#mostly inspired by a really fucking amazing comic i saw of that one scene in the book of bill

[thetantiger]

Every Day Forever

Word count: 1,537

Characters: James (he/him), Frissionas (he/him), Tiao (he/him

Major TWs for emotional and physical abuse ahead.

James’s head was forcibly slammed into the table in front of him. Behind him, an elf Knight in plated armor snarled at him through his fangs. The fury in his voice offered no remorse for the throb of pain in his temples.

“What the fuck was that, James?!” Frissionas sneered, demanding an answer. “You think I didn’t see you eyeing that fucking draenei up?!”

“I don’t- ngh- know what you’re talking about,” James replied through gritted teeth, trying to wriggle out of Friss’s grasp.

“Ohohoh, yes you do, you absolute piece of shit. Don’t play dumb with me.” Friss yanked him by the hair and threw him into a bookshelf.

James hit it with a grunt, hearing a few books topple over onto the floor. “Friss, shit, I swear I wasn’t-“

“Do you realize what I can do to you?!” Frissionas grabbed James by the arm and twisted. James felt the need to shout but tried to withhold the noise as much as possible, resulting in an airless whimper. He knew it’d only make it worse if he was loud. “Think, you worthless fuck. Nobody in the Blade is ever going to give a shit. They don’t know about us, they might kill the both of us if they ever did.” Friss continued on, throwing James to the floor and raising his boot to stomp on his knee, earning a shout that James quickly tried to quiet with his hand. “They’re never going to care about some bruises and broken bones. We’re part of the process. Part of the machine. You think they’re going to believe you, when you try to tell them about me?”

James writhed on the floor, trying to get himself to his hands and knees in an attempt to crawl away before Frissionas kicked him hard in the ribs.

“I own you, James.” Friss’s face was contorted into an enraged scowl, his lichfire eyes dark with intent. “You have nobody else. You’re alone without me. I could kill you here and now and no one would miss you. I could just as easily give the Blade an excuse. You were defective, and I put you down.”

“I’m sorry,” James wheezed out. It’s all he could do; beg and appeal to Friss to get it to stop as soon as possible. Dark blue blood trickled from his mouth and onto the floor. “It won’t- it won’t happen again.”

“It better fucking not. You think people won’t laugh at you, for letting a smaller elf take charge of you? You’re mine, and I swear to god if you ever lose sight of that again I’ll show you what I can really do. You need me. Nobody will ever love you like how I do. Don’t forget it.” Friss crouched to his level and grabbed him by the back of the head again, forcing James to look at him. “Now cooperate and fucking kiss me.”

It was a bleak and meaningless routine for James at this point. He shut his eyes and tried to ignore the ichor rising in his throat. Friss kissed him with fervor, elven teeth and sly tongue forcing himself against his own. He couldn’t feel anything. He was numb to it anymore.

Frissionas pulled away from him with a huff. “You better have a good explanation to those guys in the Fleshwerks. They’re getting tired of your shit.” With that, he apparently had nothing more to say, rising to his feet and turning to leave. His slender form whisked out the door as his cape followed suit, and then it was quiet.

Then, James was alone.

With a grunt of effort he slid along the floor to prop himself up against a wall. He’d noticed the leg that Friss stomped on had gone limp and tried to set it back into place. Undeath allowed him pain resistance but it was pain nonetheless, and he grimaced when his knee popped loudly and clicked into position. He was bleeding from somewhere on his head, he noted, tapping at his hair and seeing grim blue sickness on the end of his fingers.

He pulled his knees to his chest and sighed. This was it. Over, and over, and over again.

Frissionas was right. Nobody would ever care. Nobody would ever love him like he did.

He’d have to lie and say he fought some Scourge again today.

…

“James? James!”

James felt his body jolt with a start. Suddenly, the dull dark grays of Acherus exploded into sunny skies right before his eyes. Cherry blossoms shed their delicate flowers into the wind, crystal-white snow decorated the carefully paved stones, and large, Pandaren structures guarded against the mountain winds like fortress walls.

“Sorry, I tried to get your attention but you didn’t respond.” A warm, gentle hand was on his shoulder, and a presence moved to sit next to him on the cold bench. Something about it seeped into James’s soul and soothed him piece by broken piece.

“Oh- sorry. I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.” James smiled at Tiao, feeling rejuvenated by the way the Grandmaster looked at him. Brew-colored eyes examined James over with a meaningful glimmer and he nodded slightly, that ridiculous hat moving with him.

“Yeah, I figured.” Tiao’s hands moved to rub at the Knight’s shoulders, a gesture he greatly appreciated, sinking into the monk’s touch and smirking to himself. “You told me that your talk with that dragon struck a nerve. You looked pretty tensed up—and pretty lost in whatever you were thinking about.”

“It doesn’t matter now,” James replied earnestly, leaning in to rest his head against Tiao’s chest. The rhythmic, lively beating of his heart and the gentle heat emitting from the man was comforting in a way he hadn’t known before. “But thank you for checking in on me.”

“Always,” Tiao murmured, slowly wrapping his arms around the Knight and encasing him in them. This was far from when Frissionas would grab and throw him, or hold him down to spit in his face; rather, the strength in Tiao’s arms indicated a unique sense of safety and protection, even if James was more the type to leap at an opportunity to fight for someone instead of the other way around. The brewmaster’s gentleness did not indicate a lack of ability to inflict harm—James had seen the man crack through three blocks of concrete with just some measly wraps upon his knuckles and not even break a sweat—but he knew it wasn’t for him. They were a defense, just as these walls around them were.

“…You’re right, though,” James pointed out. “About where my mind was. He was black and blue all over, and Sebastian.. He looked so broken.. It- it felt familiar.”

“That is past you now,” Tiao reminded him, tilting James’s chin up to look at him. “That elf is dead. Extremely dead. And nobody will ever do something like that to you again—not on my watch.”

James smiled softly. “If I didn’t know any better, my ego would be hurt. I’m pretty certain I’m the one that saved you.”

“You have before, and you will again,” Tiao said with a smile of his own. “I’ve no doubts about that.” With that, Tiao’s hand on James’s chin beckoned him softly, and the Knight responded, leaning up to kiss him and savoring the soft glow of living warmth, the brush of mustache, the slow and methodical and tender care in every minor movement. Tiao was far from foreign to savagery, James had learned, but unless granted explicit permission he was mindful to be chivalrous.

“Thank you,” James breathed out as a frosty whisper. Around them, the snow began to pick up.

“Is that you, or the mountains?” Tiao seemed amused, stroking his fingers through the back of James’s hair. The memories of Frissionas were far away now, foggy, irrelevant--but he could’ve sworn his scalp was still a little sore.

“Unsure. Probably both,” the Knight replied bluntly. “Something something, I’ve been told I have ‘big feelings.’”

The brewmaster cracked a large, wide grin. “I’ll say.”

“Wha- Tiao!” James cackled and pushed him away, earning a hearty laugh from him. “You dirty dog. Get back to whatever you were doing earlier.”

“Not unless you join me,” he retorted. “I’m making chili. I know it gets too hot for you so I’m chilling your bowl in the freezer like you asked.”

“Oooh, chili.” James was suddenly interested, perking up and rotating to lift off the seat. “What, so you’re just letting it burn in there?”

“It’s gotta sit for a while, but you looked lonesome anyway.” Tiao’s expression was kind and attentive. “You should come inside. It smells really good.”

“I suppose I could be convinced,” James said, standing upright and walking next to Tiao towards the building. “Can’t waste good chili.”

“Bruuk and Puli are swinging by for some, by the way.”

“Well why didn’t you say so? I would’ve already been inside if I knew that!”

Tiao laughed. He always laughed big—maybe he got it from hanging around dwarves and pandaren so much. A heartfelt, contagious belly laugh almost every time.

James grinned ear to ear. This was nice. 

He could do this every day, forever.

[justasmallbloginabigklainefandom]

Heartstopper thoughts!!!

Okay I finished, like, 5 minutes ago, but I have so many thoughts, so I’ll put it under cut but TL;DR: it was a fucking good show.

The Good

Look, the entire show can be fit here, even though there will be an ‘The Not-So-Good’ section later, but that’s literally only two points so. But yeah, this show worked really well for a fan of Heartstopper, but it also works really well for new fans. It’s a sweet and simple show, and honestly, that’s what I like about it. I love deep (queer) media as much as the next person, but this is just a nice watch and it’s super enjoyable. This is one of the best shows I’ve seen.

The cinematography is off the charts, especially the lightning design. The sets and costumes are amazing and they really bring the whole story to live. Like, I legit gasped when I saw that Nick and Charlie had notebooks with the Truham logo on it. It’s such a small detail, but it makes it so real.

We’ve already talked about how spot on the casting it, but one that was an unexpected star in my eye was the guy who played Harry. Yes, Harry. I think everyone’s already gushed enough about the main six and Tori and Nellie, but Ben and Harry’s actors were also stellar. I remember thinking how much I hated Harry, and that’s when I realised his actor did a stellar job of playing this cocky douchebag.

Speaking of Ben, I was at times confused as to why Ben was added to more plot points. Overall, I am not the biggest fan of creating extra drama for the sake of drama, so when he was there at the cinema, I went “...why?”, but they really did amp up the threat of Ben which made his final showdown on the field more cathartic. 

And speaking of casting: Olivia fucking Colman. The Heartstopper Discord already called it, but it was nice to have it confirmed. 

I loved how I could so clearly recognise scenes from the actual comic. I expect that talented artists are already making comparison gifsets, like they did with the trailers. But really, word-for-word sometimes. I was actually able to talk along with most of the dialogue for some scenes, which felt really great. It happens too often that an adaption is basically a whole new thing, and then it’s a ‘loose adaption’ or ‘inspired by’ and that stuff, but no, this is how you do it.

As an extension, I am so fucking happy that some things made it into the show, especially Julio Spring showing concern for Charlie. I get that the big story beats were there. That was expected. That makes me appreciate the little things like this a bit more.

That being said, some additions were really great. It led to character interaction that was missing in the story. I specifically liked the scenes between Nick and Tao. And also, the Hearstopper comic is mostly a Charlie story. Sometimes it shifts to other characters, but it’s a Charlie story through and through, which works as a webcomic, but for the show I am glad they also showed more things. Like, the whole struggle of Tara and Darcy and coming out? Readers know of it, because Tara tells Charlie in Paris, but now it was actually shown. Same with Elle integrating into Higgs. And I specifically liked that the Taoelle story was now done from Elle’s POV. In the comic, it’s obviously Tao, since Tao is around Charlie, the narrator, but the show allowed people to see the other side. It amuses me that people who haven’t read the comic don’t even know Tao likes her back. I do assume that the whole Paris thing won’t be part of a later season, though, because some of the big plot points have already happened.

Basically, Tao, Elle, Darcy and Tara had more to do. It makes sense that we don’t see it in the comic, so it’s cool to see it here. We even see Tao’s mum! And Elle has more chances to talk about her own experiences at Truham.

Of course, concessions had to be made. I did miss some things. Isaac is a nice replacement for Aled, but he didn’t really do anything. And I also missed the support of Otis, Christian and Sai. That being said, I don’t think they damage the overal story and it leads to a more effective change in the later episodes, where Charlie is regressing and Nick is struggling. 

I was also surprised that the show already started hinting and Charlie’s anorexia, since in the comics, that started in Paris. I appreciate it.

The Not-So-Good

Tao, honey... we need to talk. I feel very conflicted about Tao’s role in the show and how they changed it from the comics. When Tao didn’t have his big moment at the bowling alley, explaining to Charlie why he’s acting like he is, I already had an “...oh?” moment. Now, the loneliness approach isn’t bad and it’s relatable. Everyone’s pairing off and Tao’s all alone. But it did annoy me. I never saw comic!Tao as jealous. Again, all his rudeness stems from having great intentions, but not knowing how to act on them. I really was surprised when Tao found out through Elle and I was also really annoyed by his reaction. I understand that he later apologises because he understands that he gave reasons for Charlie to be nervous, but the moment he sent that petty message or when he started yelling at Charlie? Nope. And I supposed I am biased here, because I really love Tao in the comics, because I see a lot of myself in him. Tao is the straight guy by being the Token Straight, and by being the straight guy in terms of tropes and what not. He’s the rational one. He’s the understanding one. He calculates what is going on around him, so when he does get upset (like in Paris), he can understand it. But no, this Tao just straight up lashes out to Charlie. And this rationality in the comics is also a character flaw, I know. Hence the whole thing about Tao trying his best, but because he’s so hell-bent on his own logic, he sometimes doesn’t consider other people’s feelings, but I’d much rather pick this character flaw over whatever the fuck show!Tao has going on. Like, I really, really disliked how Tao acted in the last two episodes. In the comic, he’s also incredibly upset and he creates some distance, but he never ‘punishes’ Charlie for not coming out! This Tao on the other hand ghosts him and what not and it really pissed me off. So is it a bad thing? Not necessarily. It makes sense in the context of the show and how they dropped hints from the very first episode. It’s more that I know how it could’ve been.

Weird thing to note, I know, but the ever changing background music annoyed me. Sure, it has bangers like girls from girl in red, but this was a lot of stuff.

And... unfortunately...

The Bad

Yeah, there’s one big bad. I didn’t warn you, I know. Luckily, it’s only one thing, so no bullet points here, but I have a lot to say about The Bad. Now, do I think The Bad ruins the overall enjoyment? No. As I said, I think this is one of the best shows ever. So, what’s the Big Bad?

Imogen.

When Imogen and Isaac got announced as new characters, I was interested. Isaac’s existence was explained, but why did they add Imogen? I was immediately worried Imogen was going to be the Straight Girl. I wrote during my watch: “I assume it’s the higher-ups who wants this additional drama, because every mainstream m/m teen media has to have this straight girl who is nothing more than a dramatic plot device and who incites guilt when it comes to queer identity and coming out.” But yeah, that’s how I feel about this trope. Vișinata from the CO Discord put it properly here: “It’s cruel and unkind to the gay protag(s) AND to the straight girl who’s reduced to a flat character who isn’t allowed to be a supportive person without their romantic feelings making them a selfish jerk”.

This trope just needs to die. It was the worst part of Love, Simon and Love, Victor. Glee made Tina’s entire character at one point as ‘a pathetic girl who crushes on gay men’. Mercedes also went through it in Glee. I heard from my friend Verena that it’s also common in the Skamverse. Can’t we have one M/M show or something that doesn’t sacrifice a girl’s feelings?

Then it became clear that she’s a dear friend of Nick and they always hang out at the school gates. Okay, and I did like this idea. We don’t know a whole lot about Nick pre-Charlie until later in the comic, so I really liked the idea of Nick having a supportive friend who he could maybe confine in, especially since I knew the Rugby Lads weren’t going to be in here. I hoped Imogen would be a sort of third party, an objective look for Nick. I was really excited about this idea, actually. And then they posted the character bio’s and... this is what happened. When I saw that Imogen’s *cough* fun fact *cough* was that she has a secret crush, I knew I could drop all my hopes for Imogen down the drain. And yeah, the moment it became clear within the show that Imogen had a crush, I was so annoyed.

Also, because her character was just shit. The whole claiming of Nick part? And then Nick said yes to the date. Jesus, if I hadn’t been on campus during that scene, I might’ve yelled. At least it didn’t get dragged out extremely long. I am so glad for that. Nick realised himself that he needed to end it, and he did. God, I genuinely think the entire show would’ve gone down the rating if they had done that. Not only that, but Imogen accepts it and moves on. No bullshit, guilt-tripping “you broke my heart” crap, like they did in Love, Simon. And in her last on-screen moment, she seems to understand and she’s glad for Nick and Charlie.

But this raises my other question: why bother adding Imogen in the first place? AGAIN, AGAIN, I AM SO GLAD THEY DIDN’T MAKE A BIG THING OUT OF IT, but then why make a thing out of it in the first place? Also, since Imogen had literally nothing else to do in this entire show apart from this shitty storyline. She’s supposed to be one of Nick’s best friends, but you can barely see that. So yeah, that’s The Bad.

I don’t hate Imogen. I just wish she had more to do.

The Good Two Electric Boogaloo

Since this show is so good, I obviously don’t want to end this post on a sad note!

Cameos! I see you Solitaire and I Was Born For This on Charlie’s bookcase. Funny that Charlie has a book about his sister, but then again, in the comics, Tara reads a book about Aled. I also loved Alice’s cameo, and also it was clear that she painted some background art.

And even though I desperately want a second season now, I like that it didn’t end on a cliffhanger. This season covered way more than I expected, so I am also very glad if this is the end and if Heartstopper becomes nothing more than a limited series, or whatever it’s called. I’m content.

It’s also interesting that they managed to squeeze so much of the comic into these four hours and it never felt rushed!

I probably have a lot more to add but HOLY FUCK please watch this show!!!

My favourite scenes are definitely the snow scene, the first big Tara/Darcy kiss, the hug with Charlie and Tori, the last scene on the beach, and Nick’s coming out.

Can I talk a bit about the first Tara/Darcy kiss? Apart from the fact that it was beautifully shot, it was also beautifully framed. I almost cried (I did cry at the beach scene, but that was in the privacy of my dorm. I watched the Tara/Darcy kiss on campus). The way Nick saw them and it all made sense to him. I think every queer person has this One Big Moment where they see other queer people in the wild and it’s just euphoric. Not only could you feel Tara and Darcy’s joy, but also Nick’s. And it brought me back to my own feelings of queer joy and the fact that this show now exists. This wouldn’t have been possible ten years ago. Not to be the bitch to talk about glee again, but every time Nick and Charlie kissed, I had a moment of “man, this literally wasn’t allowed when glee was airing” moment. Klaine and Brittana were only allowed to kiss, like, once or twice a season and only in The Special Episode that grouped all queer rep of the year together in a neat bow. Yes, things got better in season 6 when it comes to casual intimacy, but man, if you would’ve told little Klainer 12 Yuè anno 2012/2013, I would’ve flipped.

BASICALLY THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS EVER.

[dramatical]

content creator tag

Rules: answer the questions and then tag 10+ other creators to answer the questions! i’m finally getting around doing this after being tagged by so many wonderful creators such as @juliesmolina @stormbreaker @bicarols @miriammaisel & @damnthedark sorry it took me so long i kept forgetting the tags in my likes lol

first creation and most recent creation of 2020: first was this shrek 2 gifset i made for chewbacca and last as of the making of this post was this soul gifset i made for movie-gifs

one of your favorite creations from 2020: this julie + butterflies gifset

a creation you’re really proud of: this finally free gifset for jatp week!

a new style you tried this year and a gifset that uses it: oh! blending gifs and playing with typography! this julie/flynn gifset for jatp week has it and i’m really happy with how it turned out

your favorite coloring: this pacrim set i made for movie-gifs

a creation that took you forever: this julie/luke set for jatp week it took me ages and i wasn’t even happy with how it ended lol

your creation from 2020 that received the most notes: overall this lilo and stitch set i made for disneyfilms and in my own blog this robots set

a creation you think deserved more notes: it’s hard to get anything over 500 notes these days so i guess this julie/luke set i made recently just bc i really like it and i don’t wanna see it flop so bad lol

a creation with a favorite scene/quote: this queen’s gambit one

a new fandom you joined and a creation you made for it: i joined jatp fandom and i made lots of things for it lol but here is a random one

a creation you made that breaks your heart: this julie/flynn deleted scene one bc i was a wreck making it

a ‘simple’ creation that you really love: this emma one just bc of anya taylor-joy’s gorgeous face

a creation that was inspired by another one (add both your creation and the one that inspired it!): this julie/luke set i said a few questions up, it was inspired mostly by @juliesmolinas style so i can’t link a specific post so i’m just mentioning her bc she’s queen and i took inspo of her whole work basically lol

a favorite creation created by someone else: i have too much love for content creators so this is going to be a bit long haha okay first: this julie/luke set by @oswiins bc i lost my entire mind when i saw it // this grand budapest hotel set by @kamalaskhans bc her big gifs are always to die for // this jatp set by @seance bc hello gorgeous typography??? // this perfect harmony references from @alexsmercer bc it’s gorgeous and i so well thought out *-* // this reggie + colors set from @miriammaisel pls lend me some of your talent // this jatp + christmas colors from @milesgmorales for @jatpsource bc honestly? rajan went off with that one // this jatp set from @steviebuds it just looks amazing, the blending, the colors, everything ♥-♥ // this tangled set from @ourteeth so so beautiful // this ghibli + colors from @nyssalance bc it’s perfect and so so good // this toph vs the earth rumble 6 fighters set from @ahssoka bc the comic style way in which it’s done lives in my mind rent free // this jatp +  beautiful ghosts lyrics from @madeline-kahn the legend herself // this hargreeves siblings set from @steviebuds bc i’m still in awe of it like queen spare some talent perhaps? // this pacrim set from @dindjvrins bc she didn’t have to go that hard with her coloring skills // this luke + food places reviews from @lilshitwayne bc it’s hilarious as fuck and so amazingly done // this alex + the signature okay™ from @stewart-booboo bc i just love the way she played with the typographies // this jatp alphabet set from @nora-reid bc it’s amazing and i laughed so much at it and i just really love it

some of your favorite content creators from the year: to name a few: @stars-bean @madeline-kahn @juliesmolina @juliesmolinas @chris-evans @timothyolyphant @miriammaisel @steviebuds @stewart-booboo @molinasjulies @merceralexs @hiraismomo @kieumyvus @goinesjennifer @ferrisbuellers @beccs @nora-reid @dindjvrins @ewan-mcgregor @thegretagerwig @rockyblue @jackmans @lucamarinnelli @iridescentides @coulter @bladesrunner @danslevy @montygreen @tennant @kamalaskhans @hollywoods

a for good measure, another a couple more creations of yours that you love: this julie/luke set, this jisoo gif bc angel™, this jatp +  reductress headlines bc it was funny as fuck to make and i have to make a part 2 soon, this julie/luke set where they mention each other, this beth harmon set i made for chewbacca bc i’m obsessed with anya taylor-joy’s face, this lisa set bc i love her and she’s so cute

tagging everyone i mentioned on the replies to the questions (ignore if you did it already tho!!) 

[adultswim2021]

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #85: “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” | December 7, 2003 - 11:30 PM | S08E04

Happy 20th anniversary, Adult Swim. And, boy, what a momentous episode of Ghost do we have here to celebrate. There are a number of episodes where the guest is an event unto itself and this is truly one of them. Frequent punchline William Shatner is an absolute cunt... and a proper legend. His cuntiness and legendary status are two things that seem to be at odds with one another, and the Space Ghost crew have managed to come up with an artfully idiosyncratic episode to match Shatner’s weird-guy-ness. It’s a classic for sure, and important. But (making a “smug dipshit” face) is it funny?

YES! It’s FUNNY! I will admit though, the first time I saw this episode I didn’t quite know what to make of it. This is partially because I’m very much a Star Trek agnostic. I’ve never been into Star Trek. In the last few years I’ve watched most of the pre-Next Gen motion pictures for inane list-making reasons, and I enjoyed them to varying degrees, but Star Trek is truly not for me. I’m more of a... well, I’m not a Star Wars guy either. What’s the other one? Uh... Spaceballs. That’s it. I’m more of a Spaceballs guy.

But I feel like I’ve absorbed a lot of Star Trek lore through cultural osmosis. I vaguely understand that William Shatner has had some deliberately-paced choreographed fight scene on those rocks from Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey. When I hear music similar to the the music that Jim Carrey hums in The Cable Guy, I’m pretty sure whatever it is I’m watching is doing a Star Trek thing. And yes, I’ve watched every single Red Letter Media “Mike and Rich talk about Star Trek for 4 hours” video. But even today, after having picked up more Star Trek knowledge on my journey to the grave, I still have this nagging feeling of “I only sort of get this”.

Still, this episode has a handful of screamingly funny lines, and the episode ends wonderfully, with Space Ghost in his death throes, suffering the ultimate indignity of dying in front of William Shatner. There’s also the part where Zorak asks why everyone in Star Trek is black, and a part where Moltar nervously reads from his fan fiction (from a book labeled TARD WARS, hahaha). Shatner, who has a reputation for being arrogant and difficult, is as good a sport as one could hope. The show makes good use of his hammier moments, and only shits on him slightly in the process. The most notable moment is when Shatner says to Zorak “didn't you and I fight to the death?” to which Zorak replies “That sounds pretty dumb, man”. I’ve actually quoted this line many times. It’s one of the best.

Also, for those of you who like to track these things: the show features callbacks to other episodes and shows; the handimen at Zorak’s apartment are clearly extras from Sealab 2020/2021, one of the Leprechauns from Aqua Teen Hunger Force shows up, and there’s a poignant callback to classic Space Ghost episode “Banjo”. 

The title motif of this season is naming the episodes after Allman Brothers songs, and I always wondered about this one. Maybe I’m reaching, and it’s probably too disrespectful to be true, but I always thought that it was somehow a veiled reference to Shatner’s wife, whom he supposedly killed or let die. It’s simply too dark to be true, but it’s the first thought that immediately jumped to my mind when I first heard the title of this episode. Am I stupid for thinking this? Am I stupid because it OBVIOUSLY is a reference to that?? I simply do not know. I would like to know.

MAIL BAG

The big anniversary is upon us. What are your 20 favorite things about adult swim for 20 years going. Don't sleep on this question!

I gotta do SOMETHING special, so I might as well do this. More thought could have gone into this, but I spent about an hour trying to come up with episodes or moments from 20 different shows and putting them in rough chronological order. I limited myself to one episode/scene/moment/joke/whatever per show so it’s not all Space Ghost jokes. So, here we go:

Sealab 2021: “I, Robot”. Adult Swim proved it could be brilliant right out of the gate with the stealth premiere of “I, Robot”, but for Sealab it’s all downhill from here. (2000)

Space Ghost Coast to Coast: Space Ghost stops in his tracks to reminisce about the time Bobcat Goldthwait said "crack a window". The entire episode “Kentucky Nightmare” is brilliant, but this moment in particular so uniquely captures my sense of humor that it’s inexplicable. The dumb look on Space Ghost’s face when he stops in his tracks. Goddamn. (2001)

Aqua Teen Hunger Force: “Mayhem of the Mooninites” I tried very hard to make this all be individual jokes or scenes or whatever, but this is another episode where the entire thing is just line after line and I can’t really pick. This, “I Robot”, and “Kentucky Nightmare” is like a perfect trio illustrating how good Adult Swim really was right out of the gate. (2001)

Home Movies: Jason casually reveals that his parents have no idea who Brendon and Melissa are and that he spends most of his free-time making movies with them. This is the episode “Storm Warning” which is overall one of the best episodes of Home Movies, but this scene is probably my favorite. Illustrates how simple and hilarious the comedy is on this show. (2002)

Tom Goes to the Mayor: the end scene in “Undercover”, where they’ve shoddily reversed Tom’s various unnecessary surgeries and called him “Taumpy Tears” to boot. Positively sublime. (2006)

Metalocalypse: Dr. Rockso’s music video. From the episode “Dethclown”. I was never in love with this show as much as the true fans were, but there were a handful of incredible episodes. This episode basically tells one joke over and over and it’s very funny. It really ends with a bang showcasing Dr. Rockso’s shitty music video that celebrates cocaine use. His singing voice is hilarious. (2006)

Assy McGee: I am the only person in the world that defends Assy McGee as being “actually pretty good” and it’s all entirely due to this one line: Assy McGee (a pair of naked buttocks with legs, whose ass functions as his head) is forced to attend a black tie event and is just milling around wearing nothing but a black bow tie. Through clenched anus he delivers the line “I can barely breathe in this penguin suit”. The whole show is worth it for that joke. I don’t even know what episode it is except that it’s from one of the first few. I might not even have the line exactly right. But, I remember laughing so hard. I may not have laughed at Assy McGee again. (2006)

Saul of the Mole Men: The opening theme song. And nothing else. (2007)

Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!: Jim and Derrick. I should pick something more user-friendly maybe, since this episode almost entirely relies on being familiar with Tim & Eric’s previous episodes. But goddamn, this episode is such a funny concept (which is basically Tim & Eric doing an alternate MTV-ified version of Awesome Show) (2008)

Moral Orel: “Numb”. When Moral Orel suddenly stopped being a quirky Adult Swim comedy and suddenly started doing episodes that resembled art films. This episode is a fucking masterpiece. I remember sobbing the first time I saw it. There are a few in season 3 that are like that, but this one is my favorite. (2008)

Check it Out! with Dr. Steve Brule: Terry Bruge-Hiplo reviews “Dumpster’s Children”. Another bit of comedy that I’d describe as “inexplicable” and “sublime”, and it all hinges on an old man’s mouth. Holy fuck. I don’t think I’ve laughed harder than this at a TV show since. (2010)

Delocated: The ending of “Mole”, an extended Face/Off riff where Jon goes undercover as the scary mobster Sergei. In the final moments of the episode he marries a woman, fathers multiple children with her, and only then is pulled out of the mission. The episode is a tour-de-force of comic acting by Steve Cirbus, who is graciously allowed to shine for most of the episode. But man, that ending is fucking wonderful. (2010)

Venture Bros.: The ending of “Operation P.R.O.M.” a flurry of emotions hit me when “Like a Friend” by Pulp starts playing. The scene is so well done and weirdly touching. Brock realizes that deep down he gives a shit about the Venture family and is genuinely terrified something might happen to them. And then he gets to slaughter a bunch of Zorak monsters, which is also weirdly sweet. It’s even touching on a meta-level knowing that Jackson and Doc tried many times and failed to include licensed music in the show. I love Venture Bros, but I think we’d all be better off if this were the series finale. Sorry. I had to say it. (2010)

The Heart She Holler: The first scene with Patton being taught the way of the world posthumously by his father on a VHS tape. The first season of this show is amazing, but that scene, especially where Patton does a little Japanese bow and says “oh, hot dog!” is just hysterical. Literally every time a hot dog comes up in conversation my wife and I quote it. Please, do not scorn her, it’s not racist when SHE does it. (2011)

Eagleheart: The All That Jazz inspired finale. “Paradise Rising” is mostly a masterpiece, and how it ends is so fucking incredible. Easily the most under-rated show on Adult Swim and I’m not just saying that because... you know (mimes dick-sucking) (2014)

Rick and Morty: I watched the first two episodes of Rick and Morty, thought it was good, but for some reason didn’t become a devotee until my wife made me watch the Mr. Poopybutthole episode. It’s still my favorite episode, I think. (2015)

Brett Gelman’s Dinner in America: The “Dinner with” specials are all really good, but goddamn, this one hits. Should be shown in schools. I am going to go to every grade school in my county with an AR-15 (to get past the guards, of course) and I won’t leave until they call an assembly and they let me fumble around trying to find it on vimeo and play it for the students. (2016)

The Eric Andre Show: Eric interviews Steve Schirripa. The bit where he has an intern dip his balls in Steve’s spaghetti sauce is hilarious, naturally, but I’m here to showcase the running gag where every time Steve complains how hot the studio is, Eric just wordlessly hands him an ice cube until Steve explodes. It’s one of the most childishly hilarious things I’ve ever seen. It’s perfect. (2016)

Million Dollar Extreme Presents: World Peace: The Pick-Up artist sketch. I’m mostly unimpressed with MDE, and all but a few Sam Hyde bits leave me cold. But this sketch is a crowning achievement. I mean, I think these guys suck politically and are more mean than funny, but their sensibilities yielded one really incredible piece of comedy. Okay, I laughed at the blackface sketch too. There. You dragged it out of me. (2016) Joe Pera Talks With You: This show is beautiful and I love every episode. But the episode “Joe Pera Reads You The Church Announcements” Wherein Joe discovers a new-to-him song and can’t stop listening to it, is one of the most joyous episodes of television I’ve ever seen. A gateway episode. I tell everyone to please watch this one first. (2018)

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 193: The First

Previously on BnHA: Recovery Girl healed up Endeavor and he left the hospital with a shiny new scar. Hawks apologized for everything that happened and came up with some bullshit story about how they were probably spotted by villains earlier and made a tempting target and that’s why they were attacked. We also learned that he was more or less raised to become a hero from a young age and didn’t have much of a choice in the matter due to his talent. Endeavor headed on home where his kids were waiting to greet him. Although they were glad he was all right, Natsuo couldn’t hold back his anger toward Endeavor for tormenting Shouto and Rei for all those years, and for taking this long to finally get an attitude adjustment. Shouto acknowledged that Endeavor the hero was amazing, but he felt similarly to Natsuo as far as forgiving Endeavor the father. However, he said he was willing to wait and see, and that he knew better than anyone how “one small inspiration” could change a person. Endeavor thought about the epiphany he’d recently had that his children were the most important thing and that as a hero it was his duty to protect them. He also realized it was too late to apologize for all of his wrongdoings, and that the only thing he can do now is to move forward. That evening, Deku fell asleep after a long day of training, and dreamed of the past wielders of One for All, including the very first, All for One’s younger brother.

Today on BnHA: Deku finds himself in the midst of a wildly trippy dream sequence. First he sees the eight other wielders of OFA, and then his attention is drawn towards a flashback conversation between AFO and OFA the First. The First accuses AFO of using his quirk to fulfill his own selfish desires. AFO maintains he is using it for the good of the people. He demonstrates this by taking a mutation quirk from a man who wants to be rid of it, and bestowing a quirk upon a quirkless man who wanted a power of his own for self defense. The two men appear grateful, but the First says that AFO is really just creating an army of loyal servants to do his bidding. AFO says he intends to restore order to the world, and goes on to imprison his brother while he creates his army. Some time later he visits his younger brother and brags about how his dreams are becoming a reality, “just like in that comic we read together way back when.” The First says that AFO never finished the comic, and at the end of the story the Demon King lost to the Hero of Justice. AFO is all “well whatever IT’S NOT LIKE THIS IS A MANGA OR SOMETHING,” and then forces a quirk on OFA in order to entice him to join him. The scene fades, and Deku finds himself speaking with the First directly. He mentions something about them having passed “the point of singularity”, and tells Deku that he is not alone. Deku wakes up and finds that he’s somehow activated his quirk in his sleep and destroyed his room. He stares at his hand in shock and the chapter ends.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my mostly unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 213 now, so any ETAs will reflect that. If you haven’t read that chapter, don’t read this recap! Don’t be like me and think “eh I’m probably good, I bet I know most of the big stuff by now” and get cocky and then live to regret it sob.)

so just a quick thing here -- I have unfortunately been spoiled for something big related to Deku, which is that he is going to be getting additional quirks. six, to be precise. and that’s all the details I saw before I clicked away (much too late), but unfortunately it was enough to put everything else together. because he is the ninth owner of OFA, and the second quirkless wielder, and the original dude’s quirk was OFA. but the other six wielders presumably had their own quirks, and so in hindsight it makes perfect sense that he would inherit not just their strength, but all of their abilities. and since it had been hinted at that there would be more OFA stuff coming up around this point in the manga, and also that Deku would be getting some sort of huge power-up, it wasn’t hard to put two and two together here. so yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s what all of this is eventually building up to

but oddly enough, that’s not even in my top 5 list of things that I’m actually excited for here! I don’t even care about him getting their abilities tbh, but I’m just curious whether he’ll be able to talk to them and have access to their memories! and for the first time it appears that yes, he will! which makes me so fucking excited you guys, because I have at least two of three fanfic ideas that have been permeating in my head for quite a while now which are very reliant on this concept. so I’m so fucking glad this panned out omfg

AND I WANT HIM TO MEET NANA OH MY GOD

ANYWAY!! LET’S START THIS THING ALREADY

so it appears that that fog or whatever that’s surrounding Deku is actually him not having a full body in this state, whatever he is. because his mouth is missing, he isn’t able to speak. but he can watch, and he can move his right hand

that’s so fucking clever and I love that eventually this ability will grow stronger and presumably he’ll be able to interact with the others and maybe even train with them??

right now he can’t move since he doesn’t have legs though

and there are still two figures that are complete mist and he can only see their silhouettes thus far

kind of weird that these guys are out of order, no? because All Might is all the way back there for some reason. and I assume his form is less distinct than the others because he’s still alive? maybe? though that doesn’t make a lot of sense but idk, it’s a cartoon, people

also there’s a disappointing lack of female representation here, but unfortunately that seems to be par for the course recently. poor Shimura having to rep an entire gender because the mangaka decided that just six or seven dudes wasn’t enough. nope, better make it eight!

though I suppose the somewhat androgynous Shouto-looking one in the trench coat could be female, possibly. that would be pretty awesome. or one of the two shadows, though based on the silhouettes I’d say that’s less likely

(ETA: although the second-from-the-left one, though... I’d say there’s a shot. fingers crossed!)

and lastly, the missing one is clearly the original, who’s fighting AFO in your dream sequence as we speak! pay attention, Deku!!

oh shit you guys I’m so fucking hypppppped. more AFO stuff!!!

and even though Deku has never seen his face, he recognizes his voice instantly and is thinking that he’ll never forget it

and so he’s finally realizing that the person AFO is talking to must be his brother, the First

why is the First such a hot mess. look at that scraggly looking hair and outfit. looks like he just rolled out of bed

why would they be aware of your presence if it’s a flashback dream. have you never read a fucking manga before Deku

oh shit AFO is beckoning to some dudes and they’re appearing out of the flashback mist

and you, being the kind soul you are, are going to “help” them both I suppose

also interesting that quirks were not called “quirks” at this point, but superpowers! taking more notes for that fic I mentioned!

First is running toward his big bro begging him not to do it and saying that once he does there’ll be no turning back

but he’s collapsing in a coughing fit oh shit

OH MY GOD ARE WE ACTUALLY GOING TO SEE IT??? I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS HOLY SHIT

DUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE

so his quirk is gone! is he happy though?

and meanwhile the other guy has the defense he wanted so badly

so far nothing about this seems that evil, but I’m sure the other shoe is going to drop any minute now

well he is implying that they both owe him a favor now, for starters

and we know he’s going to go on to be the future kingpin of the underworld, so him acting all Godfather here is definitely on point

and they’re saying of course, and that they’ll never forget what he’s done for them

sophistry is a super fancy word for a fallacious, intentionally deceiving argument, FYI. jesus Mangastream, put that fucking thesaurus away for a bit will ya. or am I the only plebe here who had to double check what that meant and everyone else already knew and is cool with it lol

AFO is acknowledging that he needs people who owe him a debt so he can know they’ll come through when he needs them

building up that loyal army of followers huh

but he says that by trying to deny him, First is also denying them of their happiness

but will they still be happy by the time you’re through with them? that remains to be seen

already one hell of a god complex building up here

First says he’s just taking advantage of people’s vulnerabilities and using them and throwing them away after

yeah I’m inclined to agree with him lol. AFO your MO has been made abundantly clear already

what is this?!

oh shit!

-- IS THIS KUROGIRI!?!?!??!??!

lol that’s crazy right. that’s a crazy thought. but idk I’m still convinced that AFO and Kurogiri are very old friends, so it would not surprise me at all to see him running around in this timeline already. hell, he doesn’t even need to have the same quirk at this point; the warp quirk could just as easily be something that was given to him by AFO

(ETA: this is an absurd theory that I’m gonna continue to push until the end of my days you guys.)

so as Deku continues to watch, AFO is loftily monologuing about how his poor pathetic brother was born without a superpower

“without power, one cannot even assert their ideals”

but he says that even so, he still loves him. “you’re my only family after all”

oh shit is this when he makes the mistake of giving him OFA??

but the black fog is getting much more prominent all of a sudden? like, I don’t think we’re going to get to see this flashback play out in full

I swear to god, if Deku wakes up and it turns out someone is shaking him awake or something I’m gonna be so pissed at that person lol

oh shit nope, never mind, we’re just getting a scene change! EVEN BETTER OMG

YOU GUYS

seriously you don’t understand, I have this plot bunny in my head that involves time travel and is tentatively set during the early days of quirks, and it also involves the past users of OFA and the concept of them passing on their memories as well as their power

so basically what I’m saying is this whole chapter thus far has been an absolute goldmine

does Deku even realize what he’s seeing here, though? whose narration is this

(ETA: I think that’s actually a paraphrase of something All Might said back in chapter 59, so we’re probably just being reminded of it.)

you guysssss AFO’s origin story is so fucking metal oh my god I love it. I love this so much

YESSSSSSSS

YESSSSS LOOK AT THIS MAGNETO BULLSHIT. LOOK AT HIM WITH HIS FUCKING ARMY HOLY SHIT

and now we’re transitioning again, this time to a dark cell

jesus christ AFO

that’s your own fucking brother for christ’s sake?? what the hell do you have him locked up in, a bank vault? are you that concerned about his sickly ass somehow getting out? for fuck’s sake there’s not even a bed in here

First says he refuses to be manipulated by AFO, and AFO says it’s about time he gave up already

oh my god!!!

OH MY FUCKING GOD THERE WAS A FUCKING RESISTANCE MOVEMENT YESSSSSSS

this is another thing I needed for my fic, fuck yes!? this worldbuilding is giving me life right now

(ETA: not that anyone cares, but despite my not shutting up about it, this isn’t something I’ll probably be writing any time soon. more likely I’ll spend the next five years or so outlining every last detail in my head, and then finally get inspired to write it only to flake out before the very last chapter hahaha sob. but it sure is fun to construct imaginary WIPs in your head though.)

so I’ll just assume that even though he thinks they were all killed, some of them survived! and continued the fight!

anyways

so AFO says he didn’t actually give the order to kill those people, and that his “friends” and followers simply did it on his behalf and made his desire to bring order into a reality

and he says he was happy beyond words. “I simply think it, and everyone takes action on my behalf”

so much fun being the god of your own world huh

HOLY SHIT

WHAT THE FUCK AFO, WHY THE FUCK ARE YOUR EYES SO FUCKING CREEPY

oh my god I for real shuddered

(ETA: and I was so creeped out by his eyes that I didn’t notice this my first time around, but underneath his nose there... are those freckles?!)

but First, nerd that he is, says AFO only read up to volume 3, and that the story continued and eventually the hero won and defeated the demon king

I like how Horikoshi clearly drew these in the style of the old timey American comics of the gold and silver ages

OH SHIT!!

SFLHKSDLKF HERE IT IS!!!

DEKU’S REACHING OUT, BUT OF COURSE YOU CAN’T STOP IT, DEKU! AND EVEN IF YOU COULD, YOU’D UNDO THE ONE GOOD THING AFO EVER DID LOL

YESSSSSS OH MY GOD I’M SO HYPED TO FINALLY SEE THIS MOMENT OH MY GOD

(ETA: there really is something fascinating about watching the moment when someone seals their own doom and doesn’t even know it. if only AFO had gotten himself an irony-understanding quirk.

also, this answers the question All Might raised in chapter 59 about whether or not AFO gave his brother the quirk out of pity/affection, or whether it was to control him. seems like it was mostly the latter, but seeing as he could have killed him but chose to keep him alive all this time instead, maybe there’s a little of the former there too. like, he wanted him to submit to him, but the reason he wanted it so badly was probably because some part of him wanted his little bro fighting by his side. that’s why he spent so long trying to convince him of his own free will before he finally went with this option instead. but little did he know...

also also! that just goes to show you how much OFA has leveled up over time, because this quirk was originally so weak that AFO picked it specifically because it was something that his “frail and starving” little brother would be able to handle. and look at it now. quirks. are. fucking. wild.)

and now the scene is fading!

AHHHH!LHLKlksdhflahks

YES!! HE IS!! WHO’S TALKING!??

OH SNAP

YOU KNOW, LIKE A LIAR

HOLY SHIT IT’S THE FIRST WHO’S TALKING!!

YOU GUYS THE HYPE IS TOO MUCH I’M FUCKING LOSING IT HERE OH MY GODDDDDDD

“BUT YOU CAN ONLY MANAGE ABOUT 20%” HOLY SHIT DEKU FUCKING HURRY UP AND MASTER THE REST OF IT ALREADY AHHHHH

so the memories are the same as the powers and will come to him little by little? but why lol. with the powers I can understand, because his body can’t physically handle the strain

...well actually, thinking of it like that, maybe his mind can’t handle the strain of all this info dumping yet either, though

and the hands touching omgggg. the connection! the bond that they now share despite being separated by time. the same shared fate oh my god

there is so much more to this than All Might ever let on. he barely even scratched the surface. did he think about all of this before he made the decision to give this power to a 14-year-old? this is so much, though. holy shiiiit

(ETA: so a couple more things to add here! first, we now know that All Might apparently didn’t know shit about most of this, so he gets a pass for the most part. and that’s a relief, because there’s a limit to how irresponsible I can accept him being lol. at some point it becomes less of a gift and more of a burden. but he had no idea of the extent to which this would happen, because his own OFA experience was very different.

and second, I totally missed this the first time around, but “the point of singularity” which First refers to is something that was brought up by Seiji in chapter 166. basically it’s the whole “eventually quirks will evolve to the point where no one can fucking control them and it’ll be chaos” thing. I didn’t realize this would become an actual plot thing so soon, but this is something that’s come up again in the chapters I just got up to, and now I can kind of see what they meant. best of luck with that Deku.)

HYPE AND FUCKING FEELS, COME ON THOUGH??

oh sweet moses

this chapter is blessed

so now he’s charging in to Deku’s room and asking why he’s making so much noise

WHAT’S GOING ON WHY IS HE HAVING THIS REACTION

OH SHIT

holy fuck

is it weird my first thought was that I bet this exact same thing has happened to Katsuki in the past. accidental activation of your quirk in your sleep, destroying all of your precious All Might merch in the process

and is his hand all right!? his hand was the only thing he could move in the dream so I’m worried the power was concentrated there, and that’s his fucked up hand and he’s not supposed to use it oh man

what is this

lol well actually I probably know the answer to that already huh

oh man. ohhh hhhhhhhh man

that was so intense. easily one of my favorite chapters ever. I said “oh my god” and “oh shit” so many fucking times lmao. that was fucking intense! it’s late and I have to get up early tomorrow but I’m gonna read the next one anyway because I need to see what kind of a conversation he has with All Might after this lol, and ALSO! TELL KATSUKI, YOU COWARD

(ETA: THEY DIDN’T but it’s okay because Kacchan realized something was up and took matters into his own hands! KEEP KACCHAN IN THE LOOP 2K19 IS ALIVE AND WELL.)

by the way, I haven’t done omakes for the last few chapters, but we actually crossed over into volume 21 back in chapter 189, so at some point I’ll have to go and find what I can from that volume and edit it into one of the upcoming recaps. this volume has way more bonus content than the last one, thanks to the presence of the Todoroki children as well as all of the class B kids finally making their appearance after all this time lol. so that should be fun to find out more about them.

[lunawings]

King of Prism SSS episode 4 commentary (Kakeru)

Ahhhh.... finally seeing this episode again after a long time was really good. You may think I’m just being over-dramatic, but I honestly think I felt normal again for the first time since seeing SSS Part 4 while I was watching the stream with you guys. Like halfway through I was like WOAH IM SMILING... ahah....... ha......... Part 4 messed me up even more than I thought holy s--

Thanks for always coming to the streams! And thank you Kakeru, for reminding me about love.....

*deep breath* Now, let’s get to it...

So like I mentioned last time, we’re now on what I know as the “Part 2″ episodes.

 My experience seeing Part 2 in the theater was like night and day compared to seeing Part 1. For Part 1 I got to go to the midnight showing, and it was super emotional and exciting seeing it with an entire theater-worth of people also seeing it for the first time. 

But for Part 2 I had to work until 1am and thus couldn’t make the midnight showing. Instead I slept for about 2-3 hours, went all the way to Nagoya, saw this at 8am, went all the way home, and went back to bed before waking up again to go to work at 4pm wondering if it was all a weird dream. So needless to say I was super out of it. I got about two minutes into Kakeru’s episode when I was like... wha... huh..... wait wha....... and comical sweat-beads started rolling down my forehead when I realized I had NO idea what was going on. I felt like the entire theater was just as out of it as I was since they were really quiet. Probably because most of them went to the midnight showing and got just about as much sleep as I did....

The whole what is going onnnnnnnn feeling never quite left me. Especially with this episode in particular. But.  

My favorite feature of Kakeru has always been his eyes....

So seeing him go through 8 stages of acceptance in this opening always gives me chills....

OH MY FUCKING G..............

So in the past I have railed on Crunchyroll for their wonky wording, but this is the first outright mistranslation I think. (Unless “solid style” wasn’t on purpose, but that one was so ridiculous I kinda feel like it may have been....)

If you have seen Pride the Hero, you’ll know Kakeru doesn’t leak the Prism System to his friends. He leaks it to the Itsutomo Group. 

To be fair Sadana doesn’t say Itsutomo Group here. Just Itsutomo. But still, what did the translator think the “Itsu” part meant? They leave so many things as-is, but this... THIS they decide to attempt to translate into something. 

Okay. OKAY...................................

I really, really like Kakeru’s dad. But not for anything he does in the movies/anime. He’s a super boring pushover here. But if you take Young of Prism and layer it on top of all that..... he’s fucking great. 

I was so out of it when I first saw this the entire natural gas plot went over my head. I was just like “Episode 5: Kakeru goes to Madagascar. Does a prism show. Then he comes back for some reason. The end?????” 

I also missed the earlier reference as well. To think when Kakeru looks at the newspaper in episode 1 and is like “Natural gas is expensive!!” that was foreshadowing ahah. 

So this is the most controversial part of the episode I think. Globalization/colonization/industrialism has done damage lot of nations which were just fine beforehand, and I think paving over all of Africa’s natural habitats would likely cause.... various problems. 

Do I really have any right to be commentating on this? No. But I don’t think King of Prism does either. I just don’t think it’s really the time/place for it. 

But all-in-all I suppose Merina’s opinion isn’t too unusual for someone who works for Juuouin Group. I just wish they made it more clearer that his opinion and not the general opinion of Madagascar. 

But then again what do I know. I really don’t even want to be talking about this!! It was just such a weird choice to take this episode to Madagascar at all. 

This brought me so much joy. Please go read Young of Prism if you haven’t yet. 

NNghkdhgkdhg baby Kakeru................. face......... uuuUUUgfh and his cute little voice...........

I also often wonder what Kakeru was doing in Kodama’s office in the first place. He’s not actually his uncle I believe.

My headcanon is that his mother dropped him off there one day when she was busy with something and needed someone to watch him quickly, then Kodama-san’s office just gradually became Kakeru’s daycare. 

In cheering people will point up one concert light shaking with increasing intensity. Usually orange because nobody knows what other color to use. 

.......GGDGDGDGdksl;fl;sgs.......... AHHHHHHHHHH.....HHH........hhhhhhhhh.. K.....

Crunchyroll agrees with me that Kakeru’s father is “Momojiro”. I know that’s the most likely reading, I’m just really bothered and concerned that there is just no furigana for it anywhere.

And behold, my favorite Kakeru face of all time. 

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh poor baby you were so pure back then

And behold my second favorite Kakeru face of all time aahaha

Okay now is as good a time as ever to bring it up, but. 

I’m a bit disappointed that young Kakeru doesn’t wear glasses. 

Because most kids get glasses before middle school if they are going to get them, don’t they? It makes me worry Kakeru’s glasses are just an image thing. 

I mean he’s certainly frikkin adorable without them, but I dunno.... It made me weirdly happy to learn that Hiro wears contacts in episode 1. 

I just want visually impaired comrades in my anime I guess!!!

Or maybe he just went without for longer than he should have by memorizing the eye test by listening to the kid in front of him like I did. 

Kakeru can you see I’m worried about you.

Okay I’ll move on......

So someone pointed this out in the stream, but he doesn’t really say “mood” here. He says “kao iro” which would translate more into like... health? I don’t know. I honestly have no idea what he was getting at and it’s always puzzled me. 

Oh the controversy.....

Okay so, that whole non-issue aside. About the rest of this scene. 

I am not particularly offended by it for two reasons. 

First...

Kakeru’s grandfather is giving him important life advice while his face is IN A BOOB

YOU CANT TAKE THIS SHIT SERIOUSLY COME ON 

King of Prism has a tenancy to pair serious moments with ridiculous visuals that nearly ruin them on purpose and it’s a whole other level of humor ahah. There is an even better example of this in the next episode.......

Secondly...

KEI-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN

In the theater people hold up two light blue lights as soon as she rises up and then go nuts. It’s the best. 

While most of the other characters were inspired by watching male prism stars like Hijiri or Rei, Kakeru watched mostly the girls and I get a kick out of that. We have already known he’s their fan for a while due to his Blowin’ in the Mind ringtone and side materials saying he has their magazines in his room, etc. 

“What” - cheering audience

So if you look up “kakeru” in a Japanese-English dictionary, you’ll know it has.... a lot of meanings. And since they always write the boys’ names in katakana (to make it ambiguous I guess) you can never know for sure. 

Here we confirmed for the first time it is intended to be 翔 = to fly/soar

This is a theme throughout SSS. How much Shin changed things for everyone............(I’ll come back to this)............

LOVE

So I guess when Kakeru got back from Madagascar Leo was like “So what do you want for your Prism One outfit?” and he was like “Make me a flamingo” and Leo was like “......You got it.”

Or maybe Leo was already like half done with Kakeru’s outfit and then he just burst in the door like “LEO I NEED TO BE A FLAMINGO--” 

I only have one bad thing to say about Kakeru’s prism show and it has nothing to do with Kakeru’s prism show. I noticed that his legwork is really similar to Taiga’s, which was when I realized for the first time that it’s the same person doing all the motion capture. So that kind of brought me back to reality a little bit. But oh well. That person is really fucking talented. 

They have been talking about Kakeru doing a prism jump where he’s naked with a pile of money for YEARS. HE DID IT. I’ve seen it in manga, I’ve seen it on Prism Rush... BUT THIS

Also how similar this is to the Prism Rush version amazes me...

CYALUME CH--

.....So I guess the translators haven’t watched PriPara either huh.

Wait is this even supposed to be for “Cyalume Change” because the subtitle is at such weird timing. 

Also I felt bad afterwards about putting “CYALUME CHANGE” as one of my shitty out of context spoilers ahah. I hope I didn’t ruin it for anyone. At least I didn’t say what episode it was. My hope is that anyone who read it has been waiting to be blindsided by CYALUME CHANGE and it came at the best possible moment. 

The first couple times I saw this episode I really wondered how cheering would go since so much of this episode is just business mumbo jumbo and if a lot of people would even show up for Part 2 cheering at all. 

But then after about a week in I found myself waiting in the lobby before a sold out cheering show and saw a girl whip out a giant pink feathery fan. 

Then the girl next to her was like hold my beer and took out a giant (fake) money fan. 

Never underestimate Kakeru fangirls is a lesson I have learned over and over and over again. 

A lot of people will also have three or four pink concert lights in one hand and an orange one or a color changing one in the other for this part ahah. 

PAINT IT ORANGE PAINT IT ORANGE 

(The lyrics to this song are nonsense. But it’s Kakeru, you can’t expect anything less.)

Prism shows with jungle animals are always a good time. (I can’t help but think of Shi Yoon.) 

And there you have it, Kakeru saved the entire country of Madagascar.... with his prism show........ let’s not..... let’s not think too hard about this........

I suppose there are multiple ways this could be true so I shouldn’t be thinking too hard about this either. But. 

The debut of the Leo pigtails. 

Well actually I think he had them earlier in the episode too, but this was the first time I noticed. 

Nothing warms my heart more than the few times Taiga throws Kakeru a bone by showing him the tiniest bit of affection. Even if it’s tsundere. Look at him. He’s just so happy. Aw Kakeru. Good for you.  

I think this moment was kinda ruined by the new ending music though. In the theater it’s more quiet. 

So I have always kinda felt like the Part 2 episodes are a bit weak compared with Part 1 and Part 3, but that’s probably a bit unfair considering how I experienced them. All of them grew on me more with time. It was also kind of hard coming down off of Taiga’s episode. After Taiga’s was so high tension I kinda expected the same for Kakeru too, but they went in a totally different direction. It was nothing like I thought it would be.

Before it aired I wondered if it would be about Kakeru trying to decide if spending his life in the Juuouin Group was right for him or not. And he did question it at one point when he was younger, but unless I misinterpreted it this episode was more about him loosing what he had and trying to get it back? He had doubts in his mind at one time about whether love exists, but he already came to believe it does before the events of this episode. So I guess Kakeru really has no doubt in his mind about what he wants for his future. You know, I think I like that better. I worry about him burning out with all the stuff he does, but it really does seem to be his true calling.  

I find it rather sad that the Edel Rose boys never found out Kakeru’s backstory though. Instead he shares it with Merina. He couldn’t even tell them he was leaving. But then again, Minato quickly interpreted that it was probably too difficult for him, I’m sure he was right. The other boys seemed to understand and support him regardless. Kakeruuuuuuuuu...............

In side materials it’s kinda of hinted at here and there that Kakeru really wants to be more like Minato. He wants to be someone strong who supports everyone. He also really seems to not want to show any weakness to anyone, especially his friends....? (As I’m typing this I’m thinking back to the White Day event on Prism Rush when he was trying so hard to organize everything while also trying his hardest to hide that he was falling apart......) I guess he picked this up in the business world as well. Because of this I still feel there is a lot to Kakeru we still don’t know. 

Well. Since I remembered this time and I liked this one: The special video for this episode that they show in the theaters has a voice over describing Kakeru’s  intense schedule on a normal day. 

But apparently on weekends he does no work at all. He gets caught up on manga and then plays with his friends. They showed a lot of stills of him hanging out with the Edel Rose boys, but my favorite and the one I remember the most was him playing arcade games with Shin (on a mysteriously PriPara-looking cabinet.... I think it was a fighting game though?)

Also Kakeru has a secret trunk in his room which must never be opened. 

[mst3kproject]

208: Lost Continent

I honestly don't remember hating Lost Continent this much when I first saw the episode.  It was just a dull and stupid film that didn't make much of an impression.  About the only thing I could recall was Frank and Dr. Forrester gloating over 'rock climbing'.  I've now watched the fucking movie four times in the effort to find something to say about it, and I've hated it more every time.  Everybody who made this movie needs to be dropped off a cliff.  Lost Continent is the equivalent of writing an essay on Hamlet and spending most of it droning about the anatomy of facial bones, because you haven't actually read Hamlet but you know there's a skull in it somewhere.

An experimental rocket comes down on an island in the Pacific, and a crack team of soldiers and scientists are sent to find it and retrieve its top-secret innards.  A mysterious phenomenon – which later turns out to be the radiation from an immense uranium deposit – causes their plane to crash on the same island, where the natives tell them that the rocket landed atop the local Sacred Mountain. Despite warnings that nobody who tries to climb the mountain ever comes back, they scale its steep cliffs at great length, and at the top discover a prehistoric world of jungles and dinosaurs!

Exactly how much area this plateau covers is never discussed, but I think I'm safe in saying that it does not qualify as a 'continent'.  I'm guessing they called the movie Lost Continent because they wanted to invoke The Lost World without inviting litigation from the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who were evidently just as lawyer-happy seventy years ago as they are today. It's still not a good title, and not even a good bad title.  A good bad movie title is something like Night of the Blood Beast or The Horrors of Spider Island, inviting all sorts of lurid mental pictures that may or may not be relevant to the actual story.  Lost Continent, as a title, is pretty bland. What about Dinosaur Mountain?  Or The Land Above the Clouds? Or Radioactive Island?  Those are just the first three I came up with off the top of my head!

The title may be dull, but when you describe the movie itself, it actually sounds pretty exciting.  A lost prehistoric land at the top of a mountain!  Surely we'll get to see dinosaur fights and atomic mutants and beautiful island women!  And... well... we do get some of those things (despite the constant talk of radioactivity, there are regrettably no atomic mutants), but they're expensive, so the movie uses as few of them as possible.  Instead, it fills eighty minutes mostly by wasting our time.

The movie starts out the way a movie should, by introducing the characters and setting up the rest of the story.  We learn about the rocket, about the crash, and that they have to get the instruments back.  A lot of movies would rush through this stuff to get to the action, so at this point it's actually kind of nice that Lost Continent lingers and lets us meet everybody.  The novelty soon wears off, though, and the movie begins to drag as we move on to a lengthy scene of Cesar Romero's character bragging to a woman about how cool the air force is.  There's an awkward moment when he realizes he's already told her this story, and then he's whisked away on the mission.  This wouldn't be so bad if it served some kind of purpose in the plot.  In a normal movie the girlfriend, and her suspicion that she's not Romero's only girlfriend, would reappear later.  In Lost Continent, she's only there to kill time.

Likewise just about everything else we learned in this opening sequence or in most of the sequences that follow it.  There's the suspicion that Dr. Rostov might be a spy.  In a normal movie, either he would be or else somebody else in the party would be, endangering the whole project – in Lost Continent, there is no spy.  There's the boy and girl on the island who point them towards the crash site.  In a normal movie these characters would continue to help them, or at least be rescued from the volcanic eruption at the end – in Lost Continent, they are never seen or heard from again.  There's the mechanic who talks to his plane like it's his girlfriend.  In a normal movie, he'd be able to save them all by repairing it despite impossible odds – in Lost Continent he's just pointless comic relief.

Despite all the time we spend meeting these characters, we never really feel like we know any of them.  I certainly don't remember most of their names.  I think Cesar Romero's character was called Nolan, but the only one I'm sure of is Dr. Rostov, and only because he's The Russian.  The rest of them all kind of look alike, as guys in fifties movies tend to do, and I don't even recall which one was Hugh Beaumont.  For all the emphasis on them, this is not a character-driven movie, and so the time spent on them, like the time spent on the island kids or Romero's girlfriend, is just wasted.

Then we get into the rock climbing.

I don't know if anything needs to be said about the rock climbing.  Joel pretty much said it all in his little speech on the history of padding: the rock climbing sequence is there to push the movie up to feature length, and while it's actually about fifteen minutes long it feels like it takes four days.  Even when one of the identical cast members falls to his death we don't care, because we as the audience know damned well that there are dinosaurs on the top of that mountain and the movie is deliberately putting off showing them to us!  It's as if your mom decided on Christmas Eve that you can't open presents until New Years.

Anyone who can wade through the rock climbing sequence without falling asleep or turning the movie off is rewarded by finally arriving at the titular Lost Continent.  There are two basic types of prehistoric lands in movies – islands, which come from Edgar Rice Burrough's The Land that Time Forgot, and mountain plateaux, which come from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World. Islands are more common in fiction, perhaps because they seem more plausibly isolated to us, and ironically Doyle's term lost world is often used to refer to them, as in The Lost World: Jurassic Park.  As an example of a mountain plateau 'lost world', Lost Continent is actually pretty rare, and it's interesting that they added the layer of toxic smog around the mountain.  This seems to tie into the plausibility thing.  In somebody's mind, the steep cliffs just weren't enough to keep this ecosystem from interacting with the outside world, so this extra barrier was needed.  Too bad that's the only interesting thing in the movie.

As in the Hamlet metaphor in the opening paragraph, the fact that the film-makers appear to have drawn inspiration from The Lost World doesn't mean they actually read it.  I think they may have seen the 1925 film when it was new, and based their movie on dim recollections of that.  They knew there was a scientific expedition and dinosaurs, and they sure as shit knew there was a mountain, but that seems to be about it.  Like Yorick's skull in Hamlet, the mountain in The Lost World is a fairly iconic image, but not really part of what the story is about.

When we do get to the dinosaurs... well, let's say they're not exactly worth waiting for.  They're realized through cheap, plasticine-y stop motion, and have amusing cartoonish faces.  The two triceratops have parrot-like smiles and while the brontosaurus never snarls like its counterpart in the 1925 Lost World it's still pretty damn silly.  Despite there being a T-rex on the poster, we never see one in the movie.  And this probably doesn't bother anybody but me, but almost nobody who writes 'land of isolated prehistoric creatures' stories ever seems to realize that creatures in such an environment would continue to evolve.  Even if there were recognizable ceratopsians on the mountain, there shouldn't be recognizable sauropods, because those were extinct long before triceratops came along!  The only movies that have an excuse for mixing geological eras like that are the aforementioned Jurassic Park franchise.

And of course, there's the ending where the whole island blows up in a conveniently-timed volcanic eruption, so that there will never be any consequences for any of this.  If the characters went home and said holy shit everybody, we found a mountain with dinosaurs! the entire world would show up to see, leading to lots of science and dinosaurs being put in zoos and a bunch of other things that could make for much better movies than Lost Continent.  We can't have that!  Instead we get our heroes in the same position as the guys in The Mole People or the dude from Phantom Planet, where they can't tell anybody about this amazing thing they found because the evidence is gone and they'll be considered liars or madmen.  I hate those endings.

Lost Continent is a nasty joke of a movie, one that delivers what it promised but in a way that seems calculated to leave the audience feeling cheated.  The dinosaur footage in the trailer is a cynical trick to part people from their money for as little as possible in return.  There's almost nothing in the movie, and everything that is in it sucks.  Yet somehow, it still doesn't leave as bad a taste in my mouth as shit like Hobgoblins or Attack of the The Eye Creatures.  Maybe because Frank and Dr. Forrester warned me about the rock climbing interlude.  Or maybe because by the time we got to the dinosaur footage, my expectations had dipped so low that the shitty plateau sequence actually met them.  Or maybe the movie is just so forgettable that I'm able to repress it without pain.

If you're interested in an adventure story about a 'lost island' where evolution has continued, try Warren Fahy's Fragment. If you want one that explores what happens later in a world where somebody found a lost land of prehistoric life, there's Greg Bear's Dinosaur Summer.  I'm still waiting for somebody to make a movie out of either.

[aflyingcontradiction]

I just saw W*nder W*m*n (all the censorship stars to keep it out of the tumblr search, ‘cause I don’t want to be raining on people’s parade) and I seriously don’t get the hype.

Possible spoilers behind the cut.

So the first half hour or so was borderline unwatchable - I’m not sure if it was the writing or the acting or a combination thereof but the dialogue was wooden enough to drive me to distraction.

After that it got better but it topped out at the standard quality of writing to be expected from a superhero movie. The movie jumped from one trope to the next, basically playing “the floor is lava” with the floor being any subversion or originality. It did practically nothing that a dozen other movies hadn’t done before, except it did it with a female main character, which is awesome, don’t get me wrong, but ultimately the plot remained predictable.

Besides, the writers didn’t seem to know if they were trying to be serious or cheesy, with the result that the cheese took itself too seriously and ended up being unintentionally comical (our group was by far not the only one sniggering its way through Diana going over the top of the trench and the fight in Veld and I’m pretty sure those scenes were meant to be badass, not funny). The actually serious scenes (which, imho, are some of the best in the movie) on the other hand didn’t get a chance to unfold their full emotional impact before being smothered in more cheese.

As for the characters, every single one of the sidekick characters had more personality in a little finger than the two main characters did in their whole body, but they barely got any screen time, whereas Diana, who rightfully took center stage, remained blandly heroic throughout the entire film. Holy shit, guys, give the woman some character traits that aren’t Brave, Selfless and Brilliant (TM).

The whole Ares plotline was kinda disappointing, too. So when Diana kills ��Ares” and the war doesn’t in fact immediately end, the whole “That’s people for you” speech was ... actually interesting? Like, her whole realisation that the world of men can be cruel all on its very lonesome without any divine interference was genuinely different from what I expected. Except they then immediately subverted it by having the war end when actual!Ares was killed and Diana took approximately a split second to go from “They don’t deserve us” to “It’s not about what you deserve, it’s what you believe”. If they’d only run with that plotline and that internal dilemma a little bit longer they would’ve made up for a damn lot of the cheese of the plot and blandness of the main character, maybe offset it entirely. But no, we apparently can’t be deviating from the hero movie template plot too much...

Also, personal pet peeve here, but what the hell was up with their decision to make the background Germans in battles speak actual German but have the foreground Germans speak “German” aka English with a grating-as-fuck villain!accent. Either Allo Allo it up entirely and OWN it or get yourself some German actors and non-German actors that can speak German well enough to be convincing as infiltrators and USE FUCKING SUBTITLES! (Not like they didn’t subtitle plenty already!) Regardless, that over the top accent is unnecessary and I wish movies would stop doing that. I’ve met precisely two Germans in my life who had an accent like that and I’ve heard A LOT of Germans speak English. I promise, you can be more subtle about it and still have a noticeable German accent! I mean, apparently (to my eternal shame) I’ve got one and I can assure you I don’t sound like a B movie Gestapo officer!

Anyway, despite my copious whining, I actually don’t regret seeing the movie and I think it’s important that it was made. Maybe I would’ve enjoyed it more if my expectations hadn’t been artificially elevated by half my friend circle going “OH MY GOD, IT’S SO AMAZING!” and I hadn’t been too busy wondering what essential emotion of female empowerment I was missing that they’d somehow all caught. I definitely want to see more superhero shenanigans with women playing the main role. In fact, I want to see more genre movies from non-stereotypically-female genres with women playing the main part. It’s just that this particular genre, when played entirely straight, as DC apparently usually does (I’ve mostly seen Marvel movies so far), seems to not be my cup of tea. Really, my opinion can be summed up in a line that one of the people I watched the movie with used: “This is like the Hillary Clinton of movies! She’s a woman, that’s a first and that’s really important, but ultimately she could be a tad more inspiring.”

[ploppythespaceship-a]

SO I JUST SAW WONDER WOMAN

AND IT

WAS

*DEEP BREATH*

Good but not great.

Sorry to be the less enthusiastic voice amidst the general screaming. The short version is that I really enjoyed the film for the most part, but the climax left me so unsatisfied that it’s retroactively tainting my enjoyment of the rest of the film.

Long review with spoilers below the cut:

Let me start by saying that I have never seen anything Wonder Woman before this film. I’ve never seen the old series with Lynda Carter, or read any of the comics. Hell, I didn’t even see Batman v. Superman because Man of Steel was such an infuriating disappointment that I haven’t been able to force myself to watch it yet.

I’m just gonna stick to my pros and cons format because that’s what seems to work best.

Pros:

I need to start with the main theme for this film because it is a gift and every time it played I wanted to cheer.

All the things you heard about it are true. It did indeed feature a kickass lady for a lead, and the female direction was obvious. Gal Gadot’s Diana is a wonder, pun absolutely intended. Sexy but not sexualized, powerful but vulnerable, both wise and naive. The film is worth seeing for her and I’m glad it’s getting the attention it deserves. I hope we see more characters like her in the future.

I really feel the need to emphasize sexy, but not sexualized. Diana is stunning, and that is acknowledged many times. But she’s not there just to be sexy. She’s there to save the damn world, and if you’re not gonna help her, she’s gonna do it without her help.

Themyscira: the island of amazing women that remind me how gay I am.

The plot is solid, nothing too special, but worked well for the film. Quite frankly, the simpler you go with this, the better. Too many superhero films lately have been ruined by overcomplicated plots, particularly origin stories.

That scene where she strolled through No Man’s Land deflecting bullets like it was no big deal? Let’s just play that on repeat. Over and over and over.

Cons:

The romance felt unnecessary and forced and I felt the story would have worked better platonically. But Steve is apparently from the comics, so whatever. I won’t begrudge them that.

The sexual naivety jokes near the beginning were unnecessary and forced. And mostly just made me incredibly uncomfortable.

Completely personal preference, but that AMAZING scene through No Man’s Land? I was waiting for the main theme of the film to play. Because that would have brought the scene to an even higher level. (It was great without though.)

Steve kept telling Diana to stay behind for her own safety and I’m like “dude you’ve seen her kick ass so many times at this point, what are you even saying.”

The Ares reveal. While I didn’t see it coming and was genuinely surprised... it didn’t add anything to the story? Really, Ares himself didn’t add anything to the story. We’re supposed to believe that he’s orchestrating events but what evidence was there of that? If I rewatch the film, am I going to notice this man sowing the seeds wherever he goes? No. Because the reveal was for shock value and nothing else.

That^^^ is honestly my biggest complaint. The main villain does not do anything. And when Diana defeats him... she does not contribute to the story. Steve saves the day, and his sacrifice inspires Diana to kill Ares. Ares’s death doesn’t really stop the war. Which is the point. I realize that. I sort of liked that. But then... Diana didn’t actually save the day. Steve is the hero of the Wonder Woman movie, since he destroyed all the gas weapons. True, that inspired Diana to keep fighting evil, I guess? So it’s her origin story? But I’m a bit miffed that Diana didn’t get to be the ultimate hero of her own damn movie.

And the more I think about it, the more the plot just sort of wandered aimlessly along, for Diana, anyway. We got dragged along onto Steve’s quest, which turned out to be the one that mattered more. You almost forget Diana’s quest to kill Ares, it matters so little in the grand scheme of things. He has no presence. Even when he appears, and David Thewlis did an excellent job with the role, he hadn’t earned that spot in the film. He didn’t matter. Which again, may have been the point they were trying to make. But if it was, it utterly and completely did not work.

Also, pacing wise? Dialogue wise? That last scene was a fucking mess. It was so incongruous with the rest of the film, the dialogue was so forced, the fighting style was entirely different. I felt like we transported into a Harry Potter wand battle (lol David Thewlis) when the rest of the film had a very physical fighting style. Many elements of the scene could have worked, but as a whole, the climax left me so disappointed that I’m actually a bit mad about the rest of the film now.

So there is my review of Wonder Woman. Still definitely the best film from the DC EU yet (I feel reasonably confident saying this despite not having seen BvS or Suicide Squad), and I did genuinely love Gal Gadot as Diana.

Too bad the Justice League trailer looked like absolute shit.

[blaperile]

Homestuck^2 - Catnapped (Part 2) Reaction

Page 9:

Holy CRAP!

Wow, there's a lot to address here again...

First of all, nobody ever saw Jasprose here on Earth C. Yeah, now that you mention it, the only time we ever saw her on this planet was in that Halloween snap together with Gcatavros, and that seemed to be a pretty isolated place somewhere.

Why did she never show herself though? What has she been doing these 7 years??

"Returned to her rightful role as Queen", ha! Probably referring to how all the Creators were crowned upon their arrival on Earth C. She didn't get crowned herself, but does consider herself that because she was with the Creators.

"Fefeta's Reach", d'aww. She lives on in the name of this place. I wonder, did Roxy name this place upon their arrival here, or has it existed for much longer?

It's really interesting to see the Carapians' side of the story here! The Candy Epilogue mostly focuses on the Trolls' issues with Jane, but here we see the Carapacians don't like it either. At least in this version of events.

And of COURSE they accepted Jasprose as their queen. These people did originate from a monarchy after all, haha.

Alright, so Ataxia isn't really on the side of the Trolls in this matter. That's unfortunate. :(

Swifer!!! :D

I definitely didn't expect to see her pop up here! But yeah, I'd been wondering how she'd be doing in this timeline, without Kanaya or Karkat by her side.

But looks like she's gotten a VERY significant role and will fill Kanaya's place in trying to negotiate with Jane? Holy shit! :O

The "Old Post Office" building. Something that PM once built, perhaps?

I wonder, those "popular historical journals", when Rose wrote those and provided them to society. Was that 5000 years ago before they moved to the future, so that society would grow up with their history from the beginning? Or is it more recent?

I'd like to think she already provided those journals right then 5000 years ago.

Page 10:

Oooooh, look at this scene!

I like how there's a painting there of Rose, Kanaya, Calliope and Roxy, the ones crowned in this kingdom.

Oh boy, looks like Jasprose isn't just trying to get ride of Jane as president, but trying to get rid of the ENTIRE GOVERNMENT.

Oh man, this is going to get surprisingly political. But I love that Jasprose is taking up the fight.

She's probably got knowledge of what her B2 self got up to, and the corrupted society that came from The Condesce.

And that Rose definitely put up a great fight against the batterwitch, and looks like Jasprose is looking to continue that!

Cliper!!! The guy with Swifer here is Cliper! :O

The same guy who was mentioned during the Candy Epilogue, who was part of Karkat's rebellion but was sent to the camps!

Oh man, I didn't think we'd be seeing anymore of that guy!

"I know a red flag when I see it"

...

*scrolls back up to panel*

*sees Carapacian holding red flag*

Goddammit. xD

Page 11:

Yes, Jane is the red flag. It helps that she's also conveniently dressed in red, haha.

I wonder if Jasprose has knowledge of what happened / would happen in the Candy timeline, where Jane basically led the planet into war?

That could definitely inspire her even more to take this sort of stance.

I like how she doesn't immediately want to simply remove Jane from the picture all together, but would rather advise her into becoming a better leader.

Three pillars, eh? Well, at least they're not truth, essential and relevance, ahahaha.

Gotta love the Midnight Crew reference. Women, wine, and song.

Cliper has a clipboard, oh my fricking GOD. I love that.

Page 12:

Oh shit, she's summoning a fenestrated wall!

Right, that was one of her abilities! Almost forgot about that!

But... what is it showing?

Is it... a view on the Candy world? To show Jane what her actions could lead to? :O

Page 13:

....OH GOD. They went THROUGH the fenestrated wall.

That's one hell of a giant wal, haha.

Where the HECK will they end up?

I swear to god, if I didn't know Catnapped had 3 parts (at least), I'd almost have thought it would end here and they'd next show up in Homestuck^2 somewhere in the Candy world, haha.

*sees next command*

PROBLEM SLEUTH^2 ?????????

HOLY HELL

I...

WOW

Probably just a jokey reference referring to how Jasprose is going to sleuth this problem, but still, hahahaha.

Page 14:

WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK

HOLY SHIT

WE'RE ACTUALLY DOING THIS. WE'RE ACTUALLY MAKING THIS HAPPEN.

What does this even MEAN?? Problem Sleuth, the character, EXISTS somewhere in the Homestuck multiverse then... but where???

Are we gonna see the Midnight Crew? Is this somehow on Alternia during the Exile time?

SO MANY QUESTIONS

And... what the fuck is going to happen now??? Is Jasprose going to telephone him??? xD

Is... it taking place in the future of the Problem Sleuth webcomic? There's some small but noticeable differences in the decorating of the office, and the narration of the first page of Problem Sleuth (just checked).

I suddenly understand jack shit.

Page 15:

A NEW touch-tone telephone, a NEW computer (...which we don't actually see here). Things we definitely never saw in the original Problem Sleuth comic.

Holy shit, this is DEFINITELY making some implications.

Page 16:

IT'S MIDNIGHT CITY.

Perpetually midnight though... that can't be Alternia, right? It could also be daytime over there.

And there's Jasprose appearing, and what the shiiiiiiiit

Page 17:

HOPY SHIIIIIIIIIIT

It's a replica of page 10 of Problem Sleuth!!! Except, "long night AGAIN".

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK

MY MIND. IT IS PRESENTLY. BEING BLOWN.

Page 18:

RETIRED PROTAGONIST. ACE DICK WITH A YACHT. I CANNOT DEAL. THIS IS PERFECTION.

I'M SORRY BUT I'M JUST PERPETUALLY FANBOYING OVER THIS ENTIRE SCENE RIGHT NOW

Page 19:

Awwwwwwwww.... looks like that's the end of the PS interlude. xD

Oh god, look at how they're drawn, it's in a PS-esque style, I love it.

Wait a second... is that Ace Dick next to Jake?? :O

I love how Jasprose is drinking milk.

Ah... and this brings me right back to those "OH PSYCHE" moments in earlier parts of Homestuck.

Page 20:

Another theme change! :D

I love how the martini glasses are now at the top of the page.

Confirmation that Jasprose knows what's going on in the Candy timeline!

There's no way she didn't mention the "redemption arc" on purpose there either, hahaha.

Oh man, go Jasprose. Let's hope it works and gets Jane on a straight path again, before it's too late.

Page 21:

Pfffff, Jasprose seductively licking the milk.

Ooooh, I love Swifer here. It gives us some more deep insight into her character! More than we've seen from her in the Candy path, at least.

So Kanaya's considered a Matriarch... what exactly is that supposed to mean? The main caretaker of the Mother Grub?

I'm wondering if perhaps SWIFER herself will be the one to talk to Jane, and try to get her to see the other side of the story?

And oooooh, so Jasprose also knew about Dirk's powers then.

Is she gonna try to make Jane see how much Dirk influenced her into doing this?

Page 22:

OH SHIT IT'S DAD

I didn't expect we'd see Dad here!!!!

Oh man, he must have read about Jane's disappearance and that she was taken here, and wanted to try and save his little girl!!!

N'aww... :)

Oh boy... is he going through the wall and also end up over there??? Is he going to meat Problem Sleuth??? Is abundantChewtoys right that he ends up with the Midnight Crew and that the "Diamonds, Dames and Dads" story is a spin-off from this one??? What the shiiiiiiiiit

I'm loving the hell out of this, this is SO worth the money.

Page 23:

MOTHER OF GOD I'M DYING

THIS IS ONE HELL OF AN EPIC PAGE.

Dad drawn in Problem Sleuth style... REFERENCE TO MOM AND HER "A mother will dow what is best for her children".

I'M TEARING UP.

THIS IS PERFECTION

I didn't know what to expect from this story. But dang. This is AMAZING.

I love, love LOVE this, and am highly anticipating to see where it goes next.

As it happens, part 3 is already available, and YOU CAN BET YOUR ASS THAT WE'LL CONTINUE READING THIS TOMORROW.

[captainignatiuspigheart]

Midweek Confusion

OK, so this next week thing has slightly got away from me. As ever, by this point in a new week my recollection of the seven days past is blurring… Since my Google calendar stopped syncing with Facebook, even that once reliable tracker of things I expressed zero interest in has faded in its utility. Alas, I’ll have to go by memory; apologies in advance. 

  Alright, I’m genuinely stumped for the first couple of days, as far as the evenings go. I went back to the doctor’s – as I’ve been doing with frightful regularity since last July when we accidentally discovered that I have horrifically high blood pressure. My general understanding based on video games is that a high score is good, but apparently this does not follow in medicine. In order to prevent me from spontaneously stroking out (apparently a genuine risk even at my sprightly forty-one years) I’m being loaded up with various ACE and calcium channel blockers, but to counterbalance their potential for good, the ACE blockers offered a chance of trashing my kidneys, prompting fortnightly blood tests to make sure they hadn’t dissolved and begun circulating. They aren’t! Huzzah. But the ramipril didn’t do much on its own, other than not kill my organs, so now I’ve also got amlodipine (I may or may not verify these spellings… ) to work its mysterious way through the calcium channels. It’s all really quite interesting, to me at least since this is my frail puff-paste meat sack I live in. No more blood tests, and at a much higher dose is bringing my blood pressure down into merely prehypertension range, instead of the top end of stage 2 hypertension (down from my max of 180/109 to 140/90). Win. Plus, I’m now taking a proper Smarties assortment of pills, so that’s nice. Looks like it has a genetic cause, since I’m really quite healthy with my daily cycling and swimming routine, and my cholesterol is fine. In your face three kilos of Quality Streets and another three of cheese in December. Drugs for life – which is cool since I’ve been on asthma meds since an unknowably young age.

  For those uninterested in such health wranglings, tough: your body will begin to fail shortly, as I push these pins into this charming mannequin with a crude rendering of your features. But that can’t be all I did last week, right? Indeed, no. 

  Building: Lego

I have advanced a little with my pretty golden gates. I’ve expanded upwards, in adding mostly extra gold pieces. That’s a minor challenge because, as an inveterate hoarder, I feel like I should use them very sparingly and not deplete my stores. This is idiotic. The whole reason I’ve got the damn things is to use them! And that they look very pretty and they live in a box, and that makes me happy… As you can see I also greebled the fuck out of the walls, and gone way too far. I’ll find pics next week, but I’ve dismantled them in an attempt to make plainer walls which won’t detract so much from the magnificent pearlescent gold. 

    Watching: October Faction

We finished up watching the second-latest comic book adaptation to slide onto Netflix’s new releases bar (before Locke & Key, which unfortunately looks exactly the same but in Miss Peregrine’s Miserable House of Whatever instead – I’m sure it’s somehow different, and we’re bound to watch it eventually). Best described as Grimm crossed with Mean Girls, October Faction follows a family of monster hunters as they, um, hunt monsters and learn DARK secrets. Pretty chipper performances and casting made this a lot of fun, despite the incredibly predictable plot (not all monsters are monsters, your monster-killing organisation is surprisingly not all that chill). The high school stuff with a pair of twins trying to fit into the new town their parents have dragged them to works well, at least until they discover their own powers and the rest of the story unfurls. Very sexuality positive stuff too, which is always satisfying. Look, it’s not amazing, and the ending is a bit unsatisfying, but it’s a fun watch while you’re eating tea. I guess that’s a recommendation… 

    Watching: Birds of Prey, or the Film with a Whimsical Title about a Murderer (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

I know, I know. It’s a DC movie, why do we even try to enjoy them any more. This is about Harley Quinn, Joker’s recent ex (I mean, literally at the start of this film} and how everyone hates her and wants to kill her, because she is, as I think they say, “just awful”. In the process of people trying to kill her she makes some friends, including a fairly amusing child pickpocket and somewhere in here there’s a story about a massive diamond with encrypted passwords carved in it. There’s several different people’s back stories in here, and they all weave together quite ineptly, constantly tripping the film up. We meet Huntress, who has no character other than being a crossbow wielding lady sad that she saw her parents get murdered (it’s OK, they were mobsters – there’s no reason why you should care at all) by another gang of mobsters, under the instruction of Ewan McGregor, who plays some twat who wears a mask for the final action scenes. I should mention that this might be a career worst performance for McGregor, even counting the Star Wars prequels. Fuck knows what his character is supposed to be. And that’s the tone really, none of the characters have any consistency or make sense (except possibly the pickpocket girl). We veer from snarky comic stuff with Harley, to McGregor’s minion slicing off people’s faces. Everything happens fast, or in pointless time-skipping. Jurnee Smollett-Bell’s Black Canary is pretty cool, except that her having superpowers seems totally irrelevant until she knocks some folks down in the finale. Rosie Perez’ Renee Montoya is described as speaking in cop cliches, and that’s what they give her in lieu of a character. Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn gets to do some genuinely splendid action scenes, and it’s the fighting throughout that makes this mess of a film endurable. Lots of people seem excited by the glitter and beanbag gun scene on entering the police station, but it’s the fight as they leave which is truly splendid. Oh, Arkham looks good – suitably grim and filled with ridiculous architecture and funfairs. I’d rank this as the third best DC movie (of the recent crop, barring Wonderwoman none of their films are even as enjoyable as Batman Forever), after Wonderwoman and Shazam (smoky grey CGI baddies are so Green Lantern) but some steps ahead of fucking Aquaman with it’s ghastly rubbery Sea World. I’m perplexed by this film all round. It grows clearer and clearer that I have no grasp of DC properties at all. In fairness, it’s about as good a grasp as Warner Bros’… 

  Doing: Creative Mentoring

Every month, for the last seven years (I think), I’ve spent a few hours with my delightful creativity client. We write stories, play improv and inspiration games, all with the aim of simply being mentally and creatively stimulating. And because it’s fun. Not too much to report on this occasion, other than to note (and remind myself) that’s always a genuine highlight of my week. I deeply enjoy the time I spend with Rebecca, and find it inspires me creatively too. What lovely reciprocity!

  Doing: the Glowstick Trials at National Justice Museum

After a number of rehearsals we finally got to play for real! Seven improvised courtoom dramas, back to back last Friday evening. The chaps directing it this time around (Richard and Ben) rejigged it very smartly from our previous version, putting it much more opportunity to freely extemporise in our various roles of Judge, Defendant, Prosecution, Defence and Witness 1 & 2. A small tight cast, with lots of quasi-legal nonsense. I was lucky enough to end up playing most roles, not least because of the hideous traffic jams that marred the whole of Nottingham for hours, delaying a third of our team. It might have had some effect on audiences too, as we saw far fewer folks in the streets that in previous years. Ho hum. I had an absolutely marvellous time. Hearing Judge Duncan screaming away behind closed doors, myself mounting a vigorous defence (against Marilyn’s thorny prosecution) for poor Alistair accused of thinking about stealing birdseed (he couldn’t possibly have done – he never thinks!), waxing lyrical as a defendant in my maudlin teenage diary, and countless things I’ve forgotten. It was a blast, and I really want to do it again, somewhere, soon… Any offers? 

  I am the LAW

I am a felt-tip pen

Last Week, Sunday 9 February 2020. I've been doing things, honest, I just can't always remember what they were... #lightnight #Lego #birdsofprey #octoberfaction #diary Midweek Confusion OK, so this next week thing has slightly got away from me. As ever, by this point in a new week my recollection of the seven days past is blurring...

[wnnbdarklord]

Dear Trick or Treak 2017 creator

Hi there! I’m so glad you’ll be creating something for me. This is my first year participating, but I’m sure everything is going to go great :D

Below, you’ll find a list of my general likes, dislikes and fandom specific prompts. Happy creating!

General Likes: Polyamory, gen, het, slash, femslash, families of choice, competence, BAMF female characters, angst, hurt/comfort, teamfic, pretty much all the tropes especially if there is a twist, worldbuilding, humor, redemption, for want of a nail AUs, time travel, werewolves, crossovers, non fantasy/SF canons encountering the supernatural/aliens, fix it fics, etc.  

Smut is fine, but I’d prefer that the focus is not on that.

General Dislikes: I’m not a great fan of permanent character death, rape, torture porn, underage stuff, infidelity, humiliation, character bashing, ship bashing, no powers AUs, love triangles, fake married/dating, incest, power imbalances in relationships, hate sex, hardcore kinks, necrophilia, PWP, abuse, fusions, zombies, 1st person POV

Crossovers: I love crossovers! Feel free to crossover any fandom here in any combination. I've elaborated more on crossover specific things in my Crossovering letter, so if you're feeling inspired to crossover, feel free to take a look:

http://wnnbdarklord.tumblr.com/post/163153222375/dear-crossovering-2017-creator

Trick likes: To keep with the theme of the exchange, I'd love to get some darker stuff. Spooky stories, mysteries, horror, body horror, WEREWOLVES (all my love if you get some werewolves in there, whether the canon has them or not), creepy mythology and gods, ghosts, monsters, magic, sacrifices, ancient and abandoned places, grim takes on lighthearted canons or alternately grim events that keep the lighthearted tone of the canon, dark consequences to canon events (psychological or otherwise), dragons, sudden disappearance of the supernatural in fantasy/SF canons and the consequences and the reverse in non fantasy/SF canons, immortality, shapeshifting, apocalypses

Trick Do Not Wants: ZOMBIES. I'm pretty mellow about most things, since my dislikes are mostly covered above. But just...no zombies. Ever.

Treat likes: characters getting along and bantering, OT3s, characters not dying when they were supposed to, healing (especially if the canon is a relentless shitshow usually), happy or at least hopeful endings, found family, exploring the world/universe, friendly encounters with the supernatural/aliens, ancient knowledge regained with a good outcome, people working together, pets, sudden appearance of the supernatural in fantasy/SF canons in a good or funny way, magic returning to the world, rebuilding after an apocalypse

Art: I'm pretty sure I'd love any art! I love sketchy styles with maybe just a splash of color to draw the eye. As for subject matter, I'd love to see any scenes from the fandom specific prompts or stuff from my likes. Characters being affectionate, gentle touches, characters as werewolves, characters in fancy dress/costumes, characters doing magic are also all welcome.

Fandom specific prompts:

Crimson Peak: I am probably one of the few people requesting this fandom wanting happy, hopeful or silly things and completely disinterested in the fucked up dynamics between Thomas and Lucille.

Anything post canon would be great! What happens to the house? Does Edith get on with her life? Do the other ghosts find peace?

Or maybe an AU where Lucille never left the mental institution? What do the other characters' lives turn out like then?

For something more crack, consider this post: http://romanticdaydreams.tumblr.com/post/129166110088/i-saw-this-on-my-professors-door-and-i-cant-even I'd love crack takes on gothic for this fandom! Maybe Lucille and Thomas try to pull of their scheme again, but things keep comically going wrong?

Frozen: Anything based on this where Anna succeeds and Hans falls in love with her: http://deylandisneydean.tumblr.com/post/80038513436/insuffera6le6itch-deylandisneydean-hans (If you can't see the link, it's basically Anna confessing she wants to kill Elsa to rule Arendelle and Hans going 'That's what I was going to say!') It can be crack or taken more seriously. I've just wanted fic of this ever since I saw that post years ago.

Or perhaps a darker take on the trolls in the movie and their actions regarding Anna. Especially considering that creepy song they sang about her and Kristoff.

Scooby Doo: I'd love to see something with a modern take on the Scooby Gang. What would be different, what the same? OT4 totally welcome!

A crossover with Leverage would be amazing! Or even a fusion where the gang turns to less legal methods after discovering not all their masked criminals are so easy to keep in jail after being arrested, if they even are.

Friends: Murder mystery time! Ross gets gruesomely killed and his ghost is haunting the others. Can they discover who his killer is? Or does Ross' frustration at their inability to solve it make him less of a friendly ghost? Bonus points if it turns out it was just a really unfortunate accident that caused Ross to manifest out of the sheer indignity of having died like that.

Or maybe Phoebe actually does have or get supernatural powers?

Star Trek the Next Generation: I have a hard time shipping anyone in my childhood fandoms and STTNG definitely falls under that. I'd strongly prefer gen and (if you must) very background canon pairings only for this.

Anything where Q plays with the crew would be fun. Perhaps he traps them in a murder mystery game or a haunted mansion. Perhaps he introduces them to the supernatural?

I'd always wanted to see the Enterprise crew in something of an apocalypse scenario. Specifically, I think they would be great at rebuilding after something like that, especially with the philosophic underpinnings of the canon in that humanity constantly strives to better itself. It strikes me as a lovely hopeful thing in such a scenario.

Perhaps something in the far future where the Federation is gone, but records (especially of the Enterprise crew) remain and give hope for a better future?

Gargoyles: Anything to do with the Fae, especially Puck. What made him decide to reveal himself to Xanatos? What was he up to during the exile from Avalon?

The end of the show had the gargoyles reveal themselves to the public. What are the consequences of that? I'd love to see something where the gargoyle population comes back from the brink of extinction in the face of a friendlier human populace.

I also love the show's take on mythology where all things are true. Maybe something with Slavic mythology in that setting? More Norse mythology?

Discworld: Anything with Granny Weatherwax, Death or the Nac Mac Feegles. I love this setting, so pretty much anything will be great.

If you feel like writing a crossover with LOTR, I would love love love any of the prompts from this post: http://berry-muffin.tumblr.com/post/160194985845/thebibliosphere-teapotdragon-zephyrantha

Lord of the Rings: For ultimate spooky, maybe something where Boromir and Faramir end up scouting Mordor or are captured in Minas Morgul? How would they escape, what horrors would they see?

Any scenario where Boromir lives would be great. Or Boromir interacting with the elves, especially once he remembers they actually participated and lived through battles he read about.

I have a total inexplicable soft spot for Boromir/Arwen, so something with them would also be great!

Ages ago, I read a fic where elves returned to Earth during the present day. I'd love such a scenario where the magic also returns and so does the memory of starlight in Men.  

Marvel Cinematic Universe: I'm sure my fic and tumblr make it fairly obvious Loki is my favorite character. That said, I am also fond of the other Thor characters, the GOTG crew and the Iron Man crew.

Unlikely team ups would be great, especially between characters that have never interacted before. Characters forced to work together to survive or just stuck together snarking at one another.

Something with Loki's shapeshifting or children would be amazing, especially translated for the MCU setting. Genderfluid Loki is a big plus!

Involuntary werewolf Loki for extra angst to go with his jotun heritage? Yes please!

Maybe the world ends once Thanos gets his hands on the Infinity Gauntlet, but Tony and Loki somehow manage to travel back in time to prepare?

Instead of Thanos and the Chitauri, perhaps the GOTG crew finds Loki? Or the Ravagers?

The Defenders: Anything where Jessica and Matt interact! I loved them in the show. Extra super bonus points for Foggy as well.

Foggy representing Jessica would be great.

Colleen, Misty and Claire mutual admiration society! Maybe the two of them help Misty adjust to her new bionic arm?

Also dragons! Maybe some dragons survived somewhere? How did they even get to Earth? How did the people in Kun Lun discover that their bones can bring back the dead/heal people? I want all the dragon stuff.

[niamsuggitt]

The Ides Of June 2017

Hello there! And welcome all to this month’s ‘The Ides Of’ column, where I write just a little bit about all of the various stuff and nonsense I’ve been enjoying over the past 30 days. Yes, this instalment is late, but it’s been lovely and warm, so I haven’t had the inclination to stay indoors and write this stuff. I’ve actually been outside and I’ve even been wearing shorts! What is the world coming to?

This month is a decent one I think, there’s a lot of movies (although some are rewatches), 2 intriguing books, more great TV and I bought another Switch game! Unfortunately there’s no new music this time out, but next month will change that, with new Royal Blood and Public Service Broadcasting albums on the horizon.

So let’s do it to it!

—

Movies

Lot’s of movies to talk about this time, so let’s not waste any time with preamble! First up is Prometheus (Ridley Scott 2012), which I finally actually got around to watching due to the release of it’s sequel, Alien: Covenant, which I haven’t actually seen. That’s kind of me in a nutshell really, the release of a new thing makes me realise I haven’t actually seen the old thing yet! See also Schmidt, Kimmy later on. Anyway, I mostly enjoyed Prometheus, although as the rest of the internet has already explained ad nauseum, it certainly has it’s problems and, at a bit of a remove, doesn’t really make that much sense. I like the previous Alien films, and have the Quadrilogy box-set, but wouldn’t say I was any kind of mega-fan, so I don’t have any real issues per se with Scott going back and removing some of the mystery. Especially because, every answer he gives only raises more and more questions! I came out of the film wanting to know more, so in that way, it was a success. I think the things that really stood out to me here were the visuals, because whatever you think of Ridley Scott, the man has one of the best eyes for science fiction out there, and also the fantastic performance of Michael Fassbender as the android, David. He is just superb, although his role in the plot is one that frustrates me, as it’s never really explained why David is fucking with things, he just… is. Maybe the answers are waiting for me in Covenant? I also found that frustration with Charlize Theron’s character. She’s just kind of a dick for no reason, you find out Weyland is her dad… and then she dies. There must be more to it than that, but there isn’t. A lot of the other performances are like that really, good actors doing something potentially good, but not as much as you like, Idris Elba, Race Spall and Sean Harris all deserve more I think. Especially as Noomi Rapace, who is nominally the lead, isn’t quite as interesting, at least to me. Her performance is good, particularly in the fantastic ‘abortion’ scene that’s probably the film’s highlight. Unfortunately for Rapace, in an Alien film, a female lead is always going to be compared to Sigourney Weaver, and she doesn’t quite match up! Prometheus is, I would say, not a particularly great film, but it is a very interesting one.

Next, I watched a documentary that actually uses footage from Prometheus in parts, Jodorowsky’s Dune (Frank Pavich 2013). This film tells the inside story of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s failed attempt to adapt Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune’ novel into a movie in the 1970s, and wow, this movie that never got made is far more interesting than most ones that do make it! Jodorowsky’s ambition here was huge, and I would go as far to say a bit insane. If you’ve seen any of his actual films (I really like El Topo), you’ll know that he’s a bit out there, but this would have been something else. He wanted Salvador Dali, Orson Welles and Mick Jagger in the film, he made his young son learn to swordfight, it is mental. The film features some fascinating interview snippets not just with Jodorowsky and others who worked on the film, but also with outsiders like Nicolas Winding Refn, who once sat with Jodorowsky all night whilst he acted out the film. In the end, this is not just an intriguing look at a film that never came to be, but also a great monument to the power of creativity, and a unique creative mind. Because even in failure, Dune had a massive impact. It brought Jodorowsky together with Moebius, and they would later collaborate on the Incal comic series. It had a huge influence in so much other science fiction, including Alien (Dan O’Bannon and HR Giger worked on Dune, and some of the structures in Promethus are straight from the Dune sketchbook), Flash Gordon, Star Wars and basically… everything we nerds love today. My only complaint would be that, a lot of the interviews were in French, and there were no subtitles, so I couldn’t grasp what Michel Seydoux was saying. But other than that, highly recommended.

I wrote earlier about a Michael Fassbender performance being the best part of a movie, and whilst that’s true for Prometheus, it’s definitely the case for X-Men: Apocalypse (Bryan Singer 2016), which I found to be really quite a mess, and definitely indicative of how far behind the X-Men film franchise is lagging behind others right now (please note, I haven’t seen Logan yet). As a comics fan, I of course love the X-Men, but I must admit that I haven’t really been behind the X-Men movies in a while. X3 was the last one I saw in the cinema, and Deadpool and First Class are probably the ones I would actually say were good movies these days. I haven’t watched 1 or 2 in ages, but I fear they won’t have aged well. Apocalypse is indicative of this malaise really. The plot is incredibly perfunctory, with Apocalypse just coming back, being evil, and the X-Men stopping him. There’s barely a hint of a plan from him, which is incredibly disappointing, especially as it means the normally brilliant Oscar Isaac is just wasted under layers of Ivan Ooze make-up. The rest of the cast is actually good, I mentioned him earlier, but Fassbender is just superb as Magneto. He and James McAvoy’s Professor X basically make this period piece series work singlehandedly. I initially rolled my eyes at the film manipulating our emotions by giving Magneto a family only to immediately kill them off, but damn, Fassbender sells it. Jennifer Lawrence is once again inexplicably front and centre as Mystique. I really find it weird how they’ve insisted on making her such a big hero, obviously it caught them off-guard after First Class how big a star she became, but it just doesn’t make sense to me, especially when compared the the comics. The film re-introduces a lot of familiar faces with new actors, so we now have a teen Cyclops, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler and Storm. These young actors are fine, but they aren’t given too much to do really. It pissed me off how the film has Storm side with Apocalypse for most of it and then switch sides and tries to plays it off as a big surprise. Storm one of the most famous X-Men of all of them, everyone knows she’s a good guy, you can’t get away with silly shit like that. This film just felt a bit flat and uninspired throughout, there’s an entirely unnecessary Wolverine cameo (that I actually managed to be surprised by), a decent enough Quicksilver sequence that just feels like a poor re-tread of the one in Days Of Future Past, and just a whole heap of bad CGI and lame moments. I liked parts of it, but it in no way stands up to the MCU, and isn’t even aggressively stupid bad like Suicide Squad. I really hope the X-Men movies can improve, I know that Logan is supposed to be good, and the Legion TV show was amazing, but there needs to be another good, main franchise X-Movie. Will Dark Phoenix manage that? I have my doubts. Maybe New Mutants will be good.

Speaking of New Mutants, the future Magik, Anya Taylor-Joy, is the star of the next film on the docket, The Witch (Robert Eggers 2015). This is a very atmospheric and creepy horror film set in 17th Century America, as an isolated Puritan Family comes face to face with, well, a witch. This is my kind of horror movie, not so much made up of jump scares and gore, but instead an overall unease about it, and slow ramping up of terror until everything boils over into weirdness and a talking demon goat. There are some truly unsettling sequences in this story, and it really did keep me guessing throughout as to what was going on. One thing I really appreciated was the script, as Eggers tried to make it as period accurate as possible. At first the language seems odd, but you soon get used to it. The performances are all strong, Taylor-Joy is excellent as Thomasin, and it was great to see Leeds’ own Ralph Ineson get a starring role after being excellent on so many TV shows throughout the years. And what can you even say about  Black Phillip? A tour-de-force from that Goat. The Witch is really strong film, but it is genuinely scary, it took me about 3 months to build up the courage to watch it, and it has stuck with me!

I continued the horror by watching The Babadook (Jennifer Kent 2014), and yes, I was inspired to watch it because of the ‘Babadook as a gay icon’ meme, which is just hilarious. I didn’t find that much queer subtext in the film (although he does come out of a closet…) but I did very much enjoy it. Like The Witch, this film delivers the kind of scares I like, psychological, and lingering in the background, and most importantly, rooted in real human emotions. The Babadook might not even be real, and is probably some kind of grief manifestation. But, again, like The Witch, I enjoy the ambiguity about it. Another thing I really liked is how willing the film was to make the kid into an unlikeable dick, whilst also still allowing us to care about him. The two main characters here a very complex, and there’s a lot to unpack still. The design of the Babadook is another really cool thing about this film, it’s just iconic (gay or otherwise) and I think this character could end up in the pantheon of great monsters, it really is that effectively creepy.

I also re-watched 2 big blockbusters on Blu-Ray that I wrote about more extensively when they were in the cinema; Doctor Strange (Scott Derrickson 2016) and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Gareth Edwards 2016), or as I like to call them ‘Mads Mikkelson does Disney’. Both held up on a second viewing, and I think I actually liked Doctor Strange more this time around. The visuals were amazing, and, along with Guardians Of The Galaxy 2, show that they really are willing to take the Marvel Cinematic Universe into different places. Rogue One’s tragic ending didn’t quite hit me as much this time out for obvious reasons, as I knew it was coming, but I still enjoyed it. I paid more attention to the performances, in particular Diego Luna and Ben Mendelsohn. I think Cassian Andor might be one of the most interesting characters in a Star Wars movie, I certainly would like to see more of his story, so get on it Marvel!

Television

There’s no new or returning shows this month, it’s all quick hits, and I will try and be quick!

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX) wrapped up it’s season in fine form with a bunch of double-episodes. I really enjoyed Gina Gershon’s guest role, and the way the season ended, with Rosa and Jake being sent to prison was a great cliffhanger, even topping last years! As an Earwolf podcast nerd, it was of course also great to get cameos from Scott Aukerman, Kulap Vilaysack in the finale. I get a kick out of hearing those familiar voices come out of actual faces. This is now one of the most consistently funny US sitcoms out there… hell, it’s one of the few.

The ending of Better Call Saul (AMC) Season 3 was also very good, particularly the fate of Chuck, which was just shocking and tragic. When BCS is on, it’s the best drama on TV, and it certainly has the best characters. I will say though that this 3rd season has been a bit too disjointed, as those characters were too disparate. I can’t remember the last time Jimmy and Mike shared a scene (Episode 4?) and the same can really be said for Mike and Nacho. At times it felt like 2 different shows, maybe even 3, happening concurrently. Now, all of those shows were good, but it didn’t cohere as well as it might. Hopefully Season 4 will bring things closer together. Gus’ knowing look at the end seems to indicate he knows what Nacho was up to, so I can imagine the criminal element consolidating. Plus, with Chuck dead and Kim sidelined with injury, things are bound to change for Jimmy McGill, and I imagine we’re only going to get more and more of Saul Goodman. This was an odd year for the show, but it’s still excellent, and Michael McKean really should win all the awards, he was superb throughout this season, making us loathe and sympathise with Chuck all at the same time. Any awards that don't go to him should go to Odenkirk of course.

I’m basically just going to be talking about finales this month aren’t? Archer (FXX) ended it’s ‘Dreamland’ storyline with some seriously surprising violence, I couldn’t believe how far they actually took Barry’s rampage. In the end, I thought the concept of Archer being in this Noir fever dream petered out a bit, and they didn’t stick the landing. But it was still funny, with all of the voice actors on full cylinders. I do think that it might be time to end Archer though, they’ve stretched this tone and character as far as it can go. After a whole season that’s a dream, what next? Take a leaf out of the LOST podcast joke and do a zombie season?

Gotham (FOX) got even more silly and ridiculous at the end of Season 3, with the introduction of Ra’s Al Ghul and the revelation that long-time henchman extraordinaire is Butch Gilzean is actually called Cyrus Gold, and is therefore eventually going to become Solomon Grundy. As dumb as this is, I loved it. This show is best when it verges on the camp, and these last few episodes delivered, particularly as Morena Baccarin finally got to be a bit interesting when playing an ‘evil’ Leslie Tompkins. It was great fun seeing her chew the scenery. And man, that final scene, where Bruce Wayne goes out on the streets to fight crime… it’s mad that they are doing that so soon, but I don’t care at this point. Gotham needs to go full on Adam West (RIP by the way) and never look back.

I must admit to being rather disappointed by the finale of The Flash (The CW), because the fake out of it actually being HR to die instead of Iris felt way too easy, and also because HR was just the best. I’ll miss him, but I’m sure whatever the hell version of Wells Tom Cavanaugh plays in Season 4 will also be great. The real highlight of this last set of episodes was the return of Captain Cold in ‘Infantino Street’. I can’t say it enough, but Wentworth Miller is just the best in that role. The ending of the Season redeemed things for me somewhat though, with Barry disappearing into the Speed Force, in what I think is meant to be the show’s version of his ‘death’ in Crisis On Infinite Earths (a story I have actually never read). How cool would it be if Wally was the Flash for like, half of Season 4? I would dig that. But it won’t happen.

Rounding out Superhero Corner until The Defenders comes out in the summer, Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. (ABC) had a great finale to a really strong season. It’s brilliant to see how far this show has come. They managed to tie all of the separate ‘pods’ of the season together, as Ghost Rider returned to help take out Aida in a very satisfying way. I really hope they keep this up in Season 5.

Like with Better Call Saul, it really has been an odd year for The Americans (FX), as the series shifted gears and became much more of an introspective character piece, particularly when it comes to the character of Philip. It took a while to get used to, and by the finale I was still a bit let down by how little ‘happened’, but in the end, I like where we are now. The characters, who were already well rounded, are even deeper now, and things are set up for a fascinating final season. And when you think about it, these smaller stories actually show the impact of Philip and Elizabeth’s job better than big missions. That slow grind, that loss of humanity, as driving a teenage boy to attempted suicide becomes the aim of a mission. It’s the more human side, rather than just chess pieces. And that’s really what I think The Americans is about, seeing what the Cold War was like on the ground. Let’s hope that Season 6 can marry what was good about Season 5 with the previous 4, and we really do go out with a bang. You can rest assured the acting will be fantastic, because Rhys and Russell always are.

Now for some shows that I haven’t watched the end of yet! American Gods (Starz) is still rolling along very nicely indeed, and even though as I said, I don’t really remember the book all too well, it’s adapting the story well, and even in some places improving on it. What I’ve found interesting is that, in a season of only 8 episodes, they’ve had the confidence to do 2 whole episodes that didn’t feature the 2 main characters of Shadow and Wednesday at all. One of those was all about Laura Moon coming back to life, and the other told the back-story of Mad Sweeney and Essie. Both were fantastic, and that willingness to switch things up really impressed me. The visuals of this show continue to be superb, and I am excited for the finale. It’s sitting there waiting for me right now…

iZombie (The CW) is rocketing towards it’s finale by piling on storyline after storyline and mashing them all together. At times it’s felt a bit over-stuffed, what with Blaine, Harley Johns, Stacey Boss, the conspiracy about the guy committing suicide in his cell, investigating Wally’s murder and the Mayoral Election, but mostly I think it’s worked. The most recent episode in particular did a good job a streamlining things I think and the ending was great, the world now knows zombies exist? What the? The performance of Rose McIver continues to be superb, and I loved the conceit of having her, Blaine and Don E all on the same brain at the same time, it’s awesome how they can still switch things up. I’m also enjoying the arrival of Logan Echolls himself, Jason Dohring. Can we dare hope for a Kristen Bell appearance?

Silicon Valley (HBO) is still delivering consistently strong laughs and intriguing twists and turns. I think my favourite part of this run of episodes has been Haley Joel Osment as Keenan Feldspar, he’s just really funny. I am worried about the finale now that we know that T.J. Miller is leaving the show, I don’t know how they are going to write out Ehrlich, but I don’t want them to! Hopefully Bighead will return to fill the void. I swear, he hasn’t been in like, the last 5 episodes or something.

Veep (HBO) has kicked it up a notch towards the end of Season 6, as a lot of chickens came home to roost, and Selina Meyer’s secrets were leaked to the world. It was a great episode, and was a strong use of continuity. I do still think this show has gotten a bit too broad when compared to the Iannucci years, but it is still very funny and the level of profanity and meanness still at times truly shocking. I can’t wait to see how the finale up-ends things. Selina is in a good place right now with the world finally knowing that she freed Tibet, but that can’t last, we all know it.

And finally, inspired by the start of it’s third season, I finally got around to finishing off Season 2 of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix). I did the same thing with Season 1, and will probably do the same thing with this new season. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Anyway, this was another very funny, surprisingly dark season of what is a fantastic show. I loved Tina Fey’s role as Kimmy’s therapist, and the casting of Kimmy’s mother was brilliant. I also found the romance between Titus and Mikey to be surprisingly sweet, but mainly because Titus is one of the best characters on television. My only complaint would be not enough Jon Hamm, but given that cliffhanger, I’m sure that will change!

Music

As I said in the intro, no new music this month so I won’t be able to contribute to any ‘Song Of The Summer’ debate just yet. Although that’s not actually a thing and we all know it.

Books

2 books to talk about this month, and both of them are from writers linked to my one true passion, comics. First up is Norse Mythology (2017) by Neil Gaiman, which as the title would suggest, is a re-telling of the Norse myths from Gaiman. It’s pretty cool to read his take on the direct myths, as these characters have popped up throughout his work. Whether in Sandman or American Gods, Gaiman has put his stamp on the likes of Odin and Loki, and it’s interesting to see him interpret the original stories. Like Gaiman, I first encountered the Norse Gods in the pages of Marvel Comics, and whilst these versions are therefore familiar, there’s something different about them, something darker for sure. This felt like a faithful, albeit poetic adaptation of the stories, as most of them were ones I knew, whether from the comics (if you’ve never read Matt Fraction and Patrick Zircher’s series of Thor one-shots that re-tell the myths you need to rectify that) or from previous takes on the myths or even just cultural osmosis. All of the familiar Gods appear, and you get stories like when Thor dressed as a woman to kill a Frost Giant, or the old beggar who built Asgard in a year. One thing I liked is that Gaiman really gets across how these stories are part of an oral tradition, and not all of them survive, so you get intentional continuity errors and characters just disappearing. It’s clear that there were other myths back then, but not all of them have survived to today. The short chapter length means that this book would probably actually be perfect for reading aloud, and I may even listen to the audiobook if Gaiman is reading it himself. He has a fantastic voice for audiobooks, it’s how I read The Graveyard Book for the first time. One other advantage this re-telling has over the comics is that Gaiman is able to actually reach ‘Ragnarok’, the death of the Gods, and go through with it. In the Marvel Universe, even though Ragnarok has happened (a couple of times in fact) and Thor has died or been replaced even more, you still know that nothing will change, but not in this case. All of the Gods, particularly Balder and Loki, meet their eventual tragic ends. This is a very enjoyable read, especially for someone who, like me, has an interest in myths and legends. It’s clear that Gaiman has a lot of affection for these Gods (particularly Loki, who is wonderfully complex here) and stories, and he more than does them justice. I would certainly be interesting in seeing Gaiman tackle other Pantheons, I personally like Greek Myth the best, but would like to know more about Egyptian as well.

I’m currently just under half-way through Michael Chabon’s Moonglow (2016) and am very much enjoying it. This novel is styled as a memoir and sees Chabon detail the life of his grandparents, particularly his grandfather. Jumping back and forth throughout his life, Chabon allows us to see what his grandfather was like as a child, as a soldier in WW2, as a newlywed, and and as an old man. So far it’s a fascinating book, both in terms of how Chabon details the complex characters of both grandparents, and also in how he tackles the hazy nature of memory and truth. It’s never clear just how much of the book is actually true, the characters are never actually named (it’s just ‘my grandfather’ or ‘my mother’) so it could all be 100% fiction. I tend to lean into it mostly being true, but in the end, it doesn’t really matter does it? As is usual with Chabon, the writing here is very strong, with some very beautiful sentences and moments. The fact that we know that the central characters here die at the very outset makes everything, particularly the romance, bittersweet, and Chabon nails that. It’s interesting, but the book I keep comparing this to is Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow. Both books are about V2 rockets in WW2, but one is a weird, sprawling epic, whereas the other is an intimate character piece. It just shows how different writers can approach the same topic in completely differing ways. I don’t think Moonglow is quite as good as Kavalier and Clay, but what is? It’s still a very good book and I am excited to read the rest of it.

Games

After going months, nay, years, with no games section, I now have 2 games to write about! You wait for a bus…

Anyway, along with Zelda, I’ve now also bought Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo Switch 2017) and whilst I haven’t played it a whole lot, is a whole lot of fun, because, well, it’s Mario Kart! Those games are always fun, the more things change, the more things stay the same. They may have added a boat-load of new characters (including Link, which is weird) and added a bunch of bells and whistles and para-gliders onto the Karts, but it’s basically the same game I’ve been playing since the N64, a mad-cap race on some insane courses. I haven’t played every track yet, but I’m getting there. One thing I really appreciate about this particular version is that you can use a single Switch Joycon as a controller, so I didn’t need to shell (heh) out £60 for another controller in order to play multiplayer. I’ve always enjoyed playing against someone else who’s actually in the room over online, so that’s a huge plus, not just for Mario Kart but for the Switch in general if future games follow suit. Mario Kart is hard to really talk about critically because it’s so pure at what it is, but I do love it. And who do I play as you ask? Yoshi of course, always Yoshi. Although sometimes Toad.

As for The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild (Nintendo Switch 2017) I’ve spent most of my recent time trying in vain to capture and train horses. I’ve really been embracing the freedom the game provides to do things in whatever order I want. I haven’t even gone to Kakariko Village yet! I’m probably a bad player, but I don’t mind, I’m having a lot of fun and the game is still as beautiful and clever as ever. There’s a real romance to this game, I find it an emotional and exhilarating experience to play.

—

So that’s your lot, hope you enjoyed it. I’ll be back in about a month with some more. It’s summer, so expect there to be a lot less TV and maybe just a whole lot less of everything if this weather keeps up! Although you can take Switches outside…