#meanwhile the person who questioned if a disabled character belonged in the future

[the-eldritch-it-gay]

I genuinely think that my confidence in my writing has never recovered and maybe will never from being in a collaborative writing group online for ages and then having the leader of the group ask me if my character “really belonged” in the story, because they were significantly disabled and the setting was taking place in the future. And every time I tried to joke about something or came up with an idea I was questioned about its “realism”.

[atamascolily]

lily liveblogs “terminator: dark fate”, part four

In which Sarah Connor suffers for the cause in the most ironic way possible.

(one, two, three)

I've already waxed poetic elsewhere about the "My entire body is a weapon"/ "Save it for the ladies" exchange, but let's just say the Rev-9's claim of "Metal hip - two tours in Afghanistan" is a) a great manipulation, and b) might even be true - certainly the part about the metal hip is! And the "thank you for your service," / letting him pass through is just... the irony... I can't even...

(and also, this MAKES SENSE when you realize that Legion was designed to process people and manipulate/control them and THAT'S why he's so good at it).

Sarah Connor gets picked up by a smarmy dude named Officer Rigby. "You belong in your own private cage," he tells her. He's probably going to die soon, and we are not supposed to be sorry about it. (And meanwhile, some random dude yells in the background, "I want to go, too!" No, you don't. Trust me.)

Grace does not believe in bureaucratic bullshit. And she won't accept "detainees" instead of "prisoners". YASS. At least there's fresh meds for her.

Oh! I just realized why she steals the guy's clothes.. it's because nothing else would fit her. It's tough being so tall.

Grace pulls the fire alarm and Sarah recognizes an opening when she sees one and manages to kick Rigby in the groin and take him and both her guards down with both hands in cuffs behind her back. LEGEND. Kyle Reese would be so proud of her, especially since he pulled the same stunt back in T1 in the police station sequence. 

Grace starts opening doors and people rush to get out, oh please let this not be a slaughter.

The dude who was with them (Flacco?) slams the door into the Terminator's face and he gets punched into a wall for his trouble. I hope he survived...

The Rev-9 jumps UP into the rafters, holy shit, and is scrabbling over the metal fence like the Rev-7s in the future scene, and it's so a) predatory and b) so feral and inhuman... and that guard who sassed Dani looks terrified as hell as she faces him down.. and gets slashed for her troubles.

Slaughter ensues, but only people in official uniforms thus far... Every one of them is mobbing the Rev-9 and just getting stabbed.

Oh, good, they found a helicopter. Someone gets punched out the door after them, and you think it's the REv-9 who did it, but it's actually Sarah! YASS. Dani wants to wait for her and Grace wants to get away. Dani doesn't want to leave Sarah (hey, callbacks to earlier!) and jumps out of the helicopter with the gun as the REV-9 runs at her. Dani starts shooting the REV-9 which is very cathartic for her, but Sarah tackles her and pulls her into the helicopter. The REV-9 jumps for it, but misses, and falls the ground and just looks... annoyed despite having no expression whatsoever.

The REV-9's accent with the sheriffs is interesting. There's the same "good ol' boy" attitude as "That's a nice bike" in T2 and the same cut back to our heroes that speaks volumes.

Cut to a forest in Texas. I have no idea if this is botanically accurate or not because I have no experience with Texas flora. But there are pine trees and maple trees, I can tell you that much.

I like how Sarah and Grace are ready to draw when they knock on the door of this ordinary-looking house in the woods, and Dani just looks at them like they're crazy.

Hey, and it's the same music as in the prologue, as Sarah recognizes the Terminator! He says her name and she raises her gun to shoot him except that Grace intervenes and she hits the ceiling.

“My name is Sarah Connor, you killed my son, prepare to die...” No, okay, she doesn’t actually say that, but I’m gonna do it for her.

Sarah stalks off when they won't let her shoot the Terminator. Dani and Grace exchange a look, and Dani goes after Sarah while Grace deals with Carl (his nom de... paix, I guess). They have the ... "So you're a cyborg, too?" talk, which goes about as well as you can expect.

Poor Sarah looks so broken sitting outside alone. Dani uses her people skills to rally her. Sarah's admission that she never took photos of John is a) heartbreaking, and b) good tactics, especially given how previous Terminators used photos, and how the REV-9 uses facial recognition software.

Sarah's sarcasm as she contemplates Carl's family photos is biting and hilarious and poignant especially given what she just said to Dani (and how a photograph was what brought Kyle to her in the first place). MY HEART.

We are meant to parallel Carl's treatment of Alicia and Mateo with Sarah and John, and Sarah and Carl in "Without purpose, we are nothing". The irony that Carl understands Sarah in this way, and that Sarah has been getting her raison d’etre from a Terminator the whole time... way to lay on the pain, writers!

I've heard a lot of critique of this film claiming that Terminators just wouldn't act like Carl, and I think that's not accurate. What exactly do people think a Terminator WOULD do after they finished their mission instad? It's not like Skynet or Legion or whatever gave them any other programming, and we know from T2 they can't self-terminate. So what are they supposed to do, just stand there??

Even though Carl doesn't have his chip removed the way the T-800 in T2 did, Terminators are very accomplished at learning and mimicking humans. They are adaptable. And I think the filmmakers are right that the T-800 would try to find a new mission--paralleling the old one--to give his life purpose. I think this is a very plausible plot device, and also a great opportunity for irony and parallels, which this franchise thrives on and I personally love.

(There's great fic from Carl's POV on A03 by Tyellas that expands on this that I LOVE, so you should all go read it RIGHT NOW.)

I also LOVE the growing parallels not only between Sarah and Carl, but Carl and Grace that the film keeps emphasizing YASSS.

Sarah is NOT PLEASED to learn she's been manipulated the whole time by the robot who killed her son.Understatement of the year. I was wondering when she was going to shoot him!

"Do you believe in fate, Sarah?" OW, MY HEART.

Oh. Interesting. So when Sarah destroyed Skynet, she released Carl from his programming, thus allowing him to learn?? Okay, I'll buy it. Which means that Carl was released at the same time as the other Terminators in all three films (though we get into the simultaneity problem, but that's a headache for another time). It's plausible if I don't think too hard about it, so I'll buy it. I wish people would stop calling plot elements they don't like/agree with "plot holes". That's... not what it means.

[so who is sending the other terminators? Are they from Legion or Skynet? what is their purpose? Since Sarah is a wanted woman in America, it makes sense if she was killing Terminators in Mexico, which makes me wonder if she's been protecting Dani until now???) I have a feeling the film will not answer this question.]

There's a dog curled up at Carl's feet when they cut to the next scene. This is NOT a plot hole, as some people have claimed. This is actually a clue that Carl IS as human as he claims to be... i.e, he seems to have mastered whatever subtle cues that makes the dog recognize him as human, and not a foreign predator. Obviously, YMMV, but I don't see it as a plot hole.

The secret storage armory is de riguer for a Terminator film, but I also enjoy the deadpan social commentary about human barbarism coming from a reformed murderbot. "And also, this is Texas." He's definitely living in the right state for that.

Wow. The training lesson at the shooting range was everything I could have hoped for. I love Sarah's wry smile as the watermelons explode.

OF COURSE SARAH CONNOR "KNOWS A GUY" with an EMP, lol...

Kudos to Carl for getting his family out of the way and for preparing him for this day. But it's clear he won't be back.

... how about that leather jacket and sunglasses? because he's about to start being way less human and way more machine.

oHHHHH he leaves the sunglasses behind, I was NOT expecting that. NICE WORK.

hello rev-9 smashing the family photographs, that's not symbolic of anything at all.

Hey, did they take all the guns with them or is the REv-9 going to use them against their owner?? was leaving the photo of the van on the fridge intentional? Too early to tell! Either way, ironic given Sarah's caution with photos earlier!

Sarah's withering expression as Carl lectures about interior design is GOLDEN.

I now want a road trip movie about this dysfunctional found family. I cannot believe they are only together for less than 24 hours. Thank goodness for fic.

"I don't commit treason for just anybody," is such a great line and one of my favorites in this film.  

Of course the EMP is probably going to disable/take out Carl AND Grace AND the Rev-9 because that's just how this kind of movie works, but there you go.

Sarah telling Carl to shut the fuck up is GOLDEN, they work so well together. Mommy and Daddy, indeed.

AHHH, the major bringing them the EMP on the sly gets shot. It's tough being a minor character in these films. Dani pulls him into the van but I can't help but notice in that position he's a human shield.

Okay, so leaving photos on the fridge was NOT intentional... maybe Sarah should have had an op-sec chat with Carl about that??

Oh, hey, the flesh-like bit of the REV-9 jumped out of the copter while the chassis keeps flying. That's a neat trick. And the moment where the fleshy bit jumps in and they merge is always cool.

Okay, so they're going to the air base. I guess another fight is in order. Ah, this is where the planes are coming in. Apparently, Grace is piloting. That answers my question from the trailer.

They just run the van right up the ramp and the Major is there to take awkward questions. "District contractors" indeed. I hope he'll survive this movie, but I have my doubts. Oh, he's not going with them - I don't know if that increases his chances or not. WHAT THE HELL KIND OF RELATIONSHIP DO HE AND SARAH HAVE ANYWAY??

They didn't bother to close up the back before taking off??? Wow. Okay, I guess that works...

Carl uses himself as a shield for Sarah, which just makes her mad...

The Rev-9 flips out of the burning helicopter onto the ramp, and Carl just takes him down and shoots him. It doesn't take, but it's pretty glorious. SARAH AND DANI ROLL THE VAN OVER HIM OH MY GOD.

Needless to say, I'm pretty sure the Rev-9 will be back... in an EVEN BIGGER PLANE.

Oh, so the EMP is dead...? Maybe they can improvise something.

Flasback! Dani beats the punks that are harassing Grace and talks the last guy into not shooting her because "this is what Legion wants us to do". FUCK YEAH.

"FUCK FATE" is basically the motto of this series (and a slightly more concise, if vulgar, reframing of "no fate but what we make for ourselves" or "no fate" in T2).

OH MY GOD THAT LOOK ON FUTURE!DANI'S FACE WHEN SHE RECOGNIZES GRACE...

"You are the future" - okay, this is very moving and dramatic, but I feel like Grace should have mentioned this back on the TRAIN why the fuck did she wait this long.

"You're John..." Sarah gasps... and just adopted a kid. CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, Y'ALL. Carl was right, she needs a purpose or else she’s just going to self-destruct.

YESSSSS, I love it when movies answer my questions: apparently future!Dani told Grace not to mention it earlier, because younger!Dani wouldn't be able to handle it. Ah, the ouroboros of causality... I'll buy it, but I still think the film would have been stronger if they had had this conversation earlier on the train.

plane vs. plane hijinks ensue. Grace puts the ship on autopilot so she can actually do stuff. There's a lot of flailing as the ship starts to explode. The REv-9 climbs aboard and uses his oozy bits to rip all the flesh off Carl's hand. There's a humvee with a parachute, but the way the scene is laid out, it's kinda convolunted, but okay.. ... They bust the door open so the humvee can drop out. Carl pins the chassis to the plane but the oozy bits escape and go running free towards them. The plane explodes seconds after the humvee pulls free and parachutes to the ground.... okay.

Sarah Connor's "Aw, fuck," as they land on the hydroelectric dam is GOLDEN.

[lovetheangelshadow]

N’Pressions: Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker

So a small bit of fair warning before going forward. I am a casual normie consumer of Star Wars and most of my interaction with the franchise is the nine core films and a handful of the Clone Wars episodes (notably the Tartakovsky run). Also I will being mentioning a few minor spoilers mostly to help with certain issues I have had with the sequel trilogy. Personally the Star Wars franchise has always been just fun popcorn flicks for me and that is honestly mostly what I wanted from the sequel trilogy. Would I have been happy if they tried to take the series forward and tried new things even at risk? Sure. It is one of the reasons why the Digimon anime series has that much value to me. Do I hate Disney not really pushing as much as they were certainly capable of? Not really. In all fairness the sequels have given me mixed feelings. Not exactly a love or hate relationship, but something just above okay. You really gotta do something to make me hate it.

So moving on to the final film of the trilogy. It did feel a bit rushed. Like they were trying to cram so much stuff in to get this thing completed. It was not exactly like say, Endgame or Deathly Hollows where you could split the films in half to get more of a complete story. Even still, it is not the worst rushed final I have seen before. The basic idea is that the First Order has been granted a super powerful fleet by the Emperor that could decimate the resistance and they only have a limited time before they are sent out. Thus the mission is to locate the fleet and strike them before they have a chance to launch. Meanwhile the Emperor is sending Kylo to hunt down Rey and since the two are still Force-linked it becomes a game of cat and mouse between the two. And thank you for actually giving us some more lightsaber fights, sequel trilogy! Seriously, there has been a real lack of it in the first two films. That being said I do kinda feel like the battles between Ray and Kylo were a tad drawn out, but at least we almost saw Rey nearly get her ass kicked to the curb for once.

Okay, I do not necessarily hate Rey. She is not the worst Mary Sue character I have had to tolerate. I think what irks me the most is that she had honest to gods potential of being a really good character on par with Luke. A scavenger who desires above all anything else a sense of belonging, of purpose. Someone who is constantly looking to the past for answers for that feeling but always coming up blank, even when the call keeps telling her to look forward. Her finally finding a family and place among the resistance. But because of her lineage of Palpetine, the dark side keeps coming around to tempt her; to offer her greater purpose than these ragtag team she’s come to care about. Every time she thinks she finally has a family the dark side rips it away from her (Han and Luke) until she falls into despair and loss of control and towards the dark side-but her new family being that single thread of light that will guide her and eventually to the new future. Showing that while the past may be a part of you, it does not define you. Except, we never get that. From the onset she automatically capable of flying the Millennium Falcon, force mind control, etc. We never really see her honestly struggle with the dark side. She rushes into dangerous situations and doesn’t suffer consequences for her recklessness or pride. She doesn’t really lose anything. Sure she occasionally feels doubt and fear but it’s glossed over and isn’t emphasized. Oh and the whole “I am all the Jedi” thing did feel a bit forced for me. Girl, Tony Stark you aint. Plus she should have said her family name was Palpatine showing that she has made peace with her past and is now looking to the future. For all the whole “strong female character thing” and all that-what is hilariously ironic is that it’s the other protagonist MALES that are most interesting. Even from Force Awakens I cared more about Finn, Poe, and Kylo than I ever did for Rey. And they actually had honest genuine arcs and were just overall far more compelling characters to me. Also Kylo is best character in the series, fight me.

So what was my thoughts on the final film itself? Honestly it’s a mixed bag. Like I said, the last film does feel a bit rushed and there are certainly notable plot holes-but it’s not the worst I have seen. It does actually feel like an end. One of the biggest issues I had was the pacing. I feel some of it could be trimmed back a bit-not that it did not serve a purpose or anything but sometimes the wait for the payoff feels…dragging. Also, hey we make these super big sacrifices, aka Chewie’s supposed death and C3P-O’s memory wipe, and boom “hey they okay now”. Like why? You put this big dramatic emphasis on how important these things are and you just flick them off as if they were nothing. I get people were mad how Han and Luke died, but come on! If you’re going to commit to this big dramatic cost-stick with it! Have Chewie’s death by Rey’s force lighting question herself and give her a real reason to be terrified and tempted by the Dark Side. Have C3P-0’s memory wipe be a reminder that there are hard costs in the fight for freedom. Also when did Rey get force healing powers? Was that even an actual thing? Okay I don’t have that much of a gripe about that because it at least pays off where Kylo Ren/Ben is concerned. That is the most hilarious thing about the trilogy, all the pieces were there to really make something and for whatever reason they don’t go full forward with it. I get it, there is this constant push and pull with fandoms and I rarely ever want anything to do with them because I know how toxic they can get (looking at YOU Ninjago fandom). But much like the Force, there has to be a balance. I think some minor fan input would have helped here and yes I know fandom reactions and the way Disney has been handling things has not been looking for either side and social media has not helped things.

That is not to say that the film doesn’t have its awesome moments as well in particular the final half of the movie-where Finn and Poe are planning the final assault on the Sith Fleet. Like Poe does from this hotshot flier who does reckless maneuvers to actually thinking and using strategy. Or Finn who once only wanted to run away from the First Order is now using his knowledge of them to work out a viable plan of attack like using the horse things instead of speeders because he knows they can disable them. Or the huge appearance of various ships all around the galaxy coming in to the fight. The Kylo vs Rey fights are pretty interesting as well-using the idea they are fighting each other but are physically in two places and the cinematography takes advantage of that-switching between the two environments and their strikes affecting the surroundings. Also the conclusion of Kylo’s arc was pretty satisfying and his death, in a way, felt a bit more impactful than Vader’s because we do actually see him struggle between the two sides thought the trilogy as opposed to Vader that in retrospect kinda felt more like a last minute heel turn to me. Plus the symbolism between the Skywalker and Palpetine aka Light Side and Dark Sides were a real nice touch such as Luke’s X Wing and Vader’s tie fighter landing together (Kylo’s star fighter’s design still kicks ass though). Oh and Palpetine really chews the scenery out and it is glorious. That being said, despite my hang ups I still enjoyed myself and thank gods it was not Digimon Tri. I’m Noctina Noir, and I’m one Nox of a Nobody.