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kanene-yaaay · 5 years ago

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Reasons to Smile

Kanene's Notes:

Reasons to smile:

Today wasn't a sunny day, and I wake up early, which was pretty cool so that way I had time to finally finish my fanfic and post it. Oh, I have internet, and this is also awesome, since I can show this fanfic and talk with you all because of it. And the fun thing about Sun is that is okay the fact that it wasn't showing up a lot today because you guys alone are enough to light up my day and warm my heart. So thank you for being here and being so strong in these tough times, my lollipop!

Warnings, fun facts, random things and stuff:

* Roman!Patton and Ler!Patton/Ler!Virgil/Ler!Roman (It can be seen as Romantic or Platonic LAMP/CALM).

*Hmmm… This is a Tickle-Fanfic! If you don’t like this kind of stuff, please look for another blog, there are plenty of amazing art in this site!! ‘u’).

* Something around 4.500 words. -w-)b.

* Sorry for any spelling, pontuation and grammar mistakes! Any advice is very very welcome!

* I'm very happy I finally managed to finalize this fanfiction! I made an personal goal to make to each one of the Light Sides a tickle fic focused on them specifically (Virgil = Vulnerable; Logan = It started when... ; Patton = Patton has a secret) and that was the last one! I'm already starting another project which I hope to post soon, so donut worry! I will be opening my Ask Box for prompts, however I will make a post about it, soon! <3

* E a versão em português brasileiro!

* Masterpost in case you wanna see my others works! <3

*Thankys for reading, my lollipops! Watch a fun video, read a good story, talk with the one that you love and drink water! Byeioo!~

[~*~]

Roman felt he was the least heroic hero from all the Mind Palace. It was horrible, like a sensation which seemed to start in his chest, in that deepest part of him where the soul is, and began to spread through all his body. First his throat, making it dry and with tons and tons of lost words never said, then it went to his stomach, leading it to weight as much as his legs, which didn’t felt have any strength left to stand or move in any direction; his eyes looked as dikes about to broke and flood everything in they way, and, in the end, he didn’t felt any cold, however this didn’t stopped him from drow himself in tons of comforters and teddy bears just like he currently was.

As he said before: Not even a drop of heroism.

The soft, warm pile moved some time later as the prince emerged from it, not completely healed, but at least a little better after the nap he had. His hand moved with a flourish in the air, summoning Crofter’s, because he was addicted to this jelly after the musical video, and started to eat, feeling his face getting dirty with his own clumsy actions already inserted in his being.

Jelly on his face, messy hair, tired, sleepy eyes… Yep, definitely these were the ‘royal days’ which any Fairy Tale ever utter. None chapter mentioning, explaining how were the thousands of days in the tower waiting, dreaming; not a page dedicated to the lonely afternoons wandering through the forest in seek of a beauty lady with skin pale as snow, or even some phrases about the months surrounded and arrested in himself that Maui had to struggle and neither three or four verses about all the sleepless nights watered in guilty that the Beast had gone through.

Perhaps, it was because in the end…

- Nobody cares that much. - The words sounded even tougher when left his lips and Roman felt himself squirm as if it had inflicted a physical blow. He shook his head, knowing very well the bottomless well he was burying himself into.

He took a deep breath and opened the desk drawer picking up the old-looking folder, with a single draw of a feather outlined with glitter in its cape. He leaned on the bed’s headboard and opened the emergency folder for ‘heroic moments not so heroic of life’ as he liked to call it.

There were all that intimate stories. The ones we do just for ourselves. The arts in which we are inserted in the world that we chose in the way we wish… Stories with a plot very much deeper that the one traced on papers and the chats and scenes which that had already been turned over, reinvented and transformed again and again and again in the mind of the creative aspect. Took a good sip of air and released slowly in the paper with doodles at the edges. The traces and dialogues started to float from them and dance in the wind, recreating, reorganizing and materializing themselves in the characters, places and contexts previously determined. His trace was light and clear, seeming to flow slightly and naturally with the wind as his room began to take a form of a magnificent forest.

Roman observed the stories unfold before him, sporadically remembering the jokes he had written much longer ago and the trail each action leaded the character. He remembered also the ideas he had when wrote every single one of these words and how much happy he was just by the simple fact he was putting them on lines, without even realizing it Roman found himself with a small smile finding way to his features along with some salty drops pioneering trails down his cheeks and his hand centimeters away from the holograms, doomed to his destiny of always being capable to have any scenario, character and plot at his fingertips, but nothing more than that.

His not so optimal thoughts were pulled out of him when laughter and teasing cut the place and almost automatically made a pleasant shivers ran across his body. Now a real smile took over his face without he even noticing it, his eyes attentive to every detail of the protagonist being pinned in the floor and attacked by his other two friends.

Not a common attack, of course, because Roman could be anything but ‘common’. That, as the majority of the stories, which were in that folder, was a story developed around… tickling.

So, nothing more fair than the principal character, being the hurried and naturally inattentive adventurer who he was (and because in the last day he had a problematic night) didn’t noticed that, when he went to land the ship he forgot to do the necessary procedures before it (he would need to question Logan about the functions from a ship’s painel control later) and because of that the automobile suffered severe damage by the time it hit the ground. Then, nothing more fair than, while the ship was being repaired, both of his best friends tickled him by the same amount of time (which, sure, was a lie, because they would stop immediately when noticed his ‘victim’ had researched his limit. However, the merely possibility of that happens and the teasing they directed towards him about this only made the entire situation more ticklish and playful.)

(What? It was like said: the thing put on the paper is only the beginning of the whole iceberg behind the plot.)

When a story was over, the words returned floating to the paper where they belonged, the scribbles being again fixed, and then Roman took another one and brought it to life, sometimes closing his eyes in order to concentrate even more on the laughter and try to visualize fingers dancing in his most ticklish spots.

Just the thoughts about it leaded to ghost sensations ran across his entire spine. The papers fell with each story that ended and floated gracefully to the ground, because, later he would busy himself with the task of tidying up all that mess.

Later.

(~*~)

He left his room, already having organized it and saved his little folder back to its original place (one story was missing, probably lost in some corner of his forest. He would care about this another day, though. He was tireeeeeed.). He was interrupted some quick times by Thomas seeking to discuss new goals and dreams they could perceive in the next moths and someday in the future, which made him to be late for the dinner and, consequently, his entire routine after meal, and it was for that reason which at ten at night the aspect of passion and creativity was washing his clothes for the next video, that may or may not would be in the morning. Something which made him almost pray to not rain in the next day so he wouldn’t need to take his vestments to dry in the forest in his room.

Since it was almost IMPOSSIBLE to find anything by own will and not literally tripping over them (Not that this ever happened before with his teddy bear which went there to take some sunlight after a particularly strong storm in the Mind Place. Pffff. Of course not. Prince doesn’t stumble, or have teddy bear neither!! Who told you that??) in that indomitable world just as the creativity...

Wait…

Ah, that was why this world was his room and he is the aspect of creativity and… aaahh! Now the things made sense...

My goshly gosh, now he was beginning to look for logic in the pieces of his routine. OK. Red alert. Abort Mission! Sad days made him WAY too philosophical and like Logan. Abort Mission!

His foot leaded him to the living room, letting the washing machine do its job, his mind in a battle to decide which Disney to watch and which ones had duration just a bit longer than the washing process. His eyes landed in the television and his body froze for a piece of second.

“Reasons to smile today”

That's what the paper stuck to the device's screen said. It was a notebook’s common paper, the words scribbled a bit stronger than the necessary amount, however this wasn’t the cause of the guardian of dreams and passion stop in the way to his happiness.

And yes what that phrase meant.

It was a Logan’s idea (amaze!) which emerged in a particularly difficult period for Thomas.

It was really simple, to be honest: every day all the sides got together, more specifically in the breakfast, and told at least one reason to smile and look forward that day. Usually it was Patton who listed more than half of the reasons in almost every meetings, them being memories, peoples or places, e that constantly managed to rip out a good smile and that warm, cozy feeling in their chest.

But, when the moral aspect was feeling too much down for the activity, Roman always jumped with a good future, those where all their dreams were accomplished, Logan always brought some good memories and neutral facts and Virgil always came with someone. One supported the other and vice versa.

Those were really tough moments, nevertheless also were the moments which consolidated them as a famILY.

The royal member held de paper, the entire room bathed in a silence in which he could swear to amplificate his heartbeats. It was possible to notice there was something written in the back of it, so he turned it.

“Your unwavering courage.”

The lights went off and two hands digged in his sides, a scream getting stuck in his throat and his reflexes to punch what touched him was equally restrained by THAT specific sensation.

- NAHAHAHAHAHA! – His laughter was quick to fill each piece of the silent before installed in the place, his own hands swinging from left to right without really managing to do something, completely different from the ones which attacked him, each single finger mixing between wriggling, kneading, trembling and giving an extra special attention to every inch it could research. He quivered, his legs weakening with the flow of laughter. - WHOHOHOHOHOHOOHOHOHOHOHOHO I-I-IS - A particularly mean poke in his lowest rib made his voice to fail, a new shade of blush painting his features. - ACK! - An amused snort could be heard from behind him, the tickling fingers found the new sound interesting and now spent their time slowly spidering up and down his ribs. Light, quick and crazy tickles dancing and spreading with each touch. - nahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

He knew this game, knew how to play it. He just needed to find out who was attacking him. Whilst his squirming, his hands tried to hold or touch anything from who was behind him. A hint. Any hint.

Roman grabbed a wrist. It was uncovered, but there was fabric right behind it. Just one of them wore clothes long-sleeved - His thoughts seemed to run and vanish as fast as the squeaks and yelps between his hearty laughter - Just one of them wore vestments long-sleeved…

The unknown wrist released itself from his hold, quickly deviating its attention to his upper ribs. His legs weakened and he fell in the ground, the tickling following all his moves and don’t stopping to attack him with light kneads and pinches, even with all his fighting.

- Anahahahahahahahah-anahahahahaha!!! - His eyes closed in attempt to focus for the name slip already, but his laughter seemed to control all his breath and mind. -ANXIEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHETY! NAHAhahahaha!!

The fingers slowed down, almost stopping, which allowed the aspirant of royalty finally take some deep quick, delightful breathes, his low and wobbly giggles intertwined with fast squeals being fed up by two index fingers that still poking and lightly teasing that exact spot that connect his armpits and ribs.

- Thahahahahank Beyohohohohcé.

- Tsc. - The purple aspect clicked his tongue and even though everything was bathed into darkness, Roman could perfectly imagine the expression in the other’s face. A sharp look. A marvelous smirk. Uh oh - We work with names here, Squeaky Princey.

F U C-

- Nononohohoho! wAHAHAHAHAHAIT- He even attempted to escape, sure, but was already giggling even before the hands came back to his sides in full speed. His laughter exploded from his lips, his legs and arms also dancing and struggling without any real effort and his eyes closing tightly.

This jerk had told his name a few days ago and KNEW that none of them has get used to call him by that yet. He k n e w.

- YOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOUR STUHUHUHUHUUHUHUHP-NO! WHAHAHAHAHAHA-WHAHAHAHAHAIT!! - Snort. More high-pinched uncontrollable laughter. Squeal. More laughter. Did one of them belong to the emo side or did he imagined it? - LEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHET ME T-T-THIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHINK!!!

Roman could feel the name in the tip of his tongue, somewhere between his loud and attention demanding crackles. Yes, right there, between his bright, mesmerizing smile and that warmth in his chest that seemed to spread through all across his face. He felt like would melt at any moment. Since when his smile could get this big?

- VIRHIHIHIHIHIHIHIGIL!!! IT IHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIS VIRGIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIL!!!

- Ding ding ding. – The lights went on again and the royal aspect deposited his hands on the floor, his remain giggles flowing from his mouth as those butterflies and that cozy sensation kept flying in his stomach. - Strike.

- Yohohohou will feel my rahahahahag- However, when he turned, blushed features and teary eyes, to see the fear in his enemy's face as he uttered his promise of vengeance, the prince only found nothing. A gigantic piece of void where the purple one should be standing. The sheet preserved itself in the ground, calm and plain, in the same position he had left it, as it mocked about all the mess that happened seconds ago.

- Who are you looking at, subject? - But the sparkles in his eyes removed any heat of his words.

He went to the laundry and now headed to his room. Being completely honest, he didn't felt a single drop of will to sleep right now, the previous ‘attack’ continued as a mystery. Of course, they all were extremely close, but... tickles? It have been a long time since this artifice was used among them. It was something almost as old as that phrase or that game…

Ok. Something was smelling really strange here.

Maybe it was his new cologne which- No, wait, Roman! Focus, focus!

Maybe it was…

An adventure.

And what kind of royalty he would be if he denied an adventure?

Unsheathed his sword and kept his track to his room, confident and brave footsteps echoing in the hallway.

A quick and muffled ‘thump’ could be heard from his room, which automatically activated all the instincts from the extra side, because of that, in a matter of few seconds the wooden object was already being thrown in the ground by a smiley Roman, who managed to support himself in the only feet that didn’t hurted, since apparently, knocking -ha!- a door down with one (or more, shhh) kick can have consequences (How he was supposed to know?).

- BOW TO YOUR PRINCE AND MAY I DECIDE TO SPARE YOU! - His heroic pose was totally ignored, because the place was empty. His eyes analyzed each corner and each shadow, without really finding anything that give the slightest tip that any other life being beyond him even stepped there.

And then his gaze bumped in a shiny, polished black shoe, half completely hidden under his bed, making a danger joyful grin to spread in his features. All his shoes were Disney tematic and had their own day and outfit and any of them had this shade of black.

(Maybe the Ursula’s one was the one that looked more like, but even with this in mind it was very distinguishable the difference between a dark-purple and a basic dark, please!)

His footsteps leaded him quietly, a perfect contrast with all the shouting from pieces of time ago. He slowly bent down, prepared to grab the shoe and whoever was wearing it and…

- HA! YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD TRICK M- Good point: The shoe came easily out. Bad point: it was because it was empty, which was the reason for his glorious victory statement being, and and very rudely by the way, interrupted. Roman indignantly scoffed; he refused to let the victory escape so easily through his fingers! He was the embodiment of dreams, persistence and hope and he. wouldn’t. give. up. so. easily!!

Inflated by his own enthusiasm, the royal side knelt down, noticing only a paper on the floor in a place a little further under his bed. Just a little crawl was necessary to solve the problem, with a gleam of determination in his glare Roman firmly held the hint, excitedly bouncing his legs, the only part of his body that wasn’t covered by the furniture.

"Your persistence and mind of an untamed nature."

Before he could even process a bit more the meaning contained in the words, which apparently were a continuation from previous paper, the prince felt a strong arm embrace his ankles, his shoes being removed with a slowly calm that didn’t related with the adrenaline which exploded in himself and now across his arteries. His ‘mind of an untamed nature’ understanding exactly what was about to happen and finding zero ways to run away from his fate.

- NO!!! Don’t you dare!! - One of his shoes fell with a muffled hit on the ground. - I-I… hehehe…! - Giggles began to took over his throat. His other shoe fell as well, a cold, excited shiver ran down his spine. - No!! - A finger lightly positioned itself in the exact center of his feet, all his nerves vibrated in expectation. - NononononNo!

The finger started to scratched softly, its nail slided without a single bit of hurry across his feet in a move that went from the tip of his toes to his heel, just to add another finger in the movement and calmly repeat the pattern over and over and over and over… Until all his five stupid tickly fingers were tickling him.

Roman tried to escape from the gap in his ankle, his eyes as tighten as his lips, refusing to brake his barrier.

The one who ‘attacked’ changed his technique a few times, going from circular motions to quick scribbles, however, he hasn’t rewarded with more than some muffled squeaks and snorts from the other. The fingers moved away, giving Prince time enough to recover profusely his breath, almost don’t hearing the soft humming which filled the air for some little pieces of heartbeats.

Roman already had the name in the tip of his tongue. The letter alone was enough of a clue, albeit… the possibility to finish with the playing caused a part of himself to quiver sadly. He didn’t wished to end with this moment… No… In truth…

He didn’t wanted this feeling to end. A feeling that made him excited, electric, feeling like he could run fifty kilometers nonstop. This sentiment, which automatically produced a smile in his features and made he really believes, realizes that he was…

Was loved.

Perhaps it was this the reason that his mouth opened even before his brain processed his provocation, challenger tune that impregnated his next words:

- Há! My dear enemy! Your faux fighting techniques would never be able to defeat a prince like mí! - The creativity side could feel the anticipation, the danger sign glowing in a bright red, and launched his final card: his cocky laughter (and extremely natural. Of course, he never trained hours and hour in a diversity of tunes and expressions in front of his mirror. Humpft. Of course not. That was one of princes’ natural gifts.) of victory.

The same that was interrupted seconds after by the twenty nails that scratched the absurdly, extremely ticklish skin under his toes. Roman could swear that not even in his years of theater he managed to achieve this high tune.

- Ohohohohoh! NohohohohohOHOHOHOhohohoho! – His head shook desperately, his legs bouncing and fight for their lives and freedom, his laughter, now breathless and full of half pleas of mercy, dancing through his room.

A part of himself, one which wasn’t maddened with all this tickling, all the fingers that attacked merciless every little centimeter of his feet and his reverberated laughter, fought against his flight instincts, leading the whole scribbles, pokes and wriggles to find the minimum of resistance as possible (Not that the Tickler will ever know it, sure.)

- PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEE - A nail found a very particularly sensible spot right under his big toe releasing a series of snorts and yelps throughout his already uncontrollable, wobbly laughter. The tickling was unbearable, but in a very different, more lightly, way than the previous attack, and that was making him crazy. - PleasepleasepleAHAHAHAHAHAHAHSEHEHEHE!! NAHAHAHAhahahahHAHAHAHahahahahaHAHAHAHA!!

Roman persisted for a few more seconds, his entire body, despite the tickles being focused in just one place, squirmed. He only allowed the name to slip for his tongue when his laughter and giggles, it depended from the spot and apparently his ‘enemy’ wasn’t satisfied in choose just one, started to steal his breath. His hand hit the cold floor of his room.

- LOGAN!!! IHIHIHIHIHIHIHIT IS Lohohohhohohohogan!!

The tickles were decreasing until finally stop, making the tingles in his soles not as intense as the that took over his ribs and sides before in the living room. Roman, in the exact moment, which felt the gap in his ankle to weaken, pulled his feet closer, rubbing them.

- Undoubtedly correct. - It could be his tickled mind pranking him, but the dreamer could swear he heard a hint of amusement in the other’s voice. It didn’t took longer for the prince to catch the characteristic sound of sinking, which resulted him quickly attempting to get out of under the bed to reach the one with glasses, after all, their battle hadn’t ended yet!!

- Wait right there! Don’t you freaking dare to- And, once again, his sentence was interrupted. Now for a little snort that flied from his lips when the logic aspect ran softly his fingers at his feet, making the prince to retract in defense, giving him time enough to disappear with a smirk, half joyful and half cocky, adorning his face.

Roman really tried to be angry, but how much heated was his features and how much euphoric he was in the moment proved this action to be a little more difficult, which definitely wouldn’t aplacate his future revenge, of course.

Now, though, his only plan was to take a shower and then sleep. For that he forced his tired body to get up and head his bathroom, part smiling and part yawning. He opened his door and stretched, feeling his bones to crack and muscles to relax.

And then his gaze found the paper stuck in the mirror above his sink, his instinct screaming in a red alert for knowing very well the next step in this game.

- NO! - Maybe it was the tiredness, however, before he could turn around to try to stop the attack a pair of hands hit in his armpits, something that made his legs automatically to fail and every and any coherent thought be tossed away from his brain to a far far away. The laughter already falling in great waterfalls from his mouth.

- PAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHADREHEHE! - His real laughter, that specific one that only appears when his most ticklish spot is being attacked with the most ruthless tickles, was loud, thunderous and definitely an easy sound to be noticed from miles away, Roman almost could feel his blush to spread across his neck just imagining Logan and Virgil smiling as heard him reverberate around the house. – NAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

- Ooooooh? - Patton’s playfully tune would be definitely impossible to hear if he wasn’t so close of his ears, his words leading to even more tickles and shivers in the other. - It seems that our little pretty prince here is ticklish? Coothie coothie coo! Oh, no! What are you gonna do? Huh? Huh? What our powerful, brave Prince Roman will do to escape from the Tickle Monster? Huh? Huh? Kitty Kitty Coo! My dear and ticklish prince!!

- NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO TEASIHIHIHIHIHIHIIHIHING, PAHAHAHAHAHATTON!

The creativity’s embodiment trashed back and forth, his head shaking, perhaps in attempts to remove all the red in his face, maybe trying to dislodge those fingers that poked, kneaded, drummed and tickled every available skin they could research. Tears began to accumulate in the corner of his eyes,

And, even with all his effort, his conscient parte still struggled against his instincts to escape and making him to get as close to the moral aspect as possible, almost laying on him.

- But how could I ever stop when knowing that this give me access to all these cute squeals? - A poke in the right place and Roman exemplified his words. Patton giggled. - Not mentioning this wonderful and melodious laugher, Roman! It is adorable!!! - The paternal side seemed as happy as he did, the royalty aspirant could feel their laughter in harmony, and maybe (maybe, only!) his heart had melted a little. Or it was just his tears falling from his eyes, his mind was a mess, okay? Don’t ask for details nor logic.

His laughter, high pinch squeals, snorts and breathless giggles endured for some more minutes before Roman pushed himself forward, laughing a plea to stop, which the one who wears cardigan promptly answered. They leaned against the wall, feeling the cold of the concrete aplacate the heat of the remaining giggles.

For some seconds both stayed in silence, calming down.

- Whahahat did you write?

- Huh? - Patton blinked a few times, leaving his thoughts and staring the other with a stunning smile.

- In the paper. I couldn’t read… And I expected a honest attack from you, padre! Attacking enemies from behind is very immoral!

- Hehehehe! - Genuine smile, hands up as an act of surrender. - Anything goes in love and war.

- Really bold words for someone so close from my fingers! - Roman showed an evil grin, punctuating each one of his words with pokes in the other’s belly, making him squirming in a sea of quick giggles, pushing his hands.

- You stop right there, mister! - Protested, his glare assuming a paternal glint. - Tomorrow we have a video to record and we need to sleep early! Thomas will need his creativity radiant and rested!

The prince whined, hands moving in exaggerated gestures and laying dramatically on the floor, following with his eyes as a smiling Patton stood up and pulled the paper from the mirror.

- Ah! I wrote: ‘Your golden heart!’, but I think I should have written about your stories! - Roman felt his blood freeze, a quick flashback from the morning passing before his eyes. The holograms, flying scenarios, sheets falling, Thomas calling him to do something, the lost paper… - They’re amazing and give really ncredible ideas.

His face suddenly looked as if it had been set on fire and for the first time in a long time the prince found himself speechless while the one with the glasses deposited the paper in his hands, kissed his forehead, wishing ‘Good night~’ before getting out, humming softly and disappeared from the other’s vision.

Roman buried his face in his hands, grunting in frustration, which wasn’t too much easy to do when a smile from ear to ear looked to be stuck in his features.

Yes, they had gave him a plenty of reasons to smile.

Maybe it was for that reason that most of the stories didn’t told about these days, these moments… Perhaps because they were from such great and strong heroism that it was almost impossible to be entirely put in just one plot.

And it was for that reason that Roman, while sitting on his bed, pencil and paper in hands, wanted to be the first one to do so.

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weekendwarriorblog · 4 years ago

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The Weekend Warrior Christmas - New Year’s Edition – WONDER WOMAN 1984, NEWS OF THE WORLD, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI..., PIECES OF A WOMAN, HERSELF, SYLVIE’S LOVE and More!

Welcome to the VERY LAST Weekend Warrior of the WORST YEAR EVER!!! But hopefully not the last column forever, even though I already plan on taking much of January off from writing 8 to 10 reviews each week. It just got to be too much for a while there.

Because it’s the last week of the year, there are a lot of really good movies, some in theaters but also quite a few on streaming services. In fact, there are a good number of movies that appeared in my Top 10 for the yearover at Below the Line, as well as my extended Top 25 that I’ll share on this blog sometime next week. I was half-hoping to maybe write something about the box office prospects of some of the new movies, but after the last couple weeks, it’s obvious that box office is not something that will be something worth writing about until sometime next spring or summer.

(This column is brought to you by Paul McCartney’s new album “McCartney III” which I’m listening to as I finish this up… and then other solo Beatles ditties picked for me randomly by Tidal.)

First up is easily one of the most anticipated movies of the year, or at least one that actually didn’t move to 2021, and that’s WONDER WOMAN 1984 (Warner Bros.), Patty Jenkins’ sequel to the 2017 hit, once again starring Gal Gadot as Diana Prince. I reviewed it here, but basically the sequel introduces Wonder Woman arch-nemeses Barbara Minerva aka Cheetah, as played by Kristen Wiig, and Pedro Pascal’s Max Lord and how an ancient artifact gives them both their powers, as well as helps to bring Diana’s true love Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) back despite him having disappeared presumed dead in WWI. As you can see by reading my review, I thought it was just fine, not great and certainly not something I’d make an attempt to see a second time in a 25% capacity movie theater. Fortunately, besides debuting in around 2,100 movie theaters across the nation, it will also be on HBO Max day and date, which has caused quite a stir. Being Christmas weekend with no work/school on Monday, I can see it still making somewhere between $10 and 12 million, but I can’t imagine it doing nearly what it might have done with most theaters only 25-30% full at the maximum and that theater count being roughly half the number it might have gotten during the “normal times.”

Paul Greengrass’ Western NEWS OF THE WORLD (Universal) reteams him with his Captain Phillips star Tom Hanks, this time playing Captain Jefferson Kidd, a Civil War soldier who travels from town to town in the Old West reading from newspapers to anyone who has a dime and time to listen. After one such reading, he discovers a young girl (Helena Zengel) on her own, having spent the last few years with a family of Native Americans who were killed by soldiers. Together, they travel across America as Kidd hopes to bring the girl to her last surviving family members.

I already reviewed Greengrass’ movie for Below the Line, and I also spoke to Mr. Greengrass, an interview you can read that right here (once it goes live), but I make no bones that this was one of my favorite movies I’ve seen this year, and it’s not just due to the fine work by Greengrass and his team. No, it’s just as much about the emotion inherent in the story, and the relationship between the characters played by Hanks and Zengel.

I’ve watched the movie three times now, and I’m still blown away by every frame and moment, the tension that’s created on this difficult journey but also where it leaves the viewers at the end that promises that there can be hope and joy even in the most difficult and turbulent times. It’s a wonderful message that’s truly needed right now.

Listen, I’m not gonna recommend going to a movie theater if you don’t feel it’s safe – I’ve already spoken my peace on this at a time when COVID numbers were much lower – but this is a movie that I personally can’t wait to see in a movie theater. I honestly can’t see the movie making more than $3 or 4 million in the open theaters considering how few people are willing to go to movie theaters. Obviously, this isn’t as big a draw as Wonder Woman, but it is a fantastic big screen movie regardless.

Also opening in theaters this Friday is Emerald Fennell’s directorial debut PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN (Focus Features), starring the wonderful Oscar-nominated Carey Mulligan as Cassie Thomas, a woman who has revenge on her mind. Cassie spends her nights picking up guys in bars by pretending she’s so drunk she can barely walk, then humiliating them and presumably worse. When she encounters an acquaintance from med school in the form of Bo Burnham’s Ryan, the two begin dating, though he ends up awakening a darker side to Cassie that seeks revenge for something that happened back during their school days. (Honestly, if you’re already sold, just skip to the next movie. That’s all I want you to know before watching it.)

I was ready to love Fennell’s movie when it opened with a disgusting shot of gross stock market bros in loose-fitting suits gyrating in slow motion before one of them tries to pick up a totally soused Cassie at the club. It’s a scene that really plays itself out quite well, and then leads into Mulligan’s character allowing another clear scumbag (played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse, maybe as a slight-older McLovin?) before turning the tables on him as well.

There’s going to be a lot of talk about this movie after people see it, since it’s one of those great films that begins a lot of conversations. I imagine most women of a certain age will love it, but some men might see themselves in some of the characters (even Burnham’s) and wonder whether Cassie just won’t take crap from any man or if she’s a full-on misandrist. One thing we do know a lot is that she does this sort of thing a lot, and there’s something from her past that has driven her involving something that happened to her female friend in med school. I’m going to stop talking about the plot here, because I definitely don’t want to spoil anything who hasn’t seen the movie, but the second half of the movie is as deeply satisfying as Tarantino’s Kill Bill in terms of the surprises.

You’ll realize while watching what a treat you’re in for when you first watch Mulligan’s amazing transformation from pretending to be drunk to being completely cognizant and just all the emotions we see her go through after that. Of course, we never really know what she’s actually doing to the guys she lets pick her up -- she keeps a notebook with guy’s names and a quizzical counting system, so we can only imagine.

Fennell’s screenplay is fantastic but her work as a first-time director in maintaining the the tone and pacing of the movie is really what will keep you captivated, whether it’s the amazing musical choices or how Cassie dresses up to lure men. There’s also a great cast around Mulligan whether it’s comic Burnham in a relatively more serious role, but one that also allows him a musical number. (No joke.) Fennel’s amazing casting doesn’t just stop there from, Jennifer Coolidge as Cassie’s mother to Laverne Cox as Gail, her workmate/boss at the coffee shop – both of them add to the film’s subtle humor elements. Alfred Molina shows up to give a show-stopping performance, and Alison Brie also plays a more dramatic role as another one of Cassie’s classmates. I can totally understand why the Golden Globes might have deemed the movie a “comedy/musical” (for about two days before going back) , but putting so many funny people in dramatic roles helps give Promising Young Woman its own darkly humorous feel. All that darkness is contrasted by this sweet romance between Cassie and Ryan that’s always in danger of imploding due to Cassie’s troubled nature.

The biggest shocking surprise is saved for the third act, and boy, it’s going to be one that people will be talking about for a VERY long time, because it’s just one gut punch after another. I loved this movie, as it’s just absolutely brilliant – go back and see where it landed in my Top 10. As one of the best thrillers from the past decade, people will be talking about this for a very long time

Promising Young Woman hits theaters on Christmas Day, and presumably, it will be available on VOD sometime in January, but this is not one you want to wait on. If you do go see it in theaters, just be safe, please. No making out with random men or women, please.

Regina King’s narrative feature debut, ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI... (Amazon Studios), will ALSO be in theaters on Christmas Day, and though I’ve reviewed it over at Below the Line, but I’ll talk a little more about it here just for my loyal Weekend Warrior readers.

Yet another movie that made my Top 10, this one stars a brilliant quartet of actors -- Kingsley Ben-Adir, Leslie Odom Jr., Aldis Hodge and Eli Goree—as four legendary black icons: Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, Jim Brown and Cassius Clay, on the night after the last of them wins the World Boxing Championship against Sonny Liston in February 1964. The four men meet in Malcolm X’s hotel room to discuss what’s happening in their lives and the world in general, as well as Clay’s decision to join the Nation of Islam, just as Malcolm X is getting ready to leave the brotherhood due to philosophical differences with the group. In fact, all four men have philosophical differences that are discussed both in good humor and in deep conflict as they disagree on their place in a white-dominated world in a year before the Civil Rights Act would be signed.

First of all, there’s no way to talk about this movie without discussing the Kemp Powers play on which it’s based, and we can’t mention that without mentioning that Powers also co-wrote and co-directed Pixar’s Soul, which will be available on Disney+ this Friday. It’s a fantastic script and King put together a fantastic cast of actors who really give their all to every scene. In the case of Leslie Odom, Jr., you really can believe him as Cooke, especially in a number of fantastic performances pieces. Likewise, Goree looks a lot like Clay both in the ring and out, carrying all of the swagger for which he would become more famous as Ali.

I’ve seen the movie twice already and if you’ve looked at my Top 10, then you already know this is another one that made my cut, so I don’t think I need to give it a much harder sell. I’m sure you’ll be hearing a lot about this one on its journey to Oscar night when hopefully, King becomes the first woman of color to be nominated in the directing category. Or rather, she’ll probably tie for that honor with Nomadland director Chloé Zhao.

If you don’t feel like going to theaters for this one, you’ll be able to catch it on Amazon Prime Video on January 15, too… you’ll just have to wait a little longer.

Also, the new Pixar animation movie, SOUL, directed by Pete Docter (Up, Inside Out) and co-directed by Kemp Powers (remember him?), will hit Disney+ on Christmas Day, and I reviewed it here, so I probably don’t have lot more to say about it, but it’s great, and if you have Disney+, I’m sure you’ll be watching it.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a screener for Matteo Garrone’s PINNOCHIO (Roadside Attractions), which also opens in about 700 theaters on Christmas Day. This adaptation stars Robert Benigni as Geppeto, who famously starred as Pinocchio in his own version of the classic fairy tale from 2002. That other movie was “Weinsteined” at a time when that just meant that a movie was ruined by Harvey Weinstein’s meddling, rather than anything involving sexual assault.

Another great movie hitting streaming this week is Eugene Ashe’s SYLVIE’S LOVE, which streams on Amazon Prime Video today. It stars Tessa Thompson as Sylvie and Nnamdi Asomugha (also a producer on the film) as Robert, who meet one summer in the late 50s while working at Sylvie’s father’s record store. He is a jazz musician who is on the rise, but their romance is cut short when he gets a gig in Paris but she refuses to go with him. Also, she’s pregnant with his child. Years later, they reconnect with her now being married with a young daughter (clearly Robert’s) and they realize that the love between them is still very real and true.

This is the first of three movies I watched this week where I went in with very little knowledge and absolute zero expectations. Like everyone else on earth, I am an avid fan of Ms. Thompson’s work both in movies like Thor: Ragnarok and smaller indies. She’s just a fantastic presence that lights up a screen. While I wasn’t as familiar with Asomugha’s acting work – he’s produced some great films and acted in a few I liked, included Crown Heights – there’s no denying the chemistry between the two.

What’s kind of interesting about the movie is that it combines a few elements from other great movies released this week, including Soul and A Night in Miami, but in my opinion, handles the music business aspect to the story better than the much-lauded Netflix movie, Ma Raimey’s Black Bottom. Frankly, I also think the performances by the two leads are as good as those by Boseman and Davis in that movie, but unfortunately, Amazon is submitting this to the Emmys as as “TV movie” rather than to the Oscars, so that’s kind of a shame.

This is a movie that’s a little hard to discuss why I enjoyed it so much without talking about certain scenes or moments, or just go through the entire story, but I think part of the joy of appreciating what Ashe has done in his second original feature film is to tell the story of these two characters over the course of a decade or so in a way that hasn’t been done before. That alone is quite an achievement, because we’ve seen many of those types of movies over the years (When Harry Met Sally, for instance).

What I really liked about Sylvie’s Love over some of the other “black movies” this year is that it literally creates its own world and just deals with the characters within it, rather than trying to make a big statement about the world at the time. Maybe you can say the same about Soul in that sense, but you would be absolutely amazed by how much bigger an audience you can get by telling a grounded story in a relatable world, and then throw in a bit of music, as both those movies do.

So that’s all I’ll say except that this will is now on Amazon Prime Video , so you have no excuse not to check it out while you wait for Regina King’s equally great One Night in Miami to join it in mid-January.

Hitting Netflix on Christmas day is Robert Rodriguez’s WE CAN BE HEROES, his sequel to his 2005 family film The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl – not his best moment -- which follows the kids of the Heroics, a Justice League-like super group. They’re all in a special school for kids with powers but they have to step up when the Heroics are captured by aliens. Want to know what will happen? Well, you’ll just have to wait for Christmas Day for when my review drops to find out whether I liked it more or less than Rodriguez’s earlier film which SPOILER!! I hated.)

The first thing you need to get past is that Shark Boy and Lava Girl are now man and wife, and just that fact might be tough for anyone who only discovered the movie sometime more recently. There are other familiar faces in the Heroics like Pedro Pascal, Sung Kang, Christian Slater, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and more, so clearly, Rodriguez is still able to pull together a cast.

The movie actually focuses on YaYa Goselin’s Missy Moreno, daughter of the Heroic’s leader (Pascal) who has also retired. Just as aliens are invading the earth, Missy is put into a school of kids with superpowers, all kids of various Heroic members. Sure, it’s derived directly from The X-Men and/or Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, so yeah… basically also the X-Men. We meet all of the kids in a great scene where we see them using their powers and learn their personalities, and honestly, they really are the best part of the movie.Probably the most adorable is Guppy, the very young daughter of Shark Boy and Lava Girl, played by Viven Blair. Oddly, Missy doesn’t have any powers so she feels a bit fish-out-of-water in the group even though, like her father, she proves to be a good leader.

As much as I really detested Rodriguez’s Shark Boy and Lava Girl movie, I feel like he does a lot better by having a variety of kids in this one, basically something for everyone, but also not a bad group of child actors. (There’s also a fun role for Adriana Barraza.) There are definitely aspects that are silly, but Rodriguez never loses sight of his audience, and wisely, Netflix is offering this as a Christmas Day release which should be fun for families with younger kids who might see this as their first superhero movie.

More discerning viewers may not be particularly crazy about visual FX, all done as usual in Rodriguez’s own studio but some of them look particularly hoaky and cheap compared to others. (I mean, that’s probably the appeal for hiring Rodriguez because he’s able to do so much in-house. In this case, he got all four of his own kids involved in various capacities of making the film.)

We Can Be Heroes is clearly a movie made for kids, so anyone expecting anything on part with Amazon’s The Boys will be quite disappointed. It’s probably Rodriguez getting slightly closer to Spy Kids than he has with any of his other family-friendly movies, but one shouldn’t go in with the expectations that come with any of the much bigger blockbusters released these days. Personally, I enjoyed that fact, and I totally would watch another movie with this superteam.

Michel Stasko’s BOYS VS. GIRLS (Gravitas Ventures) is a fun retro-comedy that follows a war between the male and female counselors at Camp Kindlewood, which has just gone co-ed. At the center of it all is Dale (Eric Osborne) and Amber (Rachel Dagenais) as two teens who are in the middle of a meet-cute romance in the middle of a inter-gender competition called “Lumberman vs. Voyagers,” which I have no idea whether it’s a real thing or not.

I probably should have known I’d like this one from the catchy New Order-ish song in the opening credits, but listen, Wet Hot American Summer is one of my all-time favorite movies, and that was basically made to satirize ‘80s movies like Meatballs. This one falls more towards to the latter in terms of humor, but it also feels authentic to the ‘80s summer camp experience.

It helps that the grown-ups at the camp are played by the likes of Kevin McDonald from New Kids on the Block, Colin Mochrie from Whose Line is It Anyway and others, but it’s really about the younger cast playing teen boys and girls in the throes of puberty, something we all can in some way relate to. The young cast play a series of stereotypical young but there are a lot of funny tropes within them, as each of the cast is given a chance to deliver some of the funnier gags. This isn’t necessarily high-brow humor, mind you, but I love the fact that you can still make a movie about a time where you could still make fun of girl’s periods in school. (I’m kidding. I just put that in there cause I feel like I need to throw things like that into this column just to see if anyone is ACTUALLY reading it.)

The presumably Canadian Stasko is another great example of an independently-spirited filmmaker who has an idea for a fun movie and then just goes about making it, regardless of having big stars or anything to sell it besides many funny moments that can be featured a trailer, so that those who like this kind of movie will find it. Listen, Wet Hot American Summer wasn’t a huge hit when it was released. I still remember it having trouble getting a single screening at the multiplex in Times Square when it was released but over the years since it became sort of a cult hit (kind of due to Netflix having it to rent on DVD, I think).

Besides a fun script and cast, Stasko also find a way to include tunes that sound so much like real ‘80s songs we would have heard on the radio but aren’t quite the big hits that would have cost him thousands of dollars, but I really just enjoyed the heck out of the tone and overall fun attitude that went into making this movie.

Also on VOD now is Ian Cheney and Martha Shane’s fascinating and funny doc, THE EMOJI STORY (Utopia), which I saw at the Tribeca Film Festival when it was called “Picture Character.” (That’s what “emoji” in Japanese means, just FYI.) As you can guess it’s about the origins and rise of the emoji as a form of communication from its humble beginning in Japan to becoming one of the biggest trending crazes on the globe. I’m not that big an Emoji guy myself – I tend to use the thumbs up just for ease, but I do marvel at those who can put together full thoughts using a string of these symbols, and if you want to know more about them, this is the movie you should watch.

Now let’s cut ahead to some of the movies that will be opening and streaming NEXT week…

Hitting select theaters on Wednesday, December 30 and what really is my “FEATURED FLICK” for this column is Hungarian filmmaker Kornél (White God) Mundruczó’s PIECES OF A WOMAN (Netflix) before its streaming premiere on Netflix January 7.

Written by Kata Wéber, who also wrote Mundruczó’s earlier film, it stars Vanessa Kirby (The Crown) and Shia Labeouf as Martha and Sean Weiss, a Boston couple who lose their baby during a particularly difficult home birth and follows the next year in their lives and how that tragic loss affects their relationship with each other and those around them.

As you can imagine, Pieces of a Woman is a pretty heavy drama, one that reminded me of the films of Todd Field (Little Children, In the Bedroom) in terms of the intensity of the drama and the emotions on screen from the brilliant cast Mundruczó put together for his English language debut. I’m not sure I could use the general plot to sell anyone on seeing this because it is very likely the worst possible date movie of the year after Netflix’s 2019 release, Marriage Story, but it’s just as good in terms of the writing and performances.

At the center of it is Kirby – and yeah, I still haven’t watched The Crown, so shut up! I’ll get to it!!! – who most of us fell in love with for her role in Mission: Impossible - Fallout, but what we see her go through as an actress here really shows the degree of her abilities. But it also shows what Mundruczó can do with material that (like many movies) started out as a play. For instance, one of the first big jaw-dropping moments is the home birth scene that goes on for a long time, seemingly all in one shot, and Kirby is so believable in terms of a woman going through a difficult birth, you’d believe she has had children herself. (She hasn’t.) I also don’t want to throw Shia Labeouf under the bus right now just because that seems like the trendy thing to do. (Without getting it, I believe FKA Twigs… but that doesn’t deny the fact that Labeouf is just the latest great actor that everyone wants to cancel.)

Anyway, to change the subject, we have to talk about Ellen Burstyn, who plays Martha’s meddling mother, who is quite clingy and overbearing, so when the couple lose their baby, she steps in to take to task the midwife she deems responsible (played by the highly-underrated Molly Parker). Or rather, she hires a family lawyer (Sarah Snook) to take her to court to get compensation for the loss of her daughter’s baby. The film’s last act culminates as their case goes to court.

Again, the film covers roughly a year after the tragedy and deals not only with how Martha and Sean’s relationship is affected and how it emotionally affects Martha in particular, but also how others around them start behaving towards them. It feels so authentic and real that you wonder where the screenwriter was drawing from, but Mundruczó has more than prove himself as as filmmaker by creating something that is visually compelling and even artsy while still doing everything to help promote the story and performances over his own abilities as a director. Doesn’t hurt that he has composer Howard Shore scoring the film in a way that’s subtle but effective.

Listen, if you’re looking for a comedy riot that will entertain you with funny one-liners and pratfalls than Pieces of a Woman is not for you. This is a devastating movie that really throws the viewer down a deep spiral along with its characters. The first time I watched it, I was left quite broken, and maybe even more so on second viewing. (As we get closer to Oscar season… in four months … I hope this film will be recognized and not just thrown under the table due to Labeouf’s involvement. That would be as big a tragedy and misjustice as much of what happens in the movie.)

So yeah, in case you wondered why this also made it into my prestigious Top 10 for the year, that is why. :)

Also in theaters on Wednesday, December 30 is another terrific drama, the Phyllida Lloyd-directed HERSELF (Amazon Studios), co-written and starring Clare Dunne, as Sandra, a mother of two young girls, trying to get out of an abusive marriage, while making ends meet and providing shelter for her kids. One day, she learns about a way that she can build her own home, and one of the women she cares for offers a plot of land

Another movie that I really didn’t know much about going into, other than Phyllida Lloyd being a talented filmmaker whose movie The Iron Maiden, which won Meryl Streep her 500th Oscar, I enjoyed much more than the popular blockbuster hit musical, Mamma Mia! This is a far more personal story that reminded me of Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake, a smaller and more intimate character piece that shines a light on British actor Clare Dunne, who as with some of the best and most personal movie projects, co-wrote this screenplay for herself to act in.

There are aspects to the film that reminds me of many other quaint Britcoms in terms of creating a story where one person’s challenge is taken up by others who are willing to help, and in this case, it’s Sandra’s desire to build a house for her two quite adorable daughters while also trying to keep it secret from her abusive ex.

Dunne’s performance isn’t as showy as some of the other dramatic performances mentioned in this very column, but she and Lloyd do a fine job creating an authenticity that really makes you believe and push for her character, Sandra, surrounding her with characters who can help keep the movie on the lighter side despite very serious nature of spousal abuse (which also rears its ugly head in Pieces of a Woman). Oh, and don’t get too comfortable, because this, too, leads to an absolutely shocking and devastating climax you won’t see coming. (Well, now you will… but you’ll still be shocked. Trust me.)

Still, it’s a really nice movie with the house being built clearly a metaphor. I know there’s a lot of truly fantastic movies discussed in this week’s column but don’t let this wonderful British drama pass you by, because you can tell it’s a labor of love for everyone who made it.

Herself will be in theaters for roughly a week starting December 30 before streaming on Prime Video on January 8.

In select theaters and on VOD on New Year’s Day is Roseanne Liang’s WWII thriller SHADOW IN THE CLOUD (Vertical/Redbox Entertainment), starring Chloë Grace Moretz as Flight Officer Maude Garrett, who is assigned to deliver a top-secret package on the B-17 bomber “The Fool’s Errand” with an all-male crew that throws her into a turret “for her own safety.” She ends up getting trapped down there as the plane is attacked by a creature that no one believes is out there, as they fight back against the unseen enemy, many secrets are revealed.

This is yet another movie I didn’t know that much about other than it has Moretz on an airplane, but there’s so much about the movie that both had me scratching my head but also has me quite deliriously amused that filmmakers could get away with some of the craziness that we witness. Maybe it’s not a surprise that the movie was co-written by Max Landis -- not exactly the most beloved screenwriter in Hollywood these days, and certainly not a critical favorite.

Again I really didn’t know what to expect so after Moretz’s character gets on the plane and is trapped in the turret under the plane, I thought that maybe I was seeing something similar to the one-location thriller 7500, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, which I wasn’t too big a fan of even though the actor was good. Moretz continues to be quite a phenomenal actor, but the mix of Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper’s music, which borrows as much from Soulwax (look ‘em up on Spotify) as John Carpenter, and the sexist attitude by the male crew towards Garrett made me unsure of what the movie was meant to say.

Much of the movie just has Moretz on her own with the men’s voices over the comms, which is not something that could possibly sustain a whole movie. Part of it is borrowed from a very well-known episode of “The Twilight Zone,” in fact.

but fortunately, it breaks from out of that deceit but then just starts getting crazier and crazier. I’m not even gonna tell you about what happens or what’s in the box Garrett is carrying or where things go, because honestly, I don’t think you would believe me.

I haven’t seen any of Ms. Liang’s previous films but when you realize how much crazy stuff she’s able to get way with, I’ll be really interested what she does next. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen any movie that’s quite as crazy as Shadow in the Cloud or one that makes me want to watch it again for that very reason.

Oscar-winning Icarus director Bryan Fogel’s doc THE DISSIDENT (Briarcliff), which opens in theaters Friday then will be On Demand January 8, follows the horrific assassination of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey in September 2018, thought to be the work of the Saudi kingdom and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman aka MBS.

I’m really fascinated by movies like this one and Ryan White’s recent Assassins – both which could be in the Best Documentary race at the Oscars in April, by the detective and investigative work done by both filmmakers to get to the bottom of murders that shouldn’t be possible and find those that are responsible. I’ll admit that I didn’t really pay much attention to this story when it was happening a few years back, so I don’t know how much of the details are new and exclusive to Fogel’s doc. He does get access to Kashouggi’s fiancé Hatice who had gone with Jamal to the Saudi embassy in Turkey to get proof that he was single and could marry when he vanished for days and then turne up dead.

Fogel also meets with another Saudi dissident now living in Quebec who goes through the events that led up to Kashouggi’s murder that involved a social media campaign against the journalist within a country where 80% of the population is on Twitter (!).

This is another fascinating doc by Fogel that I’m sure some will be more interested in due to its subject, but when it comes to investigative pieces that really take a deep dive into news from the headlines, Fogel has created another unforgettable doc. (Also, it was absolutely little surprise to me that Fogel’s film is co-written by Mark Monroe, who has been involved with some of the best docs I’ve seen over the past 15 years or so… just look up his IMDB credits!)

Opening at the Film Forum Virtual Cinema in New York for a one-week qualifying run is Russia’s movie for Oscar consideration, Andrei Kochalovsky’s DEAR COMRADES! (NEON), a black and white dark dramedy set in 1960s Kruschchev-era Russia. It involves a strike by locomotive workers when the government raises food prices, leading to chaos and a massacre that leaves a Communist party loyalist, Lyuda (played by Julia Vysotskaya) who the film then follows. Unfortunately, I had a choice of either writing this column or watching this two-hour movie. I opted for the former (obviously) but I do hope to get to this later in the week and should be adding more on this movie once I do.

Also streaming in Film Forum’s Virtual Cinema starting next Wednesday, December 30, is Mario Monicelli’s 1960 film, The Passionate Thief.

Unfortunately, I also wasn’t able to get to Two Ways Home (Gravitas Ventures), In Corpore or Fire Will Come, which will open in Metrograph’s digital ticketing system.

Metrograph will also continue showing Tsia Ming-Liang’s Goodbye, Dragon Inn, Fruit Chan’s Made in Hong Kong, and lots of great programming over the holidays. It would be a great time to get yourself or a loved one a digital membership for just $50! (James Gray is also programming some of his own films like Little Odesssa and other favorites, like Richard Quine’s Strangers When We Meet, over the holidays.)

By the way, if you read this week’s column and have bothered to read this far down, feel free to drop me some thoughts at Edward dot Douglas at Gmail dot Com or drop me a note or tweet on Twitter. I love hearing from readers … honest!

#TheWeekendWarrior #Movies #Reviews #WonderWoman84 #OneNightInMiami #NewsOfTheWOrld #PromisingYoungWoman #PiecesOfAWoman #SylviesLove Herself TomHanks

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iron--spider · 6 years ago

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Worried that Tony Stark is going to die in Avengers: Endgame? Do you want proof that he logically shouldn’t and the citations needed to die on that hill in the event that the powers that be do the unthinkable? Well step right up, fans and friends, because @whimsicalethnographies and I have compiled everything you might need, from canon quotes to future promotional appearances, that prove Tony Stark is not destined to die, and if they do kill him, they are ignoring the path that they laid out themselves and are thus causing his character arc to fail.

Here we go:

Canon evidence

“Don’t waste your life, Stark”

“A man with everything and nothing”

Both of these quotes are referencing family. Yinsen was referring to his own loving family, and Tony revealed that he didn’t have one (of course it’s hinted that this is Pepper—she’s supposedly his frantic text when they’re first attacked—but he doesn’t explicitly have it or her yet). Yinsen’s sacrifice was not for Tony to become Iron Man. It was for Tony to have a life, to have a family. What he didn’t have in the beginning and what he wanted to stay alive for. Tony ultimately fulfilling Yinsen’s true wish for him to stop isolating himself and make a family would be the most satisfying way for Tony’s story to end.

Yinsen is able to die peacefully because he has family that has already passed, and he wants to see them again. There is no way Marvel can properly parallel this because Tony’s family (the ones he genuinely loves anyway, other than his mother) are still alive, or still in the future (his children). If he dies he will leave everyone behind. The love of his life will still be here, and he’ll never be able to have children. If Pepper is pregnant, this is even worse. He will have a child, as he wanted to do, as he was looking forward to doing, but he will never meet it. This is especially cruel.

This would be a gross subversion of Yinsen, and ruin any meaning the character actually had in Tony’s life. He wanted him to be more, to have more, and to Yinsen, more was a family who was waiting for him.

In IM3, a little boy in a restaurant ominously whispers, “How did you get out of the wormhole?” It’s heavily implied that that line is entirely in Tony’s head as he’s descending into a panic attack and represents his fear of the unknown, and his fear of how he’ll handle the unknown, essentially finding the man behind the Mandarin mask who is coming after the people he loves AND fear of what he’ll do if he doesn’t have his armor to protect him. He obsessively spent a year(ish) building suits (of questionable quality) to keep that unknown away. By the end, he’s faced *that* fear, the fear of who he is without the suits. His anxiety/PTSD shifts from that point to Thanos himself, but he doesn’t yet have a face or an actual explanation until Infinity War, even though the magnitude of it is ramped up in Ultron by Scarlet Witch using the power of the Mind Stone. This is the start of facing an unknown, and if it follows the narrative comparison, coming out on the other side victorious, better, and stronger as a person. Rising above and moving on, not dying in the process, continuing to carry the self-inflicted weight of the entire universe.

“A famous man once said, ‘we create our own demons.’” Dying when he comes into contact with and defeats his true demon—“my only curse is you”—is not giving Tony his good ending.

An article on Iron Man 3, arguably the most important movie in Tony’s arc https://filmschoolrejects.com/finding-the-place-of-iron-man-3-in-the-marvel-cinematic-universe/

“Tony is defined by his desire to set arms down and leave war behind; Steve is defined by his inability to do the same”

“If Marvel really wants to give Tony the ending he deserves, they’ll let him live. Fans will continue to push their predictions down the pipleline until they eventually come true, but the arc laid out for Tony, starting in Iron Man 3, is clear. He needs to let go, but he can’t. The conclusion of Tony Stark’s arc isn’t death; it’s learning to pass responsibility on not to an army of robots, but to the people he trusts. After ten years, Tony Stark deserves his time in the sun.”

Tony’s PTSD - it would be a punch in the face to those of us with anxiety/PTSD/OCD who identify with him. He's got one of the most realistic portrayals of mental illness in film, and the powers that be acknowledge that, and it would SUCK for a company like Marvel to rip it all away when he's almost to the point of letting go of the responsibility he's carried—rightly or wrongly, because Thanos would still be collecting those stones even if Tony had never been in that cave—since the beginning of his story. Dying? That's not letting go. That's saying "sorry you went through all this, it sucks and then you die, because it really was all YOUR responsibility and you have to suffer to fix it."

In Ultron, Helen Cho says Tony’s “bulky metal suits will be left in the dust”. Tony says that’s “exactly the plan”. He wants to retire. He wants to be able to stop being Iron Man so he can live his life.

“Isn’t that why we fight? So we can end the fight and go home?” Tony in Ultron. None of this has ever been continuous for Tony. He’s consistently been heading towards his future goals and fighting when he has to—he gets derailed because he feels it’s his duty to step back in. He does not seek out the fights, and he doesn’t necessarily want to be a part of them. He wants to make his life and that’s where his narrative is heading. If it doesn’t make it there, it fails. He fails.

“Maybe I should take a page out of Barton’s book. Build Pepper a farm, hope nobody blows it up.” “The simple life.” “You’ll get there one day. “I don’t know. Family, stability...the guy who wanted all that went into the ice 75 years ago. I think someone else came out.” End of Ultron conversation with Steve. Tony wants to settle down, buy a farm for Pepper (representing retirement and the start of his family). He is the one, out of himself and Steve, that is actively seeking to “tap out” of the fighting life so he can be with Pepper, and start a family. Steve says “I’m home” when he hears the soldiers chanting.

Wedding conversations in Civil War, Homecoming and Infinity War. The amount of mentions this has is huge. It would be a major hanging thread if it never happens.

The original plan was for Pepper to be pregnant during CW, however this was changed to put Tony in a darker place. They are going for Dad-Tony eventually, and that wasn’t conducive with where he was in CW. Yet.

Happy has been carrying “that thing” since 2008. Would they really do that to Happy/Jon Favreau, perhaps the other father of the MCU as he directed Iron Man—have him carry the ring for 10 goddamn years just to cut that storyline off with no resolution? Happy deserves to see this man-child he’s chased around forever get married and settle down.

Specifically, “Wong, you’re invited to my wedding.” It would be a terrible subversion if instead he goes to his funeral.

And per the writers (who also wrote the CA movies),

Markus: Things always shift in the writing, but I think we all knew where it was going and it was a matter of how best to get there so that it feels most satisfying or most earned. What was that adjustment process like? How much did the script have to change from when you were breaking it in 2015 to when they went to film it? Were there big things that you had to account for that you just hadn't had any idea about? Markus: Because of the other movies? No. I don't think there was anything massive that we had to change gears for. There were things that became better because of the value that the other movie had acquired. https://www.etonline.com/how-the-avengers-endgame-writers-arrived-at-the-most-satisfying-ending-possible-exclusive-123477 That would be an absolutely collosal shift to wipe it away entirely

The baby conversation in Infinity War. Why set all this up so blatantly if they weren’t going to use it? For a cheap emotional rug pull? Tony wants children, not just another set of his genes in the world.

And Pepper’s response; she doesn’t want children if he’s still Iron Man, for fear that he’ll be distracted, or something worse. If she’s going to have a kid with him, she wants him there. If the point was simply a baby, not a baby AND Tony, this is pointless exposition. Also, Pepper has thought Tony was dead at least four times: IM1, Avengers, IM3 and IW. Would they really make her watch it happen for real after that? Rob her of her family and make her worst fear come true, right in front of her eyes?

Tony as Odysseus - A lot of us—who've watched and identified with this character—realize that this is an Odyssey, not a Tragedy. Odysseus makes all kinds of mistakes while trying to get home, but he gets there, after 10 years. And then,

“As for yourself, death shall come to you from the sea, and your life shall ebb away very gently when you are full of years and peace of mind, and your people shall bless you. All that I have said will come true.” He makes it home. He got super lucky a lot of times, but he made it home, to his family. He found his everything.

“You’re a hard man, Odysseus. Your fighting spirit’s stronger than ours, your stamina never fails. You must be made if iron head to foot.”

Alternate translation- “You’re a hard man, Odysseus, stronger/ Than other men, and you never wear out, / A real iron-man.” (both quotes taken from starkravinghazelnuts, http://starkravinghazelnuts.tumblr.com/post/181064173168/so-i-did-more-research-about-tony-steve-and-thor)

Promotional

https://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201812/6461/ Tony Stark is heading up a new rollout in Disneyland parks. Speaks for itself, they’re making Tony have a very strong presence in the parks. Disney is for kids, kids love Iron Man, and they will be aware of his death and reminded of it when they see him and Stark Industries everywhere on their family vacation. Longtime fans will also have to deal with this. If they were actually going to kill him, why would they make his presence in the future of these parks so big?

“In California and Paris, Tony Stark is retrofitting two of his father’s Stark Industries sites into new hubs for training and innovation. Through partnerships with S.H.I.E.L.D., Pym Technologies, Masters of the Mystic Arts and the new Worldwide Engineering Brigade, The Avengers and their allies will forge new global campuses to champion the next generation of heroes.” We know Hank Pym hates the Starks because he feels Howard betrayed him by trying to replicate the Pym Particle. As Scott says, “Hank Pym always said you could never trust a Stark.” How does this work, unless there is something forward that allows them to establish a better relationship? This can’t be retrofitted to anything before a potential Endgame end.

https://youtu.be/0tW77VFKQC0 https://youtu.be/EVIu43xSeYY In the Ant-Man and the Wasp ride, they collaborate with Tony/Iron Man in their ride mission. You see him, they speak to him, and it seems like a new storyline. It connects to the Iron Man Experience’s storyline, the ride they already had there in Hong Kong.

https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/marvels-iron-man-vr-ps4/ upcoming Iron Man VR game. It would be very morbid playing this game, from Tony’s POV, if Tony is dead.

That giant Iron Man statue for Endgame in Hong Kong (https://www.timeout.com/hong-kong/news/a-giant-4-5m-iron-man-installation-and-life-sized-avengers-have-taken-over-hysan-place-041219). Imagine coming across that thing if you just saw him die. It’s staying up until May 13th. Do they want it looking like a place of mourning? A monument with flowers and notes? Shit, that’s a spoiler in itself that I don’t think they want. It would also be incredibly depressing.

https://www.tmz.com/2018/01/12/avengers-4-wrap-party-cake-drops-clues/ Endgame wrap party cake. If Tony died, he would be on this thing. It wouldn’t even be considered a spoiler because Iron Man is literally the face of the MCU, so people wouldn’t look twice at it. But his absence does say something—that they didn’t think they needed to pay tribute to him here, because he is still around to pay tribute to later, if need be. This cake is implying different characters are in peril, with certain hands shooting up out of the ground. But Iron Man is only represented with his logo on the bottom, as are all the rest of the heroes. If he died, he’d be the centerpiece. More on this theory by starkravinghazelnuts http://starkravinghazelnuts.tumblr.com/post/180160474003/the-cake-theory-proposes-that-cap-nat-and-bruce

Cast quotes regarding Endgame

Gwyneth - (on a picture of her and RDJ) “you know I will be this guy’s Pepper any time he needs me” why would she say this if he’s dead? If he was dead and she didn’t want to spoil, she didn’t need to say anything at all.

And this wasn’t a one-off referring to playing opposite him, she was referring to Tony/Pepper, after an interview in which she said she was probably done, but would come back for a day if they wanted her.

Gwyneth again - https://www.etonline.com/how-the-avengers-endgame-writers-arrived-at-the-most-satisfying-ending-possible-exclusive-123477 “Pepper and Tony have had a real long journey together. She obviously starts as his dutiful assistant, and then the relationship evolves, and now this decade later they're married, and they have a child. Their relationship has evolved in all of the ways that great romances evolve.” Now, I always saw this as—Gwyneth was done filming when this quote was given. She was aware of the end of her character’s journey, so this is obviously something that happens at the END chronologically. Why would she reference something smack dab in the middle of the film, especially if it was just going to be erased by time travel/quantum realm shenanigans? She’s also wearing an engagement ring and a wedding band in some interview photos where she’s in costume. Plus, possible/probable spoilers…….Pepper is going to be suiting up as Rescue, which really knocks off the possibility of a mid-movie child for Pepper and Tony. It would be completely against her character to suit up and leave a kid behind, considering how much flack she gave Tony for his suits before, and how her hesitation to have a child hinged on Tony re-inserting his arc reactor. Plus, on a more emotional note, Gwyneth refers to Tony/Pepper as a great romance, and it is. But I feel like she and Robert combined would not be happy at all if the writers were to destroy this great romance by killing one of its members. That way it falls flat, it never finishes, it doesn’t get its rightful end. I feel like she and RDJ (who has significant sway over what happens to Tony) would argue against this happening. This is a great romance, and those end in happily ever afters. This isn’t West Side Story. This is a Disney movie.

Evans - https://youtu.be/bH0frwdtmXM (when asked to describe the movie in one word on GMA) “Satisfying. It’s like TV shows, the final finale—how many times do they stick the landing? How many times do you walk away saying that went exactly how I wanted it to go? This movie—I think they deliver, I think they really do stick the landing in terms of, you know—addressing the arcs and really finding a completion.” I think this definitely speaks for itself. The arcs are important and we know what they are. One of our main concerns is them tossing out the true endings to these arcs for cheap, cruel emotional shocks. If Chris says specifically that the arcs are addressed, then we know what that SHOULD mean for each character. Plus, saying “that went exactly how I wanted it to go”? I don’t believe any genuine fans want deaths. Especially fans with children. People who genuinely care about these characters want to see them succeed and live to reap the rewards. So saying it went “exactly as I wanted it to go” and that they “stick the landing” bodes well for things ending up nicely for our heroes. Nothing in his speech here screams death.

Hemsworth - https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a27110673/avengers-endgame-chris-hemsworth-interview/ also uses the word cathartic. Nothing about Tony dying would be cathartic. It would be sickening and depressing and we wouldn’t get anything out of it.

Taika Waititi https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/films/1082838/Avengers-Endgame-Korg-Taika-Waititi-Thor-Ragnarok-Avengers-Infinity-War-MCU-Marvel “They keep their cards so close to their chests, but from what I’ve heard, it wraps up everything in a really great way." “It feels like the fans are getting rewarded for hanging around for 10 years and watching all these films.” “Because the more you know about the characters and the stories and stuff, the more satisfying this film will be.” These feel particularly important. A reward would not be killing the biggest character in the MCU. And he mentions the fact that really knowing the characters makes everything more satisfying. We all know where Tony is heading, and what he wants. These quotes particularly point to Tony surviving, and maybe everyone surviving.

Scarlett - https://wegotthiscovered.com/movies/scarlett-johansson-calls-avengers-endgame-beautiful-valentine-decade-madness/ “a beautiful valentine to a decade of madness” Not ‘my bloody valentine’. A gift full of love for the people that have been here for ten years watching these characters grow.

RDJ - https://twitter.com/our_rdj/status/1118891286763798528?s=21 https://twitter.com/caplovesfondue/status/1118764023397249024?s=21 https://twitter.com/MCU_Direct/status/1119043210553249792 “I guarantee you that this will pay off. This Avengers Endgame, I’ve said it before, is our finest hour.” “The last eight minutes of that movie are maybe the best eight minutes in the entire history of the whole run of them, in a way. Because everyone’s involved. So I was delighted.” Both of these quotes, from the man himself, the man who loves Tony Stark with his entire being, do not feel like a Tony death at all. Because if we know Tony, we know what a payoff for him is. It’s getting the life, the family he’s been fighting for since the beginning. And as for the second one, logically, eight minutes does not feel like enough time to send Tony off in an out-of-left-field death. And I think our final battle will be longer than eight minutes. So I personally believe he’s referring to the wedding. He loves Tony/Pepper enough to hold their wedding in extremely high regard. He’s always delighted with Tony’s happiness and Tony advancing in his journey, especially with Pepper by his side.

“Cathartic” - https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/herocomplex/la-et-hc-avengers-endgame-press-conference-20190407-story.html said by the Russos at the press conference

“Satisfying” - https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a27110673/avengers-endgame-chris-hemsworth-interview/ , https://www.etonline.com/how-the-avengers-endgame-writers-arrived-at-the-most-satisfying-ending-possible-exclusive-123477

“Earned” https://www.etonline.com/how-the-avengers-endgame-writers-arrived-at-the-most-satisfying-ending-possible-exclusive-123477 When you think about Tony, you do not think his death is earned at this stage, because so much is left hanging that his story has been calling for since moment one. What would be “earned” for Tony is him marrying Pepper. He has more than earned that. She has earned this wedding, too.

Misc (POTENTIAL SPOILERS)

Tony has sacrificed over and over and over again, in almost every movie we see him in. Doing it in Endgame would be a rehash of the same storyline, and sacrifice is not something Tony has to learn. He already knows how, he’s already willing. He needs to learn how to live. Bringing him to that realization at the end of it all would be the most appropriate route to take.

Iron Man 1 - he implores Pepper to hit the button, even though she tells him, “but you’ll die.”

Iron Man 2 - while it could be said he would be killed by the presence of the reactor itself, JARVIS explicitly says the use of the suit is accelerating the palladium poisoning that is killing him. Tony doesn’t stop. Part of this could be attributed to his reckless end-of-life attitude, but it’s clear from the Senate hearing—he wouldn’t have stopped

The new element is obviously something in itself. While the IM2 novel called it vibranium, this was retconned in CA, and then set up for more in Captain Marvel when it was revealed the project involving the Tesseract was called Project Pegasus, first called that when Fury dropped off Howard’s things at Tony’s mansion. Tony withstood the power of the Mind stone in A1 with the arc reactor, and then again in IW when Thanos unleashed the power of the Power stone on him and the suit merely blocked it. The suit is literally powered by the Space stone, much like Carol is, and for IM2-IM3, the Space stone literally powers Tony, which is more than you can say for a Mad Titan. Even Hulk doesn’t have the power of the Space stone behind him. You don’t hang a gun on the wall unless you plan on firing it later.

Also tied into IM2 - “if you could make a god bleed” … Tony is the only one to actually injure Thanos.

Avengers - Tony lays down on the wire. The arc set up by Steve’s comment is fulfilled when he flies the nuke through the wormhole. He knew it would probably kill him, which is why he tried to call Pepper.

Iron Man 3 - he sends his suit to Pepper first, when the “Mandarin” comes for him. Then in a deleted scene, he removes his arc reactor to save Harley’s bully, and nearly dies before Harley puts it back

Age of Ultron - Tony, despite wishing to go home and buy Pepper her farm, is willing to stay with Thor on the flying rock, even though he knows he could die, it’s his responsibility to fix this.

Civil War - this is a bit of subversion, as Tony is in a dark place and never needs to sacrifice his life. But as we saw in IM3, Tony IS Iron Man. And he’s willing to turn over power of Iron Man, which he wasn’t in IM2, to a higher power. He’s willing to give up his autonomy to keep the rest of the team out of jail and assuage his guilt (he’s starting to see the repercussions of bearing it all on his own). We can have discussions about who was right about which part, but Tony was willing to sacrifice a big part of himself.

Infinity War - duh. He got on that spaceship. He was planning on it being a one way trip (which incidentally, is why Pepper wasn’t keen on a kid). And then he took Thanos on one-on-one. And then, the look of despair when Strange gave up the stone to save him? He was more than willing to die.

Endgame - eventually, he will be willing to try, even if it means his death, because he’s always been willing to sacrifice himself. Remove that burden from his shoulders.

(It is interesting to note that the one time Tony is not in the position to sacrifice his life is in Spider-Man: Homecoming. When he is in the overseeing/mentor position, which could be his role in the MCU after Endgame, and when he’s starting to take up the role of “father figure”, which he should also be after Endgame, but to his own biological children as well. He is however, appalled and terrified at the thought of someone else, this crazy Spider-child who’s just a bit too much like him, being reckless and willing to sacrifice himself. Maybe Tony needs to take a bit of his own advice.)

The endings of the Iron Man movies are all tonally upbeat and to end Tony’s story for good on a “downer” note does not go along with his storyline --from starkravinghazelnuts http://starkravinghazelnuts.tumblr.com/post/181110494893/avengers-endgame-is-said-to-be-the-end-of-many-of

The Infinity Saga is Tony Stark’s arc. Every other character, including Cap, is ancillary. Every character is where they are because of a Stark. What happens to him will be the defining characteristic of the Saga, and it isn’t set up to be a Tragedy.

RDJ says the last eight minutes of Endgame has “everybody” involved, which would obviously include Natasha, who is extremely important. Which contradicts the reddit “leaks.”

https://twitter.com/stevcrogvrs/status/1118853707280601088?s=21 Chris Evans says if Steve had a choice, he would go back in time to be with Peggy. Since he was able to say this, there’s no doubt that it doesn’t happen, as the Marvel spoiler snipers would have switched from Mark to Chris and put five holes in his head before he hit the ground. This contradicts the reddit “leaks.”

https://comicbook.com/marvel/2019/04/19/avengers-endgame-hawkeye-black-widow-relationship-jeremy-renner/ Jeremy Renner also says Clint and Natasha’s relationship will last “forever”, which seems to underline their closeness and how much they mean to each other. All of this contradicts the reddit “leaks”, which describe a horrible thing happening to the two of them that wouldn’t ever actually happen if they were to stay in character. Plus, Chris Evans apparently called these dudebros out and straight up denied their “leaks”, so these “leaks” have no veracity either way.

When asked to draw their favorite characters, Anthony Russo drew Iron Man and Joe drew Spider-Man. The Iron Dad relationship is obviously going to be important in the movie, and it would bode well for these characters to get a good ending in the movie if they’re the very favorites of both directors.

RDJ is screening Endgame at his house for family and friends on Easter Sunday. Would he really ruin a holiday with a movie in which his character dies an unwarranted death?

There has not been a wedding in the MCU yet. What would be a better way to end the MCU’s first romance than with the MCU’s first wedding? We’ve had a funeral already, for a side character, and that was bad enough. Imagine how horrible it would be to witness Tony Stark’s funeral as the ending for Endgame. That does not seem like the kind of feeling the Russos want to leave us with. The wedding seems far more appropriate for a movie of this scale and importance.

The chess theory (courtesy of starkravinghazelnuts) — “The last piece to discuss on the chess board is the King piece. This piece is the game winner. Once your king is check-mated, the game is over, and your opponent wins, regardless of the score. The king chess piece is the piece you must protect the most and the one you cannot live without. Many experienced players may find themselves utilizing the king in an attempt to gain an advantage over an opponent, something weaker chess players are leery of doing. No matter how you choose to use your king piece, he must stay alive at all costs.” Tony and Thanos are the Kings on opposing sides. The king must be kept alive in order to win, which is why Tony should make it to the end of the film intact. Thor also literally mentions someone “playing an intricate game” and says that person “has made pawns of us” at the end of Ultron when discussing the Infinity Stones. http://starkravinghazelnuts.tumblr.com/post/181491397743/starkravinghazelnuts-quite-frankly-this-is-the

Two very important meta pieces by starkravinghazelnuts, who has essentially been funding my positive attitude for a while now http://starkravinghazelnuts.tumblr.com/post/182086909963/looking-back-over-everything-i-still-feel-really http://starkravinghazelnuts.tumblr.com/post/182017989478/i-agree-with-you-the-rhodey-show-sounds-good-but-i

https://fanfest.com/2018/08/16/the-russos-reflect-on-iron-man-being-the-heart-and-soul-of-the-mcu/ “I think, in a lot of ways, he is the heart and soul of the Marvel universe,” Infinity War co-director Joe Russo said during a video interview with Wired. “He’s a fascinating character, a character that we love because he is imminently flawed and we like characters that are challenging and express their humanity and I think Tony Stark does that as well as any of the characters. He started off as a narcissistic alcoholic and grew into a hero which, I think, makes him imminently relatable and signifies what the Marvel universe stands for, which is character first and the heroes are defined through the choices that they make.” The Russos love Tony. And you cannot live without your soul, you cannot live without your heart. No matter what you say about Tony, losing him to death would leave a massive, gaping hole in the MCU. Keeping him available to return is the safer bet in almost every regard.

https://youtu.be/f0Ai05cUQoM “If there were no RDJ, there would be no MCU.” - Kevin Feige. RDJ started it all, and Tony shouldn’t die, his presence should remain. He should be able to pop in and out as he sees fit. They know his star power and how important Tony is to the MCU.

https://www.newsarama.com/39526-rdj-as-iron-man-irreplacable-but-will-eventually-leave-says-avengers-infinity-war-directors.html “One closeup from RDJ is worth another actor’s entire performance, he’s incredibly gifted and insanely talented” - Joe Russo. May be a weak reason, but would they really...make him permanently lost to them? They’ve expressed interest in coming back. Would they really banish their most talented and lucrative actor to the darkness of a character death for a cheap shock?

https://youtu.be/5ljluGA4dQU (around ten minutes in) In the Jimmy Kimmel interview, they show the clip they’ve been showing everywhere of Carol’s meeting with some of the Avengers. Jimmy points out that RDJ isn’t in the clip, and he asks if that means something bad for Tony. RDJ says “No, no, no. Not in the slightest.” He could and probably is referring to the fact that Tony is definitely alive at this point, sure, but his attitude and the way he says it points to an overall confidence about Tony that bleeds over to the viewer. In fact, Robert’s whole demeanor during this press tour has been one of pure joy. He is having the time of his life, dancing and laughing, moreso than we have seen before. It could be a man enjoying his last tour with a very special group, but, somehow, I don’t believe someone who loves Tony as much as RDJ does would be this happy if Tony died. Especially if Tony’s death was unwarranted and out-of-left-field, which it absolutely would be if it happened. And this is in contrast to Chris, who has been, while not sad, far more reserved.

Some on-point thoughts from some of the few sane people on reddit:

“After Infinity War went out of its way to establish Thanos as a physical embodiment of Tony’s PTSD (“he’s been in my head for 6 years,” “My only curse is you”, *author’s note: see also above with coming to face an unknown fear like in IM3*), the idea of him ultimately defeating Thanos by killing himself is like... morally reprehensible as a message. I’d like to think Markus and McFeely would know better than that, but honestly, I’ve felt since Civil War that they don’t have the best grasp on his character. Edit: someone asked me in a PM to elaborate on this, so I’m just gonna go ahead and post what I wrote just in case anyone’s interested. Ok, this is gonna be kinda long, but I’ve been sitting on this for a while. so Iron Man 3 was the beginning of Tony’s new character arc that’s gone from phase 2 up till now. In phase 1, his whole journey was learning not to be selfish, and to be willing to put himself on the line to protect others. Avengers 1 completes that arc, and Iron Man 3 sets up a new conflict, where he’s driven entirely by his trauma from the events of The Avengers. He’s obsessed with protecting the world from threats beyond his control- we see it in Iron Man 3 with the house party suits being products of his anxiety, and in Age of Ultron with the Ultron program. He feels like it’s his responsibility to be everyone’s protector, and he’s desperately clinging to any sense of control he can still have in a world that he now realizes is much bigger than him. In Infinity War, he finds out that the event that left him traumatized was orchestrated by Thanos, and for the rest of the movie is driven by a single-minded need to confront Thanos directly and put an end to him, in order to finally be free of the PTSD that’s dominated his life for 6 years. By taking on that responsibility and ambushing him on Titan instead of reaching out to his support system (Steve + the other Avengers), Tony inadvertently puts everything he cares about at risk. In the context of Tony’s story, Thanos is his trauma- and Tony’s defeat on Titan is a direct result of his compulsive need to carry the burden of that trauma alone. So to then have him sacrifice himself to defeat Thanos in Endgame essentially sends the message that “yes, it is a good thing to bear that trauma on your own, and in fact, if you can’t see any other option, killing yourself is an acceptable solution.” It sends a horrible message in the context of the ongoing story, and it doesn’t tell us anything new about Tony as a character- we already know he’s self-sacrificing, it’s been his defining character flaw for four movies already. It’s just a really poor way to end his story.” — msg53

“This. Tony’s arc has been about letting go of his ego while learning to rely on others. His first step was handing Stark Ind. over to Pepper. He tried letting go with Ultron, but it failed cuz Ultron was just an extension of himself. Then he started seeing how being a mentor/father figure could help a kid in need of both (Peter) and the eventual next step should be family and real retirement while others defend/avenge Earth, once he’s done with his Thanos curse. Aside from Thor, His death would feel the most gratuitously out of sync with his journey of all the OG Avengers.” —VictorVonDoomBots

(special shoutout to cuddlebirb over there, consistently fighting for Tony rights)

The absolute nastiness to take out their main character, their cash cow, the one that started it all, when he’s got so much still hanging simply makes no sense. They would leave people with a sick feeling in their stomachs over this movie. People would not be happy with the turn of events, they would feel cheated out of a proper ending for the main character of the whole franchise. It would not be an event movie, it would be the movie that Killed Tony Stark. It would be tainted, and I don’t think the Russos want that. I know they say they think about their own reactions when writing these films, but they’ve gotta be smart enough to realize what a mistake this would be for the die-hard, longtime fans.

Plus, this is an ending to one generation and a lead-in to another. They don’t have Stan anymore to do their cameos, and some people will be on edge about whether to continue. Having RDJ hang around to do cameos and show up here and there to help the new heroes will put people in those seats for the upcoming films. His fifteen minute presence in Homecoming made many people go see the film that wouldn’t have otherwise. They need a hero that people know and love to remain a constant, even if he’s not in a starring role, and Tony Stark is the perfect person to do this. He always helped the younger heroes in the comics, and he’s already taken the mentor mantle with Peter. It’s a natural progression.

The amount of suffering that Tony has been through in the entirety of the MCU and in Endgame in particular, should lead to him finally getting something good in the end, a retirement where he gets to relax and let someone else carry the weight of the world instead of him, for once. Endgame will begin with Tony in extreme anguish, sick, hurt, sad and alone (save for Nebula). In the end, he should be healthy and happy, surrounded by the people who love him, with his future bright, full of possibility, and free of threats because Thanos is gone. That is simply good writing and good bookending. The writers shouldn’t be in the business of torturing Tony for torture’s sake. If he begins in such a dark place, he should end somewhere promising.

Happy’s behavior in FFH trailer. Tony is Happy’s best friend. Would the man be acting so chill, flirting with May, if his BFF just died? It is confirmed that FFH takes place minutes after Endgame. Plus, in a deleted Infinity War scene that featured Happy, Tony says that he and Pepper should set him up with someone. Would that someone be May?

Pepper is literally Tony’s endgame—he says it himself, “in the end, it’s always you.”

#tony stark #avengers endgame #avengers #marvel #endgame speculation #this is massively long but i think it really gets its point across #there is just way way too much pointing to his survival #robert downey jr #rdj

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nothingeverlost · 5 years ago

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Fic: Things Half in Shadows (14/14)

Fandom: Once Upon a Time

Pairings: Gold/Belle (eventually) with side pairings that probably include Graham/Bay, Archie/Emma and others.

Summary: The first thing you learn, back in Psych 101, is that you never get emotionally involved with a patient. For 25 years Dr. Gold hasn’t had a problem walking that fine line. Something changes, though, when he meets Belle French. AU

Author’s Note: I can’t begin to express what this fic and the people who read it have meant to me. Thank you all. This is the last chapter. I chose to leave it here and pick it up again in a sequel. The second half is relationship-centric and will begin with Belle leaving Storybrooke.

TRIGGER WARNING: Indirect mentions of abuse and sexual assault

Chapter 14 - Small Steps

There was a book on the table next to her customary cup of tea. The cover was free of words, only a pattern of roses that looked like an old bit of wallpaper.

“A journal?” she guessed. She’d never kept a diary before and felt a flutter in her stomach when she remembered the last time her doctor had asked her to write anything. Eight words and everything had changed. For the better, maybe, someday, but nothing had ever hurt so much. She hadn’t had the numbness to shield her. She would try, though, if he asked.

“While that’s never a bad idea that’s not my intent today. It is for writing but I don’t want you to write about yourself.”

“Who should I be writing about?” She knew he wouldn’t ask her to write about her father.

“You read a lot of stories, Belle. It’s a comfort to step into the world someone else created, to attend a ball with Elizabeth Darcy or to push the Dread Pirate Roberts down a hill. I want to see you try writing a story with your own words. It can be as simple or as complex as you like.” From his pocket he took a pen, resting it on top of the book.

“That’s it? Just write something?” She hadn’t written anything since a creative writing class she took her first semester in college. She couldn’t remember if she’d liked it or not.

“Anything you want. When you’re done you can show it to anyone you want or you can keep it to yourself. You can show it to me, but only if that’s what you want.” He took a sip of his tea. Belle remembered her own cup and took a sip, and a bite of the coffee cake he’d brought in that morning. She liked the blueberries. “What’s the first story you remember as a child?”

“Cinderella.” She was distracted by the book, picking it up and running her fingers over the lightly textured cover before opening it up. The pages were blank. So much empty space; it seemed lonely without words. “Not the Disney one; it was a pop-up book. There was this page with all the stairs and in the middle the glass slipper. I remember running my fingers up and down the stairs, pretending I’d lost my shoe. One page had the carriage and you could open the door and look inside. I wanted to shrink so I could fit inside, just for a little while. It was such a pretty little carriage.”

“Perhaps you can tell the story of a little girl who did manage to shrink,” he suggested. “When my son was wee there was a story he loved about a family that lived in the walls of a house.”

“I loved Thumbelina. My mama would watch the movie with me; it was the first VHS I remember owning. We liked to sing the songs together.” They would cuddle under a blanket and share a bowl of popcorn that they’d made together on the stove. Her mama loved to sing. She’d almost forgotten how she’d sung when she was washing the dishes, or combing her hair, and always at bedtime. “I don’t remember anything about the movie except that she was little and there was singing.”

“I’m sure we could find a copy, sometime.” He scribbled a note on a piece of paper. It was strange, most psychiatrists she had seen wrote a lot. Some seemed to barely look at her, they were so busy writing about what she said. Her doctor rarely wrote more than a few sentences and she always got the feeling that it was making sure he remembered things rather than analyzing her. “It sounds like a memory worth holding onto.”

“I think it is.” It hurt to think about her mama; maybe it always would. But it made her feel warm, too, to remember the way they had sung together. Maybe getting better meant that the warm was just as strong as the hurt. She took another bite of her coffee cake and waited for questions about her mama that didn’t come. Her doctor turned back to the subject of stories for the rest of her session.

Belle’s entrance to the art room was blocked by the sprawled form of Jefferson on the floor, arms and legs both spread eagle. She held her new book to her chest and looked down at him, wondering if she needed to go back and get help. His eyes were open, though, and she couldn’t see anything that looked like danger.

“Don’t mind him, he’s just being a drama queen.” August leaned against the back of a chair nearby. “Even more so than usual.”

“I’m bor-ed. Bored. B-b-b-bored.”

“I’m starting to get the idea that Jefferson’s bored. Anyone else getting that feeling?” Ruby was using the art scissors to trim bits of her hair.

“Does this place have a yelp? I’m giving them one star. Can I do no stars? I’m going to do that. The food is pedestrian, the entertainment is abysmal, and I’m sure there’s beds of nails that are more comfortable than what passes for accommodation here.”

“Fortunately there’s always the chance that a patient will provide entertainment,” Ruby said pointedly.

“You call this entertaining?” August rolled his eyes.

“Do you think they might let us have a picnic?” Belle offered tentatively. They’d had sunny afternoons the last couple of days.

“A party.” Jefferson sat up. “Rabbit, you’re brilliant.”

“Christmas is over.” From the corner of the room a small sad voice piped up. Astrid was working on something involving glue and a lot of glitter.

“Anyone have a birthday coming up?” Jefferson asked hopefully.

“Mine was last month.” Mary Margaret was the first to pop Jefferson’s bubble. Belle just shook her head. No one had mentioned holidays or birthdays since she’d arrived, almost as if time was standing still. Maybe that’s what they all hoped, that time was still and they would be able to just slip into their lives when they returned home. If they returned.

“This is perfect. Bake the cake and hire the clowns, we’re having a birthday party.” Jefferson shot up so fast it was hard to tell how he’d gotten to his feet.

“No on has a birthday until June, sweetie,” Ruby reminded him.

“Please tell me you’re not serious about clowns.” August crossed his arms. “That’s not funny.”

“If it’s no one’s birthday then it’s everyone’s unbirthday. What’s better than an unbirthday party?” He raced around the room, pulling fake flowers and ribbons from bins, stopping behind Astrid’s chair to lean down low. “More glitter, little mouse. We need more sparkle.”

“This is going to be interesting.” Ella picked up the flower that had landed in her lap.

“That’s one word for it,” August commented, pointedly ignoring the ribbons that had landed on his shoulder. “Not the word I’d pick, though.”

“Have you ever read any fairy tales?” Belle threw a pea into the lake, a little farther from the shore this time. The ducklings were getting bigger now, and Graham said that they needed to work a little for their food.

“Maybe when I was a kid. I don’t remember, really.” They reached for a pea at the same time, their fingers touching. Belle hardly thought about it, or the fact that only a few weeks ago it would have startled her.

“I was rereading some yesterday.” She had hoped they would inspire her own idea for a story. “They’re very black and white. Stepmothers are always evil. The princess is always good and pure. Fairy godmothers will always help. Wolves can’t be trusted.”

“A lot of people don’t understand about wolves. They’re nobel.” Graham tossed another pea into the water, a little farther from the ducks. One of the ducklings dove to get it and came up, shaking out its feathers.

“Maybe it’s easier to pretend that the scary things are so simple. As easy to see as a wolf in pajamas.” Fairytales never taught you to be scared of the people that said they loved you; at least none that she’d found.

“Wolf wouldn’t be happy wearing anyone’s pajamas, but he does like sleeping bags. I had to buy one for him or I’d never get any sleep when we go out. He gets in and curls up until all you can see is his nose. He has to carry it, though, if he wants it.” The last of the peas were gone. Graham opened the other bag he’d brought and set out two white chocolate cranberry cookies.

“He carries his sleeping bag?” Graham had mentioned camping, once. Belle had never had a pet, but didn’t imagine that was something they usually did.

“It clips onto his harness. He’s always excited when I put it on because he knows we’ll sleep outdoors. Besides, I carry food for both of us, it’s only fair he carries his own bedding.” Graham took a bite of one of the cookies and pushed the other one a little closer to her. “Somehow I ended up with an extra if you want one.”

“Thank you.” Nurse Whale had mentioned she was up seven pounds and had been pleased when he added the note to her file. Someday maybe she could meet her doctor’s son and thank him for all the muffins and cookies. “Does Wolf have to carry his own tent too?”

“We don’t use a tent. Just a sleeping bag apiece and a campfire. Can’t see the stars in a tent, and they tell a different story every night.” it was midday but still Graham looked up at the sky as if he could see the stars.

“What happens if it rains?”

“We get wet.” Graham shrugged. “If it’s a heavy storm we find a shelter. But look at the ducklings, they love to get wet. A lot of animals do. There’s nothing harmful in a little rain, and afterwards everything smells new.’

“I’ve never been camping.” She and her mama used to make tents out of sheets and imagine they were camping. They made s’mores in the oven and ate them sitting around a flashlight. She’d mentioned camping to her papa once and he’d taken her to a resort that summer in upstate New York. They’d served a chocolate mousse topped with meringue and graham cracker and called it a s’more. Her papa had called her princess and gifted her with her first bikini. She’d ‘lost’ it after the second day, and was glad they never went back.

“There’s berries and mushrooms growing on the other side of the lake, at the edge of the woods. It’s not camping but we could go for a walk,” he suggested, finishing his cookie.

“Are you sure it’s alright?” She’d never walked past the edge of the lake.

“As long as you stay with me.”

By the time they returned from their walk Belle had almost forgotten about fairytales. Graham had shown her the signs of edible mushrooms, but cautioned her not to eat any without him there. He’d pointed out a nest in a branch that still held eggs. There was a bush full of berries that might make a good cookie. Her questions had been tentative at first but he’d answered them all, speaking more than he usually did. She was eager to learn more and he walked with her to the library to point out a few books they had about local flora and fauna. Caught up in the books she almost didn’t notice someone joining them in the library.

“Belle.” Gaston had his hands in his pockets, his height seeming so much taller than she remembered. “Can we talk?”

“Visitor’s hours are Saturday. This isn’t a good time.” Graham took two steps to his right, coming between her and the doorway.

“You’re not Belle, so I wasn’t talking to you. I was talking to my fiance.” Gaston was less forceful than usual, but she knew that he wouldn’t leave.

“It’s okay, Graham.” She didn’t know what he wanted, but it was usually quicker to give it to him than argue. Logic wasn’t Gaston’s strongest suit. “He’s driven a long way to be here. We can talk.”

“You heard her. I’m sure there’s someone else in this place that needs your attention.” Gaston sat on one of the sofas, his feet on the table. Belle was reminded of his home office, though the Storybrooke library didn’t have any animal heads mounted on the walls.

“Right now my job is to be here.” Graham crossed his arms. Gaston’s cheek muscle twitched.

“Can we have a few minutes, Graham? You could wait right outside the door.” She could call for him if she needed him. She wondered if she actually would.

“A few minutes and the door stays open,” Graham agreed reluctantly. Once he was out of the room Belle dug her nails into the arm of the couch. She tried to remember what it was like to sit at dinner with him and make small talk.

“You look good, Gaston.” He had a tan that she knew came from a tanning bed this time of year and a body sculpted with the help of a personal trainer named Lefou.

“You look… fine.” His eyes swept over her, and she knew he was seeing the hair pulled back in a ponytail and the bulky sweater that was warm but unfashionable. She hadn’t put on any makeup since she’d arrived, except the nail polish Ruby had used a few days ago to make her nails a pale pink. “Are you… fine?”

“I’m learning a lot about myself.” Fine was right up there with okay on the list of words she didn’t know how to define. There were a lot of things people said to each other that didn’t mean anything, polite lies that meant not talking about anything real..

“Moe said you would be coming home soon.” Belle flinched, but she was certain Gaston didn’t notice.

“I’m not ready for that.” Belle shook her head. She wouldn’t ever return to the place that Gaston called home. For weeks she had asked Doctor every day about the restraining order, needing the reminder that it was real. She had spoken to the sheriff once, as well. It had been almost a month now, and no lawyers had shown up. No threats had been made. She was beginning to believe she was safe for him, at least within the small world of Storybrooke. What happened when she left she didn’t know; she didn’t have a home anymore.

“I don’t understand why you’re here. You’re not like them.” He gestured towards the doorway, where the sounds of art therapy could be heard. “You’d do better being around your own people.”

“These are my people.” They were all trying to heal from things. She wondered if Gaston would even be able to understand what it was to need to heal. He spoke of little other than hunting and business, boating and stocks. If she was honest with herself there was very little she knew about the man she’d said yes to marrying. He knew even less about her.

“Your people are at home; there’s a dinner at the club this weekend. People keep asking me when you’re coming home, not that they know where you are.” Too restless for the couch Gaston rose and started pacing. “They ask me about the wedding.”

“I can’t marry you, Gaston.” She said the words in a hurry, afraid she wouldn’t say them all if she didn’t say them all at once.

“You don’t mean that. When you get home…”

“No.” She shook her head. When her father had brought Gaston home she had accepted it, as she did everything else. She hadn’t gone away to college because he didn’t want it. She hadn’t babysat as a teen. Hadn’t gone to school dances. She was always a dutiful daughter, even when it came to dating the man that was picked out for her. And saying yes when expected, whether it was diner, sex or an engagement ring. If she stayed with Gaston she was still her father’s prisoner. It didn’t matter that Gaston was unaware of who Moe French really was or what he had done. “I’m sorry Gaston.”

“I don’t understand, we had plans. You said yes.” Any plans they had, Belle knew, had been his own. A wife to take care of his house and play hostess for his parties. The right type of woman to show off at the club. Children, probably, but she couldn’t even think about that. For a moment she imagined a daughter, soft brown curls and her mother’s eyes. She thought of her father, and wondered if she would have more power to protect a daughter than she’d had to save herself.

“Belle.” He said her name sharply, and probably not for the first time. It was enough to bring Graham into the room. She thought of the stories he’d told her about Wolf, and wondered if that was why she was reminded so strongly of a predator. The narrow eyes and tense muscles might have scared her from another man, but she trusted him. He was there to protect her.

“I’m alright now.” She spoke to Gaston but looked over his shoulder to Graham. She could make it through this conversation but she wasn’t going to ask him to leave again.

“This place is making you worse, not better,” Gaston groused.

“I’m not someone you would want to marry.” There wasn’t any point explaining to him anymore than that. “The ring is in my jewelry box at home. You should have it back.”

“You shouldn’t make decisions in a place like this. When you change your mind…”

“I wish you the best, Gaston, I really do. I need you to go now.” Graham took a step closer. Perhaps Gaston felt it, or perhaps he decided his ego was smarting from the rejection.

“If I take back the ring that’s it.” When she didn’t say anything he got up and strode from the library. She hesitated for a moment before running after him.

“Gaston, wait.” She could feel Graham standing behind her, not trying to touch her but his presence unmistakable.

“I knew it.” His smile was the cocky one she was most familiar with. Belle took a breath, closing her eyes. She could be brave. She could speak up.

“You move in the same circles as my father. Parties, the club, charity events. You should know…” She felt her nails against the underside of her forearm and paused, pulling them away. She would not hurt herself. “He can’t be left alone with little girls. They need to be protected.

“You can’t mean…” She’d never before seen all the color drain from Gaston’s face. The horrified look in his eyes was probably the most real emotion she’d ever seen from him. She nodded and waited to see that he understood what she meant, then turned her back to him. She couldn’t allow him to ask questions, couldn’t speak any clearer than she already had. It had taken all of her bravery to say that much.

Doctor Gold was standing on the other side of the doorway. “Graham thought you might like a cup of tea. I thought we could take some out to the garden.”

“I would like that.” She was surprised to see that her hand wasn’t trembling. The hot tea would be welcome. Before she followed him she looked over her shoulder on last time. “Goodbye, Gaston.”

She stood completely still until she could feel him leaving. Graham was gone too, and she knew without having to ask that he was following Gaston. Making sure he didn’t linger, didn’t ask anything more of her. After almost two years and an engagement it was strange to think that she’d most likely seen him for the last time. It was probably stranger to think she had agreed to marry him but wouldn’t miss him.

“He’s gone, dearie. Would you like to sit down?”

“In the garden.” She looked down at her feet and willed them to move. After a moment they did, and if she thought about nothing else but walking she could get herself to the bench outside before her knees let her down. He handed her a mug of tea poured from his thermos as soon as she sat. It seemed cooler outside than it had half an hour ago when she’d been walking with Graham.

“He shouldn’t have gotten as far as the library without anyone stopping him, Belle. I’m sorry.” He waited a moment to speak, or maybe it was five minutes. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been staring at her tea before looking at him.

“He wasn’t a threat. He never hurt me.” She wasn’t sure she could say that Gaston was a good man. He worked and he hunted and he went to the club. He hated books and was sometimes frustrated when he saw her reading rather than socializing, but he was never cruel. He didn’t go out of his way to help anyone but neither did he hurt anyone. “I didn’t even know I didn’t want to be with him. It was easier to just say yes.”

“It was what other people wanted from you,” he commented softly.

“I said no to him today.” Had she ever said that before? She couldn’t remember the last time she’d said no, not to something as simple as where they were going for dinner or as complicated as an engagement ring. Not to trips with her papa or his college plans or anything. “Even when it made him mad.”

“The only emotions you are responsible for are your own.” His tea was on the bench, his hands both on the handle of his cane. He moved it restlessly, the tip moving bits of gravel around the ground. He always moved, even when he was sitting still. “What you did today took a good deal of courage.

“I was scared. Not of him.” He made her feel small next to him, his confidence and control making her feel like everything centered around him, but she hadn’t feared him. Or loved him. She’d simply existed next to him. “Everything’s changed now.”

“The unknown can be very hard to step into, even when the known is hurting us. It’s normal to be scared.” His voice was low and soothing. Belle allowed herself to close her eyes and just listen to him. His words settled into her bones with the same warmth as the tea.

“So now I start over?” With Gaston gone she had no connection to the people she’d called friends, who were really just social acquaintances. With the restraining order against her father she was an orphan in all the ways that mattered.

“As much as we might sometimes wish for a blank slate there is no such thing. No tabula rasa.” He quirked his lips into something that wasn’t quite a smile, or at least not a happy one. “We continue on a step at a time because the only thing we can do is move forward or stand still. What we do get to decide is what we carry with us and what we work on shedding.”

Belle looked down at her hands, seeing only the cooling mug of tea but knowing she held onto so much more. “I left Gaston behind.”

“You did. Are you feeling alright about that?” He picked up his mug, but only played with the handle.

Belle nodded. The conversation had been hard but knowing it was over was easy. “It’s not so simple with papa.”

“No, it’s not. But you’ve already taken the first steps.” He paused, looking at her. Belle took a shaky breath and nodded. It helped that he didn’t lie to her. Didn’t pretend that anything was going to be easy. If she’d taken the first steps there were still dozens more to take.

“One step at a time.” She rubbed her arm. There was no pain, and she’d stopped herself from digging her nails into the skin when she’d spoken to Gaston. That was a step too.

Belle deliberately chose the same sofa in the library she’d shared with Gaston the next day, an exorcism of sorts. She curled up with her notebook and pen, took a deep breath, and started writing. An hour later she had twelve pages of writing and a sore hand. The wolf was about to rescue Little Red from her grandmother when Jefferson threw himself at the other side of the sofa, making the whole thing bounce.

“Put the books away, it’s time to play.” He wore a top hat made from construction paper covered in glittering gears and offered her a pipe cleaner tiara with tissue paper roses. “Your unbirthday awaits.”

“I thought it was everyone’s unbirthday.” She slipped her book into the oversized pockets of her cardigan before accepting the tiara.

“You’re one of the everybody, aren’t you?” He tipped his hat at her, stood, and offered her his hand. She only hesitates a moment before letting him help her up.

“I am.” She followed Jefferson to the garden where her friends were waiting to celebrate. It was one more small step.

#rumbelle fic #mr. gold #belle french #graham humbert #jefferson #ruby lucas #things half in shadow #my fic

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jgroffdaily · 5 years ago

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With Frozen 2 now playing in theaters, I recently sat down with Jonathan Groff to talk about making the highly anticipated sequel. During the wide-ranging conversation, Groff talked about when he knew they were going to make the film, how the film pushes away from the norm by not having a “villain” and instead features the main characters grappling with their own growth and change, Kristoff’s ‘80s inspired song that has adults laughing out loud, how the filmmakers have flipped what the male love interest is going through by having him struggling with how to communicate to the woman he loves, what it will take to get the cast to perform all the Frozen music on tour, what song he was sad to see not make the finished film, and more. In addition, he talked about the status of Mindhunter season 3, if he’s had any pressure to get on social media, if he thinks Frozen 3 will happen, the difference between the West End and Broadway theater audiences, and a lot more.

Check out what Jonathan Groff had to say below.

Collider: So let’s jump into the most important question.

JONATHAN GROFF: Okay.

When do you start filming Mindhunter season three?

GROFF: (laughs) I don’t know. TBD.

I know [David] Fincher’s making a movie, so that’s going to take him out for at least eight months.

GROFF: Yeah, we couldn’t do it ‘til after he was done with that.

Yeah. It’s still not fast enough. I saw Holt [McCallany] recently and mentioned that to him as well, and I basically have said repeatedly I need 50 episode seasons.

GROFF: Oh my God. And you know that he and I would be so down. We’re ready. We’re ready. Whenever the call comes, we’re ready to jump.

Yes. I just want to start the interview off with the most important thing.

GROFF: I love you for that.

Yeah, listen. I love that show, and all of us on the site love that show.

GROFF: Oh, good.

It’s so good.

GROFF: Good.

I can keep on going, but I’m going to stop. So, jumping into why I get to talk to you, first, let me start by saying congratulations. The pressure, or the difficulty of making a great sequel to such a beloved movie is really hard, and you guys did it. Do you know where you are today and what day in the promotion process it is?

GROFF: I do.

Because you guys have been going nonstop.

GROFF: I jumped on. So the group went to Toronto, but I’m actually doing a revival of Little Shop of Horrors right now off-Broadway, and so I know that this is day three of my promotion experience, because I left the show on Sunday. I got here on Monday. Our first thing was on Wednesday… Oh no. So, it’s day four. I already messed it up. It’s day four. (laughs)

So you must’ve put it in your contract for Little Shop that you… Disney must’ve said you have to be able to promote?

GROFF: Yes. In May when the director of Little Shop, Michael Mayer, called and asked me to do it, I said, “Oh, I’m not doing anything this fall, except I have to have off for these two weeks.” And they said yes, so they knew it from the very beginning. They hired an amazing actor named Gideon Glick, who I did Spring Awakening with back in the day, to replace me for these two weeks.

Have you done anything on the West End?

GROFF: I have, actually.

My question is, and I’ve been asking this of all the actors I talked to who do theater, do you notice a difference between the audiences in the West End and Broadway?

GROFF: Yes. The biggest, I think, difference [in the West End] would be less vocal, less standing up, less standing ovations. It’s just a cultural difference in that Americans are more apt to jump up and clap and be more vocal throughout the course of any given performance, and the Brits are a little more reserved.

Do the Brits ever do the standing ovation at the end?

GROFF: Yes.

So when they do it, they mean it?

GROFF: A hundred percent, and the two times that I’ve been in the audience of a West End show where it’s felt like an American audience was The Book of Mormon and Hamilton.

Oh yeah.

GROFF: Yeah.

And you felt that energy?

GROFF: Yeah. I was like, “Well, I could it be in New York right now. This is how crazy these shows are making the audience, even in London.” I remember also Lin [Manuel Miranda] telling me that the difference between — because I did Hamilton on Broadway for almost a year. And then they took it to London, and he said that it was the same reaction except when Aaron Burr sings, “I’m keeping her bed warm while her husband is away” randomly in his song Wait For It, it gets a huge laugh in London. Never had a laugh in America. There’s the one difference between the British and the American audience.

That’s so interesting.

GROFF: So bizarre, right?

It’s also very bizarre.

GROFF: I know.

Switching gears completely — I appreciate you sharing the theater stuff — how early on did you know that the sequel was going to get made, and how long did you have to keep it a secret?

GROFF: I didn’t know early on at all. Probably a year and a half after the first one I found out that they were making a second one, and it was sort of like, they announced that they were making, they asked us to do it and they announced it sort of all at the same time, so I never felt like I was really keeping a secret.

Oh that’s not bad.

GROFF: No, not bad at all.

My favorite part of this movie is, besides the animation and everything, I love that there’s just no villain, that there’s no guy or girl trying to get her powers or come between them.

GROFF: Yeah.

It’s so refreshing.

GROFF: Yeah.

And it’s really so well done. Can you sort of talk about that aspect of the film?

GROFF: Yeah, I think that really, ultimately, the biggest challenge sort of that each of the characters have in kind of a general way is grappling with their own self growth and change. So Idina [Menzel] is scared of, but excited to follow, the voice that’s calling to her, and that sort of trickles down then into all of the characters. So Anna’s learning how to let her sister go, and let her sister do her own thing, and leave her to her own devices to survive. Olaf is asking really challenging existential questions about life as he gets older.

Of course.

GROFF: And Kristoff is ready to take his relationship to the next level with Anna, but he’s really not good at communicating and expressing himself. Then halfway through the movie is given an amazing ’80s inspired rock jam to be able to do so. (laughs)

That song — little kids are not going to get it. When I saw it last night, the adults in the audience were laughing hard.

GROFF: Right.

So talk a little bit about how that song really plays for adults.

GROFF: Yeah, totally. Bobby and Kristen Lopez told me that they were going to try and get a song in for my character in the movie. I thought, “That’s so nice of them to say that, but it just seems… How are you going to make the mountain man sing? I want to hear the girls sing. I want to hear Idina belt out a hundred numbers. Who wants to hear Kristoff sing?” I couldn’t figure out story-wise, because they’re so passionate and invested in storytelling as opposed to just writing catchy songs. And they thought of this amazing arc with Kristoff of him trying to propose and not being able to, and then ultimately getting frustrated by his inability to do so and busting out on this ’80s song, which I think that a lot of dudes, particularly parents of the kids that are coming to see the show, like you said, can relate to that genre and that time period in the ’80s as a way to really let it go and self-express. And Kristen Anderson-Lopez mentioned earlier, they wrote Let It Go for Elsa in the first movie and it inspired all these girls to feel their power. On the flip side of that, in the second movie, here is a song for a male character that perhaps will invite boys to get in touch with their feelings. Sven says, “You feel what you feel and your feelings are real. Come on Kristoff, let down your guard.” And so if little boys all over the world are hearing that, hopefully they’ll be inspired to express themselves.

It is pretty crazy to realize the first movie has been seen — I can’t even imagine the amount of people around the world that have actually seen the first movie, repeatedly.

GROFF: Yeah, right.

And to realize that this movie is going to be seen by maybe even more people.

GROFF: Yeah.

The power of the messaging in these movies is more important than I think a lot of people realize, and having that positive message… like your character is so different than what is normally written for the male love interest, if you will.

GROFF: Absolutely. I mean, that’s what I loved also about the first movie of Frozen is that the true love in the movie is between sisters as opposed to a woman looking for a man’s love, and even in the first movie, Kristoff, one of his lines in the beginning to Anna is, “You can’t marry a man you just met.” Whereas in all the old sort of Disney fairytales, it’s love at first sight, and one day my prince will come. So in the first movie, they sort of inverted those ideas, and made it more modern, and more contemporary, and more feminist. And they’ve done the same thing with this movie and with all of these characters, and particularly with Kristoff. Normally the girl is pining after the man, and the man leaves, and then she sings an emotional song, and this is the reverse, where Kristoff is struggling with how to communicate to the woman he loves. Then she goes off on an adventure without him, and he’s left alone to sing about his feelings. So very cleverly, the filmmakers have reversed that in this movie.

A hundred percent. I brought this up with a lot of other people. What will it take for you guys as a group to either do the Hollywood Bowl or go on tour where you play all the songs from the first Frozen and Frozen 2, as well as the cut songs that never made the movie?

GROFF: Yes, sign me up. Sign me up. I would do it in a second. All they would have to do is ask. I would do it in a second.

Okay, so you’re receptive to this?

GROFF: Absolutely.

Can you talk about some of the songs that you — because obviously Kristen and Bobby told me that the ratio on this one was that they only said they wrote seven songs that didn’t make the finished version, and on the first one they wrote like 2- something.

GROFF: For the first movie they wrote 20 songs?

But it makes sense though, because the first one they’re still figuring out the voices.

GROFF: The world of everything. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Of course.

Yeah. So like you’re writing, and writing, and writing to find the voices and find the movie, and in the sequel, they know the voices and the characters, so it makes sense to have written less —

GROFF: Yeah, there’s only so many places it could possibly go. It’s not like anything could happen, because the characters have already established who they are.

Did you have a song or two that didn’t make the finished film that you were sad to see go?

GROFF: I recorded a song while we were shooting Mindhunter, and I was in Pittsburgh, and I drove to New York on the weekend to record this song called “I Want to Get This Right.” And it was when in the story Kristoff was going to try and propose to Anna at the very beginning. It was not an ’80s jam. It was almost like a Jackson 5 kind of, like, uptempo R&B song. It was really cute, and I loved it, and I loved singing it, and it was Kristoff’s song, and then it became sort of a Kristoff-Anna duet song. I recorded it in New York over a weekend, and really felt like, “Oh wow. This is a huge part of the story that he’s trying to propose and he’s singing to her and it’s this proposal, so I don’t think the song is going to get cut, because it’s really like a part of the narrative of the story.” Then a couple months later, I come into a recording session, this time it was in Pittsburgh, and they were like, “So we changed the story and we cut your song. But we’re gonna write you another song, and it’s going to be an ’80s jam where Kristoff really, like, lives in his feelings.” I thought, “Oh, that’s so nice of them to say that, but surely that’s the most absurd idea I’ve ever heard and that will never happen.” And then it did.

Right, exactly. It all works out, because that song is fantastic.

GROFF: Yeah. Right, right.

Mindhunter — I can’t believe I get to bring this back. It’s a really great performance you have to do, and how much do you sort of submerge into that reality when you’re filming? Are you able to sort of shut it off and turn on Frozen, if you will, on like a weekend or on a weeknight when you have to go record something? That has to be challenging.

GROFF: The thing that’s similar about, I can’t believe there is a similarity, but the thing that is similar about Mindhunter and Frozen is that with Mindhunter, you’re working for David Fincher, which is like the ultimate safety net. You just know that you can do anything, you can try anything, you can throw it all up against the wall, and he’s going to go in and put together something great. So there’s this safety net as a performer that allows you to take risks and do things because you know he’s got this. You know?

Sure.

GROFF: Then on the flip side with Frozen, I just trust Jen and Chris and Bobby and Kristen so implicitly. They cut the song. It was a great song that I recorded, and they cut it because it didn’t work for the movie. They are very ego-less about the work that they produce, and they’re all very committed to the best possible story they can tell, and so in the same way in going to work for Frozen, it’s like I just make myself available to them. I just try and be as creative as I possibly can with the stuff that they give me, and throw it all up against the wall and see what sticks, and let them put it together and make whatever they want to make.

One of the things I want to bring up is that you are, unlike a lot of your cohorts, not on social at all. Or am I wrong about this?

GROFF: No, you’re correct.

Have you not had any pressure from a publicist or an agent? “You know, if you want to do Instagram, it wouldn’t be that bad.”

GROFF: No, I haven’t. I really haven’t. My agents and my publicists, they all, thankfully, get me, and so they totally understand that it’s just not my jam.

Sure.

GROFF: I feel like in order for it to be great, and positive, and productive, you have to really want to invest in it, and I hate how much I look at my phone already with text messaging, and so I just didn’t want to add another element to that.

Do you ghost on some of the social formats?

GROFF: No, I really don’t.

Really?

GROFF: I know, isn’t that crazy?

Because a lot of people say, “Oh, I’m not on Instagram.” But then they’ll be like, “But I ghost on it. I have a private account that nobody —

GROFF: No, I really don’t. I really don’t. Isn’t that weird?

No, I actually think it’s very healthy.

GROFF: Okay. It’s sort of ignorant. In certain ways ignorance is bliss where I’m sort of unaware of opinions and things like that, because I’m just not on social media at all.

Look, I think it’s an unhealthy obsession when you see people constantly taking selfies in every possible place just to… It makes me crazy, but that’s just me.

GROFF: It’s weird. Ironically, in the theater at Little Shop when we were in tech, I was the one with my phone out videotaping and taking pictures of everything, because I was like, “This is so much fun and I want to capture it.” And everyone is saying, “Why are you taking pictures? You’re not even on social media.” And I’m like, “Oh no, this is just for me to look at later.” So I do take a lot of pictures. I just keep them to myself or I text them to my friends or whatever.

So I have to ask you. Do you think in your gut feeling — because I know they have not talked about a Frozen 3 — but in another five years that there could be another?

GROFF: I mean, after the first one, I couldn’t even have imagined a Frozen 2, to be honest. When they said they were making a second one, I was thrilled to go back to work, but there wasn’t a piece of me that could have comprehended how you further the story. And then Jen and Chris and Bobby and Kristen came up with, I think, it’s a true masterpiece, and there’s never been a [theatrical animated] musical sequel made ever to a Disney film. So they broke ground with that. I think I would do anything that they do. I’m just following their lead.

Sure.

GROFF: I have no gut feeling about whether or not there will be a third one. I would just do whatever they asked me to do.

On that note, congratulations.

GROFF: Thank you.

#jonathan groff #interview #frozen 2 #mindhunter

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yumeka36 · 5 years ago

Text

Frozen 2: the crossroads of a fandom

This post has been several days in the making but I felt it’s something I had to write now that the supposed final trailer for Frozen 2 has been released and, as stated in my previous post, we’re less than a week away from spoiler-filled merchandise becoming readily available. I’m of course beyond excited that we’ve made it this far after years of waiting…but at the same time, I’m apprehensive on a personal level because Frozen is not like any of the major fandoms I’ve been into. I apologize in advance for the length of this post – I just wanted to get all my thoughts out there so thanks for bearing with me!

While I’ve been a part of many fandoms throughout my life (mostly games and anime), there’s only been a handful that I’d say have been major ones – as in, they lasted for many years, a day never went by where I didn’t think of them, and they made up the majority of what I spent my time and money on. But thinking back, every major fandom I’ve been into was for a series. Probably my biggest three fandoms besides Frozen are/were Pokemon (game series), Inuyasha (anime and manga series), and Haruhi Suzumiya (anime and light novel series). Leaving Pokemon aside for the moment because I’m still very much into it, I was obsessed with Inuyasha during my high school and early college years (around 2003 to 2007) and Haruhi for some years after (around 2007 to 2013). I’d say a big part of the reason I was into them for so long (besides adoring the characters, story, and writing of course) is precisely because they were series: their stories were ongoing for the many years I was into them so I always had new content to look forward to and could indulge in thoughts of “I would love to see this scenario play out in future stories, maybe it will in the next chapter/novel release!”

So why am I not nearly as into them as I used to be? Inuyasha simply finished its story, with the manga finally ending in 2008 (and unfortunately the last year or so of chapters wasn’t all that great in my opinion), and Haruhi’s creator pretty much just abandoned the series, releasing a great 12th novel in 2011 and then never releasing another one since, leaving the series without a proper conclusion. So the reason I eventually left these fandoms is simple: there was no new content to look forward to and thus no hope that any story scenarios I wanted to see will eventually play out in future releases.

On the other hand, why have I been part of the Pokemon fandom for so long, never leaving it since I played the first games in 1999? Again, the answer is simple: Pokemon is a franchise that shows no signs of ever ending – in fact, its become the highest grossing media franchise, so of course Nintendo, The Pokemon Company, and others who profit from it will never let it end. There will always be new games, new anime episodes and movies, new merchandise, and new gimmicks like Pokemon GO. It also helps that the games, anime, comics, etc., are only loosely connected to one another so it doesn’t involve a single narrative that will eventually have to end – each new game takes place in the same world but with a different story and characters, which I suppose has its advantages in terms of freshness and longevity over franchises that involve the same characters and plot dependent on the mind and motivation of a single author (like many manga and books series).

So why is Frozen so different from these other fandoms of mine? Firstly, as I mentioned before, it’s not a series and so doesn’t guarantee new content will be released at set intervals: it was originally just a single movie in Disney’s canon of (mostly) standalone stories. Probably the main reason I’ve been into it for so long despite this is because we did, eventually, get new content that continued the canon story (not just a spin-off like that lame Lego cartoon or a retelling of the original story like the Broadway show). In 2015 we got Frozen Fever, in 2017 we got Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, and of course, we got hints of a full-fledged sequel in 2015-2016 before the date was officially announced in 2017. But the difference is that none of this content was ever certain. Unlike a manga series that guarantees a new chapter every week or month, or a book or game series that gets a new release every 2-3 years, new content for Frozen was really just random and up to Disney as to whether they wanted to give it special treatment for being their highest grossing animated film. Thankfully for us fans they did, with an animated short every 2 years and now an official sequel. To be honest, the hope of a sequel is a big part of what’s kept me into Frozen for so many years despite there being such limited content (the original movie plus the shorts is only, like, 2 and a half hours of content!) The shorts helped but I knew they wouldn’t give me the kind of dramatic stories I wanted to see play out in the franchise. Before we knew of any content beyond the original movie, I wrote a post in 2014 about why I wanted to see a Frozen sequel so badly. And here we are, nearly 6 years later and that hope is finally becoming reality…

…I’ve been looking forward to it more than anything for so long, but now that we’re so close, I’m kinda sad and worried. After years of pondering and daydreaming about what Frozen 2 would be like and whether it would give me what I want to see with the characters I love, what if it ends up not being everything I hoped for? What if this movie that’s been on my mind everyday for years just doesn’t leave me satisfied in the end? Again, if this was a series we’re talking about, I’d just say “okay, so the most recent manga chapter, game release, etc, wasn’t very good, we’ll see what the next one brings!” But there is no “next one” for Frozen. Well, I can’t say for sure there won’t ever be a Frozen 3 or more animated shorts, but from the information I’ve heard/read, it really seems like Disney planned this as a closing point for the story that, as of now, has no plans to be opened again. My fear isn’t that I won’t like Frozen 2 – I’m 95% certain I’ll love it – but will it give me what I want to see in the story and characters to the extent that I won’t feel a constant yearning for more should it be the last canon installment for the franchise. I’m sure we’ll see a live-action remake somewhere down the line or other things Disney likes to do to revive their popular franchises here and there, but as far as continuing the canon story through animated shorts and sequels, that’s completely uncertain. And before anyone tells me “that’s what fanfiction is for,” I personally never had much interest. I’ve always strictly been into canon material and I don’t like stories that I feel are out-of-character, with scenarios that would definitely never happen in the official franchise, which is what a lot of fanfiction caters to. I’m sure there are fics out there that I’d like, but I don’t have the time and motivation to try and find them among many others I probably won’t care for. Also, another reason I love Frozen is the animated movie medium itself – near life-like animation, music, voice acting, colors, etc. – so going from that to just reading the stories is too much of a difference to satisfy me.

I know it’s silly of me to fret about this as only one of two possibilities will happen, neither of which are terrible: 1) we never get more canon Frozen movies, so regardless of whether I end up being satisfied with Frozen 2 or not, the lack of new content to look forward to causes me to lose interest and eventually move onto other fandoms, or 2) Disney does announce Frozen 3 and/or more canon animated shorts so that hope keeps my Frozen obsession going indefinitely! (as a side note, Disney seems to be creating more canon TV series for its movies like Tangled and Big Hero 6, but personally I’m not too keen on a TV series for Frozen – I can’t speak for Big Hero 6 but I’ve watched all of Tangled the Series and think it’s good, but it just doesn’t have the high-standards and consistent writing quality and characterization that a full-length animated film has, and I wouldn’t want anything but the best for Frozen!)

Well, whatever happens in the years to come, I’m sure I’ll still love Frozen even if it doesn’t stay among my top fandoms. Every anime, game, movie, etc., I’ve been a fan of has served its purpose in my life, inspiring my thoughts, leading me to great friends, enhancing my appreciation for creative stories, and bringing me many hours of joy, and Frozen will be no different, whether my obsession ends soon after Frozen 2 or continues on into the unknown (see what I did there :P)

*Crossposted from my main blog, Yume Dimension*

#disney frozen #frozen #frozen 2

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unknownunseenunheard · 5 years ago

Note

3, 23, 21 for the fic asks

Sure, and thanks!

3. Favorite line/Scene that you wrote this year

This one is a mash up cause I have too choices for it

A) From the Heart II: Destiny’s Fall,

Faris vs Ardyn

"The first mistake yee made was coming after Noctis. The second yee made was assuming I would let you anywhere near him. The third was not running when yee had the chance." Faris proclaimed, the whip in her hands warping back to the initial dagger she'd faced him with. "My name is Faris Scherwiz, Warrior of Light and Guardian of the Fire, and you SHALL NOT PASS!" Faris bellowed, eyes wide, brandishing the blade held in hand as bright orange red flames exploded around her figure, melting had the stone beneath their feet.

Ardyn laughed.

"Guardian of Fire, little girl? I took the God of Fire and broke him to my will! Bent him until he was nothing but a mockery of himself!" Ardyn let his armiger flare around him, weapons spinning. "You are nothing but an ant beneath my feet, 'Pirate King' Faris!" Ardyn mocked.

Faris grinned, lowering her arm.

"King? Oh, no, Ardyn. I am no King." Faris told him. The dagger disappeared in a flurry of light, replaced with a bow and arrow, of all things. "I identity as a Disney Princess."

What?

Lifting her free hand, Faris stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled.

It was at that moment that animals appeared out of literally nowhere and began to besiege Ardyn.

Disney Princess indeed.

Ardyn snared as he was racked by a wild boar that came out of literally nowhere. Beating it aside, Ardyn tried to impale the thing but it vanished before he could. Instead, a skunk, of all things, flipped before his face, letting loose a noxious fume right in his face.

Spluttering, Ardyn backed away, eyes burning. He'd regenerate quickly, but that smell wasn't going to go away anytime soon.

A squirrel landed on his face, scarring at it, tiny claws digging into his flesh.

Enough.

Ardyn pulsed.

The animals scurrying around him were blasted away, weapons swirling around Ardyn before blasting forth, impaling them all.

It was at this moment that an arrow bursting in flames smashed into his shoulder. Ardyn was nearly knocked over from the blow, spinning in fury to blast more weapons in the direction of his assailant.

The so called Disney Princess was dancing about the rooftops, using the rubble as cover as coming out on long enough to fire another burning arrow at him.

Ardyn phased out of the way for the next few, ready to phase towards her when a goddamn unicorn, of all things, appeared.

Holy light burst through the area. Hissing, Ardyn took a step back, hand raised to shield his eyes from the glow. Surprisingly, he felt not an ounce of pain.

When the light dissipated, he could see why.

The animals he'd cut down were rising again, their wounds healed.

Oh hell no. He wasn't getting another skunk blast in the face.

B) TimKon Week Day II: Secret Relationship

Horrifying tf out of Jason

Tim's back hit the wall as Conner came at him with a growl, hands trailing along his skin, tkk ripping off layers of clothes. Lips latched onto Tim's neck, sucking hungrily. Groaning, Tim titled his head to give the clone better access before spreading his thighs to better accommodate Kon in between them.

Fuck. Fuck, it had been so long. It had been so long, and neither of them wanted to wait. Tim wasn't even sure why they were still hiding this from everyone else, but it did add a kick to the relationship.

The secret looks, the secret glances. Slipping away from everyone else. The risky sex where someone might walk in on them.

Like right here. Right in the manor, right under Batman's nose. It gave Tim a thrill to know they were doing this here, in the house of the world's so called greatest detective while the man himself was completely unaware.

Conner's hand came up to palm Tim through his pants and Tim let out an embarrassingly high pitched moan. It really had been too long since they'd done this. So, after the last mission, Tim had coyly asked Conner to fly him home.

They hadn't made it halfway to Gotham before their makeout session had gone from sweet and innocent to 'I'm trying to devour your soul through your lips', and Tim was enjoying it far too much. Absolutely nothing could ruin this mome-

"Holy mother of God, what in the fuck are you two shits doing in my room! MY EYES!"

Conner sprang away from Tim like an elastic waistband, wide eyed and surprised. Startled, Tim looked up.

There, crouched up against the headboard sat Jason, arms wrapped around his knees, face buried in his palms as he vehemently shook.

"Oh god. Oh god, I am never gonna get that image out of my head! Whyyy! What did I ever do to deserve this? Wait, don't answer that, I did try and kill Tim a few times… BUT STILL! You desecrate my brother before me, and while I'm glad little Timmy won't be a virgin for much longer because it means he'll finally get that perpetual stick out of his ass, I DID NOT NEED TO SEE IT!"

Oh gods. Oh gods, Conner had went through the wrong bloody window. Mortified, Tim's face went beat red. Then, the second half of Jason's words registered.

"You think this is the first time we've done this?" Conner, the dumbass, had to open his mouth.

Jason let out a high pitched squeal and renewed his shaking.

"Nope, nope. I'm not hearing this, I'm not here, this is a nightmare. A really vivid, really twisted nightmare," Jason chanted the words like a prayer. Then, pausing, Jason looked up. "Wait, the clone has dicked you down before and you're still an insufferable prick half the time?"

"I am not an 'insufferable prick'!" Tim denied, offended. "And, how do you know I'm not the one who tops?"

In response, Jason took one look at Tim, took another long look at Conner, then looked back at Tim with a single raised eyebrow.

"I will not stand for these accusations and this blasphemy!" Tim cried.

Conner blinked.

"But Tim, you like-"

Tim interrupted Conner by placing a hand over the clone's mouth. "Shh!"

Jason groaned again, burying his face back between his knees.

"This is punishment. I know it is!" Jason exclaimed. Then, looking up again, Jason glared straight at Conner. "You are using protection, right?"

Conner spluttered.

"Of course we are!" Conner said, offended.

Tim nodded his assessment, pulling out a Pokémon card from his pocket. "We've been completely safe." Tim informed his brother with a straight face.

Hey, if the secret was gonna come out of the damn bag, Tim was going to make the fucking most of it, thank you very much.

Jason stared at him for several seconds before, yet again, burying his face into his thighs and screaming incoherently.

23. Fics you wanted to write but didn’t

I wanna write a Star Wars Legends/Star Wars Sequel trilogy mash up

And a TimKonBart series

21. Most memorable comment/review?

Anything by ChaosSonic2018. Mostly cause they leave long detailed comments everywhere, although I just double checked and they have apparently deleted their account? This a tragedy-

Send me a fanfiction ask?

#fanfic asks #from the heart #timkon week

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gosagacious · 6 years ago

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Fixing Maximum Ride

A while back I wrote out my description of how I would have wanted the Maximum Ride series to go. There are elements I like. I think it has a kind of campy charm. However, I also think more editing would have really, really helped.

BOOK 1

I always felt like the first book glossed over its major twist—one that the film made explicit. Not only is Jeb alive, but the Flock never escaped. They have been inside a fishbowl this whole time. Their house, their food supply, their clothes – all from the School. And then the School decided to run a test by taking Angel away and seeing how the Flock responded.

So the first part of the book is them living in isolated freedom. The Erasers take Angel and the others set out to rescue her . . . but then they all end up captured and learn that they were never free at all.

I will make a criticism that others have made before me – it is too easy for the Flock to escape the School. And the second part of the book serves no plot purpose. They escape the School, they go meandering around New York, and then they go back into a different School for the climax. There is nothing significant in between.

So follow the movie’s lead and cut that out entirely. The second half of the book is them escaping the School for real, on their own, using all the techniques they learned while searching for Angel. Angel pitches in with the powers she’s been learning to use during the experiments. Along the way, Max gets the chance to steal some papers with data on the Flock’s parents. They free the other experiments (one being Total) and fight their way out. Along the way, Max is forced to fight Ari to the death, and she flees with Jeb yelling after her that Ari was her brother . . . because I liked that ending.

The Flock recuperates outside. Most of the other experiments run off, even though the Flock tries to keep them together (in the original book, this scene was tantamount to criminal negligence). Over the course of the book, the Flock has learned not only to work as a unit, but that there is good in the world and people they can trust, like Dr. Martinez. The only other experiment to stay with them is Total, because fine, let’s have the dog. Now with more information on their origins, they set out in hopes of finding their parents.

BOOK 2

I actually don’t have much problem with the beginning of this book. The Flock’s attacked by the Erasers, led by a resurrected Ari, and Fang is mortally wounded. They all wind up at a public hospital. This FBI agent named Anne sweeps in, gets them all out of the hospital, and takes them to an idyllic ranch. They go to a swanky private school and experience normal life. It’s all too good to be true. Max is suspicious of Anne—something doesn’t add up about this place. And Iggy and Gazzy, who instantly get into trouble at school, stumble across some weird occurrences.

But meanwhile, Max and Fang are investigating their parents. Everything’s a dead end, but finally they find Iggy’s parents. So Iggy goes to stay with his parents. Anne freaks out, because she doesn’t know where he is. And as it turns out, Anne was an Itex agent all along. Itex found out about the hospital and used it to re-ensnare the Flock. The beautiful ranch house is one of their locations. The private school is a place where they run experiments on kids.

I’d probably follow the Marvel comic and have the principal call Max into his office, where School scientists are waiting. Itex is fed up with Anne, who has been doing nothing but pamper the Flock and just lost one of them. Learning the truth, the Flock flees as the private school falls into chaos.

As for Iggy: his parents are not trying to turn him into a sideshow freak. They are rightly horrified by what’s happened to him, and they go to the media not to make money off him, but to reveal the truth about Itex. However, the School has always been very careful to make sure the Flock was terrified of trusting adults and especially the media. Worldwide attention is bad for the School, not for the Flock. But the kids haven’t figured that out yet, so Iggy flies away to rejoin the Flock.

After that the story kind of meanders. I would not have them go to Disney World. Patterson seems to forget very frequently that these are homeless children with no source of income. They’re not buying new outfits or waltzing through the front gate of the Magic Kingdom.

However, I would keep Max’s growing paranoia, her urge to get the chip out of her arm. I would also keep Ari’s character development.

I’m not sure about the clone.

BOOK 3

Fang and Max can go back to Dr. Martinez – the one person they trust – to get Max’s chip taken out. However, this does nothing to help them and they find that the rest of the Flock has been recaptured by the School while they were gone. When they go to rescue them, they get captured too.

One thing that has to go is the “reveal” that “it was all a dream.” That little plot detour instantly killed my suspension of disbelief and the series was never the same.

Anyway, they escape the School again, and this time Ari comes along. However, Max and Fang fight so much over this that they break up the Flock. Fang takes Gazzy and Iggy to California; all this time he’s been blogging and he’s realized that this is the way to hurt Itex the most, so he’s going to the news. Meanwhile, Max and everyone else go to Europe. They’re heading for the source of all this. They get captured but learn all the information they need in the process. Itex is preparing for their final plan to decimate the world’s population, and people are there from all over the world to buy their weapons. Max’s mini-flock leads a rebellion among the experiments (no “Angel just brainwashes everyone into rebellion,” please).

Meanwhile, Fang’s flock does not instantly give up on the media because the security guards won’t let them in and Fang randomly forgets that he can just show them his wings. (This is even brought up IN TEXT.) And no, Fang does not magically send an email to “every kid in the world.” Instead, Fang’s flock gets on the news and reveals the truth about Itex. Kids can still organize many of the protests at Itex, but it will not be as ludicrous as what happens in the book. Pro tip: picketing a business for one afternoon will not make the business instantly collapse. And breaking in and vandalizing stuff is probably not going to end well for you.

Otherwise, the ending goes about the way Patterson wrote it – except that Dr. Martinez is not Max’s biological mother. I just can’t justify how contrived that is. However, she is still Max’s mom and offers the Flock a home at the end. Let her be the character she was originally established to be. And Max can still be Latina. Her biological mother can just be a random scientist who, like Jeb, contributed genetic material.

AFTER BOOK 3

The first three books have flaws, but at their core is a good story. All they need is some decent editing. The next six books present more of a problem.

Book 3 wrapped up nearly every major plot thread. It was a natural ending for the series. But for some reason (money) Patterson kept it going. The result is a group of books with no purpose, where the characters just kind of meander around and sometimes there’s a threat to the environment and I guess they’re superheroes.

This point in the series is where we get into blatant wish fulfilment. The Flock is better than everyone else ever. They live on their own and don’t need any grownups – the grownups build them a house where they can live on their own and do whatever they want. They go to school only if they feel like it. There’s a random eccentric billionaire who never shows up but gives them all the money they want – I’m not making that up.

But there were so many directions that just died.

Where are the Flock’s parents? Max has Dr. Martinez so we don’t care.

What happened to the Flock’s clones? Max’s clone shows up so we don’t care.

Who was the Voice? It’s Max’s dad—no, wait, we don’t know anymore.

Have Dr. Martinez work on adopting the Flock. Some of their parents surface—in some cases, the parents who sold them—and try to get close to them. Iggy’s parents are OK and can come to some arrangement with Dr. Martinez. They move close by so the Flock can be together.

I think Patterson was bored with the parents plot because he’d done it in The Lake House—but the parents don’t all need to be evil hags or self-serving boors! They can be decent people!

Show all the evil scientists we love to hate being convicted for their crimes. The Director, Anne Walker, that guy with the goofy accent. Show the Flock having to testify at their trials. Maybe show some of the bad guys going free on lack of evidence.

Show what happens to all the other mutant experiments. Show the Flock spending time with them, wherever they are. They got written off in one line in The Final Warning – I think we’re meant to assume they all went to the Lerner School for Gifted Children or whatever, which was never mentioned again. The next time they showed up was on the private Paradise island.

Show the Flock trying to start normal lives, for real this time. The media wants to see more of them. There are movie deals and licensing offers, but they try to stay far away from that. (This was another canon dead end I’d want to turn into an actual plotline.)

Maybe they struggle with public school (it’s canon that they do not fit in well and make people uncomfortable), so Dr. Martinez tries homeschooling and tutoring. Use Patterson’s unfinished plot threads for Nudge. Unlike the others, Nudge thrives at public school and starts making friends. Max has trouble relating to this little sister who is developing her own interests that don’t coincide with hers, and who seems to be drifting away. Max might not be homeless, starving or on the run anymore, but she’s also lost the control and freedom she had, and it feels like her family might drift apart. She was forced to become an adult way too early and now she feels forced back into the kid role.

Okay, so that’s not quite the action-thriller angle that the books normally take. So maybe we can add in more villains and save-the-world drama.

The later books get very episodic, with one-book villains who are never heard from again, as Patterson and ghostwriters try desperately to keep the series going with random ideas. Eventually, in FANG, Dr. Gunther-Hagen moseys in to set up the love triangle but seems like another one-off villain. In ANGEL the Doomsday Group show up and they seem to be our main antagonists for the remaining series - until Nevermore when a giant meteor kills everyone. And then Maximum Ride Forever reveals that Dr. Gunther-Hagen was the main villain all along.

The only real uniting “plotline” that shows up in these books is that the world is going to end and Max is supposed to save it. I don’t think they ever explain how the world is going to end (until after it’s already ended), let alone how she’s supposed to stop it. Dr. Gunther-Hagen’s plan seems to be “have mutants repopulate the earth with Max as their queen” for . . . some reason.

Seriously, what was Jeb originally planning?

Scientist: Have we come up with a way to save the world yet?

Jeb: Yes. Here’s our 100% foolproof solution.

Scientist: That’s an infant. How is she going to stop a giant death-meteor hurtling towards earth?

Jeb: She’s part bird.

Scientist: … Brilliant!

I originally thought he was trying to take down Itex from the inside – which they accomplished in the third book - but his motivations become increasingly confusing with the last few installments in the series.

Honestly, I would not go near the giant meteor plot with a ten-foot pole. That was just spitting in the readers’ faces, and Maximum Ride Forever could only function as a bandaid. I thought that book was actually decent, but it was dealing with the aftermath of a truly terrible writing decision. Also, please no pregnant teenage Max. Patterson already did that in The Lake House and it was gross. He had two pregnant teenagers in Cradle and All (unrelated to this series) and it was REALLY gross.

Back to my real-world-boring-consequences plot: Dr. Gunther-Hagen shows up as this guy who had “connections” to Itex, but nobody can actually prove he was involved, and he explains he had no idea about all the evil science stuff, and he’s donating money to help these poor exploited mutant children . . . in fact he even got one named Dylan who he’s raising as his son. And hey, Dylan should hang out with the Flock, they can be friends! Maybe more than friends, huh, Max?

Gunther-Hagen can replace the random billionaire as the Flock’s benefactor. They’re not fully comfortable with that, but they’re a little busy because Itex folks keep popping up under new names, like the Uber-Director (who needs a name change) and Mr. Chu (ughhh) and the Doomsday Group. The books follow the Flock fighting these people off and trying to figure out where they keep coming from.

If there has to be an army of Ari clones, maybe one of them could have a change of heart. I want something more than just “Ari’s back and he’s evil again and there’s a lot of him – go fight.” His arc was my favorite part of the first three books. Justice for Ari!

In the final book, it turns out that Gunther-Hagen was the mastermind all along. He is still orchestrating Itex’s plan to wipe out half the population. They were planning to do that through a plague bioweapon (yes, that was part of the canon plot), so the Flock has to fight and stop them. Dylan turns against his father and joins the Flock. Boom, you’ve got an overarching plot with a conclusion that makes sense.

And that’s how I, personally, would fix Maximum Ride.

In addition, here’s one person’s rewrite of the first book that I thought was good: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11257310/1/Try-Not-to-Scream

#maximum ride

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notajinn · 5 years ago

Text

Top 10 Games I Played in 2019

IMPORTANT NOTE: I am finishing this at nearly 2 AM in the morning, so I did not proofread. Excuse any typos.

With 2019 closing out the decade, I want to make a "Top 10 Games of the Decade" list, but first I have to point out my favourites of the year. I actually played over 10 games this year (which is very unusual), so I chose my top 10. As usual, these are not all games that came out in 2019, but I played them for the first time this year. I'm not ranking carried over mobile games this time, although at this point the only mobile I play is Dragalia Lost.

Let's go.

10. Untitled Goose Game (Switch)

There's a lot to love about this game concept alone even though I ignored it for the longest time pre-release.

Pros

The entire goal of the game is just that you are a goose and also an asshole. I've talked many times about how I think being unique is overblown in place of being high-quality, but this is a unique take that really works.

With a vaguely open-world that you're thrown into with no real purpose, you really capture the feeling of just setting out that day to be a jerk. I appreciate that there is a progression system with a list of mischievous tasks you have to do to reach the next area, but it's still presented in a very free way. You'll do some of them accidentally just trying to be a jerk, and others you'll really have to think about. Eventually there will come a clear end goal, which I was pleasantly surprised by.

Controlling the goose is also perfect in how unwieldy and overconfident you feel. You don't exactly move quickly, and there's no attacking, but you still feel better than the humans around you.

The minimalist art design helps sell the really low-stakes nature of the goose's quest. Sound effects are also pronounced thanks to this, and sound is very important for the goose. I also like the slight stealth gameplay that's not at all punishing, as someone who enjoys but is bad at stealth.

Cons

Even for a budget game, it's quite short to reach the "end goal". It's very much a game you can continue to mess around in, and there's a "New Game+" set of tasks you receive, but as far my "have to reach the end" mindset...I was expecting it to take a little longer. I'd say it was maybe 3 hours max, including lots of goofing around.

I also found that I VERY much don't enjoy being a jerk to children (see screenshot), and very begrudgingly did the minimum mean things to get past the kid. Luckily there is only one kid.

Final Thoughts

Honestly the lower ranking is not so much because of negatives, but because I played so many good things this year combined with this being mostly a fun little novelty. I feel like people who are interested would have already played it (if they have the console). Really you can go with your gut instinct of whether or not being an asshole goose sounds fun for you.

9. Kingdom Hearts III (PS4)

If you told me Kingdom Hearts III wouldn't even make my top 5 in the year it was released, I'd think you were crazy. But here we are with the long-awaited game.

Pros

So much of this game is fanservice for the series, and I had fortunately caught up on the spinoffs enough to enjoy it. Seeing the 358 crew and the BBS crew, all the Organization members...there's a lot of love here.

KH3 also has some of my favourite worlds in the series in Toy Story and Pirates of the Caribbean. Pirates in particular managed to scratch that Wind Waker sailing itch just enough. Meanwhile Toy Story going for a unique plot really helped pull me in, and there's that now infamous Woody scene that I love. Even other worlds like Monsters Inc get some great scenes (like Vanitas and the doors). Tangled is also one of my favourite Disney movies, so while the world itself was pretty average, I was happy to be in it.

Combat-wise, I appreciate getting so many options like dodge roll and blocking right off the bat regardless of your initial choices; previously I always forced myself to take the Shield so I could start with the super-useful dodge roll.

The music is as stellar as ever, although they loop far too quickly given how much time you'll spend in a single area sometimes (looking at you, Toy Story). I especially love Don't Think Twice, which had the bonus of being a complete surprise.

Cons

KH1 was the first Aladdin. KH2 was Return of Jafar. So logically KH3 should have been King of Thieves. Instead we get no Aladdin at all! Just the Genie as a summon I think?

For all the character fanservice, it still feels like only the main trio, Riku, and Mickey are really useful. I can't believe how poorly Aqua does as a Keyblade Master. I can't believe Kairi and Axel's training basically amounts to nothing. I know it's Sora's game, but it's still so frustrating.

And the final fight with everyone is very much so "good idea, bad execution". It just feels so messy. The entire climax is just not paced very well.

The Frozen world is one of my least favourites in the series. Nearly nothing interesting happens (outside of one good Larxene scene), you don't get Elsa as a boss or a party member, and the progression is just "got to get to Elsa's castle, oh no we fell" repeated three times. Also did they really need to put the full Let It Go song in there? I say this as someone who likes the song. This whole world is just a mess, and I think we'd be better off it was cut. And replaced with ALADDIN 3!

Where is the Wreck-It Ralph world? You know, the Disney movie about video games?

The combat somehow feels less smooth than KH2, possibly because of so many things constantly going off. The Park Attraction skills are fun at first, but later they take so long and often aren't worth bothering with. But I think HP of the enemies assumes you'll use it, because some enemies get really spongy later on.

There was also literally no reason not to end Sora's plot with this game; they had a very easy chance. But they also had an easy chance to end at KH2 and they didn't. I don't know why they're so afraid to use a different protagonist. Even if they don't want to make one, there's so many other potential-protagonists in the game already. Some of whom are also technically Sora!

Also the stupid Toy Story music loop is like 10 seconds long. Stop it.

I was actually originally going to put this at 8, but after typing out these Cons I moved the ranking back.

Final Thoughts

For as many pros and cons as I wrote out, the biggest thing about this game is that it's somehow incredibly forgettable. Kingdom Hearts 3, the game we waited over a decade for, is forgettable. And that really hurts.

The ReMind DLC has some real potential to help with this, but it also costs $40 CAD. If you're on the fence for KH3 as a whole, maybe wait and see what people say about the DLC fixing stuff.

8. Cadence of Hyrule (Switch)

It really hurts to put Cadence of Hyrule this low, because there's so much I love about it. And I want to see more third-parties work on Nintendo IPs.

Pros

You can finally play as Zelda in a proper Legend of Zelda game! Yes there's the rhythm mechanic and roguelike nature, but you're ultimately still going around a 2D LoZ overhead map in the same way you would a mainline game. But now you can have Zelda go around and play a little differently. For example, you have no regular shield but you have the Nayru's Love barrier which can work defensively in a different way. I appreciate that the characters all play differently when the developers could easily have easily given you three different sprites with one moveset.

The rhythm mechanic of moving on the beat works very well with the LoZ map style. Being able to see the bar speed at the bottom also helps a lot to learn in the first place. Most importantly, you have the option to completely turn it off to play this like a classic LoZ. Obviously the soundtrack itself is full of great LoZ remixes.

The difficulty is just right without being too rough or too easy with only occasional exceptions, and the game is fairly forgiving about respawing when you do die; it usually doesn't feel like a BIG deal. There's tons of LoZ equipment to use, which I really appreciate after how barebones Breath of the Wild was in that regard.

As with any roguelike, you also have a lot of replayability with the map changes and different characters and equipment to try out.

Incorporating classic bosses with musical instruments is also really fun.

Cons

It's as short as you would expect a budget game to be, but it's more expensive than your average budget game. I'm going to chalk that up to using a first-party Nintendo IP, but the price fools you into thinking the game will be longer.

I also personally don't really care for roguelikes, so the selling point of replayability isn't for me. It's a bit unfair to judge the game for something the genre is supposed to do, but I don't think it's a bad game for being like this. I just think it's a game I like less because of that emphasis.

There's also one boss in particular that was super frustrating, and I think it's because I didn't understand the "trick" to beating it.

Final Thoughts

I do honestly recommend this if you like classic LoZ, but just know what you're getting into; something that emphasizes multiple playthroughs and won't take too long on a single run, but which executes the LoZ formula itself really well.

7. XCOM: Enemy Unknown (PC)

I can't believe how long it took me to play XCOM: Enemy Unknown given that Fire Emblem is my favourite series. I also owned it for years on Steam, but it was just this year I finally booted up this strategy RPG.

Pros

You want a challenging SRPG? Here you goddam go. This game is punishing as hell, but as long as you don't play Iron Man mode it's still reasonable to deal with. I don't usually care for games that sell on difficulty, but I've played enough SRPGs that I don't mind more difficulty in the genre that's not cheap. XCOM very closely skirts the line of difficult and cheap, again if you are not playing Iron Man (which prevents you from restarting missions).

There's so much dumb RPG numbers to gloss over and spec, and I love it. Things to research, order to research, facilities to build, equipment to craft, skills per each character to learn. If you like pouring over resources like me but don't like the real time nature of an RTS, this is perfect.

I also like the idea that you start off so overwhelmed against an absurdly powerful alien force, and everything you're doing is basically just trying to survive while looking for a way to hold your ground. There's a real desperation in the gameplay that captures the feeling of war in a way that Fire Emblem struggles with.

Cons

I haven't seen RNG that hates me this much since Fire Emblem: Sealed Sword. And it seems to be a universal experience that the RNG is more stacked against you than it leads you to believe.

I've also seen many people online suggest Iron Man for a person's first run, but that is AWFUL advice. It's why I almost quit the game twice, but ultimately just made a new file without Iron Man. It sounds fun for a second or later playthrough, but there's so many unknowns happening constantly in your first run that it just feels unfair to go Iron Man.

The aesthetic is sci-fi apocalypse; two designs I generally hate. Everything is so gloomy and blue and tech. It's all very forgettable to look at.

Healing options are so limited, at least in the relatively early sections I'm in (I did not beat this). Actually this is one of the very few games I started but did NOT beat before playing something else, which in itself means there's something that I really disliked. At this point I can't remember what that is.

Final Thoughts

If you like Fire Emblem gameplay but want it to be even more resource management based, and can deal with a drab aesthetic, absolutely grab this. Especially since it gets really cheap on Steam. Just do NOT start on Iron Man mode.

6. Telltale's Batman: The Enemy Within (PC)

There was a Joker live-action movie this year; an entire movie dedicated to him. And yet Telltale managed a better Joker.

Pros

I am one of those weirdo people who considers Joker one of his favourite comic characters. I'm a sucker for a good villain, and it was probably Joker in Batman: The Animated Series that is responsible for that. So I love seeing a good fresh take on the character, and Telltale delivers. This is season two of Telltale Batman, and we briefly got to see "John Doe" in the first season as a proto-Joker who's definitely a violent jerk, but not necessarily a villain just yet. While there are many plot threads in Enemy Within, the main one is about how John grows among the mess that is Gotham. Depending on how you play, you can actually push him to become a vigilante and ally of Batman instead of the villain. This is itself not only a fun take on the character, but also the most uniquely any Telltale game has branched.

I remember explaining once that Telltale is not so much "choose how the story ends", but more "choose how your character's relationships with others changes". But there, you get a wildly different final chapter depending on whether John is a vigilante or villain. I really appreciate the effort it took, but it's also bittersweet since this was one of the last games the studio worked on before being closed.

Telltale gives us other character portrayals that range from standard to occasionally good. They have Harley play the big mob boss who has John wrapped around her finger this time, and they do a good job selling it.

You'll get some great dialogue options, and it seems almost impossible to please everyone. Being forced to make hard choices that will inevitably make someone mad at you is what this genre is about, and it's often not exactly clear cut what the consequences will be.

Cons

Like other Telltale games, action sequences are done with QTEs. These are relics in this day and age, so I really didn't care for them. It's a good way to get around a probably costly combat engine, but it's ultimately filler to me to get back to the plot. Since this is a Batman game, it has more action sequences than the average Telltatle game.

Other sequences like searching for clues are less annoying, but still not really fun. I did not grow up on point-and-clicks, but it seems the developers did.

You also can't easily restart sequences if you selected an option by mistake; you have to restart that entire chapter. And a chapter is multiple hours. I get the implication of "you have to live with your choices", but when it's an actual mistake because I'm using a PS3 controller on my PC mapped to Xbox buttons...I get a little annoyed.

Final Thoughts

It's a little weird to start at Enemy Within if you didn't play the first season, and it will retroactively spoil things, but you honestly could. It is more fun than the original (which is also good). Easily the big selling point is being able to shape John the proto-Joker; if that doesn't appeal to you, this may not be for you.

5. Super Metroid (SNES Classic)

Not only is 2019 the first time I played (and completed) Super Metroid; it's also the first time I completed a Metroid game at all! I had played a decent amount of Fusion and the first Prime before, but fell off both of them. This time, I absolutely saw Samus reach her goal.

Pros

How do you talk about such a beloved game? First of all, the SNES era is still visually my favourite in video games. This has a lot to do with nostalgia since I grew with the SNES, but also because it was the height of sprites before the industry turned to 3D models. And as amazing as N64 and PS1 graphics looked back then, they did not age well. The SNES, however, still holds up so well visually.

For a game with a sci-fi aesthetic that heavily takes place underground, I loved the variety and colours Super Metroid offered outside my expectations. This is definitely up there as one of the most beautiful games of the console.

Where I think the game excels the most is Samus' controls. The level of precision they built into her abilities is nuts. Obviously there are games where characters have larger movesets (such as fighters), but for a platformer I love how well you can maneuver Samus. For example, when you do a moving jump. If you hit the D-Pad and then jump, you do the Spin Jump. If you jump and then hit the D-Pad, you do a more standard jump. It may not seem like much now, but I feel like for the time it's very impressive.

There's so many fun abilities you get, and the majority of them can be used simultaneously for some really fun platforming.

You also learn very quickly even without text based on the way power-ups and obstacles are laid out. Even storytelling is done well simply through gameplay; no cinema scenes or text explanations needed.

The bosses feel stressful but almost never too cheap; you always feel like they're possible to deal with. Occasionally you may need more missiles or energy, but it's usually learning and countering patterns.

Music can effectively be atmospheric or lively depending on where you are, and I retroactively wish we had a few more Metroid tracks in Super Smash Brothers.

Also even though I'm not a 100% completion-ist type of person, I appreciate when I do find some secret missile tank by really examining the area.

Cons

When you're not used to the controls early on, it can be tricky to handle Samus. Mostly those spin jumps. The wall jump also never really got easier.

Weapon switching is a weird situation. I appreciate you can do it on the fly with the Select button, but the fact it always goes in a certain order means it can often take a while to get to what you want.

Personally I also thought Ridley was a hell of a difficulty spike, and the game actually calmed back down in difficulty afterwards? Maybe I'm just bad at fighting such an aggressive and fast boss.

Phantoon was also a tough boss made tougher by the fact the closest working Save Point was a good 5+ minutes of platforming away for me. I like that the nearest Save Point doesn't work because the electricity is off, and it builds on the haunted ship atmosphere, but boy was that frustrating to jump all the way back nearly four times to fight that boss.

Final Thoughts

If like me you've somehow not played Super Metroid, you really should. It still holds up, and it's relatively short (my time was about 6 hours). It may be a little weird at the start with the limited abilities and getting used to the precise controls, but if you stick with it you're in for a good time.

The reason it's number 5 and not higher is not due to any particular negatives, but simply because the next few games left me with more positives.

4. Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight (PS4)

The fact that this game exists is incredibly stupid, and I love it.

Pros

Persona 3 is not a happy game in a traditional sense. There are happy moments, but most are bittersweet. It's a game about dealing with and overcoming tragedy, and has a dark visual atmosphere to match.

So the fact we get to see that cast dancing around with bright colours is nuts. But not at all in a bad way. These characters go through so many difficulties; they absolutely deserve to have a fun dance party where they don't have to think about anything else. This isn't the happy kids deciding to dance; this is a bunch of stressed out people who need a break. And as someone who loves Persona 3, it makes me so happy to...well, see them happy.

The majority of the original voice actors were brought back (the main exception being Elizabeth), and they do just as good a job as in the old days.

We get mostly great remixes of the P3 songs, and the original versions of others. Each song has a particular character assigned to it so they can more effectively match their dancing style. The models look amazing.

There's also minor Social Link elements which are used in place of a story, and their personalities are mostly intact. There's certainly some Flanderization, but it's not as bad as Persona Q.

You also get a decent progression system of unlocking songs in batches, and needing to beat them to get the next songs. The Social Link requirements help make repeating the songs fun while giving you something to work towards.

The rhythm game itself is hard to judge since I play very few rhythm games. I found it fun once I got the hang of it on normal difficulty. There's tons of modification options to make it easier or harder depending on your preferences.

Cons

As with every modern Persona game, the DLC is awful. Tons of Day One DLC, and they even locked Shinji to DLC! Does he not also deserve to have fun without paying extra? There's also a few songs I would have liked, but not at those prices. Otherwise DLC is mostly costumes and accessories which I both don't care about, and which are overpriced.

I also hate that we had an EASY chance to get the FeMC Minako in this fun low-stakes plot game, but didn't. It's not like Atlus forgot about her either; she was in Persona Q2 which came out a little later. If anything, SHE should have been DLC and Shinji should have been in the base game.

The jump in difficulty between Hard and All-Night is absurd. I can beat most songs on Hard with good ratings, but I can't beat the first song on All-Night at all.

Koromaru is not in the game, which inherently prevents it from being perfect. He could have jumped in during Fever Time at least!

Final Thoughts

This game is only for Persona 3 fans, but boy is it some great fanservice for us. If you're a Persona 3 fan that at least slightly enjoys rhythm games, this is for you.

3. Indivisible (PS4)

As of writing this, I have not actually beaten Indivisible. If I had to guess, I'm at the 2/3 mark? A big plot thing just happened, but it's clearly not the final plot thing.

Since this game is less known, it's a platformer/fighter/RPG hybrid with a heavy South Asian influence.

Pros

It's a platformer/fighter/RPG hybrid with a heavy South Asian influence.

Look at that sentence! These are all things I love!

I grew up on platformers and RPGs, and I have a lot of fun when I get into a fighter. And as someone who always desperately tries to find even one brown character in most video games, I'm all about a cast that is mostly South Asian!

The combat system is really fun. It utilizes something similar the classic Final Fantasy ATB style system, but at a very quick refresh rate and tons of fighting game elements thrown in. For example, a key is doing combos with your various party members. Each character has 3 standard moves, and knowing when to use what depending on the enemy's position is where the strategy comes in. There's also one party-wide meter that everyone dips into to use Supers. It's a very aggressive and offense-oriented battle system, but they manager to incorporate healers and support units comfortably. But yes, everyone is basically a fighting game character in an RPG battle system.

The platforming starts off very basic, but you get access to so many moves and can use them all fluidly together. There's some really fun platforming segments that really force you to use everything Ajna can do.

The character designs are top-notch, even removed from how ecstatic I am about the diversity. Again, they are designed as fighting game characters who have to be distinct and high-quality. Everyone also feels extremely unique in combat.

I wouldn't say the overall story and writing is amazing, but there's some good moments here and there. It also follows a somewhat less traditional path for Ajna so far, even though I'm expecting a fairly traditional climax.

Cons

Okay, so this is in some ways a fighting game. Which means you should have a move list you can look up. While you get a brief explanation of each character's gimmick when you recruit them, there's NO MOVE LIST!

That sucks, but you can go into Training and figure out the moves for yourself, right? Yes, except you don't unlock Training until almost 10 hours into the game! Which means for the early part of the game when you're still learning the mechanics of the system as a whole, you also have more trouble learning what each character can do. Combined with a very high rate of recruiting new characters early on, this can be overwhelming. If they didn't want to make a move list, they should at least have made Training available from the beginning.

Backtracking can be a bit of a pain; there's minimal fast travel points. Ajna doesn't cover as much space as Samus relatively to the game world, so it really takes some time to go around. Enough that it sometimes discourages exploration, which is not good in a platformer.

The sense of progression is also pretty slow once you get past the 1/3 mark. You don't get new characters quite as quickly, and it's not as though your characters learn new moves (they shouldn't, based on how the battle system works). You also only have levels for Ajna, which in my experience don't make a huge difference. And there's no equipment or items give you that sense of growth. What you have are the Ringels; collect enough of them and you can get a major defense upgrade, or add an additional attack slot per turn to every character. They're great upgrades, and fun to explore and find, but it's a long time between upgrades.

I also feel like healers and support are tough to use well in such an aggressive battle system, which is unfortunate because I traditionally love support-type characters.

Final Thoughts

Despite liking it more than most of the games on this list, it's a tough recommend. It's very specific to what it is, and there's nothing to really compare it to. However I really like it, and I especially love the South Asian influence.

2. Celeste (Switch)

If you showed me a 10-second clip of Celeste gameplay, I'd dismiss it as some easier Super Meat Boy clone.

I'm so glad I didn't.

Pros:

In many ways, Celeste can be called a long series of platforming challenge rooms. Basically once you clear a distinct "screen" and die, you move forward. You die, you restart on the same screen in seconds. There's infinite lives and no timer. You take as long as you need, and you keep pushing forward. It's a compromise of making a classically difficult platformer that removes all elements that make the classics feel cheap. And it's also a great representation of the story Madeline is going through.

Having a young-life crisis, non-mountain-climber Madeline sets out to climb the famously difficult mountain Celeste. There's a few other characters to deal with, but the majority of the game is spent with Madeline and the reflection that represents another side of her. A side of her that's always bringing her down and trying to force her to turn backIt's a short and well-written story, and absolutely worth experiencing. I love the weaving of the "keep trying" gameplay and story, and the fact an Assist Mode to make the gameplay easier is available from the start is important.

The music also nails that Super Metroid feeling of atmospheric or lively depending on what's happening.

Controls are similarly precise but reasonable, and the incredibly low stakes of failure make even the cheaper platforming segments doable. Some of the platforming is legitimately annoying, but being able to try again in literal seconds makes it less frustrating than easier platformers.

Cons

I don't care for the character sprites. They are small and faceless. You understand what they're going for, and I know they have to be small in relation to the area of the game. But it's just not visually appealing.

...I can't really think of any other cons.

Final Thoughts

I feel like Celeste is an important game that will stay with me, far beyond just a good game I played in 2019. It's short, it doesn't cost much, and it's absolutely worth your time if you have any sort of anxiety or self-esteem issues.

1. Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Switch)

My favourite series finally returns to a home console after nearly a decade. And boy does it deliver.

Pros

There's two critical things I look for when judging a Fire Emblem game; the cast, and the core gameplay.

The cast in Three Houses is nearly fully presented to you from the start of the game. You have your three separate houses with their individual students, and you choose one to lead. Fortunately you can recruit most students from other houses with some work, so you don't have to worry too much about mutually exclusive units. You will see a few new faces over the course of the game join your team as well, so there's still some surprises. At first glance, many of the characters can be relegated to anime tropes. Claude is the charismatic schemer, Marianne is the quiet girl who likes animals, Hilda is the lazy high-confidence girl, etc. But as you progress through the story and the Support conversations, you'll find that nearly every character has a lot of writing effort put into them. I do not want to give any examples because it's better to get to them yourself throughout the game, but don't take the characters at face-value. Don't expect a full 180 personality shift, but do expect lots of depth to explain both currently personalities, and being able to see the growth of these characters. There's some very relatable issues some of the characters face.

Honestly, it's not a stretch to say Three Houses has some of my favourite characters in the series. It's a big plus that one of the main Lords is dark-skinned for the first time in series history.

Then we have the gameplay. Off the bat we're into some very non-traditional Fire Emblem stuff with the academy system; you use things like lectures to build the weapon levels of your students. Also Cavalry, Heavy Armor, and Flying have their own weapon levels now? Also you don't buy spells, you learn them with weapon levels? There is a LOT that's different.

But what remains the same is the core formula of the strategy-RPG battles. Your process to build your units may be different in many ways, but you're still using the tactics you would expect in an FE game. There's just a few other things to consider now.

Basically I feel that Three Houses' new systems are a good compliment to the classic system as opposed to being a full replacement. Which is why even as an old FE elitist, I absolutely loves playing out the fights. Also they brought back Fog of War!

I really love the incorporation of visible agro lines. Basically when you move your character within enemy range, you actually see direct lines from the enemies so you see who will attack you. Combined with ability to go back to a previous turn, this helps make bad RNG feel less frustrating.

The story is also hands-down the best of the modern Fire Emblem era (everything from Awakening and beyond). It may start off as anime high-school, but having a cast of characters from entirely different countries attend school together as teenagers and then skipping forward to when they are leading their respective countries to war against each other...it's a lot to take in. And you have four different ways to experience the game, all of which are fairly distinct.

New gameplay elements like the lectures and academy activities are actually pretty fun, and dip into a bit of that Persona itch. You also get a better feel for the cast as you see them going about more normal activities. And it's all done in voice acting. Even every generic NPC dialogue in all four routes. Honestly the level of voice acting is incredible for a first-party Nintendo game. Voices also help the game feel so much more alive.

As always, the music is wonderful. The main theme Edge of Dawn is up there with Kingdom Hearts songs among my favourite video game vocal tracks.

Seriously, listen to it:

youtube

The option to freely change class so long as you can pass certification is weird, but feels far less busted than Awakening and Fates due to skills taking longer to learn, and mostly being less overpowered. It's also great aesthetically. Being able to use any weapon with any class was also an interesting change.

Also we have gauntlets as a weapon in Fire Emblem now. Which means you can run up to a goddam Wyvern Rider and punch them in the face. This is amazing.

Another plus is that despite incorporating a time skip, there is no child system. Which means Support is not longer a means to getting a perfect gene child unit, but instead to see how characters grow together while also getting a slight stat boost.

Cons

I kind of miss the Weapon Triangle. I know it's not even the most important thing in the old game, but I have nostalgia for it? You can sort of get the Weapon Triangle abilities once you raise your respective weapon levels enough.

As for more of a real problem...gender locked classes. It's very frustrating that there is only one class that focuses on Gauntlets, and it's locked to males. Like, have you seen Leonie? She's made to be a puncher! And I made her one, but I had to make her a Warrior.

Similarly, the only Master class that focuses on magic is locked to females. It didn't present a problem for me in the Golden Deer route, but I'm sure at one point during the other 3 routes I'll want to make a male magic user. Oh, the Dark Mage line is also locked to males, but doesn't have a Master class.

Master classes in general are a problem. Nearly all of them are Cavalry or Flying, and it's visually annoying. Also because most of my Advanced classes were infantry, so my characters didn't really learn Cavalry or Flying with certain exceptions.

I wish there were no gender-locked classes, and more infantry Master classes.

Also I know it doesn't make sense story-wise, but I wish I could recruit Claude to Blue Lions or Black Eagles because I really don't want to hurt him when I play those routes.

Final Thoughts

I mean, it's number one on my list. Obviously I love it. But it's important to note this is my favourite Fire Emblem game in a long time. I feel like I need more distance from it (and to play the other routes) to really compare it to my favourites, but for now it's at least my favourite game of 2019, and my favourite Switch game.

#games of the year #games of 2019

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1dandjbnews · 5 years ago

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Beyond Belieb-f: Fact or Fiction

“You are about to enter the world of strange truth, a world where the line between fact and fiction is almost imperceptible...” - James Brolin (Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction), May 25, 1997.

Throughout Justin Bieber’s career, spanning ten years, he has gotten himself into many controversies and was the victim of many rumors and lies which a lot of people still believe, due to the Justin Bieber hate bandwagon. In this post, I’m going to separate truth from fantasy and open the minds of the people who believe things that Justin Bieber never did.

I hope this thread will help people with how they view Justin and hopefully be able to generally separate what is true from what is false when it comes to everyday life too.

1. “Justin Bieber said rape happens for a reason”.

FALSE: This one was a misquote by Rolling Stone Magazine, in Justin’s interview with them in January 2011, when asked about politics. Bieber’s original quote is “Well, I think that's really sad, but everything happens for a reason. I don't know how that would be a reason. I guess I haven't been in that position, so I wouldn't be able to judge that.”. This interview was when Justin was still 16 and back then, he barely had any real knowledge of politics or serious matters such as listed above.

2. “Justin Bieber wrote in the guest book at the Anne Frank house that he hoped she would have been a Belieber”.

TRUE: While this event took place and Justin did write “Truly inspiring to be able to come here. Anne was a great girl. Hopefully she would have been a belieber.”, the media and his haters over exaggerated his comment. The Anne Frank museum staff did defend Justin by saying “His comments were quite innocent, he was here for more than hour and interested in Anne Frank's life, and that for us is the most important thing.”. Unfortunately, Justin’s comments in the guest book can still be twisted or taken the wrong way by small-minded people who want a reason to hate him.

3. “ When asked to try being a vegan, he gagged and spat out a vegan steak that had been specially ordered for him“.

FALSE: This one only has two sources and was most likely invented by a writer to victimize vegans and slander Justin.

4. “He makes fans pay tons of money, even though he can afford all the tickets be 50 bucks instead of 100+ for mezzanine seats”.

For the Believe tour, ticket prices were:

Lower Level Seating $36.00 - $86.00 $47.25 - $101.45 w/ Ticketmaster fees

Upper Level Seating $36.00 - $76.00

Also, Justin isn’t in charge of how much his tickets cost, it’s management who’s in charge.

5. “He went to a children’s hospital in England and was talking to the nurse who was working there when Justin Bieber visited the hospital. He made them clear an area for him so he didn’t have to wait around near the sick children, he then spent about 5 minutes with them while the cameras were on and left without so much as a thank you”.

FALSE: This tale NEVER took place. There is no photos or evidence of him going to that hospital in England and he never attacked any photographers (at said hospital). Usually, Justin will spend quite a lot of time with sick kids

6. “He attacked a photographer at said hospital”.

FALSE: The only paparazzi scuffle that happened in England was the one video where a paparazzi pushed Justin’s bodyguard and Justin confronted the paparazzi, however, Justin was quickly restrained and went back into the van.

6. “He peed in a restaurant kitchen”.

TRUE: But, he actually urinated in a mop bucket, also, he was drunk at the time and many celebrities have urinated in places they shouldn’t, such as Hayley from Paramore (sink).

7. “Someone's coworker did security for him once. He faked a really bad asthma attack and made them call the paramedics and then laughed his ass off when they came through the door. His people talked the paramedics into not saying anything bc you can go to jail for that apparently”.

FALSE: This one was invented by a writer. If anything is partially related to this claim, then it’s an incident in November 2011, where Justin was rumored to have an asthma attack during an interview and was taken to hospital for it.

8. “He also called for a car to take him to the mall and didn't like the color so he sent it back. And then he went to the mall and stayed 5 minutes before saying it was the shittiest mall he'd ever been in“.

FALSE: Pure fiction! There are no reports of him ever doing this. This claim stinks of the “Justin Bieber is a brat” mentality.

9. “He's banned from walt disney world for punching out Goofy“.

FALSE: It’s a total fabrication. There have been zero reports of this ever taking place, also Justin has been to Disney World many times since this claim came out.

10. “Not only does he me make his fans pay tons of money for a concert, but on a school night, he didn't even show up until half way through the scheduled time“.

FALSE: It’s true that he was late, however, it was only by 35 minutes and not half of the concert duration.

11. “He's quoted as screaming 'Fuck Bill Clinton!' to cameras and attacked a paparazzo, who is suing. his mother is quoted as saying she's 'hoping he'll soon mature'.“

TRUE and FALSE: While Justin did scream “Fuck Bill Clinton” and spayed a cleaner on the picture (probably the cleanest Clinton’s ever been), many people disliked Clinton and him screaming “Fuck Bill Clinton” isn’t too different from how many people react to the current President of the United States (as of this post), Donald Trump (who, I, in no way support and dislike as much as the next guy). He never attacked a paparazzi during this incident.

12. “He spat in an old man's face“.

FALSE: Not an old man, but a Club DJ, but, this is alleged.

13. “When he went to Vermont, he was kicked out of every single business he went in. IHOP, Walmart, Hannafords, everywhere. He went to the movie theater and threw a temper tantrum when told he couldn't bring his subway sandwich into the theater, as it was against the rules. He then made a HUGE mess of the theater and had to be carried out by his bodyguard kicking and screaming about how they were all worthless monkeys”.

FALSE: This one NEVER happened. There is no proof or reports of this ever happening and the only thing that shows up when “Justin Bieber banned from Walmart” is searched online, is a meme picture. There was talk of Justin possibly facing banning from the U.S due to alleged involvement in a brawl outside a Hampton’s nightclub, but, as of 2019, Justin is still in the U.S.

14. “He randomly showed up to Disney unannounced and demanded that the entire Yachtsman Steakhouse be cleared- reservations cancelled and all- so that he could eat there. The staff had to call every single one of the guests to tell them that their reservations they had been planning for months were cancelled and wasn't allowed to give them an explanation. Disney also decided that it wasn't fair to their guests and gave them free dinner at another restaurant, which obviously lost them a lot of money and business for that night. So after personally shutting down the restaurant, Beiber comes down in nothing but a bath robe. Like I'm so sorry Biebs was it just too hard to put on pants and act like a respectable human being?“.

FALSE: Not a scrap of evidence to this claim exists.

15. “I don't hate him because he has a 'girly' voice or because he's gay. he can be gay if he wants (even though he's not)“.

FALSE: Not a real argument.

16. “I hate him because he's not a good person and he's basically the leader of a teenage girl army (with a couple of older women, teenage boys and older men, but mainly consisted of teenage girls). He can make them do whatever he wants“.

FALSE: This makes little to no sense. Justin Bieber is a musician, not a political leader. Not ONCE has he ever forced his fans to do something he wants. Also, there are many people who have done MUCH worse than Justin has, yet have gotten away with it, managed to slip under the radar and still have huge amounts of support.

17. “He made some of his more 'devoted' fans cut their hair off because some internet trolls 'leaked' that he had cancer, and asked his fans to shave their heads to show their support. A lot of them did“.

FALSE: This was a 4Chan prank and Justin is not responsible for it.

18. “More internet trolls leaked that he had been smoking weed which made a lot of his fans CUT THEMSELVES (which is a serious problem) to stop him from smoking weed under the hashtag '#cutforbieber?' or '#cuttingforbieber?' Those weren't his decision, but he didn't make an attempt to stop them, he didn't deny the rumors, he just let them carry on cutting and turning it into a joke, thinking it was funny that people did these things because of him”.

FALSE: Another 4Chan prank! Once again, Justin is not responsible for this. Also, the best thing he did was stay silent about it, because if he had responded, more of these pranks would have happened and would have gotten to Justin one day.

17. “Justin Bieber spat on fans”.

FALSE: It’s an urban legend, that never happened! The Internet and TMZ went bananas over a picture of Justin spitting off of a balcony into a bush and with Justin often stating how he loves his fans, a claim about him spitting on them would make headlines and it did. The picture of the fans crying is from 2011, which was superimposed into a picture of Justin spitting off of a balcony.

18. “Justin Bieber was a huge brat on TV shows“.

FALSE: These are claims. In 2011, Marg Helenberger claims Justin punched a cake and locked a producer in a closet, but, unfortunately, nothing about this has come up since. In 2010, David Koch of Sunrise (Australian morning news show) also accused Justin for swearing at a floor manager for touching him (to direct him to where he had to go), but if this did happen, then Justin isn’t wrong for calling out a grown man touching him (what 16-year old would want a grown man touching them?).

19. “Justin Bieber said that he doesn’t believe in abortions“.

TRUE: This took place in 2011, during an interview with Rolling Stone magazine. In Justin’s defense, this was 2011 and back then, a lot of people were still pro-life and Justin had grown up in a Christian household. Since times have changed and we are more progressed, many people’s views have changed.

20. “Justin Bieber has made racist jokes and said the N-word multiple times”.

TRUE: There are thousands of reports of these events happening. While his racist jokes and comments were wrong (and still are), he was 15/16 and uneducated at the time, apologized and has since acknowledged his mistakes and educated himself on how horrible racism is, and now shows support to the Black Lives Matter movement.

21. “Justin Bieber punched a fan in the face, made that fan BLEED“.

FALSE: This was not a fan, but a stalker. Justin did punch him, but, only as a means of self defense. How else are you going to react if someone is invading your personal space? Also, Justin most likely felt threatened by the guy putting his hand through the window.

22. “Justin Bieber has been done for drunk driving“.

FALSE: The drunk driving charges against him were over exaggerated and he was below the legal limit.

23. “Justin Bieber eggs his neighbors“.

TRUE: He egged his neighbors ONCE, but, that was due to possible harassment prior to the incident. The thing is, the victims seem to still be whining about the incident (”GIVE ME MONEY! I’M A VICTIM!”), long after it took place and Justin had served his punishment for the incident.

24. “Justin Bieber made jokes about Prince’s death with petty Instagram comments“.

FALSE: Justin simply commented “Well not the last greatest living performer”, responding to a Instagram post that said Prince was the “last greatest living performer”, unfortunately, people took it the wrong way, twisted Justin’s words and accused him of being egotistical. However, Justin was most likely saying that other artists such as Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Beyoncé, Madonna and Barry Manilow were still alive and not every legend was gone.

25. “Justin Bieber throws tantrums on stage with him just ending up leaving the concert“.

TRUE: However, not as bad as you may think. A lot of these incidents were due to disrespectful fans not listening to him when he told them not to scream, clap off beat or throw water on stage. These can all distract him from playing, singing and can even put his life in danger (if he slips on water he doesn’t know is on stage).

26. “Justin Bieber threatens his neighbors“.

FALSE: There is no solid proof to support these claims. It’s a well known fact to demonize someone when someone else is doing it.

27. “Justin Bieber abandoned his pets”.

FALSE: He never “abandoned” any pets. If you’re talking about the monkey, he simply didn’t have the correct papers nor was he given them, also at the time, he was busy touring. The hamster was given to a fan.

28. “Justin has cheating scandals, he was horrible to Selena Gomez”.

FALSE: These claims are as old as the hills. At first, Justin and Selena’s “relationship” was PR, also prior to the November 2012 accusation of Justin “cheating on Selena”. Selena had been on the beach with Justin’s ex-friend Alfredo Flores, in various pictures where the both of them seemed very in love, this took place in July 2012. Also, there is video proof of Justin being physically assaulted by Selena in 2011.

29. “Justin Bieber hates Asians“.

FALSE: This is a total fabrication. Since when did he ever hate Asians, where’s the proof. He’s been to Japan multiple times and has been very welcome in Asian countries. There is one incident where Justin has mistakenly offended South Korean and Chinese fans by visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, which he thought was a place of prayer. He apologized for this incident.

30. “Justin Bieber groped a underage fan breast at a meet and greet“.

FALSE: The fan was like two years younger than him and didn’t seem to mind. As of 2019, she has often spoken about it and still has no problem with it.

31. "Talks down to alternative/rock bands such as Linkin Park and The Beatles and said screaming isn’t music”.

FALSE: More like fans of alternative rock bands have been talking down to Justin, sending him death threats and sexualising him.

32: “Justin Bieber disrespected the Argentinian flag”.

TRUE: This took place, however, it isn’t as bad as you think. A fan threw it up on stage and Justin thought it was simply a shirt, he didn’t know it was the Argentinian flag.

33. “Justin Bieber is rude to fans”.

FALSE: He’s only “rude” to disrespectful fans who stalk him and get in his personal space, K-Pop fans would know them as “sasaengs”. He’s only called disrespectful fans out, that’s all.

34. “Justin Bieber is very violent to photographers/paparazzi”

FALSE: Not a chance! He’s lashed out at photographers and paparazzi in the past, but, it’s only because they’ve provoked him. Of course he could have acted a bit better, but other celebs have done much worse than Justin.

35. “Justin Bieber ignored a disabled fan”.

FALSE: The video is staged and was a smear campaign to get Justin hated (and it worked). The person who played “Justin” was YouTuber, known as Brad Souza, the disabled “fan” was a hired actor.

36. “Justin Bieber bullied Shawn Mendes”.

FALSE: Justin and Shawn are longtime friends and they were simply joking around. If Shawn truly had a problem with Justin’s lighthearted jokes, Shawn would have said something.

37. “Justin Bieber hates Anime”.

FALSE: The tweet was fake.

In conclusion, only seven and a half of these claims are true, the rest are all fabricated stories made up by people looking for sympathy (fake hate crimes) or created just to slander Justin and get him hated and unfortunately, it worked.

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vgdensetsu · 6 years ago

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From chara-design to graphic design: the artists behind Capcom's 2D fighting game characters

Capcom is a paradoxical company where illustrations were seen as a secondary part of the designers' job, made with the unavowed aim to attract aspiring designers. But the truth is that if you have never designed a cover art or a flyer illustration, chances are the public doesn't know who you are, even if you have designed or animated some of the most famous characters ever created. I wrote the following article with the intent to give proper credits to some of these famous unknown artists.

In Capcom's early years, there was a hierarchy which implied that newly hired graphic designers were assigned to work on backgrounds, then on characters after gaining some experience, and eventually could become planner (≈ director / game designer), but a planner could also design graphics. In a way, designers were specialized in a certain field of activity, but a designer could create illustrations, design graphics and logos for the same game. Such was the case with Satoru Yamashita on Ghosts'n Goblins (1985), Koichi Yostui on Strider (1989) who also directed the game and Akira Yasuda (AKA Akiman) on Side Arms (1986) although he only drafted the logo.

Speaking of Akiman, when he joined Capcom, he wasn't assigned on a game but was asked to draw backgrounds for practicing pixel art, which he did for 3 months. During the development of Side Arms, he was tasked to create backgrounds but he also volunteered to design mechas. A few years later, he animated Chun-Li from Street Fighter II in less than 2 months while his colleagues spent about 10 months on each character. It's probably around that time that he started putting his hands on almost everything art related at Capcom, creating drafts for some characters and designing or modifying frames for characters handled by other people.

Nevertheless, as in the whole industry, the artists who worked at Capcom became more and more specialized. Kinu Nishimura joined Capcom in 1991 and did very little graphic design during her career. Her first work consisted of animating Lucky Colt from Muscle Bomber, then she spent most of her time at Capcom designing characters and creating illustrations. Akiman was an exception, still doing graphic design in 1998, 13 years after joining Capcom, although he was managing the design team while creating illustrations. He once said that his main contribution to Capcom was not the illustrations he designed but what he brought to character animation (he worked briefly in an animation studio before joining Capcom). When the development of the first Vampire / Darkstalkers started, he tried to train new character designers by tasking about 10 graphic designers to create concept art during 3 whole months. While this exercice led to the creation of the characters we all know, it seems that the designers thought it was too long and wanted to go back to graphic design. Regarding background design, it was no longer a rookie job in the 90s. I haven't been able to find a lot of information about how the background team worked but its leader was Yoko Fukumoto / 福本容子.

When you’re working on a developper’s profile, many problems occur. The first one is the use of one or many pseudonyms, be it volontary or not. The second one is that staff rolls rarely detail who did what. The third one is related to Capcom's policy. As pointed out by Akiman, staff rolls in Capcom's games were often incomplete due to the fact that the direction thought there were too many names in them. Akiman's name doesn't appear in many of the games he worked on (including the first Vampire/Darkstalkers for which he supervised animation and graphics, provided concept art and drew some key animations) but he wasn't the only victim of that phenomenom. It's not related to graphic or character design but the ending credits from Final Fight mention only 2 composers while the Original Sound Collection (released in 2014) lists 7 people.

The character designer wasn't necessarily the same person as the one who animated that character ─the graphic designer. Occasionally, the design of a character was modified by its graphic designer when he was animating it. For example, Chun-Li had pants in her original design but Akiman chose to remove it and to change her shoes during the animation phase. Sometimes, many artists were working (or were tasked to work) on the same idea, creating designs with the same concept in mind. The people credited as character designers are the ones who created the final designs. It seems that sometimes around 1994-95, due to the fact that the characters were more and more detailed and complex to animate, it became rare to have only one artist on a given character. If you take a look at the staff roll from Marvel Super Heroes ─which is notable for having detailed credits─, you can see that 3 of the 4 characters from X-Men COTA were animated by only one artist each (assuming everybody was properly credited), while the newcomers were handled by 3 to 13 staff members.

As Disney did decades ago with some of its movies, Capcom reused some of the animations originally created for Street Fighter II when developing Street Fighter Zero in order to reduce the production costs. It was confirmed by Akiman and it's even harder to give proper credit when this happens.

On a related note, when asked which materials an aspiring graphic designer should study, Yoshinori Yamamoto (animator on many Capcom crossover games from the late 90s) said that it was recommended to watch old Disney movies frame by frame rather than Japanese animes.

When Akiman joined Capcom in 1985, the company was already equipped with SMC-70 custom computers. SMC was a line of computers produced by Sony and designed for professional video applications but used by some video game companies such as Capcom, Namco and SNK at the time. While the SMC had its own graphic tool, Capcom developed its own: TCE (Tiny Character Editor).

Koichi Yotsui: "You had a 16 pixel grid, a 16-color palette, and that was it"

The Graphic designers used a keyboard to design sprites and backgrounds and many of them kept using that tool when mice became widely available (Akiman thought a keyboard was handier for pixel art and still used it when he made the Opening from Vampire), which was the case when Capcom switched from the SMC-70 custom to the A-CAT X68000 during the development of Street Fighter II ─the X68000 was bundled with a mouse. A few developers mention that Capcom also used joysticks to design graphics in the early 90s which is very plausible. I think many companies didn't have a policy regarding which tool(s) their employees should use to design graphics.

When Akiman started designing sprites for Side Arms and Forgotten Worlds (which became the first CPS1 game, although its development started before Daimakaimura / Ghouls'n Ghosts), he complained that the pixels weren't square, to which he was answered that it was impossible since the engineers had been asked to make square pixels. He eventually learned that it was due to a calculation error from the hardware team, which explains why the CPS systems have such an odd resolution (384x224). This also explains why he used a custom grid paper made of vertical rectangles when he designed key frames (otherwise his drawings would be stretched once scanned and displayed on screen).

As with other video game companies, many graphic designers had a CRT on their desk to get a preview of the graphics they were working on.

Graphic designers had more freedom than nowadays during the creation of a character. According to Takenori Kimoto, they had to complete the animation part 3 months before the end of development, but when he animated Anakaris from Vampire, he could design moves by himself and thus having an influence on the fighting style of the character. He handed many animations to the programmers who then had to decide what to do with each move (some of these animations remain unused). Eri Nakamura mentioned that the only instruction she had been given for Honda’s headbutt was the name of the special move (”Super Headbutt”). Note that the graphic designers from SNK had a similar influence on the games they worked on. "The in-between frames of animation were largely left to the designer’s intuitions, recalls Naoto Abe, designer on Savage Reign, so there may have been some ridiculously over-powered characters as a result."

PS: This is a WIP. If I find anything else, I'll add it to this post

PPS: Before he left Capcom to found Arika, Street Fighter II director Akira Nishitani worked on a few projects that didn't see the light of day. One of them was a 3D fighting game which evolved into what we know as Warzard. Street Fighter III was meant to be the first CPS III game and Akiman's aim was to improve the quality of 2D graphics, but during the development of this long awaited sequel, 3D fighting games became a big thing and a lot of players were waiting for Capcom's answer to Virtua Fighter and Tekken. Akira Nishitani recently revealed that he did some experiments with 3D characters on Warzard, then switched to 2D. He left Capcom shortly after with some of his colleagues to found Arika whose first game was non other than Street Fighter EX. more concept art and line art: https://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=archive&db=videodb&name=secret+file&year=&manu=10&source=&submit=Search+the+Archive And if you want to read more about graphic design in Japan: https://vgdensetsu.tumblr.com/post/179656817318/designing-2d-graphics-in-the-japanese-industry

Street Fighter / ストリートファイター (1987)

The first Street Fighter was directed by Takashi Nishiyama, then head of Capcom's development team 2. He was headhunted by SNK after the release of the game and left the company with many members of the development team. One of them was Koichi Sakita / 崎田浩一, described as Street Fighter I main artist by KOF XIV producer Yasuyuki Oda (who was graphic designer during the Neo-Geo era). Sakita later worked on Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, etc.

Some of the developers behind the first Street Fighter, courtesy of Capcom Vs SNK 2 director Ideaki Itsuno (first on the left)

As mentioned earlier, Capcom games' staff rolls weren't exhaustive but it seems that some of the developers of Street Fighter were allowed to inscribe their first name in the credits. One of Keiji Inafune’s very first works at Capcom was designing Adon’s portraits from Street Fighter. His name doesn’t appear in the credits though.

Adon / アドン graphic design: Keiji Inafune / 稲船敬二 (portraits only)

Street Fighter II / ストリートファイターII (1991) The first 4 members of the graphic design team decided who’d take charge of this or that character with a game of rock-paper-scissors. Satoru Yamashita was originally meant to work on Ryu and Ken but he eventually wasn’t available at the beginning of the development.

Opening Graphic design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗

Ryu / リュウ character redesigned by: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 graphic design: Shoei Okano / 岡野正衛 (illustrator and logo designer on many Capcom games) Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 (standing pose) Background design: Asae Nishitsuji / 西辻朝枝 (she also designed Honda and Boxer’s stages)

Ken / ケン character redesigned by: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 graphic design: Shoei Okano / 岡野正衛 Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 (standing pose) background design: Miho Kobayashi / 小林美保 (to be confirmed)

Honda / エドモンド本田 character design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 graphic design: Eri Nakamura / 中村会里 (she also animated Psylocke from X-Men COTA, Chun-Li from Street Fighter Zero, Honda from SFZero 3, Nakoruru from Capcom Vs SNK and co-animated Bulleta from Vampire Savior, Mai-Ling / Tao from Warzard/Red Earth and R.Mika from SFZero 3) Honda's birthday is based on Eri Nakamura's. Background design: Asae Nishitsuji / 西辻朝枝

The character painted in the background is based on Akira Nishitani Blanka / ブランカ, originally called Hamablanka / ハマブランカ character design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 graphic design: Yoshiaki Ohji / 王子 (He also chara-designed Dhalsim but had already left Capcom when the development of Super Street Fighter II started, so someone else had to create Blanka's new moves)

Chun-Li / 春麗 character design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 graphic design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 Chun-Li's birthday is based on Miho Kobayashi's (background designer)

Guile / ガイル character design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 graphic design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 (basic shape, walking animation) Hitoshi Nishio / 西尾仁志 (he also animated Cyclops from X-Men COTA (who also has a somersault kick), Ibuki from SFIII and Lei-Lei from Vampire Hunter. He is the one who came up with most of the names for SFII's special moves)

Zangief / ザンギエフ, originally called Vodka Gobalsky character design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 graphic design: Ikuo Nakayama / 中山郁夫 (he also designed and animated Vega/Dictator, Leo from Warzard/Red Earth and Raiden from Capcom Vs SNK)

Ikuo Nakayama took inspiration from Akira Maeda's flying kick for Zangief's strong kick.

Dhalsim / ダルシム (originally called Naradatta / ナラダッタ) character design: Yoshiaki Ohji / 王子 graphic design: Takashi Hayashi / 林 (he also animated Felicia and Bishamon from Vampire, Yang and Yun from SFIII, as well as one of the Predator from Alien Vs Predator)

Balrog / Boxer / M・バイソン character design: Toshiharu Matsunaga / 松永 graphic design: Toshiharu Matsunaga / 松永 Background design: Asae Nishitsuji / 西辻朝枝

Vega / Claw / バルログ character design: Mizuho Kageyama / 影山みずほ / 陰山みずほ (she also animated Victor from Vampire and worked on Bulleta from Vampire Savior) graphic design: Mizuho Kageyama / 影山みずほ / 陰山みずほ

Sagat / サガット character redesigned by: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 graphic design: Mori / 森 / Q Kyoku (he also animated Cammy from SSFII, Elena from SFIII and Morrigan from Vampire)

Bison / Dictator / ベガ character design: Ikuo Nakayama / 中山郁夫 graphic design: Ikuo Nakayama / 中山郁夫

Street Fighter II characters illustrated by their respective graphic designers, with the exception of Blanka --his original graphic designer had already left Capcom at that point, so Akiman took charge of the illustration.

Super Street Fighter II / スーパーストリートファイターII (1993)

Cammy / キャミィ character design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 ? graphic design: Mori / 森 / Q Kyoku

Dee Jay / ディージェイ character design: James Goddard graphic design: ?????????????????? The fourth newcommer was originally Fei Long's Twin (which means another face swap). Goddard submitted another character inspired by the one played by Billy Blanks in King of the Kick Boxers, AKA Karate Tiger 4.

Fei Long / フェイロン character design: ?????????????????? graphic design: Ikuo Nakayama / 中山郁夫

T. Hawk / T.ホーク character design: ?????????????????? graphic design: ??????????????????

T-Hawk’s early design. A colored version also exists according to Takayuki Nakayama.

Super Street Fighter II X / スーパーストリートファイターII X (1994)

Akuma / Gouki / 豪鬼 / ゴウキ character design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 graphic design: Atsushi Iwasaki / 岩崎篤嗣 (He also animated Ryu, Gouki and Guy from SFzero and Magneto from X-Men COTA)

Atsushi Iwasaki based one of the frames on the manual illustration created by Akiman

Street Fighter Zero / ストリートファイターZero, AKA Street Fighter Alpha (1995)

Ryu / リュウ + Ken / ケン graphic design: Atsushi Iwasaki / 岩崎篤嗣 Manabu Nakatani / 中谷

Guy / ガイ graphic design: Atsushi Iwasaki / 岩崎篤嗣

Akuma / Gouki / 豪鬼 / ゴウキ graphic design: Atsushi Iwasaki / 岩崎篤嗣

Chun-Li / 春麗 character redesigned by: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 graphic design: Eri Nakamura / 中村会里

Rose / ローズ character design: Kinu Nishimura / 西村キヌ graphic design: ?????????????????? Jojo inspired many character designers, including Kinu Nishimura who took inspiration from Lisa Lisa for Rose and from Avdol for Santana (Cyberbots). Capcom later developed 2 Jojo games on CPS III.

Adon / アドン character redesigned by: ?????????????????? graphic design: Daisuke Kurita / 來田大介 (he also co-animated Alex and Hugo from SFIII) Takayuki Kōsaka / 高坂隆之

Birdie / バーディー character redesigned by: ?????????????????? graphic design: Norihide Fujī / 藤井紀秀 (he also co-animated Oro from SFIII)

Bison / Dictator / ベガ graphic design: Makoto Ishii / 石井誠 (he also co-animated Hulk from Marvel Super Heroes and Zangief from SFzero 2)

Street Fighter Zero 2 / ストリートファイターZERO2 (1996)

Sakura / さくら character design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 graphic design: ?????????????????? background design: Hirokazu Yonezuka / 米塚啓和

Dhalsim / ダルシム graphic design: Takashi Hayashi / 林 (pattern) ?????????????

Zangief / ザンギエフ graphic design: Makoto Ishii / 石井誠

Unfinished frames and their final version

Rolento / ロレント graphic design: ?????????????????? background design: Chie Nakayama / 中山智恵 (formerly known as Chie Morisaki / 森崎智恵)

Ken / ケン background design: Chie Nakayama / 中山智恵

Birdie / バーディー background design: Chie Nakayama / 中山智恵

Dan / ダン background design: Hiroki Ohnishi / 大西弘樹

Bison / Dictator / ベガ background design 1 (plane): Hiroki Ohnishi / 大西弘樹 Chie Nakayama / 中山智恵 (characters only) background design 2 (waterfall): Chie Nakayama / 中山智恵

Chun-Li / 春麗 background design: Kōji Yamamoto / 山本行史 Yōichi Tagami / 田上陽一 (bicycles only)

Street Fighter Zero 3 / ストリートファイターZERO3 (1998)

Cody / コーディー character redesigned by: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 graphic design: ??????????????????

R.Mika / レインボー・ミカ character design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 graphic design: Eri Nakamura / 中村会里 + ??????????????????

Blanka / ブランカ character design: graphic design: Mizue Morimoto / 森本みずえ Makoto Ishii / 石井誠 background design: Yoko Fukumoto / 福本容子

Honda / エドモンド本田 graphic design: Eri Nakamura / 中村会里

Juni / ユーニ & Juli / ユーリ character design: Eri Nakamura / 中村絵里 graphic design: ??????????????????

Karin / かりん originally designed by Masahiko Nakahira / 中平正彦 (Karin made her first appearance in the manga Sakura Ganbaru!) graphic design: ??????????????????

Sodom / ソドム background design: Asae Nishitsuji / 西辻朝枝

Honda / エドモンド本田 background design: Asae Nishitsuji / 西辻朝枝

Dhalsim / ダルシム background design: Asae Nishitsuji / 西辻朝枝

Street Fighter III: New Generation / ストリートファイターIII (1997)

Akiman’s desk with an unfinished version of an illustration from the opening animation.

Ryu / リュウ character design: graphic design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 (basic shape, walk animation) Kenichi Ueda / 上田健一 background design: Hiroki Ohnishi / 大西弘樹

Ken / ケン graphic design: Kenichi Ueda / 上田健一 Tsuyoshi Nagayama / 長山剛士

Sean / ショーン character design: ?????????????????? graphic design: Kenichi Ueda / 上田健一

Dudley / ダッドリー character design: Tooru Takaoka / 高岡徹 (he also animated and designed many characters from the Vampire series) Tadashi Noyama / 野山正 (he also animated Mai from Capcom Vs SNK) Keigo Chimoto / 千本啓五 graphic design: Tadashi Noyama / 野山正 background design: Yoko Fukumoto / 福本容子

Ibuki / いぶき character design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 graphic design: Hitoshi Nishio / 西尾仁志 Jun Ikawa / 井川純 background design: Yoko Fukumoto / 福本容子

Elena / エレナ character design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 graphic design: Mori / 森 / Q Kyoku

Alex / アレックス character design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 graphic design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 (basic shape) Daisuke Kurita / 來田大介 Shūhei Kurose / 黒瀬修平 Shinji Kaminaguchi / 上水口真司

Yun / ユン, Yang / ヤン character design: ?????????????????? graphic design: Takashi Hayashi / 林 Hiroki Shibaki / 柴木博基

Oro / オロ character design: ?????????????????? graphic design: Norihide Fujī / 藤井紀秀 Yūji Imamura / 今村雄二

Necro / ネクロ character design: ?????????????????? graphic design: Kōki Kinoshita / 木下晃城 Hiroshi Yoshioka Chun

Gill / ギル character design: ?????????????????? graphic design: Yūsuke Yamamoto / 山本祐介 Seiji Yano Yuki Ishikawa

Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact / ストリートファイターIII 2nd IMPACT (1997)

Hugo / ヒューゴー graphic design: Daisuke Kurita / 來田大介 Jun Ikawa / 井川純

Unfinished moves (some of theme have been found in the Street Fighter III: New Generation ROM) and their final version.

Poison / ポイズン graphic design: Jun Ikawa / 井川純

Ken / ケン background design: Hiroyuki Imahori / 今堀弘之

Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike / ストリートファイターIII 3rd STRIKE (1999)

Chun-Li / 春麗 character redesigned by: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 graphic design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗

Makoto / まこと Keigo Chimoto / 千本啓五: character design or graphic design ????????? He also co-animated Captain America from Marvel Super Heroes background design: Yoko Fukumoto / 福本容子

Ryu background design: Yoko Fukumoto / 福本容子

Gouki background design: Yoko Fukumoto / 福本容子

Elena background design: Yoko Fukumoto / 福本容子

Ibuki background design: Yoko Fukumoto / 福本容子

Hong Kong (Yang, Yun) background design: Hiroyuki Imahori / 今堀弘之

Subway (Ken, Alex) background design: Hiroyuki Imahori / 今堀弘之

bonus stage background design: Hiroyuki Imahori / 今堀弘之

Pocket Fighter / ポケットファイター / Super Gem Fighter (1997)

Amazon background design: Hiroki Ohnishi / 大西弘樹

Toy shop background design: Hiroki Ohnishi / 大西弘樹

Vampire: The Night Warriors / ヴァンパイア / Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors (1994) Demitri / デミトリ character design: ?????????????????? graphic design: Akemi Kurihira / 栗原明美

Gallon / ガロン / Jon Talbain character design: ?????????????????? graphic design: ??????????????????

Victor / ビクトル character design: Tooru Takaoka / 高岡徹 graphic design: Mizuho Kageyama / 影山みずほ / 陰山みずほ

Zabel / ザベル / Lord Raptor character design: Tooru Takaoka / 高岡徹 graphic design: Tooru Takaoka / 高岡徹

Morrigan / モリガン character design: Hiroshi Shibata / 柴田洋 (also designed Felicia, animated Pyron. He was the main game designer on Resident Evil 4) graphic design: Mori / 森 / Q Kyoku Atsushi Iwasaki / 岩崎篤嗣

Anakaris / アナカリス character design: Tooru Takaoka / 高岡徹 graphic design: Takenori Kimoto / 木本壮紀 Tooru Takaoka / 高岡徹 (throwing technique)

Felicia / フェリシア character design: Hiroshi Shibata / 柴田洋 graphic design: Takashi Hayashi / 林 Akira Yasuda / 安田朗

Bishamon / ビシャモン character design: ?????????????????? graphic design: Takashi Hayashi / 林

Aulbath / オルバス / Rikuo character design: ?????????????????? graphic design: ??????????????????

Sasquatch / サスカッチ character design: ????????????????????????????? graphic design: Mizue Morimoto / 森本みずえ background design: Chie Nakayama / 中山智恵 + 2 others

Huitzil / ヒューチル / Phobos character design: ?????????????????? graphic design: Toshikazu Matsumoto / 松本敏和 (to be confirmed)

Pyron / パイロン character design: ????????????????????????????? graphic design: Hiroshi Shibata / 柴田洋

Vampire Hunter / バンパイアハンター / Darkstalkers' Revenge (1995)

Donovan / ドノヴァン character design: Bengus Takenori Kimoto / 木本壮紀 graphic design: Kaname Fujioka / 藤岡要 (special move) Mizue Morimoto / 森本みずえ (2-3 moves)

Lei Lei / レイレイ / Hsien-Ko character design: Takenori Kimoto / 木本壮紀 graphic design: Hitoshi Nishio / 西尾仁志 Eri Nakamura / 中村会里 (basic shape) Tooru Takaoka / 高岡徹

Zabel / ザベル / Lord Raptor additional graphic design: Tooru Takaoka / 高岡徹

Anakaris / アナカリス additional graphic design: Takenori Kimoto / 木本壮紀 (he animated Khaibit)

Felicia / フェリシア additional graphic design: Tsuyoshi Nagayama / 長山剛士

Vampire Savior / ヴァンパイアセイヴァー (1997)

Bulleta / バレッタ / B.B. Hood character design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 graphic design: Eri Nakamura / 中村会里 Takenori Kimoto / 木本壮紀 Takashi Hayashi / 林 Mizuho Kageyama / 影山みずほ / 陰山みずほ Mizue Morimoto / 森本みずえ Kaname Fujioka / 藤岡要

Q-Bee / キュービィ character idea (bee woman) = Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 character design: ?????????????????? graphic design: Makoto Ishii / 石井誠 Takayuki Kōsaka / 高坂隆之 Katsunori Takemoto / 竹本 Reiko Komatsu / 小松 Hitoshi Igarashi / 五十嵐

Felicia / フェリシア additional graphic design: Kaname Fujioka / 藤岡要

Zabel / ザベル / Lord Raptor additional graphic design: Norihide Fujī / 藤井紀秀

Lei Lei / レイレイ / Hsien-Ko additional graphic design: Shinji Kaminaguchi / 上水口真司 Hitoshi Nishio / 西尾仁志 Hiroshi Yoshioka

X-Men: Children of the Atom / エックス・メンチルドレンオブジアトム (1994)

Wolverine / ウルヴァリン graphic design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗

Cyclops / サイクロップス graphic design: Hitoshi Nishio / 西尾仁志

Psylocke / サイロック graphic design: Eri Nakamura / 中村会里

Sentinel / センチネル graphic design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 helped a bit Takenori Kimoto / 木本壮紀 (to be confirmed)

Spiral / スパイラル graphic design: ???????? Katsuya Akitomo / 秋友克也 (he drafted the idle animation) (animator on Alien vs Predator and The Punisher who submited the concept of Vampire to Capcom) Marvel wasn't interested in Shuma Gorath and Spiral.

Juggernaut / ジャガーノート Character design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 graphic design: Katsuya Akitomo / 秋友克也 (some moves)

Magneto / マグニートー graphic design: Atsushi Iwasaki / 岩崎篤嗣

Akuma / Gouki / 豪鬼 / ゴウキ additional graphic design: Atsushi Iwasaki / 岩崎篤嗣

Marvel Super Heroes / マーベルスーパーヒーローズ (1995)

Spider-Man / スパイダーマン graphic design: H. Fujihara Rumi Yamaguchi Tsunenori Shirahama Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 (uncredited)

Captain America / キャプテン・アメリカ graphic design: Keigo Chimoto / 千本啓五 Masaaki Tanaka Misako Yamamoto

Hulk / ハルク graphic design: Makoto Ishii / 石井誠 K. Takechan Miwa Kanako Takami Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 (draft, uncredited)

Iron Man / アイアンマン graphic design: Hiroaki Yoshino Kiai Ryuken Yukikaze Katsuhiro Nakano / 中野雄天 Yutaka Maruno Gepezou Kenji Mimura Kei Tokunaga Eizi Murabayashi Rika. Naoki Fukuda Takep Heno Heno Yuki

Shuma‑Gorath / シュマゴラス graphic design: Masayo Tsujimoto Jun Matsumura / 松村淳 Shinya Miyamoto / 宮本慎弥 Kako Masanori Kondo

Black Heart / ブラックハート graphic design: Alien.Pole Norihide Fujii / 藤井紀秀 Masaru Nishimura (as Dway Nishimura) Oyabin

Dr. Doom / ドクター・ドーム graphic design: Satoru Yamashita / 山下智 Hideki Ino / 伊野英樹 Seigo Kawakami

Thanos / サノス graphic design: Shinji Sakashita / 坂下眞司 Daisuke Kurita / 來田大介 Takayuki Kosaka / 高坂隆之 Masako Sato

Anita / アニタ graphic design: ?????????????????? Why Anita was in Marvel Super Heroes? During the second half of X-Men COTA’s development, Akira Nishitani asked the programmers to add something else. Thus was added Akuma to the cast. One of those programmers -Tarabar- wanted to do something similar with Marvel Super Heroes but there was little remaining space in the ROM so he went to see various graphic designers to collect data and decided to add Anita, a non-playable character featured in Vampire Hunter alongside with Donovan. Tarabar asked the graphic designer to add some moves. He left Capcom before the end of the development but he wanted to be able to play Anita in any arcade center, even though he didn't do any balancing or bug check on the character. He added 3 secret commands to let him play Anita and gave them to 3 different developers. Each developer was handed one secret command so that if there was a leak Tarabar would know who it came from. It leaked from the 3 of them. He was worried about Marvel's reaction but never heard anything about that. The special move "Love for you" is a reference to a song from Wedding Peach, an animated series based on a manga. This reference was kept in Puzzle Fighter.

Juggernaut / ジャガーノート additional graphic design: Hiroaki Minobe / 見延浩明 Rie Sato Kazuko♥Kawanaka

X-Men Vs. Street Fighter / エックスメンＶＳ．ストリートファイター (1996)

Cammy / キャミィ character redesigned by: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 graphic design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 (+ other?) Hiroaki Minobe / 見延浩明

Apocalypse / アポカリプス graphic design: Yoshinori Yamamoto / 山本義紀 (he also animated Jin from Marvel Vs Capcom and Chang from Capcom Vs SNK 2)

Chun-Li / 春麗 additional graphic design: Hiroaki Minobe / 見延浩明 +??????????????????

Juggernaut / ジャガーノート additional graphic design: Hiroaki Minobe / 見延浩明

Park background design: Chika Iwai / 岩井千佳

Big Tree background design: Chika Iwai / 岩井千佳

Boss Stage background design: Chika Iwai / 岩井千佳

Marvel Super Heroes Vs. Street Fighter (1997)

Norimaro / 憲磨呂 character design: Noritake Kinashi / 木梨憲武 (famous comedian who designed the character during a TV show) graphic design: Hiroaki Minobe / 見延浩明 Koichi Kikutani / 菊谷康一 �� Yoshinori Yamamoto / 山本義紀

Dan / ダン additional graphic design: Yoshinori Yamamoto / 山本義紀

Dhalsim / ダルシム additional graphic design: Yoshinori Yamamoto / 山本義紀

Zangief / ザンギエフ additional graphic design: Yoshinori Yamamoto / 山本義紀

Marvel vs. Capcom (1998)

Jin Saotome / ジン graphic design: Yoshinori Yamamoto / 山本義紀

Captain Commando / キャプテンコマンドー graphic design: Hiroaki Minobe / 見延浩明 Shinji Kaminaguchi / 上水口真司 Ryosuke Naoi

Capcom vs SNK / カプコンバーサスエス・エヌ・ケイ (2000)

Raiden / ライデン graphic design: Ikuo Nakayama / 中山郁夫

Nakoruru / ナコルル graphic design: Eri Nakamura / 中村会里

Ryo / リョウ graphic design: Tsuyoshi Nagayama / 長山剛士

Dan / ダン graphic design: Tsuyoshi Nagayama / 長山剛士

Mai / 不知火舞 graphic design: Tadashi Noyama / 野山正

Osaka Castle background design: Chika Iwai / 岩井千佳

Cammy / サカザキ additional graphic design: Tsuyoshi Nagayama / 長山剛士

Capcom vs SNK 2 (2001)

Chang / チャン graphic design: Yoshinori Yamamoto / 本義紀

Todo / 藤堂 graphic design: Ikuo Nakayama / 中山郁夫

Athena / アテナ graphic design: Shinji Kaminaguchi / 上水口真司

Evil Ryu / 殺意リュウ graphic design: Tadashi Noyama / 野山正

Gouki / 豪鬼 graphic design: Tadashi Noyama / 野山正

Mai / 不知火舞 additional graphic design: Tadashi Noyama / 野山正

Morrigan / モリガン additional graphic design: Shinji Kaminaguchi / 上水口真司

Terry / テリー additional graphic design: Shinji Kaminaguchi / 上水口真司

King / キング additional graphic design: Shinji Kaminaguchi / 上水口真司

Dhalsim / ダルシム additional graphic design: Yoshinori Yamamoto / 本義紀

Honda / エドモンド本田 additional graphic design: Yoshinori Yamamoto / 本義紀

Yamazaki / 山崎竜二 additional graphic design: Yoshinori Yamamoto / 本義紀

Chun-Li / 春麗 additional graphic design: Jun Ikawa / 井川純

Vice / バイス additional graphic design: Jun Ikawa / 井川純

Claw / バルログ additional graphic design: Jun Ikawa / 井川純

Capcom Fighting Jam / カプコンファイティングジャム (2004)

Ingrid / イングリッド character design: ?????????????????? graphic design: Tadashi Noyama / 野山正 Norihide Fujī / 藤井紀秀

Muscle Bomber / マッスルボマー / Saturday Night Slam Masters (1993)

Lucky Colt / ラッキーコルト / Gunloc character design: ?????????????????? graphic design: Kinu Nishimura / 西村キヌ (her very first work at Capcom, the second being a character illustration created for Varth)

Astro / アストロ / The Scorpion character design: ?????????????????? graphic design: Mori / 森 / Q Kyoku

Aleksey Zalazof / アレクセイ・ザラゾフ / Biff Slamkovich character design: ???????????????? graphic design: Ikuo Nakayama / 中山郁夫

Warzard / ウォーザード / Red Earth (1996)

Tao / タオ / Mai-Ling character design: Eri Nakamura / 中村会里 (to be confirmed) graphic design: Eri Nakamura / 中村会里 Akira Yasuda / 安田朗

Leo / レオ character design: ?????????????????? graphic design: Ikuo Nakayama / 中山郁夫

Tabasa / タバサ / Tessa character design: ?????????????????? graphic design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 (basic shape) Akemi Kurihira / 栗原明美 Takenori Kimoto / 木本壮紀

Mukuro / ムクロ character design: ?????????????????? graphic design: Kaname Fujioka / 藤岡要 Mizuho Kageyama / 影山みずほ / 陰山みずほ

Sekhmet / セクメト / Ravange character design: ?????????????????? graphic design: Akemi Kurihira / 栗原明美 Keiko Kitayama / 北山

Valdoll / ヴァルドール / Scion character design: ?????????????????? graphic design: Akemi Kurihira / 栗原明美

Hydron background design: Chika Iwai / 岩井千佳

JoJo's Venture / JoJo no kimyō na bōken / ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 (Arcade - 1998)

Jotaro / 承太郎 graphic design: Kaname Fujioka / 藤岡要

Dio graphic design: Kaname Fujioka / 藤岡要

The world / ザ・ワールド (Dio's stand) graphic design: Norihide Fujī / 藤井紀秀

Shadow Dio / 影の吸血鬼 graphic design: Takashi Hayashi / 林 / Ball Boy

Iggy / イギー graphic design: Mori / 森 / Q Kyoku

Kakyoin / 花京院 graphic design: Mori / 森 / Q Kyoku

Vanilla Ice / ヴァニラ・アイス graphic design: Mori / 森 / Q Kyoku, Takashi Hayashi / 林 / Ball Boy

Joseph / ジョセフ graphic design: Takashi Hayashi / 林 / Ball Boy

N'Doul / ンドゥール graphic design: Takashi Hayashi / 林 / Ball Boy

Death 13 / 死神13 (Mannish Boy stand) graphic design: Takashi Hayashi / 林 / Ball Boy

D'Bo / デビル graphic design: Takashi Hayashi / 林 / Ball Boy

Midler / ミドラー graphic design: Takashi Hayashi / 林 / Ball Boy

Magician's Red / 魔術師の赤 (Avdol's stand) graphic design: Norihide Fujī / 藤井紀秀

Seth / セト神 (Alessy's stand) graphic design: Norihide Fujī / 藤井紀秀

Final Fight / ファイナルファイト (1989)

Guy / ガイ character design: ?????????????????? graphic design: Satoru Yamashita / 山下智 Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 (pattern drawings)

Haggar / ハガー character design: ?????????????????? graphic design: Satoru Yamashita / 山下智 Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 (pattern drawings + original dot)

Poison / ポイズン character design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 graphic design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 (pattern drawings)

Enemies designed by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗

Abigail / アビゲイル Akira Yasuda drew the head

Captain Commando / キャプテンコマンドー (1991)

Captain Commando / キャプテンコマンドー character design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 graphic design: Akemi Kurihara / 栗原明美

Ninja Commando (Ginzu) / ニンジャコマンドー (翔) character design: ?????????????????? graphic design: Eri Nakamura / 中村会里

Baby Commando (Hoover) / ベイビーコマンドー (フーバー) portrait drafted by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗

Mecha graphic design: Akira Yasuda / 安田朗

Enemies designed by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗

Alien Vs Predator / エイリアンVSプレデター (1994)

Alien Warrior graphic design: Katsuya Akitomo / 秋友克也

One of the Predator was animated by Takashi Hayashi / 林

Sources: sprites: https://www.fightersgeneration.com/ https://www.spriters-resource.com/ drawing illustrations was an accessory part of the job: https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/202699521220820992 Akiman: http://game.capcom.com/cfn/sfv/column-112429.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxIXilYv0kM SF25 (interview with Akiman) 3-month training: https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/1038250874806591488 Akiman's contribution to character animation: https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/431214613833601024 Akiman designed the standing poses, supervised the animation of the characters and the design of the backgrounds in Vampire https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/319385019120500736 chara-design training https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/964848439128244224 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/202708045178998784 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/303540585430654976 Yoko Fukumoto: https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/90270578992353280 http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,148703/ https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/513.html Incomplete credits: https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/44132045219307520 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/300629500465664000 https://web.archive.org/web/20010424232149/http://www12.big.or.jp:80/~akiman/vamp.htmlSFII Chun-Li's pants https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/1041949588054102016 old Disney movies > Japanese anime https://twitter.com/0yamancha0/status/406964160941928448 Capcom computer for graphic design in 1985: Sony SMC-70 custom: https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/1013648367837048833 Capcom TCE: https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/309615270815731712 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/9312105796 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/309615067421347840 Koichi Yotsui, Capcom hardware for making pixel art and the picture showing Takashi Kogure and Akira Kitamura: The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers Volume 3 Capcom computer for graphic design in 1990: A-CAT X68000: https://twitter.com/KIMOKIMO_Club/status/1013817480496627712 Capcom switched from the SMC-70 to the A-CAT X68000 during the development of SFII https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/1013648367837048833 https://twitter.com/KIMOKIMO_Club/status/1013817480496627712 SFII, Vampire, sprites and keyboard: https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/386598518380453888 non-square pixels: https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/465506778763911168 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/465507673572519936 vertically rectangular pixels on CPS2: https://twitter.com/jetyam/status/898054896699580416 ...and on CPS1: https://twitter.com/0yamancha0/status/892658928110116864 Custom grid paper: https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/497024882429800448 CRT and pixel art: https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/904275001531969536 create animations then settle the movelist: https://twitter.com/KIMOKIMO_Club/status/826752555849969666 https://game.capcom.com/cfn/sfv/column/132581 http://www.onemillionpower.com/snk-40th-anniversary-talking-to-the-snk-creators-that-made-history/

Street Fighter / ストリートファイター (1987) Takashi Nishiyama: http://www.1up.com/features/the-man-who-created-street-fighter Koichi Sakita / 崎田浩一 - main artist on Street Fighter and AOF1 https://twitter.com/snk_oda/status/814062203699478528 http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,164730/ Adon / アドン portraits by Keiji Inafune / 稲船敬二 https://web.archive.org/web/20090717001245/http://www.gpara.com/pickupnews/news/2007040501.php Picture of the developers: https://twitter.com/tomqe/status/966707895415877632

Street Fighter II / ストリートファイターII (1991) SFII demo screen par Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 au clavier https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/387147039118594049 Satoru Yamashita was meant to take charge of Ryu and Ken + Rock paper scissors https://game.capcom.com/cfn/sfv/column/132581 Ryu / リュウ and Ken / ケン designed by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/201213042883694592 Ryu / リュウ and Ken / ケン animated by Shoei / 岡野正衛 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/303183680292143105 Ryu / リュウ and Ken / ケン co-animated by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://game.capcom.com/cfn/sfv/column/132581 Ryu’s stage designed by Asae Nishitsuji / 西辻朝枝 https://game.capcom.com/cfn/sfv/column/132581 Ken / ケン stage designed by Miho Kobayashi / 小林美保 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/701.html Honda / エドモンド本田 designed by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/201213042883694592 Honda / エドモンド本田 animated by Eri Nakamura / 中村会里 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/300623508386484224 Honda's birthday is based on Eri Nakamura's https://twitter.com/KIMOKIMO_Club/status/926370689233256448 Honda’s stage designed by Asae Nishitsuji / 西辻朝枝 https://game.capcom.com/cfn/sfv/column/132581 Honda’s background and Akira Nishitani https://game.capcom.com/cfn/sfv/column/132581 Blanka / ブランカ designed by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/201213042883694592 Blanka / ブランカ animated by Yoshiaki Ohji / 王子 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/303182745276923904 Blanka / ブランカ was originally called Hamablanka / ハマブランカ https://twitter.com/nin_arika/status/576916053697015808 Guile / ガイル designed by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/201213042883694592 Guile / ガイル animated by Hitoshi Nishio / 西尾仁志 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/300021334057054208 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/300022204228317185 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/547060900218171392 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/551728379284578305 Chun-Li / 春麗 designed by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/201213042883694592 Chun-Li / 春麗 animated by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/544428185803165697 Chun-Li's birthday is based on Miho Kobayashi's https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/383489745080176640 Zangief / ザンギエフ designed by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/201213042883694592 Zangief / ザンギエフ animated by Ikuo Nakayama / 中山郁夫 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/303181283721363457 Zangief's strong kick based on Akira Maeda's flying kick https://twitter.com/takaNakayama/status/761212693323747328 Dhalsim / ダルシム designed by Yoshiaki Ohji / 王子 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/201213042883694592 Dhalsim / ダルシム animated by Takashi Hayashi / 林 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/303541592113938434 Dhalsim / ダルシム was originally called Naradatta / ナラダッタ https://twitter.com/nin_arika/status/473986569959772160 Balrog / M・バイソン designed and animated by Toshiharu Matsunaga / 松永 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/300650713103618048 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/201213042883694592 Balrog’s stage designed by Asae Nishitsuji / 西辻朝枝 https://game.capcom.com/cfn/sfv/column/132581 Vega / バルログ designed by Mizuho Kageyama / 影山みずほ / 陰山みずほhttps://twitter.com/akiman7/status/300770019619532801 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/201213042883694592 Vega / バルログ animated by Mizuho Kageyama / 影山みずほ / 陰山みずほ https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/8277519009 Sagat / サガット designed by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/201213042883694592 Sagat / サガット animated by Mori / 森 / Q Kyoku https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/300019530334351361 Bison / ベガ designed and animated by Ikuo Nakayama / 中山郁夫 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/201213042883694592 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/303181283721363457 Bison concept art: https://game.capcom.com/cfn/sfv/column/132581 designers don't systematically animate the character(s) they designed https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/201213042883694592 most of the special move names were given by Hitoshi Nishio / 西尾仁志 https://twitter.com/nin_arika/status/901255448296210432 SFII characters illustrated by their graphic designers (except for Blanka) https://twitter.com/KIMOKIMO_Club/status/909573514658582529

Super Street Fighter II (1993): Cammy / キャミィ animated by Mori / 森 / Q Kyoku https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/551721127874019331 Dee Jay / ディージェイ designed by James Goddard http://www.capcom-unity.com/kramez/blog/2009/10/02/the_origin_of_dee_jay_straight_from_creator_james_goddard Fei Long / フェイロン animated by Ikuo Nakayama / 中山郁夫 https://game.capcom.com/cfn/sfv/column/132581 Concept art: Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection T. Hawk / T.ホーク - Early design. A colored version of this design also exists according to Takayuki Nakayama. https://twitter.com/takaNakayama/status/918718084914995200 https://twitter.com/Shadaloo_CRI/status/918717721843417089 Guile portrait by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/496819524960649217 Blanka: Yoshiaki Ohji had already left Capcom when the game was in development https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/35757823245684736

Super Street Fighter II X Akuma / Gouki / 豪鬼 / ゴウキ designed by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/427291174668234753 https://twitter.com/iw4ww2/status/1055256008082173952 Akuma / Gouki / 豪鬼 / ゴウキ animated by Atsushi Iwasaki / 岩崎篤嗣 https://twitter.com/iw4ww2/status/977481477435801600 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/580968550153609216 Gouki's pose based on Ryu from the SFII manual cover art https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/202806157675470850

Street Fighter Zero / ストリートファイターZero, AKA Street Fighter Alpha (1995) Chun-Li / 春麗 animated by Eri Nakamura / 中村会里 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/300623508386484224 Chun-Li / 春麗 redesigned by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/489578149185744896 (Street Fighter Zero Settei Shiryōshū) Bison / ベガ animated by Makoto Ishii / 石井誠 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/601.html https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/632641603501355008 Rose / ローズ designed by Kinu Nishimura / 西村キヌ https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/551726746915979264 Adon / アドン animated by Daisuke Kurita / 來田大介, Takayuki Kōsaka / 高坂隆之 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/520.html https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/262.html Ryu / リュウ animated by Atsushi Iwasaki / 岩崎篤嗣, Manabu Nakatani / 中谷 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/548.html Ken / ケン animated by Atsushi Iwasaki / 岩崎篤嗣, Manabu Nakatani / 中谷 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/548.html Akuma / Gouki / 豪鬼 / ゴウキ animated by Atsushi Iwasaki / 岩崎篤嗣 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/548.html Guy / ガイ animated by Atsushi Iwasaki / 岩崎篤嗣 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/548.html Birdie / バーディー animated by Norihide Fujī / 藤井紀秀 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/549.html

Street Fighter Zero 2 / ストリートファイターZERO2 (1996) Sakura / さくら designed by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/takaNakayama/status/824954480076607489 Sakura stage designed by Hirokazu Yonezuka / 米塚啓和 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/515.html Rolento / ロレント animated by Atsushi Iwasaki / 岩崎篤嗣 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/548.html Rolento / ロレント stage designed by Chie Nakayama / 中山智恵 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/585.html Ken stage designed by Chie Nakayama / 中山智恵 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/585.html Birdie stage designed by Chie Nakayama / 中山智恵 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/585.html Zangief animated by Makoto Ishii / 石井誠 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/601.html Zangief - unfinished frames https://tcrf.net/Street_Fighter_Alpha_2_(Arcade) Dhalsim / ダルシム animated by Takashi Hayashi / 林 (pattern) https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/667.html Dictator stage (waterfall) designed by Chie Nakayama / 中山智恵 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/585.html Dictator stage (airplane) designed by Hiroki Ohnishi / 大西弘樹 and Chie Nakayama / 中山智恵 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/524.html Dan stage designed by Hiroki Ohnishi / 大西弘樹 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/524.html Chun-Li stage designed by Kōji Yamamoto / 山本行史 and Yōichi Tagami / 田上陽一 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/511.html

Street Fighter Zero 3 / ストリートファイターZERO3 (1998) Cody / コーディー redesigned by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 SF25 Blanka / ブランカ animated by Mizue Morimoto / 森本みずえ https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/599.html Blanka / ブランカ co-animated by Makoto Ishii / 石井誠 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/601.html Blanka stage designed by Yoko Fukumoto / 福本容子 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/513.html Honda animated by Eri Nakamura / 中村会里 http://www.capcom.co.jp/game/content/?p=7638 Honda stage designed by Asae Nishitsuji / 西辻朝枝 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/288.html R.Mika / レインボー・ミカ designed by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 SF25 R.Mika co-animated by Eri Nakamura / 中村会里 http://www.capcom.co.jp/game/content/?p=7638 Juni / ユーニ & Juli / ユーリ designed by Eri Nakamura / 中村会里 http://www.capcom.co.jp/game/content/?p=7638 Sodom stage designed by Asae Nishitsuji / 西辻 ��枝 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/288.html Dhalsim stage designed by Asae Nishitsuji / 西辻朝枝 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/288.html Sakura stage designed by Hiroki Ohnishi / 大西弘樹 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/524.html Dictator stage designed by Hiroki Ohnishi / 大西弘樹 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/524.html Ken stage designed by Hiroki Ohnishi / 大西弘樹 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/524.html

Street Fighter III: New Generation / ストリートファイターIII (1997) demo par Hiroyuki Imahori / 今堀弘之 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/327.html Ryu / リュウ co-animated by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 (basic shape + walk animation) https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/173175185296474113 Ryu / リュウ co-animated by Kenichi Ueda / 上田健一 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/526.html Ryu stage designed by Hiroki Ohnishi / 大西弘樹 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/524.html Ken / ケンco-animated by Kenichi Ueda / 上田健一 et 長山 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/526.html Sean animated by Kenichi Ueda / 上田健一 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/526.html Alex / アレックス designed by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/714664711338467328 Alex / アレックス co-animated by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/708357691131887616 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/787504283625201664 Alex / アレックス animated by Daisuke Kurita / 來田大介, 黒瀬, Shinji Kaminaguchi / 上水口真司 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/262.html https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/598.html Elena / エレナ designed by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗, animée par Mori / 森 / Q Kyoku https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/300019530334351361 Elena stage designed by Hiroyuki Imahori / 今堀弘之 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/327.html Ibuki / いぶき designed by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/950299884820733953 Ibuki / いぶき co-animated by Hitoshi Nishio / 西尾仁志 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/300021334057054208 Ibuki / いぶき co-animated by Jun Ikawa / 井川純 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/326.html Ibuki stage designed by Yoko Fukumoto / 福本容子 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/513.html Yun / ユン and Yang / ヤン animated by Takashi Hayashi / 林, Hiroki Shibaki / 柴木博基 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/667.html Gill / ギル animated by Yūsuke Yamamoto / 山本祐介, Yano, Ishikawa https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/584.html Dudley designed by Tadashi Noyama / 野山正, Tooru Takaoka / 高岡徹, Keigo Chimoto / 千本啓五 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/582.html Dudley animated by Tadashi Noyama / 野山正 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/522.html Dudley stage designed by Yoko Fukumoto / 福本容子 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/513.html Oro animated by Norihide Fujī / 藤井紀秀, Yūji Imamura https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/549.html Necro / ネクロ animated by Kōki Kinoshita / 木下晃城, Yoshioka, Chun https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/559.html Necro stage designed by Hiroyuki Imahori / 今堀弘之 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/327.html

Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact / ストリートファイターIII 2nd IMPACT (1997) Opening demo by Hiroyuki Imahori / 今堀弘之 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/327.html Hugo / ヒューゴー animated by Daisuke Kurita / 來田大介, Jun Ikawa / 井川純 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/262.html https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/326.html Hugo - unfinished sprites https://www.neogaf.com/threads/street-fighter-iii-and-capcoms-pixel-art-process.1363079/ Ken stage designed by Hiroyuki Imahori / 今堀弘之 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/327.html

Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike / ストリートファイターIII 3rd STRIKE (1999) Makoto designed and/or animated by Keigo Chimoto / 千本啓五 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/551717157076492288 Makoto stage designed by Yoko Fukumoto / 福本容子 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/513.html Chun-Li animated by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/958080880236404739 https://akimanart.tumblr.com/post/86226662908/%E4%BB%A5%E5%89%8D%E3%81%82%E3%81%8D%E3%81%BE%E3%82%93%E3%81%95%E3%82%93%E3%81%AE%E3%81%8A%E5%AE%85%E3%81%AB%E3%81%8A%E9%82%AA%E9%AD%94%E3%81%95%E3%81%9B%E3%81%A6%E9%A0%82%E3%81%84%E3%81%9F%E9%9A%9B%E3%81%AB%E3%82%B3%E3%83%94%E3%82%89%E3%81%9B%E3%81%A6%E9%A0%82%E3%81%84%E3%81%9F%E3%82%B9%E3%83%883%E6%98%A5%E9%BA%97%E3%81%AE%E3%83%91%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC%E3%83%B3%E5%8E%9F%E7%94%BB%E3%81%A7%E3%81%99%E3%81%82%E3%81%8D%E3%81%BE%E3%82%93%E3%81%95 Ryu stage designed by Yoko Fukumoto / 福本容子 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/513.html Gouki stage designed by Yoko Fukumoto / 福本容子 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/513.html Elena stage designed by Yoko Fukumoto / 福本容子 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/513.html Ibuki stage designed by Yoko Fukumoto / 福本容子 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/513.html Yang and Yun stage designed by Hiroyuki Imahori / 今堀弘之 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/327.html Ken and Alex stage designed by Hiroyuki Imahori / 今堀弘之 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/327.html bonus stage designed by Hiroyuki Imahori / 今堀弘之 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/327.html

Pocket Fighter / ポケットファイター / Super Gem Fighter (1997) Amazon, toy shop designed by Hiroki Ohnishi / 大西弘樹 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/524.html

Vampire: The Night Warriors / ヴァンパイア / Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors (1994) Vampire Demo screen designed by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 au clavier https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/387147039118594049 Akiman designed the standing poses, supervised the animation of the characters and the design of the backgrounds https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/319385019120500736 Demitri / デミトリ animated by Akemi Kurihira / 栗原明美https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/300539472246890496 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/582.html Victor / ビクトル animated by Mizuho Kageyama / 影山みずほ / 陰山みずほhttps://twitter.com/akiman7/status/300770019619532801 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/303562951586107393 Zabel / ザベル / Lord Raptor designed and animated by Tooru Takaoka / 高岡徹https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/582.html Morrigan / モリガン designed by Hiroshi Shibata https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/326524740409892865 Morrigan / モリガン animated by Mori / 森 / Q Kyoku, Atsushi Iwasaki / 岩崎篤嗣 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/326524740409892865 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/548.html Anakaris / アナカリス designed by Tooru Takaoka / 高岡徹 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/582.html Anakaris / アナカリス animated by Takenori Kimoto / 木本壮紀 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/235668244088905728 Anakaris / アナカリス co-animated by Tooru Takaoka / 高岡徹 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/582.html Felicia / フェリシア animated by Takashi Hayashi / 林,Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/303541592113938434 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/497022510123073536 Felicia / フェリシア designed by Hiroshi Shibata / 柴田洋 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/326524740409892865 Bishamon / ビシャモン animated by Takashi Hayashi / 林 https://twitter.com/FUTATSU24/status/1003069691428925440 Sasquatch / サスカッチ animated by Mizue Morimoto / 森本みずえ https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/599.html Phobos / Huitzil/ ヒューチル animated by Toshikazu Matsumoto / 松本敏和 https://twitter.com/felineki/status/1004199829407444998 Pyron / パイロン animated by Hiroshi Shibata https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/326524740409892865 Vampire Hunter / Darkstalkers' Revenge (1995) Donovan / ドノヴァン designed by Bengus (source: Vampire Artworks) Donovan / ドノヴァン co-animated by Mizue Morimoto / 森本みずえ https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/599.html Donovan /ドノヴァン co-animated by Kaname Fujioka / 藤岡要 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/266.html Lei Lei / レイレイ / Hsien-Ko designed by Takenori Kimoto / 木本壮紀 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/551725874853068801 Lei Lei / レイレイ / Hsien-Ko co-animated by Eri Nakamura / 中村会里 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/281.html Lei Lei / レイレイ / Hsien-Ko co-animated by Tooru Takaoka / 高岡徹 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/582.html Lei Lei / レイレイ / Hsien-Ko co-animated by Hitoshi Nishio / 西尾仁志 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/320.html

Vampire Savior / ヴァンパイアセイヴァー (1997) Bulleta / バレッタ designed by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/421339173291687938 https://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=manga&illust_id=26617914 Bulleta / バレッタ co-animated by Eri Nakamura / 中村会里, Takenori Kimoto / 木本壮紀 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/300623508386484224 Bulleta / バレッタ co-animated by Takashi Hayashi / 林, Mizuho Kageyama / 影山みずほ / 陰山みずほ, Mizue Morimoto / 森本みずえ https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/599.html Q-Bee / キュービィ - character idea "bee woman" = Akiman (Source: Vampire Artworks) Q-Bee / キュービィ animated by Makoto Ishii / 石井誠, Takayuki Kōsaka / 高坂隆之, Katsunori Takemoto / 竹本, Reiko Komatsu / 小松, Hitoshi Igarashi / 五十嵐 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/520.html https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/601.html

X-Men: Children of the Atom / エックス・メンチルドレンオブジアトム (1994) Wolverine / ウルヴァリン animated by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/632635945464950784 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/632636064352440320 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/632636913996828672 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/784766472685883392 Cyclops / サイクロップス animated by Hitoshi Nishio / 西尾仁志 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/300021334057054208 Psylocke / サイロック animated by Eri Nakamura / 中村会里 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/300623508386484224 Gamest #135 - January 15, 1995 Sentinel / センチネル co-animated by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/497042352976850944 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/497042519088058368 Sentinel / センチネル co-animated by Takenori Kimoto / 木本壮紀 ??? https://twitter.com/KIMOKIMO_Club/status/966273528952643585 Spiral / スパイラル co-animated by Katsuya Akitomo / 秋友克也 https://twitter.com/sjxqr393/status/1003061302632243200 Marvel wasn't interested in Shuma Gorath and Spiral https://twitter.com/nin_arika/status/488492321164365824 Juggernaut / ジャガーノート redesigned by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/sjxqr393/status/835725451901333505 Juggernaut / ジャガーノート co-animated by Katsuya Akitomo / 秋友克也 https://twitter.com/sjxqr393/status/1003061302632243200 Magneto / マグニートー animated by Atsushi Iwasaki / 岩崎篤嗣 http://www.mobygames.com/game/arcade/marvel-super-heroes/credits

Marvel Super Heroes / マーベルスーパーヒーローズ (1995) http://www.mobygames.com/game/arcade/marvel-super-heroes/credits Hulk animated by Makoto Ishii / 石井誠 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/632641603501355008 Akiman a filé un coup de main sur Hulk lors du draft et sur Spiderman au graphic design https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/632641354166702080 Why Anita was in Marvel Super Heroes? https://twitter.com/_Tarabar/status/1011595741884747783 https://twitter.com/ryugainai/status/982184067914350593

X-Men Vs. Street Fighter / エックスメンＶＳ．ストリートファイター (1996) Cammy / キャミィ designed by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/421332978971586561 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/705817728389517316 Cammy / キャミィ co-animated by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/497022707339243521 Cammy co-animated by Hiroaki Minobe / 見延浩明 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/321.html Juggernaut co-animated by Hiroaki Minobe / 見延浩明 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/321.html Chun-Li co-animated by Hiroaki Minobe / 見延浩明 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/321.html Apocalypse / アポカリプス animated by Yoshinori Yamamoto / 山本義紀 https://twitter.com/0yamancha0/status/590131670000381952 endings: https://twitter.com/takaNakayama/status/728407785151438848 https://twitter.com/takaNakayama/status/730400494187773952 https://twitter.com/takaNakayama/status/728481571875889153 https://twitter.com/takaNakayama/status/729646173036773376 Boss stage, park stage and big tree stage designed by Chika Iwai / 岩井千佳 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/547.html

Marvel Vs. Street Fighter (1997) Norimaro / 憲磨呂 designed by Noritake Kinashi / 木梨憲武 http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm8627095 Norimaro / 憲磨呂 animated by Hiroaki Minobe / 見延浩明, Koichi Kikutani / 菊谷康一 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/321.html Dan, Dhalsim, Zangief, Norimaro animated by Yoshinori Yamamoto / 山本義紀 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/538.html

Marvel vs. Capcom (1998) Jin / ジン animated by Yoshinori Yamamoto / 山本義紀 https://twitter.com/0yamancha0/status/590517986001178624 Captain Commando animated by Hiroaki Minobe / 見延浩明, Shinji Kaminaguchi / 上水口真司, Ryosuke Naoi https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/321.html https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/598.html

Marvel Vs Capcom 2 (2000) Ruby Heart https://twitter.com/bengasu/status/90392688670670848

Capcom vs SNK / カプコンバーサスエス・エヌ・ケイ (2000) Raiden / ライデン animated by Ikuo Nakayama / 中山郁夫 https://twitter.com/takaNakayama/status/824250573847334916 Nakoruru / ナコルル animated by Eri Nakamura / 中村会里 https://twitter.com/KIMOKIMO_Club/status/1006385731831455744 Ryo / リョウ animated by Tsuyoshi Nagayama / 長山剛士 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/600.html Cammy / サカザキ animated by Tsuyoshi Nagayama / 長山剛士 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/600.html Dan / ダンanimated by Tsuyoshi Nagayama / 長山剛士 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/600.html Mai animated by Tadashi Noyama / 野山正 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/522.html Osaka Castle designed by Chika Iwai / 岩井千佳 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/547.html

Capcom vs SNK 2 (2001) Chang / チャン animated by Yoshinori Yamamoto / 山本義紀 https://twitter.com/0yamancha0/status/972773085848920064 https://twitter.com/0yamancha0/status/938782925935357953 Todo / 藤堂 animated by Ikuo Nakayama / 中山郁夫 https://twitter.com/takaNakayama/status/824250573847334916 Athena / アテナ animated by Shinji Kaminaguchi / 上水口真司 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/598.html Chun-Li / 春麗 animated by Jun Ikawa / 井川純 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/326.html Vice / バイス animated by Jun Ikawa / 井川純 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/326.html Claw / バルログ animated by Jun Ikawa / 井川純 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/326.html Dhalsim / ダルシム animated by Yoshinori Yamamoto / 山本義紀 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/538.html Honda / エドモンド本田 animated by Yoshinori Yamamoto / 山本義紀 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/538.html Yamazaki / 山崎竜二 animated by Yoshinori Yamamoto / 山本義紀 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/538.html Terry / テリー animated by Shinji Kaminaguchi / 上水口真司 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/598.html King / キング animated by Shinji Kaminaguchi / 上水口真司 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/598.html Morrigan / モリガン animated by Shinji Kaminaguchi / 上水口真司 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/598.html Mai animated by Tadashi Noyama / 野山正 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/522.html Evil Ryu / 殺意リュウ animated by Tadashi Noyama / 野山正 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/522.html Gouki / 豪鬼 animated by Tadashi Noyama / 野山正 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/522.html

Capcom Fighting Jam / カプコンファイティングジャム (2004) Ingrid / イングリッド animated by Tadashi Noyama / 野山正 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/522.html Ingrid / イングリッド animated by Norihide Fujī / 藤井紀秀 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/549.html Ingrid / イングリッド graphic design https://twitter.com/takaNakayama/status/760794081878343680 https://twitter.com/takaNakayama/status/767203749907402752 https://twitter.com/takaNakayama/status/778190390298021890 https://twitter.com/takaNakayama/status/778189531287851008 https://twitter.com/takaNakayama/status/793216484264648705

Muscle Bomber / マッスルボマー / Saturday Night Slam Masters (1993) Lucky Colt / ラッキーコルト animated by Kinu Nishimura / 西村キヌ https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/300046158917672960 http://neogeo.freeplaytech.com/svc/interview/interview03/interview03.htm Astro / アストロ animated by Mori / 森 / Q Kyoku https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/666.html Aleksey Zalazof / アレクセイ・ザラゾフ / Biff Slamkovich animated by Ikuo Nakayama / 中山郁夫 https://game.capcom.com/cfn/sfv/column/132581 Warzard / ウォーザード / Red Earth (1996) prototyped in 3D by Nishitani https://twitter.com/nin_arika/status/834193181423964160 Tao / タオ / Mai-Ling co-animated by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/497042165525012481 Tao / タオ / Mai-Ling co-animated Eri Nakamura / 中村会里 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/300623508386484224 Leo / レオ animated by Ikuo Nakayama / 中山郁夫 https://twitter.com/takaNakayama/status/824250573847334916 Tabasa / タバサ / Tessa co-animated by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/787504283625201664 Mukuro / ムクロ animated by Kaname Fujioka / 藤岡要, Mizuho Kageyama / 影山みずほ https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/266.html Sekhmet / セクメト / Ravange animated by Akemi Kurihira / 栗原明美, Keiko Kitayama / 北山 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/586.html Valdoll / ヴァルドール / Scion animated by Akemi Kurihira / 栗原明美 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/586.html Hydron stage by Chika Iwai / 岩井千佳 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/547.html

JoJo's Venture / JoJo no kimyō na bōken / ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 (1998) Jotaro / 承太郎 animated by Kaname Fujioka / 藤岡要 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/266.html Dio animated by Kaname Fujioka / 藤岡要 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/266.html The world / ザ・ワールド (Dio's stand) animated by Norihide Fujī / 藤井紀秀 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/549.html Iggy / イギー animated by Mori / 森 / Q Kyoku https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/666.html Kakyoin / 花京院 animated by Mori / 森 / Q Kyoku https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/666.html Vanilla Ice / ヴァニラ・アイス animated by Mori / 森 / Q Kyoku, Takashi Hayashi / 林 / Ball Boy https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/667.html https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/666.html Joseph / ジョセフ animated by Takashi Hayashi / 林 / Ball Boy https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/667.html N'Doul / ンドゥール animated by Takashi Hayashi / 林 / Ball Boy https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/667.html Death Thirteen / 死神13 (Mannish Boy stand) animated by Takashi Hayashi / 林 / Ball Boy https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/667.html Devo / デビル animated by Takashi Hayashi / 林 / Ball Boy https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/667.html Midler / ミドラー animated by Takashi Hayashi / 林 / Ball Boy https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/667.html Magician's Red / 魔術師の赤 (Avdol's stand) animated by Norihide Fujī / 藤井紀秀 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/549.html Seth / セト神 (Alessy's stand) animated by Norihide Fujī / 藤井紀秀 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/549.html Shadow Dio / 影の吸血鬼 animated by Takashi Hayashi / 林 / Ball Boy https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/667.html

Final Fight / ファイナルファイト (1989) Design doc: Capcom Beat’em Up Bundle http://www.capcom.co.jp/game/content/?p=12885 http://fightingstreet.com/folders/artworkfolder/artworkpages/ff_art_pages/ff1_art_pages/ff1_concept_art.html Haggar / ハガー : pattern drawings + original dot by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/787504283625201664 Haggar / ハガー animated by Satoru Yamashita / 山下智 http://www.capcom.co.jp/game/content/?p=12885 Guy / ガイ animated by Satoru Yamashita / 山下智. Pattern by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 http://www.capcom.co.jp/game/content/?p=12885 Poison designed by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 http://www.capcom.co.jp/game/content/?p=12885 Abigail designed by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/886901709661806592 Enemies designed by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/1047377646340866048

Captain Commando / キャプテンコマンドー (1991) Design doc: Capcom Beat’em Up Bundle Ginzu the Ninja / 翔 animated by Eri Nakamura / 中村会里 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/281.html Captain Commando designed by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/1032914237742411776 Captain Commando animated by Akemi Kurihara / 栗原明美 https://www13.atwiki.jp/game_staff/pages/586.html Baby Commando portrait by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/421330611232464896 Mecha animated by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/708364028884688897 Enemies designed by Akira Yasuda / 安田朗 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/990715955947814912 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/171144706993029120 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/1047378948869373953 https://twitter.com/akiman7/status/1047272459215372289 Alien Vs Predator / エイリアンVSプレデター (1994) Alien Warrior animated by Katsuya Akitomo / 秋友克也 https://twitter.com/sjxqr393/status/963966791897694210 https://twitter.com/sjxqr393/status/1062743322400239617 One of the Predator was animated by Takashi Hayashi / 林 https://twitter.com/FUTATSU24/status/1003069691428925440

#From chara-design to graphic design: the artists behind Capcom's 2D fighting game characters

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