#this was very fun to do despite my computer trying to kill itself throughout the production

[steampunkforever]

Del Toro's muse, his angel, his silly rabbit, his pet freak.

After too long of a hiatus, I present to you The Dougcam.

[elyvorg]

Imagine if the students successfully “defeated” Monokuma in trial 5, and also that Kaito incidentally had about one more day to live as of that point in time. (This is the end result of my trial 5 AU, not that any of the story in that post is particularly relevant to the AU story I’m about to present here.) An anon suggested to me that, from here, the students could demand that Monokuma owes them a life – in other words, he has to nurse Kaito back to health for them.

I had my doubts over whether it’d be the right call to actually trust Monokuma with Kaito’s health in that situation… but then again, that’s the fun part. What if they did make the mistake of entrusting Kaito’s life to Monokuma? What cruel things could he do while still technically complying with their demands?

Here’s what I thought of: Monokuma “saves Kaito’s life” by making a huge Flashback Light full of Kaito’s backstory plus all his experiences throughout the killing game itself, and all those memories get shoved into a fresh body. This would create a new person who is essentially still Kaito and is also perfectly healthy. Ta-da, Kaito gets to live!

Meanwhile, Kaito – our Kaito, the one who actually went through the killing game with his friends – well, he’s not needed any more. So, completely unbeknownst to anyone else, Monokuma just leaves him somewhere to die.

Aaaaand my thoughts on this idea escalated rather a lot, to the point that there’s kind of a whole story here.

Kaito’s death

Kaito is taken to some empty room somewhere – I dunno, maybe there’s a bed in it to at least give a vague impression that it could be some kind of hospital room, but maybe not even that – and told to just wait for the nurses to come and see to him. So he waits, his suspicion growing, and it doesn’t take long for him to get the sinking realisation that nobody’s coming, are they. He goes to open the door to try and look for Monokuma and yell at him to stop screwing around and keep his goddamn end of the bargain, only to find it locked.

With a chilling dread, it hits him that this was all a trap – a really obvious one at that, one he literally walked right into like an absolute moron. Monokuma never had any plans to cure him at all.

He’s going to die here, in this room, completely and utterly alone.

Kaito wouldn’t just give up, of course. He’d furiously try to bust down the locked door keeping him trapped there, but… his body would be so weak by now that he wouldn’t stand a chance. He’d only end up hurting himself even more, and after a while he just wouldn’t have the strength to keep trying.

And he might have more or less resigned himself and been mentally prepared for the fact that he’s not surviving this illness – though losing that glimmer of a way out he’d almost thought he had really, really kind of sucks – but, this is worse than he thought it’d be. Up until now, he'd finally begun to feel some relief in that, even if he does still end up dying, at least he'll die something of a hero, surrounded by his friends. Not like this. He never wanted to die like this – pointlessly, uselessly, alone and forgotten like he never even mattered. He doesn’t even have anything to distract himself with or to do to feel like he’s making a difference in his final hours. There’s just nothing but waiting to die, the pain getting harder and harder to bear as he feels his body slowly tear itself apart.

This is probably the absolute cruellest possible way Kaito could die from his illness, so much worse than how it happens in canon. (And, damn it, he hasn't even been to space…!)

Kaito would have no idea what's happening outside of the room he dies in, so he might be able to console himself to some extent by thinking that, once he’s gone, when Shuichi and Maki never see him again and realise they were tricked, they’ll be furious and will fight to avenge him. (Or, perhaps there’s still a chance, if they realise that something’s up soon enough, that they might be able to come for him in time and somehow save him after all…? It’s such a long shot – his death feels so close, dammit – but they’re his heroes, they’re amazing, so maybe—!)

But in reality... they wouldn't even know. They’d just obliviously leave him there to die, because Kaito would be right there with them, cured like Monokuma promised.

Kaito’s survival

That’d be the second horrible part of this – but not because this new Kaito who meets up with Shuichi and Maki all “cured” would be like some hollow imitation who isn’t truly Kaito at all. No; that’s not how it works. Flashback Lights create real people.

While I said at the beginning of this post that the one who died alone was “our” Kaito, that wasn't really quite fair of me. The other Kaito who's here now deserves to be thought of in exactly the same way. He would be our Kaito too, one hundred percent. Much like how Alter Ego Gonta was another Gonta, this is another instance of Kaito, separate from the one who died, but still him.

On the one hand, the new Kaito could have been made from a clone of the original Kaito’s body, so that he looks completely identical and nothing seems amiss at first. But on the other hand, he could be in an entirely different body – which is the version I’d rather lean towards, because that’d make things get awkward and painful a lot more quickly.

(If you want something to picture him as looking like: because it makes sense that Team Danganronpa would have picked a body that looked kind of similar and still fit his character, I’m imagining one of Kaito’s beta designs. I went for the one with poofy hair and eyebrows to rival Taka’s, specifically because he doesn’t look too similar to our Kaito, yet he nonetheless still has a very dorky Kaito energy to him. Meanwhile, his clothes would presumably be exactly the same. That and, despite the poofy hair, Kaito would totally grab some hairspray at the earliest opportunity and attempt to style his new hair into his trademark spiky upwardsness, just to try and look and feel a bit more like his usual self. The result would be, uh… something. It’d be something, all right.)

Some time after taking Kaito away to be cured, then, Monokuma presents Kaito’s miraculous recovery, brazenly handwaving the new body by claiming that extensive plastic surgery was totally necessary to save him. Maki and Shuichi would initially be all “?????? don’t mess with us, how the FUCK do you expect us to believe that this is Kaito”. Except... it is. His face and voice are completely different, but everything about how his eyes light up when he sees them, and the way he talks, and how quietly hurt he seems when they question if it's really him - it's still absolutely Kaito. And he appears to be just as genuinely confused as they are by the different body once they point it out to him and show him to a mirror.

Maybe they'd also confirm it by asking him things that only the real Kaito would know – and he knows all of it. Not just knows it, he obviously feels it, too. After asking him his favourite spaceship and seeing him visibly restrain himself from launching into a huge excited ramble about why that spaceship is so cool (exactly like he didn’t restrain himself from doing last time)… they can't deny it's really him.

The last thing Kaito remembers is being led away by Monokuma, and then he woke up like this; he must have been unconscious for whatever the hell was done to him in between. He and his friends end up concluding that Monokuma must have saved his life by… transferring his consciousness into a new body? Which seems more possible than they might have imagined considering how the Virtual World worked, now that they think about it, so maybe they'd be able to accept that.

(Is transferring a consciousness like that actually possible in this universe, though? Or does the Virtual World computer just create a virtual copy of them from their memories while the original one sleeps, and then Flashback Light their virtual self’s new memories back into their real body when they log out? That’d mean the virtual person would have to be deleted afterwards. It’d be painless and they’d never remember it, but in a sense, it’d be killing them.)

Kaito himself is pretty chill with it once he’s got over the initial shock. Sure, it’ll take some getting used to looking like this – he’s gonna have to grow himself a new goatee, to say nothing of the hair – but still, he’ll take this over dying any day. (He’d almost forgotten what it felt like to not be in pain.)

It'd still be super awkward for Shuichi and Maki, though, trying to adjust to Kaito looking and sounding completely different on the surface, constantly reminding themselves that this face and this voice is still Kaito. The two of them – especially Maki, who has a harder time trusting people instinctively – wouldn't quite be able to shake off the nagging possibility this could be some kind of impostor aligned with Monokuma who's just really really good at acting like Kaito. Of course they'd want to believe in him, because a different body is still infinitely better than losing him, but it wouldn’t quite come naturally.

Kaito, being Kaito, would very much pick up on the signs that his sidekicks are still a little subconsciously suspicious of him. It’d sting, but he wouldn't bring it up. Kaito's always fine! Now that he's healthy again, he’s got absolutely nothing to worry about! …which is to say, he doesn't want to go admitting to his new worries, not when doing so would be giving them even more reasons to feel like he's not quite Kaito and secretly not really want him around.

Kaito’s existence

But just when Shuichi and Maki have started to really get used to Kaito’s new body and things are beginning to feel somewhat normal between them again, everything would come out during the equivalent of trial 6.

As Shuichi figures out what Flashback Lights really do and Tsumugi starts trying to make everyone despair over how “fictional” they all are, Kaito, because he’s Kaito, would be having none of her bullshit. (However, I’ll keep this part brief here since I’m hopefully going to do a regular trial-6-with-Kaito AU at some point that should really be the place I expand on this properly.)

Sure, learning that they’re “characters” created from fake memories when the killing game began is kind of a lot to take in, but it doesn’t change the reality of who they are right now. The only thing that matters is what they want to believe, and they obviously want to believe that they’re real, just like they always have! Hell, their pasts being fiction is great news in Maki Roll’s case – she never really killed anyone, and she’ll never have to!

And Tsumugi’s claims that nothing matters because it was all “fiction” for entertainment are even more bullshit. Their pasts may be made up, but the entire killing game really happened. All those people really died. Every bit of the pain and suffering they and their friends went through in it was absolutely real.

But as he’s saying this part, Tsumugi turns to Kaito with a scathing grin. “How would you know? You weren’t even there.”

Before anyone can question what she means by this, she turns on another video – and this one’s not an audition tape. There were Nanokumas in the room where the original Kaito died. His final hours were recorded, as proof that Kaito is dead.

They wouldn’t watch the entire thing – he was in there for something like twenty-four hours – but she could have put together a “highlights reel”, some of the moments where Kaito couldn’t help but express exactly how lost and scared and desperate he felt. And of course it’d culminate in the moment of his death, just to hammer it home and make sure they know that it’s far too late to save him.

As Shuichi and Maki are reeling in horror from the suffering Kaito went through and the fact that they let that happen to him, Tsumugi goes for the decisive blow. She explains how the new Kaito came to be here, calling him a “fake”, an “imitation” who “tricked” them while they left the real Kaito to die.

And… Kaito kind of starts to believe it.

…See, one of the reasons this scenario really grabbed my interest (other than the prospect of Kaito dying scared and helpless and alone while also not being gone from the story afterwards) was that until now I didn’t think it was possible to give Kaito existential issues. He just has too much conviction in who he is. Under regular trial 6 circumstances, the reveals about Flashback Lights and his backstory being fake memories would barely faze him at all.

His memories are fake and all those things in his past never really happened? Okay, so he’s kind of shaken to realise his grandparents and fellow astronaut trainees don’t exist – but in that case, if none of the people in his memories are real, then the only person those memories matter to is himself. And if he feels like they were real, they might as well have been, at least in terms of the person he is now because of them. Oh, but the person he is now isn’t real, because the “real” Kaito is that murder-happy asshole in the audition video? Well, no, that dumbass was just somebody else, duh. Maybe he had the same body and possibly even the same name, but that doesn’t matter. The real Kaito, the one and only Luminary of the Stars, is right here! That's who he wants to believe he is, so it's who he is, dammit. End of discussion.

But in this situation… the real Kaito was undeniably the one who died alone in that room. Not him. His memories might feel real, but he doesn’t have the right to feel like those events happened to him, not when the memories belong to somebody else – someone who actually experienced all those things, whose friends that he experienced it all with are right here. It’s like he’s just stealing those memories, stealing that identity, stealing Kaito’s entire life. That’s not fair.

He still wants to be Kaito; he’s never gonna want to be anyone else, but… there’s no way he deserves to decide that, does he? Not when the real Kaito died, and Kaito’s sidekicks are still here and grieving for him. Knowing that, and with Maki Roll and Shuichi giving him these hurt, horrified looks that say You're not Kaito… maybe he really isn't.

(But Kaito is the only person he wants to or even knows how to be. So if he's not Kaito, then… who the hell even is he?)

Kaito’s friends

With Kaito stunned into speechlessness, and Shuichi and Maki shaken from the undeniable demonstration of how easy it is to just fake an entire person, leaving them also questioning how real they really are despite Kaito’s earlier efforts, it seems like Tsumugi’s succeeded in making everyone despair.

(at this point Keebo is supposed to barge in with his hope nonsense, but hey, how about we don’t have that clogging this up when I’m trying to tell an interesting story here)

But after a little while of none of the others having it in themselves to protest Tsumugi’s claims, Kaito (or, well, someone who once mistakenly went by that name; it doesn’t matter now) speaks up – hesitantly, because he still isn’t sure he really deserves to. “Hey, c’mon, Shuichi… This isn’t like you. You can’t just give up like this.”

(He resists the instinct to add, “You’re my sidekick,” because no, he’s not.)

It doesn’t matter about him, but Shuichi’s still absolutely real. He’s Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective who’s gonna save everyone, right? Never mind what Tsumugi says – that’s who he wants to be, who he’s always been trying so hard to be, so that’s who he is. And if that’s the case, then he can’t let something like this get him down!

“I guess this doesn’t mean much coming from me, but… I believe in you. For real.”

Shuichi stares at him in dawning realisation. This is… exactly the kind of thing Kaito would say to encourage him at a time like this. Especially the way he’s selflessly helping someone else even though he’s the one who’s got to be suffering the most right now. He… really is Kaito, isn’t he?

Kaito doesn’t meet his eye, muttering that that’s not really for him to decide. But… if Shuichi and Maki Roll want him to be Kaito, then – he glances at Shuichi hopefully – then maybe…?

Shuichi firmly tells him that no, that’s wrong. Kaito was just asserting that Shuichi and Maki and everyone else here get to decide who they want to be, so why should it be any different for him? If he wants to be Kaito, then Shuichi’s with him all the way. And Maki feels the same, right?

Maki puts in, slowly, like she’s still figuring this out as she speaks, that she’s been thinking hard about things since he pointed out that this means she never really killed anyone. It’s true that it’s a relief to know that nobody ever died because of her, but… she still feels like she killed all those people. It still hurts, because all of those memories feel real to her.  So in that sense, it’s like she might as well have actually gone through all that hell.

Then… it must be the same for him, right? Even if it wasn’t really him who trained with them and supported them, he feels like it was, doesn’t he? So… he might as well be the same Kaito. If her feelings matter even if they came from fake memories, then so do his.

Hearing both their words to him, Kaito’s face gradually lights up into a huge, somewhat desperate grin. Of course he wants to be Kaito; there’s nobody else he’d rather be! And, Shuichi and Maki Roll, they… they still wanna be his sidekicks, right?

Of course they do. Shuichi and Maki were pretty shaken by the initial shock of seeing Kaito’s death and realising where the Kaito standing in front of them came from, to the point that their kneejerk reactions in that moment might have made him feel like they didn’t see him as Kaito or want him around. But having a little bit of time to process it and reflect on it, and seeing how badly Kaito was hurting from thinking this is how they feel about him… there’s no way that’d be what they settle on. They’re his friends – and they can’t bear to lose him twice.

Maybe they messed up in the sense that they let Kaito die on his end, but they also simultaneously didn't lose Kaito on their end. This person who's here for them right now is still him, and none of what happened to the other Kaito is his fault. How could they just throw away this second chance? They’re still going to need Kaito’s support – and this Kaito needs them, too, more than ever. It’s awful that they failed Kaito once, but they can at least make sure to never fail him again.

(Kaito tells them firmly that no, they didn’t fail him. There’s no way Kaito would have ever thought that, no matter how afraid he was at the end.)

Epilogue

After escaping and settling into the outside world, as the survivors put together a gravesite for the friends from their game who didn't make it, they make sure there's a grave there for Kaito as well. Kaito, Shuichi and Maki visit it from time to time. It only seems right to do so.

The other Kaito, the one who died scared and alone, would have been happy to know that this’d be how it ended, Kaito reflects: to know that he still gets to live on, in a way, and keep being there for his sidekicks. That he didn't just die useless and forgotten. He's certain of it - because he's Kaito, too.

  [part 2 to this post - because I had another fun idea that branches off partway through this one - here!]

[cecilspeaks]

160 - The Weather

No man is an island. Some men are fjords. Most men are oxbows. All men are ravines. Welcome to Night Vale.

The news coming up. But first, let’s go to the weather.

[nature noises, birds cawing]

There’s a cold front moving through Night Vale. Temperature at City Hall is currently 63 degrees and sunny with wind gusts later this afternoon of up to 40 miles per hour. These winds are expected to bring cold air as low as 20 degrees this evening, and possibly dropping to below zero overnight. It’s unknown what’s causing this weather, is a statement I make every day, looking out into the sky. Is it God? P-perhaps it is the government. Perhaps Earth itself is, is it out of boredom that the weather exists? Maybe it is out of care. That would suggest the existence of a God who wishes us well, but it does not explain the fierce destructiveness of a blizzard, or a heat wave, or a tornado, or a tsunami. Is a tsunami weather? That is a question best left to oceanographers, meteorologists, or a Tarot deck. But why would God make a thing, then mar it? What mood change is this? what care can this god have for humanity? Ahhhh. And maybe that’s the point. Ah, that does make me feel better, to think that it all doesn’t matter. It really takes a lot of pressure off, doesn’t it?

Let’s have a look at agriculture. John Peters – you know, the farmer – says his orange crop this year is massive. He says the quantity of product has not deviated, only the quality. “Them oranges are huuuu-uuge!” John said, holding an orange the size of the 2002 iMac computer. “I can’t fit this thing into one of them orange crushers (what that) I make the juice with!” he said, struggling to keep his back straight under the weight of the abnormally sized citrus fruit. But John says he’s excited for his orange grove, which has been doing great ever since he genetically modified his crop to no longer cause teleportation across existential dimensions when consumed. Despite his excitement for orange sales, John says he’s worried about next year’s crop of invisible corn. He said he looked up summer 2020 in his farmer’s almanac and all it said was, “Wellll crap. Good luck.” John plans to diversify his farm investment by raising cattle for slaughter. He’s vegan these days, so he does not want to sell the cattle for meat or dairy. He’ll just raise the cattle until they’re old enough to kill. Best of luck in all your endeavours, John! Hope you finally win that coveted Best Orange at the Citrus Festival this year.

Many of our listeners have written concerned emails about the temperature possibly falling below zero. Bob Sturm of Old Town said: “Zero is the lowest number, Cecil. I’m a big stats guy and I can tell you that you cannot have less than nothing, that’s impossible.” Well listen Bob, I’m a journalist, not a numerologist, so I don’t know what to tell you. Apparently there are many unknown numbers below zero, and as they are discovered, rest assured I will be here to report on them. (Reina Guerrero) from the west side asked if there’s anything we can do to better prepare ourselves for this weather. Well (Reina), here are some tips I just looked up online. One: bundle up. Yeah, your heater can only do so much. Two: bring your pets indoors, and if you have an agent from a Vague, yet Menacing Government Agency outside your home assigned to record your every movement, invite them in as well. You don’t want them freezing alone out there in their black sedan. Three: light a fire, if you have a fireplace. If you do not have a fireplace of pellet stove, try using a refrigerator or sink. Four: if you should lose power at any time, do not panic. Just curl into a ball breathing heavily and repeating: “Oh God no, oh God no, oh God no, oh God no”, through loudly chattering teeth.

Now, we’re not expecting precipitation tonight, but should it snow, I recommend making a snow angel. Yeaaah, that’s always fun. All you have to do is lie flat on your back, arms and legs outstretched, until you are called into celestial service to whatever greater authority rules these beautiful creatures. Thank you for your questions and comments. I’ll do my best to keep our town up to date on the latest weather.

But first, this Saturday is Night Vale’s annual Holiday Fireworks Extravaganza at the Night Vale Harbor and Waterfront Recreation Area. There will be live music by local bands, including  a new band by Dark Owl Records owner Michelle Nguyen and her girlfriend Maureen. [quietly] Ah, my old intern Maureen. Their band is called The Funtastics, and it’s a folk country slash (trans) tribute band performing the acappella covers of Philip Glass scores. According to Michelle’s press release: “Please do not watch our show. I’m very angry you even know about it. I hate that our secret concert at the annual Holiday Fireworks Extravaganza, Night Vale’s most anticipated and attended annual event, was leaked to the press.” Following the concert, there will be a collective prayer to the [gong, echoing] Great! Golden! Hand! And then the fireworks will begin. Event organizers say they have a special fireworks display in store for attendees this year. Traditionally, the biggest explosions are reserved for the end of a half-hour long buildup of lesser explosions, but focus groups have indicated that people are tired of having to wait for the best part. So instead of normal boring fireworks, they will be blowing up old cars using the 18,000 tons of solid fuel they found at an abandoned missile silo on the edge of the Sand Wastes. The Holiday Fireworks Extravaganza would like to thank the Sheriff’s Secret Police for the vehicle donations, which are mostly cars impounded this past week for overdue state inspection stickers. Can’t wait to see everybody this Saturday at the Fireworks Extravaganzaa!

Brrrr! It’s getting pretty bad out there, Night Vale! The temperature has fallen dramatically to 20 degrees outside the radio station. I can hear the creak and groan of our antenna straining under the 40 mile per hour winds. I’ve seen three different minor accidents outside my window as drivers lost control of their vehicles. I’ve got my little space heater under my desk. Huh, but I can still barely feel my feet. [chuckles] I regret choosing today of all days to bike to work. [sighs]

Oh, I’m getting word that power is out in the Barista District, and dozens of leather apron wearing people have been forced to make torches out of Irish cream soaked biscotti stuffed into (-) [0:09:16]. And the only thing available coffee wise right now is cold brew. Gross.

Employees at the Night Vale power plant are working to restore power to that area of town, but they have run into some difficulties. The blustery winds and extreme cold have kept some of the workers from being able to drive to the plant, and the ones already on site re perplexed by how any of this works. “We are not sure if this is a nuclear plant or electric or coal or what,” said Mike Reiner, director of operations for the power plant. “We tried turning the whole thing off and back on like a computer, but the switch didn’t really do anything. Nobody labels anything around here, for crying out loud.” Reiner then began to cry out loud, as dozens of workers rushed to put their arms around the sobbing man. “We’re sorry, boss, we’re sorry,” the frantic workers all repeated. In the chaos of the consoling, a single worker was heard whimpering: “Oh god! Someone do something before he changes back into…” But that voice was quickly and fearfully shushed by the others.

More on the power outage and weather conditions soon.

But let’s get to some good news. Our population is booming, Night Vale! We have more people than houses. But thankfully, the good folks of the private land development industry are helping out. Ah, the altruistic hand of capitalism! A new housing development named The Final Destination is going up in Radon Canyon. New homes start in the 130’s for 2 bedroom semi-detached townhouses, all the way to expensive 10 bedroom estates with beautiful views of the blue..ish mist that settles every morning along the canyon bottom. Representatives from the EPA have warned against building residences in an area known for producing toxic gases, but the developers said they will equip each home with a large exhaust fan and provide a lifetime supply of rebreathers for the first 15 home buyers. The EPA has tried repeatedly to stop this development, stating that excavation of the canyon floor could lead to the release of more gases, which would catastrophically imperil not only the lives of those in the canyon, but the Earth’s atmosphere for hundreds, if not thousands of miles in all directions. “Who knows what’s beneath the shale in that canyon?” one EPA representative said. The representative was wearing a sports coat too large for his frame and comically out of date glasses. He continued: “We have been trying to declare Radon Canyon a Superfund site for years, but Night Vale doesn’t show up in any government database and so it cannot receive its projection. Didn’t you ever see the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark, how everybody’s faces melted off, it’d be just like that.” When it was pointed out that the end of that movie was good because it was Nazi faces melting, the EPA representative said: “Yeah yeah you’re right, that was pretty cool but still, get what I’m trying to say right?” Nobody did, because it was a weird thing to bring up a 40-year-old movie about Nazis and museum artefacts. So, now we will have new housing in the heart of Night Vale’s most beautiful scenic attraction, beginning spring next year.

I’m getting word that the power is out now in Old Town Night Vale and at the library, and on the south end. The temperature has dropped to 5 degrees and I think it will continue to plummet throughout the night. People are doing everything they can to prepare. Before the stores close, I recommend driving out and picking up some water as well as canned goods, even some fresh produce and raw meat while it’s still there. I mean, people worked hard to grow that food ten states away and then drive it across the country right here to you and you haven’t bought it yet? Even if your refrigerator’s not working because of the power outages, it’ll be cold enough in your house to keep it all fresh. So get out there and spend your money on food! We have so much of it. Let’s use it, Night Vale.

But above all: stay warm! If you’re alone, visit a neighbor. Body heat and company can help a lot in weather like this. And if you have room in your home, welcome your neighbors in! There’s no reason to be alone at a time likes. Plus it’s the holiday season, why not keep each other warm with stories, with camaraderie, with good fellowship? [shivering noises] Yet, if you can’t be with others tonight, [groans] then I will do my best to keep you company through this brutal cold.

Ah, I’d like to tell you a story of my childhood. It’s a very personal story, one I‘ve never shared on the air before. [shivering noises] I’m a bit nervous to tell it to you all, but if ever there was time for a story to bring us closer together, now is that time. I will tell you that story in a moment, but first, let’s have a look at sports.

[“Suspension of Disbelief” by Victory Soul Orchestra https://victorysoulorchestra.com]

[beeps] Computer: The National Weather Service has issued a severe weather warning for the greater Night Vale area. Temperatures as low as -10 degrees are predicted with high winds gusting up to 16 miles per hour. Wind chills overnight may reach -30 degrees. Residents of Night Vale and the surrounding towns of Pine Cliff, Red Mesa, and Desert Bluffs too should seek shelter. They should band together around fireplaces with heaters at their highest settings. In cases where heat sources are not accessible or operating, residents should huddle in the vacant lot out back of the Ralphs. Come huddle with us. Come huddle with us. There is a barrel here. It is filled with trash and we have lit it on fire. It is so warm, the trash. The trash is mostly paper and cardboard, but it is also something greater than that. It is a symbol of progress of the great tower of industry (and need) [0:19:51], a ruined towel like Babyl, which just toppled down of the weight of its hubris, and in the language of flame it tells us things. It tells us so much, not through words but through visions. 

Here is a list of visions the fire has revealed to us. One: two spools of coaxial cable. Two: a single white bulb atop of an anthill. Three: an empty keg around squat cylinder of frosting, beneath which lies nothing, not even air. A void (cake). “Happy birthday,” echoes the choir from a good distance away. Four: a great black bird whose white wings brush along the castle turret. Five: a snake spiraled and asleep inside a leather boot. Six: a wheelless tractor in a vast wasteland of cracked earth. Seven: your brother. Not a brother you know, but a brother you once had. He looks like you and he repeats your name, but backwards. Eight: smoke clouds shaped like vice grips.   These are the visions of the flames in the barrel in the vacant lot out back of the Ralphs. 

Beneath our gaze and across our minds, beyond our consciousness, these are the remains of the great tower of humanity. Come huddle with us. You without heat. You without home. You without hope. Come huddle with us. 

This severe weather warning is in effect (through) 8 PM tomorrow, when the warm front is expected to move through the region bringing sunny skies and high temperatures in the mid-80’s, and everyone will return to their normal lives, satisfied that they have (-) [0:21:51] death once again, confusing accidental survival with competence and immortality. What doesn’t kill you only makes you more complacent. The National Weather Service knows this is but a night together with you, not a whole life. For what we have in this moment is (truer) than rain, but deeper than thunder. Parting is such sweet sorrow. Blah, blah, blah. I’m not saying the morning will not hurt. I’m only saying the joy of memory is stronger than the prick of any (plate) upon my heart. This has been a severe weather warning from the national weather service. Stay tuned to the station for further updates.

I love you. I have always loved you. And now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

[beeps]

Cecil: And that is what I saw in the mirror that day. And why I do not like to go near mirrors. Ever.

[sighs] I never told that story to anyone before. I hope it has kept you company throughout this treacherous night. I hope it has kept you warm. Just knowing you’re listening somewhere out there in the cold dark has kept me warm. Stay safe, wherever you are. Good night, Night Vale… [shivers] Good night.

Today’s proverb: Who called it Snowpiercer instead of Chris Evans’s Polar Express?

[itsomgitsgreenblogging]

Sleepless in Zadash: A Critical Role Fanfic

So...I know this is @essek-week, but who better to appreciate Essek than Caleb? Honestly for today I was half tempted to just reblog my Bakery AU fic Labor of Love (which you can read on AO3, all about a buisnessman!Essek falling in love with the owner of a cute magic bakery). But you know, I had this kicking around in my WIP document, and it fit with the Wine Concept, so I hope you enjoy it! 

All I have to say besides this is...there was only one bed

Read the collection on AO3

Caleb sighed as he watched his phone slowly but surely climb up from a measly 2% to 5%. His back was nearly plastered to the wall of the column, squeezed awkwardly between two rows of seats. Crowds of equally stranded passengers moved throughout the airport, trying to find some sort of slice of area to set up for the long wait. Based on the snowstorm that continued to rage outside, frosting the large windows and icing the wings of the planes, Caleb guessed they would all be there for some time. 

His phone began buzzing and flashing, Nott’s face flashed with her teeth in a wide expressive smile. Caleb picked up the phone. 

“Hallo,” Caleb answered. 

“Caleb! Are you alright!” Nott’s shrill tone went straight to his heart. “Where are you right now?” 

“We stopped in Zadash, I was supposed to get my connection here but it isn’t looking like that’s going to happen any time soon,” Caleb said with a wince. He looked over to the Dwendalian Air desk, which was in the process of being mobbed by irate customers. “The desk is going to announce the information at some point if no one murders them.” 

“What the fuck!” Beauregard’s voice echoed from the background. 

“That really is unfortunate,” Caduceus chimed in. 

“Are you going to be able to get somewhere to sleep?” Fjord asked worriedly. 

“I figured I would just rough it at the airport,” Caleb said, curling his legs towards his chest before flexing them out. “I’ve slept in worse places.” 

“We’ll come get you!” Nott nearly shouted into his ear, Caleb had to momentarily move the phone away from his ears. Someone sitting in a nearby seat shot him a dirty look, obviously having been startled out of sleep, before getting up and moving in a huff. Caleb gave them an apologetic look before refocusing on the chatter on the other end of the phone. 

“It’ll be like a super fun road trip!” Jester chirped. 

“No, no. That’s like three whole days, and very dangerous because of the snow. I’m sure we’ll be out of here by tomorrow anyways,” Caleb promised. 

“Well that fucking blows. Do definitely try to get a hotel or something man, I’m sure they have to give you something for the layover,” Beau said practically. 

“He probably won’t, because it’s Dwendalian Air, and life’s a fucking nightmare!” Jester sang cheerfully, and Caleb couldn’t help his grin. 

“He could kill them,” Yasha’s soft voice offered. “The people behind the desk.” 

“No, that definitely would not work under any circumstances,” Fjord pointed out. 

“It was a joke, mostly,” Yasha said, her quiet laugh making Caleb smile. 

“Alright, I’ll let you know where I am and what is going on,” Caleb promised. 

“Bye Caleb!” “Bye Cay-Cay!” “Good luck!” 

Caleb hung up the phone, tapping on the cracked screen. 10%. Caleb sighed, and slid further down on the wall. He continued to watch the waves of people, mostly their feet considering his angle. He liked counting and organizing, it was something that came natural and was always soothing despite the situation. Heels, sneakers, winter boots, light-up and glitter, black and brown, a myriad of types, black oxfords as shiny as a new copper--

A wallet dropped behind the oxfords. Caleb ripped his phone and cord out from the wall and rushed to grab the wallet. 

“Hey! Wait!” Caleb barely managed, breathless in his panic. He couldn’t imagine being stuck at an airport, and losing your wallet on top of that. Just that panic alone propelled Caleb forward. “Your wallet!” 

Black-shiny-oxfords turned around and it hit Caleb in the gut. He was the most handsome man Caleb had ever laid eyes on in his whole life.  He was drow, like many of the professors who guest lectured at Soltryce University from Roshanna College, but had the distinct pleasure of being probably the most obviously attractive person Caleb had ever seen before. He was all high aristocratic cheekbones and delicate silver eyes and curly coiffed styled hair.  He was wearing a meticulously pressed black suit tailored to match his whole aesthetic, like he would drift from the airport and onto a fashion magazine cover. 

He patted his pocket, before holding out a leather-gloved hand. He plucked his wallet from Caleb’s hand delicately. 

“Thank you so much,” shiny-oxfords said with a smile that made Caleb feel like he was having heart palpitations. His voice was smooth with a lilting Xhorhassian accent that added such a depth of flavor to him, and there was something so desirable and timeless about him...as if he were a vintage of wine that never went out of style. It poured over him like it was worth 100 gold a glass. "If I lost this, I would have been in some trouble." 

“Uh, yes, of course,” Caleb cringed, and shiny-oxfords immediately pulled up out of the way of an orc yanking his entire family’s carry on’s on his back. His touch, even through his glove, had Caleb jumping like he had been shocked. “Sorry, sorry.” 

“It’s alright,” shiny-oxfords said eyeing the hurrying family with distaste before looking back at Caleb, “which flight were you supposed to be on?” 

“Connection to Trostenwald,” Caleb said, managing to collect himself and hoping beyond all hope he wasn’t too obvious in his desire to drink this fashionable, beautiful stranger’s presence down for all it was worth. 

“Same,” shiny-oxfords said, looking at his phone. "Though I was hoping to make it to Nicodranas from there. Just got an alert, flight cancelled."

"Oh, sheisse," Caleb groaned, looking at his own phone. The same notification had popped up on his. 

"Do you have somewhere to stay tonight?" Shiny-oxfords asked worriedly. 

"I was just going to...you know sleep here," Caleb said with a helpless shrug. 

"Well, I have enough International Inn points and I made a reservation to stay the night at the Pillow Trove when it looked like things were turning sour. Consider this a thank you gift from me." 

"Oh, you don't have to," Caleb tried to argue. 

"No, I do not," shiny-oxfords said simply. Caleb stared at shiny-oxfords. "But it is the right thing to do considering you kept me from getting arrested as a Xhorhassian national at a Dwendalian border without a passport."

"Oh," Caleb said dumbly. 

"I am Essek Theylss," he said, holding out his hand like his name meant something and Caleb took it dumbfounded. 

"Caleb Widogast," he introduced. 

"It is a pleasure," he said as if it were easy being the classiest person in this place. "Let's get our bags." 

They had to wait an obscenely long amount of time to get their bags. And by the time they did, Caleb was perfectly fine to skip the line for the dinner ticket that he was sure wouldn't even work. They managed to get out of the airport, Caleb waving over a cab from the dozens that crowded the stand like birds huddling together against the snow. He opened the door for Essek after they loaded their bags into the back, eliciting another quirked half-grin from him that had Caleb flushed like he had downed a whole bottle. Caleb had only ever been to the Pillow Trove once, on a weekend in one room with the rest of the Mighty Nein. He wasn't proud to say that they got absolutely wasted on the liquor and cheap wine in the mini fridge, and when you were that drunk it was easy to feel like you belonged anywhere. However while being totally sober he knew he was absolutely out of place here amongst the crystal chandeliers and marble floors. 

The lady at the front desk gave Caleb an incredulous once over, before focusing squarely on Essek. Drow were rare...and generally still unwelcome, but considering how much his clothes nearly stank of money she put on her best congenial smile. 

"Reservation for Theylss," Essek said, flipping out a black credit card and an ID. The lady looked over the ID long and hard, though Essek continued to smile placidly. Eventually, she seemed appeased, though Caleb fought his glare. 

"Of course," she said, typing out very quickly on her computer. "We have a one bedroom available on the fifteenth floor. It comes with a pull out." 

"That will work," Essek stated before looking over at Caleb. "Sound fine to you?" 

"Yes, better than fine," Caleb said, hitching his duffle bag more firmly on his shoulder. He had balanced his messenger bag on the other, while holding Essek's rolling bag. Essek flashed another grateful look at him. 

"Very well, two keys please," Essek asked, and though it looked like it physically hurt the woman she coughed up the two keycards. 

They were down the hallway and up the elevator. Caleb counted the doors as they passed until they finally made it to the room. The room itself was spacious and well furnished, with a queen sized bed, a love seat and the pull out by the window with a small round table. The window itself was wide, and gave a beautiful view of the city that was still being pelted with snow. Caleb dropped his bags on the door side of the room, nestled by the closet. 

“I will be happy to take the pullout,” Caleb offered weakly, turning to his new roommate who smiled in an obvious attempt to placate him.  

“Nonsense. I only need to trance for four hours, you take the bed,” Essek said with a wave of his hand. “A Theylss always returns a favor, if I didn’t my family would have my head.”

“Then let me at least buy you something downstairs...dinner perhaps?” Caleb asked, surprised at his own daring. “And a good bottle of wine for the trouble.” 

“We can split the bottle then,” Essek said, his smile this time showing fangs. “And I doubt that any of this will be trouble for me. Come along then, Mr. Widogast. Dinner, wine, and then bed.”    

Caleb really did like the sound of that. 

[codevassie]

For the writing promt, how about shatt museum date? (btw i love a sky full of stars soo much =)

CV: There is literally no excuse for this being this late. I’ve gone through the excuse of school work many a time. I went through spring break. I went through an actual musuem last week and that was it. Literally no excuses left. Even though it is very very super late, I hope you enjoy anyway! And I’m glad you liked asfos; thank you so much!!!!

Matt’s hair had grown longer in the time they’d been apart. Shiro expected it would have hung over his eyes if Matt hadn’t tied it up in a weird knot back on his head, his glasses pushed atop to keep back the sprigs that the ponytail couldn’t pick up. He was sitting at the tables outside the museum as Shiro approached, head in some book, eyes squinting as he tried to make out the text in the shade of an umbrella.

Shiro chuckled, but decided to stay quiet as he came near, taking the moment to really savor it. Matt looked beautiful; he always looked beautiful, but it had been so long since they’d seen each other face-to-face that Shiro felt he could root himself to this spot for the rest of the day and be content.

Except, he knew he wouldn’t. Because Matt was so close. And it had been months.

“You’re going to hurt your eyes more if you don’t use your glasses,” he said as he stepped into the only light Matt had, casting a shadow over his book and person. Matt’s head bolted up, eyes alight and excited. He jumped up, throwing his arms around Shiro.

“Takashi!” he exclaimed, laughing. Shiro wrapped his arms around Matt in return and felt the other squeeze, squeeze, squeeze.

“You’re going to suffocate me before we’ve even gotten into the building,” Shiro gasped out. Matt, for a moment, squeezed harder just to prove a point, then stepped back, a wicked smirk on his face.

“You’ve grown weak at school,” he challenged. “You used to be able to take my hugs.”

“And you used to be a weakling with noodle arms,” Shiro countered. “What’s your school doing to you? What are you eating?”

“Monster and canned ravioli, typically,” Matt answered, and the sad thing was, he was probably telling the truth. Shiro frowned at him.

“Matt,” he sighed, but he couldn’t scold him. Maybe later. Right now, he was too happy to see his boyfriend to give a damn. “So,” Shiro said, finally stepping back a bit to look up at the building they were standing in front of, “An art museum. What made you decide that?”

“Not everything in my life revolves around space and computers, Shiro,” Matt teased, but Shiro raised an eyebrow and Matt sighed. “What? I thought we could get cultured.”

Shiro laughed. “When have you ever cared about being cultured?”

“Well,” Matt scratched the back of his head, “You seemed pretty interested in that art appreciation class you took last semester. So, I figured, why not?”

“Oh,” Shiro said, eyes widening. He hoped his face didn’t look as warm as it felt.

“Besides, that means you can be our tour guide,” Matt said, teasing again, and Shiro laughed.

“A single art appreciation class isn’t going to make me a tour guide, Matt.”

“Let’s test it out, Mr. Shirogane, then we will see,” Matt said, then tugged him into the museum.

-/-

Matt was squinting at his book again.

“What is that?” Shiro asked, distracted from the statue they were looking at. According to the placard, it was made of wood and raffia.

“I got it from the gift shop. It’s stuff about the pieces, but it’s hard to navigate,” Matt answered, flipping through a few pages, then sighing. He tossed the guidebook to Shiro. “Your turn. Try to figure it out. Also, take a picture of me with this guy.”

“You want me to look through this book and take a picture at the same time?”

“I assume you are a man of multi-tasking abilities, Shiro.”

Shiro sighed, then took out his phone and snapped a picture of Matt making double peace signs next to the statue. He smiled at the phone, quickly made it his new background, then went to the book. They walked as he flipped through it. Matt stopped at the next piece over.

“We’ll never make it through the whole museum if we stop at every piece, Matt,” he warned, but Matt was reading the placard, probably not listening. “Put on your glasses,” Shiro, for probably the hundredth time that day, reminded his boyfriend. Matt nodded and let the inertia slip the glasses onto his nose. Shiro snorted while scanning the guidebook. “Found  it.”

“No way!” Matt exclaimed, causing a few people to look their way in irritation. Matt crowded at his side, peering at the picture in the book, and, sure enough, it was the piece in front of them. “How???”

Shiro just laughed, walking over to the next piece and rattling off some of the information about it from the guidebook for them both to hear.

-/-

They were sat at one of the many benches throughout the museum. The benches were placed so people could admire pieces for longer periods of time. And, sure, Matt and Shiro admired plenty, but their legs were killing them and the bench was a blessing for that too.

“I never realized museums were so much work,” Matt said, slumping against his boyfriend.

“You mean, when you aren’t jumping around from rocket exhibit to rocket exhibit?”

“Hey, that tires me out too,” Matt said and Shiro shrugged. “This is still a lot of fun, though. I don’t know a whole ton about art, but it’s really nice.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Shiro replied, resting his head atop Matt’s. He set serene eyes on the oil piece before them. An ocean, a cliff, two little boys and colors mixed so beautifully that Shiro wished he knew a bit more about art to understand how it was so beautiful.

“I wish we could spend time together like this more often,” Matt sighed. Shiro twined their hands together without moving too much, never taking his eyes from the painting.

“I wish our campuses weren’t so far away from each other,” he agreed.

-/-

“I have never wanted to touch a piece of art more than I have right now,” Matt whispered furiously into Shiro’s ear, eyes trained on a marble statue. “How do sculptures do it?”

Shiro looked at it too, eyes scanning over the woman’s smooth cheeks and the folds and creases of her dress. It was truly amazing. It was stone. It was marble. But it looked so soft, malleable.

“Beats me,” he said. Their hands were still linked, and he dragged Matt away from the sculpture to some of the silver pieces in a glass cabinet.

“Artists, man,” Matt murmured. They entered another room, this one filled with more modern-looking art. Matt sucked in a breath at a light display and practically ran to it, dragging Shiro by the hand. “Fuck,” he swore, his eyes reflecting the glow as they took it all in. It was hard to take his eyes off of, the art that was Matt in his awe. Eyes wide, a galaxy of wonder in them, light illuminating his face like he was gazing on heaven itself. It made Shiro feel like he was the one looking at heaven.

At the thought, Shiro suddenly felt his face and neck explode in heat and he tore his gaze away, looking towards the lights with Matt. He couldn’t really focus on it. After what he had already seen, it didn’t hold the same magnificence.

-/-

Shiro’s feet were killing him as they approached the exit of the museum, but he wasn’t tired, per se. It was strangely invigorating, going through a museum; always something to see next. You never wanted to sit down because there was always something else, something new, around the corner. There wasn’t the same promise at the exit of the building, but he was pretty certain his body was carrying him through despite the fact. It didn’t seem to care about the exercise anymore.

The sky was beginning to dim outside, to Shiro’s surprise, and he checked the time on his phone.

“Wow, I didn’t realize it was getting so late,” he remarked. Matt frowned, looking over his shoulder at the time.

“I don’t want to leave yet,” he whined, but it was soft and sad. Shiro squeezed his hand.

“I’ll walk you to the metro?” he asked, and Matt nodded.

As they walked down the streets to get to the next station, they remained silent, but stuck to each other like glue. It would be the last time they saw each other in person until the end of semester. Finals and projects and papers would start to pick up, and that, with Matt’s job and Shiro’s internship, would make it impossible to plan another day trip. Shiro tried resigning himself to more Skype calls, which were usually the highlight of his day, but, standing there with Matt, real and in the flesh, it was hard to go back.

He decided not to think about it again until it was time. For now, he savored being next to his boyfriend.

When they approached the station, they stood between the entrances to the two platforms, one going uptown and the other downtown. Shiro eyed the sign to downtown over Matt’s shoulder and felt something tug at his heart. He looked down to Matt’s hazel eyes, taking him in like it would be an eternity before they saw one another again. It felt like it would be.

“Call me when you get back to the dorms?” Matt asked and Shiro nodded.

“Don’t eat canned ravioli everyday just because I’m not there to stop you, okay?” Shiro replied. That got a small smile out of Matt.

“Tell Pidge and Keith and Allura I said hi.”

“Tell Rolo and Nyma not to drag you into too much trouble,” Shiro returned. Matt rolled his eyes.

“You act like they’re exclusively troublemakers.”

Shiro laughed. Matt’s eyes went to the clock near them, biting his lip, and shoulders going down. “The next train will be here soon, probably,” he said.

Shiro held onto Matt’s hand tighter. “Do you have to go?” he asked, heart desperate, but he already knew. They were both so busy.

“The fair’s tomorrow,” Matt said apologetically. “The invitation’s still open.”

Shiro shook his head. “My paper’s due Monday. I still have so much to do for it, and there’s a tutor session on Sunday.”

Matt nodded. He’d known this too, but it never hurt to try. They didn’t want to leave.

The clock ticked on. Their eyes locked and an understanding passed between them. Shiro leaned down, giving Matt one last lingering kiss, trying to commit it to memory for the next month and a half they would have to be apart. It was too long.

When they parted, Matt stepped back once. Twice. Three times before waving and turning his back, pulling out his metro pass and stepping through the gate. After the gate, he looked over his shoulder one last time before he got caught up in the crowd and was carried away.

Shiro stayed between the platforms, watching the entrance to the downtown platform for longer than he’d like to admit before sighing and turning to his own station.

He could survive until the end of term. They still had Skype.

Shiro already found himself looking forward to the next call.

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Dark Phoenix Spoiler Review.

Ok so I promised I would make a spoiler review once the movie came out everywhere. Also its been a few days since I saw the film so I’ve had time to think it all over and get my thoughts in order. Like I said right after I saw the movie, It was a great movie I really really enjoyed it. Did I think it was the greatest Xmen film ever? Well no I still think that’s DOFP (particularly the Rogue Cut). But it was still in my opinion right up there with Xmen, X2, First class and it was better than Apocalypse and miles better than Last Stand. It was a little hard to rank because it was very different from other Xmen films, it wasn’t as cheesy, comic booky style this one was much darker and very gritty. But anyway I will be going through the film talking about the good parts and the parts that I thought it could have done more with. The rest is under the cut as there are SPOILERS I should also mention that I talk about some spoilers for Avengers Infinity war and End Game and also for the season two finale of Fox’s show the Gifted. As fair warning this is long really long I have alot of feelings and thoughts so can I make a suggestion stop reading for a moment. Ok now pop into your kitchen make yourself a cup of tea or coffee or hot chocolate or hell even pour yourself a glass of wine. Then come back get nice and comfy on your sofa or bed or in your computer chair where ever it is you are and read this review. Alternatively if you can’t be f*cked with that just carry on scrolling ;) But if you do want to read a ridiculously long review written by a girl who is very much in her feelings well I’ve got one right here for you so read on. 

The Flashback and The Space Mission. 

The opening shot of the film is a flashback to when Jean is a child and she’s in the car with her parents. After getting bored with the choice of music on the radio she uses her powers to turn the radio over. And then all hell starts to break loose and she loses control of her powers causing the car to crash and for it to seem like her parents were both killed. We then see Charles bring her to the school and we have that conversation about breaking things, I actually think these opening scenes did a really good job at setting up the tone for the rest of the movie and it really gives us an insight into Jean and why she fears her own power. I mean it starts out innocent enough she’s just a little girl who wants to listen to something else on the radio so turns it over but then she brings about her parents deaths. I also think that conversation between her and Charles was very important to the rest of the film. When he says ‘whatever you break I can fix’ and she gives that very ominous reply of ‘not everything.’ Its very foreshadowing for what happens later in the film because there are a lot of things Jean breaks and no Charles can’t fix it all. 

So then we flash forward and see a space shuttle being launched into space. Not long after one of the, I’m not sure what they’re called but lets say NASA operators, notices a solar flare heading for the shuttle which causes problems with the shuttle. Now I personally feel like solar flares is probably something NASA should have checked for before sending their shuttle full of astronauts into space. But who knows maybe they just weren’t able to pick it up until the shuttle got closer or maybe the flare just moved really fast and wasn’t there when they checked before the launch. I also appreciate that if they had discovered the flare before then there wouldn’t have been a movie and where’s the fun in that so on this occasion I will forgive this fictional NASA for their error. But anyway I’ve gone off on a slight tangent there so bringing it back. We learn from Hank that the X-Jet isn’t designed for out of space travel and that it wouldn’t be safe to try but then the president calls and he needs the X-Jet to be able to get to out of space so we see Hank reluctantly agree. It was a small scene but I did love how Hank just nodded than he beasts out. It sure did put me in the ‘yes its go time lets go on a mission baby’ mood. I also liked that we saw that convo about the X-Jet maybe not making it to space because it added so much more tension to that scene. Despite seeing the trailer and knowing that they do make it there I forgot that in the moment and I was sat there on the edge of my seat thinking oh lord are they even going to get to the shuttle or is the X-Jet going to explode from the pressure. 

The scene of them launching into space, along with the rescue mission and then their arrival back was one of my favourite sequences in the film. For me it was very reminiscent of the film Armageddon’s launch. Like seriously go watch that scene then watch the scene of the Jet heading into space and you’ll see what I mean. Even the score (which by the way is amazingly breathtaking, like seriously Hans Zimmer out did himself.) was very similar to the score for that scene in Amrageddon. Again go listen to Gap for the Dark Phoenix film then listen to The Launch  by Trevor Rabin they really do seem to both have elements that are similar to me. All of it reminded me of those moments in Armageddon when you’ve got the X-Jet coming out of the baketball and shooting off into space, the news reporters, the people gathered around looking at their tv screens or up at the sky and then switching to the xmen in the jet enjoying the ride into space. Also when they return and everyone is cheering them. Those scenes along with the rescue itself were like a little mini space rescue movie within the movie and I loved every moment of it. But yeah definitely gave me Armageddon or even Independence Day vibes there. The rescue mission itself was also very well done. I liked how the whole team played a part and they worked well together like a well oiled machine. Hank flew the Jet, Raven gave the directions, Scott blasted the thrusters and stopped the shuttle from spinning, Storm closed the holes in the shuttle, Kurt teleported Quicksilver in and the astronauts out. Quicksilver got all the Astronuats to Kurt, Jean held the shuttle together while Kurt rescued the last Astronaut. Every one of them had a role and they utilised each of their powers in a way that worked for the storyline. Also the effects for each of their powers were really cool and again well done. I’ve seen some reviews from critics saying that the effects were sub par and badly done but I’d have to disagree I actually think the special effects are some of the best I’ve ever seen and were a highlight of the film. 

So next I want to talk about the Phoenix Force and the scene where Jean comes in contact with it. The SFX for the Phoenix energy are the best of them all. The way it moved was both incredibly menacing and somehow stunningly beautiful at the same time. Also the moment when Jean pulls the energy away from the X-Jet and her family and into herself made me hold my breath. One thing this film got right was how it built tension. I mean pretty much from the beginning of the film they were building the tension slowly, the scenes in the flashback and the ominous conversation between Charles and Jean, NASA discovering the ‘solar flare’, not knowing if the X-Jet will get to space, rescueing the astronauts, finding out one was left behind, knowing they only had 30 secs to get that man left behind, Kurt arriving back without Jean every one of those moments took the tension up another notch and then it comes to a head when Jean is overcome by the ‘solar flare’. Also seeing her team’s reactions was very emotional particularly Scott and Raven’s  and then when Scott is cradling her in his arms and she slowly opens her eyes. You would think you’d feel relieved but you don’t because as an audience you know whats coming next and you know she should be dead and so instead of that moment dissipating the tension it only racks it up some more. And then it’s kept up throughout the rest of the film you never get a break from it. 

So they arrive back home to cheers and its made pretty obvious that the Xmen are very much loved you know they are the world’s heroes. There are kids with faces painted blue and the little girl with the mystique doll and people holding up signs with their favourtie Xmen’s name on it. The Xmen are being celebrated, Mutants are being celebrated. I mean that shot of the little boy with his face painted blue was really touching to me I actually got wierdly emotional about it because in previous films we’ve seen how much being blue has affected Raven and Hank (and to some extent Kurt) how they never thought they would be accepted looking the way they did and yet heres this kid who not only accepts them but so badly wants to be like them that he’s painted his own face and for some reason that punched me right in the gut with all the feels. I loved that they were getting that validation after everything they’ve been through and struggled with that that part of them was also being celebrated and loved. 

However as we see from Raven and Charles’ conversation this adoration and love comes at a price. Raven points out to Charles that they are taking bigger and bigger risks and wonders if its because of Charles’ ego. But while I do think that factors into it I also think the situation is a little more complicated than that. I mean think about it what do you think would have happened if the Xmen had said no to rescuing the astronauts. How quickly would the world have started to turn on them, you just know that the next days headlines would have been ‘Xmen Leave Astronauts To Die’. And just like that they’d be the bad guys again. I do think this is also shown in Hank’s sudden turn around when the president calls, and the convo between Jean and Raven, its also pretty obvious that no one else in the team feels particularly good about going on this mission. Everyone thought it was a bad idea but as I said they can’t say no. They worked so hard and fought so hard over the years to get to this place where they are accepted but now they are trapped in this damned if they do damned if they don’t situation. So I do understand Raven’s frustration at the situation and I think she’s also frustrated with Charles because she feels like he cares more about the image of the Xmen than he does the actual people in the team and to be honest in that moment he did come across that way. Now I don’t think they portray Charles as a bad guy here more as someone whose ego combined with good intentions are leading him to make alot of bad mistakes. That is one thing I have always loved about the Xmen films that despite having superpowers and being portrayed as mutants and different the films have always focussed on how they still have very human flaws and failings and are often influenced by very human feelings.  So anyway that’s the beginning of the film, that’s our set up, you know the whole reason for the space mission was to bring Jean into contact with the Phoenix and now we can move on to the next stage of the movie.

Beastique

Ok so if you are not a fan of Beastique you might want to skip over this section because I am a huge Beastique shipper so in the next couple of paragraphs I am going to be gushing, crying and sighing over what could have been. After everyone arrives home Charles tells them to go enjoy themselves as they have earnt it. And so the younger folks go off and throw a party and we get a scene between Hank and Raven who are together in the lab. During this scene they are watching the kids on the screen (which as a side note did anyone else find that a little weird that they were spying on the kids like that? I mean I guess it kinda makes sense considering there were also school kids there and they had a fire and I think alcohol so some supervision was probably warrented but I also found it a bit strange.) But anyway they start by reminiscing about how they too used to throw party’s like that and how they are the last of the First Class team. Which leads to that scene. That scene where she’s trying to convince him to run away with her.  My God my poor Beastique heart. I mean I went into this movie knowing what was going to happen to Mystique they spoilt that pretty early on so this scene was very bittersweet for me. I also liked that it was Raven who was asking Hank to leave with her as oppose to the other way around. In previous films I did feel like it was mostly Hank who was trying to put effort into their relationship and who was chasing Raven so it was nice to see the roles reversed a little and see Raven showing her feelings. I just thought that scene was so sweet, I mean she wanted to leave with him and for them to have a life together. It really made me long for might have beens and it made Mystique’s eventual fate all the more sad and tragic because she could have had that life if she and Hank had left together. But she didn’t want to go without him and once Jean disappeared she knew she couldn’t leave without making sure she was safe first. Which brings me to her death scene. Like I said I saw this coming but I said before I went into the movie that so long as we got some scenes that showed that Raven and Hank had spent the years that had passed happy and together I’d be happy which we did. The one other thing I wanted was an I love you and let me just say... I didn’t mean like that!! Now I will however hand it to them they wrote Raven’s death scene very well. I know JLaw’s portrayal of her wasn’t the most popular but I personally loved her portrayal of her I liked that more vulnerable side of the character and that it was different from the original it was one of the things I liked most about the prequel series that with all the characters we got to explore other sides of the characters that were in my opinion more complex and nuanced than the originals more than just this is the good guy and these two are the bad guys. Don’t get me wrong I love the originals as well but I liked getting that other side of them. But anyway I do think it was a satisfying end for Raven’s character. She died protecting her family. The scene itself was very well shot and played the tension and shock value brilliantly and her goodye scene with Hank tore me apart. His just utter disbelief and him reapeating no no no over and over and her whispering out I love you as her last words because she just has to say it to him in that moment. It was incredibly sad and both actors did a fantastic job with the scene. 

One thing I do wish when it comes to Beastique as a whole is that they had spent more time on it, this couple have been criminally underdeveloped throughout these films. I mean they set it up brillantly in First Class I left that film very much feeling like they had that whole first love/ love at first sight/ starcrossed lovers vibe. But then they kinda dropped the ball on it. I mean if you were going to do this relationship then do the relationship don’t give me no half baked thing and don’t start what your not going to finish. I do feel like a lot of their scenes were filmed but then ended up on the cutting room floor I mean I will always both be very bitter about the Beastique scenes from the Rogue Cut being cut from the theatrical realease and very grateful that we did at least get to see those scenes in that extended format. I will confess that Beastique or the lack thereof has been one of the things that has frustrated me most throughout this series of films. Mainly because they always gave me just enough to keep me invested in this ship but never enough to fully satisfy me.  Don’t these people know that I am an obessed fangirl whose hapiness and misery in life revolve around these fictional ships and I demand to be fed. Of course they did give me nearly everything I ever wanted for Beastique in this installment. I mean guys my OTP were having the lets run away together talk and then we got I love you’s as well so I should be a very very happy shipper right now, but unfortunately that’s the eternal plight of the obsessive fangirl sometimes you get everything you ever wanted for your ship and then it is snatched away from you. The Kinberg giveth and the Kinberg taketh away again. But anyway emotionally unstable rant over with, the obessed slightly crazy fangirl me has been put back in her box and rational reviewer me is back so let us continue. 

The Drawbacks 

Ok so I will and can admit that this film did have a couple of issues. And I’m going to talk about them here because the two biggest issues I had with the film have happened by this point in the film. My first issue with the film, which I touched on a little above, is that I feel like they should have spent just a little more time building the relationships between the various characters before Jean loses control at her father’s house and before Mystique is killed. In particular I feel like Scott and Jean and Hank and Raven needed just a couple more scenes for each couple to show the growth in both relationships. But also I think there needed to be more scenes between Raven and each of the members of the rest of the team. And again with Jean and each of the other members. I mean it wasn’t a huge problem we still got enough to know that Scott and Jean were in love and to feel the impact on the relationship when Jean went Dark and Scott’s desperation in trying to get her back. We got enough to know that Raven and Hank were in love and felt that impact of her death and to make sense of Hank’s decisions and motivations after. We got enough to know that this group of people were a family and what was happening with Jean and what happened to Mystique was tearing it apart. So yes we still got enough for it make sense but I feel like with just a few extra scenes spent building those relationships it would have added just a little more punch to those emotionally charged scenes.

The thing is when me and my sister left the cinema one of the first things she said to me after ‘that was good,’ was ‘but it seemed really short it was only like an hour long.’ At the time I argued that no it must have just seemed short because it was fast paced but actually she was right this film wasn’t even 2 hours long (the runtime was 1hr 54 min) making it the shortest in the prequel series. And to be honest I don’t understand why they didn’t make it longer. I do feel like the film suffered a bit from the shorter runtime and alot of the issues with the film could have been fixed if they had just added an extra half hour and brought it to around the 2hrs 30min mark. They would have had more time to develop those relationships and also explore the backstory of the Alien villians a little which is another place where the film fell a little short. The film was very fast paced and I do wonder why I mean they were not messing about they got right into it, It was only like 10-15 mins in when Jean was infected with the Phoenix. I do wonder if some of it was down to the reviews from Apocalypse saying it was too slow in places so they tried to conteract that in this film and went too far the other way. It does appear like a lot of stuff was cut out there were several moments from the trailers and screenshots that didn’t appear in the film. For example when Scott asks Charles tell me what to do and Charles bursts out I don’t know what to do. I don’t remember seeing that in the film. Also that screenshot of Eric in a wheelchair and Hank, Storm and Kurt are with them that wasn’t in there either. Now me personally one thing I would love is if when they release it to DVD they do the same thing they did with DOFP The Rogue Cut and release an extended version of the film. 

So the next thing that bothered me was that there wasn’t enough Quicksilver. His scenes have been highlights of the previous movies and I was hoping to see that big Quicksilver sequence but sadly we never got it instead we got two smaller scenes (which I loved them both) before Quicksilver is badly injured and taken out of comission for the rest of the movie. I am happy they gave us that scene at the end that showed us he was ok. But I do wish we had gotten more scenes with him. That being said I have learned that the reason why Quicksilver had such a small part in this movie was because Evan Peters had conflicts in his filming schedules for this and American Horror Story. So I can forgive them for the smaller part as it wasn’t really the film producer’s fault. I have decided instead I am just going to be grateful that he was in the film at all and appreciate the scenes we did get. Obviously it was disappointing that we didn’t get a conclusion to the whole Dadneto storyline but then I read an interview where Simon Kinberg talked about why and he said that he chose not to do it because with the limited time they had with Evan Peters he didn’t feel like there was enough time to do the story justice. To be honest I actually have a lot of respect for him for making that decision and sticking to it I mean he could’ve caved and done a rushed scene where it gets resolved but it wouldn’t have given the storyline the time and attention it deserves. As he said it was the story that deserved to be told properly and I think that him deciding that if he couldn’t give that storyline the attention and time it needed to be done well then he wasn’t going to do it all shows that he cares about and has a lot of respect for the characters. I am also glad that as they couldn’t do the story they didn’t have any scenes with Quicksilver and Magneto because that would have been too painful to see them in the same space and not have that reveal. So yeah as disappointed as I am that we never got any Dadneto scenes I can appreciate and respect Kinberg’s reasons behind it. Personally I’m holding out and praying for a solo Quicksilver film.   

Every Hero Has a Dark Side.

So as all of the promo posters for this movie suggest this theme of a person’s inner darkness is played on throughout the movie. The thing I really liked about this movie was even though the main focus was on Jean and her struggle with this Dark Force that had taken over her all of the characters have moments where their darker side comes through with varying degrees. I mean during the fight scenes no one was holding back because they were up against a friend or family member I mean I really got the sense that they were gunning for each other which for me was both surprising and horrifying which you know I think it was suppose to get that reaction from you. But yeah every character had that darker moment. So starting with the ones that had less of a conflict going on to the ones who had some really dark moments (I am not going to include Jean, Mystique or Quicksilver here because I want to discuss Jean in her own section and the other two weren’t really in it enough to have much to talk about). Storm doesn’t go that dark but has that moment of doubt about Jean where she goes to Scott and says that she thinks Jean did mean to kill Mystique and has that line about how sometimes you think a person is something but then by the time you learn they are something else its too late. It’s obvious Storm is very conflicted about the whole Jean thing but in the end she goes along with Scott because its Scott and she has a bond with him and Jean. I do wonder if in the previous version Storm also goes against Jean as I did feel like there were hints that she also believed Jean was a lost cause and should be killed but ultimately sided with the Xmen because Scott asked her to so I do feel like Storm’s darkness is displayed in her considering killing Jean and turning her back on her as I feel she more went along with the team out of support for Scott than out of actually wanting to rescue Jean. Scott’s dark moment came later and again like Storm wasn’t so overly done that it seemed wildly out of character. That was when he tells Eric ‘if you touch Jean I will f*cking kill you.’ You know what? He meant it, I believed he meant it in that moment. Actually little tidbit for you but in the cinema like 50% of the audience gasped and the other half made oooh sounds at that moment. I actually loved that scene I think it showed Scott as being someone who was strong and would protect the ones he loved at any cost like I knew that he would kill anyone who tried to hurt Jean. Scott’s story in this film is one of desperation. I mean you have to look at his journey in the story. The woman he loves is doing all these awful things to their own family, He had to watch her kill someone who had a maternal role in their lifes who he had love for, and then I think Hank’s decision to go after Jean had a big effect on Scott as well. I know the film seems to set Charles up as Jean’s father type figure but in regards to Scott especially when you look at their relationship in Apocalypse I would argue that Hank has that more paternal bond with Scott. Charles is definitely a mentor role but I do think we need to remember that its Hank and Raven who helped raise these kids up too. So for Scott this man (Hank) who he does have a father/ big brother type bond with, a man he would ordinarily turn to in tough times and who he admires is trying to kill the woman Scott loves. Scott must feel so betrayed and like Hank has turned against him too. I really think the characters darkest moments though (and this includes Storm) come out in their fight scene against each other when they are trying to get to Jean. Like when I saw the two sides approaching each other I thought oh they’ll hold back a bit because they won’t want to accidently hurt each other. But nope there was no holding back and actually it did seem like they wanted to hurt each other. There was a lot of hurt and anger behind those scenes and I was actually shocked by how agressive they were being towards each other. It was horrifying and heartbreaking. Ok so next on are list is Kurt. Oh lil baby Kurt. Kurt is one of those characters that is so sweet and innocent and so very child like that you can’t imagine him ever doing anything that could be deemed even a little dark despite his father being a literal demon. But there is one moment in this film where poor little Kurt just snaps. And I loved it. It also made sense to me in that moment it was the only way I could ever see Kurt being agressive like that. I mean again if you look at his journey in the film so far, he’s had to leave behind one of his team mates during the space mission which he believes at the time had lead to her death only by some miracle she survives and he thinks its all ok. Then he finds out that actually she wasn’t fine at all and being hit by that energy has changed her, he witnesses Jean who is like a sister to him kill Mystique who I feel like she very much had a mothering type role in all of the younger team members lifes. He also sees Jean actively hurting other members of his family. Which he must have some sense of guilt over because in his mind he left her behind. Then he has to watch the world that had come to love and admire and basically worship him and his team mates turn on them and treat them once again as dangerous. And I think the final straw was the man who tells him his son used to be a fan, the same man who lets them go when the aliens show up because he trusts that the xmen can protect them, is killed. Kurt knows that this man has a son at home, a son that once admired Kurt and hero worshipped him, a son whose now going to have someone come to his door and tell him his dad is dead. Kurt is such a soft soul that he was able to feel a connection with this man and his child and so when that man dies Kurt is devastated and it leads him to snap and go full on BAMF on them all. I mean I loved his fight with that alien woman. My favourite part was when they were on the train tracks and she’s all yeah I’ve won, I’ve got you, I’m gonna kill you and Kurt just gives her the look. The ‘uh uh b*tch I’ve got you’ look then teleports away leaving her dumb ass to get hit by a train. Again another side note here but I actually laughed at that moment when she got hit by the train, I don’t think I suppose to but yeah me and my sister just looked at each other (the only time we did make eye contact during the film) and just smiled at each other then laughed. I mean in regards to Kurt I was conflicted during his fight scene because one part of me really wanted to see him rip that woman to shreds, I wanted to see how powerful he was and I loved them showing him using that power in a different more offensive as oppose to defensive way. I wanted to see him win that fight naturally. But at the same time when I thought about everything he had gone through to lead him to that moment of snapping I just wanted to wrap him in a hug and wish he could go back to being that innocent childlike cinnamon roll. Because its tragic what happens to him, well what happens to them all really they are all put through hell in this film and its a very tragic and sad story but one that I thought was told well. 

Ok so next one to talk about the dark side with is Charles. Now Charles is the anamoly I think in this story because where the others all primarily start out good and then throughout the film slowly become darker Charles is the opposite way around. When we see him again in this film after Apocalypse he is well he’s a bit of a douchbag. I do wonder how much the events of Apocalypse have played a part in his new attitude I mean being mindf*cked by Apocalypse like that must have had some impact on him. But anyway he’s enjoying having his ego stroked by all these powerful politicians and influential people. He’s getting awards and being on magazine covers and he’s eating it all up, having a good old feast. Which again makes sense for his character in this storyline as he says to Raven when she says ‘you enjoy it don’t you’ and he replies ‘as oppose to being hunted and despised well you know actually I do’. He knows that things are going well at the moment the world believes they need the X-Men but Charles also knows as he says they are only one bad day away from being hated again. He does care for his team and want to keep them safe, I mean he does express concern for Jean when she does return but he’s also willing to go to extreme measures to achieve that dream of complete acceptance. When he says its all about a means to an end and Raven says something about even if it means risking the teams lives to save their people (meaning the humans) and he replies yes I got the sense that he would be willing to sacrifice one of the team if it meant keeping what they had gained and built over the years.I’m not saying he wouldn’t be distraught if something happened to one of his team or that he wouldn’t grieve but he’d consider it a sacrifice that was worth being made for the greater good. He considered the danger he was putting the team in as an acceptable risk. There is also the fact that he lied to Jean and manipulated her mind. Again you could understand why, he was trying to protect her and he had good intentions but they were really misguided you know waht they say ‘the road to hell is paved with good intentions’ and this is truly shown within Charles’ storyline. Charles’ story in this film is once again one of tragedy and was designed to warn of the consequences of letting your ego and selfishness get in the way. It was about a man who had good intentions but in the end he let his ego lead him down the wrong path and a lot of people suffered for it. He’s not set as the villian of the story but as the cautionary tale, at his core he’s still a good man. It was incredibly sad to see him watching everything around him unravel and know that a lot of it was down to his own choices. Of course as the film goes on he does try to redeem himself by attempting to get through to Jean. I said above that I thought he would be willing to sacrifice one of them but as the film goes on this changes because the more things fall apart the harder he fights for Jean and the rest of his team. Unfortunately he’s never really able to fully turn things around as Jean said in that opening scene he can’t fix everything she breaks and I do think come the films end Charles himself is broken. 

Ok Eric. Here’s another one that is set to a different formula this film. Where in most of the other films he’s pretty much the bad guy from the get go or at least morally grey, in this film when we first see him he’s used his time to move on from his vengence and has built a homeland for mutants. He looks like he’s doing really well for himself. But then it all goes to hell when first Jean then Hank show up. One thing I will say is I liked how Eric was willing to help Jean no questions asked when she first showed up. I mean obviously he did ask questions but he was still willing to help her even if she didn’t answer. Like you could see he wanted to help her and he answered all her own questions despite how troubling they were. Of course he does eventually have to cast her out in order to protect his people. Then Hank shows up and he learns that Jean killed Raven. Another thing I liked were those scenes between Hank and Eric who up until this point had very much been at odds with each other but their love for Raven unites them. It was something new and unexplored and so it felt fresh it was interesting to see that dynamic. Obviously Eric going a bit dark isn’t really that much of a shock considering his previous actions in other films but I do think it was well done here. Again as with all of the characters his motives for it made sense. I do think that the point of Eric’s story in this was to show that even when you escape your inner darkness and better yourself you can always be pulled back into it again by trauma. Eric is also the figure for how trauma can turn someone into a morally flawed person its always been his story how he tries to be a good man but circumstances and tragic occurences in his life always bring out that vengeful spirit in him, that darkness. He’s very much the equivalent of the frankenstein story, are you born a monster or do circumstances make you one. 

Now its time for Hank. I loved what they did with Hank’s character in this movie. I loved that they gave more time to him and I loved that we got to see that darker side. Now I’ve put him last because I do think that out of all of them his was the most drastic change in character so for him this was the darkest he’s ever been. Again it made sense for the character. He was in love with Raven and has been for years and the tragedy of this story is that he lost her when they had finally got there shiz together and were happy. Also he clearly has a lot of guilt and regret over not leaving with Raven when he had the chance. I mean it comes through real strong in that moment when he tells Charles ’Raven was going to leave and I convinced her to stay.’  He is utterly destroyed by Raven’s death and on top of that he’s lost all faith in Charles who is one of his longest companions, some of the blame for her death he puts on Charles. Because it was Charles’ choices that led them to that moment and it was Charles who physically stopped him from taking out Jean with that taser which may have prevented Raven’s death. I think for me one of the saddest storylines in this film was seeing that rift between Hank and Charles. I mean if you think about their history Hank has always stood by Charles. I mean just take a look at DOFP when Charles had no one else he still had Hank. Hank acted as Charles’ carer for years and was with him even in his darkest moments and yet this is what makes Hank get up and walk away from him. Because Charles himself can’t even admit that he was wrong. I mean that scene in the kitchen between them was amazing, both actors were amazing I felt their pain and grief. I felt the tension between them. It was awful to watch these two characters who have been through so much together get torn apart. But again, and I will keep saying this, it was done well. It was done with alot of care and attention and respect and you know alot of thought and heart was put into this film. So anyway Hank decides that Jean needs to be killed and you know Hank is a genius he knows that without Charles he doesn’t have the resources to find Jean by himself. So he goes to Eric for help in finding her. Which makes sense from a strategic standpoint. He and Eric might have their issues but Hank knows that Eric loved Raven too and that he has resources so Hank uses that to get the help he needs. Now the fact that Hank wants Jean dead is naturally kinda dark. I mean this is a woman that he has known since a child and who is very much like family to him. But I also believe that after Jean killed Raven Hank made up his mind that Jean was gone as he says ‘Jean isn’t Jean anymore.’ In his eyes Jean died up in space when she was hit by that solar flare and whatever this thing is that looks like Jean now this thing that killed the woman he loves it isn’t Jean. So he’s not just grieving Raven he’s also grieving Jean too and again I think this comes through when Eric says ‘if I find her I will kill her’ and Hank answers ‘I know’. I mean that scene did make me tear up a little because you can hear the pain in Hank’s voice and you see the tears in his eyes and you just know this is cutting him up inside. He’s not making this decision lightly it is effecting him deeply. Seriously though hats off to Nicholas Hoult because he did some serious to God amazing acting in this film. I mean Beast has always been one of my favourite characters especially since First Class so I am a little biased but I really did think his performance in this film was so emotional and he did a really great job in all of his scenes. I also loved that ultimately he was able to overcome that darkness and in the end did what Raven would have and protected Jean. It was another moment that just gave me chills I mean when the aliens are like give us the girl and he just growls out that ‘no!’ It was so powerful and like I said I got literal chills.  

Whose Got The Power!? 

They all do, oh boy do they. One thing that alot of the other X-Men films got criticism for was not utilizing all of the characters powers very well. There was always one character that got left on the sidelines I am pleased to say however that is not the case in this film. Every one of our characters gets the chance to fully display their powers and you know what its epic. The special effects for each of the powers are fantastic. Also I loved how creative they were with how they used their powers I touched on it a bit in the first part of this review but they do cover all aspects of each of their powers and not just one facet of them. For example with Storm they don’t just show her pulling down lightning bolts. We do see her do that and its electrifying (pun intended) but we also see her use her powers to freeze over the holes in the space shuttle or to quite literally at one point blow her enemy away with the force of the winds she’s controlling. With Hank they show us his super intelligent side of his powers when they are talking about the modifications he’s made on the Jet and him treating Jean but also show his strength and fighting finesse. Scott uses his powers both in a productive way when he stops the shuttle from spinning and in a destructive way when he’s blasting his foes to hell. Kurt uses his to rescue people and to teleport people in front of trains we again see both the defensive and offensive sides of his powers. The same with Quicksilver we have one scene of him rescuing another of him attacking. Mystique we see her shapeshifting but we also explore more of her leadership skills too. Charles uses his power to both communicate and to control. Eric uses his in close quarter hand to hand combat but to also crush things around people or to pull subway carts up and use them as a shield and battering ram. Jean uses her powers for literally everything, it seems like there’s nothing she can’t do and we get to see it all. So yeah I definaitely got excited and went full fangirl whenever I saw them use their powers and it is alot. 

The Train Fight. 

Ok yes I am going to say it, I am going to put this statement out there for everyone to see. This was the greatest fight sequence in any superhero film ever. And I mean ever. And yes I am including those huge epic battle scenes from Infinity War and End Game. Which don’t get me wrong were epic but this scene for me was even greater than those and here’s what I think gives it the edge. There are less characters involved. Now you might think that would lessen it but I actually think its an advantage for this film. Because there are less characters involved it gives it a much more intimate feel than those other battle scenes. Because there are less characters you can focus on each of them more and follow them through the battle more closely. There is less confusion of what is happening because you can focus more on those characters and what each of them are doing. Yet it still manages to be as dramatic and exciting and just downright cool and epic as those other scenes. I mean I just I don’t think I even have the words to describe just how epic that scene was. But I will try. 

So I am going to start at the very beginning of the scene where they are all on the train chained up. The thing that is poignant about this scene is at this point all the characters are still at odds with each other. You can feel the tension between all of these characters and the discord. We also get a quite sweet and really emotional scene between Charles and Hank where Charles finally tells Hank what he wants to hear. He was wrong and he’s sorry. This becomes a turning point because it has a huge part to play in what happens next. So right after we hear banging noises and over the radio the security following the train inform the guards in the train that they have multiple hostiles on the roof. Then Eric says she’s coming for us. In the trailer this is actually really misleading because there you think they are talking about Jean but actaully in the film Jean is on the train with them and the ‘she’ coming for them is Jessica Chastain’s character Vuk who wants the Phoenix Force herself and her people who are an alien race who can shapeshift and seem to be nye on near indestructable. I mean these guys are really hard to kill trust me which really helps in building the tension. But anyway they say to the guards let us go because we can help but they refuse until most of them are killed and one guard smartly decides to let them go. There comes another of my favourite moments which again is a small but very powerful one. Once they have been released, the door is blown off and in walk our alien adversaries. Our X-Men all stand up and form together and do what I like to call the superhero stance, you all know the one I mean. The one that tells you they mean business and the bad guy better watch out. Again this is another moment where I just got chills. I said earlier that Hank and Charles’ conversation was important because of what it meant for later scenes and this is the one I meant because it makes Hank change his mind and he refuses to stand aside and let them at Jean, when Eric asks him what he’s doing he replies what ‘Raven would have’. This also causes Eric to have a change of heart and so you get this moment where the people who were at each others throats about 10 mins before are now choosing to band together and fight for each other and it is a truly intimate and beautiful moment. And then all hell break loose and the epicness begins. 

A highlight of this fight and something they do really really well and something that makes it really fun and interesting to watch, is that it is on different levels of the train. You have them fighting in the train carts, you have them fighting on the roof of the train, hell you even have them fighting on the damn tracks and on the bridges along the train tracks. They’re in the train, they’re on the train, they are the train. But in all seriousness it is so well choregraphed and has a great progression. 

Some highlights of the scene were Eric firstly crushing the train cart around the aliens and then just with a casual flick of the wrist tossing it away like it was no biggy at all. Two when Vuk shows up and Eric brings out the big guns literally. He uses his powers to point an arsenal of assault rifles at her then just blasts the crap out of her. She just stands there calmly taking it all and then heals right up in a very sinister and creepy way. But the shot of Eric there with all the rifles assembling around him is again just an epic moment and very very Eric if you know what I mean. Micheal Fassbender is so good at playing Magneto always so sauve and smooth. 

Kurt fighting that female alien and then leaving her on the train tracks. We really got to see his powers in this scene and in some ways it was remencient of Azazel in First Class in how he uses the powers. He grabs a person and then teleports them somewhere else before they get he chance to get their bearings and its that very fast get a shot in then teleport and get another shot in kinda style. Though naturally Kurt isn’t anything like his father character wise, he is far too much of a sweet little cinnamon roll I do think a little of his darkness came through here. 

Jean waking up and saying ‘I know what I have to do, protect my family’ then rising up out of the train and shielding her friends before lifting the train from the tracks and smashing it back into the earth with the aliens inside. The special effects for that scene were amazing and it was just a really cool scene to watch. 

It’s An Alien Invasion

So the true bad guys of this film are the aliens who come after the Phoenix Force. The race isn’t actually given a name in the film but from what I understand they are a race called the Skrulls which are shapeshifting aliens who seem to be ridiculously strong and impervious to harm. Their home planet was destroyed along with the majority of their people by the same cosmic force that now inhabits Jean and they have spent years tracking it across the universe hoping to capture and harness its power so that they can remake their home world. When you take just this part of their story you actually feel quite sorry for them. I mean at least I did like these poor aliens watched their home and all the people they love get destroyed just out of the blue one day and they are the last few survivors and they just want to start over anew. It must have been so traumatic for these poor guys. Of course any sympathy I had for them was soon thrown out the window when I realised that their way of getting their world back was by using the Phoenix Force to remodel Earth into their home planet which means wiping out all humanity. Then I was all like these peeps need to die. 

I will say that I think a little more time needed to be spent on this group of people. I get that they were going for the mysterious vibe with them but I think they might have been a little too mysterious. I mean I think they did enough with the main one Vuk. I also understood the backstory and why they were doing what they were doing but there were I think about 7 other aliens or so (I don’t remember the exact number) but we don’t get to know any of the others really. We only have time with Vuk so I do think they would have benefitted from building up some of those other background aliens. 

That being said there were some good things about the villians. There arrival was a good scene. It was very creepy and again very like those Alien invasion films. That shot of them creeping out of the trees through the darkness was very very spooky and chilling. Also the scenes where Vuk is killing and torturing people by putting her hand on their chests was also very disturbing. I mean overall as villians they did come across as frightening and creepy and yes mysterious but I do also think they could have been built up a bit more. As I said above in the review this is one thing they fell short on and I do think it could have been combated with making the film longer. 

The Dark Phoenix

Sophie Turner let me fall to my knees and bow before you, you absolute Queen. Sophie did so good, so so good with this film. Sophie played this role masterfully. It had so many waves through out the character development and she sold every one of them and made it so believeable. From that elation she displays when she first gets back and she wants to party and drink and you can see she’s on top of the world, to her pushing Charles out of her head and causing him injury, to her joy and childishness when she sees her father again to the rage when she goes up against her friends. I brought every damn thing she was selling me. I also liked how the Phoenix powers slowly emerge within Jean. At first we get subtle signs of it like when she is floating out in space right after being consumed by the energy and those little cracks appear on her skin with the firey glow under them. Or when she does open her eyes and for a brief moment they also have a fiery colour. Then it continues to grow bit by bit until eventually by the end of the film she’s full on glowing and vapourising sh*t like a BAMF. But I liked that it wasn’t just a case of she gets hit by it and all of a sudden she’s super powerful and turning stuff to dust right away they reveal it to us slower, showing us a litlle bit then a bit more which again adds to the tension and anticipation and makes you want to see more to want to know just how much more there is, how powerful is this power and what is Jean going to do with it? 

So lets walk through Jean’s transformation into the Dark Phoenix and talk about her journey throughout the movie. So I already covered her flashback scene above so we don’t really need to go into that so I think we should start with is right after she gets linked with the Phoenix Force. Once they’ve returned home Jean is sent for a medical exam with Hank to make sure she’s ok. Hank sees that everything is ok but there’s an anomaly in her powers. She’s grown so powerful that the machine isn’t even picking it up anymore, she’s literally off the charts powerful. Hank tries not to let it trouble him too much and just makes a quip about how he needs to build a better machine and sends her on her way. I just said above that Sophie did a fantastic job at showing the fluctuations and changes within her character’s moods throughout the film. Well in these beginning scenes Jean is very much feeling elated and powerful. There’s one part of the film where Charles says that Jean is ‘all desire and rage’ and at this point we see more of the desire part of it. She has that heated moment with Scott where they kiss which actually reminded me abit of when Jean kisses Logan in Last Stand. Then they go to the party and she wants to drink and dance and you get this general feeling of desire from her she wants to have a good time. It’s almost like she’s high on the feeling you know that feeling of being on top of the world that you get. Again another side note here but just wanted to say I loved that cameo of Dazzler and her powers looked real cool. But anyway back to Jean, so then things around her start to blur and she can feel that power building up in her and the voices start and its that same feeling she got in the car with her parents and it frightens her. She clutches her head and tells the voices to be quiet but then the power explodes from her knocking the people around her to the ground and blowing over trees and she’s then unconcious at the center of this charred circle. This then leads to Charles looking into her head while she’s asleep and having to confess to Hank and Raven what he did and informs us that the walls he put up or the scaffolding as he called it is starting to come down. Jean walks up and is none to happy to find Charles in her head and pushes him out after a bit of a battle for control that leaves Charles needing medical care and Jean to leave because we learn that she heard her father’s voice and she realises that her father is still alive and did not die in the car accident like she believed. Although we saw a little of that rage during her argument within her head with Charles she is still very much at this stage driven by desire. This time its her desire to see her Father again. Which as an audience and as Charles knows this is a very bad idea considering the unstable mood she’s in. Upon meeting her father what she learns is that her Father gave her away, when she looks at the photos and sees loads of her mother but none of her she realises that her Father knew where she was but did not come looking for her, her rage builds and during the heat of their fight her Father tells her to come all the way in and to not forget what she did. Upon reading her father’s mind she learns that she killed her mother. This was another thing that Charles had manipulated her mind into forgetting in an effort to protect her. Unfortunately that now means all of that pain and horror of realising what she did to her mother comes out at this moment when she’s unstable. So when the X-men show up they find her emotionally distraught. This is when all the rage comes and with it the desire to hurt those she feels have wronged her and unfortunately that person she feels is Charles who lied to her and kept the truth from her. Her rage is directed at him and anyone who stands with him. So when the police cars show up she sees them as a threat and destroys them which leads to Storm throwing the lightening bolt at her and then things just escalate. At one point she even throws Scott across the lawn which really shows how out of control she’s becoming and how the power is warping her mind. One thing I do want to touch on quickly is that I don’t actually think this cosmic force she comes in contact with is necessarily evil on its own. When I first saw the trailer I thought it was a case of shes overtaken by this evil energy and that turns her evil but having seen the film I actually don’t think that’s the case at all. I don’t see the energy as being evil or good its just powerful. It’s like Charles says when he gives child Jean the pen it’s what you choose to do with it. I also don’t get the impression that the power has a mind or feelings of its own. I don’t think it was there or that it destroys things because it has some kind of cognitive ability and it gets enjoyment from destruction and has some sinsiter ulterior evil motive. I actually think its more like a product of nature like a tsunami or hurricane or volcanoe. It’s powerful, it’s destructive but it’s not got a mind of its own that overtakes Jean’s. No what I think happens is that Jean absorbs this energy and it’s so powerful that it causes her mind to become unstable and for her to go a little crazy. Her mind breaks under the pressure of the power, basically its just too much to handle.  

Things do calm down for a moment though when Raven approaches Jean and tries to talk her down. For a moment it looks like its working. Jean is clearly still struggling but she’s not throwing things and people about or destroying the buildings around her anymore. But unfortunately for Raven the voices in her head are back and Jean can once again feel the power rising and taking over and it blasts from her implaing Raven on some shards of wood in the process. In this moment all of that rage disappears and instead she’s left with the horror of what she’s done and the knowledge that not only did she kill her mother she’s now killed someone else who she had a maternal like bond with. So unable to face it she just runs. She goes to Eric looking not only for a safe place to lay low at because now she’s being hunted for attacking the town and the cops but because she’s looking for advice. She knows that Eric is very powerful and that he too has used that power to hurt people and she also knows that he turned things around and stopped. She goes to him because she too wants to know how to stop because she’s not evil she’s been corrupted by this power. That’s what her story is about how power corrupts and how those with it need to be more careful with it and choose how to use that power. It’s a metaphor my friends. As she says to him that power feels good and of course it does. She must feel like a god. Like she can do anything she likes she could raise civilisations out of the ground or turn the whole world to dust. She can destroy any threats with a wave of her hand she is unstoppable, she can do anything her heart desires and that is filling her with a feeling of euphoria and elation. And because it feels good she craves it more. So when those army guys show up in their helicopters two things happen. One she feels threatened because she knows they are there to take her away and that fills her with that rage again. Two she craves to use her power again to show these men who are threatening her that she’s the one in control, she’s the one with the power. Which leads to that amazing scene of both Jean and Magneto vying for control over the helicopter. Once the helicopter makes it away Jean attacks Eric and just flicks him away. Again this is coming from anger her mind is warped and she believes he should be on her side because she was just trying to stop the bad men and doesn’t understand that there are consequences to her doing that for Eric and Genosha. That land was granted to them by the government and if they go around attacking the men who were sent there by the government then they will take it away from them again. All of this leads to him casting her out which again she’s angry about because he’s suppose to protect mutants, protect her. 

This is when she is found by Vuk who wants to manipulate her into using the power for Vuk’s own needs. By this point Vuk has learned enough about Jean to know what things to say to manipulate her. She plays on the anger Jean has for Charles and also puts the notion in her head that all of the X-Men want her dead because they don’t understand her and what they don’t understand they seek to destroy. So when the X-Men show up she has this deep sense of mistrust for them. On top of that she has fully given into the power and embraced it let it overcome her. She’s also had this woman standing there telling her that she’s the most powerful being in the universe and that she needs not answer to anyone they all should answer to her. So when she comes in contact with Eric again she lets her anger at him out telling him that first he cast her out and now he seeks to kill her and she destroy his helmet and throws him from the building like he’s nothing. And in this moment you can see her rage. Next comes Charles and we get that very disturbing scene where she forces him to walk to her. It comes right after he tries to win her back by reminding her what he said years ago when she first trying to learn to control her powers that she feared. You can do anything you set your mind to. Her reply is ‘then show me, walk to me.’ I get what she’s saying here, she knows that Charles can’t get up and walk to her and that’s her point because despite him saying that, there are some things that are beyond your control and that you can’t do no matter how hard you put your mind to it. In her warped and corrupted mind its another lie he’s telling her, she sees it as him trying to manipulate her again and once again while being egged on by her new alien agony aunt, her rage over takes her. In an effort to mock him and prove that actually she has ultimate power now and she can unlike him do anything she sets her mind to she uses her powers to force him to stand from the chair and walk up the stairs to her. It’s a scene that is thoroughly disturbing and uncomfortable and upsetting. And it’s suppose to be, you’re definitely suppose to be feeling all those things during the scene and I think it is suppose to show you just how twisted the power is making Jean. That being said I do feel like this scene could be quite triggering for some viewers so if you are reading this review having not seen the film yet and you do think that is something that would trigger you but you still want to see the film then this would be your moment to go to the bathroom, just when you get to the bit where Jean and Vuk are on the balcony above Charles in his chair and he starts talking about doing anything you set your mind to get up and go then, by the time your finished with your toilet break it’ll be over as it’s thankfully a short scene. So with that trigger warning over lets continue. Eventually Charles does get through to Jean when she reads his mind and gets reminded of the fact that even though her father said she was a lost cause Charles still believed she wasn’t and she remembers all of the good things he’s done for her over the years. Essentially she’s reminded of the relationship she has with him. It’s another really poignant beautiful moment and Sophie does a brilliant job of portraying all the emotions Jean is feeling in that moment. Also it just looks really beautiful she’s got all the flame like glowing energy around her and the cracks in her skin and her eyes that are glowing have tears gathering in them. So anyway she asks Vuk to take the power and free her still believing that Vuk just wants it to rebuild her own world. Charles then realises that Vuk wants to destroy this world and that if she keeps absorbing the power from Jean it will kill Jean but Jean either can’t let go or doesn’t want to.  In comes Scott to save the day who blasts Vuk back into the stars she lands back on earth with a thud on top of a roof unconsious. Jean collapses to the ground and then they all get captured by the military for being bad little mutants who have between them made a right mess on the street outside. Of course these guards are unaware of the alien force that has come to destroy the world but its ok they’ll learn about that one the hard way in a few scenes time. So this is the turning point for Jean in the movie. So far we’ve seen her elated and overcome with the desire to just enjoy herself, to becoming enraged at being lied to by both her father figures, to feeling overcome with guilt and self loathing after killing Raven to that rage returning with an added shot of paranoia that everyone including her family are out to destroy her to realising that actually her family are there for her not against her and this power is the thing thats destroying her to making the decision to let that power go. 

So for most of our little train journey Jean is unconcious however when she does wake up its to the knowledge that the family she has know come the trust again is in danger from the alien species who are trying to get to her and who she now knows were truly the ones who were manipulating her. And so she simply says ‘I know what I have to do now...protect my family.’ Then rises up out of the train like the phoenix she is she puts shields around her loved ones then proceeds to lift the train off the tracks and then slam it back into the earth with all the aliens inside. When she lands next to it the skrulls all charge at her. And so begins another of my favourite scenes. While we have already seen some great things from Jean’s powers so far in the film this is the moment where she really does just let it all go and unleash the power. She does what Charles told her to do all those years ago she takes this power/gift and she chooses what she’s going to do with it which is protect her family. It’s a very empowering moment for the character. Also let me just say um Thanos who? Because damn the Phoenix knows how to vapourise things. I thought that moment in Infinity War where Thanos snaps his fingers and they all turn to dust was terrifying but this was even more so. At least with Thanos it looked like they went quite peacefully not so much here in fact it looked angonising for them.  But yeah in a terrifying display of power Jean just turns all of them to dust and then Vuk shows up and grabs her by the throat trying to absorb the power again. However Vuk realises real quick that she’s not going to be able to handle the power and tries to break away but Jean tellls her that if she wants the power she’s going to have it and forces her to hold back on again. Then Scott gets too close causing the skin to start flaking off his hand which Jean repairs but Vuk points out that if Jean destroys her then she’ll destroy them too. So Jean lifts them both back into space and unleashes the power destroying them both. Supposedly she has sacrificed herself to save her family. Also that moment when she explodes and it takes the form of the Phoenix is the best shot of the film. It is so beautiful and magnificant just amazing. Again another side note but if any of you watched the xmen spin off show The Gifted did that moment when she tells Vuk if you want the power remind anyone else of when Reed tells Reeva that if she wants the power of the Von Struckers she’s got it then blows up in her face destroying her? I most certainly got the same vibe from them both. But anyway to wrap up this section. I really liked how they tackled this storyline in this film. I loved the fact that Jean was the central part of the story this time. The focus was on her and her story. Yes there were other storylines obviously but they all played into hers with hers being the center of them all. Charles’ story was centered around Jean’s, Scott’s was, Storm’s, Kurt’s, Eric’s and Hank’s even the alien subplot were all causes of Jean or her actions. This is how it should be with Jean at the center and others being effected by her. I mean most of the time even when she wasn’t in a scene she was being talked about so it was still essentially about Jean. It was one of the things that I was most disappointed by in the Last Stand that Jean was just a side story to the main storyline about the cure. But not the case here they did it right here and put her front and center. Also as I said Sophie did a great job at portraying all the different shifts within the character and it was another thing I loved that the character was so nuanced and tumultous. I just think they told the story really well it was a story that I was invested in. It was tragic and emotional and entertaining. 

And So It All Ends. 

So the first thing I will say is that I did think the ending was a bit sudden. It was almost like they got to the part were Jean sacrifices herself and then realised that the film wasn’t going to be 2 and half hours long and they’d best wrap it up quick. However I’m not mad about the ending. So the end is basically them showing us where all the remaining characters are with a voice over from Jean. We get that shot of Scott putting up the Jean Grey School sign. Then we flick to Hank walking through the halls of the school. We see Quicksilver and Kurt in the hall and then Storm is teaching a lesson so we know the rest of the X-Men all end up at the school together. Hank then goes into an office and sits at the desk where there’s a photo of Raven. Two things I want to interject here is one this did give my little beastique heart some soothing balm even if it was a little sad but aww Hank’s little smile when he looked at the picture. Two I loved that in the picture she was in her true blue form because one thing Raven did struggle with in her relationship with Hank in the previous films was that worry thst maybe he didn’t love the real her and was more in love with her blonde haired normal looking self. So yeah I loved that Hank was remembering her in her true form. But anyway we learn that Hank is now Headmaster which I did think you know good for him I felt like that is a role he’ll be good at and I do feel like he deserves it. It did however beg the question of where the hell was Charles. Turns out he’s in Paris and you Cherik shippers know who else is in Paris don’t you? Now me personally I don’t ship Cherik romantically as such I mean I’m not like a hard core Cherik shipper like I am a Beastique shipper. However I will admit there were moments throughout the films where if they had gone in that direction I wouldn’t have been surpirsed. I have always loved Charles’ and Eric’s relationship and so I could not have chosen a better ending for them. There was something so right about that scene.  I teared up when Eric said that all those years ago Charles saved his life and offered him a home and now he wanted to do the same for Charles. I loved the call back to First Class, I loved that Eric gave Charles that aknowledgement of what he did for Eric and I loved that their last scene together was them playing a game of one of their iconic chess matches. So yeah very happy with how they brought those character arcs to a close I thought it was very fitting. Of course the very final shot of the film is where it pans up into the sky and then shows a phoenix flying across it briefly indicating that Jean isn’t actually truly gone.

There were a couple of things that the ending leaves unclear however. Firstly did Charles get forced out of the school by the rest of the X-Men in retailiation of what he did with Jean or was it more that he was so broken by Raven and then Jean’s deaths that he just couldn’t bring himself to return there. Did he feel like he failed Jean and Raven and so to prevent himself of letting down another student he’s just removed himself from the scene. Who knows. 

Did he know that they were changing the name of the school, was he the one that suggested it, how does he feel about it? 

What is the human’s attitude like towards mutants has it been completely destroyed  by Jean’s actions or did they hear about the alien invasion that they were all saved from and are now happy about the X-Men again? Was the anti-mutant attitude the reason why Charles left was it a case of it wasn’t safe for him to be there because there was a lot of public animosity towards him? So yeah those are the questions I was left with at the end there.  

Critical Critics

Ok so we are nearly finished with this review I promise there is just one last thing I want to touch on first. Also fair warning I might be getting a little snarky here. So you can imagine my surprise when I left the cinema having rather enjoyed the movie to find that the critcs had reviewed this film badly. I was actually to be honest kind of disgusted with the critics on this one. I mean I‘ve never put much stock in what the critics say anyway and I’ve never let it influence whether I see a film but checking the reviews after I‘ve seen a film has become something of a ritual for me and something I enjoy. However this time it just made me angry because even if you didn’t think this film was the best, even thoguh it had some small problems it did not deserve the amount of bashing and hate it was getting. I mean a 22% on RT is just ridiculous. But anyway what I did was I went through some of the reviews and picked out some of the most commonly occuring criticism that the critics gave the film and I’ll give you my opinion on them and why I thought they were wrong or why I agreed with them if I did. 

1) It’s a repeat of the Last Stand. Ok when I read this one my reaction was genuinely and exuse my language here but b*tch where? I was honestly confused by the accusation because there was only one similarity between the two storylines that I could find. That’s how Charles put blocks in Jean’s mind that are then broken down by the power causing Jean to become angry and mistrustful of Charles. But even the way it happens in the two films is different. In TLS it was a central point of her storyline and Charles did it because Jean had developed another personality (basically she had a multiple personality disorder) and he was trying to keep it in check. Here he puts up blocks to make her forget about her past trauma. In TLS the blocks coming down are essentially what unleashes the Phoenix and causes Jean to go dark. In DP the blocks coming down only serve to cause a rift between Jean and Charles and explain her anger at him. It’s not made a central storyline at all. There are also so many differences. The whole storylines are different hell the characters themselves are very different. Jean going dark in TLS as I said was a result of her split personality there is no outside force its all from within her. In this film it is still a story about Jean’s mental health but it is influenced by an outside force and while TLS is a story about mental health essentially this version while covering that is more about how power corrupts. In TLS Jean is a side storyline in this one shes the focus of it. I could go on and on about the differences but this post is already approaching the length of a novel so. Maybe I’ll do a separate post comparing the two at some point. So yeah sorry but this statement of it’s a repeat of TLS is just plain wrong it isn’t anything like TLS. 

2) It’s unemotional and boring. I mean I can’t really say anything about the boring part. I personally didn’t think it was at all boring but if they found it boring then I’m sorry to hear that I don’t know what they find intersting so I can’t really say they are wrong on that as finding something boring is very much down to personal preference what one person finds interesting can send another to sleep. However in regards to the unemotional part which I saw come up a surprising amount it’s another thing that I don’t understand how they can say that. This film left me emotionally wrecked. I mean it makes you feel so many different emotions, sad, tense, anxious, awe, heartbroken, fear, anticipation, happy, nostalgic, so many emotions. Also the emotions of the characters are very much what drives this film. Every one of the characters actions are driven by their emotions. It’s their grief that drives Eric and Hank, Jean’s rage that drives her, Scott’s desperation, Charles’ fear of losing everything they’ve worked for. So this is another comment from the critcs that I just disagree with, I’d even go so far as to argue that this was the most emotional Xmen film they’ve ever done. 

3) This isn’t like the other X-Men films. This one actually made me sigh in resignation and at one point even wet myself laughing. That second part came where I read one review that complained it was more like a drama than an Xmen film and the reason why that made me laugh was because it made me think of an interview of Tye Sheridan’s way back in 2018 where he said that with this film they were aiming to make it more like a drama than a superhero film. So yes mr critc man it was more like a drama but you know what it was suppose to be. This argument for why the film sucked just didn’t make any sense considering one of the main points they were trying to get across in their entire marketing campaign for this movie was this isn’t like any other X-Men film you’ve ever seen. So yes well done critics you just criticised a film for achieving exactly what they set out to achieve. Sorry like I said might get a little snarky but this one really frustrated me with its own stupidity. I mean the fact that this wasn’t like other Xmen films is what made it good it’s one of the things I liked the most about it because it meant it wasn’t stale it was something new and something fresh. It was suppose to be a darker film, a gritty drama and that’s what we were told we were gonna be given and that’s what we got. So this is just the critics looking for reasons to hate the film.

4) There isn’t enough humour. Ok see the above two. This was an emotionally driven dark drama! It wasn’t suppose to be funny. I get that these critics are used to the gimicky slapstick comedy that most superhero (especially the marvel films) have. But as we’ve already covered they were aiming to do something different with this film. They were serious subjects they were covering in this film and I’m sorry but throwing jokes and running gags in there would have ruined the movie. It would not have been at all in fitting with the tone of the film. Also you can bet your ass that if they had thrown jokes into it then all the critics would be complaining about how out of place they were considering the tone of the film and they would have been right in that instance because it would not have worked. Also there was humour in this film it just wasn’t placed evenly throughout the film because as I said the bulk of the film was very serious, very dark and very gritty and levity would have been out of place. But the beginning part and end both had quite a bit of humour. Quicksilver’s ‘we’re doing space missions now cool.’ Nightcrawler’s excited childlike ‘We’re going to space?’ ‘Yes Kurt we’re going to space.’ Again was funny. And again from Kurt when they were heading into space and he screams ‘I’m not enjoying this as much as I should.’ It was funny. Quicksilver’s ‘I did most of it, Jean helped at the end but it was mostly me.’ Fuunnny. Hank’s ‘it means I need to build a better machine.’ Yup funny. When Storm asks how Jean is and Scott replies thirsty while collecting her third drink also funny. Speaking of Jean ‘Do I intimidate you baby?’ and Scott’s ‘Always’ reply yup you guessed it also funny. Again at the end of the film when Quicksilver tells the kid to ‘slow down, safety first.’ This ladies and gentleman is what you call humour and yes it was in the film and yes they put it in appropriate places and in the right amount without it ruining the tone of the film. Which is something that these supposedly professional critics should have recognised. Just because a film isn’t very funny doesn’t not mean it’s a bad film. 

5) The special effects were bad. Um no that’s a lie. Plain and simple.

6) The alien villians had no back story and Jessica Chastain’s performance was wooden. Ok going to shock you all a little here but parts of this I do agree with. Or at least I can see where they are coming from. Because yes the Skrulls needed more development. However I thought Jess’ performance was far from wooden in fact she did a very good job with what she was given. Also they did have a backstory. It just wasn’t an overly complex one. Their home planet was destroyed and so they want to use the Phoenix force to remake earth into their home planet. So again it might be poorly developed but saying they have no back story at all is another lie.     

7) This film sucked ‘insert a marvel film here’ was better. Now this is just unforgivable to me and in my opinion downright rude it really made my blood boil, but I came across several of the critics reviews that literally just had a couple of lines saying that the film sucked and then spent the rest of their review talking about how great a particular marvel film was before finishing up with a that’s why I can’t wait for the Xmen to finally come under the marvel umbrella where they belong. Umm ok first off they’re not under the Marvel umbrella yet so that comment is completely irrelevant, secondly I don’t give a crap about how great you thought Captain Marvel was I came here to read a review about Dark Phoenix. These are the worst of all the reviews because they don’t even bother to give you reasons why they thought Dark Phoenix was bad they just state that it was and then move on to talking about Marvel. In fact some of them are so vague about Dark Phoenix that it makes me wonder if they even actually watched the film. I also hate that they seem to think that Marvel can’t make any mistakes and every one of their films are incredible like I’m glad you liked Captain Marvel mate but if you take a look at the audience rating for that film you’ll find it’s lower than the one for Dark Phoenix.  

8) The storyline was badly written, rushed and the film was too short. Again I do agree with some of this. I personally didn’t think the film was badly written, It was a simple storyline and not overly complex but I think that’s what it needed if you had tried to make it too complex of a story it would have lost some of the emotional punch from it. You’d have been too busy trying to figure out what was going on in the story to appreciate the characters emotions and realtionships. However I do think the film could be longer and the shorter length did mean that it was somewhat rushed. However that being said while I agree with them I didn’t think it was as big of an issue as the critics were making it out to be. 

9) The feminist agenda was too strong. Hmm this one is... I mean if having a female lead is considered a feminist agenda then sure Jean Grey did come across as strong. But lets be honest this comment is just plain stupid. I mean the only part where I can see this comment being even a little relevant or right is Mystique’s line about it should be X-Women. Which actually got a lot of laughs from the audience at my viewing from both males and females so I don’t think it was that much of a big deal but I will admit it did come across as a little out of place and as if it was there to appeal to feminists but it was one line and was no more in your face than that scene from Endgame when you have the all girl team up in the final battle that leaves you wondering how the hell they all conveniently got in the same place at once I mean don’t get me wrong I loved that scene but you can’t deny that it was there to serve as a feminist agenda. See I personally don’t think there’s anything wrong with having one line or one scene that promotes women’s power in fact in some instances I think its needed. So yeah this was another one that was baffling to me because I just didn’t see this film as being some grand feminist message, it was a film with a woman at its center and as the lead role but what the hell’s wrong with that. 

10) There were too many continuity errors. Let’s be honest X-Men is not known for having a good continuity. I mean it’s no wonder why just take a look at the comic books themselves I mean if the source material is a mess then I suppose its not that strange that the films would be. After all spotting continuity errors in X-Men films is all part of the fun. However this is again something that I disagree with mainly because the two things mentioned are 1) Jean already had the Phoenix powers at the end of Apocalypse so how is it she’s only getting them now when in space in this film. Well yes she did have them in Apocalypse and the reason for it is in the films the power that she comes in contact with is not the Phoenix. It is never at any point in the film referred to as the Phoenix. It is only referred to as ‘a cosmic force.’ or ‘This thing’ or as a ‘solar flare.’ The reason why is because in the films Jean is the Phoenix. We the fans often call it the phoenix force and I think that comes from the comic book I don’t know for sure as I haven’t read it but as I said the film doesn’t.  Also the power doesn’t change her powers really it just makes her stronger and amplifies them. She could do all the stuff she was doing before just on a smaller scale. Yes there are a few newer elements to her powers I don’t think she could turn people to dust in Apocalypse when she destroys him in that film it looks more like she’s melting him away with extreme heat than just causing someone to turn to dust like she does here. Also if you look at the effects for the two Phoenix’s they are very different. In Apocalypse they are more like flames where as here they have more of a space substance look about them, its much darker in colour and doesn’t look like literal flames. So yeah that’s not really a continuity error. The other thing is that the ending doesn’t match the ending for DOFP where Logan wakes back up in the new future. Well Logan wakes up in the year 2023 we’re only in 1992 at this point so there’s plenty of time for that future to come about so again not really a continuity error.  

11) There were too many reshoots and problems in production for this film to be considered good. Yeah this was actually something I read more than a few times. And again its just stupid. It’s also very telling.  But again if they had said ‘this part’ was bad most likely due to reshoots or the story seemed off because of the reshoots and them changing the story I wouldn’t be mad about these comments and yes some of them do say that they felt the reshoots caused a problem with the flow of the story. Fair enough you have given me a valid reason there. But most of them don’t do that they literally just say this film has reshoots and other production problems so its bad. I’m sorry but thats not a reason. Tell me how the reshoots effected the film to make it bad don’t just state that it had reshoots so that’s a criminal offence and means I can drag the film through the mud without any solid reason behind my dragging. 

Ok so what was it? Why did this film get so much hate and bashed on so badly by the critics if it wasn’t as bad as they say I mean what’s their motive for that? Well I have two answers for you here. Obviously these are just my own opinons on it. But I think the clue lies above in the last most commonly brought up comment in the critics reviews. Firstly I think alot of it is saving face. What you have to bear in mind is that these are the same people who spent the last two years of the film’s production reporting on those reshoots and the problems in production and every time they reported on reshoots or test screenings that haven’t gone very well they would also pass judgement on the film that they themselves hadn’t even seen yet. They would tell us that this film was going to suck. They’d tell us not to get our expectactions up. They’d tell us it was just going to be another remake of Last Stand. Then the film came out and it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as everyone thought it was going to be. Apparently those test screenings and reshoots payed off some. Only now these critics have a bit of a problem because if they now report that the film was actually decent they all look like dicks for judgeing the film too soon and without seeing it. So what do they do? Well they just tell everyone that the film was bad. Hopefully with a bit of luck people will read the critc reviews and decide to not see it for themsleves and then well no one will ever know right. I also think that’s why a few of them brought up the reshoots so they can basically go look see we told you about those reshoots we were right you know you can trust us. Well actually you can’t because this was a dick move  and I really do belive it is just them trying to save some face as its the only explaination for why the critic reviews are so vastly different from the audience reviews. I mean when I was reading the audience reviews even those who said that they hated the movie admitted that they still thought the critic’s were way too harsh on the film. 

There is another more controversial reason why they might be giving it bad reviews and that is simply Disney propaganda. It’s them saying look at what a terrible job Fox did with this film we’re going to do a much better job come watch our versions of the Xmen when we do them. I mean you just have to look at the press and reviews for Captain Marvel and then for Dark Phoenix. Now I’m not going to express an opinion on what I personally thought of Captain Marvel as this is a review for Dark Phoenix but what I will say is that there is a very obvious bias here. The Captain Marvel audience reaction was worse than that for Dark Phoenix yet the critics were praising it and every news story was going on about how wonderful it was and anyone who didn’t like it was suddenly a troll. However with Dark Phoenix the critcs are slamming it into the ground and the news stories covering it aren’t much better. What’s the difference between the two films. Well one is owned by Disney and the other is by Fox and I’m sorry but I don’t think that’s a coincidence.    

Ok so here’s the very last thing I will say. I really enjoyed this film again I don’t by any means think this was the greatest Xmen film but I would still put it at the higher end of the spectrum. Also I mentioned my sister a couple times in this review who came and saw the film with me. Now she is more of  a casual fan. She has seen a few of the other movies but she doesn’t really watch them more than once and she’s definitely not as obsessed as I am. But I asked her opinion on it as I was curious as to how an outsider would view the film. She said that she loved the film. She also said that in her opinion it was miles better than End Game and the nice thing about it was that if you haven’t seen the other films you can still enjoy this one as a standalone movie. So it seems like this film is more accessible to a wider audience but it also works really well as part of the series too. Well there you have it my review for Dark Phoenix is complete. To anyone who is still here and actually read this to the end a big thank you and a pat on the back. I think I covered everything but if there was something I missed and you want to know my opinion on it feel free to ask. I hope others did enjoy the film and if anyone has read this without seeing the film I would really recommend it and would implore you not to listen to the critics because they have judged this film too harshly. As I say in all of my reviews these are just my own opinons It’s totally cool if you don’t agree I respect everyones views and believe everyone is entitled to express their own feelings. I am also aware that people will interpret things differently and take different things away from it so if you do have  a different opinon again feel free to let me know what it is and why you feel that way I’d love to hear it. Anyway until next time guys.      

[emritcheson]

Is Mortimer Beckett and The Book of Gold Really That Bad?

(Full disclosure: this post contains mild spoilers for discussion’s sake.)

So I am a big fan of the Delicious series and the many spin-offs that have launched from its universe, now formally known as GameHouse Original Stories.  Yes, they sometimes seem like they’re hyper-marketed at that Hallmark Channel crowd, but they are the cream of the crop of modern casual games, I promise.  That said, not every game that comes out of GameHouse Studios is a masterpiece.  But just because it’s not a masterpiece doesn’t mean there isn’t good to be found or fun to be had.

Enter Mortimer Beckett and The Book of Gold, released in 2017.  For those unaware, Mortimer Beckett was not originally a GameHouse IP, instead starring in his own series of hidden object games developed by Paprikari from 2007 to 2012.  I played the first in the series, Secrets of Spooky Manor, and dabbled with others, but I am by no means an aficionado on Mortimer Beckett lore.  Actually, I’m not big into the hidden object genre period.  I can tell you, though, that this game feels very different to the traditional Mortimer Beckett series.  Paprikari still worked as the developer for Book of Gold, but the overall style and flavor is extremely influenced by GameHouse.

I can only assume GameHouse acquired permission to use Mortimer’s character around the same time they acquired Sally from GamesCafe’s Sally’s Salon series.  These were two fairly well-known faces in casual gaming for many years, and for those characters to suddenly be picked up by a new company and breathed new life was a strange move to witness.

Not to say it was a bad one.  I was an am a dedicated Sally fan and Sally’s Salon - Beauty Secrets blew my expectations out of the water.

Book of Gold on the other hand...well, that’s why we’re here.

Before I even played the game, the first things I noticed were the consistently negative ratings it received across distributing websites.  Now all things considered, I wasn’t expecting perfection, but these scores were abysmally low.  I thought, “it can’t be as bad as that, right?”

And after playing through the whole thing in one night, I will proudly go on record to say that this game does not deserve these low ratings.

Buuut it’s not perfect, either.

So let’s talk.

First, the elephant in the room - the gameplay itself.  As previously stated, Mortimer Beckett is a hidden object series.  GameHouse is best known for their time management games that occasionally have hidden object mini games sprinkled through the levels.  Mini games and main gameplay mechanics are two very different things, mind you.

That said, I think the translation of the gameplay went very well.  Better than I was expecting, at least.  You’re given a scene in which you must find pieces of different objects that will help you in your current situation.  Then, once those pieces are put together, you can use those objects in the scene to complete small puzzles.  Even with my limited hidden object experience, I can tell that this style of finding pieces of things is quite unique.  

In fact, this was my biggest complaint back in Secrets of Spooky Manor: the pieces that some objects broke into seemed arbitrary and unnatural, making it harder to find what I was looking for.  In Book of Gold, the objects are broken up where they naturally have different “sections” (for example, if you’re looking for a screwdriver, it would be in two separate pieces: the handle and the bit) and gameplay is smoother as a result.

There are also three different kinds of challenge levels throughout the game in which you have to complete certain tasks within a time limit.  These provide a nice sprinkle of adrenaline rush as the main levels have no time limit and you’re welcome to stare at and contemplate them as long as you wish.  So all in all, the gameplay is pretty solid.

Let’s discuss the plot.  Mortimer Beckett moves to Snuggford after inheriting a museum from his Uncle Jerome (a staple character of the series until now, I understand).  In his last letter, Uncle Jerome mentions something called the Book of Gold which apparently possesses mystical qualities, and warns Mortimer to keep it safe.

Even as someone with very little preexisting attachment to this character, I found Mortimer very charming and enjoyable, in that “I don’t really know what I’m doing but I’m going to make the best of it anyway, and probably embarrass myself in the process” kind of way.  It was also refreshing simply to play as a guy, as GameHouse Original Stories pretty much exclusively feature women protagonists.

Speaking of which, while this is happening, Kate O’Malley (Delicious Emily’s sister-in-law) is having something of a life crisis and desperately looking for some kind of adventure to get her out of her “boring” hometown.

This is good for two reasons.  One: Kate is a character seen very little of in the Delicious series.  Other than she’s Patrick’s sister and she used to work as a perfume salesgirl, we didn’t know much about her until Book of Gold.  The writers really gave her some agency this time around, where previously she felt kind of cardboard.  And two: Snuggford is often viewed as a very idyllic small town with emphasis on supporting local businesses and fostering community with others.  It’s oddly refreshing to see a protagonist character have a negative view of this place.

Anyway, the two run into each other, shenanigans ensue, and an adventure does indeed begin.

Now if GameHouse is known for anything besides time management gameplay, it’s their heterosexual romantic subplots.  And as much as I was hoping for a platonic partnership this time around, I have to say I ended up liking Kate and Mortimer more than I expected.  It is a bit tropey and shoved down your throat at times, but I think their personalities play off each other quite nicely - Mortimer the somewhat bumbling scholar and Kate the confident risk-taker.  In the end I was genuinely rooting for them.

The story itself as a whole is...fine.  Not amazing, not terrible, but fine.  It has good intentions but, as I said, falls into tropes and shenanigans rather than raising the stakes.  And when the stakes are raised, it fails to explain why and generally lacks urgency.

The best parts of the story in my opinion are the more character-driven scenes.  Stemming from Kate’s desire for adventure, there is an underlying emotional theme about whether or not you’re satisfied with your life and where you are in it.  I think this is handled better than the immediate plot, but could still use some tweaks.  Overall, the writing has the same wonkiness I would expect from any story that hasn’t truly found its groove yet, but it does enough to keep you intrigued.

I absolutely cannot knock GameHouse for trying to do something new, especially in this cash cow of a universe they’ve built for themselves.  They’ve been using basically the same formula for the past ten years or so, and it makes sense that they would want to branch out into other things while still attracting their core audience.

Unfortunately, this game has some very apparent growing pains.

My biggest issue without a doubt is the art.  It’s inconsistent, there’s no other word for it.  Some sprites are completely 2-D, others are completely rendered in 3-D.  Sometimes it’s 2.5-D.  Sometimes it’s 2-D heads stitched onto 3-D bodies.  Some characters look very disproportionate when standing next to others.  Not to mention a lot of reused assets from other games.  I can’t show it for spoiler reasons, but there is a scene near the very end of the game where the character cutting-and-pasting is so painfully obvious and so sloppily done that I almost had to close my computer and take a lap around the house to compose myself.

Also, this game has far less music than I expected.  Despite a swingin’ noir-style theme song written by Adam Gubman, most cutscenes carry out with only generic background white noise for company.  And let me tell you, when a dramatic scene is going down and the only thing you can hear is the muffled voice of an airport intercom?  It feels wrong.  And also lends to that lack of urgency I mentioned earlier.

And as much as I hate to, we have to talk about the “exotic” themes.

For the most part, I would describe GameHouse as having “lukewarm sensitivity” to cultures that are not North American or European.  They have good intentions and for the most part their characters are pretty well rounded, but their research still leaves a little bit to be desired.  I think the Inuit tribe from Delicious - Emily’s Hopes and Fears is the best example of what I’m talking about.

However, I would not put Book of Gold in that same sensitivity tier.  During the third chapter, Mortimer and Kate travel to South America (it’s never specifically stated but since Machu Picchu is clearly visible in one of the scenes, it’s pretty safe to say they’re in Peru) and end up getting lost in the jungle.  Kate is more or less kidnapped by a group of natives, whose leader speaks what can only be described as “cave man English” and invites her to join his harem.  When she refuses, he threatens to kill her if she doesn’t complete the puzzles set before her.  Then, when Kate manages to escape, the tribe leader leans over to one of his guards and says, “Those tourists are so gullible,” indicated that it was all an act.  I still have no idea what to think about this entire section.

There’s also a great deal of Arabian influence in the second half of the game, as the main villain claims to be a sheikh, but I would say that it’s more there for visual interest than anything else.  The side characters you meet in this arc aren’t particularly memorable, and aside from avoiding a sandstorm and racing camels at one point, the desert setting is just kind of...there.  It’s not as bad as it could have been, but it certainly wasn’t doing the game as a whole many favors, either.

To wrap this up with a bow, if you disliked this game simply because it was different and not the “signature GameHouse experience” you’ve come to expect, I feel sorry for you.  If you disliked this game because it doesn’t feel as polished as it could have been and the graphics are a bit of a train wreck?  Yeah, I get you.  But I still found this game enjoyable despite its flaws.  And if you’ve been avoiding this game because the bad ratings scared you off, pull on your big girl panties and manage your expectations.

I really hope that GameHouse sees Book of Gold as a learning experience and not a failure, because I think there’s some genuine potential here.  With some tweaks and polish (and clearer art direction), I would happily accept another game like this.

[tjkoopa]

Monster Hunter World: a true series evolution.

   Monster Hunter has been a remarkably slept on series by many, probably due to remaining on the 3DS for nearly a decade. That hasn’t stopped it from being a incredible game and having such a cult following since it’s 2004 release on the PS2. I didn’t get into the series until my cousin got me 3 Ultimate on the Wii U, but despite the flaws in that game, it didn’t stop me from falling in love with this series and sticking with it from there on. I got friends into the series and we pondered alongside many other fans what the series could be on a modern console or PC, and Capcom thought the same at some point as in 2017, they revealed Monster Hunter World for PS4, Xbox One, and PC releasing about half a year later. It took me quite a while for me to get into this one since I didn’t have a PS4 until a few months ago and I don’t have a giant gaming PC but I already love the direction they took with this game from its predecessors. both the big leaps and the smaller steps the game made.

   For those who don’t know this series, the best way to explain it is going on missions to hunt giant monsters and take them down by killing or capturing them. (...I know, the title makes that clear.)  Basic on the surface; however, the multiplayer and the gameplay itself are what make this game so remarkable and downright addictive along the lines of an MMO. Hunting these monsters allows you to gather parts from them to then craft new weapons and armor, and rinse, repeat. This premise is backed up greatly by unique monsters, gorgeous environments (especially now being on newer hardware), and weapons to utilize. Although there is a story to the game, it takes a backseat to the gameplay as it does with most other games in the series. To sum it up briefly, you’re a member of the Fifth Fleet heading to the “New World” chasing a migrating Elder Dragon known as Zorah Magdaros to find out why it’s migrating and potentially stop it. It’s more to help teach new players about the basics and introducing things slowly without overwhelming them. To veterans, it’s just a playground to get familiar with the new mechanics and adapt, and there’s a lot to adapt to.

  So the biggest draw to the series (arguably) is, well, the monsters themselves. There’s a wide variety of creatures both small and large totaling up to 53. It definitely isn’t the largest roster the series has had with 3U and 4U having 70-90 but it’s hardly a downside when they’ve overhauled them both aesthetically and in how they fight. Staples like Rathian and Rathalos, returning monsters like Diablos, Kirin, and Barroth, and new monsters such as the Anjanath and Great Jagras. All impressive and act so differently even if some have similarities. What makes them fun to fight is learning what they do, adapting, knowing when to back off and when to strike. this game helps that shine with how they’re programmed as they act and behave like animals. Some won’t bother you unless you attack, some will attack you on sight and they even interact with each other, fighting for territory. This actually means a lot since in previous games, they solely focused on you acting like there wasn’t another giant creature next to it.

  This is also complimented by the fact that the environments are more expansive than ever. Before, they were sets of numbered “areas” connected by loading zones making for a very disconnected venture in a sense. Now, each area is one whole map loaded in, multiple layers and tons to find including several camps to set up, making getting to certain places on the map easier and giving rest stops more accessible. Though I won’t lie, I get turned around and lost in these large maps very easily. I’ve gotten better with it but be ready to stumble for a bit and use your map a lot. It’s a handy tool now for finding items and tracking your targets with the help of a new mechanic: scoutflies. These colorful dots help you identify items you can harvest like plants, bugs, ore, and use them for varying purposes like turning herbs into potions and taking nullberries to cure blights. On top of this, the mainstay mechanic of crafting new items from what you pick up is given a nice update allowing you to set certain items to auto craft when you have the items such as making mega potions when you have potions and pick up honey. The scoutflies also assist with tracking down monsters by using pieces they leave behind such as footprints, skidmarks, mucus, etc. and makes finding the monster feel like a real hunt and not just a wild goose chase.

  Another big overhaul was in the weapons in terms of their moveset and abilities. With 14 weapon types at your disposal, your bound to find your favorite or favorites as you aren’t bound to one. From the basic user friendly Sword and Shield, to more heavy weapons like the Great Sword and Hammer, to the long range Bow and Bowguns, and of course the technical ones with Charge Blade and Insect Glaive. Each weapon has a unique feel and have been given a expanded kit from the previous game, Generations where there were multiple styles giving you access to different abilities for each weapon depending on the style but they weren’t all beneficial to every weapon; namely, the Insect Glaive had no benefit with striker style and aerial style does nothing for Charge Blade. Here, all of them have the best of their moves and some new ones to freshen things up and you can easily play through the game with just one weapon or jump between them all. I normally main Charge blade but I’ve jumped around trying everything again to see what’s new.

 There’s also new gear to use such as the mantles. These are specialized tools for different occasions like hiding from large monsters or buffing your health or even better mobility in the map. These have a lot of utility as the ghillie mantle has helped me heal and sharpen on many occasions. The biggest addition to gear is the slinger. It’s a wrist mounted slingshot/grapple hook allowing you to use varying ammo to shoot at monsters to do small damage or apply certain statuses or even the environment to say drop boulders wrapped in vines on top of your target or trigger a vine trap ensnaring them for free damage. It does allow mobility such as grappling onto special bugs up high but I haven’t used it too often. It’ll vary from player to player.

  Now for quality of life improvements that both newcomers and veterans will appreciate. First, using consumables doesn’t stop you dead in your tracks. You can walk or run while using items like potions, rations, berries, or anything that isn’t two hand action like sharpening. This is incredibly refreshing as having to stop to heal in past games was infuriating as it required you to run away or hope the monster is distracted and on top of having the ability to interrupt the animation to dodge roll if need be. In addition, a lot of tools that you used to carry on you for gathering certain resources like ore, bugs, and fish are now permanent items and don’t require constant replacing and don’t take up inventory space as they’re relegated to being specialized tools.  

  Two of the biggest QOL changes come down to the multiplayer and monster info. The former includes the SOS flare. The game pretty much has you always online for multiplayer unless you can’t use it but using this allows you to call hunters to aid you if you’re having trouble with a hunt. If you’re offline, this does nothing and don’t worry you can still play the whole game offline, but this game is a nice social experience whether playing with fresh hunters or seasoned vets.

  The second biggest change is data on the monsters. Throughout the years, data on how to get certain monster parts or chances of getting them was relegated to wikis and fansites, now it’s all inside the game’s hunter notes and will grow the more you hunt a specific monster. This means you don’t need your smartphone or computer next to you constantly to figure out what you need to hunt or hit to find the parts you need.

  All in all, Monster Hunter World feels like a big step for the series, not just the platform jump, but even the little things it fixes that leave a good first impression to those trying it for the first time and makes long time players happy and beyond satisfied. Although I can’t say I won’t go back to games like Generations as they have their own feel, this I can safely say is my favorite game in the series by far. I’ve had a hard time putting it down outside of the work week. It can be a grind but a damn fun one. I love this game and can’t wait to see it’s future content.

[loadmaple347]

Alien Storm Crack

Pick a war any war, and you can pretty much guarantee that it has been done to death on PC already. Well, OK then, the number of games featuring the Tet Offensive or Rorke’s Drift have been pretty thin on the ground, and despite the potential carnage, Passchendaele hasn’t seen much in the way of in-game footage, but generally, wherever there is war, us PC gamers are willing to fight. Just so long as the odds are stacked heavily in our favour.

Commodore 64 Crack: Alien Storm 1581 by Master. About this site: CSDb (Commodore 64 Scene Database) is a website which goal is to gather as much information and material about the scene around the commodore 64 computer - the worlds most popular home computer throughout time. The titles include: Shadow Dancer, Space Harrier, Cyber Police ESWAT, Congo Bongo, Alien Storm, Crack Down and Bonanza Bros. These SEGA titles will be added to the growing list officially licensed games that will be available in the iiRcade game store at launch, with plans for more games to be added both before and after launch. Exciting games on iiRcade iiRcade Store Launching Soon. Over 200+ Games Available at Launch iiRcade DEMO - Quick Sample of Some Games That You Can Play on iiRcade Backed by major gaming studios to indie developers, our collection of games is expanding fast. The final batch of games for Sega's upcoming Astro City Mini console have just been revealed in a livestream, taking the total number of known games up to 36.It was also revealed that the system.

So it’s a little strange when you consider that the Gulf War has taken so long to reach our monitors. If there is one thing you can guarantee in a war action game it’s a high ratio body count and they don’t come any higher than the six week Desert Storm operation - according to 'official’ figures Iraqi forces managed to kill about 150 of the Coalition forces, with a few more notched up by the US. However, according to US Central Command, 100,000 Iraqi soldiers were killed, while close to half a million others were either wounded, taken prisoner or were courting execution for desertion. Shocking figures indeed, but no more impressive than your typical PC game. Serious Sam can take out 100,000 screaming headless zombies in the time it takes George Bush Sr to call his boy and say: 'You go get ’em, son.'

Hot Potato

Of course, the main reason we haven’t had a Gulf War action game until now is because it was and still remains a contentious war, one that whether it was necessary or not, certainly gave EastEnders a battle in the ratings war. Still, wars are soon forgotten, and when Conflict: Desert Storm was conceived (the game, not the TV show), the world’s peacekeeping armies had moved through Somalia, the Balkans and East Timor. The time seemed right. Then came September 11, Operation Enduring Freedom, and George Bush’s thinly veiled desire to finish what his father had started in Iraq.

Consequently, Conflict: Desert Storm has become something of an interactive hot potato. Publisher SCi is of course no stranger to controversy after three Carmageddon titles, although they’re at pains to express the game has 'nothing to do whatsoever with September 11 or the war in Afghanistan'.

Friendly Fire

The game we are concerned with today is far less controversial than you might I imagine, considering current events.

As with most PC games it offers a S more sanitised version of history based loosely on actual operations. Those of you expecting the Cold War realism of Operation Flashpoint may be a little disappointed. Desert Storm is an action game through and through, one that measures health out of a hundred, where you play the good guys, kill the bad guys and get to run across lots of sand. Burning oil fields, friendly fire, Gulf War Syndrome and NBC suits are all off the menu.

'It’s a game not a simulation,' says Jim Bambra, MD of Pivotal Games. 'We’ve drawn extensively on events in the Gulf War, but we’re not creating a soldier sim. Instead, we've gone for a fun-based game that allows you to take a few hits before being knocked out.'Certainly the PC could do with some light relief. Action games with a contemporary setting have exclusively been aimed more towards the hardcore, while the more arcade-like Delta Force series hasn’t delivered all it could have done. I for one am relieved, although since we saw more of Kate Adie than anyone else on the battlefield, it will be strange reliving the conflict without reporters bringing up the rear.

'Actually, during the Kuwait City mission a news helicopter buzzes you,' says Jim. 'You can see the cameraman filming you as you fight your way across the highway. Later, at the end of the game, the media are interviewing one of the characters you’ve rescued earlier on in the game.'

Sure enough, as I played through beta code a couple of days later, a helicopter flew over my squad. Needless to say they never filed their next report. You can’t have nosy media types exposing the cream of Britain’s fighting few, after all.

Alien Storm Download

Who Dares Wins

Alien Storm Crack Game

Yes, you read that right; Britain’s fighting few. In what is something of a first, certainly in living memory, Desert Storm allows you to play either as Delta Force or the SAS. Of course the game isn’t much different whichever nationality you choose to control, but having led hundreds of virtual American soldiers to their doom, it makes a refreshing change to be able to do the same to your own countrymen.

'The most obvious difference is the character uniforms and voices,' adds Jim, 'but each set of characters has different levels of specialist skills. All the SAS guys have one skill level as a medic, while only one of the Delta Force characters has medic skill, but he starts at level 3.'It would be interesting to see how Delta Force and the SAS would square up to each other in the game, but in reality, the way the skills have been handed out to the troops is pretty realistic. For example the SAS are very adept at everything; each soldier is familiar with most weapons and can patch up a wounded colleague. US special forces on the other hand are much more specialised to the point where a medic wouldn’t only be able to perform minor surgery, he could offer counselling as well.

'We’ve used Cameron Spence as our military adviser,' adds Jim. 'Cameron is the author of Sabre Squadron and an exSAS trooper who fought behind enemy lines in the Gulf War. It’s been great having him on the team as he has first-hand knowledge of the weapons, tactics, and the environment in which the game is based.'Well that’s alright then.

Storm Troopers

Setting the game behind enemy lines makes a lot of sense, especially since the actual ground war in the desert only lasted a couple of days. By the time the tanks rolled across the Saudi border, the job of the special forces was all but done. For them the conflict lasted for weeks rather than hours and was rather more taxing than taking thousands of prisoners.

Alien Storm Cracked

'The mission objectives are varied,' says Jim. 'From blowing up bridges, rescuing prisoners of war from Baghdad, escorting the Emir of Kuwait to safety, all the way up to full-blown military attacks on enemy positions. In 'Cavalry Charge’ you have to take out mobile anti-aircraft defences and then call in the A10 Tankbusters to take out the emplaced enemy armour. Plus, we have classic Scud hunting missions, and wetop it all off with a deep insertion into Iraq to take out a high-ranking Iraqi general in his heavily guarded fortress.' To help you in your mission of course are the members of your highly-trained squad. Up to four soldiers will be in action at any one time and like Red Storm’s recent Ghost Recon, switching between your troops and issuing commands on the fly is a thankfully simple affair.

'The order system is very elegant,' says Jim. 'It’s all done in the game world with no recourse to planning maps or complex in-game editors. You can tell the other men to follow you, go to any position you can see in the game world, get them to crouch, crawl, fire at will or set up ambushes.'

'Each character complements the others,' he adds. 'Success depends on using the characters as a team with the sniper and heavy weapons guys being used to cover the others as they advance. Once the front guys are in position, the heavy weapons and sniper guy can be quickly called up or moved into new positions using the order system.'

A Real Hummer

Alien Storm Crack Torrent

It wouldn’t be much of a game without an array of real-world weaponry, most of which we’re all well acquainted with through Counter-Strike and other games and mods; M16 with M203 grenade launcher, Barrett Light 50, M60, AK-47, MP5 - the lot. Moreover there are mines, grenades, mounted machine guns, Stinger missiles and the option to call in artillery or air strikes. Best of all your specialists can hop into Humvees and M2 APCs and drive around. Of course the Iraqis have hardware of their own, so racing through the desert isn’t something you do too often.

Alien Storm Crack Movie

While the version of the game we played had very impressive team Al, that of the enemy was rather static. They throw grenades, run from yours and even try to outflank you, but finding cover seems something of a problem. Of course we have a few months to go until release, by which time we will have played the multiplayer side of things (you can join up as Russian Spetsnaz or Iraqi Republican Guard). Maybe Pivotal will even sneak in a Sadam Vs Bush minigame. Controversial certainly, but it would be fun.

Desert Siege

Alien Storm Rom

While there is a place for a game like Desert Storm, its biggest problem is its release so soon after the Ghost Recon add-on Desert Siege. Despite being set in near-future East Africa, Desert Siege is a fantastic expansion to a great game. Desert Storm itself shares many similarities with Ghost Recon' the four-man squad, the environment and the realtime tactics. Desert Storm certainly has its work cut out and worryingly Pivotal doesn’t seem to have played it. Leaving aside Ghost Recon, there are many other realistic shooters out there or on the way -Counter-Strike: Condition Zero and Raven Shield are two that spring to mind -prompting us to fear that Desert Storm may be a game too far.

'If shooters don’t evolve, then yes, PC gamers will get sick of them,' says Jim. 'But Conflict: Desert Storm is primarily a third-person game, not a first-person shooter. This makes it play very differently from other FPSs. It’s also very tactical with each of the characters performing a different role, and to succeed, you have to use the characters as a team. With Conflict: Desert Storm we’re offering something very different.'

Whether it’ll be different enough, we’ll have to wait and see. One thing’s for sure, with so many realistic teambased games setting themselves in fictional conflicts, the fact that Desert Storm has a very real setting will be a big draw. For me, until we get to go over the top and across the bog of the Somme, the desert will do just fine.

How Real Is Conflict Desert Storm?

Just how real is Conflict: Desert Storm compared to the real war in the desert? Well it’s certainly the case that we’d rather play Desert Storm than have been in Desert Storm. While in the game you have to worry about being shot in the face by an Iraqi bullet, in reality, as a Brit, you had a greater chance of being shot in the back by an American one. Then of course there was the extreme heat, the dust and lack of water. The only extremes you face in front of a PC are tiredness, obesity and incontinence. Just be glad Conflict: Desert Storm is a game. If you want the real experience, put on a gimp suit, turn up the central heating, set your PC in front of a treadmill and gaffer tape mobile phones to your ears to simulate the effect of being in constant contact with depleted uranium. If you don’t expire with ten minutes, you surely will within ten years.

Alien Storm Crack Download

reggie posted a review

[nupgrade]

Review "Half-Life Alyx", the most immersive VR on the market, but exhausting

Review "Half-Life Alyx", the most immersive VR on the market, but exhausting

Alyx proposes to be an exclusively VR game, and he does it very well indeed. However, virtual reality has its problems and in Alyx, this only adds to the other defects of the game. Half-Life Alyx is a game that is now available for PC VR (in reality the game is exclusively VR), and while the game is good for what it is intended, VR itself can be a tiring experience. Technically, this is the most impressive VR game I have ever played with the most incredible immersiveness and that is a big plus. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2W0N3uKXmo Review "Half-Life Alyx", the most immersive VR on the market, but exhausting It lives up to VR exclusivity Alyx has some of the most impressive VR contextualization I've ever seen. Much of this is linked to your in-game gravity gloves and your real-life movement that virtual hands and the user interface make. You can also use them to pull items towards you. You just point a hand in the general direction of the objects and shake your wrist to call it towards you and then pick it up. This makes collecting items a fun process. The shootings are also exciting in VR. This gives fights a kind of tension that you can't feel in a normal first-person experience. Little things also stand out, like medical stimpacks that you literally need to shoot in the chest or thigh and the grenades that you need to squeeze in your hand to activate. Weapon system and engaging interactivity You only have a few weapons in Half-Life Alyx, but you can improve them all with special stations throughout the game. For example, you can add a laser sight to your pistol, extra ammo storage for your assault rifle, or even a grenade launcher for your shotgun. These updates cost resin, which are scattered throughout the game. And I want to say that they are even spread out. You'll be turning over buckets, looking at the beams and opening drawers trying to find as much resin as possible. It is a great incentive for you to explore every nook and cranny of every room. The puzzles ... oh the puzzles ... Puzzles are a big focus at Half-Life Alyx. Sometimes, you will break into electronics by connecting wires to a holographic screen (which you can rotate with one hand). Others are based on their environment, like figuring out how to get power to an elevator and then pulling it out of a giant pipe stuck in its supports. There is also a puzzle that involves a nasty monster that will kill you as soon as it comes in contact with you. On the positive side, he is blind. However, he can hear very well. You can do things like throw bottles to distract him. The game explores this part a lot, and is easily the highlight of the whole experience. Sometimes you open a door and knock on a glass, giving just a second to reach for it and grab it before it falls to the floor. You can even cover your mouth by moving your real hands to your face. The changes to VR are fun, but exhausting So many years have passed since Half-Life's last game, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, 2007, and the graphics and character animations have had some major updates. I won't spoil anything, but I was worried that Half-Life Alyx being a prequel would mean that we wouldn't see the series' story moving forward. This is not the case. Compared to Half-Life 2, Alyx leans more towards the survival horror genre. Enemies hit harder, ammunition is scarce and health is limited. It's not as fast or action-based as Half-Life 2. Now, that makes a lot of sense for the VR transition. The atmosphere is a big part of virtual reality and relying more on elements of horror is a way to create a more visceral experience. But it can become mentally exhausting. I played in sessions lasting an hour or two and was very tired after them. Now, I suppose that means that the game is doing its job. But considering how stressed I am already being quarantined and practicing social detachment, I must say that Alyx's release came at a not-so-good time.

Review Half-Life Alyx, the most immersive VR on the market, but exhausting Quarantine and Alyx are not a good combination And while the situation in the real world is obviously beyond Valve's control, the game is not doing itself any favors with dragging levels (there is a part where you are stuck in the same hotel for what felt like hours) with the same color palette and lots of visual sameness. And despite the length of the game, you often feel like you're going through the same environments: dilapidated buildings, creepy underground areas and abandoned streets. Half-Life Alyx is often so immersive and impressive that it can be frustrating when VR has its inevitable hiccups. One of my biggest problems involved the stickiness of grabbing and holding items. My hands lock on objects that I was not trying to grab, or I would have a hard time getting my virtual fingers to release a doorknob. Then there is the classic VR locomotion problem. You have options to move around the game world in a normal way, but it almost always makes me sick and disoriented. Instead, I have to choose the standard route, which makes you use short-range teleportation. It doesn't make me so sick, but it's not that immersive. This is a classic virtual reality problem and, despite Alyx's many surprising technical achievements, he does not find the solution to this puzzle. Conclusion Half-Life Alyx is one of the most immersive and impressive virtual reality games on the market. If you're a fan of VR or the Half-Life series, it's an easy recommendation. But if you don't want to play something so stressful at this particular time, I don't blame you. This game makes Half-Life 2 look like Disneyland. Alyx increases fright and pressure with her focus on survival horror. That certainly makes Half-Life Alyx the most intense entry in the franchise so far. But it's not as fun as Half-Life 2. This game made you feel like a god, while Alyx made you feel like prey. Now, part of it comes down to personal preference. I was never a great horror guy. But even with that aside, Alyx lacks the variety or charm of Half-Life 2 or other Valve masterpieces like Portal 2. But, judged on its merits as a virtual reality game, it is excellent. If you're looking for something to impress what technology can do, it will do the job. 👇 More in NUpgrade - Xiaomi launches Redmi 9A and 9C with big battery and attractive price - Polar Unite: The new assistant smartwatch for a healthier life - Call of Duty Warzone update expands player limit to 200 - An animated rendering shows details of Galaxy Watch 3 - Quantum Computing: Understand the future of computers and their main applications - Crysis Remastered has leaked release date, trailer, and screenshots Read the full article

[josephlrushing]

The Outer Worlds for Nintendo Switch Makes a Hot Mess of a Great Game

The Outer Worlds from Obsidian Entertainment was my favorite game of 2019, and I already replayed it on PC in early 2020. It was an excellent role-playing game with tons of great shooter and melee combat, fantastic writing and characters, and storytelling. It has now arrived on the Nintendo Switch as an absolute hot mess of a full-priced port.

I recommend you avoid it until significant patching and price drops occur — unless you only have the Switch as a gaming option, in which case you might still love it as much as I did despite the warts.

Here are the basics about The Outer Worlds:

The Outer Worlds is a new single-player sci-fi RPG from Obsidian Entertainment and Private Division. Lost in transit while on a colonist ship bound for the furthest edge of the galaxy, you awake decades later than you expected only to find yourself in the midst of a deep conspiracy threatening to destroy the Halcyon colony.

As you explore the furthest reaches of space and encounter a host of factions all vying for power, who you decide to become will determine the fate of everyone in Halcyon.

In the corporate equation for the colony, you are the unplanned variable.

Story: Obsidian Entertainment is known for producing the best and most interesting stories in the role-playing world. They were formed by people with resumes, including the legendary Baldur’s Gate and Fallout games of the 90s, and have themselves created most of the best-written role-playing games of the past 15 years. These include Neverwinter Nights 2, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2, Fallout New Vegas, Tyranny, Pillars of Eternity 1 & 2, and more.

The Outer World jumps right in with a compelling premise and a wild set of characters. You will never be bored from a lack of exciting quests and interactions. As always, with Obsidian, your choices have consequences, and you can align yourself in a variety of ways to get to several possible outcomes and endings.

To me, the story was what kept me engaged and coming back for more. Obsidian delivered more of their incredible characters and companions, each of whom has their own backstory and motivations and will try to either influence you or seek your approval for their own desires. Fortunately, the game we got on the Switch is complete and has all of the characters, quests, and story intact.

Graphics: How do I say this politely? The graphics on the Switch port are a mess. I am not a huge critic of graphics in portable versions of games – I will be very forgiving to get a game ‘on the go.’ Plenty of Switch ports of PC games such as Doom (2016), Wolfenstein II: New Colossus, Diablo III, Civilization VI, and of course, the recent The Witcher 3 all look great while each had to make small compromises.

For The Outer Worlds, the compromises were VERY significant, particularly when playing in handheld mode. When playing, docked things are significantly better, but still a significant step-down from playing on PC or consoles. In handheld mode (my preference), textures are mushy, details are washed out, the color palette is squashed, and the open areas suffer from significant pop-in of not just details but enemies and other characters.

As a result, it is possible to run down the road that looks empty and suddenly find yourself in the midst of a battle with enemies who popped in out of nowhere. This also happens to buildings and signs – you will just see blurry blobs until you are right on top of things. As I said, it is better in docked mode – but still not great because of performance.

What bothered me even more was that the graphic quality and performance was inconsistent throughout the game. You get used to the game looking like it was a decade old or more, then suddenly you see a few gorgeous areas with butter-smooth performance, which just makes it more jarring when you come upon a sign that you can’t read until it is right in front of you.

Performance: Porting house Private Division said they were targeting 1080p docked and 720p in handheld mode with 30 frames per second locked. It turns out that it was more like ‘wishful thinking.’ I have already discussed the mediocre graphics, but the bigger problem was all of the frame rate dips as I wandered the world. Not only could enemies pop in, but as the game lagged trying to catch up with frames, you could take loads of damage waiting for the sluggish controls and also waste loads of precious ammo.

The game doesn’t feel like it was polished enough to release. There was a ‘day one patch’ that helped things compared to previews I have seen/read, but it feels like a long way to go to have a satisfying game. While playing the game, there was another patch bringing the game to 1.01, which also helped a bit. But unfortunately, the game remains ‘fully up to date’ at the 1.01 patch. In comparison, my PC version has already had the 1.04 patch for a while. To make matters worse, Obsidian & Private Division even said, “Patch 1.4 has been released to all employees” when announcing it on Twitter – and has not made any comments on the Switch patch or responded to questions. The last communication was in late June, saying ‘working on it.’

Based on this, I would say that we need to assume that the 1.01 version is ‘end state’ for the Switch. And that is sad because while the game was one of my favorites — not just for 2019 but in general for recent years — but on the Switch, it is pretty tough to recommend due to performance and graphics.

Gameplay: The Outer Worlds is a combination FPS-RPG (first-person shooter and role-playing game), and in the manner typical for the genre, when you enter combat, your success is based on your personal ability to aim and time strikes and blocks, and also modifiers based on your characters skills and attributes. So you could play the game with a melee-focused brute and find your pistol much less useful than if you were a smaller, more dextrous character with skills focused on aim and concentration.

Aside from the performance issues, this style of game adapts pretty well on the Switch – and along with the story is the reason I played it to completion in handheld mode! Once I worked out a system to deal with enemies appearing spontaneously, it became fun to try out a variety of weapons and techniques – and since each enemy has its own set of strengths and weaknesses, it is critical that you develop an understanding of how to address those before you end up dead.

Because of the complex three-tier attribute/skill/perk system that all interact and influence everything you do, there is a need to focus on a couple of combat and non-combat areas to ensure success in all but the easiest play mode. For example, in my main playthrough, I was a science-focused melee combat character with high levels of diplomacy. That allowed me to maximize a cool science-based melee weapon (and getting that was a quest item itself!) but meant I wasn’t very skilled at opening locks or hacking computers. My gun skills were also very weak, but fortunately, you can bring along up to two companions on missions, which allows you to have a ranged sniper and hacker with you to complement your skills.

Controls: The Outer Worlds plays like a fairly standard first-person action-RPG. Using FPS-style console controls, most gamers will recognize augmented by the Switch’s gyroscope controls, which themselves can be tweaked to your liking. I will always prefer the keyboard & mouse control system, but whereas earlier handheld systems had inferior controls, I never felt like the controls in The Outer World held me back.

Conclusions: I wrestled with whether to title this review ‘even inconsistent graphics and erratic performance couldn’t kill my love for this game.’ But what I realized was that if I didn’t ALREADY love this game —and know it was worth working through the issues — I would likely have quit after a few hours and lamented the money lost in the purchase.

And that is how I end up calling this a ‘hot mess of a great game’ – yes, The Outer Worlds IS a great game, even on the Switch. There are so many classic gaming moments to explore – pretty much everything with Pavarti is a gem – and the breadth and variety of things to do, explore and destroy just make it a blast. BUT … you DO need to get past the graphics and performance – and that means fundamentally changing how you play the game compared to other systems. And – that is something it is hard for me to recommend.

Source: Personal Purchase

Price: $19.99 for The Outer Worlds from the Nintendo eShop.

What I Like: Excellent story; Intuitive control scheme; Tons of quests; Many hidden items/unlockables; Great skill trees; A variety of play styles and difficulty levels increases replay value to high level

What Needs Improvement: Inconsistent graphical quality and performance; Overall performance leads to difficult fights and adaptive strategies; Patches lag way behind PC and consoles

The post The Outer Worlds for Nintendo Switch Makes a Hot Mess of a Great Game first appeared on GearDiary.

from Joseph Rushing https://geardiary.com/2020/09/28/the-outer-worlds-for-nintendo-switch-makes-a-hot-mess-of-a-great-game/

[theheavymetalmama]

10 Things the Original “Teen Titans” Cartoon Got Wrong

Hang on, put down your torches and pitchforks. No, this isn’t a “this is overrated” or “this isn’t as good as you remember it” or “things you thought were good but were actually bad” type of lists. The original Teen Titans show is one of Cartoon Network’s most beloved animated darlings of the network’s golden age and for good reason. It’s well written, the animation is great, it was the perfect blend of action and comedy, and you either loved, hated, or loved to hate the characters from the titular roster to the supporting cast. It gave unforgettable adventures and there’s a reason people to this day want to see a continuation.

However, that doesn’t change the fact that there are only two perfect DC cartoons. Batman: the Animated Series, and Superman: the Animated series, both having stood the test of time and serve, in my opinion, as the definitive Batman and Superman experiences. Every other DC cartoon that followed have been good, even great and occasionally flirt with brilliance, but all have problems and hangups that keep them from reaching the mountaintop as their predecessors did. Teen Titans is sadly no exception. Everybody loves to shit on Teen Titans GO!, some of which is plenty justified, but forget sometimes that the original tripped over itself as well from time to time. Not in the sense that it wasn’t how it happened in the source material, but more in the sense of wasted potential, repeated story-lines, or the writers clearly playing favorites with the characters. And that’s what we’re going to talk about today.

Though Teen Titans was a great show, it wasn’t without faults or problems. Here are the Top Ten Things the Original Teen Titans Cartoon Got Wrong!

10.) Wasted Romance

Throughout the entire show, there were subtle and not so subtle hints that some of the characters thought of each other as more than just friends. Of course Robin and Starfire is one of the most famous couples in comic book history, and while it was clear that Raven and Beast Boy would never work as a couple it never stopped the little green guy from trying. It was also clear that Raven clearly wanted none of it, but cold and aloof as she could be she just didn’t have the heart to shoot him down. And then of course there was Cyborg and Jinx hooking up in the season three premier, opening the possibility of a hero/villain romance for future episodes.

Guess what? None of those romantic angles go anywhere.

Despite Starfire clearly crushing on Robin hard it never goes anywhere beyond an occasional hand-holding or hug, the two never kissing save for one episode (and it’s not in a romantic context) or exchanging sweet words or anything across five seasons. While they do kiss in the spin-off comic, many argue the comic not be canon due to several direct contradictions to the show and featuring characters that the show never even mentions.

Even after Beast Boy’s heartbreak over the Terra fiasco, he still keeps reaching for something he can’t grab and for whatever reason Raven never tells him "No, I have to keep my emotions in check while you’re an emotional live-wire, it will never work.”

But bar none the biggest offender was Cyborg and Jinx. Once they’re introduced and leaving viewers salivating to see where it goes from there, they...immediately forget about it. Oh sure, there’s a background shot in a future episode and it’s mentioned in the comic for a hot second, but it goes nowhere. They never see each other, talk to each other, or even mention the fact that they were a couple ever again throughout the entire series. If ever there’s one good thing about TTGO it’s that it hangs a lampshade on the original show’s faults, and a quick Google search will show that Cyborg and Jinx dating is among their favorites.

A lot of things indeed, but apparently a boyfriend isn’t one of them.

9.) “Character development? WHO NEEDS IT!?”

While the first season of the show focused largely on Robin and his obsession/rivalry with big-bad Slade, each member of the team still had one episode focused on them where they learn from pretty big life lessons. Beast Boy learns that while goofing off is fine, there’s a time and place for it and sometimes you have to get serious. Starfire learns that being a stranger in a strange world doesn’t mean you have to feel alien, Raven learns that when you open up and learn to rely on your friends then you can conquer your inner demons, and Cyborg learns that despite being half-machine and the limitations that come with the package he’s still very much human. As for Robin, he learns that being a lone wolf is not the answer to their problems, let alone good qualities of a leader, and he’s able to shake off these hang-ups and learn to trust his friends.

So season two rolls around and this time the focus is on Beast Boy, but just like before each character has at least one episode that focuses on them. Starfire learns that being a stranger in a strange world doesn’t mean you have to feel alien, Raven learns that when you open up and learn to rely on your friends then you can conquer your inner demons, Cyborg learns that despite being half-machine and the limitations that come with the package he’s still very much human, and Robin learns to set aside his lone-wolf hangups and trust in his friends. As for Beast Boy, he learns that there’s a time and place for goofing off and that when the time to get serious calls it has to be answered, no matter the cost.

Which brings us to season 3, where Cyborg is the star of the show this time, and like the previous seasons each character has their own episode. Starfire learns that being a stranger in a strange world doesn’t mean you have to feel alien, Raven learns that when you open up and learn to rely on your friends then you can conquer your inner demons, Beast Boy learns there’s a time and place for goofing off, Robin learns to set aside his lone-wolf hangups and trust in his friends. As for Cyborg, he learns that despite the limitations that come with being half machine, his humanity will always outweigh and overcome the machinery.

And now season 4, with fan-favorite Raven taking the helm, and going four-for-four the other titans each have their own episode. Starfire learns that being a stranger in a strange world-

Yeah. For reasons known only to creatures that haunt the night and the chucklefucks who thought killing Superman in the second movie was a good idea, the writers of the show felt the need to retread the same ground with each episode. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe the writers were under the thumb of the studio, maybe the stories they wanted to tell were too big for a 22 minute episode, or maybe they were just lazy. Seeing as how the writers and directors have long-since moved on to other things, I guess we’ll never know.

8.) No Season for Starfire

When season four came to a close, four of the five Titans each had a seasonal arc dedicated to them. Robin had season one, Beast Boy season two, Cyborg three, and Raven four. Well, naturally, season 5 would be all about Starfire, right? Maybe it would be a space opera, maybe they’ll defend the world from invading aliens, or maybe it will be a down-to-Earth character study of Starfire and her relationship with her friends and-

No, they didn’t do that at all. Instead the focus went once again to Beast Boy for whatever head-scratching reason. Now don’t get me wrong, I like Beast Boy, he’s a fun character. He’s just not an interesting character, certainly not enough to carry two seasonal arcs all to himself. Which he doesn’t.

Now the writers and corporate higher ups, even the show’s creator, defended this decision, citing that they didn’t want the Titans to go to space and that Starfire had at least one episode per-season focused on her. Now that seems fair on paper, but it falls completely apart the moment it’s scrutinized. For starters the Titans had already gone to space several times at this point in the show so I didn’t see what the sudden hang-up was, but even so just because Starfire was an alien that didn’t mean her story HAD to involve outer space. Second, ALL the other Titans had at least one episode in each season that focused on them, so it’s a moot point!

Suffice to say, Starfire got shafted big time, but what rubs salt in the would is what we got INSTEAD of a Starfire seasonal arc. Which brings us to our next item on the list.

7.) Season 5 Was a Big, Hot Mess

I won’t go so far as to call season five a garbage fire, but it was messy all the same. Brand new characters were introduced and then almost immediately forgotten about until the second-to-last episode of the show, the main five Titans outright disappear in a few episodes, the tone was all over the place, and despite the villains (consisting of a Russian knockoff Ms. Incredible, an old guy who barely says or does anything, a talking French gorilla, and a brain in a jar that sounds like an old Mac-in-Talk computer) being the main driving forces of the plot we never really get a sense of who they are, what they’re about, or why they’re doing any of it. See, they want to capture young heroes and lock them up in cryo-stasis because....because reasons, and they’re foiled because Beast Boy was just in the right place at the right time and it totally blows up once all the heroes (many of whom don’t have a speaking-line between them) are thawed out.

Now in the interest of fairness, it does make sense when you consider the following. The writers, directors, and so on knew that the show was being cancelled (for reasons we’ve yet to get a straight answer for to this day) and only renewed for one more season long before it became public knowledge, so their plan was to make the final season a big 30-episode blowout that would tie up loose ends and end the show on a sad but optimistic note. The studio higher-ups were then like “So, we LOVE your idea for the story, but we don’t want to spend a lot of money, so do this in 15 episodes instead of 30.” However, intentions aside, that’s not the world we got and season 5 has to be judged as is, and as is it’s a mess with lots of little plot threads but no strong overarching plot to tie everything together. The final episode certainly didn’t help, but we’ll talk about that later. But while we’re on the subject of weak villains....

6.) Brother Blood Was Bloody Bad

There are lots of factors for why Brother Blood didn’t work as a villain, something the writers apparently knew as well, as after his final appearance in season three he was never seen, heard from, or even mentioned ever again.

Let’s put things into perspective. In the comic books, Brother Blood was the leader of a satanic cult who kept his youth by bathing in the blood of his fallen enemies and tried to herald the apocalypse through Raven with means that I can only describe as watch-list-worthy. In short, this guy had no business starring in a cartoon with a Y7 rating, but they used him anyway and changed everything about him but his name. Now that’s not to say that he couldn’t have worked. In the case of Deathstroke they changed everything AND his name, and he remained a recurring villain throughout the show. Sadly, that wasn’t the case with Brother Blood.

For starters, like the villains of season five, we never really get what this guy is about. In his first appearance, Brother Blood is the new leader of the H.I.V.E. and is clearly wielding some form of mystical powers as he commands his subjects through mind-control. In his second appearance he’s a one-liner spewing loon who moves like Bruce Lee and shoots lightning from his fingers who wants to destroy the city because bad guy, and in his final appearance he’s barking about human limitations this and “what makes you tick” who gains the upper hand but then is promptly defeated because Cyborg...uses the Force? Sorry, I know that’s not very helpful but how else am I supposed to describe this?

Granted, the episode later mumbles some excuse about how Blood’s attempt to hack into Cyborg made Cyborg kinda sorta hack into Blood, and later the writer of the episode came out and explained that their minds joined in that moment and that Cyborg’s unbridled spirit took control of Blood’s powers. Okay, fair enough, but that shows just how ill-defined Blood and his powers were. If he could do all the crazy shit in the video then why didn’t he just turn Cyborg into a frog or whatever and control him then? That’s to say nothing of his motivations, or lack thereof. It would have been SO EASY for them to include a bit of dialogue talking about how he wants to control the young and gifted so he can take over the city, future, world, or whatever, but they didn’t.

Basically, everything Brother Blood does can be summed up to ‘because bad guy.’ Why is Brother Blood using mind-control on the HIVE students? Because bad guy. Why does he want to destroy the city? Because bad guy. Why is he doing any of this? Because bad guy.

Bottom line is that Brother Blood was a failure as a villain, something the writers apparently knew because, once again, he was never seen or heard from again once the season three finale was over. Which is a crying shame. Cyborg is a great character, and he deserved so much more than being stuck with Diet Jeremy Irons from Dungeons and Dragons as played by Dr. Drakken as his villain.

And speaking of Cyborg...

5.) Cyborg’s Wasted Potential

Many people are quick to cite Batman as the character with the most tragic origin story, which I respectfully but strongly disagree with. Yes, watching your parents die in front of you is something nobody should ever go through, but unlike most kids who would have ended up with other family members or in foster care, little Bruce became the richest kid in the world, was cared for by someone who loved him as a son, and slept in a bedroom that exceeded the square footage of your average two-bedroom apartment.

Having said that, as far as tragic origin stories go, Cyborg is somewhere in the top three. But while his origins may as well start with “Once upon a time, life decided to just shit all over Victor Stone,” Cyborg is easily one of DC’s best characters. Some have compared him to Iron Man, which is a fair comparison given that they were both pretty much child prodigies, but in terms of theme and personality I think Cyborg is closer to The Thing. Someone who has a cold and unfeeling, nigh-invincible body but is very much human on the inside with a larger-than-life personality who’s all about big happiness, big anger, big sadness, big emotions all around with an unquenchable thirst for living. In terms of personality, the show NAILED Cyborg. Alas, in terms of story, he’s the only character where his episodes can be summed up to “Seen one, seen em all.” While the episodes that focus on the other characters repeat the same themes, they are at least doing other stuff. Cyborg, meanwhile, is always feeling down about being half-machine with the exception of maybe one episode. Yes, that’s a big part of his character, but it’s not the ONLY part of his character. Yet for whatever reason, the show just kept drawing from the same well.

Looking back, I can’t help but feel that the writers of Teen Titans Go didn’t really like Cyborg all that much. Not only do his episodes tend to treat the same ground, but despite being the team powerhouse he’s consistently outmatched and outclassed not just by villains but by his own teammates, ending up on his back more than any other member of the team. Not to mention he tends to be the butt of whatever joke the show’s making at the moment, from an alien dog urinating on him to the “Ha ha, everyone point and laugh at the big guy wearing a frilly dress” joke not once, not twice, but three times. Why? I have no idea, but rewatching the show makes it obvious where the effort went, and it certainly wasn’t when Cyborg was the focus.

4.) The DC Not-So Extended Universe

Teen Titans came out not just when Cartoon Network was in its’ prime, but also when the much beloved DC Animated Universe was in its’ heyday. Both Batman and Superman had their animated series and Justice League was well underway. Naturally, viewers and fans alike expected shows and characters to crossover as the DCAU had previously done.

It doesn’t happen.

Outside Speedy making a “Blink and you’ll miss him” cameo in Justice League Unlimited, the Titans never encounter Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, or anything. Outside a few name drops of places like Metropolis, there’s nothing to do with the DCAU anywhere within Teen Titans or vice-versa, which is a crying shame. I mean, just imagine the possibilities! Cyborg fighting Lex Luthor? Needed to happen. Starfire hanging out with Wonder Woman? Would have been great. Beast Boy and Plastic Man? It writes itself.

Both fans and even the writers of the show stated that Teen Titans takes place in its’ own world and not part of the DCAU proper, and you know what? Fair enough. But I ask, why couldn’t the show have its’ own version of these characters? Maybe they have a Batman that’s less serious and more Adam West-like. Maybe Superman acts like the whole team’s dad, or I don’t know, maybe Green Lantern has his own pizza franchise or something! Again, I get why they didn’t do it, but a missed opportunity all the same.

3.) It’s the End of the World as we Kno-oh Wait, Never Mind

This is a quick one, but a big one. The season four finale. Trigon the Terrible destroys the whole planet and turns everyone and everything living there except the Titans into stone, all hope is lost until the Titans manage to defeat the demon menace and then...

Everything goes back to normal the second he’s dead. Everyone’s alive, the skies are blue again, and the whole planet is clean and pristine with not so much as a broken window. Like, I know the show has a Y7 rating and all, but still, what a cop-out.

2.) Robin is a Terrible Leader

If you thought Leonardo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was the worst leader ever, Robin is right up there if not worse. If nothing else, at least Leo is able to face his flaws, admit he was wrong, and redeem himself, or at least try to. Robin, meanwhile, is on another level of terrible and proof that being trained by Batman is not the be-all, end-all lifetime achievement. Robin is paranoid, confrontational, keeps vital information from his own teammates for really stupid reasons, and always seems to forget that there’s more to being the boss than being the smartest guy and barking orders at people.

At one point he went ahead with a plan to disguise himself as a villainous thief, who he dubbed Red-X, in an attempt to fool the villain Slade and enact a double-cross...and he didn’t tell his team! Yeah. So when the other Titans encountered him and naturally thought he was a villain he effortlessly took them down by exploiting their weaknesses, the superhero equivalent to a kick to the crotch, and then acts surprised that the Titans were pissed at him for pulling the wool over their eyes once they found out.

It gets worse. In that same season his obsessive nature lands him right into an obvious trap that puts him into a situation where he’s now the villains’ puppet and only through sheer dumb luck do the Titans figure out what’s happening and break him free, in which Robin faces no consequences for being a massive Dick...Grayson.

And it gets worse still. By the time season three is about to wrap up, Cyborg decides that he’s done with playing the Costello to Robin’s Abbot and heads out to form his own team where he gets to call the shots and be his own boss. Naturally the other Titans are distraught from this decision, as a good friend and practically a family member has just up and left, while on the flipside one could hardly blame Cyborg after the abuse he put up with in Wavelength. What’s Wavelength, you ask? A mid-season-3 episode that may as well be titled “Everyone Shits on Cyborg.” But that’s another topic. Long story short, Robin contacts Cyborg and tries to convince him to come back. Does Robin...

A.) Appeal to Cyborg’s base-emotions by saying that everyone misses him and the Titans just aren’t the Titans without him and plead for him to come back

B.) Attempt to use logic and common sense to try and convince Cyborg that this is a bad idea

C.) Sweeten the deal and promise Cyborg a more active role on the team instead of just being the powerhouse/tech guy

D.) Flip out for no good reason and call Cyborg a spoiled child

If you guessed anything other than D, you’re not paying attention. Robin goes the D route and, surprise surprise, Cyborg tells him to piss up a rope and hangs up on his ass.

I could go on, but I think by now you get the picture. Remember when I said that TTGO hangs a lampshade on this show’s shortcomings? Well, Robin being a terrible leader is one of their favorite things to come back to, as his leadership routinely gets him and his team in all sorts of trouble from getting their asses handed to them to some situations that are outright horrific when you remove the cartoon slapstick.

And before we get to number one, here’s a few honorable, or in this case, dishonorable mentions.

Starfire’s planet and culture were treated as nothing but a big joke Trouble in Tokyo sucked and sucked hard The entire origin of the Titans is summed up in one episode “Go” and feels like a completely different show in both tone and character No mention or appearance of Superboy whatsoever Wonder Girl only appears in an unnamed background shot Kid Flash doesn’t show up until near the end of the show

1.) The Series Finale, “Things Change”

Tempting as it is to quote T.S. Elliot and call it a day, fact of the matter is that the show didn’t really go out with a whimper as it went out with a frustrated groan and a fist through the drywall. As I’ve already went over, season 5 was a big hot mess, but it certainly had its’ moments. One of those moments was the climatic final battle, which ends with the bad guys on ice and the Titans taking home lots of new friends and the episode concluding with one hell of a closing shot. Considering the fact that the show being cancelled had become public knowledge at the time, many assumed this would be the series finale, but one more episode followed.

It wasn’t good.

Now I’ll play devil’s advocate and at least speculate that the writers and producers were right in the middle of making season 5 when they were informed that the show was being canned, and it’s more than likely that ‘Things Change’ was intended to be an opening for a new season as opposed to a series finale. However, that’s not the world we live in and ‘Things Change’ needs to be judged as is, and as is it doesn’t work on many, many levels. It doesn’t work as a series finale because it teases viewers about new episodes that are never coming, it doesn’t work as bringing any closure because it asks more questions than it answers, it doesn’t work as the intended metaphor for growing up and moving on for reasons I’ll explain in a moment, and finally it doesn’t work as the swan song the show deserved because of how god damned depressing it is.

The episode starts with the Titans chasing the new (and last) villain of the week, and once that’s done they discover that their favorite pizza place has closed down and the city is very different from what they remember, them having been gone for a year during the events of season five and they have to learn to adapt. Off to a promising start, but it’s all downhill from there.

Soon Beast Boy finds out that Terra, who made the ultimate sacrifice during the conclusion of season two, is alive and attending high school, but she doesn’t seem to remember him or the Titans and her powers seem to have vanished. Whether this is indeed the case or if Terra is just pretending is never explained, but when Beast Boy goes to tell the Titans...they don’t believe him. They don’t even go to where Terra turned to stone, they just completely brush him off like a jaded parent after their kid told them the dog ate their homework. This directly contradicts the season two finale when they swore they’d do everything they could to bring her back, and while it’s true that Beast Boy wasn’t exactly the most honest Titan this isn’t something he’d just make up. And then Slade (or rather a Slade bot) shows up later to...piss Beast Boy off for no apparent reason...what a jerk.

It’s easy to see what they were going for, as if the title didn’t make it obvious enough. Yes, sometimes things in life change and no always in your favor, whether it be your favorite stomping grounds closing their doors or old friends and lovers losing their flame. There comes a time where you simply have to grow up and move on, which could have been a very profound message. That message didn’t get across, and had Teen Titans aired on adult swim the episode may as well have been titled ‘Sh!t Happens.’

You know what would have made the episode work? This. If when Beast Boy found Terra, instead of getting shot down and selling the viewers on some nebulous amnesia plot, she did remember Beast Boy. And that when they met up, it was all smiles and sunshine. They hug, laugh, Terra introduces him to her new friends, maybe they invite him to grab some coffee or a bite to eat, and all seems well. During this time Beast Boy asks how Terra came back, in which she explains that while she was frozen in stone she was still conscious and aware of what was happening around her, and over time she eventually figured how how to not only move in her stone form, but freely turn back to it at will and that in that form she’s nigh-invincible. Beast Boy, elated that Terra is back, excitingly takes Terra’s hand and says they need to head back to the tower and that he can’t wait to tell the others that she’s back...

But Terra refuses.

That’s when we reach the thematic turning point. Terra tells her friends that she needs to be alone with Beast Boy for a bit, and that’s when she explains everything. Yes, she is back and now has complete control of her powers, as it turns out her turning to stone was to her what a cocoon is to a caterpillar just before it turns into a butterfly. Her powers no longer go haywire whenever she gets angry or frustrated and thus no more earthquakes, landslides, etc. Confused, Beast Boy asks that if she has perfect control of her powers now then why doesn’t she want to rejoin the team, in which she explains that she now has a chance at something she never had before; a normal life. Moreover, she still feels way too guilty over not only what she did to the Titans, but all the accidents and tragedies she caused over the years and that she feels that she has no right to call herself a hero. Naturally Beast Boy tries to convince her, not just to come back but reminding her that in spite of the awful things she did, in the end she sacrificed herself to save the Titans and the city and that makes her a hero in his eyes. They go back and forth on this and eventually reach an impasse, in which Beast Boy asks her to at least sleep on it. Terra hesitantly says okay and they agree to meet back where they first met in the morning.

When Beast Boy returns to the Tower he informs the team that Terra is back, in which they’re happy to hear but their reaction is short lived and almost immediately meet Beast Boy with confusion. If she’s back, why isn’t she with him? He explains, and to his frustration they give him the cold, hard truth. Whether they like her decision or not, it’s still her decision to make and they can’t force her to change her mind. Naturally this frustrates Beast Boy even more and he storms off in a huff. We later find Beast Boy sulking at the Tower when one or more the Titans come to comfort him as well as give him a heart-to-heart. Yes, Terra not coming back isn’t what Beast Boy wants, but they explain that...well, you can’t always get what you want. They then put him in her position. What if she asked him to leave the Titans and quit being a hero?

After Beast Boy mulls it over, we cut go to the canyon where the Titans met Terra for the first time. Beast Boy stands there alone, and soon Terra arrives. They pensively exchange greetings, make some awkward small talk, and after a brief pause Beast Boy asks if Terra wants to come back after all. She takes a deep breath and gives her answer.

“No.” She then explains that her time with the Titans is one of her fondest memories and she will always cherish them, and cherish him. But that part of her life is over and she just doesn’t have it in her to call herself a hero after what she’s done to the city. What she’s done to the Titans, and what she’s done to him.

Beast Boy hangs his head low and sighs in sadness, but collects himself as says that he understands. However, he makes one last request. Could they hang out just one more time? Terra smiles, and then we get a montage of them doing just that; hanging out, having fun, just being kids. They go to the mall, they see a movie, they grab pizza, maybe they go to the carnival, and finally end at the diner where Terra first introduced him to “The greatest pie in the history of pie.” The music that plays should be in the same tone of the situation. Optimistic, but sad, having a good time but knowing that these are likely their last moments together.

Finally, as the sun is setting over Titans Tower and Jump City is cast in its’ orange glow, Beast Boy and Terra find themselves at the crossroads. Beast Boy says “So I guess this is goodbye...” to which Terra responds. “Guess so...” They both pause, standing in silence as Beast Boy looks sad. He takes a breath to say it, but Terra stops him with a small but sincere smile.

“Who knows?” she says. “Maybe things will be different in the future. I mean...things change.” This also brings a smile to Beast Boy, and the two hug it out. Though they both smile, tears escape their eyes all the same. Still embraced, they both say that they’ll miss each other and say their goodbyes, the embrace ending and Terra turning around and leaving. Beast Boy watches, Terra not looking back as she slowly disappears in the distance. Beast Boy stands quietly, takes a deep breath, and speaks into his communicator.

“This is Beast Boy.” he says. “I’m coming home.”

Beast Boy then walks off camera, the shot still holding on the sun sitting over Titans Tower. As the sun finally sets on the horizon, the screen slowly fades to black. The End.

THAT would have not only gotten the message across as well as given fans closure, not to mention end the series on a bittersweet note that some things happen beyond your control and you need to adapt but also to appreciate what you do and can have rather than dwell over what you don’t and can’t have. But above all, it would have been an ending both the show and the fans deserved.

Sadly, that’s not the episode we got. And, like Things Change, that just sucks. And that was the way ‘Teen Titans’ ended. Not with a cheer, but a groan.

And there you have it. Anything I missed? Anything you agree or disagree with? By all means, let me know!

[milaw89]

It’s Alright. (12/?)

Team Cap x Reader - Bucky Barnes x Reader.

Words: 2029

Story Summary: Reader is being chased by someone, not knowing who and why. She’s determined to find out. A group of superheroes is helping her, but as they are helping out, they find out more about her. A secret that they don’t know how to bring to her. Can they secure her safety and tell her the news.

Author’s note: I’m so sorry to keep you waiting on my bucky story. My life is so busy at the moment. I hope you all forgive me. If you want to be added to my tag list, just tell me and I’ll be happy to add you.

previous parts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11.

Y/N started to run for dear life through the hallways of the building that wasn’t all familiar with her, taking turns into hallways. She had no idea if they would lead her to the exit of the building. Y/N heard her name called out by Wanda but she couldn’t stop and she definitely couldn’t stay here. With her heart in her throat, she took another turn. Locked up is not an option for someone who had spent the last five years hopping from one safe house to the other. Y/N could take care of herself. She didn’t need anyone to take care of her. She arrived at two hallways and stopped for a brief second to catch her breath. Bucky had worn her out by the training he took over. She turned her head from left to right, decided to go to the right.

“Y/N! Please stop.You can’t get out of here!” Wanda told Y/N. She turned her head and saw Wanda trailing behind her. She sped up again when suddenly there was a burst of classical music filling her ears. It played loudly in her head that she could not move and had to stop. She held her hands over her ears trying to stop it, but it only got worse. Y/N leaned down, dropping down on her knees, closing her eyes. She buried her head in her hands. 

“I’m sorry but I can’t let you go. Please come with me, I don’t want to hurt you, you’re my friend.” Y/N snapped her head into the direction of Wanda’s voice was coming because it sounded from far but she was only a couple of meters away. She was moving her hands, moving some kind of a red mist. She was doing this to her and she called herself her friend. Y/N leaned against the wall and so could she pull herself up, squinting her eyes together. 

“You’re my friend? As my friend, you wouldn’t do this to me!” Y/N called out to her, she stepped closer and what Y/N saw surprised her. Wanda had tears stream down her cheeks. Why would she cry?

“Arghhh.” The closer Wanda got to her, the louder the music played in her head. She pushed her hands against her head. “Make it stop! Stay back!” Y/N shouted in Wanda’s direction.

“You don’t have to run away, you can help us with your powers to make this world a better place without the people that are trying to hurt other people for fun. Wanda lowered her hands and stopped her powers to see if Y/N was still trying to run from her. She didn’t want to hurt her, it wasn’t her idea to use the classical music but Wanda doubted that they knew that it had such an effect has on her. All Wanda wanted was to let Y/N see what a great opportunity this is going to be if she just wasn’t so fixated on leaving.

The classical music had died down as soon as Wanda lowered her hands. Y/N could see and hear clearly again. She heard Wanda go on and on about how her powers could benefit Team Cap but what she forgot to mention was that her powers, what they even were for herself had only been a curse. As Wanda stepped closer, Y/N gave a light chuckle, pulling her arms over each other.

“Is that what they told you? With your powers, you could help them?” Y/N asked Wanda nodded. 

“They fought with you, they killed your brother. Can’t you see that they are just using you for your powers? The Scarlet Witch...hmm...we can use someone like that. I bet they don’t feel….- Y/N was cut off by Wanda. 

“Stop! Don’t you dare use my brother for your miserable life! You have no idea what actually happened. They are giving you everything, training, and safety. Anyone that has only a fraction of the powers that you have would dream about what you get handed to you. Just take that chance to do something better than running away.” Wanda stepped closer and Y/N stretched her neck, cringing as the classical music started to come back. She groaned. 

“You talk about my powers as if it’s a gift but have you ever considered that it is not the same for me. These powers and whatever they can do has only brought me misery. You don’t know what I've been through. Everyone is using me or want to use me and that’s the reason I can’t stay here.” Y/N hissed through gritted teeth. “You probably don’t understand because despite that they killed your twin brother, here you are! Doing their…-” A ball of red mist threw Y/N through the air and into a wall, several cracks were felt throughout her body as she slumped down the wall. That’s gonna hurt in the morning was the last thing that came to mind before she closed her eyes.

‘You saw yourself in a room, it was dark and it had some kind of big tubes with bright yellow lights shining, there were people in it but they don’t seem to be alive. There were machines surrounding you. You had no idea where you were. You kept looking right and left but you didn’t try to run from it. You were somehow stuck. Suddenly there was a man in a white lab coat standing behind machines and there was another man in a uniform. Your arms and legs were getting tied up and your chair moved down, You looked up and some kind of robot arm moved towards your face and you couldn’t do anything. In the background, you heard someone laugh, a mean and terrifying laugh. You screamed in panic.’

Y/N’s eyes shot wide open, frowning as she looked around. She wasn’t in the chair, it was not real. Still, she could feel her heart beating fast in her chest. Y/N closed her eyes to adjust to the idea that it was all a dream, a terrifying nightmare but it wasn’t real. Y/N opened her eyes again and now looked around the white and bright room that she was in.

Y/N pulled my head up. BANG! she hit her forehead against some kind of glass, she flinched in pain.

Rubbing her forehead, she looked down her body. There are straps holding her against the bed she was on. The training clothes changed to an all white outfit. 

A shudder went down Y/N spine as she turned her head left and right. She saw computers and other equipment but there were no people. Where the hell was she and what was this tube like thing? She used both hands to push against the glass, it didn’t move at all. A door to the right opened, Steve and Bucky walked up to the tube Y/N was in. she gave them a glare.

“How are you doing?” Steve asked. 

“Why am I in a glass box? Like Snow White but then without Prince Charming, instead I get two ugly ogres…-” Y/N pointed at Steve and Bucky. “...who want to keep me locked up.” 

Steve chuckled but Bucky didn’t move a muscle, he only looked at her. He’s probably still pissed that she gave him a nosebleed or he doesn’t even know who Snow White is. Y/N sighed. 

"Guys, let me out.” Steve looked at Bucky and she frowned.

“What are you looking at him for? If he didn’t straddle me in the gym, I wouldn’t even be in here!” Y/N growled in anger. 

Steve kept looking at Bucky who kept his stare on Y/N. She returned the stare and waited. She has nothing but time, the box could not open itself. She had time to wait and so she could start a staring contest if he wanted it too. Changing it into a smile or a glare to confuse him. After a while, Bucky turned to Steve. “They can open it.” Y/N heard Bucky mumble. Steve walked closer to the tube.

“On one condition, you don’t run from us anymore. We need a serious talk Y/N.” Steve stated. When Y/N heard the conditions Steve had laid out for her, she groaned. She punched the glass in front of her, holding her hand at the pain she had inflicted on herself. Not a very great idea. Y/N sighed, there was nothing she could do, she didn’t want to stay in the tube.

“Fine, I won’t run.” Y/N promised. Bucky nodded at the lab coat that had appeared out of thin air, the tube slid open. Bucky loosened the straps on Y/N’s middle and legs. She observed on how careful he worked with his metal arm. Steve extended his hand to help her out of the tube but she stepped out by herself.

Y/N looked at the tube. “What is this? What does it do?” She questioned.

Steve and Bucky turned around. “This is a cryogenic chamber, for people like Bucky and me. You talked about the disease that is in you but that the normal doctors didn’t acknowledge?” Y/N nodded, trying to figure out where he wanted to go with mentioning her disease. 

“Well, it’s not a disease, you’ve been born with it. The disease is a serum, I got injected with it a long time ago, Bucky did as well. They told us that if we wanted to have kids, we could, the serum is not passing over on our future kids. That is when one person got an injection with the serum, in your case, it was two people that were injected.” Steve explained, scratching the back of his neck. Y/N narrowed her eyes at his explanation. 

“So, there were two people injected with the serum and they got me?” She asked to not let it sound crazy in her head. Steve confirmed with a nod. 

“What has that to do with me being in that chamber?” Y/N glanced her eyes towards Bucky, he was awfully quiet. It was Steve that answered her question, Y/N kept her gaze at Bucky for a moment and then turned to Steve. 

“Well, the chamber works as a freezer, we put you asleep when you ran from us and Wanda injured you because you upset her. Then the chamber drops the temperature to a freezing point.”

Y/N’s eyes widen in disbelief. “Hold on! You put me to sleep in the freezing cold chamber? For how long?” She asked anger hinting in her voice. 

Steve took a long pause. Y/N sighed glancing towards the exit, she knows that they wouldn’t let her go without a fight. She promised not to run again but this was madness. 

“For how long?” Y/N glared at both of them. 

“Four weeks.” Y/N coughed choking on her own saliva. She held one hand on her chest. One hand was wiping away the tears that streamed down her cheeks. She had to take deep breaths in, getting back the air into her lungs. Y/N snatched the tissues from the nearby table. When she could breathe again. she shook her head, her brown hair loosened and fell down her shoulders.

“A whole month!” Y/N exclaimed. Her jaw dropped to the floor and her eyes shot towards the ceiling. She couldn’t look at them, both of them. 

“Y/N…-” Steve started. Y/N’s hand clenched into a fist, she bit her bottom lip hard to keep control over the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

 “Could we talk about this in the meeting room, we have food and drinks for you.” She shook her head. 

“No, you tell me now why you shoved me in a box, freeze me in like I'm a dead person. I’m an actual human being!  An alive human being. Even if I have that stupid serum in me, It doesn’t give you the right to put me in a box against my own will. What the heck is wrong with you!” Y/N still couldn’t believe what they did to her. She looked around but she knew that if she runs now that they wouldn’t take it lightly. Y/N turned around, taking in a deep breath in before turning back. “This. Is. Insane!” Y/N growled to the two men in front of her. 

Tag List: 

@crapythings

@purplekitten30

@willowtighe

@giftofdreams

@superwholockian5ever

@sammysgirl1997

@avc212

[ratfuck]

aliens: colonial marines review

just in time for the new Alien movie I guess, here’s what I gotta say about this ““““““GAME”“““““

I can’t decide if I hate this game or love it

everyone knows about how much this game sucks, considered one of the worst games of all time, but I feel it’s got some very fantastic elements

going over the horrible shit of the updated version, it’s still very, very broke to the point it can be unplayable. The AI is absolutely atrocious, for enemies and friendly NPCs.

Enemy NPCs, specifically the Xenomorphs but not exclusive to the W-Y PMCs, specifically like to target you, and you only. No matter how many NPC Marines you have fighting with you, Xenomorph hordes will run specifically at you, even if the other marines are carrying around heavier ordinance like the smartgun while you’re only carrying a pistol. The PMCs will usually do this to you too.

Friendly NPCs do jack shit in combat, and at times are a detriment to you. They will aim and fire at enemies, but for some reason their attack damage is only 10% of what you can do. Corporal Hicks will unload an entire round of the pulse rifle’s magazine directly into one single Xenomorph and it’ll end up killing it, while it takes about 7 shots from you to kill it on normal difficulty.

Friendly NPCs will frequently get stuck, and won’t move or fire from their position, leaving you to do all the work. If you’re moving to an objective and they are far behind you, they will teleport all the way to the ending objective, which is very frustrating when you’re surrounded by 30 Xenomorphs and you have a dinky pistol that won’t do shit against them.

Another huge problem to me, controversial because it’s the games selling this, is that there are WAY too many aliens and not enough human enemies. Every 30 meters it feels like you’re entering an arena, with dozens of the fuckers coming directly at you, and ammunition and health and armor isn’t available. Half the time I just have to bug-out (no pun intended) and just sprint to the next checkpoint, let myself get killed, and respawn with full health and an extra clip of ammo. There are way too many xenos coming at you at once, and it becomes a chore rather than fun killing them. Speaking of, the Weyland PMCs should really drop armor and health and ammo a lot more, It’s very rare for this to happen.

The game does have some elements that are really, really, really good though. I have around 50 hours of play time into this game, around 4 complete campaigns, so something has me coming back, and it’s the art direction. Artistically, the game is amazing. The graphics are incredibly poor for such a big title, with claims of Gearbox embezzling a lot of funds (Including collecting full paychecks from Sega when they cut back on employees and resources to focus on Borderlands), but the art direction of the game looks great. The Sulaco and Sephora both look great, the remains of Hadley’s Hope and the newly-built Origin facility centered around the derelict Engineer juggernaut look amazing, and it really gives this game a great atmosphere. The soundtrack is fantastic, sounding alike to the original Aliens score. My complaint for this though is that some of the tech (even though the art direction was headed by the guy that did the concept art for Aliens) looked far too advanced for something in the Aliens universe at parts, leaving the 70s-80s retro-fi look for standard shiny sci-fi computers and stuff rather than the big hunking microcomputers and aesthetic design seen throughout the rest of the film series.

I also very much enjoyed the plot of the game, and the characters, all of which were written by the people who wrote Aliens. The game actually feels like a  sequel to Aliens and Alien 3. All plot holes of the core game are filled with the Stasis Interrupted DLC. It’s good to have Michael Biehn back voice acting Corporal Hicks, and the same with Bishop’s Lance Henriksen. My only complaint here would be the game’s ending winks at a cliffhanger, which it shouldn’t. It should’ve ended with a report on the United States Colonial Marine Corps engaging Weyland-Yutani for it’s actions on LV-426 and the death of the Hadley’s Hope colonist, the death of the Sulaco squad, and the death of the Sephora platoon.

So?? I don’t know, the game is extremely broken and unplayable at a lot of parts, but if you manage to get through all of that, you’re treated with an atmospheric, aesthetically pleasing Aliens game that is generally enjoyable and leaves you wanting to play it over again. Where as Alien: Isolation’s flaws can be placed on Sega trying to bank Isolation as a standalone series of games, which hurt the sales of the game, Colonial Marines’ blame should be placed solely on Gearbox, which teased a much more finished and impressive game, and has been caught by Sega embezzling funds for itself while working on games such as Borderlands rather than Colonial Marines. Gearbox really screwed the ball on this, and I kind of hate them for it, despite making incredibly good Half-Life expansions. I hear there is a mod coming that supposedly fixes the AI and alien hordes like I mentioned above, which would make the game dramatically improved, but it won’t heal the massive wounds Gearbox’s criminal incompetence has done to the game.

I’d give it a 5/10. If it weren’t for the good story, the incredible art direction, and the soundtrack, this game would be absolutely unlikable. It’s absolutely riddled with problems, but I still keep coming back to it for it’s design.