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agentnico · 3 years

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Free Guy (2021) Review

“Don’t have a good day, have a great day!”

Plot: When a bank teller discovers he's actually a background player in a brutal open-world video game, he decides to become the hero of his own story - one that he can rewrite himself. In a world where there's no limits, he's determined to save the day his way before it's too late, and maybe find a little romance with the coder who conceived him.

Last time I watched such a hyper-actively positive film I was seeing little LEGO figures jumping about on screen with Morgan Freeman hanging off a string in ghost form. Yes, The LEGO Movie shares a lot in common with Free Guy, not just in its opening sequence where Ryan Reynolds’s loveable Guy is starting off a perfectly good day every day with a nice cup of coffee and wishing everyone not a good, but a great day, goes to the job at his bank and goes back home, and rinse and repeat. But the character of Guy himself is basically Chris Pratt’s Emmett from The LEGO Movie - full of sunshine and innocence and taking everything that comes with child-like excitement and energy. You can also treat Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy” song usage here like “Everything is Awesome” with how many times its played, but damn if it isn’t catchy! And the film comparisons don’t end there. You wouldn’t be faulted for seeing references to Ready Player One with all the cameos and Easter Eggs and pop culture references thrown in the mix, to The Truman Show based on the general concept and obviously certain video games such as Grand Theft Auto, Saints Row and even Sims due to the video game open world that the movie creates.

Speaking of the video game open world that is created, you could tell director Shawn Levy and the producers went through a lot of effort to research modern video games and all the tiny little details and quirks that exist. For example it was a lot of fun seeing characters tea-bag someone they just killed to then a character glitching out and jumping into the wall repetitively or the obvious inclusion of Fortnite inspired dance jiggles. You also get cameos from various real-life game streamers such as Jacksepticeye and DanTDM, and I found an interview on IGN where those guys spoke about in regards to how Hollywood can never seem to get video-game-to-film adaptations right, and how they appreciated that the producers of Free Guy went to them and asked questions and actually showed interest in wanting to create a realistic feeling video game in the movie and getting the terminology right. Evidently unlike other video game adaptations Free Guy manages to succeed from the fact that it doesn’t need to replicate a specific game from real life. There are nods to certain games as I aforementioned, but otherwise they’ve created their own entire game and as such there is no expectation to impress a certain individual fan base. So in conclusion what I’m saying is that I guess Hollywood should stop trying to adapt film versions of popular video game franchises and instead do their own original stuff maybe? Then again I do want to see that Ghost of Tsushima adaptation come to life, so yes, I’ll just go and kindly shut myself up.

Taking the video game matter aside for the time being, I found Free Guy to be an absolute delight from start to finish. Well, to be exact from 20 minutes from the start to finish. Honestly when the film began I was concerned if the movie was going to turn out to be the typical “I live in a simulation” story, and though as a basis it is exactly that, there’s so much goodness thrown into the mix with funny jokes to the cameos (the cameos are to die for!) to the visuals to the music choices to the performances - the movie is such a joy to watch. Speaking of the cameos and pop culture references, Free Guy is also an interesting film outside of its narrative. This movie was in production during the time the studio that was behind it - 20th Century Fox - was being sold to a certain little known company called Disney. As such, you can tell after the studio’s transfer to Disney was complete, this film underwent some additional reshoots and last minute changes, mainly in the finale because there are certain surprises at the end of the movie that will be a geek/nerd’s wet dream and were only made possible after Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, now known as 20th Century Studios. Personally I still have my qualms about Disney being the massive conglomerate business giant that is buying out all the other studios, but not going to lie even I got excited and jumped up like a kid in my cinema seat when a certain something happened at the end of this movie. Luckily only my lovely fiancée saw me like this as she was sitting next to me, and yes, I’m certain that me revealing my true nerd colours definitely lost me some attraction points from her, but nevertheless I don’t care, the Easter Eggs at the end of this movie are real fun!

The entire cast is top notch here. Ryan Reynolds does his usual shtick that he’s been doing ever since he found success with Deadpool, however naturally here he’s kept PG-13 and not swearing every other breath. That being said, his charm and sarcastic charisma really worked for the role of Guy, and he presented himself as really loveable and naïve and it was impossible not to like him in this film. Jodie Comer in her role has also been getting humongous praise from critics and reviewers alike, and yes, the rumours are true, she shares great on screen chemistry with Ryan Reynolds and also is proper cool and badass as to be expected. That being said I was told by a certain someone that they know someone who knows someone who knew someone who spoke to someone who said that they worked with Jodie Comer on the set of Killing Eve, and this was just some behind-the-scenes worker, and apparently in their experience they found Comer to be a real diva and challenge to work with. So that’s now me here spreading some gossip for no apparent reason besides causing a little stir and now I can move on. Joe Keery has a much bigger role in this film that the trailers made it seem, and I must say the lad has really been doing well for himself ever since his appearance in Stranger Things. Whenever I’ve see him in anything since such as Spree or Death to 2020 he’s always been wonderful to watch. Here in Free Guy he’s no different, getting to play a character who at first comes off as a villain but then is revealed to simply be a guy working for the wrong person. Speaking of that wrong person, the villain of the movie is played by none other than actor-director Taika Waititi himself, and his role is really interesting seeing as he plays the owner of this big video game business company who only cares about money and sequels over art, which I found quite ironic seeing as this movie is distributed by Disney that’s all about sequels, remakes and reboots. Just saying. Also found it funny how even though this movie marks a little reunion of sorts for Ryan Reynolds and Taika Waititi, they don’t share any scenes together which was probably for the best, as last time they worked together Green Lantern occurred. Anyway, Taika is as goofy and over-the-top as you expect him to be, and I can see him being very divisive. You’ll either find him hilarious or super annoying. However both opinions would work seeing as he’s the villain.

Free Guy is an absolute cuddly crowd-pleaser full of casual mayhem and crazy ideas, and is sure to be a welcome boost of fun in a summer that naturally lacked bigger blockbusters due to what’s happening in the world right now. However nonetheless, this and The Suicide Squad have really made a point that cinema is back, hopefully to stay.

Overall score: 9/10

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ordinaryschmuck · 3 years

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What I Thought About The Mitchells vs. the Machines

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is up there as one of the best installments of the MCU. Sure, the action and CGI sucks, and the season finale could use a bit more polish, but there is so much more of what it does right. It brings up an engaging discussion through Karli; the bromance between Bucky and Sam is incredible; Zemo's surprisingly a riot, and U.S. Agent is a character whose inner psychology is something I would like to study. Plus, the series really dives deep into the themes of race and the realistic hesitance that comes with making a black man Captain America. It's easily an 8/10 series that is worth an in-depth discussion.

But f**k that s**t, because I'm talking about The Mitchells vs. the Machines instead!

I know it might be questionable that reviewing a movie starring a predominantly white family of idiots saving the world instead of the TV series about the powerful journey of a black man taking the mantle of an American icon...but this movie is fun, alright? And yes, I'm going to spoil it to explain how. So if you still have a Netflix account, I highly suggest you check it out when you have time.

Because, random people on the internet who most likely won't read this, this Ordinary Schmuck who writes stories and reviews and draws comics and cartoons is going to explain why The Mitchells vs. the Machines might just be my favorite film of the year (steep contest, I know).

WHAT I LIKE

The Animation: Let's get this out of the way right here and right now: If a single person ever tells you that this movie has awful animation, or the worst animation they have ever seen, just go ahead and assume that person is an idiot. Because holy hot cheese sticks, does this movie look amazing!

Say what you want about most of Sony Pictures Animation's movies, but you have to admit that they nail making a CGI movie looking like it could be in 2D. And The Mitchells vs. The Machines is the peak of that style. Every character in nearly every frame looks like they could work well if the movie was hand-drawn, and I love it. I am addicted to seeing films that look 2D with a 3D makeover because there has to be ten times the amount of effort to get that look just right, what with modeling each character in unique ways to nail that style wherein a hand-drawn film, you could just, well, draw it. Not to mention that the cell-shading and certain hand-drawn elements also add to the aesthetic.

Plus, there is so much attention to details, such as most of Katie's character model being covered in sharpie, or how you can see a hint of Eric and Deborabot 3000's drawn on faces even though their black screens are showing something else. Seriously, you can listen to any criticism this movie gets, but don't you dare let someone get away with telling you that it looks awful. It doesn't. It's incredible, and I SO wish that I could have seen it all on the big screen.

The Comedy: On top of being incredibly well-animated, this movie is also incredibly funny. Like, really funny. I shouldn't be surprised since it's made by the same people responsible for Clone High and The Lego Movie, but yeah, I found myself laughing, chuckling, and snorting with nearly every joke in the film. Not every joke works, to be fair. But because of the fast-paced humor, the bad jokes are almost immediately followed up with better ones soon after. What's even better is that the writers know when to take a break with the humor and let some surprisingly compelling drama take over. And even then, when there are jokes during the dramatic moments, they add sincerity to the scene rather than take anything away. Looking at you, The Amazing World of Gumball...I mean, I love you, but sheesh, you need to learn to let a solemn moment play out.

Anyways, the comedy is hilarious. And while I won't spoil every joke, I will go over some bits that might have gotten to me the most.

Katie Mitchell: Let's just go ahead and add Katie Mitchell to the list of characters I highly relate to on a personal level (which is getting longer by the minute, hot damn). But jokes aside, I really like Katie. Her love and desire to make movies is something I identify with, and her goal to just go to a place where she feels like she belongs is easy to understand. Trust me, if I found out there was a group of weirdos who like the same things I do and enjoy the things I make, I’d be willing to pack everything I have and go to them as fast as possible too. Plus, I feel like a lot of us can relate to a character who lives in a household where people question if our career goal is something we can make a living with. I remember two years ago when I told my aunt that I wanted to make my own animated series, and her reaction is a little too similar to Rick's when Katie showed him her movie. They mean well, but sometimes it's for the best to have a cheerleader rather than a critic, especially if that person is family.

Now, Katie isn't perfect as her enthusiasm can get a little annoying at times, and her desire to leave can be conceived as a little too harsh as well. Still, she's pretty cool and serves her role as a protagonist pretty well...also, if the movie gets a sequel, let's hope she and Jude become cannon by then. GIVE KATIE A GIRLFRIEND, DAMN IT!

Aaron Mitchell: But as great as Katie is, it's this goober that earns the reward for my favorite character. At times it looks like Aaron is nothing more than a source of comedy, but he handles some dramatic moments really well. Partial credit goes to Michael Rianda for that one. Yeah, having a child actor would have made Aaron sound more like a kid, but no other voice could have fit him better than what Michael offers as he comes across as weird but never obnoxious.

Also, let's give the writer points for making a character who is clearly neurodivergent. Yet also refraining from having him be annoying or useless to the rest of the cast. No one ever really disrespects or belittles Aaron and instead chooses to work with him rather than against him. Especially Katie, who forms a solid sibling bond with Aaron as a fellow weirdo. It's genuinely sweet to see, and I loved every minute that the writers showed that just because someone acts on a different wavelength doesn't mean they shouldn't be treated any less because of it. You get that with Katie, a little bit, but I see it much more with Aaron, for some reason. And I love him every minute, so that’s a win.

(Plus, I may or may not have had a dinosaur phase when I was younger, so go ahead and add him to the list of relatable characters too.)

Rick Mitchell: This is probably a character you will either love or hate, and I can see both sides of that argument. Because on the one hand, I really like Rick Mitchell. His motivation is clear and understandable from the first set of home videos with him and Katie, both near the beginning and the end. Sure, he messes up a lot, but he is still a man who cares deeply about his daughter, as well as his entire family. He gets to the point where he would make great sacrifices for all of them, especially Katie. Plus, it's just pleasant seeing a cartoon dad who isn't a complete idiot or overprotective regarding his daughter's love life.

However, there are times when Rick comes across as an irresponsible d**k. When he does things like smash the family's phones without telling them or giving them screwdrivers for "presents," you're either gonna find that funny or you won't. Personally, I enjoy Rick and his antics, and I have no problem with irresponsible cartoon dads. As long as they don't cross the line toward Modern-Peter Griffin territory, I've got no problem with dads like Rick, who I believe has never even got that bad. Still, some people might think differently, and I can't blame them. Because after getting great cartoon dads like Greg Universe, I can understand if some people won't be interested in characters like Rick Mitchell.

Rick’s and Katie’s relationship: Alongside the top-notch animation and gut-busting comedy, Rick and Katie's relationship is what I consider the movie's most essential asset. These two are the main characters of the film, and as such, they develop through each other. And what's crazy is that they have very conflicting goals. Katie wants to escape and be with her people, where Rich just wants one last chance to have a good memory with Katie before she leaves. To do so, they first have to understand each other. Katie has to learn why Rick is so desperate to spend time with her, and Rick has to realize why Katie is, well, Katie. What I love most about it is that they try. These two don't spend the entire movie arguing and being at each other's throats until a sudden "Oh" moment in the end. No, there are actual moments when they genuinely try to understand one another and fix their relationship. It's nice to watch, and I especially love when it cuts to Linda and Aaron celebrating each time Katie and Rick get closer to each other. When recommending this movie, I'd say come for the animation and comedy, stay for the phenomenal relationship building.

Monchi: There are probably people already comparing Monchi to Mater or the Minions due to being a comic relief with nothing else to add...but gosh dangit, do I love this little gentleman. Maybe it's because I'm a dog person, but I find Monchie to be incredibly adorable, and I will fight anybody who disrespects this king of kings. Probably not physically, 'cause I'm a wuss, but I will verbally. So WATCH IT!

“HeLlO. i Am DoG.”: Have I mentioned that this movie is funny?

Rick’s videotapes of him and Katie: And right there. Rick's motivation for everything is set in stone through a solid case of visual storytelling.

PAL: The writers do almost everything they should have with this character. PAL might not have the most creative evil plan in the world, but to me, a villain can have a generic scheme as long as they're funny. Thankfully, PAL is funny. Not only is the idea of a smartphone ruling the planet hilarious in all the right ways, but Olivia Colman delivers such a great cynical energy that the character needs. The way PAL reacts to people explaining why humans are worth living is just the best, and her flopping around in a fit of rage successfully gets to me.

If I had to nitpick, I'd say that I wish PAL had more of a meaningful resolution to her character. The movie builds up that she makes a big deal about Mark dropping her, so it feels weird that neither of them really get any actual closure with each other. I'll get more into that in the dislikes, but I wish PAL had more of a fitting end than just dying after accidentally getting dropped in a glass of water. Other than that, she's a great comedic villain for a comedic movie.

PAL MAX Robots: These guys are the funniest characters in the movie. Half of it is the bits of visual humor, while the other half comes from the solid line delivery from Beck Bennett. Especially with Bennett's and Fred Armisen's Eric and Deborahbot 3000. These two are definitely the comedic highlights, as nearly every line they say is both hilarious and kind of adorable at times. And just like with Monchi, if you dare disrespect these characters, I will fight you. Because they are funny, and I will not hear otherwise.

PAL demonstrating what it’s like to be a phone: Have I mentioned that this movie is funny?

(Don't disrespect your phones, kids. Otherwise, they'll try to take over the world.)

PAL turning off the Wi-Fi: Again, have I mentioned this movie is funny?

“I love the dog. You love the dog. We all love the dog. But at some point, you’re gonna have to eat the dog.”: It's the sick jokes that get to me the most. Everyone booing Rick afterward is just the cherry on top.

Attack of the Furbies: Have I. Mentioned. That this movie. Is funny?

Seriously, if you haven't lost your s**t during every second of this scene, then you never had to deal with the demonic entity that is a Furby. In a way, I commend you. But you also don't get to appreciate the comedic genius of all of this. So I also weirdly feel bad for you.

The Mitchells deciding how to celebrate: You don't have a real family if you spend more time arguing about how to celebrate after saving the world than you do about how to save the world. I don't make the rules. I just abide by them.

The PAL MAX Primes: There's not much to say about them. The PAL MAX primes look and act pretty cool, are brilliantly animated, and raise the stakes while still being funny at times. I love 'em, but I don't have much to analyze with them either.

The origin of the moose: ...I'd make the "I didn't need my heart anyway" joke, but to be honest, it's still shattered after WandaVision.

(For real, though, this is a really effective scene that establishes why Rick makes a big deal with the moose and why he might feel hurt that Katie is willing to disregard it completely)

The Theme of Technology and Social Media: There's a theme about how family is important, and working hard on making things work is worth the effort. But that's a bit too generic for my tastes, so instead, I'm gonna talk about the equally important message this movie has about technology. Because as twisted as she is, PAL makes a great point. The technology we have today helps us in a variety of ways. It's especially useful with sites like YouTube, allowing content creators like Katie to reach out and share their voices. The only issue with technology is how people use it. Take note that the main reason why the Mitchells stand a chance against PAL is by using her own tech against her. Yes, over-relying on all the advancements around us can be dangerous, but if we're smart with how we use them, we can get by just fine. This movie isn't about purging all technology like most robot apocalypse stories are. Instead, it's about using it correctly and not being helpless sheep the second the Wi-Fi gets turned off. Which might just be the most unique thing this movie has going for it story-wise (more on that later).

The Climax: The Mitchells vs. The Machines has everything that I think I climax should have. First off, it utilizes callbacks and jokes that I wouldn't have thought twice on actually coming in handy for how the Mitchells win the day. But showing that Monchi causes the robots to malfunction turns a pretty "eh" joke into a solid case of foreshadowing.

Second, everyone does something. Some characters do more than others, sure, but the fact that every Mitchell, even Monchi, has a hand in beating PAL and her robots is a great sense of writing to me. It shows that you really can't cut anyone from the main cast, as they each add value to how they are essential to the plot. Even Aaron, who arguably does the least in the climax, still manages to be the catalyst to what is easily the best scene in the movie. Speaking of which...

Linda Kicks Ass: By the way, that's the actual name on the soundtrack. I'm not even kidding. Check it.

Anyways, for the most part, Linda seemed like a decent cartoon mom. She's insanely supportive but still has the common sense to keep her foot down, like agreeing with Rick to stay safe in the dino stop the second the apocalypse starts. A pretty fun character, for sure, but nothing too noteworthy...but the second she loses her s**t, Linda Mitchell frickin' SKYROCKETS to the best-cartoon-mom territory! Believe me when I tell you that seeing her slice and dice robots like a middle-aged female Samurai Jack is as awesome as it is hilarious. Does it make sense how she can suddenly do this? No, but at the same time, who gives a s**t about common sense?! Because this moment was epic, and I don't think I'll ever get tired of watching it over and over again.

Rick Learning How to Internet...Again: I consider this the funniest moment in the movie. Trust me, the Furby scene is a close, close, CLOSE, second...but I think this scene was funnier.

The final goodbye: This is what I'm talking about when I say humor adds to the dramatic moments. The Mitchells saying "I love you" in moose is pretty funny, but it's also a sweet moment given that this is absolutely how this family of weirdos would say goodbye to each other. And, yeah, I got a little misty-eyed during this scene. Especially when Rick saw Katie pocketing the moose. That s**t just cuts deep, man.

Alex Hirsch Voices a Character: ...That's it. I look up to Alex Hirsh as everything I want to be as a creator, and the fact that his name is on this movie fills me with joy. He's also a story consultant, so that can also explain why the movie turned out as great as it did...although there are some imperfections.

WHAT I DISLIKE

Katie-vision: What's Katie-vision? Well, throughout the movie, we get to see how Katie views the world as there are these hand-drawn elements that look like effects Katie would add if she was the one who made the movie. At times it can be subtle and cute, like when this little beating heart appears when Katie is talking with Jude and her other friends. It's when the movie is in your face with Katie-vision does it get annoying. Like showing how Katie is lying about being certain she can drive up a vertical ramp or signifying what is the Rick Mitchell Special. Even if you justify that this would be how Katie would edit the movie, it still doesn't change how obnoxious these moments can be. For instance, Monchi is justified to be essential for the plot, but that doesn't mean people won't hate him...I'll still fight them if they do, but that's beside the point.

I can totally accept this being a personal issue, as I'm sure some people enjoy it. As for me, I think Katie-vision works best when used subtly instead of crudely.

The Meme humor: It's something similar here. Because some people like meme humor...but I don't. To me, it just dates your story if you reference memes even once. Now, a show, movie, or book being partially dated is nothing new. We Bare Bears, a series that I love, reference memes, apps, and social media constantly. Yet, the show still has a timeless feel to it as it doesn't rely on those references too much. The Mitchells vs. the Machines doesn't rely on memes as much either. But even then, that doesn't make a difference about how annoying that gibbon monkey joke was. Seriously, what the f**k was that? And how is THAT the joke that gets used twice!?

Underutilizing Mark Bowman: It really bothers me how this guy barely does much. I mean, Mark Bowman is the main reason that anything happens in the movie. Because he mistreated PAL, Mark acts as the catalyst for events to come. So the fact that he could have been written out the second PAL takes control doesn't make sense to me. It's worse since I could see more potential with his character through his relationship with PAL. These two could be anti-Rick and Katie, as Mark and PAL show what happens when people disrespect their family. So separating them halfway through the story, and keeping them as such, is a huge mistake as it results in neither having a proper resolution to their arcs. Like I said, Rick and Katie develop through each other, and the same could have happened with Mark and PAL. It doesn't, making it something that I can't help but feel disappointed about.

The Poseys: These are characters I feel like work better with multiple appearances. Sure, they only have the one joke about being a perfect family, but at the same time, you can make a joke like that work. Look at Yvonne from Shaun of the Dead (Which might just be my favorite movie). That's a bit-character whose only purpose is showing how better she is than Shaun despite being in an eerily similar situation. But she works well as we constantly see how great she's doing in every instance we see her. The same could be done with the Poseys, as using a similar joke for one scene is underutilizing great potential to make an already good movie into a better one.

Plus, if you're gonna shoehorn in a romance between Aaron and Abby Posey, the least you could do is have more than one scene developing that...just saying.

Katie’s and Rick’s “Oh” Moments: I want to make it clear that I actually like these scenes. They're well written and effectively emotional. My problem is that they also happen two seconds apart. There's nothing wrong with having a character realize the error of their ways through a tear-jerking moment. It's a popular tactic for a reason. And given how both Rick and Katie are the protagonists, they both need their own "oh" moment. But you gotta space them out, as it makes things easier to see the emotional manipulation that you're clearly trying to pull on the audience. They work, but putting them back to back is an issue easily solved with at least two minutes of padding, not two seconds.

Katie’s Death Fakeout: This is one of the few instances that a joke doesn't work in the movie, made even more annoying with the fact that I could see the punchline a mile away and kept thinking, "Just get to it already." I'm pretty sure no one bought this, especially when Katie didn't look like she could have gotten killed in any way after throwing PAL. It's poorly handled and proof that even the funniest comedies have a stale joke every now and again.

Nothing New is really being done here: Keep in mind that in terms of style, this movie is incredibly innovative. And here's hoping future animated projects can take notes. But narratively speaking? Yeah, there's nothing really new that this movie is offering.

A story about how technology will be the death of us? Been there.

A story about a group of idiots miraculously saving the world? Done that.

A story about a father forcing their teenager on a road trip so they can spend quality time with each other, thus ruining the teen's chance of hanging out with their girlfriend? Believe it or not, I have seen A Goofy Movie...multiple times...both as a kid and as an adult.

Now, I have no issue with a movie's plot being a bit by-the-books, and in some cases, cliche. If done effectively, and if I still have a good time, I don't think there’s much to complain about. And there isn't with The Mitchells vs. The Machines. The problem lies with that I'll forget this movie along with the dozens of others like it in a couple years. Which might just be the biggest issue any film can have.

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Overall, I'd give The Mitchells vs. the Machines a well-earned A-. It has nitpicks, sure, but it's still a blast to watch. It might not be innovative or groundbreaking as movies like the last Sony Pictures Animation movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse. However, it is fun. And when the world is burning down around us, it's nice to have a fun movie that can distract us from all of it. So feel free to log in to Netflix the next time you're in the mood for a film that is great for the whole family. You won’t be disapointed

(And I will talk about The Falcon and the Winter Soldier pretty soon. I just needed to get this out of my system first.)

#the mitchells vs the machines #what i thought about

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oohlook-thevoid · 4 years

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Yes, this is another post as a result of me watching Chapter 16 of The Mandalorian.

Ok, so one of the most pivotal elements of a piece of media is character dynamics, right? I mean, I'd argue its one of the most important - a story can have good characters, plot and worldbuilding but without good character dynamics it falls flat.

For example:

SW Sequel trilogy - ok, so I know this had many flaws and factors in it falling as flat as it did but I'd argue a key one was the character dynamics. That being both that Poe, Rey and Finn weren't established as the new trio they deserved to be (or quad(?) following Rose's introduction), that they introduced random LIs in like the 3rd movie and that they bordered between maybe Rey/Kylo an actual fully fledged thing or allowing them to be actual enemies. Not having decent character relationships lessened the impact of certain points.

MCU Avengers - there was a reason why 2012 saw so many they-all-live-in-the-tower fics and that's because part of the Avengers appeal (in comics and animation) is the team dynamic; the way in which they interact, trust, and care for each other. That's also why when they do break apart it's all the more compelling because there was an actual relationship being broken. The MCU didn't put them together so strongly so CW etc. just didn't land so well.

On the other hand, to further evidence my point, some shows are (arguably) not that great but are still loved by virtue of the character dynamics:

BBC Merlin - I think at this point the fandom can agree that overall the show was a bit shit but there's a reason it's still loved 8yrs after ending. And that's the character dynamics. There's a lot but a few in particular: Morgana and Arthur - siblings who did care about each other but fell apart due to where they fell in regards to their father's beliefs, Merlin and Lancelot - the trust in Lancelot being whom Merlin trusts with his secret in Camelot, Mordred and Arthur - the kindness and care followed by betrayal etc. etc. There's loads and it's exploring them that makes the show so loved still.

Lego Ninjago - look, this show was made to sell lego toys and now it's a fairly long running show with a fandom that does actually exist online. And like, it's not w/o flaws (especially, if I recall correctly, introducing info in later seasons that contradicts prior canon) but it still slaps because of the character dynamics. Like Garmadon and Lloyd - father and son destined to fight each other but who still care for on another, Misako, Wu and Garmadon - the elderly consequences of when the girl picks the bad boy of the love triangle, all the varying dynamics between Jay, Kai, Cole, Zane, Nya and Lloyd etc. etc. The list goes on. Their relationships make the show at times.

And look, there's obviously more examples, and naturally this is somewhat subjective, but I think these are fairly solid with regards to the impact of character dynamics on the media.

Which brings me on to The Mandalorian. This show obviously has Star Wars fans as part of its audience but it also has non-SW fans and more casual SW fans (like me) who love it as well.

And I think what brought people to the show who may not have otherwise watched it was Grogu (or as original hype called him: Baby Yoda). And as they watched it was the relationship between Grogu and Din that sealed the deal and gained their continued viewership.

Because the dynamic and relationship between Grogu and Din is just phenomenal. Like, we have to acknowledge that is a puppet and Pedro Pascal in full armour (including a mask so we can't see his facial expressions) providing one of the most genuine fucking father-son relationships I've ever seen. Like the way a puppet and masked Pedro convey emotions and that bond etc. is like absolutely out there in terms of sheer damn talent.

And just going in universe, that's a bounty hunter Mandalorian who was meant to deliver this kid and ended up basically ditching his job and risking everything over and over because he got attached to the kid and would do anything to keep him safe. Like that's such an unbelievably strong bond of love that you don't exactly see like that everyday, like its beautiful man, idk what else to tell you.

So now, with the end of s2 having separated Grogu and Din, I worry about feeling so drawn in by the show when it's most pivotal relationship/character dynamic is no longer present. I mean, yes, I imagine they'll acknowledge the feeling of loss and that they'll eventually be reunited but I also think a new plot (the darksaber etc.) will take precedence over character dynamics (esp. in terms of making any as strong).

The Mandalorian is a show that, yes, had cool SW cameos and references, badass fight scenes, a great supporting cast of characters, cool space worldbuilding and so on. But it, so far, all worked around the pivotal relationship between Din and Grogu. That was the draw to the show and that was the driving force of the plot. And, I'm personally less certain about feeling so hooked on s3.

#the mandalorian spoilers #the mandalorian #merlin bbc #ninjago #avengers #sequel trilogy

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wall-of-history · 4 years

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BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui is Still as Beloved as Fans Remember: A Response to Comic Book Resource and Matthew Attanasio

Hey everyone! I’m James, the guy behind Wall of History. I know I rarely drop the facade of my brand on official Wall of History accounts, but today, I’d like to make a more casual, opinionated post on something that’s been getting a lot of attention from the BIONICLE community on Twitter.

Last night, Comic Book Resources posted an article titled “BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui is Still as Pointless as Fans Remember,” and if you have even a surface-level familiarity with the BIONICLE community, I’m sure you can guess the reaction we had — CBR’s tweet was pretty quickly ratioed by fans, drawing comments like, “Comic book resource [sic] once again proving you do not require a brain to type,” and, “We think that the Vahki would like to have a word with you guys." BIONICLE fans generally agree that Legends of Metru Nui is the best film in the franchise, so claims that we universally “remember” it in such a negative light are completely baseless — I’d like to move past the inflammatory title, however, and analyze the actual contents of the article.

LEGO's decision to focus on prequel material was received as a slap in the face. While fans were ready to see the story press forward, it instead fell backwards to tell stories that held little significance to the ‘present day’ plot of the franchise.

To say that the story of Metru Nui held “little significance” to the plot of the franchise is ridiculous. For three years, fans had been given only vague legends about the origins of the Matoran and their struggle with the Makuta, and after Makuta’s defeat, “pressing forward” meant returning to the world they had left behind following the Great Cataclysm. To introduce us to that world and show us how the Matoran came to be in their present situation was an obvious next step for the story.

That's not to say the various comics and novels didn't deliver interesting stories; they did.

That’s true, they did! However, the rest of this article gives me reason to believe you didn’t actually read them (or, at the very least, didn’t pay attention when you did).

They just weren't what fans craved at the time. Legends of Metru Nui failed to bring anything valuable to the table in this regard, with a sloppy story, terrible pacing and forgettable characters.

There are numerous claims and implications throughout this article (we’ve already glossed over one) that BIONICLE fans generally felt certain ways about this film, as well as this story arc as a whole, but none of these claims are backed up. To blatantly misrepresent the feelings of the community like this is rather poor journalism.

Regarding your claim that Legends of Metru Nui failed to bring anything valuable to the table, I’ll reiterate my point from above — the ending of Mask of Light saw the Matoran take the first steps toward reclaiming their home, a home that had been hidden from us, the fans, since the inception of the franchise. Showing us why and how this home was lost in the first place proved to be a vital step in expanding the scope of the BIONICLE legend. Makuta’s actions in Legends of Metru Nui ended up being the inciting incident for the rest of the story, a story that was largely set in the Matoran Universe introduced by this arc.

Your claim that the film has forgettable characters is, like your claim that fans generally remember this film negatively, demonstrably false. Vakama is widely regarded as one of the best characters, if not the best character, in the franchise (the last post on this very blog is evidence of this), and Nidhiki proved to be so popular that his origin story was later relayed to us twice, in the short story “Birth of a Dark Hunter” and the novel BIONICLE Legends #4: Legacy of Evil.

These new heroes are Vakama, Nokama, Matau, Onewa, Whenua and Nuju, Toa of Fire, Water, Air, Stone, Earth and Ice, respectively. Whereas Mask of Light's Toa Nuva were already fan-favorites, the Toa Metru were a mixed bag, and this film did nothing to help their image. In truth, all three of the main Bionicle films failed to highlight how awesome the Toa could be, which is a shame.

BIONICLE is not the story of the Toa. It’s the story of the Matoran.

In the behind the scenes featurette on the Legends of Metru Nui DVD, the narrator makes the odd claim that both Mask of Light and Legends of Metru Nui are “all about the Toa.” This claim is odd not just because Mask of Light literally isn’t about the Toa (it’s mostly about two Matoran), but also because the Matoran have always been the heart of the franchise — a fact that Legends of Metru Nui comments on.

Many fans feel that Mata Nui: The Online Game is the best BIONICLE media, and it’s a story that largely focuses on the Matoran. You play as a Matoran, you primarily interact with Matoran, you solve Matoran problems… and until the very end, the Toa are mostly off doing their own thing. This makes for a really compelling story, precisely because the Matoran aren’t “awesome” like the Toa. It’s cool when the Toa unite their elemental powers to make the Makuta explode into a pile of scrap metal, but it’s compelling when the Matoran armies, whose leaders previously seemed preoccupied with their own problems, unite to save the ragtag Chronicler’s Company from what would have been a deadly Rahi attack.

The Matoran have always been the emotional heart of the BIONICLE legend (the Toa’s stories do focus on saving them, after all), and Legends of Metru Nui understands this. When Lhikan tells Vakama to “save the heart of Metru Nui,” the Toa Metru immediately assume he’s talking about himself… and that kind of makes sense! Lhikan is, after all, the last Toa, a fearless, noble hero, and the last bastion of light in a city being consumed by shadows. Of course he’s the heart of Metru Nui! The Toa Metru spend most of the film searching for Lhikan, but when they find him, he’s not the hero he used to be anymore — he’s a small, frail Turaga now, and he berates Vakama for seeking out him instead of saving the true heart of Metru Nui, the Matoran. This is a great twist, not only because it finally delivers on some of the spooky foreshadowing from earlier in the film, but also because it sends a clear message to the audience that the Matoran are the heart of this legend.

The plot revolves around Vakama's (voiced by Alessandro Juliani) inner struggle to realize who he is. If that sounds familiar, it's because that was basically the plot of the first Bionicle film, which handled these themes in a much stronger way.

While it’s true that Takua and Vakama both struggle to accept their destinies as Toa, I feel Vakama’s struggle is the stronger of the two, as his is based in the very relatable anxiety of impostor syndrome.

That's largely because Vakama, along with just about every other character in the film, is incredibly boring.

This is one of the comments I mentioned above that makes it hard for me to believe you actually read the comics and novels that tell the rest of the Metru Nui story. Vakama’s character arc is undoubtedly the most complex in the franchise, based in relatable anxieties, and actually has a clear beginning, middle, and end (contrast this with the more repetitive character arcs of the Toa Nuva, who have to learn about the importance of unity several times over before they finally internalize it).

Despite being the protagonist, Vakama has an incredibly erratic and unfocused arc, while Whenua (voiced by Paul Dobson) and Nuju (voiced by Trevor Devall) receive next to no development at all.

This latter statement regarding Whenua and Nuju is true, but I don’t think it works as a criticism of the film, which is clearly meant to focus on Vakama, Lhikan, the Matoran, and the Makuta. Rarely does a film with an ensemble cast give a complete arc to every single character, and if it keeps the film more focused, that’s a good thing.

And whereas the antagonistic Makuta had a consistent, threatening presence in Mask of Light, he's an absolute joke here.

He eats people in this movie!

However, much like Mask of Light, Legends of Metru Nui maintains the problem of poor editing to the point of being laughably bad. There are transitions and cuts that make absolutely no sense. The movie struggles to let scenes settle and develop, with many in the middle lasting no longer than a minute, which is extremely jarring to watch.

Alright, I’ll give you this one — the editing could stand to be a bit more polished. It’s a film that’s trying to juggle quite a few plot threads, though, so I think its ambition makes its editing shortcomings forgivable.

For example, in the comics, writer Greg Farshtey explains why Vakama experiences visions of the future. But in the film, there's no explanation for this at all, making it seem like Vakama has clairvoyant powers out of nowhere (not that his vision [sic] do anything substantial in the film).

This is an extremely odd comment, because it’s just not true on either count. Vakama’s visions are never explained in the comics, but they are explained in the film, barely fifteen minutes in: “Visions can be a sign of madness, yes, or messages from the Great Spirit.”

The claim that Vakama’s visions contribute nothing substantial to the film is also objectively false, since his visions are what compels the team to go after the Great Disks, from which Vakama crafts the Mask of Time.

There are plenty of other small lines and instances that ignore the continuity, like Whenua commenting on how he went from being a Matoran archivist to a Toa fugitive in a day. That's obviously not how it works -- the disk hunt alone takes a while in both the comics and the film, so Whenua's statement makes no sense.

Whenua’s line is, “When I woke up, all I worried about was cataloging.” He does not explicitly claim to have been a Matoran when he woke up. All this line does is show that Whenua thought he’d be able to return to his life as an archivist now that the Morbuzakh and Krahka had both been defeated.

Of course, nowadays, many Bionicle lore scribes have properly allotted the film in the larger Bionicle timeline. But at the time of release, it felt like Legends of Metru Nui was blatantly going against everything that was already happening in the canon, which was upsetting and/or painful to watch.

Do you have a source confirming that fans felt this way at the time? As I briefly discussed earlier, this article is filled with implications that BIONICLE fans in general feel the same way about Legends of Metru Nui that you do (this is even made explicit in the title), but none of these implications are backed up, and this is simply not the case.

For the true fans out there, revisit this film if you want. Just don't expect anything special.

I watched it just the other day and had a great time! And the last time I hosted a stream of it, we all had a great time! And this brings me back to the core issue with this article: the baseless claim, in both the title and contents, that BIONICLE fans generally dislike Legends of Metru Nui. Perhaps it’s odd to write a response like this for what’s probably a pretty harmless article. Perhaps it’s an overreaction. But to see a huge site like CBR publish an article like this, that's not just full of factual inaccuracies, but also misrepresents the feelings of most of this community, is upsetting. To ascribe this kind of negativity to a generally friendly community, a community that so genuinely loves what we love, flaws and all, for some clickbait ad revenue… is upsetting.

#BIONICLE

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lovemesomesurveys · 4 years

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“The rest of your life” Are you independent or dependent? Both, but definitely more dependent. Even more so these past few years.

If you could put your life into a category, where would it go? I feel like this would be easier to answer if you gave a list of categories. I don’t know what kind of insight you’re looking for. <<< Yeah, I have no idea how to answer this.

How many animals do you have? I have one doggo. <3

Are you popular? Nope. Never was and that’s perfectly fine.

What time were you born? Around 430PM.

Have you had any candy this week? Nope.

Are you more afraid of tornadoes or hurricanes? I’ve never experienced either one, but they both sound terrifying.

Do you like those nerd glasses? I don’t know what “nerd glasses” you’re referring to.

Have you ever been in a fist fight? Nope. Or any kind of physical fight.

What color is your house? Beige.

When was the last time you saw a rainbow? Hmm. I don’t remember.

Have you ever ate a crayon? Nope.

Ever rode in a helicopter? Yes, after my accident I had to be flown to another hospital.

Do you like rabbits? Sure.

Do you like mushrooms? Nope.

“It’s like you step into the room and just press play” What was the last movie you cried at? On Halloween I rewatched It Chapter 2 and the ending always gets me in the feels with what happens to Eddie, when it shows the loser’s club as kids and then adults, and the letter from Stanley.

What ice cream flavor best describes your personality? Vanilla cause I’m plain and simple and “innocent”, ha.

Would you rather work for a small or large company? I don’t know.

Where's your favorite place to buy clothes? Boxlunch and Hot Topic.

How many languages do you speak? Just one fluently. I can speak some Spanish, though.

What was the worst movie you've ever seen? Hm. There’s been several wtf movies, but I don’t know what I’d say was the worst. I don’t feel like thinking much about it.

What video game have you played the most? Mario bro games and most recently Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I’ve been playing that just about everyday for a lot of this year.

What was your favorite TV show as a child? Nick Jr shows, Playhouse Disney shows, Arthur, The Big Comfy Couch, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Bobby’s World, some Cartoon Network cartoons, and Saturday morning cartoons like Recess and Pepperann.

What's your favorite sport? None.

If you were given a brand new yacht, what would you name it? I have no idea.

Do you believe there’s life on other planets? Not in the form of ugly green creatures with odd shaped heads.

What was the worst place you ever traveled to? Hm. I haven’t been anywhere I didn’t really like.

What is one thing you’re really bad at? Life.

Do you believe in angels? Yes.

Would you rather be a famous actor or musician? Neither.

“where have you been all my life?” If you could have invented one thing, what would it have been? I don’t know.

What's your favorite exercise workout? I don’t have one. I don’t exercise :X

What's your favorite thing to do? Some things I like to do include surveys, reading, watching YouTube, scrolling through Tumblr, and checking my social medias.

What did you do for your 17th birthday? I’m sure dinner with family. Probably invited my aunts and cousins over.

Does your local Wal Mart have benches in them to rest? Yeah.

Was your favorite stuffed animal really a teddy bear growing up? I got more into stuffed animals as I got older to be honest when I started collecting giraffe stuffed animals.

If your house was haunted, what would you do? Uhh I don’t know.

Are you crazy in love currently? No.

Are you good at swimming? No, I can’t swim.

What's worse: Slow internet or slow walkers? Slow internet is suuuuper frustrating.

What is the rudest thing a guy has ever done to you? Use me and play me.

Do you sleep with the sheets tucked in or out? Out.

What do you do to fall asleep faster? I don’t have much say when I fall asleep, but to try and help with that I listen to ASMR.

Do you carry a bottle of water wherever you go? No.

Ae you afraid that one day you might get cancer? It is something I’m afraid of. I’m someone who tends to think it’s always a possibility whenever something is wrong or I’m really sick.

“Letters to Juliet” Are you a fast or slow walker? I’m a fast wheeler.

Do you usually have to wear a belt with your pants? I never wear a belt.

Does it bother you when people's underwear hangs out? Kinda cause as someone in a wheelchair I’m at the level of a lot of people’s behinds lol and yeah, I don’t particularly want to see their underwear. Even worse if their ass is hanging out.

Are you usually the person to try new things with your hair? No.

When's your birthday? July 28th.

Do you own a bobble-head toy? Yes.

What color was the towel you used to dry off with today after a shower? I haven’t showered yet today.

Has anyone ever walked you home? Yeah.

Have you ever liked someone and they were taken? Yes.

When was the last time you went fishing? I’ve only tried it once, briefly. It wasn’t my thing.

True or false: You've read the book Lord of the Flies? True.

Have you heard of the band Yellowcard? Yep.

Have you ever seen the show Teen Wolf? I never got into it.

Do you have any quotes, lyrics etc on your walls? No. Are you a fan of Star Wars? Yes. I finally caught up on season 2 of The Mandalorian so far last night.

“Our parents never let us cross the street, but we did it anyway” Has anyone ever told you that you have nice hair? Yes.

What brand of camera do you own? I use my iPhone XR.

Is there something you're not looking forward to? My next doctor appointment.

Have you ever read the book Thirteen Reasons Why? Yep, back when I was in high school.

Do you wear white pants? No. I avoid wearing white cause I’m a slob haha.

When was the last time you were really angry? My doctor pisses me off. I don’t know why it’s so hard to get a call back regarding some lab results. I call and they say they’re waiting for the doctor to look over them and they’ll call me back to let me know but ugh it’s been taking days.

Have you ever made a 3 pointer in a basketball game? I’ve never participated in a basketball game.

Do you think you look better with your hair up or down? Down, but I always throw it up because it’s easier to deal with. I don’t have the energy or motivation to style or do anything with it.

Do you warm up before you hardcore exercise? I don’t hardcore exercise. Or exercise at all.

Do you want a pair of Converse shoes? Not currently.

Are you more of a studs or hoops type of person when it comes to earrings? Studs.

How many shirts do you have of your favorite band? Two.

Turn on the TV. What channel are you on? It’s already on, it’s currently on The Hallmark Channel.

Have you ever wore a tie before? No.

What did you have for breakfast this morning? I haven’t ate anything yet today, it’s only 5:28AM.

“For the Krusty Krab” Are you good at art? Nope, not at all.

How many times have you read your favorite book? I don’t reread books, actually.

Name one thing that you really hate. My health.

Have you ever tried walking on stilts? No. That would be impossible for me.

Is there a war that you find interesting? I’ve read the most about the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln. Especially for one of my community college history classes because the professor was a big Lincoln buff and I did a paper on Lincoln and the war.

Would you rather live in the city or country? City.

Do you think $7 is too much for a movie ticket? $7 is okay, but our movie tickets are more than that.

Would you like to be a newscast person? No. Fun fact: I was one of the newscasters on my elementary school’s news program when I was in the 7th grade, though. I enjoyed it, it was fun. It was nerve wracking, too, cause I went to a k-8th grade school and the news program played in every single grade/classroom.

Do you like word searches, coloring or crosswords better? I enjoy word searches and coloring.

Close your eyes and press a random key on the keyboard. j

How many William’s do you know? I don’t know any.

What time did you wake up this morning? It’s 5:34AM, I haven’t gone to bed yet.

Do you enjoy crutches? I’ve never used them, but does anyone actually enjoy them? They’re beneficial and necessary for some, so it’s great that they exist, but I don’t know if anyone actually enjoys them.

What's better: Snapple or Arizona tea? I used to love Arizona teas when I was a teenager. The green tea and the watermelon flavors were my favorite.

Make a word out of the word: Dinosaur. Sound.

“she said I love this song, I’ve heard it before” When you were younger, did you play with legos? Yeah.

Do you like Trix cereal? Yes. I haven’t had it in several years, though.

Do you get nervous easily? Yesss.

How long is your Facebook password? Uh, I’m not sharing that.

Do you like the movie Mean Girls? Yes.

How do you want your wedding to be? I don’t plan on getting married.

Have you seen the movie or show Catfish? Both. I love the tv show.

Do you hate it when you arrive to something early? No, I hate when I arrive to something late.

Have you ever been on Omegle? Yes.

Are you still in love with one of your exes? Nope. I moved on years ago.

Do you think it's attractive when guys wear beanies? It can be, sure.

What's something that makes you feel shy in public? Being in crowded places is one.

Do you like the shows on MTV? I like Catfish and the Teen Mom shows.

If you could go back and relive one day, what day? Hm. I’d have to really think about that if it was just one day.

What's one word you hate to be called? Sensitive. I know I am, but I hate being told “I’m too sensitive.” Plus sometimes it’s like, “no, maybe you’re just mean?”

#personal #text #survey #surveys

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midnightcrypt · 4 years

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aight here it is for the 2 ppl who asked to read it

before you read it just know i mean NO hate towards ninjago i own a few of the sets and have watched every single episode im just >:( at the way lego is handling things

EDIT: there is an iron fan minifigure i am a fool but theres still no tang

Lego is quite a well known successful company, correct? I’m here today to say that two high schoolers talking in a discord DM were discussing potential marketing ideas that would very likely work far better than any recent choice the company has made regarding their themes as well as their original animated series’. We also spoke about several problems with their advertising and set problems only to name a few of the many issues that we talked about, which is why I’m going to be writing about the main glaring flaws that we spoke about.

So the first major problem would be the Ninjago problem. Ninjago: master of spinjitzu has been a popular theme for quite some time now since the original shorts were first released in early 2011. While it has been quite a success for Lego it’s also bound to be part of their downfall, the show has been airing for 12 seasons, soon to be 13, which has been the cause of the death for quite a few other themes. One example would be Nexo Knights, this show had a similar animation style to ninjago along with a color coded cast of characters with a fairly simple premise with a plot that began to get more in depth with the lore of the universe as the seasons passed. Nexo Knights however was never able to make it past it’s 4th season due to Ninjago’s popularity taking away from it. Nexo Knights had gotten sets for it’s 5th season as well as a trailer, but the 5th season was cancelled while still in production, seemingly late in production due to trailers and sets already being released. But why would it be cancelled so late into its production? When it would likely have been a better choice to finish up and release it instead of wasting all that money on the sets and the show. This also happened with Legends of Chima and the Bionicle series, two themes that were snuffed out by Ninjago’s fame and eventually were forgotten by most everyone. Lego keeps trying to start new themes that all will eventually be killed by Ninjago and it’s popularity, the best option would be to simply end the show. Ninjago has had a great run and is a staple in many people’s lives and childhoods but all good things must come to an end, and in the end this show falling might be the only way to have any other themes succeed.

The best idea I have for Ninjago’s end would be to finish production on season 13, but for season 14 give us an actual ending. Give Garmadon his final redemption and even bring back the overlord for one final battle with all of the characters at the end of it all. Use the original theme song and just give the fans what they want. Lego doesn’t need to take the sets off of shelves or retire the theme until they stop making money off of it, they could even do a final wave and make more Ninjago Legacy sets. That way they would be able to make new sets that fans will certainly like while giving the other original series a chance to succeed.

One of the themes that has recently been introduced is Monkie kid, this theme is fairly new at the time but is set up for failure, Lego has been giving us hardly any information on the actual content’s wide release as well as having all of the sets be incredibly expensive. This is a bad idea for so many reasons, not only will this drive genuine fans away from buying more than one set but it will also drive away any parents of kids who enjoy the content. What person would opt to buy something that’s $45 instead of one of the much cheaper other sets from a different theme. They’re only setting this new theme up for failure by doing this. Another thing about these sets is that two of the major characters aren’t included in any of the eight current sets, these two characters that happen to be fan favorites. Many fans of the themes with animated content only tend to buy the sets with their favorite character for the minifigure alone, excluding these characters is only hurting this theme’s sales. While no Lego wouldn’t have known about these characters being favorites among fans before the release, why would you leave two major characters out in the first place.

Another big problem among Lego’s animated series would be the release dates, or lack thereof. Lego tends to be fairly quiet when it comes to announcing when their shows will be released as well as releasing them everywhere but where Lego is based. A prime example is Ninjago. Lego will air the new seasons in places outside of where the main community of fans are months before the season will release in those places. This causes fans to pirate the show, which only hurts the ratings and view time of the official release. For the show that seems to make Lego the most money they sure don’t seem to care much about it. The best course of action would be to have all versions be released at the same time, with a set release date that would be revealed soon after the first trailer is dropped. This would make sure people know when and where it’ll be released.

Another issue with the newer themes is the amount of vehicles. There are so many jets, mechs, cars, and bikes in the newer sets, which is honestly really confusing considering that the location based sets always look so much nicer that the vehicle ones. For example the Hidden Side and Unikitty! themes have so much of a nicer look not just on a display but also just the individual sets, both of these themes are mostly location/landscape based with most of their sets, while yes they of course do have vehicles this doesn’t make up the majority of their sets. Both of these themes look far nicer and likely would be doing so much better if Lego actually advertised for either of these themes instead of letting them remain in the shadows and cancelling unikitty not that long ago.

One idea for an original theme that would likely do a very good job even without a movie or series would be to just do a Legacy theme, this theme would bring back many of the original themes that people who are now adults grew up with. People have been asking for something like this for quite some time now and I’m not sure why Lego hasn’t listened to the demand yet. This theme would bring back a lot of old fans back into lego or introduce new fans to something they never got to experience. One of the biggest themes that people have been asking for would be the space theme, this was teased back in the original lego movie with a few sets being centered around it with the character these sets were centered around having a few references to things that only people who owned the original sets would get. It would be a really good choice to bring back not only the space theme but a few of the other old themes to bring back old fans as well as bring in some new ones.

In conclusion Lego needs to step up and make some better choices for their advertising, set design, and how they treat their themes if they want any of their properties to succeed, as well as just making some decisions as a whole considering the fact that 2 kids managed to come up with these ideas and point out a lot of really glaring flaws that apparently Lego can’t manage to see. So Lego if you’d like to come forth and start making some good choices and be an actually competent company who knows what they’re doing then prove it.

#if theres any typos that were missed pls dont point them out #but uhh yeah here it is #me being >:( at lego for a whole 8 paragraphs #also shoutout to my friend @i-ship-it-blackrom for being the person that let me rant last night and then proofreading this thing

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thorsstorms · 5 years

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Abroad pt 14

(Chris Hemsworth x Reader)

Summary: Being the Hemsworth Kids’ Nanny, you were vowed to keep it strictly professional for their sake, but do the stolen glances go unnoticed between you both?

Word count: 3k

Warnings: There is nothing much in this chapter, but i will start adding this as a warning: This chapter talks about pregnancy, as well as the next. If you have problems regarding pregnancies, or anything that MAY or MAY NOT come along with one, please continue with caution.

A/N: if you want to be tagged, PLEASE SEND AS AN ASK. And I do have a question if you would. This chapter is shorter than most of the others, almost cut in half in comparison. Do you mind my long 6K chapters? or you would you prefer they be shorter with more frequent updates? When I finish a chapter and it turns out to be that long, its because i add so much that it is well rounded by itself, scene wise. just let me know please! :)

Masterlist

It was barely two hours later before you woke from measly slumber. Not even sure if you could actually call it sleep, more like a haze in and out of consciousness. The alarm was telling that it was time to get India up and ready for school. This was a moment that had been filled with dread in your mind. You figured she would be in a sort of mood all day because it was you dropping her off and picking her up, not her father.

You found her cuddled into the large bed, buried beneath the fluffy white blanket with tear stained cheeks. The image was one to break anyone’s heart. You tiptoed further into the room wanting to wake her up slowly so you could gauge her mood. The bed dipped down as you crawled in front of her and laid down, brushing hair out of her face. She woke slowly, cuddling into you while you whispered good mornings and that it was time to get ready for school.

She didn’t speak much during the morning. Yes and no answers were all that you could get out of her, but you were grateful enough that she wasn’t crying or acting out. She sat silently on the bathroom counter while you braided her hair back, and tucked her lip gloss into her pocket.

Bri was awake and staying with the boys while you were taking her to school. You spoke with her teacher real quick while India walked quietly to her spot at the table and sat down, watching the other kids start on their morning activity.

“Her father left this morning, she usually has trouble behaving for a day or two. But this is her first time being in school, and if you feel like she would be better spending a day at home to recuperate please don’t hesitate to call me. She was very calm this morning but if you sense other wise…” Regina, she told you to call her by her first name, was quick to stop you, saying she understands and will let you know how the day goes. The lip gloss was brought up just so she wouldn’t get in trouble for having it. “It’s her favorite thing right now, keeps her in a better mood.”

You sighed once you got to the car. She was your little best friend and seeing her be so numb this morning was something that you couldn’t get off your mind. You had never had to experience missing your parents for such great lengths of time as a child. Besides an uncle in the military, you always had your family with you. Trying to make her feel as if she isn’t lonely was on the top of your priorities. Hoping she would make some new friends in her class, or be there for her with school activities was next. Being the one to fill the role is one of the hard parts of a job like this. Either they see that you are trying your best to play the part, or they think it’s annoying and want you to back off.

By the time you were back both boys were sitting on top of the kitchen counters with bowls of cereal, Bri standing in front of them with her own. The sight of her was a flush of reminder of last night, and then this morning, somehow allowing Chris to walk out the door without telling him.

You hid the contradiction on your face and greeted them all. Sasha was the first to offer you some of his bowl because he got the last of the fruit loops, but you politely declined.

“Does your tummy still not like breakfast?” His innocent voice was full of curiosity, completely serious. You nodded and told him you would have some juice instead and wait a little.

You went upstairs to pick out the boys some clothes for the day. It was your favorite thing to do. You were greeted with a lovely dirty pull-up on the floor beside Triatan’s bed. The child never learns. You just shook your head at it and proceeded to the closet and setting the clothes on the couch outside their rooms. The boy of the hour was already bounding up the stairs to find where you went.

His eyes landed on yours, which were not the happiest. He knew what the look was for. You expected him to go in there and pick up the pull-up and take it to the trash can in the bathroom, where it belongs. But instead he walked past the door and went for his clothes. He got dressed. The went into the bathroom and brushed his hair. He walked out of the bathroom, aiming for the stairs before you said anything to him.

“Tris, room. Now. You know better,” he ignored you, turning and sitting on the couch looking at the bucket of legos that was appealing to him. “It goes in the trash, not on the floor.” He ignored you again, picking up his tablet from the grey couch cushion.

Bri and Sasha were walking up the stairs, minding their own as Sasha grabbed his clothes and walked to his room. You looked at Bri with a look of help, before saying it again, “Tristan, go pick up your pull-up and put it in the trash.”

“No,” he said quietly, crossing his arms over his chest and looking away.

“What?”

“I said no!” He yelled back at you, “You’re not my mama!”

He hopped from the couch and took the tablet with him, shutting the bedroom door behind him. You couldn’t bring yourself to follow him anyway. You stared in his direction feeling shock come over you. At first it was a ‘how dare he’ and then it turned into a ‘he’s right’.

You couldn’t replace their mother, nor would you ever try. Its you that feeds them, bathes them, read them bedtime stories, brushes their hair for them in the mornings, puts band-aids on owies, and comforts them when their are sad. But you are not their ‘mama’.

“Hey,” Bri’s voice finally came through for you to hear. Her hands were keeping you facing her, waiting for you to register that she was trying to get your attention. “He’s a child acting out, okay. Just ignore him.”

Her finger tips scraped across your cheek. You pushed away from her after realizing that a stupid stray tear or two were escaping at your own peril. You wiped your face and turned away from her, ready to go down stairs until another little voice broke your attention. Right, there is another little boy up here.

“(Y/n) are you sad?” His curiosity was one of the purest things in the world, though it can sometimes be more than annoying, it was everything you expected from the four year old and everything you loved about him.

“Just a little buddy, but I’ll be okay.” Your answer was one age appropriate, and enough for him not to worry. He walked back into the room and retrieved his blankey from the bed and drug it out of the door way with him.

“Come with me,” he said, grabbing your hand and leading you down the stairs. You looked back at Bri and she just shrugged her shoulders and followed as well. He led you to the movie room, instructing you to sit on the couch with his blankey. He reached for the remote from a basket on the table and gave it to you, telling you to put on your favorite movie.

“When I get sad, you put on Cars or Ninja Turtles.” His purposeful motions were making sense to you now. When he is in a mood this is what he gets to do and he wants to do it for you. He climbs up the couch next you and throws the blanket over your legs and sits into your side. The actions were something to warm your heart and all that is good in the world. It took you a second to gather yourself to not cry at how sweet he was being.

“Are you gonna watch a movie?” He asks after you sat there staring at him, not taking action to put something on.

“Yea, yea.” You flipped through a bit before settling on Moana, it was your favorite, and you couldn’t not sing along.

It was only maybe 20 minutes into the movie when Tristan came walking solemnly through the doorway with Bri looming behind him. Blonde hair hung around his face lowly as feet padded across the carpet to the couch, standing in front of you. You held out your arms for him and he leaned into you giving you hug while you pulled him up and onto your lap. He muttered an ‘Im sorry’ into your shoulder.

“Listen,” you told him, pressing the small shoulders back from you so he could see your face, though he avoided your eyes, “I know you got upset earlier, and that’s okay, it’s just feelings.” He tried to hide his face again but you held his shoulders back until he lifted his head again. “I know you miss your mama, Tris. And Papa too, I miss him too. And I know I’m not your mama, I will never try to be your mama, but I do love you so, so much. Do you know that?”

His small head nod was quaint, small fingers brushed over the top of your hair on your shoulder to keep his hands busy while you talked to him.

“But even though I love you so, so much,” you repeat yourself, “I don’t like it when you raise your voice at me. Do I raise my voice at you?”

He shook his head no, but he let you know that Papa does.

“So what are we gonna do tomorrow morning before we come down stairs for breakfast?”

“Put my pull up in the trash bin.”

“That’s right.”

It was surprising to see both boys stay calm enough to watch the whole movie because it was still morning time and they were not tired. They watched the whole movie again, not that you were complaining. Bri entertained herself down stairs while you took a while to do some school stuff with the boys. It was never a lot, just some small words for reading, simple books, and puzzles.

When you came down with them to make some lunch, Bri already had bags of take-out setting on top of the counter. She just shrugged and said, “Postmates.”

“I made you a doctors appointment.” She told once the boys had their food and were sitting on the back patio. It was unexpected for her to do, but to say you were grateful was an understatement. “Its tomorrow morning, I’ll stay with the boys, but you need to go after you drop off India. And then I need to go so I can make it to classes the next day.”

The girl had stopped everything to come be with you, and you knew if she could she would stay longer but you weren’t that selfish.

The food on your plate suddenly became bitter to look at, losing your appetite was now nothing knew. Whether it was from being weary or your body just not wanting it was hard to tell, but what you did know was that your favorite tacos from Miss Margarita’s did not look so yummy at the moment.

Your day flew by as did so many others previous to it. You were kept busy all the time and though you were happy for it, by the time Chris called you, you were ready to slink into unconsciousness on the cloudy bed.

His voice made your eyes widen again after realizing they were slowly closing. “Princess, you can sleep, don’t let me keep you up.”

“No, no, I want to talk to you. I miss you. And I like hearing what you’ve been doing. Its entertaining.” The energy you put into your voice was less than convincing, but regardless it was the truth.

“I know, its crazy stuff. India hasn’t said anything about school when I talked to her.” His voice trailed waiting for you to pick it up.

“Her teacher said she was good today, quiet, but good. But she expects all the kids to start rallying up the more they get to know each other. She said she keeps the lipgloss on at all times, and takes it with her to lunch and out on the playground.” The sound of his laugh was refreshing. You missed the sound, how it set a warming tone in your chest to see him giggly. It just reminds you that you made him upset his last night home. That was time you could have spent hearing his voice in person, right next to you but you ruined it.

I’m ready for you to come home again, I know it has only been like what, less than 36 hours, but I want you back already. It was what you wanted to say. You wanted to tell him but you knew it would just make him feel bad for a decision you pushed him to make. That was what you were not going to do. It was a good choice for him to sign the contract, a good choice for him in the media, a good choice financially. There are so many people that were affected positively, millions who were awaiting the next film. But you were just one person, one who could - would have to - stick it out for everyone else.

“Guess what I did today?” You ought to say something before he tries to hang up again so you could sleep. “The boys and I went into the movie room and watched Moana, but all I could think about was you. When we were sat down there after I first moved in, falling asleep on the couch.”

“You know what?” He asked looking towards the camera. “That was when I knew I was going to fall in love with you.” The sentiment was true, you knew that night that you were also in trouble. “Your hair was crazy like you had been at the water all day, and your skin was much tanner than before I left. But you fit in like a missing puzzle piece.”

“You can stop now, you might make me cry.” You could already feel a lump in your throat, tears welling up closely behind. He had know idea of the stress you were about to unload on him. He smiled at your tone of voice thinking it was one of love and happiness. It was the tone of sorrow. You were tired, emotional all day and him being more than you deserved was another crack in your wall.

“I'm counting down the days already, Princess. 26 days and I’ll be home for 7. Your brother will be there. We are gonna get so rowdy. Fun, it’s gonna be fun. Do you think you could bare it?”

“Of course I can.” It wasn’t much longer when you fell asleep.

The doctors appointment was faster than you expected, but then again it wasn’t like you had done it before. You left with an ultrasound picture of almost nothing, an eight week old almost nothing. A tiny little bean surrounded by empty black and white. The black sported a small smudge when you realized a lone tear found its way. You sat in the driver's seat staring down at the little picture in your lap.

What is it with being so goddamn full of tears all the time. Like the slightest thing could make you tear up. It was frustrating and you didn’t understand it. You were hungry, wanting tacos all the time but you can’t bring yourself to eat when they are in front of you. Wanting to call Chris selfishly just to talk to him but you knew he had to be sleeping, so you couldn’t bring yourself to do it. A stupid small headache that never goes away because of the tears that are always hiding in the midst. It was enough to drive a person crazy.

Your eyes scanned the parking lot around you, full on paranoid that someone was watching you, but with the early hour there were only a few empty cars to keep yours company.

A small peptalk was what you needed in the moment. The self deprecating thoughts were not going to get you anywhere and you knew it. There was no more need to think about what ifs, but where you were now needed to be on your mind. No more thinking about how terrified you were that he was going to be upset, or how your family was going to feel about it. What your dad was going to think.

Bri sat with you in the living room after the boys were down for their nap, you could still hear banging around up there, but you didn’t have the energy to go up there and tell them to settle. She held the tear stained picture of a little bean in her hands with a smile on her face.

“You can’t tell Ty, you can’t.” Her eyes flicked to your own strained red ones from keeping the tears away. “I will when he comes, when Chris comes. I want to do it.”

She nodded in agreement, “Of course.”

After packing her things she left after lunch, ready for a lonely slow drive back to the city. The city you did not miss. It was fun while it lasted but you couldn’t imagine going back, especially with a child.

With a child.

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#chris hemsworth fic #chris hemsworth fan fiction #chris hemsworth x reader #hemsworth #chris hems #marvel fanfic #marvel cast #avengers masterlist #marvel masterlist #avengers #thor #thor fic #chris x reader

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bitch-a-la-mode · 5 years

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Okay this is a hella long rant, but ive been thinking about posting this for a long time and well,,,, yea,,,

You know what the overall problem that Into the Spider Verse brought to light in relation to the overall superhero genre (and animation as a whole)? Grown ups are afraid to watch an animated superhero movie out of fear of being called a baby or a weeb or something so the MCU was basically like “let’s make this into a billion dollar industry by making these interconnected live action movies” and people of all ages ate that shit up. From the get-go, comics and superheroes belonged to kids. They were a kids thing. And if you read or watched that stuff as an adult you were made fun of. These live actions were a marketing ploy of the grandest scheme and we all fell for it.

There are so many amazing animated superhero movies, Made with a fraction of a live action budget and with ten times the heart. Yes we all know into the spider verse, but what about:

- Batman: under the red hood

- Batman: mask of the phantasm

- All star Superman

- Batman beyond: return of the joker

- Big hero 6 (y’all forgot about this)

- The LEGO Batman movie

- Wonder Woman (the 2009 animated movie)

- Justice league: gods and monsters

- Teen titans: trouble in Tokyo

- Justice league: flashpoint paradox

- The Incredibles 1 and 2 (yes I’m counting them)

- Planet hulk

- Reign of the supermen

And this isn’t even including some very iconic superhero animated series (*cough cough* teen titans). Some of these films are so iconic they literally changed comic book lore (I’m looking at you, under the red hood). DC comics has a whole, interconnected animated movie universe that no one talks about (and is direct to video/streaming).

Animators are great at what they do, and superheroes are a thing that should and deserve to get animated. You can use all the special effects you want, but it has been proven time and time again that superheroes generally look better animated. They do complicated things that can’t be captured behind a green screen, and deserve an artist’s hand. Even worse, the only animation people take seriously these days is CGI, because it looks the most “realistic”, aka the most like a live action, even though spider verse looked the least realistic and was the most visually appealing in my opinion. And even sometimes, we respect (or claim it acceptable to like) ridiculously “edgy” adult animation like South Park, family guy, or similar shows (y’all know the kinds im talking about).

However, this all goes back to two things: 1) the west has bullied adults into hating animated movies/shows because we equate them with being “childish” and 2) marvel and other industries practically egged this on so they can make these billion dollar movies and get even more billions back in revenue. The reasons spider verse is so highly regarded is because 1) Sony did SO MUCH to get that movie the credit it deserved, 2) people had been begging for a miles morales Spiderman movies for YEARS, 3) the creators held themselves up to such high standards (which can surely be about the whole diversity in media aspect and minority movies needing to be perfect, but lets ignore that for now, and 4) it was tied into the “highly regarded” MCU, so many fans looked beyond their prejudice and saw the movie, witnessing how phenomenal it was.

If we applied this to other animated superhero movies (or animated movies in general) then animation would get the respect it deserves. I feel like in this day and age, we only care about Disney’s most highly anticipated animated film of the year (which is almost always a Disney princess movie or a sequel to an older Disney animated movie). And even then, Disney has disrespected the art of animation by going and remaking their classics into live actions for various reasons. We can argue the legal implications of copyright, but the big thing is that those animated films were GOOD, and Disney thought it would be a good idea to squeeze more money out of people in addition to claiming “why watch the original, silly animated film when you can watch the real, serious, live action”.

Animators are not respected, and its sad to see because some of the most beautiful and memorable ideas were made through animation. And sometimes, people won’t respect animation as “art” because it doesn’t look “good”, even though their might be various reasons for that (such as budgeting since only mega corporations will kind of pay well for animation, awful scheduling because “draw fast so we can churn out this new product, and so many other factors). Look at stuff like avatar the last Airbender, cowboy bebop, carmen San Diego, and others. Amazing stories with phenomenal (or memorable) art. And sometimes, animation doesnt even have to be so amazingly well designed for it to be good. Shows like freaking bobs burgers, and kids shows like phineas and ferb have been heralded as amazing shows with great plots and yet the designs are simple, with a focus on other aspects like plot and characters (on another note, I think some voice actors are better than live action actors tbh).

But again, we dont respect this genre and this art the way that we should (at least in the west), and I think thats so sad. Yes there are people who respect it, but the overall consensus in mainstream American society (at least from what ive seen) is that animation is for kids, and nothing can ever be as good as something “real”, even though that marvel movie you just saw was once a comic, a drawing, an animation. But whatever.

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tyrantisterror · 6 years

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I have to disagree with your post regarding the "bad girl" characters. An anti-social, rough and rude woman with hidden soft side seem actually incredibly common to me? Maybe I just watch too many superhero movies, but at least half of those have them as leads, even when they weren't that way at all in the original, always being the snarky straight men to the wacky male leads.

Ah! I can see the confusion. Superhero movies star The Badass Woman, not a Bad Girl. They’re tropes that are very similar on the surface, but it’s all about the flavor of the execution and presentation.

Black Widow is sort of the triumphant example of The Badass Woman, so I’m gonna focus on her.

Black Widow isn’t rude - she’s actually pretty polite, albeit occasionally sarcastic in a safe Hollywood snarky way. She’s occasionally blunt, but she’s never outright abusive to the people around her - teasing Captain America by calling him a “fossil” is just that, teasing, not an outright insult.

Black Widow is tough, but also elegant. Look at her fighting style in the movies - she practically dances around her opponents, fighting in a gymnastic display that is perfectly coordinated and as graceful as it is deadly.

Black Widow is anti-social, yes, but a very specific variety of anti-social - she’s withdrawn, cold. Her social barriers are those of stoicism. And even then, that’s kind of light - she cracks jokes, she smiles, she teases.

Black Widow’s masculine qualities are all ones you’d find in a heroic character. They’re not that different from the usual movie action hero - your Bruce Willises, your Arnolds, etc. Black Widow is actually just the most recent in a long line of Badass Women who are, essentially, just the Hollywood Action Hero formula rejiggered for a supporting character - you have predecessors for her in Van Helsing, the Pirates of the Carribean sequels, Tauriel from the Herbit movies, and plenty of others. It was even parodied in The Lego Movie!

But it’s not the Bad Girl. The Bad Girl isn’t a collection of heroic traits. She is, as the name implies, a collection of what are primarily flaws, much like the more common trope she’s a copy of - the Bad Boy. And since that’s important, let’s focus on the Bad Boy for a second in how he contrasts with the Badass Hero.

The Badass Hero is terse - he doesn’t talk much, and when he does it tends to be in short, to-the-point sentences. He’s often polite but blunt. The Bad Boy, by contrast, is rude. He’s often loud and talkative - he has to quickly establish that he’s a bit of a punk, after all, and it’s hard to do that without a little posturing. He may do some brooding later on in the story, but that’s the difference - the Badass Hero is brooding to begin with, because we have to know early on that he’s deep but also mysterious. But the Bad Boy’s depth has to be discovered in spite of our preconception of him - he has to appear shallow at first, and reveal his layers later.

We are supposed to wonder why the Badass Hero is how they are from the start - we are supposed to be surprised the Bad Boy has depth when it is revealed. Similar, yes, but the presentation is different.

The Badass Hero’s fighting style will generally be impressive - he might be brutal (much more than the Badass Heroine is allowed to be, I should note), but his skill will still be present. The Bad Boy, by contrast, is sloppy and chaotic - they’re a punk, a thug, a wild animal, not a honed artist of violence. The Badass Hero saves you from a bar brawl - the Bad Boy probably starts it, and he fights dirty.

(sometimes the Badass Hero will have a little of the Bad Boy’s dirty-ness bleed into him, but this is generally reserved for Badass Heroes that are meant to be subversive - your Badass Anti-Heroes if you will).

The Badass Hero is distant because life, man, it’s so hard, his wife is probably dead or something, you don’t know. The Bad Boy isn’t distant - he’s not hidden behind a wall. He’s aggressive. He’s the dog that barks and snarls when you approach, his fur standing on end because he’s secretly terrified. The Bad Boy doesn’t sullenly say “I want to be alone” - he tells you to get the fuck away from him. There’s a level of aggression to his defenses that the Badass Hero won’t have - sometimes it’s TOO aggressive and the relationship that forms ends up having abusive undertones, which is the big issue of the Bad Boy trope.

Our intended reaction to the Badass Hero is that WOW, he’s fucking awesome! All of his personality is intended to be taken as noble and inspiring - even his social issues are meant to be a sign that he’s super heroic, sacrificing intimacy and his attachments to others to fight for the greater good.

Our intended reaction to the Bad Boy is that he’s a fuckup, but a fuckup who could sort his shit out - a fuckup who has a good heart and just needs to be redeemed with a little, well, ok, a lot of compassion.

You can find plenty of heroines in the Badass Hero mold. There are lots of Black Widows out there. But women in the Bad Boy role - proper Bad Girls? They are a rarity.

Or in short: Black Widow isn’t a Bad Girl. Jessie from Pokemon is.

#strejdaking

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gffa · 6 years

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There’s something really wonderful about Star Wars right now that I’m not sure I’m getting in any other media franchise--I am surrounded by a really strong diversity of characters in a really low-key, “part of the fabric of the galaxy, that they’re everywhere” sort of way that is incredibly fantastic. What I mean is this: A week ago, I was watching LEGO Star Wars: All Stars and there were two dark-skinned female characters (Lena and Valeria) who were just there, getting to have great lines and were part of the story. It made me have a moment of, “Aw, shoot, I should have added both of them to that Ladies of Color in Star Wars post!” because I keep coming across more that I should have added! And it tied into The Freemaker Adventures, which reminded me that there was a whole series of LEGO characters who were darker skinned! A few days ago, I made a fannish resolution to catch up on more of the comics and other stories I’ve been slacking on in Star Wars. I started with Poe Dameron and also read a little of Doctor Aphra. Both of these comics are fantastic and do such a great job with the characters and are funny and action-packed and have cool worldbuilding! It’s almost incidental that both of them are lead by characters of color! Not too long ago, I read Lando’s Luck, a novel that was an absolute joy to read, it was fun and upbeat and everything I wanted from Star Wars! It just happened to be about two black characters at the center of it, who were both fantastic--Lando, getting more attention and being a joy to read, a young, fiesty, awesome, cool princess doing her best to help people! Just this week, I was reading the Age of Republic: Obi-Wan Kenobi comic and, yes, it’s centered on two white characters, but did you see the baby Jedi meditating with Obi-Wan? Not just aliens who might be coded as people of color, but humanoid adorable baby Jedi who were adorable and were dark-skinned! Just there and part of the fabric of the galaxy! Just this week I was also reading Han Solo: Imperial Cadet and lots of white dudes, but also lots of darker skinned people, including some of the most interesting additions possibly being not white. Yeah, they’re Imperials, but it doesn’t bother me as much because it’s not the only representation, it’s one out of so, so many. I’m currently catching up on Resistance, which is another series led by a character of color (Kazuda Xiono) and is surrounded by loads of aliens you could read coding into and dark-skinned, clearly not-white humans in just about every role. Tam and Tora and Jarek!! Age of Republic: Special #1 is coming up and Mace Windu is getting another story in it! And the two live action series we know of coming up are starting Pedro Pascal and Diego Luna as the central and titular chraacters! There’s still a long ways to go with Star Wars, especially re: the main movies themselves and in the focus on women and queer characters. But there, too, we’re making progress. And what gets me a little emotional about this is that I don’t have to constantly seek out the smallest slivers of representation anymore, we don’t have to do the heavy lifting ourselves anymore, we’re getting stories that are about characters of color, not just villains but heroes, so many heroes and people we’re meant to be sympathetic towards, to want their stories instead of them just being background fodder or just villains. I don’t love the white characters any less, but sometimes I step back and look at what the bigger picture of Star Wars canon is doing in regards to giving us more and more variety and diversity, I get genuinely misty-eyed because finally I’m starting to get these stories and these characters that reflect the world around me, because finally I’m getting not just one or two characters that represent any one color, but enough of them that I can make an entire list of women of color and realize, oh, shit, I forgot some, even though I worked really hard on it! That I have multiple series--comics and books and tv shows!--coming up that aren’t just more of the same, but instead lead by more diverse casts. I get really emotional because, yes, give me ALL OF THIS, because it’s really, really good progress.

#meta #as always this is not 'welp! we've done all we need to do here we're done!' approach #but that i get emotional about how we're coming along and getting better

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costello-music-cr · 6 years

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Dr Google Won’t Steer You Wrong

Peter was late. At least an hour late. And by late that was taking into account Peter-time.

This wasn’t something that was unusual these days. Peter hadn’t been great in that regard before the bite, but now he was a million times worse. It didn’t even matter if Ned had seen him only five minutes before hand, Peter made arriving late an art form. Ned understood why that was of course. He was the guy-in-the-chair and he was going to support Spiderman as long as he had too. But it didn’t make waiting any more fun.

Ned glanced at the clock again. It had definitely been over an hour now. The new Lego set he’d gotten for his birthday was staring at him, taunting him, just begging to be opened. But Peter was just as excited about this set too, and Peter had promised he’d be here.

“Where are you Peter?” He muttered under his breath, the frustration pouring out of him.

Usually when he was going to be super late Peter would get his suit lady to at least message him. Well sometimes anyway, about six times out of ten. And that part sucked too, because it meant he didn’t know if the lack of message was because Peter had gotten distracted, was in the middle of saving someone, hurt, or had just plain forgotten. Maybe he needed to get his hands on the suit again and find a way to force Karen to update him a bit more often.

It was a better plan then trying to get Peter to see sense.

The credits rolled for Brooklyn 99 for the third superfluous time, as he’d only put it on while waiting for Peter to finally show up. He wasn’t really watching, and since this was at least the twentieth time he’d watched this show that was the exact purpose. The next episode was just auto-starting when there was a noise at his window. Ned considered pausing it, but he’d seen Peter crawl through his window enough times that he was desensitized to it.

The rustling on the other side of the window continued long enough that Ned wondered if it wasn’t in fact Peter, but a burglar or someone else seedy; a thought that was instantly dispelled once a familiar red spandex hand appeared underneath the window. Ned nonchalantly continued to shovel popcorn into his mouth as Spiderman tumbled into his room over the windowsill in the least graceful motion Ned had seen Spiderman perform. It was reminiscent of pre spider-bite Peter and that made Ned laugh a little.

“That was beautiful dude. 10/10. Graceful, just like a gazelle,” he said as Spiderman stood up.

The eyes of the mask narrowed a little as Peter flipped him off.

“I’d like to see you do better,” he replied, and the voice that came from the mask was odd in a way Ned couldn’t immediately place. It wasn’t the lowered voice Peter used as Spiderman or the faint muffling that came from wearing a mask.

Before Ned could figure it out Peter took the mask off. His face was flushed and weirdly pale but he turned away before Ned could get a good look. Ned reached for the remote to pause the show while Peter changed out of his suit and into the spare set of clothes he kept in Ned’s bedroom. After he’d lost his third backpack near Ned’s building, and a memorable two occasions when Peter had come straight over after leaving his place as Spiderman and Ned’s Mum had almost walked in on them, they had decided that it was best that Peter just leave a couple of changes with Ned in his spare backpack.

“So, what kept you?” Ned asked as he started scrolling through the Netflix movie options.

“Few robberies, had to get a cat out of a tree, uh, stuff like that that,” Peter responded. His voice was muffled by his shirt over his face and sounded gravelly.

“Oh,” Ned replied, not really satisfied with that answer but not really wanting to push it further either. Very exciting things Peter normally told him about, and dangerous things he was cagey about. This patrol sounded like it was neither.

“Hey Ned, why is it so cold in here?” Peter asked in the same odd voice once he was done changing, stuffing his suit into his spare backpack.

“Because it’s not?” Ned blinked. He’d been inside all day and had been fairly comfortable. “Why is it cold out or something?”

Peter shrugged. “Dunno, had the heater on in my suit.”

“Your suit has a heater? That’s so cool!” Ned replied.

Peter made a noncommittal noise as he joined Ned on the bed he was currently using as a couch and flopped down next to him, half lying down with his feet on the floor and an arm over his face. He looked exhausted, making Ned think his initial estimate was wrong.

“So, rough patrol huh?” Ned asked.

Peter shrugged again. “It wasn’t too bad,” he answered in a croak without elaborating any further.

“What’s up with you? You sick or something?” Ned asked in disbelief.

Peter lifted him arm up a bit and looked back at his friend.

“No, don’t think so,” he replied in the most unconvincing voice. “I’m fine.”

Ned didn’t believe him but he also wasn’t going to push it. Not yet anyway.

“Alright. You sound like you’re dying though,” he replied.

Peter frowned. “I just need some water or something.”

“Oh, ok. Well go grab some then and I’ll start unboxing this,” Ned said with a smile as he slipped off the bed and onto the floor next to the Lego sets.

A few moments later Peter got up and headed towards the kitchen. There was a pause before the tap turned on, and then a longer pause before Peter shuffled back in. Ned glanced back up and felt himself do a double-take. Now that it wasn’t covered by his mask or his arm, Peter’s face was completely white except for a deep flush across his cheeks. The exhausted air he was giving off was also more pronounced.

“Wow Pete, you really don’t look good. Are you sure you’re not dying, you look like you’re dying?” Ned asked in a rush, not even pausing for a breath.

“I’m fine Ned,” Peter responded, or at least tried too as he put the glass he was holding down on Ned’s desk. Only half of the sentence came out.

“You should probably sit down or something,” he continued, starting to stand up. “Why are you even here? You could have told me you were sick. In fact you probably shouldn’t have gone out today if you are sick. Do you want me to get my Mum? She’s not here but I can call her. Or May-”

Peter lazily held his hand up in a please-stop gesture when Ned didn’t give him time to answer any of his questions.

“Dude that’s not necessary,” Peter croaked out. He wanted to add that anything Ned’s Mother would give him would have the winning combination of tasting feral and likely not being helpful anyway, considering his super metabolism. But his throat hurt way too much to make that a good idea.

“Are you sure ok? Do you want some tea or something? What’s wrong?” Ned asked and finally paused.

“I’m ok Ned. My throats just kinda sore,” Peter replied huskily. Ned looked like he still didn’t believe him so Peter gestured towards the Lego sets as an act of distraction. “So which set did you want to start with?”

Ned just shook his head and sat back down reaching for one of the boxes. “Alright dude. Let’s start with this one.”

xxx

Peter tried to croak his way through a conversation for five minutes before giving up. Not too long after that Ned turned on Star Wars to fill the silence. Ned had completed most of his pile while Peter was sluggishly still going through most of his. The movie was almost over by the time the Lego set had been abandoned, and Ned was half convinced that Peter had fallen asleep on him.

“Hey, can we turn the heat on or something?” Peter asked when there was five minutes to go.

“Heat? You still cold?” Ned looked up. Now that he knew to look he could see Peter shivering slightly and hiding it only semi successfully. “I’ll go grab you a blanket. You alright?”

“I’m ok, just kinda cold,” Peter mumbled as he grabbed a few of the abandoned pieces halfheartedly.

Ned shot him a look of disbelief. “Dude, you’re throat has got to be bothering you. You’re never this quiet! You sure it’s just you’re throat?”

Peter shrugged, which was a distinctly unhelpful motion. Ned sighed and got up to grab the spare blanket off his bed and threw it at Peter. While Peter fumbled to get the blanket around him Ned went to his desk to get his laptop.

“Ok,” Ned said after he sat back down in a no nonsense tone, flipping the screen of his laptop up. “What’s wrong with you?”

“I’m-“ Peter started but was immediately cut off.

“Nope. I’m not convinced. Come on, let me do my guy-in-the-chair thing. Your throats sore yeah? You sound too much like your dying for it not too.”

Peter nodded as his shoulders slumped and he drew the blanket a little closer to him. “Head’s kinda sore too,” he admitted softly.

“Right, so sore throat, headache. Have you got a fever? You’re pretty pale, come here.” Ned asked as he leaned forward, his laptop pressed against him.

“What, Ned!”

Ned ignored him and awkwardly placed his hand on Peter’s forehead. His eyes widened slightly.

“Whoa, you’re actually really warm. I think that’s a yes on the fever. Dude?!” Ned exclaimed as he went back to his computer. Peter started to say something but Ned cut him off saying, “And don’t just say you’re ok.”

Peter just crossed his arms, half in sulky protest, but mostly because he was still cold. Ned ignored his friend and typed the symptoms into google. It didn’t take much scrolling to get an idea of what was likely wrong with him.

“Well, going by your symptoms, according to the internet. You’re dying,” he announced as blandly as he could. Peter blinked back at him for a moment.

“Thanks Ned. Helpful,” he responded.

“Well at least your sense of humor is still somewhat intact.” Ned said as Peter half-heartedly swatted at him. “Ok but seriously. Were you feeling ok this morning?”

“I felt fine before patrolling,” Peter replied. It was mostly true. He certainly hadn’t felt as tired or sore as he did at that moment. His throat had stung a little and he had had a bit of a headache, but he’d brushed it off as nothing to be worried about.

Ned nodded as he scrolled though the google results again. “Right. Well. Dr Google seems to think you have the flu. Either that or its strep. Either way you should probably be in bed or something. And I should definitely call my Mum or May…”

“Ned. You don’t need too, I’ll be fine. My healing should take care of it no problem,” Peter croaked, not as convinced himself as he tried to make out to be. If he was honest, now that he’d been called out on it, he was starting to feel terrible. His head and throat were making his life the most miserable but he was starting to become aware of the general aches he’d passed off as normal post patrol fatigue that were becoming a lot more.

Ned just sighed, knowing which battles to pick.

“Alright. But if you still look like Casper later on I’ll be forced to call May. It’s not worth my life to let you web home like that,” Ned said.

“Fair,” Peter replied, his throat happy to let the matter drop.

“Cool. Well do you want some tea or something?”

xxx

He was going to have to call May.

His best friend had negative self-preservation and was a little unnecessarily worried about his aunt sometimes. It had been clear he was struggling when Ned had tried to diagnose him, and Peter seemed to be getting worse instead of better. Ned hadn’t thought it was possible but somehow as the afternoon went on Peter’s face got even paler, and the barely noticeable shivers became more pronounced. Rather than pressure his friend into confessing how bad he felt, Ned thought it was wiser to just put another movie on and let nature take its course. He did hold onto the hope that Peter wasn’t exaggerating and that his super powered healing factor would kick in, but as it currently stood that didn’t seem likely.

After calling him out on his shit Ned had insisted that if Peter was going to give his best dying impression that he should at least use his bed as a couch, or for its intended purpose. They had practically finished the first ship so Ned’s new-Lego-set craving had been satisfied for now and he was content to just watch movies.

“Don’t you want to finish this set?” Peter protested as Ned went to pack the remaining pieces away.

“We can do that later. I’m not convinced that you won’t pass out or something right now,” Ned replied.

Peter gave up after that and curled up on the foot of the bed. It wasn’t long before he fell asleep. That in itself was a worrying sign. Peter falling asleep during the day meant that he was injured, and not telling anyone; exhausted, and not telling anyone; or sick, and not admitting it. At least this time Ned knew which one it was.

Glancing at the clock Ned tried to calculate how much time he had before his Mother came home. Peter seemed adamant that she not be there when he was injured because that would be way too much to explain, and would likely give the game away that he was Spiderman. Ned could only assume that that sentiment extended to being sick too. It was getting late and Peter had been napping for a couple of hours. If Ned needed reinforcements he was going to have to decide soon.

“Hey, Peter,” Ned said without bothering to keep his voice down, shaking his friend gently. “You awake?”

The answer was obviously no. Peter didn’t even twitch at the gentle touch. That itself wasn’t too concerning, but it felt like he was a bit warmer then the last time Ned had checked. Which meant it was getting close to the point where he was officially out of his depth with adult guidance.

“Peter?” He gave his friend another firmer shake.

This got a response out of him. Without moving a muscle the lump on the bed mumbled “what Ned,” half intelligibly.

“It’s almost five-thirty. I think my Mum might be home soon. I just want to make sure you’re not actually dying on me,” he answered with a hint of fake cheeriness in his voice.

“Oh,” was all Ned got in response. After a moment it was clear that Peter wasn’t going to add any more.

“Cool,” Ned prompted. “Is that all you’ve got to say? You still ok?”

Peter shrugged, which was still not really an answer. He turned to face Ned and cracked one eye open, adding in a croak “I’m tired. Throats still sore.”

Ned, between being incredibly concerned by this, was somewhat proud that he was able to keep a straight and comforting face. “Ok, ok. Go back to sleep then. Sorry.”

Peter pressed his face back into the pillow he’d grabbed. Barely giving him any time to fall asleep again Ned reached over to his desk and grabbed his phone, his mind made up after that unhelpful and worrying conversation. Peter was going to kill him once he was better, he knew that. But that assumed that May didn’t kill him first for going out while sick so Ned was willing to take that chance.

Sent 17:35

Hey may. Are you able to pick peter up? I think he’s sick or something

Received 17:39

Sick? What’s wrong with him?

And I can

Sent 17:41

Dr google tells me that its probably the flu so ????

Received 17:45

Ok. I’ll be there in about 20

Sent 17:46

Sweet I’ll make sure he doesn’t die in the meantime

Satisfied for now Ned put his phone back in his pocket. His Mother probably wouldn’t be home till at least seven so he could appease Peter with that information at least. There wasn’t much else he could do in the meantime.

xxx

Ned was scrolling through his phone when he heard a knock on the door barely twenty minutes later.

“Hey Ned,” May greeted once he’d opened the door. “Where’s Peter?”

Pointing down the hall Ned replied, “My room still. I think he’s asleep.”

At Ned’s instruction May went down the hall and found her nephew as Ned had described, still curled up at the foot of the bed under the spare blanket. She went over and sat next to him, shaking him gently to wake him up. Ned appeared in the doorway, hovering uncertainly.

“Hey Peter, wake up.”

It took a bit of encouragement but eventually he sluggishly turned to face his aunt, opening his eyes in confusion.

“May?” he asked half asleep and with practically no voice. “When did you get here?”

May smiled at him, moving to help him up.

“Just now,” she replied. “Ned texted me. I don’t know how you were planning on getting home but I’m sure none of them were good ideas right now.”

Peter was still blinking owlishly in confusion, but sat up on his own with her prompting.

“How’re you feeling?” she asked, putting a hand on his forehead and frowning at the heat she found there. “Not so good huh?”

Peter shook his head, not wanting to use his voice anymore then he had too. Secretly he was relieved that Ned had called his aunt. Everything now feverishly ached and despite the solid nap he somehow felt more tired than before. There wasn’t much he wouldn’t give at that moment to be in his own bed, but having May there helped immensely.

Standing up for Peter was not a fun experience. He felt instantly light headed and the pounding in his head that’s he’d been ignoring sharpened. With a sixth sense all parents have May had braced him before he could fall and lead him towards to door. Ned got out of the way and went towards his closet to grab Peter’s spare backpack as May led her nephew to the door.

Ned caught up with May and Peter in the hallway and once they were at the front door he offered the backpack to Peter. Before Peter had a chance to register what Ned was holding, with the hand not supporting her nephew, May took the bag and slung it over her shoulder. It was far lighter then she expected, but she didn’t question it.

“Feel better soon dude.” Ned said as May opened the door.

“Thanks,” Peter replied softly, before stepping out of the apartment.

“Thanks for letting me know Ned,” May said as she walked pass, pausing in the doorway.

“No problem,” Ned replied. “And if he’s no in tomorrow I’ll bring his homework around.”

May let out a small laugh at that and briefly felt her nephew’s forehead again before ruffling his curls a bit. “Oh, I definitely expect he won’t be in school tomorrow. Thank you though.”

The glare Peter sent her as she messed with his hair was half-hearted at best and non-existent at worse, and any effect it might have had was instantly ruined by the shiver that went through him.

“Alright, let’s get you home then,” May said to him with a sympathetic look as she started to guide him towards the elevator. “Bye Ned.”

“See you tomorrow,” Peter added with a limp wave.

“See ya tomorrow then,” Ned replied, and shut the door.

#Peter Parker #Ned Leeds #Sickfic #Ned Leeds is a good bro #Peter is too stobborn for his own good #My writing #fanfiction #spiderman homecoming #I promised a fic and here it is

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amwilburn · 6 years

Text

The Lego Movie 1 & 2 (and The Lego Batman Movie)

The first Lego Movie film simultaneously came out of nowhere (I didn't see a huge build up of hype), but at the same time, seemed long overdue. Yes, first and foremost, it's a way to keep the Lego brand front & centre on everyone's mind. But why not also cram it full of fun and heart?

The Lego Movie 2: The 2nd Part (2019)

Last month, we watched The Lego Movie 2: The 2nd Part at an advanced IMax screening on Feb 6th. We hadn't watched the original film in a couple of years, but had enjoyed it, and and *just* recently watched Lego Batman (which we also loved), were really looking forward to this.

TLM2 didn't disappoint, but didn't feel as satisfying as the 2 previous (no we haven't seen the Lego Ninjago film); it was full of laughs, and a song called "Catchy Song" that the film will *not* let you forget (think "Upbeat Inspirational Song" from "Teen Titans Go to the Movies".

In fact, I felt TLM2 film echoed the Teen Titans film in many ways, not just in having an intentionally silly & infectious song; from the overall tone, to even the general protagonist's plot arc. Not that surprising, when both were produced by Warner Bros. Animation.

If you haven't seen the 1st film, the big reveal / twist at the end gave the 1st film a lot of heart. In TLM2, I feel they spent *too* much time on the same 'reveal', and it ground most of the plot pacing to a halt; I actually prefered the way that The Lego Batman Movie ignored the reveal at the end of TLM, but to be fair, you can feel this (along with the 1st film) are aimed at an even younger crowd, and I think it works for them (their attempt to inject heart into this film ended up being a little bit cheesy for me, but I think it works for the target audience), but the rest of the film delivers on laughs. Big time.

In fact, while the plot was nowhere as coherent or as smoothly transitioning as the 1st 2 films, TLM2 had us laughing throughout; in particular, I loved the meta humour as Christ Pratt as Emmet meets Rex Dangervest, a character who is the combination of Chris Pratt's Josh Faraday (Cowboy from Magnificent Seven), his Owen Grady from Jurassic World 1 & 2, and his Peter Quill / Star Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy. The fact that Emmet is the everyman from every RPG / hero's journey from obscurity, who would of course be amazed by a wild west cowboy, a dinosaur cowboy, and a space cowboy.

The plot did stall in pacing a few times, especially while the characters were stumbling around, 'bewitched' by Tiffany Haddish's Queen (the character's name will induce eye-rolling) and it felt like the film maker's themselves weren't sure how the middle portion of the film should connect the beginning and the end, they made sure there were laughs aplenty en route. And, as I'd mentioned, an ear-worm, catchy silly song that measure's up to the original's "Everything is Awesome". Oh, and stay for the credit's if you're also a fan of Andy Samberg's Lonely Island; unfortunately there's no post credits scene though.

Seriously, the soundtrack is so catchy, my wife immediately added it to her workout playlist. Just going to leave "Catchy Song" from TLM2 here. You'll love it and hate it all at once.

YMMV: it's skewed a bit younger than the other 2 films mentioned here, so that may really bother some people. Conversely, if you were planning to take kids anyway, you may regard this even more highly.

Overall, B, 8.2/10

youtube

The Lego Move (2014)

Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson, and Will Ferrell star in... well, essentially the film that everyone who grew up playing with Lego had imagined in some form. But voiced by huge stars; Morgan Freeman & Liam Neeson in particular add a nice gravitas to the film, which just adds to the enjoyable silliness. Immediately after watching TLM2, we felt it wasn't quite as satisfying as the first and popped that in for a re-watch. We weren't wrong.

TLM's simple, staple RPG plot (the undiscovered diamond in the rough will save everyone) flows smoothly from point to point, and with virtually all the Lego licensed properties to parody, one scene in particular always gives me a chuckle: when Morgan Freeman's Vitruvius is addressing all the Lego licensed characters at once, juxtaposing Renaissance painters and Ninja Turtles, or the fact the Dumbledore and Gandalf are essentially the same character. One of the great joys of this film is the sheer number of licensed character cameos that they simply crammed in because it was funny (and, probably also to sell some of said minifigs).

Emmet (Chris Pratt) is a nobody, recruited by Obi Wan (er Vitruvius) and who is predicted to be the chosen one to save Bricksburg from the evil Lord Business (Will Ferrell). So while the plot itself is hardly new, it was all so charming. Set to the tune of "Everything is Awesome", the bright colourful characters and intricately modeled backgrounds will have you grinning. Plus, you get to hear Liam Neeson yelling "Darn Darn Darn Darny Darn!" Don't spoil the surprises for yourself if you haven't already seen this. A-, 8.9/10

Oh, also the 3d was great in this film; clear, not detracting or headache inducing. At least, for the rendered parts anyway. The bit at the end with the reveal could have been clearer, but the film didn't suffer for it. I've yet to see the other 2 above in 3d, but hope to someday to see if they're better or worse in 3d.

The Lego Batman Movie (2017)

The Lego Batman Movie avoids the "pulling the curtain back moments" of the 2 main films of the franchise, and while that might give it less heart than TLM, it also doesn't have that same "younger audiences only" target demographic. It's clever and funny, never takes itself seriously, and while still quite slapstick, feels like it's aimed at all ages.

Bruce Wayne/ Batman thinks he works best alone, but accidentally adopts an orphan and discovers that maybe solo isn't the most satisfying way to live his life. The plot doesn't need a detailed synopsis; suffice it to say where TLM provides fan service via all the guest cameos of the various Lego licenses, this film provides fan service to every iteration of Batman, including long forgotten comic book villains you'll need to Google!

And somehow, replacing all the gunshot sounds with someone literally yelling "Pew Pew Pew" all the way through this movie amps up the comedy (without crossing the line into pure silliness).

Will Arnett nails it as Lego Batman through all 3 of these films, but the casting of Michael Sera as Robin is genius. A, 9.1/10.

Oh, and Phil Lord (co-writer of both TLM1 & 2, producer for TLBM) also co-created Clone High, How I Met Your Mother... and wrote Spiderman Into the Spiderverse.

This guy's pretty good.

#lego #the lego movie #the lego movie 2 #the lego batman movie #Film Review #movies #movie review #chris pratt #will arnett #catchy song

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downeysgirl94 · 6 years

Text

Not Alone Anymore

takes place between the iron man 2 and the avengers basicallly au peter was tonys son all along and has to care for him. peter is a toddler

“Sir you have call on the line”

“Thank you kindly Jarvis” Tony said with a smirk as he picked up his phone.

“This is Stark” He said firmly

“Hello Mr. Stark my name is Caroline Frederica and I work for Child Services and I’m calling in regards to your son- “Tony who was half listening at the time was in the middle of drinking of his coffee when he here son and spit it all over his lab ordered Dum-E to clean it up, before getting back to the call.

“My WHAT?” what are you talking about?” Tony Exclaimed

“Do you know the name Mary Parker, Mr. Stark?” Caroline asked

“I don’t know Possibly, I’ve met many women in my life. Tony sighed.

“Mr. Stark, Mary Parker had a son Peter, Peter Parker. He is 6 years old, he’s yours.”

Tony was at a loss for words he hardly could remember who Mary was now he was being told that her son was his and he didn’t know about it.

“Mr. Stark are you still there?”

“Yes Sorry you just shook my world telling me I knocked up a girl and she didn’t decide to clue me in till now?”

“Mr. Stark that’s not why we called-“tony was beyond confused

“We called because Mary & her husband Richard were killed in a plane crash, so Peter’s next living relative is you.”

Tony didn’t know what to say he’s never met the kid and now he’s being asked to care for him. It made tony think about his parents, how they were taken from him as well. “Well at least we got something in common” he muttered grimly

“I’m not father material, I had no good examples growing up and it wasn’t until recently I wasn’t a complete mess myself.” Tony thinking about Howard in the back of his mind

“Mr. Stark if you don’t take him he will go into the foster care system. We searched for other relatives but none are still with us, his uncle was killed and his aunt died last year in a car accident.”

“Poor kid all that happened to him? I can relate to losing the parents but everyone close to him damn.”

He quickly shot Pepper a message that he needed to talk like now.

“Where is the kid now?”

“Currently at Queens’s memorial Hospital”

“Was he hurt?” he asked nervously

“No he was he after his mother was brought in after the accident and we have an office on site, he didn’t want to leave.” She responded sadly.

Tony rubbed his face and sighed Pepper was going to kill him probably, but it was the right thing to do. “I’ll be there in 30 minutes.”

“Fantastic Mr. stark I look forward to seeing you and I’m sure peter does too. May have a few things to sign depends how it goes I might just fax it at a later time.

“Ok see you soon.” Tony Sighed his life was about to drastically change

Not even a minute later Pepper walked into his lab asking what was so important.

“Pep you may want to sit down.” Tony said cautiously

“Tony I swear to god if your dying again I’ll kill you first myself.” She retorts

“No I’m not dying but apparently I am a father” tony paused and looked at pepper

“What?” Pepper’s Eyes were wide

“My playboy ways are coming to bite me in the ass I guess. Few years ago at a convention a woman named Mary Parker and me being me back in those days apparently back in those days forgot protection, I’m just confused why she did try getting money from me like all the other girl I slept with back in those days lying they were pregnant and shit she actually was and didn’t say a word. She didn’t want me know I had a kid. The only reason I found out was…” tony trailed off.

Pepper was stunned “Why Tony?”

“Mary and her husband died in an accident and child services just called and told me I’m his only living relative, I’ve never even met the kid.” Tony seemed shaken

“Tony are you trying to tell me you’re going to take this kid in?” Pepper looked shocked.

Tony just stared at her after a minute or two of silence he said quietly “he’s got no one left, I’m all he got, and even you’ve said I’ve changed.

“Yes but Tony a child? When you can barely take care of yourself?”

“I can learn” Tony Replied Simply “He’s not going into foster care if I can stop it. I had to suffer alone when I lost my parents. I’m going to do my best to make sure he doesn’t go through that alone.”

Pepper was in awe of Tony “You won’t be alone Tony I Help as much as I can but I think at first it best for you to get to know each other”

“Your right Pep thanks for your support.”

He kissed her goodbye and walked out of the lab.

The drive to the hospital was the longest of his life it seemed he kept thinking of his parents, to Howards lack of love or affection, to the beating he would sometimes receive from Howard, to his mother being the complete opposite loving and caring and their deaths which still hurt as tony removed his sunglasses and walked inside the hospital he promised himself he would not end up like Howard.

As he followed the signs for child services, he finally found the office at the end of the hall. Once he got to the office he knocked and entered.

“Mr. Stark nice to finally meet you.” Caroline said

“Likewise. Where is the little tyke?” tony asked looking around the room seeing it covered in Legos and other toys.

“He should be back any minute he went to get a bite to eat with a coworker.” “Are you nervous to meet him?”

Me nervous as if Tony thought as he sat across from Caroline and put he hands in his pockets needing to keep them busy.

Few minutes later Tony heard the office door open and saw an older woman holding a younger boys hand. That be peter he thought. She let go he walked inside tony could stop watching the boy he seemed so like him in every way. Tough outer shell guard from getting hurt. Tony didn’t want to scare him so he watched him play with his toys, and was mesmerized how smart the 6 year old was. He was building challenging structures no normal 6 year could make. Finally tony steadied his nerves and walked over to peter playing with Legos.

“Wow that’s impressive kid” tony said with a smile point a one of peter Lego creations.

Peter was a little nervous but nowhere near as tony.

“Thanks mister it from my favorite movie”

“What movie is that?” tony asked

Star wars” peter stated simply

Tony giggled slightly of course his kid has seen star wars and is obsessed.

“Mind if I play with you..?”

“Peter”

“Do you mind peter? My name is tony by the way”

“Sure not like I have anyone else anyways.” This made Tony’s smile falter of course he misses his family but I don’t want to scare him by surprise the dad you thought was your dad wasn’t. Tony finally settled on asking

“Kid what’s wrong?”

“Lost my family recently now I got no one.” Peter looked down with tears starting to form.

“I’m so sorry to hear that peter” eventually they both played in silence until Peter looks at Tony and asks.

“What’s going to happen to me now?”

Tony got really nervous he didn’t know what to say but Caroline had heard him and said “Peter dear go with Mr. stark.”

Peter’s eyes brightened when he looked up at tony again smiled

“You’re who my mom mentioned to me.”

“I suppose I am I hope it was nice things”

“Yeah I think mostly that you were a superhero and…” he had tears in his eyes “my Dad”

Tony smiled “thank god you knew that we avoided so much drama”

After a minute or so of crying peter hugged tony as tight as he could and said

“Now I’m not alone anymore”

Tony smiled and hugged him back replying

“Now were both not alone anymore”

Tony took peter’s hand and took him back home where he belongs.

i want to do more of toddler peter so i will try to continue like him under tony care i just wanted to set up how he got there.

@veryhomobro @kaitwin3 I think I got your suggestions on here its an au though

#tony stark #peter parker #iron dad #spider son #fan fic #au #will try to contiue #marvel #au peter is a toddler #iron man #spider man #takes place between iron man 2 and the avengers #love them #let me know what you think #i love fanfic #i love iron dad

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davidmann95 · 7 years

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why os batman great?

I tend to focus on the guy in the red cape at the expense of my second-favorite character, but let’s make something very, very clear: in terms of the sheer scale on which he and his iconography have imprinted onto the popular consciousness, the ratio of output to quality across all mediums for a character that’s experienced the kind of proliferation he has, and his ability to not only endure but remain at the forefront of the genre he practically co-founded across decades, Batman is easily the greatest superhero of all time.

Explaining why that’s the case is tricky to truly, substantively get right, because there’s a difference between what makes him great as a character, and what’s made him the most popular character in the world. Not to remotely denigrate the attention span/intellect of the average moviegoer or suggest they don't 'get it', but I have to imagine most people don’t love Batman because they've extensively thought about his complex motives and the fascinating symbolism that rules his world, but because he drives the world’s dopest car over to his job of suplexing crime into the pavement, which is valid because that rules. So we’ll start at the immediate mass-appeal stuff and work our way down, and the big one is something we’ve already touched on:

Batman’s cool as hell

There are certainly contrarian souls who would argue that Batman is not, in fact, relentlessly awesome. Think about him for a couple seconds, they might note, and he’s a silly manchild living in his parents’ underground basement who can only emotionally engage as an equal with literal children; they might drive the point home that his particular brand of macho hyper-capitalist performative Hard Man edginess is both shallow and ultimately passe. And if you’re engaging in a character-centered examination of his archetype as in The Lego Batman Movie or Morrison’s work with the character, those are fine points. But in terms of whether or not he’s surface-level cool? Pull your head out of your ass, peel open your eyes, and engage with the larger culture for a second: Batman is as close to objectively rad as it is possible for a concept to be.

Batman wears black body armor and drives awesome cars and sounds like Kevin Conroy. Batman lives in a mansion that also has a cave in it, and wears the slickest suits when he’s not being Batman, because Batman can buy anything. Batman is ripped and sexy.* Batman knows every martial art and parkour and can blend into the shadows, and he has a belt of James Bond gadgets. Batman is a genius who’s always ten steps ahead and can escape any trap. Batman has a pitch-black sense of humor. Batman is vicious even as he’s utterly cool in the face of danger. Batman fights horror movie villains of the supernatural, monstrous, fetishistically disturbing, and plain ‘ol slasher varieties, and wins (when he’s not busy dancing across the rooftops in pursuit of a leather-clad Anne Hathaway/Michelle Pfeiffer/Julie Newmar). Batman’s climbed his way back from chemically-induced psychosis, a shattered spine, and the gates of death, all by wit and sheer brutal force of will. Batman has a city that’s New York and Chicago and Vegas and Hell rolled into one, and when he’s needed it literally blasts his logo onto the sky in public acknowledgement of his supreme coolness, but he also travels the world to other cool-looking exotic locales so he can be cool there too. Batman has theme songs by Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer. And crucially, in spite of all of this, Batman is tormented. You can argue the validity of those conventions on an intellectual level, but what it amounts to is that Batman is a kickass figure of the night who’s the best at everything and has the best of everything, snarling all the while even as he keeps an air of amused detachment about the whole affair, and those are archetypes that humanity’s long since given the thumbs up as constituting capital-c Cool. We like people who can kick ass, the outlaws, the capable and the mysterious, so long as they’re in good stories that let us buy it. And more than anyone in pop culture aside from maybe Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine - and that dude’s done, while the Dark Knight forever remains - he’s That, the superhero.

* Yes, his depiction is more typically centered around a straight dude perspective of male physical perfection than anything actually particularly sensual or alluring, but the intent’s clearly there, and when you’ve been played by Clooney and Affleck I figure you get to claim ‘sexy’ as a fair semi-universal descriptor.

Batman is spooky

Of course, if cool was all there was to Batman’s general persona, he wouldn’t be cool at all, he’d be Poochie in a Dracula cape (which given it will presumably last until the heat death of the universe is a premise The Simpsons will inevitably have to get around to at some point, so remember you saw it here first). But what backs it up and lets people take it seriously is that he’s spooky. Not necessarily frightening - though he can most definitely be that too - but there’s an ethereal, shadowy aspect to his world that goes beyond the fright mask. It can take many forms for many situations and versions of him and his setting: lurking on a gargoyle over an alleyway, waiting for some poor unsuspecting punk to try and stick up an innocent family only to drag him ten stories up and leave him sobbing for his mother; karate-chopping his way through deathtraps and colorful henchmen, which for all its unabashed fun still carries the air of Halloween pageantry and neuroses let loose; haunting the grimiest parts of an urban hellhole, waiting to burst through the window of a roach-infested apartment or a musty disused warehouse to break bones and spill blood; appearing from nowhere, grappling with mind-bending chemical trips and fighting to stay one step ahead of killers in the shadows, dueling mad rich perverted cultists and literal demons of the underworld, overlooking a shadow city forever in flux to reflect the horrors of the moment. Even at his most innocent, there’s something irreducibly seedy and violent and enigmatic about Batman, and that not only provides immediate distinction and character to him and his surroundings - one that distinguishes both from their contemporaries - but legitimizes the entire enterprise as something that can be taken seriously.

Batman is playful

At the same time, Batman’s fun - even at his most serious he uses Batman-shaped boomerangs, and drives a cool car even though gliding and swinging lets him better avoid traffic. He needs to be fun for the kind of ubiquitous pop appeal he has, and it’s built in on every level of the brand no matter how far away you try and veer from it, letting a character rooted in loss and declarations of bloody revenge work just as well for four-year-olds as forty-somethings. The cave, the costumes, the sidekicks and signal and colorful rogues and utility belt and trophies, they give his world a size and dimension that lets him dip his toe in nearly any genre, with his inherent seriousness backing him up to let you buy him in any of those narrative territories. At the end of the day, the people shaping Batman at least subconsciously know it’s all a game, and in letting him have that kind of fun he’s granted versatility and the ability to invigorate as well as stun audiences.

Batman is emotionally, symbolically raw

And sitting at the heart of it all, giving him the gas in the engine that propels all of the above forward, is that he comes from the most viscerally, broadly relatable place of any superhero. The only one who approaches him is Spider-Man, and even there the meaning of his tragedy is somewhat displaced - there’s loss and guilt, yes, but that’s merely the catalyst for a message of responsibility. Here, that Bruce Wayne loses a concept everyone is on some level familiar with, of the happiness and comfort and stability that family is supposed to provide, is itself the point. He grabs the emotional lever right at the animal hindbrain and pulls until it snaps off: everything has gone wrong, and someone must pay for making things this way. Then for good measure he actually does make them pay while adhering to a righteous moral code that defies all he fights against, elevating himself from spooky fun action hero into myth. He’s surrounded by a city where abstract horrors consolidate down into entirely literal figures - for instance, in Gotham the fear that we can be outfoxed, overwhelmed, and systematically taken apart in service of evil stroking its own ego because we just aren’t good enough to survive is a dick in a neon green hat who likes crossword puzzles (as opposed to Superman’s world of much more personal and basic human concerns blown up to cosmic scale) - and he in turn becomes a myth of us persevering through the worst to fight back.

Batman is genuinely a good character

I place this last because this is really the nuts-and-bolts level. It’s essential, none of the above would work for 79 years and counting without it, but it’s not something many but the hardcore (which includes the comic readers by default at this point) consciously think about. But on the ground floor beneath everything else, Batman’s not just an effective piece of branding, atmosphere, and emotional manipulation, but a good character. In his motivations, with the anger that compels him often making many miss that underneath, he far more powerfully wants to ensure that no one else goes through what he did. The childishness of his methods and mindset regarding ‘the mission’ meeting the maturity of his dedication and brilliance, and the humor that can come from that disconnect (especially when his alternating disgust and amusement with his daytime masquerade as a normal person gets involved). The tentative, essential friendships he’s built with the likes of Gordon and Superman. The fatherly connection with Alfred, and the see-saw of the latter’s feelings of guilt, responsibility, and pride in his charge. The spark of his rivalries at their best. The detective work that can be as thrilling as a good punch-out when pulled off right. The forever changing complexity of the Family, a web of Robins and Batgirls and assorted hangers-on with him at the center, their existence and growth a chart of his own emotional progress and regression. His jet-black wit and self-awareness, his ability to empathize with fellow victims, his difficulties in trusting and openly loving those around him when his world is built on the knowledge of how easily those can be stripped away and how badly it hurts. The paranoia, the compassion, the drive and endurance. Beneath all the trappings, Bruce Wayne is just plain and simple a really, really good, interesting, multi-faceted character, fine-tuned under decades of creators and by his existence facilitating the creation and development of countless *other* good characters. And that’s really all it takes underneath it all to prop up a symbol that’s built empires, redefined cultures, and changed lives: the idea of a good man who refused to give up in the face of a cruel world when it forever scarred him, and made himself something greater to fight back and help others not have to go through it alone. That’s why Batman’s great.

#Batman #Analysis #Opinion

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