#shes 2. and godzilla incarnate.

[theselfstudyenthusiast]

Sorry, my bad....

I want to publicly apologise to the Great Dragon. 🙇

After a cool-down period, I dove into Wakfu Wikia and re-read the first chapter of WAKFU: The Great Wave.

I've realised the dragon who invaded my boy's dream and gave Yumalia a case of coitus interruptus (a wet dream ?) was NOT Yugo's father.

*Beware of potential spoilers for Dofus the Movie, Wakfu, Wakfu the webtoon and Waven*

The silhouette shown during the dream sequence reminded me of two dragons from the World of Twelve.

Theory #1 : Grougalorasalar

The first one is Grougalorasalar, the Primordial Ebony dragon. Yes, the same dragon linked to Master Joris.

The picture from the webtoon is very similar to Rasalar, especially the wings and horns.

I can't show the webtoon, but here is the Ebony dragon. Looks like if Godzilla and a giant bat had a baby.

However, I don't know how Grougalorasalar could have entered Yugo's dream or how he would have known about the threat the Eliatrope king might represent. I mean, sure, Yugo is a walking disaster but his reputation is not (yet) that bad, right?

As far as I know, Grougalorasalar doesn't have a "dream-hijacking" ability. Plus, like in all good old fantasy settings, the Ebony Dragon and all Black dragons from the WoT is a malignant creature, symbolising Black Fire or Stasis... or so the Wakfu wikia says.

If that's the case, why would Grougalorasalar seemingly try to prevent Yugo from doing what he does best, "unwittingly endangering the world" ?

That's why I'm more inclined to believe this is the work of Draconiros.

Theory #2 : Draconiros

His dragon form is flawless.

Draconiros is the Master of Dreams and the Lord of Nightmares. He lives in the Kingdom of Dreams, within the Astral Plane. As such, he can manipulate dreams as he wishes. This could include hijacking someone else's dreams or even changing his appearance within said dreams.

In the wikia, it is said that Draconiros also seems to have a part in the events preceding the Eliocalypse, possibly trying to prevent it.

Since he has access to dreams, this dragon could know about the vision the Eliacube gave Oropo and how Yugo might be linked to the almost destruction of the World of Twelve (WoT). If so, it would make sense for Draconiros to contact Yugo and announce his upcoming courtesy visit. This dragon is a true gentleman! 🙏

Still, if Draconiros is really behind Yugo's nightmare, why would he pick the form of another dragon? It could also be that his true form has been redesigned for the webtoon, like they did with Nora in the tv show, idk.

Theory #3 : Idk for sure but it's not the Great Dragon

Either way, an interference from any Twelvian dragon makes more sense than the Great Invisible Dad trolling his son just to say "I hate you! Wait till I get home! 👿👿👿".

This is especially true, taking into account what is known about the Great Dragon. He is the incarnation of Stasis, the energy of destruction. Why would he bother preventing the end of one world among so many? Plus, he wasn't shown interacting with the Eliatropes back in the day, even when they were facing extinction, thanks to the Mechasms. he Great Dragon is the incarnation of Stasis, the energy of destruction.

Nah, Great Dragon "danced" with the Eliatrope Goddess, which helped her get the kids she wanted, and DIPPED! Does he even know the names of his kids? There's a reason they are called Eliatropes and not Stasisians or something. 😒

These are speculations based on my small understanding of the Wakfu universe. I don't play any MMORPG from the Wakfu franchise. I have not read all the available materials, apart from the manga-style Wakfu comics, which are a must-read for fans of the series and take place after Season 2.

For all I know, Yugo's nightmare could be sent by someone else or something else entirely.

For example, if the gods were not MIA, I would have thought Osamodas, the OG dragon master, or Sram, the biggest troll in Twelvian History, would have something to do with this nightmare.

Ngl, I was hoping this was a nightmare created by Yugo's trauma (ptsd) or his link with Toross. I really want to see this antagonist come back to haunt Yugo somehow. Maybe he can still make an appearance as a hallucination (PTSD?) or as himself from the Necroworld, channelling Rotalström (still in the Sadida kingdom), the stasis he stabbed Yugo with or the wakfu he ingested from the Eliatrope king. Anything to see Toross again! 🙏🙏🙏

I cannot wait for Episode 2 to drop and obliterate my theories!

**Please, go read Wakfu The Great Wave if you can **

[elvisqueso]

My other niece, however, is the Bringer of Destruction and apparantly a cat: she couldn't decide whether she wanted to be inside or outside for most of the afternoon.

[femmchantress]

Sending good vibes for the uncertainties. As for distractions - what are your top five Godzilla films? And who are your five favorite kaiju other than Big G?

Ooh! Thank you, excellent questions.

1. Godzilla vs. Hedorah

2. Mothra vs. Godzilla

3. Invasion of AstroMonster

4. Godzilla (1984)

5. Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla 2

#1 is always going to Mothra, she’s my mom and I love her with my whole heart. #2 is Rodan, I like that he’s a big bitch and his bickering with Godzilla is timeless, as well as his moment of sacrifice in GvMG2 (which always makes me cry). #3 goes to Hedorah, who just legit serves as this perfect representation of a man-made eschaton, a phenomenal creature which dominates its film and all my discussions of kaiju as metaphor. #4 goes to Gigan, not because he’s got a lot of cred or anything, I just think he’s neat. And pulling up the rear at #5 is Battra, who is by no means a slouch or subpar in any way. I love Battra as the incarnation of “nature as vengeful, uncaring, and violent.” Mothra fights to protect the earth and those on it, urging them to rise to the occasion and better themselves - but Battra is here to wipe out humanity for the sake of the wellbeing of the earth itself - a contrasting method to manifest the same motive. A bit much, but very memorable and even a tad tragic.

[drachostrix]

I want to talk about Godzilla music because I feel like it doesn't get enough love.

Let's talk about Akira Ifukube and how good he was at making music. If you want to I definitely recommend listening to his discography on Spotify, he made most of the songs from the Showa era (which is just a blanket term for all the Godzilla movies from 1954-1975), from what I know most of his works are on there including of course the many Godzilla soundtracks. The main thing I want to focus on is the main 4 themes he composed, that absolutely shape Godzilla music to this very day with Bear McCreary's remasters of many of the songs being based on Akira Ifukube's original works. The first song I want to talk about is "Attack Godzilla" which is commonly known as Godzillas theme, mainly because its used in NEARLY EVERY PIECE OF GODZILLA MEDIA. Which is a great example of how amazing his original score is, as it's stuck around since 1954, and it's so associated with Godzilla, that if you hear the theme the giant atomic lizard is the first thing you think of.

The next song is "Mahara Mothra" any piece of media with Mothra in it will have both this and "Mothra's Song" in it (and "Mahara Mothra" does actually have "Mothra's Song" and a Le Motif). If the Shobijin (Mothra's tiny twin fairies) are there, they are no doubt going to sing "Mothra's Song". Both of these songs are so synonymous with the character of Mothra and are such great representations of it's character, and the Godlike figure she is to the people of Infant Island, the songs are very spiritual in nature and have an almost supernatural tone, to represent that they worship her as a god, and that we have no clue where she even came from, but shes on our side (most of the time).

Next song is "The Birth of King Ghidorah" and I will be honest I am not a fan of it, but I'm putting it here nonetheless to round out the list. It's another song that is synonymous with the character, every incarnation got a remaster of this original theme, and it does good to represent that this is a deadly alien creature the rivals Godzilla himself. It takes Godzilla and 2 other monsters to team up just to get him to retreat, and it took Toho's entire roster of monsters bar like 3, to kill him outright and I feel this theme does well to represent no only how utterly deadly he is but just the mystery that surrounds him, like the first movie he's in it's implied that Venus was populated, by like a super advanced alien civilization and King Ghidorah came along and just razed it completely. But by the end of the movie the one Alien to survive the Venus attack who had been warning everyone about the monsters, the theory was that she hit her head and made up all the stuff about Venus. But it never gets resolved weather or not King Ghidorah just obliterated an ENTIRE CIVILIZATION like it just never comes up in the subsiquent sequel at all, and this theme captures that mystery very well.

The last and possibly my favorite Godzilla theme is "Mechagodzilla Appears" because it just encapsulates how amazing and campy the entire Showa era was. With it's mechanical and sudden intro which perfectly represents the supprise when Mechagodzilla comes out of the fake Godzilla disguise, to the rest of the song which is just an utterly amazing song in general, it's probably just the best song from the Showa era besides "Battle in Outer Space" but that's not from Godzilla, so I'm not gonna talk about it here (still an amazing song though, definitely give it a listen), and the original Godzilla theme. Not only was it a great theme to end off the Showa era being Mechagodzilla's theme in both "Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla" and "Terror of Mechagodzilla" (which is probably the best of the Showa films) but that is also where I'm going to end this off for now, if this post gets enough love maybe I'll do my thoughts on more monster themes. Maybe I'll do Rodan, or Varan, idk depends on if literally anyone wants another one of these.

[zerm1v0hg]

Legendary Mothra’s true nature (Headcanon)

My own theories about what Legendary-verse/Monsterverse Mothra’s true nature in KOTM might be, and why she might be a lot more of a heroic rival to Ghidorah than we realise.

(1)

Her powers are pretty impressive. Godzilla has a healing factor and atomic breath, Rodan can spit fireballs and make hurricane-force winds under his wings, the MUTOs have their EMP field. …And Mothra has reincarnation and attracts all plant and insect life in addition to her combat powers. Gotta wonder if that means there are (or WERE) other kaiju like her that have the same reincarnation power.

Mike Dougherty also said that he thinks Mothra might be the progenitor of all insects on Earth. Which makes me have to wonder why modern insects don’t show signs as far as we know of inheriting her great supernatural abilities, and also makes me wonder what kind of evolutionary stages occurred before Mothra’s original birth, leading up to such an immense and advanced lifeform as her existing. Does this mean Mothra was always a unique lifeform instead of a species endling? Are the evolutionary stages that preceded Mothra’s kind merely lost to time like a lot of other creatures… or is there another reason why she has these extra powers and why she’s unique even by Titan standards?

My thought: Mothra is an ancient alien who came to Earth like Ghidorah, but she was benevolent instead of malicious. She came to Earth long before humans’ time, and instead of trying to reshape or exterminate the Earth, she adapted and integrated herself and became an adoptive part of its biome.

 (2)

This theory’s a bit closer to the hints of Mothra’s origin in earlier incarnations. Basically, after reading up on the earlier incarnations’ origins (and when considering that the MonsterVerse’s Earth is an Earth where the planet has hollow tunnels in the crust and mantle for shorter-distance travel x)), I think Monsterverse Mothra was never part of a species and was always a unique lifeform.

I think that she is probably essentially Gaia’s daughter or Gaia incarnate, literally birthed or created by the planet (or its biome) as a unique lifeform specifically to protect and safeguard it for as long as there’s life on it that needs a balance to survive. She was never designed to be a species competing for survival, she was always genetically designed as the planet’s biome worked in evolutionary stages towards creating her to be a unique lifeform, a guardian, a goddess.

Which brings me up to yet another possible headcanon for the three-headed golden psycho. I’ve already mentioned above how Ghidorah and Mothra seem to have a similar array of powers. According to this headcanon, could it be that Ghidorah was originally a similar Gaia’s-Messiah on its own homeworld who was created to maintain that world’s balance the same way Mothra was on Earth; but something made Ghidorah go ax-crazy, and it destroyed its homeworld instead of safeguarding it, then afterwards flew into space looking for a new world to do the same there.

So, yep… Just one of my latest Monsterverse headcanon musings.

[aion-rsa]

How F9 Brings Back Justice for Han and Asian Inclusion

https://ift.tt/3hakkfH

This article contains F9 spoilers.

One thing is for certain about the Fast and Furious film franchise—it has been a wild ride. Other aspects of the Fast Saga are less certain. Although the F9 title definitively labels the latest film as the ninth installment, it’s actually the 10th film. Or the 11th. You could even say the 12th if you include the short film. It depends how you want to count it. For a franchise laden with car chase clichés, the Fast Saga makes a lot of long, winding detours.

Consider how these movies treat death. Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) set the precedent by ‘dying’ back in Fast & Furious (aka Fast & Furious 4) only to return in Fast & Furious 6, working for the other side. Coincidentally, at the end of that film, there was a major reveal about Han (Sung Kang). The character was introduced in the third film in the series, The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift, but dies about three quarters of the way through the film. Yet he then reappears in the next three Fast and Furious movies, which were set before Tokyo Drift. The circumstances of his death were clarified in Fast & Furious 6. Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw killed Han. Now those events have been clarified even more in F9, thanks to returning director Justin Lin. As it turns out, Han didn’t die at all.

F9 is the fifth Fast and Furious film directed by Lin, and by design, Han Jue’s story arc is the central thread for all five Lin installments. Tokyo Drift was Lin’s first Fast film, as well as the franchise’s sharpest turn. It was almost an entirely new cast in a new setting. Lin stayed on to direct the following three installments. To keep Han’s story going, he shifted gears and jumped back in time. Just like with Star Wars, Fast & Furious through Fast & Furious 6 comprised a prequel trilogy, so the order in which the Fast Saga films were released doesn’t match the story’s timeline. The second film, 2 Fast 2 Furious, is followed chronologically by the fourth, Fast & Furious. The next two are in order: Fast Five followed by Fast & Furious 6. Then comes the third release, Tokyo Drift where Han dies. Fast & Furious 6 and Tokyo Drift take place more or less at the same time. Even the beginning of Furious 7 overlaps with the final events of Tokyo Drift.

After stepping away from the franchise for its seventh and eight films, Lin is back in the driver’s seat in F9, which is why Han is also back. However, Han has always been riding with Lin, even predating his involvement in Fast and Furious lore…

High School Han

In 2002, Lin directed the critically-acclaimed Better Luck Tomorrow. That film also starred Sung Kang in the role of Han. It was a story about four overachieving Asian teenagers who start selling cheat sheets and subsequently fall into the gangster lifestyle of drugs and crime. It was loosely based on the murder of Stuart Tay. Tay was an Asian teenager who was killed by his fellow high schoolers when they thought he would betray a computer heist they were planning. The murderers were college-bound with Ivy League potential, and the story was branded as “the honor roll murder” by the Orange County register. In Lin’s interpretation, Han is one of the murderers.

Widely hailed as a benchmark film for Asian-American representation, Better Luck Tomorrow won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance where it was rigorously celebrated by Roger Ebert, which led to MTV acquiring it. 

When Lin took on Tokyo Drift, he wanted to add a cool Asian character into the mix. He tapped Kang to reprise the role of Han, albeit an incarnation of Han that was tailored to the franchise. The Better Luck Tomorrow Han is young and brash. Han is a teenager, although Kang was 30 he first played him. In Tokyo Drift, Han is older and wiser, a mentor to the film’s protagonist Sean (Lucas Black). Nevertheless, there are connections that make the character whole. The Better Luck Tomorrow Han is a chain smoker. In Fast Five, Han’s girlfriend Gisele (Gal Gadot in her first feature film). She attributes Han’s constant need to occupy his hand to being a former smoker. Tokyo Drift was only four years after Better Luck Tomorrow but the character of Han aged considerably.

Why Han Matters

The Fast Saga currently ranks as the seventh highest grossing film franchise in the world. And unlike the other top-earners,  these movies were arguably the most diverse and inclusive from the onset. While the MCU has Black Panther and the upcoming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Star Wars introduced Finn (John Boyega) in its third trilogy, those casts remain predominantly white. In fact, the top 25 top grossing global franchises are all led by white casts. Fast and Furious is the exception. This makes Han the most prominent Asian character in a Hollywood franchise in the world.

What’s more, Han is cool. Until very recently, most Asian Hollywood roles were stereotypical or tokens. Han a richly developed character, even if Better Luck Tomorrow is disregarded. In Tokyo Drift, he’s a wealthy elite street racer with his own garage packed with awesome cars, attached to a club where he’s surrounded by gorgeous women. That was an unprecedented role for how Asian characters were presented in mainstream Hollywood entertainment in the 2000s.

Han’s relationship with Giselle is also extraordinary. While there is a long cinematic history of white men hooking up with Asian women, it was extremely rare for an Asian man to kiss white woman in Hollywood cinema. Han and Giselle become an item in 2009 with Fast & Furious. The following year, it was a huge deal for Jackie Chan’s interracial kiss with Amber Valletta in The Spy Next Door.

Jackie claimed it was his first onscreen kiss and he was already well past a hundred films to his credit at that time, although most of them were China-made. Han got to snog Wonder Woman onscreen before anyone else, including Chris Pine, and if that’s not cool, what is?

Lin carried another actor over from Better Luck Tomorrow. Jason Tobin played Virgil Hu, Han’s cousin and another one of the murderous teens. Virgil is the biggest punk of the gang. In Tokyo Drift, Tobin plays Earl Hu, one of Han’s friends and a master mechanic. Is the Hu surname a coincidence? Not likely for Lin. Tobin also appears as Young Jun in the Bruce Lee inspired TV series Warrior, where Lin is an executive producer alongside Lee’s daughter Shannon. Again Tobin plays a punk gangster. Tobin reprises Earl in F9. 

Beyond Hollywood inclusion and representation where Han really matters is global box office. Hollywood was another COVID casualty. During the pandemic, the United States was dethroned as the biggest box office in the world. As of right now, China claims that title. Perhaps this is one reason F9 premiered there first, as well as in other Asian regions along with the Middle East.

Read more

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It’s been out for over a month and has already grossed $203 million in China alone, plus an additional $8.8 million in the other markets at the time of the U.S. premiere. Thanks to this, F9 is already the fourth highest earner in the world in 2021. It is right behind Godzilla v Kong, but both of them are trailing behind two Chinese blockbusters that most American are completely unaware of yet, Detective Chinatown 3 and Hi, Mom. 

The Fast Saga’s rise has a lot to do with its international appeal, culminating with winning over Chinese audiences. It was under Lin’s steady hand that the franchise became a global player. Adding Han brought Asian representation to an already diverse cast. Tokyo Drift passed an international milestone where the film made more outside of the U.S. in the foreign markets—$33.9 million more. This disparity widened with each successive movie, so by the time Fast & Furious 6 rolled around, the international earnings accounts for nearly 70 percent of the total box office, and the door was open to that lucrative Chinese market.

Furious 7 was the first of the franchise to be shown in China and blew up there with a record-setting $390 million take, earning the title as the biggest non-Chinese film in the country at the time. That helped to elevate the worldwide box office past $1.5 billion, with over 76 percent of it coming from international earnings. The Fate of the Furious did even better, breaking its own record as China’s top-earning foreign film with $392 million, and the international box office accounted for 81 percent of the worldwide take. 

Lin is smart to bring Han back. And if he really wants to appeal to that Chinese market, he’ll boost Virgil Hu’s role in F10. Han is Korean. Hu is Chinese. Tobin has appeared in Chinese films previously, including Jackie Chan’s Rob-B-Hood so the Chinese audience is familiar with him. 

Justice for Han

At the end of the previous installment, The Fate of the Furious, Shaw is awkwardly accepted into Dom’s cookout. Fans of Han Jue and the franchise were outraged. How does Han’s murderer become part of the club? This triggered the Twitter movement #justiceforhan. Now that we know Shaw didn’t murder Han, it’s up to Lin to decide what happens in F10, which he is slated to direct next (it still doesn’t resolve Shaw’s acceptance at the barbecue because Dom’s gang still believed Han was dead then).

Perhaps it’s all some grand scheme by Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell). With the Fast Saga, so much is uncertain, even Han’s name.

For F10, a confrontation between Han and Shaw seems inevitable, especially with F9’s post-credits cameo showing Shaw. Perhaps the next film will finally give enough closure for Shaw to earn his seat at the table, or for Han to banish him from it.

At the end of F9, when the car drives up to fill the empty seat at the barbecue table, it’s uncertain who the driver is. Maybe it’s Jakob (John Cena), Dom’s newly introduced brother in F9. Maybe it’s Shaw coming back for seconds, or maybe Brian O’Conner (although reviving the late Paul Walker digitally again would be tacky now). Maybe it’s even Giselle (sure, Giselle ‘died’ in Fast & Furious 6 but if Gadot came back, just think of how many tickets they’d sell). Fast and Furious is full to twisty turns, like any good car chase. But with Lin in the driver’s seat, Han is sure to get the justice he deserves.

F9: The Fast Saga opened only in theaters on Friday, June 25.

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The post How F9 Brings Back Justice for Han and Asian Inclusion appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3jejd1g

[geejaysmith]

Kat and I have amazing conversations sometimes and I felt they had to be shared. Also, alienfuckers, dad jokes, Maxwell’s alternative lifestyle and other headcanons, and Ace Attorney: Doug Eiffel edition. Full transcript under the cut.

Gill [Yesterday at 6:05 PM]: On an Unrelated topic: after the finale the crew remembers "OH YEAH, EIFFEL ACTUALLY HAD A FACE-TO-FACE CONVERSATION WITH ALIENS" and now in addition to all the other reasons to want him to Remember they're really freakin' curious to know how that went

Kat [Yesterday at 6:11 PM]: Minkowski: so what did they look like Eiffel: me (They do seem to like his body, they had a few models to choose from when talking to Cutter.)

Gill [Yesterday at 6:13 PM]: Eiffel, probably: at least the aliens think I'm cool I know what was meant by that but your phrasing made me think "In a shocking turn of events, it is the aliens who are attracted to the human." The aliens... are alienfuckers

Kat [Yesterday at 6:17 PM]: I don't think that's their jam but that WOULD be just his luck

Gill [Yesterday at 6:18 PM]: It is unlikely, but also: it would be hilarious

Kat [Yesterday at 6:21 PM]: the aliens keep sending me mental sexts and i crave death

Gill [Yesterday at 6:22 PM]: And lo another shitpost transforms into a fanfic concept, like a humble irradiated lizard becoming Godzilla: "would you fuck your clone?"

Kat [Yesterday at 6:28 PM]: leave him alone has the man not suffered enough

Gill [Yesterday at 6:28 PM]: No

Kat [Yesterday at 6:29 PM]: sigh

Gill [Yesterday at 6:29 PM]: Dance for my amusement, Douglas And also because I earnestly suspect that in the case of Eiffel and an interested alien-consciousness-in-the-form-of-a-Xerox-copy-of-him the answer would end up being "yes"

Kat [Yesterday at 6:34 PM]: idk i feel like it'd be more like "Oh what you spend two fucking years trying to drag us into the star because you can't be assed to make an appearance but you'll teleport across the galaxy for a booty call? Fuck you and I mean that figuratively" later sluts

Gill [Yesterday at 6:36 PM]: Bob is a bad datemate Is this entire train of thought brought on by the fact I still think of the person who expressed they shipped Bob/Eiffel in the tags of the "Take your double to Disneyland" post? Perhaps

Kat [Yesterday at 6:39 PM]: i don't know that you can have this at the same time as 'what if the aliens' bodies are still the people suppressed' without it getting Fucked Up but that's your perogative I guess as long as I don't have to hear about it family can't walk w me tonight so i need to hit the treadmill for a bit. ttyl

Gill [Yesterday at 6:41 PM]: See u in a bit! But ah yes, I hadn't thought of that til you brought it up Points at one explanation of Dear Listener manifestations for some ideas, points at a different explanation for ideas that would become unintentionally Pretty Fucked Up under the first explanation Although there is comedy potential to be found in Eiffel and Eiffel-2 having the "are we down with this" conversation In the /Justin McElroy voice, "someone just discovered they have ~the world's worst fetish~" sense

Kat [Yesterday at 7:33 PM]: a different terrible concept: eiffel with his pop culture references restored will likely be called upon to testify at the united nations

Gill [Yesterday at 7:37 PM]: O h  g o d Ace Attorney: Doug Eiffel edition

Kat [Yesterday at 7:46 PM]: i mean they're gonna have to tell the world SOMEHOW and i'd think the international court would want to know and he's the one with the subconscious recall implanted sidenote if the DL can do that mental transfer could they have just... asked them to reupload whatever their most recent scan of eiffel was there are so many ways around this that's why it failed to get much of an emotional rxn from me

Gill [Yesterday at 7:47 PM]: Minkowski and Lovelace trying to get him to practice his testimony bc if they hit enough subconscious recall triggers they can at LEAST get thru an explanation of the aliens without Eiffel going off into a tangent Once they're off the Dear Listeners' script though all bets are off

Kat [Yesterday at 7:48 PM]: here's a list of preplanned questions your honor we're not responsible if you ask anything else

Gill [Yesterday at 7:51 PM]: Eiffel, maybe: now Goddard didn't send up us there to bring home any xenomorphs but let me tell you, with the Decima project? They might as WELL have let a facehugger get up close and personal with me The translators rapidly swapping notes on late 70's sci-of cinema because a handful of them actually know what he's talking about

Kat [Yesterday at 7:54 PM]: Minkowski headdesking behind him Eiffel English isn't most of these people's first languages

Gill [Yesterday at 7:57 PM]: The news cameras are all dead-focused on Eiffel. He's hit his stride and is picking up steam. "And it was right around the time I was coughing up my liquefied respiratory system that I thought to myself, gee, I'd MUCH rather get a face of alien wing-wong than deal with this!" Minkowski is off to the side. She is visibly restraining herself. No poker face in the world can hide how hard she is longing for death. Whether it is hers or Eiffel's is a subject of contentious debate.

Kat [Yesterday at 7:58 PM]: someone at an elementary school: hey Garcia, is that your dad

Gill [Yesterday at 8:01 PM]: Anne, who was four the last time she saw her father in person, gets one look at the man weaving an intricate Star Wars metaphor out of crimes against humanity and recognizes him instantly, but signs back "I have never seen this guy before in my life."

Kat [Yesterday at 8:04 PM]: good call kiddo

============

Gill [Yesterday at 8:10 PM]: Honestly I love the concept that no matter how much Eiffel may drive them up the wall sometimes the rest of the crew would meet Anne and immediately be ready to kill a man for her sake

Kat [Yesterday at 8:15 PM]: as far as we know he's the only crewmember with kids women in the military... it wouldn't be easy even if you wanted one, which idk if any of them did

Gill [Yesterday at 8:15 PM]: Wait wait, brainwave: it is actually AMAZING that Minkowski had no idea Eiffel had a child because... does he seem like the kind of guy. Who would ever resist a Dad Joke.

Kat [Yesterday at 8:15 PM]: haha fair

Gill [Yesterday at 8:16 PM]: Eiffel: Actually, I have amazing self-restraint when I choose to exercise it. (Various noises of disbelief.) Eiffel: have you ever heard me tell a dad joke? No? I rest my case

Kat [Yesterday at 8:21 PM]: biggest plot hole of the series more like it was too painful a memory but still

Gill [Yesterday at 8:22 PM]: If he ever patches that connection it'll open the floodgates

Kat [Yesterday at 8:26 PM]: He'll become the Maes Hughes of the gang, except with fewer war crimes

Gill [Yesterday at 8:27 PM]: ...has anyone on this crew done war crimes? SI-5 excepted of course, they have obviously done war crimes

Kat [Yesterday at 8:32 PM]: yeah SI5 is war crime central I'm not sure about some of the other stuff executing a prisoner? idk about Minkowski

Gill [Yesterday at 8:32 PM]: Also my thought

Kat [Yesterday at 8:32 PM]: she wasn't a formal pow though it was an ongoing engagement I don't know the rules

Gill [Yesterday at 8:32 PM]: Minkowski Has Done One (1) War Crime (Goddard Futuristics attempts to bring that against her in the court case only for Maxwell to stroll in like lol what's up gang)

Kat [Yesterday at 8:37 PM]: does Goddard in its current incarnation last long enough to sue anyone i mean i think you could sue them for attempted genocide

Gill [Yesterday at 8:38 PM]: Look I have had one semester of business law You were the one who almost went to law school Also re: other characters being parents, the only one I could see going kiiiinda either way on the subject is Lovelace and it wouldn't have been terribly high on her priority list prior to the Hephaestus mission I can see characters having the opinion that they could see Minkowski as a mom but she and her husband both strike me as understanding themselves and one another as being more career-oriented

Kat [Yesterday at 8:44 PM]: yeah if she wanted to rise in the ranks of the military... that would probably be a strike against her

Gill [Yesterday at 8:44 PM] And the implication she's got a Complex about her parents having both left promising careers to raise her Also, Lovelace: Well I always said I could see myself settling down someday, maybe have a family if I met the right person, but when I took the job with Goddard it was legally dubious whether I could actually do that- Eiffel: Because you're an alien? Eiffel: Eiffel: ...wait a sec

Kat [Yesterday at 8:54 PM]: ha It's ok to be gay in space

Gill [Yesterday at 8:56 PM]: Alternatively it's Hera who said that bc didn't connect those dots right away, meanwhile Eiffel saw Lovelace in a flannel shirt once and Knew Immediately Eiffel may be dumb but somehow his Bi-Fi has yet to fail him

Kat [Yesterday at 8:59 PM]: Hera doesn't grasp  human sexuality nuances

Gill [Yesterday at 9:01 PM]: Funny addition to above thought: Eiffel put together that Jacobi was gay after like three days on the Urania, was the only one on the Hephaestus crew to do so, and just never felt it was relevant to bring up Hera, my child... you have much to learn (Also, Hera, probably: I'm experimenting at the moment, I'm looking for a torrent so I can download lesbianism)

Kat [Yesterday at 9:04 PM]: I don't know which option is funnier, that Jacobi is just Really Fucking Obvious but Eiffel was the only one paying attention or that it was super subtle and everyone's like How Did You Do That lovelace's righteous fury overwhelmed her gaydar, she was too mad to go 'same hat'

Gill [Yesterday at 9:07 PM]: Eiffel: I have something to confess to all of you... Jacobi: Eiffel literally not a single person on this ship is straight Eiffel: Oh I was just going to recount a PG version of my wild younger days, let's just say I know a thing or two because I've seen a thing or two.

Kat [Yesterday at 9:07 PM]: Jacobi on Earth: Just matched with myself on Grinder a-fucking-GAIN

Gill [Yesterday at 9:10 PM]: Jacobi: Oh I definitely picked up on it but who wants to go playing into stereotypes by speculating on what may or may not be a promiscuous history? Eiffel: Promiscuous? Look I've got notches in my belt but mostly I just ended up laying in somebody's bathtub at a house party while just conscious enough to nod along to someone else's relationship drama. Eiffel: to several sororities, I was the Gay Bathtub Wizard.

Kat [Yesterday at 9:11 PM]: Maxwell on day one of orientation: So if SI5 is paramilitary what's their stance on alternative lifestyles? Jacobi: I was recruited in a gay bar.

Gill [Yesterday at 9:12 PM]: Her asking the question has my brain going in several different directions

Kat [Yesterday at 9:13 PM]: I think she was recruited right after dadt was repealed... if obama exists in this universe fantasy obama

Gill [Yesterday at 9:15 PM]: One part of my brain: Maxwell is also gay Another part of my brain: Maxwell is exclusively attracted to nonhuman persons Yet another part of my brain, most adjacent to number #2: Maxwell voice, who in their right mind would build a robot that can't fuck? The 4th part of my brain: Maxwell wants to know how chill they'll be with her living exclusively off energy drinks and frozen yogurt for weeks at a time

Kat [Yesterday at 9:15 PM]: honestly I figured whatever it was it was MUCH weirder than just being gay

Gill [Yesterday at 9:15 PM]: Maxwell: I have plans to take over the world with my army of battle bots and rule as their robot queen.

Kat [Yesterday at 9:16 PM]: Maxwell: wait if you were recruited in a gay bar does that mean our boss frequents those or did he just go there to get you Jacobi: Believe me the question haunts me also Jacobi: sounds great i'm in

Gill [Yesterday at 9:16 PM]: Or, Maxwell: I am not joking for an instant when I say that I for one welcome our alien overlords "When I was 13 I tried to get myself abducted by aliens" except it's not a joke it's an actual minor headcanon of mine Also I almost typed "adopted" rather than "abducted" which shows you why Alana would probably want to do that

Kat [Yesterday at 9:19 PM]: she did say she's on bad terms with her family

Gill [Yesterday at 9:20 PM]: She grew up a pastor's kid in a tiny rural town in Montana, hearing that they don't get along is the furthest thing from a surprise to me. The surprise is that Maxwell has a restraining order against them

Kat [Yesterday at 9:21 PM]: tht implies the court found reasonable cause to issue one wack anyway i had a long day, i'm gonna call it a night

Gill [Yesterday at 9:21 PM]: o/ But yeah that Maxwell empathizes with nonhumans, apparently more than with most regular humans, that makes perfect sense to me I can see her frustration with the AI Ethics board in her last job Expressing Their Concerns and her suppressing flashbacks to many a Creationist rant, and trying to keep her eye from twitching visibly, and no I am not projecting I am just coloring in blank spaces in the narrative with my relevant life experience

[godzillajuniorreborn]

Godzilla King of the Monsters review

In memory of my father. Even though we didn't always see eye-to-eye, without him, I would've never become the fan of Godzilla I am today. Thanks, Dad.

Here it is, my belated review of the recent American Godzilla movie that serves as the sequel to Gareth Edwards' 2014 cinematic reboot and the third installment in the Monsterverse. I saw this movie on Sunday with my mom and brother. Let me just say this to the critics who bashed this movie. I am so sorry this movie doesn't pander to your standards. I'm sorry this movie doesn't exactly have a hidden agenda for you to latch on to. I'm sorry this movie was made for the fans of Godzilla and Kaiju in general. But, you should have known, after seeing the trailers, this movie was going to be a monster slugfest. I also find your critiques very hypocritical since you're more willing to bash this movie yet give praise to the MCU despite those movies not being in the realm of reality. With that said, let's get on to the review.

Story: Five years have passed since mankind bore witness to the rise of Godzilla and the very staggering realization that monsters do exist. Now, humanity is aware of the gigantic beasts known as Titans. However, a dark plan to overthrow humanity and return the rule of Earth to the Titans is underway as an eco-terrorist and rogue Monarch agent let loose a powerful, dragon-like Titan locked away within Antarctica named King Ghidorah whose very presence can summon Category 6 hurricanes all over the world. As humanity faces a worldwide monster apocalypse, Monarch finds itself in a race against time to stop the evil Ghidorah as Godzilla and the other Titans, including the lepidopteran Mothra and the pterosaur-like Rodan, are on a collision course for a battle to decide the fate of the world and who reigns on top as "King of the Monsters".

Let's start with the cons. Just a warning, there WILL be spoilers:

1. The pacing: The first half of the movie feels like it goes a little bit too fast. In the first thirty minutes, we are introduced to Mothra, Ghidorah's awakening in Antarctica as well as his first battle with Godzilla, Rodan's introduction, Godzilla getting incapacitated by the Oxygen Destroyer, and Ghidorah taking control over the other Titans. Luckily, the movie slows down in the second act and allows the audience to catch their breath.

2. Not a lot of Titans: Despite the movie having a total of about twenty Titans, the only ones to get any screen time dedicated to them are the Main Four (Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah) as well as four new monsters (Behemoth, Scylla, Methuselah, and Bosmuto). That's a total of eight Kaiju out of at least twenty with the majority either being names on computer screens or a cameo from Kong. In addition, Rodan and Mothra don't appear that much in the film, mostly taking a backseat to Godzilla and King Ghidorah.

3. Some scenes feel incomplete: For example, there is a scene where Madison (Millie Bobby Brown's character) steals the ORCA, a device meant to communicate with Titans designed by her mother and father, and she does so with little to no effort at all, despite it being a key component in Alan Jonah's (Charles Dance's character) plans. You'd think for such a key instrument, he'd have someone at least guarding it. Heck, in the novelization, there's one guy protecting it who Madison takes out with a taser. In the movie, Maddie just swipes the device with no opposition whatsoever.

4. Emma Russell's Plan: In this movie Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga), after losing her son Andrew to Godzilla during the Battle of San Francisco, apparently went mad and decided to give the planet back to the Titans and is working with Alan Jonah, a former army colonel turned eco-terrorist to set about bringing forth a Kaiju apocalypse by setting loose the Titans from their hibernation and having them fix the planet's ecosystem. Yeah, while it is obvious she's being driven by five years worth of grief and she's not in the right mental state, here are two things wrong with her plan (Heck, even Jonah who is the film's main human villain calls her out on this.):

The Titan you have spear-heading this operation is a three-headed dragon who we later find out is from space and was so feared, ancient people refused to go into depth about him (which should be a major red flag that nobody wants to even acknowledge his existence).

Emma says the radiation brought up from the Titans results in new plant-life. Okay, this lady clearly hasn't heard of the effects radiation has on plant-life. Three words: Red. Forests. Chernobyl.

Granted, she kinda gets proven right, for as soon as the Titans are free, the world gets better, but, she was still willing to kick-start global genocide. When a former British Colonel turned eco-warrior is calling you out on your crap, then something's gone wrong.

Now, the pros:

1. The four main Kaiju: Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah are all perfectly realized. As much as I loved the 2014 reboot, I felt like Godzilla could've had a few more scenes to it to flesh out his character. Here, Godzilla is the main character and we get a better grasp at his personality: a weathered, determined king who feels the weight of keeping the natural order in balance on his shoulders. Speaking of personalities, the other three Toho Kaiju have their own distinct personalities, though one gets a category on his own (and I'm pretty sure you know which one) with the stand outs being Rodan who has a hot-headed rogue feel to him but tends to showcase his loyalty to the current Alpha Titan while Mothra is purely benevolent and seems to have a touch of Anguirus' personality with her being loyal to Godzilla alone. I also think this may be the most aggressive incarnation of the Goddess of Peace since GMK.

2. King Ghidorah: The 1991 Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah film was the first Godzilla movie I ever saw, thus King Ghidorah was the first Godzilla villain I saw and he was TERRIFYING. I mean, he's a three-headed dragon the size of a building, that alone is scary. Michael Dougherty succeeded in reminding me why Ghidorah was a nightmare of my childhood. This version of the King of Terror is the most evil I've seen of the character, even more so than Grand King Ghidorah (and that's saying a lot considering that version of Ghidorah was willing to kidnap kids so he could suck them of their life-force as a snack). I like how each of his three heads have their own personalites; the center head being the cold, calculating, arrogant leader, the right head is smarter yet also more aggressive, and the left is an over-achieving, psychotic manchild that has to be kept in line by the center head. In addition, this is the one film villain of 2019 who is evil just for the sake of being evil. There is NOTHING worth sympathizing over. For starters, he's an alien dragon (Yeah, that's right, alien.They don't mince words on that either.) who wants to terraform Earth into his own liking (and it's implied he's done this to other planets as well). He has no conscience, no sympathy, no empathy, and no mercy. He's evil. Nothing more, nothing less. Putting it simply, Ghidorah is that one villain whom you're going to love simply on the grounds of how despicable he is.

3. The Music: The score for the movie by Bear McCeary is excellent. In addition to the classic Ifukube themes for Godzilla and Mothra, it also gives themes for Rodan and Ghidorah that fit them with Rodan having a fast-paced, bombastic theme and Ghidorah having a theme with the Heart Sutra as part of his leitmotif that makes him feel all the more demonic.  I also like the heroic theme given to Monarch.

4. The Human Characters: IMO, I found the human characters surprisingly likable and engaging. They were fleshed out (well, much more than you'd expect in a typical Godzilla movie) and had their own story arcs. My favorite characters would have to be Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe), Ilene Chen (Zhang Ziyi), Alan Jonah, and Rick Stanton (Brad Whitford).  Rick especially since his jokes are actually pretty good. I also like Alan considering he's not your typical Godzilla human villain who wants to use the Orca and turn the Titans into weapons of war, rather, he comes off more as a Miyazaki villain like Kushana or Lady Eboshi, in that he has good intentions (he's sick and tired of humanity's nonsense and it would be better if the Titans took back the planet), it's just his execution of this plan involved the near extinction of human civilization and the reliance on a three-headed, psychotic dragon from space. Also, Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler) is pretty much the anti-Haruo Sakaki. He holds a grudge against Godzilla, but even then he knows it's downright suicidal to try and fight him and, in the end, realizes the Big G's the only thing standing in the way of Ghidorah's machinations. Heck, some of his actions save more people as opposed to Haruo whose blind hatred towards Godzilla got people killed.  

5. NO! POLITICAL! AGENDA!: Seriously, am I the only one sick of seeing overly PC elements in movies nowadays? I mean, I get it, there should be more representation, but when those themes bring a film to a screeching halt, it feels more like propaganda posing as entertainment. Luckily, KOTM doesn't do that. If anything, it sticks closer to the themes of the Godzilla franchise (coexistence with Nature and what not) and the only political jab it made was a mention of a Titan attacking Stone Mountain. However, it's so brief and so quick, you'd miss it and it wouldn't change a damn thing. Heck, the only actual politics in the movie is a conference scene you'd expect to see in a Godzilla film. Not only that, but none of the main female characters (Emma, Madison, Ilene etc) are Mary Sues, not even Mothra who is the most powerful of the main female leads (yes, Mothra is technically a character) is all powerful. Emma, despite her stupid, STUPID plan, is clearly not thinking straight due to five years of mourning her son and going extreme with Serizawa's belief of the Titans bringing balance to Earth clearly isn't helping. So, yeah, this movie isn't trying to get Woke points, it's trying to tell a story.

6. The Action Sequences: Aside from one scene, most of the action in this movie is probably some of the best out of any Godzilla film, heck, it's some of the best action I've seen in a Kaiju movie in general. And, trust me, if the anime Godzilla trilogy left a bad taste in your mouth (not that I blame you), you can rest comfortably that we get a proper fight between Godzilla and King Ghidorah. Also, this is the first time we get to see Godzilla and Ghidorah really go at it.

Overall:

This movie was exactly what I wanted to see from an American Godzilla film. It was also the nice little pick-me-up after the utter disappointment that was the anime Godzilla trilogy. Frankly, I think Kong better have something up his sleeves when he and Godzilla have their cinematic rematch next year.

[lightningbxrn]

post TEN characters you’d like to roleplay as, have roleplayed as, and might bring back, then tag ten people to do the same.  ( If you can’t think of ten characters, just write down however many you can and tag the same amount of people. )

PLEASE REPOST INSTEAD OF REBLOGGING.

HAVE PLAYED

Punisher/Frank Castle (MCU)

Deathstroke/Slade Wilson (CW)

Kylo Ren/Ben Solo

US Agent/John Walker (616, Ultimate, MCU)

Lincoln Clay/Ghost Rider AU (Mafia 3)

Indominus Rex

Indoraptor

King Ghidorah (Toho (various), Legendary)

Godzilla (Toho (anime), Legendary)

Mothra (Toho (anime), Legendary)

Rodan (Legendary)

Kong (Toho, Legendary)

Red Hood/Jason Todd

Batman/Dick Grayson (Earth 2)

Batman/Thomas Wayne (Earth 2, Flashpoint)

Raphael (TMNT)

Nova/Richard Rider (616)

Dean Winchester (SPN)

Castiel (SPN)

Lucifer (SPN)

Theo Raeken (Teen Wolf)

Daredevil/Matt Murdock (MCU)

A few assorted Original Characters, such as a Death Trooper from Star Wars

WOULD LIKE TO PLAY

Superman/Clark Kent (DC) because he’s just such a fun, kind individual and he’s got such an interesting dichotomy between his power and his humanity and such

Thor (616, MCU, Ultimate) because he’s become one of my favorite Avengers and I would also really like to see how he would fit into AUs, particularly a Star Wars AU

Superman/Val Zod (DC Earth 2) because he’s very unique in that he’s a pacifistic superhero, which you don’t see very often; his willingness to try to do anything but fight first is fascinating to me

Martian Manhunter (DC) because his abilities are unique and seem like they’d be a fun challenge to work with and balance out, not to mention his unique personality and backstory

Battra (Toho) because his role as a direct opposite to Mothra makes him particularly interesting to me, having played her for a bit now, not to mention his sort of ‘chaotic neutral’ sort of role and how he can swap from heroic to villainous on a dime depending on situations

Ford Brody (Godzilla 2014/Legendary) because I loved him as a character despite him being a bit bland in actual execution, I felt like he embodied the saying ‘still waters run deep’ and would love to examine him further

Captain America/Steve Rogers (616, MCU especially) because I love him (he’s probably my favorite superhero) and I would love to play with his mix of patriotism, hope, and yet cynicism, particularly in his MCU incarnation. Also, I’ve already played his ‘knock-off’ as it were in the form of John Walker, whom I also love, so...

Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes (616, MCU especially once again) because Bucky is one of my favorite characters ever and I just adore him to no end and would love to take him along a road of character development to find happiness and to find a purpose, not to mention examining all of the facets of his personality that make him so nuanced and dual-sided as Winter versus Buck

Hyperion (616) because he’s an interesting darker parallel to Superman who still sees himself as a hero but usually is more in the territory of anti-hero

Venom/Eddie Brock (616, Sony Cinematic Universe) just because Venom has always been one of my favorite Spider-man villains

Spider-man/Peter Parker (616, PS4, Into the Spider-verse, etc.) because he’s one of my favorite superheroes ever since I was a kid

Electro/Max Dillon (616, PS4, Sony Cinematic Universe/ASM) because I’m honestly such a punk for electric/lightning powers (I’ve also considered Cole MacGrath from Infamous) and also for trying to find what makes villains tick, like in Max Dillon’s case with his varying (often unclear?) motivations

Wonder Woman/Diana Prince (DC) because she’s such an inspiring and hopeful character that just gives me such a warm feeling that I would love to get to spend some more time with her!

Phoenix/Jean Grey (616, XMCU) for similar reasons to Diana, she has such a hopeful outlook when she’s not the Dark Phoenix and her recent return in X-Men Red has been so amazing and made me so happy as she tries to help the world in her unique way with her powers

Raven/Rachel Roth (DC) because her powers and her conflicts are just really cool and mesh with some ideas I’ve worked with before on characters like Lincoln and Lucifer and I think she could be a lot of fun and such

Derek Hale (Teen Wolf) because Derek is such a cool character with such a complex personality and evolving sense of morality throughout the show that it would be a lot of fun to see what fun I could have with him

Sergeant Leo Barnes (The Purge) because he seems like a cool character to try to understand, particularly his forgiveness towards his target on Purge night and his similarities towards the Punisher, who I’ve played before like I said

MIGHT BRING BACK

Frank Castle/Punisher, because I’ve always loved him so immensely and found him to be such a fascinating character to get inside of his head and work with his balance between kindness and hate, and violence and gentleness

Lincoln Clay/Ghost Rider AU, because he’s one of my favorite characters I’ve ever worked with, and the idea for him as a Rider meshed so well and has always been one of my favorite things to play when I’m doing RP, whether he’s feeling good or evil or a bit of both

Theo Raeken, because I loved his mix of evil and misguided intent to try to do something good, even though I quit the show before his (I think?) redemption arc happened (I need to finish it at some point lol)

Batman! Because Batman!

Tagged by: ...i stole it.

Tagging: anyone who’s interested! :)

[mrultra100]

V-Mary Headcanons

As many of ya know, Vampire Mary is my all-time favorite character, if me talking about and drawing her multiple times in the last few years weren’t already obvious. That said, given that she and V-Susan only appeared in a singular episode that’s a decade old, I wanted to establish some more traits and headcanons for her. And to do just that, I’ve decided to make a whole new version of the character. Think of it like how Godzilla has many incarnations that have different unique traits among the features that they all share. That’s the approach I’m going for this version of V-Mary. As for her origin...well, lemme be real. There are 2 different ideas that I could go with, and as of now, I don’t know which one to go. I could either have her be a young woman who was somehow turned into a vampire, either by the same process her canon self went through in the show or have her be bitten by another vampire. Or, I could have her be a vampire all her life. I dunno, I’ll have to think good and hard about that part. As for now, I’ve got a whole lotta headcanons and ideas to share about my version of V-Mary. Please enjoy!

Mary is a huge tokusatsu fan, especially with the likes of Godzilla and other such kaiju. In fact, she even sleeps with a Godzilla plush in her coffin.

Mary is bisexual (I know I’ve said this before, but I’m sticking to it)

In terms of body types, Mary is top heavy, having some big bosoms, while having legs for days. (A bit cursed, I know, but I love this particular idea).

As of lately, Mary’s looking for the woman of her dreams to accompany her (Since she’s bi)

Mary’s favorite type of music is grunge (I was inspired by @zombieplaguedoc​’s version of Mary when I came up with it)

Her hair is a big, curly mess. No, seriously. In comparison to Susan’s, Mary’s hair is alot bigger. And fluffier too, which is great when cuddling with her, but a real pain when doing her usual experiments. Mary typically shapes her hair into a big ol’ bun when working.

At times, Mary tries to act like a typical scary vampire. Let’s be honest, her attempts can be rather adorable at times.

If there’s one way to describe Mary, it’s definitely “The cute and busty vampire nerd”.

In this AU, Mary is now 23 years old, given that it has been a decade since the events of “Fangs A Lot Johnny”

Mary is really BIG on Halloween, often celebrating it before October (We’re talking right about September). She even went wearing a skeleton jumpsuit one year, complete with a trumpet!

If she doesn’t get enough blood, Mary will start to act more feral, with her turning into a more monstrous form. Think of this form as Mary, but with paler skin, bat ears, more raptorial legs, glowing red eyes with no pupils, her arms turning into wings, and rows of razor sharp teeth in her mouth. Speaking of which, Mary’s lower mouth can split in two when in this form.

Apparently, vampires still can’t bite through glass, and Mary is no exception. Being a bit clumsy and sometimes having no sense of personal boundaries are also weaknesses of Mary’s

Now that we’ve got all of that cleared out, I feel like my most recent piece of Mary would work for this thing here. I know I can get chummy with V-Mary, but I can’t help it that she’s so lovable!

[thebiblesalesman]

[Armored Omnic References] - Part 1: Omniums, A.I., and Entities

[ see also: Drones and Titans | Tanks, Troopers, and OR14/15 | Automatons and Miscellaneous ]

This series will cover omniums, titans, automatons, drones, and armored omnics like those in Null Sector. I am traveling this coming week so I may not get it all done right away, but I figured I should at least get started. Aside from drones, I am not trying to cover non-omnic technology, so I will leave out MEKA and Volskaya mechs unless I have some extra space. All references come from official Blizzard artwork and assets. I previously covered civilian/unarmored omnics here.

Legend:

The “colossal omnic monstrosity”, an omnic entity that periodically attacks South Korea, as conceptualized in The Art of Overwatch. I’m not sure if it’s a mobile omnium or something else. Its nature of returning every few years with new abilities is a reference to kaiju like Godzilla, and is also reminiscent of the self-improving aspects of omniums [see item 3].

The “colossal omnic monstrosity” in the “We Are Overwatch” trailer. The Art of Overwatch says: “Clear imagery was the key for ‘We Are Overwatch’. Because the animation was a series of very short scenes, it was important that each one focused on a few crucial elements. Details beyond that were left subtle, such as the N Seoul Tower barely visible in the background...”

Australian omnium concept from the Junkertown map preview. This omnium was part of a land grant to the omnics of Australia after the Crisis, but that land was taken from solar farmers and other laborers, who subsequently rebelled and destroyed the omnium. This concept does not look much like the final incarnation of this omnium, seen in [4]. Per one of Blizzard’s early blog posts, omniums are “massive factories of automated construction machines and self-improving software algorithms”. They were installed on many continents, but began to break down rather than constantly improving their production. Omnica was charged with fraud, and the omniums were shut down. After a certain period of time they woke back up and launched a war against humanity. The omniums offered no demands, and were only defeated when the fledgling Overwatch organization targeted the “command and control protocols” that controlled their armies.

Left: The ruins of the Australian omnium, also known as Junkertown. Right: The similar dome structure of the Detroit omnium, from the cancelled comic First Strike. The outer wall of Junkertown may correspond to the large barrier wall of the intact omnium in 2, but it’s hard to tell since so much has been destroyed and tacked on. The dome at the back is probably the “fusion core” that was destroyed by Roadhog and other farmers, irradiating the Outback. If you run through the map in spectator mode you can go to the ceiling and see that a large hole has been blown through the top of the dome. Junkrat found an unspecified treasure in the omnium after its destruction.

Left: Nigerian omnium from the "History of Numbani” exhibit in Numbani’s museum. The Nigerian omnium is best known for its production of the OR14 “Idina” security robot. It’s not clear if the Nigerian omnium was destroyed or quarantined in the Omnic Crisis, but it seems unlikely considering Numbani’s continued development of new omnic lines like the OR15. Right: Detroit omnium from the cancelled comic First Strike. Nothing is known about this omnium, except that it probably got destroyed in the Crisis.

Anubis A.I. tower from the comic Mission Statement. Pharah describes this A.I. as “one of the ‘god programs’ Overwatch quarantined after the Omnic Crisis”. Based on the previous description of omniums, this sounds like the self-improving software component of the factories, but there are also potentially unique advanced A.I.s in Overwatch like Athena. Helix Securities took responsibility for the containment of Anubis after the fall of Overwatch. The omnics protecting Anubis are described as “sentry robots”. This past November, Michael Chu, the Lead Writer for Overwatch, responded to a Blizzard forums member asking what god programs are and how many there are with the statement “‘God program’ is more of a colloquial term describing Anubis than a designation for a class of AIs.” This cryptic claim either directly contradicts the comic and denies the possibility of other god AIs in the Overwatch universe, or is a strangely written way of saying “well it’s not technically called a god AI"-- depends on how flexible you are in your interpretation.

Anubis A.I. facility from the comic Mission Statement. There appear to be desks and chairs inside, and presumably a bunch of dead technicians somewhere after the A.I. broke containment and took over the sentry bots. R.I.P. The comic panels don’t seem to match the Temple of Anubis exactly, but presumably Point B on that map is a contest for control over the same A.I. If you turn around in the defender spawn you will see a pair of large metal doors on the back wall, similar to the containment doors in the first panel.

Nepal Sanctum, an unknown omnic entity. The pit we are all constantly getting booped into is filled with lights, suggestive of a towering computer. How the Shambali built all this since their post-Crisis revelation is not a question you should be asking of a videogame. The control point has an inactive state, seen close-up on the right, and an active state colored either red or blue depending on which team has control. The holograms in both states are filled with omnicode symbols. Athena has an unused voiceline likely related to this area where she says: “I am detecting an enormous amount of data transfer from the monastery.”

Nepal Sanctum active state. It’s worth noting that you can find at least three concept arts for Nepal Sanctum, going all the way back to the pitch deck used by Blizzard to pitch the game. In that pitch deck, the control point was called The Iris and had a strictly futuristic blue look with a central ball of light. Weirdly enough, in the pitch deck the white body model for Athena was also called Iris. A later concept for the Sanctum retained the ball of light and wires running up the central pedestal, but changed the surroundings to an ancient temple with an elephant statue. Yet another concept exists in The Art of Overwatch (I posted it here) with a similar theme, minus the elephant.

[muttthecowcatridesagain]

Getting to know me

Rules/Guidelines~ tag ten followers you’d like to get to know better!  Tagged by @littorella

Gender: she/her

Star sign: Taurus

Height: 5′6

Sexuality: i don’t really like labels but if I have to pick one I’m asexual

What image do you have as a wallpaper?:  a flower that I grew in my parents’ backyard

Ever had a crush on a teacher? no

Where do you see yourself in ten years: honestly, no idea.  Hopefully with a stable job

Coolest Halloween costume: godzilla when I was 5

Favorite 90s show: pokemon and scooby doo, oh and animated godzilla XD

Last kiss: 2 weeks ago

Ever been stood up?: yep

Ever been to Vegas? nope

Favorite pair of shoes?: an old pair of lace up boots that used to look nice but now look “vintage”

Favorite fruit?: Cara cara orange

Favorite books: I have so many, I can’t pick one! Lotr, Harry Potter, anything by Jane Austen or the Bronte sisters, To Kill a Mockingbird, anything by Kafka, the Great Gatsby, there’s more. For comics/manga, I like Naruto and Tokyo Ghoul.

Stupidest thing I’ve ever done: There are so many things. Near the top of the list is trying to give my cat a bath!

I’ll tag my newest followers! But please don’t feel pressured to fill this out if you don’t want to/don’t have time/have already done so: @sealso3o @thejollyshiner @roadhouss @inkandartistry @mitcherman @mangle685733 @blight-incarnate @belovedstill @adreamorasong-art @tolstoyevskywrites

[katieskarlette]

In defense of Illidan/Maiev

If you’ve ever wondered why anyone would ship these two, or rejected the idea as ridiculous/gross/stupid/an abomination against nature/the reason aliens don’t visit us/a sign of the apocalypse... this post is for you!

I’m only one fan, I don’t claim to speak for other shippers, and I’m not trying to win any converts, but I wanted to clear up some misconceptions and questions I keep seeing about the Illidan Stormrage/Maiev Shadowsong ship.

TL;DR version:

They are both complex, gray characters with a lot in common.  The appeal of the ship comes from watching two very similar, strong, evenly-matched characters play off each other.  Their banter is snarky and fun, and there are intense emotions connecting them.

It is possible to ship them and keep them in-character.  Maiev is a resilient, no-nonsense character who has proven herself capable of matching Illidan in wits and tenacity.  Her awesomeness is not in any way diminished by being in a relationship.  They are both badasses separately, and they would continue to be just as badass if they were a couple.

Yes, they canonically hate each other.  The “enemies to lovers” trope is as old as time and remains popular for a reason.

It’s not the kind of relationship you want to model IRL, and that’s okay because it’s fiction.  Playing a Death Knight doesn’t mean I’m going to pick up grave robbing as a weekend hobby, either.

It’s totally understandable that the ship isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.  You don’t have to ship it.  Just please don’t be rude to people who do.

[Long version -- with funny pictures -- below!]

Argument #1:  “Shipping Illidan/Maiev trivializes her character, reducing her to arm candy or playing into the horrid trope that a woman who isn’t all sunshine and flowers 'just needs to get laid.'”

That’s not at all how I see their dynamic working.  Maiev has very valid reasons to be a fireball of fury and vengeance.  Her character is not, never has been, and never will be, anything resembling demure or passive.  There’s not a force in the cosmos--demon hunter dick included--that could change who she is at a fundamental level.  And who she is, is badass, self-sufficient, determined, brash, brave, stubborn, hot-headed, unyielding, unforgiving, clever, stoic, deadly, and awesome.

I can understand why people would dislike the idea of Illidan/Maiev if they’re imagining her turning into a lovesick teenager who doodles “Mrs. Maiev Stormrage” in her notebooks.  But that’s not even close to how I imagine the ship working.

Even putting aside the fact that night elves are a matriarchal society, it’s against Maiev’s very nature to stand back and defer to Illidan on anything.  The only reason she would ever voluntarily stand in his shadow would be to launch a sneak attack on him.  In fact, she is the dominant one who sees Illidan as her property. 

She is extremely possessive of him.  She was enraged when Tyrande released him from prison (and, yes, killed a number of her personnel along the way, which admittedly didn’t help her mood any.)  She refused to accept Malfurion’s decision to pardon Illidan and grant him exile instead of imprisonment.  She bristled at the thought of Akama or the players landing the killing blow on him.  She even stashed away his body in a vault for years so she could continue to be in control of him in some way.  Illidan is hers to do with what she sees fit.  His fate is in her hands alone, as far as she is concerned.

I would even argue that Maiev is the stronger person.  Where Illidan has stumbled and failed time and time again, she has proven herself consistently competent.  It’s not about her “needing a man” or some rubbish like that. It’s about the fact that she’s just about the only one who can see past Illidan’s grandstanding, stand up to him, and call him out for his reckless, morally questionable schemes.  Illidan could use a voice of reason standing by to tell him when he’s getting in over his head.

Wanting Maiev to pair up with someone as capable and badass as herself is a compliment to her character, yet I often see it framed as “shippers want her to be tamed/domesticated/broken by a man.”  Nothing could be further from the truth.

[Image sources:  Illidan fanart | Maiev fanart]

If they hooked up absolutely nothing would change except maybe slightly fewer death threats, and more sneaking off to work out some of that tension between the sheets.

Argument #2:  “Maiev is too good and righteous to be associated with a villain like Illidan.”  (Or, “Illidan is way too cool for a 'cr*zy b*tch' like her.”)  “All they have in common is being cooped up in the same prison for ten thousand years.”

There’s a tendency among people who dislike the ship to either gloss over or magnify one character’s flaws to make the other seem incompatible.  

This is nonsense.  They are both deeply flawed, conflicted, gray characters.  They can be bloodthirsty and ruthless, but neither is evil incarnate, either. 

The point is, they have a lot common.  So much so, in fact, that other characters remark on it in-universe (Malfurion in WCIII and Akama in the recent Illidan novel.)

The way they condemn each other for traits they actually share is delightfully ironic.  Their inability to see flaws in themselves while fixating on the same flaws in each other is what makes their interactions so fascinating.  

They both brag about their noble goals (saving the cosmos from the Legion, dispensing justice) while using morally questionable methods to achieve those ends.  

They both have delved into dark magic (he more than she, obviously, but in a Warcraft III optional mission Maiev did not hesitate to use a dark artifact called the Shadow Orb to help her inside the Tomb of Sargeras.  She also freed the player demon hunters from stasis when things got too hairy early in Legion and she thought they would be useful.)

They both make and break alliances for their own convenience without regard to any promises they might have made to cajole aid from others.  (Kael’thas got burned by both of them, poor guy.)

They have both outright murdered people who disagreed with them.  (In Warcraft III Maiev left Tyrande to either drown or be torn apart by undead.  In the novel Wolfheart, she stalked and murdered numerous night elf mages, and attempted to kill Malfurion, as well.)

Illidan and Maiev both operate under their own codes of morality.  You do not want to stand between them and their goals, because they are more than willing to incur collateral damage along the way.   You’re either for them or you’re against them, and if you’re against them you’re irrelevant at best and a liability at worst.

They both think that only they know what’s best.  Admitting they were wrong about something is not an option.

They also have similarly traumatic backstories.  When the Legion first invaded, they had their whole lives ahead of them.  Illidan was working his way up the ranks as a sorcerer, spurred on by the belief that his golden eyes were a sign of a great destiny.  Maiev was vying for leadership within the Sisterhood of Elune.  Neither came from illustrious backgrounds.  They were both fighting tooth and nail to make something of themselves, and were succeeding quite well until the demons showed up and ruined everything.  The bitterness of thwarted destiny and crushed dreams certainly gives them common ground.

And perhaps the most important thing they have in common:  they are both fixated on either other.  

[Above:  A coin you can fish up from the fountain in Northrend’s Dalaran.  Dang, Maiev, get a hobby.]

Their mutual obsession is one part Ahab and the Whale, one part Javert and Valjean, one part [insert superhero of your choice and their nemesis], and one part stalking-your-ex trope.  They can’t stop thinking about each other, talking about each other, talking to each other, goading each other, and getting under each other’s skin with practiced ease.  They know exactly what buttons to push to get a rise out of the other.

At the end of the boss fight in the Black Temple, they both admitted how closely linked their lives had become.

That is a powerful connection, whatever kind of relationship you think they have.

Argument #3.  “They hate each other.  Like, really, really hate each other.  To the point of actual homicide.”

Yes, and?  

“Enemies to lovers” is a popular, long-lasting trope for a reason.  Illidan/Maiev is actually listed as an example in two different places, but it is by far not an isolated case.  For many reasons too complex to address here, this type of narrative resonates with a large number of people.

Remember, this is fiction.  “I am entertained thinking about these characters in a romantic and/or sexual context” is literally all that is required to ship something.  It doesn’t have to be canon.  People ship characters who never even meet in canon.  At least I/M have a strong emotional connection to start with.

I also don’t see many shippers who seriously believe these two are romantically linked in canon.  (At most, maybe some kinky prison hatesex happened.)  Instead it’s often shipped in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way, and the WTFery is part of the charm.

I should note, however, that there were a couple quotes in the Illidan novel that pinged my shipping radar.  See here and here.

Argument #4:  “Illidan’s still in love with Tyrande,” and/or “It seemed like Maiev was in love with Naisha.”

Because people only fall in love once in their entire lives, right?  And it’s impossible to have feelings for two different people at the same time.  And you have to be deeply in love with someone to have sex with them.

Oh wait.

Argument #5:  “It’s abusive and unhealthy!”

No shit.  Again, it’s fiction.  I enjoy watching Godzilla movies but that doesn’t mean I want a kaiju to destroy my neighborhood IRL.

[Above, Maiev and Illidan demonstrate that they are, indeed, fictional characters.]

Argument #6:  “It’s creepy and wrong!”

That’s a perfectly valid opinion.  Thankfully, no one is forcing you to ship it.

[Above:  Not what is happening.]

It’s fine to dislike a ship.  Heaven knows I have NOTPs of my own.  Personally, I practice the Thumper doctrine (”If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all”) when it comes to shipping.  Everyone has different tastes, and as long as the characters are adults and no incest is involved, it’s not my place to tell other people what they can and can’t enjoy.  Fandom is supposed to be fun!

Speaking of which, I had a lot of fun writing and illustrating this post.  I hope it was entertaining, even if your opinions weren’t swayed.

If, after having read all this, you still think I/M is the worst ship ever, that’s totally okay!  Just move along and let us shippers have our fun.  Thanks!

[movietvtechgeeks]

Latest story from https://movietvtechgeeks.com/will-2017-good-year-film/

Will 2017 Be a Good Year for Film?

It’s a wonderful time to be comic book fan as our favorite heroes come to life one by one on the big screen. 2016 gave us Deadpool, the Suicide Squad, and Doctor Strange and a new incarnation of Batman for the DCEU. Harley Quinn became a household name and Ghost Rider got a proper treatment on TV and Spider-Man debuted in the MCU in a pretty big way. Favorite sci-fi franchises like Star Trek and Star Wars also made a big splash in the box office with Star Trek Beyond and Rogue One. 2017 promises to be a similar year for us geeks as well as the general public as both DC and Marvel have several offerings. This year, Marvel has three. Rogue One was stunning in IMAX. So save up to watch your favorite franchises in the best way possible in IMAX or in 3D. 2017 will be quite a ride. Here are the most anticipated films for 2017.

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter – January 2017 – this film is anticipated by both Resident Evil fans and the general public as this is the final chapter of the long-running series of Resident Evil films starring Milla Jovovich. Is Wesker really actually a good guy? What happens to Alice, and the rest of the remaining human survivors on an earth taken over by the undead? Can the earth still be cleansed of the T-virus? We’ll find out very soon.

Logan – March 2017 – This could very well be Hugh Jackman’s final appearance as Wolverine on the big screen as he has held on to the character for over a decade and he’s not getting any younger. It’s been that long already? This will be an adaptation of Marvel Comics’ Old Man Logan storyline but without anyone else in the Marvel universe. This film somehow follows the disappointing X-Men: Apocalypse as Fox seems to have something against the chronology of X-Men stories. For their sake, hopefully, this redeems the X-Men franchise as not even Deadpool can hold everyone up. Maybe he could and teach Fox the merits of following source material instead of egos. The plot is something like Lone Wolf and Cub as Logan travels the country in a post-apocalyptic future. Tagging along is a young incarnation of X-23 and an old Charles Xavier which also marks Patrick Stewart’s final portrayal of the character.

Power Rangers – March 2017 – this is basically a wait-and-see film for fans of the Power Rangers franchise. This film takes some liberties with the kid-friendly version of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. The trailer and toy reveals have so far been disappointing, but hopefully, this film will surprise us like some films of 2016. Hopefully.

Beauty and the Beast – March 2017. While not a comic book or sci-fi film, we always love to anticipate the almost yearly fairy tale offerings from Walt Disney or Pixar. Beauty and the Beast is another live-action remake of Disney’s animation classics following Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty), Cinderella and The Jungle Book. Beauty and the Beast will star Emma Watson as Belle and like the animated musical, will also have the same musical score and possibly a few new twists.

Kong: Skull Island – March 2017 – Legendary Films is building its own shared universe after Gareth Edwards’ 2014 Godzilla. King Kong will be remade in a very big way. He will be much more colossal in order to be able to kick ass against or along with Godzilla in the future. The cast is equally colossal with Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman and Brie Larson.

Ghost in The Shell – March 2017 – is a live-action film based on the beloved sci-fi cyberpunk anime classic of Masamune Shirow. This film is controversial as the lead role was given to Caucasian Scarlett Johansson since the lead character was supposedly Asian given her name but is surprisingly okay with Japanese fans as their characters may be ambiguous when it comes to race or nationality. Fans of the anime are hopeful that the film will do the anime justice and that the film will be good enough to pass the casting issues like in Doctor Strange.

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 – May 2017 – is the long-anticipated follow-up to the highly successful film of the formerly highly obscure team of the Guardians of the Galaxy. The whole gang returns including Vin Diesel to voice the adorable Baby Groot. Guess he’ll grow up by the end of the film. This film will feature the return of Nebula, the debut of Mantis as well as Ego, the Living Planet. If it’s any indication, the trailer alone suggests this adventure will be a fun ride. Plus, we’re excited to hear the contents of Peter Quill’s new mixtape.

Alien: Covenant – May 2017 – Director Ridley Scott returns to helm his most famous creation, this time giving us a less ambiguous prequel to our beloved space horror franchise. This film will follow the events of Prometheus but will now feature the familiar xenomorphs of the Alien franchise. Naomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender will reprise their previous roles as Shaw and the android David respectively. Fassbender will also take on the role of a newer android named Walter and Katherine Waterston is cast as Daniels as the other lead character akin to Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley.

The Mummy – June 2017 – is an anticipated reboot of Brendan Fraser’s action-horror franchise. This time, Tom Cruise takes over for Fraser while the gorgeous Sofia Boutella (Kingsman, Star Trek: Beyond) takes on the titular role.

Wonder Woman – June 2017 – could probably be the DCEU’s saving grace after Batman V Superman. Wonder Woman’s appearance near the end was one of the film’s highlights and though some fans voiced their objections to the casting of Gal Gadot, she carried the character very well. Like Captain America: The First Avenger, this film will be the DCEU’s period piece. Has everyone noticed she’s been carrying a shield a lot recently? From the look of the trailer, this could be good. It’s another historic moment ad this will be her first solo film on the big screen.

Transformers: The Last Knight – June 2017 – Optimus Prime and Megatron return in another installment of the Michael Bay Transformers franchise. This picks up from the events of Transformers: Age of Extinction. Though the Transformers franchise is generally panned by critics and Transformers diehards, this franchise continues to rake in profits and let’s face it. We geeks love giant robots duking it out even though we can’t discern what’s happening when they come in contact. We remain suckers for what happens next in this franchise.

Spider-Man: Homecoming – July 2017 – this will be Spider-Man’s first solo film since his return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He was already great in Civil War, and with RDJ and Iron Man as support, this film could turn out to be more than amazing. Michael Keaton again plays a winged character in the form of The Vulture. It’s a logical choice as he predates The Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus and The Lizard. Some fans can’t wait to see younger upbeat Aunt May again.

Thor: Ragnarok – November 2017 – The Mighty Thor returns in the third installment of his own franchise. This film will pick up after the events of Thor: The Dark World, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Doctor Strange as we seek to discover what happened to Odin as well as the whereabouts of the Hulk. This film will feature an adaptation of Marvel Comics’ popular Planet Hulk storyline and we’ll be treated to an appearance of Doctor Strange as he will help Thor and Loki locate Odin.

Star Wars Episode VIII – December 2017 – there seems to be no stopping Disney in giving us new Star Wars stories every December. This decade is a new heyday for Star Wars fans as more and more Star Wars films are expected to come out after the success of The Force Awakens and Rogue One. We expect this film to pick up where Episode VII left off with Rey and Luke Skywalker and the fates of Finn and Kylo Ren.

Justice League – December 2017 – DC’s own efforts at an extended universe will finally come to a head this upcoming December with the release of their Justice League film. Much like with the Avengers going against Loki and the Chitauri, the newly-formed Justice League will likely go against an initial attack from the Parademon forces of Darkseid from Apokolips which will be led by Steppenwolf. The film will also feature the return of the Man of Steel. Again this will be a first for the big screen bringing together DCs core team of superheroes.

Other films to watch out for – Underworld Blood Wars, Jeepers Creepers 3, Despicable Me 3, Pirates of the Caribbean 3: Dead Men Tell No Tales, War for the Planet of the Apes, Pitch Perfect 3, The LEGO Batman Movie, Cars 3, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, The Fate of the Furious, Stephen King’s It.

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