#not to sound like a cliche moody teenager but they Do Not Get Me

[kardulis]

never talking to my parents about anything i care about ever again xxx mwah

[solalunar-eclipse]

Sonic Boom - S3E1

Episode title: Friendship 101

Word count: about 3000 words

Author’s Note: I’m trying a rather new format for this fic, since it’s based on a TV show with various songs and camera angles. If you have any comments about whether it works well or not, please let me know!

(Also, the theme song choice is all thanks to khinesthetic, who used it here and inspired me to put it in this fic.)

Next

[cue Mr. Blue Sky by ELO (0:00-3:45)]

[The show opens on a zoomed-out view of Hedgehog Village from above. Stone walls separate the village from the wilderness outside. There are large spaces at several points throughout the structure for entry and exit. A large patch of grass with benches scattered about sits at one end of the village, and a marketplace made up of wood-and-cloth stalls runs along one of the walls. Houses are grouped in seemingly random clusters throughout the town, and the (in)famous Meh Burger stand sits all on its own, with picnic tables spread across its wooden flooring. As the music progresses, the camera begins to zoom in on the village- then on one of the streets in particular- and rotates down to eye level to face…]

Sonic the Hedgehog walked through the streets of Hedgehog Village with a bounce in his step, occasionally dancing to the music playing through his earbuds. As he wandered throughout the town, he passed the usual people running their stores, arguing over botched orders at Meh Burger, and, at one point, Aqua the Rabbit absolutely freaking out over the loss of a single follower on Angstagram (the latest social media network for moody teens).

He did a 360-degree spin before winking and pointing finger guns at Amy Rose when he spotted her haggling with the local grocery store owner. She paused briefly to wave at him with a smile. “Hi, Sonic!” she called, completely ignoring the irritated fennec in the process.

Then, the music froze and changed to something extremely ominous as she turned around to face the shopkeeper once more. A dangerous gleam appeared in her eyes as she pulled out her signature hammer. “Now then, about those prices you’ve been setting lately…”

The song cut back in as the view switched back to Sonic, who was now moving away from the scene at a slightly faster pace.

Really, though, he was more than happy to see his other friends not long after. Knuckles and Sticks were currently busy rummaging through the town’s garbage together, excitedly chatting about the latest piece of interesting junk they’d found, while Tails was fixing someone’s broken rain gutter (and attempting to ‘improve’ it in the process, which meant that it could now measure the amount and intensity of rainfall in a storm- a very useful, though unfortunately unwanted improvement).

Surprisingly enough, as he continued on his way through Hedgehog Village, he managed to get people from a few different places to wave back at him when he said hello. Although perhaps it wasn’t quite so surprising when one considered that this was one of the most cliched opening sequences that could possibly happen in any movie or TV show. Ever.

And of course, the only logical outcome of this scene led to everyone beginning to stop their usual activities and gather in one of the few open spaces in the town, clearly prepared to break into a fantastic musical dance number straight out of Broadway. Incredibly, this was one of the few moments in which everyone in the village seemed to be able to get along…

...until Eggman’s latest giant robot slammed feet-first into the ground, sending everyone off-kilter and scrambling for cover. Shrieks of panic rose in place of the music as the villagers fled the scene to hide in their houses. The dramatic entrance didn’t just ruin the mood, it absolutely crushed it with the sheer force of its impact.

And that was, obviously, when the show really began.

[cue In Your Face by Shockwave Sound (0:00-1:04)] 

[Each of the five members of Team Sonic appears on a black screen with their name spelled out in their signature colors (blue, yellow, red, pink, and green) and does a couple of cool fighting moves, followed by snippets of scenes featuring them from previous episodes of the show for about eight seconds each. All five of them then appear together in their usual fighting stances, emphasizing their status as a team.

The Eggman logo then appears in an ominous, glowing red, backlighting the doctor himself and all his creations- before the lights flick on to reveal him alone in his evil lair with a green screen behind him, at which point he shrieks and covers the camera with a hand. Then, neon blue electronic lines begin to appear across the screen and the camera spirals to follow them, selecting one particular line to trace. Not long after, said line ends at a circle which, with a flash, turns into the words ‘Sonic Boom’. Beneath the title, it says ‘Ancient Secrets’ in neon blue.]

[Then the music ends, at which point the episode title- “Friendship 101”- appears for a few seconds in the same color before the show itself returns.]

Sonic scrambled to his feet and zipped over to Tails, pulling him up from where he’d fallen after the robot’s overdramatic arrival. Amy managed to do the same with both Knuckles and Sticks simultaneously, which let Sonic stare for a moment, startled, and then promptly resolve to remember not to get on her bad side anytime soon.

Soon enough, the team had scrambled into their usual positions, ready to fight. Amy and Sticks kicked the battle off by handling the various smaller robots that threatened to get too close to their team, never faltering (and in fact seeming a bit gleeful in the badger’s case) despite the sheer number of enemies. Knuckles, meanwhile, launched Sonic bodily into the air for Tails to catch, before picking up a boulder about the size of a house and lobbing it directly at the robot’s chest.

“Hey! Easy with the boulders- QuakeBot took a lot of effort to make, you know!” Eggman shrieked from above, hovering in the relative safety of his Eggmobile. 

(Relative, in this case, was of course in comparison to mixing absurdly volatile chemicals in a lab, bothering Shadow at any and/or all hours of the day, or being on Tails’s bad side when the fox had a glue gun. The doctor still remembered that situation all too well, and currently ranked it as far more terrifying than merely being punted into the stratosphere by kids under half his height and about a third his age.)

Sonic paused to stare at Eggman from where he was currently dangling in the air. A smirk began to spread slowly across his face. “…what did you just call it?”

“You heard me the first time!” the doctor roared, now incredibly embarrassed. “I named it that since it makes the ground shake when it moves, like an earthquake??”

General laughter came from the heroes assembled on the ground and in the sky.

“Argh! Nobody appreciates my genius around here! Now, QuakeBot, stop standing around and start attacking!”

“I suggested TerraBot, since it still has to do with earth and is a play on the word ‘terror’, but nobody ever listens to my ideas, now do they?” Orbot muttered irritably to himself, tucked inside the Eggmobile.

“I listen to all your ideas!” Cubot offered encouragingly.

Orbot’s mouth shifted into a small smile. “Thanks, Cubot.”

Meanwhile, Sonic had been pulled into a spin by Tails, who whirled the hedgehog around before letting him shoot downwards toward the robot in a spin dash- only for him to get caught and sent flying into the nearest house.

He shook off the surprise quickly (and apparently sustained absolutely zero damage despite having literally crashed through a house, because superpowered teenagers), darting back over to the group. “Well, uh, guess it’s time for Plan B then!”

Crickets chirped in the ensuing silence. Even the robot had stopped moving to hear what he had to say.

“And the plan is…?” Amy prompted.

Sonic folded his arms with a huff. “I dunno, I thought you guys would have one!?”

The pink hedgehog rolled her eyes at that. 

Tails piped up. “I have an idea! Sonic, you’re going to need to be curled up for this, okay?”

The hero promptly did just that, before emitting a muffled “mmhmm?” from inside his layers of quills.

“Alright then, Amy, I need you to hit Sonic with your hammer right at the side of this house.”

Sonic’s blood ran cold. “Whoa whoa whoa, wait a second can we maybe rethink thiaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAHHHHH!”

He ricocheted all over the palace like a pinball, slamming into several key points of the robot thanks to Tails’s rapid calculations. However, the robot was sadly unaffected by his screaming at a pitch that came dangerously close to shattering glass.

The robot was easily disabled and the attack overall quickly repelled after that. Thankfully, it took Sonic only a moment to recover from his impromptu stint as an out-of-control projectile and get back to fighting with the others…complete with a “Let’s do that AGAIN!” moment, which was met with a resounding no from both Amy and Tails. 

Their ears were both still rather sore from last time, after all.

After Eggman was punted all the way back to his island by a well-placed kick from Sticks, though, the crew was about to head over to Meh Burger for a post-battle meal when they discovered that they had an entirely different problem to take care of. The villagers, who were beginning to come out of hiding after the attack, were furious upon seeing the damage dealt to their homes and stores.

“How could you let this happen?” one shouted.

Before long, the villagers found themselves a more specific target when the owner of the house that Sonic had smashed into pointed her finger directly in his face. “This mess is awful!” she cried. “And it’s all his fault!”

Within seconds, a mob of people had descended upon the overtaxed teen.

“I’ve never known a hero so irresponsible.” one fumed.

“How dare you!” the fennec from earlier roared.

The elderly wolf of the village shook her cane at him. “Shame on you!”

Sonic could feel himself beginning to tense up as the villagers turned their ire on him. Whether or not he’d admit it to anyone, he needed two main things in order to be his usual heroic, cheerful self: open space and positive reinforcement. Right now, he was getting exactly the opposite of both of those.

And he was not feeling good about it.

He looked briefly over to his friends for help, but Sticks had already vanished, Knuckles and Tails looked more nervous than anything, and Amy was already walking towards him with that look in her eye…

“Sonic, next time you do need to work on making sure the robot doesn’t catch you, you know-”

A streak of blue shot out of the village, leaving nothing but a scorched trail of grass and the snap of a sonic boom behind.

Sonic didn’t slow down until he reached the mountains- which technically wasn’t very far from the town at all, so he ran quite a bit more after that until he ended up in the middle of the jungle. Then, he sat down with his back to a tree and his arms around his knees, feeling very unheroic and overall pretty lame.

The blue hedgehog frowned at the dirt. Honestly, some days it really did feel like nobody seemed to like him. The only person who ever even suggested he was important on a regular basis was Tails, and Sonic didn’t blame him at all for not jumping into the middle of that crowd. Tails was only thirteen to his seventeen and a half years old- not exactly an age when he should be expected to go toe-to-toe with a crowd of angry adults.

Still, though. When being a hero got him all risk (no matter how low) and no reward...it was difficult for him to keep hold of that core feeling of “I can make the world a better place to live in!”, which, despite all his other claims, was truly at the center of what had motivated him to start fighting against Eggman so long ago…

[The scene morphs in a manner which shows the lighting shifting so that the sun is overhead. A sound effect of birds chirping plays over the scene change. This implies that it’s been several hours since he first fled the village.]

Sonic was still lost in thought when the snap of a twig in the bushes made him jump to his feet in surprise. The surrounding vegetation rustled ominously for a moment...only to reveal the four members of his team in front of him. He watched them all cautiously, his expression tense. More than anything, he looked ready to run at a moment’s notice- something which only served to make his friends(?) seem a little more distressed. “Uh…hey, guys?” he began tentatively.

“Sonic, I…” Amy began forcefully, before stopping herself. At first, it looked like she was about to scold him again, but then suddenly her face fell. “Listen, Sonic, we’ve all been talking a lot about what happened back at the village…and there’s something I want to say.” She gave a slightly tired sigh. 

“I know we usually like to make jokes and witty commentary, but...sometimes, the world’s just a difficult place to be in.” she said. “...so we really do need to talk about serious stuff occasionally, even though I know it’s tough for you to even mention how you’re feeling. Unless, you know, it’s ‘great!’ or ‘cool!’ or something like that.”

Sonic cringed at the mere idea, looking more and more like he thought running away was the preferable option here.

“So what I wanted to say was that in a world where there are too many people trying to beat you down...what I was trying to do was tell you how to be more tolerant, because I thought that would help. I figured you can’t change how other people are going to be, just yourself, so I hoped that might make things better.

“But...I’m not actually a licensed therapist- yet, anyway. So I might have been wrong on how I went about that. Maybe...instead of telling you off for not being able to stop all those people...in the future I’ll pull out my hammer and tell them to knock it off already. Does that sound better to you?” she asked.

The blue hedgehog froze. “Ames…I...” he croaked, trying his best not to think about why exactly it felt like his throat was so tight all of a sudden.

Sticks folded her arms. “I like that plan! Those people are way too crazy sometimes…and you guys know I have a verrrrry high tolerance for crazy.”

“We can make the villagers quit bugging you together, just like how we fight Eggman!” Knuckles added encouragingly. “It’s always better that way, isn’t it?”

There was still one person who hadn’t spoken yet, though.

Suddenly, Tails crashed full-force into Sonic, squeezing him in a hug that for once he didn’t pretend to hate. “You know I’ve always, always, always got your back, right, Sonic? No matter what?” he asked, looking up at his older brother. “Even if I don’t always know how to do it right.”

The blue hedgehog simply nodded, not trusting his voice to help him maintain his ‘cool guy’ status.

“It’s okay if you don’t feel up to talking about it now, though.” the fox added understandingly, stepping back but still leaving a hand on his arm. 

“But!” Knuckles added. “We won’t tell anyone if you ever decide you do need to get some stress off your chest every once in a while!” He smacked his own chest with a fist for emphasis.

“Nobody needs to know.” Sticks growled, the camera suddenly showing a dramatic angle of her face as the lighting dropped noticeably.

“Uh…that’s kinda dark.” Sonic said, holding up a finger with a bit of a confused frown, which let the lighting and camera angle zip back to normal.

“Anyway!” The pink hedgehog clapped her hands together, turning to face the group as a whole. “What do you guys think about heading over to my house and watching some movies? I’ll even…” She sighed, her whole body slumping. “…make some messy, simple, unprofessional chili dogs. In my state-of-the art kitchen. I know Sonic probably could use a pick-me-up right now, after all.”

“Thanks, Ames! You’re the best!” the hedgehog in question said cheerfully, the promise of good food and great companionship boosting his mood significantly.

Then, his posture shifted once again into something a little more vulnerable. “And thanks to all you guys. For, y’know, everything.”

“Of course!” Amy chirped.

Tails smiled at him. “No problem, Sonic.”

Sticks folded her arms. “That’s what a team’s for, ain’t it?”

“Of course it is!” Knuckles said, in that rather confusing manner where nobody was actually sure if he understood anything about what had just happened.

The echidna actually walked over to Sonic after that particular declaration, though, placing a hand on his shoulder as his face became uncharacteristically serious for a second. “Really, Sonic, we can all help you out, alright? Nobody gets to yell at our leader without getting yelled at back!” he declared, punching a fist into his other hand.

The hedgehog blinked twice before looking up at his friend. “You…just called me the leader?”

“Well, duh! That’s why everyone calls it Team Sonic, right?” Knuckles asked with a smile, letting an awkward (but genuine) grin spread across Sonic’s face.

Within seconds, the hero found himself squeezed in a big hug from all sides by his friends- and then actually lifted off the floor through a joint effort from Knuckles and Amy. 

“Guys- come on! I can’t even move here!” he cried out, his legs flailing so quickly they made a vibrating noise in the air. “Guyyyyssss….” he whined, though nobody seemed to care much about his halfhearted complaints (judging by the happy expressions on their faces).

Then, the episode began to end, as evidenced by an iris out transition. The slowly shrinking circle paused for a moment on Sonic’s current expression, highlighting it against the otherwise black screen. He now sported a sheepish, if slightly pleased smile, complete with a faint pink blush on his face from all the positive attention. 

Clearly Sonic liked being, well, liked far more than he let on.

Then, the circle snapped closed with a pop, and the credits began to roll.

[Voice Actors: 

Roger Craig Smith

Colleen Villard

Travis Willingham

Cindy Robinson

Nika Futterman

Mike Pollock

Kirk Thornton

Wally Wingert

Bill Freiberger

Original creation by:

Evan Baily

Donna Friedman Meir 

Sandrine Nguyen

Bill Freiberger

Takashi Iizuka

Writer/editor:

Solalunar “Sol” Eclipse

Thank you for watching reading.]

[iheardarumorxxx]

Midnight Sun, Chapter 9 - Port Angeles

Right. I remember this chapter from Twilight. I also have heard quite a bit about this chapter. This is gonna be a ride. 

Eddie starts off this chapter saying that he used to be the ‘responsible’ one. I would like to remind everyone that Edward Anthony Masen Cullen spent a few years eating people he percieved to be horrible criminals because he didn’t like animal blood and was being a whiny baby. But go off, Eddie.

SM is still trying to paint Jessica as a rude bitch and I still don’t buy it. It is extremely clear to anyone with eyeballs that Mike has a thing for Bella, and it is pretty obvious that this date he’s going on with Jessica is because Bella said no. So her thoughts come off as insecure. She’s a teenage girl, so I think insecure is a pretty standard thing. Not always, but SM has painted these kids as the stereotypical teens, so.

Basically, I still don’t buy the attempt to make Jessica seem evil.

Bella has wandered off to go get that book she wanted, and Eddie is simply freaking out because he let his daughter out of his sight for one minute and she wandered off. He’s about half a second away from considering getting a leash to put on her. Seriously, though, that’s how this reads. A parent frantic because they lost their child in a crowded store or park. We all know she’s gonna get a serious scolding for this one. Maybe even grounded.

a volly of snarls erupted from my throat

Okay, we’re still not to the big rant about vampire instincts in this universe, yet, but I want you guys to remember this for later. It absolutely aides in the point I plan to make there. Also a ‘volly’ of snarls. That sounds so forced and I genuinely laughed out loud when I read it. Anyway, Eddie has found Bella and she is with the Evil Bad Guys Who Have Ill Intentions. 

I would see how he enjoyed the hunt when he was the pray. I would see what he thought of my style of hunting.

Technically a spoiler because it hasn’t happened yet in this book, but not because we’ve seen it in Twilight. Eddie literally does not do anything to this Lanny guy or his friends. He gets out of the car, makes a mean face at them, and then gets back in the car and drives off. Maybe SM has Eddie go back out and hunt them later after he drops Bella off, but that doesn’t fit in with his squeaky clean good boy persona that Daddy Carlisle puts on him, so I doubt it. The scene as we know it comes off as very ‘man, if my girlfriend wasn’t here I’d kick your ass’. Because Eddie is a lot of bloated, puffed up talk.

When SM uses dialogue tags like ‘ordered’ to describe how Eddie says things, it just really hammers home that point I’ve been making about red flags. Even if it’s practical, like him telling Bella to put on a seat belt, especially since Pires bend the will of cars to their inane and idotic physics.

We went on a tangent about one of Eddie’s kills from his Vampire Batman days, and like honestly? I watch a lot of Criminal Minds. I see a lot of this kind of stuff, and it is absolutely awful that people like that exist in the world. I’m not saying that they shouldn’t be stopped. HOWEVER, this idea Eddie has that he was playing a good guy by taking justice into his own hands, I don’t jive with that. Now, I am aware of how faulty the criminal justice system is, especially with victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. I’ve lived that, myself. But if Eddie is so comfortable taking another life, no matter how he tries to justify it, he is no better than the people who he’s deciding to kill for their crimes.

a highly justifiable murder

See, this. This is why I don’t buy that SM’s Cullens are the paragons of good that she is constantly trying to say they are. There is no such thing as a justifiable murder, no matter what. Solving heinous acts with heinous acts simply perpetuates a cycle of heinous acts. 

I wasn’t giving her a chance to say no.

This is a trend that will continue throughout the entire series. I will point you to all of the times that Edward never gave Bella a choice in a matter, including leaving her in New Moon, and DISMANTLING HER CAR ENGINE IN ECLIPSE SO THAT SHE COULDN’T GO SEE HER FRIEND. That one in particular rubs me the wrong way for reasons, but we won’t do that here. Just know that Edward never actually lets Bella make a choice in this series, and even when he pretends to, he does everything in his power to make the outcome go his way.

And now we’re at the restaruant. I’ve heard some stuff about this scene and god, can I not WAIT, but for now, let’s just talk about the one off waitress character. She is clearly only here to be a rival to Bella for this scene. Brief, unimportant, underdeveloped. And honestly? One off characters don’t actually need that development, not really, but what I can’t stand about this one is that she is literally only here, both in this book and in Twilight, so that SM can puff up how clearly Bella is so much better than she is. Because, you see, Eddie doesn’t find the pretty hostess attractive, he only has eyes for Bella. Her entire point is so that Edward can look at Bella, and therefore, the audience as Bella is their SI for this world, and go on about how much better and prettier and more perfect she is than this woman. It’s just gross.

“Do I dazzle you?”

This is still, in my personal opinion, the best and most iconic line in a series full of iconic lines. Eddie the Dazzle Machine. Charming the pants off people when he’s trying to scare the shit out of them. It’s hilarious, and so fuckin’ romance novel cliche, and I love it.

This restaurant is apparently a real place in the real Port Angeles. And from what I understand, at least when the Twilight craze was in full swing back in 2008, they got a lot of extra business and a lot more people ordering the mushroom ravioli. Even put something about Twilight on their menu. Good for them, taking advantage of that free marketing. I have never been to Port Angeles, and am allergic to mushrooms, so I can’t say I’ve experienced the dish, but if any of you have, please let me know if it’s worth the hype.

Its so funny that right now, Eddie is worried about Bella being cold and going into shock, while Bella is over there huffing the fumes off his jacket like it’s a paint can, and he can’t even tell that that’s what she’s doing. The girl is doing everything short of just shoving her whole face in it and inhaling, but he’s too thick to get it. 

And here we are folks. The meat and potatoes of this chapter. The big comparison. The reason the cover has a pomegranete on it. Edward Anthony Masen Cullen has the absolute GALL to compare Bella, the boring, walking video game avatar to Persephone. Lets break down Persephone for a second here. There’s a lot to break down, but let’s stick to the basics, for fear that this rant gets wickedly out of hand before I can stop it. Persephone radiates optimism and hope. Persephone is soft, sweet, but has a temper that could kill a man. Persephone is sympathetic. When in the ever loving FUCK has Isabella Swan ever shown any of those characteristics? She is NEVER optimistic about anything. She fucking exists in a constant cloud of negative thought and assuming the worst. She isn’t hopeful about ANYTHING, not even her future with her PRECIOUS Eddie because she’s always questioning his intentions and feelings for her. She is not sympathetic in the slightest, no matter what SM tries to shove down my throat. She treats her friends like shit, she manipulates and lies her way through conversations so she doesn’t have to deal with them, she compares Mike to a FUCKING DOG. Bella is not comparable to Persephone, and it’s fucking beyond ham-fisted, it’s fucking EGREGIOUS to try to make that comparison. 

I could see more of an argument for comparing Eddie to Hades, since, ya know, Hades fucking stole Persephone to be his wife and most stories about Hades paint him as kind of a moody, brooding dickbag, but I’m still calling fucking foul on this attempt at comparison, SM. No dice.

Moving on.

Eddie describing Bella’s skin as ‘velvety’ gives me war flashbacks to those grocery store checkout novels with Fabio on the cover that my mom used to read. Eghhh.

So, Bella touches Eddie’s hand and it’s described in a way that gives me very G-rated sex vibes. Which just makes me wanna tell them to get a room because they’re in public right now, and also don’t do that in front of Bella’s salad ravioli.

Eddie is still being super controling and weird about Bella eating, and honestly, I super wish that Bella had had the good sense to get the hell out of there with Jess and Angela. Or that she would have the good sense now to excuse herself, find someone on staff, ask to borrow a phone, and call her dad. Because this guy is literally throwing out every red flag that exists. I know I say this a lot, but if Bella were a normal girl, she would not be charmed by this guy, she would be freaking creeped out and trying to get away from him. He isn’t even subtle about his creep factor or charming enough to play it off.

Edward thinking he has any edge at all is like white bread thinking it’s the right kind of bread for a hamburger.

Anyway, chapter ends with Eddie paying the bill and the pair getting in the car to head home. And the drama chord of the last sentence that’s supposed to play in your head when you read it falls flat. They’re on the way back to Forks and Eddie is chomping at the bit to hear Bella’s latest theory that we know from Twilight isn’t actually a theory so much as she heard a story from Jacob and then did some searching on some shitty Angelfire website. Or Geocities. Either way. And then she just went ahead and had a big old prophetic dream about it. 

Next time, we get the awkward car ride home and more. Thanks for hanging around guys. As always, feel free to message me (though, please note to anyone who has sent me anon messages that are rude or angry because I’m making fun of this book, I’m gonna ignore you.), recommend what books I should put on my list for my next recap series, and feel free to buy me a snack using the CashApp tag in my bio.

See you next time, babes.

[pekorosu]

no.6 novels thinky thoughts

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so… i ended up finishing all 9 vols in about a week haha.

my overall impression? it was… alright, i guess.

not that i didn’t enjoy it, in fact, the first half was great! by the time i reached the end though, i had mixed feelings. sat on it for a week or so but a lot of it remains a vague hhhmmmmmblah blob that i’m not done figuring out. 

i still wanna make a post as a form of closure for myself though, so i’m just gonna dump whatever comes to mind here. don’t mind me.

so... the ending. i guess it was supposed to be open-ended in a hopeful way, but it just came across as unsettling to me. the ~chosen one~ thing rubbed me the wrong way, because shion was entrusted with an enormous responsibility that no 16 year old should even be shouldering in the first place. (i mean yea okay he did willingly accept it, but still. why only him? why aren’t they all collectively responsible?) 

meanwhile the actual perpetrators get to escape all the consequences by just… dying. just like that. and the rest of them, especially the adults… they’re pretty much useless? even the ones that wanted to do something by staging a revolt ended up being unreliable either bc 1. they were drunk on revenge or 2. all that power was getting to their head. ironically, rou was like “it’s all on us, the adults” but in the end even he decided to just spend the rest of his life chilling out underground -_-

on top of that, shion had to let go of nezumi. idk about y’all but that ending, that “promise to meet again” kiss was like… i couldn’t help but wonder if nezumi only did that because shion was all “a world without you is meaningless” and he had to give him something to cling onto. followed by shion’s devoted “i’ll keep waiting” which… idk, something about it felt utterly depressing. to be fair, nezumi always keeps his promises and the epilogue was vaguely hopeful i guess, but it still didn’t give me the sense of closure that i needed. 

to clarify, i’m not saying it’s a bad ending. it’s realistic and the implication that there’s still a lot of work to be done is very much in line with the story’s themes. just that something about it didn’t work for me personally, plus the lead up to it felt rushed, so it left me feeling :/ when i was done.

the plot… well, it started out exciting but turned out to be rather anticlimactic? the shift from science to supernatural had a proper build up, but still felt like a letdown for some reason… 

i think... maybe it’s bc dystopian stories tend to culminate in a huge battle and stuff like that, while this one just… didn’t. there was no final showdown with the Big Bad. there was chaos, but it hadn’t descended into total devastation yet, with the ultimate message that maintaining peace is always more preferable in order to prevent any more senseless deaths. and i guess that threw me off a little? not in a bad way, it was just unexpected bc i’m so used to the whole “final boss” format.

speaking of which, the antagonists were very one-dimensional, and for dictators they were surprisingly… weak. i mean, i get that hubris was precisely the reason for their carelessness and subsequent destruction, but it felt too convenient, too simple.

and i was sorta expecting something more gruesome when they got to the top floor of the correctional facility. idk, i guess brains floating in tubes just couldn’t compare with that scene of them climbing a mountain of corpses+half-alive people, which i had the misfortune of reading right before dinner. that was straight up horror.

and for all its depiction of the horrors of a police state, of poverty, famine, genocide… i felt like it stopped short of something. this isn’t meant to be a proper critique ofc, just that i remember feeling like the writing came across as wishy-washy or superficial at times, even though i knew the author’s intention wasn’t to hand out answers, but to get the readers to think. something about the way it was handled left me feeling unsatisfied i guess. 

that said, there were stuff that i did like! eg. i liked how the story dealt with the “we’re all human beings” statement from shion. it started out as a simple, idealistic “all lives matter” kind of thing, only to be turned on its head when he comes face-to-face with the kind of atrocities no.6 has committed. then it becomes less about that and more “our shared humanity means that we too have the capability to become cruel and apathetic.” or at least, that was my takeaway. 

hmm… in hindsight, i think it does what it set out to do well enough. that is, to convey a certain message to a certain group of people (teenagers i guess. this is YA after all). to inspire them to think for themselves, to realise that apathy is dangerous and to take responsibility for their own learning, but also to know that doing the “right” thing is not just about good intentions; it is constant hard work but still important work... among others. all of which are solid themes and messages. god knows when i was younger and learning about all this for the first time, even the simplest things would leave me mindblown for days. if i’d read this back then i imagine it would’ve left a bigger impression too.

the main highlight for me though, was probably the character scenes. i was surprised to find out how introspective the story was, with the majority of it dedicated to the characters’ internal thoughts and conflicts. 

sadly though, the side charas’ POVs (like inukashi’s and karan’s) ended up becoming tediously repetitive and draggy despite starting out strong. and safu… poor safu, she pretty much got the shortest end of the shit stick being the Plot Device Damsel In Distress Who Is Eventually Fridged. i had higher hopes for her ):

as for the rest… i don’t really care about rikiga… and who else… oh right! small nezumi team! hamlet, cravat and tsukiyo. 10/10 love them, would never get tired of their cute little squeaks.

and the protags… shion started out kinda bland but ended up being the easiest to relate to haha. eg. his constant struggle to reconcile his personal ideals with practical reality. and it was interesting to see how he confronted and came to terms with some harsh truths. he always tries so hard. sometimes it hurt to read, but it made me want to root for him and in a way, it gave me strength too. 

also his apparent “lack of interest” in sex/women/etc... i know it’s generally played for laughs or to highlight his ~naivete~ or ~immaturity~, but whatever lol it’s something i can relate to it v strongly.

nezumi took a while for me to warm up to even when i understood why he is the way he is. the callousness, hostility, volatility… they’re all defense mechanisms rooted in his trauma, but still, knowing that didn’t make him any less irritating lol. he could be deeply hypocritical at times and his tendency to randomly explode at shion was grating. on the plus side, it’s always very satisfying whenever we do get a glimpse of his more vulnerable side.

them as a pair though… i’m not a huge fan of the “fate brought us together” trope so i was skeptical at first. nezumi being so prickly and moody at first didn’t help either, but shion. oh shion, he tried so hard to worm himself into nezumi’s heart, to prove himself worthy, that i couldn’t help but be charmed. to me, they started out more like “snarky senpai and curious kouhai” as opposed to “friends” or even “potential enemies” as nezumi liked to insist they were, which made for an amusing dynamic. 

and while they did grow on me over time, they don’t make me feel that INTENSE CHEST STABBING feeling that i get with other ships. idk why, i mean, their sarcastic exchanges were amusing, their brutally honest arguments were compelling, and the pining (which is my #1 weakness) was through the fucking roof with shion. but still, something was missing.

sidenote on something the author mentioned in the guidebook interview (my own rough t/l):

I like writing about relationships between people of the same sex, not just boys. When it comes to the opposite sex, the end result of being attracted to each other is always romantic love, or getting married…… To a certain extent, the “template” for that is already fixed, isn’t it? But when it comes to the same sex, there can exist a connection that can’t be expressed in the usual cliched words like friendship, camaraderie, love, hatred… I think there’s meaning in writing about relationships that can’t be clearly defined. What’s between Shion and Nezumi is a “one-of-a-kind connection” that’s born out of a certain situation, out of certain experiences that only they have gone through. I wanted to find out what exactly that connection is, which was why I wanted to try writing it. Of course, that “one-of-a-kind connection” would probably exist between people of the opposite sex as well. After all, the feelings that emerge from a chance meeting of two human beings can never be something that’s mass-produced. But still, I think the one thing that I really enjoy writing about has got to be the unique emotions that develop between people of the same sex.

i know she doesn’t mean anything negative here, but idk… it kinda reminds me of the way yoshida akimi discussed ash and eiji’s relationship in banana fish, and the way she discussed what she found so special about same-sex relationships that is lacking in m/f relationships. and something about it bugs me so much. i don’t even know why or how to explain it… 

it sounds like to them, there’s something fundamentally “different” about same-sex relationships. "different” doesn’t necessarily mean “bad” and in fact, it even sounds positive in this context because the implication is that that “difference” allows for more freedom and variety in relationship dynamics. but i guess, the closest thing that i can come up with is that it sounds… othering? i don’t know….......

speaking of which, i suppose shion/safu is a subversion of that typical m/f relationship. shion can never love her the way she wants him to, which is heartbreaking, but also refreshing in a way.

and you know what… it just occurred to me that maybe, maybe… it’s the same with shion and nezumi. and maybe that’s why something about them feels off to me. i mean, obviously the strength of their feelings for each other is indisputable, but idk if the essence of it is the same. 

shrugs. anyway, yeah.

the honest truth is that, while i enjoyed their interactions immensely, they just don’t ignite the same fire in me as all my other otps. that said, i still do have a lot of thoughts on them! maybe that’s a post for another day.

some other stray thoughts:

- was it ever explained how nezumi built his robo rats? or where tf he managed to gather so many gold coins? was this something the story just handwaved or did i just forget?

- nezumi wanting to leave on a journey at the end baffled me. even though him eventually leaving was foreshadowed a couple times, he never really struck me as a wanderer to begin with. but now that i think about it… i wonder if he’s leaving bc he wants to, or rather, needs to look out for any other remaining forests and natural environments. that’s what his people did, didn’t they? protect the forests. i wonder if he’s going to go look for others like himself. after all, he’s the only surviving indigenous person left in the area surrounding no.6, isn’t he? hmmm.

language-wise... this is my first proper japanese (light) novel so i’m feeling kinda accomplished rn! lol. it was surprisingly not as tough as i had expected. i think the most difficult part was actually reading the quotes at the beginning of each chapter bc it’s in a font that’s so hard to make out.

oh, and again, some parts felt really redundant. i kept wondering if it was a language thing or an author thing. either way, i felt like there were quite a few unnecessary rehashes that could’ve been omitted to improve the pacing. 

sequels, other adaptations...

i’ve not read “beyond” yet, which apparently has sequel-ish bits? i’ve ordered it, it’s on its way, but i have a feeling my impression won’t change that much even after i’ve read it. heck, it might get worse judging by all these lukewarm reviews. i’m definitely gonna see this through to the end, but i’m feeling kinda scared now lol.

i might check out the anime? based on the summaries on wiki, it sounds like quite a lot has been altered, but i’m still curious about the visuals. dunno if i’d wanna check out the manga. if it’s exactly the same as the novels or the anime then maybe not…

oh yeah, their anime/manga versions look quite different to how i imagined them! mine’s closer to the novel covers i guess. especially nezumi. i imagined him with short hair. maybe not all super saiyan like the one below, but yea.

lastly, i just had a good look at all the vol covers and i actually think they look pretty cool! i’m really glad i chose to get this version instead of the bunkobon. i mean, i don’t know if i will ever reread this again, but at least the covers are nice to look at haha.

[mothantics]

It’s Learning From a Distance part 10

warnings: Kidnapping

a03 link

ships: Logince, One-sided Logicality, One-sided Moxiety, One-sided Loceit and eventual Anxciet

Patton's eyes followed Virgil as the anxious side ran out of the room. He hummed, sitting on the couch to wait for Virgil to come back, he always does. Poor naive Virgil, he needed Patton. Patton flattened his creased khakis while Tangled still played on the TV, the scene that was currently playing was Flynn Ryder being taken out of his cell to be hung. Patton smiled. This scene brought back memories – well, could he call it a memory if it is still going on? He supposed not.

After an hour Patton realized Virgil was not coming back. Patton sighed, he probably passed out from a panic attack. Pathetic. Patton turned off the TV and ripped down the fairy lights. He always hated those fairy lights, any fairy lights. He waved his hand and the cups of hot chocolate disappeared. He sighed again, so much work. Patton heard multiple footsteps upstairs. He had very good hearing and listened in. It sounded like two footsteps – a door – another pair of footsteps – silence. Someone must have helped Virgil. Most likely Logan.

Then Patton felt it, the familiar feeling of when he was near, or anyone like him for that matter. A dark side was near, Deceit was near. Patton ground his teeth together. Blasted Deceit! Just had to go poking his nose where it didn't belong.

Then the thud came from downstairs, in the basement – where the dark sides lived. Patton gritted his teeth and stormed to the door to the basement. He ripped it open and the banging was louder. Patton quickly entered the basement and closed the door behind himself to mask the sound. The moral trait walked downstairs to where the banging got more predominant. Patton rounded the corner in the multiple hallway basement to where he knew the banging was coming from. Patton immediately went to the thing making the noise and slapped him across the face.

“Will you be quiet!” He scolded the person on the floor.

The person looked up, It was Patton. The Patton on the floor had his face covered in bruises and cuts, which stung every time his tears would roll down onto them. His hair was greasy, matted and all over his face. The cloth in his mouth muffled his screams of fear, pain and cries for help. The Patton who was standing up kicked the Patton on the floor hard across the face. The Patton on the floor cried even more. The Patton standing up rolled his eyes.

“If you shut up I will remove the cloth.” The Patton standing up spoke, with cold bitterness to his tone. The Patton on the floor looked up, his eyes shining with plead. It was getting so difficult for him to breathe in this stuffy basement enough as it is without the cloth. The Patton standing up crouched down to face level with Patton, his hand inches away from the cloth at the tied up Patton's mouth.

“If you scream I will kill you, and your friends.” He spat. The bound Patton nodded hastily, he just wanted this damn thing off. Patton hesitated before removing the cloth, the captive Patton took a gasp for breath, which was also choked by tears. Patton stood up from his crouched position. He waited silently for himself to get composed.

“Are you quite done?” He asked with annoyance.

The Patton on the floor looked up at him, his sight blurry since his glasses were not on his face. He gasped quietly for air.

“Who... are... you...?” He asked, tears still streaming down his face. The “Patton” standing up smirked at him.

“Take a guess?” He snapped his fingers and a chair appeared, he sat down and faced Patton on the floor.

Patton was confused, and scared. He didn't want to be playing this game with who assumed to be a dark side. He just wanted to go home. To be with Virgil, and Roman and Logan. Patton had been down here for weeks. He remembered running to his room sobbing after being rejected by Logan's affections. After hours of crying he realized, while he may be sad, Logan is his own being and can like whoever he wishes, or no one if he wants. He was about to leave his room and go and find Logan, to apologise for his outburst of emotions – he knew Logan got caught off guard a lot by sudden emotions and couldn't handle them, so he tried to tone it down around Logan until the logical trait was more comfortable with his feelings – then all he remembered was darkness, waking up in this room, bound to the wall, gagged with a cloth and practically blind. All he could see clearly, was an impostor of himself, smiling at him. He left without saying a word to him or answering his screams behind he cloth.

“D-Deceit?” It had been so long since he used his voice for something other than screaming, so his voice was broken and breathy. Deceit seemed like the most logical answer, he had impersonated Patton before, It made sense – yet it also didn't. The Patton impostor shook his head with an unenthusiastic smile.

“Wrong.” He spoke with a grimace, his true personality, finally getting out of the bubbly side's personality. Patton's lip quivered. He was frightened, terrified, scared, and all other synonyms.

“Y-Y-You're a dark side. Aren't y-you?” He asked, surely he couldn't go wrong with that answer. The Patton impostor clapped his hands sarcastically.

“And he's correct, I'm so proud,” He smiled, also sarcastic. There was silence between the two Patton's. The impostor just stared at Patton while he took in his surroundings. Patton knew he was in the basement, he had been here once or twice when Virgil sleepwalked into here, but he had never been this far in. The basement was cliche, dark, damp and cold. Patton could hear dripping from pipes around him. Patton shivered, wishing for a blanket, or his cat hoodie. He looked back at his impostor.

“W-Why am I here?” A chill ran up his spine as the impostor stared at Patton, it felt like he was tearing him apart with his eyes, right down to his soul. He felt like crying again – yet did he ever stop crying while he was here? The impostor still stared at him, he had the expression of a moody teenager. Patton's lip quivered again.

“So you're out of the way.” The impostor answered. Patton was shaking all over. He was scared and cold.

“But why?” Patton's bottom lip quivered. “Why do you want me out of the way? What did I do?” Patton's voice got more broken and wavered. The impostor just stared at Patton. Patton's crying became more violent, stuttering along his words. “W-W-Why d-d-d-don't you j-j-just kill m-me?” He sobbed. He didn't want to go through with this, he couldn't. He was in so much pain. The impostor stood up and straightened the fake cat hoodie around his shoulders, grimacing at the childish thing.

“Thomas would act different. Less empathetic. If I wish to pose as you, I need Thomas to stay the same. He is already struggling without Roman's passion and creativity. He has not posted any videos on YouTube or Instagram. He doesn't know what to do with himself, or what is going on.” The impostor turned his back to Patton, cracking his knuckles. Patton felt a chill up his spine.

“Everything is going according to plan.” He spoke and begun to walk down the corridor. Patton shifted around, pulling at his binds around his feet and hands.

“No! Wait, please! Don't leave me! Please!” Patton cried out, falling onto his side on the floor, hitting his head. He watched the impostor of himself leave, not even faltering his steps, barely listening to Patton. Patton curled up and sobbed. What did the impostor mean without Roman? What was going on? He sobbed again, and brought his knees to his chest. He just wanted to go home.

[totalrockfiend]

5 Rock Albums I Can Get Behind Released in 2020...

Have I reached that “Get off my lawn!” stage of life?

At 46, I’m certainly no spring chicken. But I’m still a looooooong ways from retirement age. 

Which is significant, because that’s the era in you life when you’ve got too little to do, and too much time to do it with. And thus banal trivialities, like errant lawn treading, reach DefCon 5 status and require an aggressive rebuke.

So, I guess I can assuage my fears on that front. Except, perhaps, went it comes to music. Because I’ve DEFINIATLEY lived long enough to reach the “I don’t really like any ‘new’ music” stage of life. 

In other words, I’m continuedly amazed how much new music appears every year, and how little of it I actually appreciate.

This year, however, I’m please to report that five albums made the cut. That said, don’t get your hopes up...

Four the bands/artists have been in the game for 25 years or more (in some cases, MUCH more).  Actually, only one entrant qualifies as “new.” And this outfit is punk rock “supergroup” of sorts. With a record that’s likely a one-off outing. 

Thus, my 2020 of “best of” rundown (yes, I realize I’m running behind on this. The procrastination struggle is REAL!) includes very little of what could be legitimately be called “new music.”

Anyway, enough with the blather, let’s dive in...

Fake Names, Fake Names

Other than the fact that famed punk-hardcore-and-early-emo guitarist Brian Baker (one-time Minor Threat bassist, Dag Nasty founder and guitarist, and current Bad Religion lead guitarist) is member, I didn’t know much about this band. But as a uuuuuuuge Baker fan, I couldn’t resist and bought the record strictly based on the strength of his punk “street cred.”

The purchase, however, proved a winning gambit as the album TOTALLY RAWKS. Moreover, it turns out Dennis Lyxzén, best known as the scorched earth lead singer of Swedish punk legends, the Refused, also contributes his vocal stylings to the record.

And the result is a glorious album filled with amped up guitar rock boasting classic DC Hardcore overtones and a tasteful dash of ‘90s alt-rock that reminds of just how musically amazing both eras were in their respective primes.

Sugaregg, Bully

Really only a “band” in name, Bully is actually a vehicle for singer-guitarist-song writer, Alicia Bognanno. Feeling called to a life in music, native Minnesotan Bognanno convinced her less than enthused parents to underwrite her enrollment in a recording engineering program. Meanwhile, Bognanno parlayed her schooling into an excuse to start a band, relocate to Nashville, and live out her rock ‘n roll dreams. Which, after a couple of albums, a good amount of buzz, and loads of pear respect, appear to be coming true.

Supported by a revolving cast of musicians, Bognanno has released three albums, including her latest, Sugaregg, since launching the project in 2011. And at the risk of sounding cliched, Bully’s grungy, ragged tones sound very much at home on the outfits current label, one time grunge hit-makers and Seattle institution, Subpop. 

Case in point, Sugaregg, like it’s two predecessors, is filled with noisy guitars and squalling vocals, delivered in Bognanno’s sandpaper growl, and tortured songs that detail no small measure of soul grinding pain.

Albeit rendered with irrepressibly catch hooks, like the ear worm I Don’t Know Where to Start. Meanwhile, I’ve been loving the record since it’s midyear release. And take a certain satisfaction knowing it could reasonably classified in the “newish music” category.

Father of All... Green Day

After nearly thirty years in the game, pop punk stalwarts Green Day are still at it. That said, they haven’t rested on their laurels, as their music has taken a few twists and turns of late. Shifts that have proven hit or miss for the band, especially of late.

Their three album compilation of a few years back -- Uno, Dose + Tres -- (which, personally, I loved) -- featured a decidedly power pop sound. Many fans, however, weren’t thrilled. And 2016′s Revolution Radio, with it’s more later Clash era,  straight ahead rock sound, didn’t energize their core fan-base, either.

Well, Father of All... is likely to continue aggravating the Green Day faithful. To my ears, however, its sounds are heavenly.

With a kitchen sink of influences, Billy and the boys toss in a bunch more power pop; ‘70s Bowie-esque glam rock (even going so far as to lift some “vocal inspiration” from the Gary Glitter hit, Doctor Who, on the track Oh Yeah); a Chuck Berry guitar rave up on Stab You in The Heart; and the album’s. centerpiece, I Was a Teenage Teenager, which positively oozes classic New Wave vibes.

Ultimately, what makes the album such a delight (to me anyway) is Green Day’s irrepressible charm. It’s there in every groove. And if you drop the disc in the tray and hit play with an open mind, you’ll find it impossible to wipe the grin off your satisfied mug.

Blue Hearts, Bob Mould

Having attained Punk Godfather status, as the co-founder of Husker Du, and the man that brought melody to punk rock, Bob Mould could have coasted on his well-deserved reputation.

Meanwhile, having released 22 albums (including his work with Husker Du + Sugar) Mr. Mould’s relentless work ethic could rival James Brown for the title, the Hardest Working Man in Show Business. 

Continuing down the hardworking path, Mould, and his Bob Mould Band eschewed their typical 2-3 year album cycle, releasing Blue Hearts barely a year after 2019′s Sunshine Rock.

No doubt a pandemic-influenced decision, with band’s normally relentless touring schedule toss out the window. But the results of this accelerate recording timetable are stunning, as Mould turns in perhaps his best album of the New Millennium.

With a bevy or roaring rockers and few choice ballads, Mould and band sound as vital and vivacious and driven as any Bob Mould back effort since his mid ‘90s outfit, Sugar.

Stand out track include American Crisis, a jittery rocker that speaks directly to the worldwide riots that erupted in wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police. And the ballads Forecast Rain, Mould’s plea to reverse humanity’s planet destroying ways, and the album’s opener, the delightfully moody, Heart on My Sleeve. 

Power Up, AC/DC

Given AC/DC is accused of “making the same album every time,” are there any surprises on the band’s 19th studio release?

You betcha! Chiefly that the band pulled together it’s (mostly) original lineup* and turned in their best album since 1990′s Razor’s Edge. 

Positively dripping with that “classic” AC/DC sound, Power Up has all the hallmarks fans have come to know and love: 

Drummer Phil Rudd’s uber-heavy behind the beat time-

Singer Brain Johnson’s nails on chalkboard wail

And of course, Angus Young’s comfortingly familiar guitar heroics

The ingredients are all there, and they sound as fresh, current, and powerful as when the group burst on the scene with their roaring 1975 debut, High Voltage. All of which makes Power Up a must-listen hard rock devotees!

*AC/DC has struggled through series of trying challenges over the past decade...

Co-founder, co-songwriter, and rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young left the band in 2014 overwhelmed by complications related to Alzheimer's and sadly died in 2017 at the age of 64. 

Singer Brian Johnson and drummer Phil Rudd sat out the band’s last tour -- Johnson sidelined by a debilitating hearing issue, while Rudd was ensnared in a bizarre attempted murder for hire plot (which I still don’t fully grasp). 

But rather than hang it up, which I advocated for at the time, the group soldiered on, and managed to put out yet another outstanding record. In other words, these old dogs might not have new tricks, but they can still impress with their classic moves.

Honorable Mention: Gigatron, Pearl Jam

Not sure if tacking on an “honorable mention” is cheating, but this is my blog, so I'll what I want, bub! Anyhoo, I haven’t actually heard all of Gigatron, the 11th studio album from Seattle Grunge stalwarts, Pearl Jam. Which is why I didn’t included it as a full fledged pick.

Dance of the Clairvoyants, the album’s lead single, however, piqued my interest when it dropped last spring. Stacked with sequenced synth lines and drum loops, the band is clearly still reaching for a new approach to augment the classicist rock sound the band has adopted over the past couple of decades.

Other stand out tunes, among the few I’ve heard, include Superblood Wolfmoon, (the album’s second sinlgle) and Take The Long Way, which both showcase Pearl Jam’s uncanny knack for merging a driving, ‘70s hard rock guitar dominant sound with a snarling punk attitude. Retrograde is another tasty ballad, in the now well-established vein of tasty Pearl Jam ballads.

Again, Gigatron only gets an honorable mentioned because I was neither motivated to buy nor listen to the whole thing. But it could be worthy of both. So maybe check it out?

What About You?

No doubt, you’re reading this list and saying to yourself: “what the fork is this guy’s problem? He totally l missed awesome record xyz!?”

And you’d be right. I did miss it. So enlighten me!

I’ll always in the mood to hear great rock + roll. Which perhaps proves I’ve yet to reach full-on “get off my lawn” status.

[healthcaretipsblog]

As 2017 comes to a close, it’s time to look back at some of the best movie marketing of the year. Yes, trailers are literally just commercials for products, but the very best trailers can be an art form unto themselves. When studios and editors buck the trends and set out to create something that truly stands out from the pack, it can make for something worth celebrating. So let’s talk about the Best Movie Trailers of 2017.

Movie trailers can often fall into cliched territory. Anyone who frequently goes to the movies knows how trailers play out: in the past, there was an overabundance of a dramatic announcer setting up the story; now, we get an abundance of text on screen; big, loud booming soundtracks; and slowed-down pop songs, frequently performed by a choir of creepy children. More often than not, the results are boring.

Yet every now and then, a movie trailer will rise above the rest and sell its respective film in fresh, exciting ways. The trailers that make up this list of the Best Movie Trailers of 2017 deserve attention because they attempt to do something different with a familiar format. Rather than take an easy route and stick to what everyone has grown accustomed to, the following trailers released in 2017 strive for to do something new, and that’s why they’re worth praising.

11. Deadpool 2 

Let’s just get this out of the way: I don’t like Deadpool. I know almost everyone thinks this R-rated, pop-culture-infused comic book movie was the bee’s knees, but it just wasn’t for me. I appreciate the fact that it made R-rated superhero movies viable and helped give us the far superior Logan, but I found almost nothing in the original Deadpool worth celebrating, save the wonderfully droll performance of Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead.

With that in mind, it’s safe to say I’m not the main audience for Deadpool 2, or Untitled Deadpool Sequel, or whatever the hell it’s going to be called. Yet this teaser works incredibly well, and does a great job selling the irreverent humor associated with the series. Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool occupies the bulk of the teaser, parodying the incredibly relaxing Joy of Painting series, which featured the mellow-as-hell Bob Ross painting happy little trees. A few quick, humorous shots from the sequel show up more than half-way through, but the intent of this trailer is clear: the filmmakers don’t need to show you actual footage to sell Deadpool 2. They just have to put Deadpool and that off-color humor front and center, and audiences are going to line up.

10. The Disaster Artist

A movie about the making of The Room sounds like almost as bad an idea as The Room itself, yet James Franco’s hilarious The Disaster Artist makes it all work. The first teaser for the film is likely to be a complete mystery to anyone who has never seen Tommy Wiseau’s painfully inept drama. But fans of the befuddling mess that Wiseau created will instantly get a kick out of the moment on display here – the creation of one of The Room’s most famous scenes.

Rather than give us a traditional trailer with multiple scenes from the film, The Disaster Artist instead gives us one scene with multiple takes, as time and time again, Franco’s Wiseau fails to adequately remember, and then deliver, his line.

It makes for a funny teaser, but it also represents the film’s overarching story – that Wiseau refused to give up, even when it was clear he was terrible at his job. He stuck with it, over and over again, to realize his (very stupid) dream.

9. Thor: Ragnarok 

For some time, the Thor films were the worst individual entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The first Thor is an utter bore, and Thor: The Dark World has a few cool ideas, but is rendered almost unwatchable by incoherent editing and storytelling.

So what a complete surprise it was to see the teaser trailer for Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok. For one thing, Waititi’s take on the material looked nothing like the previous Thor films. Instead, the filmmaker looked to be channelling the art of Jack Kirby. But better than the look of the film was the tone: Waititi, who co-directed What We Do In the Shadows, had turned Thor into a comedy.

With all this going for it, the Thor: Ragnarok teaser is a treat, complete with a great use of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” and Cate Blanchett’s gothed-out villain looking fabulous. It all ends with Thor referring to the Hulk as a “friend from work” – one of the funniest movie lines of the year.

8. It Comes At Night 

Some people took issue with the marketing for A24’s It Comes At Night, which sold the film as a possibly supernatural horror story. There’s nothing supernatural going on in the film, but there is plenty of horror – most of it the existential kind.

The moody, dread-drenched It Comes At Night teaser trailer opens with a close-up of the Pieter Bruegel the Elder painting The Triumph of Death – a depiction of the Black Death sweeping the land and turning everything as far as the eye can see into a hellscape. It sets up the trailer’s mood perfectly, which moves from the painting down a foreboding hallway, and slowly begins revealing spooky, cryptic imagery.

Director Trey Edward Shults’ film is set after the fallout from an unnamed plague, and the specter of death is ever-present – just as it is in this teaser. You can practically sense the death and decay radiating off this footage. To say that the marketing was deceptive seems to miss the overall tone of the film itself, which is filled with the same sense of inescapable dread seen in this trailer.

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