#dislike the execution unfortunately

[thekidthesuperkid]

Lois Lane reading recs?👀

Sorry it took me a while to respond, I had to go back and skim read some of these comics to be sure I was remembering them right and some of them i ended up rereading for real lol. I am going to preface this by saying I'm still working my way through the Superman ongoings so that's a blind spot in my knowledge of any of the characters there. That being said, here is my list, ordered vaguely in order of relevance...

Lois Lane Vol. 2 (2019) - I literally cannot emphasize this one enough, it's so good. If you only ever read one thing about Lois please read this. You might need a basic understanding of the Rebirth timeline changes to follow some of what goes on in this series, but to get that you just need to read the wikis, ask someone for a summary, or go read The Final Days of Superman and Superman: Reborn and maybe Convergence Superman too. This series is twelve issues long which is an easy length but not too short, it's written by Greg Rucka who's a pretty good writer in my opinion, and it's just such an engaging story overall. It features Lois investigating corruption, a team-up with Renee Montoya aka the Question, a discussion of the ramifications of timeline changes, Perry despairing at Lois' typos, gay flirting, and Clark dropping in every so often to be adorably married. Also Rucka so clearly likes and respects Lois as a character and it comes through in the story. I almost want to call this series a love letter to Lois Lane.

Action Comics #1, 2 - the first ever story about Superman and Lois Lane. Every comic since then has been built off this one.

Action Comics #6, Superman (1939) #29, 33, 34 - these are some classic Golden Age Lois Lane stories. They're all collected in the Lois Lane: A Celeblation Of 75 Years volume and that's where I read them. These stories are all really fun to read, they show the original characterization of Lois: headstrong, stubborn, determined to prove herself, and very intelligent. They tend to follow a similar format to each other where her male coworkers heckle her or make fun of her or attempt to sideline her and she goes out and proves them all wrong. That 75th anniversary collection has some other good stories too.

The Death of Superman, Funeral For A Friend, Reign Of The Supermen, Return of Superman - the Death of Superman stories may not be primarily focused on Lois, but they were a huge event for Superman comics as a whole and therefore are important to Lois too. She has an important role here, she does in most Superman comics, but this one brings a big change in her life so it's good to read this. It's super easy to find reading lists for these, it'll come up as soon as you google it, but I can absolutely put one together for you if you need it.

Superman (1987) #50, Action Comics #662, 720, and Superman and Lois Lane: The 25th Wedding Anniversary - the first three are the issues where Lois and Clark get engaged, Clark tells Lois his identity, and Lois breaks off the engagement, respectively. The last is the collection of the five issues where they get engaged again, get married, then go on their honeymoon. I unfortunately don't have a more detailed list about that era but hopefully I will soon.

The Chris Kent comics - these are pretty good for Lois, they feature a full character arc for Lois about her decision on whether or not to adopt Chris. Lois and Clark have a whole dilemma on whether they should become parents, so its an important story arc both for their relationship and for their personal feelings towards family and parenthood. It's also just really sweet because Chris is literally the sweetest kid ever. This is a link to a post that has the list of comics:

New Krypton era - if you can, I definitely recommend you read this, because several parts of it are important for Lois. I can't give you a detailed list on this because I read it like two years ago all at once so there's a bunch I don't remember and it's a huge storyline so laying out the reading order is going to take more time than I have right now, but I know there are New Krypton reading lists out there, and I'm going to try to make a list myself sometime in the near future. The post I linked in the previous paragraph also has a link to a post that lists Chris Kent's stories in that era. Chris' stories have Lois show up sometimes and have important further exposition on their relationship. And in addition to that, there are also parts of New Krypton where Lois' father is involved, one issue where he dies, and a few parts where her sister is involved as well. It's a pretty big and important era for the whole Superfamily.

Wonder Woman (1983) #170 - Lois spends the day with Diana to write an article about her. It's great because it establishes a connection between Lois and Diana. It's really interesting because it's examining Diana's character through the perspective of an outsider, and filtering everything Lois learns about Diana through the lens of Lois' biases and preconceptions. Lois' reflections on Diana end up being a reflection of herself as well as being about Diana. Also I just really like Lois and Diana being friends.

Mysteries of Love in Space #1 - possibly my favourite Clois comic of all time. Literally amazing, no notes.

Lois Lane Vol. 1 (1986) - this is one of those comics where the writer decides to talk about a social issue they're thinking about and uses comic characters to do it. In this case it's about children being kidnapped and trafficked, and it follows Lois trying to write a story about the issue. It's honestly not very important in terms of getting to know Lois, and I don't even know if it's part of main continuity, but it's nice to have a story that focuses exclusively on Lois doing her work.

Superman (1987) #88 - a story where Lois gets very angry about the mistreatment of Bizarro by Luthor and Lexcorp. Idk I read this a couple days ago and enjoyed it so I wanted to put it in. Its not really important but if you want to read the full story arc it's titled Bizarro's World and the issues are Superman (1987) #87, Adventures of Superman #510, Action Comics #697, Superman: The Man of Steel (1991) #32, Superman #88.

Superwoman (2016) #1-8 - this one actually has very little Lois in it, and the Lois that's talked about most in it is New52 Lois who you may or may not be able to call the same character as pre-Flashpoint/post-Rebirth Lois, but she persistently haunts the narrative in a way that's really cool to me. Also the other Lois shows up too, if briefly. The story is about Lana Lang being Superwoman while also kind of having to step into the shoes of Lois who was also briefly Superwoman. In general its a great series and has really pretty art so even if the lack of Lois disappoints you its still really good on its own, especially given that its written and drawn by Phil Jiminez who's really solid. You will probably need to read the Final Days of Superman and Superman: Reborn to understand this though.

Superman Smashes The Klan - this is a retelling of an early Superman story that's not in-continuity. It's a really really good story though and i do recommend you read it even if its not for Lois.. It doesnt have much Lois in it, it mainly focuses on a pair of children caught up in some racist attacks, but it does have one of my favourite Lois moments ever...where she's shown to be one of the very few people who aren't afraid of Superman when they find out he's an alien.

There are also a couple books that are for a YA/preteen audience that are exclusively about Lois, Girl Taking Over, and Lois Lane and the Friendship Challenge. Both are pretty cute easy-to-understand stories about Lois as a kid if you're interested in that.

Also like...a lot of Superman comics are going to have Lois in them and she often has a supporting role if she's not in a main role. If you read these comics and you like them, you can use them as a jumping-off point for getting into more Super comics which are going to have more Lois in them! And if you're hesitant to dive into the endless Superman ongoings, there are several retellings and reinterpretations of the Superman origin (like Superman Smashes The Klan) that tell the stories without being bogged down by the dense lore of the ongoings...Superman Secret Origins, Superman For All Seasons, All-Star Superman, American Alien, and John Byrne's initial Man of Steel comics from the 80s are some popular ones. If you do want to get into an ongoing, the current Superman series that started this year is good.

Let me know if you have questions or need clarification on something and enjoy your reading! Also if anyone with better knowledge of Lois is reading this please feel free to add on!

[ir-abelas-vhenan]

Oh cool you're a gamer? Normally I'd claim such a chill and nebulous label for myself, but thanks to a helpful anon I now know instead that the proper term is "piece of shit"

[imaginarianisms]

1 day i will make a meta of sansa's dynamic with her metaphorical champions/suitors & how that correlates to the ashford theory (i.e sansa being betrothed to joffrey baratheon, then promised to willas tyrell, then being married to tyrion lannister, then being married to harry hardying then married to aegon vi targaryen & aurane velaryon but it is not this day. lmao. when i make that meta it'll be so over for y'all.

[tomwambsmilk]

what's a professional way to say to a coworker 'I'm not sure why the fuck you're sending me this email because I'm just the messenger and have no power to resolve the thing you're complaining about and I know that you KNOW that so please explain to me what you expect the outcome of this passive-aggressive guilt-trippy email you sent me to be'

[olderthannetfic]

Writing about my favorite characters as transgender has opened my eyes to how many people in fandom are able to get away with actual transphobia without other people judging them for it, and after one particularly bad experience I feel like I can't participate in fandom without constantly having to check people's profiles and social media to see whether or not they might secretly hate trans people. The fandom I currently write for is relatively small compared to others, but somehow I still manage to catch a lot of casual transphobia, especially on my higher-kudos'd works. This didn't really bother me at first since most of the comments were misinformed but rather harmless otherwise, with most asking me to write a fic where the MC medically transitions to become their "real gender" as a sequel. Those comments were written politely, but the sentiment that a person's body designates their gender bothered me a lot. I specifically present the trans characters in my fics as pre-op or non-op without dysphoria in order to feel more comfortable about my own body, and I'm really tired of reiterating the reasons why I personally won’t create a fic where the MC undergoes a full medical transition. I would be thrilled if someone else wrote that, but it’s not a concept I have any interest in executing myself.

Usually the casual transmedicalism in my comments is my only real gripe about the attitudes towards transness in my fandom, but recently I joined a major fandom discord server and found out that they had a dedicated thread for bashing my work. (Well, to be more accurate they had a bunch of threads for bashing people's works, but mine had the most messages at the time.) I should have just left at that point, but I was curious to see if there was any valid criticism because honestly I don’t get a lot of constructive feedback on my newer stuff and I wanted to see if there was anywhere I could improve. Unfortunately, it was almost entirely just really hurtful comments, with many people making assumptions about my body and offline identity, calling me a fake trans person and a chaser for the things I've written. They kept going on about how I'm fetishizing transness, how I probably just wanted an excuse to write het smut with an M/M tag on it, how I'm probably not actually a trans man but an obsessed and misguided teenage girl instead. I've been on T for over two years now, but even if I wasn’t, their belief that all bodies like mine are basically "female" was really upsetting. Maybe I just happened to stumble upon a bad crowd, but at that moment I just really felt alone. I never expected to receive that kind of vitriol in such a small fandom - I have maybe like five or so people who follow my work closely, so it's not like I'm hitting super big numbers compared to others. I understand that my work might be dysphoria-inducing for other people, but I include warnings for language at the beginning of all my fics and I'm extremely thorough about tagging all the sex acts that take place. It's easy to filter out my work via additional tags if you don’t want to see it. But no matter how many measures I take to make others feel more comfortable, they still feel like I'm taking up too much space and mucking up the tags with my fanfiction.

Part of me feels like quitting after this experience, but I'm also a spiteful bastard and I think it would haunt me forever if I stopped now lol. I'm curious to know if you or any of your followers has ever dealt with a similar situation (as in, finding out there's a bunch of people who hate your work for shitty reasons), and if you have advice on how to continue interacting with others in fandom without constantly wondering if they hate me behind closed doors. I left the server already but I'm sure there's other things I can do that I'm forgetting. Thanks for reading!!

--

There will always be people who dislike you for silly reasons, and if your fic is popular, there will be a lot of them. The only way to deal with it is to just accept that this is normal and not think about them.

[thekingofwinterblog]

You know what the most annoying thing about the Twists regarding the Elves in Inquisition was?

That all the twists, if taken on their own, would make for a really good story.

The reveals about Solas backstory and how him and his fellow God Kings rose, became decadent, warred with each other and fell, setting the stage for their transformation into the Old Gods is frankly speaking, some of the best lore that Dragon Age ever had, and lines up really well with how the world is structured while explaining how the Old Gods came to be, how the elves fell, and so on.

That the tevinter imperium when it conquered the nation of Arlathan was not the great imperial state lead by mighty mages their descendants liked to think they were, but instead a bunch of weaklings that needed years and years to take on one, measly city-state that had utterly obliterated itself in civil war.

There is so much great stuff here.

So where did it all go wrong?

The answer, is of course execution.

Inquisition overall is a great game... But man did it drop the ball so hard with the Elves that it's pretty much hard to believe that they will be able to tell a nuanced story about them in Dread Wolf.

Everything from the companions, to the world itself as the game presents , to retcons regarding mages that's there, not to tell a story about the elves, but to try and make the Templar vs mage conflict grey.

Starting with the companions, we have a great example of coming so, so close to greatness... and then falling right on it's face.

The game has two Elf companions, solas and Sera... and the contrast between them really illustrates the big picture with how incapable Inquisition is with trying to tell a nuanced picture with the elves.

Solas as a character is perfect. Love him or hate him, he is a fully fleshed out character with very clear, defined, understandable motives that makes sense to him.

And most importantly of all, his way of viewing the world is WRONG. The game acknowledges that he is wrong.

The entire story of where dragon age 4 is heading, is all about how the Dread wolf, for all his knowledge and intelligence and genuine virtues, is at the end of the day, a monster, who is willing to see the world burn to restore the Elves magic and immortality.

He is a racist, he is bigoted, and ultimately misguided. Despite all his development with the inquisitor, he does not manage to grow enough as a person that he manages to abandon his genocidal goals. And the game does not pretend othervise.

That is what makes the story of Solas rise to become the big villain of the sequel great.

There is no disconnect between the story, the characters, or the way the game wants us to view solas.

Solas is far, far more bigoted and close-minded than any of the dalish he so despises, and the game ultimately does not pretend othervise.

Which brings us to the opposite end of the elf spectrum with Sera.

Sera is a very disliked character by a lot of people, but by dalish and elf players/fans more than most.

Just like Solas, she is bigoted, racist, and ultimately misguided in her hatred of her fellow elves, whether they be city elves, or Dalish, or ancient elves.

And that frankly, would not be a problem if the game acknowledged that fact. If her character arc was about it, and either how she could not overcome her own issues, or actually managed to grow beyond them, she could have been a great character.

The problem is the fact that the game is not willing to handle this fact head on. Its not willing to come out and portray Sera as just as bigoted against her own kind as Solas is, and to treat this as a flaw.

Instead the game treats her as if her biggest flaw is that she's annoying, and not the fact that in a game that is in many ways about setting up the rise of the dread wolf, she is just as bad as Solas, just from a different origin point.

Sera should have been a mirror to Solas, both from a story point, as well as a thematic one, but unfortunately she is not.

Hell, she doesn't really overcome her racism either. The closest she comes to doing so, is basically burning out on hating the dalish and other elves in trespasser, not admitting she was actually wrong to hate them so much in the first place.

The game does not treat Sera's disdain for other elves and their culture as a problem, and it does not give a dalish inquisitor the option to tell her to go fuck herself on the topic that you are given with Solas if you really desire to do so.

You are given the option of kicking her out of the inquisition, but not actually stand up for the dalish or even city elves the way the player could against Morrigan's flemeth raised cruelty in origins, anders and Fenris obsessions with, and hatred for templars/mages in da2, or solas ideals in inquisition.

And thats a problem that really illustrates the bigger issue with the way Inquisition took what could have been a great story about the Elves and the reveals about their anceators, and frankly ruined it.

The dalish and city elvea were very thouroughly fleshed in both Origins, Awakening and DA2.

However, city elves largely managed to avoid being utterly destroyed by the narrative the way the Dalish were, for the simple reason that outside briala, we don't get much if any interaction with them at all, making them essentially a non show foe the game for the most part. They don't get a city elf inquisitor, and so we have no point of view to look at them from a pc perspective.

They got off much better than the dalish though.

Starting off with the arguably single worst thing in all of DAI is the retcon that Dalish clans, if there is more than two mages in a clan, sends off the third one alone in the wilderness to fend for themselves. This goes against absolutely everything that has ever been established about the Dalish, and worst of all, wasn't even an addition meant to demonize the dalish, instead being an addition to handwave away the obvious fact that the Dalish had a much better system than the human circles when it came to magic... Which in turn was made irrelevant by the fact the Avvar was later shown to have a much better and more effective solution to the possession question anyway.

It was, in essence, a pointless retcon, that overall only made the dalish look bad, and has now opened the door for the idea that most dalish clans acts like this, and will be portrayed so in future games.

Its bad, but unfortunately it was only the start.

The game goes out of its way to portray absolutely every single person who critices the dalish as having a point, that they brought on their own downfalls, even as they are being the most imperialistic, racist assholes imaginable, while the dalish inquisitor can only offer a token of defence for his people, a far cry from way origins allowed you to handle the same situation wheter your main ethnicity was ferelden, mage, city elf, dalish, casteless or dwarven noble.

But nowhere is it worse than the way the game handles the fall of the dales.

Now the actual lore you learn about it, is not bad. At all. I know some complain that the reveals that ameridan(and presumably other elves) worshipped both the creators and the maker, as well as the fact that the dalish unfortunately did have a bad relationahip with the rest of the world, in particular orlais, is bad storytelling, but i firmly disagree.

No the problem is the execution.

Ameridan is not wrong when he says that The Dales should not have distanced itself from the rest of the world, especially not in the face of a blight... But the Dales of his era were in turn not wrong when they argued that the Orlesians were little better than the imperium, and they would be completely right.

This is not a grey issue, its a grey and black issue.

Orlais was, and still is an evil, expansionist empire with 99% of its population living as serfs, that can be raped and beaten at will, little better than slaves.

The dales were the morally right side of the exalted march on the dales. No amount of new lore we learned in inquisition has changed that fact. We simply get the details fleshed out a bit more to add context.

Orlais was going to invade and enslave the elves anyway, as they proved through their actions against all their other, very much fellow Adrastian neighbors.

The problem is that you are not allowed to express this kind of point of view and stick to it like steel.

The characters you meet having the bigoted opinion that the dales ultimately brought on their own fate is NOT a bad thing in and out of itself... the problem is that you are not allowed to challenge that opinion the way you could challenge Lelliana's view of the dalish in origins, or the way you could tell both Anders and fenris to go fuck themselves on their extremist opinions all through da2, and ending that fuck you by killing them in the endgame.

And thats a real shame, because just looking at characters like cassandra's character development through Inquisition, you could easily have made a really compelling narrative put of a dalish inquisitor who stuck by his or her principles, and actually challenged the people they met's racist views on the dalish the way you could in origins, just with a more fleshed out and(unfortunately something way too many people just cannot emote to a character withouth) an actual voice to raise those arguments with.

I do genuinely like Inquisition, and i think it's overall a much better game than DA2... but man did they drop the ball with the elves so hard.

I feel so sorry for anyone who really got invested in the elves as their favorites factions, and i honestly don't think the elves will be handled particularly well in Dread wolf, especially as the only Dalish we are likely to see fleshed out will be the villains fighting for Solas.

[thesauce8]

I don’t solely dislike Sasusaku because he tried to kill her, and if Sasusaku was a well written ship, I wouldn’t have any qualms about that attempt because it would’ve been properly addressed and executed. Unfortunately, they’re poorly written, so the fact he tried to kill her only brings it down more. That’s why him trying to kill Sakura hurts the ship, while him trying to kill Naruto has less of an effect.

[deanscutiepiesam]

I can't stop thinking about that one post about how Lucifer should've been played by Jared when projecting the image of himself [this post, go read it. It's so good]. And I completely agree with them across the board. Sam, being his true vessel and the horrific impact it would have on him, would've been amazing to see explored. But I also think Lucifer should've been played by Jared because he was better for the character.

And I don't just mean this in an acting way, (though, I am biased. Jared has skills), but for the sake of the story and his likability. Obviously, we aren't supposed to like Lucifer, I don't, but I did like how he was written when Jared played him. Think of Endverse!Lucifer in his white suit. Telling Dean how no matter what, he'll always end up here. Think of Swan Song, where he was pleading with Michael. How Lucifer didn't want to hurt his brother, but he "left him no choice." He's almost oddly sympathetic, but then you have to remember he's literally trying to start the Apocalypse. He's manipulative. He's the devil. We've gotten accustomed to Jared's face being Sam, all soft and sweet, so that image being juxtaposed with evil incarnate is so powerful. Wolf in sheep's clothing and all that. Gives you chills.

Now compare that with Nick's Lucifer or even Casifer. Not even close (in my opinion, at least). I was talking to a friend of mine about this a while ago, but those versions of Lucifer don't even feel like the same guy. He went from an intimidating, genuinely scary, and interesting character to a "I'm so silly" comedian - and a weak one at that. And I know this was unfortunately because the show went the route of making Sam's cage trauma a joke, but why, though?? There was so much potential for Jared to play him, and even going the Nick vessel route, they could've written him not... like that.

And this isn't to say Lucifer can't crack jokes. I think, executed well, it could be funny and add to the horror. Supernatural has done funny bad guys before (like I personally enjoy Azazel's and Crowley's quips), and it works for them. But Lucifer just feels like a failed version of that. It doesn't fit his character, personally. And I know some people enjoy Nick's Lucifer and Casifer, and that's valid, but it just doesn't sit right with me. He loses aura points, and I don't enjoy watching him.

And once again, I know we aren't supposed to like him, but it's not even a dislike because he's a good villain; he's just annoying. He comes on screen, and I'm not scared or anxious, I'm annoyed. And it's frustrating because they did so well with him in my Jared examples. And not only that, it could've been a foundation for later seasons. (Imagine Sam!Lucifer doing the misunderstood guy facade to get Jack on his side. Like come on, we were robbed.)

Anyways, I don't know... I just had to get that out. Not sure if I made any sense, but I'm gonna trust I'm coherent enough for you to get the gist of it. Shout out to well written Lucifer. You will always be famous. I hope you die — oh, wait...

[xavviluin05]

✦ The Sand Kingdom ✦

The Sand Kingdom is renowned for its exquisite jewelry, hops production, and its rivalry with Pantala in crafting magnificent tapestries.

The kingdom spans vast territories, but unfortunately, not all of them are under the queen’s control. Its wealth and desolate landscape attract a multitude of bandits, marauders, cutthroats, and other riffraff, who are deterred only by the palace walls—an imposing fortress that is virtually unassailable.

The region is carved up by various gangs, and peaceful inhabitants pay them tribute in exchange for protection from rival groups. Efforts to restore order through the military have seen mixed results. The large army is too cumbersome to deal with such scattered threats, so the Sand aristocracy often turns to private detectives and mercenaries to eliminate the most troublesome cutthroats.

However, since it isn’t profitable for detectives and mercenaries to completely eradicate banditry, many strike deals with the gangs, either turning a blind eye or exchanging leniency for rival bandits or undesirables.

The Onyx Eye is an ancient artifact and the symbol of SandWing royal authority, legitimizing the queen’s rule.

The kingdom is ruled by Queen Khamsin, a sharp-tongued, cunning, but impatient ruler. She frequently attends executions as if they were festive occasions. She views herself as a noble and magnanimous queen, disliking anyone who suggests otherwise. To maintain her image as a benevolent ruler, she occasionally makes grand gestures, leading her subjects to interact with her cautiously. Despite this, they generally accept her reign without much complaint.

Her authority is further reinforced by the Onyx Eye, which she wears at all times. However, the artifact she flaunts is, in reality, a skillful forgery

[kalinara]

So recent posts have got me thinking about the Throuple, and how I personally feel about it. And I'll be honest. I dislike it and I love it.

I dislike it because, ultimately, there really isn't much there. A couple of suggestive panels, a house schematic, one scene of expressed attraction between the guys, one scene that seems really heavily implied that they'd intended to go to bed together (I'll post that later, it's from early X-Force and it's pretty suggestive, IMO), and a few cameos in pride issues.

If Marvel was advertising this relationship, I'd call it queer-baiting at best.

But I always kind of wonder about the background of things. And I tend to assume that the Throuple was never intended to be a thing by the suits and higher ups. I think maybe a few creative types kept slipping things under the radar.

It does mean, unfortunately, that, in terms of actual story or emotional development, it's lacking. I mean, look, biased Scott fan that I am, I would have REALLY liked to see Logan apologize for basically everything AvX onward before those two characters hopped into bed together. I'd like to see Jean get to have opinions about everything that happened while she was gone (many things that she'd now remember from her younger self's point of view), before that happened too. These are characters with a lot of history.

So in terms of execution, the Throuple is a fizzle. (Hell, even the Jean/Logan side barely got off the ground. Some bits where she kept him alive when he was trying to save Xavier through time - which she'd have done even if he were just a friend. And one sex scene in the hot springs. That really feels like a satisfying culmination of decades of yearning. If I were a Jean/Logan fan, honestly, I'd probably feel cheated.)

But you know, I do love it for other reasons. Because however shitty the execution, the IDEA is firmly planted and that idea isn't going away.

All you have to do is go on reddit or tiktok and see anytime one of those toxic masculinity fanboys starts bitching about how Logan is 100% straight "blah blah woke agenda", and you get at least three people jabbing back "yeah, except on the moon".

And that's the genius of it. Because NO one likes those particular fans. And so even people who are utterly indifferent to the idea of the Throuple. Even folks who dislike the execution are very pleased to troll that hypothetical dude at every chance.

Marvel can say what they want. Brevoort (whether he believes it or is just Marvel's spokesperson) can say what he wants. The fact that the annoying fanboys go "I'm so glad he didn't walk back his denial and cater to the wake agenda" are just admitting that there's something TO deny.

I'll be honest, I suspect the issue is Logan's fanbase. It's the largest by far and Marvel doesn't want to alienate the straight men in the crowd. But the thing is, they're aging out. And younger generations of fans are more openly queer than we are, and definitely more than our parents were. This is going to be a non-issue. Especially when the new generations start running the asylum.

It'll take a long time, of course, and there'll be a lot of bullshit before then. But you can't put the genie back in the bottle. The idea is out there. And like Kitty, Rachel, Betsy, Bobby, Mystique and Destiny, Rictor and Shatterstar, EVENTUALLY we'll get to the point where Marvel admits what we all know. (And we knew for a while. The Throuple didn't come out of nowhere.)

Marvel's most famous and popular X-Men character is queer.

More than half of the Original X-Men, that earliest dream that creators never seem to be able to stop revisiting, are queer*.

The flag ship pairing of the X-Men involves a woman and a man who are queer*.

That's pretty awesome.

(*I know technically we're talking about an MMF throuple and it doesn't rule out Jean being straight, but let's be honest here. Jean's got more than enough suggestive interaction with Storm, Emma, Lorna and Wanda to make a strong enough case for bisexuality in her own right.)

[beautifuloxymoron]

When the Phone Rings - Finale.

After thinking it over and sitting with the ending of When the Phone Rings, here are my overall thoughts on the show. I liked it. Yes, even with that ending. I knew after the 1st ep that I will not take the show as some sort of "serious" kdrama and readied myself for a the show to have somewhat of a makjang or exaggerated narratives twang to it...

While this show wasn't a full blown makjang which I appreciate, because frankly that is just not cup of tea, it really did immerse me into the world that they created.

Was I a bit disappointed? Yes. In my opinion, the ending needed heavy reworking, and frankly I think the show would have benefited if it was extended to 14 episodes to better flush out the remaining plots.

Writing wise, I really disliked that the writer pull the noble idiocy trope last minute. They were communicating so well in the previous episodes… So what changed? I also think the ending with the "real" Baek SaEon his mother was lackluster. He was tormenting the main leads, constantly threating their lives whole lives throughout the show and yet we only hear/see quickly that he died on scene. I felt that the way it was shot/written, just left me feeling a bit unsatisfied - felt a bit to easy. I would have also loved to see a scene to provide more insight to the extended family, especially Hong In Ah.

I think with extended episodes it would have let the writer breathe and write a ending that didn't include unnecessary tropes & convince them that adding the war torn country plot was a not a good idea b/c let's be frank the fuck was that? I know it was taken from the novel but …. omitting it would have been 1000% better.

Episodes 1-10 were fantastic. Starting from ep 11, you could tell plot became a bit strained. As for the last episode, the beginning was good - brilliantly acted by Chae Soo Bin, Middle -I'm erasing it from my memory and end was fantastic. I wished writers could learn that what the audience wants is to see the leads thrive and be happy, and yes, showing the characters happy for the the whole last episode is acceptable. Other than that the overall plot was fun. It was INSANE but fun.

Also, the acting really carried the show. Point blank, without the brilliant acting of Yoo Yeon Seok & Chae Soo Bin, the show would have me saying ahnyeong by ep 2. The dialogue had to have someone execute the lines with a certain "swagger" or precision for me to not find it overly cheesy and frankly believable.

So, would I recommend When the Phone Rings to someone?… I would… with a warning. While the ending may have people thinking it was a waste of time, which is perfectly fine, everyone's opinion is valid, I rather enjoyed it until the end.... Maybe it's because I usually drop shows when I get bored of them, which unfortunately happens often.

overall rating - 8/10

I also bring you my visual representation of my thoughts...

[weaselandfriends]

Praise for When I Win the World Ends

i have zero interest in or knowledge about this franchise and i begged the author for months to write something else instead, and thankfully they ignored me. the pacing and action in this story is unmatched, every little fragment of it feels necessary and important. the best fanfic of the decade. nobody else online is writing stories like this.

—gazemaize, author of Chili and the Chocolate Factory

As someone with relatively little interest in or overlap with competitive sports it helps me understand the appeal in a way I didn't before... You've managed it again, you've added so much significance to the core franchise that it's transformed into something else entirely. The concept is already extremely good, but seeing it executed this well has me in awe.

—pigoseg, author of Savannah

I'm going to give your story the exceedingly rare honor of me having to force myself to stop reading it to do something else more important, the only other book that's done this is Project Hail Mary... This, is good. This combines my interests with competitive singles pokemon with a genuinely heart wrenching story of 3 people at the top of their game for completely different reasons, and how those reasons cascade when confronted with failure or adversity beyond comprehension.

—Elick320, self-described disliker of Fargo and Cockatiel x Chameleon

i'm genuinely unsettled by how good the yuri is and i'm assuming you're a secret lesbian

—julirites, author of London

Unfortunately, The New York Times wasn't interested in doing a review, so you'll have to settle for these quotes from people I know.

[thesublemon]

best picture

For the first time in a long time, I watched all of the movies nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars this year. Partly on a whim, partly for a piece I’ve been working on for a while about what is going wrong in contemporary artmarking. I cannot say that the experience made me feel any better or worse about contemporary movies than I already felt, which was pretty bad. But sometimes to write about a hot stove, you gotta put your hand on one. So. The nominees for coldest stove are:

Poor Things. Did not like enough to finish. I always want to like something that is making an effort at originality, strangeness, or style. Unfortunately, the execution of those things in this movie felt somehow dull and thin. Hard to explain how. Maybe the movie’s motif of things mashed together (baby-woman, duck-dog, etc) is representative. People have been mashing things together since griffins, medleys, Avatar the Last Airbender’s animals, Nickelodeon’s Catdog, etc. Thing + thing is elementary-level weird. And while there’s nothing wrong with a simple, or well-worn premise, there is a greater burden on an artist to do something interesting with it, if they go that route. And Poor Things does not. Its themes are obvious and belabored (the difficulty of self-actualization in a world that violently infantilizes you) and do not elevate the premise. There’s a fine line between the archetypal and the hackish, and this movie falls on the wrong side of it. It made me miss Crimes of the Future (2022), a recent Cronenberg that was authentically original and strange, with the execution to match.

Anatomy of a Fall. Solid, but not stunning. The baseline level of what a ‘good’ movie should be. It was written coherently and economically, despite its length. It told a story that drew you along. I wanted to know what happened, which is the least you can ask from storytelling. It had some compelling scenes that required a command of character and drama to write—particularly the big argument scene. The cinematography was not interesting, but it was not annoying either. It did its job. This was not, however, a transcendent movie.

Oppenheimer. Did not like enough to finish. But later forced myself to, just so no one could accuse me of not knowing what I was talking about when I said I disliked it. I felt like I was being pranked. The Marvel idea of what a prestige biopic should be. Like Poor Things, it telegraphed its artsiness and themes and has raked in accolades for its trouble. But obviousness is not the same as goodness and this movie is not good. The imagery is painfully literal. A character mentions something? Cut to a shot of it! No irony or nuance added by such images—just the artistry of a book report. The dialogue pathologically tells instead of shows. It constantly, cutely references things you might have heard of, the kind of desperate audience fellation you see in soulless franchise movies. Which is a particularly jarring choice given the movie’s subject matter. ‘Why didn’t you get Einstein for the Manhattan project’ Strauss asks, as if he’s saying ‘Why didn’t you get Superman for the Avengers?’ If any of this referentiality was an attempt to say something about mythologization, it failed—badly. The movie is stuffed with famous and talented actors, but it might as well not have been, given how fake every word out of their mouths sounded. Every scene felt like it had been written to sound good in a trailer, rather than to tell a damn story. All climax and no cattle.

Barbie. Did not like enough to finish. It had slightly more solidity in its execution than I was afraid it would have, so I will give it that. If people want this to be their entertainment I will let them have it. But if they want this to be their high cinema I will have to kill myself. Barbie being on this list reminds me of the midcentury decades of annual movie musical nominations for Best Picture. Sometimes deservingly. Other times, less so. The Music Man is great, but it’s not better than 8 1/2  or The Great Escape, neither of which were nominated in 1963. Musicals tend to appeal to more popular emotions, which ticket-buyers and award-givers tend to like, and critics tend to dislike. I remember how much Pauline Kael and Joan Didion hated The Sound of Music (which won in 1966), and have to ask myself if in twenty years I’ll think of my reaction to Barbie the same way that I think of those reviews: justified, but perhaps beside the point of other merits. Thing is. Say what you want about musicals, but that genre was alive back then. It was vital. Bursting with creativity. For all Kael’s bile, even she acknowledged that The Sound of Music was “well done for what it is.” [1] Contemporary cinema lacks such vitality, and Barbie is laden with symptoms of the malaise. It repeatedly falls back on references to past aesthetic successes (2001: A Space Odyssey, Singin’ in the Rain, etc) in order to have aesthetic heft. It has a car commercial in the middle. It’s about a toy from 60 years ago and politics from 10 years ago. It tries to wring some energy and meaning from all of that but not enough to cover the stench of death. I’d prefer an old musical any day.

American Fiction. Was okay. It tried to be clever about politics, but ended up being clomping about politics. At the end of the day, it just wasn’t any more interesting than any other ‘intellectual has a mid-life crisis’ story, even with the ‘twist’ of it being from a black American perspective. Even with it being somewhat self-aware of this. But it could have been a worse mid-life crisis story. The cinematography was terrible. It was shot like a sitcom. Much of the dialogue was sitcom-y too. I liked the soundtrack, what I could hear of it. The attempts at style and meta (the characters coming to life, the multiple endings) felt underdeveloped. Mostly because they were only used a couple times. In all, it felt like a first draft of a potentially more interesting movie. 

The Zone of Interest.Wanted to like it more than I did. Unfortunately, you get the point within about five minutes. If you’ve seen the promotional image of the people in the garden, backgrounded by the walls of Auschwitz, then you’ve already seen the movie. Which means that all the rest of the movie ends up feeling like pretentious excess instead of moving elaboration. It seemed very aware of itself as an Important Movie and rested on those laurels, cinematically speaking, in a frustrating way. It reminded me of video art. I felt like I had stepped through a black velvet drape into the side room of a gallery, wondering at what point the video started over. And video art has its place, but it is a different medium. Moreover video art at its best, like a movie at its best, takes only the time it needs to say what it needs to say. 

Past Lives. I’m a human being, and I respond to romance. I appreciate the pathos of sweet yearning and missed chances. And I understand how the romance in this movie is a synecdoche for ambivalent feelings about many kinds of life choices, particularly the choice to be an immigrant and choose one culture over another. The immigrant experience framing literalizes the way any choice can make one foreign to a past version of oneself, or the people one used to know, even if in another sense one is still the same person. So, I appreciate the emotional core of what (I believe) this movie was going for, and do think it succeeded in some respects. And yet…I was very irritated by most of its artistic choices. I found the three principal characters bland and therefore difficult to care about, sketched with only basic traits besides things like Striving and Being In Love. Why care who they’d be in another life if they have no personalities in this one? It’s fine to make characters symbols instead of humans if the symbolic tapestry of a movie is interesting and rich, but the symbolic tapestry of this movie was quite simple and straightforward. Not that that last sentence even matters much, since the movie clearly wanted you to feel for the characters as human beings, not just symbols. Visually, the cinematography was dull and diffuse, with composition that was either boring or as subtle as a hammer to the head.

Maestro. Did not like enough to finish. Something strange and wrong about this movie. It attempts to perform aesthetic mimicry with impressive precision—age makeup, accents, period cinematography—but this does not make the movie a better movie. At most it creates spectacle, at worst it creates uncanny valleys. It puts one on the lookout for irregularities, instead of allowing one to disappear into whatever the movie is doing. Something amateurishly pretentious in the execution. And not in the fun, respectable way, like a good student film. (My go-to example for a movie that has an art-school vibe in a pleasant way is The Reflecting Skin). There’s something desperate about it instead. It has the same disease as Oppenheimer, of attempting to do a biopic in a ‘stylish’ way without working on the basics first. Fat Man and Little Boy is a less overtly stylish rendition of the same subject as Oppenheimer, but far more cinematically successful to me, because it understands those basics. I would prefer to see the Fat Man and Little Boy of Leonard Bernstein’s life unless a filmmaker proves that they can do something with style beyond mimicry and flash.

The Holdovers. Did not like enough to finish. It tries to be vintage, but outside of a few moments, it does not succeed either at capturing what was good about the aesthetic it references, or at using the aesthetic in some other interesting way. The cinematography apes the tropes of movies and TV from the story’s time period, but doesn't have interesting composition in its own right. It lacks the solidity that comes from original seeing. (Contrast with something like Planet Terror, in which joyous pastiche complements the original elements.) The acting is badly directed. Too much actorliness is permitted. Much fakeness in general between the acting, writing, and visual language. If a movie with this same premise was made in the UK in the 60’s or 70's it would probably be good. As-is the movie just serves to make me sad that the ability to make such movies is apparently lost and can only be hollowly gestured at. That said, the woman who won best supporting actress did a good job. She was the only one who seemed to be actually acting.

Killers of the Flower Moon. The only possible winner. It is not my favorite of Scorsese’s movies, but compared to the rest of the lineup it wins simply by virtue of being a movie at all. How to define ‘being a movie’? Lots of things I could say that Killers of the Flower Moon has and does would also be superficially true of other movies in this cohort. Things like: it tells a story, with developed characters who drive that story. Or: it uses its medium (visuals, sound) to support its story and its themes. The difference comes down to richness, specificity, control, and a je ne sais quois that is beyond me to describe at the moment. Compare the way Killers of the Flower Moon uses a bygone cinematic style (the silent movie) to the way that Maestro and The Holdovers do. Killers of the Flower Moon uses a newsreel in its opening briefly and specifically. The sequence sets the scene historically, and gives you the necessary background with the added panache of confident cuts and music. It’s useful to the story and it’s satisfying to watch. Basics. But the movie doesn’t limit itself to that, because it’s a good movie. The sequence also sets up ideas that will be continuously developed over the course of the movie.* And here’s the kicker—the movie doesn’t linger on this sequence. You get the idea, and it moves on to even more ideas. Also compare this kind of ideating to American Fiction’s. When I said that American Fiction’s moments of style felt underdeveloped, I was thinking of movies like Killers of the Flower Moon, which weave and evolve their stylistic ideas throughout the entire runtime.

*(Visually, it places the Osage within a historical medium that the audience probably does not associate with Native Americans, or the Osage in particular. Which has a couple of different effects. First, it acts as a continuation of the gushing oil from the previous scene. It’s an interruption. A false promise. Seeming belonging and power, but framed all the while by a foreign culture. Meanwhile potentially from the perspective of that culture, it’s an intrusion on ‘their’ medium. And of course, this promise quickly decays into tragedy and death. The energy of the sequence isn’t just for its own sake—it sets up a contrast. But on a second, meta level it establishes the movie’s complicated relationship to media and storytelling. Newsreels, photos, myths, histories, police interviews, and a radio play all occur over the course of the movie. And there’s the movie Killers of the Flower Moon itself. Other people’s frames are contrasted with Mollie’s narration. There’s a repeated tension between communication as a method of knowing others and a method of controlling them—or the narrative of them—which plays out in both history and personal relationships.)

Or here’s another example: When Mollie and Ernest meet and he drives her home for the first time, we see their conversation via the car’s rearview mirrors. This is a bit of cinematic language that has its origins in mystery and paranoia. You see it in things like Hitchcock or The X-Files or film noir. By framing the scene with this convention, the movie turns what is superficially a romantic meet-cute (to quote a friend) into something bubbling with uneasiness and dread. This is not nostalgia—this is just using visuals to create effects. It doesn’t matter if you’ve seen anything that uses the convention before, although knowing the pedigree might add to your enjoyment. The watchfulness suggested by the mirrors and Ernest’s cut-off face will still add an ominous effect. It works for the same reason it works in those other things. Like the newsreel, it is a specific and concise stylistic choice, and it results in a scene that is doing more than just one thing.

In general, the common thread I noticed as I watched these nominees, was the tendency to have the ‘idea’ of theme or style, and then stop there. It’s not that the movies had nothing in them. There were ideas, there was use of the medium, there was meaning to extract. There were lots of individually good moments. But they tended to feel singular, or repetitive, or tacked on. Meanwhile contemporary viewers are apparently so impressed by the mere existence of theme or style, that being able to identify it in a movie is enough to convince many that the movie is also good at those things. The problem with this tendency—in both artists and audiences—is that theme and style are not actually some extra, remarkable, inherently rarifying property of art. Theme emerges naturally from a story with any kind of coherence or perspective. And style emerges naturally from any kind of artistic attitude. They are as native as script, or narrative, or character. A movie’s theme and style might not be interesting, just like its story or dialogue might not be interesting, but if the movie is at all decent, they should exist. What makes a movie good or bad, then, is how it executes its component parts—including theme and style—in service of the whole. When theme is well-executed it is well-developed. Contemporary movies, unfortunately, seem to have confused ‘well-developed’ with ‘screamingly obvious.’ A theme does not become well-developed by repetition. It becomes well-developed by iterationand integration. Theme is like a melody. Simply repeating a single melody over and over does not result in the song becoming more interesting or entertaining. It becomes tedious. However, if you modify the melody each time you play it, or diverge from the melody and then return to it, that can get exciting. It results in different angles on the same idea, such that the idea becomes more complex over time, instead of simply louder.

Oppenheimer wasprobably the worst offender in this regard. Just repeat your water drops, crescendoing noise, or a line about ‘destroying the world’, and that’s the same as nuance, right? Split scenes into color and black and white and that’s the same as structure, right? That’s the same as actually conveying a difference between objectivity and interiority (or another dichotomy) via the drama or visual composition contained in the scenes, right? When I watched many of these movies, I kept thinking of a behind-the-scenes story from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The story goes that Joss Whedon was directing Sarah Michelle Gellar in some scene, and when the take was over he told her how great she was, and that he could see right where the music would come in. And Gellar replied that if he was thinking about the music, he clearly wasn’t getting enough from her acting alone. This conversation then supposedly informed Whedon’s approach to “The Body,” a depiction of the immediate aftermath of death that is considered one of the best episodes of television ever made, and which has no non-diegetic music whatsoever. Not to imply that music is necessarily a crutch, or to pretend that “The Body” is lacking in other forms of stylization (it is a very style-ish episode). But more to illustrate the way that it is easy to forget to make the most of all aspects of a medium, particularly the most fundamental ones, once one has gotten used to what a final product is supposed to feel like. 

And that’s why most of these movies don’t feel like movies. They create the gestalt of a movie or a ‘cinematic’ moment—often literally through direct vintage imitation—without a sense of the first principles. Or demonstrating a sense of them, anyway. Who needs AI when the supposedly highest level of human filmmakers are already cannibalistically cargo-culting the medium just fine.

[1] “The Sound of Money (The Sound of Music and The Singing Nun).” The Pauline Kael Reader. (This book contains the full text of the original review, rather than the abbreviated review that I linked earlier.) 

[the-wolf-files]

Birds Eye View - Notes and Character Profiles [12.17.24]

ANIMATED UNITS OF TIME REFERENCE:

Century - Human century/100 stellar cycles

Stellar cycle - 1 year/320 solar cycles

Decacycle - 10 human days/10 solar cycles

Solar cycle - 1 human day/10 megacycles

Megacycle - 2 human hours/100 cycles

Nanoclick - 1 human second

CHARACTER PROFILE:

Name: Trill

Species: Beastformer/Maximal

Alignment: Autobot

Age: Unknown

Trill is a beastformer who came to Earth from the planet Cybertron, making themselves a home on a small island they landed on. Their beast mode takes on the form of what humans call an owl, although the form chosen is a small species of owl. Despite their tiny size they are still a skilled archer and reliable scout, carefully executing any assignment they're given. Their main weapon is a bow that is embedded into their left leg and the feathers of their wings act as the arrows necessary for said bow. They also have a secondary ability, their claws. Whether in beast mode or in robot mode they can shoot metal thorns out of their hands as a means of defense.

They lived on the little island for around 9 decacycles before they were unfortunately chased off by the dino bots being homed there. The dino bots turned the island into their territory and almost burned Trill to a crisp, prompting them to leave and fly somewhere else. They would later find refuge in an abandoned warehouse close by, not realizing it was now the Autobot secret base. They were later discovered by Prowl and carefully handled with his knowledge of Earth animals, just for him to quickly find out they were another Transformer. From then on, Optimus would take them under his wing and teach them the ways of the Autobots, from then on joining them in the fight against the Decepticons.

RELATIONSHIPS:

Optimus Prime - Super kind and fatherly. Likes to push Trill to their full potential and throw challenges at them while they have casual down time together. Also let's them rest on his shoulder as a perch.

Bumblebee - ADHD besties type vibe. Bee is absolutely much more obnoxious and hyper, but Trill likes to go flight racing with him to stretch their wings. They think he's definitely a bit too reckless for his own good.

Bulkhead - Super sweet guy and very talented artist, albeit clumsy a lot of the time! Trill enjoys being a live study for him to paint and getting to see the end result. Sometimes they sketch portraits of him in return.

Ratchet - Started off really mean and grouchy at first, though he really is *still* grouchy, but once you get closer to him he lets his guard down a little. Truly just a caring old man at spark.

Prowl - Likes watching nature documentaries with him, and if not meditating they'll have friendly sparring sessions with him. Good to keep themselves in shape and have silly banter.

Jazz - Super nice and really fun to hang out with. His curiosity and cool temper make a great combo for Trill to tell him all about beastformers and how they live in the wild. He clearly gets his interests from Prowl.

Blurr - Honestly might be the one autobot they really dislike. He views himself so highly for being on the elite guard and his super fast speech hurts their ears. They'd prefer to not be around him if possible.

Sari Sumdac - Really cute little girl they enjoy spending their time with. They have some trust issues with her father, but Sari and Trill grew closer once they learned she was half cybertronian. They would later become a pseudo mentor for her.

[deltastra]

My Sonic Movie 3 Predictions

So I initially planned to make this post AFTER my SonicxShadow Generations post.

Unfortunately life happened and I'm still writing that.

AND I won't be able to watch the movie until 3-4 weeks after the release date...

So, here are my predictions for Sonic 3. Stuff I believe will happen, how likely I believe it will happen, and why I believe so.

UPDATE: I am aware that recently, the movie's plot and post-credit scene got leaked. So I just wanted to state that all of this was written on the 14th of December when there were no leaks. I am not hinting anything or spoiling the movie. If you have seen the leaks, please avoid confirming or denying anything on the list as you may spoil the movie for people who are interested.

THESE ARE JUST PREDICTIONS. NOT SPOILERS

Super Shadow (VERY Likely)

Shadow will live (Likely)

Dr. Eggman's fate will be ambigious again (Likely)

Gerald is immortal and will drop the goofy persona in the final act (Somewhat Likely)

The ACTUAL Live and Learn song will play (Very Likely)

Maria won't be shot (Somewhat Likely)

Team Heroes will betray G.U.N (Somewhat Likely)

Time Travel may be involved (Likely)

Amy and Metal Sonic for post-credit scene (VERY Likely)

As for my opinions on it and why...

If you have no knowledge on Sonic outside of the movies, then consider this a spoiler warning

Super Shadow (VERY Likely)

Okay let's get the obvious out of the way. This is happening, we all know it. Not much to say. He will probably go super with Sonic and stop the Ark or something...

Shadow will live and learn (Likely)

It's important to remember that at the end of the day. The Sonic movies are FAMILY movies. So, I highly doubt they would kill a fan favourite like Shadow or confirm him as dead. Also, if they plan on making more movies, they may need Shadow.

However, I won't mind him being for one movie only, it could feel more impactful. But I understand many may disagree with that.

(Off topic but I hope Sonic says "Sayonara Shadow the Hedgehog")

Dr Eggman's fate will be ambigious again (Likely)

Now, this may sound like a weird prediction to make but bear with me here. I'm not saying that it will be unclear if he dies or not at the end of the movie like at the end of Sonic 2, but rather, it will be unclear if he continue being the villain for future movies. I believe this for two reasons.

Jim Carrey's retirement plans and the ending to Sonic Adventure 2.

Jim Carrey's retirement news has been very wishy-washy. It certainly seems he will return whenever he wants to but that means the writers cannot confirm his presence for future movies because of this.

This also pairs well with the ending to Sonic Adventure 2

I believe Eggman will have a moment with Tails similar to this scene. For Jim Carrey's Eggman, this scene will show the ambiguity of Eggman's actions for the next few movies. He will talk about Gerald and we will be left wondering whether he will turn over a new leaf.

(Tho, I do not know for sure what will become of Gerald by the end of the movie, since he wasn't executed. Not a fan of that change, but I will keep an open mind.)

Speaking of Gerald...

Gerald is immortal and will drop the goofy persona in the final act (Somewhat Likely)

To be honest I dislike the "Goofy villain suddenly gets mean and serious near the end" cliche. In fact, I do not like the idea of a goofy Gerald even if he is just pretending because it doesn't feel like he will emit that feeling of insanity birthed from grief.

And yet...I feel like that's where the movie is heading so it's best I learn to deal with this possibility so as to not ruin my enjoyment.

Let's talk about the immortality thing instead.

HOW ON EARTH IS HE STILL ALIVE?! I believe in the movie's universe, Gerald did eventually discover immortality using Shadow. But instead of handing it over to G.U.N, he used it on himself and went into hiding, waiting for the day he can get revenge with Shadow.

On paper, not only does this sound like the most probable, ITS ALSO KINDA COOL? Sadly the "Goofy Gerald" act throws me off sorta.

The ACTUAL Live and Learn song will play (Very Likely)

With the reveal of the ending song being "Run It", a country pop song, many have began to doubt if Live and Learn will actually play in the movie. I believe it will.

Instead of the ending credits, the song will definitely play during the final battle which eventually leads to Shadow's sacrifice. I know it's just baseless speculation on my end but the reason why I believe so is because of how much they advertise the movie as a love letter to Sonic fans in interviews. It would be crazy if they didn't add the song.

I believe that they will add the Sonic Symphony's version of the song. I listened to the symphony's version and it genuinely sounds fitting for a climactic showdown on a movie-scale.

I will still keep my expectations low because we may just get a orchestral version of it instead....fingers crossed though!

Maria won't be shot (Somewhat Likely)

A common joke among fans is Maria getting shot. I see it online and I feel like it's become kind of a flex that the Sonic Movie will have such a scene. And it feels like so many people are convinced it WILL happen. I do want that scene because it highlights the core issue with G.U.N and how far they'd go.

However, the reason why I also believe the scene will not be shown is due to censorship and how they've gone from clearly insinuating how she died, to keeping it somewhat vague.

Take a recent game like Shadow Generations for example

No guns are shown, and if they were, it would be hard to see. But the implication was still there due to the gunshot sound.

But before, they wouldn't be subtle about it.

I don't know how they'll kill off Maria in the movie, but I hope its at least G.U.N's fault that it happened. No "accidents".

SCU G.U.N soldiers do carry guns so maybe they might imply the scene. But I would also not be so surprised if they changed it. I just hope the change makes sense. In other words, I hope the movie still treats her death how it was meant to be treated. A tragedy caused by those in power.

Please...PLEASE...do not glorify or excuse G.U.N's actions SCU...yea that's my main concern so that's why my next prediction feels more like a cope...

Team Heroes will betray G.U.N (Somewhat Likely)

Adventure 2 centered around Sonic getting falsely accused by the military and even getting captured by them for a while.

Hence, this is not only a prediction, but also a hope for the movie.

It's very obvious that in the SCU, Sonic works with the police and the government. He does it to be the "hero" of Earth, Knuckles and Tails follow him. Many people are upset over this and I agree. It feels off for Sonic to work WITH authorities or support them in any way.

But the thing is, Sonic is not really a static character in the SCU. He learns and grows. So I genuinely think that Sonic will work with G.U.N for the first and second act, then betray them in some form after learning the truth.

It doesn't need to be a big betrayal by Sonic, but rather a "I'm not following orders" mindset from him.

Time Travel may be involved (Likely)

This is a common theory, not a fan of it but it seems likely that it will happen. Look at all the damage that's caused. I feel like that volcanic area was destroyed land.

Not only that, the Moon was sliced, I don't see the movies keeping the Moon destroyed. It doesn't feel like the SCU want any "point of no return" for anything (I don't know if consequences is the right word here).

If they do time travel, I hope it isn't too hammered in. Maybe just a slight change to justify the climax without taking away any of the emotional impact. But I still wouldn't be a fan of it.

Amy and Metal Sonic for post-credit scene (VERY Likely)

Yea I feel like they're going to take inspiration from Sonic CD for the next movie.

It may be possible he will be created because Sonic gives a quill to Eggman in the first trailer as a deal. Which leads to Eggman creating Metal Sonic.

With the introduction of Metal Sonic, I don't see why they wouldn't introduce Amy (Then again they are adapting Adventure 2 without her or Rouge so...).

Oh but I also recall that those who attended the premiere said that the post-credits scene is "better" than the Shadow Reveal in Sonic 2...

Is it really going to be Silver? Nah, I still think it's Metal Sonic and Amy.

I don't believe Silver will be introduced right after Shadow because it would feel too similar to Shadow. Hedgehog vs Hedgehog. So why not place Hedgehog vs Robot Hedgehog in between?

I definitely won't mind if Silver and Blaze are in the post-credits scene though. Knowing that Sonic Team planned Year of Shadow with the movie as the grand conclusion, it makes me hope they make it a regular thing for other characters. Year of Silver? Sounds fun. Any character getting a year will be fun.

Conclusion

Geez this took a long time to write...but I'm glad I got all my predictions out now.

I do want to clarify something. Reading my post again, it seems that I'm speaking about the SCU in a slightly negative tone.

I won't say I dislike the movies. I'm just cautiously optimistic. I don't expect 1:1 adaptations from them, and I'm pretty sure Hollywood execs like to get in the way of creativity sometimes in order to focus on profit.

There is also an issue of target audience. The movies, at the end of the day, are for families. They're family movies and kids are the target audience. THAT'S NOT A BAD THING. It's just the reason why I don't expect too much, the plot still has to be quick and easy to follow. It can't be TOO dark either.

However, while I do look at the SCU as just "enjoyable spin-off media", I genuinely like the movies and I am excited to see what Sonic 3 has in store!

[nagarashi]

Always resented the way Logan was treated in Fable 3, didn't you?

Long post ahead...

Fable 3 has always been an example of controversy, at least I used to stumble upon it all the time. Some branded it a disgrace, while others said it wasn't that bad because of the potential it had, which unfortunately was never realized.

I've always been on the side of the second. Just recently I settled on a marathon and went through the entire trilogy. Just like the first time I was "burned out" from that missed potential. In particular I am always saddened by the king - Logan.

For me, Logan is pretty much the only character I really feel sorry for and care about in Fable 3. Yeah, even Walter I feel pretty cold towards.... but that's partly because I'm on the King's side from the beginning of the game, even though they try hard to turn me against him (which is what turns me away from the other characters). And it's the reason I really dislike the Hero (Princess in my case), she's blind, infantile and driven, she doesn't think with her head (probably like all the Heroes in the fable).

The game does our brother one hell of an injustice. I felt it especially strongly when I finally played Fable 2 after many years. The faceless queen (in my case Sparrow Woman) mentioned in Fable 3 suddenly took on a face for me and became something important... I know what she was like and what her life was like. And I'm sure she would have loved Logan, because she was deprived of parental love early on, and didn't want brother and sister to be against each other, because she lost her sister, her only sibling, at a young age.

Logan was the firstborn son of Sparrow and as the firstborn, the eldest, all expectations were to be placed on him, everything was to be left for him... What does the game tell us?

The game does, however, show and give the impression that Logan was some sort of outcast in the family. And for some reason, the Guild seal was supposed to go to the youngest. You say she's a hero? What was her Heroic talent until she got a gauntlet to use magic? Broke sword in training? I may be biased, but I have a feeling Logan has broken more than one sword in training as well.... But for some reason, all the excitement goes to the youngest one.

Speaking of magic, it used to be used without any gauntlets, does that mean that it weakens the blood of Heroes? That would be... logical. That's where Reaver and his still strong bloodline would come in handy, lol.

Back to Logan. Not only was the seal not for him, but for some reason, even in the Sanctuary, the note from his mother was left for Jasper, not him. What?!

There's a strong and unpleasant feeling of ignoring the fact that Logan even exists. Why does he deserve to be ignored? From a game perspective, I understand that it demonizes our brother, but from a logical perspective, I don't see how it's justified, at least not when it comes to things involving family.

That and the way everyone hates him only made me get more attached to him.... and the fact that he's the closest thing we have to family. You can't just walk away from that fact, giving in to calls for a stupid revolution without even trying to talk to your brother before doing so. Was the princess angry with him? That anger is some kind of unfunny joke. She didn't care about her brother, why should she care about some random dudes she's being asked to execute?

The game shows that even the sister didn't care about Logan. She doesn't notice the changes in him (which by the way even Elliot notices, in my case) and doesn't even try to talk to him to find out what's going on.

And as if that wasn't enough, when we get to a certain point and find out the truth of what's going on with our brother, why he's changed so much, instead of talking to him in person, for some reason we let Walter take him away and have a trial where all those bloodthirsty critters from our allies come out when they wish Logan dead (except Page, surprisingly, I don't like her, but she shows a lot of common sense at the trial).

On top of all that, Logan has seen with his own eyes what Crawler can do, he saw the deaths of all his men when they faced the Darkness for the first time and subsequently experienced the horror that Crawler is capable of, and we have seen what he can do through our example and Walter's. He brings out the deepest nightmares.... Now imagine facing the death of your home, your people, your family, the one person you care about. And then with the knowledge of all this you come back and try to tell people the terrible truth, but they just think you are crazy, you are powerless to convince them. But the sheep have to be saved from the wolves, no matter how stupid they are.

Logan obviously has severe PTSD after the incident, recurring nightmares and obsessive thoughts of what will happen if he fails? Thoughts that he MUST succeed no matter what. Wouldn't that drive you crazy?

It makes everyone think you're a monster and hate you..... Imagine what it's like to live under that kind of constant pressure every day? And then your dearest person, your flesh and blood, goes against you... It's like the last drop to break the stone already broken by despair and depression.

I don't know how Logan can be executed at the end of the trial. Personally, I've never done it, although I watched that scene on youtube for the sake of interest. It's just horrible in my opinion... It's so soulless. I love playing Fable as an evil character, but even by my standards this is just too much... Logan's execution isn't evil or even justice as the crowd screams, it's murder besides being very vile, even for me.

I really dislike that at the end, when he leaves, we aren't given a chance to stop him. He will always be a brother to Hero and they will always need each other. Anyway, after everything that's happened, I wish Logan was by my side so he could finally have peace and love instead of hate and despise. I don't want him to wander the world and die in an unmarked grave somewhere.

P.S: I always liked the moment at the trial, when all those who were crying the whole game, what victims of Logan's cruelty they were, immediately turned into a pack of vicious dogs, as soon as they felt the power and opportunity to grab Logan's throat with no punishment, literally siccing you on your own brother.

P.S.S: Screw Teresa, I hate you for what you did to Sparrow and her kids.