#what is the most dangerous animal in the world 2022

[graysoncritic]

A (Negative) Analysis of Tom Taylor's Nightwing Run - Who is Dick Grayson?

Introduction Who is Dick Grayson? What Went Wrong? Dick's Characterization What Went Wrong? Barbara Gordon What Went Wrong? Bludhaven (Part 1, Part 2) What Went Wrong? Melinda Lin Grayson What Went Wrong? Bea Bennett What Went Wrong? Villains Conclusion Bibliography

When asked to describe Dick Grayson’s character, many will say he is good. He is Bruce Wayne’s light, the person he could have been had someone offered Bruce understanding and guidance after his trauma. Dick is a leader. A big brother. A mentor. He is someone people can look up to, someone others can trust. He is “The Heart of the DCU.”

(Williamson, Joshua, writer. Sampere, Daniel; Herbert, Jack; Camuncoli, Giuseppe; Sandoval, Rafa, illustrators. Dawn of the DCU. Dark Crisis on Infinite Earth no. 7, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2022. pp. 28)

Characters, much like real people, are more than just a trait. Jason Todd is more than “angry.” Bruce Wayne is more than just “brooding.” Tim Drake is more than just “smart.” Characters are multidimensional. They have multiple facets, some of which may contradict one another because characters, just like people, are not created out of mathematical equations where two plus two always equals four. Humans are emotional. Their being is informed by past experiences, biology, culture. The intricate combination of these vastly different factors leads to inconsistency in rationality that may not always be logical. Dick being “good” does not mean that Dick can’t be angry, that he can’t make mistakes, or that he can’t lash out or be unreasonable, especially when stressed. Dick being “good” does not mean he can’t brood, does not mean he can’t be suspicious, nor does it mean he will always like everyone. Dick being “good” does not mean he can’t be his own worst enemy, that he can’t be calculative and strategic, that he always needs to be upbeat, or that he can’t be the most intelligent person in the room.

(Grayson, Devin, writer. Zircher, Patch, illustrator. Slow Burn. Nightwing no 93, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2004. pp. 10-11)

Sam Humphries also demonstrated this during his brilliant story, The Untouchable. There, Dick’s relentless determination to save people from the Judge’s machinations grows so intense that it becomes self-destructive. The story demonstrates how Dick’s “goodness” comes from a form of toxic perfectionism that has been with him since he was a child — a perfectionism born of a low self-worth that eats at him from the inside out

(Humphries, Sam, writer. Janson, Klaus; Campbell, Jamal, illustrators. Ruthless. Nightwing: Rebirth no. 37, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2018. pp. 08)

Even the 2003 animated series Teen Titans understood that in trying to catch the bad guy — almost always Slade Wilson in the case of that show — Dick could sometimes go too far.

Dick’s goodness causes him to see himself as a danger to not just his loved ones, but everyone who stands near him. He carries the world on his shoulders, taking the blame for every tragedy and seeing every death as a personal failure. When pushed to its worst, Dick’s goodness becomes an obsession which pushes others away, leading to isolation as Dick’s entire existence narrows down to accomplishing one specific goal. 

It is this reductive characterization of Dick – the idea that his one defining trait is that he is “good” – that leads many to misunderstand the appeal of his character. As I mentioned above, characters are multi-facet, and Dick is no exception. However, the ways in which Dick is multi-facet are very different from the ways in which most characters are multi-facet.

Please do not mistake what I am about to say by claiming these other characters are not complex. Or even that some of them might not subvert popular tropes. What I mean saying is that Dick’s complexity is demonstrated differently than what I believe most people are accustomed to.

For example, everyone knows Bruce Wayne keeps his feelings locked up inside. He compartmentalizes his emotions and his trauma in order to solve the puzzle put ahead of him. But everyone – characters and readers alike – understands Bruce is doing this. Everyone can tell that he is hiding something from others and keeping them at a distance. The reader is always aware of how Bruce’s trauma informs his actions, his interactions, and his thought process. 

(Grayson, Devin; Barr, Mike W., writers. Davis, Alan; Robinson, Roger, illustrator. Procedure. Batman: Gotham Knights  no. 25, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2002. pp. 20)

Take, for instance, Part One of Murderer/Fugitive. Although a major source of tension from the story surrounds the question of Bruce’s innocence, there’s never any question in the minds of the reader and the character that Bruce is hiding something. Tim Drake questions whether Bruce truly did kill Vesper Child and is hiding his motive, while Dick is certain of Bruce’s innocence and instead believes Bruce is hiding his alibi or the clues that would help them find the real murderer. Barbara Gordon, for her part, wavers between the two, but like Tim, Dick, and the reader, she is certain of one thing: Bruce Wayne is hiding something from her, from them… From us.

Similarly, Jason Todd’s anger comes from a place of hurt and a place of love, from insecurities and a need to prove himself. But like Bruce, all of that is clear to see. His anger and his hurt are simple to understand. Please, do not mistake this for me claiming that Jason is not a complex character — instead, I’m stating that his temperament, his trauma, and his actions are so interlinked that they are clear for the reader to see. His character, while rich, is more accessible. It does not take a lot of effort to know that Jason is angry because of what was done to him. It is easy to see that he is hurt because he equates Bruce’s love to the Joker’s death, and therefore sees Bruce’s failure to avenge him “proof” that Bruce does not love him as a son. 

(Winick, Judd, writer. Battle, Eric, illustrator. All They Do is Watch Us Kill: Part 3: It Only Hurts When I Laugh. Batman no. 650, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2006. pp. 13) Dick, on the other hand, does not wear his emotions, his motivations, or his goals on his sleeve. Dick keeps his secrets not by constructing an impenetrable wall like Bruce, but through misdirection. This is why those who are unfamiliar with Dick misinterpret him so much. They take what is on the surface at face value because they do not have the character history to serve as context to understand what lies beneath As a Dick Grayson fan (From this moment forward will be referred to as Dick Grayson Fan A) said “good Dick writers teach readers how to read him and bad Dick writers just have that surface level interpretation.” (I was actually talking to her about this idea and how I’m presenting it in this essay. The example I gave was one she suggested after I asked if she could think of good moments that exemplified this idea.)

As an example, we can look at this moment from Grayson, in which Dick sucks a lollipop while receiving a mission assignment. Someone who is not familiar with Dick and is looking at Dick and Helena’s interaction might be easily fooled into thinking that Dick is the pretty, strong, but annoyingly childish and slightly dumb male character who contrasts the serious, intelligent, and highly competent woman. The characters’ expressions, actions, and the onomatopoeias are certainly leaning into that familiar trope.

(King, Tom; Seeley, Tim, writers. Janin, Mikel, illustrator. The Raid. Grayson no. 04, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2014. pp. 02) However, Dick Grayson fans know that when it comes to the mission, Dick is as serious as Batman himself. Highly intelligent, Dick is considered to by many the world’s second greatest detective (there are many instances in canon when he is referred to as such), making him more than just a pretty face who knows how to fight (It should be noted that in this tweet, writer Tom King also ranks Dick as the second best fighter in the Bat Family). Furthermore, context matters. Dick is deep undercover throughout the duration of Grayson, and this scene is set shortly after the death of one of the agents of the organization Dick has infiltrated. In other words, Dick is in a highly stressful situation without allies to provide him with back-up or emotional support. 

His posturing in this scene, then, can be seen as an attempt to misguide and misdirect. He does not wish to let those around him – people he is not sure yet if he can trust – know the full extent of his capabilities or perceive any potential weaknesses in his value of human life. Positioning himself as the annoying and childish pretty boy who does not pay much attention to serious matters is a strategic choice that his fans readily pick up on.  

That is not to say that Dick’s smiles are all lies. Rather, Dick’s upbeat nature is a natural aspect of his personality that he will exaggerate depending on the setting in order to keep his privacy. He is a natural performer, a showman, and so he utilizes misdirection to his advantage. 

A classic example of Dick’s misdirection and how he is misinterpreted by others is how some would characterize him as an “attention seeker.” However, the term “attention seeker” has negative connotations as it implies someone who seeks the spotlight at the expense of others. 

That is the opposite of who Dick is. But that’s not Dick is. As a mentor, a leader, and an older brother, Dick will often invite others to join the conversation. He pays attention to what they say, he strategizes based on their needs. 

(Johns, Geoff; Wolfman, Marv, writers. Nauck, Todd, illustrator.  The Brave and the Bold. Teen Titans no. 33, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2006. pp. 15)

Simply put, Dick is incredibly empathetic and always in tune with those around him. This is why he works so well as both a Bat and a Titan, and why his personality in each team is so distinct. As a Bat, Dick is often portrayed as cheerful, his bad puns are meant to cut the tension, the is the shoulder for his family to cry one; as a Titan, Dick is a leader, he is a strategist, he demands others take things seriously and will not tolerate slacking off, he is trying to instill good work ethics and ensure that the team dynamic stays in top shape. 

As JL Bell writes in their essay Success in Stasis: Dick Grayson’s Thirty Years as a Boy Wonder for the book Dick Grayson, Boy Wonder: Scholars and Creators on 75 years of Robin, Nightwing, and Batman explains, “in contrast to how Robin behaved with Batman. [Dick] is usually [the Titans’] serious leader.” (Bells, JL “Success in Stasis: Dick Grayson’s Thirty Years as a Boy Wonder.”Dick Grayson, Boy Wonder: Scholars and Creators on 75 years of Robin, Nightwing, and Batman edited by Kristen L. Geaman, McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2015, pp. 22)

That is because Dick knows that when he is with his family, he needs to play one role, and when he is with his friends, he needs to play another. The Bats have their strengths, so Dick adjusts himself to play up on those strengths while also making up for its weakness. Same thing with the Titans. 

Mark Waid perfectly exemplifies Dick’s adaptability when portraying him in his World’s Finest (2022) and World’s Finest: Teen Titans (2023). There, Dick brings levity to his work with Batman and Superman, keeping an upbeat attitude while still taking the job seriously.

(Waid, Mark, writer. Mora, Dan, illustrator. Manhunt. Batman/Superman: World’s Finest no. 14, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2023. pp. 07)

Yet, when he is with the Titans and feels the weight of leadership on his shoulders, he is more serious, being the one to get the Titans to focus on their objective, getting them to look at the big picture, while also making the most of their abilities as individuals and as a team.

(Waid, Mark, writer. Mora, Dan, illustrator. Team Spirit. Batman/Superman: World’s Finest no. 08, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2022. pp. 05)

So yes, Dick is a performer, a showman, but he is not “attention seeking.” In fact, his use of misdirection illustrates that Dick is a very private person. And how could he not be? While it is true that Dick grew up in the circus, after his parents’ death, he went to live with Bruce, and in doing so, was put into an intense amount of public scrutiny. The murders of John and Mary Grayson happened on a literal stage with dozens of people watching. As a result, Dick’s very private tragedy became a spectacle.

After the death of Dick’s parents, Dick isn’t allowed to disappear into anonymity. He is not afforded privacy to grieve. He is taken in by Bruce Wayne, Gotham’s most famous playboy, billionaire, philanthropic who is also a bit of a selfish airhead (at least, that is how the public perceives him), and as a result, Dick is subjected to an immense amount of public scrutiny, not just from the media, but also from Gotham’s elites, and even his peers at school. Not only that, as Robin, the Boy Wonder and the first ever sidekick, Dick also is put on the spotlight while also being aware of the necessity of keeping secrets. 

As a result of having his tragedy broadcasted and having a new mission that requires secrecy, Dick becomes a very private person. He is not an open book; instead, he is meticulous about what he shares and he prevents people from looking at what is not of their business by using his showmanship.

Furthermore, Dick’s role as a performer who, as Joshua R Pangborn describes in his essay about the Robin costume, “experiences […] the full spectrum of emotions, each and every night, for the catharsis of others,” transforms him into a literal vehicle for emotional catharsis and empathy. (Pangborn, Joshua R “Fashioning Himself a Hero: Robin’s Costume and its Role in Shaping His Identity”Dick Grayson, Boy Wonder: Scholars and Creators on 75 years of Robin, Nightwing, and Batman edited by Kristen L. Geaman, McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2015, pp. 42) In their essay, Bell argues that while Bruce Wayne embodied “the mid-century ideal of the American male,” who is always “in control of his feelings, not letting them overcome his judgment nor displaying them broadly,” Dick Grayson “can express deep emotions, not only his own but Bruce’s.” As such, Dick often acts as a sounding board for his family, friends, team, and romantic partners. As a performer, Dick embodies whatever persona is necessary to create a safe environment where others can process their emotions and achieve catharsis. (Bells, JL “Success in Stasis: Dick Grayson’s Thirty Years as a Boy Wonder.”Dick Grayson, Boy Wonder: Scholars and Creators on 75 years of Robin, Nightwing, and Batman edited by Kristen L. Geaman, McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2015, pp. 12)

Dick's performance, then, comes not just from a desire for privacy but also from a deep place of empathy. It comes from a desire to help others work through their own stories. This is why he can step into other's narratives without overshadowing them. In fact, he��ll often elevate those characters by complimenting them and creating the circumstances needed for them to shine. As a performer, Dick is naturally adaptable and always willing to fill the role necessary to create the space required for others to work through their emotional needs.

But, as with everything, Dick’s performance is also a result of his destructive perfectionism. Dick equates “good” to “perfect.” He believes that he can only be wanted by Bruce if he is the perfect Robin, he can only be wanted by his friends if he is the perfect leader, he can only be wanted by his siblings if he is the perfect older brother, he can only be wanted by his partners if he is the perfect boyfriend. As Humphries’s The Untouchable demonstrates, because Dick was raised in an environment where failure could be fatal, he internalized these stakes to every aspect of his life. 

(Humphries, Sam, writer. Janson, Klaus; Campbell, Jamal, illustrators. Ruthless. Nightwing: Rebirth no. 37, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2018.pp 20

And it doesn’t help that all of the people in Dick’s life do prove that assertion right. Everyone holds “the Heart of the DCU” to an impossible standard that, when Dick fails to live up to it, he is crucified and punished for it. If he tries to be perfect, he's told off for being the Golden Boy, but if he fails to be the Golden Boy, then he is told off because he let people down when they were relying on him. Ironically, this is done by characters in-universe real-world fans. As Dick Grayson Fan A pointed out in a discussion about depiction of Batman Family members killing their antagonists, “there's always this pressure to have Dick ~fall from grace~ and I do lowkey resent that. Dick should be allowed to be good, not punished for it.”  

This creates an environment where Dick constantly needs to maintain perfection in order to be in everyone’s good graces. Failure is not met with understanding and comfort, but with punishment. No one expects him to fail, no one likes when he fails, no one forgives him when he fails. That also means that Dick doesn’t feel safe opening up about his insecurities because to do so would mean “proving” he cannot stay on the pedestal he’s been put on. And so, he is forced to perform the role of a “perfect good guy” by using misdirection so people won’t abandon him for being human (this was said during a very interesting discussion and addressed both canon and fanfic writers. There’s a lot that can be said about Dick’s parentification and how that is viewed in the context of fandom. This is not the essay for it, and, to be perfectly honest, I’m not entirely sure I’m the best person to open said discussion).

Taylor does not portray Dick as someone with this many layers. Taylor’s Dick is perfect simply because he is good. He is the perfect friend, who is always happy to support others. He is Barbara Gordon’s perfect boyfriend. Dick is the perfect older brother, the perfect son, perfect model citizen. 

But by equating being “good” with being “perfect” without exploring the negative consequences that come from such pressures, Taylor robs Dick of the emotions that humanize him. In Taylor’s run, a good person will not be angry at their friends, will not be frustrated with their siblings, will never disagree with their romantic partner. This strips Dick of all of his nuances, and instead reduces him to a non-descriptive “everyman hero” with a limited emotional range whose only narrative purpose is to serve as a blank canvas for readers to project themselves into. 

Simply put, Taylor is uninterested in writing Dick as a character because he does not see value in Dick for who he is. Nightwing #105, which removes Dick from its story in order to allow its readers to “be Nightwing” illustrates how Taylor and DC at large only value Dick his connections, not for who he is.   

(Chen, Jess [jesswchen]. “Tweet Message.” 18 March 2023, https://twitter.com/jesswchen/status/1636971185782259716?s=20.)

Be Dick, and you can be good friends with Superman! You can be Batman’s son! You can be Batgirl’s boyfriend! Robin’s big brother! Flash’s best friend! 

As a Dick Grayson fan, this feels insulting. I’m not saying Dick needs to be anyone’s favorite character, or that anyone even needs to like him. I’m not interested in dictating anyone’s taste. But to someone who loves Dick Grayson, it is insulting to think that those responsible for his stories fail to see his value. To Taylor, the person who, as the writer for both Nightwing and Titans, has the most control over Dick’s portrayal, Dick is nothing but a tool that will soon wear off its use. 

In treating Dick as such, Taylor and DC send a clear message to those of who love Dick, and that message is that the things that make Dick special, the things that made us love him, do not matter. 

For his near century long existence, Dick served as a stand in for those who feel othered in society. While I do not have the time to go into a gender studies and queer reading of Dick, it is notable that his character often spoke to many people who felt different. As Mary Borsellino’s 2006 essay “A lot like Robin if you close your eyes” Displacement of meaning in the Post-Modern Age explains:

The things which a Robin-like figure can contain, but which are cut off from being embodied by Robin himself, lose none of their importance simply because they are rejected by a restrictive, corporate-controlled status quo […] It's worth inspecting what was excised from Robin, and charting where these elements instead found articulation: in those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds; non-White people; young single parents; and HIV positive people. And, especially, girls and women (Borsellino, Mary “‘A lot like Robin if you close your eyes.’ Displacement of meaning in the Post-Modern Age,  2006)

While Borsellio’s essay focuses on the Robin mantle, as the creator of said mantle, such assertions can also be applied to Dick. In fact, Bell concurs with the idea that those who were othered have always took a preference to Dick when stating that “Robin’s status as the littlest guy in the fight increases the character’s appeal for some children, especially the ‘youngest and weakest.’” In other words, it is crucial to Dick’s character that he is not an “everyman hero.” He is not the hero of or beloved by the average individual, but rather by those who were ostracized by society.

Taylor’s writing exemplifies the “restrictive, corporate-controlled status quo” imposed by DC that Borsellino speaks of. His characterization is the manufactured image that removes Dick’s “socially deviant/rejected” qualities his fans loved about him so that he can be palatable to a more mainstream audience.  (Bells, JL “Success in Stasis: Dick Grayson’s Thirty Years as a Boy Wonder.”Dick Grayson, Boy Wonder: Scholars and Creators on 75 years of Robin, Nightwing, and Batman edited by Kristen L. Geaman, McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2015, pp. 11)

This, of course, is not necessarily new. As Mason Downey argues in their 2015 essay In Defense of Dick Grayson: Objectification, Sexuality, and Subtext, DC has often struggled between leaning into the audience Dick has and wanting to erase any “othering” elements from his character. As they point out:

The more sexual and idealized Dick was allowed to become, the more attention he got from female and queer fans, the more the industry had to work to combat the past anxieties revolving around the character. This resulted in more and more heteronormative romances for Dick on the page. We can’t grant Wertham’s fears any legitimacy, we can’t make these stories “for girls.” Writers did so in a few ways, some obvious, some less so. On the page, we had Dick’s deflection of female sexuality that he was not in control of, and we had a level of emotional posturing with relationships he was in control of. We had moments where we saw him manipulating with or being manipulated by sex. There were editorial pushes to lean into Dick’s popularity with women and queer men coupled with the simultaneous desire to not acknowledge or grant legitimacy to the fanbase he found in those demographics. This translated to more sexualized poses. More pin-up style spreads. Multiple bait-and-switch wedding, marriage, and relationship teases which turned out to be fakeouts or got written out. Long strings of female side characters were introduced exclusively to be love interests. Off the page, we had more concrete examples. We saw a lack of merchandise and lack of representation of him in other forms of media. There was a pervasive hesitancy in broaching his existence outside of the spheres of already established fans. For example, Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises featured Joseph Gordon-Levitt playing a character literally named Robin, who was invented for the film franchise rather than allowing Dick himself to exist in that cinematic universe. Dick Grayson is a character built upon one repeated mantra aimed at what eventually become two of his largest demographics, “Remember, this is not for you.”

(Downey, Mason “In Defense of Dick Grayson: Objectification, Sexuality, and Subtext” Women Write About Comics. December 2015)

What makes Taylor’s run unique is that in trying to have Dick tackle social issues such as homelessness and in trying to create a class commentary, Taylor attempts to create a progressive, albeit simplistic, veneer while erasing the important and “other-ing” aspects of Dick’s character that was so beloved by his fans. 

This, I believe, is one of the many explanations why many of those who praise Taylor run claim that this is the first Nightwing run they ever enjoyed, while many (though admittedly, not all) those who have been longtime Dick Grayson fans feel betrayed and frustrated by the way their beloved character is being handled. Dick is currently being appropriated into a more mainstream, palatable hero. He is being taken from those who loved him and being scrubbed clean to be suitable for an audience who could not appreciate him for what he was, only for how his connections could give them a wish fulfillment fantasy. As another Dick Grayson fan expressed:

I see no heart in [Taylor’s] work, only soulless marketing. He sells himself as something good and work on his perfect public image and everyone who disagrees is wrong and it gets on my nerves like nothing else. […] I wouldn't be as salt[y] if Taylor was genuinely trying to writing something good. I don't have the heart to [be salty] at someone working with passion, even if I don't like it.

(Henceforth referred to as Dick Grayson Fan B... This was actually said during a discussion in which we expressed how we wish we could be as excited about Taylor’s run as many others are.)

[book--brackets]

The Mistborn Saga by Brandon Sanderson (2006-2022)

For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark. Kelsier recruited the underworld's elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Only then does he reveal his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot. But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel's plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she's a half-Skaa orphan, but she's lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets, and gotten it. She will have to learn to trust, if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.

This saga dares to ask a simple question: What if the hero of prophecy fails?

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (2013)

A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse where she once lived, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire (1995-2011)

When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum’s classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked?

Gregory Maguire has created a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again.

Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability, and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West—a smart, prickly, and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice (1976-2018)

This is the story of Louis, as told in his own words, of his journey through mortal and immortal life. Louis recounts how he became a vampire at the hands of the radiant and sinister Lestat and how he became indoctrinated, unwillingly, into the vampire way of life. His story ebbs and flows through the streets of New Orleans, defining crucial moments such as his discovery of the exquisite lost young child Claudia, wanting not to hurt but to comfort her with the last breaths of humanity he has inside. Yet, he makes Claudia a vampire, trapping her womanly passion, will, and intelligence inside the body of a small child. Louis and Claudia form a seemingly unbreakable alliance and even "settle down" for a while in the opulent French Quarter. Louis remembers Claudia's struggle to understand herself and the hatred they both have for Lestat that sends them halfway across the world to seek others of their kind. Louis and Claudia are desperate to find somewhere they belong, to find others who understand, and someone who knows what and why they are.

Louis and Claudia travel Europe, eventually coming to Paris and the ragingly successful Theatre des Vampires--a theatre of vampires pretending to be mortals pretending to be vampires. Here they meet the magnetic and ethereal Armand, who brings them into a whole society of vampires. But Louis and Claudia find that finding others like themselves provides no easy answers and in fact presents dangers they scarcely imagined.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865-1876)

After a tumble down the rabbit hole, Alice finds herself far away from home in the absurd world of Wonderland. As mind-bending as it is delightful, Lewis Carroll’s 1865 novel is pure magic for young and old alike.

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer (2001-2012)

Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is a millionaire, a genius—and, above all, a criminal mastermind. But even Artemis doesn't know what he's taken on when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit. These aren't the fairies of bedtime stories—they're dangerous! Full of unexpected twists and turns, Artemis Fowl is a riveting, magical adventure.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (2008)

Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place--he's the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians' time as well as their ghostly teachings--such as the ability to Fade so mere mortals cannot see him.

Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead?

The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (1990-2013)

The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In the Third Age, an Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.

When The Two Rivers is attacked by Trollocs—a savage tribe of half-men, half-beasts— five villagers flee that night into a world they barely imagined, with new dangers waiting in the shadows and in the light.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (1996)

Under the streets of London there's a place most people could never even dream of. A city of monsters and saints, murderers and angels, knights in armour and pale girls in black velvet. This is the city of the people who have fallen between the cracks.

Richard Mayhew, a young businessman, is going to find out more than enough about this other London. A single act of kindness catapults him out of his workday existence and into a world that is at once eerily familiar and utterly bizarre. And a strange destiny awaits him down here, beneath his native city: Neverwhere.

The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson (2010-present)

Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter. 

It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them. 

One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable. 

Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity. 

Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar's niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan's motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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About me: Libbee is dedicated to occult, mysticism, depth psychology and other interests. It is my hobby. If you are facing any mental health issue or emotional crisis, please consult someone you trust in real life or a professional. 🌱Libbee is Vegan for the Animals.

ASTRO OBSERVATIONS

🐟 Taurus ascendant/ 2nd house/ Taurus sun/moon/venus/mercury placements | 🐟 Aries ascendant/ 1st house/ Aries sun/moon/mercury/venus placements | 🐟Astro observations (October 2022: part 2) | 🐟 Astro observations (October 2022: part 1) | 🐟 astro notes about air signs | 🐟 astro notes about 8th house placements | 🐟 11th house placements/Aquarius placements | 🐟 venus in 8th house observations | 🐟 emotional people/Scorpio/cancer/pisces/4th/8th/12th house placements | 🐟 men with moon in 3rd house | 🐟 many people in one body | 🐟 scorpio rising/sun/moon: i am my own worst enemy | 🐟 gemini/libra/moon in 3rd house: tone down the mind games | 🐟 My astrology observations Part 1 (Feb 2023) | 🐟 sun in 1st/7th/8th/12th; venus in 8th/12th; venus in scorpio, sun in pisces

DOOR TO THE 8TH HOUSE

🐬 Scorpio/8th house dominant/stellium: Social circle | 🐬 Descending into the unconscious | 🐬 What is fate? | 🐬 8th house placement observations | 🐬 venus in 8th house & relationship trauma | 🐬 venus in 8th house predictions | 🐬 venus in 8th house: what does love do to you? | 🐬 venus in 8th house ladies advice | 🐬 innocence of 8th houser/scorpio | 🐬 friendly advice for 8th houser/scorpio | 🐬 Venus in 8th house: why do they turn ice cold? | 🐬 calm down scorpios | 🐬 life advice for moon in 8th house | 🐬 moon in 8th house mom: what you see is not what you get | 🐬 Venus in 8th house attracting envy/jealousy | 🐬 Cynicism for 8th housers/heavy scorpio | 🐬 Venus in 8th house & fated heartbreak | 🐬 Last night with venus in 8th house

TRANSFORMATION POSTS FOR 8TH HOUSERS

🦞 Surviving rock bottom | 🦞 What is seen cannot be unseen | 🦞 navigating psychosis | 🦞 personality development for 8th housers | 🦞 transformation of venus in 8th house | 🦞 the world is not a wonderful place | 🦞 friendly advice for 8th houser | 🦞 secret life of 8th housers | 🦞 rising like the phoenix | 🦞 my 8th house transformation notes | 🦞 weakness of 8th house/scorpio | 🦞 hobbies for 8th housers | 🦞 what might 8th housers have to deal with? | 🦞 how do 8th housers transform? | 🦞 Dangers of the abyss | 🦞 Survival of the fittest | 🦞Aftermath of moon in 8th house or moon in scorpio mom | 🦞 The Value of Loneliness | 🦞 8th house placements are most valuable

DOOR TO THE 7TH HOUSE

🌊 thoughts on 7th house placements | 🌊7th-8th house vedic astro relationship nexus | 🌊 Mercury in 7th house/Mercury in Libra/Mercury in 7th house from natal moon and "Tendency for Competitive Intelligence" | 🌊 sun in 7th house placements and low self esteem | 🌊 What is down there in the 7th house?

DOOR TO THE 12TH HOUSE

🐟 Humor

SELF DEVELOPMENT SERIES

🦈 Safety first: protection against manipulators. | 🦈 It is almost impossible to know how others perceive you. | 🦈 "I am so bad at judging people". | 🦈 learning to handle life. | 🦈 trust your perception. No matter what. | 🦈 power of validation

PSYCHOLOGY

🐠 projection and astrology | 🐠 Understanding 8th house with Jungian psychology | 🐠 Are water placements (cancer, scorpio, pisces) the best ones to have?

ROMANTIC ASTRO

⛵ Falling in love as a water dominant native |⛵ About a water lover | ⛵ About air lovers

ASTRO AND LITERATURE/CINEMA

🐚 astro and babadook movie | 🐚 metamorphosis and astro | 🐚 eternal sunshine of the spotless mind | 🐚 To, Mr. Darcy | 🐚the little prince quotes for signs | 🐚Venus in scorpio/8th house/conjuct pluto/scorpio rising/pluto in 1st house: Malena | 🐚 In this corner of the world | 🐚 Gemini moon and Kelly Kapoor

[purlty23]

gonst turned dc follower here, would love to hear your thoughts about bat jokes ❤️

BATJOKES UNDER THE READ MORE

As Im sure everyone knows, theres a toooon of different timelines and universes and Batman iterations out there.

My favorites personally are:

🤡 The Killing Joke

🦇 Batman: The Animated Series

🤡 Lego Batman

🦇 The Batman 2022

🤡 Batman: The Dark Prince Charming

I grew up watching A LOT of super hero cartoons, some older like 1960s Spider-man and some newer like BTAS. Batman the Animated Series was definitely my all time favorite and still is to this day. Cant help being born in the ninties. Its a heavy cross to bare

I just think that there are some universal truths I like to have across all my batjokes, no matter what universe or situation theyre in. I want them UNSANE, UNSAFE, and WEIRDLY CONSENTUAL.

To me they are two guys who never should have crossed paths, but tragedy after tragedy in their own lives led them to the same place on the wrong night and ever since, they've been attached by the same fucked up red string of fate. Joker is obsessed with Batman because Batman helped craft him. Batman is obsessed with Joker for the exact same reason.

Batman thinks "I can fix him". He sees Joker as a fundamentally flawed, extremely dangerous, but most importantly unwell person. He needs to believe that theres hope for people like Joker.

Joker thinks "I can make him worse." His whole life revolves around their games together. He needs to fuck with Batman more than anything else in the whole world. He needs to pull Batman down to his level. If only he could finally get Batman to kill someone, to kill HIM. Then he can finally prove that Batman is just as unjust and chaotic and BROKEN as the rest of the world. No one is above the effects of society (BEATBOXING NOISES)

Joker is not cis at all also. That guy is not a man at all he is a woman. He is a gay man in the she/her way. He is high femme and high maintenance and is NOT A CHEAP GIRLIE. I do think that he does absolutely abuse and mistreat Harley in almost every iteration, I find it so difficult to imagine their story ever turning out a different way simply based on.... Well their relationship is always an awful power dynamic that shouldnt ever have happened.

In a perfect world like Lego Batman I can see them being best friends. Gal pals. Maybe Harley is the first woman who ever makes Joker feel like a woman, and thats special. Sure, Joker is married to his work, but he loves her. He loves her deeply in the way that queer people have been loving each other for hundreds and thousands of years; without label or limits. He cant imagine being without her in his bedroom at 3am on hot Gotham summer nights. The hyenas are just an annoying add on to his already stupidly annoying life. Just like Harley's gf Ivy is.

I was kind of hoping that the new Joker Folie movie would do something cool about Joker and Harley's relationship. But as a DC fan you kind of just learn to deal with disappointment. I havent seen it yet, and dunno if I will. I think if anyone had a shot at being an actually interesting and net positive relationship between them would have been that specific iteration of Joker meeting Harley not as a doctor, but as a pop star. A beautiful, very high in society. A woman who when she speaks, people listen

I also think that Joker should never care too, too much about finding out Bruce's true identity. I think the anonymity of their tussles is an incredibly vital part for Joker. I think it probably perplexes Batman, maybe even disturbs him a little the lengths that Joker will purposefully go to in order to keep the secret. He doesnt want to know AT ALL and yet is utterly obsessed with him either way. The same way that he doesnt ACTUALLY want to kill Batman. Because if he kills Batman, he'll be killing his whole drive for life. He'd be killing himself

Also Bruce is bisexual and also falls in love with so many people in the queer way, thats why hes always checking up on Gotham Asylum patients. His massive evil gotham polycule that he refuses to call that

[rulerzreachf4n7]

Hi guys, I need your help with something,

No I'm not in danger or anything just hear me out,

I don't usually talk about private or personal stuff just because if my school, parents, or sister would find out I'd be absolutely fucking cooked,

But today whilst in the shower my body just had the urge to need to come onto Tumblr and share this with everyone so I am

If you are interested please DM me or add me on discord (it'll be linked at the end)

More underneath ~

As NONE of you know since im very private, my main goal in life is to become a showrunner, yknow, just to make shows and movies

I've considered other things like graphic novel/comic book author or just an author in general, artist, animator, voice actor, hell even a therapist or someone who has a psychology major

But those things just didn't bring out who I truly am

And I've been doing this for the past 5/6 years but I really only got the idea 3 years ago in late 2022/early 2023

I have a show concept very inspired from the owl house and tangled the series

It has no name, I've gone through 3 or four but none have stick, and I really need help with this idea and more,

If you yourself or you know anyone who's talented in these things I'm going to listen PLEASE TAG THEM:

Art

Animation

Characters designing

World building

Voice acting

Sound affects

Marketing

Writing

Or anything that needs to be done to make a show

I have a ton of show ideas, some with that are half fleshed or some that are none, if you are interested or know anyone who is please tag them through reposts or through comments, just liking this gives me enough reassurance that people care

And I don't post on tiktok (my sister know I have it and I don't think she'll be supportive) I have a Pinterest but not the audience I need

I intend to be very diverse with my characters being people of color, having disabilities, and being primarily lgbtq and queer

Here are some show ideas with the concepts if you are interested,

Golden hour

The show revolves around a pansexual 15 year old called Lucy Solace, a Puerto Rican and African American teenage girl, the show takes place in the year 2015 and in Gatlinburg Tennessee, after technology from an otherworldly universe, a universe with witches, wizards, sorcerers and sorceress' gets transported into Lucy's universe, she uses her class field trip to an artifact museum to find out what it is, after accidentally triggering said device, Lucy gets teleported to the kingdom of Fey, which is going through a war, teaming up with Hunter Cameron, a trans and genderfluid sorcer, they team up to find peace with all kingdoms and get Lucy home.

The name Golden Hour is subjected to change cause I feel like there could be better

Writers block

13 year old demi girl Irene has the dream of becoming a famous showrunner, but lacks everything to to make it successful, after going to a fandom convention and meeting her most idolized showrunner + voice actor, Aries Chambers, they accidentally had left behind some concepts for her show, Aries finding these, he and deciding to help Irene on their indie animated pilot over the summer months

7th Angel

After moving to Florida, 13 year old Japanese American Hiro gets enlisted into a private Christian school while being a closeted gay, through those months he becomes friends with Milani and Cassandra, a Hawaiian and Greek student, as they learn more about they're school and the mysteries within a local graveyard and library ran by their teacher, Miss Barbra, Hiro falls in love with Caleb, one of the more popular students who isn't an asshole

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THESE SHOW CONCEPTS OR MORE, PLEASE DM ME OR CONTACT ME AT MY DISCORD!!!

Account name is mezzo_paintings, if you see my profile and name, no you didn't, shut the hell up he is fine as fuck

And I'm tagging all my moots, ALL, NOT THE SAME TWO ONES, ALLLL YOU LITTLE BITCHES AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

@your-fav-stalker-200k

@shadowwolfmemes

@yourl0calanti

@hearts4ayame

@sincerely-aaliyah

@hexaround

@shayshaylee

@v3noumouspyth0n

@rainbow-starheart

@fictionisnotharmless

@syltheanti

+ I will add more once I get the chance

I will also be tagging my posts about my show concepts on

#Calebsdelusionalidea

:3 thank you for your time

[respectthepetty]

Hi! First off all, brain praise: I LOVE THE WAY YOU SEE I LOVE THE WAY YOU ANALYZE I LOVE THE WAY YOU THINK

*clears throat and shifts feet *

How much do you think the colors apply to people in real life? How far are someone's true colors (hah) identifiable through the colors and accessories they wear? And does your brain highlight those for you in real life too? (If yes please elaborate please)

Do people choose the colors they like consciously and then over time the qualities/traits get magnified/infused (?) or do the qualities make you subconsciously choose those colors as silent representation of the inner self?

Like if a red rascal consistently and consciously is trying to be a green guy or blue boy, will wearing those colors change his red rascal-ness over time?

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read through this

Anon, go look at your closet. What does it say about you? Is it an accurate representation of who you are as a person.

Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't. But I KNOW colors apply to people in real life, and I've written about this in other posts:

Why the colors?

Color-coding groups

Cultural color coding

Real-life color coding

Real-life color coding Part 2

Visual Rhetoric

But I'm going to be more scientific in my answer here since you want specifics.

TLWR: The colors mean things in real life, but we cannot color code the same as in visual media.

Most of these research studies are hidden behind a paywall, but the links will show you the abstracts.

A 2013 study found that people who were ovulating wore more red and pink clothing. It was a subconscious decision to highlight they were fertile [x]. However, when the study was conducted again in 2021, the results were not significant. The researchers suggested this change was due to a shift in unwanted attention (e.g. MeToo Movement). [x]

But women who wear red in the service industry receive more tips from men. [x]

Sports psychologist have long noted that players who wear red are deemed more aggressive than those who wear blue. Players who wear green are judged more fairly. [x] [x]

Several studies have found that people who wear black are seen as more attractive, specifically men [x]. There is an entire book about the historical context of Men in Black. [x]

During times of global competitions (World Cup, Olympics, etc.) color association is the strongest for national identities. For example, this study showed that orange was consistently associated with The Netherlands regardless if the person wearing it was Dutch. [x]

Research in educational design, interior design, and architecture concludes that colors affect the space in terms of emotions and production. [x]

Plants react differently depending on the color of the lighting they receive [x]. Animals as well. [x]

Colors mean things.

However, when you ask how colors affect people in "real life" I always have to give a tiny lecture because the term "real life" is broad. I know what you are asking, but art is real life. What colors we see on our screens have a real-world connection; therefore, they have real life implications. Barbie being pink is real life because pink in Eurocentric ideals is a feminine color, and Barbie is the epitome of femininity. We see this carry over into other pieces of visual media like Power Rangers where for thirty years, the Pink Ranger has been a woman.

The Japanese equivalent of Power Rangers finally had a male Pink Ranger in 2022, but culturally, Japan isn't tied to feminine pink the way the United States is. We use these colors in media because they mean something in real life.

But most people do not consciously go around choosing colors. People have favored colors, and they gravitate towards them more. People also have favored prints and styles such as florals or hoodies. So trying to categorize people based on the colors they wear in their everyday lives could quickly fall into dangerous territory, especially because a lot more goes into “real life” choices.

Neutral colors are more accessible in clothing – black and white. Blue can be found in nature; therefore, it has been easier to duplicate in dyes using natural resources. The red dye we typically use today comes from squishing a bug. When inventing new colors that weren’t seen in nature or that could not be duplicated through natural means, we used dangerous ingredients that could not and should not have been produced on a large scale.

All of this is to say that it is difficult for us to color code in real life because we do not have unlimited closets to pick items from like production teams. Most of us are not rich, so we must purchase what is available on the public market, and we must wear what we have available on the public market. Looking briefly at any clothing store, we can see how limiting those options can be:

This man cannot be a Red Rascal nor a Pink Person because the options do not exist for him at this store, and this is true of most men’s clothing. Because we live in a binary society, we get binary options. Men can’t be colorful unless it's blue (standard boy color), but women can. Prime example - The Met Gala.

And yet science tells me that we will find the man in the clothing ad more attractive in black. We will find him more approachable in white. We will deem him nonthreatening in blue-ish grey. We will see him as more of a worker in the tan/brown.

So, yes, I notice colors . . .  because we assign meaning to colors.

If I see someone in a red suit in a crowd of black, I’m going to think that person is bold and wants to stand out, but that might not be true of his everyday nature.

People make subconscious decisions based on the society they live in, so if someone is feeling down or wants to appear more attractive, they might wear more black, but if someone wants to stand out or appear Dutch, they could wear orange.

But because it’s real life, we can’t always pick colors to match our emotions or personality. But we CAN do that in visual media, which is why we do. We can be more intentional about everything in visual media, so we are. Visual media is a more extravagant version of real life. So we can get the boy in the blue and the girl in the pink and when they come together, it makes purple.

I could write about this all day, but I have to work for a living and actually get to teach about this ALL SEMESTER because there is a lot to unpack. This is art, biology, psychology, anthropology, sociology, marketing, and so much more because this is life.

Colors are real life.

And they mean things.

[light-lanterne]

i read the summary to your serial killer au and id like to know about the references you mentioned. what's their plot and how much of them is in your story?

hello ! um, i'll try to be brief because of spoilers, okei ? :]

tw // mentions of murder, suicide and cannibalism

the cat lady (2012 videogame): this is the story of a woman called susan ashworth, who's just died and is wandering the land of the dead. there, susan finds herself in the presence of Death itself and, because of the circumstances leading to her suicide, Death decides to give susan a second chance at living and finding joy,,, in exchange for a favour: susan has to kill five serial killers and, until the last one is dead, susan can't die. so,,, that's the basic premise of the whole story :D mike has struck this deal with death and he now has to kill five people. they come to him, so he can't avoid them, and they're all different levels of dangerous and messed up. .

the end of the f***ing world (2017 series): so, there's a boy called james, 17, who believes he's a psychopath. after killing many animals, he now feels ready to move on to something bigger and so, he decides he wants to kill alyssa, the very troubled new girl who decides she wants to run away and cross the country to reunite with her dad. so they leave. they do crimes. they kill someone. and then they're on the run,,, which is another major plot point of my story ~ mike only accepted the deal with Death because he's always wanted to kill someone. once back in the world of the living, the first person he meets is will and mike feels the urge to kill him, so he accepts to travel to california with him and it is along the way that they encounter the killers :O .

bones and all (2022 film): on the day she turns 18, maren's dad abandons her, leaving her only with her birth certificate and a tape recording that details maren's long history of violence and cannibalistic attacks. lost and lonely, maren then decides to search for her mother and along the way she meets a bunch of other people like her: cannibals, people who were born like this and can't help themselves. one of these people is lee, who is also lonely and immediately connects with her. so they go together, kill together, eat together and fall in love ~ now, this one is mostly about the vibes :O there's something cosy about lee and maren's relationship; how they are different from the rest of the world, monsters, and they can't help it but it's okei because they have each other. so for the most part i wanted to recreate that feeling with my story :] ,,,that said, there's also a cannibal character in my story (h****) who relates a lot to mike and wants to take him under his wing in an almost brotherly way and mike knows he has to kill him, but they actually start to get along so mike is very troubled and scared that he'll end up eating will because of how much he loves him x.x .

so yeah, hope this answers your questions :] thank you for sending them in ~ !! :D

story summary 🔪 || snippet (4k+ words)

[vanilla-blessing]

qb's top 10 seasonal anime of 2022

2022 in anime was a year of many known quantities, but what really ended up sticking out were the shows few saw coming before they took the world by storm, and before we knew it, everyone was watching a guitar-playing pink blob with severe anxiety while drawing her band on every album cover ever made. 2022 was the year I watched a new Gundam for the first time, I experienced unforgettable trash gems like Pride of Orange, ESTAB-LIFE, and Extreme Hearts, and I was let down more by the wasted potential of the Biscuit Hammer anime than any anime I've ever watched, easily. All considered, this year was unusually good on average for the shows I finished, so I ended up with a glut of series I wanted to put on this list that I had to cut down for time. I would make this list longer, but you know, then it might come out in 2024.

Top 10 in order:

Cyberpunk Edgerunners - Studio TRIGGER's take on the world of Cyberpunk 2077 was an unexpected contender - it was announced so long ago I sort of forgot about it, I wasn't expecting much from the batch release of a Netflix-Trigger anime after BNA's messy release, I underestimated the potential of Cyberpunk 2077 as a setting after the very public trash fire of the video game, and it should have been overshadowed by the next thing after a quick Netflix dump in the middle of a season. Should have had its lunch eaten by the similarly edgy violent action of Chainsawman, should have been yet another failed videogame anime, but none of this stopped Cyberpunk Edgerunners from being the anime I enjoyed the most from 2022.

Bocchi the Rock - the breakout hit school band anime of 2022 was also relatively unexpected, although I at least knew it was stacked with talented animators going in, I didn't predict the sheer memetic power of the result. This series shatters the fourth wall over its knee and livens up an already pretty funny manga with demented, free-flowing gags in a particular way that wouldn't work at all without detailed and well planned sequences which come off so naturally it's hard to believe this was originally a (lightly subversive but still) 4 panel strip. The album cover redraws were the best thing to come out of Bocchi and I hope they never end.

Pop Team Epic 2 - some kind of fucked up comic strip but aoi shouta is there? I thought they promised they wouldn't make this

Mob Psycho 100 III - everything I said about the second season of the popular shonen manga adaptation but moreso, it finishes out the series in exactly the way I hoped it would. Third OP is just mad flexing. look how many hands we can draw. Episode 8 changed my life forever. knowing they nailed the landing retroactively improves the whole series for me.

Do It Yourself - original anime by studio PINE JAM, DIY is pure aesthetic hobby-ani with a mildly entertaining cast of extremely animated characters. very enjoyable but may not have enough momentum or things happening for some. soundtrack is another standout by y0c1e but at a noticeably different speed from Gleipnir and Spyce.

Kaguya-sama Love is War: Ultra Romantic - everything I said about the second season of the popular romcom manga adaptation but moreso, it reaches the climactic peak of the series in exactly the way I hoped it would. I'm still reeling from the entire rap battle episode (sub and dub), and can't believe the Starship Troopers ED was real.

My Dress Up Darling (Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru) - excellent manga adaptation, effectively gets across the dangerously horny but strangely wholesome vibe of the series.

The Demon Girl Next Door Season 2 - everything I said about the first season of the popular magical girl romcom manga adaptation but moreso, it reaches an inflection point in the manga with exactly the same manic pacing and blatant disregard for breathing room I hoped it would. out of everything else on my list I hope the most this one gets another season, because it kind of needs it.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Witch from Mercury - original anime in the long-running GUNDAM series which is sort of like Robot Jox for kids. This is definitely the first time I've watched anything from Gundam before it was completed and I immediately regretted not having more to watch as a direct consequence. Half of my enjoyment right now is coming from experiencing it in tandem with the rest of the internet, but it's sure to hold up in retrospect as one of the best modern Gundam seasons. Look forward to a future very annoying post by me claiming g-witch ripped off Granbelm.

Call of the Night - another above and beyond manga adaptation, probably the anime OP of the year. It strongly intensified my longing for studio SHAFT to not be dead anymore.

Assorted Shoutouts

Going by rating number scale rules, Chainsawman and Spy X Family should be here, but I'm not going by rating, I'm going by what I feel deserves more attention. those anime already have too much recognition.

The Executioner and Her Way of Life (Shokei Shoujo no Virgin Road) - If you asked me what the most hidden gem is from 2022, this is what I would answer immediately. Irresponsibly complicated and unusual take on the hated isekai genre in the most disrespectful way possible, twisting anything familiar about that tired setting into an unrecognizable pretzel shape. Recommending this is a challenge, because the less I explain the better it is, but nobody would want to watch this on its face. Everyone should watch it though.

Ya Boy Kongming - banger soundtrack and some eye-popping color choice elevates this manga adaptation from average to a certified Cool Time.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: STONE OCEAN - My favorite (not best) Jojo part, the anime greatly improves the readability of the last third from the manga. Tokyo Mew Mew New - It's almost comforting how little they tried to update the love triangle of incredibly shit boyfriends in this remarkably normal magical girl anime reboot. I pleaded for someone to make a normal regular magical girl anime reboot and they delivered something totally acceptable.

Reiwa Di Gi Charat - Dejiko drags society kicking and screaming into the Reiwa era. This is the anime of all time of 1999, 2022 and 2023.

qb - friend of the no show (@queuebae on twitter still, unfortunately)

[msclaritea]

Mary Poppins’ UK age rating raised to PG due to discriminatory language | Mary Poppins | The Guardian

Mary Poppins’ UK age rating raised to PG due to discriminatory language

British Board of Film Classification lifts it from U certificate almost 60 years after film was first released

Kevin Rawlinson

Mon 26 Feb 2024 04.37 EST

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Mary Poppins has had its age rating lifted to a PG by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) almost 60 years after it was first released.

The film’s rating has been upgraded from U – which signifies no material likely to offend or harm – to one advising parental guidance due to the use of discriminatory language, the Daily Mail reported.

It was changed because of a derogatory term for the Khoikhoi, a group of people who were among the first inhabitants of southern Africa.

Classifiers picked up on the term used by the character Admiral Boom – first as a reference to people not onscreen, then as a reference to the film’s child stars when their faces are blackened with soot.

“We understand from our racism and discrimination research … that a key concern for … parents is the potential to expose children to discriminatory language or behaviour which they may find distressing or repeat without realising the potential offence,” a BBFC spokesperson told the Mail.

“Content with immediate and clear condemnation is more likely to receive a lower rating.”

The reclassification affects only the cinema version of the film, with home entertainment versions still rated U, according to the BBFC. The word in question is “Hottentot”, an adopted name for the Khoikhoi used by Dutch settlers, thought to imitate their language, which is considered offensive. It would later be used to refer to all black people.

It is not the first classic film to have its rating upgraded in recent years. According to the BBFC’s 2022 annual report, the 1978 animated film Watership Down merited a PG rating as classifiers sought to “remain in step with societal standards”.

They said: “In their exile, the rabbits meet various challenges, some of which result in bloody bite and claw injuries caused by animals fighting. In one scene, a bird tells one of the rabbits to ‘[pee] off’.”

They added: “When we viewed the film under the current guidelines we reclassified it PG in line with our current policies for violence, threat, injury detail and language.”

The 1979 film Star Trek: The Motion Picture was also upgraded from a U to a PG that year as a result of its “very mild language, mild violence and threat”, the BBFC said.

When deciding on how to classify a film, the BBFC considers scenes that might show dangerous behaviour, discrimination, and references to drugs and sex. It also considers the language used in the film, scenes of nudity and of threat, horror and violence.

Classifiers particularly look out for discriminatory language or behaviour that is “unlikely to be acceptable unless clearly disapproved of, or in an educational or historical context, or in a particularly dated work with no likely appeal to children”.

A message from Betsy Reed, editor of the Guardian UK...FA message from Betsy Reed, editor of the Guardian US

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask if you would consider supporting the Guardian’s journalism as we enter one of the most consequential news cycles of our lifetimes in 2024.

From Elon Musk to the Murdochs, a small number of billionaire owners have a powerful hold on so much of the information that reaches the public about what’s happening in the world. The Guardian is different. We have no billionaire owner or shareholders to consider. Our journalism is produced to serve the public interest – not profit motives.

And we avoid the trap that befalls much US media: the tendency, born of a desire to please all sides, to engage in false equivalence in the name of neutrality. We always strive to be fair. But sometimes that means calling out the lies of powerful people and institutions – and making clear how misinformation and demagoguery can damage democracy.

So...the Satanic State of Britain just threw one of their own Classics and one of their most adored actresses, Julie Andrews under the bus, by admitting that they put racist dog whistles IN Mary Poppins, just to damage Disney, over 50 years after the film was made. They killed their own Doctor Who series and now they just fucked over one of MY favorite childhood classics....JUST TO FUCK DISNEY. WOW.

[elvenbeard]

asks being fired at ya! :P

7, 12, 13 und die 27, büdde.

Dankööö!!! :D

7. Favorite animal? why?

Nibbles of course! No but in reality I think... this wouldn't have been something Vince ever put a lot of thought into actually. He has favorite cars, favorite tech brands, favorite films and games and all that, but he's not necessarily a very outdoors-y, nature-loving guy. I think the topic of "I want a pet" would've come up at some point when he was younger, but his parents didn't see this as a wish worthy of pursuit. Even though his family was well-off when he was a kid, a cat or dog as status symbol wasn't really a priority either, and so that remained unfulfilled. I think Vince would've always liked cats though due to their resilience (given the convo with Takemura on that topic during Gimme Danger), their sneakiness, elegance, their free will and attitude. All that applies to Nibbles in a way, too, she has been fending for herself on the street pretty well despite not really having a steady home, and I think in that aspect Vince can see some of his own struggles as a young adult reflected. So yeah, Nibbles XD And overall probably cats, cause they're the only animals really present in his world as he grew up.

12. how long have they been around? do you know their birthday? Is their birthday the day you made them or another day? what do they think of celebrating birthdays?

His in-universe birthday is the 10th of June (at least that's the one he celebrates and will give as reply if someone asks "when is your birthday?"). He's born in 2049, making him 27 going on 28 by the events of the game (although originally I had him a little bit older than that even, early 30s, but meanwhile I've built everything around him being born in 2049 though, so here we go xD).

His "real" birthday, as for, the day he was actually born on, is in September, but when he ran away from home, he aged himself up (with Viktor's help) a bit to gain a couple more freedoms. He doesn't really care for the date anymore.

And his "day when I made him" was the 27th November 2022 (at least that's my oldest savegame that I still have, within the Arasaka Tower lobby, so yeah). So he's turning 1 soon :D And I cannot believe what kind of a journey that last year has been and I'm getting all emotional thinking about it cause yeah.

He does like celebrating birthdays, and has grown to like celebrating them even more as soon as he wasn't living with his mother anymore. And I think the most important birthdays he's ever celebrated was his 28th, because with the Relic and all he wasn't sure if he'd survive long enough to get the chance to see it, and then his 30th, to stick it to Dex one final time and look back on one hell of a journey so far and looking forward to what's to come.

The party doesn't need to be huge or particularly extravagant (although it needs good music, good food, and getting dressed nicely cause what's the point otherwise?), and he makes sure that all the people he loves and cares about can attend.

13. what languages do they speak? how fluently?

He grew up bilingual with English and Japanese, although in the age of auto-translators his Japanese is getting a bit more rusty as time goes on. In the case of a complete and utter failure of his tech though he'd still be able to hold a normal conversation and understand his conversation parter(s). Since his parents had a corporate career in mind for him, he went to pretty prestigious schools and over the course of his school education learned a few other languages, but those were never super interesting to him (cause, y'know... auto-translators). He's retained some basic knowledge in French, Mandarin, and Russian, and with how multicultural of a city Night City is he also picked up a few phrases here and there that he understands without translator, but none of that is fluent speaking material.

27. If applicable, do they have a favorite sport? do they play any sports or prefer to watch?

I think in the furthest sense of the term "sport" that would probably be anything in the category motor sport XD Street racing, maybe even professional racing, but he's not deeply invested in any tournaments or rankings and that. He likes fast bikes and cars and is interested in them on a technical level, and that's how he got in contact with the street racing scene a little bit here and there in his early 20s, pre-Arasaka. He would've probably attended some races as a spectator during his time working for the corp, but couldn't have afforded participating... so Claire approaching him when she was looking for a driver was a little bit of a dream come true, even though her motives were in the end somewhat ulterior. I think, given the chance, he'd love to participate in more races like that again the future, for the rush of adrenaline!

[astonishinglegends]

Ep 268: Your True Halloween Stories II – Part 2

"So I believe that through my work, I've experienced incredibly positive things. I've experienced the veil very, very thin, and I've experienced what I would call angelic visitations. But if I believe in that, then I have to believe in the other."  -- Hospice Social Worker "Rachal," from story #3

Description:

We hope your sleep has recovered after last week's round of creepy and unsettling accounts. Now, we aim to disquiet your peace with another three! Our first story comes from Megan, whose family has a history of experiencing items showing up in unexpected places. But when a letter is delivered to a vulnerable location, we wonder if it came from someone still Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Note. Our next guest, Chad, has stories showing that growing up in Ohio can be Weird on Both Ends, with High Strangeness in the Middle. In the final narrative, Rachal, a Hospice social worker, had a patient whose reconnection with a Life Leech proved to be an exhausting experience. Join us if you dare for Part 2 of Your True Halloween Stories II, and rest easy if your life is pleasantly unremarkable.  😈

Reference Links:

CLICK HERE to listen to “Astonishing Al’s Mix Tape” on Spotify

CLICK HERE to listen to “Astonishing Legends Creepit” – a curated collection of our creepiest episodes on Spotify!

“Professor-student romance ends in murder-suicide” from NBCNews.com

“Ernesto Bustamante, Former Idaho Professor, Kills Self After Allegedly Murdering Student Katy Benoit” from HuffPost.com

“2022 University of Idaho killings” on Wikipedia

The Village of Ada, Ohio’s website, www.adaoh.org

The Village of Ada, Ohio’s Wikipedia entry

The Reagle Beagle on Yelp.com

“The Role and Responsibilities of a Hospice Social Worker” from Regis College

Location:

The village of Ada, Ohio, where Chad had his brushes with High Strangeness.

Suggested Listening:

Badlands

Badlands is an anthology series that blends history and true crime to tell the transgressive stories of some of the biggest names in Hollywood. This is not the Hollywood history you’ve heard before. These are uncensored, immersive, edge-of-your-seat storytelling. Host Jake Brennan, creator and host of the award-winning music and true crime podcast DISGRACELAND, explores the most insane stories surrounding the world’s most interesting Hollywood icons. Badlands has covered many actors, directors, and more, including the mysterious deaths of Marilyn Monroe and Natalie Wood... Tim Allen’s former career as a low-level drug dealer... the curse of the movie Poltergeist... how porn star John Holmes got caught up in the infamous Wonderland murders... and more episodes on Winona Ryder, Johnny Depp, River Phoenix, Gianni Versace, Robin Williams, Heath Ledger, Sharon Tate, Robert Downey Jr., and so many more. New episodes of Badlands are released every Wednesday, with bonus episodes released every Friday. Subscribe to Badlands on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the iHeartRadio app, AmazonMusic, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Opening the Doors

Hear Forrest as a guest on our good friend Bradley Netherton’s podcast, Opening the Doors, all about the legendary band with Jim Morrison! This episode covers all the mentions of The Doors on The Simpsons animated series.

KLU Podcast – Keep Looking up

CLICK HERE for Persephone Holloway’s podcast, KLU “Keep Looking Up” on Podbean

Persephone May Holloway’s music on Spotify

Southern gothic podcast

Listen to our good friend Brandon Schexnayder’s Southern Gothic podcast, featuring Forrest narrating Edgar Allen Poe’s poem, Annabelle Lee

Find us on YouTube!

Click this text to find all Astonishing Legends episodes and more on our Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/Astonishinglegends

Join us on Patreon!

Click HERE or go to patreon.com/astonishinglegends to become one of our Patreon members and receive exclusive offerings, like our bonus Astonishing Junk Drawer episodes (posted every weekend the main show is dark) commercial-free episodes, and more!

SPECIAL OFFERS FROM OUR SPECIAL SPONSORS:

FIND OTHER GREAT DEALS FROM OUR SHOW’S SPONSORS BY CLICKING HERE!

CREDITS:

Episode 268: Your True Halloween Stories II – Part 2. Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Audio Editing by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound. Music and Sound Design by Allen Carrescia. Tess Pfeifle, Producer and Lead Researcher. Ed Voccola, Technical Producer. Research Support from The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2023 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

[sakuwsker]

Spring 2023 Anime List

Last season (winter 2022) had so much great anime, and watched 28 anime of the list, so I'm pretty pleased with that count. This season is quite doable as there's only 25 anime this time, rather lot of relationship and isekai anime. But will see, what will happen, and there's few anime which I'll hype so much. :D

20/3

夜廻り猫/Yomawari Neko

Sounds interesting, it's about cat who comfort people. There's 15 episodes, and it will be divided into three 5 episode parts.

1/4

地獄楽/Jigokuraku/ Hell's Paradise

MAPPA's new anime, can't wait as it looks so good, and the cast is so nice, Kobayashi Chiaki, Kimura Ryohei, Ono Kensho, Furukawa Makoto... and story with ninjas is always good start.

天国大魔境/Tengoku Daimakyou/Heavenly Delusion

Rather peculiar story, and PV looked interesting, so curious to see how this will go.

2/4

山田くんとLv999の恋をする/Yamada-kun to Lv999 no Koi wo Suru/Loving Yamada at Lv999

Uchiyama Kouki♡♡♡. PV was funny and great, so quite excited to see this and how their relationship developes. Also Yamada is such cutie and with Uchiyama's voice, aaaahhh.

僕の心のヤバイやつ/Boku no Kokoro no Yabai Yatsu/The Dangers in My Heart

Interesting story, although not sure how it will turn out, but curious nevertheless, and it's always nice hear Shun Horie and Okamoto Nobuhiko.

マイホームヒーロー/My Home Hero

Suwabe Junichi is main character's voice actor♡♡♡, and story seemed interesting and PV was intense, animation style was nice..

3/4

転生貴族の異世界冒険録～自重を知らない神々の使徒～/Tensei Kizoku no Isekai Boukenroku: Jichou wo Shiranai Kamigami no Shito/The Aristocrat's Otherworldly Adventure: Serving Gods Who Go Too Far

Isekai and reincarnation story. Main character is cutie, and synopsis was interesting, so excited to see this, and how different it is what I have already watched.

4/4

スキップとローファー/Skip to Loafer/Skip and Loafer

PV was so cute, and loved the animation style. Cast is quite unknown for me but excited to see and hear them.

5/4

東京ミュウミュウ にゅ～♡/Tokyo Mew Mew New ♡ 2nd Season

Liked a lot the first season, and can't wait to see the girls, Aoyama and Shirogane again (Uchida and Nakamura), and their adventures together.

6/4

神無き世界のカミサマ活動/Kaminaki Sekai no Kamisama Katsudou/What God Does in a World Without Gods

PV was funny and interesting, curious to see this. Cast is nice, Enoki Junya, Suwabe Junichi and Ogata Megumi.

7/4

勇者が死んだ!/Yuusha ga Shinda!/The Legendary Hero Is Dead!

Great cast, Nakamura Yuuichi, Toki Shunichi, Asanuma Shintarou, Hatano Wataru♡♡♡..... PV was funny, and story is interesting. So curious to see this kind of story animated and style was nice.

異世界でチート能力を手にした俺は、現実世界をも無双する ～レベルアップは人生を変えた～/Isekai de Cheat Skill wo Te ni Shita Ore wa, Genjitsu Sekai wo mo Musou Suru: Level Up wa Jinsei wo Kaeta/I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in The Real World, Too

Rather different take on isekai and school anime, so excited to see this, PV looked great and characters seems to be interesting.

マッシュル-MASHLE-/Mashle/ Mashle: Magic and Muscles

Looks so funny and the cast is great with Kobayashi Chiaki, Ishikawa Kaito, Umehara Yuuichiro, Kaji Yuuki and Eguchi Takuya... Excited to see this and animation style is nice.

カワイスギクライシス/Kawaisugi Crisis/Too Cute Crisis

Alien wandering Earth and ends up in cat café. Looks so cute and story is exciting. Liked the animation style. Cast is nice, and Nakamura Yuuichi♡♡♡.

オーパスカラーズ/Opus.COLORs

AAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡ Finally something who made Starmyu!!!!! Also Arai Ken is back who made the music on Starmyu and Urashimasakatasen is performing OP. This is so good and so happy to see their exceptional work once again. The cast is unbelievable, and most of my favorites is in it. Story is unique, compaining art and music, and the execution is different. AAAHHHH, CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!Anime of the season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

8/4

魔法少女マジカルデストロイヤーズ/Mahou Shoujo Magical Destroyers

Not sure about this, but curious to check this out. Also anime where Furukawa Makoto is always nice to see.

女神のカフェテラス/Megami no Café Terrace/The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses

Story is interesting, and it's always great to hear Mizunaka Masaaki, he has so comforting and great voice what will make my heart skip a beat.

異世界ワンターンキル姉さん ～姉同伴の異世界生活はじめました～/Isekai One Turn Kill Neesan: Ane Douhan no Isekai Seikatsu Hajimemashita/My One-Hit Kill Sister

Another isekai anime. Story seemed interesting so curious to see this isekai anime, also Uchida Yuuma voicing one of the characters.

9/4

異世界召喚は二度目です/Isekai Shoukan wa Nidome desu/Summoned to Another World for a Second Time

Also another isekai anime, rather different approach, so curious to watch this. The cast has Toki Shunichi, Takeuchi Shunsuke and Shimono Hiro.

青のオーケストラ/Ao no Orchestra/The Blue Orchestra

PV looked pretty and it's always nice to see music anime and it's now about orchestra and violin players which is quite rarely portrayed, so happy and excited to see this. Also Chiba Shouya is main character's voice actor, there's also Enko Junya, Furukawa Makoto and Asanuma Shintarou.

おとなりに銀河/Otonari ni Ginga/ A Galaxy Next Door

PV was cute, and story is unique and interesting. Also animation style was great. Yashiro Taku and Sugita Tomokazu is in the cast.

10/4

彼女が公爵邸に行った理由/Kanojo ga Koushaku-tei ni Itta Riyuu/The Reason Why Raeliana Ended up at the Duke's Mansion

Umehara Yuuichiro is main character's voice actor♡♡♡. Also there are Suwabe Junichi, Sugita Tomokazu and Toki Shunichi. PV looked great.

11/4

君は放課後インソムニア/Kimi wa Houkago Insomnia/Insomniacs After School

Interesting story about insomniacs. Satou Gen is main character's voice actor. Curious to see this as PV looked great and pretty.

12/4

THE MARGINAL SERVICE

When I first saw first poster of this, my jaw dropped to ground, naked men in the line. Very funny and unique PV, so very excited to see this and how it will turn out. Also the cast is so good, aaaahhh. Miyano Mamoru, Nakamura Yuuichi, Sugita Tomokazu, Uchiyama Kouki (he's squirrel), Shimono Hiro, Morikawa Toshiyuki and Uchida Yuuma♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡ AAAHHH, Miyano Mamoru is performing OP and Uchida Yuuma is performing ED so happy to hear them sing OP/ED.

?/4

デッドマウント・デスプレイ/Dead Mount Death Play

Isekai and reincarnation anime, PV looked interesting and rather unique style of animation. Cast is good, Uchida Yuuma, Sakakihara Yuuki, Okamoto Nobuhiko and Eguchi Takuya. They already announced second cour/part on October. Excited to see this.

20/4

贄姫と獣の王/Niehime to Kemono no Ou/ Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts

PV was cute and pretty. So excited to see this, story is interesting and princess is cute and king of beasts has Hino Satoshi's voice, aaaahhhh ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡(Fel in Tondemo Skill).

MOVIES

26/5

劇場版 Collar×Malice -deep cover-/Collar x Malice Movie: Deep Cover

Two part movie, PV looked interesting and story seemed exciting enough. Also cast is great; Namikawa Daisuke, Kaji Yuuki, Kimura Ryohei, Saitou Souma and Konishi Katsuyuki.

[thepastisalreadywritten]

NOTE: TRIGGER WARNING

6 Things They Don’t Tell You About Royal Ascot

Posted by Holly de Gavre

13 June 2022

Elaborate hats and fancy dresses can’t distract from the cruelty on the track at Royal Ascot.

Numerous horses have been injured, died, or been killed after racing at Ascot, one of the UK’s most dangerous flat racing tracks.

Here are six reasons why Royal Ascot – and all horse-racing events – should be shut down:

1. Horses Suffer and Die at Ascot

Over the past decade, 28 horses have died in jumps and flat races at Ascot.

Some of the causes of death have included fractured pasterns, fetlocks, cannon bones, pelvises, and legs.

Pushed to the breaking point, others have collapsed and died during or after the race.

Instead of acknowledging the immense suffering that horses are forced to endure at Ascot, race managers view fatalities as “side effects” of training and competition.

2. Horses Are Often Abused by Jockeys

Jockeys whip horses to push them to their physical and mental limits.

Almost every single year at Royal Ascot, riders breach the rules regarding whips and the horses endure severe beatings.

3. Horses May Be Drugged

Drugs, both legal and illegal, are as ubiquitous in racing as ridiculous hats are at Ascot.

Horses may be drugged to mask the pain of existing injuries and conditions, keeping them running when they should be resting or receiving treatment. And illegal drugs are sometimes used to try to make horses run faster.

For example, Mahmood al-Zarooni – a trainer with one of the world’s biggest horse-racing operations – was banned from racing for eight years for doping horses with prohibited steroids.

4. Horses May Be ‘Retired’ to the Abattoir

When horses used for racing get too old or stop performing well enough to be profitable, they’re often sent to slaughter.

Approximately 1,000 horses from the industry are killed in abattoirs in Britain every year and turned into dog food or cheap meat, while others face horrific live-export journeys to Europe.

5. They’re Forced to Race While They’re Still Growing

Making horses risk their lives on the racetrack is wrong, regardless of their age.

But it’s especially heartbreaking to learn that these animals are commonly forced to begin racing when they’re barely more than babies and their bodies are especially prone to damage.

It’s hardly surprising, then, that injuries, lameness, and exhaustion are common.

6. It’s All About the Money

Royal Ascot rewards its winners – including horse owners, jockeys, and trainers – with mammoth sums of money.

Motivated by increasing their wealth, they totally disregard horses’ health and well-being.

What You Can Do

Please help hasten the end of this exploitative industry by encouraging your friends and family never to attend horse-racing events like Royal Ascot or watch them on TV.

Betting on horse racing also bolsters this exploitative practice, so if you enjoy having a flutter, put your money on a football match or any other sport in which the participants are willing athletes, not mistreated animals.

[tolstirades]

Gritty Brutality, Slightly Ruined by Morshu. A Review of Forbidden Lands.

(This is a post from my old Blogspot, dated July 19th, 2022)

The cover art for Free League's Forbidden Lands

My favourite back-end engine / system of any RPG has got to be Free League's Year Zero Engine; specifically the 3-colour variant. It's an ingenious way to merge narrative, tactics, exploration, management, and character mechanics into something simple and quick, yet strangely simulative. A great example of this very specific variant of the Year Zero Engine is the Forbidden Lands RPG - my first foray into Free League's fantastic game catalogue.

I first ran Forbidden Lands with a small group of only 2 players, one of whom created a travelling merchant that went by the striking name of "Morshu" (yes, that Morshu), whilst the other played "Garm"; a much more serious character to contrast the obviously goofy partnership that needed to flourish between the two party members. Garm was a cold-blooded wolfkin fighter, whilst Morshu was a rather spherical half-elf merchant. This blogpost will tell the story of the first 1-2 sessions, and what fuzzy memories I have of what occurred within them - and I'll also explain some interesting ideas the system has on display too.

Morshu. Yes, this is what I have to work with.

The Blood Mist. A catastrophic event caused by the careless sorcerers of the past wherein demonic entities were summoned from another realm alongside a thick, crimson fog. The Raven Lands, a once (questionably) peaceful area was completely covered and surrounded, and news quickly spread that anyone of whom stepped foot into its horrifying smog would never step foot out of it again. Was it the mist killing the people, or was it the creatures lurking deep within it's concealment?

Relatably as of late, this terrifying time caused the people to stay inside and to not venture too far from home if possible; the only exceptions being the Wolfkin, a race of humanoid creatures that bore canine heads; some say it was because they were born of demons themselves. Wolfkin could venture into the mist with relative ease, though only within the forests - if they dared venture into the open plains they'd be torn apart just the same as everyone else. The Blood Mist lingered and lingered and lingered, for a very, very long time...

Garm, our wolfkin fighter.

Until now. Our story begins only a few weeks after the Blood Mist had been lifted, and seemingly everything once surrounded by it began to flourish and live again. What remained was an overgrown world filled with relics and treasures of old; but the lands were unexplored, and so no-one knows exactly how safe it is to venture forth still. Desperate, many folk didn't particularly care for the dangers. They got out. They were free. After so long, a full century of waiting, or for most the very first time in their lives, they could wander their homeland once again - and rumours spread of treasures left by the unlucky folk who first discovered the danger of the crimson fog.

The party began in a rather uninteresting plane, long grass sprouting around small, winding desire paths made by both folk and animal that came before. Morshu had always dreamed of being the most well known and respected salesman in the Raven Lands, and by The Nightwalker; if these rumours about the artifacts of old still being out there were true, then they'd fit well upon the shelves of Morshu's grand shop. Garm, hired by Morshu, led the way, knowing the world well thanks to his heritage, as well as being a mighty fine swordsman for whenever a blade is required.

 After setting up a few camps and hiking across the way, it didn't take long until they came across a few other opportunistic travellers; bandits, to be exact. After a rather firm, uh, "request", for the travelling duo's food and gold. One swift glimpse of these rough looking characters would unveil their own struggles; they were starving, completely malnourished, no matter how hard they tried to hide it with their tough act.

Either way, this clear act of hostility got Garm brandishing his blade at a rather suspiciously bloodthirsty pace, and combat commenced. This is where I'll get a little nerdy about the system, as it took both players and I off guard at how quickly the encounter was over and done with. You see, in Forbidden Lands you don't have a flat stat for your "Health" or "Hit Points", instead you only have your core attributes.

Each point you have in these attributes represents a 6-sided die you roll when you perform an action that calls for that specific check. Any 6s you roll are successes. However, going back to the comment about the lack of a health track, this system simulates pain and injury through quite literally using those attributes as your health. Get hit by a club? Your strength goes down. Over-exert yourself? Your agility goes down. Terrified? Your wits go down. Depressed? Your empathy goes down. With every step, your chances to succeed go down, as you use less dice to perform those specific attribute-related actions. The scariest part? Even though you can evolve and progress your character to make them more powerful, these attributes never change. Your health never bloats. You get more options, but you're just as easy to put down as you are when you've just started out.

The attributes of Forbidden Lands. Yes, 6 is the absolute maximum. Yes, that means you'll have barely anything in any other attributes if you do that.

Now, a 6 on a 6-sided die? Anyone who's played Arkham Horror before will tell you that sounds like horrible odds, no matter your amount of dice. You do have skills (red dice) and gear (black dice) that can also come into play and help you out, but one particularly interesting mechanic is the ability to push your roll. You can choose to set aside all your 6s and 1s, and re-roll everything else. Great right? Well, every 1 you roll on your base attributes (white dice) damage your attribute as if you've been hit, simulating you pushing yourself too hard, whilst every 1 you roll on your gear (black dice) will damage your equipment, so your very blade may snap off of it's hilt mid-combat! Skills (red dice) are the only ones that don't inflict a bad condition when you roll a 1.

Now, you're probably thinking that that sounds like a horribly punishing push-your-luck mechanic, and it is a bit; however, another great thing comes of it. Every time you unfortunately damage yourself due to pushing, you gain a willpower point per the amount of damage you took. Willpower is a tracked stat you can spend to perform some extraordinary actions and even cast magical spells! So yeah, it's mean, but risking it is certainly tempting...

Anyways, that tangent went on for too long. Swords were swung and insults were hurled, and in only 2 rounds or so, it was done. However, it was done in a rather peculiar manner. You may be thinking a lot of blood was shed within that swift bit of action and that the underfed corpses of bandits painted the wild plants a deep shade of red, but you'd be wrong. You see, whilst people did indeed get hit and struck, some falling to the floor suffering from small injuries, it was all over thanks to one particularly interesting weapon - Morshu's sharp tongue.

You see, the leader was so down on his luck, and his posse was so depressed and desperate, that one mere insult from the unusually wide half-elf sent him spiralling, dropping to his hands and knees and crying, apologising as he'd gained a new Mental Horror - a personality shift. The bandit didn't want to do this anymore, and his fellow thieves surrendered as he apologised, following their leader to the end. Morshu, pleased with this, graciously donated some food to the group, forever immortalising him as a kind man in the eyes of this group, and forming a story that will spread across the Raven Lands swiftly, no doubt about it; gaining the merchant a reputation point, something that helps notify the GM which characters recognise him from the rumours in the future.

The Sharp Tongue talent and all it's ranks. The double swords are successes.

After that escapade, the party ventured forth towards a small fort in the distance. As they neared their destination, great, dark clouds rolled over the sky and hard rain fell upon the party. The cold spread throughout their bodies fast. They needed to get to this fort, and quickly. The great wooden gates were worn and unkempt, a century gone by without any care left the hinges rotted and the great wall around it crumbling. Conversation could be heard from inside, and as our beloved duo pushed their way inside, eyes glared towards the newly arrived individuals, and weapons were drawn. "Who goes there? What business do you have in Rust Keep?" a well-armed soldier spoke, biting down on every word that escaped his helmet.

After a short while attempting to convince the guards that they were safe and simply adventurers needing somewhere to stay, the guards cautiously accepted their new squatters - but only for a day, and a favour in return. Two cylindrical buildings rested within the walls of this fortress, but the guards seemingly only use one. The other building has been used in the past, but odd noises and a generally discomforting atmosphere had spread throughout it's decievingly cosy interior. Garm and Morshu can stay here tonight, as long as they investigate.

First though, the group decided to hunt and forage for some extra food for themselves and the soldiers to make a good impression upon them, and through some extra, rather well worded manipulation, some of the soldiers agreed to come along and aid them in their investigation, and Garm was even given some extra equipment to use by one soldier by the name of John, a polite man of whom was happy to help our travellers out.

The deafening silence hit like a brick as soon as the party and their soldier followers set foot into the building. Eerie. That's the only word that could describe such an atmosphere, as if this very building was once alive and breathing in the past, and all that life had been snuffed out of it. Something is definitely wrong here. No investigation was needed to find that out.

The ground floor had barely anything left; it was easy to tell that the soldiers once slept here; bedrolls and fur rags were abandoned on the ground still - just from a sound? Such swift abandonment seemed a little overkill for just a sound. Slowly but surely the ragtag group made their way up to the first floor, and awaiting them there was something truly terrifying; unorganised storage. Boxes and barrels piled up rather dangerously atop one another with rotten and rusted materials still left within.

Rummaging around in this room revealed the ugly truth however; as perhaps the rotten smell wasn't just the stored food going off, but perhaps it was more to do with the decaying corpses hidden behind the crates. Their bodies were covered in growths and doused in disgusting liquids that had seeped from the plethora of boils that had completely covered their bodies prior to their death. What's worse was that after a quick inspection, they started to move. 

Some examples of the undead from the Gamemaster's Guide.

Deep lacerations, decapitation and bolts through the skull. Combat was swift, creatures were broken in single hits and our party was smart with their decisions. Before I continue on, I want to nerd out a bit once more to talk about death in the system, and why I love it. This system is brutal, as you can already envision by just reading the fact that your health never bloats, but something that's really interesting is that it aids in the narrative even if characters get beaten to hell and back. 

Every time you reach 0 in an attribute, you break. If you break due to a physical injury, you roll on a big critical injuries table. This table ranges from broken toes, to severed limbs and of course, instant (or near instant) death. The interesting thing here is that the latter is rare. Breaking is common, but it's very uncommon that you'll just instantly die; instead it gives you a lasting effect that will linger for a while (or sometimes forever) and warp the narrative in interesting ways, as well as open up new roleplaying opportunities (especially with mental horrors, which is a table you roll on when you break from mental damage). If you do get broken, any intelligent creature will find it hard to put an end to your life. Coup de grace is not an easy action to pull off. You have to fail an empathy check and spend willpower to kill someone when they're on the ground, still writhing. There are ways to build more sadistic characters who don't follow those same rules, but for the most part, this is a super clever way of making the danger of dying a lot more interesting.

Anyways, rant over - back to the story: Every one of the undead humans that once perished here had perished once again - hopefully for good, this time. After exchanging some thanks and lugging the disgusting bodies down and out of the fort carefully, the party rested up and slept around a small fire lit in the centre of the fortress alongside the soldiers. The night passed by smoothly, and in the morning the party gave their farewells and thanks, as did the soldiers. John let Garm keep the equipment he'd given him the day prior, making him the only human Garm has ever appreciated the company of.

That's where it all ended. We finished up the game and calculated the player's experience points, which I'll happily nerd out for a bit again to explain: Experience is handed out at the end of every session, and can be spent throughout a quarter-day (6 hours) to practice skills or pick up new talents. Experience is calculated by answering yes or no to a series of questions asked by the GM. 

The experience-calculating questionnaire.

This is incredibly clever, and really encourages more activities than just killing creatures to get stronger. You may notice some oddities there too, those of which I haven't explained yet. Strongholds are home-bases you can make / capture to have a safe place to return to and manage. You can fill it with workers and all sorts of functions to help your party out. Your pride is a very specific skill your character prides themselves on. If the specific situation ever comes up and you fail your check, you can roll a big 12-sided artifact die atop that once per session. If you fail, you lose your pride in performing that task, and have to come up with a new pride for the next session. A dark secret is a specific part of your backstory that still haunts you, and the GM can throw things into the session to set it off and mess with the party. Suffering gets you experience though, so that's nice, I guess?

Before I finish up this post, I want to reveal a twist. I am a Game Master through and through, even if I adore being on the player side of RPGs nothing beats the thrill of putting all your creativity down on the table right in front of your friends and hoping to invoke emotion with every word you utter - whether it be intrigue from narrative description, or (more commonly) laughter from stupid ideas coming into fruition. That being said, I didn't do anything for this session. Not one thing was prepared, it was all riffed. This entire system holds itself up without even needing to prepare anything. Don't get me wrong, you absolutely can (and probably should), but this entire adventure was randomised to an insane degree, and it worked insanely well somehow! All the encounters, areas, hindrances, and even the weather events were randomly generated. My players were essentially taking part in a roguelike on the tabletop. I still run in this randomly generated world of mine and am confident it'll hold up, but I do run prepared scenarios within it now at least.

Rust Keep, the randomly generated fortress our party explored. See where I pulled the encounter ideas from?

I love this system. If you want a brutal, yet heavy-on-the-narrative RPG then this is a fantastic one to go for. It's great for pretty much everything. Usually with narrative games the combat is lackluster, but it'll even entertain the combat fans with its interesting systems (Forbidden Lands even has a strange, optional hidden-card combat system, which is pretty unique, albeit I haven't played with that yet.) Fantasy not your style? This isn't the only Year Zero Engine game either. There's a whole lot. Post-apocalyptic gonzo goodness, more serious, war-focused post-apocalyptic settings, Arabian Nights in space, 1800s Scandinavian horror, hell - even Alien; an official setting for fans of the movies.

Go check it out!

[mountphoenixrp]

We have a new citizen in Mount Phoenix:

           Skadi, the Norse Goddess of Hunting and Winter.            She is the owner of The Lion’s Den.

FC NAME/GROUP: Lee Sung-Kyung / Actress GOD NAME: Skadi PANTHEON: Norse OCCUPATION: Owner of The Lion’s Den HEIGHT: 175cm / 5ft9 WEIGHT: 50kg / 110lbs DEFINING FEATURES:

Long white hair.

Blueish/greyish skin, she is able to hide it.

A stylized vegvisir tattoo on the inside of her left forearm. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/682999099719790194/

A full sleeve of runes on her right arm and shoulder. https://www.thai.tattoo/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2022-10-30-16.10.14-2960348093082227859_1518697105.jpg

PERSONALITY: Contrary to most of the Jötunn, Skadi is a benevolent spirit, loved by many for her agreeable personality and kindness. Having been on her own for most of her eternal life, she is very independent, preferring the company of her dear mountains and beloved snow to the one of gods and Men. She is also very loyal to the ones she befriends.

As an hunter, Skadi is very respectful of the animals’ lives, using her abilities in a way to regulate the wilderness’ population instead of only killing for the fun. In harsh winter conditions, she’ll put her talents in the use of those who need them, making sure that others can have enough to eat and survive.

However, Skadi can be extremely quick tempered, sometimes acting before thinking, even putting herself in danger. She can be cruel to those who have evil intentions towards her and hold grudges against her enemies for centuries. As a skillful warrior, she is ready to start wars on a whim.

HISTORY: Born from Þjazi and considered as one of the most beautiful of the Jötunn, Skadi was only a child when she felt her first inclinations to winter and snow. She liked the purity of the vast and white landscapes of Þrymheimr, her father’s land in Jötunheimr, spending days and nights outside. Her love soon transformed into powers, allowing her to manipulate snow as she pleased, bringing both beauty and destruction.

As she grew up, Skadi spent even more time in the mountains and forests of Þrymheimr, developing high skills in bowhunting. She learnt to follow animals’ tracks, using her skiing abilities in her long hunting games. She gained more and more independence, preferring to spend her time in her beloved hills instead of her father’s halls. She didn’t care about the eternal war between the Jötunn and Aesir either, until it took her father’s life.

Skadi of course didn’t approve of Idunn’s kidnapping and though she thought her father deserved a punishment, she found his death to be too cruel. Donning her war gear, she travelled to Asgard where, to her surprise, she was welcomed by the Aesir and offered to join them. She finally accepted to marry Njord, god of the sea.

Though courteous towards each other, Skadi and Njord soon found out that life together would not be possible. She loved her mountains and he didn’t, he loved the sea and she didn’t. Unable to find a compromise, they decided to separate and each one returned to their respective home.

As century passed and humans started to turn away from the gods and their beliefs, Skadi decided to visit the Nine Realms, soon falling in love with Midgard and its mountains with their eternal snowy tops. She travelled the Men’s world, hiding amongst them, opening her arms and bed for some. It’s then that she heard the rumors about Mount Phoenix, an island just for the ones like her where she, maybe, could find a new home.

Skadi soon travelled to the island where she discovered way more than what she expected.

POWERS:

Immune to the cold.

Snow creation and manipulation (snowfalls, blizzards, avalanches… Nice skiing conditions.)

Excellent hunter, never misses her targets. She can also recognize if the animal she’s pursuing is a shape-shifter.

STRENGTHS:

Independant.

Loyal.

Won’t tolerate injustice.

Protector of the winter celebrations.

WEAKNESSES:

Quick temper.

She can be ruthless to those who wronged her.

Revengeful.

[rookie-critic]

Rookie-Critic's Film Review Weekend Wrap-Up - Week of 2/27-3/5/2023

-The Sea Beast (2022, dir. Chris Williams) This was beyond fun. I'll admit my bias towards pirate-y/sailor-y stuff up front, but even aside from that this was just an amazingly crafted, beautifully animated film with a well-told story. The characters are well voice-acted and vibrantly full of character and life. Jared Harris' Captain Crow in particular was fantastic. This really gave me the vibes of the best animated adventure films from the 90s; it had that sense of wonder and heart that the film's from my childhood did and it struck a chord, for sure. Plus, any film that points out how history books might not be completely trustworthy if the ones holding the power are the ones that wrote the books is a win from me. The only reasons this isn't getting a full 10/10 is because of a few small plot devices that aren't explored fully and the fact that the story isn't anything super new or groundbreaking. Anyone who sees that this is nominated for an Oscar and thinks "why the hell is this here?" clearly hasn't seen it and I recommend that you do so immediately. Score: 9/10 Currently streaming on Netflix.

-Rocky (1976, dir. John G. Avildsen) [REWATCH] I've started a Rocky-thon of sorts in order to prepare to go see Creed III, so naturally, first up would be the original 1976 Best Picture winner. The story of street-kid Rocky Balboa's one-in-a-million chance at becoming a professional boxer almost mirrors writer/lead actor Sylvester Stallone's own journey in getting this very film made, and there is a ton to like about Rocky, even outside of the amazing final scene where he fights Apollo Creed for the first (but most certainly not the last, as we've all come to find out) time. The cinematic brilliance of that final fight and subsequent shouting of "ADRIAN!!" cannot be underplayed. No spoilers, of course (although if you're over the age of 20 and have never seen Rocky before, what are you even doing?). I think my biggest issue with the film is it feels very meandering in its first 90 minutes, even by character study standards, which this most definitely is. You get a feel for who Rocky is as a person pretty early on, then the rest is just watching him mumble-through awkward encounters with Talia Shire's Adrian until, miraculously, that blossoms into a relationship. I just had a hard time connecting with Rocky from a personality level, not to even mention the machismo that will continue to plague the franchise well into its lifespan. Also, and I'll get more into this in my other Rocky reviews, but I really, really don't like Paulie. He served a purpose in this film, but man, I've spent four films wishing someone would just deck him. I'm never gonna knock someone for liking Rocky and thinking it's amazing, because a lot of it is, but I found too much lacking in it to give it higher than the score I gave it. Score: 7/10 Currently streaming on Netflix.

-Rocky II (1979, dir. Sylvester Stallone) [REWATCH] Onto the second installment in this all-time classic franchise, and this time there's a rematch. Personally, the story in Rocky II, that is to say the first 90 minutes of film prior to the big fight, interested me way more than the original. Seeing Rocky struggle with the aftermath of success, and the aftermath of short-lived wealth was so compelling. The dichotomy of wanting to live a quiet, peaceful life with your partner and build something away from the quite dangerous world of boxing with the pull of this thing that has been your world for so long, this thing that is your true calling, made for a much more interesting film than the first. Combining that with an increased presence of Burgess Meredith, who was, without question, the best part of the entire film, had me more invested in the narrative through line of Rocky II more so than I ever was in Stallone's first outing. However, where Rocky II falters is in its attempts to recapture the magical moments of the original film. The training montage in this one is, frankly, just silly, and running up all those steps doesn't seem quite as impressive when a thousand children have also just followed you up there and don't look any worse for wear than you do. The fight at the end of the film, while still not bad, isn't nearly what the first film's was. I've heard fans of the franchise say that the fight in this one is one of the best parts of the film, but I just couldn't get hyped up like I was during Rocky's first match with Apollo Creed. Also, Paulie, who I already hated, has lost his purpose for existing in this world outside of to just be an annoyance and something to be tolerated and worked around, and he continues to be this in an ever-worsening way in the future installments. Overall, a better story, but worse in all of the places that made the first film iconic. Score: 7/10 Currently streaming on Netflix.

-Cocaine Bear (2023, dir. Elizabeth Banks) I won't dwell on this too long, as I posted a full review earlier on in the week. This movie is exactly what it advertises itself as, which is a fun, schlocky romp through B-movie horror-comedy territory. Plenty of vibe-conforming bad CGI and gory bits to please any and everyone who saw the trailer and thought "Well, I gotta see that!" Ray Liotta, Alden Ehrenreich, and O'Shea Jackson Jr. are all great, but Christian Convery is the true Cocaine Bear MVP. My complaints with it are more with the editing and the technical end of things, as well as not being the biggest fan of the film's surprisingly half-boring first act. This one is a fun, wacky, and harmless distraction of a film and I had a blast in the theater watching it. Score: 7/10 Only in theaters. Read my full review here.

-A House Made of Splinters (2022, dir. Simon Lereng Wilmont) This documentary about a temporary children's shelter located just a handful of kilometers away from the Ukraine/Russia war's front lines is heartbreaking and, at times, an incredibly tough watch. It shows a consequence of any war that doesn't necessarily always get a light shined on it, which makes this something truly unique. The Ukraine conflict almost exists only as a backdrop. It is clearly the reason for the sheer number of children being housed in this facility, but it is barely mentioned, nor is that particular war really the focus or the point of the documentary; that is placed squarely on the children. The resilience of these kids is truly wondrous, ranging from younger children who maintain their childlike playful nature, even in these extreme circumstances, to slightly older (but still very much young) children who have clearly had to grow up faster than any child should. As a small look into this tiny-but-not-so-tiny, unexplored corner of the war, A House Made of Splinters was a very eye-opening experience. Score: 8/10 Currently available to rent/purchase on digital (iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, etc.).

-Rocky III (1982, dir. Sylvester Stallone) [REWATCH] This is my favorite Rocky of the classic run, bar none, hands down, no contest. It is easily the most fun, easily the most purely entertaining, and has what, to me, is easily the best fight of those first four films. Mr. T is brilliant as Clubber Lang, and Burgess Meredith and Carl Weathers continue to be scene-stealing masters as Mickey and Apollo Creed. I've read that many, many people (both fans and critics alike) think this is the most rewatchable film in the Rocky franchise and I could not agree more. It's still not just a blazing masterpiece or anything; it falls prey to trying to recapture those iconic moments of the first one just like Rocky II did, although to a lesser degree, and Paulie continues to be a giant bag of useless crap that adds nothing to this franchise whatsoever, Stallone even sees fit to add "racist" to Paulie's seemingly never-ending list of (excuse my language) dogshit qualities, for good measure. All of that aside, I had an absolute blast with Rocky III. It's so close to being an 8/10 it can almost taste it, but there are too many things still dragging it down to earn that extra point. Score: 7/10 Currently streaming on Netflix.

-Magic Mike's Last Dance (2023, dir. Steven Soderbergh) How do you strip the magic out of Magic Mike (puns absolutely intended)? You reduce the supporting cast that made the first two entries, especially the second one, so much fun to mere cameos, and then you take Channing Tatum's Mike Lane to London and place him in a position where he only gets to fully dance twice in the entire film. You also throw in a really contrived and unnecessary voiceover and make the big set piece at the film's end, which has been sold to us as something that's supposed to be truly spectacular, a pretty fun strip show, but not one that's any better than the stuff we got at the end of the previous film. I was also surprised by an uncharacteristically sub-par turn from Salma Hayek Pinault, who is normally a great actress. I'm not entirely sure if it was that her character was poorly written, or if her acting was really not good even for the material she was given, but it shocked me to see a veteran actress like Hayek Pinault give something far below her usual. All was not completely lost, though, as the choreography was great, as usual, and the film has still got a trace of the humor that made XXL so fun. I didn't have the worst time with Magic Mike's Last Dance, but I was disappointed. Soderbergh can do better, and I kind of hope this is, indeed, Magic Mike's last dance. Score: 5/10 Only in theaters.

-Rocky IV (1985, dir. Sylvester Stallone) [REWATCH] I'm sorry, I know Rocky fans the world over consider this one of the good ones, but it's bad. It's pretty bad. The runtime is extremely padded with completely unnecessary montages, a couple of which are just music videos for songs on the film's soundtrack. The fight at the end is not worthy of the really good setup that Ivan Drago gets in the film's first half; it's not a bad fight, per se, but the buildup was so big (like I said, there are so many training montages) for a fight that was largely no more intense than the fight from the original film. Not to mention Paulie's robot, which he manages to insert his sexism into (and the film plays it all for laughs), the fact that both Rocky and Adrian abandon their child ON CHRISTMAS to go fight the big-bad Russian man, leaving little Rocky Jr. in the care of the freaking robot! There's also the unavoidable subject of this being a cold-war propaganda film, which might be the most disappointing part of the whole thing. The franchise seems to be a complete bastardization of itself at this point in its lifespan, and it's getting the points I am giving it for Carl Weathers and the great setup of Drago as a menacing villain alone, even if the payoff for that setup was lackluster. I understand Stallone released a director's cut of the film a couple years ago that re-contextualizes a lot of the film into more of a character study befitting the tone of the first few entries. I'd be very interested to watch that and see if that's true. Score: 4/10 Currently streaming on Netflix.

-The Wicker Man (2006, dir. Neal LaBute) The classic. The infamous. The "not the bees!" one. This was the latest film my college friend group watched as a part of our "Nicolas Cage Fridays" movie night. It is everything that people have built it up to be, although maybe not quite as absolute trash as I've heard. It isn't good by any means, but Cage's acting outside of those few beautiful moments where we get full-Cage isn't really that bad. It's not great, but it's pretty standard stuff. It's an interesting enough story, but none of it ever really comes together in a way that isn't unintentionally hilarious. Also, this has no bearing on my score, but I was not aware that there are two different cuts of this film, a theatrical and an unrated. We watched the theatrical version, apparently, so imagine my surprise when the end of the film comes along and that truly iconic line and scene is just completely skipped over. I was livid. Thankfully, that appears to be the only big difference between the two versions, so it was nothing a quick YouTube pull-up couldn't fix. I had a fun time with The Wicker Man, but I attribute most of that to watching it in a group setting and not to the film itself. I really want to watch the original Christopher Lee film from 1973 that this is a remake of, because I hear that is much better. Score: 4/10 Currently available to rent/purchase on digital (iTunes, Amazon, etc.) and on DVD and Blu-ray through Warner Bros.

-Children of the Corn (2023, dir. Kurt Wimmer) An unfortunate fun fact about me is that I have, regrettably, seen all 10 (now 11) entries in this godforsaken franchise. It's one of the unfortunate side-effects of being dedicated to watching all Stephen King-related media. I'm not proud of it, but it is a sunk cost fallacy that I cannot separate myself from. That being said, in the realm of horrible Children of the Corn films (which is basically all of them), this one at least had a decent production value and acting that wasn't laughably atrocious. I think more than anything, this entry suffers the most from being just kind of uninteresting. It comes from the angle of showing just how the town became children-of-the-corn'd, which is interesting, in a way, but once the proverbial shit hits the fan it's just more of the same that we've already seen a handful of times (or, if you're a normal person, maybe only seen once). I think the thing that I hate the most is that I know that, inevitably, there will be another one, and I will go see it, because I've made this bed of corn husks for myself, so I might as well lie in it. Score: 3/10 Only in theaters.

I saw Return to Seoul this morning, but don't feel like I've formed my opinion enough to even give a mini-review yet. That will most likely be a full-length one that I will type up tomorrow. I'm also currently in the middle of Argentina, 1985, so look out for that on next week's wrap-up.