#very unfortunate because you can literally play as the riddler

[logansbluetie]

Arkham City Riddler and his comedically large gun only seen in Batman Arkham Underworld

The comedically large gun is silly and I think more people would be aware of it /pos

[spectral-honey]

tbh it depends a bit on what kind of thing you want from batman i think? bc batman media varies wildly in characterization and themes so all the batman related media will vary wildly in genre, also if you mean the batman fandom as in bruce wayne-centric, batman & Gotham vigilantes and/or batfam centric, batman rogues-centric, or batman-working-with-other superheros centric that can change where you might want to start as well. hopefully thats not overwhelming, i just think seeing what youre most interested in can help narrow down which media is best to start with. i’ll recommend the stuff ive seen/read tho to give ideas and because my taste is superior (lie)

i unfortunately haven't read many comics because it turns out i actually don't enjoy the way DC does comics most of the time, so the only one i can recommend since i HAVE actually read it is the Red Robin run, which is Tim Drake centric. again i dont prefer DC comics so i have kind of mid feelings about it, but if you want to interact with the batfam fandom i think its where a lot of the fandom draws from for Tim Drake and his relationship to the other bats.

(honestly i consume DC comics mostly through the form of other people posting specific good comic panels to the internet or posts reviewing comics. sometimes also just literally reading character or comic wiki pages. the panda redd on tiktok & youtube does funny skits based on real events/characters from the comics and he actually likes the comics so its way more fun to watch his content where hes actually enthusiastic about it for me)

i also did see someone already recommended the wayne family adventures webcomic which i have read and it is a very fun, if fairly simplistic comic. its vibe is very slice of life and good batfam feels which is a criminally neglected part of batman content so its understandably popular

for movies the robert pattinson batman was genuinely really really good, i think its very good batman characterization and the riddler in the movie is a cool, more deadly spin on him than other iterations. the christian bale movies are also not bad, but they are definitely action movie first batman characterization second. the villains in those movies are also pretty cool but i do think ras al ghul’s characterization sucks as does batman’s. bane, joker, two face and scarecrow are pretty interesting though.

as for other media i REALLY like the batman unburied podcast, which has a really good morally-gray riddler and also has some focus on barbara gordon in addition to a really well characterized batman. posion ivy also appears in it and i really like her backstory in this, and hugo strange gets a fun little moment too. also the casting list for this kind of makes me go insane, they have winston duke (who plated m’baku in black panther) voicing batman and emmy raver-lampman (who played allison in umbrella academy) as poison ivy and just. chefs kiss j’adore imagining their actors in these roles. anyway highly recommend this one possibly-probably my fav batman media

also ive been watching the OG teen titans and it is fun and good for getting a feel for dick grayson’s robin outside of batmans direct influence, and since it isnt centered around him specifically you also get some of the other titans general story too. the under the red hood animated movie is good and gets you a major part of jason todd’s story as its about his turning point into the red hood.

the TV show gotham is VERY much trashy drama TV but if youre into that and want batman-related content it can be fun. i never watched past the second season since it wasnt out when i was into it, but i kind of still love the penguin from that show he was really great. it also features young bruce and catwoman and joker-but-they-didnt-have-the-rights-to-him-so-hes-technically-not-but-also-a-lot-of-people-still-really-like-him-as-an-iteration-of-the-joker. also, young jim gordan failing miserably at fighting corruption just like in general

as for media about batman rogues ive seen joaquin pheonix’s joker, its a good movie and well acted but i think it isnt great for understanding kind of any other joker iteration since it diverts a lot from who he is in like any other batman media. not to discourage watching it if you want to, just it isnt really close to the usual interpretations of joker. the killing joke animated movie also exists and from what i know is one of the more well known joker backstories and some of the info in it can be significant when connected to other characters (like, jason choosing the name red hood because it was technically the first moniker the joker went by? idk just interesting stuff).

harley quinn birds of prey is also a good movie and definitely follows the vibes of where harley quinn characterization has been for a while and also introduces you to a few other gotham vigilantes in the meantime. the harley quinn cartoon is good and pretty funny but also its definitely of the “adult cartoons that use edginess as comedy” so if youre not into other adult cartoons its probably not gonna be as fun. the suicide squad (the SECOND not the first i havent seen the first) is kind of the technical predecessor to birds of prey though not necessary to watch, if you like kind of gory action movies it is also fun but not necessarily harley quinn centric.

also bc its DC some of these are really dark or have just kind of general tw/cw id give about them so like if you have a particular sensitivity to something or just want to know generally what to expect feel free to send an ask or something i can tell you what i at least noticed or have been told about these

,,, sorry this is long but i started typing to just leave a comment under the post and by the time it got too long for a comment it was too late to turn back

I'm probably gonna regret this but how do I get into the batman fandom??? like what comics/movies are good to start with???

[just-an-enby-lemon]

✨️ 10 characthers, 10 fandoms, 10 tags ✨️

I was tagged by @nikosaurushex, thank you soo much, this was very fun : )

1. Alphonse Elric - Fullmetal Alchemist

Look at this baby!! He is such a good boi, he is the most inocent, sweet, giant baby boy to ever exist!! He deserves everything in this word and more. I love him soo much.

2. Akira Ono - Hi Score Girl

Another baby who deserves every good thing in the word. She chooses her game characthers based in wich one is less played with! She cares soo much about everyone. I really love her. Also I love how even though she doesn't speak she is still understood and very expressive and no one thinks less of her for it. Ono is the best.

3. Blitzen - Magnus Chase and The Gods Of Asgard || Riordanverse

To choose only one Riordanverse characther was really painfull. But if I didn't, I would had dedicated half of this thread to different riordanverse sagas. So instead I choose the one of my favorite characthers that does not recieve as much love as he should. Fashion Dwarf Dad is amazing!! We need to talk more about him. His sass, his criativity, how he never gave up, how loyal he is... I could compliment him forever. Even his mommy issues are great. I love him. Fashion Dwarf Dad is the best!

4. Clare Devlin - Derry Girls

I identify soo much with this anxiety ball, she cares about everything and everyone to the point of being a problem and I really want to hug this wee useless lesbian soo bad. She is my ficcional little sister and my favorite characther in a show where all characthers are amazing.

5. Sunny Baudelaire- A Series of Unfortunate Events (both bookerverse and seriesverse)

While it was hard to choose only one Snicketverse characther to put here my choice was made by too words: badass baby. Sunny is amazing, she is a force of nature and if she can already do soo much as literal infant I'm sure adult Sunny will just conquer the wolrd. This girl can do annything!! And I'll support anything she does.

6. Edward Nygma (Riddler) - Adam West Batman.

I promissed myself I would not put a Riddler in this list. It lasted like twenty seconds most. Ed is my problem child and I love him.

I choose Adam West Batman's Riddler because I'm also a Gorshin fan and I will hype this man acting anytime I get the chance. He is soo good.

(Since I promissed I would use only one Riddler, because otherwise this list would only be Riddlers, I will give Batman Unburied Riddler a small footnote here, because aaaaaaa reasons)

7. Frida - Hilda

Okay maybe is because I'm indecisive, but that was such a hard choice. I wanted to add a Hilda characther but they are all soo good. So I chose my girl Frida, cause she is great. I love all the episodes that focus on her and her jorney to became a Witch is very good.

8. Eda Clawthorne - The Owl House

I'm a very huuge Eda stan. I once got a chance to choose any fictional characther to do a college presentation (an psychological analysis) on and I choose Eda. She is great. I love her soo much. Chaotic Mon is the best.

9. Sakura Kinomoto - Cardcaptors Sakura

The ninith characther in this list was a complicated choice. TBH, this was my tenth choice, but I putted the ninith one at ten because they have no image.

So I had a lot of characthers and only one space. I swear I changed the characther like five times but in the end Sakura won. This anime was very important to me when I was little, all brazilian dubbed episodes of the first season in good quality were on YouTube at the time (and you could illigaly dowload the rest). This girl made me feel wonder in a way I can't describe, she still does. She makes my hearth warm.

10. Tamika Flyn - Welcome to Nightvale

I love everyone in Nightvale, all citzens of that weird little city and specially Cecil and the faceless old woman. But I choose Tamika because she was a child revolutionary, a monster slayer and a bookworm and she grow to be a concilwoman and to be there trying and suceeding in making a difference. Tamika is amazing and to listen to her grow was great and people should really talk more about Tamika!

No need to do the challenge, but here is my friendly fun tag: @sillymanwithocs, @lesbian-in-leather, @pharoahkittylover, @the-goodfellow-bard, @dreamerinasmallworld, @fatgumsupremacy, @selenophilenova, @decadentturkeycashroad, @sevenseasofthigh, @i-hate-liking-batman

[forevercloudnine]

new 52 riddler origin/timeline

I noticed an older 2017 post by @batriddler​ about Edward’s possible New 52 origin story was going around again, so I thought I’d make a timeline adding what we’ve learned about his origins since then through The Riddler: Year of the Villain (2019).

Childhood

So Year of the Villain brings back several elements of Edward’s original backstory. The first was that, as a child, he won a puzzle contest and became fixated on that moment of victory for the rest of his life.

Unlike previous iterations of the character, however, there’s no obvious indication that Edward cheated in order to win it (other than the looming shadow of his future careers). Whether he won it fairly or not, winning the trophy was a turning point for him because it was the first time he was given undiluted positive attention, something he wasn’t getting at home.

Edward’s mother is heavily, HEAVILY implied to be an alcoholic (like there are even more bottles lying around in this panel, I cut them out for the screenshot), and he himself implies in the narration that she was neglectful to the point that he pretty much had to raise himself. Interestingly, there’s no mention of an abusive father, which is the bog standard for Riddler backstories in previous continuities. There’s nothing contradicting the existence of an abusive father in addition, so obviously there’s room for headcanons here (though I’m enjoying that Jonathan’s New 52 daddy issues replacing his retconned Post-Crisis mommy issues was finally mirrored by Edward’s Post-Crisis daddy issues being retconned and replaced with New 52 mommy issues. It’s equality).

[Side note: apparently his actual birth name in the New 52 IS Edward “Nygma,” which is also a return to form to his first origin. Personally I’m much fonder of him being born “Nashton” and changing his name as an adult, but that’s just me.]

He says that winning the trophy was the first time he “felt like [he] meant something,” which would seem to indicate that before this he’d internalized his mother’s neglect into a low sense of self worth. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like the high of winning it lasted very long, since his classmates weren’t very appreciative of his victory (which is also very in line with Edward’s previous origins, especially Chuck Dixon’s take in Questions Multiple the Mystery).

There’s not much other information about his childhood available, though Batman Annual #4 does seem to indicate that unlike many of Batman’s other villains, he did grow up in Gotham.

This is just based on him telling Bruce that “all of Gotham City” watched him grow up, and that Edward in particular read and watched a lot of tabloid news about Bruce when they were adolescents (is this a Batman Forever reference??? It’s probably not a Batman Forever reference).

Teenage Years

Assuming we’re supposed to take Bruce’s heat-of-the-moment psychoanalysis in Zero Year seriously (Edward is clearly irritated by it, so... confirmation?), Edward’s desire for attention in childhood results in him breaking into corporate data banks and government safe-blocks as a teenager.

Given what Edward is capable of in Zero Year, this definitely doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility, but it’s deeply hilarious in the context of what Year of the Villain confirmed he was (also?) doing as a teenager, which is working as a carnie.

I cannot tell you how hilarious I would find it if THIS is the “questionable past” that Bruce’s Uncle Phillip was talking about during Zero Year, but presumably he’s referring to the same kind of high profile crimes that Bruce was.

But seriously, how funny would it be if he was just talking about how Edward literally ran away from home to join the circus as a teenager...

Adulthood

The 2017 post theorizes that Edward started working for Phillip at Wayne Enterprises in his early twenties, and started earning the various degrees you can see stacked up in a corner in the image above during his employment there. That would seem to fit with this timeline, since I’m not willing to add “earned six different university degrees” to teenage years that are apparently already packed full of ripping off carnival goers AND corporate espionage.

In Batman Annual #4 there is the BAREST indication that Edward might have started working at Wayne Enterprises early into Bruce’s sabbatical abroad, since he talked about how “for months” there were nightly vigils at Wayne Tower where there were so many flowers people would have to cross the street not to step on them. Presumably this would have only been in the first year of Bruce’s disappearance, when Bruce was 18; at the very least this indicates that Edward still lived in Gotham when Bruce left, though it would make more sense for him to be visiting Wayne Tower as Phillip’s strategist than as a hacker/carnie.

In general though, Edward’s Zero Year plan is so ridiculously complex that I think it’s reasonable to assume that he took as long to prepare for his debut as Riddler as it took Bruce to train to be Batman.

[Another side note: Not to accuse Edward of projecting or anything (God forbid), but I think it’s interesting that Edward puts so much emphasis on criticizing Bruce for “disappearing for years” and “making everyone think he’s dead” in combination with the COMPLETE absence of his father from his origin story as presented in Year of the Villain.]

I do think it’s fascinating that Edward’s New 52 origin veers away from the whole “cheating” thing that’s so central to his character in previous continuities - not that he DOESN’T cheat when he feels like it (the whole carnie thing), but it’s not presented as an insecurity of his, and here he’s genuinely intelligent enough to mastermind crimes without needing to move the goalposts at the last second (cough Arkhamverse Riddler COUGH).

One final thing from Edward’s adult life that I think could relate back to his origin comes from Batman #23.2, “Solitaire.”

The issue starts with a flashback of Edward having a deck of playing cards confiscated from him in Arkham because he was playing Solitaire (like, genuinely playing Solitaire; he actually wasn’t plotting anything, it was just for stress relief). The comic is his quest for violent revenge against the Arkham guard who took his cards, which initially seems like a pretty average example of Riddler Brand Pettiness, but the story goes out of its way to highlight how much this really bothered him.

The Arkham Guard has moved on to become the head of security at Wayne Enterprises, so to get revenge Edward has to break into his old place of employment. An unexpected altercation with one of the executives leads Edward to totally freak out over her “touching” him, and afterwards he goes to meditate in her old office in order to calm down. His attempt to relax is interrupted by his old Arkham tormentor, who gets in a couple shots at him before Edward takes his revenge...

...which is BLOWING UP THE ARM that the guard used to take away the “small comfort” Edward had in Arkham. Afterwards, he goes up to the roof to play Solitaire, seeming to finally relax from his agitation earlier.

Given Edward’s isolation and neglect in childhood, it would make sense for him to have ended up playing Solitaire a lot: it’s a game that doesn’t require involvement from friends or family, but still requires a player to use strategy and skill despite the lack of an opponent.

[Yet another side note related to the previous side note: Batman is ACTUALLY dead during Solitaire, which takes place after Joker’s Endgame arc. Bruce and Joker are of course later resurrected through shenanigans, so Edward is right to think he’ll be seeing Batman again. But Riddler sitting on the Wayne Enterprises rooftop, indulging in a self-described “small comfort,” waiting for a man who’s disappeared to miraculously show up again is really interesting. Again, not to accuse him of projecting or anything, but... where’s your dad, Edward...]

His affection for Solitaire is also interesting, in the sense that one could argue that’s what he’s doing in Zero Year: playing a game with himself. He’s challenging other people to play with him through his “riddle” game, and he’s clearly prepared for the possibility of having an opponent (given that he has a whole rainbow disco death trap room set up at the end of Zero Year, which he seems DELIGHTED to have a chance to use), but he’s not expecting to have one. Whether this is a perspective rooted in his childhood or not, it seems to have changed after Zero Year, based on his riddle for Batman in “Alone.”

[softgrungeprophet]

tasm is my favorite spidey movie alongside raimi’s sm2 obviously but it definitely falls into a lineage of tropes that is far too prevalent, as far as dr connors is concerned

super frustrating cause i think that movie does a lot of things right in its writing, approach to peter and his relationships, to gwen and may specifically but also uncle ben and even flash in some ways, plus design language (i love sporty suits...) (prefer the eyes in 2 though) etc etc, even the skateboard as a really solid way to call back to the motorcycle— but the whole like “woe is me, nothing is worse than being disabled” thing is extremely obnoxious and mars an otherwise very good movie for me (also the voiceover scene in the deleted scenes is better than the final version imo, the version where it sounds more like a recorded playback fits better aesthetically and thematically imo whereas the final version mostly is just corny and is probably legitimately one of my least favorite scenes in the movie)

tasm2 also imo has similar pitfalls with max, though imo the electro aspect of that movie is by far the best part. i don’t really like the goblin stuff unfortunately lol—except i do think gwen’s death was like, very effective, especially in the context of the first movie and previous fakeouts, so it definitely did that well, even if i think the movie would have been better split into two and allowed more room to breathe for both

this is also a criticism i have of the batman’s depiction of the riddler once unmasked, though in this case the way he’s played onscreen is not the “wow being physically disabled is the worst” sort but rather the “wow look at this neurodivergent creature” sort that is, again, very prevalent in media especially in these genres and is nothing short of maddening as someone with a whole lot of both physically disabled and neurodivergent family members (and myself)

also appears in like.

SO many comic books lmfao

frustratingly widespread. either it’s weird inspiration porn or it’s weird self hatred, spanning all kinds of stuff from romance to horror to action, and it’s like YEAH there are difficulties in being disabled obviously and a lot of people get depressed or have rough patches or self-hatred because of that and because of not being able to do things they used to do but like... this one specific POV (usually a POV that is mostly held by abled ppl) is so deeply overrepresented in media, movies, games, comic books, novels.... where like... being disabled is just the worst possible thing you could ever be, and it’s worse than death, and so on and so forth, as though a man who’s been disabled a long time wouldn’t just be kind of used to it by then lmfao

reason number 454968549 why i find the agent venom origin SO frustrating cause previously, like, you had this whole really solid mini arc in web of spidey about flash coming to terms with his disability and accepting himself and understanding that he can both be loved and love himself while disabled without needing to “fix” that via weird secret government experimentation, and then like... a year or two later you have a comic that literally uses the exact thing that comic showed was not necessary for his happiness (aforementioned secret gov experiments) and said, actually, he IS going to do that, and also, i’m a bad writer who thinks flash is a fucking moron who doesn’t understand how friendship works between tWO PEOPLE HE’S BEEN FRIENDS WITH SINCE HE WAS LIKE 18 i’m sorry i just hate the AV origin so much it’s so contradictory to every aspect of this character

sure character regression happens but that just felt like contradictory writing and the usual lack of interest in character development, in favor of blatant military propaganda and a story the only redeeming aspect of which was, to be quite frank, the art

anyway what was i talking about

oh yeah disabilities aren’t the end of the world and it would be nice if media could approach them better. even stuff that’s otherwise good or that i really like often stumbles in this area, whether it’s various agent venom comics that ALMOST have it (this is often most noticeable in the fact that flash is using hospital-style wheelchairs or the wrong kind of prostheses) or a movie that does everything else just right but drops the ball on self-loathing and what that actually feels like over time (imo) or a game that inexplicably has an entire asylum based subplot for no fucking reason other than the fact that it came out in 2012 and that was en vogue then because of arkham asylum lmao

[365days365movies]

April 8, 2021: Swiss Army Man (2016) (Recap: Part One)

Don’t think about the Boy who Lived.

Daniel Radcliffe is a talented actor with a wider range than he’s given credit for. He’s been working since childhood, and has picked up quite a lot over time. While most famous for...a certain role that will go unnamed...he famously started his stage career in 2007 with the musical Equus, and that later progressed to How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and Endgame.

Meanwhile, he also made appearances of television in varied roles, live-action and animated. He started his career in an adaptation of David Copperfield in 1999, voiced a character on The Simpsons three separate times, hosted Saturday Night Live in 2012, and also currently has an excellent role in the anthology series Miracle Workers.

And MEANWHILE, he also had quite the robust film career, especially after...the role which shall not be named. There were a few films made during that time period, like December Boys and The Woman in Black, but most of his time was understandably taken up, as was his public image. That, of course, ends in 2011. The first time I saw him in a role outside he who shall not be named was in the film Kill Your Darlings, about the collegiate career and romance in the life of famous gay poet Allen Ginsburg. It was very good!

The same year, 2013, he starred in Horns, a unique fantasy film that I considered watching for Fantasy March. His film career would be full of ups (The F Word, Trainwreck, Lost in London) and downs (Victor Frankenstein, Now You See Me 2, Playmobil: the Movie oh God REALLY JESUS). And right in the middle of those came one of his most famous weird roles. And that’s today’s focus. And I’ve been wanting to watch it for YEARS. And while we’re talking about him, let’s talk about this film’s other star: Paul Dano.

Dano’s career also began young, and in the opposite way to Radcliffe’s: in theatre first. After a stint on Broadway at the age of 12 (GODDAMN) in Inherit the Wind, as well as several other productions, he transitioned to film in 2000, around the same time that Radcliffe started as well. Eventually, he gained acclaim with his role in Little Miss Sunshine, and then...anybody else in the mood for a milkshake right about now?

Yeah, I haven’t seen that movie, but I really should this year. Consider it on my list...at some point. I’ll figure it out. Anyway, Dano’s role in There Will Be Blood only increased his acclaim, and found him acting in a number of indie films. Dano’s definitely not a blockbuster guy, but that’s not to say that he completely avoids them either. He’s been in Knight and Day, Cowboys and Aliens, and Looper, which all fall under that category. And except for the last one...they aren’t especially good, either. 

But again, he was also in 12 Years a Slave, Okja, Wildlife, Where the Wild Things Are, and Meek’s Cutoff, and all of those were critically acclaimed, and some almost reached blockbuster status themselves. So I don’t really know how to feel about his upcoming role as...the Riddler.

Yeah, we’ll see, but I’m holding my breath. Dano’s great, and I love the Riddler, but...I dunno. Like I said, we’ll see. But in the meantime, that’s enough navel-gazing. Let’s watch Swiss Army Man! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap (1/2)

We begin at sea. If you have thalassophobia, this is already terrifying for you. After seeing many plastics floating on the ocean, covered in written messages, we make our way to a deserted island, where Hank Thompson (Paul Dano) is committing suicide after being stranded there for so long.

However, as he does, he spies someone lying on the beach. The rope snaps, and Hank runs over to greet the body, hoping that he isn’t dead. Unfortunately, after a very loud burst of flatulence, it’s pretty damn clear that this is a dead body. And yes, this is Daniel Radcliffe, but I’ll introduce him formerly when the time comes.

Hank’s sad that the guy isn’t alive, but still speaks to him about his hopes and dreams in the past. He’d always wanted a life of parties and friends and love, and imagined that he’d see that kind of life in a flash before he died. Instead, he only saw the body, who responds with yet another fart. But with that, Hank goes back to trying to hang himself. 

And as he does...the body keeps interrupting with its INSANE gas. Like, it’s so bad that the body keeps shaking as if it were alive. The body washes into the sea, and its flatulence begins to propel it away from the shore. Hank sees this, and he uses the humming he was doing to make the Intro Song, which is strangely mesmerizing? Like, literally soundtrack-worthy, I’m not kidding. He also grabs a piece of his noose, uses it to grab onto the body, and rides it as the farts propel them both far away from the beach. It’s absolutely absurd...and kind of great. And then the titles play.

Hank wakes up on the short of a different island, or possible a larger land mass, and is overjoyed by the change in scenery. He shouts his name to the world, and credits the body with his rescue. No longer stranded in the Pacific, as far as we know, he tries to use his phone, to no avail. He decides to head out and look for help, grabbing a bag of Cheetos that washed up alongside them, bids the body farewell...and then comes back for it.

Carrying the farting body on his back (and kind of treating him as if he’s alive), he wanders through the forest to find help. He wonders if the gas is the result of decomposition (likely, if excessive), or if its the body’s soul leaving it. Either way, the trudge forward. They settle in a cave for the night, as it rains heavily outside. As Hank is want to do, he hums to himself, and shares more of his personal life with the body, as he sings to it. And yeah, I’ve been linking to these songs, because the soundtrack is genuinely fascinating to me.

Morning comes, and Hank awakes to a raccoon prying at the body, which he subsequently chases for food. In his desperation for food and water, he’s once again about to leave the body in the cave, but notices it leaking copious amounts of water from its mouth, which it had collected from the cave walls overnight. And yes...he drinks it. Which is absolutely disgusting when you think about it, which I now choose NOT to.

In the process, Hank squeezes the body for more water, and air escapes his mouth in such a way that it sounds like it’s speaking a name: Manny (Daniel Radcliffe). From that, Hank gets the body to speak his name and a simple greeting, but grows frustrated from the inability of the body to speak properly. This leads to him being a bit abusive towards him, reminding him unfavorably of his own father. Ooh, character revelations, me like.

Anyway, he apologizes to Manny for treating him that way...and Manny responds. Which FREAKS HANK THE FUCK OUT, understandably, and he punches Manny and flees the cave. As he comes back, Manny is indeed speaking outright, which is either a miracle or Hank just straight-up hallucinating. Either way, Hank asks Manny to try and remember his past life, but all he can get is the vague recollection of the Jurassic Park theme song. But Manny can’t remember the movie itself, which is when Hank says the most correct line ever said in all of film.

You’re goddamn right. Anyway, from, there, Hank tries to teach Manny about the ways of the world, and the nature of life and death. And the resulting conversation is absolutely fuckin’ ridiculous, and I love it all. Through the process, Manny learns about the world, and Hank asks him to help get home.

In the process, Manny inadvertently insults Hank, causing to walk off and once again look for help, only to eat poison berries and throw up for a sec. The two reunite, and their conversation turns to the topic of sex. See, there are some magazines in the cave that they’re in, which prompts some questions about women, sex, and love. To both of their surprise, this conversation causes Manny’s heart to beat! Spurred on, Hank continues, and Manny’s heart appears to reawaken...as does his penis. That’s a link to the soundtrack, I promise.

Hank and Manny both freak out, as his little Manny seems to have a mind (and motility) of its own. But in the ever absurd nature of this movie’s premise, this too has a secondary function: it’s a compass. Yup. And that prompts the next step of their journey, which is full of a conversation about fetishes and masturbation. Yeah, Hank’s surprised about that, too.

This leads to a conversation about his parents, as well as somewhat traumatic parts of his childhood, including his mother’s premature death. This makes Hank upset, and he lashes out at Manny, who briefly returns to being dead until Hank apologizes. As they go on, however, they encounter another denizen of the forest: a bear. This causes the two to fall off a cliff, and causes Hank’s phone to fall out of his pocket and turn on, allowing Manny to see the picture of a girl on his background.

Manny’s enraptured by the picture, and constantly asks to see her again, as Hank continues to struggle for food. The problem is that Hank needs to conserve the power on the phone, but Manny asks if Hank can dress up as the girl in order to help him remember, and bring him back to life to help save them both. He does so reluctantly, but Manny calls him beautiful, to which Hank reacts positively. This not only helps Manny come to life a little more, but also leads Hank to shave to look more convincing for Manny...and possibly for Hank, too.

As these two engage on a fake date and create a fake bus (while Manny listens to a fake self-sung cover of Cotton Eye Joe that I’m putting on my playlist), this is a good time to mention the one thing I know about this movie...maybe. I don’t quite remember where I heard this, but I have heard that this film is possibly a commentary on the transgender experience, or at the very least that Hank is transgender, but hasn’t come to terms with that as of yet. Now, I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I have heard that, and I’m definitely interested to see if that’s the direction this goes. This scene definitely seems to somewhat confirm this theory. Also, I will say (as I have said before when watching The Danish Girl), I’m a straight dude of the cissexual sort, so this is in NO WAY in my wheelhouse, but I still figured I’d mention it.

We’re also at the halfway point now, so this would seem like a good time to pause for Part 2! See you there!

[dundunny]

Arkham Asylum

So I just got the Arkham Collection, and I'm gonna try to bust through all of them about a decade too late, but that's usually how I roll. First up: Arkham Asylum.

My first mistake was starting this right after beating Spider-Man for the PS4 because I inevitably started comparing them mentally. Asylum was about a decade before and also was trying for something completely different. The first is the battle system; it's much clunkier and feels off. Assassin's Creed II was released the same year so it's not as if the technology wasn't there, but I'm wondering if it's because Asylum emphasizes so much on stealth that it's trying to discourage the player from engaging. Part of the problem is there's no healing and thus very little forgiveness for mistakes. If someone has a gun, you're more or less screwed because three hits and you're dead. But even other weapons or just too many opponents are very difficult to overcome. If you're sneaking around, fine. I can pick them off. However a mandatory fight can fuck you over quick. It's just somewhat surprising for a dude who supposedly knows dozens of martial art styles and has a belt of gadgets, he seems to be unable to take a couple of guys with ease.

Speaking of Batman, I think my biggest problem with the game itself was his idiocy. In a universe of people who can fly, control sea creatures, or lift cars with ease, what he brings to the table are his resources, cleverness, and contingency plan for almost every scenario. So you'd imagine after being gassed once by Scarecrow, you'd fucking wear a gasmask or something, not just deal with it another two times. Don’t fucking tell me he doesn’t have some sort of protection in that Batcave of his.

What's worse is how he continually tells people to wait here because they'll be safe. They won't. They're not. Yet for one group of people he advises to fortify the door and guess what? They survive! Too bad he never told anyone else that or maybe guide them to that location. I counted and literally only eleven people walk away from this night alive. The first group, fine, I don't think Batman knew the extent of what he was dealing with, but once you start seeing the prisoners leaving bodies hanging from the ceiling, I think it's best he not leave people just standing around the greenhouse as if they're going to be OK.

In terms of plot, it was fine and interesting to see how Joker's plan unfolds. Although I would prefer to see the entirety of Gotham, I like the claustrophobic feeling of being stuck on the island during a massive prison break. I understand they wanted this to be horror, but I look at the facility and wonder why hasn't this facility been shut down because it wouldn't even pass building code, and what year did they think this game would take place because no sanitorium would look like this after c.1950? I think the designers pushed this theme to the point the architecture just got nonsensical, like public showers in the weirdest of places (right next to the welcome desk to the penitentiary) or a morgue literally right outside the doctor's office in the admin building.

The lineup here is Zsasz, Bane, Harley, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, Riddler, and Joker, some of whom you never actually fight. Unfortunately for most of the boss fights they just follow Bane's fighting style and pattern, so there's less variation. Scarecrow is the same fight thrice, and Killer Croc is the most annoying section of the game where you have to walk extremely slowly so he doesn't detect you, except he jumps out of nowhere every thirty seconds anyway to attack you.

Probably my favorite part of the game was solving the riddles and unlocking profiles to see references to all sorts of Batman baddies. Tweedledum and Tweedledee! I completely forgot about those dudes. Getting the goddamned camera to focus on it and accept that I'm staring at the solution is a whole other problem though.

Overall though, I did enjoy the game and am glad I played it. The buildings and environment are fun to explore, the story and characters are engaging, the voice acting is good (bringing back the animated series I see), and I did feel my heart pumping a lot of the time as I tried not to get caught. I wouldn't say it's the most amazing thing I've ever played, but good work guys.

[vivo-morior-iterum-vivo]

Gotham and Greek Myths

I know there was already some discussion on this when Jeremiah originally turned up on the scene, but I'd like to touch on it once again, because I love mythology and also we've gotten to see a little more of Ecco in the latest ep.

I do feel that while crafting the characters Jeremiah and Ecco the Gotham writers fell back on some Greek Mythological influences. Just in case people aren't familiar with them I will be recanting, abbreviating and breaking down some Greek myths for this post. Most notably the myth of the Minotaur, and how he relates to Daedalus, Theseus and too a lesser extent Icarus and following through on that Echo and Narcissus (guess where that's going ;) 

In Season 4 it's revealed that Jeremiah's original plan was to blow up certain buildings in Gotham to create a labyrinth.  

In Greek Mythology there is a very famous labyrinth constructed on the isle of Crete. The grand architect behind its design is a brilliant inventor named Daedalus. Now depending on your depth of study in mythology you may have seen Daedalus portrayed strictly as a victim, a genius forced by an evil king to construct a labyrinth that he later barely escapes. Well, as it tends to go with most myths, if you scratch passed the surface you find Daedalus was also a villain.  

You see Daedalus happened to have a nephew who showed signs of being even more brilliant than Daedalus so first chance he got Daedalus pushed his nephew off a cliff. (Don't worry Athena changed him into a partridge as you do when you're a goddess, however being a partridge did put a dampen on the kids ability to outshine Daedalus’ smarts) Ultimately it was this act of violence that led Daedalus and his ill fated son Icarus to being banished and winding up on Crete in the first place. (More on that later)

Again I know this has been stated before. I feel Jeremiah has very strong ties to Daedalus. We have a brilliant inventor and architect, who has (in season 4) placed himself in a sort of self inflicted exile. Meanwhile his twin brother Jerome raises questions of fowl play against him, to the direct benefit of Jeremiah. Also as part of Jerome's quest to find his brother we see Jerome was in fact abused by his uncle. (A bit more tenuous connection, but I still find it interesting)

Another possible connection for Jerome is then his alignment to Icarus. In the myths Icarus is Daedalus’ son who unfortunately did not inherit Daedalus’ brilliance. Notoriously Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too low or the sea spray would cling to his feathers and weigh him down, but also not to fly too high of the hot sun would melt the wax and his wings would fall apart. In the case of Jerome's death we had Jerome take a terrible fall after burning so brightly for so briefly.  

Back to the myth of Daedalus’ labyrinth now. I'm sure some of you will recall the labyrinth is the home of the Minotaur a monstrous half-man-half-bull that that fed upon human flesh. Now King Minos may not have been the best king, but he wasn't completely career suicidal like certain King of Gotham.. so to feed the Minotaur he had Athenian youths imported to be used as sacrifice. The problem with King Minos' plan here was Athens was known for having a lot of ridiculously smart people, (Daedalus was also originally from Athens) this included the man that the Greeks pretty unanimously have declared their smartest hero Theseus. (Heads up he's also not great guy once you scratch the surface) Suffice to say Theseus eventually kills the Minotaur. (I won't go into the stupid stuff does before and after. Suffice to say he's actually one of my least favorite heroes)

The reason I bring up Theseus in the labyrinth is because he is often recognized as the closest mythological comparison to Batman. His methods involve a lot of trickery and traps. So, I feel rolling into season 5 Jeremiah has intentionally placed Bruce in the roll of Theseus. Jeremiah has turned Gotham into his Labyrinth and he wants Bruce to become Gotham's dark knight. Bruce will have to find his way through the labyrinth alone and confront the Minotaur within.  

I'll be honest I feel in this case, Jeremiah also represents the Minotaur. My reasoning for this besides his monstrous and destructive nature is from his new cult like followers in season 5. I believe they are very representative of the myth of the Athenian youth forced into the labyrinth and being sacrificed to “feed the beast". Particularly the scene that reminded me the most of this was when Bruce was shown walking through the room full of dead initiates, much as Theseus has to tread over the bones of his fellow Athenians in his pursuit of the Minotaur.

Lastly I'd like to touch on Ecco. I'd love to see more backstory for Ecco, but with only nine episodes left in the series I fear we might not get the chance, so hopefully this can provide us with some incite. There isn't really a character that fits her in the myths surrounding the labyrinth that I can think of, however I think they still wanted to connect her back to the Greek myths and further develop her and Jeremiah's characters through Greek symbolism.  

I had my suspicions about Ecco since the beginning, but now that we've seen a little more of her I’m all the more certain her name comes from the myth of Echo and Narcissus. Let's start with the obvious and work our way down to the more hypothetical.  

Jeremiah is Narcissus. In Greek mythology Narcissus is a man who's so wrapped up in himself he falls in love with his own reflection and eventually wastes away to nothing starring at himself in a pool of water. (Don't worry he turned into a flower as you do in the Greek myths. DO NOT ATTEMPT AT HOME) On a side Narcissism is a trait often recognized in serial killers and is displayed by characters like Penguin and Riddler on Gotham, or y'know the guy who took time to have stained glass windows barring his deified image all over his cult worshiper hotel, Jeremiah I'm looking at you kid! (There's not a lot of options to not look at you in those scenes)

So, he's Narcissus. Now let's talk about Ecco being like Echo. First the myth. Echo starts out working for Zeus, (king of the gods, who sleeps around a lot) who orders her to distract his wife Hera (goddess of marriage, best known for being understandably pissed off at her husband Zeus). Unfortunately for everyone involved ever, Hera can't punish Zeus, so she capitalizes on punishing everyone else. Including Echo. Since, Echo's job was basically to chat up Hera every time Zeus decided to say go fornicate with someone while disguised  as a bull, (Minotaur was not his son) when Hera eventually caught on to what Echo was doing she took away Echo's voice cursing her to only be able to repeat the words of others.  

Flash forward after getting kicked off of Mount Olympus she finds Narcissus and falls in love with him on sight. Then through a bit of miscommunication (it's a sad myth go read it) she at first thinks he has fallen in love with her as well only to eventually get rebuffed by Narcissus who of course only loves himself. She is left to sorrow and shame being forced to watch Narcissus waste away until she too wastes away leaving nothing, but her voice.

As far as Gotham's Ecco goes all we've really been given from season 4 is that she works for Jeremiah and has dedicated her life to him for some disclosed reason. This reminds me a lot of the beginning of the myth where Echo worked for Zeus, however maybe there's a bit more story hidden in here. Perhaps The reason she devoted herself to Jeremiah had to do with her fleeing a situation where her life was already not her own and perhaps she was literally or figuratively silenced before Jeremiah hired her. As far as the second part of the myth is concerned, I feel that plays heavily into season 5. We see Ecco still very much devoted to Jeremiah (In a pool no less) repeating his words and actions. Perhaps in this case the curse of being left with only the ability to repeat Jeremiah's words comes from the damage caused by the bullet he placed in the back of her head, leaving her just an Echo of her former self.  

[bookenders]

11/11/11 Tag Game: Round... uh... 5, 6, & 7?

I got tagged by a bunch of people ( @quilloftheclouds is this how your 77 question one felt??) so here are a bunch of answers! I think this is the most I’ve ever talked about myself in my life. 

Good gracious, you’re all so nice and have such good questions.

Tagged by: @surroundedbypearls, @waterfallwritings, @bigmoodword, @sundaynightnovels

Rules: answer 11 questions, tag 11 people, give them 11 new questions!

[I’ve done this enough to be able to break the tag rules. Fight me.]

44 questions and answers below the cut!

But I’ll be nice and put my questions right here:

What would you do for a Klondike bar?

When do you title your WIPs? It is the first thing you do? The last? Does it come to you during drafting?

How many inside jokes do you put in your WIP(s)?

Your WIP’s antagonist is now The Riddler. How do your OCs handle that?

Do you use sticky notes?

Laptop or desktop?

Your OC is a wrestler. What’s their hype music?

Do you own any craft books/books on writing?

What’s your favorite book cover?

How many unread books do you have sitting around right now? Which are you most excited to maybe get to eventually some time?

How committed are you to your outline(s)?

Bilbo Taggins: Literally anyone, but also @francestroublr, @sahados-shadow, @a-story-im-writing, @bethkerring, @citruschickadee, @bos-ingit

If I’ve tagged you before, you can totally ignore this. In fact, I encourage you to.

From @surroundedbypearls:

What’s your favourite genre to write in and why? Literary fiction! It’s what I learned in university and the one that fits my themes best. Sci-fi is hard, I’m just getting into writing fantasy stuff, I can’t do thrillers, romance is hard for me, and historical is too much work.

Do you think you have a style/voice that you use more often in your writing? When did you develop that style? If you’ve read one of my stories, you know exactly how my writing voice sounds. It doesn’t change too much. I write like I talk, but if I had a lot more gravitas and charisma. Honestly, I’ve always had that kind of style, but it really developed in high school. It’s been getting stronger since then. It’s one of the things I always got comments about from my teachers and fellow workshop writers. “Your voice is so strong!” Yep. It’s mah thang.

Do you play video games? What’s your favourite? YES I DO. It’s hard to pick faves, but I’ve played Dragon Age: Origins too many times. 

If you were going to do a WIP crossover, which OCs would be most interesting together? (If you’ve only got one WIP crossover with something else) A crossover between H2H and AOPC? Interesting. I think Mel and Keema would get along the best, Oz would have some fightin’ words for Elder Sanga, and Gemma and Teva would be a force to be reckoned with, my god. Two stubborn nerds who believe totally different things but are also very determined to be very good at what they want to do and love their communities to a fault? Fear them.

Do you prefer to plan WIPs in a document or through handwritten notes? I used to do it by hand but I couldn’t read it because my handwriting is terrible and I kept losing papers. I do it in docs now. Much easier to organize and incredibly legible.

Do you multiple languages exist in your WIP? If so how do you address that in the story? H2H is set in the “real world,” so yep. It hasn’t been addressed too much yet, but I have a way for tackling languages. I’ve written multilingual-ish stories before. I never write phonetically and use hella context clues so the reader knows the gist of what was said if another character doesn’t translate.

What’s your favourite animated film that’s not Disney or Pixar? AN AMERICAN TAIL. All of them. It’s on Netflix go watch it and marvel at the way a kids movie talks about Jewish immigration, poverty, and cultural oppression via mice. As a young Jewish child, this movie was my jam. It’s very dark, though.

Do your real-life surroundings influence your WIP’s settings? Nope! One time I tried to write a story set in the same area where I lived and I couldn’t do it. Too weird. Sometimes I’ll write in an item I see near me, or like, a painting or poster on the wall if I need some set decoration, but that’s about it.

Which OCs would be most likely to break the fourth wall? Oz. Lookin’ at the camera like he’s in The Office.

How do you work out your OCs’ personalities? Hm. I look at the story I’m trying to write and make a protagonist that would have the most interesting experience in that narrative. For H2H, I wanted someone who would be loyal as heck to the people they loved while still being experimental enough to try new things and get into shenanigans. The story called for someone like that, and there she was. Mel came about my thinking of someone who would compliment other characters in the story while still being their own person. If that makes sense. I think of dynamics and interactions with the story world in relation to the theme(s). Most of the time they just happen, though.

Do you prefer worldbuilding or character building? Character building! As much as I like making stories about places, making characters is more fun for me, and more interesting. You should see all the DnD character sheets I have. 

From @waterfallwritings:

1. How do you come up with ideas for your WIPs?

At random. Seriously. It’s like my brain has to be running something in the background to function normally, and usually that something is whatever story I happen to be working on. Or I’ll look at a thing and go “huh.” My brain also likes to twist normal things to be a little bit different.

2. How do you get past gaps in the plot?

No idea, man. It’s like throwing spaghetti at a wall. I like to work backwards. If this is what I want to happen, what needs to happen before that to ensure that it occurs? I look at all the elements currently in the story and see if one can be manipulated to fill in the hole.

3. What motivates you to keep writing?

If I don’t, my brain gets all constipated and angry until I write something down. Like, seriously, I get grumpy and frustrated like I’m hangry or something. Aside from physical need, I love writing. I love word puzzles and feelings puzzles and figuring them out. Sometimes I think of how my stories could help someone, or make them feel something that they enjoy. 

4. Do you do any other kind of creative writing?

Oh, man, I’ve done it all. Screenwriting, playwriting, poetry, video game-ish writing, interactive storytelling, short stories, flash fiction, proposals, essays, DnD campaigns, monologues... You name it, I’ve probably tried it. I tend to stick to prose and poetry these days.

5. Do you have any other creative hobbies besides writing?

I’ve gotten into graphic design a little bit. I kind of wanna learn how to knit again. I’m not really very crafty. 

6. What do you do when you’re stuck on a scene and don’t know how to get it out / write it?

Write a different scene, stare at the screen in frustration until I give up and go to sleep, meditate for a few minutes, go do something else to get my mind off of it, clean, work on a different project.

7. How do you decide how to end your WIP?

I mean, see the next question for part of my answer. How did I decide to end H2H? My friend, that’s a big ‘ole spoiler. But I decided to end it at a place where everything, and everyone, comes together.

8. When in the process of writing do you decide how its going to end? Or do you kind of just wait til you get there?

Right at the beginning. If I don’t know where it’ll end, I have a hard time writing the arc. I work backwards: start with the idea, then think of where I want it to end up, then work back to the beginning until I know where its going, then start writing.

9. Why did you decide to join writeblr?

My reasons are pretty personal, but the least personal is that I needed some accountability and motivation. And I missed being in a good writing community.

10. What’s your favourite food?

Pasta! I’m eating spaghetti right now.

11. If you had to kill off a character in your WIP, who would it be and why?

Oz would be the most tragic. Treena would be the most logical. 

From @bigmoodword:

1. using one sentence summaries, can you tell me about your wips?

Nerdy potion woman meets cute odd stranger who helps her solve magic mysteries in their quirky small town.

2. what inspired them?

I saw a zine accepting submissions for magic stories, then an open call for queer shifter stories, and thought “what if wholesome magical lesbians?”

3. which of your ocs do you most identify with?

Gemma!

4. if you’ve ever cried while reading, which book cued the waterworks?

THE SONG OF ACHILLES.  My God, my soul was weeping. Honestly, it still is. Doesn’t matter that I knew the story from the Iliad. Madeline Miller is a feelings wizard.

5. how do you conduct research for your wips and what’s the most interesting thing you’ve discovered in said research?

On an as-needed basis. I used to do way too much research to avoid actually writing the damn thing, so now I only do it when I actually run into a problem that can be solved by Google.

6. thus far, which scene has been the most difficult to write?

The ones that aren’t hugely emotional. Which is... unfortunate.

7. which of your ocs do you like the least?

Rude. On a personal level, Jill. I love her, but I would not be friends with her. We wouldn’t mesh at all.

8. which pov and tense do you prefer to write in?

Third person limited present tense! To the bane of everyone who’s ever edited my work.

9. do you write poetry?

I do! Not often, though.

10. who is your writing role model?

My freakin’ writing professor from college. He is crazy disciplined.

11. if you could give your younger writer self some advice, what would it be?

Hey, you know those people who say your writing is too dark? Yeah, they suck and they’re wrong. They just want kids to live up to their expectations and write happy sunshiny stories about unicorns and dinosaurs having ice cream. And you’re not depressed because you wrote that one sad poem one time and someone asked if you were depressed. What you have is called feelings and they’re very useful for a writer, nay, a human, to have.

From @sundaynightnovels:

Who is your biggest role model? Okay, so I got crap all the time in grade school for never having a role model, and I still don’t have one. The teachers were concerned about me. But my reasoning was, “why should I want to live someone else’s life?” Yeah. They didn’t really know what to do with that...

What are your OCs favorite foods? Sort of answered here!

Which OC is most afraid of the dark? Oz and Mary!

What made you want to start a writing blog/participate in the writeblr community? Answered above!

Did you sleep with a stuffed animal as a kid? Do you still? I did, indeed. I don’t anymore, but I have two that I shuffle around my room when they get in the way. One is a highland cow I got in Scotland (he has a plaid hat), the other is a blue whale I got at the Museum of Natural History in NY.

Do you like donuts? I love donuts. Especially jelly filled ones. Mmm.

Do/would your OCs like donuts? All of my OCs like donuts. I don’t think Mel has ever had a modern one, though.

What is your least favorite food? Cauliflower? I’m the household taste-tester, so there’s been a lot of stuff I don’t like.  ( @sundaynightnovels I hate sparkling water, too, you’re not alone!)

What is your ideal writing environment? Comfy seating, a chair with no arms (stupid elbows), alone, plenty of chosen beverage within reach, headphones.

Favorite line from your WIP? So far, it’s this one!

Favorite quote from a book? Oh, man. There are so many. From recent memory, here are a few: “’Give it time,’ she replies. ‘It won’t be a story forever.’“  and “Everyone has heard stories of women like us, and now we will make more of them.” (both from The Ladies Guide to Petticoats and Piracy) “When he smiled, the skin at the corners of his eyes crinkled like a leaf held to flame.” and “I lean forward and our lips land clumsily on each other. They are like the fat bodies of bees, soft and round and giddy with pollen.” (I could write a goddamn essay about the imagery in this scene.) (It is quite possibly my favorite description of a kiss ever. And the metaphor extends through the rest of the scene so artfully ugh.) (both from The Song of Achilles) “The thing about a story is that you dream it as you tell it, hoping that others might then dream along with you, and in this way memory and imagination and language combine to make spirits in the head.” (from The Things They Carried)

[deebormzone]

Revving up the Disappointment Engines

Super Smash Brothers Ultimate.

There’s a presentation for it tomorrow morning. One character reveal is guaranteed. I am excited.

HOWEVER. I know from experience that it’s best to set one’s expectations real, real low. As such, here’s my take on who tomorrow’s presentation will reveal.

It won’t be too disappointing, no matter what happens. Generally speaking, any addition is a good addition. The only bad announcements would be a delay or something to do with microtransactions.

Much of the Smash Direct will probably go over different game modes, since we haven’t heard a single thing about those yet. Classic Mode, Break the Targets, Event Matches, that sort of thing. A stage maker would be big, but there are so many stages already that I don’t care much. A story mode would be HUGE, but pretty unlikely. Story or no, I’d love a platform game like Melee’s Adventure Mode, Brawl’s Subspace Emissary, or Smash 4′s Smash Run. Speaking as a monster who lives in a hole, single-player content is very important to me.

But a new character is always the big draw. One character will be appearing for sure, big animated trailer and all. One Echo Character is also fairly likely (and if we’re especially unfortunate, the one new character will BE an Echo). More than one new character seems pretty unlikely, so don’t count on it. I’m guessing there will be six new characters for a final total of 70 on the select screen, and even that might be too generous. Point being, Grandmaster Sakurai is going to draw these reveals out as long as possible.

So who will it be?

All my most wanted characters are completely ridiculous impossible choices, which I’ve accepted. My best hope is for somebody interesting. It’s a fair hope, since there are so many interesting options. Of course, there are also some uninteresting options, so I’d better get ready for one of them. Let’s go over some possibilities.

Man with spring instead of arm: SPRING MAN

Spring Man is the safest guess and also one of the least exciting. His punch extend, and that’s it, somehow managing to have a moveset even less interesting than an anime swordsman.

Really, I better get used to this possibility, because it’ll be him tomorrow for sure. Main character of a big new Nintendo IP for Switch, a character from a series about fighting. Plus, for the first new character reveal, they probably won’t go with a bombshell third-party. It’ll be someone safe and basic, and Spring Man is truly the safest and most basic.

I’m sure Soccer Guy will give him an interesting moveset. Maybe incorporating some stuff from ARMS. Like... those bombs that appear mid-game, or something. He can do it.

Part of the issue is that every other ARMS character is more interesting than the mascot. Slime creature Helix, metal gladiator Mechanica, karate noodle Min Min, and Master Mummy, who is automatically interesting by being a mummy. Even Ribbon Girl is a touch more interesting than Springo.

Anyway, Spring Man comes first here because I’m sure he’ll be the reveal. This is my Official Prediction. Of course, there are other lukewarm possibilities, like:

Gremlin who poke with stick: BANDANNA WADDLE DEE

This is a basic Kirby enemy who is incredibly popular for some reason.

Really, I shouldn’t be too hard on this guy. I just haven’t played the games in which he’s important, except maybe Kirby 64, and no one is sure if that was really him. It’s one of the problems of being generic, people have trouble recognizing you.

Plus, he has decent moveset potential thanks to his spear and other Waddle Dee tools, like the parasol. It’ll be a bit weird to me, getting such a basic dude in with so few character slots available, but if it does end up happening, I guess it won’t be so bad.

Mulched tree plumber hero: PAPER MARIO

Paper Mario has a lot of possibility, some good, some bad. He could easily be an Echo, but he has enough options to be a full character, too.

The most heartbreaking option would be a full character reveal based heavily on Sticker Star. That’s probably the worst possible reveal (does that guarantee it will happen?). Even if he’s not fully stickerized, there’s no way his Final Smash won’t be one of those Objects. Probably the fan.

Any content from Paper Mario one or two would be fantastic, but I almost don’t want to consider that because it definitely won’t happen. I guess I could stand the occasional sticker if he’s otherwise based on Thousand-Year-Door. I GUESS.

Girl next door, haunted mansion, etc.: ASHLEY

Ashley is okay. I’m generally pro-witch; there’s a lot of moveset potential there. Her personality (”I literally do not care about anything”) is alright, too. This would be coming off of the release of Warioware Gold, so the timing’s right.

The other fat reptile: KING K. ROOL

Now this is interesting. K. Rool has a lot going for him. He’s got a wacky fighting style including guns, thrown weapons, and boxing, and he’s a villain, which is always fun. Plus, I heard he’s inexplicably popular in Japan.

This could be a pretty hype guy to announce, but he hasn’t been seen in a while. That, and it might be a little weird to reveal another villain who’s similar to the Riddler.

Human-shaped energy squid: DARK SAMUS

This is a likely Echo Fighter. She’s not really that interesting- just a villain who eats a lot of blueberry jam- but actually being Metroid Prime is worth a point or two.

Secretary of cross animals: ISABELLE

Another possible Echo, although if they wanted to they could give her a unique moveset based on office work and building public works atop enemies’ heads. I’d like that.

Various Pokemon Representing the Most Recent Generation

Decidueye would be most likely. “Archery bird” has a lot of good moveset potential. Incineroar could be a cool grappler, but seems a bit basic. Primarina might be the most interesting due to not having legs, so they’d have to give it a really weird moveset. There’s also been talk of Lycanrock (boring), Necrozma (maybe TOO bizarre), and Mimikyu (I’ll take it).

It’s hard to get too excited about another Pokemon, though. Since they represent whole species, Pokemon characters don’t really have much personality of their own. Plus, it would feel like using a treasured Smash slot on a character who has to get in to meet corporate requirements, which is crappy.

Of course, a character like that is most likely to be revealed at the first Smash Direct. Ah well.

8.8.8

A few people have noticed that the date for this Direct has a lot of eights. Could be nothing, but it could also NOT be nothing. And, if it doesn’t mean nothing, here are three things it mightn’t not mean:

Echo Fighter Octoling. Octolings aren’t big-name, highly-requested characters, but they’re cool enough. They might not fit with the game’s release schedule, though; I hear the whole roster is decided years in advance, and Splatoon’s Octo Expansion was fairly recent.

Octopath Traveler content. That’s a big new Switch exclusive that sold really well. (I’ve been playing it in parts- it’s okay.) I guess it’s possible, but it’s third party. Plus, the game is about eight different main characters, so Sakurai might not be able to pick one, or to mash all eight together in one moveset. Still, a character would be cool if it was a wacky one like Merchant, and not a basic one like Soldier.

Heihachi, from Tekken. This would be because “hachi” is Japanese for “eight.” It’s a stretch, but you never know. Namco’s been on board for a while, after all. They made Smash 4, and might have helped make Smash Ultimate...? I should know this. Anyway, despite being a simple martial artist, I would be fine with Heihachi. I liked his moveset in Playstation All-Stars, combining simple attacks with stances, combination moves, and a few miscellaneous thrown objects. Also, I laff any time Smash Bros gets a big-name character who was, or was supposed to be in All-Stars.

DANTE

Some people have been saying Dante will get in. I don’t know why.

Sure, I guess.

in summary:

I expect a lot of talk about single-player content, one Echo reveal, and one new character. Probably Spring Man.

With that, my expectations are correctly tempered. Now, even if the announcements tomorrow are just okay, I’ll be able to play the prediction game.

Good luck to everyone! I hope that, even if somebody I don’t care for gets in, it makes somebody else’s day.

[klaudiafmp]

Star Trek

I have never actually seen Star Trek, I mean I saw some clips here and there, know what it looks like and what some of the main characters are and roughly the plot but I never fully watched it and there is just way too much of it for me to know where to even start. I assume the TV show from the 60′s but Im not sure if most people actually got into it then or through the reboot that happened few years back. Anyway I know that it has some really cool looking aliens in it so intead of writing a review I’ll just have a look at some alien species from within star trek.

Cheron

First appearance Star Trek: The Original Series “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” (1969)

“When we first met the Cheron, there was only two members of this species left: Bele (played by the Riddler, the great Frank Gorshin) and Lokai. Bele was hunting Lokai whom Bele deemed a traitor after the planet Cheron was wiped out due to centuries of racial wars.

Apparently, some Cheron were black on the left and white on the right while other members of this advanced species possessed the opposite skin alignment. Due to this difference, the entire population — save Lokai and Bele — were eradicated. Bele hijacked the Enterprise and used his vast array of mental capabilities to hunt for Lokai.

The whole opposite was a thinly veiled, but powerful allusion to the destructive potential and sheer idiocy of racism — a message as powerful today as it was in the ’60s. Of course, you know I’m going to say that Mego made a Cheron doll, a toy I treasured in my childhood and called Oreo Man.”

See I like this species because of how simple it looks, like lets be honest it’s literally two dudes with their faces painted black and white straight through the middle. I like how they also explain that there was a lot of stigma beteen the members of the same species based on which side of their face is white and which is black to the point where the entire race killed each other off because of it, bit over the top but makes the point I guess.

“The inhabitants of Cheron were an extremely long-lived race; one representative of them was reputed to have pursued another such representative, an accused criminal from among his people, across the Milky Way Galaxy for over 50,000 years. Unfortunately, the species destroyed itself in a civil war caused by racism. There were only two known survivors by 2268, who the crew of the USS Enterprise believed would ultimately kill each other due to their hate.”

Species 8472

First Appearance: “Star Trek: Voyager” Part 1 (1997)

“Species 8472 existed in an extra-dimensional bit of hell known as fluidic space. When the Borg discovered the fluidic dimension, the ever deadly race of cybernetic killers busted through the dimensions and attempted to assimilate Species 8472. 8472 was having none of that and fought back, creating weapons that could slay the Borg with ease. In fact, 8472 was able to destroy the Borg Cubes in seconds. (Man, that’s like taking down the Death Star with a single bullet.) Sadly, Species 8472 also took out many innocent Delta Quadrant planets, which forced the crew of Voyager to get involved.

The Borg and Voyager had to form an unlikely alliance to drive Species 8472 back to fluidic space. 8472 was one of the closet things Trek fans ever got to Lovecraft-like cosmic horrors, as even the Borg could not stand up to these waling nightmares. This species appeared a few more times on Voyager until Captain Janeway was able to broker a peace with these terrors that exist behind the fabric of time and space.”

I like this species because although it does have an overall humanoid looking body unlike most Star Trek species it does actually look alien rather than space human. I like how they want to make them creepy and from what I’ve seen they are always kept in shadows, and I also like how much taller they are compared to people just to add to that creepy factor. I want to make the aliens in my story kind of similar to how these guys look. But instead of being kept in shade they will just be a really dark grey or pitch black colour. And I also wanted to make them really tall just like this species but  Species 8472 looks really buff and muscly to be honest meanwhile I want my aliens to be tall and slender.

Tholians

First appearance: Star Trek: The Original Series “The Tholian Web” (1968)

“Get a load of these psychedelic xenophobes. Yeah, the Tholians might look like a funky black light album cover come to life, but, really, they are brutal, territorial, hateful, and will do anything to keep other species out of Tholian territory. But, hey, they are known for the punctuality, so take heart in the fact that, when they kill you, it’ll be done in a timely fashion.

The Tholians cruise around their sector of space in geometric rainbow ships, making the aesthetic of the race more Yes album cover and less cool space despots. The Tholians first encountered the crew of the Enterprise when the USS Defiant flew too close to Tholian space.

Always protective of their borders, the Tholians phased the Defiant out of real space and into an interspace dimension. Kirk himself was phased out of time and space (for Shatner, it wouldn’t be the first or last time this happened), but Spock and the Enterprise were able to get their captain back and pimp-slap the Tholians.

The Enterprise under Jonathan Archer also ran afoul of these crystalline killers. The Tholians are a great example that in space, threats can come in any shape and even rainbows can kill you.”

“In 2152, the Tholians made an unusual move; they traveled far beyond their territory and actively sought to possess a 31st century Earth vessel discovered by the United Earth starship Enterprise NX-01, under the command of Jonathan Archer. Four Tholian ships intercepted and disabled the combat cruiser Tal'Kir, while it waited to rendezvous with Enterprise. They, in turn, attacked and defeated a Suliban fleet that was in pursuit of the arriving Earth ship. They then successfully removed the pod from Enterprise's possession, only to have the pod return to its proper time moments later. “

I like how original this species looks. I never seen an alien species in any media before that only communicates through technology with other species because they are too scared to actually go out and talk to them while at the same time be ready to anihilate anyone that crosses into their territory. I think it’s a quite good contrast of fearing something but not hesitating to defend yourself from it, it’s like the entire species represents both sides of the fight or flight concept.

Jem’Hadar

First appearance: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine “The Jem’Hadar” (1994)

“One of the greatest and most efficiently deadly militaries the galaxy have ever seen, the foot soldiers of the Dominion — the Jem’Hadar — are also one of the more tragic species that can be found in the Trekverse.

Jem’Hadar reach maturity in the span of about three days. They are genetically programmed to be the perfect galactic foot soldier by their masters, the Vorta. To insure control, the Vorta have withheld an essential enzyme from the Jem’Hadar genetic makeup. This enzyme is supplied to the Jem’Hadar in the form of The White, a liquid that the Jem’Hadar has filtered into their systems through a tube in their necks. Essentially, Jem’Hadar are drug-addicted soldiers unleashed upon the galaxy.

The Jem’Hadar were the main Dominion force that laid siege to Deep Space Nine during the Dominion War and were nearly unstoppable. The need for The White was a religion to the Jem’Hadar, who became one of the most feared species in any quadrant.

Jem’Hadar are incredibly resilient and possess keen minds that help them plan for battles. Despite all this, most Jem’Hadar die very young due to the fact that they are essentially cannon fodder for the Dominion. Yet, the Jem’Hadar value duty and loyalty above all else as they embrace their lot as pawns of the Dominion. All for The White.”

I really like how this species looks beause from what I read they are bred soldiers so just thinking about the amount of masks and make up that got put into I don’t know even a dozen of these guys is quite astonishing. I like how they made them look like lizards as well with horns and scales it immediately tells the viewer through visuals that the Jem’Hadar are probably a fighter type. Also I like the decision to make them blue in colour which I assume was intentional because it serves two roles, first they are lizards s they are coldbooded making sense why blue is the color they go for and second the fact they are coldblooded could be viewed as a metaphor for the fact that they are soldiers that are bred to kill which kind of rounds up this species. I also would like to compare them to the Clone Troopers from star wars because the backstory for the Jem’hadar is literally the same as for the clones, they are both genetically made and bred to be soldiers for a war where thousands of them die but they still remain loyal to the cause.  But there is a major difference that I feel star trek didn’t look too far into, as Jem’hadar are said to grow up in 3 days and ready to serve meanwhile the clones do age in double the speed of a normal human but they spend their youth training to be soldiers which makes them more believable in my opinion.

Andorians

First appearance: Star Trek: The Original Series “Journey to Babel” (1968)

“The Andorians are an aggressive yet advanced race that was one of the first alien races that formed the original Federation of Planets with humanity.

The Andorians have distinctive blue skin, white hair, and two protruding antennae. The blue skinned humanoids have an advanced armada and a long history of conflict with the Vulcans. This conflict was put aside as Andorians entered into the Federation and, with it, decades of peace. But peace wasn’t easy, as seen in Star Trek: Enterprise, in which Federation Captain Archer and Andorian Captain Thy’lek Shran developed an adversarial relationship that, thankfully, culminated in a friendship based on mutual respect.

The Andorians are more than a bit xenophobic as they refer to humans and Vulcans as “pink skins” and have a long standing mistrust of everything not Andorian. In fact, the Andorians don’t even trust their offshoot race, the very rarely encountered, white-skinned, psychic Aenar.

Enterprise is a bit unfairly-maligned by some Trekkers, but it will always be the show that took the Andorians from background characters to a narratively-explored race with deep contradictions. Of course, I need to mention that the Andorian was also one of the final Trek dolls Mego produced. It is very sparkly.”

I thought this species was kind of funny in design. They are supposed to be taken really seriously from what I read and the look on that guys face in the picture and are a very agressive and violent species meanwhie their design supports none of that. They have a very cold yet welcoming colour palette and are rocking a white afro with antenas on top of it, like I’m sorry and I know their species is kind of about prejudice but how can they be taken seriously if they dress like knights in space and look like they came back from an 80′s halloween party?

Jaylah

First appearance: Star Treck Beyond (2016)

“Years prior to her encounter with the USS Enterprise crew, Jaylah and her family, like many before them, were attacked by Krall and imprisoned on Altamid. Jaylah and her family quickly realized that people were routinely taken from Krall's holding cells and killed, so they decided to attempt escape. During the attempt, Jaylah and her father were confronted by Krall's subordinate Manas. Jaylah's father stayed behind to hold off Manas, buying Jaylah time to flee at the cost of his own life. Jaylah discovered the derelict hulk of the Freedom-class USS Franklin and made her home in it. She hid it using holographic technology and set up multiple defensive traps in the surrounding area. Inside the vessel, she discovered a music player, from which she particularly liked music featuring "beats and shouting". She also learned how to speak English from the ship's records. In time, Jaylah became a formidable warrior, skilled in martial arts and in wielding a quarterstaff that doubled as a rifle.”

I feel there isn’t much information about her species because the entire species is literally named after this character and it’s a relativly new character as well so I assume no actual canon explenation exists for her species as of yet. But I do really like how she looks. She has an identical colour scheme to the cheron species I looked at but its executed so much better here with very cool looking face tatoos / markings that make her look actually interesting unlike the cherons that are literally dudes with their faces painted different colour on each side. She kind of reminds me of Darth Maul from star wars with the face markings but there they look so interesting like theres just something about that cold white with deep navy blue tinted black on top of it that just catches the eye more. I also like her eye contacts, I don’t know why I just feel the yellow eyes just complete the look nicely.

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Jaylah

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Cheron_native

https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/star-trek-the-50-best-alien-races/

[sueboohscorner]

A 'Villain' is Born! #Gotham S3 Ep15 "How the Riddler Got His Name" Spoilers, Recap, & Review

Great, green garment, Batman! Gotham has returned after a long, long hiatus, much to the delight of fans of the show. Even the title alone is sure to catch anyone’s attention: ‘How the Riddler Got His Name’. Along with the title of the spring premiere of season 3, you might catch something else: The original tagline for the first part of season 3 was Mad City, aptly named after the Mad Hatter himself, Jervis Tetch, played with a somewhat perverted view of childlike innocence that the villain is mostly known for by the Australian actor Benedict Samuel. However, the tagline has changed into Heroes Rise. Now, it’s no secret that I myself tend to lean towards the villains, but we have seen many badass bad guys grow and thrive in the city of Gotham, but now it’s time to see just what our heroes will do to combat said villainy. Remember: a good villain inspires change. A villain acts. Heroes react.

Well, to use a cheesy line, the episode started out (literally) with a BANG! We first see a professor in his laboratory. Now, why should we care about this guy? Because Edward Nygma does, that’s why! (Played by Corey Michael Smith) He manages to tie up the professor and what does Ed do? Ask the poor egghead riddle after riddle. Unfortunately, the professor was not smart enough to match I.Q.’s with Edward. Nygma becomes enraged and almost saddened by each wrong answer to his riddles, until Edward basically smart shames the professor and then, well…… BOOM! You may be asking “Why would he do that? What’s his plan?” Calm down, and I’m going to get to that; I’m just giving you a spoiler recap for starters.

Speaking of villainy, we also see our favorite group that works in the shadows, the Court of Owls. You remember Bruce Wayne’s clone? (Played by David Mazouz) Well, guess what? The Court has been training him to become the perfect imposter of our hero Bruce. We see that Kathryn (played by Leslie Hendrix) declare that the clone’s training is complete. We also see a new character, Frank (played by James Remar), who turns out to be Jim Gordon’s uncle. Yeesh. Talk about a family history; Jim’s father was a decorated veteran and cop, and now we see that Jim’s uncle has been a member of the Court for who knows how long? Apparently, Kathryn wants Frank to reach out to Jim and ask him to join the Court. But if he can’t convince him….. use your imagination.

Back to Edward, still living in Dahl Manor, we see that he has been losing sleep and he has been taking pills. What kind of pills? My best guess is some form of the hallucinogenic drug. Why? The audience has seen, throughout the seasons that Edward does tend to see hallucinations, much to Ed’s chagrin. This time he’s taking pills to see visions whenever he needs to. And who he might be seeing in his head? Why, his ex-best friend, Oswald Cobblepot. (Played by Robin Lord Taylor) Yeah, it turns out that Edward is still in need of guidance to become more of who he is; more of a villain (his words, not mine). In Edward’s mind, Oswald is soaking wet, has a crab or two crawling on him, and is covered in scum. That would make sense, because the last time those two saw each other, Edward shot Oswald point-blank and pushed him into the cold waters by the docks. Literally, most things in Gotham go down at the docks. So Edward imagines his dead partner and summons him whenever he needs someone to talk to or some guidance. It would be more heartfelt if Edward’s mentality weren't deteriorating before our eyes. What Edward wants now in his life is to feel whole, complete, to figure out just who he really is. Nygma’s conclusion to that answer is to find the brightest minds in Gotham and see who can match his own intellect. To each their own, and all that. Mirage Oswald keeps fighting him on every step, saying that the way he’s going about this in a completely stupid way. Then Edward gets an idea for another contestant: Jim Gordon (Played by Ben McKenzie). Now, I like Jim, I really do, but come on. He is intelligent and strong in his own right, but I don’t think he would last a few rounds with Edward Nygma.

Edward sends a singing telegram to the GCPD, where Captain Harvey Bullock (Played by Donal Logue) is still cleaning up from the big hoopla that was left in Jerome Valeska’s wake. Lucius Fox (Played by Chris Chalk) informs Bullock about recent killings that have been going on in the city as of late. He takes note that each victim is either artistic or very intellectual. Fox is interrupted by the singing mentioned above telegram, telling them about the next possible victim. The card, of course, has a puzzle on it. The puzzle turns out to be a location: a chess tournament. Of course, Lucius Fox figures it out in less than a minute, and he, Harvey, and other cops from the precinct are on the move.

If you’re wondering about Jim, don’t worry. He’s just taking some time off to go on a hunting trip with his estranged uncle Frank. What could go wrong?

At the chess tournament, we notice that Edward Hazen overlooking view of the event.  Again, he summons Oswald.  Edward’s attitude towards his hallucination of Oswald is not necessarily bitter.  That may seem strange, give in their last encounter, but we see that Edward does not hold much malice towards Oswald.  In fact he still regards him as his best friend.  Of course there is tension, but Edward does not really care for that at the moment.  However the hallucination of Oswald is still fighting Edward at every step in turn that he makes.  Edward even thanks Oswald for coming, to which Oswald replied that he did not have much of a choice.  Edward is not too surprised when he sees the GCPD come in, but he is surprised to see Lucius Fox.  You could consider it a delightful surprise.  Ed activates an electrical device that is rigged to every chessboard in the building.  No one is safe for the then move or not.  But that does not matter, Edward has found his intellectual match.  Lucius Fox.  And he is already solved another riddle, a phone number leading to the person responsible.  Edward Nygma.  The phone call consisted of another riddle.  Which leads Lucius to a grim answer: the belly of the beast.  Which literally means that he had to cut into the belly of one of Edward’s victims for his next clue…..ew.

We take a minute to focus on Bruce and Alfred (played by Sean Pertwee) as they continue their training.  Knife throwing training, which is freaking awesome in my book.  But Bruce is clearly distracted in it interferes with his training.  Alfred calls him on it, and what is on his mind is Selina Kyle (played by Camren Bicondova).  Long story short: Selina’s mom turned out to be a garbage human and Bruce kind of knew about it, but did not tell her.  They had kind of a messy breakup.  Bruce tells Alfred that he received a note in the mail recently from Selina asking him to meet up with her.  Bruce knows that his training is really important, especially after what happened with Jerome, but he can’t get her out of his head.  So Alfred suggests that he takes her up on her note.

While Bruce is wandering the city, he comes across Sonny Gilzean and a bunch of his thugs.  They start messing with him until Selina arrives.  As it turns out, she did not send that note to Bruce.  And then she storms away. Sonny and his guys start beating up Bruce at first, but the rejection from Selina seemed to take its toll on him and he fought back, and kicked major ass, I might say.  As he turns to go back home, he encounters his clone, who drugs him unconscious as he plans to take his place.

We go back to Bullock, who is speaking at the police officer’s graduation ceremony. Until, uh-oh, Edward shows up and knocks him out.  All the while, Mirage Oswald insists that there is no Edward without him.  Edward admits some truth about that statement, but he will find something new in something better to replace Oswald with in his heart.

We see Lucius and Lee (played by Morena Baccarin) examining a dead body, cutting open his stomach, to reveal a police badge.  That match belongs to Harvey.  Lucius knows where Harvey is and he immediately leaves for the ceremony. To the young cadet’s remorse, Edward replaces Harvey as speaker.  He throws a grenade into the crowd, but not before giving a riddle.

Lucius finally meets up with Edward who has Harvey tide up in a chair which is suspended over a stairway. Edward gives Lucius three chances, three riddles, to save Harvey.  Fox gets the first two riddles wrong, but the last one he got absolutely right. Lucius also finds out that Edward killed Oswald Cobblepot, their mayor. But, we get a thumbs up from Edward while still making Harvey fall to his death.  Lucius manages to catch him in time, only to find that the green suited man was gone.

On Jim Gordon’s end, he and his uncle have a long talk.  Franks says that he came back to Gotham to patch things up. Then he comes clean about the Court of Owls, and how they are a secret organization that really pull the strings in Gotham.  He reveals that he and Jim’s father were members of the Court and that that originally wanted him to join as well. But Jim’s father saw how much of a threat they were to the city and try to fight back.  Frank reveals that the Court had set up a car accident that would cause Jim’s father his death.  French had to prove his loyalty, so the Court sent in a way for years to an unknown location. Jim is of course, outraged by this and is unsure whether or not to believe his uncle.

After saving Harvey, he, and some GCPD members go out and try to find Edward in the Dahl Manor.  The only thing that they find is a portrait of the mayor with a big, bright, green question mark on its face.

 After a long day, we see Lucius get into his car.  Edward was waiting for him in the back seat with a gun.  Instead of completely submitting to the threat, to Lucius psychoanalyzes Edward.  He sees that everything that Edward has done is some sort of act and he questions him about it.  Nygma states that he feels like there’s someone inside of him, someone that could be feared, and someone that could replace Oswald.  Lucius turns to Edward with a concern to look on his face and tells him that if there’s any part of him, that is still sane, he needs to get help.  Edward seemed shocked at first.  But he shakes it off and says…

“I am the Riddler!”

And he knocks Lucius unconscious.

We cut to inside a house filled with plants.  We see a bed with someone in it.  Hey, guys too, Oswald is ALIVE!!!!!!  To and apparently he was rescued by Ivy Pepper.  He wakes up and says one thing:

“I just remembered, there is someone I have to kill.”

The final moment that we see in the episode is Edward at the docks where he shot Oswald.  He has one final conversation with his hallucination.  To Oswald says that no one will ever be afraid of anyone called the ‘Riddler.'  Edwards says that he did a value their friendship, but now he will pull it Oswald behind him.  He dumps his pills into the water.  He stands up straight placing a bowler hat on his head.  The last thing that we see is a green suited man, Edward Nygma, no, the Riddler walk away.

Overall I did love the episode.  It was really nice to welcome Gotham to back on Monday nights.  It was so great seeing the characters come back and it was so great to see their next step or their journey in a pre-Batman Gotham. It does my heart good to see the actors bring more and more to the characters that we to all know and love to the table.

Things I liked:

Every single scene that Corey Michael Smith was in, he is now the Riddler, to and he loves every single minute of it. The Riddler is someone that a lot of us know even if we don’t read the comics.  He is flashy, showy, intelligent, incredibly vain, and absolutely arrogant.  Smith has already begun to take on to the Riddler, and already he is showing much potential, and he will certainly make his mark as the third person to ever be a live actor for the Riddler, and I can’t wait.

I always love me some Harvey Bullock. That should go without saying.

The relationship between Edward and Oswald as it continued seemingly after death.  The illusion of Oswald said to Edward that he really isn’t talking to the real person.  That he just imagined something that is already in his mind, but he just won’t face it.  It shows that Edward really did respect Oswald and that he did see him as a teacher for him.  Edward knew that he couldn’t just turn away from Oswald after he shot him.  He needed to figure out who he was without Oswald.  And the conclusions that Edward reached as he trudged through his epiphany was really enjoyable to see.

LUCIUS FOX, BABY!!!!!!!!  A lot of people know only about Alfred taking care of Bruce.  But Lucius Fox has just an important a role in Bruce’s life.  Sometimes I see Alfred as the bright side of Bruce’s brain, and Lucius is definitely the left side.  As a singular person, Lucius Fox is absolutely not one to be trifled with, especially when it comes to intelligence.

Poison Ivy saving the Penguin? AWESOME!!! 

Bruce Wayne KICKING ASS!!!!

Alfred’s Shepard’s pie

Things I didn’t like:

Lee Thompkins. Don’t like her. Never did from the beginning.

8 out of to10!

Well done, Gotham. Well, freaking done!

Until next time, stay weird, Gotham

[terryblount]

One Piece: World Seeker – Review

When I first heard of One Piece: World Seeker, I remember thinking it was about time they brought one of Shonen Jump’s most widely-beloved exports to gaming. Unbeknownst to me, the now eight hundred and seventy-three episode anime has actually ventured into our industry numerous times over the last nineteen years. Some quick research revealed that One Piece has inspired several beat ‘em ups, fighting games, turn-based JRPG’s, action-adventure games, and even a baseball game.

Now the series has finally sailed the treacherous waters of the open world, sandbox genre. Veteran One Piece developers, Ganbarion, have yet again given players the chance to don the straw hat of protagonist Monkey D. Luffy, but this time with unparalleled freedom to explore, find collectables, and pummel hoards of marines with his iconic, elastic fisticuffs. Thanks to the power of modern platforms, and not least of all the might of the Unreal Engine 4, gamers have the chance to immerse themselves into Luffy’s adventures like never before.

Monkey D. Luffy, one of the most famous faces in anime.

So close, and yet so far. While there are merits to the idea of building a One Piece game out of a sandbox formula, I don’t think One Piece: World Seeker represents the ideal solution. The combat mechanics were relatively enjoyable, and it is obvious that the developers have put some serious elbow grease into the game’s visual representation. Nevertheless, the repetitive nature of side quests and the underwhelming attempt at world building simply did not take advantage of the rich and varied source material that is its namesake. This is simply not the game it should have been.

Watashi wa Luffy!

For the unfamiliar, One Piece is a long-running manga and anime series based around the escapades of Monkey D. Luffy, a pirate who seeks to obtain the eponymous ‘One Piece’ treasure. Whoever holds this legendary booty will be proclaimed as king of all the pirates, so the series is sort of like Treasure Island, but stretched to an encyclopedic length with the distinctive quirkiness and fanfare that only an anime can pull off.

Yet, Luffy’s whimsical straw hat and flip flops belie his true abilities because he accidentally ate the ‘Gum Gum’ devil fruit as a boy. The fruit made him stronger, highly resistant to enemy attacks, and enables him to stretch his body into extraordinary shapes much like Mrs Incredible or Mister Fantastic. With the power of his rubbery physique, Luffy sets sail on an epic treasure hunt across endless seas where he encounters new friends, gains crewmates, and confronts formidable enemies.

Eight hundred plus episodes later, and we have One Piece: World Seeker opening with our man being detained in a sky prison floating above a union of islands named ‘Prison Island.’ It seems Luffy allowed himself to be incarcerated as a distraction while the Straw Hats crew  break into a vault somewhere below. Unfortunately, the plan turned out to be a trap, resulting in Luffy bailing the flying fortress to escape the clutches of Isaac, the tyrannical warden of the whole region.

Isaac, the warden of prison island.

Once our hero crash lands on Prison Island, he befriends a new character called Jeanne, who eventually explains that the island’s populace has been split between Pro- and Anti-Navy factions in the aftermath of a protracted war. The Pro-Navy inhabitants live a life of comfort afforded by Isaac and the Navy as their new governors, while their counterparts struggle under their draconian regime.

Never one to turn a blind eye towards the troubles of the little people, our hero agrees to help Jeanne and the Anti-Navy resistance to rebel against their oppressors. As such, the player will take part in various missions such as reuniting Luffy with his crew, getting to know the colourful inhabitants of Prison Island, and steadily crippling Warden Isaac’s (literal) iron fists over the islands. Of course, you also get to beat up lots and lots of bad guys and bosses.

Missing the treasure in plain sight

One Piece: World Seeker’s setting is one of the most obvious links to its anime and manga roots. The narrative brings out the tried and trusted theme of Luffy stumbling upon a new island with a dilemma, and then going on a spontaneous adventure to assist the inhabitants with their struggles. It is the old, ‘good taking a stand against evil’ trope that has sustained the One Piece universe since its origins.

Moreover, fans should be pleased with how the writers have transitioned the characters and some cameos into the game from the One Piece chronology. Everything from their dialogue, to the depiction of the main villain feels like an authentic production from the central story line of One Piece. Considering that Eiichiro Oda, creator of the series, was involved, it is no wonder the game convinced me that I was playing through an actual episode of the anime during its best moments.

Nami, the resident thief of the straw hats. I cannot stop staring at her big… belt! Is she promoting Bitcoin!?

Unfortunately, it is also here where I began to notice how the gameplay of World Seeker ends up linking to the story in a rather shoehorned manner. After the tantalising opening cinematic of the narrative, most players would probably assume that Luffy will become the centre of a complex operation to overthrow Isaac. Instead, the game just falls into the same loop where he must travel to a certain location, and beat the crap of everyone he finds there.

Generally it boils down to you are at A, bad man at B. Go from A to B and remove bad man’s front teeth. World Seeker does try to mix things up with a few sections where you must infiltrate strongholds without being detected. As is usually the case with sandbox games that include ham-fisted stealth sections, they just feel like tacked on filler meant to lengthen your play time. It doesn’t take long for the gameplay to deteriorate from fun, to repetitive, to monotonous.

Gum Gum BAA-ZOO-KAAAA!

Luffy has a basic, three-hit combo that he can unleash upon thugs and navy soldiers, as well as his famous Gum Gum pistol serving as a ranged attack. There is also the option to sneak up on enemies either from behind or inside a barrel Metal Gear Solid style, which then creates the opportunity to perform stealth takedowns. It was rarely necessary to be stealthy though, since the bad guys are not only easy to kill, but sneaking around as Luffy just feels like a disservice to his character.

I must admit that the combat is very well animated, and fighting does a superb job at making you feel powerful. The camera also has the delightful habit of shifting to slow motion when you deliver the KO blow to the last man standing much like Batman and the Arkham games. Seeing the poor sod being launched slowly off a high building after receiving Luffy’s catapult fists was very entertaining… for the first fifty times I pulled it off at least.

Adding some variety is also the ability to switch between the blue and red ‘stances’ of combat on the fly. The red mode is essentially reserved for Luffy’s heavier, more focused attacks along with the ability to guard. Blue mode is faster and deals less damage, but the broad sweep of the attacks makes it appealing for confronting whole groups at a time. The dodge mechanic is also useful in this stance since you can zip out of the enemy’s reach if you need to.

While One Piece: World Seeker’s traversal fails to achieve the fluidity of recent super hero games, I thought that the mechanics of swinging and propelling my way through the game’s surprisingly big open world was implemented nicely. Like the combat, you really feel the forces at work in Luffy’s special ability, and it became a particularly exciting system once there were some high trees and buildings around me.  I even managed to gain a bit of fun out of collecting the overabundance of pointless loot scattered throughout the world.

To my dismay, the majority of the side quests have actually been built around this idea of collecting random loot items for citizens of Prison Island. I was horrified to catch myself looking for small flowers at the request of a random man standing near a wooden shed, or finding pieces of copper for a random little kid. Why must I do favours for bland-faced NPC’s who the game does not even bother to introduce to me? This sort of meaningless filler has no place in a One Piece game; I’d rather go looking for Riddler trophies.

At least the game is generous in dishing out experience points from these meaningless exploits. You can use said points to purchase new blue or red fighting moves, or you can spend them on Luffy’s traversal abilities and health points. However, let us not forget that One Piece has had an entire manga and anime saga to build up Luffy’s resume of moves. Does it really make sense hiding them behind experience points which can only be gained by grinding away at meaningless loot quests? No, it doesn’t.

It feels Unreal how much I love this game engine

Sorry about that atrocious pun, but sweet mother of monkey milk this game is pretty. I am not sure why many studios from the Land of the Rising Sun have made the Unreal Engine 4 their engine of choice lately, but World Seeker is yet another example of what a brilliant move this was. Just like the anime, this game is so colourful and vivid that I bet it would cure a defective monitor from stuck pixels.

This game can be seriously beautiful at times.

I cannot deny that the environments were eerily empty at times, nor can I look past at the lack of variety in enemies. However, the character animations, the sheer scale of some buildings, the beautiful landscapes and the particle effects really captivated me on a visual level. Honestly, if Toei Animation did an entire episode in these graphics I would be happy, and I cannot imagine better aesthetics for a One Piece video game.

If only for more time

What struck me from the moment I launched One Piece: World Seeker is that this game feels unfinished. There is nothing overtly broken in its mechanics, and certain elements of the gameplay are undeniably polished. Yet, the lack of voiced cut scenes, the general empty feeling of the world, the repetitive nature of the side missions, and using the same models for most of the enemies are all the tell-tale signs of a studio being pushed for time.

In fact, the stark contrast between the excellent visuals and the bland mission design makes me suspect Ganbarion had plans to make World Seeker more like a JRPG. In any case, it is clear that their plans never came to fruition and they settled on making a more fast-paced, open world game from what they had already finished.

If you are looking to play a good One Piece game, I suggest you look at any of the Pirate Warrior instalments, because World Seeker just feels like too much of a mixed bag. This is not the kind of game we want from this beloved series at this point in time, and playing it makes it clear that the developers share our sentiments. If, one the other hand, you don’t own a PS3, wait for a sale. There is still fun to be had with this game, even if it is very short lived.

Beautiful cut scenes

Graphics and sound design

Story fits the universe

Sterile world design

Very bland side quests

Too many collectables

Insipid mission design

Upgrades locked behind XP

          Playtime: 22 hours total. For the single player campaign and light grinding

Computer Specs: Windows 10 64-bit computer using Nvidia GTX 1070, i5 4690K CPU, 16GB RAM – Played using an Xbox One Controller

One Piece: World Seeker – Review published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

[casualarsonist]

Batman: Arkham Knight review

It is such a shame that they boned the PC release of this game so hard, because Rocksteady is a solid developer and this is a great addition to the Arkham series. The symptoms of the terrible port still persist, although I would say that the game was about 80% okay for me. The biggest problem I had was that, in racing around Gotham in the Batmobile, the game is forced to load tonnes of textures incredibly quickly, and when it failed to do so fast enough it would freeze and think for about 10-15 seconds before resuming again. Because a lot of the driving requires very fast reflexes, this could at times cause considerable frustration, and unfortunately this happened almost entirely one the first island, which soured my initial opinion. Other than this though, there was really only the occasional noticable bug that didn't get ironed out as the QA manpower was diverted elsewhere during the release crisis. This game was rightly made an example of, as WB's despicable release deserved no forgiveness from consumers, however it's a shame that it had to screw over what is actually a really good game by a really good developer. Now, beyond all that, let me say that this is one of the best looking games ever made. I read a debate on this topic that argued between this game and Star Wars Battlefront, and while Battlefront is all style and no substance, Arkham Knight has more than enough substance to satiate those coming from Arkham City. It again ups the ante over its predecessors and delivers the entirety of Gotham for us to play around in, and while Arkham Origins ostensibly did the same, Rocksteady actually managed to fill the space with character. The sheer amount of time that must have been spent on the art of this game is absolutely mind-boggling. Almost every inch of the city feels specifically crafted rather than copy-pasted, and on top that there're dozens of unique indoor locations to boot. The NVIDIA enhancements are pretty stunning too – the way the rain plumes off of your cape as you leap into flight never gets old - although most of them will test your hardware. In regards to gameplay, it’s much the same as the previous games, with a few new gadgets here and there. I'd heard a lot of complaints about the amount of Batmobile in the game, and I personally can't really see where the negativity has come from. The Batmobile combat isn't the most elegant, but neither is the hand-to-hand combat. Although I quite enjoyed travelling around in it, it can also be abandoned for the majority of the game, and travelling on your own is a viable alternative when you level your skills up enough. In short, I didn't find it to be an unwelcome addition to the game. This is the fourth Arkham game though, and there are signs of the franchise tiring. The Riddler’s riddles felt lazier and many literally spelled out the answer in the riddle itself, many of the villains make their third or fourth appearances and really started to feel recycled, and the combat system seemed (at least at the beginning) even more self-guiding than before. Some of the tasks also seemed more like busy work than before, but that might be a related to the sheer amount of them they've used to fit the size of the city, as well as my own personal weariness of the 'open-world formula'. In saying that, the story is genuinely intriguing and I can't seem to put the game down. I played 21 hours in the first 2 days at a time where I was getting burnt out really quickly with other games, and I’d often find myself saying ‘one more mission’ until it was 3 in the morning. TL;DR - This is a great sequel to Arkham City, and exposes the fact that, while they own the franchise, in developing Arkham Origins WB didn’t actually understand what made an Arkham game so good. AK continues to keep the core gameplay intact whilst expanding the scope of the game, however, I can't see them being able to expand any further from here on. I can’t see them creating a bigger game world, or doing much more with the established gameplay, or using the same characters again without it all seeming tired. I haven’t finished this yet, and perhaps the plot gives it away, but I hope they don’t keep bashing out endless games in this vein, because I don’t know if there’s much more of the well to draw from in this same way. If this is the swansong of the series, it’s a shame that the release was such a clusterf**k, and as a consequence has scarred the game permanently. If you can get it cheap in a good sale, like I did, I highly recommend it, but I wouldn’t pay full price, as despite the fact that it's a great game, it’s still broken in a number of ways.

7/10

Good