#the contrast between a bad movie i did not vibe with and a bad movie i consider integral to my existence

[tarantula-hawk-wasp]

while i decide on formatting you get the sneak preview of my two first reviews of my deeply deeply deeply subjective opinions about batman and movies. these are not objective value critiques these are my personal taste

batman returns (1992) - as with the first michael keaton movie, the style of these is just so different from what i like in the storytelling of a movie and what i like about batman that is hard for me to open my heart to it, but this one is much more coherent than Batman (1989). The focus on the origin stories of catwoman and the penguin was interesting, and I liked Shreck as an asshole ceo type antagonist. The hard thing with the penguin is that while i know this predates always sunny and i know that danny devito can act with range, everything he says as penguin just registers as frank reynolds to me. Catwoman did do the important furry behavior of licking her glove and cleaning her face for no damn reason which is important to me but I wish her dialogue was more than just zingy one liners. Bruce feels like he is barely in this one tho. that's what having two villains does i guess. And i don't like that Penguin beefed it at the end. I don't feel like Batman was concerned enough with the sanctity of life in this one tbh. It does get points for committing to a strong aesthetic and campy vibe. It has personality. It does feel like a world that can handle a man dressed as a bat. Also made me realize that this is what the lego batman games draw heavily on for batcave design, gotham design, and soundtrack so that was a pleasant familiar surprise. A good alfred portrayal as well. Visually, I don't love michael keaton as bruce, he just doesn't match in my mind. Also the rubber cowl is so stupid.

Batman (1966). my beloved, my childhood friend, my joy of joys. This movie makes me want to throw up it is so funny in a specific way. The absurd lines delivered with the most serious gravitas. It makes me want to hurl its so perfect in the contrast. The riddles make less than no sense, they are incoherent. The plot holes are gaping and the dialogue full of shovels to enlarge them and it just keeps plowing ahead. Burt Ward is honestly an amazing dick grayson for the balance of immediate rage and cracking his knuckles ready for violence with Holy Sitting Ducks Batman sparkle to him. Joker with his painted over mustache also serves. The plot makes no sense. Not a damn thing makes sense. It is beautiful it is a work of campy sixties art. It is a parody of the much earlier serials that does not register as a parody today. It is a comic book come to life. The aesthetics, the costumes, the sets, the vehicles - chef's fucking kiss. This movie is absurd and is acted with seriousness. The villains almost win bc Dick doesn't want to watch his father figure make out on the date they're surveilling. Alfred however is down to voyeur. Everyone should watch this movie at least once with an open heart. downside is 60s batman is best buds with the police and operates in broad daylight most of the time. but i can forgive that for such glorious lines as an abrupt cut to

Robin: Gosh, Batman, the nobility of the almost-human porpoise. Batman: True, Robin. It was noble of that animal to hurl itself into the path of that final torpedo. He gave his life for ours.

[ro-is-struggling]

Fireproof Series Masterlist || Johnny Storm x Reader

disclaimer: the pictures above are purely for aesthetic purposes and do not represent the physical appearance of the reader

Series summary: you and Johnny weren't supposed to get along. You were the exact opposite of each other. While he was loud and outgoing, you were quiet and introverted. He loved to be the center of attention and you actively made efforts not to be. He had made a name for himself as one of the biggest players on campus while you stood out for your academic achievements. You hated guys like Johnny, and he had no reason to associate with people like you since you rarely shared spaces. And yet, against all odds, you were able to forge a solid friendship. In fact it was the contrast that made the two of you work so well. You called out his bullshit and he pointed out yours. You were a good influence on each other, no one could deny that. It was a perfect relationship, you knew all the bad things about each other and still chose one another....

But what happens when romantic feelings start to flourish?

This series is a collection of one shots that will give you a glimpse inside Johnny and y/n's complicated relationship.

Warnings: slow burn, friends to lovers, mutual pining, a bit of angst, fluff, lots of cliches (like seriously, I was kinda playing the game of how many cliches can I put in the same story? lol) 2000s teen flick/ rom com coded (so I guess it’s a bit cheesy? read at your own risk!), FEMALE READER

This fic starts a bit before the events of the first Fantastic Four movie, when reader and Johnny are in college (but it gets to the movies don’t worry!)

English is not my first language

Author’s Note: I recently rewatched the old Fantastic Four movies and I had so much fun I just had to write something for Johnny. Yes it's terrible plot wise but I love the early 2000s vibes of it. So I tried to keep a bit if that vibe with very overused tropes/scenes and stereotypical characters (yk like the annoying popular girl, the playful fuck boy love interest with a heart of gold and the ‘I'm not like other girls’ main character). I have a soft spot for those kinds of stories and I thought Johnny was perfect for it! I tried to keep a balance as to not make it too over the top, I hope I did a good job

The idea for this fic is to make a sort of collection of separate one-shots that show different moments in Johnny and reader’s relationship, if that makes sense. I have most of the story planned and written, but it is not completely closed. What do I mean by that? That I have a beginning, conflict and ending thought out, but that doesn't mean that once I post those parts the story is over. 

I'm structuring this fic more as plot points than anything else (i.e. how they meet, when they have their first kiss, what the big love confession is like, stuff like that). Beause of that, there are parts of the timeline of the relationship that aren't shown. And that leaves me time to imagine a lot of things, if that makes sense? So if I have a random idea about a silly thing that happens between them in the middle of "the plot" (or if you guys think of something!), I can add it and expand the context without changing the whole story.

ALL PUBLISHED PARTS:

Part 1: First Impressions

Part 2: {COMING SOON}

[empty-vessel-of-a-person]

Similarities and Difference I feel between Zayne and Sylus.

Note: Just my opinion. It's okay if you do not agree. We all have different take on Sylus appearance in the game and the whole update. MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS... YOU ARE WARNED.

The Game

The game fixes so many bugs. I'm so glad that I don't have to buy a new phone. Imagine downloading 2.3 GB for the new version then another 7+ GB for data and then it offloads all data of all of your memories. So the update is both has its good side and bad side.

When Infold says Sylus is coming, he is indeed coming!!! I mean the whole update is about him and the N109 zone. But setting aside the Sylus thing, the whole N109 zone is both scary and wonderful. The details and depth they put in the update are very gone. It's like watching a movie. If ever you watch Final Fantasy VII Advent Children or Spirits Within. It's giving me that vibe.

The transition from a light theme to a dark theme in the fighting scenes is good. We get to see the game evolve to a more serious side.

All in all, the update is so good and I really enjoyed it.

Sylus and Zayne

I can't help but think they are both ends of a ruler, it's like they are Morning and Nighttime. While they are both sharp tongues, Zayne will tone down and spoil M/C while Sylus leaves things as it is.

They may seem cold but they protect M/C at all costs. Just like what Grandma Josephine says, "By helping her(M/C) you are helping yourself"

That being said, Zayne and Sylus are always there to teach M/C what she needs to know and survive. While Sylus is more brute in handling things, Zayne is more of sarcastic but kind.

Sylus

I don't think he is in love with M/C.... Yet! He needs her, yes. But that does not necessarily mean being in love.

In Abyssal Chaos, M/C finds him a nuisance then when M/C asks if he is worried about her, he answers maybe leaving us on the edge.

To say I'm shocked on Sylus Relax Time: Palm, is an understatement. The first part is cute, but my head explodes when he bites our hand!!!! I'm so not ready for that. I waited so long to upgrade Zayne's affinity to get the Relax Time: Hands, just to be slapped by Sylus' first relax time. But then again, as a consumer, Infold purposely intends Sylus to be that way to get more girlies to the game. I can't complain about that.

I don't like his voice. You read that right. I don't like his voice (English Version). My sister doesn't know I'm playing while he is speaking. She says it's like a grandpa's voice. Infold should have chosen a younger-sounding sexy voice. A little bit like Zayne's but deeper. Again this is just my opinion. If you like it, you like it.

Now I know why Zayne never gets casual clothing like a t-shirt or sweats because they are reserving them for Sylus so Zayne and him will have a striking contrast with style and personality.

He is also a mixture of everyone (Xavier, Rafayel, and Zayne) Xavier on being oblivious. Oblivious because this guy doesn't seem to know how dangerously sexy he is. Rafayel on being witty. Yes, No, Maybe so? And Zayne for having the air of authority and control.

Final Thoughts

Sylus is sexy! Yes I said it... He is sexy. And women like dangerous and sexy. It adds to the excitement. It doesn't help that he bites our hands. Who wouldn't fall for that... Infold's Sylus team did a great job in shading the other guys in one swoop..

Thank you Infold for giving us more ways to earn Diamonds. I hope you also increase the weekly limit in earning chocolates.

The love interest page still flags 'Coming Soon'. I am still hoping Infold brings Caleb back. Yes, I love Caleb as much as Zayne! He is the only guy I'm interested in aside from Zayne. Don't you think it's a good and fair love triangle? Sylus has always been on a different level. Something Zayne and the other boys can never be and never compete with.

What's next? Since Glint studio is so addicting, I am hoping the next version comes with video shooting. I mean we are making a video shoot with the boys not just still photos.

Good job Infold!!!! You really hook me and my wallet!!!!

[bvckbiter]

some thoughts on characterization of the seven in hoo, VERY long post ahead:

for each of the five books in the series, i read them right as they came out and endured the year-long wait til the next release. like many readers, i was thrown off by the introduction of the new trio in the lost hero. but that was offset by 1) the seemingly more mature vibe/themes that riordan wanted to explore, 2) the monumental tension that was being built around the greek-roman separation, and 3) percy's comeback in son of neptune, even as an amnesiac.

mark of athena, released october 2012, was extremely anticipated because it was set to be the long-awaited percabeth reunion as well as the true crossover for the greek and roman spheres. there were a lot of theories being made at the time. would piper be able to mediate between eons-long enemies in a genuinely diplomatic way, or was she going to brainwash charmspeak them into compliance? how is reyna going to take jason suddenly having another girl and a new set of friends and another life after abruptly disappearing? will we get to learn more about jason's relationships within camp jupiter? would nico be dealing with any fallout from essentially boating along two riverbanks (translated directly from a tagalog idiom, so if the wording seems clunky thats why)? it didn't help that the first avengers movie came out in 2012, so the idea of a huge crossover event was all the hype then.

the published work, in my opinion... fell considerably short of expectations.

to be fair, we got some very good character moments. i did not find the judo flip scene cute, just kinda weird in the sense that i felt the author didn't know how to handle such a huge emotional turning point, but percabeth for the most part of moa was enjoyable, really giving you the high of this teenage couple finally being able to resume the honeymoon period they were probably in after four years of pining and a war lol. everything the fans wanted! unfortunately, we didn't get the same with other characters.

while i wouldn't say that percabeth was the reason, the difference in spotlight is nonetheless very staggering. the roman-greek reunification goes bad, sure, but it begins due to outside interference more rather than any actual intrinsic differences between the two camps; so the built-up tension from the previous books kinda falls flat. we get none of jason's backstory, so next to percy, he barely leaves an impression on the reader. hazel, frank, and leo get shafted into this weird love triangle where their enemy is leo's long-dead ancestor who ultimately makes no impact on the plot other than to have hazel and leo intersect somehow, contributing to leo's man-angst of being the seventh wheel. frank, who arguably has the most interesting set of powers and lineage, is basically relegated to being the muscle and hazel's (understandably) jealous boyfriend. piper... good lord. thats probably a whole other post, so i'll just say: cornucopia.

and yet, despite the disparity in characterization... you don't really feel that percabeth has a character arc or development per se. it's an odd contrast, with percy and annabeth getting a lot of time but pretty much remaining stagnant characters, as opposed to the other five who are written pretty blandly, but have valid, explicit inner struggles and questions they must face. for jason, it's being greek or roman. for hazel and leo, they want to parse their connection, even at the expense of frank, who is still struggling with his self-esteem. piper comes into her own power.

so despite being a book full of twists and turns, especially for percabeth, this is where you really feel the stakes begin to slump. decisions are being made to move the plot from point a to point b pretty straightforwardly, but there's not a ton of effort to make you invested in these characters other than what we know about them from previous books and the fact that they have a role to play in this apocalyptic second great prophecy.

but there's still two books left! the yearlong wait demands patience and creativity. surely percabeth falling into tartarus is going to make for some interesting development and impact. it was a brilliant plot twist, after all. with the darker turn that hoo was seemingly taking, there could have been so many consequences. percabeth could shut the doors of death from their side and come back alive, but come back wrong—unearthing old traumas, questioning and ultimately foreswearing their loyalty to the gods, threatening the reunification of the greek and roman aspects, etc.

and once again, house of hades... only semi-delivered? the tartarus chapters were certainly harrowing: percy choking akhlys is still a Scene of All Time to me because it felt earned, after all that percy has been through and what the series has been building up to! annabeth also having to face all the times she's been abandoned in her life, while less focused on, was also a very poignant moment for her character. they were events that seemed to push for development.

back on the argo ii, there's a continuing case of kind of low-effort writing on the other characters. frank and his mars blessing, for one; you kind of understand what rick was getting at, but... what! piper... girl idk what she was doing other than seeing visions in her dagger. leo... ue ue ue. jason commits to chb, but ofc he does because neither he nor we know/remember much about cj, so we don't really feel the loss! but there is one exception for his part, and that is of course the (in)famous cupid scene with nico, but i'll talk about nico much later.

hazel is an interesting case, so here's another paragraph for her. she gets to come into (more of) her powers just like piper did in the previous books, but from my viewpoint, it was considerably less engaged with who she was as a character compared to piper. in mark of athena, piper still struggles with being a daughter of aphrodite and how she can be "useful" as we know she struggles with internalized misogyny. on the other hand, hazel gets in touch with her mother's background... kinda? idk if controlling the mist can be considered equivalent to marie's voodoo; i dont think so. she certainly gains more understanding of her pluto heritage, too, and has this nice back-and-forth with hecate about creating her own path, but you don't really get the sense that doing so has consequences, or that she concretely shirked other paths to get where she was at.

where mark of athena fell flat with character stakes, house of hades to its credit does manage to up the ante—but only truly for percabeth. with all the resolutions to the character arcs in this book, you don't feel that the characters have anymore stakes or reasons to fight gaea other than the fact that she's still coming for them and they are in turn prophesied to defeat her. the one big thing that could be personal to them, which are the camps, ultimately fall under the purview of coach hedge, nico, and reyna, who are side characters, upgraded to main characters in the last book of a series already overbloated by shifting povs and favoritism.

ultimately, this is why blood of olympus falls apart. the best characterization work done, which is on percabeth and their time in tartarus, is in the end of no consequence and is barely mentioned. it's as if nothing has happened. all the build-up and investment fizzles out because in boo and beyond, even though they went through literal hell, they just shook it off (because accdg to rick demigods are extra resilient and don't get traumatized lmfao). the climactic face-off against gaea is headed by jason, piper, and leo, and it has no pay off. the books haven't dwelled on them as a trio after tlh because leo was too busy angsting about his love triangle, and jason's and piper's arcs, both individual and romantic, are shoddy, to say the least. to add insult to injury, leo's sacrifice is a fake-out! so he can finally shed the fucking seventh wheel arc that came about not because of a genuine exploration of how he has been outcasted all his life, but because the argo ii mysteriously became demigod tinder and also because rick thought "haha how funny that the latino is the outrageous flirt!" frank and hazel... just get shafted im so sorry babygirls T_T

what saves boo is not the cast of the seven that we have spent the five books journeying with. no, what saves boo is the three side characters suddenly made main characters because. well, fan favoritism and pandering. nico, reyna, and coach hedge comprised the only arc that wasn't an absolute slog to read through—high stakes, chemistry, and well-rounded character arcs that complemented each other. no hoo scene is honestly more heartwarming than reyna embracing nico. it makes you question if hoo's length and frankly shocking quantity of main ensemble members even constricted the narrative that could've been told, as opposed to the original intention of expanding the world of percy jackson through more povs. five books with at least 700-800+ pages each for five years. what a tremendous amount of time and energy to be wasted.

and there is, of course, the question of "should percabeth have been in hoo." until house of hades, my answer was yes. the fact that their tartarus arc fizzled into nothingness changed my answer to no. taking the whole series into perspective, if their treatment in boo was all that the hype and tension would amount to, it would've been better if they'd been relegated to side characters with mentor/helper roles as opposed to taking the spotlight away from the rest of the seven. their succeeding cameos in the other series + the new college reco trilogy makes the blunder all the more grievous.

heroes of olympus did give us a new cast of characters to love. along with all its racist stereotypes and pitfalls, it also diversified the percy jackson world. if not for the mid-2010s fandom who took up the slack of unexplored storylines and potential, these characters would be very much not impressioned on us. and as a successor to a series that was so deeply driven by family, friendship, love, and belonging, that it couldn't consistently humanize its main cast was the biggest sin.

[do-you-have-a-flag]

the one post I saw about burning man on here has missinfo (breaking event so understandable) and a pretty unsympathetic tone (I get it fyre fest or whatever but it is a former arts event that has been around since the 80s a lot of people did not have reason to expect stranded by the weather like this)

there is so much funny and interesting about this event even beyond the rich people stuck in the mud element

if you get a chance to skim the "Event timeline" portion of the Wikipedia article its a mix of creative themes and facts about mishaps

but to summarize the general history and give you a sense of how chaotic this event has been for the last almost 40 years

this event which started as an art collective and encouraged leave no trace trash policies as well as decomodification, a gifting/barter economy, and "radical inclusion and self expression" slowly changed into something critisised as less participatory and more influencer-baity which, when contrasted with the earlier emphasis on self reliance, is a recipe for trouble

By 1988, Larry Harvey formally named the summer solstice ritual "Burning Man" by titling flyers for the happening as such. This was apparently done to ward off references to "wicker man", the reputed Celtic pagan practice of burning live sacrifices in human-shaped wicker cages. Harvey has stated that he had not seen the 1973 cult film The Wicker Man until many years after and claims it did not inspire the action.

THE SOLSTICE BONFIRE OF A HUMAN EFFIGY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MOVIE ???

In 1990, a separate event was planned by Kevin Evans and John Law on the remote and largely unknown playa, known as the Black Rock Desert, about 110 miles (180 km) north of Reno, Nevada.[26] Evans conceived it as a dadaist temporary autonomous zone with sculptures to be burned and situationist performance art. He asked John Law, who also had experience on the dry lake and was a defining founder of the Cacophony Society, to take on central organizing functions of the events. In the Cacophony Society's newsletter, it was announced as Zone Trip No. 4, A Bad Day at Black Rock (inspired by the 1955 film of the same name).

there was a whole OTHER desert art party but this one openly inspired by a CRIME DRAMA?

so anyway several of these desert events of varying artistic and seasonal relevance got merged and grew through word of mouth, Wikipedia gives this insane sentence

1991 was also the year that art model and fire dancer (and later Burning Man's first art director) Crimson Rose attended the event.

this is very much something that started small

There were about 20 participants the first year, and approximately 100 in the second and third year. The annual, several weeks-long event, was held over summer Solstice at various fertile hot springs surrounding the desert. Participants built art and participated in self-directed performances.

and only became a public event in the mid 90s

Some key organizers of Burning Man were also part of Desert Siteworks [...] Hence, the two events saw much cross-pollination of ideas and participants.[...] 1996 was the first year a formal partnership was created to own the name "Burning Man" and was also the last year that the event was held in the middle of the Black Rock Desert with no fence around it.

the year it became a public event 2 deaths happened in the space between camp sites

Harvey insisted that the [crash] had not occurred at Burning Man, since the gates were not yet open. Another couple were run over in their tent by an art car driving to the "rave camp", which was at that time distant from the main camp. After the 1996 event, co-founder and partner John Law broke with Burning Man and publicly said the event should not continue.

so from the late 90s on there's a new location and much more regulations and formal ticket sales, shifting the tone firmly from loose artists commune/solstice bonfire into a more standard festival vibe with the aesthetic qualities of a Mad Max movie.

new rules include:

A grid street structure.

A speed limit of 5 mph (8 km/h)

A ban on driving, except for approved "mutant vehicles" and service vehicles.

Safety standards on mutant vehicles.

Burning of any art must be done on an approved burn platform.

A ban on fireworks.

A ban on animals.

in 2017 someone threw themselves into the flames

in April 2020 covid canceled the event, in September 1000 people tried to hold their own Burning man on a beach and San Francisco's mayor called them reckless and selfish. Similarly some people still showed up to the original location despite it's official cancelation.

in 2021 online events were planned

people showed up to the desert unofficially yet again, even more than in 2020

The Bureau of Land Management implemented restrictions including no structures other than shade structures and no fires other than campfires. There was a massive illuminated drone display outlining the Man instead of the burning of a Man effigy.

the event has had issues of trash, the flames releasing co2, gentrification by silicon Valley, diversity issues

so where we are at now is a lot of clueless and willfully ignorant people, mostly rich, several tech bros, going to an event that used to be an unregulated seasonal arts commune and is now an overpriced photo op with just as much drugs but way less active participation to the point of being like any standard music festival.

and it is in the desert.

and it has flooded for the first time in the event's history due to torrential rain. climate activists trying to block the only route to the event a few days ago make this especially symbolic as an example of dramatic weather conditions.

the mud is solidifying in heavy layers, people are stranded, there are no portable toilets working, they are on limited supplies, they are dressed for a party and celebrities are there and there is a real risk of trenchfoot but no ebola. someone died.

so yes hubris and schadenfreude at the rich people wading through muck during the escalating climate crisis. but also in addition to that a wild event with a wild history for which this is far from the first scandal. there's something to the counterculture and anarchic roots of the event, how they appropriated cultural practices, and how they were commodified in turn. how the pandemic interacted with the messaging of the event, how people with tech money and celebrities got involved, how the event is a particularly flashy and less sympathetic example of climate problems that have been hitting vulnerable communities for years now.

[synergysilhouette]

I swear, they approached Disney's 100th anniversary film all wrong.

The best part about "Wish" were the easter eggs, and even those were hit-or-miss. The plot didn't scream fairy tale or Disney--and neither did the music; if I never knew this film was a Disney film, I'd say it was a company's first attempt at an animated film. As a first attempt, it's not bad, but as Disney's 62nd film and an ode to 100 years of business....I was heavily disappointed.

I've made posts about how this could've been another epic Disney film, but for this post, I wanna try another angle, with two different ways Disney could've approached this celebratory film.

Option 1: A parody. Looking at "Enchanted", AKA one of Disney's best live-action films, the movie makes fun of classic Disney tropes as well as paying homage to renaissance-era films, which at the time this movie came out, was Walt Disney Animation Studio's biggest successful period. A film about a naive animated soon-to-be princess who is banished to the real world discovers what she wants out of life, all while charming those around her. I'm not saying "Wish" needed to include the real world aspect, but having a parody about a princess (or prince) who comes off very early-Disney while still feeling modern and giving us Disney-esque tropes and a fun story would've been a great vibe. Imagine if Asha is naive and easily taken advantage of by King Magnifico, who teaches her magic and manipulates her into harming others, seeing her youth as a weakness ("Well, you're young. You don't know anything, really."). Imagine the story actually having her BE a fairy godmother, albeit in training, and she has to learn the price and limitations of wishes (very "Cinderella"-esque) and learning when to help and when not to help others. It'd be mature and magical at the same time! Plus I imagine Magnifico being a cross between Narissa and Gaston. Amaya would probably be non-existant or an admirer Magnifico uses.

Option 2: A cutting, modern take on a classic. While I'd rather have "Kingdom of the Sun," "The Emperor's New Groove" is a funny and irreverent story about a selfish Inca Emperor who's turned into a llama by his power-hungry advisor and must return to the palace while learning to care about others along the way. Kuzco, in contrast to most Disney protagonists (or most protagonists in kids/family films in general) starts off petty, untrustworthy, and self-centered, but these qualities also give way to cleverness and humor, something that most Disney heroes lack due to either their innocence, kindess, or seriousness. Kuzco continually comments on things around him with quips and remarks that go unnoticed by the general populace (thanks to breaking the 4th wall), and it got me thinking, what if Asha was like this--or better yet, Magnifico? What if Magnifico wasn't a villain per se, but a selfish and mean king who continually had pessimistic comments to make about this fantasy-esque kingdom he created and his airheaded inhabitants. Their growing dependence on him--as well as their happy-go-lucky attitudes make him constantly patronize and devalue them, and his attitude accidentally causes destruction for the kingdom. When Asha challenges his perspective and goes on an adventure to bring back his love for others (trauma does run deep for him), he learns that everyone has a wish worth granting, and that he shouldn't be so quick to look down on others because they still have the joy and innocence he lost. Plus the people of Rosas learn not to take advantage of others and appreciate the things they have. Magnifico being like a cross between Yzma and Kuzco would be a sight to behold, while Asha takes on more of a wise Pocahontas-type role.

I can't be the only one who thinks this was a better approach to "Wish" if they didn't want to do a typical epic film.

[suchine-toki]

Thoughts about Gintoki

Many things have been said about this man. This time I would like to address Gintoki's character development and the differences between the tentative ending of Be Forever Yorozuya (BFY) and the actual ending of the series.

Gintoki is quite lonely when the story begins. For 10 years he has kept his distance from everyone else, Otose being the only exception. It has been speculated that Gintoki wanted to end his life after all he had gone through, and it’s for that reason that he arrives at the graveyard, staying out in the open, with snow piling up on his body when she arrives. There he decides to try one more time.

As time goes by, after forming the new Yorozuya, Gintoki begins to open up to others a little more. He reconnects with Zura and Sakamoto and also makes many more friends. However, he still has problems, which keep coming up in the series in different ways; sometimes more comical, sometimes more serious. But it’s a fact that he deals with certain addictions and psychological issues.

One of these issues is addressed in BFY. Despite having many friends, his low self-esteem leads Gintoki to consider that he’s not really important to those around him. This coupled with him being the cause of the chaos that has befallen the world only exacerbates that feeling and his self-sacrificial tendencies.

I've seen people compare the second movie (BFY) to the third (The Final), usually leaning towards the former because it's a self-contained story, while the latter is the conclusion of a much longer arc. While I think that's part of the reason, I don't see it as the main motive. The big difference for me is how the movies approach Gintoki's character.

For starters, the vibes of both stories are very different. In BFY everything has gone downhill and for the rest of the cast this is a tragedy because it adds to the fact that Gintoki is apparently dead. In contrast, the second part of Silver Soul arc is almost the opposite. The world is thriving and Gintoki went on a trip to resolve his own thing, but the cast can't move on because he’s not with them.

While I’m glad Sorachi gave Takasugi more screen time, his story felt concluded at the end of 1st part of SS arc (as with Utsuro, who was revived only to be killed again a few chapters later). The character arc that remained unfinished was Gintoki's. By this I don't mean that by the end of the series all his problems should’ve been solved and that he should’ve become a perfect human being.

I would’ve liked to see how Gintoki deals with his issues and his PTSD, but this was ignored. Having him relive his trauma, in which he not only had to kill Shouyou again, but also Takasugi, rather than coming from a point of authentic character exploration, felt like unnecessary drama. In the end he wasn’t worse mentally (or so the story says) but he wasn’t better either. He was still the same. And for me it was sad to see that. So many chapters, so many experiences, for everything to stay the same?

The conclusion Gintoki comes to is that he's not empty, people will live in his soul, which isn't bad in itself, but the execution seemed poor to me. Will he let his friends die now because they will live in his soul? It contradicts how he has acted before. You could say it's character evolution, but to me it didn't feel consistent. Where is the line between overcoming a traumatic event and not caring?

I got hooked on Gintama mainly because of Gintoki. I wanted to see his past and more importantly his future. I wanted to see him happy in the end. However, the resolution of his character wasn’t satisfying to me. Sorachi admitted at one point that he didn't quite develop Gintoki, but it wasn't much he needed to do and, in fact, he did it before in BFY. He just needed to focus on his protagonist.

I wanted to see him smile with happiness. But at the end of his journey, he was left with only a somewhat lonely smile.

[eyfey]

The final Origins OVA!

we are WAR!!!!

okay why in the world did they make a giant space axe??? like???

and just for the ONE guy too?????? did he request it????

yknow what i bet he's gonna do like a cool robot beheading or something with it later and that's the whole reason they put it in the show huh.

I forgot this is the first like- actual big battle where they're employing the mobile suits.

It's interesting to see the contrast between them and the like fighter jets, which is what they would've been effectively replacing.: A small quick maneuverable ship with guns, but this one can also just kick you

War (TM)

oh he really does look like a red comet out there huh

love when she dresses like an actual supervillain

LITERALLY ON THE RED CARPET

WILD

i like how Char was surrounded by fangirls who all backed off the SECOND Garma showed up

also they sure do love lingering scenes of these two staring into eachother's eyes- wonder what that could mean :3c

wait why are we reviewing art now. Whoms't is this man.

okay hold on now there is NO reason to make a paper shredder be a guy

hello?????????? literally just walking into an enemy ship like???????? what is the plan here??????????? worst strategist ever?????? the second you got on board your gunship can no longer threaten to destroy them because they have a hostage now??????? like your enemy is free to just grab you and fire on your ship at will????????????????????????????

oh right nvm i forgot this is Char he's got plot armor

y'know Kai feels like a completely different character in Origin. In the original series he was kind of a little shit but not a BULLY- self centered if anything, but otherwise morally neutral. In Origin though he's like proactively being malicious?

sir.... you can't just walk up to the military and ask them about military secrets....

WHY EVERYONE MEAN TO HARO

STOP IT!!!!! STOP KICKING HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

literally a MIRACLE they did not throw you in prison

:^(

lol they fukin robbed u dude

fucked up your whole house

I think I missed out on the plot points where this political twist was explained/set up - I do not rember who this man is, nor do I fully understand why he is saying these things or the full Implications

Like uh, my (probably incorrect) understanding is: he's an important general(?) from the non-zeon army, but was held hostage by zeon, and then freed as part of Kcyllia's(?) plan(?) I totally missed what her plan was tho: is it just to keep the war going????? I'm p sure mr oldie wasn't briefed and is just a pawn in their weird 5 dimensional chess game the Zabi family is playing .

(this is what happens when you do your neopets dailies instead of paying attention when characters start to ramble)

this is like the 3rd time a character has said "humans looooove war" this episode.

ITS WEIRD TO SEE THESE FUCKERS ACTUALLY SHAPED LIKE PEOPLE INSTEAD OF WEIRD EGG BEINGS

weird 2 me how he can close he eyes without closing he eyes

and I guess it ends on "btw we will NOT stop a war!!"

oh wait no we also get a post-credit peek of the boat!!

actually it is ending i think...

(they never did anything with that giant space axe from the beginning for the ep...........)

-

Final thoughts on Gundam: The Origin

I think I went into Origin without any real expectations. I maybe thought it would be entirely Char focused? but in the latter half it shifted to a more general "what's goin on with this war" type vibe. I guess it accomplishes what it sets out to do: give us more backstory on how the war from 0079, fleshing out the the politics around it and the characters who partake. There were some wild things happening but mostly it was a lotttt of people talking about War. Felt kind of like a lorebook rather than an actual story, especially for the latter half, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Up Next!* MS Team, Thunderbolt, and War in the Pocket (side stories that took place during the events of 0079) Looks like Thunderbolt is a movie but the other two are series so this is going to be infinitely easier to schedule time to sit down and watch.

*I'm following a watch order rec from reddit, which seems to be more or less chronological order

[iwasbored777]

so ur trolls posts got me to watch trolls world tour again. i remembered liking it but i couldnt remember why, but now i know for sure

I FCUKING LOVE TROLLS WORLD TOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!

ALL THE INCREDIBLE WRITERS WERE SECRETLY ON TROLLS 2 !!!!!!’n

I CANT TBINK OF A SINGLE FLAW IN TROLLS WOULD TOUR!!!!!!!

i was NOT expecting a brilliantly written masterpiece about colonialism, but thats what i got, and its going in the greatest of all time hall of fame in my brain forever.

im not gonna sit here and regale you on the message of the movie. they only said fax, no printer, and its an important message to send kids. alot of the messages kids get about races and borders is “we are all the same 😚” but they came in with the “we are NOT the same and that is both good and bad, both exciting and dangerous so you need to be aware of dangerous ideas of “harmony”” and thats so real. kids need to understand differences are OK.

i love how they backed off the “chosen one” vibe poppy had in the first movie and talked about her flaws as a leader. while her stubborness was a good thing in the first movie to contrast branches pessimistic nature, it wouldnt have worked here, and i can see a cheap writer (like m*chael w*ldron) either insisting she gets away with her selfishness and carrying on with the happy ending anyway, or pretending that wasnt a character trait at all (because w*ldron doesnt watch the first movie and writes a sequel anyway)

my favorite scene is the bubble scene and the woods right after they leave funk where branch confronts poppy. do i even need to tell you why?

i just want to mention it because im pretty sure branch sings a cover of “girl crush” by little big town, which is a country band, and branch said he likes country music earlier and that slays. but when poppy comes in, what they sing is definitley not girl crush, and i cant tell if its giving “trolls can mix music” or im completley wrong and its a different song alltogether. but i cant tell if that song is homophobic or is super gay, so if im wrong thats prob for the best.

the only flaw i can think of is the country music, as a midwestern i can confidently say that was an affront to real blue grass country music. i guess born to die “works” but it didnt represent country as well as the other genres did. theres alot of controversy in the country music fandom with alot of singers who sound exactly the same and produced like its a factory line. but even if people still think miranda lambert and carrie underwood arent true country singers, their songs wouldve worked better than born to die. also the country trolls shouldve been on a self sufficient farm instead of the wild west. that wild western jazzy piano and country music isnt the same.

the only bad part about the movie is that it ended and barb ATE. SHE LEFT NO CRUMBS WITH THAT INTRO. send ask.

Lol I love your review. I love Trolls World Tour a lot too and all their other movies. Great stuff.

And yeah I love Poppy and how she can accomplish A LOT but she doesn't make it on her own, she needs character development and help from others just like everyone else. Characters are surprisingly realistic.

Barb really was goat, the best antagonist in the franchise. I love parallels between her and Poppy, how both had different intentions (Poppy wanted to help and Barb wanted to conquer) but Poppy's method was also wrong and both Poppy and Barb and everyone had to make compromises for all tribes to live in harmony because no one has to change their lifestyle for that to happen, all they have to do is accept that they're different and that's perfect. Just be yourself and let others be themselves.

That song in the end (Just Sing) slaps hard (and so does Can't Stop The Feeling btw).

P.S. Tiny Diamond fucking slays 🔥🔥🔥

[e-the-village-cryptid]

i am very interested in your rant about Wednesday

hoo boy. ok so I'm way too tired right now to get into the more serious, real-world-affecting issues with the show so I'm going to leave that to tirrrb's excellent video on the matter and just go with the pettier, in-world issues.

spoilers ahead

[preface. I didn't completely hate the show. I actually found most of it enjoyable to watch. that's the reason I'm so passionate about all the problems with it]

ok so first off. this show would not have been a huge hit if it weren't for the nostalgia factor. the show was, to be honest, mediocre. the plot made no goddamn sense, the love triangle was forced and both love interests were boring and the same exact person, the "school for monsters" thing made no sense at all. the only reason it was halfway decent was 1. most of the acting was very good (most.) and 2. it looked good aesthetically. and the only reason it took off is because people already knew the addams family.

but here's the thing. here's the thing. I've heard people say the show hates its source material. I disagree. the show doesn't even know its source material. it's apathetic. and that's even worse. the show is based on the addams family as someone who once heard someone reference it in conversation would understand the addams family. they were like "what's our source material? ok so weird morbid family with goth vibes, the parents are continuously overcome with lust for each other, the daughter is even more morbid than most of them. got it." but like? what about everything else? where is the heart of the addams family? where is the camp, the flair, the hilarity, the delight, the obliviousness to their strangeness and their revelry in mischief? which brings me to something else:

the genre of this show is 100% incompatible with the addams family. full stop. you cannot maintain the concept of the addams family in a genre that takes it seriously. the addams family genuinely enjoy murder, torture, and death. this works in a sitcom! it does not work in a drama! in the 90s movies wednesday (kills? buries alive? if the latter, they were dead eventually) two people. it's played for laughs, because, you know, sitcom. wednesday would never in a million years be trying to PREVENT people from being murdered. but of course that doesn't work in a serious show; they'd be horrible people! but then you get this incongruence between wednesday talking about how awesome murder is and then being mad at her dad because she believes he murdered someone once. the result is that in Wednesday, they just seem like an edgy but ultimately harmless goth family, when the source material is they are all genuinely fucking unhinged in the best way. you can't take the addams family seriously, it just doesn't work.

and don't even get me started on the "school for magical kids" nonsense. what?? ok, completely making stuff up for a remake isn't ALWAYS bad, but.... in this case it really was. in a world full of vampires and werewolves and sirens, the addams family are STILL the weird ones because they're, what, goth? wednesday gets into the school before they even know she HAS magical powers, which also makes no goddamn sense. everyone treats her as special and makes exceptions for her because.... why, exactly? i agree with tirrrb that what netflix really wanted to make was some sort of monster high remake but they didn't have the rights to that so they just... co-opted the addams family instead. and it just doesn't make sense to do that with the addams family. the addams family is funny because of their contrast to the completely ordinary world they live in. you take away their charm by making their weirdness just some product of a larger magical world.

and the fucking love triangle. first of all. wednesday wasn't into either of them. there was zero chemistry there. and why did there even have to be a love triangle in the first place?? wednesday's rude to everyone so naturally everyone wants her and is convinced she's in love with them (?????). and good god. it took me four episodes to even tell those two apart. two identical white boys with identical attitudes and identical inabilities to understand the word "no". "you're sending me mixed signals" my dude if you think "no" is a mixed signal I think that's a you problem. love triangles are supposed to force some choice between something more than just the two boys, and they kind of tried to do that by making Tyler a "normie" (side note: calling them "normies" like it's an insult? what are y'all, emo 12-year-olds? get over yourselves), but then that... never really came into play? also Jenna Ortega's "emotionless" Wednesday face still managed to convey more emotion than either of those two boys ever did combined. like the most Tyler's expression ever changes is when he's literally being tortured, when he like, knits his eyebrows a bit (ok I'm exaggerating but not by much).

and what were they even trying to do with enid's werewolf thing? like it was very clearly a metaphor for queerness (they even had that godawful "conversion therapy for werewolves" line) but the metaphor was so confused. they had no goddamn idea what they were trying to say. "ok so interesting twist on the werewolf thing— it's actually NOT being a werewolf that's the metaphor for queerness here!" ok cool. then what. "ok so Enid feels left out of her family and like her parents are disappointed because she hasn't wolfed out yet." got it, got it, sounds a lot like parents being disappointed you haven't "stopped with the silly tomboy stuff and settled down with a nice man". keep going. "ok so even Enid is super upset about this even though she knows she should take it on her own time." yeah, internalized homophobia, got it. and then? "but then she wolfs out and realizes she was able to be a normal werewolf the whole time after all!! she's so happy and relieved and her parents are finally proud!" wait, what??

now it's time for the big one!! I saved the worst for last! the PLOT. THE FUCKING PLOT. THAT MONSTROSITY YOU CALL A PLOT. wednesday writers. listen. listen to me. twists are fine. red herrings are fine. but listen. here is the important part. when the twist is revealed, the viewer must feel like they should have gotten it before. they must understand why the twist is what it is. and they definitely, definitely cannot be left feeling that the red herring still makes more sense than the actual twist! there has to be an explanation for why the red herring appeared to be guilty even though they weren't! you can't just abandon that thread!! there are two big ones here that upset me.

the fricken "xavier is the monster" mislead. ok so he isn't the monster. why then, does he constantly see the monster in his dreams? why is it basically all he draws? why is it in his head so much? "oh that's easy! because he has this drawing stuff power!" yeah I know that but why the monster specifically? "because it's most relevant because it's gonna take down the school!" ok.... but why just the monster? why does he never see joseph crackstone? thornhill? aren't they an imminent danger to the school too? "uhhh next question"

Dr. Kimball. listen. she was a TERRIBLE therapist. she was so bad she literally couldn't have been a therapist. she was massively violating HIPPA all over the place, invasively entering her clients' lives during important moments outside of the therapeutic space, etc. it was SO BAD she couldn't possibly have been a real therapist but no it just turns out she was fine? red herring guys! listen listen listen you NEED an explanation for why your red herrings are Like That

also the entire Crackstone thing made no sense. "I hate people who do magic, magic is an abomination, therefore you must seal my crypt with magic and then use magic to raise me from the dead so I can use my magic staff to kill all these evil magic-doers" .......uh huh

ok I'm gonna stop here but let me say I didn't hate everything about the show! the Wednesday acting was excellent and Jenna Ortega really did capture the essence of the character. Bianca is fantastic, Eugene is fabulous. Enid and Wednesday's relationship was very genuine. Thing and Uncle Fester were great. the aesthetics looked great and the show continued being enjoyable to watch thanks to the good actors even when the plot was a train wreck. I enjoyed watching it most of the time! but good god were there some massive problems. in my opinion

[cina-full-moon-xanadium]

What’s your ranking of the doctors

it's very basic due to my very disjointed and lacking exposure to showa dr who which i must fix soon. so:-

9 and 10 are what i grew up with so between the insane nostalgia and the actually insane quality of the writing (not biased not biased) they are my favourites. it's really hard to go wrong with an ageless god who lost his people rediscovering the beauty of the universe through the eyes of ordinary people

11 much like his seasons i'm very mixed on; i like a lot of his series 5 stuff where there was a fairytale theming going on and they started to make him much more genuinely alien and detached from humanity compared to how 9 and 10 could literally just feel like dudes (not a bad thing either way, either option is an interesting portrayal for different reasons) and they started to confront his morality and influence in series 6 and 7, but a fair bit of it falls flat for me. series 7 eleventh doctor in particular i really dislike i found him annoying to watch

12 is slowly becoming my favourite. everything i just said about 11's best traits being when he's written as truly alien and engaging with the ideas of his influence on the universe and the morality involved? 12 is all that in fucking HYPERDRIVE and it has a lot of charm and a much higher feeling of genuine honesty to it when he is portrayed as an actual old man with a lot of anger and sarcasm to how he does things; which of course also harkens back to doctor who's beginnings and provides a very sharp contrast to the other 3 main doctors since the revival. Very strong case for being my favourite

13. sigh. oh 13. where did it all go wrong girl. it's difficult to say anything about her because i don't think they ever truly landed on a solid characterisation or vision for her; and much of it feels like nostalgia-pandering David Tennant tablescraps and the most severe militant inaction ever put to television, with a very lacking performance which i absolutely cannot blame Jodie for because I don't know what the hell I'd do with those scripts either. I REALLY wish I could say something like "even if I didn't like this era I at least have fond memories of 13 herself" but tragically I think she's the worst doctor there's ever been and it's absolutely criminal

Fugitive/Ruth, conversely, I actually really liked what was shown of her and like many at the time I felt she was a far more compelling Doctor than 13 and the one I'd rather be following! It's a bit harder to go back to her now you know it's setting up the timeless child nonsense but for a single episode, wow; I really do wish this is what we got

War I really liked; I think if you are genuinely going to show the time war and do a story about it this was the best path to go and is a great transition between classic and modern doctors. Really solid bash at it

7 I really love what I've seen of. Token classic doctor mention here but I have seen a fair bit of him and I really am in love with his whole mysterious gait and have been for over a decade

I generally like all the others but haven't seen enough to really say anything on (i have seen the TV movie but ages ago). I really like 3's vibes!

14 is a fascinating decision and I'm looking forward to seeing where they go with him

15 IS GOING FUCKING CRAZY RN I NEED HIS RUN TO BE SO REAL YOU HAVE NO IDEA

[learreal]

Modern AU! Naruto perfume headcanons bc why not:

(English is not my first language so I apologise for any mistakes)

• Naruto would absolutely rock Coffee Break by Maison Margiela, if he did some emotionally hard job like psychotherapy or coaching.

(Sasuke would cling to him on the days he feels drained whenever he wears that smell bc lavender and coffee is a great combo for energy levels yet no haste vibe, very grounding and balancing).

Most of Naruto's perfumes have coffee, sandalwood or citrus notes. Patchouli ones for when he feels truly extra.

• Whenever Sasuke wears Killian's Moonlight in heaven to their movie nights at home or to parties Naruto goes absolutely nuts because of the contrasts and this lingering milky gentle feeling but with sweetness that you would only associate with Sasuke if you know him well. Peak eroticism aimed at one person only. Other people I would assume, mostly hear the top of the pyramid and find it a "bright and fun party smell" on Sasuke.

But on a daily Sasuke wears something more "chill", fresh with a hint of floral, but not sweet. Cedar wood is a must/base in most of his daily ones.

• Haku in Princess by Killian? Stunning. Green tea bitterness + ginger punch + sweetness. "I am a cutie but can still beat you in whatever context" vibe.

Loves peach and honey notes but also unexpectedly owns heavy night-out perfumes with seductive yet masculine vibes. (Leather and pink pepper based ones for example and anything spicy af in general). He got that kick, you know.

• Itachi would wear a lot of herbal and woody smells. Those that are even "too bitter" for some ppl. Like wormwood, pine, bergamot, vetiver, oak moss etc. Absynth. Paired with gin and cognac tones. But that's a more "daily" vibe. If there is an important event – definitely something musky, with a hint of cardamom or cloves.

• Shisui wearing Jazz Club (Maison Margiela). Let me in that club. Sage notes with tobacco + that rum and liqueur and black pepper, hint of freshness. Oh, yes.

Also, oud scents. He would. Like if u know, u know.

• Sasori would love fougere and floral combos. Something like Mugler ones but a little calmer in nature. Maybe with some aquatic notes.

• Sakura would rock any floral+fresh combos but hate them on herself and find them "boring". Even the best ones. What she likes is leather+musk+rum+spice, and she pulls it off well with the right outfits. Mostly wears "male" targeted perfumes and does not give a single fuck.

Ironically enough, Sasori likes her better in those biker vibes perfumes, but suggests her to try a mix between floral and "clean" ones for work. Sakura ends up liking those too.

• Ino would be in between the dessert and floral ones, but always with a woody/heavily bitter or aquatic base to balance it out. Something along the lines of cedar wood + rose + violets + hint of vanilla cake. Elegant yet not boring at all.

• Neji. I think he would like surprisingly light, "clean" smells. Like fresh laundry + some hints of pear or jasmine on the daily. But for the formal situations where he needs to put up a front he would lean towards aquatic and "cold", "monumental" ones.

• Tenten loves and makes the most out of warm and spicy perfumes. Orange + cinnamon + sandalwood? She'll rock it.

• Kakashi would wear something light but "cold", maybe aquatics with lime/hint of bergamot. (Something like Zarkoperfume Cloud Collection No. 2 The Cloud on Ice, but lighter).

But if we're talking bad boy modern au vibes then we're left with more spicy choices. Maybe among the lines of oud + leather + black/chili pepper.

• Obito is a sweet bad boy. So your typical sweet colognes, but he wears a tiny amount of them. Otherwise he feels "overrun" by them.

• Rin and fresh, floral scents would be in harmony, it seems like. But maybe with a hint of orange or any other citrus.

• Iruka would destroy roasted cocoa scents. Like, no jokes. He would. Some unexpected smokiness for nights out when he's not in his teacher mode.

(I have a headcanon that Iruka has some fire, a twist to him, but you can skip that. For those who feel the same: imagine him with a smoky, slightly sweet cognac scent. Damn).

• Kakuzu smells of money and bitchiness (tobacco + alcohol), I don't make the rules.

• Deidara. Gasoline smelling ones. Right? I mean– but! On good days – surprisingly sweet dessert notes with a twist. He loves his vanilla and coconut and is very hardcore about it. Ok? Ok.

• Hinata would wear mostly warm, floral fragrances until the revelation that she actually feels a lot more comfortable in more "masculine" and spicy ones. Imagine her in a suit with the aroma of black pepper, leather and apple notes? Boss.

• Minato and scents that remind you of the sea and sunlight seems about right? With some woody undertones.

• Tsunade is a violets and musk woman, as far as I am convinced.

• Kushina giving rose hip and hibiscus with some chili pepper. Yeah.

[fullmetalwindbreaker]

oh yeah i finally watched johnny mnemonic last night. my god is this one of the movies of all time. list of thoughts

- why he got the forest gump haircut

- i understand why people say the acting in this movie is “bad” but i think it’s mostly apt (especially in keanu reeves case) for characters living in an information-saturated state of society. like effectively most of them are on near mentally disabling amounts of stimulants at all times (just like celebrities in the 90s). ice t and henry rollins are the only ones who sound anything like normal human beings to me if i’m being honest. actually now i’m thinking about the scene where he flips out at the end and i think keanu reeves is a very good actor and he doesn’t get enough credit for shit like this

- they really did molly dirty, i guess i can’t be surprised she’s just reduced to a typical 90s action movie female lead exposition sidekick forced romantic interest, but it’s still a bummer. this was a decade after neuromancer was written, there’s so much more of her character to draw on, even if only to foreshadow, than was shown in the original short story. and instead they changed her character so much she doesn’t even have the same name

- i’m glad they included the bionic lesbian bodyguards in some capacity even though they’re not dog girls and there’s several predictably transphobic stereotypical moments

- everything overall seems much more low tech than the sprawl as originally described by my main man willy gibby, i understand how this is mostly a constraint of budget and the actual technology that could exist at the time, but it’s fascinating how it intersects with more broadly popular 90s grunge aesthetic, for example the lack of visible cybernetic augmentation on the previously mentioned lesbians. and switching the lo-tek hideout to a bridge instead of the underside of a city dome is less cool, but i can’t think of second choice that better fits the near-post-apocalyptic-wasteland shabby vibe going on. even the yakuza don’t look very rich or clean or put together

- very fascinating to look back at 30 year old ideas of what cyber society would be like, untethered from the contemporary ubiquity of banal surveillance. i feel like it would be relatively trivial now to find his brain code by looking up some semi-public record or archive of the tv broadcast they used to generate those key frames, but no one in the 90s saw that coming. i’m also thinking about how in watch dogs (video game) in fucking 2014 “corporate interests are gathering seemingly trivial data about your life, especially habits of consumption, especially media consumption” is portrayed as a thing that normal people often think is crazy or outlandish

- i’m also thinking about this quaint outdated view of information saturation contrasted with my real life avoidance of watching movies due to reliance on a different style of video entertainment that prioritizes breadth and volume, drop-in drop-out pause and switch between a dozen tabs at once style, compared to the often much more focused and intentionally continuous format of A Film, which is much harder to fully understand unless you watch it straight through in one sitting, which i rarely feel like i have time or mental dedication for

- do you have parents and stuff!?

-overall i’m not upset by the massive changes to the plot, i think for a movie it’s much better paced than a 1:1 of the original story would have been. i think they did a pretty good job expanding the original premise into a story with some actual stakes, even if cyber seizure disease and mommy ghost in the machine is a little on the nose. 8/10 movie but i might have to try watching it sober too

[gayleviticus]

i think the main thing about dune and humour is that the books have such this kind of... cold robotic vibe to the characters that's like half intentional fitting the setting with values dissonance and power plays and political intrigue and people who are victims to fate, but also just half 'frank herbert writes his characters very dryly and hyper-verbosely'. so humour not only isn't the books' forte but inherently feels like a weird addition.

(i think there are jokes and levity in the books but i think it's very much like... not funny to modern audiences? idk. i think the characters joke around w each other at points but it's weird enough it wouldn't be funny to most readers. or stuff like gurney's songs)

however, i think the recent movies did a much better job at humanising the characters and giving them warmth (even if it meant flanderising a few of them for greater contrast between the cast, e.g. jessica becoming Evil, paul making a more straightforward transition to being Scary) that they could have inserted more humour. and come to think of it i feel like it was something part 2 did add more of?

part 1 i think is possibly the most single-minded movie i've seen recently in the sense that it is extremely committed to making you feel like Something Bad Is Going to Happen. which is where the humourless comes from, and it works, but i think yeah the fact it's so single-minded about developing a sense of foreboding meant they didn't really think to add moments of levity, especially given the book doesnt have them to begin with. and since part 2 was less focused on that it was a bit funnier

[mysticstarlightduck]

hi! for the rainy day ask game:

🌦️ Overcast: Which character do you think readers would love the most? Which character do you think they would dislike?

Thank you for the ask, @kitkins13! Let's go with the cast of What Lurks In The Hollow

ASK GAME HERE

🌦️ Overcast:

Which character do you think readers would love the most?

I think that vote would be stuck between Dylan, Zach or Christine. In all honesty, the whole cast of this WIP has a lot of different personalities that I did my best to make unique, so every MC character in this WIP would probably be someone's favorite once the book's out lol. But I think those three would absolutely be the at the Top 3:

Dylan Millihan:

Overall Description/Vibes: 23M, a reserved, emotionally unavailable mess of an young man who is trying his best and is probably more overworked than it would be healthy but pretends he's fine by using a social mask of bad mood and distance from strangers. Cares about his little sister immensely but generally doesn't know how to show it verbally so just shows it through quiet actions and hopes for the best.

Appearance: Tall, handsome, has medium to long hazel hair vaguely styled in a 80s-90s way, usually wears black button up shirts not buttoned up all the way and jeans. Prefers boots over sneakers.

Zach Taylors:

Overall Description/Vibes: 16M, an incredibly charismatically charming goth kid who likes freedom above everything and who has some serious self-esteem issues that he hides behind a facade of confidence. He's Amy Millihan's best friend and love interest as the story progresses. Zach loves music, skateboarding and reading books from his vast collection he stole from the library.

Appearance: Average height, skinny, usually wears improvised goth style clothes including a shirt with the logo from his favorite yet obscure band, dark grey jacket with DIY spikes and small chains, black fingerless gloves with ripped fishnetting, spike studded black converse sneakers + dark nail polish and eyeliner. Has short, yet messy dark brown hair.

Christine Nespor:

Overall Description/Vibes: 22F, a laid-back wanderer with a love for all things funny, from jokes to pranks to hilariously bad movies, but who is also really wise when it comes to life and gives top tier advice. Loves a good amount of harmless chaos and probably knows more than a few really strange unsolved cases that really contrast with her wholesome personality. She's also Dylan's first friend and later love interest in Vinethorn Grove.

Appearance: Average height, has wavy blonde hair cut into a simple yet stylish bob, wears cutesy yet simple makeup preferring to add a small splash of color to her styles. Loves woven sweaters, twill pants and patchwork shirts, especially DIY ones, and wears vintage sneakers. Has a playful smile.

Which character do you think they would dislike?

Probably the villains, yeah lmao.

Take your pick 😭

Mayor Samuel Whitaker: Literal serial killer whose family is involved with bloody rituals with fey demons. Most of his victims are teens or kids because he "likes his souls young" (essentially the younger and more 'pure'/innocent the souls the more effective the sacrifices are)

Mrs. Adelaide Draycott: A 50 year old cougar/Karen who has nothing better to do in her life than to stalk Dylan (who is young enough to be her son at the very least) around to try to get him to 'fall in love with her'. When her attempts fail she fully becomes a Karen and decides to sabotage his entire life.

Sheriff Isaac Clarke: A corrupt, racist cop who thrives on nepotism and blackmail, often using underhanded tactics to get what he wants. Aids criminals if it means getting more power and literally 'calls the shots' in town. Also covers up the Mayor's string of murders and makes sure no investigations suceed.

Branden Heddam: Insanely threatening - probably drunk - biker gang leader who terrorizes innocent people and specially likes making his stepson's (Zach) life a living hell. The most abusive """"""parent"""""" figure known to mankind and has committed murders before due to his sheer brutality.

Cathleen "Cath" Edwards: The most annoying debt collector known to mankind who literally shows up unnanounced at the worst times and is so smug she could make Regina George cringe.

[julietasgf]

I have many ideas for the latam au, but I will answer that later or tomorrow because TODAY IS MARCH 15 JULI.

IT'S THE IDES OF MARCH. THE PERFECT TIME TO TELL YOU ABOUT RAFFLES - and to betray Caesar- 😈

I've been debating with myself whether I should try to summarize it or would it be more useful to send you a post that explained the plot but I have a terrible physical and psychological need to talk about Raffles when asked, so I'm sorry you'll have to endure verbal vomit about these books but before I lose my mind about the cricket boys, I'll lose my mind about your ocs ~

🥰 Vienna!!! My love!!! She sounds so interesting. I really wanted to know more about the journalist, so appreciated getting to know some of her background. Oh buddy, you can feel her frustration, as she tries to escape the dramatic world of racing only to end up stuffed to the bottom jsjsjs literal in a rabbit hole but she won't be able to complain about the lack of gossip

Oh and I read about Rodri. Im fine :)))) I haven't suffered any emotional damage that will leave sequels for life *I'm going to cry next to Ale for the rest of my days*

I only knew him for a couple of days but DAMN I didn't expect to lose him like that, Rodri didn't deserve to leave 😭😭😭😭 (not complaining tho, I actually love the angst and the idea of Ale spending the rest of his days affected by the love he lost AFTER THEY RECONCILIATED 👌 it's BRILLIANT AND TRAGIC)

And I appreciate that you told me what happened between them... I can only say that oh boi I need to hug Ale, at the end of the road he took the worst part although he had a good part of the blame in the argument doesn't take away that his lifetime trauma will not be taken away by anyone and oh poor Rodri, he also had his part of the blame but I can't imagine how much it must have hurt at the moment to realize that Ale wanted him in his shadow although yes it was very dramatic on his part to crash, f1 guys can't fight like normal boyfriends, they have to destroy their cars and put their lives at risk 😭

About the 2000s guys: IM GIGGLIN to the fact that THE STORIES ARE CONNECTING, EVEN IF IT'S SUCH A SMALL DETAIL AS ANDREA END UP ON ALE'S TEAM!!!!

🙏🙏🙏🙏 Andrea is an easy going it kid, vibe of be the sun, charming, friendly but full of pressure (and guilt) to be somebody because of his parents' sacrifice to support him in his career? THATS MY KIND OF GUY, he is my babygirl now. Im protecting him, I WILL FIGHT FOR HIM AND HIS HAPINESS

Also me: but Kimi kinda slay you know?

I LOVE THE MYSTERY, I LOVE THAT HE HAS A HORRIBLE RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS PARENTS -I know that sounds bad JSJSJJS BUT I MEAN THE CONCEPT-, I LOVE THAT HE IS FULL OF SECRETS AND THAT HE IS SUCH A PERFECT CONTRAST FOR ANDREA.

Btw although I'm really worried about Kimi's fate because you mentioned "he doesn't mind risking his life" and because he has substance addiction issues *panics* 😊

ABOUT DUNE 💖💖💖💖💖

I HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK EITHER FOR THE SAME REASONS. I SIMPLY BELIEVE DUNE MUST BE READ ON PAPER 🥺, it's worthy of that honor and other than that I read too much pdf already because of college. I need a break when I read something for fun even though I spoiled some things hehehehe

I LOVED THE FIRST MOVIE TOO. A lot of people say it's boring but I thought it was amazing, I can rewatch it a million times and never get tired of it because it's a visual and sound delight 😔🙏

Every day I confirm more and more that one of these days I must read and watch GOT, (I only saw the house of dragon; rhaelicent my beloved) jsjsjsjsjs but I guess you mean the wonderful political plot, and if that's it I agree that it's one of the best done and most interesting aspects that Dune has

Part 2 did not disappoint, Chani my girlfriend, I will treat her right 🥺💜, I really liked that we finally got to meet her, and that while she is Paul's love interest, she is her own person with her own ideals that she is true to. While it broke my heart to see her leave so disappointed, I was so glad that she was able to go her own way ah

OH BOI PAUL. 😭 I have a huge love- hate on him. I guess you've also seen these "my twink boyfriend turns bad" memes where people compare him to Anakin and Coriolanus; and while I see the similarities I think out of the three, Paul is the only one I'm a more willing to defend than the other two. The boy was born without much autonomy over his destiny - and body - and genuinely fought against the idea of being the messiah for the fremen because he was well aware that this was a bene g. project, and that he had no right to intentionally feed the lie any further. And his visions, they were terrifying and you could see the fear Paul felt for them: he really didn't want to unleash a war and was so willing to listen to Chani and fight by her side BUT WELL :)))) WE SAW WHAT HAPPENED AND YES I THINK THAT WAS THE WORST PART.

THE NERVE HE HAD TO SAY HE WAS MARRYING THE PRINCESS IN FRONT OF CHANI (and I think he had told her he loved her before, right?, UGHHHH WHAT MAKE IT WORSE)

The good news is that I have heard that most likely we will have a third part that will tie together all the loose threads that were left. I hope Chani ends well and that maybe she kicks Paul's ass <3

Now it's time.

The time has come *thunder my fingers* let's talk about Cricket AND CRIME!!!!

You should know that before my TBOSAS - Sejanus fever, my blog and my fics and my everything, was dedicated to Sherlock Holmes (the books please, I'M TALKING ABOUT THE BOOKS BECAUSE MY DETECTIVE HAS BEEN TREATED VERY BADLY BY THE ADAPTATIONS), and it was thanks to Sherlock Holmes that I discovered my cricket boys:

AJ Raffles and Bunny Manders!!!!

Pd: Here I leave another post saying why you should read these books

The connection between them and Holmes is that Arthur Conan Doyle's brother-in-law, Ernest Hornung, was inspired by Holmes and Watson when he make Raffles and Bunny and these stories also share a very close temporality (end of 19 century) to the one existing in Holmes stories

But let's begin:

The plot follows the association of Bunny Manders (Bunny is not his name, it's a nickname) with the infamous Arthur J. Raffles, the amateur cracksman.

Bunny and Raffles attended school together, but their paths diverged when Raffles (who is older than Bunny) graduates, until the two meet again years later and end up becoming partners in crime (and maybe they are partners not just in a particular type of crime, laws against homosexuality were a thing at the time...👀)

AJ Raffles is a famous cricketer. He is charming, handsome, and brilliant. He has a reputation for being rich and moving among exclusive high society circles but it's all a facade, because in reality he's broke, doesn't earn a penny playing cricket and can flaunt his luxurious lifestyle because he's a jewel thief. He steals from wealthy people in the exclusive circles he moves in.

And the story narrated by Bunny who has an anxious, nervous, fragile and intense personality. Who is an aspiring journalist and occasional poet, tells us about what he calls his "fall from virtue." (Although as someone who has already read the books, I can tell you that it is Bunny's recounting of the most important person in his life: Raffles)

Bunny is an unreliable narrator <3 I should clarify tha. It's fascinating to see how fickle his memory of Raffles (who we know only through his eyes). There are 3 books made up of short stories:

1. The Amateur Cracksman

2. The Black Mask

3. A Thief in the Night

All by E. W Hornung

You can read them on a page called Raffles redux, on Project Gunterbeng or there is a project called Letters from Bunny where they will send the stories to your email

WARNING: THEY WERE WRITTEM IN THE 1890s BY A BRITISH AUTHOR, I think that pretty much sums up the flaws and criticisms of the text although it is an interesting study of the dynamics of the social classes in London at the turn of the century and a glimpse into the criminal world of the time.

Ah yes, the reunion of Bunny and Raffles. The first story in the saga takes place on March 15 and is called:

The Ides of March

🤭

HELLOOO AND HAPPY IDES OF MARCH!!!! (1 day later tho, but still 😭)

(and also, can't wait to hear your ideas for the latam au, bc I'm this 🤏 close to asking you if I can write something abt it bc it's driving me CRAZY)

KSLSKLKS noooo don't say you're sorry, first bc I love hearing when ppl are passionate abt something, second bc I LOVE anything related to sports, and knowing now it's also related to crime and sherlock holmes made me even more interested!!! (but before let me answer abt my silly little guys)

poor vienna, all she wanted was to get out from the formula 1 world somehow because she knows abt how the drama is insufferable, and now she's deeper than ever, you can almost hear her screaming into the void and trying to explode her mom with her mind 😭 BUT at least she starts getting interested because it's really bizarre how the cycle never ends and just keeps going on and on

I'M SORRY ABT RODRI 😭😭😭 but welcome to the "mourning over rodrigo" club, founded by alejandro himself!! rodrigo deserved much better, even though his death was mostly a terrible accident. he was such a young driver with such a bright future ahead... and plus, he just reconciliated with alejandro, he missed him so much. things were fine. they were, really. also, it's worth saying that after this, alejandro spent the rest of his career as a team principal trying to reinforce the security for drivers and proposing changes to make it safer. each time a crash happened on the racetrack, that man was on the verge of fainting. and the worse is that... he could only think abt how things could've been different. maybe if alejandro was more mature, or if he listened to rodrigo, or if he tried to talk to him much before that crash... would it still happen? it's all so tragic (and that's why I made it that way ☝️

ale definitely got the worst, that man got a trauma for LIFE. racing was his passion, before rodrigo died he didn't intend to stop any soon, but after his death, he couldn't get inside a car without panicking. and things just weren't the same anymore, you know? he tried to go out in dates with other people, but he couldn't move on, he felt too guilty, he felt too bad about it ("trends change, rumors fly through new skies, but I'm right where you left me"). rodrigo was so hurt atp, because he believed alejandro wanted him alongside him, not below him; alejandro was treating him more like a decoration than anything and it HURT. but yeah, these two guys should've gone to therapy instead of risking their lives, racing boyfriends really are the worst 😭

(it's so funny what you said abt f1 guys not fighting like normal boyfriends and instead crashing their cars bc this actually happened a couple of times in real lifeKSLSKLSKLKLKS)

YESSSS THE STORIES ARE CONNECTED!!! :D that's also how vienna have it easy to be able to talk to these guys, because everyone kind of knows everyone somehow

ANDREA IS SO SWEET 😭😭😭 he's a sunshine, rlly. like, I always say that rodrigo is the devil, but tbf him and alejandro are kind of made for each other (nobody else would be able to stand them). but andrea is such a sweet guy who was unlucky to be teammates with kimi, from all people. he got a heart of gold, just wants to help and to not disappoint his parents after everything (he doesn't know they are already so proud of him, like, their son is a FORMULA 1 DRIVER, this is already so awesome!!!)

I love kimi so muchKSLSKLSK his whole character is just so fun, even though he's a prick. and yesssss in almost every single aspect, he's a foul to andrea!!! but at the same time, they have a lot in common (ahem, being so insecure about themselves and failing people around them, feeling alone while being surrounded of people, and, ofc, their unconditional love for racing and how it's their life).

(since you asked, and also because I can't keep my mouth shut... I particularly find kimi's fate to be more cruel than rodrigo's. he didn't die on the racetrack. atp of the story, kimi and andrea had a better relationship, and andrea knew more abt his secrets and some of kimi's reasons. kimi had just won this year's championship. he was supposed to be celebrating with the team, after all, they all worked so hard for it. but andrea notices kimi isn't around. he's worried, he knows kimi, he knows abt kimi's deal with his parents. he decided to go to kimi's hotel room. he found kimi so high, so drunk. andrea helped kimi clean up and they had an emotional talk, even though kimi was not sober. andrea promised he would help kimi, that kimi wouldn't need to go back to his parents again. he put kimi to sleep and left the hotel. the next day, andrea woke up with countless calls on his cellphone. kimi eriksen had died from an overdose on his hotel room during the night.)

BUT OKAY, LET'S TALK ABT DUNE, MY BELOVED:

YESSSSS dune is that book to be full of post-its and highlights, I CAN'T read that book on digital 😭 KLSKLSKLS ans yeaaaah absolutely, when you read too much pdf for college, it's just authomatic your brain will associate it with studying, while reading physical books become more associated with fun (plus, this is more personal now, but I love scribbling on my books, can't do that on digital)

yesssss I get why people say it's boring (it's rlly slow), but the worldbuilding is just so nice + it's gorgeous visually + LETO ATREIDES IS IN IT OKAY IT'S ENOUGH FOR ME. idc if it's boring, I would watch it 100 times for that man.

(pls read got, it's so worth it, even though I think we as a fandom collectively accepted we'll never get the ending 🙏)

((and also NO WAY YOU LIKE RHAELICENT TOO, THESE ARE MY GIRLS 😭 you know that when I prefer the adaptation rather than the original work it's bc they did something right, and when it's related to alicent and rhaenyra, I like the tv show sooooo much better actually, they gave so much more depht to their relationship which is basically non-existent in the book))

save me chani.... chani save me.... and yes!!!! I remember that everyone was so excited during the first dune bc of zendaya, but when it actually premiered, there was like 10 minutes of her in the whole movieKLSKSLSKL but I'm so glad we got to know her bc she's such an interesting character!!! and it's just like you said, she's actually her own character, and it's just really refreshing seeing this and seeing how they decided to wrap up her arc (specially in a science fiction franchise)

PAUL WAS SOMETHING ELSE. from the three, he's actually the one I genuinely like as a person; imo, I feel like he tried to resist until the very end, that was not what he wanted. he only gave in when he felt like there was no other choice, specially after the whole thing with the harkonnens..... that's what hurts the most regarding paul, I actually LIKED him. anakin and coriolanus, we knew who these guys were, we knew their end, we knew what was going to happen. but paul? we could have this hope that things would be different, that he could choose or change things. but... yeah, things end the way they do and I felt betrayed over a characterkslsklsk 😭

NAHHHHHHH HE WAS SO WRONG FOR THAT, SRSLY, I was so happy chani left at the end of the movie because she deserves so much better 😭 (I know things in the book are different, but in this case I'm willing to block my ears and go LALALALALA to pretend that only the movie exists)

and yessssss!!! from what I've searched, the first book ends exactly where the movie ended, but the little change of chani leaving can actually make such a big change on the story, and I'm really interested to know where this will lead (and plus, there's the whole thing with paul's little sister, which is also another loose end I'm excited to know more abt).

but now: CRICKET!!!!

buddie, I've seen some of your reblogs abt raffles and bunny, and I was like "oh, this reminds me of sherlock holmes a bit, the aesthetic and all" (even tho I've never read sherlock holmes, I could recognize the close temporality) and I kept wondering if the stories were connected, like some thrillers' I've read, that are on the same universe but with different characters, sometimes with the same detective, so I thought this was the case.

I'm kinda shocked to discover that its setting is about cricketLSKSLSKSLKS I WOULD'VE NEVER EXPECT THIS, AND I LOVE IT

(also, I've read the post, it won me at "it will KILL YOU" and "the incredible adventures of two broke idiots", specially because I myself am a broke idiot, so I related)

I like the concept of this so much???? first because, again, SPORTS, second because it's also mixed with crimes and aaaaaa it sounds so cool 😭 raffles sounds like a demon, I already love him (every generation have their own saltburn /jk). bunny sounds relatable (cries in crippling anxiety language) and the fact that not only he's an unreliable narrator, but we also only know raffles from his pov is really interesting, idk, there's something fascinating abt never rlly knowing a character bc you only know them from a sole point of view...

tysm for telling me abt it and also for telling me where to read it, I'm already writing down to read it ✍️ (I just can promise to read it soon bc I have a pile of books which are here for MONTHS and just today I came back to reading again 😭 BUT I'll definitely read it, the mix of crimes and sports got me hooked + the gay undertones too ofc, but tbf there's nothing gayer than sports)

(also the fact that their reunion is on the IDES OF MARCH, why do I get a feeling that this is not going to end very well for one of them? 🤠)