#i haven't watched this movie in ages but its still such a good basis for an au

[oldxenomorph]

now that it's been a while since romulus came out, i can incoherently talk about my thoughts and feelings and what elements i'm incorporating into my canon. enjoy!

for all my friends new and old, here's my personal stance on the alien franchise thus far. my own opinions, of course, some of which may be controversial. i'm very picky about my alien media, i guess.

alien and aliens are my personal, all-time favorites. nothing in the franchise can really be better than these two. they’re the gold standard. they're our introduction to the xenomorph and the xenomorph queen. these are two incredibly tight, well crafted films. i saw alien at a very young age and it was truly thee formative influence. (more like my mom let me see it at a young age and it started our tradition of watching horror movies together.) the first time i saw the xenomorph it altered my brain chemistry permanently. the xenomorphs live inside my brain at all times. these two films will always have a special place in my heart.

alien 3 is a polarizing film in my household. i don't like it, my mom loves it. first it was stuck in development hell and then there was too much studio interference. i don’t care for the writing. but i did like the royal facehugger from the special edition cut, i think that was interesting. (also i’m glad david fincher moved on to make truly great films because he’s one of my favorite directors.)

i'm a certified resurrection hater. i think it's the worst of the franchise. it's just..... so bad. i hated the way it looked. i hated the writing. i hated the acting. i absolutely hated what they did to the xenomorph queen. i hated the newborn. the only thing i liked about resurrection was seeing xenomorphs swim. (i understand that there are queer viewers for whom this movie means a lot to them, and that's fine. it's just not for me.)

i don't care for the alien vs. predator movies.

i haven't read the comics because i have too much to read already.

on the opposite end of the spectrum, i'm one of those freaks that LOVED prometheus and covenant. despite their flaws, i think they set up really interesting thematic elements to the franchise and add a lot of interesting depth. i loved the look of the engineers (so much so that i made their body the basis for the emperor's). i love the trilobite, the deacon, the neomorph, and the preatomorph. i love david 8 and all his weird idiosyncrasies.

alien: isolation is the only video game of the franchise that i've played and its one of my favorites, of all time. it's right up there with mass effect and hades.

and now: romulus.

this was pretty much everything i wanted from a new alien film. (fede alvarez, king, you have done it again.) i absolutely loved the use of practical effects. i loved the atmosphere and the tension. the facehuggers and the xenomorphs were plentiful but still terrifying (and beautiful). andy and his actor really stole the show for me, what a great performance. I EVEN LIKED THE OFFSPRING.

i think where romulus really shines is in how it utilizes the themes and elements that were set up in prometheus and covenent. especially covenant. the connection between david reciting ozymandias and the station being named after the creation myth of rome, is a straight line. (also huge moment for us prometheus/covenant enjoyers when the black substance returned!) while romulus is less about faith, the themes of godhood, horrific godhood, creation and destruction, humanity's hubris, exploitation and expansion, are still, in my opinion, at the center of the film.

romulus was also smart in bringing back weyland-yutani as the evil corporation that influences the events of the films. pairing weyland-yutani with the romulus and remus myth was such a good choice, i think it speaks a lot to the central themes of the franchise. (i know fede alvarez said that the romulus and remus motifs are Not That Deep, but that won't stop me from finding deeper meaning and symbolism and context.) something about weyland-yutani's hubris to exploit the black substance to expand its corporate empire. weyland-yutani has always been an indictment of capitalism, in the way it views all life as being exploitable, expendable, in the name of capital domination and profits.

(also, i totally thought that the painting in the hallway was a version of les sabines by david, but i wasn't sure because it didn't look quite right. luckily someone on reddit pointed out that the painting is actually view of the hotel de ville marseille during the plague of 1720 by michel serre. still thematically tracks especially re: the offspring both nursing from and devouring kay at once. incredible imagery and symbolism in a single shot.)

romulus is by no means perfect. i didn't like all of the callbacks to the previous films. i definitely had a 'he would not say that' when andy said "get away from her, you bitch." when they showed the rook android i was like "oh no.... they gave ian holm the peter cushing treatment." i think those were mostly my main complaints, that the callbacks felt a bit forced.

anyway. things i'm adding to my canon.

the cocoon. i'm so glad we got an addition to the xenomorph life cycle! loved this thing.

the offspring. not the offspring itself, but it's giving me ideas for the princes of entropy.

i'm really intrigued by how the offspring looks (not just its resemblance to the engineers). i've always imagined the princes of entropy has being perfect balances of nyx and the emperor's genetics; generally the emperor's body and signs of nyx in their faces, eyes, and hair. after seeing the offspring, i'm envisioning them not having carbon copies of the emperor's body, but something that's has more xenomorph qualities: dorsal tubes, tail, metallic teeth, that retractable tongue with a jaw. they be embodiments of the 3 possible ways the universe will die, but they still meant to be reflections of their mothers.

they wouldn't come into their fully formed shaped until after the finish their n7 training (hard to blend into humanity when you're 7'7"). but yes, i'm envisioning them as being perfect versions of the offspring, sharing lots of characteristics with their sisters. deep down i just want them to look even more fucked up and unsettling. they are my special little guys.

(something about the princes being, in many ways, the diametric opposite of the moirai, nyx's oldest children. not just in what they represent, but the fact that they get to be so close to their mother. i know i've touched on this before, but it's something i like exploring. we know that, according to achilles, nyx created her children alone, and sometimes under great stress, even if the great family sent their midwives to help her. she loves her children, but even she acknowledges that motherhood wasn't always a success. when she had the princes, the first of her children with the emperor, she was surrounded by the great family, the xenomorph queens, the rachni. she had them in the black palace, with the emperor's true shape next to her, holding her hand. every time she looks at them, she sees herself and the emperor.)

the scorched xenomorph. i imagine her being one of the older drones, and received her scorched scars protecting her sisters. love thinking about her taking pride in her scars because the emperor has scars and she is a reflection of her. also her more mechanical design, i loved so much. thinking about her taking on such qualities because she dreamed about the reapers when she was born, maybe her facehugger impregnated someone with high level indoctrination.

not only did i love how terrifying the facehuggers were, i loved their spider-like behaviors. raising their forefingers up like the way tarantulas do. also they were so fast! look at them go!

anyway, alien: romulus good. sensational. fantastic even. thank you for my life, fede alvarez. i've already bought two romulus shirts. i am going to be the best dressed person in my department.

[grinchwrapsupreme]

the nature of Me is always mapping out a The Baker!AU for every piece of media I get invested in.

So anyways, here’s The Baker!AU for BBC Ghosts:

The Captain is a special ops soldier whose work is starting to really destroy him mentally and physically, so when his old MIA partner, Havers, reappears with an Intent To Kill he calls in a favour and retreats to a friend’s abandoned bakery in a small village where he assumes the pseudonym “Captain” and does his best to lay low

By running the bakery

Which he isn’t very good at

While trying to bury the last bit of evidence of his former life in a remote field he gets hit in the head and blacks out

Fortunately there happened to be a scout troupe nearby and Scoutmaster Pat puts his first aide badge into action, taking the Captain back to his house and taking care of him until he wakes up

Naturally the Captain is very suspicious at first, but this Pat guy seems Extremely trustworthy and they quickly form a friendship that teeters on the brink of something more

But as with all small towns, gossip spreads fast, and Mary, who happened to see the Captain burying his service revolver before he got knocked out while she was tending her crops the next field over eagerly shares the opinion that this “Captain” may be some kind of secret agent or hitman or something because she googled the gun and it’s definitely not civilian issue

Some of the other townsfolk take this idea and run, building it up to the point they believe if they can figure out the secret code the Captain will kill the people they don’t like

George Button orders a chocolate cake for his wife, Fanny, and, by sheer coincidence, she falls out the second story window of their home the next day (and survives, but the damage is done) and tells everyone he’s cracked the code

Next thing you know everybody’s ordering chocolate cakes for everybody and a few unfortunate accidents only confirms their beliefs

The Captain, unaware of the rumours, is just enjoying the sudden jump in business and making some really bad cakes

Business is so good, in fact, that he hires local girl Kitty to help him and with her assistance he actually starts to get quite good

Between Kitty and Pat, the Captain is actually becoming quite contented in his new life even as chaos is rapidly building among the community

Unfortunately nothing lasts forever and eventually Havers turns up

Things happen and everything comes to light - the Captain’s past, the chocolate cake hits, everything he didn’t want getting out - and in turn he learns that Havers believes the Captain betrayed him on some previous mission in what was actually a massive misunderstanding brought about by unrealized feelings and trauma

With the town defending him, the Captain is finally able to explain himself to Havers and, at last, put things to rest

The Captain officially retires from the armed forces and puts his full efforts into the bakery and he and Pat fall in love everyone gets a happy ending blah blah blah

The End

[nocompromise-noregrets]

What three cartoons (if any) do you enjoy?

Good question. I don't really watch animations, not out of any particular aversion, just that it's been a long time since I've had the mental energy to get into anything new, and of the snippets of various things I've seen on here, none of them have grabbed me enough to make me want to check them out (also I'd have no idea where to look, we have all the streaming services and I still haven't a clue). I do have a deep and abiding fondness for the 1990s X-Men cartoon series, which I discovered in the early 2000s when we had cable TV at about the time the original movies came out and I fell headlong into the comics fandom, partly because it actually does justice to the comic book characters and gives me my Gambit/Rogue fix on a regular basis. I was hoping to enjoy the Marvel What If...? series, but with the exception of a few characters I was disappointed because almost every episode was world-ending grimdark in-every-other-universe-everything-goes-horribly-wrong, which I am Not In The Mood For at the moment (although it was evidently all setting up for the final episode, but the payoff...didn't make up for it).

I loved the original Animaniacs, although I haven't quite figured out how to watch the new series (I am fairly sure I didn't hallucinate there being a new series...or did I?), and way way back I loved the old Looney Tunes. But animation hasn't really been a huge part of my life in general (I am of the generation who grew up in between Disney's old heyday - I saw The Fox and the Hound in the cinema when I was about six, and then they didn't produce anything for ages - and the new films that came out in the 90s when I was already a student, and so I didn't start there, or with the Dreamworks animations or any of the others; I never really started anywhere. I also grew up in the middle of nowhere and basically went to the cinema a maximum of ten times between the ages of about six and 20, and we didn't rent videos, which was slightly in its infancy at the time I believe, ditto satellite TV, so I basically grew up on whatever was on terrestrial TV. I never had the watching-favourite-videos-over-and-over-again thing...)

Okay, that was a very long way of saying I've never really been into animation, wasn't it? XD Sorry! But thank you for asking! <333333

[doorbloggr]

Friday 28/5/21: Media Recommendations #4

Its Friday again, so that means I gotta nerd out about things I've had on my mind lately and recommend other people go enjoy them too.

Today's topics of interest will be:

Manga/Anime: Fullmetal Alchemist

Videogame: Monster Hunter Rise

Music: Kiss from a Rose; Seal

In past weeks, I have picked my recommendations based on shows/music etc that are not as mainstream as I think should be, hence I am recommending them with the intention of increasing the audience. But this week, I am sure these three pieces of media are very widely known already. And its not wrong to like popular things, they got popular for a reason. So this week I'm gonna gush about why I like these popular things.

Fullmetal Alchemist (Fullmetal Alchemist)

In the vaguely European-esque country of Amestris, those gifted by natural or acquired powers can reshape the world around them using the power of Alchemy. In this world, magic users, called Alchemists, are publicly known and acknowledged. The government even employs many State Alchemists, who receive funding for their specific alchemic research, in exchange for their cooperation during military conflicts.

Fullmetal Alchemist has one of the most well put together and interesting fantasy settings in all of fiction (in my opinion). It is both medieval fantasy but also late 1800s europe, and this helps create a world where magic has very strict metaphysical and political rules.

The story within this world focuses on the brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric, who become the youngest known State Alchemists as part of their quest to restore Edward's limbs and Alphonse's entire body which were lost to a tragic alchemic experiment gone wrong. Ed has classic napoleon complex, and detests anyone looking down on him, but he often has more than enough bite to back up his bark. Al is much more calm and collected, but despite his soul inhabiting an imposing suit of armour, he is the younger brother and often emotionally immature. The two have an interesting dynamic, where the older brother is small and snappy, but still feels responsible and protective over his towering, intimidating younger brother who speaks with a very child-like voice, but could easily knock you out.

FMA is not a very complicated story, but it has depth. Its rich world, with a variety of interesting and endearing characters, make for a very engaging time. It is a story of growth, trust, bonds, and rebuilding what was once lost, while maintaining what you are still working on.

There are 3 ways to experience this story. I have gone back and read the original Manga, and if you prefer Manga as your story form, it is a very fun read. There are two anime adaptations, one that was in production and finished before the manga was complete, and another that came a few years later. The former has a different ending to the latter, and I can only recommend the latter, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, seeing as I never watched the original series. But I have heard on good authority that both are worth the watch, so it is up to you. I can't really decide on a definitive favourite anime, but Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is easily always top 3.

Videogame: Monster Hunter Rise

Sometimes, the rich lore and story are what makes or breaks consumable media, but sometimes, all you need is pure stupid fun. Monster Hunter is a series built on a simple premise that does not need much fluffing to be enjoyed. You are a hunter: a very skilled and powerful warrior who weilds, often oversized, powerful weapons of many types, and it is your duty to go out and hunt monsters: powerful creatures who can co-exist with the world but on a case by case basis, put the people and wildlife around them in harm's way.

Monster Hunter Rise is the newest game in the series, and is on the Nintendo Switch. Many players I've talked to have said that this is the easiest game to get into, but that does not make MHR an simple, boring game, and top-level play is definitely a grind. The draw of Monster Hunter is that every "level" is a boss battle, and that battle takes place over a huge map. In this game, the hunter is tasked with finding the monster, and then using their own gear, plus the help of nature around them, to incapacitate the target monster.

This game has fourteen weapons to choose from, and using each is like playing a completely different action game. They can be grouped as Heavy, Light, and Technical Weapons, but the truth is, all weapons are unique, and depending on which specific model of a weapon you use, they can be even more unique within that weapon. Monster Hunter games are RPGs, but rather than gaining EXP, and stat changes indicating growth, Hunters use bits of the monsters they've hunted to make themselves stronger.

Both new weapons and armour require monster parts, and you're never guaranteed to get all the parts you need from one hunt. So the game encourages you fight the same monsters multiple times, learning patterns, honing your skills. When you have made your ideal weapons and armour, you have gotten significantly better at hunting those monsters. Monster Hunter Rise introduces Wire Bugs, a resource with a variety of uses ranged from spiderman-ing up and across mountains, to lending themselves as super moves for your weapons. Breath of the Wild held a place in my heart for ages because of how good it feels to traverse, but honestly, Monster Hunter Rise's wall-running and grapple-hooking blow BotW out of the water. Its just fun to move! If you enjoy action games and boss fights, Monster Hunter Rise is 100% a game you should check out.

Music: Kiss From a Rose; Seal

In my very deep Spotify library, there's a lot of music I will just sometimes skip. Not because I don't like it, but because I need to be in the right mood. But there's also a select handful of songs where I will never skip because I will always be in the mood to shout those lyrics, no matter when or where. Seal's Kiss from a Rose is one of those songs.

The song was originally part of the soundtrack for Batman Forever, but it is not a song explicitly about that movie. I didn't even know this myself until a while after I was obsessed with this song. Kiss from a Rose is an emotional, almost melancholy song with a very hard to place meaning. Seal has said it could've been about a difficult relationship, but I feel it is up to the listener how they interpret it.

The instrumentals are subtle yet powerful, soothing yet exhilarating. It is just a very engaging song and the lyrics are just hard to not sing along to. If you've heard it, you know. If you haven't, take a listen and meet your favourite song this week.