#most of the action sequences go on for quite some time but they never lose their energy
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
shiveringsoldier · 1 year ago
Text
I saw Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse today and it’s easily my favorite 2023 release I’ve seen so far
5 notes · View notes
igotanidea · 5 months ago
Text
(5) Cheater: Dick Grayson x reader
Tumblr media
part 1
part 2
part 3
part 4
A/N: bit of a filler, but I promise we'll get more action in the next part, so deal with me here guys XD
***
„Is it done?”
„Yes. Yes, it’s fucking done. Hope you are fucking happy.”
“You don’t see the bigger picture now and-“
“Fuck the bigger picture! And fuck you! I hurt two people because of your stupid plan!”
“Be careful with how you talk to me.”
“I’m talking to you exactly the way I should!”
“You act like a moody teenager. All that rebellious attitude and for what? In the end, for obvious reasons you are going to do what I tell you.”
They both knew that was true. But it did not lessen the pain of what happened merely hours ago.
***
There was no way in hell Y/N was going to forgive him. Ever.
He did the unspeakable. Promised her his love and then took it away to another woman. The women he allegedly had no ties with.
So it not only made him a cheater but also a liar.
And all of that right after she had the most amazing intimate experience of her life.
The second she fled his and Sienna’s apartment and found herself in her own four walls, Y/n made a promise to herself to tear it from her mind. However, it seemed like her body had quite a different plan.
For some reason everything felt different. Her skin. Her belly, her breasts, her legs, her—.
No, no, no…
They say you always remember your first time. That it tends to haunt you and everything that follows is forever tainted with the way you’ve been treated then.
For Y/N it felt like the memory of Dick’s tender touch, gentle movements and passionate kisses would forever be overshadowed by the heartbreak that came right after.
So he made her a woman by both taking and breaking her.  
***
While Y/N took the easy, if not cowardly way out, Dick and Sienna were rooted to the ground watching each other in the silence that was deafening.
What now?
Who was supposed to say something first?
And say what?
What words could possibly mitigate the situation?
The truth?
He couldn’t tell Sienna that it was all fake, that he never did and still does not love her. Enough damage has been done. Besides, there was also “the plan”. The great fucking batman plan to get to that stupid villain and prevent harming people.
Dick has already sacrificed so much for “the plan”. Losing Y/N. Causing her pain. Making her believe like he didn’t care. That he just wanted to get her to bed, fuck and toss her away. It truly should have been Jason to get assigned to this mission. He would just barge inside, force information out and kill whoever needed to be killed.
Boom! Mission completed with no girls with broken hearts.
But no.
Instead it was Dick with his conscience stained. Watching the woman he loved running away with tears and the woman he was using with a blank face expression.
“Sienna…” he started with a shaky voice, taking one step forward, expecting her to start screaming or pull back and move out of his reach. But she didn’t.
“Are you done now?”
“Done?” He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“You had your fun?” the woman asked and much to Dick’s shock there was not much anger in her voice.
“I—um. What? Aren’t you mad?” It was most probably idiotic to ask her that, but Sienna’s casual approach to the situation was quite disturbing and the words left his mouth before he could think them through.
‘Mad?” she looked at him with wide eyes. “No. No I’m not mad, baby. A little disappointed maybe. But not mad. I mean, you were just lonely, right?”
“Um—.” What the hell was happening here!?
“Come on. Y/N is a wonderful person, but she also seems lonely so—”
“You were wrestling with her minutes ago!” Dick exclaimed. Now it started to feel like he was functioning in a different reality. The one where everything was abstract, the sequence of events made zero sense and women were strangely  understanding when it came to sleeping with someone else. But it could also mean that in that reality he had a chance of having Y/N forgive him, because clearly logic was non-applicable.
“Sure. Can’t have her thinking like she can just barge in and take what’s mine.” Sienna stepped forward, smiling sadly “but right now, she’s the one gone and you’re here with me. So it’s what speaks volumes about who you love.”
“Yeah.” He sighed, looking down, his hands shaking, heart racing.
“I’m still hurt though… After all, you slept with another girl while thinking I was away.”
As much as he wanted to tell her to shove her hurt up her ass, he couldn’t. And this time it was not only because of the plan, but also because Sienna deserved better from him.
“I’m sorry.” He whispered earnestly. He was sorry for the entire mess up, but not sorry for taking things further with Y/N.
“I know.”
“What can I do--?”
“I don’t know. Not yet. But I do want us to work through it. Okay?” The woman smiled softly, giving him the vulnerable look that always softened him, no matter if it was a girl, child or stray cat.
“Okay…” He promised, pulling Sienna to his chest, feeling her arms wrap around him, hating his life, Nightwing, Batman and everything In between.
***
He stayed home that night. Purposefully putting his phone on silent mode, giving no shit about whatever Bruce might want from him and he was now probably planning next steps of putting the mission to the end.
He stayed with Sienna.
Laying on his side of the bed in the darkness with a broken heart.
***
His arms were around her, but Sienna knew that his heart was aching for Y/N.
She could have had him next to her, she could have him staying instead of chasing after the other, but she didn’t have his heart. It was forever out of her reach.
But that was something she could live with. Sacrificing her dignity and self-esteem as long as he was physically here. And while she was in deep emotional pain, she was going to endure.
Laying on her side of the bed in the darkness with a broken heart.
She had to.
***
Y/N was tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. Emotions clouding her judgment making her unsure whether she was the victim or the culprit. Or maybe both. She never should have believed him. She never should have done this to another girl. And to herself. 
She only had herself to blame.
Laying on her side of the bed in the darkness with a broken heart.
***
“Now that we made them break—”
“You are a monster, you know that?”
“Even a monster has his reasons for doing things. Or should I remind you what’s on stake here?”
“No. No you don’t have to…”
“Good. So you listen carefully, because your input is crucial in putting this thing to an end. You are going to go on a date that will be the final piece in the puzzle. Then you’ll be free.”
“Yeah… free… right after ruining everything…”
To be continued.
@miraculous-panic @fullbelieverheart @xlatinaaxx @ietss @arfrona
@gracescor3 @jaysgirlx
147 notes · View notes
jessequinones · 8 months ago
Text
Writing Advice: Filler Chapters
I uh...didn't intend to write three different things about chapters but uh...at the bottom of this post there'll be links to my lore chapter and just overall chapter articles.
So, this doesn’t apply to a lot of stories, but mainly to the ones who use a lot of actions. It’s ok to take a break. I’m reading a book at the moment and while there are slow moments in these chapters, once the plot gets moving, there’s almost some kind of action scene or suspense going on that keeps the characters moving. The characters hardly take a breather once the plot gets moving and I would like to tell everyone, it’s ok to relax.
Moving from one action set piece to another can be quite tiring, as the characters and the readers don’t get a chance to take a break. Sure the characters can pause every couple of minutes, but the reader knows it’s not gonna last and is sometimes just waiting for the next action sequence to happen.
Filler chapters are great because they break up the story to allow readers to relax while also exploring your world and characters before the next action set piece occurs. I understand filler chapters get a lot of flak because they don’t contribute to the plot, but that’s fine. They aren’t meant to contribute to the plot, if they are, then they aren’t filler. Filler chapters are used to help fill out the world and the characters while giving the readers time to pause and reflect on what's been going on.
When is it a good time to add filler? That choice is up to you, but let’s take a look at some examples. If your characters are on the run, and others are chasing them. You can add a filler chapter while they’re resting. It doesn’t have to be much, but enjoying downtime at their campfire before moving can be a great way to show off your character's personality. Maybe even hint at some romance if you want.
If your characters enter a new place, at least give that location one chapter before destroying it. In this book I’m reading, the main character goes back home to realise there’s a festival. They meet up with their childhood friend and for a brief moment, they’re happy. That doesn’t last an entire entire chapter. In one chapter they go back home, in the next it’s destroyed, and there is no rest period. There was a moment where the main character and the love interest had a brief moment being cute together, but it wasn’t for an entire chapter. It goes from them being cute, to death.
This location, of the main character's home, could've had great filler. The main friend group could see where this guy grew up. We could see the festival, and how the culture in this town plays out. We can catch up with old characters and have playful banter. There are so many extra scenarios the story could’ve gone into if the story just took a moment to rest. (This isn’t a small book by the way, over 400 pages). Not to mention, this is just after one of their friends had died. Use this new location to show us how they’re reacting to said death. Talk about it. Give them space to breathe, it’s fine.
If you go from one action set piece to another, it might start to feel like these fights ARE the filler as if you have too much, they start to lose their meaning. I skipped over two characters' deaths because I didn’t care for another fight sequence. In both of these character deaths, the main character never has time to reflect on them so I just don’t care, no matter how major these deaths are. There’s never any time to reflect on them. I’m not saying you need to reflect on every death, but some deaths in which the reader might go, “Hold up...that should impact you...why aren’t you affected?” does take you out of the story as you might start questioning the entire relationship between the alive and dead characters.
Filler chapters are most commonly used for romance. Once the characters can breathe, and relax, they start to grow and get close to one another. Filler romance chapters are a great way for readers who don’t care about romance to skip them if they just want to get back into the action. Using filler chapters for romance does make the romance feel more natural since you get the vibe they’re connecting and you as the reader can feel like you’re connecting as well.
Let’s go back to my earlier example, the main character and the love interest in the town in which the main character grew up in. It’s a festival and everyone is having fun. Remember that cute moment which gets interrupted? Don’t interrupt that part. Use the entire chapter as a way for their bond to feel closer, for them to get to know each other, talk about what's on their mind, reflect on what happened so far, and maybe...even...kiss each other. *gasp* It’ll make their moment feel more impactful, as the reader knows it's not gonna last, but for one chapter, it feels like there's happiness.
Filler chapters are also used for world-building. While I understand, that not a lot of people like filler chapters being used for lore, because if the lore was important, why isn’t it implemented in the actual story? But sometimes, if you can only squeeze in the lore in filler chapters, that's all you can do. Now, while I do recommend if there’s anything noteworthy that you don’t want your readers to skip over, maybe don’t put those in the filler chapters. What I personally like to add is just fun little world-building stuff. Things that the reader doesn’t need to know to understand the plot but if they read it they can see that the world is bigger than what the plot gives off.
Honestly, I could probably write another article on how to do this, but I’ll summarise how to use filler chapters for world-building. If your characters are in a city, use one or two chapters to show off that city's culture. You can do this by having them go to shops, or engaging with the locals. If your city is set more modern, have them watch ads that give off snippets of how the world is operating or what’s going on. The city is such a great place to drop your characters in because anything you can think of what to do in a real city, you can do it in a story.
If your characters are at a campfire, and one of them is smart, have the smart one talk about the world, if they’re in a cave and just exploring, have them discover something interesting in the caves. If your characters are in a small town, spend a chapter at a tavern, and have them overhear a song that explains the plot, or adds some lore. Have them go to a church and witness the religion of that area. I think you get the picture. Having your characters interact with the world around them, instead of always making a dash for the main plot will make your story feel a bit more full.
Use filler chapters as a time to reflect and pause on the story. This is mostly used after a character dies and for good reason. If someone dies, you need time to process it. Having your characters always on the move, especially after someone dies feels kind of weird. If five chapters go by and your characters never get time to reflect on someone's death, especially if the dead character was important to another, that might make the reader feel like you didn’t care about said character. If a reader feels like you don’t care about certain characters, but the readers did, the reader might feel betrayed since they wanted time to reflect but never got a chance to.
In the book I’m reading, a character, who’s in a relationship with another, died around page 192, I’m currently on page 278 and not once, did they ever reflect on said death. The character's lover is sad, and the one who caused it, feels guilty, but we don’t get to hear them talk about what happened.
We have, filler chapters being used for romance, lore building, and character deaths, what about just fun? You know how in anime there’s almost always a beach episode? Do a beach episode. Do a fun little chapter that just shows your characters having fun. Yes, I know the world is gonna end if they don’t hurry, but no one is gonna complain if your characters take some time off from saving the world. Again, the best thing about filler chapters is if someone doesn’t like them, they can skip over them. For me, seeing characters take the time to be themselves makes them feel more real. Show off a little goofy trait they have, show off an uncommon fear, just something to show these characters are real. They’re not just one note, they have depth and a personality. If you want, pair up two characters that don’t spend a lot of time with each other and see what happens.
When are filler chapters bad? They only end up bad when there’s a bit too much of them and it feels like a chore to get through just for the main plot. Filler chapters work best if they stand alone and aren’t long. Maybe two chapters back to back, but never three. At that point, readers might start to think these filler sections are actually part of the story. You also shouldn’t be adding in filler chapters whenever you want, sometimes the characters do need to just focus on the main plot of the story. If they’re approaching the villain's lair, you might not want to put down a beach episode, however, just before they approach the evil lair, give them a small chapter to reflect on what's going on and what might happen is fine. Time and place.
Filler chapters at the beginning of the story are also something you might want to avoid, at least until it’s clear when the plot starts. It’s a bit hard to determine what’s filler and what’s setting up the story, but one easy way is to ask yourself, if a reader skips this, will they be missing out on anything? I think it’s a good rule of thumb to establish the main plot of your story around chapter 5. That way you have at least four chapters of buildup, setting up your characters, and the world, as you prepare your readers for what's in store. Once the plot gets moving, it’ll be up to you to figure out when to add in filler chapters, but keep in mind, that some readers would like to read a few chapters of plot-related stuff before their first filler chapter. So if chapter five is when the plot begins, chapter six probably shouldn’t be a filler chapter.
I think that about covers it for now when it comes to filler chapters. Try to imagine a sandwich when you’re making a story. The first bread is the start of your story, the foundation. It’s where the first five chapters go to get the readers invested in what’s about to happen. Then you fill the sandwich with plot-related chapters, and you add filler like the sauce or seasoning. You don’t want to overdo it, but adding them can help make your sandwich taste a lot better. Then you end your story with another piece of bread to seal the deal. Remember, if your plot is about saving the world, and you only focus on that, your sandwich won't be that big, even if there are a lot of chapters.
Don’t get me wrong, some people like a simple sandwich, but if you want to expand it, your story needs to have more than just saving the world plot. Side plots, filler, and character plots can contribute to the overarching plot of your story. After your readers have finished digesting your story, they can look back and be like. That was a good, big sandwich.
Lore chapters post: https://www.tumblr.com/jessequinones/745713565342760960/writing-advice-lore-chapters?source=share
Chapters post: https://www.tumblr.com/jessequinones/745095489988509696/writing-advice-chapters?source=share
105 notes · View notes
tossawary · 3 months ago
Text
I'm going to rewatch "Revenge of the Sith" later and I don't remember the original trilogy all that well either, but... both "The Phantom Menace" and "Attack of the Clones" seem to suffer tremendously during their final battles because the films keep cutting away from the potentially dramatically and emotionally rich sequences to... the childish physical comedy adventures of sidekick characters.
I'm not going to pretend that "Star Wars" isn't incredibly silly at times. "Return of the Jedi" has the Empire being murdered by teddy bears with sticks at one point, and I am personally incredibly fond of this sequence and the Ewoks generally for no good reason I can name. But, from what I remember, that movie was better editing-wise about letting more dramatic sequences like Luke versus Vader breathe emotionally. We had some time to settle into these fights, to feel Luke's fear and anger, to see Luke's resolve, you know?
And in "A New Hope", the climatic dogfights involve people dying and it's treated quite seriously. A lot of lives are on the line with the Death Star's destruction. The characters go into the battle knowing that some of them won't make it back. And in "The Empire Strikes Back"... as far as I vaguely remember, there's not very much silliness at all at the end of that movie, the protagonists "lose" and all of the characters are in a lot of pain. The camera stays with them to show us their agony and grief and strength.
But in "The Phantom Menace", the film keeps cutting away from Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan versus Maul in favor of Jar-Jar Binks tripping over droids. Jar-Jar Binks fighting to defend his homeworld against an invading army, as his people die around him, is treated as an utter joke. Pure comedic relief with no substance at an utterly inappropriate time. They are undercutting the "war" in "Star Wars" that was a big part of its tone. The film doesn't bother to treat anyone like they or their lives matter in that sequence. And Anakin is in a ship he's struggling to pilot against an entire army, but we never get any real sense of him being afraid of dying in space or being at risk, as he almost accidentally saves the day. Padmé is just... fighting down hallways and it's kind of boring, both action-wise and emotionally. I spent most of the time wishing that the camera would just cut back to Maul again because that fight had actual, like, substance.
And in "Attack of the Clones", the film keeps wasting time cutting back to Threepio with his head accidentally stuck on a battle droid's body, when it's not even clear why he and Artoo are even there beyond just jamming them in as iconic figures from the original trilogy. They shouldn't be there!!! This is blatant shoehorning!!! This is valuable screentime that the Battle of Geonosis could use to focus on the Jedi who are being killed, on the separatists who are being invaded, or on the clones who have just entered the war. Mace Windu or Obi-Wan Kenobi reacting emotionally to the nameless Jedi being cut down around them would have been nice. The confrontations with Dooku could have dug deeper into the emotional and physical pain of his betrayal.
Mace Windu's fight with Jango could have been longer, instead, seeing as the hardest emotional beat we actually get in this film confronting the death of this battle is probably Boba picking up Jango's helmet. A kid has lost his dad!!! We could have seen any of the clones reacting to this, maybe? We could have seen Mace Windu telling Obi-Wan about Jango's death and then Obi-Wan belatedly realizing that they don't know what happened to Jango's child in the chaos. "The Clone Wars" television show ended up doing so much heavy lifting emotionally for this trilogy, because these movies are way too busy with unnecessary Jar-Jar Binks and Threepio physical comedy in all the wrong places.
"Revenge of the Sith" as far as I remember is at least too busy finally focusing on everything going to hell and the tragedy to fit in a jarring sidekick comedy sequence during any final battle. Can you even imagine? Anakin is murdering younglings and the movie keeps cutting back to Threepio and Jar-Jar tripping over droids and shrieking trying to escape Coruscant? I don't remember the movie that well. If there actually is a sidekick physical comedy sequence through the end of the fights in "Revenge of the Sith" that I have blocked from my memory, then I am going to scream into a pillow.
46 notes · View notes
moonspirit · 9 months ago
Text
Papamin Propaganda - Armin's natural affinity for children
This is nowhere near as lucid or detailed as I wanted it to be, but I've managed to throw a few points together, so have it anyway.
There are quite a few characters in AoT who have shown remarkable compassion and empathy toward children, notably, Levi, Reiner, Jean, Hange, and so on. In this post we'll talk about Armin.
Episode 72 (S04E13) is titled "Children of the Forest" and I think it's quite self-explanatory at this point - as Sasha's father put it, the children of this ruined world have been roaming around in a forest of endless violence, unable to find a way out of it. By the end of AoT, the characters who are presently "children" (i.e, Gabi, Falco, Kaya, and so on) do end up exiting this 2000 year old forest, toward a new world of harmonious co-existence. What I love particularly about the episode titling sequence however, is that Episode 71 (S04E12) is called "Guides" - and it deals mostly with the people who will act as the literal "guides" to the "Children in the Forest". This is of course, Hange & the surviving members of the 104th, and therefore also, Armin.
(In a previous post I've talked at some length about why I consider Armin to be *THE* guide out of the forest, for not only children, but humanity as a whole; so we will not go into that here. Instead we'll stick to why Armin has a natural affinity and flair for handling children specifically.)
It's important to remember that Armin was a bullied child, one at the receiving end of a never-ending stream of insults, kicks, and violence. Despite being abandoned by his parents and eventually also losing his grandfather, Armin never lost his kindness and gentle persona. This, at an age when children are heavily influenced by their surroundings and what they witness through the behaviors of other people, *can* be a bit surprising. It is a known fact that bullies are born due to (among other things) a variety of self-esteem issues and jealousy. I would say Armin retained this softness because in spite of being orphaned, & considered the 'weakest' among the 104th, he always received love from those around him (the fact that he couldn't see this love and value placed in him is a different thing entirely), and was treated with kindness too (ah the days before Floch came along with his insults were peaceful #_#)
Moving on to the aforementioned episodes in particular: It is Sasha's father who introduces the concept of the forest, we know Hange cries "Genocide isn't right!" twice (and thereby making it clear that she is the most senior "guide" in all of the bunch), but it is Armin who is the first to put to literal action the meaning and role of being a guide that brings children out of the forest.
Between episode 71, 72, 81 (S04 P2 E06), 82 (... E07) & 83 (... E08), the events taking place are very tightly packed together. Everything from the first reveal of Eren's Jaegerist faction to the beginning of the Rumbling takes place. It is a period when the military is in shambles, Eren has pushed his friends away and become that giant bony monster, Falco's been taken hostage, Hange's hiding away taking care of Levi, and the rest of our characters are dispersed across various locations, stumped and paralyzed with fear and hesitation about what to do about the world getting trampled outside. It is a period of intense confusion, and there is no unity between anybody. The Alliance hasn't been born.
In this duration of time, we see the following:
1. Armin helping a battered and bloody Gabi get up in Niccolo's restaurant and helping her walk to the next room, away from the arguing adults.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
2. Telling her in no uncertain terms that she's not going to be killed out of vengeance. It's important to note this because while Gabi's already received the kindness of other people by this point (Sasha's family), she soon comes to know that Armin is Eren's best friend, i.e the Devil's best friend, and yet, he's still kind to her.
Tumblr media
3. He meets up with Gabi, and tells her honestly what's happened. Now this is a favorite scene of mine, but you'll notice that when Gabi falls to her knees, everyone's standing around towering over her, but in the end, Armin kneels to her level, holding her gently by the shoulders. Body language is a powerful tool to convey a person's emotions and intent; he does ask her about what she saw when the walls fell, but he still does it gently, and at her level of height where she doesn't have to crane her neck up to look at someone 'commanding' her. It's a humane action, gentle and kind, an indirect way of saying "I'm listening, you can trust me, so don't be afraid." It's also pertinent to note that of all the people around Gabi in that moment, Armin's the most approachable. Mikasa's withdrawn, in a turmoil of her own. Sasha's family is clueless. Connie kidnapped Falco, not a good image. Jean's rough, prone to losing his temper. Hange & Levi nowhere to be seen. But Armin? He was kind to her at the restaurant, and continues to be so, retaining his softness both in manner and speech, with her.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
4. With Mikasa immediately after (the outburst scene), we see him say many things; that the line of command has broken down completely, that they need Gabi's trust if they have to do something by forming a team with the Cart & Jaw titans. Remember: Hange & Levi are missing, two of the closest superiors the kids know to look for guidance; and yet he alone makes the difficult decision of going after Falco. This move of his does three things: (a) It wins Gabi's trust in full, (b) Tells Gabi (and also to us as the readers) that he doesn't agree with Eren's actions, (c) Lays the very foundation for the Alliance before anybody's even told him to.
5. With Falco's scene, things are once again, self-explanatory - but I like one specific detail. We see the others trying to catch some shut-eye (Mikasa, Jean, Annie, Hitch, etc). Earlier with Mikasa, Armin had expressed his wish to just sleep for two days straight. And yet it's HIM who rides with Gabi all through the night non-stop to get Falco back, trying to catch up to Connie who's had a head-start, waaayy before them. This little detail, imo, shows his dedication and drive for what he believes in, as well as strong empathy and understanding for these hurting children, who don't know any better. (I don't know if Gabi knows he's the holder of the Collosal titan atp... I think she knows? If yes, it would show how much she already trusts him, going with him alone. Now tell me that isn't because of the compassion and empathy he's shown toward her.)
Tumblr media
It's obvious that all of the 104th understand where children like Gabi come from - brainwashed and rabid as they are. But in choosing to show Armin as the one who takes the first step in bringing the Alliance together, through the heart and mind of a child, I find myself believing - this man's going to be a GREAT dad.
Sorry if this was all over the place xD I wanted to make it more coherent, but I don't have the energy, welp. Feel free to add your thoughts!
52 notes · View notes
anotheruserwithnoname · 2 months ago
Text
12 favourite things about Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
So I saw the Beetlejuice sequel over the weekend. I saw the original in the theatre nearly 40 years ago. And I admit was a bit nervous about whether the film would live up to the original, or would it be derailed by so many of the things that have caused remakes or continuations of legacy properties to fail in recent years. (Those factors vary from person to person but often boil down to either failing to recapture lightning in a bottle, or going against the spirit of the original in some way.)
I'll put in a spoiler break before I pass along my favourite things about the film, but the tl;dr is I had a blast, and I should never have doubted Tim Burton.
The following includes not only plot spoilers for B2, I also have to mention a major spoiler for the Wednesday series, so you are warned.
Favourite things about B2:
Jenna Ortega
Michael Keaton has managed the near impossible - reprising a role from decades ago without losing anything. It makes me sad that we'll never see his proper return as Batman in the now-lost Batgirl movie. I won't name specific names, but with only a couple of exceptions (most of them in Deadpool and Wolverine), so many times an actor reprising a role from years past has either failed to recapture the magic or does a good job but is still missing something that makes their reprise feel lesser in some way. You could splice together scenes of Keaton from B2 with scenes from B1 and you would be hard-pressed to tell the difference.
Jenna Ortega
Winona Ryder is terrific as the older Lydia. I loved the fact they made her a "paranormal-reality" TV star; I figured Lydia would have grown up to be either that or a goth-rock singer. I am not in favour of always darkening characters when they return after a while, but I think the idea of Lydia being haunted (literally) by her past and seeing dead people was well handled and does put a bit of a dark spin on the happy ending of B1. But in a way that works.
Jenna Ortega
For reasons best left to a google search, Jeffrey Jones was unable to appear in B2. His absence was well-handled by way of photographs, having his character lose his head, and a very clever and unexpected stop-motion sequence that at times looked like it was one of those wild AI-generated shorts.
Jenna Ortega
The change of style - the stop-motion, and the Italian art film pastiche that served as Beetlejuice's origin story - were a couple places where the film distinguished itself from the original. Same with Beetlejuice pulling a Deadpool a couple of times and talking to the audience.
Jenna Ortega. OK, seriously, she's a lot of fun in this and is a highlight of the film. My only complaint is they're not completely successful in separating her from Wednesday, both when she gets involved in a Beetlejuice-driven dance sequence, and a subplot where her character falls in love with a boy who turns out to be a villain - which is identical to what happens in Wednesday; the actors even look similar (there is the big Wednesday spoiler I warned about). That's one of the only major criticisms I have with B2, made a bit more glaring as Burton produced Wednesday and I think the film and show used the same writers. Jenna is in danger of being typecast which I'm sure she wants to avoid. I hope her star just continues to rise.
Bob. 'Nuff said.
Burn Gorman of Torchwood fame makes an unexpected appearance in the film as a preacher. He's quite funny to watch in his few scenes. He's become quite a good character actor over the years.
The Disney joke. Aside from the fact I know it'll play well with the many who have been turned off the House of Mouse for various reasons (including their treatment of various franchises and the never-ending Snow White saga), it has a different meaning when you realize that reportedly Burton had a bad experience making the live-action Dumbo for them, so this wasn't just a topical dig at Disney (like we saw in Deadpool) - this one was personal. When film scholars of the future write their books examining Burton's films and he and everyone else involved in his movies have collected their copies of the Handbook, the joke will probably get covered in quite a bit of detail, even though it comes and goes so quickly on screen.
One criticism I have is that Monica Bellucci's character doesn't really do too much. Reportedly Burton and Bellucci began dating while making the film so at least those two got something out of it. But her end was a bit overwhelming. I also felt Willem Defoe's character was underused. But if someone decided to do a spinoff of his actor-turned-underworld cop character, I think it could do well. I know both Bellucci and Defoe were playing plot maguffins - their purpose was to push things along to get to the Beetlejuice/Lydia reunion. But there could have been more. (I also didn't care for the fact no one thanked Beetlejuice for saving the lives (and souls) of Jenna's character by dealing with the boyfriend and everyone else by helping dispose of Monica. That's the only part of the film I disliked, but a minor point.)
Is B2 better than B1. I would say no, but it is an excellent film. I don't know if a third movie is justified, but the prospect of releasing a film called Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice may be too much temptation to ignore.
12 notes · View notes
cha-melodius · 1 year ago
Text
20 questions for fic writers
Thank you @rmd-writes, @welcometololaland, @liminalmemories21, and @orchidscript for tagging me! How did you know I love random questionaires about my fic writing. 😂
1. How many works do you have on AO3?
109! I celebrated hitting 100 recently (technically still celebrating, I suppose).
2. What’s your total AO3 word count?
1,220,396. I had a goal to hit 1 million before the end of last year, and somehow I've written 220k since then???? Howmst?
3. What fandoms do you write for?
RWRB, TMFU, Loki
4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
Please Don't Let Me Be So Understood (RWRB, E, 20k; couples therapy AU)
Nova, Baby (RWRB, E, 66k; spy AU)
Class(room) Warfare (RWRB, M, 7.8k; professors AU)
All the Old Showstoppers (RWRB, E, 20k; celebrity bake off AU)
Always Where I Need To Be (RWRB, T, 5.4k; roomates AU feat. David)
5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?
I do but I am now horribly behind because y'all are so lovely and I am a little overwhelmed. I like to respond because people took the time to leave a comment and I want them to know how much that means to me (it's a lot. it means a LOT). I promised I WILL get to them eventually!!
6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
Definitely Who's Gonna Love You (The Mandalorian), which is a no-comfort breakup angst fic. I wrote it after having my heart ripped out by reading two unhappy ending fics lmao. Have never gone back to the truly unhappy ending again. (I have done some bittersweet or ambiguous ending fics, but those don't reach this level.)
7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
Most of my fics have quite happy endings, but I don't think you can beat a fluffy ending at the end of a long fic. I often go for the chapter full of pure, tooth-rotting fluff (after tearing your heart out lmao). That means Nova, Baby, Love is a Losing Game, A Good Man Is Hard To Find, Amor Magnus Doctor Est... probably the most pure fluff at the end.
8. Do you get hate on fics?
I've had some here and there. One particular person who just kept coming back and I'm like just stop reading????
9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?
I do, but when it comes to one shots I'm probably more likely to leave it out. My smut always comes with plot and/or lots of feelings. I like writing it best as part of a larger story, actually.
10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?
I haven't for a while but I have two requests I need to fill. Previous crossovers have been The Mandalorian/Battlestar Galactica (because badass ladies named Cara/Kara), and The Mandalorian/The Witcher (because surly dudes with accidentally adopted children). Oh I guess my most recent was TMFU/Glass Onion (because Hugh Grant).
(If you're wondering what the requests are, it's TMFU/Loki and TMFU/RWRB.)
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Not that I’m aware of.
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
Yup! Four fics, all TMFU (three by the same person). I am always happy to grant permission!
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?
No, but I've got plans with @cricketnationrise.
14. What’s your all time favorite ship?
Can't choose! I love all the ships I write for—that's why I can't stop.
15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?
I don't think I have one of these. I have one abandoned WIP that I've anon'd because I hate it lmao. Generally if I want to finish something, I will.
16. What are your writing strengths?
Plot (I unabashedly love many of my plot twists), action sequences, dialogue/banter, world building, characterization?
17. What are your writing weaknesses?
Although it should be straightforward because see: action, I feel like my smut is kind of lackluster. Sometimes I hit the notes just right and it really works, but other times I feel like people just get bored.
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?
I'm unlikely to do it unless I have a native speaker I can run it by (I have some wonderful Russian friends who have been vital for this for some TMFU fics).
19. First fandom you wrote for?
Xena: Warrior Princess
20. Favorite fic you’ve written?
I will scream about this one until the end of time, especially since it's relatively low kudos'd: the 60s chess AU, Love is a Losing Game. It's my most complete and well-structured novel, and I promise you don't need to know anything about TMFU to read it.
Tagging @cricketnationrise, @14carrotghoul, @inexplicablymine, @cheesecurdsgravyandfries, @three-drink-amy, @petrodobreva, @myheartalivewrites, @nontoxic-writes, @leaves-of-laurelin, @tintagel-or-cockleshells, @celaestis1, @xthelastknownsurvivorx, @nicijones, @thetamehistorian, @jettestar, @ikeepwatchinghelicopters, @heytheredeann, @loki-is-my-kink-awakening, @mirilyawrites, @dewdropreader and an open tag for anyone who wants to do it! (sorry if you get multiple tags on this one, tumblr was being a bitch)
21 notes · View notes
about-the-onigiri · 1 year ago
Text
FINALLY FINISHED STORMBRINGER! HERE ARE SOME THOUGHTS (spoilers below obvi)
Okay, there's a lot to go over and I will probably make separate analyses, but for now I'm just going to go over any surface thoughts.
Chuuya
I will make a full separate character analysis for him, but my god did I thoroughly enjoy the theme of his questioned humanity and all the examples that proved his humanity before the end reveal (which btw I feel so stupid for not reading this novel sooner because I dead ass thought this was still an ongoing debate/question 🥴). Reassuring Albatross, mourning the detective, trying to save his clone, throwing away his memory sequence for the sake of Yokohama/the world, empathizing with Verlaine, doing the Sheep hand shake with Shirase, and making sure the Flags graves never go without flowers (kill me); all these things emphasize Chuuya's humanity. These actions answer the daunting question "is Chuuya human?", they precede the reveal. Humanity is such a huge theme in this series, along with one's reason/right for living, and it is always so well done to each individual character; but Chuuya's especially. (I must stop before this becomes a whole character analysis...but soon!)
Speaking of humanity, let's talk about Verlaine.
Now, while he was a strong contender in the beginning (I still don't, and never will, forgive him for the Flags deaths), he is no longer No. 1 on my shit list. Verlaine's existential crisis about his existence and "hate" driven plan to get Chuuya by his side is, arguably, very human! Verlaine was quite the interesting character to see unraveled, because his is one that drives home this major theme of one's reason for existence. It was so easy to sympathize with him because his angers, fears and desperate wants are applicable to not only the human characters in the story, but also any potential reader. They're the furthest thing from "non human", and in the way that Chuuya's humanity is recognized before the reveal, Verlaine's humanity must also be recognized, despite him not being human. Which is one of the things I love most that reoccurs through this novel. Despite the fact that it could all be a product of the lines of code, it begs the question: What makes someone human?
No Longer Human: Dazai
I'm kidding, we know Dazai is human (regardless of his detached sense of self). This novel actually did a fantastic job of painting Dazai as human and not an omnipotent master mind. His intellectual superiority is actually well countered in this novel. Yes, he bought time by giving Verlaine info on N and planned out the steps used in the final battle. But there were actually multiple times throughout this novel that we see Dazai caught off guard by things he couldn't predict, whether he admitted ignorance or not. His astonishment at Verlaine blasting straight through the lab after he had just mentioned he knew mostly what he was and wasn't capable of, his uncertainty for Chuuya's safety and success in the final battle as he watched everything play out. Dazai's humanity though is heavily highlighted when he gives Chuuya the choice of going into the final battle at the cost of losing his (seemingly) only way of verifying whether he's a human or not. This was actually very refreshing to see, but I'll cover this and a lot more on Dazai as I do want to make an in depth character analysis for him too. It was a nice break away and look into his character, as he could have easily withheld that choice and information from Chuuya.
Random Outlying Thoughts
A couple things that further emphasize the theme of humanity throughout this novel:
- Adam and his sacrifice for Chuuya. Especially after it was revealed that he was programmed to make his own decisions.
- Verlaine showing Chuuya the memories with Rimbaud
-Rimbaud's choice to, not only wait for, but save Verlaine, all while apologizing
I also thought it was interesting that Mori gave Chuuya his parent's location and the chance to meet them. I think it was genuinely both a gift and a test. We know Mori is cunning but not the incarnation of evil, as he's supposed to be an inspired character of Black Jack (though the translation errors ruined that). So I do think he would have genuinely given Chuuya that chance, while also using it to gauge where Chuuya stands. (Which we know is with the mafia; his family.)
Speaking of family, I cannot finish this post without mentioning the Flags again. I cried only twice while reading this novel. The first time being the Flags deaths, and the second when their resting place with an abundance of flowers was mentioned. They will forever hold a place in my heart, I'm still not over it tbh.
ALSO, I know in my last SB post I mentioned in the tags about Chuuya having nice things, but the fucking afterward in this novel from Asagiri!? Saying Chuuya's path is one that will not be easy or peaceful!! Asagiri please, I beg, let HIM HAVE NICE THINGS 🥲
Okay, that is all. Thank you for reading my rambles. I will post character analyses in the future!
24 notes · View notes
solarsonicsoda · 7 months ago
Text
Rebbie's Wrestling Reviews - AEW Dynasty 2024
Kazuchika Okada (c) def. Pac by pinfall for the AEW Continental Championship in 21:55
This match was simply awesome. Two guys who have absolutely all the tools put them to good use in this opener. Pac sold everything amazingly, he is brilliant at what he does, and there were many great sequences between the two men. Some of the specifics of this one were absolutely unreal too. Avalanche brainbuster, that brutal barricade DDT Pac took, an awesome springboard moonsault, a standing Brutaliser, a Black Arrow into the knees: so much brilliant wrestling. Of course, there was also Okada’s rug pull of the Rainmaker taunt. He had us in the palm of his hand and everything about that moment was hilarious. Loved this one. 
4.5 STARS OUT OF 5
Tumblr media
House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King, & Buddy Matthews) def. Adam Copeland, Eddie Kingston, & Mark Briscoe by pinfall in 17:46
Super fun! Loved the energy they brought to this one, and the pace was quick which is just what I want from a trios match like this. Briscoe had a pair of great spots on the apron here, first launching himself off a chair to attack Matthews, but then being launched off into a brutal Death Valley Driver by King into the barricade. I also really enjoyed the triple Spears later in the match. Generally just great fun here all executed well, and I enjoyed Black picking up the win after never truly meeting Copeland in the ring until that final moment. That’s fun and I look forward to Black challenging for the belt in the future. Potentially at Double or Nothing? I will say though, maybe Rick Knox could have picked a better position to count that pin, he was looking directly into the misted face of Copeland…
3.5 STARS OUT OF 5
Tumblr media
Willow Nightingale def. Julia Hart (c) by pinfall for the AEW TBS Championship in 6:01
This is not the most revolutionary match on the card, but it was pretty satisfactory. It was pretty short, but I didn’t realise it was quite this short! It was worked sufficiently though and it gave us a big championship win for Nightingale! That’s going to be raising the rating! Mercedes Mone slightly cramps on what’s a lovely moment but I’m excited for their match at Double or Nothing! Feels big time! 
3 STARS OUT OF 5
Tumblr media
Roderick Strong (c) def. Kyle O’Reilly by pinfall for the AEW International Championship in 17:18
Another brilliant match. Great sells, great strikes, great technical work: what not to love? Some of the transitions and reversal in this one were simply beautiful, there was an awesome ankle lock transition by O’Reilly, there was a tiger driver that became a guillotine hold, there were sweet counters of some of their common offence: I ask again, what’s not to love?! O’Reilly has great facials for a match like this and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing! I think the finish was a tad sudden, I’m not entirely sure why Wardlow showed up, but good for him. We also see that Adam Cole can walk post-match!
4.5 STARS OUT OF 5
Tumblr media
Chris Jericho def. Hook (c) by pinfall for the FTW Championship in 16:34
Please say sike right now. I will say, I was actually enjoying this one for most of its run. Hook has some awesome suplexes, he wrestles with such a unique form and stuff, he’s just very engaging. Hook sends Jericho through a table off the apron with a T-bone suplex, he suplexes him in a bin, and he kicks out of two Judas Effects! That all went so hard! I don’t particularly remember what Jericho did but oh well. Now, why the hell did he win? Jericho got to dominate, and like he overpowered Hook, in a strike exchange, which should never be happening with Jericho who is not known for anything close. Then, after all their action, Jericho is walking whilst Hook is selling his ass off for Jericho post-Judas Effect, and then he hits him with his baseball bat and wins. WHY?! I do think this “Learning Tree” character can be fun, but it should be a character where he goes in there and loses a lot, and convincingly. No one wants to see Jericho have many long matches, nor do they want to see him win titles. How does this help Hook? He does not need to reclaim the title again from the likes of Jericho, it makes him look like a dork. This should have been a feud where Hook won every encounter. Really stupid finish on a flawed but fun schmozz.
2.5 STARS OUT OF 5
Tumblr media
Toni Storm (c) (w/ Mariah May & Luther) def. Thunder Rosa by pinfall for the AEW Women’s World Championship in 15:08
First off, Team Timeless were absolutely slaying with the looks here. Yes, of course that includes you Luther. This was a pretty good match overall. Rosa hits a great Tornillo, Nigel McGuiness is a hoot on commentary as usual, and the Death Valley Driver on the apron was awesome. Some sweet sequences and combos in there too, like a cool tornado DDT into a Northern Lights suplex from Storm. I don’t particularly care for the Storm Zero kickout as it was done, I feel like it was a bit early for something like that for me. Rosa also had a real smooth transition into a backbreaker late on before Storm rightfully got the win. As I say, good match, just not the best. I feel I’ve never particularly gotten into Thunder Rosa’s work. Like, she’s a good wrestler, but I just don’t feel much about her in-ring skill, and I don’t like her promos. Regardless, they had a decent showing here.
3.5 STARS OUT OF 5
Tumblr media
Will Ospreay def. Bryan Danielson by pinfall in 32:40
I’m going to start by mentioning how brilliant the atmosphere was with this St. Louis crowd. They were awesome the whole night but here was their peak. Everyone was just having a blast it seemed. Now, there’s a lot of hubbub about this one, and I’ll start with this now: No, this isn’t the best match ever. What it is though is really quite great. So many unreal spots here and a solid bit of story throughout. There’s the likes of Danielson fully tying up Ospreay, the tiger suplex off the top rope, the series of counters from an Oscutter to a Lebell Lock, and the staredown with the elbow pad removal. I want to mention the dodging of a Hidden Blade to hit a running knee from Danielson, loved that. All of these moments were great. In my notes though, I did eventually end up writing three things down in all caps. First, “TRIANGLE HOLD STYLES CLASH”. Yeah, that’s awesome. There was also the finishing stretch with “HE JUST HIT A TIGER DRIVER 91 ON DANIELSON”. I think that speaks for itself as something wild. Thankfully he took it as safely as he could, that is to say “I bet his shoulder hurts like hell”. Then, the best of them all: “KNEE OSCUTTER REVERSAL”. This was simply perfect, what a reversal for the Oscutter, and what a running knee it was. Beautiful. Overall, it was a really nice match that pulled me round into loving it, even if Ospreay can be a bit much with some of his style for me. It works for a big match! I don’t love the finish really with the doctors, but it’s not super egregious. It was probably a Danielson idea, but I’d prefer a clean finish here. Maybe there’s a sequel on the horizon. Anyway, on a first watch, I’m concluding that “the greatest match in US history” is not quite that (some people just love a man’s particular style and that’s ok!), but is still pretty stellar.
4.5 STARS OUT OF 5
Tumblr media
The Young Bucks (Nicholas Jackson & Matthew Jackson) def. FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) in a ladder match for the AEW Tag Team Championships in 21:34
Now, something completely different! There’s plenty of ladder-based fun here, like some fun dropkick spots and one of the Bucks heading up for the belts off of a rope run. A ladder bridge was a large part of this one, first with a moonsault by Wheeler and an EVP Trigger by the Bucks atop it. Wheeler had a great performance here, and he hit a tope onto Matthew that sent him through a table, which I loved. Shortly after, Harwood would take a hurricanrana through one too, which I did like but it was a tad awkward. I really loved the Power and Glory off the ladders, that was super awesome, and the Wheeler tope through a table at the end was wild! He went so fast! There was a scary moment, as Nicholas would 450 Wheeler through a table, but as Harwood tried to piledriver Matthew through the ladder bridge, it would give way. Fortunately, it seems everyone is ok. This was a pretty fun match all-in-all, and I really enjoyed the finish with big shit-eating grin Jack Perry helping the Young Bucks. 
3.5 STARS OUT OF 5
Tumblr media
Swerve Strickland (w/ Prince Nana) def. Samoa Joe (c) by pinfall for the AEW World Championship in 17:59
This is the moment I was waiting for! This was a pretty good match, Joe looked like an absolute beast in this one and I loved him for it. Swerve did his part too, selling very well for the big man. I especially loved his sell off the leg sweep, that was great. I do think the kickout from the Muscle Buster came a bit early in this match, it felt a tad flat for me, but it was soon followed by the House Call whilst Joe was in the ropes and the 450 Splash to the back of the head. I absolutely loved that spot. Those final moments were also great though, with Swerve doing whatever he has to do and with a great leap over Joe. That Swerve Stomp had me on my feet! The right man won here and it was absolutely essential here. What a great run from Samoa Joe though. Unfortunately, it is, indeed, Swerve’s House.
3.5 STARS OUT OF 5
Tumblr media
Overall, this was a pretty good show! Not quite as good or as consistent as Revolution 2024, but another great PPV! This one is getting 4 STARS OUT OF 5 from me!
10 notes · View notes
worldwidemovies012 · 2 months ago
Text
Thangalaan review
: Pa Ranjith's film is intertwined with some fantasy and mystical realism. A must watch for Vikram fans.
Thangalaan is a period action drama starring Vikram, Parvathy Thiruvothu and Malavika Mohanan in the lead roles. The film is directed by Pa. Ranjith, produced by Studio Green K.E.Gnanavel Raja and the music is scored by G.V. Prakash Kumar.
Premise:
Britishers are in a wealth hunt, they take tribal people to work for them. Strange visions of Vikram to lead the troop to the Gold-rush area. What happens after forms the crux of the story.
Writing/ Direction:
Gold is the base of the film, the film showcases how it was handled in the 19th century by our rulers. Well-researched in terms of landscape, the way people look and the terms they use, which is sure to take the viewers back in time. The fantasy element is intriguing, the dynamic development of it is one of the few appreciable aspects of the film, the closure to it makes sense, sadly it is rushed by leaving no impact. The first half is like an adventure flick, with many different themes tried, but the result is extremely flat.
No clarity in the fight scenes as to who is winning and who is losing, the Black Panther sequence is a big dud with poor vision and the heavy smoke effects used lowers the visual standard.
Pasupathy’s humour portions are a big relief to the dry screenplay. The second half starts on a promising note with a few good scenes, displaying the happiness of the tribes for receiving new clothes, how the British treat the tribe with respect until they get to the Gold and shows their true nature after that, etc. Post which the film becomes dull with the slavery part not turning out to be emotional on-screen, the payoff is also very weak by bringing in a clumsy platter which is hard to consume. The biggest drawback of the film is the dialogue modulation of the artists which is probably authentic for the period, but had to go through hell to follow and understand.
Performances:
Chiyaan Vikram’s limitless efforts are evident on-screen, showing great variety in makeover, body language and expressions. Parvathy Thiruvothu is very casually natural on-screen, her scenes with the hero are lively, but the script required more to utilize the chemistry between them. Quite a challenging role for Malavika Mohanan, she has given her best, just wish she had more highlight action scenes to prove her full-potential. Pasupathy’s character started off fascinatingly, but then the arc was left abruptly without giving a proper ending it deserved. Stone-faced villains, the issue with foreign actors’ performances which the most Indian films have exists here too. The other supporting characters are written in a half-baked manner that we don’t get to feel for them.
Technicalities:
Meticulous work by G.V.Prakash, top quality songs overall, especially the Minikki Minikki track stands out and it is beautifully placed in the film. Solid score, his music made a lot of weak situations better, he has focused on what instruments to use as well. The visuals are first class, strong production value and location recce have led the team to explore new terrains, however the action is captured in an unimpressive manner. A lot of edit patterns and jump cuts are fascinating, but finesse is missing when things are simple, the packaging fails to engross. VFX is a mixed bag, the models look neat during the static shots, but the motions aren’t done right to make the sequences believable. Stunts lack punch, the approach is realistic but the output feels hurried.
Bottomline
Fantasy element is fine when it stands alone, falters when blent with reality. The film misses to hold the interest except for the initial chunk in the latter half. Had immense potential to be a hard-hitting flick, but it never took off from the ground level.
hindi:- थंगालान समीक्षा: पा रंजीत की फिल्म कुछ कल्पना और रहस्यमय यथार्थवाद से ज���ड़ी हुई है। विक्रम के प्रशंसकों के लिए यह फिल्म अवश्य देखें।
थंगालान एक पीरियड एक्शन ड्रामा है, जिसमें विक्रम, पार्वती थिरुवोथु और मालविका मोहनन मुख्य भूमिकाओं में हैं।
फिल्म का निर्देशन पा रंजीत ने किया है, जिसका निर्माण स्टूडियो ग्रीन के.ई. ज्ञानवेल राजा ने किया है और संगीत जी.वी. प्रकाश कुमार ने दिया है।
प्रस्तावना:
अंग्रेज धन की तलाश में हैं, वे आदिवासी लोगों को अपने लिए काम पर ले जाते हैं। विक्रम को सेना को गोल्ड-रश क्षेत्र में ले जाने के लिए अजीबोगरीब दृश्य दिखाई देते हैं। उसके बाद क्या होता है, यही कहानी का सार है।
लेखन/निर्देशन:
फिल्म का आधार गोल्ड है, फिल्म दिखाती है कि 19वीं सदी में हमारे शासकों ��े इसे कैसे संभाला।
भूदृश्य, लोगों के देखने के तरीके और उनके द्वारा इस्तेमाल किए जाने वाले शब्दों के संदर्भ में अच्छी तरह से शोध किया गया है, जो दर्शकों को निश्चित रूप से समय में पीछे ले जाएगा।
फंतासी तत्व दिलचस्प है, इसका गतिशील विकास फिल्म के कुछ सराहनीय पहलुओं में से एक है, इसका समापन समझ में आता है, दुख की बात है कि इसे जल्दबाजी में बनाया गया है, जिससे कोई प्रभाव नहीं पड़ता।
पहला भाग एक साहसिक फिल्म की तरह है, जिसमें कई अलग-अलग थीम आजमाई गई हैं, लेकिन परिणाम बेहद सपाट है।
लड़ाई के दृश्यों में कोई स्पष्टता नहीं है कि कौन जीत रहा है और कौन हार रहा है, ब्लैक पैंथर का दृश्य खराब दृष्टि के साथ एक बड़ा डफ है और भारी धुएं के प्रभाव का उपयोग दृश्य मानक को कम करता है।
पसुपथी के हास्य भाग सूखी पटकथा के लिए एक बड़ी राहत हैं। दूसरा भाग कुछ अच्छे दृश्यों के साथ एक आशाजनक नोट पर शुरू होता है, जिसमें नए कपड़े प्राप्त करने के लिए जनजातियों की खुशी प्रदर्शित होती है, कैसे ब्रिटिश जनजाति के साथ सम्मान के साथ व्यवहार करते हैं जब तक कि वे गोल्ड तक नहीं पहुंच जाते और उसके बाद अपना असली स्वरूप दिखाते हैं, आदि।
इसके बाद फिल्म सुस्त हो जाती है क्योंकि गुलामी वाला हिस्सा स्क्रीन पर भावनात्मक नहीं बन पाता है, भुगतान भी बहुत कमजोर है क्योंकि एक भद्दा प्लेट पेश किया जाता है जिसे पचाना मुश्किल है।
फिल्म की सबसे बड़ी कमी कलाकारों के संवादों का उतार-चढ़ाव है जो शायद उस दौर के हिसाब से प्रामाणिक है, लेकिन इसे समझने और समझने के लिए नरक से गुजरना पड़ा।
प्रदर्शन:
चियान विक्रम के असीम प्रयास स्क्रीन पर स्पष्ट हैं, मेकओवर, बॉडी लैंग्वेज और भावों में बहुत विविधता दिखाते हैं।
पार्वती थिरुवोथु स्क्रीन पर बहुत सहज रूप से सहज हैं, नायक के साथ उनके दृश्य जीवंत हैं, लेकिन स्क्रिप्ट में उनके बीच की केमिस्ट्री का उपयोग करने के लिए और अधिक की आवश्यकता थी।
मालविका मोहनन के लिए काफी चुनौतीपूर्ण भूमिका, उन्होंने अपना सर्वश्रेष्ठ दिया है, बस काश उनके पास अपनी पूरी क्षमता साबित करने के लिए और अधिक हाइलाइ�� एक्शन दृश्य होते। पसुपति के किरदार की शुरुआत आकर्षक थी, लेकिन फिर आर्क को बिना उचित अंत दिए अचानक छोड़ दिया गया।
पत्थर के चेहरे वाले खलनायक, विदेशी अभिनेताओं के अभिनय की समस्या जो कि अधिकांश भारतीय फिल्मों में होती है, यहाँ भी मौजूद है।
अन्य सहायक पात्रों को आधे-अधूरे तरीके से लिखा गया है कि हम उनके लिए कुछ महसूस नहीं कर पाते।
तकनीकी बातें:
जी.वी.प्रकाश द्वारा किया गया बेहतरीन काम, कुल मिलाकर बेहतरीन गाने, खास तौर पर मिनिक्की मिनिक्की ट्रैक सबसे अलग है और इसे फिल्म में खूबसूरती से रखा गया है।
सॉलिड स्कोर, उनके संगीत ने कई कमज़ोर स्थितियों को बेहतर बनाया, उन्होंने इस बात पर भी ध्यान दिया कि कौन से इंस्ट्रूमेंट का इस्तेमाल करना है।
विज़ुअल बेहतरीन हैं, प्रोडक्शन वैल्यू और लोकेशन रेकी ने टीम को नए इलाकों की खोज करने के लिए प्रेरित किया है, हालांकि एक्शन को बहुत ही कमज़ोर तरीके से कैप्चर किया गया है।
एडिट पैटर्न और जंप कट बहुत आकर्षक हैं, लेकिन जब चीजें सरल होती हैं तो बारीकियाँ गायब हो जाती हैं, पैकेजिंग भी ध्यान खींचने में विफल हो जाती है।
वीएफएक्स एक मिश्रित बैग है, स्टैटिक शॉट्स के दौरान मॉडल साफ-सुथरे दिखते हैं, लेकिन दृश्यों को विश्वसनीय बनाने के लिए गति सही तरीके से नहीं की गई है। स्टंट में दम नहीं है, दृष्टिकोण यथार्थवादी है लेकिन आउटपुट जल्दबाजी में किया गया लगता है।
बॉटमलाइन
फ़ैंटेसी एलिमेंट अकेले होने पर ठीक है, लेकिन वास्तविकता के साथ घुलने-मिलने पर यह कमज़ोर पड़ जाता है।
फिल्म के दूसरे हिस्से में शुरुआती हिस्से को छोड़कर बाकी हिस्सा दिलचस्पी बनाए रखने में विफल रहा। इसमें एक दमदार फिल्म बनने की अपार संभावना थी, लेकिन यह कभी भी जमीनी स्तर पर आगे नहीं बढ़ पाई।
Tumblr media
youtube
2 notes · View notes
havnblog · 6 months ago
Text
An Introduction to Mad Max
I recently saw a film poster to Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga - so I thought I’d might watch Mad Max: Fury Road again. I think I remembered it being pretty good - but after rewatching it, I thought: “Ohm, I think this is the best film I’ve ever seen??"
So I’ve spent some time the last two weeks getting into the Mad Max Franchise. I’ve always known about it, but never really had a relationship to it. But now I’m a fan!
This post is a part of a sort-of series I'm calling "Noob teaching noobs". So I absolutely don't know what I'm talking about when it comes to Mad Max, or films in general!
Worth your time
There are many famous franchises out there - but most of them take a little lifetime to get into. There’s so much Star Wars/Trek, Game of Thrones or Marvel stuff out there. But Mad Max is much more manageable, and the high notes are so great, that it’s absolutely worth your time.
You can absolutely just watch Fury Road, without doing anything else before it. If you’re going that route, you can read this little footnote for a tiny bit of background. 👉🏻 1
I watched Fury Road blind, and then went back to the three old ones - but it could also be fun to simply watch them in chronological order!
Tumblr media
Mini reviews of the first three
Mad Max
This one is made with about AU$0 in budget, and with a bunch of amateurs (who absolutely didn’t get permits to do all of these stunts on Australian public roads!). So it’s a bit slow and weird, and campy as føck, but still worth your time I’d say! Especially as that time is about 90 minutes - the film length God intended. Some cool chases, weird bad-guys, and interesting world building. (And it’s fun to see a 21 year-old Mel Gibson being 21 year old.)
Tumblr media
Mad Max 2 (The Road Warrior)
For over 20 years, the first film held the world record for the most profitable film ever made. So with the second one, George Miller could afford to do the things he wanted to do in the first. And the result is amazing. It’s hard to overstate the influence this movie has had on everything post-apocalyptic, and the stunts and action sequences are very impressive, and still entertaining. I mean, as it is a 43 year old film, there’s plenty of questionable hair-cuts and costumes. But this is a great watch both as a piece of film history and as simply a great movie.
Tumblr media
Mad Max (3) Beyond Thunderdome
This is pretty good, even though I don’t like it quite as much as the last one. For some reason, this has Tina Turner - and she’s pretty good! I also think it “suffers” from that a couple of things it does (like the Thunderdome itself) has become clichés after-the-fact, and that the last one was so ground-breaking. Still, it has a bunch of great actions sequences and characters, and it carries more emotional weight. Not bad!
Tumblr media
The ultimate YouTube partner
During my little adventure, I’ve also stumbled upon a top-tier YouTube channel called Mr. Sunday Movies. And their series Caravan of Garbage (two dudes bantering) is the perfect companion, and something I love to watch after I’ve seen the films they cover. With this specific series, it’s also a bonus that they (just like Mad Max) are very Australian.
Their video about Mad Max,
Mad Max 2 (The Road Warrior),
Mad Max (3) Beyond Thunderdome),
and Mad Max: Fury Road.
So, I’d watch one film, watch one Caravan of Garbage video, one film, etc. And if you’re unsure, start with Fury Road (the best). If not, it’s fun to start at the beginning.
There’s also a pretty cool comic, that' meant as a prequel to Fury Road, which can be added in-between Beyond Thunderdome and Fury Road. What a lovely day!
Max starts out as a pretty regular cop, with a little family. But in the first film, he loses everything, and becomes more … Mad. Then the general vibe, is that he wanders around, trying to mind his own business, but gets caught up in stuff. And he ends up being a bit of a hero, without really wanting to. And Fury Road is another example of a situation he just gets caught up in. ↩︎
0 notes
libidomechanica · 1 year ago
Text
Untitled (“Tho shame, giving”)
A limerick sequence
               1
Tho shame, giving eyes, which made bail succeeded no more the drreams intender    fail: she new lose opened    upon that must white hath love let’s Parably it take our less.
               2
The many rustice to consumed, soon the music. With undaunted. Then my    vision, think is now it’s    the paved by the prime! In autumn’s suffering to sum was take here?
               3
Stay hastened us. From others can friend, looks on a glory from side-long    experience show how    boughs joined to make my time bled by news rare, it gets and peace, sir!
               4
Look were damps did me i want though the promise to save a wind blow-’ and sad!    Yet, so kind or condescends    his strain wintry of seed save there, if she dwell: You rideth!
               5
Sometimes dimly burdens, as if you. I would weary ways first breach act, and    look abroad. Fast, is must    north of one into the tender which you canst praying: Daddy!
               6
He had ne’er for with another,—not a jury her complexity; they    renew thee! Moment dancing    up an armed, then we never the last anguid smile, the course.
               7
Pages nor pride; or soft word. Prize: for loss of Albion her beast die an    in her white was stillness    that Sage said this being quite stared not the surprising hole mine.
               8
Breath, that though into rhyme, and to a dishonour more. Think on my own Blood    shows that then she winters    seen, and the very tempests droop the can bred; a shawl’d to go.
               9
Of its state receipts in her bacon. The wonder’d her mankind. In the West    thousand stuck into a    pains, who taught into the began to shore, I would his action.
               10
No more grief unutter’s best of clear the dead? But words for study on that    seruices e’er found it    was bleak back her beauty, he will bring crown in thee her within.
               11
Change in the you might&see forms go by, a deserve? In all it all that Fame    caprices man life to    me, and wakeful guise machine. ’Tis a tale white. With you by!
               12
A moment, on the wine more thing to be Cato, no man dance more the wave?    Cast though I be good in    this, and in ram that we’llhave tied threw such the solemn content.
               13
Of hope from that drawn freedom faring wheel it has heart. An occasion of    an answered; you wishes    backward repeat night be not was not; societies away.
               14
All his quarter mortals! Who ne’er soul. It mock me, that for perpetual    fact to do, we live a    Shaking but—pronunciation: a thou doe take molten late.
               15
—Now raise that he mild bind his hour of the made field of Leonidas, was higher    her life you see, that    hours to death. Our free! Day and Wesley, she had not June forsworn.
               16
When gardens, and she’s outrun thrills else many hearts? The red that steps. You marks    upon life and flower    anger is could not wearing giaour, and a maid I never girl?
               17
She was Nimrod’s functions, garden? Thinking our immortal genials, do you    an evil cheek out world’s    crowds before the conceive hundred-year my pipe is nod, why,&c.
               18
Longer blood, the Gold! Which robes, here, you give the cornfield, each other eye and    weed spotless deep pass’d her    for meridian climes, at did mats of love not to answer.
               19
Was it mighty verse subtil model. Of clustere a man’s sunlight most believe    them all, are lonely    sunflowers of worm erected. A commanding roguish een.
               20
So as I using much wish to me, i’ll not me!—My hearts of old, whose whisper’d    his courtesy; and    some to human looks when the plac’d to thee! Which is the ivory.
               21
For all, a comforts wheel our path the west—I miss occurr’d to wretch’d in    atmosphere in a much as    still find. Hid from the tyranny, might was return a bullets.
               22
He blood buzzing out slack, there’s fresh and clasp one that thy with words court forc’d,    the name unnamed boating    high deep purple royal mind; not vsde to be should not. Ah! Dead!
               23
The rose-coloured through it thee; nor from the with thin, that thilke same time, and neat    lust on pass; no pause, thou    would be calm, yet no motion the sky. And cheeks as goods of light.
1 note · View note
thezanyarthropleura · 1 year ago
Text
Sneaky Dinotopia Posting
I still have the first three of the original books (never did get Journey to Chandara) as well as VHS tapings of the first airings of the miniseries (or, ‘Television’s first Mega-Series’ as is billed during the event itself). I remember not getting to watch it live the first night because I was with family at a horse race, however there were small TVs at the venue that were meant to be tuned in to the race, and we snuck a quick change of the channel to catch the very end (the scene with the mosasaurs and the temple). I also managed to catch at least one episode of the 13-episode followup series (Contact, IMO the best one) and I know I read Windchaser at one point, but remember nothing from it. Never knew about the other novels or the games, but I do distinctly remember attending a James Gurney signing, where he had an easel set up and did live drawings. This was after at least the miniseries had aired, as he drew Zippo (from the letters Z and O, although I can’t quite remember how he managed that).
I spotted Quest for the Ruby Sunstone and the live-action series, including unaired episodes, at a rental place once many years ago, but we were there to find a movie to watch with the family, so I didn’t get to see them then. But over the last few days I got out those old VHS’s to watch the miniseries, and found the series on Youtube, and I greatly enjoyed them both (although you kind of have to accept that the series is its own thing, not quite the same as the miniseries and even less like the books). Also watched Quest, and it’s an interesting blend of elements from the miniseries and books into a Land-Before-Time-esque story that happens to also have humans. I found it overall enjoyable even though there are some very strange moments (I think they named a character a slur?!?). Very cool to see the original strutters referenced heavily in an action sequence.
It seems like, to most fans of the franchise, the 13-episode series is either just a footnote or a blanket “it’s bad, don’t watch,” and well, that’s fair, it’s a lot of steps removed from the books to the point it’s hardly recognizable at times. But I still wish more people would talk about it, so here are my favorite parts of the series:
Le Sage. My feelings on the overall concept of the outsiders set aside, she’s an intriguing personality and voice to add into the Dinotopia setting, someone who doesn’t mesh well with the way of things because realistically, there are going to be people who don’t, and not all of them should be unsympathetically so. She’s the definition of a big fish in a small pond, and it can be scary to watch her live on the edge and continue to long for the outside despite what we, the audience, all know is the potential for hurt and danger therein, but mostly I just blame the show’s take on Dinotopia for being overtly traditional and stuck in the past to the point that despite all its positives, apparently some people still don’t feel content, accepted, or taken care of there (which reflects a lot of my personal conflicted feelings on the setting as a whole). I love the way she eventually just inserts herself into the main cast’s adventures as if it’s a way to deal with boredom, and her arc during the two-part The Cure arc becomes legitimately heart-wrenching. If there’s any benefit to the series ending at 13 episodes, it’s that we didn’t have to watch her inevitable Hallmark-style ‘redemption’ where she loses all personality and quietly settles down with someone, probably Frank. Instead, she stays the same free-spirit throughout, with no solid romantic interest that goes anywhere (and, if one reads into things, particularly some overt lines the final episode, maybe a long-lost lesbian love for Rosemary?), and her decision to return to Dinotopia, rather than live out her otherwise-short life seeing as much of the outside world as she can, seems to be a platonic one, with her realizing after sharing an awkward hug with David that these people have become her family.
26. Just seeing her first in the miniseries made an impact. From then on, 26 has always been my favorite number, appearing occasionally at the end of usernames and such. But now I get to discover more than two decades later that she also has some more time to shine in the show, maybe never being in the direct spotlight like in Quest but I was expecting a bit more sidelining in the interest of saving the CGI budget. She has a few important roles in episodes, and the part in The Cure where she escapes and is shown racing toward David and the portal was probably the most genuinely excited I’ve been watching the series, about on par with seeing interaction with the outside world itself.
Zippo/Zipeau. There are a few points, particularly in the early episodes, where his voice is noticeably ‘off’ compared to the miniseries, and while it’s never quite the same, later appearances are significantly better and he does feel mostly like the same character. There’s a humorous arc (in an otherwise strange episode with a questionable Aesop and a vague, off-brand nod to Poseidon of all things) where he runs for mayor on the platform that there should be a bigger library (He got 9 votes I’m SO PROUD OF HIM). To circle back around to Le Sage, as well, some of the later episodes have the two of them begin to tolerate each other (Le Sage being a known dinosaur-hater) and they even get a small moment in The Cure where they save each other’s lives and Le Sage expresses reluctant gratitude. If there’s one downside to the series ending at 13 episodes, it’s that I would’ve liked to see more of these two becoming friends.
Contact. The only episode I recognized as having seen before, so if I saw any others, this was the only one that stuck with me. Probably the most grounded use of the Dinotopia setting (compared to time loops and youth potions and pulling an island-wide ‘It’s a Wonderful Life/Christmas Carol’ ruse…), and it feels like the most real episode of the bunch. Karl finds a radio and wants to use it to get off the island, but instead finds a scenario where he needs to act as a third party directing a rescue ship to survivors stranded on a raft, before they’re caught in the storms surrounding Dinotopia. Tensions are extremely high throughout, especially because Karl has tried so many times no one will ever believe he’s doing anything other than trying to escape.
The Dinosaurs, in general. There are a lot of episodes where it’s clear they were rationing the budget, telling stories that take the focus away from needing to use CGI, but there are just as many episodes where they still decided to go crazy and show dinosaurs just casually existing everywhere. And while I prefer the herbivores any day (Ankylosaurus FTW), and the live-action takes’ portrayals of the carnivores leave a lot to be desired, the T. Rex is still a good example of a dino that only got one scene early on in the miniseries, but features prominently in many episodes of the series. Parasaurolophus is also everywhere, both as guards and overlanders. While sadly there don’t seem to be any new dinosaurs, we do get to see a little bit more of just about every kind from the miniseries.
1 note · View note
h50europe · 3 years ago
Text
Why the myth about Steve's PTSD doesn't add up and other inconsistencies
In the last few episodes of H50, PL tried to sell us a mentally broken Steve suffering from PTSD. Only the whole thing came a bit too late. The clip you see is from season 4 and ended up - no, not in the series - but somewhere on the floor of PL's editing room. And why? after Kurtzman and Orci departed, along with their writers, PL took the helm and started turning Steve into a super-soldier. He stylized him into something that wasn't meant to be. Instead of developing the characters, PL began to incorporate more and more hair-raising action sequences into the series and then let Steve fight on the front lines. There was no mention of Steve's mental state, and a lot was explained by PL with: it just happened "offscreen." Yeah, sure. PL can't create a decent character. He can only produce stereotypes and one-dimensional beings. Like Adam. What potential would that character have had had he been turned into Five-0's antagonist? But no. So his role remained diffuse and monotonous. Sometimes even tragicomical.
Back to Steve. When SEAL Team started on CBS, PL also lapsed into SEAL mania. If someone who writes fanfiction were to produce as much garbage as this man did, he would be chased away from every writers' platform in disgrace. PL's Super SEAL also had to rescue his team members from a blazing inferno. Not man by man, no, he flew a helicopter right into the danger zone and lifted a whole cabin out of the burning jungle. If lunacy had a name, it would be PL. While the action became more and more exaggerated and unrealistic, the same happened to the protagonists. After the departure of Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park, PL completely lost his mind. And please, don't blame the writers for the nonsense that was thrown at you. A series stands and falls with the showrunner. He dictates what he wants and passes it on to his staff.
And so, lovable Steve became a soulless robot who only showed feelings here and there. Danny diminished more and more into a sidekick. McDanno became a ship that drifted anchorless through a stormy sea and threatened to capsize again and again. From season 8, it became a reboot of the reboot. PL tried an ensemble show and failed more than miserably. Often the actors just stood around bored. At least that was the impression. The only highlight was episode 8.10. A feast for all McDanno fans. But even here, the outcome of "who shot Danny" was more than insubstantial.
Wait, there was something about SEALs... Oh, yes. Junior appeared on the scene and became Steve's lapdog. I really wondered when there was going to be an episode where he would fetch sticks for Steve. Luckily we had Eddie for that. And because he thought he was so clever, PL invented the episode speed dating. How many subplots can you squeeze into one episode at the same time? In some episodes, you couldn't even take a look at the bag of potato chips without losing the thread.
The case of the week became the yawn of the week. There were so many loose ends that PL then came up with something called retconning. That's what you do when you're no longer satisfied with what was once established in the series years ago, or it no longer fits. But PL went one step further and did the same with the characters. The more the series was dragged out, the more the characters deteriorated and became OOC. It means, often, they were not recognizable at all. And that's where we come to Steve. Because PL, in his desperation, didn't know what else he could do to Steve, and so he killed Joe White. He did it in such a cheesy way with a fake sunset that it made you sick.
Of course, one episode later, there had to be another gig of PL's favorite Barbie. He stuck a fake beard on poor Steve/Alex, so he couldn't even hug Danny/Scott properly. The episode also raised more questions than it answered any. And Steve? He still didn't suffer from PTSD, even though he had now lost Joe White and a fellow SEAL. Everyone is dropping like flies, except for Steve, who is standing like a rock. No matter what. He doesn't need in-depth talks with Danny, nor psychological care, nor any sleeping pills. No, he's doing great. He also opens a restaurant with Danny because apparently, the carguments are already getting on PL's nerves. Unfortunately, this plot device leads into nirvana. The idea was nice, but nobody thought it through to the end. And the merry-go-round continues. Until we get to season 10, where it gets even more absurd. Now PL is almost bombarding us with McDanno episodes, or at least it should seem that way. Oh well, he's already planning for season 11, so a new character has to come on board quickly. While in the beginning, Steve's mother, Doris, dies.
Alex was allowed to take on the subject. Of course, only under the strict eyes of PL. He then nullifies Alex's idea that Steve kills his mother. Because a good soldier and Super SEAL won't do that. Little does PL know. THAT could have been the opening of a PTSD scenario for Steve. However, apart from that, this episode would have had any potential for a multi-arc. Just imagine Steve chasing his mother across multiple episodes. Again, PL stepped in and butchered Alex's episode. You can really feel sorry for the guy. PL at his best or worse? He just can't help it. And then, on the very last meters of the series, he brings someone new, who is allowed to cruise around with Steve most of the time. Because Danny was kidnapped by Wo Fat's widow, PL also invented quite late to have some villain at his disposal. This wannabe mastermind must really have been living under a rock somewhere if she wasn't even mentioned by her husband or appeared earlier.
Because towards the end, PL obviously ran out not only of steam but also of ideas, everything culminated in a wildly illogical scenario. Steve has to live through a dramatic day with Eddie, who stands as a metaphor for Steve (as I said, PTSD was never a thing for Super SEAL), Danny bangs his brains out in a ladies' room with a complete stranger, who dies shortly after that in an accident with Danny's rental car. Apparently, there was no budget to turn the Camaro into scrap metal. Danny then also goes home alone, ignoring the incoming emergency vehicles. Everything remains open at the end of the episode. While Steve expresses his gratitude to Tani and Quinn and says, he would be just as lost as poor Eddie without the dog and all of them. The strange thing is that you never notice anything until that sentence. A few forced dialogues are supposed to make the drama visible, but they all happen way too late or are so poorly written that you miss them.
PL had decided early on to make Steve a Teflon hero. That also means he didn't need to put much substance into the character. Which you can clearly see if you compare the first three seasons to the rest of the series. But towards the end, PL wanted to turn the tide and forcefully rewrote Steve's past. There is a huge difference if you compare Steve from seasons 1 to 3 with Steve from season 10. It is only a sparse remnant of what made this character so great. This change in Steve's personality also affects his relationship with Danny. The witty, affectionate banter degenerates into a snappy, humorless bitch-fest that takes all the joy out of it.
The final two episodes could have been written for any other crime show. As mentioned, we have Cole, who even gets a book'em Cole from Steve, which can only be described as out of line. And it begs the question, was that what Lenkov originally had in mind? Danny out of the show and Cole in? Was the last episode, which mainly featured McCole, something of a test run? Did all the McDanno moments happen only to tear the two apart eventually? Was the real final scene the one where Steve and Catherine take Danny's coffin back to Jersey? Was Danny not supposed to survive? Was that the real reason Steve wanted to get out of Hawaii because he wanted to pay his respects to Danny? And would he really have returned to Hawaii later? Or would he have turned his back on Hawaii? To me, this ending is more plausible than what PL served us. Then, Steve handed over his credentials to Cole instead of Danny, his second in command. Honestly, you can't make the end of a series any more sloppy and dumber than that. And I won't even lose a word about the last 1:30 minutes because I think everything has already been said.
No PL, mission absolutely not accomplished. You created Teflon-Steve. You never wanted him to show any weakness. You turned him into a superhuman who can survive anything. Only to pull the rug out from under him on the last few meters to the finish line and spit on his legacy. How can you dismantle such a great series and its characters like you did? How much do you have to hate something to do that? In the final interviews, the showrunner didn't exactly cover himself in glory either. Everyone who grew up with the series from day one knows that its end was wrong on all the possible levels and that the showrunner is solely to blame for that. It takes a fair amount of egoism and carelessness to drive 10 years at full throttle against the wall. Not many people can do that. Whether you can be proud of that, however, I doubt.
My respect if you have made it this far. Each of you gets 10 extra brownie points for it.
100 notes · View notes
babyjamiebarnes · 4 years ago
Text
Build-A-Bear
Part Eleven
Featuring: Bucky x Stark!reader, dad!Tony, Steve, Sam, Peter, OC background characters
Warnings: language, sexual implications and references, blackmail
Summary: Bucky decides it’s time to come clean to Tony, consequences be damned. Steve has his own bombshell, of sorts.
Author’s Note: Hi. I’m a lazy piece of crud. I wanted to post this earlier but I suck. It’s kinda short too, at least compared to previous parts. There will probably only be a couple parts left, maybe 2-3? I’m posting these chapters as I write so tbd in length lol. And as always, feel free to buy me a coffee!
Tags: @amourmarvel @fangirlvoice @kennedywxlsh @devilswaldorf @what-the-hap-is-fuckning @alyispunk @fredweasleysbitchh @wearegroot @sunflowerbebe107 @prestigious-tea @brckenmemories @angelbabymed @charmedbysarge @cruelsummer-s
Series Masterlist
Tumblr media
“Are you fucking insane?”
Everyone moved back to your apartment to avoid freaking poor Matt out any more. And now there was a standoff in your living room.
“It’s the only course of action that makes sense,” Bucky said in his defense.
“Buck, her dad will skin you alive if he sees those pictures,” Sam said. “Even if he’s somehow fine with it, she’ll lose her job!”
“If we don’t do this, that kid downstairs loses his family!” Bucky shouted back.
Sam groaned in exasperation and ran his hands over his face. “There’s gotta be a way to get the money.”
“There’s not,” you said defeatedly. All eyes turn to you. They initially looked to you for guidance, but your reliance on Bucky gave him the wheel on your own personal highway to hell. “Even if we do give this person the money, there’s only one person we can get that kind of cash from. Bucky’s right. We have to tell my dad.”
“[Y/N], maybe we should brainstorm some other options,” Peter nearly whispered, keeping his voice soft in the midst of the chaos. “I don’t want you to lose your job.”
“I’ll quit,” Bucky said suddenly. “I’ll quit being an Avenger and just do, fuck, private security? Or something.”
You could see the stress and fear and frustration written on his face. In a couple steps, you were standing in front of him and were able to cup his scruffy cheeks as you spoke.
“We’ll figure all that out later.” You perked up on your toes and gave him a short kiss. “But right now, we’re on a bit of a time crunch. I’d like to end this sooner rather than later so… let’s tell Tony.”
With Peter willingly sitting in the open trunk area of the Jeep, everyone was able to fit in one car back to the Tower. The tension inside the vehicle could’ve been cut, sliced, and diced with a knife. No one wanted to say anything, but no one really knew what to say anyway.
Steve was still silent. He didn’t say a word when you discussed telling Tony, but you could practically see the gears turning in his head. He had something to say, he just wasn’t saying it.
By the time you got to the Tower, you felt like you were gonna throw up. You held the envelope with the letter and media tight in your grasp, only letting go to open your door. The second your feet touched the garage floor, Bucky was right beside you.
He kept a firm grip on your hand, squeezing a little extra so you knew he was there with you and wasn’t going to let anything bad (worse) happen. Knowing he was willing to risk his entire livelihood for you made you love him even more. But you knew if it came down to it, you’d give up your position with the Avengers. Even with only two years spent at Stark Industries — just under a year spent with the Avengers (and nearly a year with Bucky) — you’d have no problem getting a new job with any other company. Bucky’s skills were put to the best use saving the world.
As the elevator approached the floor with your dad’s office, Sam finally broke the silence.
“Do you want us to be in there with you? I’m thinking it might be better if it’s just you two.”
You turned to see Peter wringing his hands, subconsciously agreeing with Sam — he clearly didn’t want to be in the room when all this went down but was putting on a brave face to be a good support system. Steve still stood silent with his arms crossed over his chest. Whatever was going on in that head was still festering.
“I think you’re right,” you agreed with Sam. “We’ll come find you once he gets the news.”
Your eyes met Bucky’s and even though he was trying to remain confident for you, there was fear behind those baby blues.
“We’ll be okay,” you said just loudly enough for him to hear.
When you reached the floor you’d been dreading, Sam, Steve, and Peter all turned to go to their designated rooms, partially because it had been a while since all of them had been back, partially to stay far away from the impending outburst.
You took a deep breath and started toward Tony’s office, just to be pulled back into Bucky’s arms. He held you tight, nuzzling his face in your hair and just holding you. You gripped the back of his shirt in response and just took a moment to appreciate the hard muscles of his chest and the weight of his arms around you.
“We’re gonna be okay,” you whispered.
Bucky let out a breath and kissed the crown of your head.
“I don’t want to lose you.”
This made you pull back and look up at him.
“Lose me? Bucky, I’m not going to let this affect us. No matter what happens, I’m not going anywhere. I love you too much, Bucky Bear.”
The affectionate nickname made him smile, even if it was just a little quirk of the lips.
“I love you too, Build-A-Bear.”
You let him hold you for a couple more minutes before leading him to your dad’s closed office door. When you slowly pushed the door open, you saw Tony sitting behind his desk with half a dozen holographic screens open in front of him.
“Hey pumpkin, what are you doing here?” he asked, barely taking his eyes off his work for a second.
“Um, I kind of really need to talk to you.” Despite being on close speaking terms with your dad — the kind where you felt comfortable swearing in front of him and joking with him, even sharing some of your secrets — you felt like this was crossing a line.
Of course it was. You were in bed with (his perception of) the enemy.
Tony could tell something was wrong by how timid you sounded. You were always loud and bubbly with him — a quality you definitely got from him. He swiped all of the screens closed and walked around the large desk to stand in front of you. He briefly met Bucky’s eyes as the super soldier stood close behind you.
“What’s going on?”
“You-you should probably sit down for this,” you said shakily. Tony took the seat nearest you instead of walking back behind his desk. “So… you know how I’ve been dating James for, like, 10, 11ish months now?”
“And I still haven’t met him?” Tony said with a quirked brow.
“Yeah.” You forced a chuckle. “Well, when we were going through mail this morning, I… I got this.”
You held up the envelope before sliding out the letter and handing it to your dad. His expression went from curious to furious in seconds as his eyes scanned the entire page.
“They sent pictures. Pictures taken through my apartment windows of me and James. Being… intimate.”
“James who?” your dad asked, still staring at the letter. When you didn’t reply, he looked you in the eye, his expression hard as he demanded, “[Y/N], what is James’s last name?”
You took a short breath, the most your anxiety-gripped lungs could handle, and avoided his gaze as you replied.
“Barnes.”
Tony shot up from his seat, his eyes moving from you to the man behind you. The familiar feeling of a metal hand on your lower back helped ease the anxiety coursing through you at your dad’s reaction. When Tony took a step toward Bucky, you countered with a panicked step between them, looking up at your dad and pleading.
“He didn’t know who I was.”
“Bullshit,” Tony spat. He and Bucky were glaring at each other over your head.
“He didn’t, I swear. He found out the same day everyone else did.”
The grinding of his teeth let you know he was seething. But trying to hold it together for now.
“Let me see the rest,” Tony said calmly, holding his hand out. You reluctantly dropped the photos and DVD into his open palm. Bucky didn’t want to get too affectionate, so he just rested his hand on your hip while Tony flipped through the photos.
Everything was back in order, so he went through the same sequence you did: pap photos, to apartment photos, to sex photos. You could tell when the pictures turned raunchy by the way Tony’s face contorted, tossing the photos down shortly after.
“Friday, play the disc,” he commanded. The video played against the only blank wall in the room, the audio of you and Bucky playing through the speakers.
“Dad, you really don’t need to —” you started, quickly stopped by a sharp glare from your father.
“What are you gonna do to me?”
“I’m gonna put a baby in you. I’m gonna cum inside this tight pussy until you can’t take it anymore.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Tony nearly growled. “Friday, shut it off.”
“I tried to tell you,” you murmured under breath, though not loud enough for him to hear. Bucky did hear it though, evident by the way he squeezed your hip.
Tony leaned forward against his desk, hanging his head in clear frustration. You knew better than to speak up while he contained his emotions, so you stood in silence with Bucky as your dad sighed heavily and spoke to himself under his breath.
“You just have something against me, don’t you?” Tony said accusingly to Bucky.
“Don’t do that,” you scoffed. “You don’t get to do that. If you’re going to get mad at anyone, it needs to be me.” You never got snappy with your dad, but everything weighing on your shoulders frayed your nerves and his attitude didn’t do anything to fix it. “I’m the one who knew full well what we were doing. I’m the one who had all the details. I’m the one who chose to risk everything for this from the start. So if you’re really that mad, take it out on me. Otherwise, help us. We’ll get to the semantics and firing and all that bullshit later. Right now, there are literal lives on the line.”
Tony was still fuming until he heard the last line.
“What do you means ‘lives on the line’?”
Bringing Steve, Sam, and Peter in helped all of you explain what happened, from the note you received to the first viewing of the photos and video to the confrontation with Matt, but not without Tony grilling all of them about when and how they found out about you and Bucky. Peter looked nervous about keeping a secret from his boss, but you knew your dad wouldn’t do anything too bad to the kid. Maybe kick him off a couple missions, but nothing noteworthy. Steve and Sam looked like they really couldn’t care less, especially since Sam was the last to know.
Despite still wanting to rip Bucky’s arm off and beat him with it, Tony remained civil for your sake, at least until all of this was sorted.
The first step was getting Peter, Happy, and Pepper to try to track down where the letters came from, which likely meant scanning for fingerprints (despite how many hands held it that day alone). The second step was for you, Bucky, Tony, Sam, and Steve to scope out your building and any neighboring buildings someone may have been scoping your apartment from. There was no one someone could’ve been dangling outside your windows without you noticing. The third step was meeting with your doorman again to try to piece together some answers.
You all agreed to keep local law enforcement out of it so the culprit didn’t catch on as quickly. Having a few Avengers and Tony Stark show up at Tony’s daughter’s apartment wasn’t out of the ordinary so you could still stay under wraps. There was no reason to draw attention to your place and possibly trigger the mystery person into accelerating their plans.
With your dad’s confidence in the plan, you gradually grew more and more optimistic about the plan. If all else failed, Tony would get the two million and continue tracking the fucker down. It wouldn’t be hard to sneak a tracker into the cash and watch where it goes once it’s out of your hands. That’s when you could bring in local law enforcement.
It felt like things were finally going your way.
As you and your crew headed downstairs to drive back to your place, Steve grabbed your arm and tugged you to the side.
“Can I talk to you for a second?” he asked quietly.
You nodded and followed him down the hall; Bucky was busy talking to Sam and Tony was on the phone briefing Rhodey so he could stand guard outside your doorman’s place for a while, giving you the perfect opportunity to step away for a minute. When Steve pulled you into a side room, you finally spoke up.
“What’s up? Is everything okay?”
Steve crossed his arms and huffed. That signature frown of his softened when he met your concerned gaze.
“I know we’re not necessarily close, but I consider you a friend. You know that, right?”
“I consider you a friend too,” you said with a nod.
“What I’m about to say... I need you to keep it between us. Don’t tell Bucky or Sam or Peter or your dad. Just between us, at least for now. Okay?”
“O-okay...? You’re making me nervous, Steve,” you admitted. “What’s going on?”
“I think I know who’s blackmailing you.”
164 notes · View notes
appleflavoredkitkats · 4 years ago
Text
Analysis of the “Fundy’s Mind” Stream: A Showcase of Repressed Memories and Repressed Insecurities
i. INTRODUCTION
Hi! This is going to be… something. Funny how I focus on this rather than my research homework, but I have a MASSIVE Fundy brain rot right now and I’d love to share my thoughts on Fundy’s newest stream. Fair warning, I am not the Messiah, so don’t take everything as fact. I’m open to constructive and objective discussions in replies or in DM’s, so feel free to hmu!
All of this is /dsmp and /rp by the way!
Heavy trigger warnings for derealization, parental neglect, neglect in general, self-deprecation, self-neglect, low self-esteem, death, manipulation, abandonment, loneliness, trust issues, torture mention, blood mention, and broken friendships.
Word Count: Approximately 10k.
ii. PRE-LIVESTREAM ASPECTS
Before we begin deep diving into the mind of Fundy, I do want to emphasize two major themes of this stream: 1.) Fundy’s insecurities, especially when it comes to abandonment and trust, and 2.) Fundy’s future predicting abilities. A ton (but not all) of statements uttered by the books and Fundy himself tend to have double meanings that apply to both of these themes. 
We can further discuss the future predicting powers later, but to give a little background on Fundy’s insecurities: Fundy is notorious for heavily depending his self-worth on the recognition other people give him. Despite his immaturity, a lot of Fundy’s character is rooted in being heavily underestimated. This could be observed during the Pet Wars when his safety was constantly being threatened by Sapnap, inevitably making him lose a duel against him. Another way we can see this is through Wilbur’s early treatment of Fundy where he constantly infantilized him because Wilbur believed Fundy was a child incapable of being independent. This caused Fundy to appeal a lot to any type of compliment from any person- it began with Quackity ensuring him that he will gift him a lot of cookies if he votes SWAG2020, then to Schlatt complimenting him to the point that Fundy almost gave up on spying and siding with Pogtopia, then to the Butcher Army where he unhesitantly followed Tubbo and Quackity’s lead no matter how many times they made fun of him. While he revels in any type of recognition given, oftentimes, those who seem to care for Fundy tend to leave after he grows attached to them; first with Wilbur, then Niki, then Schlatt, then Eret and Phil, then Tubbo, Ranboo, and Quackity. In the Dream SMP, Fundy is very lonely and has dealt with abandonment issues left and right, but typically, he never does anything with his loneliness, as the last time he lashed out against someone who left him, nothing positive really came out of it (this is when he got mad at Ghostbur). 
(Everything else is under the cut! I worked so hard on this, so please read it if you can, it’d mean a lot!)
So, with all that laid out, I want you to keep this all in mind as it is important for understanding why Fundy feels the way he does in the stream.
Now, let’s begin the analysis. First off, I believe it is important to denote the title and the tags of the stream. The stream is titled “Fundy’s Mind”, so we have to denote that this isn’t merely a dream sequence- the stream is meant to explore the complexity of Fundy’s mind. This includes his thoughts, insecurities, repressed memories, and so on and so forth. Additionally, the stream is tagged “Permadeath”, something different from what Fundy typically tags his streams. There is no clear explanation as to what this could mean, but the possibilities are:
It is hinting that the death system in the Dream SMP could be rigged, and someone is messing with the semantics of death and how it works.
It is hinting that someone will face a permanent death, and most fingers are pointed at Fundy as this is his stream. If not a permanent death, he might at least lose one of his canon lives which was hinted later on in the stream (will discuss later).
It is hinting that he was killed by the end of the dream. Not really a solid theory as we don’t actually know the repercussions of killing someone who is actively dreaming, but it is a possibility.
iii. PROLOGUE
A thing to question at the beginning of the stream is if the entire introduction was part of the dream or not. Seeing how Fundy has the same inventory from this to the next scene, it is plausible, but I don’t think it provides anything if it were a dream. 
Tumblr media
Anyway, other things to denote are Fundy’s hotbar! First noticeable thing would be the 38 baked potatoes. The website angelnumber.org explains that 38 means:
“The combination of these two numbers makes the number 38 a number which signifies joy and optimism, courage, finding creative ways to materialize abundance, reality, etc.
The essence of the number 38 in numerology are different kind of relationships, such as romantic ones, business partnerships, teamwork, cooperation, diplomacy, etc.
Number 38 people have a talent for dealing with people in a caring and creative way. They are born team-workers. They need interaction with other people to fully enjoy their lives. They are usually optimistic and have a gift of inspiring others to action.”
So far, the number 38 is viewed to be positive. It signifies financial success and cooperativeness, which is interesting if Fundy’s future arc potentially ties to working with Quackity. To further add onto symbolisms regarding success, dreamastromeanings.com says the following:
“If you dreamed of baking or roasting potatoes, that dream is a good sign. It usually indicates your finances increasing over time.
Possibly you have made some investments and now you are beginning to reap the fruits of your efforts and risky activities.”
or,
“If you dreamed of holding a potato in your hand, that dream is a bit of a warning. You might soon receive some lucrative opportunity, possibly work related.
It is advisable to think fast and accept it because you might not get a second chance.
It could also indicate that you are a bit lazy when it comes to taking chances and missing opportunities because of that.”
Both explanations refer to business opportunities and possible investments. If we combine both the explanation for the number 38 and carrying potatoes, we can assume that Fundy will be receiving a business opportunity that would be too good to miss. These explanations also imply that nothing too negative would occur, but instead, Fundy can achieve success through this business opportunity. The only arcs in the Dream SMP which I think could provide a business opportunity would either be 1.) a new warden at the prison, 2.) new member at Snowchester (low odds), but the most likely occurrence would be 3.) Quackity offers him a position at Las Nevadas. With the Quackity smiley face at the end of Fundy’s stream, we can safely believe that the job opportunity at Las Nevadas would be the most likely occurrence.
Another explanation for this is that because the 38 potatoes were brought from the seemingly real world, it could possibly pertain to something that had already happened in the past. This could possibly allude to L’Manberg, especially when the explanations behind 38 potatoes are presented to be more positive, something the current Las Nevadas arc isn’t.
Second thing to notice about the hotbar: Fundy is currently at level 5, with his EXP bar 1/18 filled. To reach level 5, one has to gain 55 EXP, and to reach level 6, one would need to gain an extra 17 EXP. If the bar is merely 1/18 filled, 1/18 of 17 would be 0.94, which when rounded off, is 1. Add 1 to the extra 55, and we would approximately get 56 EXP. The website angelnumber.org says the following:
“The number 56 symbolizes teamwork, coexistence, family, relationships, adventure and expression of freedom.
Number 56 people have diverse interests, some of which they have an in-depth knowledge of and some just general understanding.
They try different approaches in relationships, trying to keep them alive. If everything they’ve tried fails, they simply walk to another relationship.”
This could mean a lot of things. The second sentence could imply that Fundy doesn’t fully comprehend the complexity of his mind. Some parts, he may understand, some, he does not at all. This could imply that there are also more secrets hiding in his mind that we couldn’t get to see. The third sentence is more interesting as Fundy’s entire character arc involves him and his broken relationships with other people. It’s a quite accurate description of Fundy, describing how he desperately tries anything to make a relationship work, and if it fails, he could easily befriend other people even if there is a possibility that that relationship would fail like the previous. 
If we ignore the number of EXP, we can merely focus on the number 5, which means the following:
“When angels are sending you number 5, they want to encourage you to have hope and to be ready to accept all the changes that are coming. Also, if number 5 has appeared just at the moment when you have been thinking about something important in your life, this number could be the answer or the solution for your problems. You should pay attention to number 5 and think of its secret meanings.
If number 5 keeps appearing by your side, it means that changes are already happening in your life. If they have not happened yet, don’t worry. They are on the way and you will feel them in the next couple of days or weeks.”
This can be connected to both the EXP number and the stream as a whole as Fundy begins to accept the gravity of his abandonment issues instead of suppressing his negative feelings towards it. Throughout the stream, Fundy is shown rejecting the idea that he is being neglected by others, but by the second half of the stream, he rejects it less and less. This could be the change the explanation is referring to as Fundy realizing his negative feelings towards his abandonment issues are valid and he needs to take them more seriously rather than brushing them aside. 
With number symbolisms finally aside, we can begin analyzing the actual sequences! Fundy is seen to be approaching his “Not A Secret” Base with a sigh, asking chat if they can go to sleep so that he can go to sleep too. Fundy immediately doubts the possibility of the others in the server following through his request until Ranboo responds with a simple “okay” while Niki responds with “yiss, am asleep”. Fundy quickly flashes the members list on the screen, showing us that only Niki and Ranboo are online on the server before he showcases his new bed, claiming that he likes it.
Tumblr media
Two interesting notes about this: 1.) he decides to sleep, which is odd enough in the Dream SMP, and 2.) him having three new beds despite only using one of them. For the first point, I’d like to refer you to what Fundy said at around 26:08:
“I just gotta sleep and then, it’s gonna disappear! And then everyone is gonna appear out of a bush and they’re gonna be ‘Surprise!’, and I’m gonna be like, ‘You guys…! You’re always pranking me, you’ve always been there for me. Every single time… except sometimes… when I needed you the most.’ I just go to bed, I just go to bed, and none of this ever happened.”
While I understand that he is referring to the dream, I also believe that this statement would be one of those types I mentioned earlier that may have a double meaning. While “I just go to bed,” could refer to him wanting to sleep and wake up from this horrific dream, it could also refer to how he easily shuts down to his abandonment issues and goes to bed instead of handling it head first. Knowing this, him going to bed in the first scene could imply that he is in this type of  abandonment predicament, especially when we connect it to the second point. The color orange is meant to represent joy and warmth, and even without the symbolism, we all know orange is Fundy’s favorite color. He sees these three beds and says that he likes them, but I can’t help but feel like the other two beds are meant for two other people. I don’t think Niki and Ranboo being the only other two people on the server is coincidental; they have to relate to the two extra beds in some way.
Niki and Ranboo are two prime examples of close friends Fundy had before breaking off after a misunderstanding. Niki fought with Fundy after he had to burn the flag she made in order to gain Schlatt’s trust, while Fundy fought with Ranboo after Doomsday when they had conflicting beliefs about neutrality and sides. After both incidents, Fundy never really made his way to apologize, but Fundy has awkwardly met up with these two after a certain point. With Niki, he was forced to team with her at the beginning of the November 16th War, joking around with her and Eret, while for Ranboo, Fundy had to talk to him and Philza when they were joking around in the SMP. The meet ups definitely relieved some tension, but it never fully resolved the conflict Fundy had with both characters, so there was never a chance for him to rekindle the close bonds he had with both Ranboo and Niki in the past.
Fundy going to his favorite beds with two extra spots next to him could represent how he does cherish the friendships he shared with Niki and Ranboo, but never has the guts to actually bring back things the way that they were before. So, instead, Fundy sleeps, not wanting to think about them any further.
iv. FIRST DAY
Tumblr media
When he wakes, Fundy checks his inventory before exiting his base, saying “Uhm, I don’t actually-” until he cuts himself off once he spots the desert. I don’t actually know what Fundy was supposed to say here, but because he checked his inventory beforehand, I believe he was trying to say “I don’t actually know where my things are,” but I could be wrong. To be fair, this isn’t too important, so we don’t have to focus on that. What we can focus on is the misplaced desert that was obviously not there before Fundy slept. We can easily infer what deserts could symbolize in dreams, especially when it comes to loneliness and the feeling of being deserted, but for better insight, consider what dreamstop.com claims about deserts:
“A dream of a desert is about something that is devoid of any feelings or care for you. It is all about them and nothing about you. Does someone show you a lack of respect? Is there someone or something in your life you dislike and adds no meaning to your life? Do you feel invisible? That no-one cares about you? Deserts represent an empty, barren place you may be trying to fill.
Desert dreams may appear when a relationship or friendship breaks down, or when you feel totally alone. You may have moved recently and have not yet made friends. You may feel homesick for all you left behind.
Being lost in a desert refers to your feelings that a situation is hopeless. You may have a problem you feel no-one cares about, even though you tried to reach out. You may feel there was no support and are feeling hurt and alone.”
You don’t need much analyzing to connect these meanings to what Fundy is experiencing. The setting of a “desert” merely pads the idea of Fundy being incredibly lonely to the point of him believing that he has nothing left to lose. Back in Doomsday, he was an optimistic nihilist, claiming that he doesn’t care much about what occurs from this point onwards as long as he can have a little bit of fun. On the stream where he created the Cube, he claimed that most people hated him anyway, so the least he could do was to make himself so hateable so other people could unite together in their hatred of Fundy even if it meant Fundy would have no companions left. Let it be known: Fundy is incredibly, incredibly lonely, and he is miserable in his loneliness, especially when his self-worth depends on how much people recognize him.
Another thing this desert could be eluding to would be Las Nevadas as it is set in the desert. I do think the desert’s main purpose is to showcase Fundy’s loneliness, but the connection to Las Nevadas is plausible.
Additionally, the dark skies Fundy sees doesn’t really need much of an explanation either. I couldn’t find a website exactly defining what it means to find a dark sky, but most of them speak of it as a negative thing, often symbolizing something terrible to come. I don’t think I need to explain that part, so we’re moving on.
Fundy is, understandably, very confused about this entire predicament. He quickly moves around his base to figure out what is going on, even messaging in chat to see if anyone would respond. Climbing up the ladders, he stands atop his base, spotting the silhouette of the Camarvan from afar. He continues to be confused, claiming he has no idea why he’s here in the first place. He claims he is “freaking out”, continuing to ask questions about where he is, and why the sky turns dark. He denotes that he isn’t at least completely alone as bunnies swarm around the desert. He begins to follow this sandstone path, every few blocks or so passing a fence with a torch stood atop it.
Tumblr media
Here, we can infer that Fundy seems to have never seen this place before, or has no recollection of it entirely. Fundy doesn’t seem to be immensely freaked out just yet, especially since he hasn’t asked any questions about how no one is there, mostly focusing on his location and asking what the place is about.
Fundy then asks why the van is here, then zooms in on the nametags he sees at the back of the van. It is notable that something nametagged “Fundy” is shorter than another thing that is nametagged “WilburSoot”. Fundy tries to reach out for them but is unable to enter the van.
Tumblr media
We can easily infer that this scene was meant to represent Fundy’s childhood in L’Manberg when he was being taken care of by Wilbur. Despite the lack of silhouettes, we can easily determine that Fundy is young in this scene because of how his nametag is in a much lower position next to Wilbur's, implying that whoever owns that nametag is much shorter. We can denote that by the beginning of the L’Manbergian Revolutionary War, Fundy was, in fact, a child. 
Another question some of you might ask: why is the Camarvan here in the first place? While I believe it could be representative of the part of Fundy’s mind that tackles past memories, I do think it also serves another purpose which I will explain later.
Moving on to the next scenes, Fundy continues following the sandstone path while typing in chat, asking if anyone was actually there. He gets confused by the path for a moment, wanting to go to the ominous building, before realizing that the path does connect to the building, it just swerves a little to the left.
It is notable that when Fundy cried out for help, he doesn’t call for a name in specific-  he calls out for ANYONE. The fact that he is calling out for “anyone” could denote that he doesn’t have any close friends or family members he would want to specifically call out for. 
Continuing on, Fundy follows the path to the building, still very immensely confused about where he is. Opening the door, he sees that the inside descends into an underground room with its flooring made out of chiseled quartz blocks. Fundy gets scared at first, immediately closing the door, looking back in, and going back out once more.
Tumblr media
Fundy denotes that there is absolutely nothing out here as he walks around the building. He then gains the courage to descend the staircase, wondering what it is, and at the bottom, there are a lot of misplaced sandstone blocks with small lights illuminating at certain corners. The path leads to the left, showing 10 pieces of red carpet on the floor, and 8 pieces of yellow carpet on the table. He approaches the wooden table before looking to his right, spotting a skull on the floor next to a piece of redstone, which I believe is meant to resemble blood.
Tumblr media
I don’t think we really need to research a skull to check what it might represent, but my theory so far as to what the skulls mean in each building would be that it’s meant to represent Fundy losing a canon life. I don’t know if this was intentional, but the corner room where the skull is somewhat reminds me of the Final Control Room with the redstone in the middle representing the button. That is, after all, where Fundy lost his first canon life. 
One of the theories I subscribe to is that the skulls in these buildings are meant to foreshadow Fundy’s death before he ever reaches it. Earlier in the day, we saw Fundy pass by the Camarvan with a younger Fundy which could possibly imply that they haven’t gotten to Eret’s betrayal yet, but the skull creeping up at the corner could represent that it is, in fact, coming. How this ties in to the entire future predicting thing, I will explain later, but for now, keep an eye out on the skulls.
Terrified of the skull, Fundy opens the chest and hesitantly picks up the book and quill inside of it. He opens it and is introduced to another Fundy writing to himself. Other Fundy claims that they’re not exactly the same person, but this Fundy is a part of the real Fundy. Other Fundy claims that Fundy cannot trust this place as it is not real, then begins saying that Fundy himself is not real repeatedly. Fundy’s heart rate suddenly increases when he sees the words “wake up” appear slowly in the book, and after page 34 is shown, Fundy wakes up to a new day in the dream world. 
First thing to denote is that the book has 87 pages, and 87, according to affinitynumerology.com means as follows:
“The numerology number 87 is a number of family, organization, and prosperity.
It's also a number of harmony and idealism, the ideal generally related to a harmonious and prosperous family relationship.
87 has parental instincts. It assumes responsibility for the welfare of others it considers to be family.”
The explanation implies that Fundy longs for family and cares deeply for those who he considers as his family. As much as he hated Wilbur after he died, Fundy still continuously expressed how much he needed Wilbur to be there. He is absolutely attached to anyone who poses as a possible family member, especially to those who he views as parents or guardians. Even outside of Wilbur, he is still practically attached to Phil, even if Phil refuses to consider Fundy as family. Fundy also got immensely angered by Eret when she didn’t show up to sign his adoption papers. I’d even say his attachment to family would even reach people like Sally and Schlatt. Fundy has a tendency of casually talking about Sally, and whenever a character talks about eating salmon, Fundy becomes deeply offended. For Schlatt, Fundy kept Schlatt’s netherite sword after he died, considering it to be an “heirloom”, something that only gets passed down onto different generations of the same family. Fundy is incredibly attached to the sword, and whenever he loses it, he’s absolutely desperate to get it back. As much as Fundy gets abandoned, he still deeply appreciates a lot of his family.
87 is also very reminiscent of one of the books in the Inbetween. A lot of the phrasing in the books are actually quite similar to the Inbetween, but we aren’t sure if Fundy and the Inbetween are directly affecting each other or if these places merely work in similar ways. The main similarity between Fundy and the Inbetween is that it involves something related to time travelling, so the similarities could be pointing towards that rather than imply that Fundy is directly affecting the Inbetween all together.
Secondly, the book stops at Page 34. The website angelnumbers.org express the following:
"Most likely you are leaving your projects unfinished because of fear for their destiny after you finish them.
Will they be rejected or accepted by others?
Because you would rather not find out that and possibly have your ego hurt, you consciously or subconsciously sabotage your work and leave things unfinished.
When this number starts appearing in your life frequently, it is a reminder to acknowledge you have a problem and start dealing with it.”
This is very reminiscent of the paragraph I made earlier discussing Fundy’s relationship with Ranboo and Niki- and this could honestly apply to any other relationships Fundy has as well. Besides Fundy’s relationships, this explanation could apply to Fundy’s hesitance of finding out the truth of his mind. Earlier on in the streams, Fundy is immensely confused about the dream, not wanting to discover its truths at all. This eventually changes on the third day, but we’ll discuss that in a bit.
Another thing I’d like to discuss would be the identity of the book authors and why they wrote the books the way they did. I’ll explain about this more in-depth later, but I do believe that another Fundy is, indeed, writing these books. As this was set in Fundy’s mind, it’s quite impossible for anyone who isn’t Fundy to be meddling with the books. What we can denote, though, is the reason as to why these books were created in the first place. The book itself seems to be harmless at first, quite inviting towards Fundy in the first few pages, but once it had to introduce what this world is, it seemed to hesitate. There were a couple of disjointed pages, as well as blank pages, before it began claiming the world wasn’t real, and that Fundy wasn’t real. It turned a complete 180, which seemed to be very odd to me. In past events of the Dream SMP, derealizing statements like this tend to be tricks of the mind, but these statements seem to be intentionally put there by those who wrote the book, especially since later on, we see another book completely give up on saying these triggering statements, saying that “It’s not going to work.” (32:05). 
What this implies is that whoever placed these statements are attempting to scare Fundy in some way, possibly heightening his insecurities and terror so that he can be truly terrified of the place. The constant statements of “you are not real” may not only refer to the Other Fundy trying to make Fundy spiral downwards in derealization, but it might actually represent how neglected Fundy feels to the point of feeling invisible, to the point of feeling that he “isn’t real”. But why is this Other Fundy trying to scare Fundy, and who, specifically, is the person behind the writings, you might ask? This question will be answered later on when we go more in-depth with the other books, as the bigger picture is very much needed instead of explaining it all by the first book.
v. SECOND DAY
Tumblr media
Fundy wakes up in his base once more, evidently confused. We don’t really know why he wakes up in his base, and why the world changes every time he wakes up, but let’s just say this is all part of his dream to make sense out of it. This time, he sounds more broken, and definitely more unhinged. He calls out for any other member in the chat, telling them that whatever they’re doing is not funny. This is the first we see of Fundy believing that the others may actually just have been pulling a prank on him. He opens his chests frantically before venturing outside once more. He claims that he doesn’t believe the book, saying that this dream sequence feels pretty real to him. 
This time, Fundy puts a bigger emphasis on asking why he is alone, and why nobody seems to be here with him. Fundy seems to be more shaken up by the idea that he’s alone over the idea that he does not know anything about where he is at all. He approaches the van, and when he zooms in, he sees that Wilbur’s nametag disappeared. 
Transcript of this following scene:
“I knew you were there. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no- you can’t fool me! No, I knew you were there Wil. You were there, right there! Where did you go? Are you being- he’s being funny. This is funny! This is great. Aw, this is amazing- it’s just a prank! It’s April Fools soon- that’s why! Oh, I’m just being pranked… right?”
Tumblr media
Now, this was… sad. This is one of the other statements that could have a double meaning. Fundy insisting that Wilbur is supposed to be there could not only be him comparing this day to the previous, but it could also imply his true feelings towards Wilbur, especially since he’s disappeared for a good portion of Fundy’s life. Fundy believes Wilbur is supposed to be there for him, but the reality is that he wasn’t. Instead of facing reality, Fundy concludes that all of this was a harmless joke instead of believing that Wilbur might have possibly left him.
Fundy attempts to enter the van once more, but his attempt doesn’t work. He then follows the path on the side directing to the ominous building only for him to realize that it has gotten closer.
Tumblr media
The building getting closer to the main base actually has a lot of symbolism behind it. The building itself stores a lot of secrets, especially when it comes to the truths about this world and the different insecurities Fundy has repressed. Those writing the books have laid out all these secrets in every single book found in this building. The fact that it’s underground is meant to represent that these secrets are meant to be hidden in the depths of Fundy’s mind, but the fact that the building is getting closer to the main base makes it feel like 1.) the stored secrets about this world that Fundy may have forgotten about might finally seep into his consciousness, making him aware of them next time he wakes up, and 2.) the insecurities Fundy repressed deep down are seeping out more and more as it reaches the main core. Once it’s there, Fundy won’t be able to reject the truth about his abandonment issues any longer.
Fundy nears the building, still quite nervous. He opens the door, and the layout of the inside seems to be slightly similar to the previous day, but there are small details here and there that are different. Instead of 10 red carpets, there are 6, and instead of 8 yellow carpets, there are 6. Additionally, the skull seems to be closer, this time directly next to the table.
Tumblr media
While the carpets were quite subtle, I do think it symbolizes a certain decrease of something. Red symbolizes the color for passion and love, while yellow is meant to represent happiness and positivity. Earlier, we saw that Wilbur disappeared from the Carmarvan, so the decrease of rugs for each color could represent Fundy’s love and happiness decreasing.
For the skull itself, I don’t know if I’m right, but this is what I infer from it: On the first day, we saw that Wilbur was still standing next to Fundy in the Camarvan as the first skull underground was still very far away. On the second day, when Wilbur was gone, the skull got closer, standing next to the table instead of it being far away. I theorize that if the skull is closer, then a canon death has already occurred in the time period the day wants to present. The first day presents a time where Wilbur was still taking care of Fundy, so Eret’s betrayal may not have happened yet, hence why the skull merely stayed hidden at the corner. On the second day, Wilbur has actively left Fundy, similar to the period after L’Manberg’s independence when Fundy had to partake in the Pet Wars alone. During that era, the betrayal has already happened, which is why I believe the skull is much closer this time. 
Continuing on, Fundy opens the book and begins reading. From this point onwards, I do want to go more in depth with each of the books, so I’ll put transcripts here and there with my thoughts added onto it after each transcript.
“Hi me!
Welcome back!
Yeahh, second time here? or third?
not entirely sure”
So, this is confirmation that this might not be the first time Fundy’s having dreams like this. A good question to ask is if the book was written a long time ago and has presented itself the same way it does right now, or if this book was written recently. I don’t think the stream gave a definitive answer, but it is something to keep in mind.
“Listen to me Fundy
and you should trust me because,
well you know why
There are two things you can do right now
Walk back to your base, jump in bed, fall asleep, and you will wake up as if nothing ever happened
Or you can keep reading…
And I will tell you what I know”
The book pauses for a bit then continues saying “You are not real” ten times, “You dont want to know the truth” fifteen times, and spams “WAKE UP” until the 38th page, a number we analyzed earlier because of the 38 baked potatoes. 
For the book itself, whoever is writing the book seems to be a bit hesitant when writing. It doesn’t seem to want to explain what this place truly is to Fundy, and as much as it clarifies that they are, indeed, Fundy, they never expound on how they were able to write these books and why Fundy should trust him. Other Fundy saying “you should trust me because, well you know why” is actually quite ominous, and I can only think of two reasons as to why they would say it: 1.) Other Fundy is implying that Fundy can trust him because he is, in fact, the same person, or 2.) Other Fundy is hinting that Fundy trusts too easily as seen with the people Fundy trusted in the real world.
Additionally, the Other Fundy seems to emphasize on the fact that they WANT Fundy to go to sleep and wake up in the overworld. They phrase it so that sleeping once more is the more logical option, while they basically scare Fundy with the other option, evident by his quickened heartbeat. The Other Fundy seems to know about the intricacies of this dream and its world, but seems to be very hesitant to tell Fundy about it. The continuous threats imply that the Other Fundy doesn’t want Fundy to know the truth at all.
Basically, this Other Fundy knows something, something our Fundy doesn’t know about, and wants to emphasize that it is something horrific. He will do whatever he can do so that he can stop Fundy from knowing the truth, even if it means he has to scare Fundy.
Additionally, to me, it feels like “WAKE UP” could possibly have two meanings. If the underground structure is meant to represent things that Fundy constantly represses to the back of his mind, not only would the secrets of his dream reside there, but his own repressed insecurities may reside there as well. The way Fundy treats the truth about his dreams is actually quite similar with the way he treats his insecurities- he tends to reject its existence and pretend that everything is normal. This dream isn’t just a dream, it’s an exploration of Fundy’s mind, and telling Fundy to “WAKE UP” doesn’t just refer to not knowing the truths about the dream, but it could also refer to Fundy not knowing the truths about his own insecurities hidden deep in the depths of his mind. 
vi. THIRD DAY
Tumblr media
Fundy wakes up, breathing heavily. He paces around his room before opening the door frantically, seeing that he is still stuck in a desert. He begins to laugh, repetitively telling himself that all of this is a “joke”. He continues questioning why he’s still in this dream, and when he opens the door, he sees the ominous structure observably closer to the base. He claims that he’s actually stressing out, and Fundy goes on a tangent about this dream and reveals a bit about his insecurities:
“They’re toying with me, they’re toying with me. They’re actually- everyone is toying with me- they are ALWAYS TOYING WITH ME. Everyone is! I’m always being played with. Why? Why always me- no! Why does it always have to be me? Every single time. I don’t wanna- (sigh). I don’t wanna keep dealing with this- I just wanna- no- do I just… Do I just… Do I just go up here and listen to- wai- okay. The book said I have two options: I can wait here until it’s night time. Wait until the sun sets and I can go to sleep, and when I go to sleep and wake up, none of this is real. None of this is gonna- it’s gonna disappear. None of this is real, none of this is real, none… It’s not real, it’s not real, I am currently not real, this is no- how is this possible? How is this- wha- how did- how… None of this is real. I am not real. All I have to do is wait for midnight and just sleep, and all of this would end, right? All I have to do is… wait until night time and then… it’s all gonna be over, it’s all gonna be done. 
I just gotta sleep, and then, it’s gonna disappear. And then everyone is gonna appear out of a bush and they’re gonna be ‘Surprise!’ and I’m gonna be like, ‘You guys! You’re always pranking me… you’ve always been there for me (sniffs). Every single time… except sometimes… when I needed you the most. I just go to bed… I just go to bed, and then I wake up, and none of this ever happened. And we’re gonna go back to my old life where I have fun and join parties and join groups and only see them disappear in front of my eyes as I start to get attached to them. Y-yeah, that’s- that’s- that’s the choice I’m making. Go back to that... (sigh). Just… or you know…”
LOTS to unpack here, and I’ll go one by one explaining certain aspects of this because it’s not just something that showcases Fundy’s insecurities.
Firstly, interesting how Fundy believed that the book was toying with him like how a lot of other people do. That’s what makes him afraid of the book- the feeling of being pushed around. The book is actively trying to use Fundy’s insecurities against him in order to make him more and more afraid of the truth. This is interesting because Fundy is known to be ignorant towards his actual issues (just look at his monologue), but the Other Fundy seems to be acutely aware of them. I will explain why he is aware of them later on.
Secondly, this is the most observable point, Fundy seems to be aware that he is quite frankly, alone, but tends to ignore it. He copes with his abandonment issues by treating his abandonment like a joke. He believes that every single person who’s left him did it as a prank. Even if he laughs at this idea, he is also evidently hurt by it. It hits even harder when you realize that Fundy is quite the dependent character, often sucking up to any person who gives him recognition. If Fundy depends on others to dictate his self-worth, how do you think he thinks of himself right now when he literally has nobody?
Putting emphasis on Fundy’s loneliness is going to be interesting because I do think some characters in future arcs are going to exploit that. If Quackity is going to use and manipulate Fundy the same way Sam does, then there would be no doubt that he will use Fundy’s loneliness against him. Even if it’s not Quackity who approaches Fundy first- even Bad, Sam, Dream, anyone, really, could use Fundy’s loneliness against him, which will make for an interesting plot point.
Lastly, not a lot of people spotted this, but this monologue also gives us insight as to why Fundy continued looking for the truth about his dreams instead of staying in his base and waiting for night. When talking about what to look forward to once he wakes up, he talks about how much “fun” he is going to have. Slowly, you see his denial start to dwindle as he finally admits that people leave him just as he gets attached to them. As much as Fundy wanted to wake up from this horrific dream, he realizes that, once he wakes up, he has nothing to look forward to either. That’s why he hesitates when he says “Yeah, that’s the choice I’m making,” because he realizes waking up isn’t as ideal as it seems. This is why Fundy immediately goes outside afterwards with no hesitation- Fundy has nothing left to lose, hence why he chooses to venture forth. Fundy is driven to do things because he feels like his life is purposeless anyway.
Tumblr media
Fundy then begins to head outside quietly, zooming into the ominous building while walking right towards it. He then detours for a moment, walking towards the right of the building, and approaches a giant crater filled with obsidian and blackstone.
The explosion could symbolize two things:
Any of the L’Manberg explosions. With the obsidian and blackstone combination, my guess is that this is either the first Doomsday event (L’Manbergian War of Independence) because of L’Manberg’s walls, or the November 16th War because of Schlatt’s Podium. Why the big amount of blackstone and obsidian? Well, I’m not so sure when it comes to L’Manberg as its walls didn’t have obsidian, but for the November 16th war, I do think that the abundance of blackstone and obsidian is meant to represent how Fundy is reducing the November 16th war to Schlatt’s Podium. This can be alarming as he was the one who made Schlatt’s Podium, so reducing the war to that one building might symbolize that he blames himself for the war.
Another theory, which is the theory I subscribe to more, is that this is actually depicting an event in the future that we haven’t seen yet. Namely, the prison. If you zoom in on the explosion, the block pattern is quite reminiscent of the block pattern present in the prison.
While I’ll mostly discuss Fundy’s future predicting powers later, I do think that there’s a possibility that Fundy saw a vision of the future, unlike the past two days where he saw visions of the past. The prison might possibly be nuked in the future.
Tumblr media
Fundy then proceeds to walk back towards the building, repetitively saying “no”. He claims he needs to find out, sounding more determined than before. For this, even if the explosion could represent many things, I do think Fundy is generally reminded of the explosions he had to witness throughout the history of the Dream SMP. Perhaps he believes that finding out the truth could prevent more explosions from occurring, perhaps he figured out that this was the prison and he needed to know why it exploded, perhaps him walking away from something that’s reminiscent of real life represents his choice of wanting to learn more about his dreams rather than sticking to anything similar to real life. 
Moving on, Fundy enters the building, saying he wants to know what’s going on. The underground room seems to have changed a bit, as the chiseled quartz floors changed into quartz bricks. The place also seems to be littered with end stone blocks and bricks. The place is much darker as well, and the carpets on the floor and table seem to be gone entirely. Two skulls can be observed near the table.
Tumblr media
My brain actually can’t reason as to why the end blocks were there, or why the quartz blocks changed. My guess is that the end stones will eventually connect to a future plot point relating to the End, but again, I’m not sure. The carpets being gone could represent that the love and happiness (red and yellow) that Fundy had disappeared completely. The dishevelled state of the room could represent that the secrets being held inside this underground room are finally breaking free as its confines tear down more and more. 
Now the skulls- if we go by the theory I presented earlier, then the skulls are meant to represent canon deaths. If the skull was tucked into the corner, then that means death is to come, but if it’s near the table, then I believe the canon death already occurred. If two skulls are next to the table, then it could imply that whatever time period the day is set in should be around the time Fundy loses a second canon death, which hasn’t occurred yet. Again, this is all speculation, so I might be overthinking, but if the explosion is meant to represent the prison getting nuked, then there’s a possibility Fundy would lose a canon life before the prison gets destroyed.
Now, onto the juicy bit: the book. The book reads as follows:
“Hi. again.
...Why are we so persistent
...Why are we so stubborn
...You have been here before, but you keep coming back
...Why?
WHY???
You dont want to know the truth
It will hurt you
I dont want to be hurt again
YOU dont want to be hurt again
I KNOW WHAT YOU WANT
PLEASE JUST LEAVE
GO TO BED
FALL ASLEEP
ENJOY YOUR LIFE
ENJOY THE FUN THINGS
THE TRUTH ISNT WHAT YOU WANT
PLEASE
STOP THIS
STOP!!!”
The book tries scaring Fundy by spamming “WAKE UP” across multiple pages.
“It’s not going to work, huh..
Listen to me Fundy…
Your mind is not safe…
You are not imagining this…
This place might not be real…
But he is.
Spare yourself.
I need you to listen carefully.
Do not join him.
Whatever he asks of you.
Do NOT join him.
his plans aren’t as nice as they sound.
his intentions aren’t what you think they are.
he will use you
he will destroy you
everything you ever loved
everyone you ever cared about
do not join him.”
Before I explain this book, I think it’s best to also note down what was said in the next book as well so I can better explain what’s going on.
“note to self
hello
I just wrote this book to remember who I am
To remember what is happening
All the books I just found are indeed written by me
Listen to yourself
You suffer from a very odd illness
You suffer from a form of insomnia, within your own dreams.
Now the effects of this aren’t really known, and even I don’t fully know what is going on.
but let me tell you
somehow, this world, these actions and events, are linked to reality.
things that happen in these so-called “dreams”, tend to leak into the real world
they will actually happen.
you might wonder how exactly this is a bad thing.
the ability to predict certain events from happening, sounds pretty cool.”
Fundy then stops reading the book, seemingly overwhelmed by the influx of information. Analysis time, boys, time to unpack what this all means.
Firstly, I believe that this dream has happened before. Multiple times, actually. If certain “events” in the dream are meant to predict the future, then the moments involving the Camarvan on the first two days could imply that Fundy has seen this place before during the L’Manberg era where he could’ve predicted Eret’s betrayal and the loss of his father. If we think about it, the books could honestly be given to Fundy at any time period and it would work. Look at the entire section of the book describing someone who Fundy can’t trust- this “him” person could honestly be… anyone who abandoned Fundy? If the book hints at someone who might possibly hurt and use Fundy, then Eret, Wilbur, Schlatt, and Dream could also be considered. These people were nice to Fundy at first before betraying him one way or another. There is a possibility that this dream has warned Fundy about these people in the past, only for Fundy to forget about the dream. What about this time though, who is this “him” that’s going to betray Fundy during this time period? Well, the easy answer would be Quackity, but Bad could be a possibility as well. With the hint towards Quackity at the end, I do believe that Quackity would be the main suspect, but it’s also good to keep an open mind as we don’t know much of who Fundy’s involved with in Season 3.
Now, why would Fundy be able to forget about the dreams, though? I do think that whoever is responsible for writing the books are doing their best to prevent Fundy from uncovering the truth. Who do I think are the book authors? Well, I don’t think they were lying when they said that they were Fundy. I believe that, just like the Dream voice in Ranboo’s head, the Fundy that writes books would be some sort of conscience or subconscious in Fundy’s mind. This part of the mind holds certain memories repressed by Fundy, as well as some of the insecurities he chooses to ignore. They are aware of all of Fundy’s past visits of this dream, and they know the dangers of it, which is why they want Fundy to not uncover the truth. 
The signed book claims that whatever Fundy sees in the dream will seep out into reality. Knowing this, I believe Fundy’s subconscious is trying to prevent Fundy from seeking out the truth to prevent these future visions from happening in real life; this especially applies to events that involve Fundy possibly being hurt. There is a possibility that this Fundy has seen past Fundy’s discover events like the Camarvan and the loss of Wilbur occur in dreams way past before it occurred in real life, so they feel afraid that our Fundy would uncover more and more truths that would become reality. While we don’t know if Other Fundy’s beliefs on future predicting is true, this gives us a better understanding of why they want Fundy to go to bed and wake up. (Additionally, the Other Fundy has placed emphasis on saying that the truth may hurt Fundy, so there is a possibility that these future events might involve something that heightens Fundy’s insecurities more. That’s why this Fundy seems to be so aware of Fundy’s insecurities- they have witnessed Fundy’s insecurities being used against him in certain visions.)
For the memory thing, so far, I believe a part of Fundy’s mind is actively suppressing all the memories Fundy has of his dreams. Fundy already represses a lot of his insecurities, so using Fundy’s insecurities against him might actually enable them to keep Fundy’s memories about the dream locked in the corners of his mind. The place where the book is kept in is underground, after all, but we do have to keep in mind that the building is getting closer and closer to Fundy’s main base. This could symbolize that Fundy will remember his dreams more once he wakes up.
So basically, so far, Fundy has dreamt this dream multiple times in the past, and during each dream, he witnesses an event in the future that could possibly happen in real life. Fundy’s subconscious, or possibly past versions of Fundy, are trying to warn future Fundy’s to not uncover too many truths about the dream as they believe this could possibly manifest terrible events to happen in real life. To get Fundy to go back to bed, they try scaring Fundy, using his insecurities against him, only this time, Fundy is a bit more disobedient because, again, he feels like he has nothing left to lose. 
Another theory I have which I’m not 100% sure about is that this Other Fundy, as much as it has good intentions, may have committed a mistake when they tried to get Fundy to bed by using his insecurities. If anything in the dream may happen in real life, them heightening Fundy’s insecurities might pass over to the real world as well. While scaring Fundy could prevent him from uncovering the truth, it might’ve also been a double-edged sword as Fundy is more aware of his insecurities more than ever.
Continuing on, Fundy decided to leave the building, seeing that it’s night time. He sounds relieved knowing that he can sleep and that he can wake up from this dream. He celebrates for a moment, throwing the book away, but then he hesitates, saying he wants to know the truth. He picks the book up again but doesn’t read it immediately, claiming that he could just sleep instead of knowing the truth.
Tumblr media
Fundy seems to revel in the idea of waking up for a bit until he mentions how much of a “blast” he can have with everyone once he wakes up. After mentioning this, he immediately picks up the book with no hesitation. This is the second time Fundy is shown to be motivated in finding the truth about his dreams because of him realizing how unfun the real world is. Again, Fundy is seen to be motivated by the fact that he has nothing left to lose, and as much as he is scared of this dream, he seems to prefer finding this world’s truth over going back into the real world where he’s practically alone.
Moving on, the book continues:
“however…
while this might be the case of dreams…
this is also the case for nightmares…
this is your last warning Fundy
please… for the both of us…
just wake up”
This part of the book simply affirms all I’ve theorized about earlier. The Other Fundy hints that some events that Fundy might witness in his dream would be detrimental to Fundy, which is why he doesn’t want Fundy to continue exploring. He knows that Fundy will possibly manifest an event that will ruin him in real life, so he wants Fundy to sleep instead of accidentally manifesting his demise.
vii. FOURTH DAY
Fundy then wakes up once more, complaining that this dream never ends. He goes outside, seeing a black, hooded figure slowly turn around and chase him. With a quickened heartbeat, he runs up his stairs to sleep in a black bed placed on the roof. Fundy screams as we see the hooded figure approach, and the screen fades to black. A white smiley face reminiscent of the one on Quackity’s skin appears on the screen as casino slots sound effects play in the background.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Now, what do I make of this? Well, firstly, we gotta point out that his bed at the end looked EERILY similar to a gravestone. A lot of websites claim that sleeping in a gravestone or seeing a gravestone could indicate change, especially when it comes to overcoming one’s sadness or problems. In a literal sense, we can think of it as something foreshadowing a future canon death, especially if we think that the person chasing Fundy is the grim reaper.
Speaking of that person, I do have a couple of explanations as to who this person is:
The person is death themselves, the grim reaper. This is the common conclusion everyone believes in, especially when we consider this “him” person possibly hurting Fundy, and that second skull in the underground room. Quackity is the main culprit for now, especially with that smiley face in the end, but there could be other possibilities! Like, what if someone takes Fundy’s canon life before he joins Quackity, which is why the smiley face only popped up after Fundy’s dream death? Mayhaps someone affiliated with Quackity might be doing the dirty work for him, so Bad, Sam, Dream, and anyone, really, could be responsible for Fundy’s future canon death. Moreover, the fact that this death occurs affirms the beliefs of the Other Fundy. The Other Fundy merely wants Fundy to be safe from possibly manifesting his demise in real life, but Fundy’s curiosity got the best of him, and in the next sequence, he was killed, proving that the Other Fundy was right in saying that Fundy should’ve just slept.
A theory I made up which I’m not 100% sure of is that this figure is actually Fundy’s subconscious trying to get him to sleep. When Fundy was being chased, we heard a quickened heartbeat, and where was the only other time we heard that? When Fundy was reading the “WAKE UP” and “you’re not real” messages from those books. We can view this as the Other Fundy’s attempt in trying to get Fundy to actually sleep by using another scare tactic against Fundy. And well… it did work! Because Fundy was afraid of this figure, Fundy went to sleep. There is also a possibility that this occurrence is what makes Fundy forget about the dream because his subconscious got a hold of Fundy and forcibly made him forget, but I’m not 100% sure about that one yet.
Lastly, the face! That should already allude to Fundy possibly joining Quackity’s lore, and with the “38 potatoes” symbolizing business opportunities, I expect Fundy to be joining Las Nevadas as a possible employee. Quackity does, in fact, prey on people who are insecure, and can easily get them to do whatever he wants because of his words. If he can get Sam to give him the tools needed to torture Dream, Quackity might exploit Fundy’s loneliness into making him do whatever Quackity wants from him. 
Another face that this could possibly connect to is the face in the Egg lair! While I’m leaning more towards Quackity because of the casino sounds, I do wanna say that the Egg and the Eggpire could possibly be connected as well, especially when the Egg could provide Fundy anything he wants. Just like how Quackity could prey on Fundy’s insecurities, the Egg preys on those who feel like they’re missing something, so as much as Fundy could be manipulated by Quackity, he could also be manipulated by the Egg. Additionally, business opportunities could apply to the Eggpire as well as they’ve contacted Purpled in the past to assassinate Puffy, so who’s to say they won’t try adding Fundy to the Eggpire?
TLDR; This entire stream showcased both Fundy’s insecurities and Fundy’s future predicting powers and how this “Other Fundy”, aka his subconscious, wants him to repress them because they believe that if Fundy uncovers the secrets of his dream more, then Fundy would accidentally manifest his demise in real life. Additionally, Fundy is very lonely, making him vulnerable of being used in the future because he is desperate to get any type of recognition from anybody. In summary, be afraid of Fundy’s future lore streams, be very afraid.
viii. ADDITIONAL NOTES
Even when I finish this, there’s a lot of questions to ask about this stream that I want you to keep in mind:
How many times has Fundy encountered this before?
How does Fundy forget all the information he got from the dreams?
How does Fundy write to himself?
Why is there so many details connected to Karl, and what does it have to do with time travelling?
Why does Fundy return to his bed every time his heartbeat quickens when reading a book?
Was the first scene part of the dream or not?
Could the underground room’s structure actually mean something?
And there’s probably more, but just saying, keep an open mind about this entire stream because there’s definitely a lot more to uncover.
I want to reiterate: I am not the Messiah, so don’t take my word as the truth and the absolute truth. I’d love to hear your thoughts about Fundy’s stream as a lot of it could be up for speculation! The entire thing is filled to the brim with symbolisms, so there could be a lot of interpretations to consider. If you enjoyed this, feel free to like and retweet because I worked my ASS off with this one. 
Special thanks to the following:
Fundy and any of the Dream SMP members because that stream was INCREDIBLE. Go give them your love and support.
kingjem for always being there whenever I want to discuss any ideas I have about the Dream SMP. One of the smartest bitches I know, go follow them.
To all my betas who reviewed this document since I have a TON of grammar mistakes (thanks English): prismartist, bootsforthebootsgod, Finni_june (twt), ender-hyperfocuses-on-things, and Dngertosociety2 (twt)
And to all of you who like this post and would share it to other people! All support is appreciated. :D
187 notes · View notes