#but it was also obviously trying to set up a sequel. not particularly in a way that I enjoyed.

[divorceblogger]

well I did finish the vampire lestat.

[cleromancy]

making up* the perfect robin for dickbats n then just. yoinking him away and giving him to bruce. hmmm. Sucks

*importing from a non-canon timeline story but the adaptation choices 100% set him up to be robin for dick ykwi FUCKING mean

[cy-lindric]

bonjour cy-lindric, j'ai une petite question. when I was a young person, I read The Three Musketeers and then eagerly started to read Twenty Years After and was so upset at what had happened to my beloved young heroes that I put the book down and never picked it up. what do you think, should I try again?

Bonjour !

After reading The Three Musketeers, I also wasn't sure I wanted to read Twenty Years After, and I took a break inbetween both to read something entirely different (The Locked Tomb, iirc). I think my reason for that was kind of the opposite of yours ; I enjoyed T3M a lot and loved the characters, flaws and all, but by the end they had somewhat crossed over the line into being Too Awful and the lack of retribution left me a bit frustrated. I didn't see it as a failing of the story - on the contrary, their strong character flaws and downfall in the conflict with Milady is one of the most emotionally intense and compelling parts imo - but I wasn't sure I felt like hanging out with these guys for a few hundred more pages at that point.

If your vision of the characters as a young reader was a very positive and perhaps idealized one, I can imagine why you might not have enjoyed entering into Twenty Years after. The illusion of glory has worn off ; the characters have separated, they live unremarkable lives, and their personalities have evolved drastically with the passing of time. It's almost a brutal return to reality.

For me though, it added layers of characterization to the point where now it's clear to me that this version of the Inseparables is by far the one I prefer.

I hope it's ok if I take the opportunity to talk at length about what I like about TYA below the cut. TL;DR : I love that Twenty Years After is a more realistic look at the big four's personalities and how they evolved while still keeping them thematically coherent, and that TYA makes them confront the reckless and cruel shit they did in their youth.

Spoilers ahead obviously.

We've often talked about how T3M is at its core a story about the end of knighthood. It's a tongue-in-cheek approach at chivalrous initiation, set at edge of the modern world, inbetween the time of ballads about knights in armor and that of adventures about journeying gunmen and soldiers. I think TYA embodies that particularly ; the story of people who have carried the last of these intense, dangerous chivalric ideals in their youths, and who have now grown into middle aged adults who need to find their place in the world.

For a good chunk of the book, the big four are separated into two teams ; that in of itself might discourage some, but imo it's genius. Instead of the natural two-by-pairings, Dumas goes for a d'Artagnan+ Porthos and Athos + Aramis split on opposite sides, which makes for good drama and develops lesser explored dynamics. D'Artagnan and Porthos form a scrappy team of opportunists with money on their minds, and Athos and Aramis a more idealistic duo fighting for a noble lost cause. I think it's a bold choice but also premium sequel writing.

I also love the way the young and wild characters we knew evolve into middle aged men ; at their core, they're still the same, but they've all changed and struggled against the sunset of the golden age in their own ways.

D'Artagnan, after knowing such adventures and subsequent rapid social ascension in his teenage years, has been met in his adult life with the harsh reality that he is, in fact, not a noble knight but a soldier on payroll. His modest origins give him little hope for any further career advancement, and he takes on a new mission in his early 40s for a man he has no devotion for and a cause he doesn't care about, simply because he is bored and broke. D'Artagnan still has his quick wits, his strategic talent, his fencing skills, but he has grown out of the excesses of pride of his teenage years. I loved meeting him again in TYA, and it made so much sense to me that his bouts of anger and aggressivity would be a youthful trait that he'd ended up taming. He also realizes now a lot of what seemed like funny adventures and necessary violence was actually kind of fucked up ; that was a shock to me, as their shenanigans are treated so lightly in T3M, and tbh it healed me a little. Grown up d'Artagnan is cunning, calculating, down to earth and realistic. My foxy little man. I love him.

Porthos, likewise, has been struck by the weight of reality. He has made the sensible choice and got married to the rich widow who sugar mommied him in the first book. Now she's passed, he is rich, but he still fails to earn the respect of the high society he evolves in because he's not high born enough. Like d'Artagnan, he's stagnating and bored and now that he goes back adventuring it has nothing to do with the queen or the kingdom or honour ; it's about getting his damn nobility title.

Athos, on the other hand, is the eternal knight : the only truly high born of the four, and still hopelessly holding on to a time gone by. It's no surprise imo that his storyline brings him into the english civil war, doomed to fail at saving a king who'll end up executed right in front of him. TYA acknowledges more clearly than ever that at 28 yo, Athos was a depressed alcoholic, and an embodiment of what an excess of aristocratic righteousness can do. In TYA, he is sober and moisturized and a DILF, and now he's running around frantically looking for absolution for his numerous crimes. It's delicious.

Aramis is maybe the hardest pill to swallow. TYA confirms the T3M hints that he isn't really the prim and proper romantic boy he acts like he is, and that he's possibly the most hypocritical and ruthless of the four. It might be a harsh one for Aramis fans who like him better as a cute bean, but I love the early onset of remorseless conniving bloodthirsty ambitious Aramis. Another harsh bit might be the evolution of Aramis and d'Artagnan not really liking each other ; they were always the least close combination, and imo it makes sense that their personalities would clash. I think it's clever and compelling conflict.

Now, obviously, if you've cared enough to read all this and if you know me a little, you know that a huge highlight of the book for me was its late-appearing antagonist, Mordaunt. Mordaunt is the son Milady had with her english husband. Because of the Musketeers' intervention, he's grown up in poverty and has been denied his father's inheritance. He's now a Roundhead working for Cromwell, and set on avenging his mother at all costs. Mordaunt, unlike his mother who was this beautiful and dangerous force of nature, is very uncool and pathetic. She was the primordial snake, he's the gutter rat. Obviously, I love that in and of itself, but it's also kind of striking image of the wretchedness of what they've done to her, a fucked up little goblin ghost come back to haunt them as they're trying to make their life worth living again. This time, their enemy is not a cunning political rival with a flamboyance of body and mind akin to their own ; it's a shitty little guy with bad skin who wants to kill the king and punish the murderers. Watch out babes, it's the modern world coming for you.

Of course, they're the Four Musketeers, and they did what they had to do, so they get together again and swear friendship and keep going their way. But they're also old guys with difficult personalities in a world that's never going to be the same. I think it's a cool book.

[speedingkamori]

hi!! saw in ur rules u write for yandere content👀 if ur down for it, could you write for yandere scout?? lowkey obsessed w ur jealous fic so maybe you could piggy back off that?? just a though?? thank you !!! -🐌

Bandages | Yandere!Scout x reader

Unofficial sequel to: jealousy

Warnings: obviously yandere (possessiveness, extreme jealousy, anger, maybe a little bit of gaslighting… etc), SLIGHT medic x reader if you squint.., not proof read and probably not very good ;-;

I’m glad someone liked it lolol I mentioned before that I haven’t written anything in foreverrr and am very rusty- especially when it comes to things that aren’t fluff @_@ Also SO so sorry for the wait, genuinely did not mean to take this long ugh </3

Scout was ecstatic- over the moon! Now that you we’re finally his, things we’re starting to look up. For the longest time he was being eaten alive by his own unrequited love, sinking deeper into this sickening feeling he had in his gut every time he saw you- but now you belonged to him! He finally had you!

You’d been together for a little while at this point and he expected this awful feeling to go away once he had settled into your new relationship, but to his surprise it was only getting worse.

He felt his stomach drop anytime he saw you talking with any of the other mercs. The way they patted your back when you did good out on the field, the way you’d laugh when they told some stupid joke. God, it was disgusting.

After a particularly tough mission he watched as the medic pulled you into his office, gently tending to your wounds.

“You’re really banged up…” Medic remarked, a small chuckle slipping from his lips. “Not to worry, you’re in good hands!” He had his usual crazed smile as he tended to you.

Scout couldn’t take it anymore and cleared his throat to announce his presence.

“Is all that really necessary, Doc?” He huffed, leaning in the door way.

Medic was a bit taken aback by his questioning, but before he could answer you stepped in, excited to see your boyfriend after such a hard battle.

“Jer!” You smiled excitedly. “You came to check on me? Do you care about me or something?” You teased as he let himself into medics office, wrapping an arm around a bit too tightly.

“Course I did, I was worried sick. Glad to see you’re holding up okay.” He wasn’t lying entirely. He knew you’d be fine, what really worried him was you being alone with Medic. I’m his mind everyone wanted you to themselves the same way he did, he had to make sure they didn’t try and take you away.

“You ready to get outta here?” He asked the question as if you weren’t receiving medical treatment. You turned back to Medic, giving him a nervous, but sympathetic smile.

He rolled his eyes, sighing at your antics. “Young love.” He remarked. “Ja, I suppose you’re good to go- just take it easy for the next couple days.”

“Thanks, doc!” You jumped down from the desk excitedly. “You’re the best.”

That set something off inside Scout, he clenched his fist tightly as he felt this rage bubbling up inside him. You grabbed his hand, temporarily snapping him out of his trance as you lead him out of the office. The door shut behind you and he stopped in his tracks, his hand slipping from yours.

“Aw- sorry doll, there’s somethin’ I need to talk to Medic about…” he pressed a firm kiss to your temple that seemed to linger a bit longer than normal. “Why don’t you head back to my room and relax a little bit, I’ll meat you there soon alright?”

You smiled up at him, nodding your head as you toddled off. It was pretty late and you were tired, you had 0 issue getting all comfortable in bed.

Once you were out of sight his sweet expression fell as he re-entered the medical wing.

“Hey, Doc.” He spat. “I gotta bone to pick with you.”

Medic looked up from the supplies he was cleaning up. He sighed in annoyance, not wanting to deal with Scouts shenanigans.

“Alright, but make it quick.”

“I don’t like the way you keep feelin’ up my girl.” He hissed. “I see the way you look at her, but she’s with me! So back off.”

Medic couldn’t help but laugh. “You can’t be serious…” he looked down at Scout, seeing the anger in his eyes, he sighed again and rested his hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “Look, I understand, you are jealous and insecure-“

Scout slapped his hand away, grabbing him by the collar.

“This ain’t about me! This is about you.” He snarled. “I’m tellin’ you nicely to back off, this’ll be your only warning. Don’t make me get ugly.”

“Du bist ein verlorener Fall…” Medic pushed Scout off, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Alright, fine. I’ll- I’ll back off.” He wasn’t taking Scout very seriously at all but he was honestly too tired to deal with any of this. Despite this, this was a satisfactory answer for Scout and he seemed to let up a bit.

“Glad we have an understanding…” he huffed. Without another word he turned and left quick.

Medic watched him leave, shaking his head disapprovingly. “There’s something wrong with that boy…” he remarked to himself.

Scout walked away with his heart pounding on his chest, still a bit angry from the perceived competition. In his mind it was obvious that everyone wanted a piece of you- I mean how could they not? You were perfect!

He paced back and forth outside his own door- he knew you were in there waiting for him. He was mulling over every detail, trying to figure out exactly what to say to you. He had to keep you no matter what, he couldn’t let anybody else get in the way. He sighed, relenting as he finally entered.

“Hey dollface. Ya miss me?”

You were obviously excited to see him again and quickly pulled him in, placing a kiss to his cheek.

“Course I did.” You smiled.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to take so long I just-“ he stopped himself, thinking for a moment before he let out a small sigh. “I got to talkin’ with Medic and I guess I just got wrapped up in everything…”

“What’d you talk to him about?” You asked it so innocently, not realizing you had taken the bait he set out.

“Just checkin’ up on an injury from awhile back- no biggie.” He shrugged a bit, scrunching up his nose. “But he made a few weird comments about you after you left and- I mean I couldn’t just ignore that.”

You seemed a bit taken aback, your expression immediately falling. Sure, he was a bit eccentric but Medic had never once made you feel uncomfortable.

“What? What kinda stuff did he say?” You laugh nervously, hoping it wasn’t anything bad. Scout say you down on the bed and began to tell you all the uncomfortable remarks the doctor had made. He held your hands tight and said everything so earnestly- you had no reason not to believe him. He had never given you a single reason to doubt him.

“Of course I had to speak up, I mean, I’m not just gonna let this creep disrespect my girl…” he pinched your cheek a little, in an attempt to make you feel better or lighten the mood.

“Thanks, Jeremy.” You let out a heavy sigh, hanging your head. “I-I don’t even know what to say…”

“Hey, you don’t gotta say anything.” He reassured you, pulling you into a tight hug. “I’ve dealt with it. You don’t gotta worry about him no more… if you want next time you get hauled in there, I’ll come with- keep watch and make sure he doesn’t try nothing.”

“You’d really do that for me?” You asked quietly.

“You kiddin’? ‘Course I would!” He held on to you tighter, running his hand up and down your back gently. “I’d do anything to make sure you’re safe…”

You laughed softly. “Thanks Jer. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Apart of him felt guilty, for slandering Medic the way that he did. But it was all for you, right? He had to do whatever it took to keep you safe, even at the expense of the other mercs.

[writing-for-life]

When Desire Stops Being The Villain

I’m currently re-reading (for the felt 100th time, and I might not even be far off 🤣) “Brief Lives”, both for a meta I have in the making and also for the sequel to my fic.

And we are so often talking about how deliberate Dream (and by extension Neil Gaiman) is in the choice of his words. And as I said, I’ve read Brief Lives so many times, but this time, I’ve done it specifically with the conceptual sibling relationships in mind, and I’d just like to draw attention to this panel:

Dream very explicitly says, “I have no desire to do this, my sister.”

Very often (and probably also deliberately due to a) who he is and b) the strained sibling-relationship), he will choose words like “wish” instead. But here, he speaks of the absence of desire.

And you cannot tell me that’s not a deliberate choice of words. If we look at this conceptually, and think about how Desire wants to lead him into his downfall, we see a very notable change throughout the whole arc of Brief Lives:

They warned him at the beginning not to go with Delirium (“tell the little gleet to buzz off”)

They told Tiffany that they tried to talk sense into him, but he wouldn’t listen (that whole thing about not having the sense to come in from the rain)

After Dream killed Orpheus, Despair tells Desire it’s not their doing (and there’s also significance here that they meet in Despair’s realm, not the Threshold). And they admit they should feel elated he spilled family blood, but that they don’t. That they thought it’s what they wanted, but they didn’t. That they’re scared.

And then they proceed to float in an eyeball to basically mourn (and what and whom they think about is set up to be a bit ambiguous, but it truly isn’t).

But back to the panel:

Desire is not there. They are not part of the plan to spill family blood anymore, like they were with Rose (which also isn’t straightforward; I wrote about this before in a roundabout way).

They are not part of Dream’s final descent. The final nails in the coffin all come from Dream himself (and are mirrored, as we all know, in his relationships to Delirium, Destiny and Destruction at this point. Despair and Death are obviously in there to, but more after the fact, so to speak). Well, to be frank, they always did.

But the one either being notably absent or actively trying to prevent Dream giving in to Delirium (see what I did there?), seeking Destruction or talking to Orpheus is the supposedly least likely candidate. The one we so often think would want Dream to do all these things so it leads to his demise.

I’m not saying that the others don’t have their moments. Both Destiny and Destruction do in a roundabout way, but conceptually, they just aren’t particularly helpful for someone in Dream’s state of mind. And of course Del with her moment of clarity when she gets him up from falling to his knees in Destiny’s garden. But there is more metaphor than you can shake a stick at in that one, too, and conceptually, the message is not straightforward. Because it gives us a lot to think about if Delirium, clear or not, gets you back on your feet after you buckle under the weight of what you are supposedly… destined to do, but that just as an aside.

Desire’s and Dream’s relationship is so complex (as are all the sibling relationships), and I’d just like to encourage everyone to have the occasional stab at reading all these bits through a slightly different lens, and understanding that their relationship is not just straightforward hate.

It’s incredibly tragic, and I feel inclined to say for both.

[moviemunchies]

Over twenty years after the original, and the “resurrect Maximus and make him immortal” script was thrown out, Scott finally directed a sequel to Gladiator, set a generation after the events of the first movie.

Yay?

Lucius, the kid from the first movie, is now back as an adult and going by ‘Hanno’. He left Rome for Numidia, where he lives with his wife, but when the Roman general Acasius conquers Numidia, Lucius’s wife is killed in the battle, and he’s captured to eventually become a gladiator under Macrinus, an ambitious businessman who promises to deliver him a chance at revenge. They’re taken to Rome to entertain the corrupt twin emperors of Rome–who Acasius and his wife, Lucilla (Lucius’s mother!!) hope to depose.

The general critical consensus appears to be that this movie is trying to be the first one, and only kind of succeeds. There are bits that are shout-outs to the first film; I think early one, I think there are even shots that look familiar. The problem is that while the first movie goes the way it does because of events that make sense, this one has a Plot that feels it only exists as an homage to the first movie, without the work to back it up.

Take our protagonist, for instance. The first movie shows us that Maximus is an effective general, a skilled warrior, and beloved by his men. When he becomes a gladiator, we see how he survives, thrives, and leads his fellow gladiators. In this movie, Lucius has a similar character arc, but nothing is done to show how he can do all of these things. He’s a soldier in the beginning, but we have no indication that he’s a particularly good one, nor is he much of a leader or effective strategist. When he steps up as a leader, or gives directions to his fellow gladiators, I scratch my head and wonder where this came from.

Both Lucius and Maximus have their wives fridged, but in the first movie, Maximus is constantly thinking back to his deceased wife. Lucius? I kept forgetting that she ever existed. Neither case is very good towards female characters, but this movie’s treatment feels even less so, because it’s as if it’s only in an attempt to replay the Plot of the first movie.

Lucilla is in this movie, though the story struggles to decide what she’s here to do. There are points where she’s referred to as ‘the Queen’ which… she’s not, especially as the twin emperors have no apparent relation to her.

Gracchus is here, too. He doesn’t do anything, Scott just wants to see if we remember him from the first movie. It also just feels sad, because his presence reminds us that nothing that our heroes worked for in Gladiator were ever accomplished. The Senate has none of the power, corrupt emperors are still running Rome into the ground, and the people are still voiceless and being entertained by the gladiator arena rather than being taken care of. Like, okay, given history, we know that Rome wasn’t given back to the people, but it wasn’t as if history is Scott’s strong suit, so you might think that in this universe, perhaps it was. Now we know it’s not.

With all of this in mind, I can’t help but think maybe this movie should have been its own thing, only loosely connected to the first. Maybe it could have been set a century or so afterward, and contained vague references to the first film, I don’t know. The attempts to tie it into the first movie, through returning characters or certain reveals (which were spoiled in the trailers?), don’t feel earned.

There are other things in the movie that bring it down. If you’re a history nut, you’ll obviously have problems with the story, though given it’s a Ridley Scott movie, and how he’s been about this lately, I can’t say it’s a surprise. The CGI animals are not great–I’ve seen everyone and their mother talk about how the baboons look, and that’s entirely fair because they look barely recognizable as baboons. The rhino was okay for the most part, but the sharks? Those looked pretty bad, too.

Another random thing that bugged me? There were random inscriptions in places that were clearly written in English instead of Latin, just so the audience can read along. The characters are reading them aloud in those scenes, too, so it’s pointless hand-holding.

The one good thing everyone can agree on with this movie, though? Denzel Washington as Macrinus. He’s clearly having a ball out-acting just about everyone else in every scene. I’ve seen some people take issue with how his character was written, especially in today’s environment–a former slave who holds a grudge against the institutional powers, framed as dangerous and untrustworthy–and I agree. Doesn’t change that this guy’s clearly the highlight of the movie.

It’s an action movie, too, I guess? The action is fine, for the most part. So if you want a historical action epic, and you’re not too picky about how the story fits together, you might have fun with this. 

Still, it’s not as if you have to see this movie for any reason. It doesn’t feel like a great or necessary follow-up to Gladiator. It doesn’t feel like that well-done of a story. It’s just… kind of there. I wouldn’t call it a bad movie, but it’s not really good, and I think there are plenty of other movies you can watch in its place.

Take it or leave it, it’s just ‘meh’.

[soleminisanction]

I have seen the new Knights of the Zodiac movie and must now scream into the void about this fandom no other English-speakers care about. General thoughts above the cut, spoiler-y thoughts below it.

In general: it's fine. Fun even. I'm not gonna sit here and tell you it's a masterpiece, but I'd watch sequels. I'd be interested to see how they interpret other stories in the series given what they've set up here.

It's basically a reworked, movie-original origin story designed to give Seiya and Sienna actual character arcs, and it does that. Pretty much all the weirdness comes from the fact that they're clearly using the Netflix series as the basis of deviation, not the original manga or anime.

Despite the multinational cast, being filmed in English, and everybody trying to talk it up as a "Hollywood" take on the franchise, I honestly don't think it felt like a Hollywood movie. Something about the pacing, editing and special effects reminded me way more of Japanese cinema, specifically high-budget tokusatsu productions like Gatchaman and Shin Ultraman. Which is honestly what I wanted so I was perfectly happy.

The central cast is great. I'd like to see them come back.

I liked the special effects and designs, personally.

They made some great use of music that was either based on, remixed from, or just completely new orchestral arrangements of the music from the original anime.

Sean Bean made it to the second-act climax before his inevitable death.

The choice to make Guraad, the military leader from the Netflix series, a woman, and also Kido's ex-wife, was a fascinating choice. But hey, it meant the movie passes the Bechdel test, because she and Sienna have this interesting, antagonist mother/daughter relationship that has absolutely nothing to do with the men in their lives and everything to do with the existential horror of humanity confronting the gods so. That's fun.

Marin was appropriately badass. I really liked her chemistry with Seiya's actor.

Honestly in general Mackenyu was a real highlight of the film? Him and Diego Tinoco both, they were great. Madison Iseman and Mark Dacasos were both more Hollywood-y, but they put in good performances, and once Sienna went full Athena the effects and performance were pretty spot-on.

Cassios shows up as a henchgoon and jobber. He's got an Ophiuchus tattoo, which was an interesting little detail.

But speaking of little details -- unsurprisingly, Nero is the one with the most interesting potential for sequels. He's the only other Knight besides Seiya and Marin that we get to see and acts as Guraad's "dragon" and mystical-stuff advisor throughout the film. They don't really explain what his deal is, aside from wanting to kill Athena and steal the Gold Cloth, so he could be there on Sanctuary's behalf. But at one point during their fight he says to Seiya, "Humans don't need any gods." And throughout the movie, he's wearing an earring that is super obviously Shun/Shaun's triangle chain. That has some really interesting potential for sequels, particularly in parallel with what they do with Seika/Patricia protecting Seiya.

Oh, and it ended with both Seiya and Nero shirtless and showing off their very nice abs so hey, kudos for remembering the secondary fanbase that's kept this franchise alive.

So yeah, overall: I see why it only got a limited release, but it'd sure be nice if it was popular enough in Latin America to fund a sequel. I've seen worse movies. This is a cheesy-ass franchise, I never get my hopes up too high, if it entertains me for the length of the film I consider it a success.

Still think it's hilarious that Sean Bean wound up here. How the hell did that happen.

[tokiro07]

What did you think of Red Hood 2

The ten seconds it took me to understand what the hell you were talking about might as well have been an eternity with all of the thoughts that went through my mind

"Red...Hood...? ...Hoodwinked 2??? No, no, why would anyone ever talk to me about Hoodwinked, I haven't seen the first one since I was a kid and I've never mentioned it to anyone...

"Oh! Was there a sequel to Under the Red Hood?? I haven't been keeping up with the DC animated movies in a bit, so maybe there's a new one! Wait...no, no, that can't be it, they're working on the Tomorrowverse now, they wouldn't backtrack like that, would they...

"This is one of the Undead Unluck folks, maybe...something happened in this week's chapter that they're making a joke about? But what...

"...Red Hood is a manga. That I read in its entirety. It had...the boy with an axe...LIKE ICE-HEAD GILL, THE NEW MANGA IN JUMP"

While I frequently boast about how smart I am, I have never once claimed that I am not a scatterbrained weirdo

Anyway, chapter 1 was not particularly impressive to me. The art style is nice, with a lot of similarities to Demon Slayer to the point that I suspect that the author was an assistant to Gotouge Koyoharu, but also like Demon Slayer, it is very clearly this author's first serialized work

Everything was told instead of shown, what little that was shown wasn't given the gravitas that it should have to leave an impact, and I don't have a clear image of what to expect from this series going forward. I know that Gill wants to discover the truth of what happened to his dad and that Liches are involved, but nothing we're shown gives me any reason to feel invested in that

Since Gill's dad is such an important character and the mystery of what he did is central to the plot, I think chapter 1 might have been better served doing something more akin to One Piece's first chapter, showing Gill's childhood with his father and the contrast between what Gill knows and what the world thinks happened

It's super clear that either Gill's dad was possessed by a Lich or that everyone he killed was and he did it to protect everyone else from them, but we have no context for any of these characters aside from the fact that they're in a Viking-inspired setting. We don't know what Gill lost, we don't know how significant the axe his father made for him is, we don't know anything about that book, we didn't even know that Liches existed until the moment they became a problem. They talk about the troll language and that trolls are extinct, but then they just drop that someone else that Gill happens to know is part trolls without ever mentioning trolls before that point

So many topics are introduced completely unceremoniously, making it really difficult for me to feel any real connection to the cast or setting. The aesthetic looks cool, and I especially like the Lich design, but the choreography doesn't exactly leap off the page and I'm not sure what actually makes Gill special at all. He's good with an axe, but...in what sense? "No spin" "one spin" okay, he's using centrifugal force, but is he using some kind of special ability, a special technique, a special weapon, what? Why is it strong enough that he was able to beat a Lich? That certainly wasn't a great showing for the Lich if the small child was able to win with one technique

I'm sure the author intends to explain it, and mystery is a great way to entice readers to keep going, but all of my questions aren't being led by breadcrumbs trying to lead me to an answer, they're led by frustration with how vague the details are in the first place

Obviously, I'm going to keep reading, as I always do, with the hope that the author's experiences will help develop the story into something greater than its initial impression. I hated Mashle's first chapter, and Demon Slayer didn't actually grab my attention until the fight with Daki and Gyutaro, so there's always a chance that things will turn around at any time

In short, while I didn't necessarily like what I saw, I'm not the type to let a rocky start keep me from enjoying the ride

[onewomancitadel]

Reylo confession time (permission to skin me alive) but don't keep reading if you love TLJ: I actually find TLJ not an overall particularly... great? amazing? completely watchable film?, and whilst I think its guiding ethos was actually pretty sound (death which brings new life) and its online reaction overblown - to my own personal tastes, I don't like a lot of it. I enjoy when the Force and Resistance plotlines intersect but I find the latter extremely tedious. (I enjoy Rose, and Paige's last stand at the beginning of the film). I get that it goes back to the OT and its original dogfighting, war film influences, but I really do not overall enjoy the plot of 'rebelling against the evil empire' blah blah, and it's particularly bad in the ST since TLJ is saddled with rehashing the exact same conflict as the OT which the first Sequel Trilogy film sets up and forces us to sit through.

There's a foundational issue with it as a consequence of TFA and I don't buy into it and I find it very hard to care about because Bowser will come back in the Sequel Sequel Trilogy, presumably, and it's less mythic more than it is like, the same shit all over again.

I think there's also the issue in that Kylo Ren can't replicate the connective tissue between the Force and Resistance plotlines the way Darth Vader does, because he's not in the same position of authority (Hux wields a lot of that) and because he's so obviously the Prodigial Son/Cursed Prince. The only bit that really works for me is the scene with Luke at the end, and that's really where I think the two plotlines work together for something actually greater than its parts.

In this sense, Kylo Ren having less authority and more evident narrative sympathy from Day 1 with Driver's performance makes the story overall suffer (in terms of a retread of the OT), because it's trying to retread the OT and moving around parts which can't be moved around. This isn't a TLJ problem per se, this is a ST problem, and I think that's why TLJ takes such a specific and personal focus on Kylo Ren with the Force Bond storyline. It adds something new, it justifies why the ST exists, because it's not just Vader redone - and one can dispute the Anidala redemption of the relationship all one likes, but I think that Reylo is justified on the grounds that it's new and it works with the role Kylo Ren has been given (and Rey, as the outsider).

But that's why I don't find it interesting once Rey turns to the Resistance plotline at the very end because I don't have very much emotional investment in it, and I get it - it's often justified on the grounds that well, now she has a taste of true emotional awakening, the Resistance and Force stories can properly cohere in the third film (which never happened) - but all of this is feeding into each other in that where the ST has a unique identity, it's weakened by the saddle of the OT retreading. Which is ironic, because the online furore was so soundly grounded in it not being the latter enough, and where it does retread it, who actually remembers what the OT was about anyway? Lol. Fundamental aspects of the OT identity are discarded where personal power fantasy has been inserted.

It makes me feel a bit weird because I know Reylos generally love TLJ and I kept this to myself for a long time, and no, I don't think criticisms of TLJ generally come from the same place as me. What I'm basically saying is that the Reylo plotline works so well for what the ST uniquely is, and what it uniquely has to say - and I enjoy the Rey-Luke dynamic as well, especially because I love realistic characterisation, do none of you remember Luke with Yoda lol, why does everybody want Rey to be universally perfect and loved by everybody ever it's so weird - and the film is just really dragged down with baggage and the Resistance plotline. I wish that it were interwoven better, and part of that is clearly production changes (Poe was meant to die in the first film) and part of that is the most interesting parts being left for the third film which were never reprised (Stormtrooper rebellion with Finn), and I also recognise that this comes down to personal taste. I'm much more interested in the heart of SW than I am in the overall aesthetics, and this is why EU material doesn't interest me at all.

[shruggingcutely]

Japanese Film thoughts 2024

Every October there's a Japanese film festival in Vienna where they show movies from the previous year, potentially with directors as guests, and special features focused on famous directors where they show their older works. I like to attend if I can make it, even though watching that many movies is quite expensive and the commute sucks for me. So anyway, I felt like writing down some of my thoughts after a week of film.

Hijacked Youth -- Dare to Stop Us 2 (Seishun Jakku Tomerareruka Ore-tachi wo 2) Sequel to the biopic about director Kouji Wakamatsu. I really liked the first one, which was from the POV of a female assistant who wanted to make pink films despite everything. For that reason, even though I have never actually seen a Wakamatsu movie, this was one of my immediate picks. Unfortunately, while I liked many things about it, I don't think it really came together as a movie. Not exactly sure why, but probably because it spread itself too thin by having like 4 separate character arcs that only really meet up at the very unsatisfying climax. I guess it at least has those 90s Japan vibes.

Penalty Loop A darkly comedic time loop thriller about a kind person murdering a guy who tries not to get murdered. I'm a sucker for unsettling movies with a soundtrack that makes me physically uncomfortable, which is only one thing it has going for it. I think it uses its concept very well to explore things that would be hard to do otherwise and it's still very funny when it wants to be.

Let's Go Karaoke! (Karaoke Iko!) A yakuza all but kidnaps a middle school choir boy for singing lessons so his boss doesn't give him an ugly tattoo for losing their next karaoke contest. I went in expecting and knowing little and was very pleasantly surprised by the funniest movie I have seen in a long time. It's a cute movie about a strange friendship and it's very good at it, with lots of charming characters. However, part of the appeal (and comedy) for me was that it's set in Osaka, my, I guess, home in Japan, and that seeps into everything, from the dialect to the body language to the sense of humor. So while the whole cinema was laughing, I had some of my own private jokes too.

Blue Period High school pseudo delinquent with good grades randomly finds his love for art and quickly decides to try to get into the one art uni he can get into, which also happens to be extremely competitive even if you didn't just start getting into art, oops. You may or may not be aware that this live action movie is the reason I started reading the manga I now love. That makes it kind of hard for me to see the movie as a stand-alone movie and not an adaptation, which is a shame because I don't think it's that good at being the latter. It definitely has its moments, like particularly if you enjoy visual art you may get a lot out of that aspect, but narratively I feel it sands down most of the edges that make Blue Period interesting to me (except Yotasuke is more of a jerk for some reason?), so it becomes a much more straight-forward and... familiar story that goes "hey, remember this character? no, they don't do anything" a bunch. (So they kinda do all of them dirtier than they would by cutting them.) Obviously it had to change a lot because it adapts 6 whole volumes, mostly by cutting out most of the learning process (and I do think the manga is a bit weirdly paced there), but the things it changes are sometimes not great and just make it a standard story about a guy who works hard and succeeds despite everyone else also working hard for longer. Some spoilers because I am annoyed and need to rant: They change some very minor things like what Yatora's father does, which strikes me as odd because it's mostly irrelevant so there's no real point to changing it. But then they heavily change Yatora's argument with his mother by leaving out things like the "actually, you can get jobs after art school" argument so she just ends up being angry he didn't pick something "reliable". Probably worse is the end of Yuka's arc where they *did* go "wouldn't attempted suicide be more dramatic" and it sucks and the self-portrait thing after is a lot more sexually charged. And then they keep in the whole "Yatora's overworked himself and now suffers during the exam" except they basically just did some references to that part in the manga while barely showing that he's sick because he worked too hard, which makes it kind of pointless fan service without showing the cost of the grind that is very palpable in the manga.

Look Back One-shot by the Chainsaw Man guy, which means it's very sold out quickly. Semi-autobiographical (according to Yomiuri Shinbun?) anime about two girls drawing manga. Never read/watched Chainsaw Man or anything else by Fujimoto, but the movie seemed interesting and also I could. I do, however, have some issues with semi-autobiographies because they feel like cheating in that it's hard to critique them when the part you mean could be literally what happened in real life. That being said it's a gorgeously animated story of two (probably neurodivergent) girls becoming friends and drawing manga, and I cried. VAs knocked it out of the park, too. Could be because I was so frustrated with the former, but gave me stronger "gotta draw, gotta draw, gotta draw" feelings than the Blue Period movie.

The Colors Within (Kimi no Iro) Anime movie by now famous director Yamada Naoko about a girl who sees colorful auras around people who attends a Catholic all-girls school and she likes this one girl and then they form a band with a boy they randomly meet? It's a very competent and entertaining movie with expressive animation, good jokes, and great voice acting and everything, but it's also kind of strange to me because there's kind of a lot going on but a bit half-baked. Like this girl can see colors and that's why she's a weirdo, but that's about as far as that setup goes. The other girl drops out of school but while that leads to problems it never goes into why she even did that. The boy is there too so they can feel weird about talking to a boy for a bit (but he's a puppy). And then they have a concert. It's like confusing in how standard the movie is while ignoring a lot of the things with potential. Anyway, the songs are very good and the guitarist of Soutaiseiriron is there. Wish the movie were gay.

Twilight Cinema Blues (Ginpei-chou Shinema Buruusu) Comedic love letter to cinema about a homeless director who gets support from the owner of a tiny struggling cinema leading to him finally finishing his last movie for the cinema's 60th anniversary. Charming ensemble cast of people who love movies, and very funny despite the issues everyone goes through. Very good at what it does, even though it's hard to say much more without doing a full analysis. I laughed. I cried. Movies are good.

Crazy Thunder Road (Kuruizaki Sandaa Roodo) Biker gang movie from 1980 by this year's featured director Gakuryuu Ishii. Low budget student movie about Japanese biker gangs, featuring actual gang members. Very interesting on a formal level because of these factors and more, like the director making some actors improvise their whole lines. Supposedly an early example of Japanese cyber punk, where machines (here: bikes) are allies (according to the curator introducing it), and indeed very punk in the "destroy the systems that want to control us" way, even if they aren't very likeable punks. Ultra-nationalists get shot, so yay. After some of the more predictable movies it was kinda nice to see one where I could barely tell who was supposed to be the protagonist because everyone sucks.

Anyway, it was good to go outside and watch movies, even it I had to sleep for two days to recover from all the walking

[neon-lights-stardust-nights]

How do you like TotK so far? Ganon looks pretty cool in it but I'm not sure if you've played or watched it yet

Sadly I haven't gotten a real chance to play it yet...

I'm largely an old school Zelda fan. Most modern Zelda I've played is Skyward Sword's original release. Obviously by "old school" I am excluding things like OoT and MM's 3D remakes. That said: I've WANTED to play TotK! Interest grew when they gave me sexy Ganon, sure, but I was figuring it was finally time for me to see what the fuss was about in regards to the actual gameplay in BotW and it's apparent sequel.

All that said, I haven't had the chance to pick it up yet. I'm hoping GameStop doesn't care I'm missing the cases, because I have some games I could turn in to lower its price if not! I don't really like Alpha Sapphire or Ultramoon, so it's no skin off my nose to lose access to those games. (If I REALLY wanted to "keep" them, I guess I'd just dump my carts so I could access them on emulator, but nah.) Here's hoping that on one of our future paychecks, I can get a copy of TotK! Someone could also commission me or my husband, I suppose, but one of the next paychecks having some money set aside for TotK is looking more realistic. I'm fine with that tbh.

The most I've looked at has been minor clips of gameplay out of context (particularly some from AstralSpiff before he went to go react to Security Breach's Ruin DLC trailer,) and some of the whack shit people have made (like the penis rocket, or the person who basically made an air ship.) I've been largely avoiding spoilers, but more to not set expectations too high. I don't want to disappoint myself because I expected the world of the game (Sanya lore: the way little 11~13 year old Sanya disappointed faerself with Skyward Sword.) It realistically cannot give me all of my wildest dreams, so I'm trying to keep the bar reasonable for the thing. It's only a cart and data, after all.

[dem-obscure-imagines]

Stealin’ Hearts

George “Digger” Harkness x Reader

Fandom: DC Extended Universe

Summary: You’re a superhero and you just found out your soulmate is the notorious diamond thief, Captain Boomerang. You want to trust him, but you’re not sure you can just yet, so…now what?

Note: This is the sequel to He’s a Challenge. I really wanted to write a second part lol so here you go!

Warnings: Alcohol mention.

Word Count: 1.5k

Reader is: Female (but I would be willing to rewrite another version for a male or gender neutral reader.)

When the jet landed, you let go of Boomer’s hand and led him out onto the roof of your family’s secluded forest mansion. He looked down at the sheer size of it, his eyes wide.

“What?”

“Nothing, just…It’s not what I expected.” He admitted, hauling his duffle bag full of his few belongings over his shoulder. You led him in through the door and down the stairs to the balcony that overlooked the lower level of the house. You saw your siblings were congregated there, River looking particularly anxious, his arms across his chest. Rose and Ryan were sitting on the couch, talking, but their discussion stopped when they noticed you and Digger standing there, looking down at them.

“We’re here.” You called awkwardly.

“I see that.” River said, his eyes guarded as he looked the notorious Captain Boomerang up and down.

You led him down the stairs to where the others were and he hesitated, but followed after you anyway, a sheepish look on his face.

“So, Mr. Harkness, I’m not sure if (Y/N) told you why you’re here.”

“Well, I know we’re soulmates, so…” he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, obviously anxious about the whole situation. “I kind of figured that was why.”

“Well, yeah, but also no.” Rose laughed, motioning for everyone to sit down, so you . “(Y/N), why don’t you explain?”

You exhaled a long breath, nodding. “Yeah, I guess I can.” You looked up at Digger and he smirked. “Yeah, so, uh, our mom is the queen of an alien planet. So like…we’re royalty. And because of that, through our laws, you get diplomatic immunity because you’re my soulmate. I mean…unless you do something super fucked up and then I can’t help you.”

He was quiet for a long moment, his expression confused, but also evaluating what you had just said. “You mean to tell me my soulmate is a princess.”

“Yeah.” You shrugged.

He grinned. “Wicked.”

***

With every room of the mansion you showed Digger, the more and more impressed he became, taking everything in. He was still expecting you to take it all back at some point, tell him it was all a big joke and he wouldn’t be living in your giant mansion for the rest of his days.

That was strange to him, too. This weird sense of security. He’d had a rough upbringing, that much was for sure. He wasn’t used to stability, even in his adult life. He’d been constantly on the run, in and out of prison, doing whatever he could to make ends meet and try to establish something for himself, and…here it was. It had fallen right into his lap.

You pulled open a door and led him into another bedroom. There were a few generic pieces of art on the wall. The comforter was charcoal gray and there were a few navy throw pillows on top.

“I’m sorry it’s so empty in here.”

“Why are you…?” He paused for a second, looking around the spacious bedroom. It was nice, clean…way better than the tiny, dingy jail cell he’d been in for the past few years. “Is this my room?”

“Yeah, is that alright? It’s next door to mine, so I figured…”

“It’s perfect, princess.” He smiled softly, shaking his head in disbelief. “I still can’t believe this is happening.”

“Well, believe it.” You chuckled, stepping further into the room and opening the drawers on the dresser. “We didn’t know what size you were, so we guessed, but we picked you up some basics. I didn’t know what all you had…”

Digger was silent, watching you with careful eyes. You barely knew him and yet you’d done all of this for him, going out of your way to get him clothes and bedding.

“And this is your bathroom.” You opened the door to what he had assumed was a closet or something, but no, he now had an entire bathroom to himself as well. “I know the shower can be a little confusing, so let me know if you need any help with anything.”

You blinked up at him, waiting for some kind of reaction. “You good?”

“Y-yeah, I just…” He chuckled and shook his head. “This isn’t what I was expecting.”

“What, did you think we’d throw my soulmate in the dungeon?” You smirked, watching the way he couldn’t help but crack a smile at that.

“I wouldn’t have blamed you for it.”

You were both quiet for a moment before he asked, “Do you mind if I take a shower real quick? I haven’t had a warm shower in…” He didn’t finish the thought. You both knew it had been a while since he’d had a bathroom to himself, let alone water that wasn’t already cold by the time he got to it.

“Go for it. I’ll be down in the living room when you get out.”

***

When Digger came back downstairs, you were almost shocked, looking at him. He’d trimmed his beard, combed his hair, and he was wearing one of the cozy gray hoodies you’d picked out for him. He looked nice. You couldn’t help the heat that rose to your cheeks when you took him in.

“What, princess?” He raised an eyebrow, walking over to sit down next to you.

You set the book in your hands down on the coffee table. “Hmm?”

“What’s that look for?”

“You look nice, is all.” You shrugged.

He grinned. “You think so?”

“Mmhmm.” You nodded. Once he was closer, you could smell the eucalyptus shampoo in his slightly damp hair. You leaned in the tiniest bit, terrified of moving too fast, but he leaned in a bit too, only to be interrupted by—

“GIRLS’ NIGHT!”

You looked up at the sound of the voice with wide eyes, chuckling when you saw none other than Harley Quinn standing there with a bottle of wine.

“Boomer? What are you doin’ here?” She asked, looking at him.

“I found my soulmate, Harls.” Digger said, smiling as he did.

She looked between the two of you, her eyes widening in realization. “Wait, are you two…?”

“Yeah, we are.” You confirmed, slipping your hand into Digger’s. He embraced it quickly, giving it a proud squeeze.

“But I thought your soulmate was some dude named George…?”

“Digger is just a nickname, mate.” He chuckled. “My real name is George.”

“Ohhhhhh.” Harley nodded. “Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.”

“You know it’s Wednesday, right?” You said, glancing down at your phone to double-check.

“Oh, is it? I thought it was Thursday.” Harley laughed. “My bad.”

“You can hang out if you want to, though.” You offered, motioning to the couch.

“Don’t mind if I do.” She ran over and hopped onto the open end of the couch next to you, setting the wine bottle on the coffee table before crawling over to whisper in your ear, “He’s a keeper, (Y/N). You’re in good hands.”

“Oh believe me,” you smirked, “I know.”

***

It was a few months later. Much to your surprise, Digger stuck around. Part of you had expected him to leave that first night with all of your family valuables in his duffle bag, but he…hadn’t. Instead, he’d been coexisting peacefully with your siblings, spending significant amounts of time trying to get to know you better, reading, cooking on occasion, and helping with chores around the house.

He remembered in vivid detail the first time you’d trusted him enough to fall asleep with him. It had been innocent enough, one of your first times cuddling together. Your other siblings were all out of the house, so you and Digger had the house to yourselves. Naturally, you had popped in a movie. One thing had led to another and you’d ended up fast asleep on his chest.

He took a long moment to look at you, something he had never felt before welling up inside of him as slow breaths worked into and out of you.

Something changed then, and since that moment, he had been pretty attached to you. Not that you minded. It felt natural. He was your soulmate, after all.

“Princess, have you seen my—” Digger popped his head into your bedroom, frozen in his tracks when he saw you there, laying on your bed, reading a book.

“What?” You asked coyly.

“Nothing, I just…” He smirked and stepped into the room. “Would you like some company?”

“Weren’t you looking for something?”

“Yeah, my heart, and it seems you’ve been hiding it in here with you.” He replied, walking over to your bed and climbing on next to you. He gently guided your book away from you and took its place on your chest instead, looking at you with his sparkling eyes, his weight comforting on top of you.

“And here I thought you were the thief.”

“Reformed, darlin’.” He said, unable to keep the smile off of his face. For one of the only times in his life, not only did Digger feel safe, but he finally felt happy, and he knew as long as he was by your side, that feeling would never fade.

[slashingdisneypasta]

Gotham Villains x Hotel Owner!Reader || Headcanons

Explanation / Topic: You run one of the cities dingy hotels except this one, in all of its glory, is only ever visited by bad guys. Your hotel is well known as the place rogues hide away in when they're planning or they're just out of action for a while because you refuse to give up information to the police no matter what (Its proprietor-client confidentiality! Ha ha) and you're treat them fairly (Although- on the kinder side of course)

These are the many ways they show their gratitude, no matter how small.

Character involved: Most, if not all, of Fox Gotham's rogues. Except Ra's Al Ghul because he bores me. Nevertheless, not just the Legion Horrible's like the picture might lead you to believe- that's just the picture with the most villains that I could think of.

Warnings: Probably too much fluff. I'll make a sequel to this with the less-then-pretty, nitty grotty details of this hotel too probably XD

Barbara likes to invest every now and then, "Just making sure my affairs are in order baby- gotta make sure my hidey hole's still there when I need it." but she always adds a little something for you to buy yourself 'something pretty' (Since your style is SO plain, according to her but then again who isn't plain compared to her XD). This little something is always upwards of a hundred dollars. She's such a sugar mommy you cant convince me that she isn't-

Butch (Or Cyrus Gold, or Grundy. he has too many names) has made it clear that if you ever need help, you can always call him and he'll be there. Very gangsta about it. He's such a big, tough guy but such a softy on the inside XD When he had Grundy brain, he still had some kind of tracker in his mind like dogs do that took him 'home' (To your hotel), dragging Ed along with him. He gave you a big, bone crushing hug when he got there.

Dr Strange is not allowed in as he'll steal your guests and experiment on them.

You don't know Ecco too well yet and vice versa but when she turned up with Jeremiah and Jervis- you definitely appreciated her presence more then that of Jeremiah's. You were still sore over Jerome and didn't trust this new brother. Still, you complimented the bullet in Ecco's skull, saying it was pretty cool, and now she loves you XD When she's in the neighbourhood she occasionally likes to pop in and say hello; Spread a little chaos, you know the deal.

Honestly you probably new Bridgit long before Strange forcing upon her the heat resistance thing and her becoming Firefly. She of course didn't remember you but soon *warmed* up to you after you gave her one of the few rooms with a fireplace and easily forgave her when she accidentally set the couch in her room on fire (I mean its for sure not the worst thing that has happened within these walls- no worries). She has been known to go around lighting the fireplaces for you under the pretence of having fun (Which is true) but also so that you can worry about one less thing. Firefly is also one to come chat with you if she's bored.

Fish Mooney obviously doesn't stay with you very often at all, because this lady can find better dwellings (As, no offense but your hotel is kiiiiinda dingy. What can you do about it, though? You house rogues and a lot of them don't have a lotta money) but she still absolutely appreciates what you do. She'll send bad guys that she does business with that have deeper pockets then your usual client, your way. She's also kind to you, which to me is even better honestly haha XD

Headhunter stays with you a lot when he's on business and often reminds you that you get a discount from him if you require his services. Hey, you keep him in milkshakes! He's gotta repay you somehow.

Okay, the twins. You knew Jerome first and got off to a bad start with Jeremiah due to that. Still, we aren't talking about relationships; We're talking about nice things. So moving on. Just assume that you warm up to the brainier twin.

These two are hard XD Cuz their 'good' and 'bad' sides kinda blur together as they're so unpredictable and don't really care about anyone.

Still, I can see Jerome being pretty light with you and valuing the fact that you can keep up with his banter- so he keeps you alive. You're basically his mother actually, despite the possible lack of age difference. Like, he wants to show you stuff he does and tell you about chaos he's created.

And Jeremiah honestly appreciates that you'll listen to his long speeches (You've gotten pretty good at just sitting and nodding your head and you've perfected the art of the well placed understanding noises like 'Hmm' and 'Ah!' and 'Oh dear' in your line of work)- so obviously, you're invaluable to him. Must keep you around. I mean, Ecco listens, but does she really understand? That is the question.

When he's around, Jervis is very polite and gracious. He'll duck into the kitchens after dinner and start helping you with the dishes and clear dining tables, he'll ask you how you are and mean it (Like, he'll stand there and discuss it with you), he'll try to keep Jerome from barging into your room in the early hours of the morning, etc. Just nice things like that ^^

Magpie tries not to steal from you... Haha XD Like, she'll pick up a pretty clock off a mantle piece and then go to leave with it... then realise that this is yours and go 'Oops!!' and put it back, giggling nervously.

... When she leaves you still find various items from other places in the hotel, in her room, but still. The fact that she tries is enough!

Mr Freeze is a pleasure to have around, of course!! He's quiet, he nods to you when he passes, and he's there to freeze assholes that harass you (And then take them outside so they don't melt all over your carpet). A respectful dude. He has frozen Jerome multiple times... particularly when Jervis has been unsuccessful in persuading him not to wake you up at 3 in the morning.

Ivy gets so happy whenever she sees you. Lots of hugs and telling you all about how she's been. Her energy is enough to cheer you up, and on your birthdays she always brings you a new plant that has meaning to her. Like, a sunflower for how kind you are, a Ficus for abundance, etc. Always in a pot of course, never dead. So of course, you have to take care of them but its a small price to pay for the sweetness ^^ And the not being murdered thing.

Like Mooney and Barbara, Oswald doesn't stay often due to having that mansion from his father but he remembers your kindness from when he would fall on hard times before that (And after the fact, too of course) and whenever he's making some kind of mafia deal he always ensures your and your hotels safety in the contract.

Pyg / Lazlo (I cant decide which name I like best XD) is just very polite, like Jervis. Gentlemen. Also his impressions- God. Have fun with that. He might just do your favourite Looney Tune character if he's in a good mood.

With Ed... look, if you even try with his riddles without being prompted, he'll do anything for you. It's well documented. I'm not sur about nice deeds, cuz Riddler's kind of a dick, but he'll for sure send you a birthday card every year! Christmas probably too ^^

Scarecrow: I will not spray you today. You: Gee thanks. // No but seriously, he's quiet about his gratitude but he is definitely once of the good ones ^^ Would absolutely take it upon himself to come save your ass if you got abducted.

Tabitha... well, you know how Headhunter will you get a discount if you want someone killed? Tabitha will do it for fucking free.

Hey, if you feed Victor (Zsasz), you have a friend for life. He will bring pizza and just hang out together. He is also willing to murder someone for you.

[elliepassmore]

Belladonna review

4.5/5 stars Recommended if you like: fantasy, magic, death as a character, mysteries, tragic backstories Belladonna is a story with a lush setting and a good mystery to go along with it. I think one of the strong points of the book was the descriptions, and there's some good juxtapositions with warm/cold and living/dead. I'm excited to see the second mystery in the sequel! This book has some really great gothic vibes to it. As mentioned, the setting is very lush once Signa arrives at Thorn Grove. There are gowns and parties as well as intrigue and forgotten gardens and libraries. The social customs were somewhat confusing, though Signa also seemed somewhat confused by them as well despite her best efforts. The mix of opulence and dark mystery works to set a nice eerie tone for the book. There's two separate things going on in this book, the first is the mystery at Thorn Grove and the second is Signa's powers and relationship with Death. The mystery is the main plotline and Signa and co. spend a lot of time trying to figure out who the culprit was. I have to say, this part was actually kind of hard to guess at (though after a certain point there are some clues). Like Signa, I went down the wrong path at first and assumed the killer/poisoner was someone other than who they turned out to be. It was actually a fun bit of misdirection since I genuinely guessed on my own before Signa 'found out,' then had to reevaluate as she did. There were some things that were predictable, but they weren't (imo) majorly important, so it's fine. I found the Death plotline to be entertaining, particularly since Death has no real knowledge or care for the social customs of mortals. He actually actively disdains some of them and wholeheartedly encourages Signa to do the same, despite her protestations. I also thought Death's previous clumsy attempts at keeping Signa safe were kind of cute and sweet. I'm definitely interested to see more of what Signa's powers are in Foxglove. I feel like there's a lot of potential there. As for Signa herself, I grew to like her more as the book went on. She's obviously had a difficult life, so she gets some leeway with her bemoaning at the beginning (and honestly she does get over this fairly quickly), but I wasn't a huge fan of how interested she was in being a socialite. Like...for a good portion of the book all she wants for her future is to have her own house and throw house parties and get a husband. Signa does grow as a character though and I can't say there was ever a point when I actually disliked her. Once she meets someone, as long as they at least have the potential to be a good person, Signa is loyal to them and more than willing to help them out, which I thought was a generous trait to have considering her past. Since I already talked about Death, I'll move on to Blythe. She's definitely a brat, but she's also not horrible. She can have an attitude, but she's also more than willing to laugh and make friends once she knows someone well enough. Blythe's been through a lot and she struggles so hard to survive her 'illness,' but at the same time is so tired. I look forward to seeing more of her and her and Signa's friendship in book 2. Percy is an interesting one. He seems to oscillate between rude and kind, and his moods are often dictated by the path his father leaves behind him. Percy wants so badly to be able to step into a role that will allow him to help his family, but he gets rebuffed at every turn. At the same time, there are things he can do to help Blythe, and so he and Signa team up at times to try and figure out what's wrong with his sister. At other points, when he's able to be distracted from his family's problems, he seems to be a good friend to Signa and some of the other people around. If you're looking for a good gothic read, I'd definitely recommend this one. There's a good cast of characters and some fantastic background vibes.

[angelicguy]

i love ranting about games folks i find them very interesting not just from a "is it fun" perspective but as products that result from artistic choices meeting business/fan/modern gameplay expectations. and ff7 remake is a good game, id argue a very good game- obviously its going for something very different than a straight perfect HD recreation of ff7's story (ive talked about how thats not the goal theyre going for, but also an impossible one to even try to meet) but it really does a great job, probably a better job than most modern AAA games, of feeling paced like a movie. the facial animations/models are good enough that theyre allowed to have almost all of the cutscenes be really, really tight shots of the characters just talking, which is something that we couldnt really have even 3 years ago. action looks tight.

i also think square enix has FINALLY found their niche in terms of making an "action-turn based" system. because if i just played cloud the entire game it would be kind of boring. he's like a twentieth of a devil may cry character. but because you have three characters to manage at once, you get to have that feeling that turn based games deliver (managing a parties stats, having specific characters meet certain roles, setting up for big damage by using all the characters abilities) but with an action-centric undertone (actually having to aim at enemies, ducking behind cover when a boss readies a big movie, dodging and positioning). its ALL of the fun of a turn based RPG w/ NONE of the annoying bits where you have to function on a grid and endure a shit ton of downtime when the enemy takes its turn. its a perfect solution. which makes it really confusing to me why there are EVER sections where you have to play as a single character. because it goes from fun party management to doing peanuts for damage and waiting for your abilities to come off cooldown, then using an item to restore your MP, then casting.. etc etc etc. just a lot of running around. the few times they pull it off are when its a cloud 1v1 boss battle where they clearly designed those challenges to force you to dodge and find openings more like a conventional action game. those are some of my favorite fights. in the sequel there should literally never be a situation where you play 1v1 unless its against these types of enemies. theres this one section where you play as barrett and its just torture... he does no dmg and is slow as fuck. had to turn him into a spellpig

only problem is that it's so god damn linear. which they had to do i understand. but truly none of the sidequests are particularly fun and feel like just checking the boxes. none of the gear feels particularly substantial either- the only fun items to get are the weapons that let you learn different abilities, but each character has like.. 5. idk. good game and im excited for the sequel, but i really hope it cleans up some of the rough spots in the pacing because the game was really a fucking roller coaster that never stops and lets me just breathe and enjoy the setting

[cathkaesque]

What's your favourite video game?🎮

My favourite video game of all time is Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction. It's essentially GTA in North Korea. You take contracts from the various factions that have invaded North Korea (the UN, South Korea, China, and the Russian Mafia) and hunt down a Deck of 52 Korean officials, generals and nuclear scientists. It's very Bush era military thriller. It's essentially a world where everything they said about Iraq was true about North Korea, General Song is a Bad Man, the intervention is UN sanctioned, and even as a mercenary you never really do anything that is particularly wrong. The use of private contractors is praised as a way of getting round UN red tape. In real life, Blackwater mercenaries were murdering civilians in Iraq and the nuclear threat justifying the invasion was nonsense. So the underlying politics of the game are pretty...complicated, but complicated in a way you can engage with.

Any building can be destroyed with a range of airstrikes, and you can take allied soldiers with you on little adventures. There's lots of little random encounters in the countryside between different factions. I always loved gathering tonnes of UN soldiers in blackhawks and dropping them off outside North Korean spawn points and seeing how long they survived, or setting up big battles between the South Korean and Chinese forces after you help spark a war between the two countries. It's like a big sandbox filled with toy soldiers.

Because the game was published by LucasArts back in the day they were also able to get some really incredible voice actors (the Chinese and South Korean faction leaders are especially good) and there's a lot of backstory and lore behind everything. It's really well rooted in actual Korean politics - the locations that the factions are based line up with real areas that those factions have influence in in real life. The little bios for each of the Deck of 53 talk about Songun, Sunshine Policies, coups, sanction evasion, reunification...the dev team did their homework and it shows! It was enough to get 12 year old me really interested in international politics and I partly owe where I am today to that game.

It also means a lot to me as, a lot of trans people find refuge in video game characters and for me Jennifer Mui was that character. She's not ultrasexualised like a lot of video game women were in 2005, she's a hypercompetent former MI6 operative (the other characters, Jacobs and Nillson, are very lackadaisical and a bit edgy which never really appealed to me) and I remember really really liking her as a character for some reason, especially as it was pretty rare at that time to find relatively rounded female characters in the games that I liked back then (military focused shooters).

The sequel I am not as keen on. It's set in Venezuela and the enemies are racist caricatures. Mui is rewritten as callous and moneygrubbing. The tone is comedic rather than serious. It's published by EA at a time when they were trying to make every franchise they owned into Bad Company. The game was rushed and is very glitchy, the AI thick as two planks. The actual politics behind all this are actually better though, it's openly critical of American imperialism and the UN are obviously only there for the oil. The big oil company is very evil and the work you do for it is evil. It just does it extremely cynically and brashly. It kind of reflects the post Bush hangover in a way. Yeah, our governments went to another country in the name of democracy and peace but we were really there to steal its resources for the benefit of evil corporations - but what else are you going to do about it other than laugh?

I have somewhere in my drafts a ~3,000 word history of the war in Korea in Mercenaries and the kind of policies the Koreans would have to have used to be such a problem for the UN, the political economy behind the factions - embarrassingly nerdy stuff. There's a small but dedicated mercenaries fan community on discord. I'd really checkout Screenslayer's Let's Play series of Mercenaries (it's ridiculously well made!) and Escargot's speed runs. I'm very tempted to stream Mercs myself, mostly as an excuse to rant about my many Thoughts about this 17 year old game (it looks fantastic on the Xbox One though). If there's an audience for that and anyone willing to tell me how to do that I might do that when I am reunited with my xbox at Christmas