#niks knacks

[nikskylix]

putting my autism on full display here we go:

he looks young, but his flak jacket tells me he's minimum chunin in this art. i'm guessing it's just regular ol' jonin kakashi

kannabi bridge art? maybe? his gloves aren't the fingerless ones he wears as an adult, could be anbu, though again his gloves lack the metal plating? though his genin gloves reach down his arm + also have metal. i'm gonna guess anbu?

jonin kakashi, no notes

also jonin kakashi, although i don't remember him ever taking his hitai-ate off. except in the kakazu-hidan fight?

again, jonin kakashi. i'm guessing post war just because i've never seen that man so happy. sniffles. he looks like sakumo

the sleeveless top on adult kakashi is a very specific point in shippuden. i could not tell you when. he was in the hospital, but that does not help because he is always in the hospital for some fucking reason. OH IT WAS THE TENCHI RECONNAISSANCE MISSION W YAMATO

anbu!! very obvious. the sleeveless shirt (black, not blue like jonin), the grey armor, him not wearing his hitai ate

KANNABI BRIDGE KAKASHIII my son :( He's so sad :( that's his genin outfit, the sword he's holding is sakumos after it was broken during this mission (it broke pre cave, and since he has the sharingan, i'm assuming its broken). fun fact i always get kannabi bridge and the rin retrieval mission confused. the entire time i was writing this i kept forgetting it wasn't one really bad mission lmaoo

take my quiz if you like EthosLab and/or Kakashi

[nikskylix]

do you want to talk about how parkour civ is fundamentally about the importance of support systems in a society that's designed to pit you against others in your situation. do you ever think about how significance of the phrase "in my parkour civilization, everyone has the chance to try again" .

do you ever think about how evbo didn't make it to the top purely due to luck, but because of the help and liberty of others? and how many second chances he got? and how a large part of the story is about how important it is not only to try again, but to be able to try again? do you ever think about how evbo would've never gotten to level up to pro if the old man didn't give him a ticket after he failed his first attempt? how he would've died if emf hadn't given him the totem? how he would've fallen into the void while collecting the discs if the parkour god snitch apf hadn't caught him?

do you ever think about how seawatt is a foil to that? do you ever think about how parkour civilization is inherently about second chances.

[nikskylix]

hear me out. jesus/judas and seavbo parallels.

jesus and evbo represent humanity (love and passion/spirit respectively), while judas and seawatt one of the seven deadly sins (greed and wrath respectively) . judas committing suicide out of remorse (but not repentance) after betraying jesus vs "for what it's worth, i was telling the truth when i said i enjoyed working with you" being seawatt's final words instead of regret/remorse for his actions. the death of jesus of nazarath and resurrection/rebirth into the son of god, evbo jumping into the void of his own accord and being reborn (metaphorically) as the parkour god. hear me out.

[churchofsatannews]

The Metro #739

This week on The Metro, Rev. Jeff Ivins brings the following bands to your ear for you enjoyment: Gleaming Spires, Nik Kershaw, Missing Persons, Sparks & Jane Wiedlin, Untouchables, The Fixx, The Replacements, XTC, The Vapors, 1927, UB40, The Knack, Quarterflash, and finishing up with Peter Gabriel. Stream The Metro #739. Download The Metro #739.

[nekrosmos]

Nekro, Nekro! I come barrelling in with a something, with limited grammatical clarity because my brain is more fried than a Mars Bar in Glasgow.

I was just reading your and Gomz's Plant Dad Price AU and I saved this cat because I was like "hmmm, this animal is giving Nikprice" and I wasn't sure how. But!

Plant Dad Price adopting things that no one else wants. This fluffy Maine Coon has a serious attitude problem, but adopts Price as its person. It starts off as a scraggly, skinny, lanky thing, with patches missing. Noe, it's fucking HUGE. Can use Johnny as a scratching post. Seems to have a knack for sniffing out explosives.

Enter: Demolition Cat.

It tolerates Nik.

DEMOLITION CAT !!! The newest 141 member, probably the fiercest one at that (Definitely has something against Johnny, keeps biting his hands. Is okay with Simon, stray cats respecting each other. Keeps sleeping on Gaz's stuff and puts hair everywhere.)

Also, Price just gives "dad who didn't want a cat" vibe, doesn't he?

Well look at him now :3c

[pricegouge]

Uhm your last ask abt fairy reader in price’s humidor and I can’t resist

Price having his fairy warm his cigars for him between her legs

Maybe she can make fairy sparks to light his cigar (gives it the same kinda kick as the honey cause it’s got distilled magic in it). Or maybe he makes her strain to flick his table lighter. Maybe he scares her with it, holding her while threatening to burn the bottoms of her feet while she squirms.

Maybe he switches to cigarillos or hand rolled options sometimes— cause with the right finesse, those can fit in her tiny fairy cunt, her honey soaking into the paper.

And in a world where people milk fairy honey? There’s probably all kinds of tools and substances they sell to get fairies aroused fast, but price has a bit too much pride, likes to do things the slow, old fashioned way.

Nikolai who keeps his fairy leashed because he can’t bear to clip her wings. To much empathy for flying creatures— he cannot rob you of that. Or maybe he’s had her long enough to not worry— she’s fully tamed and trained. She’ll lick the powdered sugar from his fingers if he has a donut for breakfast. Price’s fairy is terrified of Nik’s— will she be like that some day? Acting like she’s in love with her tormentor?? She’s even more scared when Nik offers to train her as a favor.

And she gets this funny feeling in her belly when price laughs and politely declines. Says he likes her just the way she is.

(And if we’re talking hardcore objectification. I imagine Soap’s careless. He’s been through more than one fairy in his day. No big deal— Ghost’ll just find him another. Misfits have a knack for finding them)

I’m going a little crazzzyyy

-🦷

[reference - no longer my most recent ask, i'm slow]

i raise you: price training her how to properly hug his cock by making her work herself over his cigars. i also raise you price training his fairy to spark when he flicks her head as if she's a lighter like a fucking dog.

him dipping cigarillos in her cunt is making me severely unwell. can just see him running out of flavor half way through, patting down his pockets like she's a misplaced lighter just to freshen up his dart even as it's still smoking

okay. not particularly related to what you're talking about, but the jewelry bit added at the end of that fic was def inspired by art i found which i'm unfortunately not gonna link just cause i saw it on a repost site and i'm not sure where to find the original art cause I don't have any social media. but! the artist very clearly had a line in which they depicted fairy girls being turned into jewelry and the main link piece would often be a specialized plug their size attached to a chain which would obv be linked to the actual jewelry. i don't really have anywhere i'm going with this I just thought you should know that.

hm. i can picture nik's fairy having just as much empathy for him straight from the gate. like what do you mean this human knows what the world looks like from above better than he does from his actual (significant) level? she's easy to train because she lets herself be trained, at least a little, but price's fairy doesn't know that!! she's scared as hell to be made into some docile little creature, but price would never allow it. she'll never admit she's grateful for him but she is when he tells nik he can handle it, when he stuffs her into his pocket so she can't quite hear when he says he likes her just the way she is, teeth marks on his finger tips and all

(also also. im not normal about burning so i won't go too crazy BUT. i will say when he's training her to bahave like a lighter, he def holds the heated metal of the guard against her ☹️)

[on-a-lucky-tide]

i wonder if nikolai got into western stuff during his adolescence or adulthood? i HC that he got glimpses of it during childhood perhaps from trips/patrols near the wall or when he defected from russia. hmmm

This is a great idea. Maybe this is how Nik first began to hone the skills he needed to be a fixer; smuggling western memorabilia into his home for his own collection. I imagine he had an old Walkman and a collection of cassettes containing everything from glam metal and hair bands to Madonna. Baby Nik grooving in his bedroom to Careless Whisper, I Love Rock N Roll, Like a Virgin and You Shook Me All Night Long.

He had newspaper clippings of major stories that were broken very differently in the west, posters of men he found attractive rolled up and stuffed in the back of his closet, knick knacks and tokens of western culture that is either missing or all out forbidden, but he started getting too big for his boots and smuggling in film reels which were harder to hide and watch, and he almost got into a Metric Shit Ton of trouble for a copy of Rain Man.

And Nik was born in 1975. Nik is ten in 1985. I imagine he starts his smuggling operation around eleven or twelve, pretending to be much older through his correspondence and never appearing in person. He's a hyper intelligent kid using all those brains to do what kids do best; disobey, do things they're told not to, get excited by the forbidden and mysterious.

As Nik matures and the Soviet Union crumbles, I think the socialist principles installed in him through his education (and mother's influence) begin to assert themselves, and he becomes more critical of consumer capitalism and all its trappings. Much of that collection disappears when he has to leave anyway.

He still has the Walkman though, and maybe Price finds him listening to it one evening in the flat, the foam on the headphones brittle, falling away, some of the buttons cracked and sticking. It reminds him of a simpler time, when he was bright-eyed, hopeful, innocent. Who can begrudge him that?

[nikskylix]

effervescent sunday sounds like an evangelical cult

[cod-thoughts]

What about silly pricenik?

This is great i love sharing dumb headcanons ive got hehe. Heres some i have in my notes! These are most of them! Rest is under the cut there was...a lot 0_0

Nikolai

Despite being a fantastic pilot, Nik has a horrible sense of direction on the ground. He once got lost in a massive tesco's and refused to ask for help, claiming he was “scouting the exits.”

Nik insists on making every departure as dramatic as possible. Helicopter pickups? Cue the music. Leaving a room? He slams the door just right so it echoes.

Nik’s sense of humour is as dry as the desert, and he can deliver the most absurd statements with a completely straight face. Soap once believed for an entire day that Nik had a pet bear named Boris. Nik gifts Soap a stuffed bear with a note that says his name is Boris for secret santa two years later too.

Nik collects tiny, odd souvenirs from missions—a bottle cap, a rusty coin, a piece of scrap metal. His pockets are always jingling, and Price swears he’s part magpie.

Nik is surprisingly good at poker and never misses a chance to challenge the team. His poker face is so good that even Ghost has a hard time reading him.

He won’t admit it, but Nik has a soft spot for cheesy romantic comedies. He does drag Price to watch the opera, theatre or musicals and Price loves it because Nik is so happy there however, Price refuses to watch a single rom-com "Sorry, Nik, love can only do so much."

Nik can MacGyver his way out of almost anything. Once built a makeshift flare gun out of a broken torch and a rubber band. It worked—just barely.

Nik’s rucksack is always bursting with random things—extra batteries, half a loaf of bread, a flask, and tools for a job no one asked for. Somehow, it all ends up being useful.

He has an entire list of mission rituals he swears by, like tapping the side of the helicopter before takeoff or wearing the same lucky socks on dangerous ops.

His voice booms like he’s addressing a crowd. Gaz calls him “The Walking Megaphone.”

Nik has a habit of keeping little mementos—like the first time Price scrawled mission coordinates on a scrap of paper for him, which Nik still keeps in his jacket pocket.

He once made a playlist for Price that was entirely love songs in Russian, claiming, “It’s all about the vibe.” (yeah, sure nik. Price looked up some of the lyrics and blushed furiously before finding nik and making some of the lyrics come to life...)

Even in the worst situations, Nik finds a way to keep spirits up. He once cracked a joke mid-firefight that had even Ghost smirking.

Wherever they go, Nik seems to have a knack for charming the locals. Whether it’s his booming laugh or his easy smile, he somehow ends up with an invitation to dinner by the end of every mission.

NikPrice

Nik insists on picking Price up for missions in the most inconvenient places possible (when he can)—like rooftops, narrow alleyways, or middle-of-nowhere fields. Price grumbles about it every time, but Nik calls it “adventure pickup.” The boys love it just because it annoys Price.

They’ve worked together so long they don’t need words to communicate during a mission. Nik swears it’s because they’re “two halves of one operational brain,” to which Price always mutters, “God help us all.”

Nik once stole Price’s hat during a mission and refused to return it until Price called him “the best pilot in the world.” Price begrudgingly complied, but Nik still teases him about it.

Nik has a habit of doing absurdly dramatic favours for Price, like flying halfway across the world to deliver a forgotten map. When asked why, he always shrugs and says, “For you, John? Anything.” (Price eventually realises its not cause Nik can, its cause Nik wants to and he finally puts them both out of their misery and asks him out. Price thinks this will stop Nik, it in fact does not)

Their comms during missions are half professional, half flirting banter. Soap and Gaz are constantly muting their headsets to avoid laughing during stealth ops. Ghost is just used to it at this point.

Despite the chaos of missions, Nik has a way of carving out small, quiet moments with Price—whether it’s a cup of tea at dawn or sitting shoulder-to-shoulder in silence on a rooftop, sharing a flask.

Nik isn’t overly demonstrative in professional settings, but his gestures still speak volumes—brushing a speck of dust off Price’s shoulder without a pause from Price, straightening his collar too, or resting a hand on his lower back as they move through crowded spaces. When it's just them or them and the team though? Nik is all over Price, extremely touchy, does not care if Price is bright red or the team make fun of them for acting like teenagers. He is touching his Captain.

Nik knows every scar on Price’s body and has a story for each one. Price doesn’t like talking about his injuries, but with Nik, he doesn’t mind. Nik tells him his own tales in return, trading battle marks like old soldiers comparing medals.

Nik insists Price’s coat is impractical for cold weather and always drapes his heavier jacket over Price’s shoulders without asking. Price protests half-heartedly, but he never takes it off, it smells like Nik and leather, what's he supposed to do? Not tuck his nose into the collar and smell the familiar scent of his partner?

Their eyes do most of the talking. On missions, one look is all it takes to communicate everything—from reassurance to affection to, occasionally, “I’m going to kill you for that stunt later.”

[seyvia]

Nikolas sets off to focus on his inner peace following his elimination. Three weeks have passed since the event, and Nik is completely unaware that today is the airing of his elimination episode. His phone is suddenly overflowing with sympathy and messages of support, and Nafisa? He can easily find every detail about her online. However, instead of being a virtual fan, he rather take it a step further and get to know her face to face! He's coming back to the dating scene with a fresh perspective and sharper skills. And ever the optimistic he noticed they have a lot in common, both enjoy yoga, mornings, and if she's self-absorbed, then she wouldn't mind his nosiness right? ( ^ω^ )

Is Nikolas Nafisa's knight in natural linens? Or will this dueling interest yogi, face rejection once more? Find out at @flocy-sims Nestled with Nafisa!

More below:

Name: Nicholas Knight. Age 28 (he-him)

Aspiration: Inner peace. Traits: Goofball, Vegetarian, Nosey.

Likes: coffee, green, brown, mischief, gossip, wellness, mixology, guitar, boho fashion, deep conversations, sunrises and bike rides. Her hair, like that's a goddesses hair!💕(going to like calling her goddess/angel)

Dislikes: eating meat, "boring sims"(small talk), sleeping in, arguing, violin. the nick name Nik-knack-patty-whack...

Extra: Nik completed the master of mischief asp at 21. currently living in a cute blue trailer he got half priced. He believes scarves are an extremely underrated accessory. He grew up in Windenburg. He got a really bad haircut as a kid and has been styling his own hair eversince. His parents resent him because he "wasted all his potential". Grew up in a well-to-do family where they didn't like it if you exploded the toilets, not even a little!

let me know if you want more info, hope yuh like him💕 (^///^)

I CAN'T BELIEVE I Robbed y’all by not showing Nickolas's hair down before!!! My deepest apologies! ❤️┗( T﹏T )┛

[nikskylix]

hi, i wrote a silly little seavbo fic with a sprinkle of evbo as icarus imagery (and seawatt being the ocean that catches him). give it a read if you're interested :) <3

[nikskylix]

@wimdywhimsy you core

oooh cybercore …. or like robots n stuff …..

[◎口◎''] ??? CYB3RCORE GR4PH1CS 🌐

divider here! X

[stoutguts]

Price I bet would be such a great dad. Like, so many headcanon him as being a father figure to the 1-4-1, I don’t think it’s far-fetched for him to have some kids at home. Adopted, cause NikPrice, but even though they’re adopted, Nikolai and John love them as if they were their own blood. Of course.

They try to be there for their kids as much as they possibly can. Spends about every damn second of their leaves with them. Always incredibly excited to see them when they come home, always thinking about them, calling, texting, and facetiming when they can. When the kids were younger and they weren’t around, Laswell’s wife would volunteer to watch them and take care of them while they were gone. Since she loves kids.

Like just imagine:

Price putting his signature hat on the kids as babies, and the hat being way too big for them of course, so it leads lots of goofy pictures and shenanigans. It does something to John to see his kids in his hat, gets him emotional.

Both Nik and Price being hella supportive and passionate about their kids being into sports. Showing up to about every damn game or practice if possible. Known as the dads who cuss other kids out and yell obscenities. Leading to a crying something-year-old and angry parents on more than one occasion.

Nikolai getting their kids into metal and hard rock, and him bonding with them over music taste. (In reference to that one scene where he's doing some mechanic shit, when Laswell approaches him. (There's a Russian metal band playing on his radio or whatever in the background). (The name of said band is Slaughter To Prevail, and the song is "Bonebreaker"). (Thanks to @the-gentle-art-to-going-insane for informing on the band/song that's Nik's listening to in the comments!)

Both Nik and John bringing their kids home souvenirs and knick-knacks whether that be from the field, or if they find the time to shop where they're deployed.

The couple telling all kinds of crazy ass stories to their kids, from Price's time in the Russian gulag, to tales of when Nik was in the army. Then once the kids are grown, they end up passing down those stories to their own children. 💖

PARENTS!NIKPRICE MY BELOVED

CAN I GET A HELL YEAH 🔥

ALSO

apologies for being so inactive latelyyy

mental health is hard, and keeping up with my social medias has been exhausting

Also ALSO

this had been sitting in my drafts for at least a month 💀

[daenysthedreamer101]

Youngest Original ~ TVDU

Mikaelson!OC headcanons

Klaus's relationship with Kassandra

TVD masterlist

Ok, these two. They have a complicated relationship, but aren't all of Klaus's relationships like that?

When Kassie was little she would braid Klaus's golden curls and she would make flower crowns for him

She could sense that there was bad blood between him and their father

She knew their father hated Nik so she always made sure to give him extra love

Her choice and desire for peace didn't sit right with Klaus who was always offended when she didn't choose his side.

She would explain to him that there's no point in fighting internally and that they have to be strong and united together. Her peaceful nature often clashed with Klaus's fiery desire for revenge and violence.

Klaus would view Kassandra as a baby and someone who could potentially hinder his plans.

He would, like the rest of his siblings, be extremely protective of her. He has a lot of enemies and knows that they would exploit and abuse his love for Kassandra.

He would try to hide her whenever he could, not wanting others to know of her existence. He would (for a long time) view her as weak and a liability.

And her fondness and apparent preference for Elijah over him would make him jealous and envious for her attention.

He loved her, yes, more so than his other siblings, but was still wary of her often childish innocence and optimism. Her positive outlook on the world and her insistence on helping humans annoyed him to no end.

"Humans are nothing but food to us, not our friends" He often told her. She would insist that they were also humans once, but all her arguments would fall on deaf ears.

Over the centuries, Klaus had daggered most of his siblings at least a couple of times.

Elijah and Kassandra were a different story.

Klaus kept Elijah around since he viewed him as useful and someone who was always there to clean up his messes.

Kassandra on the other hand was kept around purely to keep Klaus company and to entertain him.

His youngest sister always had a knack for music and singing. She would often sing to him to try and pacify him, and, even though he would never admit it, it worked.

She had a calming effect on him and was able to tame him in a way no one else could.

Klaus and she often argue - she doesn't appreciate how he tends to dismiss her opinions and ideas, and she doesn't like how he daggers their other siblings.

They share a love for the finer things in life

They love touring art galleries, opera houses, and theatres

She had definitely been his muse and he has painted her several times throughout the centuries

She herself loves art but prefers pencil drawings and water baised painting

She never got the hang on oil painting like Klaus did

Extreme baby sister privileges!

Klaus has killed people for looking at him the wrong way, but Kassie calls him out on his bs, and leaves with out a scratch

It seems like she's the only person on the planet (besides Elijah) who can calm him down and tame his inner wolf

She never loved him any less because of the fact that he was her half brother

She never cared that he was a werewolf, on the contrary, was a staunch supporter of him breaking the curse in 1492

She loves poking his dimples. That's her go to way to make him smile

And it always works

"Come on! Smile! It would do you wonders if you let yourself be happy for once!" She said while poking his cheek

*he rolls his eyes and tries to keep a straight face*

"You have a beautiful smile. The world would be a better place if you smiled more"

[trans-elrond]

Nik! Did you watch Rebel Moon? How was it?

Yes hello this is my 4 star review of rebel moon on letterboxd.

But first: a professional, somewhat critical review of rebel moon that engages with the film well, especially regarding anti-colonial themes, and isn't just knee-jerk regurgitated Snyder haterism:

And now more of my thoughts: [edit: Oh No, He Went And Talked For 3 Hours About It, Thanks For Coming To My TedTalk:)

No one has a better knack at putting together a cast list SO ATTRACTIVE TO THE BISEXUALS. read it and weep, boys. (Jena Malone is there too but really just for 1 set piece)

...Jena Malone's one (1) scene set piece features her as an alien spider woman with legitimate grievances against the Empire who now wants to kill kids because all her kids were killed. Like, so valid, girl. Also, did I say Jena Malone as an alien spider-woman? And this is just one scene.

Look, if that pitch doesn't hook you, this film may not be for you, and that's okay, but by GOD my people are the people who hear "Jena Malone alien spider woman" and perk up. I love you, freaks.

The cinematography is ace and always will be under Snyder's direction. music by Tom Holkenborg SLAPS. Costuming and design overall is super super strong. (People on this hellsite are always complaining about inadequate, boring as hell sci-fi design and you get RM and you don't appreciate it for what it is. WAKE UP.)

Costume showcase! Second from the right in this photo showing off those sweet sweet sci-fi costume designs is my beloved non-binary they/them revolutionary Milius. CANONICALLY non-binary, let me add. Imagine SW doing that lmaoooooooooooo D*ve Filoni would fuckin keel over and die

Kora! Our tragic female protagonist of color who's over 40, with a dark edgy sexy background. [KIDNAPPED AS A CHILD!! DEAD FAMILY!!! DEAD LOVER!!!!!!! SHE FAILED TO PROTECT HER WARD FROM ASSASSINATION!!!!! SHE IS THE MOST WANTED WOMAN IN THE UNIVERSE!!]

Bitches on tumblr LOVE taking failmen with sad backstories from media and blorbifying them, but the second it's a woman? please. If this was a man people would be writing the filthiest x reader smut you've seen since Mandalorian S1 came out. If this was a man you'd already have seen 20,000 fan drawings of her with her muscles and tits OUT. God where's my Kora fanart.

I personally have no problems with the plot of this movie (part 1 of 2) being "we must collect warriors to fight the evil empire." That's kinda fantasy story 101 and I still love new, varied interpretations of that plot.

If there's not much interconnecting plot because Kora's just gathering fighters, it's kinda like... that's the point, babes, they'll actually get to it in part 2. We're just at the "forming the team" stage. I revel in that part of a fantasy film and I always want it to be longer, so this film is like catnip to me.

Uh, yeah, this is getting long. More under the cut.

Entertainment professional nitpick time! I've seen someone say RM would be better as a TV show to introduce a new character each episode. And I truly don't think that fixes any of the problems this person has with the film, while introducing way more problems. (Who the fuck would go in on an original concept TV show where each episode introduces a new hero. You could not sell that pitch to a studio, ever, and viewers would instantly check out if they didn't like the introduced character of the week, and the same complaints would be made: it’s just a new character intro blah blah blah. This wouldn’t fix anything! It would very much make it worse!)

Me, like every day, through gritted teeth: that's... not... how... tv... works...

Like be realistic for a hot second with me. Television is not "long movie"—it is a different medium with different rules. Yes, the past decade has blurred many lines between TV and film, but they're still different mediums, and when people blur them ("it's a 10-hour movie!") the results often suck ass, because you either lack episodic structure or you lack feature structure. Snyder is a feature filmmaker who has never worked in TV. Whenever features people jump into TV, it's a whole other learning curve! They're usually terrible at it! You want Snyder to have to learn a new medium? You want him to learn 5/6-act TV structure from scratch? You want him to (horrified gasp) lead a writers room? Those are not his strengths, baby. Let him play in his space opera sandbox.

And I'm not done! You want the casting team to have to deal with the headache of getting feature film actors to star in a TV show? (Pay cuts! Longer commitments! TV production timelines!) You want to do that to me, personally, and fuck up the TV landscape some more by going, "Oh, we can basically just make a Longer Feature Film in TV"? Fuck off with that. TV has different production realities and different basic story structures. A [long] film [with two parts] is still a film, in structure and production practicalities.

Truly, Tumblr media studies brains (derogatory) at it again.

To each their own, but again, I think RM's structure is fun because it gives me more of the goodies (badass, varied character intros) for the price of one (2-hour film.) Like... that's the good stuff, that's often the most exhilarating part of a film for me. And contrary to popular belief, it's not intro to intro without rising tension or stakes. It builds tension as it goes because new facets of resistance against the Motherworld are explored in each character's intro scene. New ways they fight back, new worlds on which they fight back. And a ticking time bomb of the King's Gaze (king's gays lol) catching up.

Here, have a trailer bc Tumblr's mad at me for too much text in one block.

...I like the RM characters. I want to spend time with them and see what other zany shenanigans Snyder will have them do. (Alien bar fights! Taming a space gryphon! Lightsaber battle!) I like the side-quest-y, exploratory, space opera sandbox playground nature. It's fun, and like, again, if you don't perk up at the concept of collecting cool characters like action figures, this film may just not be for you.

To me it's a polycule. Like, the most messed up polycule in the whole galaxy, but it's a polycule.

Speaking of: THE CHARACTERS ROCK. Yeah, we're missing some significant character development because Netflix truncated Snyder's 4-hr, R-rated film into a 2-hr PG-13 version (likely to be able to release the 4-hr cut later, drum up new press, and get more eyeballs on the movie in total in a few months.) That's... not really Snyder's fault [even though he claims he's in on the plan... some part of me thinks it was Netflix's idea and not his. Stinks of studio meddling.] And it's not indicative of the quality of the actual film, which I currently see as more of an abridged version of the R-rated film that's gonna come out and fill up some of these story holes.

If people are judging the film for not being the 4-hour version, and then decide not to see the 4-hour version, that's their call, but it's kinda shitty to act like the 2-hr version is all there is. Like it probably wasn't Snyder's call to do a 2-hr cut! He's said that the 4-hr one is a whole different movie. I betcha the common criticisms (not enough character development, just jumps from character intro to character intro without interconnection, lack of structure) will be helped, if not outright solved, by the longer cut.

I think people are also happy to take a Part 1 of a movie if it's, say, Dune, and the source material has another part, so Part 1 is allowed to be fucking boring, whereas people don't give that kind of allowance to original sci-fi movies, WHICH IS A REASON WE DON'T GET ORIGINAL SCI-FI. If you're painting with as huge and cosmic a palette as space opera Rebel Moon, the 4-8 hours total across the 2 four-hour parts is kinda bare minimum for an epic. So... patience is a virtue? Let part 1 have elements of IT'S KIND OF A PROLOGUE?

What's that saying? If you want the rewards of space opera worldbuilding with an ensemble cast, you must submit to the mortifying ordeal of 2 hours of setup. Geez. Enjoy the wacky exposition or get out of the space opera genre.

Yeah, that leads me to the point of people who don't enjoy space opera are getting mad at RM for fulfilling the promises of the genre. You might truly be happier elsewhere. The whole thing is over-the-top, huge-scale MELODRAMA and I thrive on melodrama. If it's too cheesy for you, don't come to space operas!!!!!!!

On that note, people have said RM is too tropey and too Star Wars-y. But like I said. If you don't love the tropes get out of the genre!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you aren't here for bloodier/hornier Star Wars get out of RM!!!!

Another big idea I would be remiss to skip over. RM is an explicitly, deliberately anti-colonial, anti-imperial text—far, far more so than any other mainstream sci-fi currently being released. Well-intentioned liberals love to tout Star Trek/Star Wars as progressive media but they really hedge and defang all their political commentary, especially in their 21st century franchise form—think the SW sequels/shows straight up woobifying K*lo Ren in realtime and the Trek shows that (while fun!) are really often just nostalgia bait.

RM is pretty fucking radical. Its theme basically is Kill Nazis—or in expanded form, something along the lines of "The empire will eat up everything of value in the universe unless it is met with unified armed resistance built on solidarity."

And just look at RM's casting. We're not colorblind here; we're very color-conscious. (That's a rant for another day, but I've really started to despise colorblind casting for its extremely well-intentioned-liberal "we're all the same" mentality. It just winds up erasing.) Anyway: RM features the explicitly American-English-Afrikaans empire vs. the Algerian Amazigh protagonist, Black freedom fighters, Japanese revolutionary... and like. Snyder's always gonna be into Vikings so obviously we have Space Vikings too, whatever. Look at me, I can criticize Snyder too! The Poor Sad Space Vikings are not the strongest part of the film!

...Anyway of course the empire vs. revolution is absolutely kind of Star Wars-y since RM is highkey Snyder's Star Wars, but it goes so much further than SW dreamed (or, perhaps, nightmared). SW's rebels/resistance continually get defanged because they're kind of foundationally space magic/singular hero's quest deals, and modern SW with the exception of Rogue One/Andor is just politically, socially stupid. In contrast, RM is about forming a coalition, without something like the Force to help you out. I could write an essay on the ways RM starts in the same place Star Wars starts but takes its politics so much more seriously, so much further.

While I'd argue "good politics" and "artistic quality" rarely correlate, RM is explicitly and doggedly a text about the colonial empire that exploits, enslaves, abuses, and seeks to utterly control marginalized people groups in its quest for domination—and god, I would LOVE to see a resurgence in very fanged, very angry political sci-fi.

One more aside. Snyder has been rightfully criticized for his earlier works basking in fascist-adjacent, hypermasculine aesthetics; 300 is notably super duper racist in how it depicts savage/monstrous Persians vs. Beautifully Good White Spartans Defending Their Culture. (more on "300 Bad" stored up in my brain if anyone wants THAT rant.) To Snyder's credit, none of his films since 300 have really done that—parts of Batman v Superman and his cut of Justice League purposefully poke fun at it. The hypermasculinity is kinda still there, but it's subsumed in the service of melodrama and mythic-flavored cinema, and it's kinda a staple of the action genre anyway, and if you're gonna criticize Snyder without criticizing EVERY ACTION MOVIE EVER, that's just more regurgitated Snyder haterism.

No one is doing mythic action like Snyder these days. No one has the balls and the command of melodrama & operatic visuals. And it comes clearly from Snyder's background in art & art history because all his shots are jam-packed with symbolism and meaning and allusion. So criticize the film for its weaknesses if you like but geez, if I see another post railing about the lack of CRAFT in RM, I will start biting. ALMOST NO BLOCKBUSTER HAS THIS LEVEL OF CRAFT. It's okay that you don't understand visual storytelling, babygirl, but please don't accuse Snyder of lacking craft.

Sorry, you've triggered Cinema Defense Mechanisms in me, I'm gonna have to sit down for a while after this.

I have more takes. Takes hot enough to fuel the King's Gaze (king's gays lol.) But I'll end with a funny observation: I transed my gender (cheers, shouts, hoorays) just about the time I was getting ready to watch Rebel Moon, and in one shocking, epiphanic moment I turned to my partner and went "Of COURSE I'm a man. I like Zack Snyder." So........... do with that what you will.

[chickensarentcheap]

Bed time sneak peak :)

The chapter is finished, but not polished. But here is a bit:

@tragiclyhip @youflickedtooharddamnit @secretaryunpaid @themaradwrites @thebejeweledwatercat @munstysmind @mrsmungus @asirensrage @residentdormouse @karimac @kmc1989 @alisbackalleybbq @theesirenteller @ninjasawakenedmystar

“It was a beautiful day.”

Tyler arches a quizzical brow.

“When Millie was born.  It was sunny and cool, and the leaves were just starting to change.”

“Seems kinda fitting. That she came along when she did.  It was always her mum’s favourite season; Esme used to go on and on about fall in New York City. About how she’d always take walks in Central Park; she loved seeing all the different colours and hearing the leaves crunching under her feet and how the air actually seemed fresh for a change. She made it sound incredible. Beautiful.”

“She has a knack of seeing things differently than we do.  She holds onto so much trust and wonder; she sees the beauty in everything. And everyone. She could watch the same sunset a million times and find a million different things to marvel at. I used to tease her about it;  almost scold her for being that way.   For always seeing the cup as ‘half full’.  But now that I think about it, wouldn’t it be better if we all saw it that way?”

“She’s just different, Nik.  From what we’re used to.  We’ve all been through hell and back. In one way or another.  And somehow she’s still like that.  I used to give her shit for it, too.  Always said she was setting herself up for disappointment if she kept seeing the world like she did. Seeing the good in everyone no matter how shitty they treated her.  Even told her how stupid it all seemed;  that she was being naive and childish and she was just going to get hurt.”

“If anything…anyone…is a breath of fresh air…”

“I realize now that if she didn’t see things the way she did?  Millie wouldn’t even exist.  Esme wouldn’t have stayed on that bridge.  Dhaka wouldn’t have happened the way did.  The things that went down between the two of us. She wouldn’t even have given me a second look.  She would have just seen me as a huge mess. A liability. And moved on with her life.”

“I know you talk about how she came along when you needed it the most, but have you ever thought that maybe you did too? That you came along when she needed you to? Because despite all that light and that brightness and that love for the world and everyone in it, there was a very broken and lonely woman…little girl, even…under all of it.  I would see it sometimes;  this sadness that would just take over.  When she’d just seem to lost and vulnerable and hurting.  That changed.  When she met you.  I saw it in that hospital.  All that time she was holding on and fighting for you, she was holding on and fighting for herself too.   She wanted to be what YOU needed.  And what you deserved.”

“She is way more than I have  ever deserved.”

”But she doesn’t see it that way.  She doesn’t see YOU that way. You came along and pulled her out of a really dark, horrible place.  And I know it’s hard to see that when you’re in a pretty bad place yourself, but it’s true.  The two of you found each other when you both needed it the most.  She didn’t just save YOU, Tyler. You saved her, too. In more ways than one.”