#kars gets a dog saga

[yallemagne]

Finally posting my feelings on season 3 of X-Men: TAS. Ughhh.

Episode 1 & 2: Out of the Past

Looooove Gambit and Jubilee’s continued sibling relationship. 

Yuriko: “You killed my father!” Logan: “I didn’t!” Yuriko: “I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear that.”

Don’t got much else to say other than ugh this leads into the space shenanigans and I haaaaate that. 

Episode 3, 4, 5, 6, 7: The Phoenix Saga

This saga is a drag but that doesn’t mean I didn’t get emotional when Jean and Scott parted. Seriously, when they kissed?? And Jean’s hair lit up like it was aflame? Fucking sexy as hell can I be them? These two are romance incarnate. 

Episode 8: No Mutant is an Island

Scott is so fucking done and I love that for him. He deserves a chance to go apeshit. Says he’s sick of playing “den mother”??? Oh my god. Speaking truth to power. Especially since Logan’s absence clearly marks that he’s already gone off to sulk, Scott deserves some sulk time for himself. 

THE ORPHANAGE. RUSTY!!! RUSTY COLLINS!! My darling Russell. 

“He’s just not used to the loving discipline a boy his age needs.” Kill this pervert. “After only two days I already love you like a son.” SCOTT KILL THIS PERVERT!!

Killgrave’s using these fucking kids as a scapegoat and the crimes they’re blamed for in his stead are what keep them from getting the help they need. I fucking hate this cunt. 

THEY DUMPED SCOTT IN THE POOL??? DOG?? What are y’all gonna do when a man is found drowned in your pool? Say “whoops guess he couldn't swim”??

I don’t like this Sarah chick. I’m sorry but like Killgrave is the most suspect guy ever, and she endangered the lives and futures of those children because “no one else would take them”. All that bullshit about her seeing the mutant kids as family? Girl, you got rid of them. She’s just gonna sell them to the highest bidder again because that’s what she did last time. 

I don't like that the message is "acceptance and tolerance is earned not forced" no, tolerance is NOT earned. Under no circumstances should a child be forced to EARN the right to live. Killgrave is wrong because he's a human trafficker using children to commit crimes. And obv his plan to groom the kids to become politicians would have never worked because his actions have gotten the kids in trouble with the authorities before, meaning they are distrusted by society because of HIM.

Episode 9: Obsession

I’m just gonna take a wild guess and say the Ming Dynasty scroll was planted to lure Archangel in. 

Warren is a fucking prick. Worthington is a dumb cunt and I hate him. “Deep down, he is still Warren Worthington!” Well, Warren Worthington is a bit of an angsty prick, so that ain’t saying much Rogue. Rogue and her sympathy for bitter blue bastards is gonna be her downfall. 

“Xavier was right, it is sentient! We can speak to it!” Uhh… or the ship just has Siri, McCoy. 

“Ship, you are a work of art.” “Thank you, Henry McCoy. You have no idea what a pleasure it is to interface with someone who appreciates the subtleties of my programming.”  Okay damn. I stand corrected. And Hank is about to wine and dine a ship. Jioegpoi Hank getting shocked for attempting to hack the ship and the ship apologizing. Wolverine and Cyclops are just standing there like “why are we here playing voyeur to this weird shit?”

I knew it, the scroll was planted. I fucking called it.

They need to stop giving Hank compelling love interests and then getting rid of them by the end of the episode. 

THEY SHOT APOCALYPSE INTO SPACE LIKE KARS. 

Episode 10: Longshot

Logan teaching Jubilee to drive!!! And he’s wearing a fuckin’ cowboy hat and a bolo tie. Why is he dressed for the rodeo? And he’s just such a dad for the rest of the episode, he recognizes Jubilee’s crush on Longshot and IMMEDIATELY goes into Dad Mode. 

“Bad doggie! No biscuit. We got leash laws in this town, mutt.” I fucking Love Wolverine. 

“Allowing me to scan his mind must be Longshot’s decision.” We love a king who respects consent. 

I fucking love Domo’s nicknames for Mojo. 

Yeah, I think I love Longshot. And I think most of the reason is just that I’ve read Exiles but ya know. He really is a heartthrob. He’s cliché but it’s a fun cliché. 

Honourable mention: that ram guy who threw away his gun to pull out a knife. 

Jubilee outfit without the coat is cute. Lol but they kept accidentally animating her with the coat on. 

Episode 11: Cold Comfort

BOBBYYYYY. Gay boy what are you doing here? Lol Bobby was the golden child, that much is obvious. At the same time he’s like “I was never good enough for you!” Dude Xavier let you get away with everything and that bred resentment in your teammates. 

Scott’s been wearing a bomber jacket recently and it just makes me miss Morph more

“What’s with those two? I’ve never seen the Professor so angry.”Daddy issues. “It’s a surrogate father-son dynamic with unresolved issues of dominance.” Wow damn I was right. 

Bobby: *insults Scott* Logan: *unsheathes claws* “Only I can call Cyke a goody goody.”

Jubilee looking up the records <333

FORGE???

QUICKSILVEr????

…Havok? oh gee.

Love Logan calling out that the government is employing mutants to police mutants. Forge says they're helping but like... Jaguars. Faces.

WHAT THE FUCK POLARIS. Polaris you absolute piece. “You wouldn’t have supported my decision so we faked my disappearance.” Who does that? Imagine needing to have absolutely no pushback in your decision-making, so to avoid having an argument with your boyfriend you fake your own kidnapping and start dating someone else without ever breaking up with the first guy. I wouldn’t hold it against her if it were just a simple misunderstanding, like if she left a note but he thought she wrote it under duress, but she purposely led him to believe that she needed to be rescued. 

They need to stop introducing characters that could be permanent additions to the team and then squandering that.

Episode 12 & 13: Savage Land, Strange Heart

Who is this chicken lady? I can’t take her seriously, she looks like a chicken. 

Rogue and Storm are lowkey dating and I love it. 

NO ONE KNOWS HOW TO CLOSE THEIR EYES. Who knows? Maybe it isn’t as simple as closing your eyes or looking away… but then why have Sauron repeat the phrase “look into my eyes” if you don’t actually have to look for him to control you? It’s stupid. 

“Well, next time Storm is kidnapped, I’ll make sure they take her someplace nice.”

The Savage Lands are fucking boring oh my god. 

I’m guessing… Sinister was in the soil when they last left… they’re saying Garokk is in the soil… hmm?? I’m probably wrong tho… it actually is just Garokk, that’s boring.

WOLVERINE TACKLING AND PETTING ZABU!! Fucking adorable.

Episode 14, 15, 16, 17: The Dark Phoenix

This whole saga gave me the ick. It made me sick to watch. It’s is just a very disgusting storyline. First, Phoenix invalidates Jean’s free will, then the motherfuckin’ Rape Syndicate drops in and invalidates Phoenix’s free will. It’s just very gross and I felt like I was playing voyeur to some gross man’s fantasy. OH WAIT I literally fucking was because of that creep character I refuse to remember the name of.

“Ohoho! Looks like you’ve been having fun without me! Where’s the Cajun?” kinky

Who the fuck are these silk-stocking wearing hoes? “Tradition demands that this power be wielded by us” Ah, so they’re white supremacists. 

Every woman wants a piece of Scott. Callisto wanted a piece, Dazzler wanted a piece, The Phoenix is staying in Jean’s body because she wants a piece. “Dark pleasure of destruction” Fancy words for saying you want to peg that man. 

KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER. GET A JOB. STOP FUCKING TOUCHING HER YOU CREEP. I scream. They do not listen. But hahahaha Scott’s beautiful eyes broke her out of the creep’s rape fantasy. 

DAZZLER YOU PIECE. I know it’s hard to resist Scott’s charms but you do NOT spring a kiss on a man. Literally this whole thing is caused by people not respecting consent. The only reason Scott and Jean’s psychic rapport was broken was because Dazzler couldn’t fucking keep her hands to herself. And it's SOOO forced bc he could have just sent Gambit to play bodyguard.

These guys are fucking governing Genosha in ’97. Whose bright idea was it to put the Rape Syndicate in charge of a sovereign nation?

“I know what you’re thinking, bub. Question is: “Can I get Wolverine before he turns me into shish kabob with his claws?” Well bub, seeing as these claws are adamantium: the strongest metal known and can slice through vanadium steel like hot butter, you gotta ask yourself: “Do I feel lucky?””

“Lousy year.” *drops wine bottle on man’s dick*

I just love unhinged Wolverine quotes.

“I need no help from a woman to destroy the X-Men.” What a surprise. The head creep is a misogynist. Question: if Shaw can absorb any energy, can he absorb the energy of me ripping his spinal cord from his back? Asking for a friend.

Just when I think it’s over this damn saga still won’t end. Lilandra I thought I was done with you, woman. You come back into my life to fridge Jean Grey a second time, you piece. 

Scott/Jean has captured my mind and soul. They’re perfect. I love them so much. 

Episode 18: Orphan’s End

What an on-the-nose title for an episode where Cyclops learns his father is alive. Oh by the way that was mentioned before, his father is a space pirate. 

Cyclops mockingly calling Corsair “dad” fuels me. Let him tear his father a new one. 

Corsair says that if he’d known his children were alive nothing could have stopped him from coming back. Girly you never even looked, deadbeat. Just assumed your sons were dead for convenience, motherfucker. 

Episode 19: Love in Vain

We need a codeword for when Rogue gets dragged into some bullshit by toxic people from her past. Girl has had too much. Cody gave me bad vibes from the beginning. 

The fact that they defeat the Brood by talking to their sentient fish space ship? Two for two on sentient ships saving the day this season.  

Logan trying to comfort Rogue but her gravitating toward Gambit, the one whose affections she spurned going after the one that got away… I just got a lotta feelings, okay?

Season 1

Season 2

[queermtl]

QUEER MTL THINGS TO DO: July 2023

July turns up the heat and Montréal’s queers take to the streets! This month, Montréal is stuffed to the brim with events, parties and unique experiences painted in all the colours of the LGBTQ+ rainbow. From drag to community, circuit to underground, here’s some of our picks for the best LGBTQ+ things to do in the city. For further announcements, follow QueerMTL on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr! Got an event coming up? DM it our way!

EVENT OF THE MONTH:

🥳 Sure to be one of the summer’s favourite gathering spots, Ellelui presents Summer Happy Hours—Lesbian, Queer & Trans Oriented Events, every Wednesday from 19:00-22:00 this summer at Ping Pong Club. There’s a 20% BIPOC discount and PWYC tickets are available to those facing financial hardship—contact tickets@elleluimtl.com to access either option.

EVENTS

🐕 Queers love dogs, and dog-loving queers will adore the first edition of WOOPAW FEST at Bassin Peel on July 1 and 2, 2023, including a grand parade along the Lachine Canal!

🧺 Make new friends at the July Queer Picnic at Parc La Fontaine on Sunday, July 2, 2023. Find details on Facebook. 

✊ Show your love for Montréal’s Village at MANIFESTATION J’AIME MON VILLAGE on Tuesday, July 4, 2023, starting at Parc de l’Espoir at 5:30 PM. Bring your favourite noisemaker and show your love for one of the city’s most historically queer neighbourhoods. 

✍️ HommeHomo brings Drink & Draw back to Bar Le Cocktail on Wednesday, July 5 and Wednesday, July 19, 2023, featuring live models and drink specials. 

🎶 A Very Toxic Show at Bar Notre Dame des Quilles on Thursday, July 6, 2023, is sure to be an unforgettable night of covers, remixes and mash-ups of Britney Spears’ ‘Toxic’ and nothing else. 

🎥 Wong Kar Wai’s Fallen Angels screens at the notorious old school adult Cinema l’Amour as part of Cinema Erotica 05, featuring post-screening music from Pauli Cakes, Miasalav, Mossy Mugler and Faux Sommets on Friday, July 7, 2023.

🫦 Pay loving tribute to the legendary Missy Elliott at the Missy Elliott Burlesque at Café Cléopatra on Saturday, July 8, 2023!

🥘 The Coalition des familles LGBT+ (CFLGBT+) hosts a Potluck BIPOC LGBTQ2S+ on Saturday, July 8, 2023 in Parc La Fontaine. Grab free tickets and get cooking!

🧘 Grove Campus Yoga Fest ’23: What is Love in Action? offers yoga for all levels, meditation, plant-based food, local vendors and entertainment all day long on Saturday, July 8, 2023. Check Eventbrite for tickets and location information. 

🎶 Musical darling Christine and the Queens perform two nights in a row at MTELUS, Saturday, July 8 and Sunday, July 9, 2023. 

🎉 Celebrate and commemorate 30 years of Montréal sexual health organization REZO at REZO en spectacle—Soirée d’autofinancement at Cabaret Mado on Monday, July 10, 2023. 

🎥 REEL GAY screens the Twilight saga’s New Moon with live commentary featuring the one and only Tranna Wintour on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 at The Diving Bell Social Club. 

🕺Choreographer Scott Fordham presents Limitless, a showcase of his work with special guest performers at Cabaret Mado on Wednesday, July 12, 2023. 

🎤 If you’ve ever asked what could possibly make karaoke even better, the popular Bareoke: Strip Karaoke at Café Cléopatra on Saturday, July 15, 2023 is your answer!

🤝 Meet fellow LGBTQ+ professionals at Le Frigo Vert’s Queer Entrepreneur Networking Event on Saturday, July 15, 2023. 

🎶 Veruca Salt’s Louise Post brings her solo material to Bar Le Ritz PBD on Monday, July 17, 2023.

🧺 Summer picnic season continues with the Queer Anglo Pride Picnic (Take 2), presented by Fierté Montréal, on Friday, July 21, 2023 at Parc Leduc. 

🩲 The Festival Hochelag: Queer et NU.E.S. brings two nights of performance to the Maisonneuve House of Culture on Friday, July 21 and Saturday, July 22, 2023. Night one is a full cabaret with 10 performers, while the second night features the premiere of the Collectif NU.E.S’ Quand la neige fond entre mes cuisses.

🎶 Moira & Claire play alongside Ezra Glatt on Sunday, July 23, 2023 at Ursa. 

✊The Archives gaies du Québec hosts The Aesthetic Activism of ACT UP Montréal: a history in photos and posters from June 13-August 13, 2023, spotlighting an important piece of both HIV/AIDS and Montréal’s activist history.

👠 Twice a month on every second Tuesday, Bring It! hosts an OTA night of ballroom and vogue with commentator and DJ. Follow their Instagram for dates and details.

🤔 Every Wednesday, Bar Champs hosts Wednesday Trivia Night at Champs with Quiz Master Brian. 

🎾 Throughout the month, Tennis Lambda hosts LIGUE DE DIMANCHE outdoor tennis on the courts at Parc Louis-Riel. Check Eventbrite for full dates and details. 

🚲 Montréal Queer Bike Polo meets on Thursdays! Find details and directions on their Instagram. 

🏐 Les Ratons-Chasseurs (Montréal’s LGBTA dodgeball group) holds regular events. Keep an eye on their Facebook for upcoming opportunities to join in and play. 

🤠 The long-running Club Bolo offers open country music dance classes every Friday evening at the Association sportive et communautaire du Centre-Sud. Find more details at their website. 

🕹Montréal Gaymers hosts regular gatherings including board game nights and gaming gatherings. Check their Facebook for what’s next!

🎤 Most Tuesdays, check out Stand Up St. Henri Open Mic at Impro Montréal, focusing on women, non-binary, queer and allied comedians.

🏃🏾Join the Out-Run run and workout club for people relating to the queer / sapphic experience. Details on their Instagram!

💃 Tango/Salsa Queer’s continue, with Salsa Queer on Saturdays from 13:30-14:30 and Tango (beginners/intermediate) on Saturdays at 12:00-13:30. Contact tango.queer@hotmail.com or call +1 (438) 930-8529 for prices and signup information.

🐦 Bird lovers should keep their eye on Queer Birders' regularly scheduled birdwatching events and excursions. Join the Facebook group and get those binoculars at the ready. 

PARTIES

🥳 Guaranteeing an unmissable outdoor day-long dance party, Playground 2023 takes over Entrepôt 77 on Saturday, July 1, 2023, featuring performances from Mantisse, Laroie, Berlam, David Campana, Young Rose and more. 

🥳 Paying tribute to dance music of the Arab/SWANA region, Parallel Vol. 2 promises to dance the night away at The Diving Bell Social Club on Saturday, July 1, 2023. 

🥳 The sounds of the legendary Berghain comes to Montréal at BERLIN TECHNO 7—Canada Day Edition at Cabaret Berlin on Sunday, July 2, 2023. 

🥳 Vinorama hosts a Queer Wine Mixer on Thursday, July 6, 2023, and the first glass comes included with the entry ticket.

🥳 Discoño returns on Friday, July 7, 2023 at Ausgang Plaza with sets from Argentina’s Tayhana, Mexico’s Samia, AYYYBRINO, Jashim and Rico Rica. 

🥳 LUVHAUS Soirée LGBTQ made in Hochelaga brings B’ugo and Diskommander to Blockhaus on Saturday, July 8, 2023!

🥳 The Tumblr 2014 Dance Party promises to go back in time to the “edgy blogger era” at Turbo Haüs on Saturday, July 8, 2023. 

🥳 Turn back the clock at the With It 60’s Soul Party Montréal on Saturday, July 8, 2023 at Bar La Shop, and dance to all of your favourite ‘60s hits. 

🥳 The ‘90s are back in style at Saved By the ‘90s…Baby! at Plaza Centre-Ville on Friday, July 14, 2023, self-proclaimed as the biggest ‘90s dance event in town. 

🥳 Turn the lights down low at Cirque de Boudoir’s GOTH BEACH 2 at Cabaret Berlin on Saturday, July 15, 2023. Don’t forget the dress code—keep it fetish and keep it on theme!

🥳 Gear ’n’ Dance Montréal takes over Bain Mathieu on Saturday, July 22, 2023, promising a new and welcoming fetish experience for experts and beginners alike. 

DRAG

👑 Calling all gaymers: The Gahds (Uma and Selma) host Jackbox Games with The Gahds at Bar Le Cocktail on Saturday, July 1, 2023. Play along or vote for your favourite players!

👑 Misty Waterfalls pulls double duty on Sunday, July 2, 2023 with Le Brunch aux Folles at 13h00 and Le Souper aux Folles at 17:00, both featuring Kiara and Victoire de Rockwell at Bar Social Verdun. 

👑 Cabaret Mado hosts the Cabaret Queer on Thursday, July 6, 2023, featuring performances from Tracy Trash, The Lady Josephine, Velma Jones, Miss Butterfly, Kitana Swett and others. 

👑 Master of diva impersonation Jimmy Moore presents Jimmy Moore personnifie Lady Gaga to Cabaret Mado on Saturday, July 8, 2023. 

👑 If you miss Y2K culture, non-binary performers Heaven Genderfck, Prudence, Val the Freak and Cismon Genderfck want to take you there at ENBY 4.5 presents YouTube 2K on Wednesday, July 12, 2023 at Bar Le Cocktail.

👑 Legendary queen Mado presents Mado Bitche la France on Thursday, July 13, 2023 at her namesake club Cabaret Mado, featuring Squeegee Nicky on piano. 

👑 Jimmy Moore pays spot-on tribute to Céline Dion with Jimmy Moore personnifie Céline Dion on Saturday, July 15, 2023 at Cabaret Mado. 

👑 Lulu Shade and Lady Monrose host Shade on Vacation on Tuesday, July 18, 2023 at Bar Le Cocktail, featuring Mike Oxlong, Lily-Rose and Iris DeLys. 

👑 A queen of many talents, Tracy Trash pays tribute to the Material Girl with Madonna! on Wednesday, July 19, 2023 at Cabaret Mado. 

👑 Montréal’s glamour doll Sasha Bags hosts Sashalicious on Thursday, July 20, 2023, featuring appearances from Aizysse Baga, Pétula Claque, Bobépine and Lady Boom Boom. 

👑 Pop chameleon Jimmy Moore presents the Jimmy Moore personnifie Adèle supper and show at Complexe Sky on Friday, July 21, 2023.

👑 Does Jimmy Moore ever sleep? Don’t miss Jimmy Moore personnifie Britney Spears at Cabaret Mado on Saturday, July 22, 2023. 

👑 Lady Boom Boom hosts Drag Brunch at the Resto du Village on Sunday, July 23, 2023 with guests Zayra Schatzi, Will Charmer and Darling Delight. 

👑 Celebrate Crystal Starz’s birthday on Tuesday, July 25, 2023 with Légale et Blonde at Bar Le Cocktail, featuring appearances from Chibouki, Chouchoune and Michel Dorion. 

👑 Aizysse Baga presents TRASHILAZ featuring some of Montréal’s most exciting up-and-coming drag talent featuring Lady Boom Boom, Emmötionnal Damage, Pétula Claque, Misty Waterfalls and special guest Prince D-Serious on Thursday, July 27, 2023. 

👑 Jimmy Moore continues to work, work, work, work, work it with Jimmy Moore personnifie Rihanna at Cabaret Mado on Saturday, July 29, 2023.

👑 On Friday and Saturday nights, the legendary Mado Lamotte hosts Mado Reçoit at her namesake club, Cabaret Mado. Each week, she shares the stage with a hand-picked roster of queens. Tickets and lineup info here.

👑 Uma Gahd hosts weekly screenings of Drag Race All Stars Season 8 at Bar Le Cocktail on Friday nights. Come early for a good seat and laugh along all season!

👑 Rosa Golde hosts weekly Drag Race All Stars Season 8 viewings with special guest hosts including Marilyn Manhole and August Wind every Friday at Champs Bar, starting at 9:00 PM. Find more information here. 

👑 Every Tuesday, Canada’s Drag Race season 3 winner Gisèle Lullaby hosts Full Gisèle at Cabaret Mado. Tickets and schedule at Cabaret Mado’s website.

👑 Bar Le Cocktail’s regular weekly events include Butterfly de nuit with Miss Butterfly every Thursday, Vendredi Fou with Michel Dorion on Fridays, Drôles de Drags with a rotating cast of queens on Saturdays and Dimanche Show with Michel Dorion on Sundays. Check listings for specific details, and pick up tickets here.

👑 Every Monday at the Diving Bell Social Club, Bambi Dextrous hosts Trivia Night! Be sure to  book your team table in advance.

👑 Every Thursday at Complexe Sky, check out the Jimmy Moore Drag Show at 10 PM, sure to feature eye-popping costume changes and dance moves that don’t quit. Free with club admission. 

👑 Sunday nights brings the amazingly hilarious Tracy Trash’s Le Tracy Show to Cabaret Mado. Grab tickets here.

[dailykars]

Can we be friends because I don't think I'm brave enough to fight god

“friends? you shot me into space”

“though I may consider it if you teach me how to take care of this tiny tiny dog…” 

@dumbass-clackers

[the-keeper-of-midnight]

Aww that fluff ask where the MC has RO's head in their lap is just so cute ..... Can we have one for the midnight ROs? Pretty please ❤️😍❤️😍

Fluff 💕 No pickles... The Midnight Saga:

Ashley: "This feels heavenly good! Gee! Yes, keep going... and don't forget to scratch my scalp too..."

MC: *goes for another sweet caress of Ashley's hair, as their eyes meet Ash with a smile.*

Ashley: "What is that look? Are you okay? You're looking at me funny."

MC: *smiles in lovestruck mess*

Ashley: "Wait a minute! No... are you finally going to confess? Not that you had any chance of walking out of this relationship, but... are you finally going to confess your love for me?"

*Ashley goes on to kiss MC before MC even say anything*

Ashley: "The answer is yes... yes! Yes! A million time yes. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I love you too!"

Kar: *with their eyes closed* "Did I ever tell you how much I love it when your hands touch me like this?"

MC: ...

Kar: "I know that I don't talk often, and that I should share with you the things that I love about our relationship. Well... one of them is this one, right here. You... caressing my hair... and me... having my head resting on your lap."

MC: ...

Kar: *opens one eye to get a look at MC's face* "Did I scare you by saying this? I'm sorry... I...-"

*abruptly pulls themself up as they come into the shocking realization*

Kar: "You're not scared... you also feel the same way..."

MC: *smiles in lovestruck mess*

Kar: *smiles in lovestruck mess*

Mack: *chuckles* "I know... my hair is a total mess... maybe just pat my head like a good dog... being on your lap is already doing the trick for me."

MC: ...

Mack: *glances at MC's face* "I didn't mean it like that... what I'm trying to say is... I love what you're doing to me... I love that moment we are sharing."

MC: *goes for another sweet caress of Mack's head, as their eyes meet Mack with a smile.*

Mack: "Fine... I'll say it... I love.... I... I love you."

MC: *smiles in lovestruck mess*

Mack : *smiles back* "It's okay... you don't need to say it back... I know that you love me too."

Zhan: "If you're trying to domesticate me... it's not working."

MC: *smiles*

Zhan: "Okay... it's working... but only because I allow it to work."

MC: *smiles in lovestruck mess*

Zhan: "I'm doomed, aren't I? Why do I have a feeling that you're going to be stuck to me like a lost puppy, and... why don't I hate that thought..."

Zhan: *sighs and goes on to kiss MC* "I'm trying to hate you, but... I can't... not when you give me those poppy eyes."

L: "You are so good at this... if the Warden thing doesn't work out... you have a future in scalp massage."

MC: *smiles*

L: "I'll be your first and only client if you want..."

L: *glances at MC's face*

MC: *smiles in lovestruck mess*

Nothing more need to be said as L would recognize that smile a mile away. It's the same smile they have whenever MC gives them a hug or a kiss.

L: *smiles back* "Oh.... ha! Same... every day, every hour, and every second... I feel the same."

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: The Pillar Men

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

“Awaken my masters!”

Sometimes it’s really hard to divide a villain team into singular entries to cover on Psycho Analysis; the characters are just too intrinsically linked to take apart and do individually. So, the easy answer to this problem is to just do the whole group together! And considering these guys come right out and make their big debut by striking a pose together, how can I not group them together?

The Pillar Men are the major antagonists of the second (and objectively one of the best) parts of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. The trio consists of sinister and mysterious leader Kars, crafty and determined second-in-command Esidisi, and loyal and noble warrior Wamuu, and they pose one of the greatest threats in all of the JoJo canon on account of being enormous, ridiculously buff ancient Aztec vampires with insanely bizarre powers.

Oh, and Kars is the one who made the mask that turned Dio, thereby making Kars a greater scope villain for the entire franchise, so there’s that too.

Of course, while they’re all a serious threat, they aren’t really totally equal in terms of quality. Just watching the show it’s easy to tell who the more interesting Pillar Men are, though I will say all of them are good villains.

Actor: Kars is portrayed by John DeMita, who has had a long history voice acting smaller roles; Esidisi is portrayed by Chris Jai Alex, whose biggest role to date aside from this is Panthro in ThunderCats Roar; Wamuu is voiced by Paul St. Peter, who is probably the most famous of the three as he is the voice behind Xemnas of Kingdom Hearts fame, Kurama in Naruto media since 2014, and perhaps most surprisingly (and amazingly) of all, Wormmon in Digimon Adventure 02. All three do excellent jobs, with their voices really helping sell the character of the Pillar Man they’re voicing, and generally speaking they seem to be considered some of the best-voiced characters in the dub.

Motivation/Goals: The Pillar Men share one simple goal: they desire to obtain the stone mask and the Red Stone of Aja and combine them so that they may become the ultimate lifeforms, thus becoming invincible. This seems like a really good plan… but, frankly, it also seems like overkill considering these guys are basically godly powerful right off the bat, their only major weakness being sunlight. I suppose wanting to find and eradicate your only weakness is a smart goal, and the fact you become a literal god on top of that is icing on the cake.

Personality: Wamuu and Esidisi both really shine in the personality department, while Kars, unfortunately, hangs behind the two. Wamuu especially is a very interesting character, being the most honorable and noble of the Pillar Men; from his allowing Caesar’s blood bubble headband to continue to exist to his constant playing fair in his fights, Wamuu easily cements himself as one of the most affable antagonists in the franchise, to the point where he and Joseph basically become friends as he dies. His code of honor, fierce loyalty, and sheer badassery makes him a lot of fun to watch.

Esidisi is not quite as nice or honorable as Wamuu; considering he posessed the body of an innocent girl just so he could try one final suicide attack after his initial defeat shows he’s not afraid to be a bit underhanded, as does his crying psych out trick. And yet, that being said, Esidisi is still a pretty honorable villain in his own right, and much like Wamuu he does view Joseph as a very worthy adversary. The lengths he goes to aid his fellow Pillar Men indicates he does have a fondness for them, one that is seemingly reciprocated, and this sort of villainous friendship is always nice to see. While definitely more pragmatic and tricky than Whamuu, there’s no denying Esidisi was a worthy foe.

Kars… is odd. As the leader and the final foe to be faced in the story, he spends much of the series mysterious, his nature and motives shrouded in mystery. However, unlike DIO or Yoshikage Kira, we never really do get much of a sense of who Kars is in comparison to his fellow Pillar Men until the very end of this part. What we do get ultimately ends up being contradicted as well; his love of the natural world, for instance, shown best when he kills drunk drivers to save a dog and overcomplicates a landing to avoid crushing flowers, is tossed out the window when he becomes the Ultimate Life Form and allows his squirrel hand to kill another squirrel. He also puts up an act of being honorable and noble like his subordinates, but it’s all seemingly for show, as he goes back on his word when it suits him and he plays dirty and sadistically. Even his love for his fellow Pillar Men is a bit iffy; while it’s pretty obvious that he did care for Wamuu and Esidisi, and he told Joseph he would avenge them after their deaths, he does at one point pretty callously dismiss Santana, a Pillar Man he himself had raised. Kars’ personality just seems to flip flop back and forth when it suits him, and putting that aside he’s just a bit too mysterious and vague for his own good.

However, if nothing else, Kars shares one trait with his fellow Pillar Men: he is undeniably over-the-top and hammy to an absurd degree when the scene calls for it, and that honestly does redeem him at least a bit. And what little we do get about his origins and the source of his motivations is pretty interesting and makes a lot of sense. It just comes a bit too late for his own good.

Final Fate: All three Pillar Men meet their end in this part. Esidisi diees first; after being reduced to little more than a brain and some blood vessels, he is vaporized by sunlight after trying to steal Suzie Q.’s body. Wamuu is defeated in one-on-one combat between himself and Joseph, with his dying moments cementing how honorable he is and showcasing the culmination of his relationship with Joseph. Kars has the most sever and disturbing fate of all three; after becoming the Ultimate Lifeform and being blasted into space by sheer accident, his adaptive abilities kick in and put him into a state of hibernation to save him from the cold, airless vacuum of space. Unable to move and trapped entirely as he drifts further and further away, Kars eventually ceases thinking to cope with this horrible situation.

Best Scene: As a group, there is no better scene with all three than their introduction, in which upon waking up for the first time in thousands of years, all three of them strike a dramatic pose together. It is one of the most JoJo moments you will ever witness.

Individually, Wamuu has his final battle and ultimate death against Joseph, which cements his status as the very best Pillar Man with his noble and badass qualities on full display. 

Esidisi has the scene where he breaks out crying to psych Joseph out, a weird and iconic trait of the character that was even adapted as a taunt in All-Star Battle. 

And Kars has the moment where he decides to strum the opening notes of “Roandabout” on Lisa Lisa’s legs solely to piss off Joseph.

Best Quote: Wamuu’s best quote is the one used to introduce this Psycho Analysis, and the one used to introduce the Pillar Men as a whole: “Awaken, my masters!”

Esidisi gets this when he turns Joseph’s signature trick on him: “Next you'll say, ‘I'm going to wipe that smirk off your face!’ Watch.” This is only improved when Joseph responds with exactly that and then calls him out on stealing his tricks.

Kars gets this after the Pillar Men give their wedding rings to Joseph: “Let us keep moving. Apparently the human race has regressed rather than evolved.”

Final Thoughts & Score: The Pillar Men are really fun antagonists. They bring a level of seriousness and drama to the story that plays well off of Joseph’s goofy and eccentric personality, while not being entirely above goofiness themselves; I mean, Esidisi’s sobbing trick and Kars turning his hand into a squirrel are both things that happened, after all. And on top of all of that, they take the overly buff and macho aesthetic of early JoJo to its ludicrous, logical extreme with their awesomely god-like builds. They’re not called “The Aztec Gods of Fitness” by fans for nothing.

As I mentioned though, some of the Pillar Men are just more interesting than others. Unsurprisingly, Wamuu is a 10/10; with his excellent voice acting, his defined and noble personality, and his strange yet compelling relationship with Joseph make him one of the most notable antagonists in the entire franchise, and he’s not even the big bad!

Esidisi scores an 8/10. He’s not quite as impressive as Wamuu is, but he’s still pretty awesome in his own right. His incredible determination and love for his comrades to the point where he just refused to die for a bit solely to make their lives a little easier is honestly a bit inspiring and a great show of his true character. The fact he fights with his own blood veins is also ridiculously cool and disgusting all at once. Kars… I am giving a 6/10. He has a reputation of being one of the more base-breaking villains of the franchise, though definitely not to the extent of Diavolo, and it is a bit easy to see why. Kars is a bit too mysterious for his own good, and what little we do see of him seems to get dropped whenever it suits his mood. All that aside, there really is no denying that what we do learn about him is relatively interesting, and when he finally cuts loose towards the end and starts hamming it up, he honestly does live up to the precedent set by his cohorts. Still, I can’t pretend like he��s not overshadowed a lot by Esidisi and Wamuu; they’re just a lot more fun as antagonists. At the very least Kars is a lot of fun to play as in All-Star Battle, though his GHA really is a pain to pull off.

No matter the individual quality level though, as the collective big bads of this part of the Joestar Saga the Pillar Men are all some of the most interesting and unique foes in the series. I think what’s most impressive is that the series somehow managed to top these guys with nearly every villain after this. You heard right, this series gave giant ancient Aztec vampires with incredibly strange body powers and with one of them literally becoming the ultimate lifeform in the second part of eight and counting, and yet somehow they still managed to keep escalating the villains from here to ludicrous extremes, with a bisexual psychopathic egomaniac vampire who can stop time, a hand-fetishizing serial killer who can turn things into bombs and rewind time, a paranoid mafia don with multiple personalities  and the ability to erase short chunks of time, a gay priest who has a thing for prime numbers and wants to reset the universe for his vampire boyfriend, and a dimension-hopping United States president who wants to collect the pieces of Jesus Christ’s corpse to attain ultimate power all following as big bads.

It really is that sort of series. And when the series is like that, it’s better to start embracing how crazy and over-the-top you are early on, and what better way to do that than with Aztec super vampires? The Pillar Men are a great way to ease people in to the insanity that would follow, being a perfect mix of down-to-earth understandable weirdness and out-there bonkers wackiness. Much like Forever after, they marked a point where the series really started shaping up into the one we all know and love by truly creating and embracing its identity. For that, they definitely deserve a lot of respect.

UPDATE: The only real change here is that Wammu gets bumped down to a 9/10. This is mainly because, as amazing as Wammu is, he’s still not quite on the level as villains like DIO or Kira in terms of iconicness. I wish he was, but sadly we do not live in that world.

[recentanimenews]

The Saga of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Leading into Golden Wind

It's finally here: after a long wait, Part 5 of the hit anime, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, is premiering next month! JoJo is a legend in the anime fandom, and for good reason; it's particular blend of campy humor and wild action has enraptured fans for decades, and Golden Wind is set to give us more of what we love about JoJo. Of course, any franchise that's gone on for so long is going to have a lot to keep up with. That's why we're giving a rundown of the first four parts to prepare you for the joy of Golden Wind. There'll be spoilers for the first four parts ahead, so be careful if you haven't seen JoJo yet. And if you haven't watched JoJo's Bizzare Adventure yet, what are you waiting for? Go and get in on that! With that said, let's get started.

  Beware of spoilers ahead!

Part 1: Phantom Blood

Our bizarre adventure begins in Victorian England, with a young man named Jonathan Joestar and his adopted brother, Dio Brando. After a failed attempt to kill Jonathan's father and usurp his wealth, Dio uses an ancient stone mask to turn himself into a vampire and begins plotting against Jonathan. In turn, Jonathan starts training the mystical art of Hamon, the only technique that can kill a vampire, which he learns from the eccentric Baron Zeppeli. Zeppeli is forced to sacrifice his life along the way, but Jonathan eventually defeats Dio, sacrificing his life in turn to trap the vampire in a coffin at the bottom of the ocean, hopefully ending his reign of terror. Jonathan's pregnant wife, Erina, survives the shipwreck, along with a young baby she saved. Erina makes her way to America, and builds a life for her children there.

Part 2: Battle Tendency

    Part 2 picks up many years later, following Jonathan's grandson Joseph. Even though he's almost identical to his grandfather, the brash and wild Joseph is nothing like the straightforward and honorable Jonathan. Joseph, a natural Hamon user, gets drawn into his own adventure after the Pillar Men, a group of ancient demigods who created the stone mask that made Dio a vampire, awaken and begin to plot world domination. The lead Pillar Men are the honerable Whammu, the calculating Eisidisi, and the cruel Kars. The three are deadly opponents beyond even Dio, forcing Joseph to master his Hamon with the help of the mysterious trainer, Lisa Lisa. Joseph's fight against them takes him on a wild adventure as he encounters cyborg Nazis, killer squirrels, and vampires named after famous musicians and singers. Along the way, he meets Baron Zeppeli's grandson, Caesar. The two clash at first, but grow to become close friends and, with Lisa Lisa's help, head fight the Pillar Men in a pitched battle to save the world. Joseph eventually wins, at the cost of his hand, and goes on to marry his sweetheart, Suzie Q, and live a long and happy life.

  Part 3: Stardust Crusaders

    Stardust Crusaders begins in 1988 and follows Joseph's grandson, Jotaro Kujo, who faces the return of Dio Brando, now known simply as DIO. Stardust Crusaders marks the introduction of Stands, manifestations of the wielder's fighting spirit, which become the primary fighting style of all future arcs. After DIO awakens his, everyone else in the Joestar bloodline also obtains Stands of their own. Most are simple power-ups, but Jotaro's mother is too weak to handle hers. In order to save her, Jotaro and Joseph embark on a globe-trotting journey in order to find and eventually defeat DIO and his army of evil Stand users. Along the way, they're joined by a motly group of other Stand users: Jotaro's classmate, Noriyaki Kakyoin, Joseph's friend, Mohammed Avdol, a Frenchman named Jean-Pierre Polnareff, and the Stand-using dog, Iggy. DIO proves to be a deadly opponent thanks to his Stand, The World, which has the ability to stop time. Due to their similar natures, only Jotaro's Stand, Star Platinum, can match its power. After a pitched battle, Jotaro finally kills DIO, putting an end to his ambitions once and for all. Kakyoin, Iggy, and Avdol were all killed by DIO and his minions, leaving Jotaro, Joseph, and Polnareff to return to Japan and mourn their friends before each going their separate ways.

  Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable

    The most recent arc to be adapted, Diamond is Unbreakable, begins in 1999 when Jotaro arrives in the town of Morioh to find Josuke Higashikata, Joseph's illegitimate son. Jotaro finds him, but the two are quickly drawn into the various conflicts in Morioh as random people start suddenly developing Stands. Their investigation leads them to a mysterious arrow with the power to grant ordinary people Stand abilities and a serial killer who's been hiding in Morioh for years. The serial killer, Yoshikage Kira, uses his Stand to cover up his crimes and live a quiet life as an upstanding citizen of Morioh. Jotaro and Josuke eventually learn about his crimes, and team up with Josuke's friends Okuyasu and Koichi, as well as the Stand-using mangaka, Rohan, to hunt down Kira. Along the way, they're forced to contend with the various Stand users cropping up throughout Morioh and causing trouble. Josuke and Jotaro eventually defeat Kira, thanks in large part to Jotaro's ability to stop time, after which Kira is run over by an ambulance and his soul is torn apart by the spirits of the people he killed. Joseph and Jotaro leave Morioh afterwards, content in the knowledge that the town has able protectors in Josuke and his friends. Koichi in particular ends up playing a major role in Part 5 when he goes to Italy as a favor for Jotaro...

  And with that, you're all caught up and ready to start Golden Wind! The saga of the Joestar family truly lives up to its name as a bizarre adventure, so hopefully this guide has everyone on the same page now. Golden Wind is going to begin in just a few short weeks, so there's a lot to be excited about!

  What are you looking forward to in Golden Wind? Let us know in the comments!

Watch Part 1 through Part 4 of Jojo's Bizzare Adventure today to get caught up and ready for Golden Wind!

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Skyler has been an anime fan since he first saw Naruto on Toonami in 2005. He loves action shows and strong character writing, and finds writing about himself in the third person awkward. Read more of his work at his blog apieceofanime.com and follow him on Twitter at Videogamep3.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[ratherhavetheblues]

DENIS VILLENEUVE’S BLADE RUNNER 2049“ Who’d you bring?”

  © 2017 by James Clark

   You have to be careful about tricking out one’s film with factors from other artists. The recent Blade Runner 2049 (2017), offers us a cornucopia of blue-chip endeavors, all of which putting Villeneuve’s spectacular and shallow film to shame.

    First of all, there is the first Blade Runner (1982), overseen by an expert, Ridley Scott, regarding the monstrous problematics of interpersonal integrity. Like the current film, Scott’s Blade Runner has been seen as a science fiction entertainment, which is to say, a saga saturated with a baseline of classical scientific possibility. As to this very specific binary business of widespread 21st century navigating, one aspect especially should not be missed, namely, that the protagonist of the Scott film, namely, Deckard, first comes to view to us as quite happily retired from the LAPD where he was regarded as the foremost hunter of wayward slave robots. As we first see him enjoying the Oriental fare of a seriously decrepit Los Angeles sidewalk comfort bar, and being much food for thought as a rather vivacious player within a world of squalor and dazzle we’ve never encountered (this being 2019, not 1982), we know immediately that he’s having no trouble being stimulated by the world, and is steadfastly not being fixated upon “the good old days.” Only the threat of a trumped-up arrest from his former superior restores him to displaying the (now seen more than ever to be time-wasting) expertise in bloodily “retiring” bio-engineered maverick quasi-humans, known as “replicants,” designed for dangerous and super-human work. Thereby, we have a speculative back-story of a free-spirit coming to grips (however boozily) with matters transcending police work, including office politics and moonlighting. In marked (and careless) contrast to Deckard, the born skeptic, we have in the current film a docile, if lethal, replicant/ LAPD detective putting down (30 years after Deckard’s controversial going AWOL) remnants of a long-surpassed replicant issue with traces of that rebelliousness unwelcome to a rather dizzy police state. That the latter protagonist, namely, K [an abbreviation of his serial number], comes to a level of skepticism himself in the course of his employment would be a very different instrumentality from that overseen by Scott.

    K also answers to the name Joe, and thereby gets somehow involved in the major stonewalling presented in novelist, Franz Kafka’s, The Trial (1914), the hapless protagonist of which being called, Josef K. K’s coming up against his Superior Officer, Joshi and the oligarch, replicant-manufacturer, Wallace, extends the new protagonist to extreme measures, none of which, however, touching the register of Josef K’s being under a gun of relentless isolation at a pitch no mere spikey scheming can approximate.

   The number, 2049, is the year of the film’s narrative. But it also activates filmmaker’s Wong Kar Wai’s study of missing out on love (and the full range of its uncanniness) and not missing out on longing and loneliness, namely, 2046 (2004). K and his girlfriend, a personalized hologram, named Joi, go up to the roof of his flat where a product is pitched by way of Japanese kanji lettering in neon, recalling a similar sign on the roof-haven of the protagonist’s Shanghai hotel, “The Oriental,” in 2046. The interaction of the two life-like machines in 2049 is fleshy and sporadic; and a far cry from the sustained and fervid efforts of Wong’s ravishing tone poem. (A little adjunct of that surreal interdependency between K and Joi, which constitutes a pale rendition of the adult, surrealist romance of Deckard and the biological and cosmological paradox that is Rachel, is K’s being a student of the novel, Pale Fire [1962], by that same novelist, Vladimir Nabokov, who created a nymphet, Lolita, also being a paradox, but far easier to fathom than Rachel. Joi, on that night on the roof, apologizes for not being a fan of Pale Fire, with its gloomy arsenal of “faint hope in higher powers” and “playing a game of worlds.”)

   From the get-go, we have K exterminating one of those pesky oldsters, until then disguised as a “protein farmer,” cultivating weevils for the sustenance of that populous not having been able to quit a dead planet Earth for the sake of, on “off-worlds,” obtaining much better dining and other creature comforts. After dispatching the farmer, he is drawn to a few very incongruous poseys at the foot of a dead tree, perhaps the handiwork of that grower who, with his dying breath, gave the functionary a two-stage piece of his mind: “How does it feel to kill one of your kind?” …; and, “You’ve never seen a miracle…” The tree is a dead ringer for the bare, jagged gallows where a lawman’s wife died, in Bud Boetticher’s Western film, Ride Lonesome (1959), and where doing justice within a ratty society reaches us with remarkable grace which could be described as “a miracle.”

    Kafka’s protagonist caps his being exterminated with the declaration, “Like a dog!” [“it was as if the shame of it must outlive him”]. Villeneuve’s K dies with more pomp than Hamlet. Kafka has brought to bear the possibility of a shattering defeat having failed to rise to a miracle of equilibrium. Villeneuve (needing to make much more than the 155 million construction cost) has brought to bear an implicit impossibility of crossing the line where bathos ends, notwithstanding his virtual three-ring circus of notables. Where the little bouquet might quietly have maintained a solitude which Deckard, in his prime, could have seen the point of, the younger blade runner, returning to the tree, stirs up the remains of Rachel, which prove her having died in childbirth and thereby setting off a frenzy (not the least of which being his own, while coming to the hasty conclusion that he is her child).

   The extreme and death-dealing concomitants of K’s life could exert quite a pull to innovation. His becoming obsessed with the miracle that flesh-and-blood engineering (his old-style colleagues unpleasantly refer to him as a “skin-job”) might have, in the instance of the now-defunct Tyrell Corporation presiding over Blade Runner One, shattered the ceiling confining replicants to mere machines forever lost to that sense of “soul” being suffused with cosmic creativity itself. K does indeed find himself thrilled and overwhelmed by the phenomenon of a hybrid of human sensibility. Not only, however, does our protagonist depend upon the story of Rachel to get into the big leagues (and thereby remain a blunderer as to self-examination); but, the priorities of his job—having a lieutenant seeing the hybrid, wherever she or he might be, to cause attitude amongst the replicant-slaves and needing to be snuffed out—have thereby become even more anathematic to reflection beyond scheming. And, to make matters even worse, Wallace, the blind tycoon who took over the assets of Tyrell after the latter’s murder by a vengeful and philosophical replicant (but not in possession of the miraculous extra step), soon gets wind of what that tree produced, and kicks up another notch of reflection-killing stress for K, insofar as the LAPD comes under fire in various ways, as being the best bet to crack the case, for the sake of Wallace’s needing the progeny to be sifted for the reproductive structure and consequently going into the production of trillions of emissaries (“angels”) to effect, by means of conveniences and amusements, like Joi, a dominance of the universe. (Wallace being a blind man in many ways.)

   This narrative campaign does carry some wherewithal of contrarian bite. It posts, in its own rather self-destructive way, a citation concerning most of Earth’s inhabitants barking up the wrong tree, not simply the obviously deluded Wallace. But its focus is blindsided by K’s wooden-puppet, morose keening to have soul despite the handicap of being a product of a superficial—but maybe not entirely superficial—ambition. That he generally buys into the axioms, of figures like Lieutenant Joshi (who is wont to declare, “It’s my job to keep order;” and, “You’ve been getting on fine without one” [namely, a soul, an entrance to the primordial]) and Wallace, the would-be fixer of everything, by way of simplistic science and its technological products, and comes to be convinced that he was a real boy all along (with one parent not having been produced in a lab), bulldozes real avenues of discovery about flesh. The dismal upshot about the pursuit of the “miracle” comprises the same domestic humanitarian/ religious/ scientific enterprise having run the planet into the ground. The overtures that were the tree, 2046, Kafka, Nabokov and Deckard go nowhere because our helmsman is also a Canadian, a master, therefore, of seeming game while getting lost. (Arrival [2015] being an anomaly, in having the protagonist mystified, horrified [“like a dog”] and utterly alone, save for a fatuous daydream of a momentarily “excellent life,” soon dissipated.)

    Blade Runner 2049 manages, until the final reel where all the wheels fall off, to forestall complete absurdity by way of two impressive assets: actor, Ryan Gosling, as K; and the visual and aural design. With so much of the narrative invested in macho appetites, suspicion, intimidation and mayhem—Joshi’s screen picks up his bloodied face after the retiring of the farmer and remarks, “You’re hurt. I’m not paying for that!”—Gosling’s K’s taciturn presence implicitly makes the case that he’s far from that, even when he’s breaking down. After he patches up some nasty wounds at his tiny flat’s bathroom, there is Joi in the mix, dressed like a 50’s house-wife, noting he’s home early and hearing him quietly explain, “I had an accident at work.” Joi, picking up more than you might expect but having the benefit of his understatements, tells him soon after (not for the first time and more a hope than a fact), “I always knew you were special…” (But the full evening has him more a company man than company. Feeling flush from the bonus concerning the bones of Rachel, he presents her with “an anniversary” gift, a supplement to her insubstantial pizzazz, by name of a “chemiactor” which endows the user a sense of natural sensuality. [They go up to the Wong Kar Wai memorial rooftop, where Joi experiences some kind of ecstasy on feeling the raindrops. There is an interlude of their holding hands, which prompts her to sing out, “I’m so happy when I’m with you!”/ “You didn’t have to say that,” he retorts, quickly reverting to cybernetics as a default region. Were Chow, in 2046, to hear a similar protestation from the volatile Bai Ling, up there on the “Oriental,” he’d not be thinking of apps. K adds, as if modern transportation would be more fun than love, “You can go anywhere you want,”) Apropos of K’s shorting chivalry, whereas he presents the farmer/ prey a handgun to kill himself with maximum dignity, he gets suckered by one of his pursuers, a hooker recalling Scott’s rather warm replicant, Pris (now a populist politician), into updating Joi’s new power-pack whereby he explores the more kinky corners of his mobile toy. Joi having been sold by Pris that the threesome is good for K, the latter leaves next morning with the advice, “He’s not as much as you think…” Summoned down from that lesser roof by Joshi now having the technical goods on Rachel, he’s aware the boss covets him and proceeds to take liberties for the sake of his own agenda of aggrandizement in being confirmed as Rachel’s child. Consulting Wallace’s memory-implant whiz, he undergoes a scan which, sort of like the chemiactor, creates the illusion of the real deal. In the rush of such good news he goes into a frenzy. “I know it’s real! I know it’s real!” he screams. Leaving the lab, he cherishes snowflakes the way Joi went for raindrops. This non-policing behavior results in his arrest, his being documented as failing to be consistent to “baseline” [low emotion] and a selling job on Joshi that he found the kid.  It is in the wake of this uncontrolled passion that he buys into Joi and Pris’ motives. (But not before he tells Joi, “You’re real to me…” [ a window of real opportunity slamming down the minute it opens].) With all this going on, no wonder his promising sensibility comes to us beset with bugs to lead to lesser accomplishments. (Don’t think for a moment that Villeneuve and his writing team weren’t very OK with that confinement.)

   Blade Runner 2049 is often an annoying bore. But its images and sounds speak to a gigantism both arrestingly spacious and abysmally deadly. The central visual scheme provides a clash of toxic ruin and constructive purity. On the premise that the planet’s eco-system is beyond repair, we are transported to aerial and surface perspectives of necrosis befalling agricultural land (now ominously silver) and formerly- urban regions on-the-go reduced to repellant decay, the remaining residents picking their way through filth and atrophy which renders all circulation there resembling an evacuation perpetually forestalled. Adding measurably to this crisis is an atmosphere of perpetual night due to an endless chemical revolt discharging, alternately rain and snow (once the precinct of sunny Southern California). Although most of the Los Angeles captives (like K) are dead-ended in multi-unit studio flats where trailer trash convulsively litter the hallways, the tours we are taken through police and Wallace corporate dimensions are models of brilliant minimalist architecture and industrial design. A boardroom at the tech-palace shimmers with golden waves, which, were the scenario less constrained, might beckon to that disinterestedness having been hunted down, by the brain trust running this movie, as relentlessly as the ethnic cleansers they have put into motion. As to the sonic side, there are howls and drumbeats aplenty, often accompanying the aerial kinetics, but generally subsiding into “action adventure” clichés. From that befouled reservoir, the muzac from self-styled deities like Sinatra complements the general pollution, while creating little frissons of terribleness. (I can imagine an afterlife for this vehicle in movie nights at old folks homes.) One contribution from the preposterously stagey combat is the sound of cataclysmic impact, secreting shards of solid substance, akin the Joi’s update. That, however, notwithstanding the proviso of super strength manufacture, readily sinks into unbelievable boredom. (On seeing a number of trailers, while awaiting the feature—all noisy “action adventures.”—I came to the hypothesis that the bemusing appetite for such nonsense derives from occupants of baby safety seats experiencing motion terror and stoking up relief that a crash is nothing but a good bottle.)

    Making what he imagines to be a productive detour at the orphanage which figures as an early memory bedevilled by the likelihood that it’s an engineering not a full-fledged experience, K does considerably more than scoop up a solid confirmation (a toy horse with a serial number coinciding with the one at Rachel’s grave) that he is vitally linked to the feisty couple in the first Blade Runner. He drags us into Charles Dickens’ orphanage novel, Oliver Twist (1837), a spearhead of solicitude for the downtrodden.  Squeezed to bathetic (advantage-driven) proportions by overkill exigencies, the film reckons that Dickensian resentment, sentimentality and “miraculous” derring-do should freight the climax, not to mention freighting the box office. Inferring, with help, that the little horse had experienced radiation on the level of a “dirty bomb,” K, with Joi at his side (showing enough hardware to suggest that her software could involve miraculousness of a problematic type), arrives at dirty Vegas, and some dirty ego surprises us in all the wrong ways. Finding Deckard sitting pretty in a casino/ hotel, with access to unlimited Scotch and hologram “immortals” like Elvis, Liberace, Marylin and, most of all, Sinatra (“…set ‘em up Joe…”) and behaving quite a lot like Walter Brennan, K gets nowhere with his own celebrity and, with Wallace’s hit-woman, LUV, barging in (putting a quick end to Joi the joy-rider, having actually felt the validity of death), the formerly cool one screeches, “Who’d you bring?” Now that’s a good question! As we’ve seen, our protagonist was a moving target; but of late ageing alarmingly. As such, after some Saturday morning TV manoeuvres you don’t want to know about, he finds himself rescued by a network led by the nurse who presided over Rachel’s C-section. Something of a rhetorician, she tells the stranger, “A revolution is coming! Dying for the right cause is the most human thing to be! She [Deckard’s daughter] will lead our army!” [as up to date as Joan of Arc]. Disabused of being an icon (and never well seeing he doesn’t have to be one), he brings Deckard safely to his daughter where they will soon perish, following in his fateful and rather precious death.

   Purporting to be a plausible glimpse of futurity, our film, brimming with smarts, crashes upon the seemingly inconvenient priority of carnal creatures being carnal first, a condition making a mockery of melodramatic cleanups and utopian ease.

   Among the many films having resisted the assumption that interestedness essentially dominates human action, there is Wong Kar Wai’s 2046, which makes the season truly bright. A writer of modern romance—one of his successes being, “Diary of the Bazooka Hero”—observes without fanfare the care for women in his life by taking each one of them to dinner on Christmas Eve, through the years, while each time a lovely tune by Nat King Cole puts in an appearance, as if a few minutes make a life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rg1QB_h6mY

[dailykars]

Giorno: I don't have any dog pics but I have this *turns brick into a chihuahua* (-notsodailygionara)

@notsodailygionara “thank you,, I love them.”

[dailykars]

How come you’re so nice to animals?

@jessicabiotech