#though i know that's inevitable if i want to actually work with the franchise

[wereh0gz]

I love the idea of getting to work with sega for something sonic related one day like designing characters and doing illustrations for them and stuff

But then I remember. The Fandom

[mistressoftherant-blog]

Stop Babying Mikey 2k23

This is partially a follow on from my post about how 12 Mikey isn't abused by his brothers, but I want to focus in on how much people across the tmnt fandom (I've seen fics in nearly every verse that do this), completely and utterly baby Mikey, and how it doesn't make sense.

For a start, in every verse but Rise (and possibly 87), it is implied or outright stated that the boys are all the same age. Especially 12 which starts on their joint 15th birthday. I feel like a lot of fans who get into the franchise via Rise decide that they can't all be the same age, and therefore decide to make Donnie and Raph a year younger than Leo, and then Mikey a year younger than that, or an even more weird age gap.

I see this a lot in human aus especially, as if people seem to forget that quadruplets are a very real thing.

It seems to me that people just want an excuse to baby Mikey, and so they decide to make him even younger, even when this directly contradicts canon.

Even in Rise, Mikey is only 1 year younger than the twins.

So why do people treat him like he's far younger than the others? It's especially irking in the Rise fandom when there is a whole episode dedicated to Mikey being fed up of being babied by his siblings (mostly Raph), though a few of the other Mikey's also get annoyed when treated as a baby.

Sure, for the most part, Mikey's are far more childish than their siblings, and tend to act far less responsibly.

But they aren't innocent, precious, angels who radiate positive energy, know nothing of the world or, horror of horrors, about sex, who can do no wrong.

They can be naive about a lot of things, and their brothers definitely try to protect them from the worst of aspects of their lives when possible, but some people take this to the absolute extreme in the most ridiculous ways.

I've seen so many fics about 12 in which Mikey knows nothing about sex, despite the fact that he canonically makes a sex joke (not that kind of sub) within the show. He's also a teenage boy, and despite their social isolation for most of their lives, they have access to enough books, shows, comics, and the Internet in some series, that it is incredibly unrealistic that they wouldnt have even the vaguest ideas around sex.

Or when fics have all the brother swearing, but they won't let Mikey say any bad words, ever.

There is also a pervading idea that 'Mikey gets punished all the time by his brothers for no reason, how could they be so cruel, he's only trying to help', despite the fact that Mikey spends so much of the shows (mainly 12 and 03) deliberately ignoring any boundaries his siblings set in place.

In 12, he constantly antagonises or stresses out both Raph and Donnie (he even riles up April's dad during the Krang invasion, and pokes fun at numerous other characters), and yet they are the ones seen as bad guys for when they inevitably lash out at him.

He also openly plays around with chemicals that are rare and/or expensive, not to mention dangerous, during times of crisis, and yet Donnie is seen as the bad guy for yelling at him or not wanting him in his lab. Purely for his own entertainment, Mikey risks the lives of himself, his brothers, his friends, and everyone that Donnie is trying to save via retromuatgen, multiple times. This also shows an incredible level of disrespect to all of the work that Donnie puts into his experiments and machines.

And don't even get me started on the 12 Croaking episode. Oh sure, Mikey completely destroys the place multiple times, even though it doesnt belong to him, and then decides to run away rather than helping to clean up his mistake purely because he actually got called out for his actions, but then somehow everyone else is in the wrong for being frustrated with him?

I think part of this mentality in the fandom is because, like I said in my previous post, Mikey is hardly ever punished by the narrative. In 12, his mistakes get him a cool new pet, he is somehow able to cure Donnie in Creeping Doom by basically pure luck and is then praised for this (as if it wanst his fault in the first place that Donnie almost permanently lost his mind!!), and then later on when he plays with mutagen during the invasion, he somehow manages to stabilise it, and Donnie gets told off by Splinter for being mad at him messing around with the dangerous solution that he has been working hard over and neglecting his health to complete for months.

Even in 03 Mikey is rarely punished by the narrative, and he also pesters Raph just as mich as 12 Mikey does.

In an ep in Fast Forward, even though he tries to cut in line for a new game, and is only interested in stopping a bunch of dangerous thieves so that he can get a copy, (behaviour which, in a kid's cartoon especially, should not be rewarded), he is still given a copy of the game at the end of the episode.

And then, one of the instances that really ticks me off, is when Raph gets powers via the superhero Cape in in that Back to the Sewers ep. Mikey spends the entire episode throwing a tantrum, to the point where he almost gets both himself and Raph killed, almost let's the bad guy win because he is too busy trying to physically wrestle the Cape away from his brother whilst they are being actively attacked by a dangerous enemy, almost lets said enemy get his hands on the cape and its powers, and then damages the Cape by trying to snatch it from Raph, only for him be allowed to use the Cape later on, giving him the chance to experience superpowers like he dreamed of.

Surely it would have been much more narratiely satisfying for Mikey to have taken a step back at some point in the episode and realised that Raph deserved to be a superhero using the cape's powers, and then maybe have him step in to support Raph, proving that he could still be a hero, even without powers? If they had handled it that way, it would have been far less annoying if Mikey was allowed to use the Cape at the end of the episode as a reward for doing the right thing. Instead, he spends and entire episode whining and pouting like an entitled brat, before almost getting himself and Raph (who had been using the Cape's powers to help save people), and then is still rewarded by getting a chance to use the powers anyway??

It's endlessly frustrating when other characters within these shows receive far more severe narrative consequences for either similar, or far less selfish actions than Mikey's.

I think this happens slightly less in Rise, but the fandom baby Mikey even harder. I genuinely don't think people grasp how small the age difference is between the twins and Mikey. I see comics of the twins walking around and talking in full sentences and looking to be around 5 years of age, but Mikey is a tiny baby swaddled up, unable to do anything at all. The age gap is not that large, he is not that far behind them developmentally.

My sister is just about 2 years older than me, and for most of our childhood people who didn't know us would mistake us for twins. There is no way that Mikey (again, only a year younger than the twins), would be so far behind the twins developmentally.

By the time they're toddling, he should at the very least be crawling.

To conclude yet another TMNT rant, I am just so sick of people completely and utterly infantilising the Mikeys. I see story upon story of Mikey being oh so sweet and innocent, unable to cope with seeing his siblings hurt in anyway (I have legit seen stories in which on of his brothers is severely hurt either physically or emotionally, and yet far more attention is given to Mikey who will be having an absolute breakdown, leaving the injured party to pretty much bleed out in the background whilst Mikey is coddled), or who could never say a bad word about anyone (even though he insults or winds his brothers up on the daily), acting as a therapist for the team (he does do this to some degree, particularly in Rise, but he is also just as likely to capitalise on someone's fears as he is to do anything about them).

It's also really annoying to have people act as if the Mikeys are far younger than their siblings when they are the same age, except for Rise, but even then the age gap is basically negligible.

He isn't a poor little uwu bean that gets unfairly picked on by his brothers. He's a little menace that is hardly ever punished for his actions.

[tikkisfanart]

The Return of Thrawn… and C’baoth?

Story hypothesis of how The Bad Batch season 3 could re-canonize Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire

(Spoiler warning for The Bad Batch season 2, and The Mandalorian season 3)

Before the Ahsoka show came out, I figured I would read the Thrawn books to prep for the show. Even though the first several books were de-canonized after Disney bought the franchise, I feel that Dave Filoni has tried to be respectful to Timothy Zahn’s original character of Thrawn and his story. I feel like it could still be possible to bring back a lot from the original book, Heir to the Empire.

First off, I want to just point out that the events in Ahsoka do not necessarily have to replace the original story. In Heir to the Empire, we are not given the “how” of Thrawn’s return. In fact, he was a mysterious warlord that the original saga heroes didn’t know existed until he just suddenly showed up. The first season of Ahsoka could just be the bridge between Rebels and Heir to the Empire to explain this return.

Even though there are some things in the new canon that has changed, I do think there are other things that could still be revived through the final season of The Bad Batch. Anyone else who has read Heir to the Empire may have thought about this too, but I just wanted to share my hypothesis.

Mount Tantiss, and the Guardian

In Heir to the Empire, Thrawn travels to Wayland—where Mount Tantiss is located. While there, Thrawn seeks the Guardian and wants him to take him to the emperor’s storehouse inside the mountain. He encounters a strange, old man who says he could lead him to the Guardian. The old man takes him to the crypt of the Guardian and proudly proclaims that he killed the Guardian.

Mount Tantiss is the secret cloning laboratory of the new empire in The Bad Batch—the one where Omaga and Crosshair are being held. I suspect that “the Guardian” of Mount Tantiss is Dr. Royce Hemlock.

As the story continues, the man claims to be the jedi master Joruus C’baoth. He actuality turns out to be a clone of the dark jedi Jorus C’baoth, who disappeared before the Clone Wars. In Ahsoka, perhaps Baylan Skoll could have been the “replacement” dark jedi for the new canon. However, I feel like they could still bring C’baoth back.

Force cloning

I hypostasize that in The Bad Batch the secret project that Hemlock wants Nala Se to work on is the cloning of the dark jedi—but not just the cloning of the man, himself, but also the cloning of the ability to wield the force.

I know some people suspect that Omega is an experiment of this kind of force cloning. Perhaps she is. I actually suspect that all the original members of the Bad Batch might be as well. Perhaps the attempt to clone force sensitivity is what gave each of them their special enhancements. However, the difference is that they cannot wield the force. Force wielding is what Hemlock wants Nala Se to clone, and it actually does work. The clone of C’baoth can wield the force.

That brings to question: if force cloning is possible, why does Moff Gideon have trouble with it? In The Mandalorian season 3, he admits that this is why he needed blood from Grogu—because he needed a force sensitive subject to clone force sensitivity. But why doesn’t it work for him? It is well after The Bad Batch, so why did he not have the knowledge to complete it? I suspect that the knowledge was lost when Mount Tantiss fell, and that is something that The Bad Batch may just explain.

The Clone Rebellion and the Fall of Mount Tantiss

There is no question that at the end of The Bad Batch, there will be a final battle at Mount Tantiss to free Omega, Crosshair, and all of their clone brothers.

Before reading the Thawn books, I suspected that during this inevitable infiltration the Zillo beast would play a big part and possibly be the downfall of Hemlock. However, my hypothesis changed when I read Heir to the Empire and clone C’baoth claimed to have killed the emperor’s guardian. I do think the Zillo beast will still play a big role in the fall of Mount Tantiss, but it will not be the one to end Hemlock. C'baoth will be. It would be poetic irony: the project that Hemlock obsessed so much over would ultimately bring his demise.

Mount Tantiss has returned from de-canonization, so it is possible that the Guardian, force cloning, and C’baoth may all be brought back as well. They could all be revived in the final season of The Bad Batch, paving the way for the Heir to the Empire movie. Perhaps not everything in the original canon has been lost. On the other hand, perhaps Dave Filoni and the creators are planning to actually take it all in a different direction, but I can see how they could still bring back the original canon if they want. But that is just my hypothesis. If anything, I hope you enjoyed my nerdy ramble.

[hopeymchope]

Are you by any chance familiar with Project: Eden’s Garden?

All I know is that it's a fan game inspired by Danganronpa that exists. (Not sure if it can be called a "Fanganronpa," because I'm not clear on whether it carries over anything from the existing DR franchise — continuity, mascots, trial system? Idk.) I also know that it's still in the early stages. Beyond that, I don't know anything. But from Googling to look at its trailer and some artwork, I can at least say it looks good. Very promising. ... though I've sure said that many times before.

Because in my cynical/pessimistic experience, 90% of fangan video series or DR fan games never actually reach completion — the team falls apart, life gets in the way, motivation dries up, or something along those lines. It's no different than so many WiP fanfics... and I should know, because I'm personally very much guilty of that. :P My point is just that many, many promising DR fan games/series have collapsed over the years, and it's deeply frustrating to never have any kind of completion/closure if you've following along with the project. So at this point, I tend to avoid them until they finish. And then they inevitably don't finish, so I have nothing to catch up on. :P Even in the rare case that they DO finish, there's the question of whether they're (A) in English and (B) playable at all for people who aren't, like, into coding or something. So.... yeah. I'm a party pooper; sorry.

I still am happy to support the existence of such projects, and I certainly hope that they come to fruition. Particularly since we're all starved for Danganronpa content these days. :P

I think only the two Korean "Danganronpa Another" games have ever actually been finished AND translated? So I do intend to (ideally) play those someday, but it's proven difficult to access and translate them. Ofc I want to do them in order, but the first one seems to have a lot of hoops to jump through to get it working, and thus far I've found the steps too difficult to follow. :( I might have to settle for watching it on a YouTube series or something. Which just ain't the same, y'know?

If there are any other fan games that have actually finished, though, feel free to let me know.

[equixen]

It’s official. It’s now been one year since I rewatched the three Walden Media Narnia movies and sent myself on quite the fandom journey.

As someone who has been in and out of many fandoms over the years to varying degrees, this fandom in particular has become truly special to me and while I’m in a reflective mood, I thought I would post something in honour of my first year in this fandom.

I will probably take this down In future when I inevitably become self-conscious about how much I have shared about myself on the internet but, for now… behold my rambly post about my journey to discovering Narnia, my first year in the fandom and why Narnia is so important to me. And sorry in advance to anyone who actually decides to read this because it definitely became a bit long :)

I’m not sure when my Narnia journey started exactly but I remember reading The Horse and His Boy when I was quite young, long before 2005 when I saw the first movie. I simply picked up that book because it was about a horse and back then, I read everything about horses. :) I don’t remember whether I enjoyed it but I imagine I might have been a bit confused at times since I literally knew nothing about the world of Narnia at the time. I do still have that copy of The Horse and His Boy though.

Sometime after that, 2005 came around and I ended up seeing The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe at the cinema with my sister. I absolutely LOVED it and quickly jumped into reading the original TLTWATW novel. I later saw Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader as they each came out but I didn’t feel like they were as good as the first for different reasons (I thought PC was too much like TLTWATW in terms of the grand epic battle and TVOTDT was too different from the others with it being set on a ship the whole time). I had no idea about how closely PC and TVOTDT resembled the books they were based on because at that point, I had only read The Horse and His Boy and TLTWATW novels.

I had quite fond memories about the movie series as a whole though and had been wanting to rewatch for a while as I hadn't seen any of them since 2010 after TVOTDT came out. So, at the start of March 2023, I finally sat down to watch all three in the space of one weekend on Disney+.

The timing was important because this just happened to line up with the start of my gap-year (of sorts) from work. Both my husband and I had the great fortune of being able to take all of 2023 off work to focus on hobbies and just destress after our respective last few years. A mini trial retirement if you will. I had grand plans of catching up on various video editing projects through the year but after rewatching the Narnia movies, those plans quickly evaporated.

Not only do I love all three movies equally now (they are just so darn heartwarming), I felt super nostalgic while watching them and loved their messages of personal growth and learning to believe in one’s self (the latter of which, I still struggle with). I also found myself feeling so sad about the endings of Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader knowing the Pevensies would never return to Narnia (a feeling which will become significant later on in this post). Although, that sadness was nothing compared to the sadness I felt once I found out what happened to all the Pevensies (and Susan in particular) in The Last Battle. I was gutted when I found out about that, but I digress.

Anyway, I also found myself feeling super intrigued by the enemies-to-lovers potential for Caspian and Peter and after reading a few fanfics, I quickly became obsessed with Caspeter and the franchise as a whole. I promptly purchased all three movies on Blu-ray so I could try editing a video montage about Caspian and Peter and, as soon as the Blu-rays arrived, I watched all three movies again. Partly for ‘research’ for my video but mostly because I just wanted to live in that world again. I also managed to convince my husband to watch them with me and while he’s not nearly as big a fan as I am, I’m happy to say that at least some of my enthusiasm for the series has rubbed off on him over the last 12 months lol.

By the end of 2023, I had watched each of these movies no fewer than four times each and read all the novels too. While I currently consider the Walden Media movies to be my favourite adaption, I also really enjoyed watching the BBC TV show adaption which I found to be utterly charming. I’m also a fan of Doctor Who, including the classic serials of the 60’s through to the 80’s, so the episodic feel, style and lower budget of the BBC Narnia series just reminded me of the classic Doctor Who serials in all the best ways. I also adored the Focus on the Family radio plays and, while you might think I’d be happy to stop there with the various adaptions… nope, I have now lined up the old animated The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe movie to watch this weekend and I also want to try and get my hands on the BBC’s Narnia audio plays too :)

Back to the Caspeter video montage I mentioned… well, one video was quickly followed by three more but upon finishing and uploading the fourth, a Caspeter reunion video edit, I secretly hoped it might inspire a fanfic writer to write something based on the video’s premise. It quickly became apparent however, that I already had the story in my head. I simply had to write it down.

Thus, my first Caspeter fanfic was born. This was the first time in 20 years that I tried writing fan fiction (although the first fic I wrote was for the Xena fandom which was a one-time thing for a school assignment so it’s barely worth counting). My first Caspeter one-shot was quickly followed by a second and that second one has since been expanded into a 62k word fic. Where that came from, I still have no idea. :) So, between the 6 videos and 3 fanfics (one of which is practically a novel), I think I can safely say I’ve never been more inspired by a fandom.

So, why do I love Narnia? I have been giving this some thought and, while this is not a definitive list, I think these are the main reasons why this series now means so much to me.

Well, to start, the Pevensie sibling I relate to the most is the movie version of Peter. I’m also the oldest sibling in my family and even though I try not to, I often take things personally when my opinions/suggestions are overruled, especially in a work setting. I really struggle not to become defensive in those situations and hate it when things in my life feel like they are outside of my control. But I’m also intensely loyal towards my family and friends and just want fairness and equality for everyone. Basically, I’m a delight. But only when you get to know me and I let my guard down around you :)

I love all the Pevensies though and I especially adore their sibling relationship. Though they may be dysfunctional at times and poke fun at each other, it’s clear they still care deeply for each other. Sadly, the differences in personality between my younger sister and I are too insurmountable at times and often gets in the way of us getting along.

The world of Narnia is absolutely fascinating. I’ve been obsessed with Greek Mythology for as long as I can remember thanks to growing up watching Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys on TV during the 90’s so I love that Narnia is filled with creatures from the ancient Greek myths. And who doesn’t want a talking horse as their best friend?!

As for Caspeter, I can’t help but see similarities in the personality dynamics between Caspian and Peter (well, my head canons of their relationship based on their personality traits in the movies) and my husband and I. My husband is definitely the calmer and more balanced one out of the two of us and while he doesn’t see it this way, I do think he has the patience of a saint for putting up with my emotional tendencies as well as my fandom obsessions (especially this fandom, given how much it has taken over my life lol).

And on a more general note, the stories of lovers being separated and either, finding each other again after a long period of time or being forever separated because of the cruelties of fate, have always resonated with me. So that, combined with my other love of stories featuring enemies-to-lovers relationships, I feel like the Caspeter pairing was made for me :)

I haven't mentioned religion so far, and that’s because I’m not religious, but I still very much appreciate the themes of belief/faith that run through the Narnia series as a whole. And while I don't personally believe in an afterlife, I've always loved the idea of there being a place after death where people can be reunited with their loved ones. Yeah, as you can probably tell from my writing, I fear being without my husband one day.

And lastly, the characters having to go back to their world and being unable to return to Narnia quickly became symbolic for the end of my year off (my personal version of Narnia) and the start of 2024 when I would have to go back to work. And that transition back to full-time work was about as difficult as I expected it to be, let me tell you.

It does feel like my obsession with Narnia came along at just the right time to take on real meaning in my life and I’d venture to say that Narnia/Caspeter has become one of my top five fandoms of all time. Because if I didn't watch those three movies when I did at the start of 2023, I wouldn't have had as much time to spend on making video montages and therefore probably wouldn't have gotten to the point of making that one particular video that inspired me to write fanfic for the first time. I certainly wouldn’t have had the time to focus on writing a fanfic that became as long as it did. And, I probably wouldn't have connected with the franchise so strongly either if I wasn’t experiencing my own personal version of Narnia in real life and if I didn’t have my husband in my life to help inspire my personal head canons of the Caspeter relationship.

So, now I'm back at work, what is next for me?

Well, I sadly won't have as much time to contribute to the fandom anymore and I highly doubt I’ll have the time or patience to write anything as long as ‘Our Hands Are Tied’ turned out to be, but you never know. Before a year ago, if anyone suggested I was about to write any fan fiction at all AND post it online for the first time, I would have thought they were crazy. So, anything is possible :)

That said, Narnia and Caspeter are still very much at the forefront of my mind despite now being back at work. I have two general Narnia videos (one about the Pevensies and one about Susan) that I started last year so I want to try and finish those soon. Plus, I have a few more Caspeter video ideas I’ve been thinking about maybe doing AND I have two new ideas for Caspeter fanfics that have popped into my brain over the last few weeks (one of which definitely warrants a longer word count if I write it). So, we shall see what comes of those :)

So yeah, happy one year Narnia anniversary to me! :) And stay tuned for what else might come out of my brain I guess :)

[otakween]

8-Man vs. Cyborg 009 - Volume 2

Love a good 2 volume, short read every now and then. Unlike BGOO Parts, this one didn't outstay its welcome. Nothing ground breaking here, just some crossover fanservice like in the Devilman crossover. Fun times. Interested to see what's next for these franchises.

Ch. 7

8-Man tells Joe and Francoise about his past romantic drama with his secretary Sachiko. Francoise apparently "saw" Sachiko's presence when they were in 8-Man's office and wanted the tea lol.

If they're not gonna let Francoise fight, like ever, can they please introduce another female fighter or something? I'm getting really fed up watching her smile blandly on the sidelines or be a damsel in distress. Like if she's a pacifist, fine! But she's also the only girl cyborg so it feels insulting.

The two page spread of the demon God statue was a good jump scare. Let the final showdown, begin!

Ch. 8

Lol I guess the manga heard my complaints because they finally let Francoise shoot a gun at least. Also, her heightened senses finally did something useful. Alright, fine. You win this time mangaka...

Wait, what the hell!? Pyunma's back to his old racist design! THIS MANGA CAME OUT IN 2020 WTF??? (Good thing I didn't pay for this one lol).

Honestly, it seems ridiculous that Skull would just ignore the other numbers cyborgs. There's no way they wouldn't come after their kidnapped friends...just makes him look really stupid.

The Black Ghost minions were drawn all cutesy in like a chibi form. They look like they could be villains from a Mario game or something lol. Not very intimidating.

Ch. 9

Yaaay 008 pointed out the 8 thing =D lol. Glad he gets to contribute to the battle even though there's no water around lol.

Francoise has a weird bonding moment with Dr. Daemon because he saw her in a ballet once. He's definitely the chiller of the two evils but he's still actively working towards world domination and perpetual wars? I don't think this is really a "there's good in him" moment...

8-man sure loses his arms a lot. Guess they're just trying to emphasize his mechanical body.

I swear they used the EXACT same tactic to topple the demon God statue that they used to topple the Atlas-type robots in BGOO Parts! (006 digs a hole and then 005 pushes the big enemy over). Felt weird to see that used back-to-back in manga published so close to one another. Both times they emphasized it as some kinda ingenious strategy.

Ch. 10

Awe, I really liked this finale. They wrapped everything up in a nice, neat bow and sometimes that's all you want.

So Dr. Daemon was actually playing the long game and never allied with Black Ghost at all! Rather convenient lol. Does they mean the gang wouldn't have been able to defeat both enemies at once?

I completely forgot about Joe's juvenile delinquent backstory. Why do I feel like that doesn't fit his character at all? He's such a bland do-gooder now...Anyway, having 8-Man explain that he was a cop on the scene at the time of Joe's escape attempt was a clever way to tie the two series worlds together in a believable way.

So I guess Dr. Daemon is still not a great guy but not that evil either? I don't know enough 8-Man lore to make a conclusion lol. He seemed pretty okay with the heroes dying earlier, so I guess he's just all for himself.

This chapter got all Ghost in the Shell-y with the reveal that Skull isn't a real person, just a robot with implanted memories. Pretty brutal that he decapitated his own lackeys to prove a point what the heck...what if they weren't robots!?

So Black Ghost is dead "for real" now...riiiight. Until they inevitably get resurrected again for some future manga.

I was kinda shook to find out that Joe's hair is a wig (or maybe it's actually implanted into his scalp? IDK). It doesn't actually make any difference, I just never realized that was the case.

Dr. Gilmore and Dr. Tani being science bros was cute. Also enjoyed seeing Ivan (and his one eye) very briefly.

Nice picturesque ending with Joe and Francoise dropping 8-Man off at Sachiko's house and validating his humanity. Wholesome cyborgs supporting cyborgs.

Omake - Duel

A closer look at some 8-Man/Dr. Tani lore. I kinda wish they didn't include this tbh because it ended this volume on a depressing note.

Damn, if I was Ken I'd probably resent my dad too! Ken was like "you only love 8-Man!" and Dr. Tani was like "that's not true!" but then the second Ken dies Dr. Tani's just like "meh, at least I have 8-Man" lol. Poor Ken!

Speaking of poor Ken...that's one severe widow's peak. On top of having a craptastic life, he's also balding? Oh the humanity!

Dr. Tani acted like Ken being a cyborg with a human brain was a revelation of some sort? Sooo...if Dr. Tani wasn't the one to turn Ken into a cyborg, who did?

Ken's hero suit (or villain suit, I guess) literally just looks like he sharpied some fake pecs on lol. What a weird design choice.

As far as 1960s manga go, I think I prefer Cyborg 009's art style because it's more over-exaggerated and stylized. I think this allows it to hold up more. 8-Man feels more traditionally drawn (more proportional characters).

I'm kinda glad I got a glimpse into the authentic, OG 8-Man for greater context, but I'll also probably just read this again someday if I ever get to that part of MAL haha.

[forevfangirlwrites]

Hey, first of all, I just want to say I'm a big fan of your "How to handle fame" series. The idea of actress Annabeth never seemed too appealing to me but you did incredible job with it and I just fell in love with the series. The thing I love the most is how you didn't make Annabeth this confident sure person when it comes to their relationship and she's just as awkward and nervous as Percy and it's just so realistic and lovely. Also, you were actually one of the first people who commented under my first AO3 fic (it was extended version of Percabeth first kiss in BotL) so I have special thanks to you.

As for my prompt, it's sth a bit more mature but not angsty at all - Percy watches movies with Annabeth and inevitably comes across an actual kissing scene. This causes him to ask Annabeth just how far is she comfortable with showing affection on screen (I'm leaving answer for you to decide). And he asks her if she could warn him if some movie or day on set has kissing scenes because he just doesn't want to watch it. He understands, of course, completely that this is part of her job and would never interfere with it, he just prefers not to watch it if he can. And you could add a bit insecurity, like, thinking if Annabeth ever compare him with actors she kisses during filming and her assuring him that's not the case.

I like this because it shows Percy not as someone perfect who is okay with everything but at the same time completely understanding. I think this is very realistic thing to happen while dating an actor/actress and a person has right to ask them how far are they comfortable to go with showing affection on screen.

Objectively, Percy knows it’s not real. Subjectively, it’s still his girlfriend kissing another guy.

It never used to bother him (and he’s been an Annabeth Chase fan for a long time, after all) but something about knowing how her lips feels on his makes everything different, apparently.

Annabeth doesn’t exactly push her movies onto him, she tries to talk about work as if it’s any other job. Except the thing is, she genuinely cares about her work, and Percy can tell when she’s especially proud of something.

So he’d agreed to watch the last movie in the series, The Last Olympian, when it came up on TV as promotion for the movie she’s working on now. (It’s a spin-off of the franchise).

Plus, he’s already watched it anyway and hearing Annabeth add in details about the behind the scenes is adorable.

But he’d forgotten about the ending until they’re a few scenes away from the Kiss™ and all of a sudden his heart is thumping a little too loudly in his chest and his palms are sweating as if he’s the one about to kiss her.

But he’s not.

And that’s kinda the problem.

It’s stupid, but when it does happen, he just looks down at the blanket they’ve wrapped around themselves like a little kid watching a scary movie.

Thoughts and questions he’d never considered before surface like a tidal wave, washing him over with an anxiety he didn’t know he could have. Like what if—

“Percy?”

He snaps his head up to look at Annabeth. “Huh?”

Real smooth. It also doesn’t help that she’s looking at him with concern, making him feel even more childish. After all, it’s just her job and the kiss is about as real as the Greek gods that appear in the movie.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” It’s not even convincing to him, but he doesn’t have it in him to try to make it so.

A hand covers his and Annabeth shuffles even closer on the couch. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

He wants to. But there’s no way to say it without sounding like an insecure bastard. It’s embarrassing.

She lets him stay silent, turning back to watch the last few scenes of the movie, clearly giving him space and time to vocalize what he needs to. And though he appreciates it, he doesn’t think even an eternity would help him force out the words.

KEEP READING ON AO3

A/N: Thank you so much for the prompt! I agree it’s a realistic thing to happen in this type of relationship. I’m glad that you like the series despite not finding it appealing at first and thank you so much for the nice words about my writing! I hope you like how this turned out and sorry for the wait!

[catofadifferentcolor]

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

"All we need is a cause to fight for. And for me, that cause is you."

As I’ve been reading a lot about the Crusades recently, it seemed a natural progression to try playing Assassin’s Creed for the first time since the franchise began a decade and a half ago.

It was quite the effort for me to force myself to take a break before starting Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood after finishing AC2. I wanted to know what happens next so very badly - and my first thought on starting ACB was: this doesn't disappoint.

While the mechanics remain largely the same, the graphics have once again gotten an upgrade - all of sequence 1 had me going holy shit, this is cinematic as well as wow, they're really pulling out all the hero stops. And if that somehow fails to impress, the first present day sequence had me thinking these characters have personalities for the first time since the series began. Desmond was a blank, passive slate in AC1 and only just starting to show signs of being otherwise in AC2, but here Desmond is - finally - an independent actor with just the right level of snark to make me go yeah, I actually like this guy. Lucy too seems something like other than an obvious Templar plant - a like she's actually struggling with her inevitable betrayal - and Rebecca and Shawn are more than just snark.

There's much I love about ACB: the main plot is interesting but oddly short. There are about a thousand side quests, so it's not exactly a short game, but I can't help but think incorporating at least some of them into the main storyline would have made a bit more sense. The Borgia Towers offer an interesting set of challenges, and recruiting the brotherhood is a concept I'd like to have seen more of in more detail (training missions with the Mentor? Ezio spreading his influence more slowly across Europe instead of suddenly being able to send his trainees across the world? the recruits themselves having personalities and backgrounds and motivations?) Even renovating Rome doesn't start to feel gimmicky until you're buying the Coliseum.

And yet I don't love it quite as much as AC2 - and I think it largely comes down to the fact that all of Ezio's personal grown happened in the former, with little room left in ACB for any positive, meaningful growth. We don't see Ezio struggle with the fact that his choice to leave Rodrigo alive in the Vatican lead to the destruction of his home for a second time. We don't see him struggle to be a leader to his burgeoning brotherhood, he already is one. We have peak narrative symmetry starting with a siege and ending with a siege, and yet only the first stirs the emotions - Cesare has lasted this long because he's always conveniently in the wrong place, not because he's a satisfying or interesting boss.

In short, I love older Ezio (who somehow manages to be at peak attractiveness throughout the game, going so far as to complain when someone says he should slow down because he's older; that will never not be hilarious). I just wish he had a bit more meat to work with in ACB.

It's not all unicorns and rainbows though. The number of times I accidentally called a horse instead of flicking on eagle vision or speaking to a merchant is in the thousands. The number of debilitating gut wounds Ezio has recovered from is starting to verge on comically unrealistic. The number of plot points that are touched on - why was La Volpe so willing to assume Machiavelli was the traitor with comparatively scant evidence? How does one build a brotherhood of assassins? How did Claudia learn to wield a knife in the first place? - but quickly glossed over is frustrating. I could have done with a smaller Rome and more fleshed out plot. And the bits where you have to use the apple at the end simply failed to satisfy.

Yet I love it. Not in the way I think I'll always love AC2, but it's a solid game. Short, but solid. I enjoyed playing it and would loved to have seen more, but I'm not disappointed with what we got.

(Though I was shocked by Lucy's death. Yes, she was an obvious Templar plant, but I'd like to have seen her explain herself before we reached Redemption Equals Death. I'm eager to see the fallout in ACR... but not eager enough to continue forgoing errands and chores that I've been putting off for AC2 and ACB before beginning.)

4.5 of 5 stars - definite replay value, but not the head-exploding awesome of AC2.

[anthroparis]

okay but you HAVE to listen to me. sorry for being a croods apologist first of all. second of all I see this movie (franchise ig I haven't rewatched the sequel since it came out) as the biggest waste of thematic potential in the dreamworks arsenal. the croods teeters right on the edge of goofy kids comedy (trolls, boss baby, etc) and a really really interesting, visually unique, and well-written addition to the dreamworks catalogue (httyd, kung fu panda, etc). it's right on the line and there are faint glimmers in all the chaos and revelry where you can see that beautiful, touching movie hidden within the exterior shell of the final product.

the story is not perfect, no. but like I said, it's RIGHT on the line and you can see that beautiful movie peeping through the cracks in the wall. I think, given the time, I would write this story as I see it. because actually it is really relevant to our current political climate and ohhhh my god I have so much to say about it. okay? okay. listen:

the story is framed around this conflict between eep and grug (what a way to start off a serious tangent, I know). but it's more representative of fearmongering and tradition- grug understands that this one way of life, a life of complete fear and avoidance, is what has worked for him. he is not willing to change or adapt to anything else because he is afraid of what he doesn't understand. I also want to say that the movie makes it clear that grug is not making up these rules; he is enforcing them, yes, but these are just things that were passed down to him from experience.

whereas eep is curious, accepting, and open to the world, grug is extremely reserved, suspicious and defensive of anything he doesn't immediately understand. again, this explicitly comes from a place of fear. he pushes tradition because he KNOWS it's what works for him, and he doesn't understand why it's not working for eep. he sees her ideas and dreams as not only frivolous and ridiculous, but outright dangerous. and while his reasoning is somewhat solid- the world is dangerous, this is inevitable- he is extremely rigid on his rules and stubborn in a way that is actively putting his family in even more danger.

the conflict is that grug sees any change he doesn't understand as dangerous. he is not open to new ideas, thoughts, or identities because he fears the unknown, and that fear manifests in anger. then he perpetuates this cycle of fear and tells his family things that are not true (though he really does believe them) because what's new or different is scary and therefore it's a threat.

but the entire movie focuses around change. it's literally the plot! the earth itself is changing, which is dangerous and is scary, but the message is so clearly that in order to survive this changing world, you have to have faith in the people around you, you have to have faith in the things you don't understand, you have to learn and even teach yourself, and you have to take that jump, or you'll be left behind.

there is SOOOO much to unpack, I've barely scratched the surface. but overall I wish so badly that these themes were explored because it really is such a good movie with an amazing heart that I NEED to see developed more. well anyway the croods is a trans allegory.

[topknotstrunk]

Review Everything 18 - Avatar: The Way of Water

I want to open by saying that I have been a staunch lover and defender of the first movie since the day it came out. I never was a part of the “I couldn’t name a character from Avatar movie if I tried.” Crowd. I loved it from the second I saw it in 3D IMAX, which we drove 2 hours to see. I watched it at least once a year between then and now. I happily defended the movie to anyone who would listen, how it was a story of found family, of the lack of culture America wants to saddle white people with, that it was meant to be a movie to make you love and appreciate nature, about adapting, and finding your true self. In the lead up to the second movie I felt very smug watching all the “Avatar was always good, actually.” Reviews coming out.

I am fully aware of the white savior complaints about the franchise, but I don’t think that’s my place to speak on here. I am a HUGE spec-bio and worldbuilding nerd. I have several projects of my own that are based around these concepts. The fist Avatar is a spec-bio nerd’s and worldbuilding fan’s wet dream. I think based on that alone I would have loved it, but both movies are so much more than that. In the second movie we are introduced to the Metkayina society, one very obviously inspired by Polynesian culture. From the face tattoos, to their fighting hype up being an obvious homage to the haka, it was a delight to see how much thought was put into making the Metkayina different from the Omaticaya. The titular Way of Water and other Navi specific traits were good to see too, especially the different biology to the forest people with the paddles on the limbs, the broader chests, the more slimline noses, the wider tails, and the skin coloration. I’m so happy so much more of the world got explored, we got to see two new biomes in the Hallelujah Mountain’s caves and the sea, with the sea being so filled out and thought through that it didn’t even feel made up or alien, just like the movie team had gone out and filmed somewhere on Earth I’m just not familiar with.

But the thing that stood out to me in the first movie, and in the second even more strongly, is the environmentalist message. I cannot tell you how much I cried when they hunted the tulkun. Even just the scene with Payakan getting the spear pulled out of his fin got my water works going. One of the things I really valued about the first movie is that Carmen relies on your own love of and inherent connection to nature PLUS what he’s taught you about Pandora to really get you to buy in to the alien nature presented in the franchise. You really care about these animals on the screen, because you know how important animals are in real life, and this fantasy that’s presented to you with animals that don’t exist remind you of the nature that’s all around you.

Also, the movie looks incredible. I bought in completely, there are so many parts of the movie that are CG that just look like actual objects and/or creatures being filmed. Watching it in 3D IMAX, like I got to with the first one, was a real treat.

There was at least two elements of the movie I felt were a little predictable, the death of the oldest son and the beginning of the character arc for Quaritch. I wasn’t sure at first which one of their kids was going to die, but I had the thought really early on in the film that Jake and  Neytiri had one to many kids for the audience to realistically keep track of, and then when Lo’ak kept putting himself in danger for his siblings, I felt his death was inevitable. I don’t always feel that predictability is a negative in a film though, it can often mean, as was the case here, that the movie is using film language well and has good internal logic that’s solid enough that you can guess where it’s going to happen ahead of time.

The sequel sets up so many questions I’m looking forward to subsequent movies answering. What’s up with Quaritch? Is he gonna “go native” in an effort to survive and be able to kill Jake? Is he now a child of Eywa, an his own person? I mean, he’s a clone, he’s not the man that Neytiri killed, he’s not even the same species, by his own words to Spider. How far does Kiri’s power reach? Will she overcome the seizures, or be overcome by them? How many of the Sully kids are going to stay with the Metkayina, just Lo'ak? Will Spider stay a Human? Does Kiri have a father? Gah, I’m REALLY looking forward to Avatar: The Seed Bearer [title pending, I know]!

My only actual complaint about the movie was that I wish they had set up cloning yourself with memories in tact in the first movie. It’s fine in a sci-fi movie, it feels like typical sci-fi shenanigans, but I would have liked any kind of set up. I’m not a big fan of retconning in basically anything and this felt like that to me. This is a tiny quibble in a movie I otherwise loved, though. And the soundtrack was a little weaker than the first movie. I don’t think I can actually count the soundtrack against it though, as I didn’t even notice until just now, sitting at home with it playing on its own as I write the review.

In summery: I am a big Avatar nerd who was fully engrossed the entire movie.

Overall: 10/10 Read my rating system’s expectation here.

[mechanicalinertia]

Finished Edgerunners last night. Some thoughts:

1. It was… okay, overall. Like, a 7.5/10. It embraced modern genre cliches with aplomb for better and for worse, but the plot was… better than I expected from a Trigger anime. Clearly, having a bunch of Polish guys do that end of the work improved the anime over, say, Promare, or Franxx. Thank fucking christ.

2. On that note, I’ve begun browsing through the AO3 for tag for Edgerunners and it is nothing but fix-fics, I mean it’s incredible how many people want David and Rebecca to live. There are various ways people go about this. Among them: Peggy Sue time travel stories, Lucy telling David to not put on Maine’s arms before the timeskip, a ninja saving Lucy from Faraday. The one I like the most, though, is the one where Smasher spares David and Yorinobu Arasaka - that’s right, the only Arasaka with dignity - gives him a new cyberbody, while Rebecca is rescued by Rogue. So the characters are apart but could come together soon.

3. Am I jealous that these fics all are racking up thousands of views in a little more than a month compared to even Divine Patronage? Hell yes. But I don’t know how to get in on this game for two reasons. One, Edgerunners never really gave me too much emotional attachment — I knew everyone was gonna die based on the trailer where they cite the “it’s not how you live, it’s how you die” line (Classic cyberpunk neoliberal nihilism, see my previous post for why I hate that shit), so watching Rebecca die was just kinda eh, whatever. I think most people like Rebecca just ‘cause they’re horny. If they want more of that, hey, Gunsmith Cats has a horny murder-loli as well, they can go watch the OVA for that or read the manga or whatever. Two, I don’t like Edgerunners’ basic universe enough to not cross it over with my own bullshit Bubblegum Crisis 206X universe, and that inevitably leads to thousands of lost views who have no idea what BGC is and don’t want to find out.

4. What’s funny about the first episode is that its ‘call to adventure’, if you want to get all Campbellian, is a side to cyberpunk universes that I don’t think has really been done too much in anime or visual media I’ve seen. (It probably has been done better I just haven’t seen a whole lot of media.) The whole idea of everything having a price, it being impossible for someone like David or his mom to move up in the world — especially since his bullies can just beat the shit out of him whenever they please — feels at once goofy and plausible, and in those last few minutes you can feel the tension rise as David makes his choice. But then after that it’s off to the races, all cyber-murder and heists and the kind of stuff you expect from what cyberpunk means to people nowadays, a glitzy future aesthetic where life is meaningless so you might as well kill as many corporate / themed-gang goons as possible before going out with a bang. (I guess I need to watch Blade Runner Black Lotus to see if Production IG did anything different for a far more somber franchise, but they sure as hell didn’t for SAC_2045, the bastards.) It might have actually been more interesting for Gloria to not be the Anime Dead Mom, and be in critical care, constantly chastising David for what he’s doing but unable to formulate an alternative. My point is there was potential, and the potential was — squandered isn’t the right word, that implies it wasn’t deliberate. Ignored! Yes. Ignored, that’s the right word.

5. In spite of all my inability to get emotionally attached to pretty much anyone except David and Lucy… well, I like David and Lucy. They’re characters that are developed well enough, and David isn’t really your usual shonen-jump protag but more a depressed wreck only able to actualize himself through ultimately meaningless violence. It’s not as though he really accomplishes his goal of getting Lucy to the moon anyway, ‘cause what good is that if he can’t be with her? So now that I think about it, I understand the sentiment of wanting these characters to live, and that’s what fanfiction is for, and there’s no shame in that. (I’m Rebecca neutral, to be honest. There’s not enough character development there to figure out who she is as a person besides horny for Timeskip David Of Considerable Size.)

6. Well, I guess I’m a hypocrite, because I’m writing a new crossover fanfic that will hopefully follow on from Anatomy of a Lovedoll. It’s called The Witch of Tranquility, and so far it’s only a prologue proposing an alternate timeline where Hanako offs her dad and sells its assets to GENOM, thereby crossing over the two universes. I’ve got a timeline written, too, but I’m holding off on posting it for now. It’s not as though explaining the crossover will make more people read it.

Well, we’ll see how things go, there. Edgerunners could not dethrone Bubblegum Crisis in my heart, but then again I didn’t expect it to. I could compare the two, but there’s no point. Let people enjoy things. I enjoyed Edgerunners. It was good. But it wasn’t great.

[sarah-dipitous]

Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 188

Devil May Care/The Angels Take Manhattan

“Devil May Care”

Plot Description: Dean shocks Sam when he opens the Impala’s trunk to reveal he’s kidnapped the King of Hell. Meanwhile, Abaddon rises with plans to take over his role.

Would I Survive the First Five Minutes??: oh, we START with Dean dragging in a corpse, but it doesn’t seem like anyone else is dying

I really hope she has even ONE episode where she doesn’t get brutalized…

Ok maybe it wasn’t Dean dragging in a corpse, just some shmuck recruited by Abaddon. Love that ❤️ she’s back

I don’t like whatever’s going on in this bunker now. You don’t get to keep both Kevin AND Crowley there

Honestly, yeah. That’s probably the best way to torture Crowley: leave him alone in a dark room with no one to make snide quips to

I would 100% accept her as queen. She’s as cruel as she is beautiful

Abaddon is having so much fun and I love that for her

I can’t believe Kevin 1) chose Solo as his fake last name (I actually can) and 2) basically blackmailed the military officer

ABADDON HAS NEVER DONE ANYTHING WRONG EVER. Everything she’s done is completely right

Nooo…honestly, it was inevitable, but you shouldn’t have left Kevin and Crowley alone in the bunker. He’s just a KID, and Crowley’s a centuries old demon. I can’t even blame him if he gets manipulated into freeing Crowley

PLEASE. I’m begging. Just ONE episode. A little holy water splash is fine but she’s already been through so much at the Winchesters’ hands

I……….she could possess me any day. I wouldn’t want to actually do the things she’s threatening to make Dean do should she possess him, but the way she talks about it 🥰🥰🥰 I’m very normal about her

I still don’t trust Ezekiel.

Fuuuuck. It does look like…oh, Crowley’s still here. But where’s Kevin??

Mmmmmmmmmmmm, he’s gonna think that this is Dean only needing him because he’s useful…..omg, ok, so turns out if Kevin cries, I cry. He’s needed cuz he’s FAMILY. Eat your heart out, Fast and Furious franchise

Godddd, when will the secrets STOP?!

“The Angels Take Manhattan”

Plot Description: the Angels are back, and this time they’re taking over Manhattan

This little girl’s got no business playing peekaboo with a Weeping Angel. The fuck

Wait. That’s not how they work. You disappear from your timeline…you don’t…you don’t make it back to your same timeline, do you?? And meet your old self? But…I guess…wibbly wobbly timey wimey

I’ve been to that rock they’re sitting on.

Oh. Oh Rory. Oh dear, sweet Rory who has apparently never been on the internet????? “Only [the Doctor] could fancy someone in a book”??? Good thing ao3 is down. It’s completely blow his mind to bits. Then again, just send him to any character tag here and same difference

And I had my picture taken at that fountain

Of course the protagonist of the book is actually River. (I remembered the author even now but I forgot the main character was River)

That giggling though. Creepy

Omg. Okay, I like all the weird time travely stuff. It’s one thing to go to one destination but it’s another to get a book from the past and then influence that book by going even further into the past. Just. Delightful

Ohhhhhhh the Doctor’s freak out about saying goodbye to Amy…telling River to get out of the Angel’s grasp without breaking her own wrist, to change the future that’s already been written. AND SHE WANTED TO LET HIM BELIEVE SHE HAD 😭😭😭

I can’t believe Amy just had to watch Rory die again…this time as an old man

Amy’s love for Rory is so beautiful and endearing, and it’s so dumb they ever made us doubt it

OMG YOU CANNOT MAKE HER WATCH HIM DIE AGAIN. TWICE?? IN ONE EPISODE??

I know this is supposed to be an emotional moment but the music is killing the mood

Except now we’re back in that graveyard……and I know what’s gonna happen and I hate it

It was the right thing but it doesn’t make it less heartbreaking. She’ll take any chance to see Rory again. Every time

Donna🤝Amy: gingers who tell the Doctor to not travel alone

[kinetic-elaboration]

March 10: Future Halloweens

I finished watching the Halloweens a while ago but there was more I wanted to say about the, so that's today's topic.

Presumably there are no current plans to make anymore, given that the last one was named Halloween Ends and included Michael getting killed, and I do anticipate another long gap before any more films come out. But I'm not convinced no more films will come out. It's fine if they don't, but I think as long as someone owns the rights and the IP is considered to have money-making potential, it's inevitable that someone will come along and resurrect the franchise. Michael dying means nothing to me--he died in Halloween II, Halloween H20, and Halloween II (2009) too, and while I know the retcon for H20 was made up at the same time as the fake death, and that if 2009 had had a sequel it probably would have easily explained Michael's apparent death as a non-event, nevertheless even the definitive killing of the antagonist seems unimportant to me in this context because Halloween has an established tradition of rebooting itself and creating new timelines. At least Ends provided a proper and planned ending to its timeline, as opposed to Curse or Resurrection, both of which implied (direct) sequels that never came about.

So, having said all that, here are some ideas I've had for additional Halloweens. I'm not sure they'd all actually pan out to good movies--but it doesn't matter lol, most of the existing ones aren't good! They still hold a special place in my heart.

Period Pieces: One interesting thing about Halloween is that all of the movies have been set in the period in which they were made. Michael generally ages in real time (except in the Rob Zombie movies) and so do any other recurring characters, like Laurie. The point at which that will still be worth doing or even possible is approaching. One possibility for continuing the franchise is another Zombie-style reboot, where the timeline re-sets from the current day. But that's been done. I would like to see what a period piece Halloween would look like, one that follows somehow from 1978, might or might not take into account any other sequel, and is not set in the year it was made. So for example, an 80s sequel or an early 2000s sequel.

This could definitely go horribly wrong, in part because one of my favorite parts of watching the whole franchise was seeing the evolution of horror and the evolution of style in general--so many of them are SO much a product of their time. But combining whatever is in vogue with horror in, say, 2030 with an imagined 1987 aesthetic would be interesting--and, though I would say it's too early to do another Halloween now, period piece horror is kind of in, a fad in and of itself.

Candyman: The original concept of Halloween IV, making Michael essentially a figment of Haddonfield kids' imagination, or some sort of terror that was real in a sense, but also very much dreamed up by them, is such an interesting take for me. I do agree that post-Season of the Witch would be a bad time to do it. And maybe it would totally bomb because part of what makes Myers what he is, IS his corporeal form, that he is human....but also not. It's possible I'd see a film like this and have the same visceral 'nope, not right' feeling I had with Ends. Nevertheless I am soooo curious about how it might work and I think it would be in keeping with certain themes in other entries in th series.

(I call this the Candyman entry because I think of it as the same basic premise as Candyman: the horror feeds on belief, needs belief to survive.)

Haddonfield Bans Halloween: I know other movies have tried to expand the setting out to the whole of Haddonfield in different ways, and in my opinion, these efforts have been a very mixed bag. I liked the roaming-around-the-neighborhood scenes in Halloween II and the Halloween festival of Curse and the Haddonfield stuff in Halloween V as well. But I thought Halloween Kills tried perhaps the most explicitly to make itself about the town as a whole, its trauma, and the effect of Myers' rampages on the average citizens of the suburb, and it didn't really gel. Similarly, Halloween Ends continued this theme and was, imo, pretty bad. Nevertheless, the idea, again for Halloween IV originally, that the town might react to the Myers killings by banning Halloween all together, and that this might in and of itself be a source of horror or a source of power for the evil they are trying to contain, is interesting to me, and I do think it would be done well. It just needs to reflect a really good scene of the town and the autumn-in-suburbia aesthetic that Halloween perfected. It would be interesting to see this set, say, 1-3 years after Halloween (1978) and to have it include (an unfortunately recast) post-high school Laurie.

More takes on Laurie: For all the Halloween sequels, there are really only a few different options for Laurie? We saw her as a highly damaged but also high-functioning person in H20, in an institution in Resurrection, as a survivalist in 2018, and then developing/healing from that persona in Kills and Ends. I think there are a lot of other possibilities as far as reactions to the events of Halloween 1978 and many more eras of her life that have never been explored. I liked a lot about her characterization in H20 and some about her in Ends and even some about her in 2018 although it didn't quite gel for me. But I love this character so much and I think there's way more to mine from her than from Myers. He is not overall that complex, and every attempt to make him complex comes at a sacrifice of scariness and/or coherence. Don't even bother. Just let him be scary. Laurie's a complex person who, critically, has more than one motivation and more than one emotion, and I want to see it!

Halloween Only: I had this idea that Michael is tied to the date Halloween in some way, and that it would be interesting to see him, like, explicitly only kill, only be dangerous on the day itself. It's always so arbitrary what "kills" him, that is what causes him to be captured or to go into hiding or whatever. Halloween Kills showed that, realistically, he can always keep going, and so imo there's a bit of an implied surrender every time he lets himself get pushed down the mine shaft or brought back into custody or whatever. I'd sort of like to see a spree end with him just, straight up stopping on November 1. Letting himself be caught then because he's just done. This isn't really a plot but it would be linked in some way to my reading of him as just evil-made-flesh, and it would fit in with some other hints in the series--the Samhain thing in Halloween II, the influence on Jamie that seems to break after Halloween is over, not to mention that all his sprees are, of course, on Halloween--and I just think there is something scary, a fear that would fit well into this series, in the idea that just like evil exists, evil also has times or circumstances of strength, and your goal is just to recognize those times, and to fight back as much as you can for as long as you can. You'll never win...but maybe you'll reach a time of respite.

[maroonghoul]

Additional thoughts on Slasher

A few additional points.

-In the part of how I was talking about the Friday the 13th being the scapegoat of practically the whole genre, I might’ve come off as dismissive to those who enjoy this franchise, saying it’s no better then basic entertainment. Like I said, I’ve only seen a few films, so what do I know? Like I said, I have conflicted feelings about these movies, and I leaned into the hateful part a bit too much there. I just wanted to say they accomplish exactly what they set out to do, and the most compelling parts of them are enhanced by the horror rather then separated from them.

-I also regret saying that “we” prefer simpler villains nowadays, as if I was speaking for general horror fans nowadays. I know that’s where my headspace is, and that podcasts and online critics I do follow enjoy them. I felt I was kind of being in a bubble, there. I’m not saying complex, sympathetic villains can’t work in this climate. Hell, they’re working now if you know where to look. It’s just to my point, Slasher villains are inherently inhuman and unsympathetic, (usually wearing a mask, not speaking, uncaring towards everyone they encounter, etc.). When a villain fully commits to that and doesn’t ask for sympathy, it can be strangely more compelling then a villain that tries to make sympathetic speeches then just casually murders  a whole bunch of civilians the next minute. The later feels like a manufactured attempt at complexity if done wrong while the former can just be efficient storytelling.

- I can’t believe I forgot to mention ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’, ‘Black Christmas’, and other earlier slashers play into this. Well, with TCM, I think it’s still consistent even if it’s off the beaten path, in every meaning of the term. The family resorted to killing people partially because they lost their jobs at the slaughterhouse. They, and most other Redneck villains of the genre, feel abandoned by America. But they don’t have the power nor insight into realizing it’s the corporations that are causing the hardships, so they settle for the similarly ignorant but less bloodthirsty younger generation that happen to be nearby. This interpretation is not anything new; I’m just connecting the dots.

For Black Christmas, at least the 1974 original ( I haven't seen the 2006 remake and what I said about Scream apply with the 2019 movie, more or less). We don’t know anything about Billy, so it’s impossible to feel sympathy for him then even the more standard slashers, he falls in the same camp as Freddy, in that he’s a monster empowered by society’s blind spots. Having a big house can in fact be a detriment if someone can just break in without you knowing it. Or just because you got the killer doesn’t mean anything if you do nothing to actually protect or understand you child’s pain before they literally die in their sleep. Both films even end with the killer getting away with it. Billy successfully hides in the attic the whole time because no one thinks to look for him there. Plus, it had to be the jerk boyfriend who Jess killed...as if this was a case of one bad apple. Freddy’s literally dead and that doesn’t stop him. Because of a whole older generation who only believe in monsters when they see them.

I’m really into the idea where it’s not just the killer itself that’s horrifying, but the environment that allows it power. Most times, it’s as simple as isolated home turf, though I am a big fan of those where when it shows up like in Texas Chainsaw or Alien, stumbling across it feels more inevitable then shocking given the atmosphere. But when it isn’t isolated, it’s because it’s revealing a significant flaw in the systems that should’ve been able to catch it within seconds, ideally. This is something that goes back at least as far as Frankenstein and Dracula, a time where people have enough consideration of vampires or imagination to consider how a withdrawn college dropout is connected to a beastly killer.

Maybe that’s what this is ultimately about. Stories about external horror can have problem (notably of the xenophobic variety). But when focusing on internal horrors, in where you live or even in your mind and beliefs. And even indirectly; now you have my attention. Which is actually going to segway into my next post. Which I hope to post soon. Thank you.

[tungle-scant-sequels]

squentacles has some things to say about jurassic world: dominion

ok yeah i KNOW that i'm over 4 months late but i also didn't get a chance (didn't want to) watch it until yesterday. i'm tagging this a movie review for the sake of convenience, but it's closer to a rant. i guess.

anyways my opinions on the movie is mainly that it's massively disappointing. spoilers for jurassic park 5 and beyond etc etc. discussion is fine and welcomed as long as you don't be mean about it

first and biggest concern: IT WASN'T EVEN FOCUSED ON THE DINOSAURS :(((( the main thing was that this weird new world had to navigate the existence of Actual Fucking Dinosaurs, with maybe some ✨spicy ethical quandaries✨ thrown in for flavor. from the amount of times the dinosaurs showed up in the trailer and also the history of the Entire Franchise you'd rightfully think so, but instead of being the central conflict, they get one scene at the beginning, and then they're just setpieces. i am crying

the cowboy scene was definitely just wish fulfillment. i'm not even mad about that. good for whichever writer got that in the movie, i just though that was pretty goofy

the Giant Locust swarms were terrifying, and from the massive scale of the impacts you'd think it was going to be the main focus, but the corporation kidnapped the "clone" girl now! that's right this is a break in movie folks

just a disclaimer for people who were fucking terrified of the locusts (like yours truly :) ): insects can't actually get that big! most insects have external circulatory systems with spiracles to take oxygen in from directly outside. this is fine when they're small because the surface area/volume ratio of normal locusts is much higher than that of those fucking monstrosities (square cube law etc etc). this may be common knowledge to people. i will still put this disclaimer here for my own benefit.

sattler is so fucking cool. while grant was brooding about the dying funds of paleontology and malcolm was giving ted talks about humanty's inevitable downfall, she changed career paths and wrote several papers about soil and algae as an energy source. she actually managed to be productive. love that for her

but beyond that, i didn;t really get invested in many of the characters (other than kayla because she was cool). it wasn't as plot-focused as many other Big movies i've seen, but it still wasn;t really character-focused either.

i'm taking this quote from i thiiiink the infinity war pitch meeting, because it applies to so many movies: "so much happens in this movie that the characters don't have time to yknow. be characters"

can't forget the Vaguely Easter European/Middle Eastern/Just Generally Foreign Illegal Dinosaur Corrupt Fighting Trade Breeding Black Market! an extremely normal and not harmful trope

i pity the cgi folks who probably worked their eyes off for this movie, but also i think the cgi was bad. they should have used puppets dude

it's been nearly a year since i last saw jurassic park 5, so i don't remember the full details of the movie, including maisie's mediocre-ish arc, but it also would have been interesting knowing her decision over releasing the dinosaurs would have been different if she knew she wasn't a clone

also it was kind of weird for the writers to backtrack on the clone thing. that's all i have to say. it was strange

the scene where everyone had to split up into groups to do stuff (i forgot what said stuff was) was nice actually! it should have been longer. i love to see characters interact and bond in weird situations

(at this point there are 20 minutes left into the movie, i thought. how's the movie going to resolve the locusts and dinosaurs now? HAHAHAHA,)

of course, there was the obligatory dino fight!!!! but i think it was less than 3 minutes long. it even failed to give tension for the helicopter scene, which was the only other reason why it was there. there were no stakes in that fight

admittedly the locusts made a decent b-plot but by the end of the movie they were just gone. girl

in face, the ending felt like the movie gave itself too many plot threads for itself to handle, so it just tied them up as quickly and conveniently as possible. that cowboy rival dinosaur killer died in the black market. the billionaire got killed off in the tunnel several minutes before the finale, which was admittedly ironic and deserved, but then the locusts were completely eradicated within an ambiguous span of time. and then people just decided to be fine with the dinosaurs (which was also accompanied by a voiceover from charlotte lockwood, which made it fine i guess).

like. you had the dinosaur problem at the beginning of the movie, and then the locusts happened, and then that got resolved. x + 1 - 1 = x. you're right back where you started buddy.

as did the second two sequels of the original jurassic park movie, it also completely missed the Point of the original movie. where's the consquences for playing god? ian malcolm is rotating on the floor rn

seriously a mosasaurus(?) ate a fucking boat. are we not gonna address that

main takeaway(s): more dinosaurs, more character moments, more moral quandaries, and also at least one puppet. i think that would be swell

[helloalycia]

my famous soulmate // elizabeth olsen

summary: when you discover that your soulmate is Elizabeth Olsen and arrange a date with her, your imagination gets the better of you.

warning/s: none.

author's note: this was requested a while ago, and it’s my first time writing lizzie so i hope it’s okay! also it’s a bit on the short end, my bad!

masterlist | wattpad

I snapped several photos of the many celebrities to grace the red carpet for yet another Marvel film premiere. This one was bigger than ever though – it was Avengers Endgame – so I was on my game as I attempted to get the best photographs for the online celebrity news site I worked for.

The biggest stars were all present, making their way across the carpet for photographers (including myself) to photograph them, before moving onto the interviews further down where people like my friend, Y/BF/N, were conducting interviews about the premiere and film itself.

It was easy enough to take photographs of everyone – Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Sebastian Stan, Chris Evans and so many more – until it wasn't. One minute I was staring through my lens, photographing one star after another, and the next, I was gobsmacked as I stared into the greenest eyes I'd ever seen.

Soulmates were a well-known concept, albeit rare. Those who found their soulmate apparently get this feeling in their gut – a yearning, tugging feeling that just made sense when it happened. But it was rare since not many people nowadays believed in the concept of soulmates. Everybody got together with whoever they wanted and only the lucky ones found their soulmates. Which is why I certainly wasn't expecting to find mine tonight, out of all places.

Elizabeth Olsen was next on the carpet and as usual, I was perfectly content snapping photographs and doing my job. But then I lowered my camera to turn off the flash and I glanced up, accidentally meeting her gaze. It was a mere few seconds of contact, but it was enough to give me that feeling that I'd heard about so much, a feeling I almost believed didn't exist.

She had to have felt it, too, right? Her smile faltered for a moment which could only mean she did. But that didn't make sense... the Elizabeth Olsen was my soulmate? No way I was that lucky.

I was certain she wanted to say something, acknowledge the moment we'd shared, as she stepped forward eagerly. But before anything could be done, she was being tugged the other way by someone, and I was left standing there with confusion and curiosity.

Did that even happen or had I imagined the whole thing?

—

It was the next week when I saw Elizabeth next. For that week, I was debating whether or not I'd actually found my soulmate, or if it was all an over-exaggeration because she happened to be a celebrity I thought was attractive and had crossed paths with.

I'd heard of people who either didn't find their soulmates at all or were in a place where they couldn't actually be with their soulmate. And then there was the idea that even if you found your soulmate, it didn't guarantee they'd want to be with you. Some people were so content with their lives that they managed to push down their inevitable feelings and remain single or with somebody else. What if that happened with me? Providing I'd even found my soulmate and hadn't imagined it?

If Elizabeth Olsen really was my soulmate, I wasn't expecting for it to go anywhere. She was a famous actress with the world at her fingertips – soulmate or not, why would she pick me? No, I wasn't naïve.

I was at work and Elizabeth was coming in for an interview. Y/BF/N was conducting the interview and when she told me that morning that I'd be photographing it in some last-minute arrangement, I was speechless.

"Chill, you'll be fine," Y/BF/N reassured as she noticed my reaction. "I know you're a fan, but as long as you don't fangirl, you'll be okay."

She wasn't wrong. I was a fan of all of the actors and actresses in the Marvel franchise, with Elizabeth being up there because of my appreciation for her character, Wanda Maximoff. But after what happened last week at the premiere, my nerves were no longer down to being starstruck. I didn't want to tell Y/BF/N that though, so I nodded and accepted my fate.

When Elizabeth turned up and was introduced to Y/BF/N, I stayed back to set up my camera, telling myself it was my job but really finding an excuse to not embarrass myself somehow. Of course, Elizabeth managed to catch my gaze before she took her seat, and yet again, I found that familiar feeling stirring inside of me. Did she feel it, too?

Panicking like the idiot I was (and also startled by her gaze, though I wouldn't admit it at the time), I looked away and swallowed down my nerves. If I just focused on my job, things would be okay.

So, that's what I did. For the next half an hour, I focused on snapping photos of the interview and sticking to the sidelines, away from the 'action'. It was easier said than done since Elizabeth would glance my way every now and then, rendering me frozen. On top of that, she looked really good today, even if she was wearing a simple outfit consisting of jeans and a tee shirt. Seriously, how could someone look so good in that?

Once the interview was done, I made a beeline for the snacks table to try and rationalise what was happening. But my mind was a shambles and it was much easier to focus on picking a doughnut than it was to think of my situation at hand.

A tap on the shoulder stole my attention away, and when I turned to see who it was, my heart dropped to my stomach with surprise. It was Elizabeth Olsen, stood before me and wearing a bright yet nervous smile on her lips.

"Hey," she greeted warmly. "I thought I would introduce myself. I'm–"

"Elizabeth Olsen," I finished for her without thinking. "I know."

She chuckled awkwardly, glancing down at her shoes. "Right. Of course."

I winced at my stupidity. "Sorry, that was rude of me."

"No, it's fine," she assured me. "That was silly of me anyway. Of course you know who I am. You work here."

Hoping to make a better impression, I nodded. "I'm Y/N Y/L/N."

"Y/N...," she tried out my name slowly, eyes peering into mine and making me nervous. "I think I may have seen you last week at the Endgame premiere."

I raised my eyebrows with surprise, definitely not expecting someone as busy as her to remember me. Acknowledging my expression, she straightened up and raised her brows hopefully.

"So, you felt it, too?" she asked softly, and I nodded slightly, still taken aback that she was so upfront about it. Releasing a sigh, she said, "I wasn't sure if I imagined it."

I pressed my hands to my jeans to calm the shaking. "Look, I know who you are and what your life is like and– this whole soulmate thing, it doesn't matter." She looked up at this, tilting her head with mild confusion, but I continued. "I'm not expecting you to drop everything and get to know me or anything. You don't owe me anything."

Her confusion turned into an uncomfortable smile as her eyes flittered away from mine. "Well. This is awkward because I was just about to ask you if you wanted to get coffee with me sometime."

Well, I definitely wasn't expecting that.

"I've been trying to figure out who you are since that night last week," she admitted, nerves returning and making my stomach flutter because of how cute she looked. "I don't want to ignore what happened. What's happening." It went awkwardly quiet as she exhaled before meeting my eyes with disheartened ones. "But if you do–"

"I don't," I blurted out quickly, not wanting her to think otherwise. "I mean, yeah, yes!"

She quirked a brow. "Yes, you want to ignore it?"

"No, no," I shook my head frantically, "No, I don't want to ignore what happened. Yes, I would love to grab coffee with you."

An amused smile broke out on her lips as she stifled a laugh. "Oh, well, okay. Good. That, er, that sounds good."

My shoulders relaxed as I returned her smile with a relieved one. "Good."

"Lizzie, we need to finish up here!" someone called, breaking our small staring contest.

I glanced to the right where somebody who worked for her was waving her over impatiently. "Looks like you're needed," I said to her, hoping I didn't sound as disappointed as I looked.

"Yeah," she agreed with a similar disappointment, before asking, "Can I get your number? Maybe we can arrange something soon."

Still surprised at her eagerness, I nodded and watched as she grabbed her phone, but her name was called again and I sighed at the impatience on their end.

"Here," I said, handing her a business card from my pocket. "My number is on the card. You should go."

She accepted the card with a grateful smile. "Thanks. Sorry about this, but I'll be sure to see you soon, Y/N."

Butterflies fluttered around in my stomach at the weak-in-the-knees smile she sent me. With a nod, she left me standing there, looking out after her and trying not to grin because I'd finally found my soulmate and she actually had an interest in me.

This date couldn't come soon enough.

—

"It's just coffee, it's not a big deal," I mumbled to myself for the millionth time, hoping it would calm my nerves, but it definitely didn't.

The fact that I was meeting my soulmate after knowing some people didn't even know theirs existed was a huge thing to be excited for. But also knowing that my soulmate was a beautifully talented actress, one of my favourites, was another. And I was both excited and anxious for the date, since I didn't want to make a fool of myself or somehow mess up to the point of her never wanting to see me again.

So, I found myself sat in the coffee shop we agreed to meet in, remembering all the talking points I'd rehearsed in my head beforehand in case I ran out of things to say. It started off okay, with my leg shaking under the table and eyes constantly drifting to the door, expecting her arrival.

But then she was ten minutes over the time we agreed, and L.A. traffic wasn't the kindest, so I merely texted to see if she was still okay to meet me and waited.

Then fifteen minutes passed and she still hadn't showed nor replies to my message. I ordered a coffee for myself and gave her a call, which was missed. It was getting a little embarrassing at this point.

And after twenty minutes passed, I didn't want to seem clingy and keep on texting/calling her, especially when she'd made no effort to let me know why she was late or if she was even coming. If she decided I wasn't worth getting to know anymore, she didn't have to waste my time and leave me embarrassed and hurt. A simple text would have sufficed. Would have stung a lot less, too, that's for sure.

I downed my coffee in one large sip and left the shop with whatever dignity I had left (hint: it wasn't much). With plans to go back home and attempt to forget about the fact that my soulmate wanted nothing to do with me, I walked quickly with my hands in my pocket. I didn't get very far though, as green eyes met mine and widened with recognition.

"You're still here!" Elizabeth said, stopping before me with surprise. "Oh, thank God. I thought–"

"I was just leaving," I said, trying to bite back my bitterness.

When I made an attempt to sidestep her, she stopped me with a pleading expression. "Please, don't go."

I sighed tiredly. "Look, Elizabeth. This was–"

"Lizzie."

"What?"

Her apologetic expression softened. "I go by Lizzie."

I pressed my lips together, nodding awkwardly and looking down. "Right... well, Lizzie. It was nice almost getting to know you, but I'm feeling pretty stupid that I waited twenty minutes for someone who's clearly not got the time."

"That's not it," she started, but this was already going on longer than I wanted, and no matter how much the universe wanted this to work, it clearly wasn't.

"You don't need to explain." I smiled awkwardly to ease the tension. "I'm just gonna go."

As I made another attempt to leave, she stepped in my way and watched with apologetic eyes.

"Please," she tried again. "I wanted to call, but I dropped my phone in a fountain."

Quirking an eyebrow judgementally, she straightened up and ran a hand through her blonde hair, though I very much noticed the pink dusting her cheeks with embarrassment.

"You're gonna have to come up with a better excuse than that," I said, half joking but half serious.

"I'm being serious," she said quickly, before reaching into her bag and pulling out a small plastic bag filled with rice and her phone. "See?"

My eyebrows dropped with realisation. "Oh."

"I was on my way here when I saw a water fountain in the park," she explained, avoiding my eyes, and I realised how un-intimidating she looked when she was nervous. "So, naturally, I thought, 'let's throw a coin in and make a wish!'"

"Make a wish," I repeated, to make sure I'd heard correctly.

"Yes," she sighed. "So, I tried to make a wish, y'know? Throw in a coin. Good luck for the date an' all. But then I dropped my phone in and it stopped working. So, I wanted to tell you, but I threw away your business card and your number was saved in my phone. And the only way to tell you was to make the phone work. So, I tried to find some rice which is much harder than you'd think. But I found some and I'm still waiting for it to work, but yeah, that's why I'm late."

Once she was finished with her very unbelievably insane story, she caught her breath and finally looked my way, still flushed with embarrassment but very much apologetic and genuine.

"It's a stupid excuse, but it's the truth," she added, when she noticed my expression. "And I'm sorry for making you wait. I was... I was actually really looking to today and meeting you properly."

"You were?"

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as an embarrassed smile adorned her face. "Did you not hear the super lame part about me making a wish for a great date at the fountain?"

A small, amused smile appeared on my own lips. "It wasn't lame."

She tilted her head, smiling sheepishly. "I mean, wasn’t it?"

I laughed, shaking my head. "No, it wasn’t. And I'm sorry I assumed the worst."

She relaxed her shoulders when she realised I wasn't angry anymore. "It's okay. I probably would've thought the same if our roles were reversed."

I smiled politely, unsure what else to say. She licked her lips and glanced around before looking to me with a hopeful expression.

"So, er, now that that's cleared up... do you maybe still wanna go out?" she asked, chewing on her lip.

Despite my fears that she'd want nothing to do with me still, I could see that she actually had an interest in getting to know me. And that was more than enough for me to give in, nodding with enthusiasm.

"I'd love to, but I should tell you that I have just had a coffee whilst waiting," I admitted, pointing over my shoulder and to the coffee shop. "I'm happy to pretend that didn't happen and get another though."

She cracked a smile, a beautiful one at that – it reached her eyes and gave me butterflies, the whole thing. "Maybe we could grab lunch? Just so you don't have to endure another coffee."

I played along, smiling humorously. "Well, we can't have that now, can we?"

She grinned. "No, we can't. So, lunch. You up for it?"

Lunch with Elizabeth Olsen definitely didn't sound bad. Not bad at all.

"Lunch it is, Lizzie."