#somebody should remake this but make it actually good

[james-p-sullivan]

[literary-vandal]

Scooby-Doo crackfic to the plot of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath where the gang solves So Many Damn Mysteries they need to pack up the Mystery Machine and set out for California to go find more baddies to bust but by the time their shitty van makes it there Solving Mysteries has become the latest fad and every goddamn gang of teens with a great dane is out there sleuthing so the gang decides *they're* going to be the ghouls so they can make enough money to finance their crime-solving but as it turns out 1) being the baddies is actually quite lucrative and b) these off-brand goddamn gang of teens and their fucking great danes are actually pretty good mystery solvers so now the mystery gang has to escape California before they're jailed or killed ("or worse - expelled"). oh and no one drinks anyone's breast milk ever. the end😌

[kyomaakuma7]

After a very long break I’ve come to finally say my share. For those who want to know in more depth how I feel about the full situation I am writing it down below.

Thank you for everyone who sent kind messages and comforting words and thank you most to my good friend @thisanimatedphantom and Kou who supported me through these hard times.

My statement on the Situation

When I started in Inky Mystery, I never thought that it would  get me to where I am today with the friends that I have now.  When I was first introduced to it, and reading it I was immediately entranced into the story and wanted nothing more but to illustrate it since I had already planned to remake the original. Seeing such a well-crafted story I knew that this would be the story that I would illustrate. (And TAP knows how much work and behind the scene illustrating I’ve been doing from character turnarounds, layout design, alphabet style, and etc.)

Soon I made the first blog and received overwhelming support which I had not originally imagined would come with making my first post, and to that I am grateful. Soon I befriended the author of InkyMystery as our friendship grew, so did the attention that I received with the comics that I was illustrating for them. Unfortunately deleted against my wishes, and after trying to get it back to no avail I created a new blog where I had to restart from the beginning. This process was not easy and for those who know me, I was completely devastated by the fact that I had lost that account. After making my new account with the support of TAP I started my journey again.

Unfortunately with the positive attention comes negative attention. Soon the posts started to gain traction again, and people started to come under the assumption that I was TheGreatRouge making their come back.  What people failed to acknowledge and do was to do further research on was whether or not I actually was. As you can assume I am not them. In fact, I do not like TheGreatRouge. Their content was some thing that I consumed in great mass when I was younger, but soon realized that a lot of the things that they made were toxic and I distanced myself from that. Since then, I have gained certain opinions from on this creator. Nonetheless, I do not find it acceptable that people are taking this approach, even if they do think that I am them.

The words that were said to me in my inbox, comments, and direct messages are not things that I will repeat here. What you should know is that a lot of these things were pertaining to me being a disgusting vile human who should take my own life. As someone who struggles with depression, this was a personal hit to home and it cause my mental health to decline drastically. And I spent days going through and deleting these.

At first, I did not speak out on the issue and distance myself from my friends until eventually I came back and told them what was happening. TAP felt for me and as you may know when they made a post about it which I appreciate greatly along with comforting me and encouraging my break.

I took a long break from working on the comic, along with interacting with the community which worried a lot of people, but it was necessary for me to do since it was harming me so much. I am officially coming back and I will be more active on this account since I don’t have to follow it as a mainly Inky Mystery account.

My final statement on the situation is that even though I am not TheGreatRouge under no circumstances is it acceptable to tell somebody to take their own life or attack somebody on social media just because your beliefs do not align with theirs. No matter how wrong it is, it is not acceptable. If you think that doing those things are OK then you’re not welcome in my space. Please leave.

Thank you and I hope to continue doing this since I love it so much <3

-Sincerely, KyomaAkuma

[markantonys]

I came across a Twitter thread that said the set up for the docks when it comes to the Warder bond between Lan and Moiraine was handled much better in the books cause in the show they feel like the mechanics of the Warder bond was too vague/not explained well in the show that they weren't able to connect with Moiraine and Lan's emotional conflict in s2 because of it. And I am a bit confused cause honestly I don't think the books explain how the Warder bond works at all from what I remember. Just making a lot of wild claims about how everything about the books are better and how the show is fumbling when they haven't even read half the series yet (show first to book reader). Just this trend to shit talk every choice the show makes when you don't even know the full complete story is wild to me

haters: the show hasn't done enough to explain how the bond works

all the screentime across 2 seasons the show has dedicated to showing how the bond works which the haters kept complaining was a waste of time better spent on rand having swordfights:

like literally what do they want lmao some people will never be satisfied!

but the mention of the "mechanics" of the bond is interesting to me because i think we may be hitting upon 2 different types of viewers here: the minority of lore enthusiasts who need to understand every single detail about how things work or else they will be upset and lose immersion, and the majority of audiences who are content with a general understanding of how things work and don't get hung up on details, or will at most go "hmmm i'm not sure if this makes sense, but it's a cool story beat so i'm happy to shrug and move on".

the former category were going "but what weaves is moiraine doing now? did they actually unbond and now she's remaking it from scratch? i thought the bond was only masked? this is such a plothole, it doesn't make sense, i can't concentrate on anything else about the scene" during the 2x08 moiraine & lan beach scene, and the latter category were thinking "what a beautiful and emotionally satisfying moment of seeing them come back together!" and that's it. and probably similar for the rest of the season. if somebody felt unable to connect with the emotional aspects of that storyline, i would bet it's because they felt too unclear about the mechanics of the state of the bond and couldn't let go of that confusion enough to sink into the emotional aspects. (which is really more of a personal thing; my show-only mom was definitely keyed into the emotional aspects of this storyline and didn't get bothered about some mechanics being left vague. in fact, i think she would've just gotten confused if they'd tried to explain the mechanics in more detail djkfjg bless her.)

undeniably, the show does not explain magic mechanics in as much depth as the books do. but that is because it's banking on the very fair assumption that the majority of audiences don't need to have this level of detail in order to enjoy and understand the story (and may get more confused than they need to be if they ARE given this level of detail). i'll admit that s2 was a bit muddled on What Exactly Is Going On with moiraine and lan's bond, and i found myself a bit confused by the mechanics at times, but that never impeded my appreciation or understanding of the emotional aspects of the storyline because i'm someone who is happy to shrug and move on if the mechanics of how something is functioning in a fantasy story aren't making total sense to me.

also, moiraine & lan at the docks won't happen until the end of s3 and it's very very possible we might learn even more about bond mechanics earlier in s3 via elayne and birgitte (who will be good candidates for explaining some New Bond Basics that it wouldn't make sense for moiraine and lan to talk about since they've had theirs for 20 years), so like..........maybe they should just Watch And Find Out.

it's also very interesting that this is coming from someone in the show-to-book pipeline because i honestly would not be surprised if a lot of their base knowledge for how warder bonds works was absorbed..........from the show. and they just don't realize it. granted, if they started with new spring it might be different because i'm assuming new spring goes into a lot of depth about how warder bonds work (though i don't know for sure, i haven't read it). but if they only read EOTW-TFOH, they sure as shit are not gonna have gotten much info about bonds *from the books* because we barely spend any time with characters who are part of a bond during those books. we get, what, maybe a couple chapters total of moiraine or lan pov and then start diving into it a tiny bit more in TFOH with elayne and birgitte, but it's really not that much from what i can remember - and i can't remember very well, because i went into the books already having a very solid understanding of the concept of the bond thanks to all the work s1 put into showing it. i do not remember learning anything significant about the bond in the first 5 books that i didn't already know from s1.

it's also so strange to me in general to see people start with the show, then go to the books, and then start hating on the show because as a show-to-book pipeline person myself, all going to the books did was make me go "wow thank fuck for the show, it will fix X, it will fix Y, it's already fixed Z" basically constantly. it made me 10000x more grateful for and appreciative of the show and the way it's choosing to tell the story!

[glowyjellyfish]

I’m slowly inching my way forward in Rebirth, and I have to say I am actually really delighted with Cait Sith so far. It’s not like I know yet how he works in this canon, but still… lol I see you Reeve. “It feels good to do good”? Hanging his head in shame at the sight of the Avalanche wanted poster? Giving an impromptu lecture on the history of Corel Prison and lamenting that it’s not living up to its potential? I see you Reeve.

Also, Cait Sith is friggin adorable, singing a meow song to guests with his little Scottish voice and having to jump to reach elevator buttons.

Progressed a little further and OMG they showed us Reeve doing his thing. He appears to indeed be doing both genuinely joining Avalanche and spying for Shinra at the same time, if enjoying himself too much and showing too much of himself is anything to go by. Plus, Tseng is clearly aware of what he’s doing and went from him to Rufus to report on Aerith’s position… although it’s not clear yet whether anybody but Tseng knows this, and we DO know the Turks have some mixed feelings about lots of things, so it’ll be interesting to see where this goes. I’m pleased they managed to keep “Cait Sith invites himself to join the party” while also making it more plausible, ie he joined up by being aggressively helpful.

Also, everybody knows that Cait Sith is being controlled by somebody and is something resembling a robot, like without even questioning it. L O L. Of course, they lightly questioned him and he immediately jumped to I AM NOBODY IMPORTANT JUST A LOW LEVEL SHINRA EMPLOYEE WORKING A JOB DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT, so maybe they assumed he was an autonomous robot not unlike Chadley until that moment, who knows. The excess of magic and whimsy in Rebirth has made me realize that these people do indeed live in a world of magic that is sometimes very silly, they’re not gonna question the existence of a sentient magic cat robot person, it’ll only be a shock when they realize one of the Shinra directors was expressing himself by helping them and singing a silly meow song. And also reporting on their movement to Tseng, because if he doesn’t prove his loyalty to Rufus his job could be in danger. So what if he helps them a little too enthusiastically and has an absolute blast doing it?

(Hahahaaaaa my fanfic Reeve is much better at and more concerned with hiding this than canon Reeve, I can’t even tell if he’s actually hiding it from people who aren’t Tseng or not. He’s at least hiding it from his assistant, probably. Oh dear I knew I should have finished my fanfics before Rebirth, even though they aren’t supposed to be fully based on the remake trilogy I am definitely gonna feel obliged to do some rewrites.)

(It does please me to note that there is so far zero reason to see Cait Sith as a separate person from Reeve, very clearly he just basically is Reeve, and we were also shown that he was using his computer to photoshop the wanted posters at a time he also should be actively controlling Cait Sith. Yayyyyy headcanon accurate so far!)

It really does delight me that Reeve is having way too much fun doing this. Of course he is, the man’s horribly repressed.

And Cait Sith is indeed fun to play!

Look, there has been so much else incredibly good and fun and interesting about Rebirth, but Reeve is, still, my favorite, and he’s undoubtedly not as common to talk about as, say, Zack, so I am just gonna commit to being a person who just rambles about Reeve on tumblr periodically because I love him.

I’m just at the desert sidequests section after completing all the Good Saucer/Corel Prison plot—fantastic job with Barret’s character development, by the way—and I am so psyched for the 1000% more Reeve content this game is bestowing upon me. I’m just gonna state for the record real quick that as of right now, I think:

-he controls Cait Sith with his mind, with a magic ability, and Cait Sith is also largely a robot

-he is playing both sides, attempting to mitigate his guilt and the evil things Shinra does by helping Avalanche, while also passing information on them to Tseng (who passes it on to Rufus) probably to prove his loyalty and keep his position

-I haven’t totally decided whether this was all his own idea or if somebody told him to go spy on them, but he is clearly way too into the Join Avalanche part of the plan and is going above and beyond on his own initiative

-because we were directly shown Tseng’s involvement, if the Marlene kidnapping happens, I think it will 100% be something Tseng sets up as insurance. It wouldn’t be Reeve’s idea, not with how sympathetic he is towards Avalanche, and Tseng has some history there and knows where Marlene is and how much she means to them.

Okay, I suspect I started repeating myself at a few points in there so I’m gonna stop. Prepare yourselves for me to just lose my mind and ramble every time Cait Sith and/or Reeve do anything remotely important.

[artist-issues]

Something I've been wondering for a while is, what is your take on retcons? Or serialized stories where the authors change their minds partway through, causing words that meant one thing when it was published to now mean another?

For instance, a LOT of A New Hope is very different now after Empire, the Prequels, and even Rogue One.

Should we differentiate between how the story would have originally been interpreted vs the new context, or just say the story's meaning in light of what it is now?

...I think it depends on how much sense it makes toward the serialized story's main point.

Because with a serialized story, the whole idea is that part 1 is just part 1--the creator's not done saying what they had to say, so there's technically still time for changes--but it has to be within reason. And that reason is determined by how much has already been said and what the main point of the story as a whole is.

For example:

George Lucas already said "Luke Skywalker's father was killed by evil, and his character flaw is looking out at what could be and trying to rush to control the outcome; he needs to learn faith." In A New Hope.

But he wasn't technically finished telling the story because Luke comes back in An Empire Strikes Back. So George Lucas' retcon, that Luke's father is actually still alive, is fine--because it works within the boundaries and natural progression of what's already been said. "Luke's father's killed by evil and he needs to learn faith = Luke's father's old SELF was killed by evil, and getting blindsided by the fact that he's still alive will help Luke learn faith." Natural progression.

What I mean by "retcon" is "storyteller started to say something, then doubled back and decided to say it a different way."

They're not changing what the story is meant to communicate; they're just shifting some words around to say it more clearly. I think of good remakes the same way.

But!

If a storyteller starts to say something, then doubles back and changes the words they're using to communicate (changing who the character is, how they intentionally responded to a given situation, etc.) so that the thing the story was meant to communicate in the first place is DIFFERENT, and the changes CONTRADICT what's already been said because of that--

--then it's bad.

So.

Luke learning in ESB that his father wasn't killed by evil like ANH said, but is evil, which makes his need for faith-over-fear greater? Good retcon.

Rey learning that her parents weren't "nobodies" like TLJ said, but actually they were related to somebody important like TROS said, which changes her previously-established need to stop thinking so much about herself and just do what she can humbly? BAD retcon.

Ruined her character arc. Weakened the main point of the story. It was a retcon that basically did the storyteller's equivalent to this communication blunder:

Beginning of Sentence: "The happy dog jumped--"

End of Sentence: "The happy dog jumped flat on his back because he was sad."

That's as clear as I can make it 😅 Does that answer your question?

[fioras-resolve]

last night i watched a play, my mom's production of aaron posner's "Stupid Fucking Bird." it's a really good production, if you're in the chicago area you should go see it. but it got me thinking a bit about the nature of theatrical productions and how different it is from the state of games.

like, okay. from what i understand from my parents telling me about this, here's how it works: the original production of Stupid Fucking Bird was in 2013, shortly after the play was written. since then, like many plays, the script has been licensed to dozens of productions, who will use the same script but put their own directorial spin on it. the same play may be done as a drama, a tragedy, or a comedy, and that ability to do that is part of the beauty of theatre.

these different productions are how a play stays alive, because unlike a lot of other art forms, plays are innately ephemeral. no showing is exactly the same, and once a production is done, it's over. mama's play is still in theaters, but the only way to experience yesterday's showing is to go back in time. but that sense of presence, of in-the-now, is what gives theatre, and performance generally, its character. we in the video game space tend to chafe against the concept of ephemeral art, and view it as a matter of preservation. i'm sympathetic to this! we shouldn't be letting art history be controlled by corporations who put profit above art. but there is aesthetic value in art being limited, and of-the-moment. it doesn't have to be artificial scarcity to make a quick buck. but that's a whole separate conversation in itself, and not what i wanna talk about here.

the real thing i'm interested in is this: we in the gamedev space don't really do "new productions" of old work as freely as theatre does. we do get remakes, remasters, and rereleases, but those are always either made in-house or at the strict behest of the original publisher. alternatively, the developer doesn't get the rights, and gets a cease and desist letter for it. there just isn't a culture of adaptation in games. nobody wants to hand off their work to somebody who puts their own spin on it. this is partially copyright culture, corporations very protective of their IP. but it's just as uncommon in indie spaces, and i suspect that's because there's a very real stigma against "copying somebody's work."

now, look, plagiarism sucks, and there's always going to be a debate over what specifically counts. but i'm not actually talking about that. i'm talking about the derision that the gaming community has to wearing its inspiration on its sleeve. we see this in the memes about indie rpg's inspired by EarthBound, in the way Paladins was framed as "Shitty Overwatch," and how Overwatch itself was framed as "Shitty TF2." gamers are very defensive about their favorite games, and to some, the most cringeworthy thing you can do as a dev is try to do what it's doing.

i don't have a solution to this problem, but i can be change i want to see, so, here. this is my gameography. you have permission to adapt or remake or reinterpret any of this as you like, as long as you ask first and give me a cut if you're gonna monetize it. i don't really monetize my shit usually, so it only seems fair. i'd love to see other devs do this, to see even big-name developers willing to open their work to adaptations. but there's also reasons we don't tend to do that, and maybe this'll be a failed experiment, whatever that means. i hope i've at least given you something to think about though. peace

[thecloudstan]

(Prt. 1) I just checked your blog and saw you replying in real-time to my messages. XD OMG, YES! I completely forgot to mention his iconic "I guess we can't be friends" line ASDFGHJKL. There's honestly so much to say about Cloud and Rufus because, let's face it, Rufus has been underappreciated and overlooked for YEARS (and the Turks, too, while I'm rambling again, but that's for another day...). Back in the OG, I get why that is because of his stereotypical portrayal and lack of screentime.

Anonymous asked:

(Prt. 2) Added to the long stretches of time between the FFVII novels/other titles through the years and plot demands focus on main party, it's such a SHAME that a lot of fans just haven't read the novels or guidebooks because they provide SO MUCH depth to Rufus' characterization/growth from being a wannabe fascist dictator to fighting for the planet because of GENUINE REMORSE and DESIRE TO PAY HIS DEBT BACK TO THE PLANET. Sure, he's still looking out for Shinra, but hey, that's business.

(Prt. 3) And despite all these years, I am SHOOK that there's so many out there that haven't realized despite whatever differences Rufus and Cloud have, THEY REALLY DO HAVE A LOT IN COMMON. When I got into FFVII and started seriously exploring and paying attention to these characters, it really struck me how much Rufus and Cloud are ACTUAL FOILS to each other. And all the Remake trilogy is doing just bringing into the main games than shoving into the novels that half the fandom hasn't even read.

(Prt. 3? I'm losing track fast because I'm on A ROLL! XD) Because I'm anonymous and YOU'RE A WONDERFUL PERSON, Heich, I feel safe for saying something that some may take issue with and you don't even have to agree with me since I was DONE with shipping discourse when I was 13 and differing opinions should be respected. I 100% BELIEVE that Rufus would make a better romantic partner for Cloud than literally ANYONE ELSE in the series. Yes, that includes T*fa and Aer*th. Why, you ask? See next part.

Rufus and Cloud both love their mothers (Rufus's mother died when he was young) deeply, and don't have much of a relationship with their fathers (Cloud's father was too much of a "free spirit" and got eaten by fiends, as stated in ToTP, and Cloud knows what his mother tells him; Rufus's father was neglectful, and Rufus grows up hating/resenting him, as stated in OtWtS). Both hide their loneliness growing up by acting stoic and cool, and they carry this in their adult lives, too.

Both of them grew DESPARATELY trying to be somebody important and prove themselves to others. And for those who don't know, Rufus DOES crave his father's acknowledgement since he was a child as stated in the novels (he still hates his guts, of course). By the time they're both adults, they even know how childishly rebellious they acted, but they still struggle with their insecurities and loneliness. Again, Rebirth is making those two points in particular VERY OBVIOUS outside the books.

Okay, anon, I wanted to answer your first group as an aggregate this time so it would all make sense. I'll put my reply under the cut so the post doesn't get too long!

It's true, so much of Rufus' history and then character development is hidden behind a wall-of-entry, so to speak, and that does suck. You really just can't get the full depth and breadth of him as a character, especially as he's being fleshed out in Remake/Rebirth, without that background. Or, at least, you'd be missing a lot.

I don't want to focus too much on who is 'best' to ship Cloud with, I'm not here for that and I think the reason I love this world so much is because of the strength and uniqueness of the interpersonal relationships. I think the people around both of them are integral to their lives and development, 'yes men' or otherwise. That said, I do believe they're good foils to one another and that it's a great ship. Considering the people who are left after Meteorfall and then Bahamut Sin, I can't say I'd be entirely disappointed or shocked if Cloud and Rufus did not become closer allies...and then closer other things are possible. Which is the only window I need 😈

What I'm really interested in with Rufus is the exploration of this desire to pay back what Shinra owes, how deep it could go, how his own near-death experiences shaped him, and how the people close to him followed whatever path he decided to take, regardless. It really is a lot like Cloud's story. He takes his group down an extremely dangerous path, unbeknownst to him (and them), and everyone suffers for it, but the intense bond they have, the ability to forgive and see a bigger picture, keeps all of his loved ones close and still believing in him.

I have more to say but it's in response to your next group of asks, so I'll pick up once I draft that reply! Thanks so much for the fun analysis, it's really so validating to have someone to talk to about this specific ship/topic!

[codylabs]

Yo I saw your Bubblegum Crisis fanart a week ago and I thought they were really cool! (yes I know they are old but whatever)

I'm not sure if you still are a fan of the series but I've got a question:

Hypothetically speaking , if BGC was going to release today as say a remake/soft reboot- 12 episodes ideally what would you add or change? (Outside of some obvious things like flashing lights)

Personally I'd make Leon a tad more likeable and give each Knight Saber a bit more development.

Ummmmmmmmmmmmm

I would give the suits ankles.

Define the Sabers' weaponry and equipment a little more rigidly, so that combat sequences can follow a little more internal logic than their current "we've got newer upgraded suits that can punch harder than your lasers can lase" or whatever.

I would make the suits a little bulkier to allow space for internal machinery and enough... Oh heck I won't keep going on about the suits. You saw the fanart so you already know the attributes of my opinions on such matters.

Uhhhh get rid of the topless scenes; for Various Reasons I'm not a big fan of fanservice in general.

Make Mackie and Linna actual characters, with character traits and character arcs and characteristics and stuff. One of the only good things the 2040 reboot did was make Linna a sort of POV character as the only 'normal one.' I thought that worked really well. In the fanfic I wrote, that's how I use her. And Mackie... His big sister is a closeted psychopath with the fortune and propensity to fund a private army, frequently makes him drive through exploding factories in the dead of night, and in the morning he has to... Go to school? Do his friends just think he spends all his time on some obsessive hobby, so when they come over he has to pretend to be some kind of expert in building model trains just to keep up appearances? Do the Sabers go on a mission only to discover they can't fly, because Mackie had hockey practice and forgot to fuel the thermal rockets? Is Sylia on the PTA??? This is comedy gold.

As far as animation style goes, the original nailed it in terms of what I want and what I like. Yeah it would be cheaper today to CGI it, but that sounds worse to me for reasons. And yeah I know how much difficulty and baggage is added to art by costly development, but I want to have my cake and also to eat it. Pwease.

The show is usually fairly good about this next one, but I'll say it because a lot of modern stories fail at it: keep the plot small-scale. The show kind of lost me when they exploded all the Genome buildings around the planet, and the reboot REALLY lost the plot. Like, the protaganists are just one team, they should fight one-team sized threats. Just like Spiderman shouldn't face anyone bigger/badder than Doc Ock, the Sabers shouldn't ever deal with anything bigger than "somebody stole the codes to a military satellite." The codes to a military satellite is big stakes for them. That's a big deal. Their regular fair should be bagging/tagging/pacifying rampant androids or sabotaging corporate mischief. There's tons of ground to explore there. Maybe they can go biggish for a finale. Maybe. If they behave and are good. As a treat.

I like that the original was very episodic. Every episode can stand on its own as a little movie. I like that.

Sylia should appear to testify in court wearing full armor with a darth vader voice synthesizer. Nothing would be funnier than this. The show should be a little funny. It should be a little campy. The cast are all funny people with strong personalities. They should be allowed to be funny.

I disagree that Leon is currently unlikable, I think he's great. Obviously, he's a huge simp and a total tool, but he has tons of good aspects as well, and is an all-around swell dude if he weren't ever exposed to w o m e n. IMO, being a perfectly moral star child isn't what makes a good character, and if he has flaws that's opportunity for growth. But I concede that he does need to do more in the plot though. I'd give him an arc, some development or at least resolution to him and Priss, maybe he figures out Nene's secret ID and acts as their man on the inside, maybe he shows up with the calvary, maybe he's actual useful for once in his life, IDK.

Wild west episode.

Show boomers active in everyday life, I guess. We hear a lot about how useful they are in industry, but all we ever see are state-of-the-art combat models that look all scary, or weird one-offs like illegal vampire hookers. There are innumerable directions you could take domestic androids .

There's probably more I could say, but it's 2 in the morning and I'm pretty much just procedurally generating ideas like an LLM at this point. I still do like this show a lot, though maybe not as much as I once did.

[petorahs]

☀️ i am so sad, i heared that they wont include anything from fes or portable, so no femc, no answer or the like. I hate it here, why this disrespect to my girl Minako i will fight somebody at atlus HQ

oh. well i will say it straight (the only thing straight about me i fear lol) but thats likely not entirely true, ☀️ anon. idk if youve seen this post but it sums it up pretty well https://www.tumblr.com/petorahs/719925542729695232

and the full article published a while later:

bad ign reporting aside, i was also pretty upset at first since no femc and the answer! but then i saw a good point someone made about the femc case:

persona 3 reload has reportedly been in development for four years. and in that four years thats standard time to build a game from the ground up, maybe even too little – anyone who's been in game dev can tell us that. p3re doesnt reuse assets, too, it's completely from scratch. so having femc isnt simply a matter of model swap. they'd also have to program the UIs and make everything pink - sure, that could be "easy", but there's also the changed social links and team dynamics (more writing to be done), weapon system and all that (more coding)? so its like... i'd be actually surprised if they managed a femc during those 4 years. its quite a lot of work to re-adapt base p3 as is i feel and modernizing it. also i feel like atlus themselves wouldnt want to do their character and her fanbase wrong so of course they wouldnt fkn slap on a few pink menus and call it a day. they surely want to rewrite the s links and everything too in accordance to her. art takes time.

(with all that being said bullying atlus for femc is warranted actually maybe then her inevitable dlc might come faster lmao )

similarly, im fine with no "the answer" now despite being its #1 defender. theyd have to completely rework the 30:2 hour grinding to story ratio which is just not sustainable on a modern gameplay perspective. that also takes time.

its why i made this post actually. i somehow trust them, and i feel like most of us can stand to chill a little and have healthier expectations. as in not overbloated and not have the bar set in hell either (altho we should also do that too)

and i know, like anyone who's played this game, it means so much to so many people. and thats why its maybe impossible to please everyone, because its so many different things: a game that saved their life, a funny goofy lighthearted one where you catch demons, the most depressing persona game ever (altho i feel like p2 would beg to differ on that one-), or for me personally, a game that just made me cry man.

and because it means so much, everyone wants to see it be the best it can be!! and that means having hamuchan. i get that all of this riot energy is out of love for the game, really. but. yeah.

a remake seems like it's "less work to do" since the foundation's "already there" and i dont know how many people worked on p3re but like. i highly doubt theyre just sitting on their asses pissing off fans on purpose lol. (or maybe they are and im just too optimistic damn 😭)

[omorinintendoswitchedition]

DMC Questions Anon here!

Before you read this next question:

I was informed that it would be a good idea for my questions to be answered with a specific tag so if people wish to block it they could. Please tag your answers to any question I send you with "dmc questions anon" and I think that should work.

If you wish to be taken off the list, ask. If somebody wishes to be placed on the list, ask. If your anon asks are off and you wish to participate, just make a post answering the question you see going around.

Remember you do not have to answer every question, so please don't feel pressured to do so.

Please also remember to take as long as you need! Do not rush yourself, this is supposed to be a fun activity and I don't want anyone to feel stressed out by trying to rush to answer questions.

Now onto the actual question:

How would you rank the 5 games in the Devil May Cry series? (By story)

Separately, if you want, how would you rank extended material? (The DMC1 Novel, The DMC3 Mangas, The Anime, The DMC2 Novel, Deadly Fortune, Before the Nightmare, and Visions of V, all of which can be found (along with other stuff) here: https://originaldmc.github.io/DivinityStatue/Downloads.html)

If you wish, how would you rank all of it together in one big list?

Omg hiii anon!!!!

I’m gonna be honest and say I haven’t made my way through all the dmc side content yet, I’ve only managed to read Visions of V so I guess I have to rank that number one. Ive also watched some of the anime, but not enough to really give it a firm rank. I’ve been kinda busy lately so I just haven’t had the time to finish reading all the novels

And onto the games!!!!!!

Number 5:Dead last

Devil May Cry 2. Okay yeah this should not be a surprise. DMC2 failed in pretty much every category when it comes to games. The story is just mind numbingly boring. Let’s move on

Number 4:Pretty Eh but doesn’t really hold up well with the later entries

Devil May Cry 1. Someone on Reddit said this the best but when you compare it to later entries DMC1 kinda feels like filler. I am all for a DMC1 remake of it means giving Mundus a much more satisfying ass whooping (and more screen time for Trish!!!! She deadass isn’t there for half the game!!!! I literally forgot she existed in that game halfway through!!!!)

Number 3:Concepts were great but man they missed some potential

Devil May Cry 4. The concepts of a religious cult ruling and island and creating angels from the power of demons rules. And putting us in a position where Dante was the “bad guy” was actually really cool. But half of the game is just backtracking as Dante which puts the story on hold. The scrapped concepts for DMC4 were so cool and so should’ve been included man :((

Number 2:Overcoming your daddy issues

Devil May Cry 3. Dante and Lady both had amazing arcs throughout this game. With Dante accepting his repressed past and demon side and proudly claiming himself as son of Sparda who harbours his soul. It’s enough to make a grown man cry. And Lady’s arc of learning that not all demons are evil, and finally being able to extract revenge on her father. And who can forget that famous “even a devil May cry when he looses someone he loves” line. And I ain’t gonna pretend Vergil wasn’t a banger part of this game’s story cause he was a banger part of this game’s story. A man who seeks power to the point of self-destruction. Who is just as fucked up as Dante but refuses to let himself feel those emotions, and instead filling the blanks with raw strength. And the post credits scene with Mundus…..biting and chewing and killing……ough the post credits scene with Mundus…..

Number 1:That’s intergenerational trauma babyyyy

Devil May Cry 5. As much as I mald and seethe about how dirty Lady and Trish were done in DMC5 I truly do fucking love DMC5. Watching Vergil finally gain the capability to express his emotions and be able to reconcile with his past and his trauma and work for a better future got me wailing and weeping. Watching Nero be able to prove that yes, he is powerful and capable as a devil hunter got me weeping and wailing. Seeing Dante and Vergil finally being able to reconstruct their sibling bond after so many years and keep their sibling rivalry on less violent terms got me weeping and wailing. Everything about V got me wailing and weeping. Nico was such a good addition to this franchise with her personality and how she bounces off the others with her snarky little remarks and was a good source of comedy relief during rough times. The passing of the torch moment was honestly so powerful and I’m actually really looking forward to seeing how Nero can carry on that torch through the series. And the references to the DMC anime in the forms of Patty and Morrison were really neat too.

[access--granted]

I'm bad at thinking on the spot, but I have some firm faves, lol. (Disclaimer, I accidentally wrote you an encyclopaedia, sorry!)

1. Jill. REmake was my first game early this year and I played as her. It's what sucked me into fullblown brainrot lmfao. I've played most of the series now and for the most part, Jill has remained one of the most consistent and realistic female characters throughout the series (imo). I mean, I've never looked at my screen an thought "has the director ever seen her character before? What the hell is this?" Which in RE is a rare occurrence lmfao! She isn't super, overly sexualised and I honestly just thoroughly enjoy her personality and story. She knows who she is and what her goals are. Death Island absolutely solidified this for me. It made me feral, I stg. Her arc was phenomenal. I want a brand new Jill campaign. I need her as a main game character again soon. She's one of the best. SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE WITH CHRIS KILLING WESKER INSTEAD OF SHEVA SOMEBODY HAS TO SAY IT. An original that holds her own. Just... *chefs kiss*.

2. Claire. Similar reasons to Jill. She has clear motivations and a good arc. Her campagin is my favourite part of RE2make and I think it's shamefully underrated. I found her realtionship with Sherry a lot more significant than Leons and honestly, her A playthrough was just... better? That's perisnal opinion though. I wish they'd let this woman buy a new outfit. She's worn the same jacket since '98. Recycling queen I guess, lmfao. I don't think people really give her enough attention or credit. She's incredibly kind and patient but could also beat me to a pulp. Phenomenal.

3. Chris. Okay, a few iffy portrayals but he's overall a very solid character. I like him so much because he's a "terrifying but actually very soft and huggable" trope in my mind, lmao. I can't shake the Awkward Father vibe, no matter how many 400lbs machine guns he plays around with. I just think he's very tired and wants to watch a football game with friends. Give him a break.

4. Ethan Winters. It's fucking Ethan Winters. Ethan and Rose were excellent new additions to the cast. I adored them. They were something different, refreshing, realistic (minus the lego man hands... dude's made of mold tho so...) and just very likeable. Dude just chills in the background at functions wanting to go home.

5. Leon. Leon's equally one of the most interesting but frustrating protagonists. I think his OG progression is a complete mess. There's some parts I love, some parts I think make zero sense. I always got the sense that they wanted to be ambitious with Leon, but didn't know what the audience would and wouldn't accept. Does this man have a personality? Yes, we'll hint at one, but we absolutely must adhere to naughts cringe hero stereotype just incase. He often leaves me perplexed, but I enjoy him. He's fun to nitpick and study (and make fun of!!!) and he arguably has one of the most interesting long-term stories. I think remakes are going harder to bring this to light. At it's core, the Leon story is about his relationship with corruption, the government and how he deals with it and who to trust. It could be... SOMETHING. I think we're getting there. The changes in remakes are making it more and more possible. They're taking risks and it greatly benefits him as a character overall. He makes sense. He's understandable.

(PS a lot of this sounds like nonsensical jumbled ass, I'm so sorry lmao. I did not sleep and I need pain meds today bc hashtag chronic pain. If this message is total dumbassery jibberish you have my deepest apologies!)

Ahhh, hi! I absolutely love a good old encyclopedia ask, don't you worry. (And you're probably gonna get a long ass answer too, lmao).

REmake Jill is my favourite Jill. Her kick ass determination and personality are just so good. She was my first ever example of a strong female character as a kid, and she's always been my absolute fave. Totally agree with you that DI sold her to me even more. She desperately needs a new campaign in a mainline game ASAP, I've missed her too damn much.

I feel like Claire has had most hate in the franchise (in my personal experience, at least), and honestly, I don't get the whole "Claire is so annoying" crap I've seen people say in the past. She has good motivation. A college student going to search for her S.T.A.R.S member brother when she doesn't hear from him, only to survive a hellish night amidst a viral outbreak and cure a child? So badass.

Chris is 100% awkward dad vibes despite his badassery and boulder punching skills, no doubt about it. He's more sensitive than people understand him to be. (Which literally makes no sense, considering how broken he is whenever someone he cares about doesn't make it, lol). Let this man live, put his feet up and relax.

Ethan, my guy. I fucking love him so much. I remember how so many people hated him, back when RE7 first came out. "Oh, but he's just some random guy who is looking for his missing wife. How boring." Uh, isn't that what makes him so much more interesting? He's not an agent, or a S.T.A.R.S member, or whatever like the others are. He's a man willing to go above and beyond to save someone he loves. He gets put through so much shit and still selflessly sacrifices himself. What a guy.

Leon is a hot mess (affectionately). Capcom wanted to do things with OG Leon, and they just didn't know how to go about it. He's definitely a fun one to pick apart and analyse. You're right, though. I definitely think they could really polish what kind of character they want him to be with future installments since they've already gotten him to a pretty decent place already. I've always loved him, but he sure has been a roller coaster ride, hahaha.

Honestly, I always love getting long asks like this, especially from mutuals I wanna talk more to. It's just a shame I'm such a socially awkward coward and can't initiate conversation myself. 😂 I had a lot of fun answering this, so thank you, and I really hope you can rest up soon!

[lovecanbesostrange]

ooooh 1, 4 and 10 for the movie ask? please, ramble away! :)

In a film you like, what's a stupid decision in the narrative that you despise?

The first thing that comes to mind definitely is the ending of The Breakfast Club. I loooooooove that movie to bits. It's so good. And then Allison gets a make-over. Why? WHY? AND THEN THEY DO THE SAME THING IN THE FACULTY TO ME AGAIN WITH STOKELY!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Oh no, the loner girl wearing dark clothes found her flowery self and has a crush. She's fixed now. I'm not saying nobody could ever change their style. Claire and Allison could have played around with make-up, make it a two way street (or even include the whole group, playing with image and appearance). But the way it's only presented at the end is... evil

4. A film you agree is not "good", but holds special sentimental value. (Share the reason if you feel like it.)

hmmmmm... I enjoy a lot of "not good" films anyway. So, yeah, I do agree that Austin Powers in Goldmember wasn't anything we needed. The sequels can't compare to the first and while entertaining, I wouldn't call it good. Hardly recommend to anybody out of the blue. BUT I saw it in theatres back in the day with a friend from uni I rarely spend time with alone. It was one of the few occassions it was just us. In front of us two guys laughed when in the beginning the location plops up as "Utah" and so "Utah, ahahahaha" became a joke between us. I haven't talked to this person in well over ten years and I doubt we'll ever meet again. But this film is a cherished memory in that regard. (Well, she's also the one who sat next to me watching Brokeback Mountain, but that is a very good movie. XD )

It happens a lot. Films are more fun with other people around to share. Can't think of a better example right now, although I'm sure there's more. Especially films I liked as a kid and overlooked so many flaws. Wait, now I'm wondering if watching terrible, terrible films, because of that one acting face you enjoy, would fall under "sentimental value". This list would be so long. (Starting with the extra bad film Dark House.) Nah, that's a thirst thing, I guess...

10. A remake you wish would happent for whatever reason.

I desperately need somebody to take another look at Sucker Punch and make it the kick-ass bizarre adventure for bodily autonomy and independence it should be. So, whenever I hear people talking that movie is utter shit, I will disagree and point out the various great ideas and how complex the character connections can be. The moment fanboys come out of hiding calling it the one true feminist down-with-patriarchy film, I need to scream a lot.

Some say you either love or hate the movie, but I do neither. I'm exactly on the fence. And I think that's terrible, because that film could actually be pure greatness. We need to give it another shot and the script needs women to work with it. The camera needs an extra female lense. (I say that as a lesbian who is at times fed by the male gaze, ngl.) We need a better focus and the male characters can't be pulling all the strings and move the plot by mere existence (I get the women being dolls is a theme, but they need more clear agency and be the driving force).

The one thing that nobody should ever dispute though is the cast of this film. I don't know how to imrpove that in a remake.

[whatyourusherthinks]

Wicked Part One Review

Well, I guess the post-Terrifier 3 good movie run had to end sometime. I really like The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I got read it as a child and reread the original book myself several times. I read some of the sequel books too, Jack Pumpkinhead is legitimately one of may favorite characters in fiction. I've even read some of the comics too, those were cool. I've also seen a lot of the Wizard of Oz movies, which is not something I realized before sitting down in the theater. But I've seen the original Wizard of Oz (obviously), The Wiz (which I should rewatch), the Muppet parody. I even saw Oz the Great And Powerful. Not that I remember anything from it. I was legitimately obsessed with Oz as a kid, I remember trying to figure out where it was so I could figure out a way to move there. I think I thought it was in the middle of Australia? I've only engaged with the Wicked book, I've never seen the play, and I've only heard bits of it from being in the car with my mom when she was listening to the audiobook. The two scenes were the beginning when Elphaba was born and they had to bathe her in milk so she didn't get water on her and die, and a part where she sleeps with a guy who scars her on her stomach because he jizzed there. Anyway...

This movie looked terrible. Like corporate and performative-feminist-without-understanding-what-makes-good-female-characters sludge. Basically the trailer gave me the same vibes of all the Disney live-action remakes. When the movie actually came out, things did not improve. The trailers that play before the movie have me convinced that culture is dead. Humanity is no longer capable of creating anything creative or caring about anything original. We are all spiraling inexorably towards the shutdown of our higher brain functions, and it's all Disney's fault.

What's The Movie About?

Someone watched the Wizard of Oz and thought, "What if the Wicked Witch of the West was a good person?" and wrote a book about it. Then somebody read the book and thought "This should be more like Mean Girls." for some Ozma-forsaken reason.

The Green Stuff.

Elphaba is a very cool character. I like that because she has lived her entire life being hated, she is prepared for everyone's questions and knows how to deal with rude people. I like her connection with animal people and the plot line of her trying to help them out. Her growing out of her selfish desire to change her skin color and instead making her greatest wish for the Wizard to be to help out the animals. Speaking of which, Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard of Oz was a great cast, and I like how sinister they make him. There's literally an illusion to The Great Dictator while he's doing "magic" to impress Elphaba and Glinda. I also weirdly like the Winkie prince? I thought he was going to be deplorable when he started singing about how great it is to be stupid, but he actually has some depth that I thought was really interesting. I really like the Defying Gravity song. I think it being the cap on this movie was really smart, and I like the escape action scene that it was paired up with. This movie also looks pretty good. the effects are nice, the sets are colorful, and the costuming is a lot of fun. I want Elphaba's glasses.

The Pink Stuff.

I don't know if I have hated a character in a movie this year more than I hate Glinda in this movie. The amount of hate I have for her is rivaled only by my hatred for Hitler and myself. They took a character who was underlyingly very smart and plotting and turn her into a vapid idiot who talks like a someone who got dropped as a baby. I understand that is the point. But the movie harps on and on about it. Two hours of this movie is just pointing out how stupid and self-centered this pink bitch is. It honestly makes me think that the writer actually thinks that vanity and cliques are top notch, but know if they admit that they'll get in trouble, so instead just shows off as much as possible of that while throwing a brief "But don't be like that" moment at the very end. It definitely doesn't help that Glinda has no character arc in the movie. The movie pretends she does, there's a little dance she does with Elphaba and I guess they are best friend snow for some reason? But there's no build-up to this moment. The two are literally singing about how much they hate each other, Glinda does something selfish that accidentally benefits Elphaba's sister, so Elphaba does something nice for her in return because she's an actual good and empathetic person. So that means Glinda feels guilty about tricking Elphaba getting made fun of IN A SCENERIO SHE SET UP so she does a stupid dance with her. She's at a different place, sure, but there's no path there. She just teleported there. Naturally after that point comes a scene that made me, a trans person, fell personally attacked, so cool. It also doesn't help that Ariana Grande triggers my fight or flight instinct for some reason.

All the extras and Ozian residents are terrible people as well. That's fucking cool. This movie is single-handedly crushing my childhood dreams of living in Quadling Country, but whatever. Life's easier when you're dead inside, right Disney? I don't understand why everyone is racist in this movie. I mean, I get why the animals are being discriminated against. It's for a stupid, convoluted conspiracy about drought and the Wizard creating a enemy to unite the people of Oz, which now that I'm typing this out doesn't make any sense since he's literally turning the people he rules against each other. But that could be something that's explained in the next movie. No, what I mean is I don't understand why everyone hates Elphaba for being green. She's the only person who is green, it's heavily implied that no one know why she's that way, yet everyone is horrified and disgusted by her. Even though skin aside, she's incredible pretty! These people act like this isn't a land where unique creatures are a common sight! Sure, there's a lot of talking animals, but how many cyborgs are there in the land of Oz? Or talking, dancing scarecrows? No one hates the Tin Woodsman or the Scarecrow.

This movie also makes some changes from the book/original movie I find questionable. From the trailers I found the fact that Elphaba was being played a black woman weird, but it's fine in the context of the movie. What's less fine is the fact that her sister is in a wheelchair. Again, nothing wrong with having disabled characters and I like that Disney actually got a disabled actress to play Nessarose. But I absolutely hate the fact that Dorothy killed a disabled woman. Because that's who Nessarose is, she's the Wicked Witch of the East. You see her get the slippers in the movie. (Although they aren't ruby slippers because Disney doesn't have the rights to the original movie. Yet.) I'm also bothered by the lack of color importance. It's not something that is exclusive to this movie to be fair, but colors are very important in the book. Every country in Oz has a specific color and certain colors are only worn by certain types of people. For example: Witches are the only people in Oz who wear white and black. When Dorothy shows up, her blue and white checkered dress helps the Munchkins instantly trust her and know she's good. None of the movies follow this philosophy. The Wicked Witch of the West wears black, but that's it and could just be because she's the villain and they wanted to color-code her to be darker than everyone else. Glinda wearing pink irrationally bugs me. It's fine in the original Wizard of Oz movie since they make no reference to the Gillikin Country and she's explicitly a good opposite to the green villain. They are supposed to clash. This movie frames Glinda and Elphaba as friends by the end of it, and there's more references to the book as a whole. Glinda should be purple. Purple and green are more complimentary than pink and green. Speaking of Green, the Emerald City looks TERRIBLE. I can't really understand why, since pretty much everything else looks good. But something about the Emerald City when it is shown in the background looks fake as hell.

Much like this review, this movie is far too long. Fuckin' Wizard of Oz movie thinks its Dune. Seriously, why the hell is this movie 3 hours long? If you consider the fact that this is a two-parter, it's actually more like SIX hours long, but I shouldn't judge a movie before it comes out. Let's keep judging this one. Why is Bock in the movie? I wanted to like him at first since he's an underdog and infatuated with a terrible woman who literally never gives him a first thought, let alone a second. But his subplot with Dessarose is so auxiliary to what is going on in the actual story. Cut that out of the movie. There's a random part where Elphaba and the prince save what I guess is supposed to be the Cowardly Lion, and there's a tiny bit of characterization but it's really just there to remind the audience that this movie is connected to a much better movie. Cut the scene. Honestly, all of Shiz could be cut out of the movie and it would be infinitely better, but I guess we wouldn't have a catalyst for the animal storyline. Actually, Elphaba was raised by a bear since her dad immediately disowned her, you could have her get introduced to the animals disappearing and becoming speechless through her. If you must keep Glinda in the movie, make he less prominent of a character. Or just show off how shallow and vain she is for twenty minutes instead of TWO HOURS.

Actually, I don't even know why this movie is in two parts. This first part is a perfectly serviceable movie on it's own. You see Elphaba become a "bad guy", you see Glinda's "rise" to being a "good" witch. Is the second part just going to be sweeping up little crumbs of plot left over, like the Prince? I don't want to watch that. I have a feeling the second part is going to be more interesting than the first just because Shiz won't be in it, but it will probably have Glinda even more since her and Alphaba split up at the end of this one. I dunno, what even is this paragraph.

Final terrible issue with Wicked, I hate most of the songs. I mentioned already that the only song I really like is Defying Gravity. Some song are alright but really forgettable, others are unfortunately not. People who like being around me are very lucky I don't know how to get access to a firearm, because if I hear that Popular song again I would blow my brains out. I doesn't help the the song is full of the annoying "cutesy" dialogue where Glinda adds unnecessary suffixes to every word longer that two syllables. Why does the movie do that? Glinda is the worse culprit, but Michelle Yeoh does it a lot in the movie too. People of Oz don't talk like that in the book, and I'm 95% sure the original movie wasn't like that either. It's not whimsical, it's ANNOYING. What's whimsical is the talking animals and people doing magic.

The thing is, all of this is in the play. Or it's intentionally terrible. So if you are reading this as a fan of the play or book, you're probably reading this wondering...

What The Fuck Is Wrong With Me.

A lot, you got time? Let's start with this. I have a hard time watching stuff like Mean Girls because I've got traumatic history with my high school years. I don't like movies that focus on the drama of being popular. I think it's a stupid goal. I'm also starting to realize I don't like parodies or deconstructions of things I like non-ironically. Like superhero comics. I don't like stories that point out how silly or stupid tropes of that genre can be, even if they are well-written, because I enjoy the fantasy of straight forward moral conflict of good versus evil where good usually wins. I know it's not realistic, I'm reading a story about people in spandex who can fly, why would I think it's realistic. Oz is the same way for me. It is a socialist utopia run by a lesbian goddess, is separated into five color-coded states filled with talking animals and living constructs, and is literally surrounded by a desert that is impassable called the Impassable Desert. It's not a realistic setting. It doesn't need to be. Adding fantastical elements into mundane settings or turning a boring thing into something exciting and magical is awesome. Unfortunately the reverse is not true. I don't know why anyone would think that the thing missing from a magical road trip would be a college filled with catty students, but I hard disagree. It just makes the interesting world feel... too similar, I suppose. "Even though there is talking animals, there's still things you hate Roan!" this movie tells me, "There's still school, and bullying, and racism! The idea of a place that just nice to be and exist in and everyone is nice to each other is a complete lie!"

That's why I'm a nihilist. Because progress relies on people working together and the only thing humanity hates more than helping others is helping themselves.

Final Summation.

If you like the stage play you'll like Wicked. One might question why you need to watch the movie if you've seen the stage play, but one wouldn't like the movie to begin with. One would also desire to shove a double-barrel shotgun inside their mouth and firing upwards after enduring the whole movie. One also liked Red One and Borderlands so I guess one's opinion is dogshit and too literal or whatever other criticism you have for one that doesn't actually mean anything MOTHER!

[saint-starflicker]

Scrolled past another shoot-from-the-hip movie comparison in the tags, this time that Saltburn and Call Me By Your Name have a Venn Diagram Circle fandom.

While I think in this specific case it should not be an insult—people can like multiple movies, so I don't understand the jump to the conclusion of how "You only like Saltburn because you haven't watched The Talented Mr Ripl—" People can like both movies! jfc... Anyway I think I have only found one or two people in the tags that actually like both in the past six months, so the generalization is statistically false. (And it was thrown into the void with derogatory connotations.)

Although I did only watch the Call Me By Your Name movie because somebody in the Saltburn tag said they're similar.

Why can I never find these "transpositional plagiarisms"¹ that everybody else keeps finding?

Yeah, yeah, Olivers, shared bathroom, heterosexual experiment girl, summer lovin' like it's the beginning of Grease 1978 but in Europe, and at least one scene that's purposely meant to gross the audience out (peach, tub) but has deeper meaning or narrative purpose—and then discourse about bad representation—

Why do the similarities matter? Does it serve sort of "if you liked XYZ movie then you should also watch ABC movie because you might like both"? Is it more of a, "they are similarly popular and therefore impactful and influential, which can be a problem because of behind-the-scenes controversies"? Is it "neither worked for me, for similar reasons" or "one worked for me and the other didn't despite their similarities—so if you liked the one I didn't like, then you might like this other one better"?

...

...Or is it the dislike that becomes "let people dislike things" that reinforces an online culture of bog-standard media literacy²?

¹ Simon Stephenson coined the phrase "plagiarism by transposition" in an accusation that The Holdovers 2023 is stolen from a not-yet-filmed screenplay by Stephenson. The Holdovers 2023 was a remake of Merlusse 1935. Sorry, Simon, transpositional plagiarism articulates a lot of creator anxieties and viewer criticism...but it is not a thing. A text put through the wringer of a thesaurus or paraphrasing and judged to still be plagiarism can be a thing. Transpositional plagiarism is not a thing.

² I write that as though I'm on a hilltop of literacy so first I'll say yes I am although I have fallen off on occasion and climbed up again so I'm not saying that never happens; and this is how I define media literacy: includes a definition of the subject's positionality, the framework by which the statements of the interpretation will be made, the application and purpose of making those statements, and good-faith open discourse rather than a shutdown of developing ideas. Not to say that first-impressions shitposting on a personal blog is somehow wrong or should be more polished, but more that even that shitpost will be itself a text that can be contextualized and analyzed for how it contributes to culture and conversation—even if it is therapeutic for now and will be embarrassing and regrettable later in life if any growing up gets done at all.

[nicolerrichie]

Nicole Richie interviewed by Wall Street Journal, April 29 2024

It has been over 20 years since “The Simple Life” first aired on Fox, but Nicole Richie remains one of the most indelible reality TV stars. On the show, which ran from 2003-2007, Richie and her close friend Paris Hilton left behind their glamorous lives as L.A. socialites to live on farms and in trailer parks. They quickly became known for their troublemaking and humorous antics.

Now, Richie, 42, is once again bringing a charmingly madcap presence to our screens. She plays a heightened version of a powerful boss as seen through a teenager’s eyes in this spring’s remake of “Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead.” Her character, Rose Lindsey, played by Joanna Cassidy in the 1991 original, unknowingly hires a 17-year-old as her assistant, and high-jinks ensue.

Off-screen, Richie, who works as creative director of her accessories line, House of Harlow 1960, mostly keeps a lower profile. She lives in Beverly Hills with her family, enjoys nature walks and begins every day at 5:30a.m., before everyone else in her house wakes up. She’s also at work developing a horror comedy. She writes in her bathroom in the mornings before going downstairs to feed her animals, which includes dogs, cats, chickens and turtles. “I should start this interview off by saying I am a Virgo,” she said, “so routines are very heavy in my life.”

Richie, who was born in Berkeley, Calif., lives with her husband, the musician Joel Madden, and their children, Harlow, 16, and Sparrow, 14. Here she discusses the scariest scary movie villain and what she’s learned from her dad, Lionel Richie.

What time do you get up on Mondays, and what’s the first time you do after waking up? I get up at 5:30a.m. every morning. I’m an early bird. The first thing I do is brush my teeth and then I read. I just finished “James,” by Percival Everett, and I’m going to go ahead and say that it’s the best book of the year, even though we’re in April. It’s going to be an American classic.

How do you like your coffee and breakfast? I drink black coffee. We make coffee here. Mornings are the craziest time in the house, between the hours of 7 and 8:30 it’s a big rush, so that’s why I wake up at 5:30, just so I can have time by myself. On Sunday, I do some baked goods, muffins or banana bread or something like that, so that everyone can just grab something and go.

What do you do for exercise? I do a combination of Pilates and circuit training three times a week.

Did you influence what your character, a fashion executive, wears in “Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead?” I did have a hand in what Rose wore, knowing that every time you look at Rose, you’re looking at her through the lens of a 17-year-old. So thinking about how teenagers look at adults was something that I thought was really important, how they think adults dress. It’s a lot of suits, a lot of bright colors, primary colors, the cherry reds and the cobalt blues—what looks like an intimidating outfit to a teenager.

What would you say is the most Virgo thing about you? I’m a list-maker. I’m a receipts-keeper. By receipts, I don’t only mean grocery receipts, I mean emotional receipts. I’m a homebody who probably doesn’t come off as a homebody all the time. RuPaul said it best. He describes himself as an introvert disguised as an extrovert, and that’s something that really hit home with me. I’m always on time. I’m actually a little bit early because I don’t want anyone to call me and ask me where I am.

Would you ever write another novel? I would, but I used a ghostwriter for the first two. If I ever wrote another book, I would write it myself.

What’s the most important thing you’ve learned about things like stage presence and confidence from your dad, Lionel Richie? He is somebody who is very present. He looks people in the eye, he listens to people, he says hi to everybody and really makes people feel seen.

As one of the very first stars of reality TV, how do you feel about how the genre has evolved? Something that was so cool about doing “The Simple Life” was that it really didn’t have much to do with our daily lives. It was about us leaving our lives for 30 days and going and living other people’s lives. So I always was able to maintain a sense of intimacy and privacy within my own daily life. But I do enjoy “Vanderpump Rules,” just like the rest of ’em.

What do your children say about your iconic early 2000s style? My daughter asked if I had any of my Juicy [Couture] tracksuits that I could give to her. She was devastated when I told her those were long gone.

What’s the secret to a happy marriage? Well, I’m in the middle of a “Scandal” rewatch and Joel came in the room last night and tried to make me change it mid-episode, so we’re going through a bit of a rough patch.

Good luck getting through it. Things are tense. I would say you’ve got to let your spouse watch the shows they watch.

What’s one thing you delegate to your assistant, and what’s one thing you have to do yourself? Anything that requires anything online is something that I simply cannot do. I make all my own appointments.

Do you have any hobbies or habits that might surprise your fans? I love to spend time with my animals, my chickens. I love cooking for my family. I like to watch ’90s erotic thrillers and romantic comedies. I love to watch horror movies all year long.

Do you have a favorite of all time? Emotionally, I’m the most connected to “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” because that’s the one I grew up on. To this day, I’m still afraid of Freddy Krueger. That’s the one character that I’m definitely afraid of.

Do you have something you consider your most prized possession? My bobby pins. I don’t go anywhere without them. I have curly hair.

What do you like to splurge on? I don’t know if this is a splurge per se, but I like to go to the store to get books. It makes such a difference. And there are certain things from Erewhon. For a mom with two teens on-the-go all the time, they really do package their fruits and vegetables in a way that’s very grab-and-go.

And is there anywhere you like to pinch pennies? I have swap meets that I go to to get my T-shirts, down jackets, jean jackets.

I saw on “Jimmy Fallon” that you used to name your pet rats after “90210” actors. Do you still do thematic animal naming like that? Not after shows, but they do have very colorful names. It’s a combination of my whole family naming them. The most recent addition to our family is our cat Lavender Bumblebee. I named her myself actually. No one agreed to it, but it’s very much her, so I’m glad I stuck to it.

What’s one piece of advice you’ve gotten that’s guided you? One lesson that my mom taught me is you should never leave the house without lotion on. I was very shocked as I got older and found out some of my friends, my husband included, just walk out of the house with no lotion on. It sends chills up my body. I would never in a million years think about doing something like that. It’s scarier than Freddy Krueger.