “quirky” there, but needless to say I wouldn’t have been able to keep a straight face otherwise) character. but it’s pretty damn fascinating to witness his psyche on display now as well

apparently the League has been separated and scattered for a little while, both to lie low and to scout for more people to join the group

and now we’re cutting to Dabi and he’s just roasting some poor dudes alive

damn son

oh shit what’s happening to Twice

this guy is soooo weird

he says his quirk is “doubling.” “I make one into two”

okay. I don’t get it at all, but

-- WHOA

IS THIS THE FUCKING PRESTIGE OR WHAT. AND WASN’T THIS ALSO A PLOTLINE IN FUCKING CALVIN AND HOBBES

he says each of the clones claimed to be the real one (by “real” I assume “original”) and they started arguing and eventually they all killed each other

and he’s not sure even now whether he’s actually the “real” him

holy shit I would read an entire book about this guy. I want David Fincher to direct a movie about him

it seems like he’s not even really that evil, it’s just that he’s so crazy that the league was the only place he could find that would accept him. “what I was searching for were others who are just as crazy as I am”

I would read a spinoff manga about Twice and his existential nightmare of an existence, trufax. this is so compelling I almost forgot about the fact that we’re thirteen pages into this chapter and so far it’s been all villains and no U.A. kids

-- what the fuck

IS THAT THE GUY FROM EARLIER?? WHO ROBBED THE ATM???

(answer: yes, I just went back and looked)

WHY IS HIS FUCKING HEAD HERE?? IS THIS HIS QUIRK OR SOMETHING MORE HORRIFYING THAN THAT

farewell Reservoir Dogs. you had a brief and uneventful run culminating in THE MOST HORRIFYINGLY GRUESOME SCENE I’VE EVER SEEN SHOUNEN JUMP ALLOW IN THEIR FUCKING MAGAZINE. NOT ONLY WAS IT INDEED HIS FUCKING HEAD, I COUNT LIKE SEVEN OF HIS AND HIS FRIENDS’ OTHER BODY PARTS MORBIDLY STREWN ABOUT AND ROASTING ON THIS OPEN FUCKING FLAME. dude what the fuck

oh boy here we go

now his buddy in a raincoat -- and they all have the same plague doctor masks on btw -- is saying he took the money and let’s get out of here

he’s calling the “YOU GUYS HAVE AN ILLNESS” dude “Overhaul.” okay I’ll admit that’s a pretty badass villain name

and Twice is watching them all like, “oh. more maniacs”

so I’m guessing he’s going to recruit these guys lol

the narration says that both the heroes and villains’ sides have begun to undergo changes in appearance. well, we’ve seen a lot of the heroes’ side of things so far so I guess it’s nice to take a break from that and see what the villains have been up to

is this the prison??

OH SHIT!!!!!

WHAT IS HE DOING COMING OVER THERE TO TALK TO HIM OH MY GOD

“THE DISCUSSION WITH THE BIG BOSS IS ABOUT TO BEGIN” [FRANTICALLY CLICKS TO THE NEXT CHAPTER!!!]

-- except no, damn it, because I gotta check out the bonus page first :/

 bonus

...actually the bonus page is just Horikoshi being excited that there are now two spinoff series. apparently he’s a fan of Illegals. I do want to check that out (especially since he just said Eraserhead has a cameo in it omgggg), but like hell if you think I’m clicking away from this main story just yet. I still have 85 chapters to go and it’s not like things are exactly getting boring omg

[jackskelowine]

hmmm who are some of your favorite ocs??

                              WARNING: LONG POST TIMEmy entire run as an artist has led me up to this momenti’ll admit not every character ive made has been up to snuff, and a lot of them need work, but i wont give up on any of emTIME FOR A 6 COUNTDOWN LIST, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDERat number #6 we have Lydia

Whats not to love about this girl?Shes a muffin loving sweetheart with a job that most people would consider her a menace for havingpopping back into relevance at seemingly random moments, she grows more and more important as i do more world building, but why I love her specifically is how freaking adorable she is about it all, she cares about everyone, living or dead and turns her curse into a gift so that nobody within her range of jurisdiction is ever forgotten, powering through her fears to guide spirits who are lost, its a light hearted take on the old generally scary folklore of the grim reaper...she may be a ginger but shes not soulless *wink*...also she took up sewing, have fun with your ragdolls XD (a creepy cute character trait she will never lose)at #5 we have Tyson

starting out as your par for course bratty rage boythis character as of recent has evolved into one of my favorite temperamental characters, also i like to save some of the best lines, insults, and rage moments specifically for him because of how funny i think it ishe loves anime and hates worms, camels, and many other things, but then again a lot of people have pet peeves, tyson just got tired of not voicing it, especially because his conscience sometimes has him apologizing for his freak outs XD, he only wants to help people Also fun fact, tyson doesn’t shoot fire from his hands, he breathes it from his mouth...(and occasionally his nose when hes REALLY ANGRY) and he can hold his own fire in his hands which is great for punching shit or just throwing a fire ball At  #4 we have Ellie

to this day i am still shocked at how MUCH ive grown to love this girl, dont get me wrong, shes a pervy asshat and honestly needs to get a suckerpunch to the gut for various reasonsbut thats part of the appeal in my opinion, its why jack is amazingits not all her fault though, her mother is also an asshat so its only natural that whatever messed up childhood she had would make her a bit messed upsometimes i wonder what kind of person she would be if she had better conditions to live underbut i do my best to keep her a funny, likable and relatively scary antagonist its a tricky blend, but im managing also theres that funny thing where her and katie become “sisters” #3 Gareth 

how do you make your over the top knight interesting?simple, you turn them into Garethnot many people know this guy yet but i LOVE THIS CHARACTER, and have been working on him for years Rivaling rachels immense strength, Gareth is part of the order of “COLD STEEL KNIGHTS” which is a knightly order who prefers the old style of medieval knightly hood and use magic to make up for their lack in technology hes honest, friendly, honorable, ect all the noble knight traits, most of his order is a bit eccentric in general, but most importantly, hes shaped like a friend and will fight for your safety if need be, he is neither the hero we need nor deserve, but he gets the job done because he cares i could go on and on about the knights and their role in this world but thats for another day and another post, moving onat #2  Rachel

cmon, how can i not make a list without best pirate girl in it?shes one of the OG characters too, and has lasted ever since, and has been one of my favorites since the beginning, its hard to describe why though.is it how her weird interests make her a bubbly character yet she shows signs of teen angst? How she can hurl a school bus across a football field against the raging wind or use a tank as a baseball bat. How her hand eye coordination is absolute trash and she couldnt hit the broad side of a barn.  Or perhaps it just her dad being a grumpy old fart and shes a bit more upbeat in comparison. its funny though their personalities used to be somewhat reversed, with ray being an incompetent over the top villain and rachel was his seen it all straitlaced daughter who didnt care for his antics now hes training her to conquer any obstacle in her path when pillagingwhile swearing in spanish, whatever reason for some unexplained reason she reminds me of lammy lamb and i love it XDAnd #1 you guessed it  Eliza and Ted i broke my own non spoken rules by using two in one

I have quite a few “polarized sibling” combinations in my stories i know, but these two are easily my personal favorite because of how they act both together and separateLiz was merely a plot device in a long since non forgotten atlantis trial *cough cough* and ted was there too as an antagonistafter many rewrites they have become an integral part in not just each others lives but a core function in some of my personal favorite plotlines that ive come up withplus they’re just fun in general, just look at those new outfit designs I LOVE EM

I love eliza because of how she can handle being a good spirited and perky person and also a well balanced leader type, but she still has much to learn if she wants to overcome her weaknesses help lead her country, also she tends to get very vocal when excited, or frustrated  Ted however is clearly more collected and no nonsense which in and of itself has its benefits and drawbacks  he is a skilled swordsman and leads the  police force to halting crimes against atlantis within its borders, but hes not all strict serious, its just his sense of humor is more dry and sarcastic than anything else??????????????????#???? Jack

Cmooooooon, you must be out of your MIND if you thought i was gonna leave this guy off this list and its fitting that i put him AFTER the list was finished and reached #1lemme just say i love wild card characters and while he is easily the hardest character to write at the time (especially the functioning of his powers), i love everything im attempting to do with this character, is he perfect, no not even close, but thats part of his charm, as well as his creativity Hes your first class “ladies man” with my favorite color as his main color and a cool pair of shades to match, but what i like most about him is how anything he does can just seep into joke territory seamlessly, whether intentional or not.his strange an uncanny way of handling certain situations is why he can pull off many feats, a “method to his madness” persay he’s actually pretty well rounded with having a mixture of failure and success under his belt, some people talk down on him, but they can never say is that success was ever handed to him he screws up yes, but that makes it all the more satisfying when he finally pulls off a winwhats even funnier is how i can technically classify him as the “main character” despite having some uncommon main character traits 

[asemgirlpower]

Is Aubrey Plaza the Feminist Comedian of our Dreams?

     Starring in recent blockbuster films alongside heartthrob Zach Efron such as Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates and Dirty Grandpa, Aubrey Plaza has essentially “made it” in the film industry. After starring in a slew of quirky characters that tend to stray from the norm, it becomes clear that this character type trend is no coincidence. Aubrey likes to embrace her personality and her own way of being a girl. “I’d like to thank the devil and all the dark lords who gave this award,” is actually a quote that is from Aubrey Plaza’s acceptance speech during the Broadcast Film Critics Awards. Most people probably know her from her most recent film as well as April Ludgate from Parks and Recreation and are unaware of her cinematic past. It can be argued that her most recent roles are not so feminist, but she does in fact challenge patriarchal ideals in multiple ways including her empowered sexuality in Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates and her outspoken negativity and darkness in Parks and Recreation. Aubrey brings up the idea of feminist women and humor, alongside legends like Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, she breaks ground as a funny and sexual woman on and off the screen. With her big start being on Parks and Recreation as a 20 year-old girl, Aubrey has managed to breakout as a multifaceted comedic star. Aubrey Plaza is breaking patriarchal ideals of femininity and sexuality of women in media. 

      Throughout many roles that follow the very specific and sometimes dark comedy of Aubrey Plaza, her most outstanding roles are April Ludgate of Parks and Recreation, Brandy Klark in The To Do List (2013) and Aubrey Plaza, the real-life woman that’s breaking the societal constructions of smiles and passivity that have plagued woman celebrities for decades. Aubrey has been unapologetically herself throughout her career, on Conan she even demonstrates her power to “get mean on demand” and refused to dance on Ellen Degeneres. When it comes to April Ludgate, a character based by writers off of Aubrey’s real life personality, a multi-dimensional girl is being portrayed as an admirable, independent character that continues to break norms of fragilenesss and femininity. The To Do List is a film full of sexual exploration and independent women, in the film, Aubrey’s character reminds her sister countless times of the famous Gloria Steinem quote, “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.” All of the characters Aubrey has played, including that of herself in the public eye, have defied structures placed on girls in media in one way or another.

     Aubrey Plaza plays the deadpan, eye-rolling intern and goes from being a small comedic part to one of the main protagonists of the mainstream sitcom, Parks and Recreation. The character of April Ludgate defies multiple facets of the girl stereotype. Coming in as a 20 year-old intern April is in a phase between “girl” and “woman” and continuously stating her fear of becoming an adult because she will no longer be interesting. April personifies a character that the audience finds intriguing not because of an over-sexualized wardrobe but because of her complexity, she refers to her mind as a “terror dome” and says, “my instinct is to be mean to you.” April is the queen of negativity towards others and through this denies idealized femininity that expects women and especially girls to be nice, polite, and mild-mannered. While being a complexly original character April grows throughout each season, working her way up as a leader and running her own portion of the parks department and salvaging her personality throughout her successes. April challenges ideals of girlhood, pushing the envelope on what it means to be a successful girl and woman. 

       April Ludgate pushes against norms and addresses sexuality in season one with her boyfriend Derek and his boyfriend Ben. In this season the three hang out together and April is public about the relationship. The show does not implicitly discuss the sexuality of the situation but implies a polyamorous relationship between the three. When confidently introducing both Derek and Ben to Leslie, Leslie asks, “how does this work?” and April replies with, “Derek is gay, but he’s straight for me, but he’s gay for Ben, and Ben’s really gay for Derek. And I hate Ben.” And Derek chimes in with, “It’s not that complicated.” While this relationship is a step for April’s complexity, it lacks the depth that it would have had if April didn’t make some offensive comments and if Derek could be called what his is opening, bisexual. Near the end of the relationship April says to Derek and Ben “For a gay couple, you guys are being really gay” because she doesn’t like their sense of humor anymore. Through this relationship the character of April gains complexity in her sexual exploration as well as her acceptance for the concept of polyamory; both being non-traditional ideas typically rejected by mainstream television. The relationship between the three eventually ends and leads way for April’s to meet Andy.

     April’s relationship with Andy Dwyer begins in season two and is one that assists in expanding her character. The relationship allows her to have a soft side but does not change her goals. April speaks about Andy in their wedding with statements including, “I guess I kind of hate most things, but I never seem to hate you.” Andy allows April to have emotions and “find love” without changing who she is. April and Andy’s relationship defies the anti-feminist idea that women who do not fit into societal stereotypes and norms of being passive and smiling often will be bitter and alone, or are “bitter” because they are alone. The relationship that exists between the two is filled with equal encouragement, as the season’s progress and the two have job opportunities they continuously encourage each other and make sacrifices for one another.

      April at times is able to recognize patriarchal restrictions in her life and use female masquerade as her way to poke fun at the institution, especially when it comes to men flirting with her. Until her relationship with Andy, April notoriously shut men down with either witty comebacks or jokes that in the end were insulting to the men hitting on her. At one point Jean-Ralphio, a womanizing character that thinks he’s smoother than he really is, played by Ben Shwartz, says to April “You want to come home with me?” implying that he has a right to take her home with him, something he does to many women, and she replies with a simple, “Don’t you work at Lady Footlocker?” shutting down his insulting suggestion with a statement that gives truth and about both of their careers.

      April Ludgate takes these pieces of her complex character and creates one that defies not only post-feminist ideals but challenges conventional understandings of girls. Consider her young age as an intern in the beginning of the show she is still able to embrace her personality and be honest with others and herself. Her character development secures some mean girl flaws but in a way that is minute compared to Regina George, the ultimate Mean Girl. April Defies sexual norms, creates healthy and equal relationships, and defies patriarchal inequalities that stand around expectations of women flirting.

      Brandy Klark is the protagonist of the film, The To Do List, a film in which Aubrey Plaza plays a character somewhat out of her traditional personality realm. The character of Brandy is a recent high school graduate and valedictorian that is often called “bossy,” “annoying,” and “a bitch.” These names are signifiers of what opinionated or intelligent women are often called. Besides claiming Hilary Clinton is her idol and quoting Gloria Steinam multiple times, even making a blatant cut to a Gloria Steinem book during Brandy’s final orgasm scene. The film as a whole makes countless quite obvious but not overwhelming feminist remarks and Aubrey Plaza is there to play the character that is at the center of it all. 

       The basis of the teen film is for Brandy Klark (Aubrey Plaza) to lose her virginity, a plotline that of course, has been done before, but so rarely about a girl and in a way that focuses so clearly on female pleasure. The film with the closest plotline and a very successful release was John Hughes’ Sixteen Candles (1984). The 80’s film follows Samantha (Molly Ringwald) throughout her embarrassing high school experiences on her birthday and dreams of kissing the cutest boy in school. This film allows for a high school teen to have sexual aspirations but only when they are never referred to explicitly and the act of kissing is the center of attention. Maggie Carey’s The To Do List, though filmed in 2013, is based in the 90’s, making the talk of sex within the film, specifically in the family even more groundbreaking. In the film, Brandy makes a “To do list” that involves many sexual acts and a checklist of who she does them with, the ultimate goal is “sex with Rusty Waters” a college heart throb and local pool lifeguard. On working with Maggie Carey and having a woman as the director for a film as specific as this, Aubrey felt, “that working with Carey on these sexual scenes was good because Carey was ‘sensitive to things that maybe a male director wouldn’t be sensitive to’” (Cadenas, 2013). This quote says a lot about the traditional film style and how sex scenes focused on women are too often directed by men, subjecting entire audiences to the male gaze. 

      The To Do List captures the humor of male-centric virginity loss films like American Pie and Superbad, even with an overlap of characters including SNL star Bill Hader. Only four years after the release of season one of Parks and Recreation and Aubrey’s role as an intern, she successfully plays an 18 year-old teen role that breaks the girl role in a shocking way. In this way Aubrey has come out as a somewhat young star, just out of her teenage years and has succeeded at playing the quirky and sexually active teen girl countless times. Aubrey’s characters are part of changing the traditional tween and teen media pattern. Brand Klark is a character with a focus on herself and independence, even when it comes to sex. The film takes a turn many films wouldn’t dare attempt, female masturbation. While the scene is ultimately a bit humorous as Brandy is learning about her body, it exemplifies her independence in putting “Masturbation” on her list, just below “Sex with Rusty Waters” telling a lot about it’s level of importance to her. In the much anticipated virginity loss scene between Brandy Klark and Rusty Waters, Brandy suggests she be on top because it she is “40% more likely to orgasm.” So while Brandy is having sex, an act generally based around men, especially in film, she shows that she is a girl that first of all is pursuing sex and secondly is pursuing it for herself.

      The film, as well as the portrayal of Brandy, are able to change the usual boy loses his virginity story, “Sure, ‘The To Do List’ doesn’t reinvent the wheel; we all know the “summer that changed everything” trope. But it’s startling when you realize how rare it is to see a girl chasing sexual experience so doggedly — and with such a lighthearted tone.” (The New York Post). Brandy is a character that is not only exploring her own sexuality but that of society and learning what it is to being a woman learning about sex and being involved with multiple partners. Towards the middle of the film, a number of boys find out about her “list” and misinterpret it as a “sex manual” enticing them to want to be a part of it. The story addresses not only the idea of a woman having multiple partners and living her life devoid of shame, but focusing her relationships and most endeavors on her own pleasure and building of herself. “Furthermore, it’s unbelievably heartening (and, again, rare) to see a female protagonist so devoid of self-loathing. Even in the midst of her most awkward moments, Brandy has a core of confidence that makes her, as far as I’m concerned, a new icon.” (Stewart, 2013). While nearly all films today portray women with either an unrealistic lifestyle and beauty standards or general self-loathing if they don’t reach them, Brandy defies this through her attitude as well as actions. Brandy is a character that lifts other women and herself up with confidence, flattery, and encouragement.

     As an actress, Aubrey continuously defends her roles and, as other actors do, speaks on them within talk shows and interviews. Aubrey has become a favorite as well as a frequent guest on Conan, personalizing each interview with her awkwardness and honesty. In an interview about April Ludgate, an interviewer said to Aubrey, “she is actually having some nice real human moments,” and Aubrey replied, “well, interesting you say that Michael, she is a human.” This is just one moment in which Aubrey Plaza defends the fact that April is a dark character who has emotions that are not often focused on in television characters, especially when they are girls. At the MTV Movie Awards Aubrey proudly splayed “#TheToDoList across her chest in pen throughout the show, even jumping up on stage during Will Ferrell’s acceptance, imitating the Kanye and Taylor scene from 2009. Aubrey was later criticized by The Huffington Post as being, not funny and not comparable in humor to Will Ferrell. This moment is bigger than it seems; it is a commentary on the way male humor versus female humor is viewed in the media and the way Aubrey was immediately disregarded as not funny enough.

      Aubrey’s defense and support of all these game changing roles leads to the question, is Aubrey Plaza a feminist? In interviews the her most explicit answer to this question has come down to, “I definitely have it in me, because that's just how I grew up. When I was in high school, I was obsessed with Mary Wollstonecraft; she was one of the very first feminists ever.” (Bust Magazine). Aubrey’s open admiration of famous feminist women in history makes her even more similar to Brandy Klark. After working with other SNL stars and famous feminists, one being Amy Poehler, Aubrey Plaza sits in a place of comedic female power. “With a dose of humor, even the most bitter medicine tastes sweet; comedy can make feminism more palatable and accessible to a general public weary of a movement marred by stereotypes of ‘man-haters.’” (Bianco, 2015) A quote from a Mic article that focuses around female comedians leading the feminist movement exemplifies the power that being a feminist comedian in Hollywood comes with today. In her career Aubrey has already stood out through her on-screen characters and whether it is purposeful or not she has done it as both a fictional character and a celebrity.

      Aubrey Plaza has created a new type of female comedic actor and a new kind of girl, both on and off screen. While her roles have stuck to characters that tend to resemble her real-life personality, she continuous to make statements through them. While arguments have been made that Aubrey’s roles in films such as Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, reinforcing a male gaze on women, the characters stand to change the conversation on subjects at the same time. Not all of her roles exit the male gaze, but they are able to change views of girls, particularly on the topic of coming of age. Both The To Do List and Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates explore female sexuality, with a masturbation scene in the first and scenes of her and Anna Kendrick exploring porn in the second. These roles have turned her into a girl and woman that can be a role model to girls, especially through the coming of age genre.

[takerfoxx]

“Fires of the Sun: Epilogue” Thoughts

All right, let’s wrap this up.

Okay, starting things off with Yukari's scene, her bits with Byakuren and the remaining SDM crew are pretty self-explanatory and don't require a whole lot of commentary. I am going to say that I actually have no idea where Sakuya's character development is going to take her, save that this sort of quiet, reserved, no fucks given madness thing she has going on right now is…sort of intriguing. She's gone beyond rage, beyond grief, beyond hate, and is, at that moment, more dangerous than she's ever been. And though I haven't planned where it's going to take her just yet, I am interested in finding out.

Bringing Koakuma back was always a given, though the manner went through some changes. Originally I had planned for Shinki to be the one to receive the request and have her reject it out of hand because of rules or some such, only for Yukari to show an uncharacteristic amount of kindness and snap at her, causing Shinki to relent. However, some last minute changes in the previous chapter meant that Shinki was no longer available, so that scene unfortunately had to go. I also was thinking of having Koakuma still be wearing her Serpentine Marauder uniform upon being summoned back. Theor natural consequence of that would of course have Yukari recognize it, draw some unfortunate conclusions, and immediately start interrogating the poor little devil. Honestly that would have been the better choice, as it opens up numerous plot and character opportunities, but at the time I was tired and didn't want to expand things any more than they already were, so I just had her show up naked like a proper summoned succubus and left it at that. The poor girl was already having a rough day anyway.

The final bit with Satori and co. gave me some issues. At that point, I was growing concerned about the runtime of Yukari's scene, especially when compared to the later ones, and felt that her having a third encounter would make it a little tedious, and considered giving it its own section. However, that disrupted the flow of how these loose end scenes were being set up, and everyone was already there anyway, so screw it. Fortunately, in reading it over, it wasn't as bad as I feared, so that worked out. Also, originally I was just going to have her yank Jun and Utsuho over in a couple of sentences, but given what Utsuho had been through, she deserved a little more. However, her scene with Jun was in danger of running too long, as they started to have a serious discussion of their relationship thus far and Jun's bullying of her, and while that would have been interesting, the focus at that moment needed to be on Satori's return, so it was trimmed. But in doing so, it seems a little abrupt and out of place, so perhaps that wasn't a fantastic idea after all.

As for Satori herself, she should thank her lucky stars that her original plotline got scrapped. It was a little awkward dividing her time between her affectionate pets and talking to Yukari. I still get a kick out of her mind-reading answering all of her question instantaneously, and am very glad that that's back. I did have to use my mental wayback machine to recall everything that she wouldn't know as well as everything she should know and remind myself that she did get a good look at Yuuka's true form. Also, I don't care how much he's slipped out of relevancy. Soulja Boy will always remain a form of torture.

The scene from Yuuka's POV (or what's left of her) was short, but worked very well. I'm not really one for flowery, poetic language. Slightly sarcastic and to the point is more my style. But I did try to slow things down and get a little verbose when trying to describe Yuuka's condition. After all, Mima's lovely speech to her was only going to be a few paragraphs, and I really wanted to drive home just how unbelievably broken she was. I mean, the burns are one thing, but Yuuka is have now officially fallen off the crazy tree and hit every branch along the way. Funny thing about her fourth wall breaking thing: originally, it was done simply to set up some gags in the future, have her interrupt the author's notes and stuff like that. But the execution proved to be even bigger than I had expected, and once it was there and started to get a lot of attention, I realized that now I had gone through with it, I needed to take it seriously. Having her be a Deadpool sort of character cracking postmodern, self-referential jokes wasn't going to do it. And going the full Stephen King route of having her break into our world and kill me or something like that would be too honky.

So instead of just making it be a silly thing or drive her to do something way over the top, I decided to let that one peek she got be the whole plotline. That was all she was ever going to see. There wasn't going to be any cutting into other Gensokyos, no entering our world, no including me as a character, outside of those talking directly to the audience bits. She was just going to get a quick look, long enough to realize what was going on, and have it bring everything crashing down on her. Her status as a fictional character was going to literally drive her nuts, cause her to question everything, have an existential crisis, and essentially drive her mad, which is pretty ironic, considering what she is. She would try to deal, become obsessed with storytelling conventions, and over time delude herself into believing that she was the main character. And as such, Yidhra the Outer God, a being beyond comprehension who would literally drive lesser mortals insane by her mere existence, was in turn driven mad herself by something she couldn't understand. Karma, baby.

Reimu's scene was to establish how tense the whole battle would have been to something unable to participate. She, Reisen, and Remilia filled the roles of worried loved ones stuck at home, desperately waiting for any sort of news. And as is my wont, that news was delivered in the silliest manner possible. Y'know, the whole Tengu newspaper business has a lot of fun possibilities. I've been frequently annoyed by clickbait sites like Knowable and whatnot as of late and how irritating their set-up is that I realized how much the Tengu would love such a set-up. Steal other people's stories, compile them under a huge, annoyingly attention grabbing title, and then cut them up in the most irritating way possible to squeeze every cent out of advertisers. And you ever notice that when they say stuff like, "Number three is shocking!", the actual number three doesn't really stand out all that much from the others?

Though that aside, you really have to feel for Remilia here. Her whole humble pie arc was intended to break her down from being a smug snake and make her a more sympathetic character, but damn did it go far. As for Reimu, I'm not too sure where her story is going to go from here. I mean, I know what part she'll be playing during the big climatic scenes in the future, but as for how she'll handle the news of Mima's heel turn or anything involving Rin Satsuki or her friends or whatever, I have no idea. Will she stay at the shrine or will Yukari end up moving her somewhere safer? Will Alice get to teach her magic or not? What is she going to do with her time until the shit hits the fan again? I just don't know yet, but I look forward to finding out.

On a side note, I did plan a cutaway to Alice and Shanghai, but realized that I didn't have anything for them to do that would add to the chapter, so it got cut. We can always catch up with them later.

And then we get to Rin's scene. This one was a big hodgepodge of points I needed to hit and trying to weave them all together. Okay, Flandre had to acknowledge the trauma of losing her old friends, check. Some banter with Rumia, check. Seija got knocked out again so she doesn't ruin the scene, check. Daiyousei's still got her snowglobe because the hell I'm gonna let it get left behind, check. Kogasa's still crushing on Wriggle, check. Doremy gets a proper introduction (and finally an accurate description of her tail) and helps Rumia sleep while making Rin jealous, check. And all the kids had to finally get named as well. I already knew that Kogasa, Doremy, Sekibanki, Kurumi, Seija, and I guess Sara would be among them. As for the rest, I had already discarded Clownpiece (too strong), the Prismrivers (unlikely to be there), anyone not a loli for…obvious reasons, or anyone part of any specific cast herd. I briefly considered Ringo, but didn't really feel like it. I did scour the remaining PC-98 characters, so that's why there were so many demons. Hey, Yuuka's been to Makai before. To fill in the remaining slots, we had Rengeteki as the obligatory fairy and the glasses-wearing Kappa from the Kappa mob. I almost added one of the nameless PC-98 midbosses, but decided to go for the Kappa instead.

And on aside, Doremy's introductory scene was a hoot. I'm not a huge fan of the newer characters, but she was a lot of fun. She and Cirno are going to get along just fine.

Then we get to the final bit, where Rin discovers the bodies of her parents (and yes, that's what they were, everyone already knows it so I'm not spoiling anything). No real behind the scenes thing with that. It just felt like an appropriate way to wrap up her arc before the hiatus, having her return to the place where her story began and finally get some closure with her origins, even if she hasn't figured out who they were.

In regards to lady Meika, again I can't really talk about who she is and how she's connected to the plot, save that she is something that several characters' individual plotlines are building up to, and her bits take place long after Imperfect Metamorphosis's finale. I did drop several hints though, a few of which have already been picked up on. Not all though.

And then, at last we cut back to Hina, who's been conspicuously missing ever since the Shadow Youkai got sucked out of Rin. That was deliberate, as I wanted her scene to be a surprise, as a final, dark reminder that Rumia Yagami isn't gone for good just yet. Anyway, remember how I mentioned being stunned that I was finally getting to write a scene that had been planned years and years ago? Well, this was that scene, and it felt eerie to finally get to do it.

Though on another aside, I tried to make the whole author notes breakdown even wonkier, even to the point of including ASCII art and weirder formatting. Alas, went and ate it all up. Stupid limited formatting options.

So yeah. That's it. That wraps up Fires of the Sun. Looking back, I'm really happy with how it came out. Were there weak spots and areas that could have been done differently and done better? Yes. Where there parts that I skimped due to, and let's face it, laziness? Yes. Did it surpass The Storm as intended? I'm…not sure. The thing to remember is that when The Storm happened, it was sort of a trendsetter for this story and, and this is going to sound arrogant, for Touhou fics in general. I got a ton of notice in the English Touhou fandom for that mini-arc, mainly due to the surprise inclusion of Lovecraftian elements and Yuuka's big fourth wall break. Also a lot of controversy as well, but hey, free publicity. But that was years ago, back when IM was still on the rise. Now the hype's died down, people have gotten used to it being around, so it just doesn't have the same impact as before. It was more of wrapping things up from that big shocker rather than being another big shocker. Marisa's death came close, but not really to the same level.

So no, I don't think Fires of the Sun matched the impact of The Storm. It's more polished perhaps, and maybe the fight scenes flow better, but it doesn't have the newness The Storm had. But that's okay. This was for everyone who stuck around to see what would happen, a way of bringing about some measure of closure before putting this ginormous story on the shelf. And in that regard, I feel it succeeded nicely.

So…I guess that's it. Wow, okay, Imperfect Metamorphosis is now officially on hiatus. Thank you all so much for reading, and be sure to stick around! More stuff for Subconscious is to come!

Cheers, everyone!

[randomrichards]

I need to get back to get back in the game of writing reviews. To encourage more consistent writing, I decided end each month by writing a list of movies coming out in the next month. The movies I believe have the most potential to be exact. If you’re interested, you can click the film titles to watch the trailer. Keep in mind; just because I said these films have potential doesn’t guarantee they will be good. There has been great trailers for terrible movies. So proceed with caution. SEPTEMBER 1: VICEROY’S HOUSE – Based on the true story of the independence of India and the formation of Pakistan. At the centre of the film is Lord Mountbatten (Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville), the last Viceroy of Britain. Mountbatten and his wife (Gillian Anderson) arrive in India to oversee its transition to independence. But it proves a challenge with disagreements amongst the locals, especially those of different religions. At the centre of the internal conflict is Jeet Kumar (Manish Dayal), who finds disapproval in his choice of a significant other. I don’t know if its religious differences or the chaste system, all I know is it has to do with some form of prejudice. This one looks like it will fit the tropes of the “White Savior” film; a film that has the white person solving problems for different races. The problem with these films is that they overlook the contributions of the locals, making it look like they need Caucasians to save the day. It doesn’t help that this film seems to centre around representatives of Britain; the country that violated India’s right to control its own destiny. However, there is hope in co-writer/director Gurinder Chadha, a Kenyan-born Englishwoman who took the world by storm with Bend it Like Beckham. She reteams with her Beckham co-writer Paul Mayeda Berges to tell this story. There’s a good chance she’ll present some bring some perspective as a person of colour. In addition, the film seems to divide itself into different perspectives, specifically Lord Mountbatten, his wife Lady Edwina and Jeet. I suspect Lady Edwina’s storyline will be more interesting than her husband, especially with her being played by the underrated Gillian Anderson. People focus so much on her role as Agent Scully they forget what a great actress she is in period pieces. I’d recommend watching her in The House of Mirth and Bleak House to see what I mean. But most likely, her plotline will pale in comparison to Jeet’s plotline. Here, we see India reclaiming independence form the perspective of the locals. Plus, we see the clash between Hindus, Siekhs and Muslims who lived there, leading to the formation of Pakistan, which in turn resulted in many people being forced out of their own homes. SEPTEMBER 8: HOME AGAIN – After a bad divorce, Alice Kinney (Reese Witherspoon) is forced to take her two daughters and move in with her mother (Candice Bergen). On her 40th birthday, she has a one night stand with Harry (Pico Alexander) a college student in his early twenties. Then, her mother lets Harry and his two friends move in with them. Awkward! To make matters worst, her ex-husband (Michael Sheen) has returned. This romantic comedy certainly has a vibe of Nancy Meyers (What Women Want, It’s Complicated). Its especially notable with that trademark Meyers scene where the romantic interests are caught in an awkward situation. Notable examples are Jack Nicholson catching Diane Keaton naked in Something’s Gotta Give or the laptop scene from It’s Complicated. In this case, it’s Alice’s kids coming home while Harry’s still in her bed. Of course, this similarity may have something to do with Meyers serving as producer with her daughter Haillie Meyers-Shyer serving as writer/director. Is her daughter copying her or will Meyers-Shyer find her own voice? The only way to find out is to watch the movie. IT – Stephen King’s classic horror novel is comes to the big screen. Sure It was made into a cult classic tv movie, but this is the first time It was made for the big screen. On the surface, Derry, Maine seems like your average American town. But within the sewers, a shapeshifting evil takes the form of Pennywise the Clown (Bill Skarsgard) to pick off local children. It’s latest victim is Bill’s (Jaeden Lieberher) little brother Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott). Forming The Loser Gang, Nick and a small group of misfits try to figure out the origins of this monster to stop this monster once and for all. Can they face up to a monster that can take the form of their worst fears? What I love about King’s storytelling is how he uses the supernatural to examine more personal themes. In the case of It, the theme is childhood trauma. Each kid is an outsider in his/her own way, from Bill for his stuttering or Mike (Chose Jacobs) for his skin colour. Each kid is also coping with their own trauma, which Pennywise uses to terrorize the kids. Bill in particular blames himself for his brother’s death, not helped by his parent’s emotional distance from him. Another strength of King is how he incorporates real life horror alongside with the supernatural horror. Kids don’t need to worry about shapeshifting clowns, but they do have to deal with bullies. In this case, the Bower’s Gang, led by the psycholtic Henry Bowers (Nicholas Hamilton). The bullies in King’s worlds are violent sadist, so prepare for some uncomfortable moments. Bowers reveals a theme of how children inherit their parents worst traits. Through his father, he develops sexism, racism and anti-semetism, which leads him to target Mike, Beverly (Sophia Lillis) and Stanley Uris (Wyatt Oleff). King’s one of those rare writers who can make teens want to read a thousand page book, myself included. But this giant book puts screenwriters in a bad position when it comes to adaptation. Even if the film were three hours, story elements inevitably have to be taken out. It is especially challenging, with the story switching between our heroes as kids and them as adults. This builds a theme of how child trauma affects people in their later years. While this works great for a novel, movies are very strict with story structure. I think writers Cary Fukunaga (Beasts of No Nation), Gary Dauberman (Annabelle) and newcomer Chase Palmer made the right choice by keeping the focus on our heroes as children. There’s a good chance there will be a sequel if this film proves to be a hit. The film does look terrifying. This version in Pennywise especially looks creepy. I noticed in the trailers that his eyes seem to cross away from each other. But I’m going to wait until it comes out to see whether or not it will live up to the novel. REBEL IN THE RYE – Since the late J.D. Salinger won’t let anyone adapt his stories, Hollywood’s went ahead and made a biopic about the notoriously reclusive author. The film focuses on his years as an up and coming writer (played by Nicholas Hoult). He returns from the war suffering from PTSD, with writing serving as his one salvation. So, he takes writing classes, led by the eccentric mentor Whit Burnett (Kevin Spacey). Despite many naysayers and his own self-doubt, J.D. Salinger pulls through, leading to the creation and publication of Catcher in the Rye. Salinger had been burned by a bad documentary, so there’s a lot of weight on this film’s shoulder. For an author known for avoiding clichés, this film seems to follow the usual tropes of the underdog stories, from the eccentric mentor to the endless naysayers doubting his books. What gives me hope for this one is writer/director Danny Strong, whose teamed with Lee Daniels to make the well done The Butler and created the tv sensation Empire. It could still be entertaining. SEPTEMBER 15: BRAD’S STATUS– From Mike White, the writer of School of Rock and the creator of Enlightened brings us this dramedy of a father’s midlife crisis. Brad (Ben Stiller) feels like a failure. While his other friends have their own success, he finds he has nothing to show for his work in nonprofit. He expects a brighter future for his son Troy (Austin Abrams), whose advanced enough to qualify for an Ivy League School. Now is the time for Brad and Troy to tour colleges and see which one’s the best for him. In the process, Brad will get a chance to reunite with the very friends (Michael Sheen, Jemaine Clement and Luke Wilson) who make him feel inferior. Whether it’s a rocker forming a band of prep school students (School of Rock), a former yuppie becoming an elightened activist (Enlightened) or a Latin American masseuse confronting a racist mogul (Beatriz at Dinner), a lesser writer would have made forgettable comedies with these premises. Mike White elevates these premises with complicated characters, memorable dialogue and subversion of tropes. I’m interested in seeing where he goes with this story. It’s interesting to see Ben Stiller taking on more mature comedies. He’s gotten audiences interested with The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and gained some indie cred with We Are Young. Now, he’s in a dramedy about a man’s feeling of insignificance. FIRST, THEY KILLED MY FATHER – Angelina Jolie directs another biopic, this time about a girl who grew up under the reign of Cambodian regime the Khmer Rouge. Based on the autobiography by Loung Ung (who also co-wrote the screenplay), the film centres on Ung (Sareum Srey Moch) as a little girl. She was a happy child with a loving family. And then Khmer Rouge came to town and the Ung were forced out of their home. As you may guess from the title, her father is killed. Then Ung is subjected to dehumanizing conditions as the regime tries to brainwash her into a child soldier. With this in mind, there will be moments the audience will find uncomfortable to watch. Fortunately, Ung was able to escape this horrible life and grew up to become a civil rights activist. As a writer/director, Angelina Jolie is a mixed bag. She hasn’t been successful with neither her directorial debut In the Land of Blood and Honey nor with By the Sea. But she has garnered acclaim with Unbroken. As a result, this film could go either way. MOTHER! – In a remote house, Mother (Jennifer Lawrence) enjoys a tranquil life with her husband (Javier Bardem). Then one night, a mysterious stranger (Ed Harris) comes to their house and the husband lets him stay. Then the stranger’s wife (Michelle Pheiffer) joins them. As more people come around the house, Mother grows more suspicious of her husband. Then she starts noticing strange things around the house, especially a hollow section of the basement wall. The film’s seems to have a Rosemary’s Baby vibe to it, what with the cult-like storyline or the suspicious husband. It doesn’t help that the film is called Mother. Knowing this is written and directed by Darren Aronovsky (Requiem for a Dream, Black Swan), the film is guaranteed to get weird. SEPTEMBER 22: BATTLE OF THE SEXES – From Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the Oscar-Nominated director team behin Little Miss Sunshine and Ruby Sparks comes this biopic of the unforgettable tennis match. Despite Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) rising as a major tennis star, women weren’t taken seriously in the game, or any sport. It really comes to a head when middle aged has-been and serial hustler Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell) challenges any woman to beat him in a match. At first, Billie Jean doesn’t want to feed this troll, but as he takes the misogyny up to 11, she finally challenges him to a one on one. Their battle came to be known as the Battle of the Sexes. I remember watching a documentary of Billie Jean King on PBS and it really goes into detail of the cringe inducing sexism women tennis players had to deal with back then. What was also clear from the documentary was how much of a self-parody Bobby Riggs was. It’s hard to tell whether he actually believed what he was spewing or if he was just playing it up for the cameras. Either way, you don’t know whether to laugh or cringe. Carell is clearly having a ball with his performance, bringing out how cartoony Riggs was. Stone also looks like she may have another Oscar nomination, blending into the role of King. KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE – “Manners maketh man.” Eggsy (Taron Egerton) has come a long way, going from a gang member from the England’s underbelly to a classy secret agent of the Kingsman. All before he’s even it his mid twenties. Now, Eggsy finds the Kingsman under threat by Poppy (Julianne Moore), a CEO who believe the world would be better off without this agency. She goes as far as destroying their building. Now Eggsy and tech whiz Merlin (Mark Strong) enlist the help of their American equivalent The Statesman, led by Agent Champagne (Jeff Bridges) to stop Poppy from… Whatever she’s got planned. We also see the return of Eggys mentor Agent Hart (Colin Firth). The first Kingsman came out of nowhere to become a sleeper hit, embracing the goofy side of the Bond movies with glorious gratuitous violence over the top villains (that lady assassin with blades for legs) and extreme British politeness. With this film and Kickass, Matthew Vaughn has proved himself the perfect director to adapt Mark Millar’s graphic novels. He’s also excellent a directing action scenes, as you can see in the kickass church slaughter scene (in tune to Lynard Skynard’s Free Bird). This film looks like we’re going to get some glorious action scenes, guaranteed to be as ultraviolent. We got an all star cast, including Halle Berry and Channing Tatum. But it looks like Pedro Pascal (Oberon Martell from Game of Thrones) will steal the show as Agent Whiskey. Just watch him throw that whip. THE LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE – Another addition to the surprisingly well done Lego Movies, this time based on the franchise of ninja legos with big vehicles. A Chinese town finds itself at the mercy of supervillain Garmadon (voiced by Justin Theroux). The only thing stopping them is Ninjago, this universe’s equivalent to Power Rangers. There is one problem; Garmadon’s the father of Ninjago member Lloyd (Dave Franco). Everyone knows that fact, which has made Lloyd an outcast. With the help of his Sensei Wu (Jackie Chan) and his team Kai (Michael Pena), Jay (Kumail Nanjiani), Zane (Zach Woods), Nya (Abbi Jacobson) and Cole (Fred Armisen), Lloyd seeks the secrets of his father’s past. It would be easy if the giant monster known as Meowthra wasn’t unleashed on the town. When the Lego Movie was released in theatres, it blew everyone away with its quality storytelling and excellent animation. What made it special was how it subverted the tropes of the “chosen one” storyline while satirizing unkempt capitalism. Then along came the Lego Batman Movie, which deconstructed the mythology of the caped crusader. This begs the questions; will The Lego Ninjago Movie maintain this trend and if so, what will it subvert? What does stand out is the animation and design. The Lego movies have an animation style resembling stop-motion animation and this film is no different. The one notable difference is Meowthra, whose played by a live action cat. As for the design, Garmadon is a standout. Never have I seen a Lego character with two torsos, which gives the character an insect look to it. Plus, Garmadon is an awesome name for a villain. What I’m most curious about is the fight scenes. The film recruited Jackie Chan’s stunt team to choreography the fights. Judging by the clip of a ninjago fighting some ninjas with a fridge while holding a baby, it looks like there will be some funny fight scenes. STRONGER – Based on a true story, this biopic showcases the struggles and triumph of Jeff Bauman, a survivor of the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing. Before that fateful day, Bauman (Jake Gyllenhaal) was an ordinary Costco employee. When his girlfriend Erin (Tatiana Maslany)Â ran that marathon, the most he was expecting was her seeing him with the sign. But his life changed it that explosion. He survived, but lost his legs in that explosion. The film focuses on his struggle to walk again, with the support if his love Erin. It’s interesting to see director David Gordon Green returning to drama. He’s known for directing comedies like Pineapple Express, but he’s made some amazing dramas including George Washington and Undertow. I hope this brings him back to top form. It certainly seems that way, portraying Boston’s sense of community and strength. VICTORIA & ABDUL – Dame Judi Dench reteams with Philomena director Stephen Frears for this biopic of Queen Victoria’s real life friendship with a young Indian Clerk named Abdul Karim. This is an interesting situation because Dame Dench’s first lead role was as playing Queen Victoria in Her Majesty, Mrs. Brown. It also centres around her majesty’s relationship with a servant. This film seems more lighthearted than the previous film, especially with the mango scene. September 29: AMERICAN MADE– Rarely are biopics as fun as this one seems to be. With Doug Liman directing, American Made is sure to be that fun. Tom Cruise plays Barry Seal, a real life pilot placed under extraordinary circumstances. He finds is ordinary life turned upside down when he’s recruited by the CIA to transport firearms from Central America. This would be enough for an average biopic, but Seal took it a step further by transporting drugs from the Medellin cartel. This are sure go get crazy from here. MARK FELT – THE MAN WHO BROUGHT DOWN THE WHITE HOUSE – “Follow the Money.” These three little words helped exposed Nixon’s involvement in the Watergate Scandal, leading to his resignation. Anyone who either watched All the President’s Men (or read the book), you’d recognize these words came from Deep Throat, a mysterious secret agent who offered this advice to world-renowned journalist Bob Woodward. Deep Throat’s identity wasn’t revealed until decades later, when Mark Felt revealed his true identity. Now we finally get to know the man who helped expose the Nixon’s disgraceful actions. For 30 years, FBI Agent Felt (Liam Neeson) has worked with integrity and respect, earning the admiration of fellow agents and president Richard Nixon. But then the 5 men are caught breaking into the Watergate hotel. Felt starts finding opposition in his investigation into the crime, raising his suspicions. To maintain his principles, he has no choice but to violate regulations by revealing information to journalist Bob Woodward (Julian Morris)