#i need to rewatch the movies more critically there to see what else i missed

[basslinegrave]

sonic 3 spoilers (longer - very long thoughts)

just thoughts about something that i would add to the movie

1) i fully expected sonic to take the photo of shadow and maria and later give it to him, since he destroyed everything else and it would be nice like "hey i held onto this for you, might be important" i think it would be a nice way to connect them in an even stronger way. it felt like the rivals to friends was rushed, though shadow seemed to be depicted as more youthful here, i still feel like he would need something more to get through him (but then he def felt something already when he hit tom so it wasnt like a sudden switch or anything)

2) maybe i wasnt paying full attention but robotniks last words came kinda out of nowhere, i really expected them to show at least a little bit of the times stone cared for him. like have him go through the realization and let him feel it on screen a bit longer. maybe he had a moment of thought but i dont remember that. (also it was good but kinda silly in retrospect he really broadcasted it to the whole world 0 shame 😭 just imagining bot from the first movie seeing his future self say that. hed explode)

i would add like 10-20 mins to the movie for this. just let the characters stop for a moment and feel. but then, its a sonic movie. the audience is 5 year olds. it doesnt matter. but i still felt like a lot has been cut or missing? - then again, i need to rewatch it/watch the original to see the original pacing and wording of things. perhaps some things got lost in translation or whatever. i also couldnt concentrate cause someone kept fucking talking over the movie. but what wasnt shown just wasnt shown. also for shadow idk i thought they would go for some brooding scene in the vibe of spiderverse introductions but it went all action but ig they made up for it later i loved the scenes with maria and the stargazing (back when i was into sonadow stargazing was my fave trope for them. stars in general. so this was beautiful. shadow as a falling/fallen star too and in this case it applied to both him and sonic)

3) more music. again this might be just the case of the dubbed version but i felt a severe lack of music? and to me personally the live and learn part felt extremely weak, the orchestral version or whatever it was is nice but here it wasnt hype enough for me. idk, again, maybe the og will feel different but you know. if more of the scenes were treated music wise like the dance ones id be more hyped, i dont like when they use a song but only like 4 seconds of it and stuff. to compare it with an example of what i loved it would definitely be deadpool - the opening fucking slayed and also the like a prayer part. that shit went hard as hell and i didnt even like dp3 that much.

but overall i feel like the pacing was so much better in this one than the second movie and it felt like they actually gave more screentime to the nonhuman characters this time

- this is more critical but there were also parts that i loved and like overall the movie was good, i liked the story, i liked what they did with shadow (i wish they stretched out the tokyo part longer though, that was dope), loved what they did with him and maria, the movie felt balanced enough (but i felt that way about 2 and then on rewatch it was noticeable how many useless human scenes there were so that might change), the gun agents were walking the thin line of being too annoying but it was doable, i loved what they did with walters! also i like wade as a character but this was just enough (people were Groaning when he got on screen lmfao) same applies to the others but i was surprised that was it. so silly

however i still enjoyed 2 more. but this might just be the case of "im super tired, quite depressed, i dont care about anything rn, some ppl fucked me over today and i dont feel good, the vibe is off, i cant hear half of the movie, im too hot and got low bp and keep hearing my heartbeat louder than anything else, and i didnt get a happy ending" rather than "movie bad"

when they revealed shadow in 2 i was jumping off of my seat and gripping the one in front of me. this post creds reveal here was like "oh! okay nice" (<- expected this so 0 surprise or anything)

also for 2 i went in with low expectations and got peak. for 3 i expected better than 2. so i failed myself there

i wish i could say i enjoyed this even more than the 2nd movie. i wish i got back from the cinema just typing out jumbled words and screams on social media like after the 2nd. i got out of this one like "i have to pretend i loved this greatly like i had to do with the fnaf movie" but this was at least better than the fnaf movie to me lmao

fucking sonic prime got more reactions out of me than this movie and i wanted to enjoy it so bad. anyway i need meds or something i ran out of D3 its also that speaking thru me

[idontbeatgames]

It's Time To Talk About The Missed Potential of DC's Titans

Five years and four seasons later, DC’s Titans has officially come to an end and admittedly, saying that kind of leaves me with a bittersweet feeling. I think a lot of people will agree with me when I say that Titans is the superhero genre’s Riverdale. Everybody knows that Titans has hit or miss writing, everybody knows that the showrunners had almost no idea as to what they were doing with a majority of their characters and everybody knows that the show refused to learn from its mistakes. However, that never changed the fact that whenever a new season of Titans was announced or a new season of Titans concluded, people consistently found themselves binging Titans despite its flaws. I’d like to think that it’s because unlike some of the late Arrowverse shows, Titans always had a ridiculous amount of potential. Since Season 1 of Titans, Titans fans have always found themselves asking the same exact questions every single time a new season was about to come out. Is this the season that the Titans finally turn things around? Is this going to be the season that’s finally consistent from start to finish? Is this the season where Titans finally dedicate time to growing its core cast rather than introducing a ridiculous amount of characters? 

As frustrating as it is to say this, the answer to those questions was a resounding no, and yes, that even applies to the last season as well. The core reason this is frustrating is that Titans got everything else right. For instance – the superhero suits made for every single season of Titans were legitimately incredible, the cinematography has always been great, the action scenes were more than good enough despite some dodgy CGI and even the casting was pretty much as good as it can be for a superhero show. Since the first season of this show, fans such as myself have had the same complaints or criticisms, and I truly mean this. You can rewatch every single one of my videos about DC Titans and you’ll notice a trend when it comes to this show. This show has consistently suffered from poor writing, inconsistent storytelling, an unequal amount of screen time for every single character, and finally, constantly adding way too many characters every single season – which to me hurt the show way more than the showrunners probably thought it would. There is a thing as too many characters in a show, movie, or cinematic universe and Titans is a prime example of this. To give an example that showcases what balancing too many characters should look like, let's look at the Arrowverse. The Arrowverse has always had a massive roster of characters from its very inception starting with the cast of Arrow. Unlike Titans, the Arrowverse fleshed itself out enough to allow the user to slowly become accustomed to understanding and remembering its massive cast of characters along with their core traits or storylines associated with those characters across its multitude of shows. Outside of the Titans Core Four — Nightwing, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven — you never really got to actually be acquainted with any of the side characters introduced in the Titans Universe. Those side characters always felt more like they were taking away time from the characters we actually want to see and spend time with. The writers behind this show also had an annoying tendency to write these side characters as solutions to avoidable conflicts.

For a show that focuses on the key premise of an ensemble cast growing into their own across multiple seasons, you’d think that the Titans would eventually be able to get things done without needing outside help from other side characters for a single scene in an episode. That never happened. None of the Titans ever grew into the mantle of a superhero nor did they ever shine satisfyingly, outside of Beast Boy. And I say that despite Beast Boy spending three full seasons being nothing more than Raven’s boyfriend and barely transforming at all despite that being his superpower. As for the other Titans, let's do a quick rundown to see just how good they ended up being by the finale of Titans. Dick Grayson spent four seasons knowing a guy who had the answer to every minor inconvenience that came across the Titans' way because that was the only answer the writers ever had when it came to progressing a season’s storyline. Raven spent the majority of this show being a damsel in distress with inconsistent power scaling because the strengths of her powers depended on what the writers wanted for any given particular scenario. There are so many scenes with Raven in them that could have easily been solved if someone said “Hey Raven, help us out here”. However, since that was too easy for this show apparently, Raven would just sit back and do literally nothing when she wasn’t forced into being a damsel in distress for the sake of a plot line. Starfire is the only character that actually got to find herself and got to find her purpose by the end of the show. I can’t believe I get to say that since the showrunners shelved an entire Starfire-centric plot that was planned for season three for unknown reasons after spending two full seasons setting that massive storyline up. Superboy was introduced as the lighthearted character who was the unintentional but much-needed comedic effect. And then, in typical Titans fashion, the show pivoted from that direction. Superboy pivoted towards embracing his inner Lex Luthor for the entire final season, only for him to realize he no longer wants to be that anymore and he reverts back to his regular self. 

That then leaves us with a multitude of characters who were previously important that eventually got shelved due to unknown reasons. Jason Todd, for example, was such a vital part of Titans but he eventually just faded into obscurity after his Red Hood story arc only for him to suddenly pop up for a single episode in the final season. Why? To train Tim Drake for Dick which was obvious fan service just like Beast Boy’s episode in the final season. Donna Troy, just like Jason, was also vital to the Titans at one point. She got killed off for dramatic effect and came back for one single episode in season three as a response to the massive but deserved backlash the show got for such a stupid decision. Finally, does anybody remember Jericho and Rose? You know, the two characters who played a massive role in Jason’s character development in Season 2? If you said no, I don’t blame you. Those characters got shelved for unknown reasons and never had their storylines addressed after Season 2, which is incredibly weird when you think about it. Those characters never got mentioned ever again after that point in time just like Hawk, who died, and Dove who retired as a Titan after simply not wanting to be a Titan anymore. The same even applies to Barbara, who I nearly forgot about as well. It’s like this show was so focused on trying to be this mini-Batman Cinematic Universe that it forgot to make almost anything meaningful. The constant habit of trying to name-drop characters as Easter Eggs and introducing characters who only end up being relevant for a total of like twenty minutes in a single episode actually ruined the show in the long run. And although it’s fairly easy to overlook how these characters were treated, I never found myself able to overlook how the Titans themselves were written. The Titans, as a whole, were terrible people. They weren’t heroes. They never had the moral compass of good heroes. They weren’t positive role models to any of the citizens they tried to protect in their universe and they weren’t good friends to each other, let alone a good team, either.

There are two reasons for this. The first reason is that rather than this show using its dark and gritty but semi-realistic theme in a meaningful way that allows this show to tell a compelling story that pushes its main characters through highs and lows that ultimately flesh out their characters for the better, it doesn’t do that. Titans use its dark and gritty but semi-realistic theme as a justification to consistently put its main characters through meaningless traumatic events without any intentions of meaningful character growth. The thought process behind this train of thought ended up always being “We can, so we should” instead of “We can, but how does this traumatic event affect the long-term trajectory of this character?” It’s almost like this show’s goal was to intentionally make the viewers feel bad for the Titans without ever offering any sort of logical long-term resolutions for these characters. A prime example of this is how Jason Todd was handled. Jason started off as a loudmouth member of the Titans that most Titans didn’t like nor tried to get along with because he was too immature and energetic, which was totally understandable due to him being one of the youngest members of the Titans. The Titans hated him so much that they treated him terribly and only felt bad for him after he went through a bunch of traumatic events with Deathstroke. And even then, the Titans were still confused as to why he started to act differently and as to why Jason would have even more arguments with the Titans. This naturally caused a massive rift amongst the Titans because only one person was willing to try and understand Jason and what he had been through – Dove. Jason being the immature kid he was, didn’t listen to anybody and gets killed by the Joker only for him to come back to life with one goal: becoming “the Red Hood” so he could get revenge on the Titans. The Titans were massively confused as to why this was his intention and how he came back to life, understandably so. The end result of this storyline? Jason and Dick Grayson talking outside in the middle of a street after Jason puts every Titan through traumatic events due to him also being manipulated by Scarecrow, who was an awful villain by the way. After this conversation, they come to the miraculous conclusion that they need each other for the greater good and decide that they should work together to take down Scarecrow. Are you going to tell me that this end conclusion couldn’t have been resolved much earlier on or in a much better way? 

It’s like those who were behind this show were so preoccupied with the thought of doing a Red Hood storyline for Titans, that no one asked the question: How do we naturally progress towards this Red Hood storyline? After watching the final season of Titans, I began to have the realization that you can also say the exact same thing about every other season of this show and their respective storylines, which brings me to the second reason why the team never ended up being a good team. Thanks to the way this show was written and thanks to this show’s structure, I’ve never seen a group of superheroes get together, split up to go on side adventures, get back together, realize that they should’ve never split up to begin with, and then split up again, like the Titans did. It’s always felt like the show was afraid to give the Titans any sense of downtime. Every episode happens to contain one of the following events — a random flashback that was never shown to us that explains something that’s going on in the present, the world is ending, the villain is planning the next step of their massive plan, a character goes off on a side quest to get some character only for them to not explain that to anybody or a couple of characters go off together to get a vital piece of information to progress the season’s overarching story. There’s never a point where the Titans are just being regular people together. Yeah, they’re supposed to be superheroes, but they’re people too and I truly do think this show would have benefited by having an episode per season dedicated to the Titans just hanging out and building their chemistry. Why do you think so many people happen to like Beast Boy? He’s one of the only kind-hearted characters in this show that actually tries to be a good person. He actually tries to put his best foot forward to be there for any Titan, especially Raven, and that would sometimes lead to some of the best scenes in this show – the scenes of people just talking things out. With a set of characters that are so young, this show had so much potential to make the smaller moments matter more. They had the opportunity to bring characters together and form unexpected friendships. They had the opportunity to create a team with inside jokes or callbacks that could’ve been unexpected payoff moments. And more importantly, they had the opportunity to humanize these characters if they were willing to give them the downtime to breathe and build their chemistry with one another. 

No, this creative decision or idea wouldn’t have taken away from the intentionally dark, gritty, and semi-realistic themes this show was going for. What it would’ve done is actually boost those same exact themes considering the fun, enjoyable, or humanizing moments in Titans were always so far and few in between. It would’ve made us care far more for the characters and find some level of appreciation for the plethora of dynamics across the show’s four seasons. And you sort of feel that in the final season of the show because the finale leaves a bit of a bittersweet taste in your mouth. The finale of Titans doesn’t feel like an ending. The finale doesn’t feel like we’re closing the chapter on a bunch of characters that have been through it all and finally got the happy ending they all deserved. The finale, in my opinion, felt like the showrunners had just opened the door and gave us a glimpse as to what Titans could’ve been. Seeing every character sitting with each other, laughing, talking about life, and simply appreciating each other’s presence was such a bittersweet moment. That heart-to-heart scene was exactly what this show was missing from start to finish – the Titans actually bonding over something that doesn’t relate to trauma. With the show being over, I still can’t help but question what Titans should’ve been instead. Should Titans have been a show set up by a single-season Nightwing show? Should Titans have been a single-season experience that sets up multiple spin-off shows for characters like Red Hood, or Beast Boy? Should Titans have been a show that primarily focused on one character per season so it could ultimately build up to a finale team-up season where the characters come together to take down a common foe? Should Titans have been a Bat Family show instead?  I don’t know if any of us will ever know the exact answer as to what the actual right direction for Titans was, but what I do know is that what we got clearly wasn’t the best choice (outside of the casting, of course). 

There’s a quote from one of my favorite movies ever made and I truly think that this quote entirely encapsulates the experience of DC’s Titans.

Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.

Yes, I’m seriously quoting Jurassic Park right now, get over it. DC’s Titans was a mixed bag. Watching this show more often than not left me with the same thought as we reached the end of every season –“But why? Why would you do that to these characters? Why would you use this as the solution to that plotline? Why didn’t you just do this or do that instead?” While that was a frustrating experience, considering I was constantly waiting for the show to finally learn from its mistakes, I’m still going to admittedly miss it. As I said earlier, this show was basically the superhero fandom’s Riverdale. It was a constant trainwreck but it was our trainwreck, you know? I’ve watched this show since the very first episode and I was even there for the World Premiere Titans Event during New York Comic Con in 2018 where DC even previewed the first episode of Doom Patrol along with the original DC Universe Streaming App show lineup as well. Watching this show has been one hell of a journey and while I’ve never agreed with a lot of the creative decisions in this show, I’m always going to have a soft spot for Titans no matter what. It’s a shame that the cast of Titans isn’t going to likely ever reprise their roles because there were some amazing choices with the casting. Like a lot of people, I would’ve easily been down with nearly any Titans-related spinoff TV show even if I fully knew that those shows wouldn’t have lived up to their potential deep down inside. I’ll always remember DC’s Titans. I’ll remember the massive cast this show had. I’ll remember the amazing cinematography and pretty good action in this show. I’ll remember the poorly done storylines and I’ll even remember the infamous Batman line that nearly caused everybody to immediately write the show off from its first trailer, too. However, what I’ll always remember the most from this show is the simple fact that Titans never lived up to its massive amount of potential. 

[wfagamerants]

So I finally saw the Mario movie, so of course I am not gonna miss my chance to do a good ol’ write-up about my thoughts. Spoilers btw.

I am just fresh from seeing it, so this is very early impressions speaking, but on the whole, I am very happy. A Mario movie on the big screen is something I wanted to experience as early as I can think back and yeah, it did not disappoint.

Above all else, the movie succeeds where it needed to succeed most.

It’s a Mario movie and very proud to be a Mario movie. it doesn’t rely on a ‘’Oooooh, Mario is in our world’’ kind of gimmick or anything. It looks like Mario, it sounds like Mario and it plays out like a Mario film and I mean all that in the best ways possible.

The movie is pure eye candy and while seeing so much of it’s setpieces from trailers already caught me off-guard, there was still more than enough to see. Brooklyn and the way it was made to fit with Mario’s current aesthetic was a major highlight there.

The characters look great, it’s full of detail, really, nothing to complain about there.

Music is a delight too, any time I recognized one of the game themes, which was a lot of times, made me grin. The licensed songs do clash with that, but are ultimately inoffensive. I get when people hate it, but for me, it’s just there.

I watched the movie in german, so I can’t comment on the english cast at large, but I liked them from the trailers and the german cast absolutely delivered too, with Luigi and DK being particular highlights.

Speaking of DK, everything around him and his series was fantastic to see. I always want to see the Marioverse be more connected and seeing a taste of that on the big-screen makes me more than a little giddy.

All that is good stuff and the many references to spot are going to make this an incredible movie to rewatch and discover new details, but there is one issue that I do think may make this movie a more difficult sell for people not super into Mario.

The beginning in Brooklyn is my favorite part of the movie for how it establishes Mario and Luigi, their relationship and struggles with both their business and earning the approval of others around them (being someone in the know and nostalgic about the old backstory adds extra points obviously). It takes time to show them actually at a job, gives Foreman Spike and Pauline small parts to give that fuzzy feeling of familiarity and all around serves as a great introduction. It’s nothing deep but it does a lot to elevate the Bros as characters in a way that suits the medium.

Once the Mushroom Kingdom comes in though, a lot of that starts to take a backseat to jumping from location to location. It’s an absolute joyride, but it does leave a lot of concepts without the room they need.

The flashback Luigi has while captive is great and earned, given Luigi’s timid nature and Mario being so protective of him have already been well established, but it doesn’t really go beyond that scene until the climax. It works, but at least an extra scene where Luigi laments being a scaredy cat would have given his one big moment some more pathos.

Similarly Peach’s backstory, while simple, does create intrigue and a new dimension to her care for the Toads, but it’s only brought up once and stops being a factor afterwards. It honestly feels like an entire sub-plot got cut there.

There is more stuff like that and it is an aspect where the movie feels a bit insecure about itself. It’s clear the shadow of the live action movie was looming over the movie’s production and through that, it feels they were afraid of focusing too long on something less fan–service. 

I still enjoy what we got, like Mario and DK’s dynamic is amazing even without an extended talk about their dads, it’s just stuff they could have done a little more of, because the movie otherwise does blatantly bank on your existing familiarity with the cast and world to carry things. It works for me, but I can understand a lot more now why critics who have not much clue about Mario, were less impressed.

On that note, the characters also really landed for me. Luigi did get thrown under the bus though. He’s great when he is on-screen and his moment of glory intensely cathartic, but he really does not get to do much and his dynamic with Mario does not have much time to shine. 

Similarly Lumalee is a big question mark for me. He’s amusing, but there is no context as to how Bowser got him. I really did expect some kind of Galaxy tease that just never happens and due to how little time the prisoners get, Lumalee really ends up just being a vehicle for macabre jokes.

I do also wish Peach was allowed to be a liiiittle more flawed, like I am totally on-board with her being more experienced because of her background growing up in the Mushroom Kingdom and always root for the SMB2 team to be the default hero team whenever possible. That I am all cool with, I just feel they overcompensated a little, because aside from being caught by King Bob-omb’s explosion, I struggle to think of a single mistake she made the entire movie, while everyone else bumbles at some point. Not a big deal, she ended up far more endearing than I expected, I just feel they could have made it more balanced than constant hypercompetence. 

The rest of the cast I have no complaints about. Mario is precisely what I want a more distinctly characterized take on him to be. All my praises regarding Toad still apply, Spike is great for what he gets, DK rules, Cranky is fine for what this version of him is meant to be, Kamek has good moments and Bowser is a hilarious incel that also caught me off-guard with how surprisingly evil he could be.

All that good stuff easily wins the day and made me genuinely love my time with the movie. A sequel really does need to address the pacing problems and let the characters breathe more, but I do think the movie is a slam dunk in what it wants to archive. 

This 100% is a movie for people that would get excited to see the Koopa General become a Blue Shell or see the Bros while invincible, put the smack down on Bowser and his army.

I am absolutely in this camp and as far as I am concerned, it’s a fan joyride, made by people that clearly respect the source material and I am happy I took on said ride.

I do wish the Plumber Rap used the same german lyrics as in the Super Show dub, but nobody’s perfect.

[caatws]

I wanted to say I think you have some of the most detailed and well thought out opinions of vol 3 that I have seen. You do a good job of not ignoring the good while also not pretending the movie was flawless. It's very refreshing.

I'm still working on all of my opinions of the movie and one thing I'm becoming more settled on is that the movie suffered from wanting to have its cake and eat it too. Gamora's death and the ways her past self can't easily fall back on what was got a lot of attention during some scenes. Then in other scenes her death was side stepped to point out that technically she's still here and not all is lost. This was used the most when it came to characters who weren't Peter. I certainly am no expert but I think there were better ways to connect those two points. There is a loss worth grieving and feelings that need to be worked through as a team even as they gradually embrace a new situation. That would have required more time be spent and story dedicated to that plot and easy or not I think that should have been done.

The same issue existed for the non existent exploration of how 5 years after the snap things would be really different. Not sure if you watched The Falcon and The Winter Soldier or Hawkeye but both those shows did a better job than vol 3 at not pretending nothing happened. The new Ant-man movie with all it's mess didn't pretend the snap was easy either. I love the guardians and I love the family theme but the family had been through the most difficult struggle ever and was disrupted in pretty hard hitting ways that there was no way to easily bounce back from. Most of them missed 5 years, Gamora was dead, others experienced the reality of what was essentially a post apocalyptic world. At the end Nebula got her sister back in a way where her sister basically lost some of their most crucial bonding years and she couldn't share with anyone she was keeping up with her. There was so much about all of this that needed exploration. I did appreciate Peter's mental state was terrible and the film didn't joke around about it. But that was the only sign IW or EG had taken place for these characters. It made no sense. In fact the movie played vague about Gamora experiencing Endgame and that was the whole plot around which she returned.

AHHH THANK YOU ANON 🫶🏼😭 i do still love this franchise and all these characters with all my heart, so i want to still give credit where credit is due when i can! (i also am thinking of rewatching vol 3 for the first time this weekend since my initial watch like 2 weeks ago, and i'm eager to better see the forest for the trees and pay less attention to the gamora situation and more attention to everything else in the film, bc there were some things that i did rly like!!!)

re: the ways gamora's death was handled differently scene to scene, i agree!!! i also think a way that these differing reactions between the characters could've been better connected is by having that be a more prominent conflict between the characters from start to finish. like it's already kinda established at the beginning that peter grieving is disrupting the team, but i feel like we could've done more with that throughout the film. and rather than have it be peter vs everyone else, it would've been interesting to see how each character individually may have been at different points in their grief journey. but i understand that a rocket backstory-centric film is not gonna allow much room for That much exploration between the characters

also yeah the way post-endgame content has been handling the snap has been one of my biggest criticisms of phases 4 and 5 so far. i did watch tfatws and hawkeye and you're right that those are the only shows that have rly addressed things (and of course quantumania touched on it a fair amount) - and tbh, hawkeye is the only phase 4 project that i felt like i came away from it with a genuinely better understanding of the snap with it showing yelena's pov of getting snapped and then coming back. we definitely needed something to that emotional extent for gotg at some point, whether it be here or the holiday special - something that rly showed how much the snap disrupted their lives and fucked up both those who were snapped and those who were just stuck living in the apocalypse for 5 years. (i also would've loved to see more of how it affected rocket especially, considering his arc in vol 2)

at this point, now that we have phases 4 and some of 5, to me it almost feels like the snap was done all wrong lol. like what was the point of making it 5 years long if it we weren't gonna get to see the actual full impact of it on the characters, especially the ones who lived through the 5 years? the only characters' experiences we rly got to see in depth were the core 6 avengers in endgame...meanwhile, rocket was left as the SOLE member of his team (bc nebula wasn't even technically a guardian yet in 2018) and nebula lost her sister in a super traumatic way. LIKE ARE ROCKET AND NEBULA OKAY LMAO???

similarly, if the mcu wasn't ready to actually handle the implications and the fallout of the circumstances of gamora's death, it shouldn't have done it lmao. like don't dish what you can't take. don't make huge universe-altering and character-devastating story moves if you're not even going to give them the depth they deserve

[netflixonyourcouch]

Coach Carter (2005)

My first rewatch of this movie as an adult. Saw it way back in 2005, on DVD (back when DVDs were hella popular) and thought now is as good of a time as any to rewatch.

And honestly? This rewatch went way better than I thought it would.

Coach Carter is one of the best movies in this particular vein (adult comes to troubled school and inspires kids to do better). It tracks the apparently true story of an actual high school coach who went full Lean on Me and forced his players to do good in school if they wanted to play basketball.

Now, let's get into the nitty gritty because this movie is far from flawless. But I don't think it's flawed in such a way that screams incompetence; rather, I see a film that might have worked beautifully as a mini series in order to explore all the nuance it NEEDED to explore.

At the core of this film is the idea of a positive male role model for teenage young men who lack guidance and discipline in the inner city. I would have LOVED to see more of the backstories fleshed out.

Like, for example, we know that one of the players, Cruz, hops between the gang lifestyle and playing for the team (as casually as one might barhop between two different bars or something lmao). Like, no one on the team is surprised that he's dealing drugs and gangbanging, and there's no real consequences to him for drug dealing and gangbanging. When a tragedy befalls Cruz it kind of hits with muted impact because his story is just so rushed, underdeveloped and tacked on. Also they missed a huge sociological moment to teach us about what happens when impressionable teenagers lose a positive male influence in their lives and turn to the streets to feel accepted and part of a group. I mean it is shown, but it needed to be discussed as well.

We know that Channing Tatum's character (yes, THE Channing Tatum is in this) has a father in jail, but we don't know much else about his character at all. And with another player, Worm, we don't have ANY backstory at all, except that he loves to flirt with women. And halfway through the movie, they reveal one of the players can't even read (!!) and then quickly rush past it.

We needed to have more backstory for all of the players to understand their recklessness in following the rules and to care more about them and sympathize with Coach Carter being so strict with them.

The one major side plot that is explored is around one of the players and his pregnant girlfriend (played by Ashanti, who actually does a great job acting). However, it is of my opinion this side plot feels kind of after school special-y and eats up a lot of screen time.

I also found myself thinking this movie was pretty dated, with not just some of the song choices but just the overall feel of the movie, the cheesy inspirational music could have been cut out to make a much better film as well.

But that's where my criticisms end. The rest of the film was a delight for me. The basketball concepts were actually more in-depth than I remember them being, and the film does a great job showing the human nature of the boys on the team wanting to be teenagers but also wanting to shore up their commitment to Coach Carter. And I found myself really loving the coming of age aspect of these kids learning to appreciate the toughness that Coach Carter put on them and continuing to show up for him every time.

Samuel L. Jackson also walks around as Samuel L. Jackson, the basketball coach and that's just amazing in and of itself hahaha.

Anyway, slot this one right next to Drumline (2002) as a genuinely good movie that one might not think is a good movie because of its flaws but it succeeds despite its flaws.

-ryan

[ladyloveandjustice]

I’m going to post this late at night so no one can see it because omg criticizing a sacred cow

( and I especially don’t want to come off as trashing Nobumoto (only one of the parts I’m even talking about would have to do with her writing actually and I have no idea what was her idea and what wasn’t anyway))

... but I still just need to vent about it, but I’ve seen a lot of people, even other feminists, claim Faye’s character design in Cow/boy Be/bop is “progressive actually” because she ‘uses it to get back at a system that exploits her sexuality’ or even simply saying that she’s a ‘cool femme fatal’ and I rewatched the show recently and she...absolutely doesn’t do that?

She does TRY the femme fatale thing a couple times, but she’s generally not successful. It doesn’t work on Spike or Jet, it doesn’t end well other times. I can’t really think of a time she successfully utilizes her ‘sex appeal’ to capture someone, or where her sexuality is framed in some kind of ‘heck yeah you go girl’ way.

And the two situations that stuck out to me as the most fanservice-y with Faye are situations where she’s completely helpless that leave you with an icky feeling. When she wakes up from cyro sleep, she’s completely naked and her boobs are pressed down super awkwardly and the camera leers at her. There’s no payoff for that, it’s not from the POV of the doctors to show how predatory they are iirc, there’s no commentary, it just happens. Then there’s the part in the movie where the villain assaults her and the rips her shirt open, but it turns out the force kiss was to save her from poison or something, and the shirt rip open was...because he’s a creep? I guess? It’s honestly completely unnecessary, it never comes back in any way, it’s there just to be there, and Faye is clearly very helpless in the situation and very unhappy about it (she even makes a comment about not wanting a peeping tom to see her).

And honestly, those two moments aren’t great. They don’t serve anything. The anime is gross occasionally about Faye and how it frames her body, and I don’t think it does anyone any favors to pretend it isn’t. I do think NetflixBop’s “ now that we’ve made the costume functional and de-damselfied her a bit which means we’ve achieved perfect feminism, nothing else to do, boys” approach is reductive as hell, and the fact Faye had a nuanced character arc and is a disaster and her backstory had some commentary on medical debt and being taken advantage of by the system that was apparently neutered in that show is a good point to make.

(Also I think leaning into the “she tries to be a femme fatale and fails”  to highlight even more how each member of the crew is a hard luck loser would be a valid approach for an adaptation! But I don’t think her skimpy outfit or sexy vibes are deeply tied to the core of her character, or key component that she cannot be Faye without, unless you go with that angle. You can make it about how she’s a fuckup. She puts on a front of being the cool femme fatale, but she isn’t good at it when she tries, and she’s just sad and lost, that’s our twist on the archetype. Otherwise, yeah, it doesn’t add much.)

(I mean honestly, the idea of “weaponizing your sexuality” to get information from men or trick them or whatever is pretty dangerous for women if they try it irl which is why I’m shocked I’m still seeing it talked about unironically as something deeply feminist when used in media, because it’s a. used all the time, it’s not rare and b. rarely done well. And again, not actually ever done successfully much in the anime we’re talking about!) 

So yeah, pretending her design and whatever is something empowering actually, or that she’s even remotely??? successful??? as a femme fatale is something I don’t get. 

(And remember, the movie literally implies Faye doesn’t wear a fucking bra, yet is jumping around shooting people, so whenever anyone’s like “I’m disappointed it wasn’t accurate it’s missing the point of Faye” if her costume makes more sense in a live action adaptation, it’s literally a real person with big boobs couldn’t wear what Faye wears and get through a cartwheel, much less an action scene.)

[gwenfr]

I hated this season 3.

We waited 2 years for it and we were so excited after the trailer. And then they give us THAT ???

It was so bad written... And for so many reasons...

In my opinion of course...

I did a rewatch of the precedent seasons just before watching season 3 and the UA was before one of my favorite show tv... Now not at all 😑

Anyway here are my thoughts, I never write anything (I maybe written max 10things in 10years on this site lol) so I'm sorry if it's a little stupid but I'm going to tag it with Tua tags because I feel like maybe I missed some important thing and wouldn't mind people telling me if I'm wrong etc...

Allison. Of course she is my critic number one because they did her so dirty 😔 She was already kind of one of the bag guys in season 1 because of how she used her powers in her carrier, mariage and against Viktor when she was little but then again with her own daughter etc..., but then she had a "redemption arc" and it was better in season 2. She understood not to use her power so much and her relationship with her siblings were better but now everything is even worse than season 1. And for what ? It was not only not necessary but also so bad written. The rape scene was unnecessary, we could have had the same season without it so how necessary was it to the season arc ? and don't make me begin on how the only woman in the siblings umbrella academy was the villain. And why even choose one of the sibling to be a villain ? Reginald, the sparrow kids and the end of the world were enough, no need to make the main woman of color to be the big villain, so bad and unnecessary writing... We could have feel her pain and grieves with her and understand her action if only it was better written. Like the remarks against Viktor or Klaus, and Harlan death and the sexual assault of luther were bad choices and made Allison be a bad person, not a grieving mother, so the scene where she cried etc... where to small to compete against all the scene where she was being a bad person. And it's so sad... Because viewers liked her, so why make us dislike her ? Pfff... I also think a good storyline would have been for the siblings grieving the lost of their lovers together. Like Allison lost Ray, but Klaus lost Dave, Viktor lost Sissy, Diego lost Patch, five lost Dolores, they could have bond and discuss it together, it would have been interesting 😕

Harlan. His arc could have been so much more. Like they could have explored how Viktor can give some of his power to other people, like you know, maybe it can be interesting in battle of something no ?? And then Allison kill him ? So all of the scenes with Viktor taking his power back being so long was unnecessary, it didn't have any catharsis because Harlan was killed and took a good portion of the episodes for nothing. I really had preferred if he was killed in a battle with Allison, if she was angry and not "movie-serial-killer calm". And she killed him for what ? Because he killed their mother by accident ? Because Clare was not born then ? Either it make no sense for Allison to kill him for that or she is stupid ... And I don't know which one is better. Allison is probably one of the most intelligent of the family, I mean we don't see a lot of it, but she is not stupid like Diego or Luther. So she understood that she was in a another timeline right ? Like killing Harlan would not have brought back her mother and then Clare. Even if her mother was not killed by Harlan, she probably would not have had Clare anyway. Because in this timeline Reginald didn't want to adopt Allison, he said that he wanted other kids after meetings them in 1963, so Allison would have been raised by someone else, she would have been another person, maybe never meet Patrick and then never conceived Clare. Harlan should have kept Viktor power and tried to help the two academy stop the end of the world. And it would have been a good arc you know, like yes It's kind of my fault for you not existing but now I can help you make it right again. And I know it would have been like Allison is forgiving him, but I still don't believe theire is anything to be forgiven, Harlan didn't had a choice in having this power and it was a accident when he killed the birth mothers, so it's another timeline and Allison would have not have the same life even if she was born etc... So what was the point of Harlan arc this season ? A lot a anticipation and scene for nothing at the end...

The birth mothers arc. It was so interesting at first and then just fallen flat. It's probably my fault 😅, I thought we were going to have a big reveal about it but then yeah I suppose there was not really something to talk about, the mothers were apparently chosen randomly etc... So again a lot of story was not necessary, Klaus meeting his birth mother in the afterlife was not necessary, it was good and cute but not necessary for anything in future episode so what the point ? If the umbrella academy had at least talk about their grieves or something maybe it would have had a impact, maybe we would have felt the sadness in the birth mothers death but no, we didn't have any scene to get attached to them so why their deaths should matter to the viewers ? We all knew it was a different timeline and that the umbrella academy was still living so we couldn't care about the birth mother death, and then couldn't care that Harlan killed them and so couldn't relate and understand Allison when she justified killing Harlan because of it. So for me just poor writing..

Klaus. I love him so I'm probably biased, but I really don't understand why the writers even bother putting him in the show every season with how he is treated 😒. I really thought we were making progress after the first season with how the siblings were treating him and then we are back to square one in season 3. In season 1 the siblings criticized Klaus for his addiction (dont' get me started with how they don't even care about him to try to help him get better or to understood why he's addicted in the first place, it's a rant for season 1 I suppose so anyway...) In the end of season 1, they see he's not full of bullshit, he's more intelligent and powerful that they thought. In season 2, his relationship with his siblings was much better, he bonded with Allison and Viktor and Diego and they trusted him a little more etc... And then season 3... Yes, they realised when he was missing but all the remark and the dismissal of what he was saying didn't sit right with me. I was happy we had the argument when it was revealed that yes Klaus did in fact said he saw the big thing in the academy basement but then Diego didn't care about him, I just wish Klaus would have said it to you know someone more intelligent like five... And that Diego didn't make a remark about Klaus being on drugs again, Allison remark about Klaus sniffing bath bombs or something was also very wrong... Just mean, unnecessary, such a bad thing to say to a recovering addict even worse when it's your brother, brother that you bonded with not 4 days ago, brother that helped a lot of the plot in the precedent season etc... Diego hiding his death was so stupid knowing that the siblings are so powerful and could reverse time but okay... And I know that if he was more involved in the main storyline then the season would be resolved sooner so maybe they want to make the suspense last but they still could make Klaus and his relationship with everyone better and not treat him like a piece of shit nobody care about... It's always him and it's really so annoying and exhausting... His arc with his birth mother was cool but then see rant number 3....and then his arc with Reginald....

Reginald. So much plotholes and bad writing 🙄 The worse for me was to believe that a man/person of another race, that took our apparence, lived for centuries, was part of some of the most big event in the last century, was the most intelligent person on earth, was a big scientist who literally made a ape evolved and a robot as sophisticated than Grace, this man didn't know how to defend himself against the sparrow academy kids ? And didn't know how to hide pills in your mouth ?????? Geeze... They really changed what made Reginald interesting... I hated him but at least he was interesting as a character. And then his relationship with Klaus... Again so bad written. Him helping Klaus discovering the extent of his power was cool but then for what ? Reginald didn't really care about Klaus, he really didn't change for the better, he literally didn't have to help Klaus at all. He killed Klaus at the end because he thought he could see Luther and tell the other that he killed him but then what was the purpose of him helping Klaus in the big scheme ? Reginald wanted to go to the other side to activate the sigil and reform the world to be with his wife again, his arc with helping Klaus cheating death is irrelevant in this plot 🤔 like if Klaus live or die is literally not relevant to the season plot at all, and if apparently Reginald didn't change and still his a prick who only wanted to achieve his big desire, why help Klaus at all ? He said it was because he wanted to thank Klaus helping him with the pills, but again the pills storyline didn't make sense with how powerful Reginald is... So thanks for nothing.... They destroyed a powerful character with for no purpose...

Grace. Girl, they did you dirty too. I love her and her precedent storyline. And this season? Like what purpose did she have ? Her relation with the black hole was stupid as shit. Even if she was malfunctioning, why go with the religious plot ? Why making her talk other languages ? why make her a nune at the end ? And her "death" ? You want to make me believe that a robot invented by the most intelligent scientist on earth, invented to babysit 7 of the most powerful people on earth could "die" just from a broken neck ? Okay... She literally survived the same injury in season 1 but okay... And I still can't recover from the religious things... So stupid...

Lila and Diego. I love her character and her relationship with Diego is interesting but Yeah I'm sorry but a woman being raised by a psycho mum that killed her parents and raised her to be a weapon, clearly having mental problem (how she kidnap Diego in season 2, her childhood etc...) and then being pregnant with a man she known for like 3 months max and is not mature or that intelligent is not sitting right with me. I don't know why but putting her through pregnancy in this way feel like abuse or something... Like why go there ? Did we, and did they really need that storyline ? We could have had a storyline between them about childhood and lost of birth parents by the fault of a rich and bad person who only wanted to raise them to be a weapon but also sharing the death of said "adopted parent" etc... It would have been interesting for the viewers...more interesting than another pregnancy storyline that every show want to do.... And the parallel with Allison loosing her child ? That could have made a good conflict storyline between her lost mother's life and Lila future one, like Allison could have warned her about raising a child with the lives they have etc... but no we didn't see it and instead had bad storyline with Allison etc...... And now all we have is the only two women of the show having their arc being about having children, not that groundbreaking sorry...

Ben. God, he was boring... The second character I loved the most in the show, and of course I'm talking about precedent Ben. This Ben is different, I know, so I didn't care if he was mean etc... But he just boring as shit 🥱 in the beginning, it was alright, his relationship with his sparrow siblings and his desire to be number one etc... Was interesting but then his conflict with the umbrella academy was so flat and boring. And then his redemption arc during the wedding of Sloane and his relationship with her was kind of cool, but too fast written I think...and I feel like it has a lot to do with the fact we didn't saw a lot of the bond he had with her or any of his siblings really, so we couldn't feel the lost he felt....and yep, overall, he was written to be boring.

Five. I'm going to end with him because I don't even know what to say about him... Don't know because I feel like there is nothing to say with how boring he was too. He was with Klaus, my favorite, (yes couldn't choose between them) but this season was so bad to him. Like I know we could see him being tired and wanting to retire so that, that was good but then he want to save the universe, and then no, and then yes again etc... We couldn't be on board with him if he changed his mind sm ??? And the only good plot he had was the end of the commission and his little voyage to see it destroyed but then it was over in the blink of a eye ??? Like we could have make it much more that it was I feel, with how important the commission was in the first two seasons and in Five' life. And same with him creating the commission, thanks God for Lila comment on it during the umbrella/sparrow reunion because otherwise I wouldn't even know if the other siblings knew the truth or not with how little we cared about that fact.... but also that it was a character not present in season 1 that commented on it and not even Five' siblings was pretty shitty... Anyway, we nearly didn't see him this season, maybe it's because he was such a big part of the plot in the first two seasons and the writers wanted to concentrate on the other characters, I would have accepted it if the other characters were written better and to be less boring that they were but with how they were and their storyline in this third season, yep, I would rather have past Five again...

And there were so many other bad storyline and plotholes...

Stan being the kid of Lila and Diego made kind of sense if only Diego knew about him, because Diego is not bright (and I love this stupid man), but then the other siblings not commenting on the fact that Stan is white and so couldn't be Lila and Diego son.... like Five and Allison could have made a funny comment about it... Like that, it was just boring and a unnecessary storyline if we don't care for Lila pregnancy.

So many times the dialogue was repeated in a short time, like some character said sentence A then B and C and then repeated A ???

And same with some scenes, big or small. I can't even remember which one but I was more than once like 🤔 didn't we just saw nearly the same scene like 5min ago ??? For example, during the wedding, we see Sloane and Luther dance, then some scene, then Sloane and Luther dance again. Maybe it's just me, but I found this two dance scenes redondant. One would have been enough. And with this time in the episode, we could have focused on some more important thing or dialogue.

And don't make me started on the wedding episode, I can't really criticize the love story between Sloane and Luther because they both had shitty life and maybe their love make sense but my god this episode was too long... And again so redondant... Same dance scene, same speeches, same conversation between the groom and bride, same Allison/Viktor conflict, I felt like this episode was written by someone who never wrote anything else and didn't know how to do it...(sorry if I'm too harsh).

Marcus storyline was a piece of shit, we had so many unnecessary plot, I feel like we could have kept Marcus for a better storyline at least but...

At the end, the siblings literally just learned their adopted father was not human and just don't care ?

Not enough power being used, and at the same time being too much used for stupid unnecessary fight scene. Like the scene between Diego and the sparrows in the grocery store was for what purpose ? So long and didn't enter any storyline. The fight between the two academy in the hotel entrance before Harlan enter was boring. Allison didn't fight Harlan. Five and Lila fight scene in the bathroom was boring and déjà vu. The final scene against the guardian were boring and nearly without any power being used ...

Talking about the guardians, why did Reginald ringed the bell ? If he was searching for the sigil and made the siblings search for it in the hotel why make their task harder and nearly killing them by summoning the guardians ? He could have let them search for the sigil, it was the sigil that was important so what purpose was to ring the bell ? I felt I missed something...

Anyway, I'm sure I will add some other things after but for now, yep, I'm so disappointed... I waited so long for this season and I liked the show so much before, now I'm just mad that with the time they had, they couldn't even write something good. I don't ask for the same plot that the first two seasons but just not destroying the characters and not so many plotholes would have been cool. Here I just feel like this season was written by too many people who wanted to have their own plot be in the show and so the season was going everywhere and in so many places uninteresting. It felt like 20 bad au of the original show at once.

[jazy3]

Free Guy Review

!!!SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

If you haven’t seen the movie Free Guy (2021) stop reading right now! Drop what you’re doing and go get yourself a ticket! You’ll thank me later!

I loved this movie! I saw it this weekend for the second time because it’s that good! I first saw the trailer on YouTube a while back and then when theatres reopened a few weeks ago I saw the trailer again and my interest was piqued. I had high hopes for this movie based on the fun looking trailer, the premise, the cast, and the sense of fun and escapism that the movie seemed to embody and it did not disappoint. It’s always nice when you have high hopes for something and it meets or exceeds your expectations.

Free Guy is just such a fun and joyous movie. Never taking itself too seriously, packed with lots of heart, cool cameos, full of gaming and pop culture references, and it’s fueled by a unique concept that is well executed. There are just so many things I loved about this movie! It was a ton of fun to watch and the actors clearly had a blast making it. During the movie I kept trying to figure out where I knew most of the actors from but couldn’t place them. When I got home, I googled it and I instantly realized why. The roles are just so different and the actors embody their characters so completely you lose yourself in the film and get completely sucked in. I was honestly so surprised when I figured out what I knew most of the actors from because the roles that they’re known for are so different from their characters in the movie. Their appearances, established ages, and even the accents are so different that I literally did a double take, but that’s what makes the movie so good! Because the main actors obviously didn’t need the paycheque they were just there to have fun and it shows. I think if the situation had been different and the actors involved had been desperate for money or took the role for some other reason it wouldn’t have worked. The film would have come off as cheesy, forced, cringeworthy, or just plain bad. Free Guy is none of those things. The film stars Ryan Reynolds as ‘Guy’ a bank teller in a video game called Free City, Jodie Comer whose best known for playing Villanelle in Killing Eve as programmer Millie Rusk and her avatar Molotov Girl, Joe Keery whose best known for playing Steve Harrington in Stranger Things as programmer Walter ‘Keys’ McKey, and Taika Waititi whose best known for playing Viago in What We Do in the Shadows as the Head of Soonami Studios and the film’s main antagonist and villain Antwan. Rounding out the cast are Utkarsh Ambudka as programmer Mouser and Lil Rel Howery as Guy’s best friend and bank security guard Buddy. In a nutshell, Free Guy is about a bank teller named Guy who finds out he’s a non-playable background character (NPC) in an open-world Grand Theft Auto style video game called Free City. Guy becomes the hero of his own story after meeting Millie, the girl of his dreams, and winning fans all over the world by racking up points by being the good guy and helping others. After leveling up and helping Millie escape a dangerous situation in the game, Guy wins her over and she falls for him thinking that he’s another player. But when the world that Guy knows and all of the people in it are threatened, he teams up with Millie to save his friends before it’s too late. In the real world, Millie enlists the help of her former programming partner and best friend Keys in a race against time to stop their code and all of the sentient characters from Free City from being deleted by Antwan the developer who stole their code when the game’s sequel launches. I love that the movie had a unique premise and didn’t overcomplicate things. There are so many movies that I’ve gone to see over the last few years with such excitement only to be disappointed. For example, I loved Wreck It Ralph, but was so disappointed by its sequel Ralph Breaks the Internet. The trailers made it seem like it would take the premise of the first movie and move things into the online gaming world, and I was excited for that. Instead, the sequel left the premise of the first movie behind entirely and way over complicated the plot and the end result was extremely cheesy and disappointing. Free Guy’s strength is that it’s a self-aware movie made by self-aware people who are excellent at what they do. The movie doesn't take itself too seriously, nor should it, and that allows the story to flow and the characters to feel real and genuine. The movie achieves that perfect balance between being entertaining and telling a cohesive and important story because while the movie never takes itself too seriously the people behind it are serious about what they do. This was very clearly a passion project for all involved, especially Ryan Reynolds, and it shows! As he’s spoken about in interviews and on Twitter, Reynolds called on a lot of his friends to be in Free Guy and help him out and the end result was fantastic! I loved all of the cameos! The Chris Evans cameo was by far the funniest and the Alex Trebek cameo got me right in the feels. When I saw the movie in theatres me and everyone else in the theatre gave a collective “awww” when he appeared on screen. Enlisting real YouTubers to show up as fictional versions of themselves to talk about Blue Shirt Guy’s popularity was a nice touch and you’ve also got blink and you miss it voice cameos by John Krasinski, Dwyane The Rock Johnson, Hugh Jackman, and Tina Fey. Channing Tatum appears as the avatar of player Revenjamin Buttons which for the most part was hilarious. One of my few criticisms of the film is that they went a bit overboard the avatar’s antics as Guy and Buddy are attempting to leave and it got bit a cringeworthy. But I know other people found it hilarious so to each their own. I love all of the little details and references in the movie. Just listing them all would be a post in itself. If you’re someone that loves pop culture references and Easter Eggs this is the movie for you. The characters are fun and believable, and you get attached to them quickly. The actors commit completely to their roles which is makes the humour, romance, and heartfelt emotion of the film work. You buy it. 100%. Something that I absolutely loved was that the characters felt realistic and that the dialogue, attire, and settings for each character really felt authentic. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched a movie or TV show and walked away thinking, “The person who wrote that clearly never meet a kid, teenager, or twenty something in their life! That was so unrealistic.” The slang’s all wrong. The dialogue is so eloquent everyone sounds like they did Shakespeare in the Park last summer. You walk away thinking, “What the hell was that? No one talks that way!” What I loved about the characters in Free Guy is that they felt like real people you could actually run into or walk past on the street. I’ve read in interviews that in addition to the written dialogue the cast did a lot of ad-libbing and improvisation and the end result is both hilarious and relatable. The dialogue feels real because it is. The big exception to this of course is Antwan who is altogether off the wall and ridiculous. Antwan is such an outrageous, absurd, vulgar, and cartoonish character. He’s so fun to watch and the actors clearly had a lot of fun with his scenes! I’ve read that a lot of his lines with Keys and Mouser were improvised and I believe it. When he goes all Jack Nicholson on the servers? Lord. He’s such a great villain to watch. The characters that are established to be in their twenties like Millie, Keys, Mouser, and the other employees at Soonami Studios talk, act, and dress like they’re in their twenties. The actors that are in their forties are styled to look like they’re in their thirties and honestly, they’re in such great shape it works! I mean I was honestly shocked to find out Taika Waititi’s real age. I love how the costuming really fits each character and allows you to learn more about them. Keys’ clothing is your typical gamer chic which makes because as we learn from his interview with Millie coding is his life and what gets him up in the morning. From Mouser’s clothing we learn that he’s a sports fan, but also isn’t afraid to take risks like with that blazer ensemble he wears in his final scene at Millie’s apartment.

Millie’s clothing shows the contrast between her and her avatar Molotov Girl, and Antwan’s ridiculous coat enhances the overall wackiness of his character. Guy’s clothing tells us something too. He wears the same thing every day until he meets Millie in the game at which point, he starts deviated from his Free City programming and chooses a different blue shirt. I also really love that they put thought into why Keys needs to wear glasses. Something I noticed on rewatch is that Keys is far sighted which is why he has his glasses on when he’s looking at his laptop or computer and sometimes when’s talking to other people, but not when he goes to see Millie at her apartment or when he goes to get them coffee at the end of the movie. Another interesting aspect of Keys’ character that I noticed on rewatch is self-confidence is really something he struggles with in contrast to Millie and Mouser who are very confident. Millie is a genius programmer and Mouser is excellent at what he does, and they are both very confident in their coding abilities, but Keys isn’t despite being every bit the genius that Millie is. At the beginning of the movie when they first notice the issue with Guy Mouser jokes that Keys needs to be better at his job. In response Keys meekly says he thinks he’s pretty good at his job and trails off at the end. Mouser is just joking around, but because Keys lacks self-confidence comments like that hit him hard. Mouser is moving towards his own desk as he talks so he doesn’t notice how self-deprecating and uneasy Keys’ response is. In the interview from the indie games conference that Millie plays for Keys at his apartment, he brushes off the interviewers comment that he’s a genius and says Millie is the real genius because she created the AI engine and he just wrote the code to make it work. Later on, when Keys helps Millie get into the stash house, she calls him a genius and he tells her that as he’s currently sitting on a toilet stealing user code he doesn’t exactly feel like one. Millie responds offhandedly that he never does, but luckily, she knows better. When Keys realizes that Millie was right, and that Antwan did steal their code and their game worked he tells Millie they need to celebrate because once everyone sees their build she’ll be celebrated and she could win a noble prize. Both Millie and Keys are geniuses in their own right. The game wouldn’t have worked without both of their skills and Guy wouldn’t have come to life without both of them working together. Millie’s AI engine made his sentience possible, but Keys is the one who gave him hopes and dreams so that when he met Millie in the game, he came alive. When done right the settings we see tell the story just as much as the characters do and I love how realistic the settings in Free Guy look. The floor at Soonami Studios where Keys and Mouser work looks like a real office and I love that the desks have clutter and personal effects on them like real cubicles do and that they show Keys taking a box of his stuff with him as he leaves. The lobby with the moving water videos and Antwan’s massive but largely empty office fits perfectly with the obnoxious, zany, and over the top character that he is. I also love the contrast between Keys and Millie’s apartments and how those settings tell us a lot about each character and where they are in their lives when the film starts. When Keys comes home from work to find that Millie has broken in, we see that he lives in a stylish one bedroom apartment with an open concept kitchen full of stainless steel appliances, a large living room centred around an expensive wall mounted TV and entertainment system, with his computer and gaming station set up in the corner. On the walls we see artful clusters of black picture frames, through a partially open door we see a bedroom off to the side, the apartment is full of black and white furniture including a plush couch and nice lamps, and features a textured silver accent wall. All of which makes the fact that Millie managed to break in even more impressive because it is clearly an expensive apartment in a nice building. Keys’ style is minimalist and upper scale and based on what we learn about the events that took place before the start of the movie this indicates that Keys got the apartment and all of the nice stuff in it using the money he received when Antwan bought his and Millie’s game. In contrast, Millie lives in a bachelor apartment and spends her time in coffee shops ordering one single black coffee over four hours. This tells us that she kept her original apartment that she had from before the game was sold and is living off the money she got from the sale while she spends all of her time trying to find the proof she needs to win her lawsuit. When we see Millie’s place, we find that it’s cozy, full of plants, throw rugs, quilts, and comfy furniture. She’s got a bike in the corner, you can see her bed from the centre of the room where she’s got her computer and gaming station set up adjacent to the coffee table and the rest of the living room furniture. Her kitchen is smaller and full of wooden cabinets and her bathroom door has DIY multicoloured square panels on it. Keys and Millie’s apartments are very different and through these settings we see the contrast between where these characters are in their lives, their wealth, and their personal style. The song ‘Fantasy’ by Mariah Carey is featured heavily in the film and is guaranteed to get stuck in your head in the best way! Jodie Comer’s cover of it is amazing! It fits the moment where Guy makes it to the island that is Millie and Keys’ original build and shows it to the world perfectly. This movie made me appreciate Mariah Carey’s music in a whole new way and I can’t be the only way. After watching the movie, I went looking for the song on Apple Music, wound up listening to the Mariah Carey Essentials Playlist, and I’ve become obsessed. I knew some of her hits, but after listening to her music more I get why people love her so much. Her five octave vocal range is amazing, and her music is just so fun to listen to. The film has a really great soundtrack overall and I’ve had many of its song on repeat since I saw it. Something I really loved about this movie and the reveal at the end that Keys is in love with Millie and is desperate for her to notice, but she’s been oblivious the whole time is that they don’t do the supposedly nice nerdy guy whose really a jerk trope. So many movies do this where you have a nerdy male character whose unluckily love, looked over, or his love is unrequited, and we’re supposed to root for him because he’s a quote “nice guy”. But really, he’s not. He’s a jerk who feels slighted because a woman in his life doesn’t love him back or notice him and he feels as if she owes him something. The scene at Millie’s place where Millie tells Keys he looks cute when he brags, and Mouser encourages him to tell Millie how he feels is super frustrating to watch but it’s so important to Keys’ character. He asks Millie out for coffee and when she turns him down to jump back into the game, he doesn’t make a big deal about it even though Mouser wants him to. Instead he gets up and goes and gets her a coffee anyway. She goes to tell him her order, oblivious to the fact that he’s memorized it, he tells her he remembers, and goes to get the coffee anyway much to Mouser’s and the audience’s dismay. This is big because Keys clearly doesn’t want to be walking down the street by himself to get coffee. He wants to be getting coffee with Millie so that he can tell her how he feels to see if she might feel the same way, but when she turns him down he goes and gets the coffee anyway because he truly loves and cares about her and he values their friendship enough to put his own feelings aside and suffer in silence rather than lose her and what they’ve built. So, he takes the opportunity to get some air rather than continue to sit there in disappointment. Which is why he’s so confused when Millie runs after him and calls out to him from across the street. He doesn’t understand what she’s doing there. She turned down his offer to get a coffee and he already knows her order so why is she there? I love that they chose to make that scene non-verbal. I think if Millie had come out and made some big declaration of love it would have felt cheesy and overdone. But her running after him and silently communicating through her smile and body language that she understood and that she felt the same way was perfect. It was subtle and beautiful and perfectly acted. It also felt realistic to the characters because in real life when you’ve known someone a really long time and you’ve spent a lot of time with them you don’t always need words to convey what you mean. What Millie wanted to express in that scene was so big and so all-encompassing she couldn’t find the words to say everything that she wanted to say so she didn’t. She just stood there and smiled knowing that being the genius that he is he would understand. It’s like Keys says in their interview, words will fail you, but code never does. His coding worked and now she understands so rather than try and say it all and fail she just looks at him and smiles to show him that she finally gets it. She finally understands what he’s been trying to say to her all this time. And you can see the exact moment Keys realizes why she’s there. The moment where he goes from being confused as to what she wants to realizing that she saw the video and she knows how he feels and that she wouldn’t be standing there smiling at him like that if she didn’t feel the same way. When I watched the scene the first time around, I was anxiously clutching my nachos the entire time because when Keys ran towards her my immediate thought was, “Oh my god he’s gonna get hit by a car and they’re never gonna get to be together! Oh my god!” But then he didn’t get hit by a car and Millie ran out to meet him and for the first time in their relationship she met him halfway and they kissed and it was beautiful! I think because Free City had so much violence in it that’s where my mind went and I’m very glad they didn’t go that route. One of my only criticisms about the movie is that I wish they had stayed on Millie and Keys just a little bit longer. They kiss and embrace and then very quickly they cut to black. I wish they’d linger on that moment just a little bit longer because I love those characters so much and in the scene that follows where Guy and Buddy are reunited we see them hug and then walk away together to start their new lives and I wish we’d gotten just a bit more time with Millie and Keys. I also really loved the parallel between the different kinds of relationships within the movie and how platonic relationships are just as important as romantic ones. The reveal at the end about Guy being Keys’ creation and a love letter to Millie and her realizing she’s been loving Keys vicariously through Guy and them finally coming together and being on the same page is beautiful because from the very beginning the movie is full of clues, hints, and foreshadowing that all comes together at the end. Meanwhile, we see the friendship between Guy and Buddy and how important that friendship is to him because it’s something that he created on his own. His love for Millie is born out of the programming that Keys gave him, but his friendship with Buddy is something that Guy created all on his own of his own volition. Which is part of what makes Buddy’s death on the bridge so tragic. I cried when Buddy disappeared. Reynolds and Howery play their characters with such sincerity that his death pacts an emotional punch you don’t expect. I love that the security guards at Soonami are so moved by Buddy’s heroism and are so captivated by what’s happening with the live stream that Millie is able to sneak past them into the server room and stop Antwan from destroying what’s left of the game. Something else I noticed on rewatch is that during the final battle after Millie gets booted from the game and Guy has to fight Dude on his own the glasses he’s wearing are very similar to the ones Keys wears in the movie which I thought was a cool nod to Guy being Keys’ creation. This really is a movie in which you find something new every time you watch it. For instance, the second time around I noticed that the foreshadowing that Keys is in love with Millie, but she’s oblivious to it because she’s so focused on the game was really well done. In the video from the indie game conference that Millie plays for Keys at his apartment when asked by the interviewer about their chemistry Millie responds first and says that their friends, their relationship is completely platonic, and laughs off the idea that they have chemistry. In contrast Keys falters and is silent and then eventually says meekly that they’re just friends. Millie is looking ahead at the interviewer and to the side away from Keys as she’s laughing and so she doesn’t see Keys’ reaction. At the end of the apartment scene after Millie breaks in to ask Keys for his help, he tells Millie he cares about her and he almost says something else. It feels like he’s about to say, ‘I love you’ but then he catches himself and instead tells her that she needs to leave. When Keys visits Millie’s apartment to tell her that she was right and they’re sitting on the couch he reaches out and puts his hand on her knee and then snatches it back when he realizes he’s gotten too close. He wants so desperately to be closer to her and in his excitement, he gets closer than he normally would before realizing that putting his hand on her knee in that close proximity is not a platonic gesture. Millie is so caught up in the realization that Guy, the person she’s fallen in love with, is an AI and not a real person that she doesn’t notice. My heart broke for Keys in that scene as he realized that Millie had fallen for Guy and kissed him and was so upset about it and meanwhile, he was right in front of her desperate for her to see how much he cares. It must have just wrecked him to go home that night and realize that Guy was based on the lovelorn character he created and that Millie had fallen in love with his creation while at the same time being so oblivious to his real world affection for her. In the scene at Millie’s apartment after they’ve gotten the server from Antwan and Mouser encourages Keys to say something, I noticed on rewatch just how weak and meager Keys’ attempt to ask Millie out is. He stumbles his way through asking her to get a coffee and trails off at the end so it’s no wonder Millie doesn’t clue in that he’s trying to ask her out. And in Keys’ defence he sent her a whole video confessing his feelings for her and all of the little things he loves about her and then told her to watch it and he has no idea if she did or not. We the audience know that Millie only saw half of it, but Keys has no idea if she saw none of it, part of it, or all of it. He knows she got Guy to remember, but she’s also sending him mixed messages. One minute she’s saying he’s cute when he brags and the next, she’s turning him down for coffee to talk to Guy. From the outside it’s so obvious that Keys is in love with Millie, but she doesn’t see it because she’s always looking the other way, not paying attention, so caught up in the game, and too focused on their work to see what’s right in front of her. On rewatch one of the big things I noticed is that Keys is always on the edge of telling Millie how he really feels but he always stops himself because she brushes him or the idea off and because he’s scared of what will become of their work and their friendship if she doesn’t feel the same way. It’s a huge leap. If Millie doesn’t feel the same way it’s going to make their relationship incredibly awkward and could potentially destroy their partnership so Keys decides it’s better not to say anything or only hint at how he feels rather than run the risk of ruining everything. Something else I noticed on rewatch is that in the interview they give Keys says he thinks of himself as an author and that code is what gets him up in the morning and that he loves the ones and zeros of binary because words can fail you and let you down but code never does. At the end of the movie when Millie goes to talk to Guy in Free Life he tells her that he loves her and while he knows that’s his programming he’s realized that he’s a love letter to her and that somewhere out there in the real world is the author. Such a great callback. All in all, I can definitely say that Free Guy has been my favourite movie so far this year! Definitely my favourite movie of the summer. I went to see it twice in theatres and I’ve never done that for any other movie before. I’ll rewatch them at home sure, but I’ve never actually paid money to see something twice on my own. I’m very excited to see the sequel and my hope is that it will be just as good as the first.  Until next time.

[ssa-steverogers]

black widow reviewish? but it’s just my thoughts™️

i just watched black widow thursday night and i am shook. i'm going to do two separate reviews; one WITHOUT spoilers and another WITH spoilers. the one without spoilers will be here and the one with spoilers will be beneath it.

SPOILER FREE REVIEW:

here are some stuff i guarantee to you:

you will miss nat

other than that? it was really good. i think it'll be in my top 5 marvel movies. obviously, it takes place before she dies lol and she deals with her past. it was funny, action packed, and the COMPLETE opposite of boring. literally the shortest 2 hours of my whole entire life. there was no scene where i was like 'damn this is taking a long time', like i said, ZERO BORING PARTS.

i would so recommend this movie, although, for people who haven't really watched the mcu or care for it might not enjoy it as much as they should but this movie really connects into the mcu timeline. we learn so much about her past and things are starting to make sense again. black widow definitely answered a lot of questions about her past which made me feel so happy because nat has been treated as a 'sidekick' for so long and to see her finally have a black widow centered movie? wow.

also, yelena????? (aka florence pugh's character) i am in love with her. i love her so much. i hope you will too because she's really funny and relatable.

also, keep in mind that this movie is supposed to explain natasha's past because i feel like a lot of reviews that criticize the movie are forgetting that

damn, well all that is left to say is that i cried and that i hope you love the movie <3

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REVIEW WITH SPOILERS BELOW:

omfg guys this movie shook me. i cried multiple times. i have so many things to say!!!!1!1!

first off, critics that are saying that the whole idea of a villain in this movie is weak. i somewhat agree??? taskmaster seemed to be a lot less important than portrayed in the trailers. then again, this movie wasn't supposed to focus on hero vs. villain i think? like it literally takes place after civil war because marvel needed to have a redo on their misogynistic take of nat. but also this movie is to show us her past. if anything, the movie was hero vs. their past. taskmaster was there just because but was not the main villain.

it's cool if you disagree with me because i haven't read the comics and whatnot. i do wish that they used taskmaster better but the movie obviously had a purpose to focus on (nat and her family/backstory) so too much could've just been a distraction.

also thought it was cool that taskmaster could copy the fighting style of everyone. as i was watching it i was like 'oh, wakanda forever! captain america shield throw! black widow pose! winter soldier knife throw!"

anywhooooo, i cried the most when yelena was at the table with the fam fam and they were hurting her feelings without even realizing it. and then when she was like 'the best years of my life was fake and you didn't even tell me' i was so gone. i was dead. i really understood her in that moment and i wanted to hug her so bad omfg.

also????? i just want to know... did they teach the girls how to braid their hair in the red room? was there a class for that? everyone's hair was so fucking good lol

parts of the ending also gave me super captain america: the winter soldier vibes. like when nat lets taskmaster out from the room and she's like ya know don't fight me pls it's like steve with buck in tws. and the fight being the sky just reminded me of the helicarriers from tws. but then again, steve and nat were cool buddies so it's not weird that they became similar.

FIGHT SCENES. oh my god, action packed amazeballs. like i wasn't even expecting that. mcu has great action/fight scenes but in black widow? DAMN. what specifically amazed me in this movie is that in the past, they've downplayed the aggressiveness of fighting. but they didn't hold back for black widow. every punch, kick, and throw emitted so much power and rage, which is exactly what you'd expect coming from a bunch of russian spies. i loved that aspect so much.

THE CREDIT SCENE OH GOD. throughout the 2 hour long movie, i fell in love with yelena and i'm not even kidding. i love her so much. i just want to hug her (as stated before lol). to see her there at nat's headstone. i started crying then fricken valentina showed up. i was shocked while at the same time i was fricken like jesus then could've been a sad and touching moment for yelena. i also wonder if they meant for valentina to be introduced in black widow first or tfatws first? like which one was the original original idea? because of the bonk bonk release dates. i seriously want to know.

more onto the credit scene, the time in between yelena whistling and what SHOULD’VE been nat whistling back? longest like 5 seconds of my life. the silence was deafening. i fucking cried.

black widow is fucking great but i still wish we got to have her funeral :(

omfg i can hardly think of anything else, i am just so overwhelmed by how good that movie was. i'm going to miss natasha so much but at the same time i'm so happy that we are SO definitely going to get more of florence pugh as yelena. and yelena is such perfection i love her :) anyways, when it comes out on disney+ for free i will rewatch it a million more times :)

[alloftheblackwidowfeelings]

Almost every reviewer on YouTube wasn’t satisfied with this movie IMO they said it was just Marvel combined some elements from other marvel movies so they could throw fans a BW movie so we could stfu, it didn’t do justice to the the character ,what do you think, is it really that bad.

To be honest, I've been working on this one for a while but I keep writing and deleting my response. Because all the things I want to say sound gatekeeper-y, in one of several ways.

I think you can be a Nat fan and not read the comics. I think you can be a Nat fan and never talk about her. I don't think you need to know everything about canon and be an "expert" to be a fan. I'm not interested in a locked-gate version of fandom. I don't think this movie should just be for die-hard Nat fans. And I don't think that all Nat fans will like this movie, for a variety of reasons.

Despite all of that, a lot of the comic book/movie expert reviews I've seen feel, to me, like they were evaluating a movie that isn't the one this movie was ever trying to be, and missing some of what the movie explicitly says it is because that doesn't fit what they want from it.

A bit more spoilery and a lot longer under the cut. I am so sorry I'm like this.

This movie felt tailor-made for me. Not because I loved every answer they gave, but because the questions they asked are ones I've been waiting to hear since 2012, when I first saw Avengers and then immediately went back to see the rest of phase 1. I think people disliking the answers is a legitimate opinion, and I'm looking forward to detangling that with people. What surprised me in reviews was not reviewers disliking the answers, which is legit, but not even seeming to realize the questions had been asked.

Most prominently, what felt like the huge thematic arc of the movie to me has been nonexistent in so many reviews that I've started to feel like I made it up, even though I took notes of exact quotes so I could reference them. The movie isn't a Nat origin story, and it's not about her as a cool edgy villain, so not seeing either of those didn't bother me. It's a movie about Natasha's trauma and how that manifests, and how her attempts to break free of it have harmed others in the past, and how she can move forward from that. We never get the key that unlocks the history of Natasha's past, so if you approach this as a puzzle box, it's going to fail.

THIS INDENTED PARAGRAPH IS THE CLOSEST I GET TO DIRECT PLOT POINTS, FEEL FREE TO SKIP

Specifically most of the reviews seem to view Nat's motivating guilt as over how she escaped the Red Room, particularly one casualty she deemed an acceptable sacrifice. But as I interpreted it, Nat's guilt in this movie came from a much closer place: the other Widows were all she'd had, and Nat being able to escape the Red Room made the Red Room hold on to the other Widows that much tighter. She thought she'd taken it down, but she was wrong. So her freedom, essentially, came at their expense. Natasha working to take down the Red Room this time is personal both to avenge her own trauma and to make up for her guilt in the Red Room still existing and creating more trauma for her peers. Without this context (and to be clear, I have gone back over the quotes several times to see if I'm misinterpreting and I really don't think I am), the idea that all of her guilt is over what she did to a single person makes more sense, but it also makes the movie a lot less interesting. If Natasha is justified in blaming Alexei and Melina for condemning her back to the Red Room, how could the other Widows not blame Nat? To me the entire story swings from that, and by not acknowledging Nat's (inadvertent but still very real) responsibility for continuing the cycle, the movie would feel hollow.

PLOT POINTS OVER.

Many critics they seem to feel like the potential this movie introduced was wasted because Nat's dead, so what's the point. First of all, the point is she's Nat and we care. It's not like we went in to Iron Man expecting that we'd have a decade of a franchise; we cared in the moment, and this movie is asking for the same thing. It delivers for over two hours of NOT murdering Natasha, which is more than I can say for Endgame.

To be clear, BW does set up other things for the MCU, and it's but if you're only watching it for what it's going to tell you about the future of the MCU (and I get it, because that's how I'm watching Loki, and it's a very different type of watching than I did for FATWS), this probably IS going to be a disappointment, because this isn't a big crossover event movie; I mean, none of Sam's "Big Three" show up at all. But again, that's about the movie someone wanted it to be, not the movie this was aiming to be.

Is this like a lot of other Marvel movies? Kinda. It's definitely taking a lot from Civil War for its set-up. Its arc felt like a close mirror of to Winter Soldier to me, to the extent that I'm planning to rewatch that on Thursday so I can see how much that's just me projecting my fave onto it. The third act is very Marvel-third-act-y, as adapted to Nat's character; the adapting to Nat's character are the parts I like and the rest is kind of what I consider the MCU price of admission.

I also kind of hate that it feels like the last few movies- Black Panther, Captain Marvel, now this and some rumblings about Shang-Chi- have all been kind of dismissed with "it's just the Marvel formula." It is, but that doesn't change the fact that different protagonists make it different. Dr Strange is pretty much just "Iron Man 1 with cool magic" and people didn't mind, but "how does this formula change when the protagonist is fundamentally different than the archetype to this point?" is apparently not different enough. I get Marvel fatigue, I really do, but for me it's tempered by how, in this case, Nat doesn't have the moral clarity Steve or Thor or even Tony or Scott has. No one in this movie lets her forget that she's a trained killer who little kids look up to.

Again: there are parts of this movie that don't work. I also don't ever ever EVER want to seem like I'm saying that if someone didn't like this movie they're not a real Nat fan or they're wrong. I know there are reasons to not love this movie, and I'm sure I'll figure out more the more I watch- it may not make me not love it, but it will at least complicate it for me, and i think we all know I live for that shit. Moreover, I intimately know how much it sucks when something you've been enthusiastic about and anticipating for ages doesn't pay off and everyone else seems to like it- it's isolating and upsetting and you just sit there wondering why no one else understands, and that's bullshit and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. People who don't like this movie are valid!

But if someone has a history of seeing Nat as just background, or considering her as a T&A deliver system more than as a character, or caring about hot women with guns but not care about the trauma that turned them into that, or saying they like movies about women but just not THIS woman for every comic book movie about a woman not there for them to ogle, or claiming to be experts in all things comics while doubling down on their theory that Yelena wouldn't appear because she was in Agent Carter (YES THAT HAPPENED, MORE THAN ONCE, THE NORTH. FUCKING. REMEMBERS. AND WISHES THEY KNEW WHERE THEY SAVED THOSE SCREENSHOTS), I don't need to weight their reviews heavier than the adrenaline rush I felt watching this movie.

So in answer to your question, I don't think the movie was really "that bad." I think this movie delivers in very specific ways, which definitely are not the flashy ones or the "every Marvel movie builds to the next great EVENT" ones or the male power fantasy ones, and if those ways aren't the ways you care about, it's going to be a disappointment. Even if those AREN'T the ones you care about, it could be a disappointment for any number of reasons, some of which I noticed during the movie and some of which I'm sure I'll be surprised to read about Friday morning.

But it wasn't one to me. For whatever it's worth, despite the movie's flaws, I loved it, I haven't stopped thinking about it in five days, I can't wait to see it again, and I hope that whether other people do or don't like it, they want to roll around in it as much as I do to pick out every single shred of canon worth overanalyzing.

If this is all we ever get for Natasha- and it is a CRIME if this is all we ever get for Natasha but that doesn't mean it's not so- I am grateful that this is what we got.

[geekgemsspooksandtoons]

It's been many minutes or so since my first rewatch of Hilda And The Mountain King. I'm not gonna spoil anything huge. Yet I will make hints about some stuff.

I just wanna say I still love this movie. I love it so very much. Watching during the New Years time was a perfect idea. But I wanna clarify some things that bothered me. Somewhat criticisms or nitpicks. Because I love so much stuff about this film.

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1. Trylla.....Baba's mother...let me explain. I don't mind her as a character. She's pretty fine as one. But as my dear friend @cinnamon-sparrow-scout explained it perfectly...

What she did...and I was thinking about this during my first rewatch of the movie. Even though yeah, what happens because of Hilda...

But Trylla and her actions are the catalyst for what happens. Her actions are what drives the story in the first place. And some of her moments...

I'm sorry, there needed to be a scene where she straight up gets chewed out. Even though I appreciate her efforts to help out during the final act. She has some good moments. But there needed to be a scene with her and Johanna after everything had settled. I wanted that.

I think Luke should've developed on that more. Because it feels VERY WEIRD that her actions afterwards are not a big focus or something.

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2. I wished this movie was longer. Okay, not like 2 hours or anything. I understand making Hilda is maybe difficult. But the reasons why I'm asking this because Trylla and Erik could've used some extra scenes, along with other things. And maybe whatever else.

Also, I just love this movie. And this is gonna be the last Hilda related thing we might get until season 3. I don't mind the hiatuses at times. Especially with the movie feeling like an ending.

I just love this world and it's characters.

I also feel like maybe to make the movie feel like it's own thing. Maybe a recap of, "The Stone Forest" for any newcomers. I know that sounds strange. I was mainly imagining if this was a theatrical film. But it's overall fine or whatever.

I'm maybe wording it wrong. I still love how the movie plays out. Now I want to get to the final thing.

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3. Erik.....I talked to Cinnamon about this. I totally understand the criticism. But to be honest...I strangely appreciate that they did that in the ending. It lines up a bit more with his original counterpart. But it also just...makes him more human in a sense.

Yeah, it goes really quick. I liked that they had the courage to straight up do that. Yet the ending...makes me sad a little. Even though it's a good thing concerning him.

Everything is literally beautiful. The way this movie ends is beautiful. I may have not cried like the first time I watched it. But I still love the ending.

I'm just gonna really miss Erik...so much that I made a silly, but stupid meme before I made this post. I'm not gonna share it yet...I'm worried of how people would respond to it. But it's stupid, yet funny.

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Overall, everything else was great. I will say this. I wished the Bellkeeper showed up somehow. Especially with how some of the movie plays out.

But I still love this movie so much. This movie, along with the first two seasons are why I love the creator, writers, and so many other things about this show.

If this was showing in a theater (And I read in a tweet there were select theaters during the day it released that it must've possible), I would damn well go to the theater to see it.

Honestly, add "The Stone Forest" to make it more complete like a double feature. That would be legendary.

Edit update and took out s behind add. But I forgot to say this. And forgot to mention this in my first reaction to the movie. Where I straight rewinded it to hear it again during my first time watching it.

Trylla straight up has the Godzilla 1998 roar. XD I'm not kidding! The roar is in this video. It's so amusing to hear.

[feralcherry]

Naruto takes that might enrage you (girl addition)

Warning, some of these takes might enrage you- that’s fine.

Fillers don’t count as canon, don’t even bring them up if you talk about this post lol. Also it’s been a while since I’ve seen the whole series, so some of these might be disproven as I continue with my rewatch. The excuse that Shounen is for boys is also very weak and holds no weight, as tons of girls (and nonbinary folk) relate to the characters in this show, so that doesn’t excuse Kishimoto for his weak writing of women.

To preface, I love this show. Love it to pieces. It was part of my childhood and holds a very special place in my heart. But there are some things I personally don’t like or wish could have been done better. I love every character and will go blue in the face talking about how much I still love this show. That doesn’t free it from my criticism. I’m also only listing what I don’t like and what I would change, though I’d be more than happy making a post about what I loved.

Let’s start off with my girl Sakura Haruno. She is easily the most hated girl in the series, and all because of how ‘weak’ or ‘annoying’ she is. As if that’s not the fault of Kishimoto himself lol. She was shoved off to the side continuously and never given cool storylines, unlike the other members of her team.

What I took issue with about Sakura:

-What were this girls dreams?? The whole reason she became a ninja was never really talked about nor were they really developed as time went on. She was all about Sasuke, which would be fine if she grew out of it. But no. 

-Her crush on Sasuke was super stale. He was handsome and powerful, but what else was there to him? He was a jerk to her most of the time (there are some instances he’s somewhat kind to her, but if we go off canon, it’s not enough to make her deep love make sense). I think it would have been so much more interesting to see her grow out of her infatuation for him. If they had to have ended up together, watching them relearn each other and fall in love would have made them more compelling. She stayed loving a boy who thought very little of her. 

-She’s pitted against her best friend and doesn’t develop much of a relationship with other girls her age. It’s kind of sad, and I think they should have fought over something other than a boy. 

-We are told repeatedly that she’s super powerful by other characters, but she’s never given time to truly shine. She got like a single battle with Sasori and she deserved more cool moments like that!

-She was a healer, which makes perfect sense. But why is it mostly girls who are the healers? It’s a bit weird, when there’s also Neji with his perfect chakra control. She only has her healing abilities and her super strength; but even then someone like Kabuto has more offensive healing based techniques than her. Like his chakra scalpel. 

What I would fix:

-New dreams. Show her find a dream outside of her team and grow into it. Also give her more of a backstory. Sai has more of a backstory than she does and he’s way newer than she is.

-I would let her fuck up one of the Peins instead of Konohomaru- she’s a main character and passed over for that little brat?? She should have gotten to do more than scream out for Naruto and heal people :/ 

-She her intellect a bit more. She’s so smart, and yet we don’t really see it.

-She’s perfect for genjutsu, Kakashi himself said so. So why not give that to her? Or play more with ninjutsu. She has earth and water on her chart, so why not give her those abilities? Maybe even wood jutsu to even her out with her super OP teammates. Idk how, it could have happened, this is a show full of demons and god like abilities, it could have happened someway.

-She should have grown out of Sasuke and not married a man who doesn’t really appreciate her and isn’t there for her at all.

-I would totally have expanded on Inner Sakura more. Imagine if it made her mind impenetrable? Could have woven that in with her skills for genjutsu and made her unaffected by other’s illusions.

Next, let’s go with a more beloved character of the fandom. Hinata. Now personally I don’t care much for her- she could have been so cool but just like Sakura, they kind of messed her up.

What I didn’t like about Hinata:

-Her entire existence is revolves around Naruto. Naruto this, Naruto that- and yet she simply sat back and watched as his life was shit and did nothing despite her ‘love’ for him. And then fillers/movies are added to show that oh wait! she’s been there this entire time!! no lol. Build her up from the start as his love interest at the very least.

-She stayed super meek the entire time. Shy girls are okay, but I wanted to see her grow into herself more and not need as much reassurance. She’s a ninja and should stand on her own two feet more.

-She’s less skilled then Neji and I would have loved to see her outmatch him at some point, even once. Or gain abilities outside of her clan, or do something that made a name for herself outside of being the heiress of the Hyuga.

-She never fixed her clan which was one of her few spoken goals. That was a huge bummer.

-I think it would have been cool to see her mess up Pein a little more. She only stepped in because it was Naruto, which reinforces that she’s only about him. But at least let her land a hit if she’s as powerful as people say she is. 

-She makes the most sense to be a housewife or a healer with the way her attitude is but in Boruto, she’s kind of rewritten to be a ‘scary’ mother which just doesn’t fit her. Plus, she tells Boruto to go and take care of his dad?? Bro, that’s your child and your husband is the hokage. 

What I’d fix:

-Prove her dad wrong and show him that her compassion isn’t a weakness but a strength. 

-Fix the Hyuga clan bs.

-More character growth and showing more of her life away from Naruto. Her romance with him could also have been better. I hated her always watching him but never standing up for him, it kills me.

-Neij dying for her proved their clans hierarchy bs to be right and it just doesn’t make sense for him to die for her. It showed that he was right to feel caged and that he simply existed for the benefit of the Main family.

Now with the others, there’s much less I have to say about them because they aren’t main characters or the love interests.

Ino-

-Jealous of Sakura, no dreams of her own, stupidly loves Sasuke and for what? WHAT’S SO COOL ABOUT HIM?

-I like her growth for the most part, it was cool watching her fight in the War Arc with her team. 

-Why is she the medical ninja? I never got that.

-She got with Sai but they didn’t really show their development and how they fell in love with each other. It’s like she only likes him because he looks like Sasuke and called her pretty once.

Tenten-

-Should have gotten to train with Tsunade at some point, since she was the one who originally idolized her. 

-We know nothing about this girl at all. She doesn’t even have a last name.

-Her weapon usage was meant to be so cool and yet she missed so often- there’s a disconnect there. Her abilities could have been built up more. Imagine if no matter what she never ever missed. That would have been cool.

-Her weapon shop isn’t doing well. Just because it’s an era of peace doesn’t mean the need for weapons is totally over, not if there are still active ninja??

Karin-

-I actually like her, she’s kind of funny and I like that she’s mean even if she can get annoying.

-Again, another healer, though she’s also sensory which is more interesting. I’d like to see her with some jutsus though. That would have been neat.

-Her love for Sasuke makes sense since he saved her and smiled at her, making her think of him as her hero. And she’s the only one he apologizes to without Naruto strong arming him into it.

Temari-

-She’s pretty solid in my opinion. Though I would have loved to see her more without her brothers.

Konan-

-Her goals in life were to support Yahiko and Nagito’s dreams. It would irritate me so much if other girls in the series were more well rounded and din’t also have some sort of dream involving a boy.

-She was underused. I would have loved to see her fight more.

Tsunade-

-Only becomes hokage to support others dreams...All of them men. And then later passes the title onto Kakashi who doesn’t even want to be Hokage either. 

-No other justus used, she’s on par with Jiraya and Orochimaru and yet she’s only super strong and the best medic. She should theoretically be more well rounded than that, right? She also should be shown fighting more even if she’s a medic, she’s also s legendary sannin 

-Had to be saved by 12 year old Naruto. I know it’s a show about him, but she’s meant to be a literal badass but needs a kid to save her.

Kushina-

-Wanted to become the first woman hokage and then didn’t. Her husband did. and then she became a housewife?? What?? She should have become the first woman hokage with a badass husband or had another prominent role in the village like as a council member or something.

Kurenai-

-Always lost a fight? She’s some genjutsu using badass but always lost fights.

-No real personality, she’s just chilling there. Sexy as hell though. Has a kid and that’s about it.

-What I will give her is that I’m so glad she was allowed to age. So many anime mothers always look the same as their teenage self and she looks like she can be anybody's mama.

Over all, the girls could have been handled much better. I wouldn’t find issues with any of them being housewives or all about boys if that weren’t what seems to be the standard in the anime. I just wanted more of a variety and better character development, especially for Sakura and Hinata who are the mains 😩

Now to what might REALLY piss people off- ships! I’m not trying to start some war here, this is just my opinion and you can take it or leave it.

Sakura- Naruto, since they had the most development and showed more than two seconds of caring for each other. Even Sai in Shippuden has more of a connection to Sakura than Sasuke did.

Ino-Shikamaru, if she had to end up with a guy it makes sense it’d be him since they spend more time together than her and Sai did. (inosaku for the win tho)

Hinata-Shino or Kiba, again, because they spent more time with her. Naruto and her felt very rushed and I don’t quite understand the appeal.

The one that made the most sense and became canon was Shikatem, though their son’s design was lazy :D 

If I do a second part, it’ll be about the boys and the ships with them that made sense to me. For now, this is all I have. If you’ve made it this far, thank you lol

byeee

[melanielocke]

Lost in the Shadows - Chapter 23

AO3

Taglist: @nott-the-best @foxglove-airmid @alastair-esfandiyar-carstairs1 @justanormaldemon @styxdrawings @ipromiseiwillwrite @a-dream-dirty-and-bruised

@alastair-appreciation-month

Previous Chapter: Chapter 22

Next Chapter: Chapter 24

Alastair was exhausted. By the time they made it back, it was seven in the evening even if they’d been in the land in between for much shorter. He was cold, still soaking wet, and he didn’t want to know what had been in the water that had flooded the dungeon. He imagined he and Cordelia both smelt terrible, but completely covered in it, Alastair could not smell it himself. It was frustrating, because Thomas and Lucie did not indicate anything about their scent, but Alastair suspected they did smell whatever had been in that water and were just too polite to mention it. Thomas didn’t touch him and kept a little more distance than he usually did.

All the way back to the Herondale’s manor, Cordelia and Alastair were arguing about who could use the bathroom first, until Lucie pointed out there was a second bathroom connected to the master bedroom.

‘Why do you both want to go second anyway?’ Thomas asked. ‘I’d imagine you’d argue about who gets to go first.’

‘Because I am cold and dirty and want to use the bathroom for at least an hour, and if I go first, Cordelia will start yelling at me to hurry up after about ten minutes,’ Alastair said.

Thomas tilted his head. ‘And if she goes first?’

‘Then I will yell at her to get out after ten minutes,’ Alastair said. ‘And since I am freezing I’d be completely justified.’

‘We both have very excessive bathroom rituals,’ Cordelia added. ‘Especially when we’re this dirty. But staying in there for an hour would be rude if someone else also needs to use the bathroom. So whoever goes second can yell and be completely justified, and then has all the time they need to get warm and clean. It’s a good thing there are two bathrooms and we can both go take a shower.’ .’

Two separate bathrooms sounded good. He remembered his childhood home had had that too, before his father had been forced to sell the family home when Alastair was around five. Jem had bought it back a couple of years ago, but Alastair found it difficult to imagine why one person needed a house that big. Although he guessed Jem had grown up there too and had lost his parents at a young age, so perhaps there were sentimental reasons.

Both the Herondales and the Lightwoods were at the manor. Will and Tessa were reading as usual, Sophie was tidying something up in the kitchen and Gideon was pacing back and forth until he noticed the four of them.

‘Finally, you’re back,’ Gideon said, concern written all over his face. ‘What happened?’

‘We got the skin,’ Cordelia said. ‘Grace is free. But the dungeon the skin was hidden in was completely flooded, so if you don’t mind I want to use the bathroom. Alastair and I both do, and Lucie mentioned there was a second bathroom.’

In the end Cordelia took the bathroom connected to Will and Tessa’s bedroom while Alastair took the one upstairs, glad to finally have some peace. He was exhausted as well as cold and dirty. There was a huge bathtub in there and Alastair turned on the water while getting in the shower to first rinse off the worst of the filth and to get warm again. He got out of the shower when he felt like he was semi clean and the bath tub was nearly full. Even if he’d been in the shower for some time and felt a lot cleaner than before, he was still so cold. He got in the bathtub. There was even a bubble bath function, exactly how rich was Lucie’s grandmother?

Perhaps he should ask Thomas to join him here sometime. He imagined that would be nice. Alastair allowed himself to relax. Although he was exhausted, he did feel a lot better than yesterday. At least with Grace freed, he felt like he’d accomplished something. Like he wasn’t useless and deserved to be liked again. That was something he often struggled with.

He sought out memories, but unlike other days he didn’t seek out the bad ones. Right now he wasn’t seeking to make sense of the past, nor was he interested in hurting himself. Instead, he let himself settle comfortably into a memory of Thomas confessing his feelings to him, of their first kiss. It wasn’t all bad, the memories.

When he was younger, they didn’t have a lot of movies at home, so sometimes they would rewatch movies Cordelia had seen at Lucie’s place instead. His mother had been a little concerned about that, usually children being too quiet was bad news but them sitting on the couch for over an hour in the same position was just weird.

Lucie had a tendency to talk through movies, so Alastair had come to associate certain scenes in the Little Mermaid or Aladdin with her commentary. Alastair had always loved Aladdin as a child. Although now he was far more critical of the strange way in which the movie mixed together Persian, Arabic and Indian culture and architecture, at the time Aladdin had been one of the few movies with a main character who looked like him.

He returned to reality after a while, finally warm again and decided to stay in bath for a little longer. Bubble baths really were nice, Alastair guessed if he had ever had enough money for one he’d buy a bubble bath. In the current economical climate he doubted he’d even be able to buy a home, but he could dream.

***

Thomas was busy in the kitchen with his mother. He liked to cook, and was quite good at it. From a young age he’d wanted to go into the kitchen and look at what his mother was doing there, or help out. Barbara was a decent cook but didn’t love it like he and his mother did, and Eugenia had been banned from using the kitchen, but Thomas had picked up cooking quite easily. Now, they were making a vegan shepherd’s pie, Thomas was cutting the onion, trying to cut the pieces as tiny as possible. Compared to his mother, he was less sensitive to onion and was therefore always giving that task while cooking together.

‘Were you surprised?’ he asked out of a sudden. ‘When you and dad found out I like boys?’

His mother threw away the potato peels. ‘Not really. I remember when you were fourteen and would come home from school. You could only talk about this older boy you’d met, about how beautiful his dark hair and eyes were.’

Thomas realized his mother had a point, that wasn’t exactly subtle. And he couldn’t talk about his feelings for Alastair with his friends, so instead he’d talked about him at home. ‘That boy was Alastair,’ he said.

‘Really?’ his mother asked. ‘Now that you mention it, that was his name, but we never met him.’

‘I think dad suggested I invite him over for dinner, but Alastair barely acknowledged me back then and I didn’t dare. Nor do he think he would have accepted.’

‘And while you were singing his praises, James and Matthew could only complain about him. So we figured there had to be a reason why you thought he was perfect when your friends thought he was awful. We weren’t sure it was a crush, or if there was some other reason, we figured it was best to let you figure that out on your own.’

Thomas hadn’t realized it was so obvious, but looking back it was a miracle anyone had missed it.

‘Thanks for that. I don’t think I was ready to talk about it at that age, even if I wasn’t exactly subtle. We do have a bit of a history. While I was in love with him, he was awful to us. I think I idealized him then, because he was beautiful and smart and appeared so confident, and I downplayed his rudeness. But he isn’t like that anymore, he grew up and changed and he apologized for his behavior at school.’

‘People change,’ his mother said. ‘I believe people deserve a second chance. Especially when someone was so young when they made mistakes.’

‘Exactly. And now I feel like I’m getting to know the real him. You and dad, you do like him right?’

‘Of course we do,’ Sophie said. ‘He’s been nothing but polite, although a bit blunt. Your father sees himself in Alastair, he thinks Alastair struggles with connecting to people because of his past, and wants to help.’

‘Alastair thinks you only like him for his ability and his willingness to save me,’ Thomas said. ‘I’m not sure why he thinks that, it seemed unlikely and he couldn’t really explain his line of thinking either.’

Sophie sat down at the kitchen table, cutting the carrots. ‘When you’ve been treated badly in the past, it can become difficult to accept kindness. At some point, you start to expect people aren’t sincere, they can’t be trusted, because that’s all they’ve known.

It was difficult for me, at first, to trust your father’s kindness because I knew people were not always genuine, because I’d been hurt before and I was scared it would happen again. Because I thought, with this scar, who could believe I’m beautiful?’

Before meeting his father, his mother had been in a relationship with a man who’d cut open her face when she’d broken up with him. He’d claimed that if he couldn’t have her, he’d make sure no one else would want her. The cut had left a scar across her cheek and her ex had eventually gone to prison.

Thomas didn’t know the details, but suspected her ex had been abusive before the break up already. People didn’t always realize how dangerous leaving could be for an abuse victim. His mother’s ex had turned to carving up her face with a knife. Benedict Lightwood had decided to sacrifice his wife when he realized she was leaving. He had to admire Alastair for being brave enough to leave his ex. Even if someone wasn’t physically violent it couldn’t be easy.

‘Do you think he distrusts your and dad’s kindness because of that?’ Thomas asked.

‘I think that’s likely,’ Sophie said. ‘I think he blames himself for what happened to him, and might not believe it’s possible for other people to genuinely care for him. Perhaps he thinks people have treated him badly because he’s a bad person, or perhaps he thinks that he’s too broken to be loved. Perhaps to him it is so unlikely that we care for him that it makes more sense that we are kind because we want something from him.’

Thomas figured it was something like that. But what did to mean for Alastair’s feelings for him? Did Alastair think he too would abandon him if things became too difficult? Or did he think Thomas would only stay with him as long as he could satisfy his needs, with no care for his own? Did he feel guilty about falling into that flashback last night when Thomas had touched him, like he was not good enough? Thomas wanted to make him understand that it wasn’t true, that he loved Alastair and wouldn’t abandon him, but he wasn’t sure how.

‘How do I convince him that’s not true?’ Thomas asked.

‘The only thing we can do is let him know we care,’ his mother said. ‘And be patient with him. Does he communicate his feelings to you?’

‘He tends to be honest and rather blunt with his feelings,’ Thomas said. ‘I like that about him.’

When Alastair wanted to be honest, he wasn’t one to dance around the message or his feelings. He was very straightforward and blunt in what he wanted to say, not much like what was common in Britain, to hide behind politeness. Thomas found it refreshing, to know that when Alastair said something nice he meant every word of it.

‘So make sure you communicate with him as well,’ his mother said. ‘I know you struggle with verbalizing your emotions, but you have to let him know how you feel or he might end up believing you don’t really care for him.’

Thomas nodded. His mother was right, he did struggle with telling people how he felt. Most of the time, it was because he was scared his feelings would inconvenience other people. He was determined not to do that to Alastair though, he knew his feelings for him weren’t inconvenient and they weren’t shameful. Nevertheless sometimes it was hard just to get the words past his lips. Perhaps that was why he’d waited so long to come out when he’d wanted to for some time. Ultimately, kissing Alastair when they would see was easier than telling them, but he knew he could not communicate with Alastair the same way, he’d have to tell him how he felt as well as show it.

‘Was it difficult for you, entering a new relationship after the last one had ended so badly?’ Thomas asked.

‘It took a while until I was ready,’ his mother said. ‘At first, I thought, who would want me now that I have this scar? I think Alastair might feel the same way, even if his scars aren’t literal like mine is. It took some time before I started believing Gideon when he said I was beautiful. That is a process, and all you can do is support him and be gentle with him while he works through that.’

‘Last night, something I did triggered a flashback,’ Thomas admitted. ‘I thought he was okay with it, I think he thought so too. Or maybe he was scared to refuse because of how his ex used to treat him. Something I did reminded him of his ex and he panicked.’

‘Did you communicate what you both wanted?’ his mother asked.

Thomas had to think. He’d asked, of course, and Alastair had said yes. But perhaps what they needed was a more in depth discussion of what they both liked and what Alastair was comfortable with.

‘Yes. He likes it when I ask for consent before kissing or touching him. I think he didn’t see it coming. That it would trigger a flashback, I mean. But I don’t want to hurt him, and I think maybe he feels like he isn’t a good partner if he’s not ready to have sex? I’m not sure exactly, but I think his ex was very demanding when it came to sex.’

‘It’s best to ask him,’ Sophie said. ‘You said he usually honest and blunt with his feelings, so I think if you ask him how he feels about sex, he’ll tell you. Those aren’t always easy conversations, but it’s the best way to make sure you don’t accidently hurt him. And I think when you accidently trigger something, it’s best to apologize and move on when he does. Lingering on it might make him feel worse.’

They finished the shepherd’s pie and put it in the oven. Thomas always struggled with preheating the oven at the right time, he didn’t want to leave it on for a long time while he wasn’t ready to put anything in it, but it was also annoying when everything was finished but he had to wait for the oven to get warm. It was another half an hour until it was done, which would give Alastair and Cordelia plenty of time to finish bathing. Thomas hadn’t wanted to say anything but they did smell awful after coming out of that dungeon soaking wet, and he could tell they were both chilled to the bone. He hoped neither of them would get sick.

Thomas sat down on the couch with his father and Lucie. ‘I’d been waiting for you,’ Lucie said. ‘I thought it would be better with you here.’

Gideon frowned. ‘What’s going on?’

‘This might be difficult to process,’ Lucie said. ‘While I was waiting in the land in between, I saw a ghost. Not like I usually see ghosts, she was only half there, transparent like in the movies. Until I asked her to show herself so Thomas could see her too. When I was back in our world, I could do the same thing. According to Grace, I stole a soul back from the thief of souls.’

‘You stole a soul?’ Gideon asked. ‘I’m not sure I’m following. Is she a ghost now?’

‘She’s right here,’ Lucie said. ‘A ghost, yes, but no longer trapped. She’s your mother.’

‘My… mother?’ His father seemed in shock, his voice a whisper. ‘You mean to say she’s here?’

‘She’s been trapped for a long time until I found here. She didn’t realize how much time had passed until we told her and she found out Thomas was your son. She wants to talk to you if that’s alright with you.’

Thomas found it difficult to imagine what his father must be feeling. Would he be happy for a chance to see his mother, or would it only tear open old wounds? He knew Lucie had done the right thing to set her free, and hoped she could find peace and way to move on from this world, but he wasn’t sure it was kind to his father. Not telling him was infinitely worse though.

‘Yes, of course. How does this work? Do you tell me what she’s saying?’

‘Actually, I can make her visible,’ Lucie said. ‘Barbara, show yourself.’

Barbara Lightwood appeared once more, standing in the middle of the living room. She looked a bit disoriented, glancing around before settling her gaze on his father.

‘Gideon. It has been so long,’ she said. ‘Last I remember you were still so small. I’m so sorry for leaving you.’

‘That wasn’t your fault,’ his father said, tears in his eyes.

Thomas wondered if he should leave, if this was a private conversation, but Lucie couldn’t leave since she had made Barbara visible. Perhaps he should stick around for emotional support?

His father had a long conversation with Barbara, telling him about his life, about Thomas’ sisters. Barbara started crying too when she realized Thomas’ oldest sister was named after her.

Thomas imagined Barbara had to be devastated to learn what Tatiana was up to and hoped she could find peace with it. He didn’t think Tatiana could be persuaded to stop by a mother she didn’t even remember. Gideon was the only one of her children who remembered his mother at all, although uncle Gabriel claimed to have a few very vague memories even if he could not recall her face and had no concept of who she had been.

Alastair entered the living room, his hair still damp but otherwise dry, wearing a clean dark green button up shirt with black jeans. Thomas went to him, he didn’t think they’d explained to Alastair what had happened or who Barbara was.

‘That’s the soul Lucie took back, isn’t it?’ Alastair asked.

‘Yes. Her name is Barbara, and she is my grandmother.’

‘Benedict’s wife? The one he sacrificed?’

‘Exactly. Somehow Lucie saw her and when she made her visible, she pulled her through to the world she was in, and now she’s here.’

Alastair looked concerned. ‘Do you think the thief of souls will try to take her back?’

‘I’m not sure. But if she moves on, we think she should be safe. How are you?’

‘Tired, but feeling a bit better. The bubble bath was nice, you should try it sometime.’

Thomas wondered if Alastair meant he should try it because it was nice or he wanted them to use the bubble bath together. He didn’t dare ask for clarification. He’d be far too embarrassed if it turned out Alastair had no desire to take a bath together. Just after he’d told himself he’d have a conversation with Alastair about sex and what he wanted.

‘Maybe I will,’ Thomas said, not sure what he meant he’d do. He wasn’t opposed to taking a bubble bath with Alastair, but wasn’t sure Alastair was ready for something so intimate. He’d ask later, he told himself. ‘You smell nice.’

All traces of whatever dirt he’d been in were gone. Instead, he smelt sharp and minty, but also sweet.

‘Just my shampoo. And I guess also the scrub, bath oil and body cream, but they all have the same scent.’

‘I like it,’ Thomas said. ‘Like eucalyptus, maybe?’

‘That’s in the products I use, yes,’ Alastair said. ‘Are you alright?’

Thomas guessed Alastair had read some worry on his face. ‘Well, I never knew my grandmother so it’s mostly confusing. I think it’s hard for my father though. He lost his mother when he was five, it’s been a very long time and seeing her again has to be painful.’

‘I can’t even imagine what that’s like,’ Alastair said. ‘But I’m happy for him that he gets the chance to talk to her even if it’s only once. He deserves that.’

‘They really do care for you, you know,’ Thomas said, returning to the kitchen with Alastair in tow to check on their shepherd pie.

‘Your parents?’ Alastair asked.

‘Yes.’

‘I don’t know,’ Alastair said, head bowed down, avoiding eye contact.

‘I just asked my mother, she likes you and you remind my dad of him when he was younger. They both care. I’m not sure why you have this idea that they don’t, but I thought you should know.’

‘I don’t know how to explain,’ Alastair said, still refusing to look him in the eye.

Thomas guessed eye contact might be difficult for him. Lucie was the opposite, staring into people’s eyes so much it became uncomfortable. She was a writer, after all, and how else was she to know Thomas’ hazel eyes had both hints of green and gold in there?

‘My mother thinks it’s because you were hurt so badly you find it difficult to believe people could love you. If you want, you could talk to her about it. I may not know what it’s like, but she does. Her ex hurt her too.’

‘Not everyone is as easy to love as you are, Tom,’ Alastair said with a sigh. ‘Now that you’ve seen the extent of my scars, how long until you realize that I’m just not worth the pain?’

His mother was right, Alastair did believe he could not be loved. He believed Thomas would grow tired of him? That it was painful and difficult to be with someone like him and it wasn’t worth it? How could Thomas make him see that he was wrong, that he was loved and that he deserved that?

‘You are worth it,’ Thomas said, running a finger through Alastair’s soft dark hair. ‘Having a mental illness doesn’t make you unworthy of love, it doesn’t make you too difficult.’

‘You realize that this might never go away, right?’ Alastair said finally looking up. Thomas realized with a shock there were tears in his eyes. ‘I still have hope for EMDR, but PTSD is a very difficult disorder to treat. Perhaps it will get better over time, but it might not.’

Thomas imagined that was a difficult idea for Alastair to cope with, knowing that he might never get better. He’d read a lot on PTSD in the past week, and it was true that it was difficult to treat, especially when caused by prolonged childhood abuse. But according to his admittedly limited internet research, even then people could learn to cope better, find better support. One metaphor he’d found interesting was how the symptoms were like waves of the ocean, Alastair might not be able to stop them but he could learn to surf.

‘And if it doesn’t go away, I’ll still want to be with you,’ Thomas said. ‘I’d still do the best I could to support you. My feelings for you are not conditional on you getting better, although I certainly hope you do. For your sake.’

‘It’s easy to say that now,’ Alastair said softly, once more refusing to look him in the eye.

‘I’ll prove it to you then,’ Thomas said. ‘I don’t care how long it takes until you believe me, but I’ll keep proving I care about you.’

‘Just how do I intend to do that?’ Alastair asked.

‘Well, I’m still figuring that out but it would involve lots of cuddling. And my mother thinks it’s important that I tell you how I really feel, so I’m going to do that too.’

Alastair’s expression changed, showing a small smile someone else might have missed. ‘I’d like that. When will you be next available for cuddling?’

‘Give me a moment, I need to check on the shepherd’s pie. You need to eat and I couldn’t feed you burnt food.’

Thomas checked the oven, everything looked fine and needed a little more time in the oven. He set the timer and returned his attention to Alastair.

‘I am available right now if you want. Another ten minutes until we can eat.’

[crystallhamptonhersheykiss]

With Ducktales ending on March 15th I thought it would be fun to go to Disney plus and rewatch the first two seasons and review them and discuss what I like and didn't like about each season. I'm only going to be talking about season 1 and then review season 2 later.

Some of the positives of season 1.

*I liked the introductions if the family and other characters. (Gyro, Fenton, etc) When you first meet everyone you can really tell what their personality and characters will be like.

* The triplets being given their own personalities, arcs, developments etc. One thing that has always been criticized with these three is that they we're always considered to be the same character but here you can tell the three of them apart.

*Voice acting was really good. Voices I think for the characters perfectly.

*Webby being really close/treated like part of the family, her being closer in age to the boys made it easier for them to be friends instead of being treated like an annoying little sister.

* Donald acting like a loving and caring parent to the boys instead of always being frustrated and annoyed with them like we've seen in the shorts, movies, etc.

* The set up of Scrooge and Donald's falling out and exploring the disappearance of Della Duck.

* Scrooge and Webby getting to know each other before she started calling him Uncle, I think when he told her to call him Uncle Scrooge it felt earned.

*The reveal that Lena was actually Magica's shadow, not her niece. It was a reveal I didn't see coming, and if you know anything about Magica from the comics or the 1987 series. Magica using her shadow to help her makes a lot of sense.

* I liked the reveal that Della was alive and trapped on the moon. I didn't expect them to do anything with Della in this series, and I was interested in the mystery of her disappearance.

Some mixed/negative things that I didn't care for about the season.

* Dewey and Webby should have told Huey and Louie that they were trying to learn more about Della a lot sooner. While I understand Dewey wanting to protect his brothers, (And this also being part of his character arc.) he should have talked to his brothers about learning more Della before he got Webby involved. While Webby knows a lot about the family, Della is the triplets Mother and I think they should have been working together from the beginning. I also feel like Huey and Louie should have found out sooner and been mad at Dewey for at least an episode or two instead of forgiving him in the same episode.

*Donald should have been in more episodes. While it makes sense he would stay home instead of adventuring with Scrooge, I think we could have seen more of him in the Duckburg episodes. To me he felt like he was just gone most of the time. I wish he had been on the plane in "The last crash of the Sunchasher" Just seeing his reaction to Scrooge telling everyone what happened to Della, I think could have been a better reaction from him then just the boys coming home upset by it.

* I don't think Dewey needed to be in every episode this season. While I do think the crew realized this later because Louie and Huey aren't in every episode of their focused season, there are episodes where it would have made sense to trade Dewey for one of his brothers in certain episodes. Beware the B.U.D.D.Y. system and The internal internship of Mark Beaks! Are the first episodes that come to mind where I don't think Dewey needed to be in those episodes.

* I think they made Launchpad a little too dumb to be believable in this series. While I still like him. There are times when I was watching the show and he would say or do something and think. No one is that dumb.

* The main thing that I've always been mixed about this season is that I don't think Magica should have been the season one villain or the main Villain in the shadow war. Hear me out. Magica has always been one of if not my favorite Scrooge Mcduck villain. I'm not saying I don't like her, but she's always felt a little underdeveloped to me in this series. In the shadow war I was expecting her to be a serious and threatening villain towards the family, and she never felt like that. She spent more time playing in the money bin and turning the gold into ice cream etc.

I've always felt like they should have waited at least until season two or three then let her be the main villain of the season. Keep the storyline with her and Lena, but build her up more as a villain (I was hoping we'd learn more about her backstory and history with Scrooge etc.) And let Glomgold or Mark Beaks etc. Be the villain of season one.

I don't dislike this version of Magica but I do think she could have been handled better. I've always felt like the crew was probably really excited to use her and had her become the main villain of a season a lot sooner than she should have. I don't know if this is an unpopular opinion or not, but I feel like I needed to be honest about it. If you really liked Magica in this series, that's great. But I do think she could have been a better character.

Overall I did like season one. I know it kinda looks like I had a lot of negatives with this season but I felt like I needed to explain why I didn't some things this season. I didn't like or agree with everything that was done this season, I do think it was a good start to the series, introducing the family and setting up the Della Duck mystery were all handled well.

Feel free to agree or disagree with anything that I said about this season. What are some of your favorite episodes of season one. And is anyone else rewatching the series while we wait for the series finale next week?

Some of my favorite episodes this season (in no particular order)

The great dime chase.

The impossible summit or Mount Neverest.

The missing links of moonshire.

Beware the B.U.D.D.Y. system.

The mystery of Mcduck Manor

The secrets of Castle Mcduck

The last crash of the Sunchasher.

[aalissy]

Movie Night

Day 25 is doneee!! And it’s about movie nights!! I love this trope haha! I just loveee the idea of Ladrien and Marichat visits bc they can’t bear to be away from the other! It’s just sooo cute!! Anywho, lemme know what you think <3

AO3

Adrien nervously ran a hand through his blonde hair. He peered back at himself in his bathroom mirror anxiously, searching for anything out of place. It was movie night with Ladybug and he needed to look perfect for her. Plagg snickered nearby him and he glared at the kwami. “What’s so funny?” Adrien asked, pursing his lips with annoyance.

“You,” Plagg shot him a smirk. “You’re so worked up and Ladybug isn’t even here yet.”

“Shut up,” he muttered, his lips twisting to the side. Turning back to the mirror one last time, he adjusted his outfit, hoping that he wasn’t missing something. When he was certain that everything was in place, he tossed Plagg a piece of cheese before heading out of the bathroom. Carefully, Adrien scrutinized the snacks on the table, making certain that everything was perfect once again.

It was then that he heard the small tap on the window. His head whipped up excitedly and it was then that he saw Ladybug. She was hanging outside his window with a small, sweet smile on her face. Her hand was up in a wave as her blue eyes twinkled at him in the starlight. Quickly, Adrien gave her a bright grin before opening up the window so that she could come in.

“Hey, Adrien,” Ladybug started, tucking a stray strand of hair back behind her ear. “Are you excited for movie night?”

“Always!” Adrien beamed at her before gesturing to the couch. “Feel free to sit down, of course. I hope I got all of the snacks that we needed.”

Her mouth dropped open as she gaped at the array of food on the table. Turning to him with a pair of wide eyes, she said, “Adrien, you didn’t need to do all of this! Movie night is supposed to be just simple and carefree.”

“I know,” he shifted on his feet. “But I wanted to do something special tonight. Plus, it didn’t take me that long to set up.”

Ladybug’s eyes softened as she looked at him. Quickly, she pressed a kiss to his cheek, murmuring, “Well, regardless, it was very sweet of you to do all of this. Even if it wasn’t necessary.”

A blush spread across his cheeks and Adrien lifted a hand to cup the spot she had just kissed. Beaming at her, he said, “Thanks, Ladybug. I’m really glad you like it.”

“You’re welcome, Adrien. And thank you for setting it all up.” She reached down, taking his hand in hers as she squeezed it lightly. Her smile turned a touch shy as she peeked up into his eyes from beneath her lashes. She really was beautiful.

Adrien intertwined their fingers together before leading her over to the couch. He had already set up the TV to start the movie that they had chosen for tonight. Ladybug sent him a fond look when she noticed and he practically beamed with pride. Whatever little things he could do to keep her happy, he would. She deserved the world.

When they sat down together, he realized something critically important. Ladybug was still holding his hand. Neither of them had let go in the past few minutes. Adrien’s blush turned darker as he stared down at them. How long could they really stay like this for? Daydreams of holding Ladybug’s hand for the rest of time popped into his mind and he squeezed it unconsciously.

 Ladybug then looked down at their hands with surprise, quickly removing hers as her face lit up. She turned her gaze away from him as she stared firmly at the TV. “S-sorry,” she murmured, nibbling on her lower lip.

“N-no, don’t be sorry! I didn’t mind at all. Actually, it was kind of nice.” He flushed lightly, wondering why he had said that at all. Ladybug was going to think he was crazy. About to choke out an excuse, Adrien stopped when he saw her expression. She looked shocked but there was a determined glint to her eyes that he typically only saw during a tough akuma attack. With her face a bright red, she reached out, her arm a red blur as she took his hand back in hers.

Ladybug didn’t say anything after that and simply kept her gaze focused on the television in front of them. Adrien felt butterflies soar in his chest as he realized that she had done that on purpose. Ladybug wanted to hold his hand. His lips twitched with pride before he reached for the remote, turning the movie on. 

Like most of their movie nights, though, his attention was more focused on the girl sitting next to him than on the TV. She was just so perfect and beautiful. How could he focus on the movie when she was sitting next to him? Everything else just seemed to pale in comparison to the sound of her delightful laughter. If only movie night could last forever. Adrien would kill to spend a lifetime here, just holding onto his lady’s hand as they watched a movie together.  

Sneaking a quick peek at her out of the corner of his eye, he stared longingly at her perfect smile. That smile should be on her face every day, especially if he was the cause of it. His chest swelled with pride as he gazed back at her. Maybe Adrien could suggest that they have movie nights more often so that he could see her even more. Patrols, akuma attacks, and the occasional movie just weren’t enough for him. 

So focused on Ladybug, he barely noticed when the movie ended and the credits began to play. It was only when she let go of his hand to clap that he realized. Feeling bereft of her warmth, Adrien sighed quietly as he clapped too. 

“That was such a good movie, Adrien!” Ladybug turned over to beam at him. “Thank you for picking it out!”

“No problem.” He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck as he grinned at her awkwardly. Well, at least she liked the movie. Maybe he could rewatch it and actually pay attention next time so that he would have more to talk about when he saw her again.

“Ready for the next one?” She nodded excitedly, reaching for a piece of popcorn as she popped it into her mouth. 

Adrien gave her an easy smile before putting on the next movie. “Always, Ladybug.”

Leaning back in his seat, he placed his arm over her own seat as he started their next movie. Hopefully, Ladybug would like this one as well. Plus, maybe he could actually pay more attention this time. Either way, he was very content with the idea of spending more time with Ladybug. And maybe, just maybe, he could convince her to stay forever.

[backtoasgard]

Back to Asgard Month

Celebrating nine years of nine realms! Please join us for a Thor fandom event to take place September 13 through October 10!

For the 9-year anniversary of the release of Thor 1 on DVD on September 13, let’s get back to the fandom’s roots with a month of revelry fit for the gods! 

What is Back to Asgard Month?

It’s a fandom event focused on Thor and Loki (either as a ship or as brothers) and other Thor characters and their portrayal in MCU Phase 1 & 2 (Thor 1, Avengers 1, TDW, AoU). It’s about sharing the love of those characters and stories with other fans by posting content, recs, meta, discussions, and anything else that you enjoy, and encouraging commenting and interaction within the community!

When is it?

Four weeks starting on September 13, with each week dedicated to a different movie. This doesn’t mean you can’t post things outside of that schedule, it just gives some structure for those who want it.

Week 1: Thor 1  (September 13-19)

Week 2: Avengers 1 (September 20-26)

Week 3: TDW (September 27 - October 3)

Week 4: AoU, etc., or catch-all if you missed any of the above (October 4-10)

Participation, Rules, and More Below!

How do I participate?

So many ways! Here are a few ideas:

Do a rewatch and post your reactions, talk about the movies, whatevs

Talk about what the fandom means to you, what drew you to the characters, etc.

Share recs for “classic” fic, art, edits, vids, whatever---tell us about your old faves!

Revive some old fandom memes! Loki does what he wants, Thor.

Comment on older content--who doesn’t love comments, whenever they arrive?

Share and rec your own older content---latecomers to the fandom may never have seen it!

Create and share new fic, art, edits, meta, playlists, vids, or any other new content you feel like making, as long as it is focused/based on the early movie canon

Share prompts and plotbunnies for others to take up---tell us about that idea you wish someone would write/draw/whatever!

Tag it #backtoasgard so we can find it and reblog it!

You can also submit content directly to this blog. If it meets the requirements, we will post it. (Note: Please submit only your own content. No reposting!)

Rules:

This event is focused on the Thor characters in Thor 1, Avengers 1, Thor: The Dark World, and Avengers Age of Ultron. Inclusion of non-Thor-franchise characters or content referencing other MCU movies from the same era is acceptable. Content that involves any Phase 3+ movies (TR, IW, EG, etc.) is not. That content is everywhere and it’s great too, but this event is about celebrating the early era of MCU Thor fandom.

Inclusion of elements from comics, other Marvel (e.g., Marvel TV, Avengers: EMH, Tales of Asgard), mythology, or any AU you’ve got is also cool, as long as the focus/basis is the events and characters from the early Thor movies. 

Absolutely no character bashing. If you can’t praise your fave without bashing other characters, do it somewhere else. 

Absolutely no ship bashing. The early days of MCU Thor fandom were largely thorki-focused, and while other pairings are totally cool in this event, any ship bashing, especially any anti-ism, is not welcome. If you follow this blog or its tag, you are acknowledging that you may see some thorki. 

Absolutely no kink shaming. This fandom grows its own kinktomatoes. 

Criticism of the movies is fine, but this is an event for people who enjoyed them. Keep that in mind and don’t be a dick. We realize this is subjective, but please err on the side of caution.

Tag/warn appropriately. At a minimum, this means following AO3 rules for Major Warning content. If you are linking to a work hosted elsewhere (such as AO3) and it is appropriately tagged in that location, you need not duplicate warnings on tumblr. NOTE: Sibling incest does not need to be warned for if a work is labeled as thorki. ALSO: Adopted sibling incest should not be labeled “pseudo-incest” or anything that is otherwise insulting to adoptive families. 

Within this event at least, please treat other fans like people. If you disagree with something, do so civilly. If you don’t like something, move on and find something you do like. Remember that we’re all here to have a good time.

You are free to take part in as many (or as few) ways as you like. No one is judging or grading your participation. There is no minimum, no maximum, and very loose time limits. 

(Credit for the inspiration behind this event goes to the LotR fandom’s Back to Middle-earth events that one of your friendly neighborhood mods participated in back in the day and enjoyed.)

Please share this post to spread the word! We look forward to celebrating this fandom with you!