#this is actually a really cool war action series??? the fuck???

[freyadragonlord]

I will freely admit it when I am wrong.

Reading the manhwa, I didn't think Lout of the Count's Family would actually ever get to the war part Cale has been talking about since the beginning.

And I sure as hell didn't predict the battles would be this brutal and badass. Holy shit.

[zutarawasrobbed]

ALTA Live Action Season 1 Initial Thoughts (Spoilers)

I just finished the season, and holy shit!

Quick things that need to be addressed/debunked:

“Sokka is no longer sexist”

I dont know what people were talking about when they talked about Sokka’s “sexism” being removed. It’s still there! But not in the overly exaggerated comical way it was in the original.

In fact, it’s more in line with ancient practices of indigenous tribes where men are seen as protectors and providers while women are expected to nurture. It’s not the same “boys are better than girls” narrative in the original.

Additionally, Suki still beats the fuck out of Sokka and humbled him really quick. They’re super cute by the way. And I love Suki’s “I like my men a little stupid” vibe. She’s great.

“Aang doesn’t run away like the original!”

That is not true. He does run away, but not because he’s trying to get away from the temple but instead to get some air because he feels overwhelmed. He’s more like taking a quick break and planning to come back. It’s not exactly the same, but almost. It also is done in a way where his guilt feels more justified.

“Katara doesn’t talk about her mom anymore like the original”

This is true… BECAUSE THEY SHOW INSTEAD OF TELL. I was honestly not prepared to see the death Kya in such graphic detail and how Katara was in the room hiding when it happened. It’s honestly really sad and more heartbreaking.

Plot:

The timeline seems to be ambiguous compared to the original series where it was “end of current year.” In fact, they repeat “three years” a few times, which makes me think if the series get greenlit for more seasons, it would be over a three year period.

Jet is still villainized but given more nuance and not a simple "good v bad" way like the original.

Zuko’s story about how he got his scar has additional lore that makes him come across as even more selfless and compassionate. The additional context of the platoon he advocated for in the war meeting, becoming his current crew, really added to the story.

Eradicated the nepotism baby plot point with Pakku only training Katara when he finds out he used to date her grandma. Instead, Katara proves herself and ends up teaching the other male fighters the techniques she learned from watching other benders use their elements and mimics them.

This season doesn’t have Aang learning any waterbending, but rather facing his trauma and the consequences of his actions. He get roasted by all his past lives. Which is an interesting choice, but I think it works well in how they executed it.

This season seems to actually be Katara focused and her journey of learning waterbending which I honestly loved because it really hits home the element of “water” being the story of an untrained waterbender learning her element. But, I do think Aang could’ve learned a little bending. It felt a little off.

Katara ends up advocating for all waterbending women and ends up leading an army of both men and women during the siege. She’s really bad ass and is given the title of master without being formally trained by Pakku. She made herself a master.

I think the timeline is a little wonky because of how much they had to fit in with the limited episodes they had.

Kuruk is given respect! I loved that.

June actually seems into Iroh which I thought was a funny but cool way to flip the script from the original.

The relationship between Zuko and Iroh is really beautifully executed. I love the depth they added with flashback scenes and their bond prior to the Agni Kai. It also wasn’t as frustrating watching Iroh and Zuko’s dynamic because Iroh communicated with Zuko in a way he could understand with straight answers rather than seeming to actively sabotage him with cryptic puns and shenanigans like the original.

They changed the love triangle with Yue Hahn and Sokka to be very healthy. They gave Yue autonomy and a choice in her relationship- which- again- is much more in line with indigenous cultures. Also, Hahn and Sokka’s relationship is really supportive and full of respect and no ill will.

They way they handled grief and the realities of war with the loss of life was very well done and really drove home the point that this is a war and these are child soldiers.

There’s a lot more but these are my initial thoughts. Will probably post more later.

Shipping:

Kataang is all but removed. Literally DOA. There is no indication of a crust on either side. It’s painted like a sibling relationship, which is like the original, but this time everyone seems to be on the same page. But, I swear the writers had to have read ZK fics because damn.

They canonized a popular Zutara theory/hc about the cave of two lovers and how the crystals would light up once it went completely dark instead of a “kiss” activating the crystal glow.

Speaking of the Cave of two lovers. They keep the Oma and Shu story with red and blue coloring. Making it come across more as foreshadowing than a direct link to the present tunnel story.

Sokka is put in Aang’s place with Katara in the tunnels and turned it into a story about the love of family and sibling bonds. Aang wasn’t even present.

Zuko and Katara share a meaningful look when they first see each other and continue to have a Katara centric scene followed by a Zuko centric scene and vice versa.

The scarf scene. I will not be elaborating further. If you know, you know.

Zuko and Katara fight scene in the North is epic. He still taunts her with almost the exact same dialogue but it’s so sassy- I love the banter.

Suki and Sokka were really cute and the actors had great chemistry. I think Yue and Sokka was really rushed and didn’t really feel anything about them, honestly. But I attribute that to lack of episodes to develop all that plot.

[chaifootsteps]

tbh one thing i liked about the instas that i dont think the series will bring back is him wearing casual clothes outside of work. the concept of a gay male sinner from the 1940s embracing modern day fashion from the current era because of how cute it is without anyone caring because its hell, (with the implication he mightve been doing this for decades beforehand before he came to the hotel,) is just really cool concept to me :3 it gave him a fashion identity outside of his sex work (something the show really doesnt do at all,) and it let him explore a more cutesty side to his character, but in a really natural way! i also just liked it because most of the sinners we saw tended to stick to dressing from their era, which made angel stand out more.

but this isnt present at all in the series, and even weirder, the one time he has a chance to put on pajamas in episode 2 like the girls have, where hes alone in his room with fat nuggets, he doesnt. maybe we wouldve had time for that if there wasn't a joke dedicated to showing how tone deaf and christian charlies morals are for the bisexual daughter of lucifer morningstar.

all the clothes he wears, there's more of a focus of his outfits from posion rather then anywhere else. i hardly see as much fanart of that stupid ugly ripped finale suit, as much as i see fanart of the latex suit angel wears while singing about being unable to help swallowing poison. either that, or the outfit he wears while dancing with val. love the fluffy spider butt, but cmon. we can get an angel dust design thats more spider in a natural way, but we can't see him wear casual clothes when he isnt working? or even see him in a full suit? (i really miss the purple suit from the instas, no stupid pink stripes, full suit for both arms, and his boobs were out w his tie instead of being hidden away like they are in the finale, which was perfect for his character </3)

him wearing clothes separate to his identity as a pornstar also helped him reclaim some of his freedom under his contract, obviously being unable to choose what val makes him wear on set. that's what angel dusts actions reflected in the instas and the comics too. (the "work shit" box comes to mind, i hate that borderline on screen rape is fine for an amazon funded show, but a box of dildos is too much,) even the addict mv shows this, with angel wearing just a pink sweater and some purple shorts when laying with cherri. or even just the casual, but cute outfit he wears when he blows up that club with her.

its just one of the few things that made him feel human, especially when fashion is bound to change in so many ways when youve been in hell for 77 years like he has. this part of his character being missing (along with the implication he even has a life outside of his work in the series; pilot ad was coping with work with hard drugs, being an teasing asshole as a defensive mechanism, getting into turf wars and murdering mafia goons. but still dresses cute and gets to be cute w his friends in his own time! series ad is coping by self destructing and letting people drug and fuck him so he'll be "broken" but then gets better by going out once after being waterboarded at work, only to not relax and be a mom to a joke character at a club called fucking consent,) is one of the reasons im still bitter about the instas being nuked. but not the only reason.

viv will always takes the credit for them anyway, no matter if she feels they do or not, because her fanbase isn't smart enough to realize someone else wrote these stories they still love. even if theyll be the first one to remind you they arent canon, because the creator said they arent. but my honest to god confession is that sometimes the instagrams feel more like the canon hazbin hotel to me, even months after s1 dropped, simply due to the nuance and detail it has compared to the actual series. it wasnt perfect, but you could tell there was passion there- passion that now, only the leads are allowed to put in hazbin so their favorite character can get more screentime and attention.

Thank you, Anon, for this absolutely beautiful writeup. It was true, seeing the difference between the outfits Val forced him into versus the outfits he chose to wear on his own time was one of the most interesting aspects of Instagram Angel Dust. It was a more safe-for-work extension of the "work shit" dildoes that didn't make it to Amazon Prime (while his graphic on-screen gang rape did) and it was powerful.

Of course, there are practical logistical reasons why cartoon characters wear the same outfit, but if only one character in HH was going to have a big wardrobe, it absolutely should have been Angel. But of course it wasn't, because as far as Viv and Raph were concerned, the only Angel outfits that mattered were the ones that fed into their shared fetish.

[david-talks-sw]

When 'Star Wars' dilutes the impact of a "Kurosawa samurai standoff"...

It's no secret that one of the major inspirations for Star Wars was Akira Kurosawa movies. The Hidden Fortress influenced the basic structure of the first film, was a basis for Lucas' character archetypes and his use of narrative POVs.

But, really, all of Kurosawa's films were an influence on the making of Star Wars. Including the duels seen in his and other samurai films from the 60s.

Dunno if you've seen a kendo fight, but they're pretty similar.

The duelists size each other up, and there's a lot of mind games going on before the strike actually happens.

If you hold your sword this way, the other guy adjusts his stance.

You move your foot that way, the adversary responds accordingly.

Cinematically, this process allows you to play with a whole treasure trove of elements to build up the drama and suspense. We see this slow-yet-tense approach to dueling reflected all over the Original Trilogy. And we've seen it again in recent Disney-released content.

The perfect and first real example of this in Star Wars is the fight between Ben Kenobi and Maul, in Rebels.

The tension increases more...

... and more until the two fighters move, the music swells...

... and then it reaches its climax.

Beautifully executed.

Dave Filoni's done his homework, it shows, and while it's an awesome homage, narratively it also holds weight. There's a reason why this fight is so quick:

This time, Obi-Wan isn't fighting to avenge the death of his master, he's not fighting to save his own life... he's fighting to protect Luke's. And that means there's no time to fuck about. He'll end the conflict swiftly and decisively, he won't let it come to a prolonged acrobatic fight. So he lures Maul in by making him think he's taking Qui-Gon's form, and strikes true when Maul, increasingly consumed by his own rage to the point of blindness, falls for it.

Again: a wonderful fight and an excellent homage.

Then we get to Luke's stand-off with Kylo on Crait, in The Last Jedi.

An interesting take on the trope, also with meaningful narrative impact. As Rian Johnson writes in the TLJ screenplay:

"This is not like a saber fight. This like an old-fashioned samurai duel."

Here too, the tension gets built up...

... and every time we're close to getting that climax, Luke dodges.

It leaves a feeling of dissatisfaction, which is exactly what Kylo is feeling as he boils with rage.

Suddenly, we do get the climax...

... and a twist. Luke was never actually there. Boom. Those inserts during the build-up phase? If you look at them again they're clues (Luke doesn't leave a mark on the ground, salt doesn't land on his clothes, etc). Luke wasn't engaging because he wasn't actually there, he was buying time for the Resistance to escape.

Okay. Cool.

Next time we see a "Kurosawa" duel... it's here, in The Mandalorian.

Again, a lot of posing, slow movements and patience, as is expected from the trope.

But we know nothing about the opponent Ahsoka is fighting other than her name is Morgan... so no emotional impact, there.

At some point, Ahsoka loses a lightsaber. The apprentice to the Chosen One is struggling against some rando.

We find out later on that Morgan is a Nightsister from Dathomir, and that's cool... but we already know how Jedi-trained folks fare against the Dathomiri.

If you ask me, it feels like manufactured stakes. But that's beside the point. In fact, y'know what? It's fine.

Though the impact of this duel isn't as great as its predecessors, the whole episode is filled with visual homages to Kurosawa's work.

It makes sense that the duel would be too. Also it's the first time we're seeing Ahsoka in live action, in a lightsaber duel, the hype is real. Let's cut 'em some slack.

So we come to the series Ahsoka... where almost every duel in the the show has the Kurosawa posturing and tip-toeing and... I dunno. I was bored?

Like, the primary purpose of this approach to duels is that it's meant to be suspenseful and intense... and now it's not.

Because we know Ahsoka is gonna beat the crap outta these droids...

... so why even bother faking some semblance of "what's her next move gonna be?" suspense? There's a hole right behind her, gee, I truly wonder.

Oh, you think putting her against an Inquisitor's gonna make us fear for her life, wonder if she's gonna get outta this situation unscathed?

She was wiping the floor with two of them at the same time, a decade prior. At 17, she was killing Inquisitors while disarmed.

Do you really expect your audience to fear for her life in a fight against Marrok?

So we get to the fight with Baylan, and the posturing and studying opponent's next move would be welcome here (two Order 66 survivors, knew Anakin, both well-trained former Jedi)...

... if we hadn't literally seen that same dynamic with Marrok who, again, we knew was gonna die.

No tension was built in either moment, the only thing it achieved was me pressing >> on my keyboard.

It's not captivating anymore, it's just slow and un-dynamic.

Bottom line:

Tributes to Kurosawa are nice. They're part of what makes Star Wars what it is. But c'mon, we get it already.

Lightsaber duelists don't need to tiptoe around each other and change poses at every fight. Because when the actually meaningful duels come up (like the one with Baylan), the impact will be lessened.

The "Kurosawa samurai duel" is artistic and interesting, but it should be used sparingly in order to maintain its charm and not get old and trope-y. AKA too much of a good thing becomes a bad thing.

[audsthoughts]

I get it, live actions aren’t for everybody and that’s totally fine. Not everyone’s gonna like it. But to shit on the stupidest things, or draw the dumbest conclusions??? Blocked. Y’all look dense as fuck. Views will be mixed as they always are, quit clogging up the tags with your negativity and find some chill 😂 The originals are still there to watch or read and enjoy…so go do that…it’s literally on the same app 👏🏻 I’m trying to be understanding I am, but some of y’all are so damn hung up you’re letting it completely destroy something you’d otherwise enjoy

Anyways!! Here’s some of the stuff I loved from the atla live action!

•cinematography, soundtrack, costumes - all on point

•getting to see the airbenders flourishing!!! Also the dude who played Gyatso?! Didn’t think I could love him more!! Even though it was painful as FUCKKKK getting to see the first invasion of the fire benders was an epic masterpiece

•speaking of, the first scene?? With the earthbender soldiers in the fire nation?? Iconic

•Omashu: unpop opinion I’m sure (bc y’all hate change but simultaneously hate when it’s carbon copy????????🤦🏼‍♀️) I loved how they incorporated like 3 or 4 episodes into one, and they flowed really well together. Jet is FOINEEE. Mechanist was perfect & his son is a freaking badass, amazing casting! Even though it was change, the secret tunnel scenes were still really freaking cool and the badgermoles were SICK AS FUCK. Also I love that Bumi was still cooky but not just randomly cooky? Like mans was run down from being king basically the entire war…which FAIR. And it made sense that he was peeved with Aang BECAUSE they were such good friends. Like the other avatars being mad at him? Yea that’s whatever. But for Bumi it was kinda personal. Also CABBAGE MAN WE MISSED YOU 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Oh! And the way they mentioned other episodes like they were lore when Zuko was trying to find Aang? That was an amazing way to tie back to the OG series

•I love how they incorporated the blue spirit, Koh, the fog of lost souls & parts of the ep where sokka and Katara got sick & Aang had to get them frogs - just reimagined it. Oh also Hei Bai! Yea, I loved that whole episode. Koh & Hei Bai were SCARY as fuck, it was awesome!!

•HAHN MY BELOVED…I ADORE YOU! Favorite character that they added/changed. Katara getting the other women involved in the battle?! Tui & La? The oasis?! 😭😭 stunning!!!! I also LOVEDDDDD Aangs avatar spirit that he turned into, literally perfect! And I loved the change that he gave himself over to the spirits wrath..fucking SICK. Also right before aang turned into the spirit/whatever that’s called, I was praying they’d do the line and thEY DIDDDD!!!

•Fire lord Ozai?? 😳😚 nothing needed to be said - perfection

•Kyoshi?! The Kyoshi warriors?! SUKI?! - speechless

•I like that they’re making more of a point to show how smart Sokka is! Mechanist calling him an engineer…I hope they play more into that! Ik they did a bit in the show with the subs (cartoon), but still

•”~hE rAn~” seriously my favorite line, I was DYINGGGG!!! The scenes with Zuko and Iroh, Zuko before the war meeting, the leaves from the vine being in the background at the funeral….ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME?! Zuko’s crew being the crew he SAVED?! And when they find out they all do the fire nation bows to their prINCE?! 😭😭😭😭

I’m being fair y’all - things I don’t love/hope they change:

•this one I’m 50/50 on - I don’t love that they tried to give Kuruk a reason for disappearing. They tried to pull shit from Korra to make him look meaningful & not useless as an avatar and it didn’t hit for me

•some of the wigs: obviously we won’t see Yue again, but I wanted her hair to be white. I didn’t love the wig but it wouldn’t have been as bad for me if it wasn’t so grey. Also do NOT love Azula, Tylee or Mai’s hair. Ik they look just like the show but whether that’s wigs or their actual hair (I’m clueless) it needs some serious improvement. Azula’s looks great down, I just don’t like how big the side pieces are that frame her face when it’s up.

•Katara, my love, I am PRAYING part of your development is also going to be her becoming more outspoken and badass, bc this season we saw the tiniest of glimpses of it, not a fan (unless it’s a part of her development…she did grow up in a tiny ass tribe so I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt)

• IK they’re going with a much more serious Aang, but pleaseeeee give us some actual moments of him being a kid. We saw that like twice 😭

•Dante is the PERFECT ZUKO, I will hear NO slander. However, I need him to be more of a dick. I’m hoping we’ll get that when he gets super desolate when they’re on the run & then we have Zuko alone & he has his inner battle. I need snarky dickhead Zuko, so you can truly see the big differences between what he’s fighting (himself vs. who his dad wants him to be)

Have fun kids!

In case I haven’t made it clear, idgaf if you disagree. I go so hard for these live actions because it’s fun! It’s just supposed to be fun and different and new. If you get so serious about it you’re ALWAYS going to be disappointed, there’s no way around it bc nothing is ever going to be as good as the original book, the original show, the original tale. OG atla is ALWAYS gonna be the winner, nothing will compare! So sit back ~relax~ and find some joy in the little things

[coldgoldlazarus]

Metroid Movie/TV Series Style Options, from most to least likely, because I have brainrot

- Live action with a more 'realistic' sci-fi aesthetic, probably leaning into the Alien influence. Could be really good, especially as a way to honor that inspiration, but could easily fall flat. Most likely to actually happen, but my least favored. If this is the route taken, I just hope it wouldn't go the way of the Halo Paramount show.

- CGI Animated with style and rendering pretty similar to the games, particularly Prime and Dread. The most simple and sensible option and so also very likely, but also a tad boring just because the games are already doing that.

- Live-action tokusatsu show. Not trying for 'realism' so much as coolness, and just really embracing Samus as a Kamen Rider. Maybe not my preferred option, but I would still love to see it just for the uniqueness of the vibes.

- The sort of in-between compromise between 'realism' and tokusatsu approaches to live-action (plus some very obvious CGI) that characterized the Prime and Fusion commercials. Not very likely at all, and would probably not land as well as just leaning fully into one direction or the other, but it would be a fun and unique approach to see, especially if it has the same sort of blend of genuine moody atmosphere and cheesy tryhard edginess as those commercials.

- 2D Animation, Genndy Tartakovsky directing. Would be super cool and stylized, and probably absolutely nail the atmosphere and indirect narrative style best, but I think outside of that one Clone Wars series, the man prefers to work on his own original projects.

- 2D Animation; just a straight-up Metroid Anime. Not impossible, but tbh probably even less likely just because while it's niche over here, my understanding is that Metroid is ironically not really successful at all in Japan itself. Nintendo has called on western developers for basically every game since Fusion for a reason, and so while they could probably call up Studio Trigger or someone to make it happen, I don't think there's too much inclination to take that route. (Especially if Zelda, the way more anime-plausible series, is being given to Hollywood as is.) But it would be pretty cool.

- That specific fucking excellent blended style that characterized the late 90s and early 00s in animated movies. A mix of like, CGI and Rotoscoping and 2D Animation, Mike Mignola influenced character designs, the works. Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Spirit, The Iron Giant, Titan AE, Lilo & Stitch, Treasure Planet, Sinbad, Road To El Dorado, Tarzan, Emperor's New Groove, Brother Bear, ect. A throwback to the Animation Golden Age IMO, basically. (In particular, Atlantis, Treasure Planet, and Lilo & Stitch having the most direct visual comparison/inspiration.) This would be an utterly perfect style for Bionicle, but work slightly less well for Metroid, admittedly, just given the vibe favors grandiosity more than eeriness, and I also don't expect it to happen at all in the first place. But I want it SO MUCH.

[silver-starss]

I have (spoilery) Thoughts on Ahsoka episode four

First of all how dare you

Second of all how dare you

THIRD OF ALL HOW DARE YOU

Bro why is Hera taking Jacen on this mission? I know she has a penchant for lugging around badass kids, but he's what, 10? A bit young imo.

Called it. Marrok was a red herring. Filoni knew that we'd all go nuts about the identity of yet another cool masked dude and let fan speculation run wild. Though him turning to dust does bring up new questions...

Sabine and Shin round two! I like that Sabine was actually able to use her armor/equipment this time and fight Shin on more even ground.

That moment when Marrok died and Shin seemed genuinely shook? And Sabine recognizing this and trying to take advantage of Shin's shookness? *chef's kiss*

Really good special effects in the shot with the ring coming out of the atmosphere! That was stunning!

Ahsoka and Baylan fight was genuinely cool, and the choreography felt much more Ahsoka-esque. Particularly that flip she did, which didn't look wired like the one from Ep 2.

So Clan Wren is dead. :/ Not surprising, I assumed that would be Sabine's character arc when the series was first announced (feeling survivor's guilt after the Purge), but what does Ahsoka have to do with that? Is it an emotional support thing?

Sabine joining up with the bad guys makes sense. Her #1 priority is finding Ezra and they're her only means of getting there. She's probably planning to gun down Thrawn in the process, though I imagine Baylan is fully aware of that and planning accordingly.

On the bright side, this gives us more opportunities to explore her rivalry with Shin...

Speaking of, love the dynamic with Shin being the feral one yet actually listening to/respecting her master. I imagine there's a story there and I'm very curious to hear it.

I don't know whether to be mad or impressed that Jacen said part of the Iconic Star Wars Line but not the full thing.

Beautiful transition between the ocean and the World Between Worlds. It looks absolutely gorgeous in live-action.

Why and how is Ahsoka in the World Between Worlds?

HAYDEN ALREADY???? I didn't think he'd show up until episode 5.

"SNIPS" (!!!!!)

Holy fucking shit I'm losing my mind.

He looks way better than he did in Kenobi, but the de-aging isn't 100% great. Still though.

Interesting that Ahsoka's first instinct was to call him "Master". Old habits (and attachments) die hard I guess. They're going to have some serious issues to sort out next ep though.

Lmao casuals must be super confused by this ending. Imagine that.

Goddamn that's a cliff-hanger. And on the strongest episode so far!

[byfulcrums]

okay. i just watched transformers one yesterday (couldn't do this b4 because it was like 3am) and want to give it a review so here we go!!

the overall rating i would give this movie is a 9/10. there are some flaws, some that are noticeable and some that aren't, but the good overshadows the bad here, so. nine out of ten

and there are gonna be spoilers from now on so be careful and go watch the movie if you haven't!!!

The good parts of this movie

TF1 shows us the story of Cybertron before the war in great detail, something that isn't very often seen in the movies and series, as the most info we get about this (mostly of Optimus and Megatron's relationship) comes from things like flashbacks. It's just a very nice thing to see!

The graphics and animation of this movie are stunning. I couldn't watch it in a very good quality, since I was unable to go to the cinema like I'd previously planned, but it still looked incredible. The designs are super cool too. The amount of detail that went into this movie is amazing, and I also loved all of the cameos (I screamed when I saw Arcee)

The voice acting is also very good. I think that the casting for Megatron/D-16 was brillaint. The VA did an incredible job in playing his character. It was like I could feel what he was feeling. Chris Hemsworth's voice for Orion Pax also worked really well! It was a great choice to cast him for a younger version of Optimus Prime. I think that it works better as Orion than as Optimus, but that's just me being picky lol

Elita's and Bumblebee's VAs were amazing too! I talk more about OP and D-16 because they're the ones the movie is centered around, but the rest also were great :)) The other characters's voices help give them more character depth, as they change once the movie goes forward. I think that's beautiful. Unlike the Spanish version, the EN one has some VERY good casting (im salty)

The lore was done extremely well, especially with the limited time they had. The worldbuilding was great too!

I loved the designs of the places. Iacon was just,,,,, great. The flora of the surface looked beautiful

The fight scenes made me fall in love. The sequences were incredible. Fast, with lots of action, and very exciting and fun to watch. The race made me feel so many things too

The visuals are pretty much perfect basically

I love how they worked with OP and D-16's friendship too. In most universes, their characterizations are very different: OP is more serious, a little more introverted, and Megatron/D-16 is still angry over the unfair life he was given. In this version they give them more personality, as a way to show that they have changed a LOT by the time the war begins

They weren't always leaders. In here, Orion is a little bit of an idiot; he's reckless, he talks a lot, he gets into trouble. Surprisingly, D-16 appears to be quieter. He wants to follow the rules, to not cause too much trouble. These two things mean that D-16 often has to help Orion when he fucks up

Something I loved to see is how much of a rule breaker mech Orion is. A thing most people tend to foget is that (in every version I've seen, at least) Orion Pax also fought for freedom before he was a Prime. He's a "fuck the goverment" kind of guy, only less violent than, say, fucking Megatron

I was lowkey scared of what they would do with Orion. I didn't want them to give him only a Hot Rod type of personality and then give him too little depth. But i loved him!!! so much!!!!!!

I also believe that making Orion a miner too was a great choice and that more should do it from now on. It just speaks more to me to see a guy that wasn't a high or middle class person fighting against Megatron

Orion and D-16's relationship was amazingly done too. In this movie, they actually feel like friends. They do things for each other without the other having to ask, they banter, they hit each other playfully, they always have each other's back

From the little things like D-16 quietly helping Orion get out of trouble, Orion looking behind him to make sure D-16 is following him, to the bigger things, like Orion getting themselves in the race and them helping each other during it, Orion giving him the Decepticon insignia sticker, and D-16 being horrified when he realizes who he shot

The banter, the way they laugh, how they just seem so comfortable around the other, showcases how truly great their relationship was, how much they love each other. These two actually feel like friends

Their relationship also makes D-16's anger stand out more. From Orion's reactions, we can see that he was never a truly angry person. Every single time D-16 did something different, something that wasn't like him at all, the camera would show us Orion's face. D-16 wasn't always like this. Orion knows this more than anyone, and he is scared and worried for his friend

Orion and D-16's motivations and ideals are very clear throughout the entire movie. Orion wants to be something more, he knows that he's missing something, that something's wrong. D-16 follows the rules and makes sure to not get into trouble, and yet even though he just wants to live in peace, he still allows himself to get into so much trouble when it comes to Orion

Orion's ideals didn't change much. He knows everything is unfair. He wants to change it. He changes, too, but he's still the guy that craves freedom more than anything

D-16's dreams are shattered with one hit. Everything changes immediatly. Before, he wanted to stick to protocol, and now, he just wants to kill Sentinel Prime. He still wants freedom, though; that much hasn't changed

It hurts how understandable D-16's POV is. He's angry and he's hurt and he never wants to be afraid again. He begins to hate. And we know that he's not good, that he isn't doing the right things, but God. I understand him. I understand the people cheering when he kills Sentinel and I undertsand him. It's not right to kill an unarmed man begging for mercy, and from a tactical POV it is also not a good idea since he's the one making deals with the Quintessons and they could use him to put an end to the invasion, but D-16 is rightfully angry

It kills me how this shows the way rightful anger can be useful, but also deadly when it goes too far. D-16 stopped being right when his anger got the best of him, when he started killing civilains, when he let his best friend fall to his death

Optimus, after getting the Matrix, looks so... tired. His best friend is gone. He knows that peace will not last forever and that it might be because of Megatron's fault. The logical choice would be to kill Megatron where he stands, but he just. Can't do it. The day he becomes a god is the day he loses everything

I have more things to say but this is getting long, so we'll go with the rest now

The bad parts

I wasn't a fan of how Bee seemed to only be a comedic relief, and though I loved him a lot, I wish he was something more

I'm also not a big fan of how Elita was done in some parts. Sometimes she felt a lot like the stereotype of the badass girl character. She didn't do much and she seemed to be there just for there to be a Girl Character. Honestly, they should've made her more central to the plot, instead of just having her give a terrible pep talk (which was funny, I did like it, but it was not enough) and expect everyone to just roll with it

The plot could've been better. Not complaining, but it seemed odd that everything /just so happened/ to be where it was (Steve, Meg and OP being chucked 50 levels below ouut of nowhere)

The pacing felt too fast. D-16's downfall came too quickly. Not much to say about this

I think there should be less familiar faces in one place. It can make the world feel a little too small after a while

I also would've liked more scenes of Orion confronting Meg when he gets Violent TM, instead of just standing there. At least just.. trying too, even if he's not being listened to. I think it would've made it better

Plus I would've liked to see them struggling with fighting more. Make them a little less competent, make it look more like they're just improvising, and the movie would've been a lot better

I also wish we'd seen more anger from the other characters. More sadness. From both background characters, and the MCs (minus meg he's already angry)

I cant think anymore i am very tired. so this is it. but i have more opinions that i might be sharing later!!!

Overall

Very good movie. Not perfect, but still fantastic. Fell in love with literally everything

Voice acting: 9/10. The main cast was perfect!!

Visuals: 10/10

Plot: 7.5/10. We already knew what would happen, so it wasn't too much. However, the movie did some VERY cool things with the way it worked with the plot!

Characterization: This is kinda hard. Overall, I'd go with an 8/10. Meg, Sentinel, OP, Alpha Trion, etc are 9.5/10, but there are some other characterrs I didn't like so much, as I've stated before

Music: 7/10, the TFP soundtrack KILLED ME

[spacevixenmusic]

Unfairly Maligned Games, Vol. 3

Games I loved that got low scores, review bombed, or have some other weird negative stigma attached to them that I think is unfairly earned.

NOTE: I don't believe in giving games a number score or a letter grade. Maybe I'm just bad at criticism or very easy to please, whatever.

Indivisible [2019]

Mostly only known as the "from the makers of Skullgirls" game, Indivisible is another prime example of a game that was crowdfunded as one thing but turned into another, and gets a bad rap for its association with the ever-present controversiality of Skullgirls' creators. That said, I still think - as always - that it's crucial to view a game for what it is, not what it isn't. And what it IS is an extremely engaging mish-mash of genres and endearing characters, oozing with style and appeal, that fills a very particular void left behind by some of the most classic RPGs of a bygone era.

At its core, Indivisible is a 2D Metroidvania/RPG hybrid with an unusual battle system that plays similarly to an old PSX game series called Valkyrie Profile. During combat, each character's gauge will fill up, allowing them to take action(s). Your four party members are each assigned to one of the four face buttons on a controller (e.g. A, B, X, Y), and pressing that button will - in real-time - execute an attack on the enemy. Using it in combination the D-Pad allows for several different types of attack. All party members' attacks can overlap simultaneously, allowing you to string together combos to really rack up the damage, or juggle enemies to prevent counterattacks and break their defenses. The Metroidvania and platforming portion comprises the rest of the game, with a heavy focus on using those same action skills to scale massive environments, solve platforming puzzles, and dodge spikes. Typical Metroidvania stuff.

Story-wise, in our modern world of RPGs that is dominated almost exclusively by Japanese and Scandinavian narratives, Indivisible is breath of fresh air that focuses heavily on South and East Asian mythology and themes. Heavy inspiration is taken from the cultures of India, Tibet, Mongolia, and the South Pacific. This is reflected not only in the characters and their various ethnicities, but in the game's approach to spirituality, reincarnation, second chances, and being a teenager hellbent on destroying god. Our main protagonist Ajna is a teenager studying martial arts who isn't quite as in touch with her spirituality as her mentor would like her to be. When war strikes the land and burns her home to the ground, she gets pissed and sets out on a quest for retribution, discovering in the process that she actually does possess certain godlike powers of destruction, and also that she can absorb certain people into her head, which is just a cute way of lampshading having a Party System.

I've seen Reviewers and big Opinion-Havers on the internet criticize the game's writing for having a bull-headed protagonist who boldly rushes into confrontation, unleashing her wanton destruction without first considering the catastrophic consequences for civilians. It's almost like they've forgotten what being a teenager and making poor choices is like. But I say fuck 'em. I say we need MORE stories about uninformed teenagers with immense godlike powers and no sense of nuance making rash decisions and fucking up royally. That alone is crucial to understanding the rest of the game's themes about atonement, reincarnation, and understanding why you believe what you believe in. That's what Indivisible is all about. In many ways, I feel like Ajna shares a common story arc with Korra from the Avatar series, and it's very cool to see how she learns to deal with the damage she's caused and what insight that gives her when facing down the Big Bad.

Of course, what is a good story without characters to flesh it out? The characters in this game are absolutely charming and multifaceted, coming from a wide array of different cultures and personalities, many of which are vastly underrepresented in not only RPGs but video games in general. Personal favorites include, but are not limited to, big booba water mom Thorani (based on a buddhist deity of the same name), Leilani the Hawaiian sharknado (spins around in a cyclone attack using a leiomano, a Hawaiian shark-tooth sword), lesbian pirate mom Baozhai (based on the famous Chinese pirate Ching Shih), and of course, local nihilistic swamp witch Razmi (a loose mishmash of Korean and Persian Zoroastrian shamans). The full cast of characters is enormous (well over 20 playable ones alone), and each one comes with a unique moveset and playstyle that not only keeps gameplay interesting, but matches their personality and the role they play in the story.

But if there's one thing I truly want to focus on when I gush about this game, it's this. Indivisible has one thing over most other games of its genre, something that modern RPGs in particular suffer heavily from a severe lack of, and that's its strong commitment to multiculturalism. Indivisible made a clear decision to not only feature characters from around the globe, but to blend their cultures together in interesting and exciting ways that don't diminish or water them down. Every character is allowed to shine in their own way without diluting what makes them stand out in the first place, which is why you can have a game that features a gunblade-wielding cowboy, a Namibian songstress, an armless Chinese dancer, a Kamen Rider knock-off, and a Mongolian archer who people keep mistaking for Pearl from Steven Universe. This sort of melting-pot cultural stew used to be common in classic anime and 90s RPGs, but kind of fell out of fashion with the rise of gacha waifu games and Elder Scrolls derivatives. Now more than ever, I feel like Indivisible is exactly the sort of injection the gaming world needs to rekindle those flames of pure imagination that the old classic era brought us.

All that said, one of the biggest reasons Indivisible will always have a dark mark next to its name is of course due to the fact that its lead designer (the studio head) was involved in a sexual harassment case that resulted in everyone on the team either quitting or being laid off, and the rights to the work and characters getting lost in the shuffle. Additionally, the game was still finished and released as intended, but did not feature any of the guest star characters that were promised during crowdfunding, most of whom were indie darlings of the time (Shovel Knight, Hyper Light Drifter, and Super Time Force to name a few). Naturally, this has left a sour taste in many folks' mouths, so it is somewhat understandable why the game would have a negative stigma attached. There are also a few bizarre and possibly off-putting cameos hidden among the NPCs (a few outdated meme references and Zone-tan, of all people), but these are entirely skippable and serve only as background extras.

Sour grapes aside though, I wholeheartedly recommend Indivisible for anyone looking for a fresh take on action RPGs. The neat hybridization of Metroidvania and real-time RPG with fighting game mechanics gives it a very unique identity, and if the compelling spirituality of the story doesn't grab you, the charm of the characters absolutely will. It certainly took me for a ride. My only word of caution is to follow the game's own suggestion and get good at Blocking in combat as early as you can!

[aroeddiediaz]

20 questions for fic writers

Tagged by @cal-daisies-and-briars , @jesuiscenseedormir , @diazsdimples

How many works do you have on ao3?

27!

What's your total ao3 word count?

61,537

What fandoms do you write for?

Currently I’m pretty much exclusively a 9-1-1 writer, but in the past I wrote a lot of Flarrowverse (do they still call it that?). I also have published fics for Fantastic Beasts and a few anime (Given, Haikyuu, Saiki K). Given the number of Bnha wips i have locked away in the vault it’s amazing I don’t have anything published for that.

Top 5 fics by kudos:

(I am omitting all the Flarrowverse fics in my top 5 on the basis that they were written in high school and I’ve changed as a person, and they probably only beat out on the numbers due to being up for years longer)

1. Kabe-Do’s and Kabe-Don’ts (Given, 861 kudos)

2. You’re Not Special (Saiki K, 598 kudos)

3. How Eddie Learned To Stop Worrying And Embrace The Kitten Life (9-1-1, 327 kudos)

4. The Boy Formerly Known As Miracle (Haikyuu, 277 kudos)

5. Under The Hood (9-1-1, 275 kudos)

Do you respond to comments?

Yes!! As many as I can!

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

This probably has to be The Crimes of Queenie Goldstein, in which Queenie is put on trial for her actions during the war. Don’t @ me but Queenie turning traitor was bu far the most interesting part of the Crimes of Grindelwald (the only interesting thing, really). There could be such an interesting story between her and Tina if only JKR would let the movies out of her grasp.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Fuck, idk if I have a happiest ending fic, a lot of them tend to not have that much story arc. (A lot of established relationship fluff or smut lmao). I guess if I had to pick one it would probably be How Eddie Learned To Stop Worrying and Embrace The Kitten Life.

Do you get hate on fics?

Not since that one anti-olicity fic that I wrote while deep in the trenches of Flarrowverse discourse, which I totally deserved :/. I have regrets. Also I should probably orphan/delete that one if I haven’t already. In my defense, high school. I have learned.

Do you write smut?

Yea lol. I think my 9-1-1 stuff has been almost exclusively smut. Idk how it happened. (I do know how it happened smut is fun to write)

Craziest crossover?

I haven’t published any of my crossover fics :( none of them have been complete enough. I have many many unfinished RotBTD wips that have never seen the light of day though.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Who would steal my stuff? Lol

Have you ever had a fic translated?

One time someone offered to translate one of my fics into Russian but idk if that ever actually happened.

Have you co-written a fic before?

Nope

All time favorite ship?

Right now definitely Buddie! Percabeth holds a special place in my heart though <3

What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Ok. After the end of the Heroes of Olympus Series, but before Trials of Apollo was announced, I tried my own hand at writing the sequel that was clearly coming based on all the loose threads in the final book. It was going to be a Solangelo quest to save the Oracle of Delphi from Python, while Akhys tries to poison Percy to turn him into an evil god(?). Half the details have been lost and I desperately want to remember them, because I haven’t attempted anything nearly as cool or ambitious since then. The first 5 chapters are posted on my ao3 (Will Solace and the Oracle’s Cry) and I still think high school me had the most interesting characterization of Will out of everyone else on the internet at the time. Even if it is still very 2015.

What are your writing strengths?

I think I’m good at getting into the heads of different characters. Understanding their motives and weaknesses.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Editing.

Lmao I have a lot of weaknesses but I definitely struggle the most with trying to look back on or change things I’ve already written, even when it’s necessary.

Also my tendency to just drop fics if I stop working on them for too long. Rip to my wip graveyard.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

That’s a minefield I’m not willing to play in. Unless it’s Chinese. Very limited amounts of Chinese. Or like, a pet name or phrase that’s already ubiquitous in fandom so I’m not risking anything.

First fandom you wrote in?

Percy Jackson!! That Will Solace quest is the first thing I ever wrote! I definitely had a tendency to jump into the deep end with new hobbies lmao. Like my first ever cosplay that took me 3 years to complete.

Favorite fic you've written?

I think my favorite fic is always going to be the one I’m currently working on writing. But I am very proud of the silly little dramatic ironies in In Hindsight, which I wrote entirely over one long lunch the day after 7x04 broke me. Also I have to shoutout Teacher’s Pet, that one ruler spanking fic nobody ever reads because it’s Eddie/Ana lmao. I enjoyed putting in a bunch of tiny incompatibilities between them. So, uh, I guess my favorite thing in my own writing is dramatic irony?

Tagging: @aspecbuddie @pirrusstuff @jesuisici33 @steadfastsaturnsrings @lemonzestywrites @your-catfish-friend @inkmortal-trash389 @evanbegins s @wildlife4life @eddiebabygirldiaz @epicbuddieficrecs @kitteneddiediaz @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove @coatedpanda16 @nicotinewrites @estheticpotaeto @babytrapperdiaz @snowviolettwhite @wikiangela

[egg-emperor]

Eggman is pretty much fascism and unchecked capitalism in human form. He is a repersantion of it they way Sonic is the representation of freedom.

In the games we get to see glimpses of the world under Eggy's rule and it is not pretty. Even in the first game, Eggman's scrap brain zone is a polluted dystopian hellhole, smog and poison everywhere. Meanwhile green hill zone is a lush paradise full of greenery.

In Sonic CD, we can see even his own robots suffer in the bad futures. They looks broken , neglected and musty. He doesn't even care about his bots. So much for a robot kingdom 🤖👑

Don't get me started on Forces where he fully takes over the earth and turns it into a bleak, broken hellhole and spews propaganda everywhere. Everyone is miserable. He even made a propaganda vid where he encourages people to accept his robotomy treatment and become his robot slaves to make life bearable.(Robots don't need food , water or clean air to breathe. They don't even think)

Benevolent dictatorship it is not. I don't know where people get that from.

Exactly, for it being such a prominent theme in the series, I wish more people would get the message and not dismiss it/miss the point and try to say "Eggman is good, actually". It's much more interesting to look at it for what it is, it's what makes Sonic vs Eggman and Eggman's goals compelling to me to analyze. Eggman is a great representation of the terrible and harmful things humanity can be capable of but without completely blaming the entire human race.

He portrays the dangers of fascism, damage of the environment, and the dangerous destructive lengths one can go to in greed for power and control. There's been many examples of him attempting to captilize on harmful things, carelessly tearing the planet/other planets apart in selfish endeavors, and how dystopian the world would be if he succeeded in enforcing his order. They've explored propaganda, manipulation, war, and invasion with him.

Ignoring the message of Eggman's character also downplays, softens the impact of, and dismisses the meaning of Sonic's character. He's all about freedom and the only thing he hates is oppression, Eggman is the oppressor of the story and Sonic wants to stop him, that way people can live in peace and freedom without Eggman stripping that away from them and forcing them to be and do exactly and only what he wants in the world he wants it to be alone.

It's cool because Eggman is also like an example of if you take your own personal freedom and desires too far with greed and a lust for power and control. To the point that you value it and yourself so much above all else, you want to force everyone else to comply by your rules and fulfill your desires, no matter how much they don't want it and it damages them and the world around you. Meanwhile, Sonic's just happens to benefit the world and people around him.

And in a world where Sonic wins, it stays beautiful, bright, lively and free with nature, wildlife, man, and technology coexisting in harmony and peace. In a world where Eggman wins you get the opposite where it's ugly, dark, dead, and controlled with nature and wildlife suffocated until it's dead- replaced by technology and reshaped in Eggman's selfish image and twisted idea of what a "perfect" world is, one where only he decides what it's like.

It shows through their characteristics, actions and outlook, and their impact on the world and people around them and that's so fucking neat. I don't know why people act like that stopped being a theme when, as long as it's Sonic vs Eggman, it's definitely always present. But I feel that a part of it is absolutely the way that people try to make it seem like Eggman isn't so bad and suggest the idea that maybe he's actually really progressive and wants to do good.

It's very clear that he doesn't lol. Such is obvious by the lengths he's willing to go to get what he wants, knowingly and carelessly hurting many people and even finding sadistic enjoyment in it at other times, all the while acknowledging that he's evil and saying it himself and owning it. He knows he has to create propaganda, lie, and manipulate others into getting what he wants and further his plans which also proves full awareness that what he's doing isn't innocent.

And of course the most obvious is how the world under his control is most often depicted as a dark industrial dead and polluted dystopian hellhole where all suffer, even his own creations, and he doesn't care because he's in control and gets to rule over it and turn it into everything he wants. And their suffering is just part of the idea, which he makes clear with his own words with Eggmanland in Unleashed and the Interstellar Park in Colors, in that he wants people to suffer.

There are times this isn't shown visually in a places of his creation and under his control, such as the Interstellar Park and Ego City. But guess what? There's still tons of danger and death due to attractions in the Interstellar park that he acknowledged and intended as features, and the PAs in Ego City with the propaganda and lies about the intention and "benefits" of animals in robots and the hint that he doesn't actually take criticism- all prove his real sinister intent in it.

It shows that Eggman can also pretty things up and sugarcoat them with visually beautiful creations, sweet words and promises of great things through lies and propaganda. That's scary because it can lure people in, only for them to be subjected to great horrors once they arrive, even if nobody and maybe not even themselves can see and realize it's all a lie and the cost that is their suffering at first, until it's too late and they face it in the most terrible and painful of ways.

And the truth would show visually eventually anyway, evident in Eggmanland's darker polluted setting. Even to the point of further destruction and decay, like CD bad future where even his own creations are broken down and abandoned. He'll destroy the world to build his new one yet even that will rot due to his carelessness as long as it doesn't get in the way of his own enjoyment, he'll use things up and abandon them when they no longer serve him.

In Forces he wants to burn the world so it will be "nothing but ashes, from which a glorious Eggman Empire will rise," willing to cause great damage to get it. That's why he happily blew up Sunset Heights, let Green Hill be dehydrated and die, had forests carpet bombed, and was willing to drop the sun on people. Hell, in the Join the Eggman Empire propaganda video, he promotes further ruination and pollution of the world after he's taken over as a good appealing thing.

And the real reason why is because it will push anyone that's still unwilling after all his attempted lies and propaganda to give in and accept the robotomy treatment, so they don't have to suffer in it anymore because they won't have a choice because it'll be that or die. But with it they'll also have to give up all their freedom and never be able to eat, sleep, or think ever again and Eggman will tell them "that's what we call "living the good life!"

And again, him saying that loving it is mandatory in the video proves he doesn't care how much it hurts people and how much they'll really hate it. He knows full well but doesn't care because it's not about what they want, it's all about him and what he wants and they have no choice or say, they literally have to comply or die. And fuuuck it's so good and messed up. That perfectly represents how terrible and dangerous and harmful his dictatorship is.

Besides the whole "what if he actually cared and genuinely wanted to help people and the world though" which this all clearly disproves, I also see people say they'd like to become robots so they don't think it's so bad. And it's like well fascist dictatorship doesn't suddenly become a good thing just because some of it personally aligns with your desires lol. Authoritarianism doesn't suddenly become good just because it's enforcing your personal morals and values.

I highly doubt anyone would still be saying this if they it really happened and they realized how much they'd sacrifice in it and what they'd have to go through as Eggman clearly doesn't treat his creations well, whether it's through abusing them or just leaving them to decay like those seen in CD bad future. And let's say even if was good for you personally in some way, it wouldn't be for everyone and most people would still suffer because they don't want it.

And let's say your biggest dream came true through it. It's still being enforced through Eggman's fascism and oppression and many will suffer from it and have to abide by it against their will. It's like how Eggman tried to bribe Sonic in the great Super Sonic and Super Eggman Sonic Channel story by saying he could give him a world of chili dogs, no paradise is one that is forced, no matter how pretty and appealing one tries to make it seem.

And in Eggman's case it's not just that but the fact his "paradise" is everyone else's hell, his enjoyment is everyone else's pain, his desires are the antithesis of freedom. Because he's deeply selfish and intends and revels in much of the damage and suffering he causes. It's inherently sinister, harmful, and only his twisted definition of a perfect paradise that serves only himself with his selfishness and self-centeredness that he can't and doesn't care to see past.

He's one fucked up bastard and that makes him so interesting and threatening, he's the main villain of the series for a reason. 💜 It's really interesting to think about the themes he represents and the many different ways they've been portrayed and explored throughout the series and the message it sends just as much as Sonic's, I wish to see more acknowledgement and discussion of it so I try my best to bring light to it with my own contributions like this!

[stillsolo]

GET TO KNOW THE MUN. respond to the prompts out of character !

what made you pick up the current muse(s) you have? oh, where do i even begin?  well, i suppose i should start with how long sw has been in my life.  ANH was the first movie my mother ever saw when she visited the USA; she saw it with my grandmother ( and subsequently developed a massive crush on harrison, so indiana jones became a huge part of my childhood too lol ).  for this reason, my mother introduced my brother and I to sw when we were actual babies.  then, when the prequels came out, it’s all me and my brother consumed.  from the movies themselves to the original clone wars cartoon to the PS2 games to the novels/book series.  we watched it on a tiny portable player for every trip, and every time my relatives needed us to go away to let the adults talk lol.  it also helped our comprehension of english so much. i can’t recall a time in which sw hasn’t been present in my life! before i joined the tumblr swrpc, i kept to myself in the prequels community, wrote fanfic, and rped anakin on skype.  he’s always been a character that hit a little too close to home in one too many ways.  the main parallel i have with him (that doesn’t relate to his mental issues haha) is his love/devotion/attachment to his mother.  it’s difficult for me to explain without getting into the aspects of my culture (孝順 / filial piety), but in short, i am cantonese; if my mother asked me for my thumb tomorrow, i would give her my arm today.  anakin’s love for his mother, his determination to free her from slavery at an early age, was very touching.  EPII has been memed to oblivion, yes, but the pain i feel when anakin doesn’t get to hear his mother tell him she loves him one last time before she dies, and knowing that it haunts him for the rest of his life (eu), makes me want to throw myself out a window lmao  i have an extremely close relationship with my parents; this sort of pain is absolutely gutting for someone like me. anyway, when i joined the tumblr swrpc, writing han solo was never the plan.  i originally wanted to write luke but ended up changing my mind at the last second.  I’d written well over a dozen fics with han at that point, but was nowhere near confident, so i thought of it as more of an experiment. guess that doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, because if you really think about it, since the day i started writing him in fics, he hasn’t stopped butting into my brain.  in fact, he’s been harassing me ever since—to the point that i even switched from writing luke to him… lol given my upbringing and my mother’s love for him, han has always been my childhood hero, as well as my brother’s.  our dad was our han solo.  the nostalgic and familial associations run so deep, it’s difficult to articulate.  we share many traits, right down to his universally agreed-upon zodiac sign (sagittarius); i know han solo like the back of my hand—and it’s probably because i wanted to be just like him when i grew up.

is there anything you don’t like to write? character death.  if i have to say another, it’s when people conflate harrison with the character he plays and then decides to address that in a thread.  harrison was a ladies man back in the 80s, and that’s fine, but that doesn’t mean the same for han.  i hate seeing the conflation between the two.  not sure if this happens as often anymore, but there was a time when fics/threads/even han rpers would lean into it, by default, thus totally destroying his character in my eyes.  i mean, write it as a storyline, that’s cool and fine, but infidelity has never been inherently part of his character.  i will die on this fucking hill.

is there anything you really enjoy writing? most unpopular opinion ever: action sequences.  critical situations, fast paced action, thriller scenes featuring immediate, life-threatening circumstances.  i love writing that which exhibits a sense of urgency and tension, with sprinklings of emotional depth and contemplative introspective moments.  scenes with internal conflict combined with aforementioned external events.  even evading enemy forces, sustaining minor/major injuries, dressing wounds.  dunno why those are always the most fun to me.  aside from that?  romance/romantic angst.  i’ve had many writing partners over the years, and each one thought they could outdo me in writing romantic angst.  sometimes, the psychosomatic pain of heartbreak isn’t far from feeling like you’ve lost a limb in battle.

how do you come up with headcanons? by being the most annoying, meticulous person ever.  i’m extremely detail oriented; when i see incongruities in my own work, i perish.  so, when i come up with headcanons, i have to consider all factors that may affect the outcome of whatever question i’ve posed in my mind and feel the need to justify my choices, for whatever reason, by tying it back to XYZ.  my headcanons must align with my muse’s personality, their environment from childhood to adulthood, their current circumstances, and if it’s an AU, how it mirrors canon events.  canon/eu is everything imo, because they are their own choices; it’s what shaped them into the character we know them as.  ofc, this is my process and opinion, so make of that what you will.

do you write in silence or do you play music? no music, no tv.  sometimes people talking is too much for me.  i have adhd and my medication only helps so much.  i will absolutely start writing down the conversation or lyrics playing in the background lol

do you plan your replies or wing them? plotting vs planning replies is different to me.  plotting gives me a foundation, but it can’t be too confining.  to plan a reply is to block out each moment.  if you trap me, i will always deviate; so i wing everything, even when i have a foundation.

do you enjoy shipping? yes, absolutely!  i’m not sure why people tend to assume otherwise, but i’m more open to it than people think.  i’ve never cared about who you write, if they’re in the sw franchise, or even what era of sw etc etc  never given a shit about what people think; if our muses click, they click.  honestly, some of the best ships i’ve had with han, as in the most enjoyable and enlightening of his character, have been ‘crack ships’.

what’s your alias/name? vin, vince, vincent.  vincent van hoe.  trash bin vin.

age? 27!

birthday? dec 2!

favorite color? silver.  if that’s not a color to you, then blue.

favorite song? you can’t expect me to… well, ‘in your eyes’ by the weeknd has been up there for a long time.

last movie you watched? star wars: the clone wars (2008)

last show you watched? … the clone wars lol

last song you listened to? billie jean - MJ.

favorite food? my mother’s 番茄炒蛋 ( egg and tomato stir fry ), unagi, freshly baked breads, fresh fruit …

favorite season? i get mostly tropical weather, but i love a cold winter.

do you have a tumblr best friend? unfortunately, so many people have left the site over the years, but i'm grateful to call these people some of the closest friends i have in the rpc: @techniiciian @desiccation @vibraea @rcvanchist @sgterso @voxcrystallis

tagged : @debelltio thank you for thinking of me!! tagging : if you're still reading this, i tag you!

[ginger-snap-talkin-nonsense]

Iron Man 3 as best Phase 2 movie? Ooh, that's an intriguing take. I remember everybody hating it when it came out for the Mandarin twist (which is moot now thanks to Shang-Chi and that one short film) and Tony telling a terrorist his address on live TV with no plan after that. I can still remember Honest Trailers ripping into it. But admittedly I haven't seen it since 2013, so is it actually a great movie and I just didn't realise?

I can’t believe people have a problem with Iron Man 3. It’s some of the best Marvel has to offer period.

“Tony doxxing himself on live tv with no plan was really dumb” yeah no shit! It’s hard to remember this in a post “everyone acts like cinemasins” world but not every characters actions are logically justifiable. You know who else tells Tony that was the dumbest shit they’ve ever seen? Literally everyone around him!

The crux of the movie is that Tony is being dangerously self destructive because he has severe PTSD from the EVERYTHING he’s been through and also feels as though the entire world rests squarely on his shoulders. Tony believes he owes the world his life as penance for being blind to the horrors Stark Industries contributed to the world while he went off and partied. The whole movie is a character piece about Tony realizing that he is metaphorically and literally letting Iron Man kill him, and that it’s not fair to the people who love him to keep doing that.

It’s also just extremely solid as a movie. The villain is fun and his plan is diabolical, the mandarin twist was fucking cool and literally circumvented the movie having mega racist undertones and instead made a point about using the War on Terror and the racism of the American people for militaristic and political gain (which is something Iron Man loves to do), and there’s some great scenes and characters!

The team of Iron Man suits all showing up to help save the president at the end? Peak cinema. Happy watching Downton Abbey in the hospital because Tony remembers it’s his favorite show while he visits him in his coma and so he asks for it to be turned on? I may cry. Pepper finally getting to have cool scenes that don’t amount to bickering with Tony because we remembered she’s a person? About damn time!

Dude I am still so fuckin bummed that Harley never showed up past being at Tony’s funeral-he’s such a reflection of Tony and also a plucky young science boy who throws snowballs at walking bombs to save people like holy shit that’s Spider-Man before Spider-Man was out get that little shitster a mini series where he and Tom Holland fight crime together.

I love Tony Stark, I think he’s the most nuanced character in The Avengers lineup and Iron Man 3 is the perfect culmination of everything Tony is, was, and will be. Having a problem with it because “Tony makes bad choices” is to have a problem with most of the movies starring Tony, which is hilarious considering Tony is the most popular character in The Avengers lineup pre Civil War and it’s not even close.

[contritecactite]

As ever, it takes the tiniest hint of encouragement (thanks @grimboigio ) to goad me into generating a wall of text. Well, actually, the wall was already there. Big big Hades II spoilers below in the form of messy half-baked notes I've been jotting down as I play. Some are just things that I got excited about, but there's a tiny sliver or two of theories and expectations.

I think we're headed for no happy ending, just acceptance—the battle is against Chronos, but it's really about *time* as a concept; for these gods, time really did take its toll and change the way mortals relate to them. Supergiant will never make another sequel for the same reason: things belong in their own time.

The lycaons *could* just be heralding Cerberus, but they somehow give me a sense of the trappings of Roman the Empire creeping in (in an intentional, storytelling way). Same with the emptiness of Ephyra and the hints of war in the mortal aspect. It feels like this is the fall of the cultures we now call "ancient Greece" as told through the eyes of the gods who get left behind or changed.

Apollo is giving me traitor vibes. He had a line about how we "have all the time in the world," and there's just something too carefree about him.

This feels like a lovely little patchwork quilt of Supergiant games. Homer is more reactive like the Bastion narrator. The music, the social bonding opportunities, and the inventory and lore screens feel a bit like Pyre. Some upgrade systems remind me of Transistor, and the mood reminds me very much of it as well. The writing and combat are still very Hades, and there are new aspects that speak of a team that has taken the time to understand what works, what doesn't, and what improvement and innovation should look like within their existing framework.

Echo's whole thing is fucking clever. Those gifts: Either repeats or diminishing returns—just like an echo. Holy fucking shit the way I vibrated when I met Echo the first time.

I love my randomly assigned college roommate who never goes to her classes and moves all my shit for no reason (Dora). If she were my actual roommate, I would feel a very different way about this.

Eris is perfect. I love her being mean-spirited mischief rather than brute force or accidental mischief; it feels like a unique character composition. She's awful. I can't stand her. She's perfect. She also reminds me of Spoiler from Pixie Tricks, a series I read as a kid (both in personality and, vaguely, design).

Nemesis and Artemis sound like they have a no-strings on-again off-again kind of thing going on and I love that for them. Also hope Charon and Hermes get to see each other again soon bc I'm rooting for them so hard.

I literally shrieked when taking out one of the sirens *actually impacted their contribution to the song*. I shouldn't have been surprised, but it was so much fun to hear it happen anyway. Very immersive! I'm also in love with Scylla. She reminds me very specifically of Ryan Stiles' Carol Channing impression and a little of Dolly Parton. Also. Her fucking hood. Jesus.

One of my favorite things about Hades is that there was nothing that an enemy or boss could do that you couldn't do through some combination of boons, weapons, and upgrades. The same seems to hold true here so far, and I just can't say enough how *cool* that is. The worst part of any combat-heavy game to me is the realization that the boss or even the cutscene of your character can do things that you, the player, can't initiate or control during a regular battle. Hades says "yeah, fuck that. It'll look different when you do it vs. when that sea serpent does it, but you can accomplish the same action/effect." Likewise, there's practically nothing your character can do that isn't also usable by at least one enemy. That keeps things balanced and combats the sense of "ah yes, you are the Most Special Chosen One" that's often inherent to RPGs. It gives the sense that skill matters a lot and makes me as a player feel skilled—I'm not visually doing anything that my enemies can't do, so... maybe I'm actually kinda good at this? (I am mediocre at best, but the game lets me *feel* skilled).

Additionally, just as in Hades, the enemies in an area are very informative about how upcoming bosses will behave. It rewards a player for paying attention and makes each enemy populating an area make *sense*.

After beating the sirens, ALL I wanted was for Melinoë to be able to have one single fan among the shades like Zagreus in the Theseus map. What I got was even *better*; the same type of interaction, but in a way that takes into account *her* task-focused, serious personality while still giving a little bit of levity. She is *done* with being here and ready for everyone to clear out, and that grumpy shade is not having it. He even makes a new little face! Love you, purple shade in the corner.

Oh, hey, charybdis, there you are

THE 2 IS IN *ROMAN* NUMERALS I'm having a moment

yeah that's it that's what I got. For now. My gaming buddy keeps falling asleep when I try to gush and talk through things, so Tumblr gets it instead.

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

You and @aifsaath hold a certain aversion to the Starks during the Dance from what I could understand in a previous post of yours, ( i’m so happy to find likeminded people!) and I’d really like to know your opinion! Cregan’s of no interest to me and the Starks as a whole annoy and bore me 😅

@aifsaath and I are certainly are not subtle about our thoughts on Cregan! I don't actually mind the Starks as a whole in the main series. They're not my favorites, but generally they're fine. I think the fanbase is too reductive about that house though, and people treat Cregan as another Ned when in fact they're very different characters. This might get long!

Ned is extremely reluctant to get involved with anything in the capital. It's one of his most redeeming qualities, to me, the lengths he goes to keep his family out of royal politics. Bobby B. has to show up on his doorstep and practically drag him out of the North, and he's doomed the moment he becomes Hand. His honor is also sometimes too rigid, and GRRM invites us to really think about how inflexible moral codes sometimes stand in the way of the greater good. There is also a whole through line in ASOIAF about oaths and the impossibility of upholding all oaths and simultaneously acting according to one's conscience. This all gets tossed out the window when it comes to how large swaths of this fandom view Cregan, however! Cregan sits out nearly the entire war, but gets willingly and gleefully involved at the end when the dragons are gone and the armies on both sides are pretty spent. Okay, he's harvesting or whatever, fair enough, but because he and Jeyne Arryn have sat out the entire war while the two sides were obliterating each other, doing sweet fuck all while their queen and her whole family died, they have fresh armies while everyone else is pretty much spent. Then they decide to roll up when the fighting is already done, bully and threaten all of these people who have lost their entire families in this war, all for the sake of putting a highly traumatized ten year old on the throne. Cregan made an oath by golly, and he's going to stick to it. And speaking of traumatized kids, "the Lads" are often read as being cool and badass but Benjicot Blackwood had been fighting in this war since he was eleven, and we know GRRM is not generally trying to glorify child soldiers in his work, so what's up? The Lads lost their fathers in this war, they're ready to make peace, then Cregan shows up and tells them they're pussies if they don't want to keep fighting (even after Aegon II is dead and Aegon III is king) because now he's got to invade the Reach for some fucking reason. Apparently the only person in the entire realm who hasn't had enough of war is Cregan and so everyone else should just go along with that (and I've seen the suggestion that he needed to cull his population but that's sounds like a Cregan problem not a realm problem). It's only Black Aly's promise to marry him if he stops that gets him to back off. This is not Nedlike behavior and it irritates me to no end that Cregan is considered another Ned, and that being a Stark means his actions automatically get painted with a patina of honor. That's not even getting into how he handles the poisoning of Aegon II (often held up as a sign of his honor), how Aegon III has to beg for the life of his sister's grandfather, how Cregan's interference creates a power vacuum that allows Aegon III to be isolated under a regency that should have, by rights, included at least one of his sisters, but instead, beyond Corlys (who is 80 at this point), is full of strangers who don't give a toss about him (one of whom is responsible for the murder of his wife), and completely ignore his wishes until he comes of age. So yeah, not a Cregan fan!

[charmwasjess]

Okay, I finally finished The Living Force, and as promised, I have thoughts. These are just my musings as a fan and a reader - if you enjoyed the book more than I did, I'm really glad! If you hated it, good for you too! Let people like things, let people not like things. <3 My feelings with this book were somewhat down the middle. I'm interested in reading it again in a couple months and seeing how I feel.

Overall: a fun, engaging read, genuinely hard to put down once the action starts going. The book isn’t afraid to be funny. SO MUCH GOOD JEDI CONTENT! Miller takes on a huge task trying to write perspectives for all twelve Council member characters and does a pretty good job bringing them to life. Mace and Depa steal the show. I had a hard time with some of the meta plot and overriding messages about the Jedi Order.

Andddddd the long version:

The entire conceit of the book comes about when Qui-Gon goes head to head with the Council, who are bogged down in committee red tape Senate paperwork disconnection, and challenges them to “help one person.” So inspired, the Jedi Council in its entirety goes to the planet Kwenn to help close down a hundreds-year-old Jedi Outpost. 

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan serve as the book’s inciting incident, our quest giver NPCs, who hang around close enough to the action to keep the readers who bought the book only for them engaged. It reminds me a little bit of a spin-off TV show where the fan favorite character from the original series shows up to boost ratings, saying their classic catch phrase while the live studio audience goes crazy. Look, Qui-Gon is Being Kind to Pathetic Lifeforms! Obi-Wan drops a “hello there” in the first scene! Oh, them!

Lest you think I’m being shitty, let me say that it was actually great to see Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan on the eve of TPM working together well and having a blast. Both in Padawan and Master & Apprentice, they are still very much figuring out their relationship, and now it’s clearly evolved to its final magnificent form. They’re utterly corny together - I love that for them. This is the same pair that gave us “the negotiations were short” and the baffling “there’s always a bigger fish!”

I’ll talk a little bit about Sifo-Dyas because of course I will. He appears only in mentions, but so many of them, he's a huge part of the subtext of the book as he's recently left (been fired) from the Council and been killed - he's apparently on everyone's mind. I’ve posted about this before - I love the Seeker Sifo addition, and further, letting him be a rightful problem, a true pain in the Council’s ass and who ultimately got himself fired for not following the rules. Of course I have sympathy for him: this is a person who is beyond desperate to save his world and willing to try anything at this point in his life. And I think it’s worth mentioning that this is well within Cavan Scott’s characterization of him as a natural born troublemaker. I mean, he’s on screen for about two pages in Dooku: Jedi Lost before he just fucking literally steps on Yoda. Apparently, he never stopped. 

The book is oddly complimentary of him in weird places. Canon is inconsistent about Sifo-Dyas and how much his visions were impacting his judgment or even his simple ability to function. The last we heard of him in the Yoda comics, Sifo-Dyas was so routinely incapacitated by them that he was traveling with Lene full time. So it was cool to see that he had apparently gotten in control of them enough to be a super crucial member of the Council. Mace complains about Sifo’s absence and how that has directly impacted their entire ability to perceive the future, an acknowledged blind spot that comes up quite a lot in the prequel films and Clone Wars. Yoda goes on and on about how what a powerful Jedi he was.

...I don’t think the scene where the ENTIRE FUCKING Council round robin style takes potshots at Sifo-Dyas for *checks notes* rescuing some orphans was particularly successful. Of course, accuse me of bias, he’s a favorite character of mine, and it’s rough to see his colleagues - who are also his only friends and family - sitting around talking shit about him (to a bad guy no less!) for a page and a half, when he literally just got violently killed. (And they know he’s dead, at least, if not the circumstances. Killed on Felucia was the official story reported to the Council per wookiepedia.) Just tonally weird.

But really, I think what actually bothers me about that scene is the treatment of the baddie, Zalestra’s motivation as in any way legitimate, credible, or worth an apology by the narrative. Wow, the villain had a good point! To be clear, her issue with Sifo-Dyas taking her friends away to be Jedi is not that it changed her situation in any meaningful way in terms of care provided. It was a crime of omission. And these friends were so dear to her that she goes around indiscriminately killing Jedi of their exact generation? I suspect Miller liked his cool Nautolan Pirate Joker OC and wanted to give her a sympathetic excuse for why she was going around torturing and murdering Jedi (and just random people, including children) for fun, and “I got separated from my friends as a kid because of a Jedi” was the best he could do. Of course, it sets up Depa for a really beautiful line about not using other people as a canvas to paint grief on. 

The question of Attachment is a strong theme. Depa seems to be Going Through It - about attachment in particular, but also generally in the book. She’s shown relying a little too firmly on the no attachment cause in the wake of grief for a lost student. For example, she is quick to volunteer that Zalestra’s friends who were brought into the Temple together would be immediately separated so as to not form attachments - without pointing out the rest of that, that this separation would be specifically into Creche clans so they could bond with other Jedi kids and grow up in a community. Mace’s reaction to Depa’s attitudes make me suspect this is a Depa character growth thing, not something we’re supposed to take as a face value fact about the Jedi Order. Indeed, she ultimately overcomes her fears about this and decides to take a Padawan. And the final lines of the book include Qui-Gon defining for us that it isn’t attachment that’s a problem for Jedi – it’s indifference. 

Mace and Depa are the clear stars of the book. The Shatterpoint lineage vibes are immaculate. I’d read that the Living Force is supposed to set up an upcoming novel about Mace, and I am legitimately thrilled for it after reading this. Anyway, their dynamic is fantastic. Mace treats her 100% like a respected colleague, no cute Padawan infantilization tropes, even when he is put in situations like rescuing her after weeks of prolonged torture. Instead, he gives her his lightsaber to use, since hers has been taken. A really powerful and beautiful moment of support, while still recognizing her strength and agency. 

That said, if you’re looking for a deep dive into more obscure members of the Council or an EU/Legends junkie looking to see your favorite backstory pulled from the fire, this book might not be it.  With his five wives and seven daughters in old EU, Ki-Adi-Mundi might be the least likely Council Member to be the comedic butt of a bit revolving around awkwardness around women, but Miller goes for it, and there’s no mention of his family situation. 

Another odd reference, this time to current canon: the civilians the Council are working to help are mentioned as being the relocated survivors of the Protobranch disaster. It’s an ironic choice to frame the narrative of “the Jedi have been too focused on the big picture/the future at the expense of their duty to ordinary people” and then set the story in a community of people that the Jedi literally saved after getting a vision of the future disaster. The fact that it was our problem child Sifo-Dyas’s vision, and the rescue only happened after he and Lene outright defied the Council to get the gears moving is never mentioned or addressed, despite its seeming supreme relevance to the other themes in the story. 

For a time, I thought the narrative tension there between those two truths - that the Jedi should be concerned about ordinary people and living in the moment, but that this doom future is truly about to be a huge problem for the Jedi Order and the galaxy - was intentional. Having now finished the book, it doesn't seem to have actually been. Maybe someone else has a different perspective.

In truth, I didn’t understand what I kept reacting negatively to about with some of the meta themes of the book until the literal last page, John Jackson Miller’s author’s note where he says it outright. He talked about the other Star Wars books he has written over the last decade - how they all have depicted (Jedi) characters who are off on their own, away from the Order, “loners like Luke Skywalker,” and how his depiction of the Jedi Order from that perspective has been very critical. With this book, he decided that ALL Jedi couldn’t be bad, and that “Qui-Gon Jinn was the greatest symbol (of diversity of thought in the Order)” so he wanted to explore that. 

I closed the book and gently placed it in the trash can.

No, I’m kidding. Kind of. You know that I love Qui-Gon Jinn, he is my first favorite character, but this take exhausts me. That he is the magical exception to all of Jedi’s problems leading up to the prequels, and that if he were somehow not a direct product of that same Jedi Order, which encouraged him in his particular way of thinking almost to a fault, starting with Dooku.

In the final scene, with a magical twinkle in his eyes, Qui-Gon explains his own “defiance”of the Council: “I’m not insubordinate. I’m unorthodox. The insubordinate are ignored. The unorthodox are heard - grudgingly.” So the book finally resolves for us the narrative confusion in the difference between Sifo-Dyas’s bad future-fixated rulebreaking, which is shown to create villains and piss off his colleagues alike, and Qui-Gon’s good Living Force-serving unorthodoxy, which creates friends for the Order and moments of spiritual understanding for the Council. 

...Smashcut to six months later when Qui-Gon himself is outright defying the Council’s decision on Anakin and sidelining Obi-Wan because he’s convinced the Chosen One prophecy is just that important. 

Star Wars: The Living Force by John Jackson Miller, 6.5/10 stars, would have been 7 if I hadn’t read that asinine author’s note and gotten all mad again.