#super campy but super good
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
stgroversfire · 11 months ago
Text
watched king of the monsters 2019 last night- my first american godzilla film
other than the fact im really sick of seeing stranger things kids in every piece of american media (and dear god, mbb has talent but clearly the direction was ass bc her acting was dogshit in this one), i was still excited to see vera farmiga
and more importantly, the absolute trainwreck of all the human plot pretty much made me hyper attuned to the monster plot, because i was so excited every time the humans left the screen that i was just cheering for anything kaiju. i cried when mothra died for goji and i cried when goji's blast had mothra's wing pattern in it.
overall its amazing how you can completely fumble the human side of a godzilla movie and still make an enjoyable kaiju film anyway- most of my thoughts were just "i have no idea why this plot point is here but it made for a gorgeous visual so im not mad." that movie was PRETTY. and some really iconic frames as well.
29 notes · View notes
mariocki · 8 months ago
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Black Moon Rising (1986)
"Mr. Quint and I go back a ways. We used to be... what, in competition?"
"I never considered you competition, Marvin."
"Aw, that's not nice, Quint. We had our moments."
"You must've had yours in private."
#black moon rising#1986#american cinema#harley cokeliss#john carpenter#william gray#desmond nakano#tommy lee jones#linda hamilton#robert vaughn#richard jaeckel#lee ving#bubba smith#dan shor#william sanderson#keenan wynn#nick cassavetes#richard angarola#don keith opper#lalo schifrin#william marquez#decentish techno thriller but never quite hitting the levels it should. TLJ is a good charismatic lead‚ and apparently adlibbed a lot#of his own dialogue (but was also reportedly difficult to work with and particularly clashed with Hamilton; he was struggling with#alcoholism during filming) and there's a lot of heavy hitters in that cast but it perhaps spreads itself too thin: i always enjoy seeing#Keenan Wynn turn up (and this was his final film) but his character is under developed and adds nothing to the plot‚ and should#probably have been cut... and maybe more time given to Robert Vaughn's big villain‚ whose deeper motives (beyond stealing fancy cars)#remain largely unexplored. the super duper future car is pretty cool‚ even if it does test the limits of belief at times. idk i think it's#just taking itself a little too seriously in places‚ forgetting to have fun with what is essentially a pretty silly idea. this was a john#carpenter script‚ but his involvement ended there; can't help but feel that if he'd directed it then it would have been more successful#and matched the campy tone of Christine or They Live. a slightly missed opportunity but not a waste of time by any means
5 notes · View notes
kyngsnake · 1 year ago
Text
Tumblr media
guy for a monsterhearts campaign @bromios is running
18 notes · View notes
coolrobotgrimreaper · 2 years ago
Text
#losh#legion of super heroes#legion of super-heroes 2023#dc#polls#I hate this TImber Wolf so much I'm sorry#Like his voice acting and animation is fun but he's such an idiot#why is he in charge#the movie did lean into the campiness occasionally but not as much as my liking#also just like. there are so many cool stories you could tell with the Legion#why does DC just keep re-hashing 'current-time hero goes to the future to train with them'#WE ARE NOT JUST HERE TO TRAIN PEOPLE FROM THE PAST WE DO OTHER THINGS Y'KNOW#honestly i was really into the body horror at the end but it's definitely not everyone's thing#and there were a couple of times where i was like#'okay they're going really on-the-nose with the autism stereotypes for Brainy'#but I think it's overall good that they DID lean into making him autistic#I mean there's never gonna be a Brainy who's NOT imo#A depiction of Brainiac 5 is acceptable to me if it has at least one of the following:#incredibly rude to everyone he speaks to OR incredibly gay#and the autism is a given#Anyway um yeah. Mon-El's voice acting was really good that's another thing I liked about it#Triplicate Girl was pretty fun#although she did feel a little bit 'same exact personality as literally every black woman in the Young Justice cartoon'#Phantom Girl was divisive I do like the capey thing but I do not understand her pink ponytail#And her personality was a good balance to the team but of course I miss her personality from the 2006 cartoon#Bouncy and Jacques were both really fun they deserved more screen time#okay. done for now
14 notes · View notes
lalas181 · 2 years ago
Text
Let's play a reblog game: What's a thing you genuinely like that you just cannot recommend to literally anyone? Bonus points if you give the reason.
10 notes · View notes
gothdabi · 1 year ago
Text
i don’t know why it’s so hard for me to watch movies unless i’m sick or doing horribly mentally like i just can’t focus unless im dying
3 notes · View notes
gibbearish · 1 year ago
Text
saw the barbie movie
#it was pretty good i will say though i think people being like 'i have no idea why the right is mad abt this#movie theres absolutely nothing upsetting in it' are being disingenuous#the veil of satire is exactly a centimeter thick on this one like this movie directly mocks conservatives to their faces#in entirely deserved and accurate ways which is exactly why theyre mad#and honestly it did feel heavy handed at times to the point of immersion breaking for me#like when the mom is helping deprogram the barbies that whole monologue and the snippits after very much feel like#a video essay rather than part of a movie about barbie#and im torn between 'this doesnt fit in the movie super well' and 'holy shit they actually let yall say this in a major movie#this is Excellent Progress goddamn'#idk tldr i have mixed feelings#but i mean overall it was fun and campy i did enjoy it#also side note ive seen several ppl be like ''it sucks that the movie ends on 'she got a vagina as her signifier of Being A#Real Woman‚' this is transphobic'' and like i can see where that sentiment comes from but also. no#the film very blatently establishes that the thing making her a real woman is just her Realizing She Is One#whereas the gynocologist thing is just a joke to end the movie on?#with the setup being that with the family all there to support her and wishing her good luck and everything#it feels like its building up to like a job interview or something like that and then it subverts your expectations#like idk to me 'doll that constantly gets jokes made about them not having genitals becomes real and gets genitals' doesnt read as a#trans joke‚ it reads as. a barbie joke. about barbie dolls#anyways done with that rant where do i find the allan fanclub#also the weird barbie fanclub
3 notes · View notes
professional-manwhore · 1 year ago
Text
Minimalism is incredibly discomforting
Cottagecore is 50/50. It can either be really cozy or super annoying (obvious rich people who have never stepped foot in the country before kind of annoying)
Fake vintage sucks ass
does anyone have like an anti aesthetic. like something you look at and can recognize as a complete fashion/interior design/artistic movement and understand it but it makes you shudder seeing it. i am not talking like “its morally bad” “its poorly structured” like just sheerly devoid of joy for you actually invites a repulse response.
27K notes · View notes
famewolf · 1 year ago
Text
that movie fucked tbh
1 note · View note
goosefeathered · 1 year ago
Text
Yeah live action one piece is dope unfortunately
0 notes
psychoticwillgraham · 2 years ago
Text
the fact that pretty much every nct sub group is included in this video AT LEAST once makes me laugh so hard like why. do those boys do that
0 notes
Text
For consideration—
Danny is many things. Student, hero, teenager, tired. Teenager and tired are shared, student is what he wants, and hero is what he has to be.
So when he’s fighting Val—Red Huntress, as dubbed by the general populace—and they get interrupted from their highly dangerous not-quite game of hide and seek by the Justice League offering her all of the training and support any hero could ever want… well.
It’s a good thing he’s already hidden, because he has no idea what to feel and ghost faces are significantly more stretchy and allow for frankly horrifying face journeys. He could just be a kid. He wanted to have mentorship. He wanted Valerie to be a great hero. He hopes she’s not getting dragged into it. He’s been given an out, possibly.
Or at the least, as Jazz would put in during the video call later that night, he could take a vacation.
Her reasons were fairly pure. He overworked himself by necessity, and he deserved time and rest and the ability to go for his own hobbies.
Danny’s were very much in the petty revenge territory. Blob ghost populations would be outright swarms in about two weeks, and that’s if the ectopi didn’t start hunting them as prey, sending them into a tizzy. Any bigger threats—well. Red Huntress was the hero, the only hero, as Superman said in his little ‘join us’ speech. Clearly, she’d been handling it so far. She’d be fine. There was even Justice League backing and support for her.
He still hid during ghost attacks. Everyone always thought he was scared of ghosts anyways and the rogue gallery had no qualms about kidnapping or otherwise targeting him as a regular teen.
Things… quickly spiral.
For Red Huntress, that is.
Suddenly, her new ghost alarm system that Batman helped her build is going off constantly. She expected an uptick, but she’s gotten maybe five hours of sleep in about as many days. It was a good thing that one of the support benefits was a paycheck, because if she hadn’t quit Nasty Burger they certainly would have fired her by then. Her grades were slipping, even with her best efforts, and her mentors who were supposed to help weren’t listening to her.
It wasn’t them ‘challenging her beliefs’ and asking her to ‘really consider if ghosts are always your enemy’ that made her fights suddenly harder. It wasn’t some adjustment period to her new training. There was just ghosts, all the time, constantly, and she didn’t even know what to do with all of them. She always just ran them off, and she had assumed they went home. She hadn’t realized the reason Phantom always captured them was because otherwise they just would not leave.
And Phantom. He was one of her rogues, play acting as hero for people he’d just put into danger. Sometimes he did—kind of—help, but it seemed more coincidental. A giant bobcat in the yard keeping the bears away sort of situation. Still dangerous, still unknown, no matter how similar he looked to something or someone friendly.
But. He’d been MIA since their last fight. And she didn’t know why.
Sure, she could guess that maybe he had heard the whole acceptance into the Junior League, or whatever it was called, that had happened. And with his whole ‘hero’ shtick, he’d maybe be a little weird about it. Not emotional, ghosts didn’t have true emotions. No matter what Black Canary was currently researching on the topic, Valerie was sure of it.
Just like she’d been sure that she was actually helping Amity Park.
If she heard one more property damage assessment, she’d strap one of her ecto guns to the lecturer and let them have a crack at it. Ghosts didn’t care about material things that mattered to other people. They might have attachments to certain types of objects or things they considered ‘theirs’, but if that thing was a living human’s… it didn’t matter, it’d be taken or broken just the same.
Sam was, of course, leading a small protest asking for Phantom’s return. She and Danny had at least three fights about it, and it wasn’t pretty.
Paulina had a different approach to the same issue, asking for recognition of her ghost boy.
Tucker was egging both on, mostly to distract Sam from actually bothering Danny, but also because he loved a good cat fight.
Danny was getting so much sleep, and he’s getting caught up in school. Sure, the school is usually at least a little on fire these days, but he actually read the assignment book for Lancer’s class. That hadn’t happened like, ever! And his Doom stats were getting pretty high, since the only grinding he had to do now was against virtual enemies that didn’t try to snap his spine… Technus notwithstanding.
As these things usually happen, Valerie blames Phantom for all of her woes, again. The Fenton Parents, being thoroughly exhausted at this point as well, completely back her.
And Danny has had a lot of time to rest and think on the actions of himself and others.
He’s been declared a menace, again. And he’s kind of tired of people not realizing that if he WANTED to be a villain, he could be. He wanted his town safe, and honestly, the ghost populace explosion was getting annoying. Red Huntress’s last “big fight” had nearly killed someone.
… He wouldn’t be Dan, oh no. He wouldn’t cause damage, he’d prevent those from being hurt, and he would generally look at the Hero Guideline Handbook he had… temporarily borrowed and copied from Val’s backpack. He’d be campy and totally not serious to anyone who didn’t realize he actually was just playing around. And him actually taking on ‘big fish’ persona in Amity Park’s ‘little pond’ should help get rid of at least some of the lower level guys.
It’s not like it’s be hard, honestly. He’d get to make his own hours, at least. And since Valerie saw Fenton as someone to protect, someone that he well knew she broke up with to ‘keep him safe’, she wouldn’t think of him twice as being Phantom. Danny wouldn’t use their friendship against her, but he could easily admit that it was a little scummy to do. But. Well. He’d always fought a bit dirty, and she had literally tried to kill him. Multiple times.
If Red Huntress was going to be a villain-like Hero, then it was simple.
Phantom just had to be a hero-like Villain.
Prompt
The justice league FINALLY investigates Amity, and realizes that they’ve made a grave mistake by letting a burgeoning hero shoulder a large problem without any training or support. They rectify this immediately by offering a position in the JL along with an assortment of mentors and other teen heroes to bond with. 
Red Huntress receives this invitation in front of Phantom, while actively trying to hunt him down.
#it’s like 1 am idk if this even made SENSE#but I kinda wanted to bridge a bit between the crack fic vibes and the straight up ANGST#he won’t be Dan. he won’t destroy the timeline.#whether that’s because he has morals or because he knows that if he does he’ll be STOPPED is up to you#will he be campy? will he be serious? will there be a cape?#up to you!#although I argue for cape. like. fuck it right#Sam is. mm. mixed feelings on this#Tucker is going with the flow because welp. he never wanted to be a super villain so like Danny can have this#Paulina’s mildly obsessed with her ghost boy’s dark era and absolutely does not take his supposed threat seriously.#to be fair his rates are great lol#low property damage except maybe against things he actually doesn’t care about. fuck Dalv Co.#no one gets hurt and he actively guides the fights to less populated areas#he protects the children#think redeemed villain is now a hero but it’s backwards and also a fucking seesaw#will he help? will he hinder? will the Justice league loose their minds? probably#Danny buys off Constantine as his first villain act to not fucking rat him out#Constantine now has One Good Summon Circle for a#… extremely OP get of jail free card a la Phantom#he should probably save that for a world ending threat just saying#they LITERALLY made him a villain so Danny went lol bet#Jazz is loosing her mind but is stuck at college#and honestly? still beats some of the stupider things he’s done#Vlad is like. probably scheming. is maybe mad that HE didn’t cause the turncoat and that Danny is objectively Bad At Villainy#he hasn’t even robbed a bank or overshadowed someone to gain all their business assets!! the nerve!!#so yeah lol Phantom’s fights with Plasmius are basically the same but Plasmius is poutier about it
4K notes · View notes
call-me-strega · 3 months ago
Text
Dc x Dp Prompt #24: The Midwest Prince(ss)
Danny is a Singer/Siren/Banshee au where he’s basically a Chappel Roan-type figure.( Also, I'm Dead on Main trash so Strangers-to-Friends-to-Lovers, Celebrity x Civilian romance for two of my favorite boys)
Danny’s Ghostly Wail develops into vocal manipulation bc he’s a siren or banshee. Ember teaches him to sing and control the power. He finds music is a good outlet for his emotions and decides to pursue music as Danny. It takes him a few years but he develops a style and brand that he bases off the Realms. However, he doesn’t anyone to connect him to Phantom so he uses parts of his ancestors’ names to become “Walker Gale”(shout out to my beautiful mutual @mirigold-mayflowers for helping me pick that name), ordinary small-town midwestern boy turned Music Icon. He hires Val as his personal bodyguard, Sam as his manager, and Tucker as his head stage tech.
He dresses in really campy clothes the low-key mimic his ghost form as well as other ghosts he’s met. The outfits change to match the vibe of the song. So a rock ballad with an outfit inspired by Ember, Show Tunes-Murder Mystery-type-beat with a costume for Amorpho, EDM-techno-hyperpop themed song styled after Technus or Skulker, etc. He just has a lot of fun experimenting with his appearance and he’s an icon for it. He even makes friends with Star and Paulina through this and they give him feedback and help with new looks. The eventually join the team as his PR and Styling team.
Since he’s a banshee/siren all his songs have this underlying despair/sadness even if they have a fun and bubbly beat. He also references his feelings about being/hiding as Phantom and being partially dead and shit but vaguely so no one actually knows or assumes it’s a metaphor. Many of the themes are actually things lgbtq people identify with, specifically trans and bi fans. He also references battles he’s fought and ppl assumes he’s talking about mental illness or abuse which attracts another category of fans altogether. Again inspired by Chappel Roan his first album his called "The Ascent and Downfall of a Midwest Prince" gaining him the nickname the "Midwest Prince".
He’s weird and unfiltered and full of emotion and he gains a few fans in the hero community too. Raven and Zatanna start a fan club for him, well aware he’s some type of banshee/siren but knowing that the extent of his powers are being used to deliver beautiful performances. The are staunch supporters of him and his music and spread it to their friends. The current fan club is Co-Presidents Zatanna + Raven, VP Greta(Secret, a.k.a: a ghost hero), Starfire, Bart, Cassie, Tim, Kon + Jon, Steph, Cass, and Billy.
His identifying features are a signature make-up look and white underdye (when the color is on the underside of the hair). He’s grown his hair longer so it’s not super visible when he has it down and not styled. He also looks different without make-up so he can totally go unrecognized in public and live life semi-normal (as normal as a half-ghost vigilante powerhouse superstar can be). He actually planned it to be that way so that he could still go to college and stuff even though he’s doing it mostly online. All this to say that Danny has low-key got a Hannah Montana thing going on. Also, let's mix it up a bit and say he's based in Star City.
One day Danny goes to a second-hand book store because he's looking for a cheap textbook when he bumps into an absolute hunk of a man who doesn't seem to recognize him. Jason had been in Star City to visit Roy and Lian. He stopped at a second-hand bookstore to see if he look for some older editions of books (one time he found a second edition copy of Persuasion so he likes to peruse) and ran into a super pretty boy who made his chest feel funny and doesn't realize he's a Wayne. They got to talking about started really connecting. They decided to exchange numbers and kept in touch, meeting up every now and then when they had the chance. Danny gave him his private social media accounts so Jason never learned much more beyond that Danny worked in the music industry but not his exact role in it.
Eventually Danny moves to Gotham, either bc he switched labels or to be closer to Jazz whose doing her doctorate thesis on reforms that need to be made in Arkham. He and Jason begin meeting up in person more frequently and start catching feelings. Danny really wants to ask him out but feels sleazy doing it without telling Jason about his past and superstar alter ego. However, he also doesn't want to lose the mostly normal friendship they have. On the flipside Jason wants to date Danny but doesn't want to drag him into the life of a vigilante or the life of a Wayne. Both of them Pine and Agonize over this. In the end Danny decides to bite the bullet and tell Jason who he is, every part of who he is. He invites Jason over for a movie night and tells him he's got something important to tell Jason.
That same day Starfire decides to introduce Walker Gale's work to the other Outlaws and Jason really resonates with his work. He identifies with the lyrics on a literal and physical level and recognizes the underlying emotions that usually only other ghosts or liminals can. Starfire overjoyed that her friend likes his music decides to show Jason some of his music videos and photos. Jason, not being blind or an idiot, recognizes not only the props and costumes but his crushes face under that (very well done) make-up.
Jason is stunned and conflicted: it’s not like Danny lied to him about who he was, but he was entirely truthful either. Did he assume Jason knew? Or did he just not trust Jason? Why did he even bother with Jason, a seemingly regular guy, if he had such a claim to fame? And Jason keeps listening to his music and it’s speaks to him the same way hanging out with Danny does, making him feel seen and connected. It makes him all the more sure that someone incredible as Danny doesn’t need someone like Jason. He heads to Danny’s place that night very subdued.
He gets to Danny’s place and the smile that greets him twists him up inside. He puts on a mask and tries to act normal but Danny can tell somethings up but persists as he has made up his mind to be clear with Jason. He sits him down and tells him there is something important he wants to tell Jason. He starts by letting Jason know that he cares about him very much and appreciates the normality and closeness of their friendship. He confesses that he doesn't normally get that bc well, he's the superstar "Walker Gale". Danny goes onto say that the reason he didn't say anything earlier was because he treasures the simplicity of what he had with Jason and the reason he's telling him now is because he couldn't continue a relationship that he wants more from without being completely honest.
Jason's heart thunders in his chest and he stares at Danny with a slightly constipated look. Danny asks Jason what's wrong and on an impulse Jason word vomits his feelings. That he actually found out through a friend earlier today, that he really connected to his music the same way he did with Danny, that he's never felt seen the way Danny sees through him, that he's never felt the same way as deeply before, that he's completely and utterly in love with Danny but was scared to say anything and get him involved with his crazy life and the Waynes. And Danny sits and listens shellshocked.
And the only thing Danny can think to do is kiss this incredible boy senseless and tell him that if he likes him back then they can figure it out.
581 notes · View notes
finalgirllx · 29 days ago
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
horror movie nights | roommate!ellie williams with a halloween loving!reader self-indulgent fluff bc i want this to happen to me just besties doing bestie things- right? right?
ellie isn't big on halloween, where you're absolutely obsessed with everything about it. she seems at least okay with, if not indifferent toward the festivities, which you take as a green light to drag her along to everything. maybe it was willful ignorance, but you were just super excited to have her by your side during the spooky season.
like, she does help you put up an egregious amount of gaudy decorations in your shared space, offering faint smiles while you buzz about skeletons, pumpkins, and cobwebs draped on every surface.
you fail to notice that her smiles aren't directed towards the festivities but instead your reactions to them-- how happy it makes you.
since ellie usually has no problem complaining when she doesn't like something, you remain oblivious, continuing as normal with going all out on your halloween plans.
she even agrees to watch a scary movie with you, and you naturally assume she'll enjoy it just as much.
that's how you end up on your thrifted couch long after dark, cozied up with your sides pressed snugly together under a blanket.
the campy slasher flick assaults your eyes with jump scare after jump scare. you're having a blast, with whole-body jolts and little squeals escaping you whenever a good scare gets you.
your enjoyment drops, however, when you notice ellie's posture in stark contrast to your enthusiasm. she's unnervingly stiff, trying hard to appear calm and collected while feeling anything but.
the only part of her that isn't uncannily rigid is her hands trembling in her lap atop the blankets.
without thinking, you wordlessly slide your hand over hers, intertwining your fingers in your first show of physical affection.
you sense a short-circuit in ellie as soon as she registers the unexpected contact. you feel her rigidity melt into your hold, her body visibly relaxing into the couch in a more content state.
you're not completely off the hook, though, as she squeezes the fuck out of your hand during the most intense scenes of the movie. but you're totally fine with that.
hell, you're emboldened enough to make more attempts to bond in a way that comforts her. you lean in impossibly close, making little jokes, pointing out absurd facts to make it all feel less real. it works almost too perfectly, as ellie starts to tease you about your extensive knowledge about these tiny movie details-- to which you remind her of her sci-fi collectibles.
you find you love whispering things in her ear that makes them blush, and by the end of the film, you're cuddling in such a way that could only feel less platonic if you were actually-----
neither of you acknowledged the rising tension afterward. but it does get easier to start showing your roommate..bestie..more physical affection onward.  © finalgirllx. pic creds: ellqsaep on tt
283 notes · View notes
melefim · 2 months ago
Text
This is about Dead Boy Detectives but also applies elsewhere:
I know it can be hard to just talk to random people you meet about things you’re passionate about, but legit it works. If you can push past the social anxiety (I know it’s hard, I struggle with it too) you’ll be surprised how receptive people can be!
One of the best things we can do to up the chances of getting the show renewed is to get the views up, and while rewatches are great, more and newer viewers are even better. So whenever I can, I’ve been talking the show up to everyone I see.
I just checked my car in for service and the gal taking my info was STOKED when I told her about it because she was looking for a new show to watch. Grabbed her phone and added it to her Netflix list as I was standing there.
The little old lady who does safety inspections at work apparently loves Halloween and all things spooky.
The new security guard mentioned his husband and was excited when I told him about how refreshing the queer normalization is in the show (and showing him a pic of Lukas Gage as the Cat King definitely didn’t hurt either).
The head of Facilities has been watching Doctor Who since the first episode in the 60s and was intrigued by the quirky, campy aspects of it.
There are so many aspects to this show, so many angles of interest, you’ll be surprised how quickly you can sell people on it sometimes!
For me, the ‘opener’ I’ve found most effective is something along the lines of “Hey, I know this is super random, but do you like Sci-fi/fantasy/spooky stuff?” From there, a yes leads into “There’s this show I absolutely love called Dead Boy Detectives on Netflix, you should check it out!” And a bit of info on the show. (It’s about two ghosts that solve supernatural mysteries! It’s fun and weird and funny and so well made!) If there’s time, I’ll pull up the trailer or the teaser for them to watch. Far more often then not, they’re interested.
And if they say no? “Yeah, the genre’s not for everyone. But if you know anyone who does like it, you should have them check out Dead Boy Detectives, it’s super good.”
They may or may not be interested. They might watch it or they might not, could recommend it to others or forget about it completely. But they definitely won’t do any of that if they don’t know it exists.
Right now, I know of 21 people that I’ve told about the show who have come back and told me they loved it. 7 of those have also told me they told their friends and family about it and they’re now watching it too. (And those are just the ones who’ve come back to me about it- there could be even more!)
If there’s one thing I learned from being on a competitive Gish team for a decade, it’s that you never know who will say yes when you ask them something random!
It can be scary to put yourself out there. I really, truly get that. But if you’re able to push past it, it’s truly an effective way to spread the word.
170 notes · View notes
inlandempir · 1 year ago
Text
Tumblr media
post on one of the dev forums for disco elysium, titled "THE BENEFITS OF A MODERN FANTASY WORLD". text version beneath the cut
There's been a lot of art and tech talk so far, it's all kinda dry or saccharine. I think it's time to juice it up by throwing in a proper essay.
THE BENEFITS OF A MODERN FANTASY WORLD
The world of No Truce! (we do have a proper name for it, but we’re shy) is not what you’d call “a generic genre world”. It is not pseudo-medieval stasis, as Forgotten Realms was, nor is it Fallout’s campy barbarism with guns. It is also not a Harry Potter/Batman/vampire fantasy world, which is basically “our world with a secret/special world within it”. Neither is it the tech-obsessed ‘punks’ of steam and cyber. It’s a modern fantasy world, a fantasy world in its modernity, which roughly corresponds to the middle part of our XXth century. Now that kind of thing opens up an array of new possibilities. It is a world with a promise of non-staticness, meaning, things appear undecided — they could go one way or the other. It is close enough to our own world for things to have meaning in it, it is a proper frame in which to explore themes relevant to our own society such as bigotry, power relations, politics, bureaucratic apparati, geopolitical relations, philosophy, ideology, religion et cetera. A pseudo-medieval world is not a proper frame for truly exploring themes of, for example, sexuality, for it lacks 1) a proper concept of sexuality, 2) an actual idea of societal progress and 3) a clear ideological dominant, which would be the place where values come from. All you can do in a static, societally unstructured world is give out-of-place shoutouts to present day communities for cheap popularity (“this is exactly my sexual orientation, how did they know?!”).
We find the ideological dominant missing because the western world is traditionally culturally critical of ideological dominants – critical of both state and religion. Anyhow, a classic fantasy world would feature two main ideologies – the “good” and the “evil”, of which the former is selfless and compassionate, but the other one is selfish and cruel. The attempts to overcome that have given us the Grittywelt – a world in which everyone is an asshole and pessimism rules the day. Unsurprisingly, Grittywelt is also static as hell and meaningful change is foreclosed from it. It is a “protection from false hopes”. As such, it is heavily unrealistic. Much more realistic would be people living in super gritty conditions, but not looking the part, that is, not really noticing the abnormal harshness of their conditions, because they don’t have much to compare them to, and being hopeful towards the next day, because surprise! This is how you do it. Survive, I mean. Being depressed is a luxury. In a way, I’d say we’re trying to create the obverse of the Grittywelt – a world in which everyone is empathizable, sort of a hero of their own story.
The modern era is also a fitting vessel for anachronisms – do we not have actual cyborg limbs and donkey-pulled carts operating in the same world at the modern era? Capitalism can also contain little feudalisms in a way, in which a single man or single family controls the entire economy of a town or a village and profits from it. And at the same time, it can also contain little socialist utopias, scientist villages, in which everything is provided by the State. Aside from being a basic feature of reality (anachronism is nothing more than time failing to fit the stereotype about it), it is also a lovable creative tool, allowing for a plethora of what-if-scenarios. Imagine a modern world, only without television; imagine a modern world in which there never was a global war, imagine a world in which fossil fuels are less available. Now, if you will, imagine one which has forgotten its antiquity, and one, in which there is not just water between the continents, but something worse as well — an anti-reality mass we call “pale” (also more on that later). Now imagine one, which has a legitimate and operative “religion of history” in place, which seeks for people it deems special enough to be the “vessel of progress”. (This is not an alternate history thing, by the way. An alternate history takes place in our world quite recognizably and has no more than one divergence point from history as it happened.)
One might ask, why would we not create an even more modern world, if we wanted to maximise our possibilities? Well one of the answers is that it would have destroyed the necessary element of escapism, another is that we cannot create a good alternate Information Era because we ourselves fail to understand the Information Era (More precicely, we have the information era in its infancy and it works via radio relays). We are too close to it and it is too new to understand it, it is “in progress”. The third reason would be that technology is not a fascinating subject for modern science fiction. It’s become a natural part of our reality. We don’t believe it’s going to save us anymore – it has failed to deliver for too long. I am of the belief that the themes of science fiction today are societal, political and psychological (one could maybe add aesthetical to it, for we also love the world for its beauty). All fantastic or sci-fi elements are means for best exploring those themes.
I have filled my page. That’s all for the time being. Thank you for reading.
Martin Luiga Writer
455 notes · View notes