#the designs are gorgeous the action is good there are some interesting things here and there but the way it left no impression overall

[tillwhen]

it’s honestly a shame how bad canaan was, because it’s got pretty cool concepts and ideas

but most importantly… it had her

i’m not even gonna lie she was the most entertaining part of that show for me. queen

[superectojazzmage]

Just back from Alien Romulus and hoooo boy oh boy. Review/analysis.

Easily the best Alien movie since the first two, which isn't saying much, yeah, but it is legit a really cool and well-made movie, competing with Late Night With The Devil, Longlegs, and Cuckoo for title of my favorite horror movie this year.

In a lot of ways it's about harvesting the few good ideas from the post-2 movies that were squandered and doing them right, plus getting the series back to it's healthier roots, kinda the movie equivalent of someone doing physical therapy to get back in the saddle after an injury. This means it's not quite brand new ground like some may hope for and I've heard some people feel it gets a little derivative at points because of it. I can kinda agree and certainly understand that criticism, but I feel it does what it's aiming for really well and sets things up for future works to go in even crazier directions. Furthermore, it takes a lot of time to try and weld together the disparate post-2 movies in a way that brings the series back to a little coherency.

The atmosphere is really intense and cool, swinging between lovecraftian dread and build-up and high-energy chaos. The aesthetics and special effects are gorgeous, taking full advantage of the progress that technology has made since 2 plus really digging in to the used cassette future vibe of the older films. The characters are likable and actually intelligent (or at least understandable) in behavior like in the first two movies, so you care about what's happening to them instead of just waiting for them to get munched. The action and kills were really cool and creative, the cinematography in general was off-kilter in an awesome way - there's a definite attempt to make the movie feel claustrophobic and intimate. Fede Alvarez did a fantastic job in general, I'd love to see him do more with the series.

It REALLY cranks up the series' psychosexual, freudian, and sexual assault subtext, arguably to a point where it's just plain text. So if you're sensitive to stuff like that or if this is your first go at Alien, be warned for that.

More specific notes go under the header for spoilers. Highly recommend you go in as blind as you can.

Andy and Rain were wonderful leads, their dynamic was fantastic and Calie Spaeny and David Jonsson both turned in great performances. I direly hope they join the first two films' casts as "major" characters for the series going forward.

The effects to make Daniel Betts look like Ian Holms were quite possibly the one and only time the special effects failed. It looks very wonky, which is sad because Betts does a really good job copying Holms' mannerisms for Ash while still making Rook feel like a distinct character.

In addition to the usual themes of sexual unease, genetics, and parenthood, this movie adds in some really interesting themes of familial legacy, the rise of new generations, foundations, etc.. Andy and Rain are like Romulus and Remus of myth, orphaned and left to fend for themselves but growing into founders of a new age - both in-story with their carrying the XX121 substance and evidence of Weyland-Yutani's misdeeds to Yvaga and out-of-story with them being the protagonists of a new era for Alien. Likewise, the Offspring is the first example of an entirely new species, neither human nor alien but taking from the lineages of both through Kay and Big Chap, a Romulus-like founder of it's breed that will later bear fruit in Resurrection with the Ripley clone and Newborn.

I'm really not kidding when I say above that the psychosexual undercurrents are taken to the extreme here. This movie basically sees the ways the original film subtly pin-pricked at those themes, says "fuck that", and deliberately rubs it in your face in a way designed to make sure you can't ignore it. It wants you to be grossed out and to squirm in your chair and it knows exactly how to make it happen.

Alvarez noted in the lead-up to release that he took a lot of influence from Isolation and you can definitely see that in how he depicts the Xenomorphs and the general aura of the film. He further described it as a kind of halfway point between the first and second movies and you can also see that; it has the Lovecraft-style tension and horror of the first, balanced with the energy and action of the second, and it does a really good job finding a middle ground between Ridley Scott and James Cameron's styles while also doing it's own dance.

I mentioned way back at the start how the movie basically harvests the good ideas from 3, Resurrection, Prometheus, and Covenant and gives them the room they deserve while dumping the bad. It does that in both terms of themes/style and continuity/lore. Concepts that those movies bungled like xeno-human hybridism, the black goo, genetic engineering as a focus, and so on are done here more creatively and competently. Themes that those films tried and failed to tackle are handled with significantly more grace. It has the atmosphere and characterization of 3 but none of it's baggage and needlessly depressive tone. It has the body horror and weirdness of Resurrection without taking it to the zany, embarrassing areas that movie went. The effects and creativity of Prometheus and Covenant without any of their awful writing and clumsy messages. Alvarez takes on kind of an Al Ewing-esque "repairman" writing style here.

The Xenomorphs are absolutely deranged in behavior compared to most portrayals, attacking like either cruel sadists or raging chimps and rarely bothering to take hosts. I'm not sure if such a reading was intended, but I got the vibe that the idea is Xenos raised without a queen or hive grow to be basically sociopathic like how real world predatory animals grown without parental figures become feral and dysfunctional. Which would also explain a lot about how the Xeno in the original movie, Big Chap, acts there.

The Offspring's design is fucking wicked and I love it.

One of my few major criticisms is that Big Chap died off-screen instead of getting more to do. What was the point of having him be alive at the start if he wasn't gonna be used beyond a backstory point to set up the main story?

All in all, a very impressive effort and a great return to form for the series that I recommend highly.

[mariespen]

Apology ༊*·˚

Protective!Rafe x Fem!Reader ༊*· Summary: “Don’t need people seein’ what’s mine, a’ight?” Warnings: mild sexual implications

based on this request!

︵‿︵‿༊*·˚୧‿︵‿︵

You tapped around Tannyhill in your perfect little pink heels, trying to fix your hair before your boyfriend, Rafe Cameron, decided that it was too far past the time to leave. He had offered to take you shopping today as a half apology for being home at 2am last night on ‘private business.’ You’re sure that you would get the other half of the apology tonight.

“Princess..” Rafe called, warning you of his incoming annoyance.

Admittedly, you were pushing it by delaying the trip by about 2 hours in the first place. You quickly put on a thin layer of tinted lipstick and covered it with a thicker layer of gloss. Looking in the mirror and making sure your hair was even across your shoulders, you finally gave in and decided to make your way downstairs.

Rafe made you feel like you were meeting him for prom whenever you walked down the arching staircase. He looked at you with his eyes wide, a proud smile on his face.

“Gorgeous as always.” He said with a smile, spinning you around and grinning when you giggled at the small gesture.

You planted a soft kiss to his neck, pulling back and realizing that you had left a mark from your glossy lips. Your eyes widened while you tried to stifle any laughter that could slip.

“Hm?” Rafe asked, looking down at you with a love-coated look of confusion.

“Sorry, Rafe..” You moved your hand to start to wipe the faint and glossy red lip stain from his neck.

Your actions clicked in his head and he grinned down at you, pulling your hand away and shrugging casually.

“S’okay.” He said, proudly wearing your lips on his neck and brushing hair from your face before walking away to grab his keys, leaving you with blush erupting across your cheeks.

The small, pink purse that held your most important shopping necessities (lip gloss, mascara, and your pink digital camera) was strung up on his shoulder. Rafe gestured for you to walk out of the door next to him, waiting patiently as you smiled and bit your lip.

“What’s all that for?” He asked with a cocky smile, watching your ass sway with you as you walked out of the door.

“Nothin’..” You said with a giggle, holding his hand as the two of you walked to the car. 

Taking you shopping at expensive designer stores was something that Rafe had always taken pride in doing. His Prada sunglasses sat perched on his nose while he had your arm linked with his, keeping you close to him. Rafe was never good at telling you how much you meant to him, so he figured he would try and show you by buying everything you could ever want. After all, his most prized possession was practically skipping next to him, giving him a smile that melted his entire heart.

Rafe was never bored, trying his best to take mental notes of everything that you touched with any interest at all. Watching his girl thrive with happiness because of the small things that he was doing for you made him smile right along with you.

Every time that you would buy something, you instantly started to carry it in the oversized bags. You still weren’t fully used to this luxurious treatment, even after two years, so through muscle memory you always held your own bags. “Here baby, let me.” Rafe would insist every time without missing a beat.

At the end of your trip, his arms were filled to the brim with different bags from every different shop that you strolled into.

“I can take some, Rafe.” You said with a giddy smile, feeling guilty that your only baggage was the pink purse that you had insisted on carrying yourself.

It took you by surprise when he glared at you, almost as a warning. You were confused, not realizing how much he was against you doing the things that he wanted to do for you. Putting everything in the back of his sports car, you helped yourself into the passenger seat and waited patiently as he got into the driver’s seat. Without any hesitation, his hand was resting on your thigh the moment he got in.

“Thank you, Rafe.” You said with a smile, kissing him and letting him deepen it, feeling butterflies flutter in your stomach as your head went to the hazy place it always did when he kissed you like that.

The drive home was always his favorite part, your excited and rushed voice as you tried to tell him about everything you had gotten all at once. He let out a breathy chuckle as you stuttered over your words, smiling bigger when you laughed with him. 

Back at Tannyhill, Rafe had pulled in all of the bags and lined them up in the corner of your shared room. Out of excitement, you started to film a quick haul of your favorite items for your friends. Leaning the camera on a windowsill and preparing everything was easy enough, but being able to actually film anything was the bigger obstacle.

Rafe stood to the side, moving into the frame whenever you turned around or even to the side with the intention to block out your ass. 

“Rafe!” You whined, a pout showing across your face.

He raised his eyebrows at you, cocking his head in a look of warning.

When you finally cut the video and watched the whole thing back, you realized it was no good in the first place. Most of the video was Rafe’s leg blocking any view that the camera could have of absolutely anything. You let out an angry sigh as he watched over your shoulder.

“M’sorry baby..” He said, trying to hide his smug smile as he hugged you from behind and breathed in the Chanel perfume on your neck, “Don’t need people seein’ what’s mine, a’ight?”

You rolled your eyes but it was hard to be mad at him when you already felt his lips on your shoulder. 

“I forgive you..” You said, pretending to be annoyed as he flipped you around gently and kissed you again, this time on the lips.

“No baby.. let me show you how sorry I really am.” Rafe said with a smile, deepening the kiss and letting his hand run down from your back to your ass.

You let Rafe take control, knowing that the second part of your apology was playing out perfectly.

(lmk if anyone wants a pt 2!)

︵‿︵‿༊*·˚୧‿︵‿︵

[thenamesblurrito]

so. Transformers ONE was a good movie

i HIGHLY recommend going in blind, i do think it's incredibly effective with as few spoilers as possible beforehand! seeing it on the big screen is really really nice too, i encourage you to watch it in theaters without reading up on it first if you can!

long full-spoiler review and dissection of elements below (i reached the text block limit a couple times oops):

general stuff:

gorgeous. just genuinely visually gorgeous. so many details, colors, textures, everything was so beautiful. the stylization itself may not be my favorite but it was executed so well that i ended up loving it. their optics! their colors! their movement! the way the visuals serve the lore and the story is extremely well done too, i felt like everything i was seeing was deliberate, relevant, and a treat for the audience instead of just "ooo visual noise look at how powerful our cgi rendering is" (which is how i felt about the "live action" Lion King prequel(????) ad they showed before). all the little cameos and repaints and everything in the background? mwah. GORGEOUS MUSIC TOO AAAA THE WAY THAT TFP'S MOTIF IS IN THERE AAAA

the visual effects and action, the way they USED their roboticness/transformation sequences/vehicle modes in fighting and moving and emoting, it was VERY GOOD. Orion grabs a Death Tracker and RIPS THEM INTO PIECES BY TRANSFORMING AROUND THEM AND FORCING THEIR FRAME TO SHATTER. insanity

this is ABSOLUTELY the origin story movie the fandom has wanted. even if it wasn't your preferred origin story, this movie SHONE with love and respect for the franchise and drew on so many influences to craft a powerful version of the beginning we all wanted to see

in some ways i wish we had more, i think it would've been extremely effective to see things expanded upon, especially D-16's emotional descent and maybe some more Quints. actually looking at the content and pacing of the movie though, and the audience it's aimed at, i don't think there's anything they should've cut in favor of other stuff. i understand why it wasn't dwelt on more, but hooooo i would've liked to see Dee breaking apart a little more thru the middle of the film. apparently the novelization has more scenes of this and i would love to read it

i had so much fun watching this movie. it was a rollercoaster. it was a TREAT. i was sitting there enjoying every second both times i saw it because it was a good film that rewarded me greatly for being a Transformers fan, giving me so many easter eggs and injokes, while also being perfectly understandable and fun for a complete newbie. excellently balanced appeal to old and new fans alike

there was no wink to the audience about how stupid and childish a movie about robots is, there was no lampshading of how silly sci fi is, there was no betrayal of the emotional tone of the film. so many stories now kneecap themselves by mocking their very concept, and the audience watching them, in a very cinema sins-style irony poisoned way. this movie never does that. its humor is fitting, its drama is real, its emotion is all SINCERE and i love how i was never mocked by any part of the movie for engaging with it sincerely

this movie loved being a Transformers movie

anyways. specific stuff:

love how Wheeljack managed to explode everything despite not even being a scientist. he's just THAT good

THE INJOKES AND REFERENCES. "you don't have the touch OR the power." calling them Gobots. the corny More Than Meets The Eye bits. "don't be a glitch" is a headcanon swear i've been using for years now and they canonized it!! "High Guard, eject". "paging doctor Ratchet." the new take on "all are one". the really interesting way that the term Transformers is an actual significant in-universe name, and how Orion and Dee ARE NOT Transformers at first!

the sheer number of cameos is ASTOUNDING. what an excellent mix of masc/fem designs too, they really made it normal on this Cybertron which i appreciate! apparently Blurr exists here, his name was on the leaderboard!!!!!! good job Chromia i am so proud of you for winning. and the shots of the bots getting cogs at the end was aaAAA!!! <<33 my HEART! Jazz's little smile looking at his new doorwings!!

I GOT ALL MY SILLY OLD DEMIGOD FAVES I GOT THE THIRTEEN EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM AAAAAA ALPHA TRION MY GRANDPA god i'm so sorry you're dead but i can't believe you showed up on the big screen <<333 you and your rockin rhino unicorn lion alt mode. and your superpowers. god you're so cool. "old timer" NUH UH HE'S STILL BETTER THAN YOU!!!!! using Zeta for the thirteenth was an interesting choice! i did think he was Overlord for a hot second. it's the lips. Solus wasn't fridged by virtue of everyone else died too yippee!! ALSO MEGATRONUS THE COOLEST ONE WOOOO HES NOT JUST A FIERY EVIL GUY!!!!

the way Dee himself was, in a way, the Fallen of this continuity.... 😭

the way Sentinel was handcrafting his downfall with each touch of the blowtorch. carving the sigil of the Decepticons into the one who will kill him. dooming Cybertron in a moment of petty mockery. AND HE DOESN'T EVEN DRAW IT WELL IT'S LIKE A MESSY CRAYON DRAWING CMON

planetformer Primus in a blockbuster movie? CANONICAL EXPLICITLY STATED PLANETARY ROBO MPREG BIRTH IN THE FIRST FIVE MINUTES???? THEY USE THE WORD BIRTH. BORN. we are never escaping the reproductive insanity in this franchise

Shockwave you whiny tantrum throwing wuss. let Elita beat him up more. it's good for him. also love how that could be construed as a ref to her G1 resistance force

CASUAL MIND READER SOUNDWAVE???????

Elita was perfect, no notes. i would not like her if i met her but i respect her so much. she really is better in every way and down to business. Best First indeed

so much cool implications and fascinating timeline confusion. 50 cycles since the Primes were slaughtered? the way Sentinel leveraged their reputation to make himself beloved, casting himself as their peer? the way he didn't choose to villainize them, the way he apparently openly admitted to the loss of the Matrix and how it impacted the planet? when did cog theft start, and how old is Orion since in the novelization it states his entire generation is cogless? who remembers the og Primes? who is in the know about it all?? hoooghhghhh fascinating.

the implication that the High Guard worked with the og Primes?? the possibility STARSCREAM was a loyal guard for Cybertron's DEMIGODS????

okay i was not expecting a backstory for STARSCREAM'S VOICE in this movie but holy. god. the shippers will be going insane over this one. hoogh holy fit. what is wrong with you. the utter contradiction of being both an instigator and a coward when he gets in over his head and immediately backpedals

also obviously this is the I Love Divorce movie and megop shippers will be having a field day but i DEEPLY appreciate just how solid a friendship Dee and Orion have and how badly they fall apart, even thru a strictly platonic lens. i also appreciate how there was no forced comphet attraction/romance!! i was dreading the possibility of it, i mean Oplita was RIGHT THERE but they didn't force it at all thank youuuuuu. i would rather have this dynamic with its zero intended romance than awkward, OOC attraction shoehorned in to detract from the plot

Bee was actually good! like yeah he's def the kid appeal character and i prefer it when he's in a younger gen and not OP's peer, but he was wayyyyy less annoying than i was expecting! i think he fit the movie and did his job in it well, and i absolutely laughed at him multiple times. "i get to work for the GOVERNMENT! :DDDD" bee. please. the fact that he's been going insane and desperate after isolation for so long really helps make his character work instead of being just irritating

Airachnid you are so cool. you are TOO COOL. PLEASE TONE DOWN YOUR COOLNESS. i adore how she is not good at facial expressions thank you evil autism moments. love how her signature move is stabbystabbystabbystabbystabbystabby

Sentinel. god. Sentinel. SENTINEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i need to draw him getting ripped in half. it's like they distilled the worst parts of every single iteration and combined them into a SuperBad version. horrifically realistic kind of guy. i love to hate him. real Metro Man from Megamind energy. and megachurch pastor energy. the IRONY that Orion and Dee were probably actually helping him, that he was probably being genuine in the medbay when he said he loved what they did by racing, that he may have been honest when he said he was gonna have them fixed up in his own facilities and had them tour the mines! because them racing increased energon production by 150% and Sentinel needed that!!! he needed that for the Quintessons!!! i think he was being genuine when he first met Dee and Orion and then Darkwing ruined everything!!!

Darkwing is the curly straw of this continuity

the Quintessons were hoooooooooooooooo. whoooooooooogh. hoohhhhhhhhhhhh. the biomechanical. the shapes. the textures. eugh. icky. creepy. excellent. the way their ships looked like the Nemesis. the way they're STILL a looming threat. i wanted to see more of them but i get why the movie wasn't about them. i hope we see more in the future

the way Orion is the kind of guy who, in an attempt to be selfless, keeps making selfish or thoughtless decisions was SO INTERESTING. it set up the dynamic of his and Dee's friendship very well, with Orion always wanting the best for his buddy but ultimately overwriting or ignoring what Dee says!! the way Dee clings to the social contract of protocol for safety because that's all he knows and his ANGER when it's broken, even when it's Orion breaking it, because that's not SAFE it's an UNKNOWN it has CONSEQUENCES WHEN YOU DEVIATE. and then it's revealed that the social norms have been a lie the whole time and Sentinel has "broken protocol" more than ever and Dee has no safety left because it was always broken. Orion wanted to be more, he could feel there was more. Dee just wanted security

Dee spent so much of the movie complaining and arguing and it was very funny and good characterization but it was also a hint at how much bitterness was under there the whole time. so much of his complaints were threats of violence. he always had Orion's back and then when he learns the truth he abruptly. stops. do you notice he doesn't really have Orion's back after this? he's no longer by his side? he's there, but he's not... there. he was the first to shoot an enemy and took joy in it. all of his emotions were so justified and then what he does with them is what makes it a tragedy. he didn't have to do this. augh

i really, really like the fact that they managed to pull off the ending without it fully turning into a "boohoo if we do anything violent we're as bad as the bad guys waaaa". the specific phrasing of "rebuilding cannot start with an execution" went HARD. and it's demonstrated in their actions too like, Dee was out for REVENGE and it was PERSONAL, Orion was fighting for JUSTICE and it was UNIVERSAL. Sentinel was beaten, everyone knew the truth. it was over. but Dee in his (very justified!) anger and broken trust was too overcome to back down. they were given the power to change their worlds, but Dee was thinking only of his world. Orion was thinking of everyone

ironic that as soon as Orion starts thinking of other people and considering what they need instead of forging ahead, Dee decides to center his own feelings and actions to the point of murder. even after Sentinel was dead, he just kept shooting, he did NOT AT ALL care that some of those shots were clearly hurting innocent civilians/going wide and shooting out into the city/damaging actual important infrastructure and not just Sentinel statues. i believe it's Bee who said "he's gonna kill everyone" and he proves it by attacking Elita and saying "I won't stop until every last one of his followers is dead". THE FACT THAT HE FELL SO FAR AS TO SEE ELITA, HIS PEER AND FELLOW FREEDOM FIGHTER WHO WAS THERE WORKING AGAINST SENTINEL WITH HIM FROM THE START OF THIS QUEST, AS ONE OF SENTINEL'S FOLLOWERS.... by the end of it, Dee really was nothing but blind anger

and the way kneeling was a common thread!!!!! aaaaaaa. Sentinel betrayed the world by kneeling to the enemy. Dee won respect by refusing to kneel. Orion gained followers by willingly kneeling to his peers. hooghh

Orion jumping and stumbling and falling this whole movie because he just THROWS himself into things because he BELIEVES in things, he's the one to take leaps of faith, to take that step out into the unknown! and Dee refusing to save him as one final nail in the coffin, so clearly feeling like Orion jumping in front of the blast was yet ANOTHER way Orion is forcing his hand, corralling him into doing something he thinks is best but did not consult him on, finally FINALLY saying NO and leaning in to the tragedy!! and in the exact same way Sentinel handcrafted his enemy in Dee, Dee has now handcrafted his enemy in Orion!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA and now that Orion took that last leap of faith and fell, now is when he RISES. ONE SHALL FALL AND ONE SHALL RISE. god. it reminds me of Spiderverse, the way they use falling and rising

the way the tragedy is worse for how well everyone was working together.... for one shining moment, the miners and the High Guard, the rescue mission, it was going so well. they were doing it. they were winning. it didn't have to turn to slaughter. if there was to be an execution it should've been by trial, by the voice of the people, not Dee deciding for Cybertron as Sentinel decided what truth was. augh.

in an abruptly different note, the way they have characters move and fly is so cool. i love the jetpacks. i love how flight is not "flyer" exclusive. it's fascinating and i think really fitting for the general city of Iacon itself. all those towers going up and down

THE TRAINS!! THE MOVING ROADS!! HOW COOL IS THAT!! LOOK AT THAT WORLDBUILDING IM OBSESSED WITH THIS CYBERTRON HOOGH. this movie was VERY good at building a rich, functional world of detail and making it very alien in a way i want to chew on forever. the moving mountains and greebled energon mines. the living planet. the deer!!! ooghghh. PRIMUS LOOKS LIKE A STAR

i do like this Primus actually, yeah it was a deus ex machina but that's the POINT. Optimus himself is an act of god and his presence heralds miracles. Dee couldn't bring justice to Cybertron because justice is restoration. justice is healing what was hurt and doing right by the wronged. yes that often means consequences upon the perpetrator but that's NOT what Dee was doing, he wasn't even THINKING of anyone else!! would killing Sentinel get ppl out of the mines? would it restore their cogs? would it bring equality to a clearly oppressive society? like he LIVED this (cogless bots with limited options, the talk of tiers as if they are social castes you can be demoted from, lower city levels where ppl can be banished, etc) but it was Orion who ultimately addressed this. i'm sorry if it feels like insult to injury to rub his Primacy in your face, Megatron, but stealing a cog just like Sentinel and declaring the age of Primes over, when it was the age of Primes ending that made you cogless and oppressed in the first place, is only an extension of your trauma, anger, and violence, and is not solving the problem!

a cog stolen from him at birth! and then he steals it from Sentinel in symbolic revenge, stolen again, but even that wasn't Sentinel's, it was stolen too! the way he discards the cog from Onyx, willingly gifted to him, to continue the trend of desecrating the dead! man. MAN. the name he took, the cog he took, the symbol he took, all from his hero, the one he looked up to, the coolest Prime, and THEN DECLARED THE AGE OF PRIMES OVER

the gilded pompous showmanship of it all was so gross, the way Sentinel's face was everywhere, the way he had instant access to everyone in Iacon via announcements that took over the media. but this was clearly derived from the previous Primes!! we see their statues, we see their stately tower, and unless Sentinel had all that built in "mourning" (which is totally plausible imho) he was really just setting himself up as an inheritor of that hyperwealthy standard! we don't know anything about the rule of the og Primes beyond that they're favorably remembered and loved (possibly because of propaganda but i think it was also genuine) and that they may have been losing the Quint war (considering that info was from jerkwad supreme i find it suspect) but just by comparison to Sentinel i think they HAD to be better rulers. there weren't cogless bots forced to mine for 20 shifts in a row back then!!! Sentinel is stealing their aesthetic as if that gets him the same power and acclaim. he's trying to steal their legitimacy. he paints himself across the face of Iacon to hide the fact the planet itself went into a coma because of him. he has ALWAYS been rejected. i call him a megachurch pastor but really symbolically i could say he's a fallen angel, and his visual design really fits too

i'm coming back to the deus ex machina thing bc i know it may be considered weak in a plot construction sense but i want to engage with it as literal. like, there is a literal in-universe god in the machine. they know it. they worship it, at least a little bit. i would consider this story to be analogous to Prince of Egypt, in that the deific is a real and tangible character with impact on the plot, and not a meta excuse to save the day. Orion made his choice, and as a result Primus made HIS choice. it's not necessarily a happy ending but if even Megatron acknowledges that GOD mandated this guy to be a Prime and the planet itself responds by COMING BACK TO LIFE.... i keep thinking of it like a cityspeaker, how they're the ones who commune with Titans to know their needs and tell them what needs to be done. is a Prime just the cityspeaker of Cybertron, able to help it remain healthy and functional?

the divine right to rule is REAL on Cybertron. you can like it or not but you have to contend with that when discussing fair leadership, political accountability, and representation of the masses re: Cybertronian government and Primacy

god i'm still so obsessed with the Thirteen i need to see them better i need to look at them. i love them. insane. i really need to invest in a chewtoy

also i know it may be a throwaway line but i'm very curious why Primus had to transform and sacrifice himself to save the universe. Unicron, maybe???

also how did Alpha Trion narrate the archival stuff telling the fake story of how the Primes died and the Matrix was lost. did Sentinel get a deepfake of his voice?? is that part of how he made the transition to power?? AUGH THE DISRESPECT KEEPS COMPOUNDING

Alpha Trion. my blorbo. my old man. holding you so tight. like an ancient rescue dog. im gonna groom you and give you treats and buy the biggest plushest dog bed from costco for you

anyways

good movie, guys

[that-ari-blogger]

A Discussion Of LavenderTowne and Hazbin Hotel

So, a little while ago, a YouTube channel called LavenderTowne ventured into the Hazbin Hotel fan space to propose some criticisms and fan redesigns of the characters.

I had thoughts on the original video, but those are irrelevant because its reception was… tumultuous, and in my opinion disproportionate. The video has since been taken down, and LavenderTowne uploaded a follow up to it (link). In which she stated that her experience with the Hazbin Hotel fandom wasn’t the most pleasant, something I would like to address.

So, this post will be an academic discussion of the designs from the second video. Because I think her criticisms were interesting and because I want to show that it is possible to disagree with someone without being unpleasent.

Also, I want to give LavenderTowne a more welcoming experience with the fandom, and try to make up for some other members of the community.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD (Hazbin Hotel)

I'm going to start with something that needs to be said. You can disagree with the rest of my post, but this is non negotiable:

It is never, under any circumstances, acceptable to harass someone for their opinions, especially about art. I don't care if you take issue with conclusions or perceived motivations, actions like I observed are not ok, and are not welcome in this fandom.

I hope I made that clear.

Anyway, I am going to be addressing the second video, because LavenderTowne took the first down, and I'm not about to intrude where I'm not wanted.

LavenderTowne mentioned the overarching stylistic choices, and I think that is a good place to start with this post, because they are good source of difference. Several of LavenderTowne’s criticisms are leveled at the Hazbin Hotel visual style itself, discussing what specific elements didn’t work for her and how she would personally draw things differently.

That is what I want to discuss here. Rather than the specifics of artistic technique, I am going to talk about the character design decisions brought about by the difference in style. This isn’t a question of skill, but an examination of the ideas presented.

Both LavenderTowne’s style and that of the Hazbin Hotel team range on the scale of realism, as is the nature of art, and that has caused a few of the design decisions that they have made. But it has also had a weird effect on the implied plot that is worth discussing.

Hazbin Hotel is more cartoony, for example, which means its logic is a bit more fluid. Vaggie's eye scar, for example, is shown over her hair, which isn’t how scars work in the real world.

This is a way of getting the tone across. Sir Pentious, at one point in the series, gets caught in the blast of an explosion and sent flying across the city. The design style lets you know that this is being played for a laugh and that he will probably be fine. If LavenderTowne had drawn Sir Pentious in her style, I guarantee that version of him would not survive the event, because hers is grittier (that’s the wrong word, but you get the point).

I do, however, really like the colour palette shift in LavenderTowne’s designs. Don’t get me wrong, I like the limited palette of the actual show, and I think it suits the setting more than the pastel aesthetic of LavenderTowne’s style.

But, those pastel colours are gorgeous and they are a really neat way of solving one of the problems that LavenderTowne identified and I agree with, that being how difficult character differentiation is when everyone has the same colouration as each other and their background.

Now, neither of the two options are implicitly better, there is just a different design sensibility going on.

As for the designs themselves, I actually prefer LavenderTowne’s Alastor over the original. I would like to see how it interacts with Alastor animation and transformation, but I think the design overall works better for the character. I like the horns being more pronounced, and I like that neat hairstyle. I think it's much more suited to an overly refined character who revolves around appearances.

“Just because you see a smile, don’t think you know what’s going on underneath. A smile is a valuable tool, my dear! It inspires your friends, keeps your enemies guessing, and ensures that no matter what comes your way, you’re the one in control.”

I think that Alastors original hair style is more about looking cool than looking refined. The shorter style, combined with the more prominent antlers, gives that air of someone actively concealing their more wild undercurrents.

That being said, I'm not as sold on Alastor's expression in LavenderTowne's design. This is a stylistic choice, but I don't think that the Cheshire Cat smile translates over to the alternate design as smoothly as his concept. In the original, that smile was the thing that denoted him as malicious, but LavenderTowne's design seems more huggable, at least to me.

LavenderTowne did raise an interesting point about the voodoo symbolism, a point that others have raised, and I think is worth noting. Incorporating that aesthetic as synonymous with dark magic in a setting based heavily off Christianity is funky, thematically. It's a use of stereotypes as shorthand, which carries the baggage of those stereotypes, intentionally or not. However, I am about as far from qualified to talk about this in detail as possible. I recommend that you listen to the opinions of people who know more about this than me, and who's case this is to make.

Husk’s design is another that I like, but this one I have slightly mixed feelings about. The body type change addresses another of LavenderTowne's criticisms of the series, again in relation to character differentiation. That is a strength of the video, LavenderTowne gives criticisms, and explains what she means and how she would go about doing it.

Interestingly, that body type issue is something I disagree with. I think the way that LavenderTowne has handled the issue she identified is fascinating, and one of the best parts of her process. But this is simply an issue I don’t see as a problem.

The criticism is that the silhouettes of the characters are exceedingly similar, meaning that identifying them is difficult, as well as limiting in terms of variety of proportions. I could point out Sir Pentious or Husk here, but that is arguing in bad faith because Husk is very clearly the exception to the rule, and Pentious actually conforms to her observation. Without his hood out, Pentious’ silhouette difference is in his tail, which is rarely onscreen.

The reason I am ok with this, is that Hazbin Hotel has a thing for transforming character designs. Charlie, Valentino, Emily and Serah, Lucifer, even Adam, Vaggie, and Lute, as well as a ton of others. All of these character designs shift as the story progresses, revealing aspects of them that they have kept secret. I like having the baseline similarities if everyone gets a moment where they show off how different they are from that baseline. I think that is a cool story beat that, for me at least, outweighs the problem of similarity. I’m sure LavenderTowne would disagree with me here, and that is more than fine.

Back to the point, Husk is a character who is surprisingly acrobatic and martially competent, and the slight shift in the alternative design switches him into more of a bar brawl type character. This feels like the guy who would just deck you and tell you to cool off, rather than throw something at you. He looks like the type of bartender he is, cool and calm, and ready to offer advice when needed.

The removal of the wings is an interesting choice. On the one hand, it clears up his design and makes him look more down to earth. On the other hand, it leads into my main bugbear with this design. I don't think this version of Husk looks like an overlord.

This is subjective, and I am struggling to quite explain it. But the wings, as well as his voice, give a sense of gravitas to Husk. Without that, Husk looks relatively unremarkable.

The outfit plays into this. While I prefer it and its subtlety, there is little that marks this version of Husk out as higher ranking.

Again, this isn't a case of the original designs being objectively better. This is a different design that communicates different things. LavenderTowne’s Husk is a humble bartender rather than an overlord playing pretend. I simply like the story that the original offers more.

Vaggie’s new design is both my favourite design of the four, and the one that is the furthest from the story of the show.

I love the quieter eye scar, I love the silhouette, and I think moving the ribbons to her back is a genius bit of visual storytelling.

The outfit is cool (I especially like those boots), but there's an asterisk to that, because I don't think it entirely suits Vaggie as she is presented in the show.

At the risk of oversimplifying, Vaggie is a fairly uncomplicated character. Not because she's written to be shallow, but because the show doesn't have time to explore her personality.

So, you get her past, which is fascinating, and it leaves some interesting things on the table.

For example, Vaggie has zero self preservation instinct and will burn herself to the ground for Charlie. This isn't complex, but it's remarkable how much the writers (and animators if you’re looking for that kind of thing) get out of this one detail.

Most notably, her character grows into realising that love means living for someone rather than dying to keep them safe. This culminates in the defeat of Lute, the embodiment of her past, who doesn't think to move out of the way of a collapsing building.

Similarly, Vaggie was an angel and wants to hide that aspect of herself. This makes her multifaceted in backstory, but the reveal doesn't have time to dwell on her characterisation, so it just feeds into what I said before.

I think that with another season of time to develop, Vaggie’s characterisation will become as complex as her backstory. But that doesn’t come quickly.

The point I am making is that I don't think this version of Vaggie would wear armour until the end. She doesn't think she can get killed, so why would she need to protect herself?

Which means that LavenderTowne's design would work for the last episode of the show, if it had wings, which is sacrificing the single best piece of foreshadowing I have seen in a long time. Seriously, I cannot stop gushing about those ribbons.

What we have, then, is a version of Vaggie with a slightly different story and personality. To me, LavenderTowne's Vaggie looks like a character who craves safety. She seeks Charlie because she offers emotional stability and kindness, the one person in hell who Vaggie doesn't think is against her. But she would wear the armour and outfit because of the injury. She realises she can be wounded and grabs the heaviest set she can find, the twin coloured trousers come from that desperation, and add to the imbalanced aspect of her design.

This version of Vaggie is defensive rather than offensive, and though it renders Out For Love obsolete, I find it more interesting than the original.

Charlie's design, however, I'm not such a big fan of. I'm sorry LavenderTowne, I really am. But this design really doesn't sit right with me.

Hazbin Hotel has a circus theme going on. The main foyer has a circus tent affectation, for example, and Charlie gives off the aesthetic of the ringmaster.

Charlie is very overtly the antithesis of a Disney princess, and that comes across in her design. Instead of wearing a floaty dress, she wears a suit and suspenders.

Yes, the hooves and horns being more prominent is a cool alteration that I appreciate, but the alternate outfit really doesn't feel like Charlie.

I think the difference is in the framing. To me, LavenderTowne's Charlie comes across as naive and optimistic, where the original design is more relentlessly hopeful, and that second one matches how she is in the series.

Charlie in Hazbin Hotel showcases true hope. Not optimism, hope. The type of emotion that keeps getting knocked down, but picks itself off the floor ever single time, and gets ready to try again. Charlie has no proof of her philosophy, no basis. She's not trying to recreate phenomena, she doesn't even know she can succeed. That's why she needs the hope.

I don't think that LavenderTowne's design has that vibe. Instead, this Charlie seems younger, which contributes to the naivety. It feels like it leans into her regular design, so the more fearsome transformation comes as a shock, mostly.

On the other hand, the three horn tiara element is genuinely really cool. It gives that air of reality, and hints at the transformation without giving it away. They round out the design and make the “this is a demon princess” clear.

Interactions between this Charlie and Adam, Lute, or Sarah would be interesting, as this version seems designed to foil off them, rather than the other way around. Especially Emily, this design seems genetically engineered to mirror her and make her question her ideals just through existing in the same place.

In short, this Charlie seems more gentle than the original, which might help in some aspects, but I prefer the original.

One again, this is my opinion, and not objective by any stretch of the imagination. If you disagree with me, good, that's the bread and butter of how analysis and discussion exists. But I hope I have shown that disagreement is possible without aggression.

Which brings me to my conclusion, and I have something here that I hope you will like.

LavenderTowne's designs feel like they are made for the same story, but paced differently. They feel like a different style of musical. They feel like they were made for a version of Hazbin Hotel that had more episodes and has time for subtlety, something that the original show unfortunately didn't have.

The story feels the same, but the minour changes make it seem more drawn out. The tone is different, and that effects the entirety of the rest of the story.

In other words, she is designing an AU, something she makes explicitly clear at least five times in her video.

LavenderTowne mentioned in her video that she might do a follow up with a few more characters. I would be intrigued to see this, because I want to know what Angel Dust would look like in this version of the story, as well as the actual angels and even the Vees.

I also am fascinated by how the art style affects the tone of the story. And with LavenderTowne's permission, I might have a crack at writing some of the key scenes from the show to fit this aesthetic and tone. I think that would be an interesting thought experiment.

Final Thoughts

LavenderTowne’s designs were dope as all hell, and the points she raised were worth discussing.

I love the series, but I understand that it's not everyone’s cup of tea. Content warnings should get that across, but also some people just won't like elements of it for any number of reasons, and that is ok.

I think @ohnoitstbskyen put it best in his discussion of the finale of the series. (Link). In his closing remarks, he spoke at length about people who will discover the show and the effect that it will have on them. That sentiment, boiled down, became the title of that video, and concisely says what I have taken just under 3000 words to talk around.

“This show will save someone’s life, but it isn’t for everyone.”

But let me be clear about why I wrote this.

I saw some of the shit that people wrote about LavenderTowne's original video, and though a lot of it was positive, a fair chunk was not, and I want to put my foot down. Disagreement about art is healthy, but if you think that involves harassment at all, then tell Husk he still owes me a drink.

On a lighter note, this is my first post about Hazbin Hotel, so for those who are reading my stuff for the first time, hello. I am Ari, I do media analysis, and I plan on doing a series on Hazbin Hotel, going through each song with lyrical and musical analysis once I finish my current one on Wicked. So, if that interests you, maybe stick around.

Next

[ep2nd]

@anxious-anon-time sorry for being late, was really busy this weekend

I'm very sorry this is 2 weeks late, had to board a plane, then was relaxing on Vacay, then had to catch up in school the next week

"What do you think of the Ink Scroll arc"

I absolutely stinking loved it.

Now here's the essay you ask for (or didn't, I just want to write an essay)

1. Love the foreshadowing/self awareness. Ex. When MK says "Maybe this the part of our journey where things get DARKEE" the poor boy- also love how the word Journey was used, foreshadowing how it was about the Journey to the West

2. Everyone had good arcs, except Pigsy? Like, MK beautiful, Meis opposite nature to Ao Lie, lovely, Sandy fighting the monster allegations, been his trauma since the beginning (when he references he's changed since meeting Pigsy last), showcasing the difference between Tang and Tripitaka qns for Tang to get more development?! Woo!!! But Pigsy?? Having the same plot/character development of Sandy, where being a monster doesn't matter Yada Yada Yada, it just didn't make sense.

There was no part beforehand where Pigsy EVER questioned that part of him, unlike Sandy who's been afraid of hurting someone, yes I enjoyed the episode, the Cook references from previous (and also Freenoodle crumbs) were amazing. What I wish they had done was something like Pigsy questioning his family, or chosen family in this case. THEY EVEN WENTOF THEIR WAY TO MAKE THE "MONKEY KINGS NOT MY DAD PIGSY IS" MOMENT. Like- I just Pigys arc was more family/friend centered, definitely would compliment whatever jumbo shrimp mess MK had going on

3. Talking bout MK- the trauma and angst were GORGEOUS we love it. My boy been through so much. And we learned more of his past?! The theorists were going CRAZY. Love the Sunburst and Soysauce moment, MMMMMMMM, this boy needs to stop trusting people so quickly oh my gosh AZURE WHEN I CATCH YOU-

4. Really good villain. Love how they went with a villain who thought HE was the hero, and main character I guess lol. Was he a turned villain? Yes but he was a good one! Kinda wish the foreshadowing was better, instead of that one episode where Tang just watched and realized it. He's a complex character, who just wanted to help people, and yeah his ambition wasn't even bad, the Jade Emperor isn't great even, but he took it too far

5. Great job yall, you guys made a character everyone hates, Peng, Revalis brother from another mother

6. Yellow Tusk was ehhh, wish we saw more of his character, seemed interesting, loved his loyalty

7. Now LMK is very special from other shows I've watched he'd because well, I'm willing to rewatch many episodes, even if I know what will happen, I tend to not rematch ANYTHING because of this problem, but LMK is just different. For some reason the Scroll arc is the exception, I like it, but for some reason I don't see myself rewarching it, don't know why

8. Ink MK was a beloved, his voice?! Design?!? DIALOG AND SPEECH PATTERN!?!? BRILLIANT. really love all Ink people moments, mostly just Ink MK, and Wukong.

9. Glad Wukong got development, man is facing the consequences of his actions and its really getting him, I'm glad he's getting really good development.

10. Master Subodhi. Do I need to say more?! Loved him dearly. Wish he and Wukong remet. :( liked his character very much, I like how he wasn't even real in the Scroll and still had omniscient abilities. My only question was what else did he know?! On that note, is anyone going to talk about how the girl is just, like immortal?! The Acolyte as yall call her. Now I don't think Subodhi just GIVES out immortality, I feel like he saves it for special people, like Wukong, no I have theories and headcannons for her but that's another day.

Also I'm a suckered for any JTTW character appearance. LMK GIVE ME ERLANG SHEN, GOLD STAR OF VENUS, GUANYIN, ANY OF NEZHAS BROTHERS, AND MY LUFE IS YOURSSSSS

11. The only thing I can think of left is how in the world did the Scroll worked?!? Like, it didn't teleport them to the past, I've been making a simulator almost? But then why does the characters inside feel so real, and how did Wukong trap Peng and Yellow Tusk, and where and hwt have they been doing?! AND HOW DOES THE OMNISCIENT POWER OF SUBHODI WORK. MAN CANT HAVE THAT MUCH PLOT REASONS POWER. AND FOR GOODNESS SAKE HOW DID THEY GET THE OLD PILGRIMS WEAPONS LAST TIME I CHECKED TRIPITAKAAS STAFF WSS IN WUKONGS CAVE

[royallpetrichor]

Okay so I haven't posted in like 12 years and I know I'm like a week late, but what's everyone's thoughts on the live-action ATLA teaser? I'm genuinely very interested to know, because I certainly have thoughts, and I've definitely seen some polarised opinions. What do you like about it, and are you worried about anything?

Anyway, my long personal thoughts are below the keep reading line. I probably haven't said anything super new, or any hot takes but they're there.

First, what I loved about the teaser. It looked visually stunning! The shot composition all looked amazing (to someone who knows nothing about film), the visual tone was definitely there, and the set design was gorgeous! The entire time I was just going "oh my god, oh my god, oh my god" but in a good way. The characters especially look great. In particular, I loved Suki, Aang, and Zuko. I know some people were disappointed with how the characters looked, but I really think it's the best we could have gotten considering the wide disconnect between animation and live-action, and I think it's something people need to remember.

The acting obviously hasn't been shown very much, so it's still up in the air in that regard. I've been trying to convince myself I'm cautiously optimistic, but quite honestly I've gone straight to pure excitement, despite my worries.

We're also getting more flashbacks, as shown by the fact there's a scene of the Air Nomad genocide. More worldbuilding and backstory is definitely something I'm very happy about, so I'm excited to see where it goes. The thing that stumps me on it is whether they're going to do it well. In the film that shall not be named, Shyamalan put references to the original show everywhere, but he never took the time to understand why they worked. It was like he wanted us to say "Wow! They said the thing!!!!!" as if we'd clap at the screen without actually thinking about anything. I'm really, really hoping that's not the case here.

The tone is definitely something that people are concerned about, myself included. The teaser was very serious and dramatic. Of course, the show has those moments but it's overall very lighthearted. It's a show about friendship first and foremost, and those positive messages are highlighted throughout the series. I'm hoping this teaser is more Netflix saying "Look at these cool effects!" and less "This is the overall tone of the entire series!".

The humour also comes to play in this. ATLA has a lot of jokes. You know this, I know this, they work, I don't have to talk about it. I'm curious about the humor in the live-action series because a lot of the humour in ATLA works because the show is animated, and wouldn't work in the live-action setting. In the film that shall not be named, Shyamalan tried to take jokes from the show, but they just fell completely flat because it was the completely wrong genre and just created tonal dissonance.

The last big thing I'm worried about is the characters, particularly Katara and Zuko.

I'm worried about Katara, because film has had this tendency in the past (and I know this is probably outdated) to "tone down" a female character's more "unsavoury/unladylike" traits. This is a bad example but it's the best my brain can come up with, but Hermione in the HP films compared to the books. In the films she was smart, brave, never wrong, and never made fun of. In the books, she was smart, yes, but also naive, and really mean and judgy sometimes.

Katara is a strong female character because she's not perfect. She's hotheaded and can hold a mean grudge, but those make her who she is. Also, in the film that does not exist, other character's strong moments are inexplicably given to Katara to make her more "badass" without actually putting in the work for her.

I'm worried about Zuko for an entirely different reason. I'm scared they'll "tone back" his assholeness in the first season, and possibly even give us his backstory a lot sooner. I really don't want this, because the whole reason his redemption arc works is because he was a villain first. He did bad things, but he atoned for them. His backstory explains his actions but doesn't excuse them. If we're sympathetic to him too early, the payoff is going to feel a lot cheaper, and like he didn't actually work to make himself better because he was already there.

Okay wow that was a lot, but that sums up all of my thoughts/concerns/excitement for the show. I'm really stoked to see where they go with it, and even if it's a disaster I'll probably enjoy it anyway honestly.

[kaythetrashcan]

Here are some of my thoughts on DN: short stories!

And it's a lot. I'm crossposting this from my reddit account. Spoilers ahead

Book cover

Why does Ryuk look different on the cover? He looks like normal in all the actual stories but on the cover he has a red spot on his chest and red lips (among other things).

I do really like his right bracelet, it reminds me of the handcuffs Light and L had. I'm not sure if it's new but it's cool.

Speaking of the cover, there is 'Death Note' written in shiny letters and I only noticed once I turned my lamp on. That's such a nice detail.

Onto the stories themselves.

C-Kira

When I read the name Yamamoto, I though it was one of Light's friends from the manga, since they have the same name and appearance (spiky black hair and glasses). But apparently they are different characters entirely, which is kinda disappointing even if it doesn't change anything.

I'm bit confused on what's up with Matsuda. He tries to justify actions of C-Kira and I'm not sure where the writers where going with this. Like he was supportive of the original Kira but I kinda thought that ended when he shot Light several times.

I like that Near's hair got a bit longer from last time. Also the tator card towers are insanely cool.

And the way he just pops out of them on page 22 XD.

When Near recalls the video chat, we see a kid with a striped shirt, who I'm guessing is Matt

I haven't seen the Relight movies (I'm planning to one day), but I saw L's monster speech and I'm guessing it's based on this scene. The manga is pretty different from it, L is more forward and cold.

It's pretty interesting to hear that L picked Near and Mello because they didn't ask him any questions, just listened. Also bc of their glares.

And if this is the only time Near interacted with L, how does he know his appearence for his finger puppet? Did he see a photo or did he just get a description from someone else?

I can't believe Ryuk got other shinigamis, including the actual King of Death addicted to apples. Good lord.

Also I love how Ryuk refers to king of death as an "old fart". Makes it sound like he's the shinigami's dad XD

Near just tuning in, calling C-Kira a murderer and then signing out was pretty badass. Rip C-Kira, you were okay.

Speaking of C-kira, we actually know really little about them. All we got was they own a bunch of anime figurines.

I noticed how many bananas Meadra has eaten. Do all shinigami's have a specific food they like? Although all seem to like apples.

I like Near not being sure if he acted like L and how Rester tells him he's L now, it's pretty sweet and adds a bit of humanity to Near.

Also how are the towers holding together? Near's breaking laws of gravity

Meadra is such a nice friend, bringing Ryuk an apple.

This was a pretty fun story and it's always nice to see Halle Linder.

A-kira

I really like Minoru's design. He looks unique but still natural and his hairstyle is bit more modern compared to Light's.

Ryuk picked Minoru rather than just throwing the death note and waiting for somebody to find it. It's a interesting shift from his first appearence.

I love Ryuk's disappointment when Minoru told him he can't read the rules and demanded translation.

Minoru is so based for just trying to sell the notebook and his plan is really clever.

Ryuk holding the sign while literaly everyone in the studio can't see him is hilarious.

Near looks gorgeous with the long hair. <3 And so does Halle Linder with the shorter hair cut

Is that Donald Trump???!!! What even is this story?!

I love how Armonia just shows up with his chair and leaves immediately.

Wait, Yotsuba??? I was wondering what the Yotsuba group was actually leading, nice to get a conclusion.

I'm also intrigued that Minoru decided to keep only a fraction of the money, but it was pretty smart and he still got a bunch of money from it.

I can't believe Ryuk met Donald Trump.

In the end, Ryuk writes the name of Minoru in his note book. I thought the rule would kill him immediately? Or is Ryuk obligated to write it?

Anyways, this story was goofy, Minoru was entertainingly smart and I liked it.

Scribbles

I love how insane and fun everyone in this. We need more. Also Sayu has more to do. Yay :D

Why does Light think strawberries are more sexy than apples?

Misa's back!!! I missed her so much.

Her swimsuit is really bland, but Light looks great in the Hawaian shirt. He should wear it more often.

I'm not sure how to feel about Misa getting sexualized in this. I'm fine with fanservice and her being sexy, but I feel like she sometimes gets treated more as a source of fanservice than an actual character.

I noticed she's the one driving the car. And I don't think I ever saw Light drive. This leads me to a conclusion that Light never learned to drive. Headcanon that Misa just drives him around during those 5 years.

Also I live for Misa and Sayu's friendship!!!

Misa making bunny apples for Ryuk is so cute.

Somehow, "Disappointment" makes Misa and Light into a somewhat healthy couple.

In second to last strip, Light somehow pulls L up using only one arm. My boy is strong.

And the last strip, "Debate" depicts Rem holding a glass of wine (?). Since Rem doesn't have a favourite human food (unlike Ryuk, Meadra and Sidoh), maybe she likes to drink wine? Misa seems to enjoy drinking (in that one scene in the anime). Maybe she shared some with her.

L - one day

Watari narrates this like an animal documentary.

It also gives L both really bizarre and really normal traits, like he bathes in a washing machine and can't be bothered to put a shirt on, but he is fond of art galleries and theme parks.

Also L's a pop fan. Love that but I'm bit said we didn't get this in the main series. I'd love to see what interactions with Misa could come from that.

I'm glad to know that L does more than just sit in front of a computer.

L- Wammy's house

I love L, but he looks so weird as a kid. Glad he didn't stay like this forever.

So L came into the orphanage without a name. Did he name himself or did Wammy gave him that name? How do all the kids get their names? Why does Near have a normal name but then we have a guy named Mail?

How did L manage to defeat a group of kids who were trying to beat him (the new kid) up? And judging from what L says, this might be a common thing, so why isn't anyone doing anything about it?

Kids in Wammy's house share bedrooms so I wonder who did Near and Mello live with.

L and Watari's dynamic here is so hilarious.

Overall I'm not really big on this story. I know it's a matter of preference but L feels really overpowered and inhuman here. I kinda prefer when he gets some grounded moments, like his monster speech in Relight movies or even just his reaction to Misa kissing him on the cheek. I'm not saying it's bad, it's just not really my thing.

Taro Kagami

This is also a pilot for the series.

I noticed that the shinigami's look more human. I'm glad their designs got changed, I don't like how they look like sexy women with weird faces.

Taro is so cute! I really like his design.

I like how he just uses the Death note as a regular notebook and accidentally kills someone. It's a pretty common concept in memes about DN so it's nice to see it in a serious story.

I appreciate Taro's reaction to Ryuk and accidentally killing people. It's pretty realistic for a kid like him.

Takagi kinda looks like Raye Penber while Yamanaka's design didn't make it into the series. Its kinda a shame, since it's pretty unique.

I also like to see Taro's mom getting involved. We never really got any reaction from Sachiko.

The conversation between Yamanaka and Takagi about how they'd use the death note is really interesting. Yamanaka makes a great point on how most people would use it.

I also love him saying that Takagi would have to kill half the world to achieve his harmonious world.

And personality wise, Takagi reminds me a bit of Matsuda.

The death eraser is a cool concept. While it probably would be too overpowered in the main series, I'd love to see what could be done with it.

I'm also intrigued by the author of detective novels. His design is cool as well and I wonder if he somewhat inspired L's character. His deductions were great.

And so we're Taru's, when he figured out Miuro is the second DN owner.

The ending itself is amazing in my opinion. Taro manages to twist the truth just right, so Miuro trusts him while he keeps the original note book. Death note becomes a legend but Taru still has it after all these years. The ambiguity is brilliant.

And older Taru looks great with long hair.

I read on the wiki that Taru might have inspired Mikami and I honestly believe that, but he seems like a combination of both Taru and Miuro.

He gets his long hair from Taru, glasses and fanatism from Miuro (who kept screaming "Die, die, die" while frantically writing names of criminals) and being bullied from both.

This was my favourite story. It flows a bit better than the A and C kira stories and it had some really cool ideas.

Final thoughts

While I'm bit sad we didn't really have any female characters (since DN doesn't really have many and as a woman I'd like to see them) I had fun with this book, the art's great and it's nice to see the pilot, shorter funny comics and what's most of the living cast up to after Light's death.

[skyler10fic]

The Political/Gov't TV Shows That Are Actually Fanfiction Family Tree

We start with the movie The American President. It is adorable and gets 1990s viewers thinking, What would it be like to examine the White House as a place to be a human person and not just a setting for action movies and fictionalized intellectual debates/morality lessons, nor disappointing reality as the president turns out to be a sleazeball a few years later, boosting the idealism of this VHS/TV replay into the late 1990s.

(fine print: I actually have no idea if this was the first of its time. I was six. This is all based on vibes)

Things really start to take off when we get The West Wing starting in 1999, which turned out to be a VERY interesting time to examine life in the White House as people tuned into politics and government, but they aren't looking for a big Air Force One (1997 movie) action show. They are looking for FANFICTION of what they want the White House to be like. They need reassurance that despite imperfection and scandal and all-out flops, the executive branch is a found family of lovable geeks who care too goddamn much about their jobs and democracy but also have compelling backstories and personal lives. There's love, there's drama, there's witty walk-and-talks, there's Allison Janney dropping dry humor one-liners everywhere. The President is everyone's dorky dad, and the First Lady is our mom who won't take his bullshit but loves him with every cell of her highly accomplished doctor being. This is the trunk of the family tree.

Next, Commander in Chief. 2006, only 17 episodes but really key representation in the genre opening the public imagination. Geena Davis is the classic VP-gets-promoted into being the first female president. Mrs. President here is a mess, frankly, making some very ham-fisted decisions, and also seeing the way they wrote her dealing with the gender politics of it all was huge for me at the time as a teen/young adult. Sadly, the tides of audience ratings were turning, and people were very sick of irl politics (e.g., the real-life "war-on-terror" in Afghanistan and now the addition of Iraq not being the Western-savior heroic victory marches we were promised they would be five years earlier). So seeing political drama subplots about the fictionalized Middle East hit a sore spot, and everything else re: presidential imperfection as a flawed character in a TV show (and not some idealized boring Mary Sue) was too much, especially for a female character, who is already from the start narratively damned if she does damned if she doesn't. Flopped, but our fanfic of what it would be like to have a woman, particularly the gorgeous Geena Davis, for president was an important branch of the family tree since West Wing never got there even as an epilogue possibility for what happened next (no shade to Matt Santos).

The next few years are rough. Sorkin pivots to journalism with The Newsroom (which I loved but many hated). We have Veep on the comedy side and Scandal on the drama, Designated Survivor for three seasons, Billions, and a few others, none of which I have seen.

THEN we finally get the incredible Madam Secretary, which you think is going to be the fanfic of The West Wing if it had a spin-off about the State Department and you're not totally wrong there, but it's ALSO a crossover post-canon alternate universe fic of what would have happened if a colleague of Alias's Sidney Bristow had had an actually pretty good boss at the CIA who went on to become president and then hired her to run State but she (and her canonically Hot Guy husband) are still in secret agent mentality. Every season of this is so full of adventure/romance/humor/heartwrenching drama that it feels very much written for fanfic writers/readers stylistically. Personally, I wrote a lot of Lightning Strikes Twice while watching this.

Okay, follow that line of thought to The Diplomat! I am only 5 or so episodes into this one, but I feel confident recommending it anyway because (at least for these five first episodes) it is very much an AU fanfic of if Madam Secretary had a presidential successor who was a bit of an asshole but assigns Kerri Washington out of "meaningful" foreign service diplomacy in the Middle East to be the US ambassador to the UK (seen as a fluff posting, which it turns out not to be!) when she should actually be a CIA agent, which ends up making the actual CIA agents' lives harder. She's also essentially fanfic of what if the political power couple marriage wasn't actually the dreamy fluff of Madam Secretary but actually lovers-to-frenemies. Instead of everything they do making each other better, what if everything the political/diplomatic power couple does jeopardizes each other's mental stability and professionalism. (I've been promised Allison Janney shows up at some point, but I haven't gotten there in the show yet. haha)

That's as far as I've gotten in the family tree, but I hope you enjoy fanfiction escaping into a different political world that has to abide by Hollywood rules instead of the terrible reality of what we have facing us. Happy coping!

[minijenn]

Jen Tortures Herself With Every Dreamworks Animated Movie Ever: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

Alright it's time to out myself in front of the entire HTTYD tumblr fandom. I like this movie. A lot. Ok? Like I think its really fucking great and I will not deny that. Is it as good as the first two entries in this franchise? No, but it's still damn solid in its own right. So let's get into it.

We pick up a year after the last movie, with the arrival of another new threat to Berk, the "Night Fury killer" Grimmel the Grisley. To protect his people and their dragons, Hiccup moves the entire tribe to a new island while in search for the Hidden World, an unreachable utopia for all dragonkind. Meanwhile, Toothless is allured by the arrival of a new, mysterious female dragon, the Light Fury, which complicates matters even further as Hiccup begins to worry that he and Toothless are growing apart.

So yeah still a pretty good plot, though not as solidly cohesive as the first two. Still, I enjoy the ride here a lot; we still get a lot of great scenes of the riders fighting their foes, lots of great flying scenes (especially that one between Toothless and the Light Fury, man that scene is just gorgeous), lots of action and strangely enough, a bit more of a focus on humor here than usual? I mean it's ok, but a little strange given this is the final entry in the franchise and the stakes are supposed to be higher than ever.

Speaking of stakes, let's talk about that. Grimmel is by in large the only real new character here (aside from the Light Fury I guess, and she's fine, I don't understand the hate towards her design, I think she's cute). And he is... probably the lamest fuckin villain in this franchise, there I said it. He's just... some dude. He's nowhere near as unhinged and intimidating as Drago, nowhere near as smart or interesting or even just fun to watch as any of the villains in the HTTYD shows, he's just... idk man, a really boring villain. Certainly not what I think the "ultimate" challenge for a protagonist as well developed and interesting as Hiccup should be imo.

I know there are plenty of complains thrown around about this movie, the other riders are poorly-characterized, Grimmel is a lame villain (as I just said, I agree with that one), and of course, it's biggest controversy, it's ending. But here's my take on the ending. I think it's actually pretty bold of them to have the dragons leave? Like yes, there is a heavy sense of finality to it, but that's sort of the point. There's a massive change to the status quo, it feels like a genuine ending with little in the way of Dreamworks doing what they always fucking do in trying to bait any unecessary sequels. And then of course, there's the epilogue, which may be one of my favorite scenes in the entire franchise. I literally cannot watch it without crying, I'm such a fucking wreck for this boy and his dragon oh my god.

As usual, visually and audibly, this movie is absolutely wonderful. The animation here is especially impressive, the lighting took my breath away in some spots with just how realistic some of it looked, while still maintaining the series' usual style. The Hidden World especially, we don't see it for very long, but it is so damn pretty to look at. The music is, of course, also absolutely lovely, once again drawing on familiar themes from throughout the series to send it off one last time.

There's lots of other little things I love about this movie too, like the flashbacks to Stoick and Hiccup when Hiccup was little (I cry), any cute Hicstrid moments, especially the wedding (I cry), Toothless being an absolute mess while trying to impress the Light Fury (I die laughing), just... god, it's more How to Train Your Dragon, man, I fucking love this franchise, how the hell can I possibly hate this movie when there's still so much of what I love about the first two in here?

I do understand, this movie is flawed in some pretty big ways. And yet... it's still so beautiful all the same. I adore it, even if others don't, and I think that's ok? We can all enjoy different things and I just so happen to enjoy this. No, it's certainly not the best this series can do, and maybe the HTTYD franchise does deserve a better conclusion. But for what we got, well... I think it's pretty damn great all the same.

Overall Rating: 9/10

Verdict: How to get your dragon some rizz bc gottdamn he needs some

Previous Review (Captain Underpants: The Epic First Movie)

Next Movie (Abominable)

[dreadfutures]

what do you like about ashen? i always love new games 👀

(Ashen is currently on sale for $10 on Steam, and it's frequently on sale. It's also on Switch. I play on both, and they are platform locked for coop, just so everyone knows. It is also not couch co-op unfortunately.)

Besides the art direction, which I think is gorgeous and very unique, and the story, it's really the mechanics. I love how playing Ashen feels.

The art:

what a beautiful minimalist style, where the things that are detailed are really meaningful! how they can carve such beautiful landscapes out of such simple shapes! what innovative creature and character designs! (and also the giant sweeties like Bataran, Silaren, and Gefn. They're so cool and nice and ethereal.)

The story:

I think is intriguing and speaks to a really interesting and unique take on the Souls world building. Unlike a lot of Souls games, Ashen does hold your hand a little with "this is where you're going next, here's a map marker, and here's why you're going there, and here's what's going on in the world." So the lore and story is a little more accessible!

The characters are also good people, nice people, and there's a kindness to the world that you can see glimmers of in them and the settlement you build. Every time you progress the story, your settlement, Vagrant's Rest, grows more and more civilized. It's a peaceful place, a safe haven in the middle of a dark world, that is building up around you.

The Mechanics:

Ashen is a souls-like that gets billed as "souls-lite" but it's really not. It's pretty difficult. You have the giant bosses of Souls fame but you also have plenty of the 'actually the humanoid sized enemies are sometimes the hardest' kind of enemies in the overworld and as dungeon bosses.

The combat is hard and the companion AI is there because you really do need a companion.

But Ashen is built around having a companion not just in a "combat is hard and you'll need to get revived" kind of way... It has built the whole game around companions.

Companions can help you climb, open doors, solve puzzles, hold lanterns... And Ashen is actually a really great puzzle game. But more on that in a moment.

I really love the passive companion Co-Op. Your AI companion can get taken over at any time by another player, kind of like Journey. The only downside is...they have to be at exactly the same point in the story as you. Unfortunately this means that in order to play Co-Op with a friend you basically have to start a new campaign from scratch.

On the puzzles:

The platforming in Ashen is really, really good IMO. And there's a really unique thing they added that I've never seen in another game: puzzle-platforming-teleporting.

By throwing a spear and accurately hitting a target (actually easier than it sounds), you can long-range teleport. The physics of the game is really satisfying for throwing spears, making it a fun puzzle to try and hit the teleport statues from very, very, very far away or very extreme angles. It feels so satisfying to break the puzzle that way, and gain access to loot or hidden areas.

There's some big downsides to Ashen that I have to caution anyone about, though.

Souls are really minimal--it takes a lot of grinding to get money. You don't really level up your character, you level up your equipment and your talismans. So sometimes it can be a little frustrating to feel like you can't move on to the next area because it's too difficult, but you need to level up your damage and armor soooo much.

And the companion AI can only go so far. I have been stuck on the Palace of Lathyrius boss for literal, actual years because my AI companion immediately steps on the burning floor and dies, and I just can't solo the boss. I'm desperate for someone to play a whole campaign with me so I can just finish the game because I'm so intrigued by it!

Anyway it's often on sale for very cheap, which is a shame because I think it's a hidden gem of the action-adventure-puzzle-souls genres. It has a really well-defined scope and genre and vision and I think it's a work of art.

[danydarkly]

Hi! I just wanted to say, thank you so much for making the Red & Wolf comic. I just found it by accident and read through the whole thing in one night, I am seriously loving it so far. I'm autistic and I've always had a strong interest in wolves, specifically Little Red Riding Hood versions of wolves, and always wanted to read a story about the wolf having a sort of redemption or it being more than just "big bad wolf is evil and wants to eat the girl". There's hardly any content for me to dive into in regards of even just the fairytale itself, most stories are very gruesome, the short films online are incredibly dark and uncomfortable since those are the adaptations of the original grimm telling, or all of the red riding hood movies are horror films instead of fairytale adaptations. Or some sort of like... idk love triangle thing where it's all modernized or something for televesion where Red is wearing jeans and the Wolf isn't even a real wolf? But yours... this is like finding gold. I was hooked immediately and I couldn't stop reading.

Your story of Scarlett and Leikos... it's just so gorgeous, your art work has such clean lines and the way you draw eyes and hands especially is so beautiful. The design for Leikos' hair is my favorite!! And the panel you made where Scarlett is lying down on the grass/tree stump and she's blushing while Leikos is talking with her, oh my gosh, that's my favorite panel out of every chapter so far. Just... the vulnerability of these two growing closer, like... augh clutching my heart when Leikos is like "no don't cross the path you're gonna get hurt :(" and she's like "but I want to dance with you :)" like!!! she trusts him and he refuses to hurt her even when instincts kick in!! HIS BACKSTORY? BRO? I'M IN SHAMBLES?? Ugh your art is so GOOD and this STORY is so GOOD and I am just so thankful to be able to dive into a Wolf/Red story that has action, romance, suspense, all the good stuff. It's so perfect.

Thank you for working so so hard to make this comic. I'm an artist as well and I could never have the patience to upload one comic page, let alone several. Laying out panels is difficult and time consuming and not to mention you're shading and coloring the entire thing. Your poses are always fluid, never stiff, you have good perspective and composition, most ppl who make comics can easily just draw one single pose and one facial expression for 20 panels, but you've always had the expressions and body language shift and change and the camera view as well... and you gotta draw all those damn trees omfg. The flower meadow in the first chapter must have taken forever to draw too! Your hard work really shows in your art and I am so happy to have stumbled upon your comic. If you make any more merch for Red & Wolf on your Etsy, whether it's prints or charms or stickers or really anything, I would be more than willing to throw some money your way. Or if you open commissions as well someday, ahh, I love your stuff so much I would totally pay you to doodle Leikos hehe. Please have a wonderful day and take care! <3

AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaa

What a lovely message! Thank you so much, Anon! I really needed to read this today <3 I'm truly at a loss for words, like you basically complimented me on everything I'm mad-insecure about?? It's really nice, like maybe I really am too hard on myself?? Whenever I look back on my old panels (which I've been doing a lot lately since reformatting Red & Wolf for print), I always feel like I put way too much effort and kind of only see what I did wrong, but if you and others recognize the effort and like what I did - then maybe it wasn't a waste of time after all. That makes me feel way better about it, thank you :' ) Also, your favorite panel is one of my favorite panels too, where I felt "dang, I kind of nailed it here" - which is SUPER rare for me, haha. I should read this lovely message whenever the impostor syndrome kicks in, it really lifted my spirits <3

[amrv-5]

5, 6, 29!

HELLO PRAX AND GOOD AFTERNOON!!!! Thank you for contributing to my Procrastination Effort o7

5. What’s a fic idea you’ve had that you will never write?

Generally I never say never. However when I was initially fucking around with the idea of Somewhere to Get To, I had considered it starting in the far future. Like, 2010s, and it would have started with a little vignette about one (or several) of Hawkeye's patients just living life (was trying to play abstractly with the question that comes up over and over again in S2G2 of, like, was it worth it for Hawkeye to have been there? What did the world gain from it? Etc.) Reveal that Hawkeye in fact is recently dead, and then a slow fall back into the primary plot with our young(er) Hawkeye. But this 1. felt weird 2. didn't work and 3. made me sad, so I chopped it. It's still around in one of my docs I think but it sucked.

6. Are there any fics from others you reread all the time?

Fff. ouughhh. Okay this is gonna be LONG and cover many fandoms sorry. Okay. So:

In general,

Designations Congruent with Things by CWR is something I reread every few years in order to have my brain exploded about how I'm never going to write something that good and also to catch feelings about wanting to be known and loved even when you don't like yourself, and to cry a little about humanity's drive for knowledge, etc.

Also Pacific Rim, irisbleufic's "Anthology" series. Haven't reread it in a while because it makes me like believe in love and the good of humanity and stuff. 'S brilliant. The end scene with Newt and Boston and the sky....... sticks with me still 5 yrs later. Awesome.

Also Welcome, Wanderer from singlecrow (TNG) which makes me crazy and is a great great great playful interesting multi-textual piece, dense and fun and fascinating and fae and good. It rules.

And the entire Controlled Burn series by jimmymcgools in Better Call Saul, of all places (some of the most gorgeous lyrical prose I've ever seen frfr).

[voice of a guy digging through his bookmarks and downloads] I can't believe I forgot "There Are No Gays in Football" by Malu_3, Merlin fandom. Changed me. The wrangling of fame and identity...

Speaking of Merlin, Pianos are made for Falling by fishwrites. Nodame Cantabile AU, kind of. Blew my mind as a teenager and I still love it. Makes me cry.

ANYWAY in MASH, Maple Syrup by Granspn when I can emotionally handle little Hawk, and "these are the days of miracle and wonder" also by singlecrow (Radar in the field, plus also Hawkeye's century of the atom speech are 2 indelible MASH ficdom images to me). Homecoming by yaroantheo also murks me every time.... the wedding scene....... I'm sure there's others but these are the ones coming immediately to mind.

29. Share a bit from a fic you’ll never post OR from a scene that was cut from an already posted fic.

Fuck. I forgot I was working on a modern AU Beejhawk just to prove to myself that I thought it was possible to do while maintaining the spirit of the show. I don't think I'll ever finish it. A chunk of that here:

Hawkeye woke him by pelting him with a ballpoint pen. 

“Hnf,” BJ said, opening his eyes, disoriented: he saw only a span of featureless beige tile. His proprioception lagged, struggling to inform him where and how he was positioned in space. He felt briefly as though he was floating, released from the perpetual falling of earthly gravity, and then groaned as direction reasserted itself. He was face-down on a floor somewhere for some reason.

Another pen contacted his face and he flinched. “Stop.” 

“You’re an hour-fifteen late,” Hawkeye informed him from somewhere far above. 

BJ’s body jolted into action without consulting his brain. He slammed his head against the underside of a table. Memory was coming back to him in pieces—a late case, scrubbing out, vision greying and fuzzing at the edges, sitting down in the mess, deciding to have a cup of coffee with Hawkeye who was only halfway through his own shift. He’d fallen asleep, evidently, or lost consciousness and then fallen asleep, but how had he ended up underneath the table?

“Which case?” BJ asked, nauseated with exhaustion, uncertain what day of the week it was, only tentatively sure of the month. Fabric shifted over his torso as he hauled himself out from under the table. Somebody had draped a lab coat over him as he slept. 

“Hunnicutt v. Hunnicutt,” Hawkeye said, voice calm and unemotive, which was a kindness. 

“Oh, fuck,” BJ said, closing his eyes, dread walloping him. He debated the merits of lying back down and sleeping until his next shift began or he died of a widowmaker—not that he’d be leaving anybody widowed once Peg’s lawyer was through with him.

“Hand me those pens, will you?” Hawkeye asked, like he hadn’t just used them as artillery. 

[bloodpen-to-paper]

Review Blurbs: The Owl House Finale!

This is quite late but here it is, my assortment of random thoughts and screenshots from the finale.

-For one, the music was phenomenal; I feel like the crew really leaned into the fantasy elements for the soundtrack and it worked very well!

-The animation was gorgeous as usual, especially for the final battle (I adored everyone's outfits this episode). The finale went all out with the set and character designs so there is no shortage of stuff to draw once I get into sketching!

-Speaking of the final battle, you could tell they wanted something action packed but not repetitive to other final fight scenes. Luz wasn't just punching the hell out of Belos, she was aiming to separate him from the heart so he'd be powerless, while Eda helped her stronghold her way to him as King and Raine kept up defenses. Its an interesting juxtaposition from how Luz imagined her "epic fight scenes" from the very first episode of the show, where she's firing a bazooka at a giant monster with explosions going off and all the works; even though this final fight scene was flashy, the ultimate goal was to destabilize Belos into a weaker form so he couldn't cause any more harm, and I feel like that in itself show's Luz's growth as a person with a more grounded head on her shoulders.

-Very surprised that the show actually killed off Belos. Like, no imprisonment, no open-ended interpretation; they legit watched him corrode from acid rain and then curb stomped him to death. That's one helluva message to send in a kid's show (which I elaborated on in this post), and its very bold of the crew considering how strongly media tends to push for pacifism in children's content. Networks don't want kids thinking death is justified for bad people until they're at least old enough to understand the severity of taking a life, and I honestly can understand where they're coming from. However, that scene definitely did work very well when it comes to Luz's character (my thoughts are on the linked post) which is why I understand the decision to do it for the sake of storytelling. So yeah, very bold move that I think could've been executed better, but can't say I'm not very impressed.

-Ok, on to screenies!

I am unhealthily obsessed with this look. Of course Mr./Ms. "but he does get his good looks from me" Titan would make sure Luz was dripped out in the most stylish final form possible lmao. I also like how her form of ultimate power includes all the magic glyphs being used at once, something I'm sure only the Titans could handle (well, the Titans + one funky little human).

Funny frames for your serotonin (featuring King going into shock)

We finally met the Titan! (Dilf detected) Seriously his vibe was great, he really is a laid back dad giving Luz uncle advice. Also loved how he is canonically nonbinary (he mentioned he was viewed as a king and a queen and that being called "dad" was not inherent to him but was acceptable). It was very poetic how we meet him through Luz and see him finally leave as a spirit; we want him to come back but we've known he was dead, and nothing could change that. At the very least, he got a final send off, and one last word in to his son through Luz. Gonna miss you Titan papa <;3 (Obligatory he looks and acts like Sans Undertale fuck you)

Eda's chaotic smirk makes me weak in the knees. Dear god. Anyway

Of course Hooty makes his return in the most extra way possible, that's why he's my favorite lmao

Amity being disgusted by Hooty's existence, some things never change <3

Alador finally got that hug! I remember people commenting on how important it was that when Amity was open to forgiving Alador for his parenting, he went for a hug and she rejected it, saying that they'd work on it. She set boundaries and opened up to her father when she was ready to, when she felt she could trust him again, which makes this hug all the more rewarding.

Eda's a Headmaster! Very fitting for her that her whole journey since the start of the show was learning to become a mentor, and now she's the principle of her own school "The University of Wild Magic". Also love the new look (the pirate hook is so extra, and so very Eda).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That's about it! There were many parts of the finale that I feel others have gone over already so I'll leave that up to them. Thanks for reading and have a good one. Goodbye The Owl House, until next time!

[thenamesblurrito]

To bring some positivity to TFOne coming out, what stuff did you like about the trailer? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

oh man im still digesting it a lil bit but whoof lets go-

ECOLOGY

WE HAVE ROBOT ANIMALS!!! FLORA AND FAUNA!! WE SEE MORE THAN JUST CITIES WE SEE LANDSCAPES AND GEOGRAPHIC FEATURES AND A BLEND OF CIVILIZATION AND WILD SPACES AND A PROPER ALIEN PLANET!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ANIMALS!!!!!

like don't get me wrong the cities themselves rock and are gorgeous, but we only ever see like... just a bunch of grey metal and blocky greebled buildings and rust. Cyberverse was probably my favorite properly alien planet as a whole instead of just a really big sci fi city named Cybertron and i'm so excited to see what they do with it in One, ESPECIALLY with how it seems to be heavily technoorganic and hooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Quintessonsssssssssssss eeeheheheheh give me the SQUIDS

actually for that matter the aesthetics?? this is such a fascinating artistic direction that i'm really appreciating like the vaporwave sunsets, the fractal moving mountains and aurora horizon, those busy neon city scenes and the upside down underground towers and... whoof it's all so incredible?? and it manages to be visually stunning WITHOUT just being a bunch of, yknow, greebled nonsense. it looks designed, it looks like it has Culture and Life and Intent behind it instead of being a mess of vaguely robotic detail slapped on. i keep wondering what the significance of the tower on the poster will be. the train things are fascinating. the little hints and implications of society and oh how interesting that could be expanded on. the mecha themselves too are like, halfway in between uncanny valley and stylized tin soldier toys for me in a way that took a bit of getting used to but i'm appreciating more and more how it's visibly and joyfully animated instead of trying (and failing) to be 'live action' like the Lion King

the SCALE. THE SCALE!!!! DO YOU KNOW HOW RARE IT IS WE GET SO MANY NAMED KNOWN CHARACTERS PACKED INTO SCENES LIKE THIS. tf canons usually have core casts of characters both for storytelling and budget reasons and yet here we've got so many shown off in just the trailer, it makes it feel like a real populated planet instead of a handful of robots and some set dressing like Aligned feels like to me.

i've got some insane questions like why does D-16 already have a Decepticon brand on him??? why is Alpha Trion alone and sad and did he rip those tcogs out of the corpses of other primes to give to them and why is he some kinda mossy gorgonopsid unicorn?? why is Sentinel getting tentacled and will we see him be ripped limb from limb (positive)?? what are Vehicons here and how do they differ from regular bots and what is their purpose???

the only real issue i have is Hasbro being predictable and shoving Bee in when someone else would really better fit this movie as he's typically not meant to be in this time period/role but eh. disappointed but not surprised and willing to let go and laugh at him being comic relief anyway. there's literally not enough information on anything else for me to say if i don't like it or not yet bc i have no idea how they're gonna execute it, but what is there has me eager and hopeful it'll be good

i guess the biggest thing is. it looks fun. it looks FUN!!! the world looks fun, the characters look like they're having fun, it just seems like a movie that wants me to ENJOY it!! i'm ready for a fun movie in a franchise i love!!

[itsbenedict]

I play video games a bunch, and you can go ahead and report that incredible never-before-seen scoop to the news. Here's some ones I played this year!

Roguebook

This here is a Slay the Spire clone, no two ways about it. It's a good one, though, with gorgeous visuals. It's also got a fancy schmancy overworld system, where instead of picking paths down a graph, you have to use inks and paintbrushes to reveal the path to the boss by painting in a big hex grid with terrain. Lot of interesting choices to make, mechanically, and a replayability mechanic (Epilogues) that you can be done with pretty quick without sucking up your time for months.

(Story-wise, there's basically nothing going on. You get to the end the first time, it goes "oh, hm, it looks like beating the final boss didn't solve our problem of being stuck in this magic book! better go back to the start and do it over a bunch of times on harder difficulties!" and then you do all those harder difficulties... then it does not have an ending. At all. There literally isn't anything but the setup. Wow.)

Elden Ring

The big one! Ate up 120 hours of my life over the course of like a month and a half. I'd never played a Souls game before, wanted to see what the hype was, and... oh! The hype was about them being very fun! Really comes down to the very tightly-designed combat, I think- but I also wasn't expecting the level of creativity in the world and monster design. There's some... really wild shit in this game! I was just expecting generic swords and sorcery, not, like... volcano snake cult, upside-down crystal library, jar guys, flesh-fungus hellscape, Big Robot Cat... it builds a surprisingly unique world, with a lot of attention to detail.

also i managed to beat malenia (blade of miquella, as she reminded me very very many times) so i'm going to have to be awarded a large number of Gamer Points

AI: The Somnium Files

Jesus entire christ, this game. It's, uh. Uchikoshi unleashed, is what it is. The premise is- you're a detective investigating a murder using a special machine that lets you dive into suspects' dreams to try and find clues to the truth, and... it, uh, does a lot with its premise! It's thoroughly bonkers, and manages some pretty tasty twists. Very fun character designs and dialogue writing, and a well-structured mystery that manages to tie everything together in a really satisfying way.

However. There is gameplay.

The gameplay (when you're not doing the classic detective game stuff of searching crime scenes and interrogating people) is, in a word, bad. It's... well, there's the action sequences, which are... very entertaining, and exquisitely silly, but they're pretty much just quick-time events and they'll game over you given half a chance, which everyone already knows isn't fun. But the real fly in the ointment is the main mechanic of the game, Psyncing- the thing where you go into dreams to find clues.

Psyncing is two different mechanics- both of which are individually fun, but which trade off against each other and neutralize any fun to be had with either of them.

Psyncing is an oddball point-and-click adventure game segment where you investigate surreal dreamscapes, interact with bizarre setpieces, and fuck around with dream logic to attempt to solve environmental puzzles.

Psyncing is a time-management puzzle where you need to correctly sequence the time multipliers on your moves in order to reach an optimal solution before time runs out.

Because you're on the clock, you can't take your time and have fun doing wacky stuff to the environment and enjoying the flavor dialogue. Because the puzzles are all nonsense dream logic that boil down to random guessing 80% of the time, you can't sequence optimal moves unless you know the puzzle solutions in advance. The two halves of this equation have complete anti-synergy with each other, and made me dread every time another Psync came up. (Plus, a lot of the dreams are just really uncreative and tedious, like the crate-pushing puzzle at the docks or the aimless wandering through the dark woods.)

That said, the madcap fun and competent mystery writing are well worth slogging through the psyncs for, so I still recommend it. (At time of writing, it's 80% off on Steam!)

The Sekimeiya: Spun Glass

I'll confess, I've barely started this one- sure, I've sunk eleven hours into it, but I'm still on chapter one, and... this is absolutely the densest Zero Escape-ass mindfuck mystery game I've ever played. Some people are trapped in a mysterious facility, Weird Time Shit is happening (maybe??), impossible events are occurring one after another- and you've got to solve it, and they give you tools to do that in detail. The game gives you not just a log feature, but a log feature with a search function and a notes section complete with text editor, among other organizational tools to keep track of what the fuck is happening. And you'll need it, too- everything happens so much. I have no idea if it all comes together properly, but it's clearly putting in the effort.

(Character writing seems a little weak so far, with the exception of Sai who is trying so hard, bless his heart. Fans of Cordyceps will probably recognize Arc here.)

The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe

Remember The Stanley Parable? Comedy walking sim about the nature of interactive narrative, where you the player play merry hell with the intentions of the narrator as he desperately tries to get you back on track? Very fun game.

This is the modern updated HD rerelease! A genre of game I normally don't go in for, except that this is actually a trick, and it's actually a full sequel wearing the skin of its predecessor as a disguise. (And- well, the original game is in there, in its entirety, so it does pull double duty.) Its status as a sequel/rerelease is mined for every ounce of comedy it can muster, which is a lot. One of the funniest games I've ever played, next to maybe Portal.

Fate Stay/Night

It took some serious effort for me to even get a hold of this thing- they don't make it easy to purchase legitimately. It was a whole adventure of looking up patches and visiting shady torrent sites and translating japanese websites- @yumantimatter was a huge help.

Fate is this huge influential thing that I'd been on the outside of for a while, and I didn't know what to expect- hearing out-of-context stuff about Grand Order, the gacha game, led me to expect just, standard waifu stuff with a magic system that existed to justify Doing Whatever, but... I was really pleasantly surprised with how deep and well-written the original actually is! Like, the magic system is a little loosey-goosey in places, but they do a great job circumscribing what's possible, defining the limits, and foreshadowing the elements that are relevant to the story. And it really does manage to be the kind of story that's really about figuring things out and dealing with a social puzzle, not just big magic shonen battles. It gets shockingly complex and compelling, for...

...uh, for- it's, um, an eroge, it turns out. Like, there's sex scenes. They're not good. The version I played had a "censor H content" option, which- here's the thing about that: it doesn't just like, blur things out, it replaces them entirely, with new content that is way better and more relevant to the story and even more visually interesting, which, uh, speaks to the quality of the pornography. I recommend turning that option on.

Not that there isn't sexual content without that enabled- like, it still has dating sim elements, and Shirou's romantic relationships with the various girls are plot-important, and- it's surprisingly mature and compelling, actually. Normally I groan at that kind of thing, but was invested in the drama here! There's some emotionally fraught dynamics going on! I was really rooting for these kids 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚊𝚍𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚜, 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝟷𝟾, 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚞𝚜, 𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚘𝚗𝚎, 𝚜𝚑𝚞𝚝 𝚞𝚙.

anyway taiga bestgirl. (unless taiga doesn't count in which case rin bestgirl.)

Grounded

Iiiiiit's a survival crafting game! You probably know how those go. Big open world, you gotta collect resources and build a base to survive, stay topped off on food and water and healing and stuff. Doesn't do anything too special mechanically, but...

...but it's also Honey I Shrunk The Kids, the game. It all takes place in this one backyard, which is richly detailed and full of cool setpieces and dangerous new threats. The world's not procedurally generated or anything- it's designed, and it's packed with stuff- most of which will kill you. The survival crafting aspects are kind of eh, but just being in this world is incredibly fun and unique. Would love to get a group together to play the multiplayer sometime.

Pokemon Violet

Such mixed feelings on this. Like... it was so obviously rushed to release, the crunch must've been awful, it could've been a way better game if they'd had time to fix the bugs and add texture to the world... but the new things it's doing are good ideas and a lot of it really works!

Like- just for starters, the plot. Pokemon has never had a good plot! It's had, at best, an unobtrusive plot, and at worst just the most tedious Bad Guy Team Want Destroy World With Legendary Pokemon cookie-cutter nothing plot. But this time, it's good! They did a good job! They hired writers! The Team Star subplot is both funny and a well-executed tearjerker, the main League journey is supported by a really fun rival character, and the big box art legendary plot plot is- holy shit! They tried some things! Most of them even worked! I cried a couple times! The final mission thing, when you learn what the deal is with Miraidon and Professor Turo- they took some serious risks there! It's good enough I can't even say more because I don't want to spoil it!

But also, there's a bunch of good quality-of-life stuff. The use of Miraidon and movement upgrades makes getting around the world feel good, and the titan fights feel rewarding. Having PC boxes available at all times saves a ton of hassle, as does putting pokemon centers outside so you don't have to sit through a loading zone. Allowing you to freely recall old moves at no cost lets you try out riskier, more gimmicky strategies than you'd ordinarily go for. On-field pokemon and opt-in trainer battles let you set your own pace. They put some real thought into what they were doing!

Buuuuuuut it's clear it needed more time in the oven. Multiple times I ran into a "random encounter" which was just me running into a pokemon in the overworld before its texture had loaded in, is how bad the pop-in is. The world is so empty and ugly, with N64-tier airbrushed-on textures, and with only consumable items as rewards for exploration. It's a total waste of an open-world movement paradigm. Dexit is back, and this time they couldn't even keep all the stuff they already modeled and animated in SwSh somehow. It's really embarrassing, and I really wish I had the version of this game that'd had an extra year in development.

Forget the Golden Witch and Empire of the Golden Witch

Two Umineko fangames by DWaM. Forget is a purple-truth logic gameboard with a very tasty answer-submission mechanic and a spooky metaplot, and Empire is a Her Story-style look-up-terms-in-a-database-'em-up that turns you into a total crazy person screaming about lizard people and the JFK assassination.

Both assume you've played through Umineko no Naku Koro ni, which I've recced before, and- if you've played Umineko, then I'm pretty sure you want more Umineko, and this is some really good more Umineko.

Peglin

It's another roguelike deckbuilder Slay the Spire clone, but this time instead of a new map mechanic, you've got pachinko instead of cards. It's hard to explain exactly how it works (you deal damage to enemies by racking up points on the pinboard, but there's a ton of mechanics that make it more complicated), but despite being in early access and graphically pretty ugly, it's pretty fun!

...And also insanely frustrating, because it turns out that pachinko is an insanely frustrating game. Random chaos will save you and it will kill you, and you'll be screaming at your computer to HIT THAT ONE, THE ONLY ONE YOU NEED TO HIT, THE THING YOU'VE DODGED FIVE TIMES IN A ROW WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU I'M LITERALLY DYING RIGHT NOW. You gotta have the temperament for it.