#why do all scifi villains look like this

[tuttle-did-it]

I finally finished watching Farscape. I know it’s a cult favourite but it just doesn’t work for me.

I will say, as much as i didn’t like the show itself,I liked the imagination of all the aliens. It definitely wins over Star Trek in that way.

But the whole time watching the Peacekeepers movie, all I could think was ‘the villain looks so familiar to me… why? What’s so familiar?’ 🤔

Farscape - Peacekeeper Wars

Then I thought, oh. Oh I’ve seen him before. Before they spray painted him.

Here.

Unas - Stargate SG1 1999

And here.

Sarris - Galaxy Quest 1999

If this guy was a human actor, he’d work in every sci-fi movie.

[alexanderwales]

The Index

This is an index of things I've written and posted online, with minimal descriptions because most of them have blurbs if you click the link. This list is not exhaustive, especially because there are a bunch of short stories and dribbles in various places. If something you liked is missing, let me know.

Web Serials

Worth the Candle - Juniper Smith is a teenaged Dungeon Master who ends up in a world filled with all the things he dreamt up for his campaigns, along with signs of his friend who died months earlier. This Used to be About Dungeons - Five teenagers live in a house together, bake bread, tend the garden, and occasionally fight monsters in dungeons. Thresholder - Thresholders travel from world to world, fantasy one minute and scifi the next, always encountering an opponent, growing stronger as they battle. Shadows of the Limelight - Fame gives you superpowers, and Dominic just saved the world's greatest hero from defeat in full view of a large audience. Glimwarden (unfinished) - A small town huddles around lanterns that keep the darklings at bay. Four teenagers must grow in power as the darkness encroaches. The Dark Wizard of Donkerk (unedited) - Two men steal a baby from an orphanage, then find out he's too cute to sacrifice and raise him as their own.

Fanfic

The Metropolitan Man (Superman) - Lex Luthor attempts to unravel the secrets of the alien. A Common Sense Guide to Doing the Most Good (Superman) - Superman gets really into effective altruism. Instruments of Destruction (Star Wars) - A fable of project management aboard the second Death Star, through the eyes of Admiral Tian Jerjerrod. Branches on the Tree of Time (Terminator) - Sarah Connor is working as a software engineer at UCLA when a naked man shows up on her doorstep. A Bluer Shade of White (Frozen) - Elsa can make life, and Olaf is smarter than he looks.

Shorts

Eager Readers in Your Area - Artificial intelligence has left authors scrambling for readers. Charlotte clicks on an ad. Variations - An orc visits an art exhibition where she feels out of place. Contratto - Julia takes a job as a marketer, working for the vampires to keep their secrets safe. The Randi Prize - James Randi offers a prize for anyone who can demonstrate supernatural abilities. Coming Home - After a long time isekaied to a fantasy kingdom, an errant father has coffee with his estranged son.

I also post short stuff to this very tumblr, which can usually be found under the #microfiction tag unless I forget. Usually this is mirrored on AO3, unless I'm lazy.

Web Comics

Millennial Scarlet - Lamont Pearce is a gig economy demon hunter whose mother ran a government agency meant to defend against Hell. Worth the Candle - A webcomic adaptation of the web serial

Non-Fiction

The AI Art Apocalypse - Slightly outdated thoughts from 2022. Why to Write a Sex Scene - Observations on the narrative purpose of carnal pursuits. Game Review: Underhill - This review contains no screenshots, because this game does not exist. Writing: An FAQ - Accumulated wisdom from 4 million words and counting. Creating Interesting Magic - A much-requested post on making interesting magic systems (and characters, and plots, and worlds). How to Write a Web Serial - It's both easier and harder than you think. The Trouble with Writing Nazis - On giving villains too much credit. Interesting Things to do with Time Loops - Exploring the boundaries of the conceit.

[max--phillips]

Dear BioWare,

Sexual dimorphism is so passé. The fact you only chose not to do it with the salarians (often portrayed as asexual), kett (villains), and collectors/reapers (also villains) kinda sucks.

It also sucks that the only monosex/“gender neutral” species we get are the asari (extremely conventionally feminine), the geth (robots and also villains for the majority of the trilogy), and the hanar (masculine sounding jellyfish). (Also I realize one could argue the collectors/reapers are monosex/gender neutral but I’m working off the assumption the reapers mutated individuals of all genders and they just ended up looking the same.)

Why do the quarians have tiddies? Why do the asari? What’s up with the dimorphism in turians and krogan and angara??? And why did it take until your flop of a fourth mass effect game to even introduce female salarians, and more than one token female krogan or turian (both of which don’t show up until the third game, and one of which you needed to purchase a whole extra dlc to see before LE)? Why haven’t we seen any female drell? Vorcha? Elcor? Batarians? Protheans?

Sincerely,

I know the asari were created to fill in a scifi trope but that’s just unnecessary and they shouldn’t look like that

[angevinyaoiz]

saw Dune 2 (2une?), and since I don't have my dune blog anymore I'll post here, since blah blah this is my place for posting about Dynastic Weirdos. This is long but NO MAJOR SPOILERS, except about like, small detail things that aren't plot things but whatever

Tbh it was disappointing. It had all the correct elements to be liked but one thing grated on me the whole time...the Bad Dialogue and lack of Elevated Speech! Why the hell were all these characters saying stuff like "these guys" "we're ok" and "literally" it took me out of the fantastical world sOOO bad. Super bummer because what I loved about Dune 1 (D-uno?) As someone who went into it before reading or knowing anything was how much it didn't explain, how it let the visuals and the world unfold before you, and how serious and somber it was in a way that gave it a sense of scale and time.

I can only wonder if WB saw all the complaints and tweets about people being like "we didn't understand the first movie!!! It wasn't funny and quippy!!!" And decided to simplify it down so characters just SAY things really obviously and inelegantly. The writing has some competence in moving the story forward but there's no poetry or rhythm to the way characters say things, it's serving "Rings of Power" scriptwriting to me lmao. And it's not like any of the actors are bad? I've seen them do well in the previous movie and in other things, so wtf was going on with the direction. I know people complained Abt Villeneuve saying that whole thing about being more into visuals than dialogue but maybe he was right...there needed to be LESS WORDS. bc much of the words we had were NOT GOOD.

Positivity: the middle and latter part was where the movie picked up for me. The Harkonnen Freak Villain behavior was everything I could have wanted! Finally instead of EXPLAINING everything obviously we got to see a LOT of character building, for Feyd specifically in a very short amount of time. I know a lot of us complained about Bald Feyd-Rautha but Mr Elvis did a very good job. And we got Madame Fenring and weird scifi femdomming finally, which is Essential for the Duniverse! Wonderful fantastic no notes.

Of course, getting back to our heroes, I anticipated this 2 years ago sadly and it was true...the Fremen were badass but SWAGLESS. More Learned ppl have already written about the frustration with the erasure of the Arabic/North African cultural presence so I won't reiterate that here since I'm not super knowledgeable about the specifics of that but even as a casual watcher there was a weird emptiness to the way I feel the society was portrayed. There were individual good character moments, such as fun bantering among the Fedaykin etc, but for Pacing or Whatever they cut out the community aspects that served to make them feel more like well, a People rather than just either Grizzled Soldiers/ Religious Fundamentalists aka Marks/Panicked refugees. I have to guess this was ppl were like "we can't show a culture too cool and colorful and the part with Harrah (Jamis' widow) would feel too ORIENTALIST!!! But the result is something sadly very dry. At least in more older orientalist works, the interest comes from when the ~exotic~ stereotypes figures are able to have charming personalities and personalities and be known as people despite the cliches sometimes but this sadly wasn't even like that....

Jamis' funeral is a good example of this; in the Book, it's a moment where you first get a good look of what rituals are like in this world, and how people relate to each other and to the dead. In the movie, the funeral is looks more foreign and even a little creepy as the water is extracted from the body. There's not really a Personal or community connection aspect to it at all.

The ending was pretty good as it satisfied all the Cool Dune Moments I think we all wanted to see, and also did literally the end of The Godfather Part 1 Framing which was hee hee heh. Anyways, Messiah is MY favorite book of the series personally so curious how they get to that.

Maybe I've been too spoiled by Cool Historical Fiction lately? I've been watching too much of The Devil's Crown where action happens mostly off screen but the dynastic drama is written and acted so compellingly, the historical mindset and setting so alien and yet so human and relatable, it's frustrating to see when works try to do the opposite? Idk??? Dune books themselves is fun in how action is mostly an "offscreen, offstage"' thing.

*if ANYONE in the Universe is a quippy Bastard, it should be Leto II esp in God Emperor where he literally has nothing to do all day but quip all day to terrified acolytes

[raiden-brannigan]

Sorry for the long reply/ ask, I'm just very passionate about this:

Personally I didn't get that from the scene with fragile. He seemed far more preoccupied with "ruining" her appearance, reputation, standing as a trustworthy porter company and her pride

It doesn't read as sexual gratification as much as smugness

Hes envied how comfortable in her own skin and has confidence in her looks (and possibly sexuality) and people who care for her/ admire her, possibly even healthy romantic/sexual relationships, and loving parents that didnt abuse her (at least in the ways that "daddy" didnt/arent as obvious) and now he's finally able to bring her down to his "level" to try to make them equals again in the only way he knows how, by dragging her down with him

Im not even sure if there is a sexual component? I think its far more complicated than that, and has far ,more to do with higgs' insecurities and envy tbh

I think the lick with sam is the closest of his actions to have sexual motivation, but even then I'm not sure its almost like hes trying to lay himself bare and be vulnerable while completely in control of sam? That scene is the one where his motives feel the most obscured

(with amelie i honestly keep forgeting that the deathless freaks comic didn't happen where amelie smacks his ass back right after that scene)

But I would be suprised if that was something amelie agreed to in order to upset sam further and bolster higgs as the despicable "villain"

It felt very performative, at least to me

Also many of these wikis are fairly obvious with their lgbtq+ phobia like assuming higgs must be attracted to fragile because of the licking but his attraction is questionable if its sam?

It also seems kinda fucked that its comparing sexual assult to being a pervert, when thats caused a lot of lgbtq+ descrimination in the past? Like higgs is definitely a pervert, but thats not why.

I see this consistently with wikis based on kojima games (and quite a bit of scifi fandoms too) only giving legitimacy to straight characters/ relationships and delegitmizing lgbtq+ characters

So a lot of this is my own personal interpretation, I only really used the wiki screenshot to gather the "scenes" I use and don't entirely agree with some of the terminology and phrasing. But it is a place i can use to get all the canon plot beats in one place and I already had this interpretation before reading the wiki section.

I think all the things you said can be true with him also being a bit of a creep. Like, he has a Lot of depth as a character and I don't want to dumb it down to "Oh he's just a creep who assaults people" cause that's not at all the case.

But at the same time from the moment you meet him he just gives off Bad Vibes. He can absolutely be jealous of Fragile and looking to ruin her in every way (physically, mentally, reputation wise) and still be Weird about it. He's a complex character with complex motives and no one reason for doing something.

We might just interpret his character differently but this is how I read a lot of the stuff he did. Again, not everything gets dumbed down to him assaulting people cause he wants to but he does give me personally that vibe. He can violate Sam's space purposefully to make him uncomfortable and still get some sick gratification from it. The way he creepily pats Sam sometimes, talking about Fragiles "~pretty face~", etc, these are all real things I've both seen and been victim of by people who absolutely do get off on it.

Again this is all just how I read his character, and there is no one way to interpret any character.

[stitchlingbelle]

Halo Post-mortem

So... what did I think?

Honestly, I really enjoyed it! I admit that I came in with super low expectations, due to the vaunted Video Game Adaptation Curse, but across the board, the show was way better than I anticipated. The acting was solid, the visuals had care and thought behind them, the effects were good, and the characters were generally engaging (and/or enraging, as it should be).

Obviously, being useless at video games and therefore having absolutely no prior knowledge of the universe meant that I got to skip all the issues with the story and lore and what they chose to change for this "Silver timeline", which made it easier to like. Which led me to a realization...

It dawned on me about halfway through that one of the things I was enjoying about the show was the fact that I had no idea what was going on. Looking around, I realized that it's been literal years since I watched a scifi show where I didn't know the answers. Star Wars? Rey and Din may not know what a Jedi is, but I do. Star Trek? Since DS9 and VOY ended, there have been FOUR shows and/or movie series about the earlier days, and THREE of them feature Kirk and Spock. I was gnawing my laptop in frustration at not knowing who these aliens are or what the artifacts do or what the heck the halo actually is and why we care (note: this is still unanswered) AND IT WAS GREAT. It's a thrill to be piecing things together alongside the characters once again.

And that brings me to the only real complaint I have about the series: the modern mini-season is really too short for these sorts of stories. Everything needed to be shoehorned into essentially 8 episodes (to set up for the finale in 9). None of the characters, plotlines, or the halo mystery itself get to breathe. It's very effectively written to do a great job with the time they have, but everything happens because it has to-- characters can't take time to investigate xyz or try solution abc because the showrunners don't have time to show you that they did. They can't build up emotion or stakes, so they rely on the most efficient writing they can-- which in turn means relying on known tropes and cues to move the action, and the audience, along to their scheduled plot points. And they can't allow you to overlook a clue or piece of worldbuilding, so they can't be subtle.

(This is where the Kwan plot suffers the most, I think-- teenagers are hard to write, going from 'beloved as Luke Skywalker' to 'derided as Wesley Crusher'. Kwan's writing gets the most clichéd treatment and it shows.)

For a show that's trying to tap into a legion of pre-existing fans, it's particularly sad. The selling point of the show is getting to spend a few more hours in the world you love, with characters you love, experiencing it all again, hopefully in a way that is fresh and exciting. For me, it was like getting a tour of a best friend's new place right before going out for the night-- there's so much to stop and appreciate, the couch looks cozy, I want to chat with their roommate and pet their cat, but we only have ten minutes or we'll be late.

And what roommates we have! I'm usually a very character-driven fan, and I really enjoyed a lot of these characters. Kai was hands-down my favorite, and I'm impressed that they made her so compelling to me with so little (comparative) screentime. Her expressive nature breaking out was wonderful to watch. (And nothing bad had better happen to her, ever.) (...Nothing else bad.) Miranda and Laera were standouts to me as well-- Miranda for her sense of ethics and duty, Laera for her independent viewpoint and mysterious vibes.

Makee was well-acted (and well-dressed, my cosplay brain whimpers) and I could listen to her read the phonebook, but characters like her are written into a corner by their very nature. She either has a Redemption Arc, or she doesn't. She either gets to grow and change or stays a villain. Neither option is interesting. It's possible they could still surprise me with her-- I hope they do-- but I doubt it.

Parangosky, Keyes, and Halsey were all fascinating to watch in action; again, very efficient writing to cram in so many competing priorities, authorities, and past alliances. It's also interesting to hear from y'all how much darker they made Halsey. It's clearly a deliberate choice to make her such a bad guy, and I wonder where they're going with it.

My weird niche favorite character... was Halsey's clone, the one who died to make Cortana. Her one conversation with Halsey stole my heart and plot bunnies are breeding in my brain like tribbles.

Cortana herself was fun-- I appreciated her humor and her evolution from oblivious, order-following Siri to full-fledged person with her own opinions and agency. It'll be interesting to watch how being merged with John affects her. (Is it possible to grow her a body of her own? I feel like she'd love one.)

As for the man of the hour, the Master Chief/ John? He grew on me eventually. I've heard that the helmet thing and the brevity of his speech were to make him easier for players to project on to in-game, but it made him a bit bland to me with the compressed writing-- he's A Stoic Hero Guy even after the pellet gets out, if only because he's not allowed a single scene that isn't plot-relevant. (No hair dye for him! He didn't even get to read Makee's book or something.) I think that's why his comeback about overcoming indoctrination-- "I did"-- struck me so hard. It's one of the few bits of his interior life we get. In a week he became a new person, and crucially, saw himself as someone who had done so. That told me more about who he is and what he wants than anything else we got to see. I'm excited to get to know him better as he gets to know himself better.

I'm excited to follow along with them all!

...for however long each of them has left. The future in that trailer did NOT look bright.

[thegeminisage]

it's STAR TREK UPDATE TIME. last night we watched voy's "faces" and ds9's "explorers."

faces (voy):

i feel like this one had the bones and potential to be good if 1. it had been set a couple of seasons from now 2. if they weren't so fucking RACIST. unfortunately.

so, in the tos episode "the enemy within" kirk is split into "good" and "evil" selves, though they realize by the end of the episode it's not so cut and dry - his evil half is responsible for his drive to action, his will to fight, and his "good" half is cowardly and soft and incapable of decision-making without it. this was a good and complex take on good vs evil which they promptly ruined with everything they did to poor janice rand

the problem with this episode is that they are tying b'elanna's "evil" traits to her klingon half and her "good" traits to her human half. this in itself is racist but they STILL might have managed to say something meaningful if they were using it as a way for b'elanna to tackle internalized racism - like, if she realizes her klingon half isn't the evil she thought it was. and i think they THOUGHT they did that (though if we're being honest "i'll be fighting with her the rest of my life" does not suggest that sort of resolution, only a grim resignation that she can't live without her klingon half even though she'd like to, and it's an open ending but also a bad one), but there are some problems with this

firstly that we haven't had a HINT from b'elanna that she struggled with this issue before now. like i absolutely believe she would, sure. in fiction, especially star trek, characters from two species or cultures struggle a lot with where they fit and who/what they really are, because that was spock's struggle in tos, and tos laid the blueprint for everything that comes after it. b'elanna wasn't the first or second and probably won't be the last. and it can be a compelling narrative! but where the hell is this coming from? i think she has only mentioned her backstory like twice and it was VERY light stuff

secondly, why why WHY do they keep putting the klingons in brownface...i can almost understand if you're trying to make them more orange the way you would make an orion character green, but they are literally not doing that. the woman who plays b'elanna is already NOT WHITE. you don't need to do that!!! is it my imagination or did they pale up her makeup for her human half...man come on

also like lmao having her human half cower in fear when guys with guns show up while her klingon half snarls and breaks her own chains. and her human half gets shielded by men and protected but her klingon half gets sexually harassed while strapped to a table and starts talking about how klingon women have hjigh libidos. because cowardice vs courage and fighting ability vs thinking ability are very much traits imprinted into dna. so is how you get protected or harassed. that's definitely how dna works. i know this is scifi but jesus christ

also, of ALL the fucking people to have to rely on in this sitch. WHY TOM PARIS. firstly, i can't believe they get together later. secondly, he fucking BLEW IT when she was opening up to him and he was like talking about haircuts and going yay you got what you wanted :) hooray :) could you have said ANYTHING more dumb. no. i also got the feeling he preferred her human half because she was vulnerable and needed protecting. gross.

anyway, it COULD have been something, but it wasn't. so

that said, the one right this episode had is when they took that guy away and the vidiian came back WEARING HIS DFACE. that was so completely and totally horrific i almost screamed out loud. the vidiians have the potential to be fantastic villains, i think...they just need a good episode

explorers (ds9):

this one was so cute. like, pure filler, but absolutely adorable. i lvoe when sisko gets to do stuff

his beard!! tbh, i really don't like his later seasons look of the beard but no hair, but the beard WITH the hair looks great. i'm sad he probably won't keep it like this for long

i love how in the 2300s a dad can just build a whole spaceship in his metaphorical garage. i think it was a little questionable to put his KID on something like that but i respect and support all of sisko's decisions because i love him.

the ship was so cool actually! like, completely implausible, but it looked like one of those treasure planet numbers. i have to wonder if it inspired treasure planet at all...

jake's little subplot about maybe going away to college...he got so big so FAST. i loved his joke about maybe joining the maqui not only because he genuinely got sisko (you could SEE him trying to frantically pull the right answer out of his dad skills toolbox) but also because for a second he almost got me. really good and funny. i love how much jake and sisko laugh together. and how much they worry about each other!! jake is so generous trying to set his pops up. not all children are so cool with that.

i was really shocked at the end they got fireworks for making their destination. i was FULLY expecting dukat to be like you arent allowed to be here :) and threaten to shoot them down. but he was like (to sisko who he's gay for) hiiii bestie hi do you want some space fireworks for your kid and sisko was like yes :) and they just did space fireworks. sure. most benevolent cardassian action ever after garak giving julian those chocolates last ep

julian meeting this fake patient at the beginning of the episode was really funny. his GO AWAY in the padd. jadzia doing...whatever that was. she develops a personality sometimes, for some episodes, and then it goes away again. it's not always the same personality but i did like this one. it was very funny.

i think quark and morn BOTH lost the bet since the doctor lady walked by julian without looking at him, by the way. i also love that the depth of julian's neurosis is that he has to go get drunk on real alcohol about this response despite the fact that they have NEVER EVEN MET EACH OTHER. like i spent this whole episode getting this lady confused with the ex he had the foot fetish for but THEY LITERALLY NEVER MET

drunk julian and obrien. ive never been happier. they were two drinks away from fucking right on that couch and obrien was right to switch them to synthale. it would have been funny but i DONT want him to cheat on keiko.

and then after all that he gets laid twice in one episode. good for him <3

TONIGHT: voy's "jetrel" and ds9's "family business." more ferengi stuff already :( give me a break i miss when i liked quark

[springcatalyst]

Ohh my god a canceled bad syfy network show from ten years ago should not be getting me this worked up and yet!! The way s1 made it seem like miksa’s sister and sergio finding the kidnapped kids would be a huge thing in s2 but apparently he’s barely in s2 and she’s not in it at all???? WHY THE SEVERED HEADS THING?? I guess Hatake cut Constance’s head off and like highlander they can’t come back from that but?? Who was dr. hvit and why was his head out there? *Was* Hatake’s sole reason for everything just to get Julia out there and trigger her immortality? What was the deal in the opening scene with him and peter? Why did peter pass the virus on to julia? Did Hatake tell him to? Why does alan suck so much? Why did ilaria kidnap Julia’s mom if they didn’t know that julia existed? How did julia forget she lived there as a kid? Didn’t child julia notice how the cabin was apparently only two rooms and a bunch of creepy metal hallways? Did she never think it odd she wasn’t allowed outside? and how did that creepy shed guy sell her mom out? I think Hatake stabbed himself as part of a wounded gazelle gambit to get julia to trust him and bring him along? Why was Hiroyuki Sanada so into being in garbo sci fi shows in the early 2010s? It just feels like the creator watched highlander and the thing one weekend and said, “what if i mashed both of these things up but make it worse?”

REAL REAL REAL

All the kind of interesting things they started just didnt go anywhere. The kidnapped kids plotline is dropped and even Miksa just dies and doesnt matter at all. Anana had potential but was just SO flat and her romance with sergio SUCKED and is also just dropped completely. Alan sucked soooooo bad. Sarah's actor was not good and her arc was even worse I'm SORRY girl I cannot advocate for you. At least Constance was kind of interesting and a fun villain but she still made NO sense.

I think the whole motivation is supposed to be hatake wants to turn julia but that's. wh. it's so fucking bizarre. and also hot take that's not what I got from the scene where he sees shes got the eyes like I thought that was more a grief thing than an 'it worked' but WHAT DO I KNOW. Its sooooo convoluted and for what. what is the purpose.

WHY DID ILARIA KIDNAP JULIAS MOM?????? WHAT IS THE REASON!!!!!

I also assumed hatake was doing a 'look I'm innocent' thing to deflect any suspicion when he stabbed himself but it was still SO unnecessary tho I guess I respect the commitment to the bit.

It's like if the thing also had zombies and it was bad. I havent seen highlander so cant vouch for that but I believe u. why WAS hiroyuki sanada in so many bad scifi shows around then. I watched some of extant and man, it also sucked. he can do so much better. someone cast him in things that are actually good please i BEG you

[mxtxfanatic]

I just wanna say you're really good at analysis. I was wondering if you have any tips? I feel like I kinda suck at analyzing whether it's connecting themes or character intentions.

Awww, thank you anon! I happen to have taught intro to Creative Writing courses, so this is right up my alley lol.

I always say that the first step of analysis is connecting with your emotions in how a particular work makes you feel. For instance, let’s say I read a story and I felt bad for the main character. From there, I can then move on to figuring out 1) why I, personally, felt bad for said character, 2) if the creator intended for me to feel bad for this character and how do I know, and potentially 3) if not then why did I feel bad despite the author’s intentions?

Because we as humans are storytellers, we recycle a lot of story beats and themes. This is not a bad thing, just a neutral fact. This allows us to make social commentary by either driving home certain points like societal morals or who we in society should look up to or disparage, and it also allows us to challenge the ideals society upholds since we would all be inundated with them through various stories. Now this is very general, but obviously these ideals may change in some ways from society to society and throughout history, and when we get into genres, the ideas expressed there will also naturally have their own specific commentary and commonalities. If I’m in the romance genre, I’m looking for what x society has to say about romantic love, how permanent/fleeting it is, and how that society defines it. If I’m in the scifi genre, I’m looking for social commentary on the future and how our current day trajectory will affect it.

Ok, so now let’s be specific: let’s discuss Wei Wuxian in mdzs. He is the protagonist, and we know this because the narrative mostly follows him. However, the POV is not in 1st person; why? Well, mdzs is a novel about gossip and mob mentality, how victors can rewrite truth to paint themselves as heroes and deny their wrongdoings. How do we know this? The story repeatedly tells us about what people say, then it shows us their actions that don’t align. Why is the story not in 1st person? Because then we would be left with wwx’s character bias and be unable to verify what others have done through a neutral narrator. Without a 3rd person perspective, we would not know what Jiang Cheng had been up to for the last 13 years as fact, but we do know this in the story because we see it from multiple character’s thoughts, his included. Without the 3rd person, we would be left in the dark about what really happened with Qin Su and some of the more intricate parts of Jin Guangyao’s villainy, since it only happens with the two present.

Now let’s bring feelings into it: I personally like Wei Wuxian because I think he is a charming, good person. I like underdog characters who come out on top in the end. Does the story support this? Well, we are shown multiple scenes where wwx in his first life is surrounded by people pre-ssc, and in his second, the juniors all flock to him before and after his identity is discovered. So him being charming is supported by the writing, itself. How about him being a good person? Well, we start off the story finding out that he’s a mass murdering villain who finally gets his due after attempting to kill off the other clans with his evil cultivation. However, this beginning narrative is undermined by:

1) being told almost immediately upon meeting the “hero who ended wwx,” Jiang Cheng, that jc is actually a mass murderer who imprisons and tortures people. Later, we find the other clans are also corrupt and willing to participate in and turn the other way in the face of actual evil. So not “heroes”

2) being told and shown that the people under wwx’s protection were not disciples but actually the powerless remnants of a fallen clan that were forced into a labor camp for sharing a surname with an already deposed tyrant

3) being told and shown that what the cultivation clans were actually after in murdering wwx was his cultivation tool so that they can oppress the other clans. Wwx’s death was necessary because he refused to conform to this corruption.

So is my feeling that wwx is a good guy justified by the narrative? Yes it is.

This is, of course, a very, very simplified crash course on analysis that takes me a semester to drive home with my students. It also takes a lot of practice in 1) learning how to recognize and state your feelings on a work (even “I don’t know” is an opening for parts 2 and 3 of an analysis: “what don’t you know?” “where are you confused?” “is this intentional?”) 2) not judging your opinions harshly i.e. thinking that everyone else is “sooooo much smarter” than you and discounting your ideas before they even fully form, and 3) learning to discuss these ideas with others in honest discourse, being open to learning something new and being mistaken in equal turns without shame or judgement.

I still miss things when I analyze, and that’s why I love discussion, because I learn something new. I also notice things people I discuss with miss, so I get to impart something that others may appreciate. We’re not infallible, but the goal should be to grow and create community around something, not be stuck and stagnant in our individual thinking. And also, have fun!

[otakween]

0-Man - Volume 4 (Final volume!)

Woooo this was a wild ride. Kind of a repetitive, hard to read ride, but wild nonetheless. This was probably a bizarre choice for my first Tezuka manga, but it was first alphabetically so that's just the way the cookie crumbles! Overall it was a fun concept, the art was great and I love Ricky a lot. He's adorable and I want a plushie. Just look at this awesome animation of him I found on YouTube!

Ch. 36

So now Liz is just buddy buddy with her dad again because "he's my only father!" Filial piety has its limits lady!

There was a weird bit of exposition this chapter that appeared to be Tezuka speaking directly to the reader. Like there was just a random paragraph thrown in between panels. That's one way to do things I suppose.

The 0 Man origin story was like a mix of the Bible story with Adam and Eve and the story of the first pilgrims that came to America lol. I wonder how much time has passed since the first Venus residents traveled to Earth?

There's a new human character named Charcoal Black...gratefully he's not Black lol

Ch. 37

Ah, I was fooled. Ricky did not crash land on Mars, it was Japan all along! Dun dun dunnn...Apparently most of Earth is just a big ball of rocks at the moment, no countries, towns or roads. It's kinda giving Dr. Stone vibes. They gotta start again from scratch!

Ricky goes all "shaggy dog" in this chapter when...absurdly...a sheepdog provides him with a dog suit so he can disguise himself around humans who want him dead. Sure, why not? Seeing the dog emote was really cute, I wouldn't mind reading a Tezuka manga with dogs as the main characters.

The current bad guy's plan is to use the ice machine left behind by the 0 men to rule the world. The 0 man universe sure has a lot of megalomaniacs in it.

Ch. 38

Pete just immediately accepting that talking dogs are real was cute

Once again the spears are OP as heck.

Did Pete really fly from America to Japan in like 2 seconds? Man, why do SciFi people get all the fun? 😭

This chapter was really short, but essentially Pete found out about the evil dude's plan to take over the world and came to Japan to reunite with Ricky and meet Tanigawa (the other human dude that I mentioned).

Ch. 39

Charcoal Grey returns and we find out he was helping the grand priest hide. I swear this series has had like 15 random, generic villain dudes. I haven't cared about a single one of them lol

It was nice having some happy, peaceful panels at the end. Very "Disney movie-esque." I didn't even really realize how little plant life there's been in the past volumes until Ricky got so excited to see grass. Wholesome but sad.

Ch. 40

Liz fights with her dad and eventually blows up the ice machine when he threatens to use it again. (She continued to be quite badass in this chapter, we stan).

I enjoyed the little detail that the climate change has stimulated some new plant species to evolve. I doubt things would happen that quickly, but it's still a fun concept.

Ch. 41

I guess it's all happy fun times from here on? Let's see what happens in the final 4 chapters...This one was short and cute. Ricky and his 0 man friend/adopted brother (never figured his name out lol) become peace ambassadors and bring messages from humanity to 0-man country

This is it's 2nd appearance but I like the "spicalia" tool that the 0-men use. I takes words as input and outputs images. I hate to say it...but we've sort of reached that future with the advent of AI image generators. (Too bad they suck).

Ch. 42

Lol I knew the happy fun times were too good to be true. We immediately get too more deaths in this chapter (Professor Royal and Crazy Cats...yeah, that's a character's name). If this wasn't a kids manga, Ricky would be a basket case riddled with PTSD by this point with all the shit he's been through!

I can't believe the frickin' high priest and Liz survived. Did that bomb actually do anything at all? Ugh, I hate pointless fake outs like that. Okay, let's see how they actually defeat him for real for real this time...

Ch. 43

To be honest, every chapter is starting to feel the same at this point. "Ah, we're finally safe...just kidding we're under attack!!!"

For some reason they thought it would be a good idea to introduce a random side character 3 chapters from the end of this series. He's the stereotypical dumb fat guy character who just eats a lot. Speaking of offensive stereotypes...

This was like the racism chapter. First we have Tezuka's racist stereotypes of Black, Chinese, Inuit ("Eskimo") which I suppose is "well intentioned" by 1960s standards (but come on, he basically had the Black person and the Inuit say "Oonga boonga" gibberish) and then we have racism between bad guys. One of them calls Japan a backwards country and basically says that "yellow" people are inferior. It just felt ironic to have Tezuka's racism (portrayed as inspirational) and then his character's racism (portrayed as bad) back to back, the irony!

Damn, will all these villains just die already!?

Ch. 44

Lol well egg on my face, that guy that was "introduced" last chapter was actually a character (Donpei) from like volume 1, chapter 1 that I completely forgot existed. To be fair, he hasn't been relevant in a very long time. I don't think I even acknowledged him in my old posts and I tend to not remember stuff I don't write down. (Blogging is great for improving memory, kids!)

And the final battle ends...by the bad guys just disappearing?? Unfortunately the explanation was too kanji heavy for me to grasp, but my headcanon is that the laser that Charcoal Grey was trying to use caused some kind of quantum event and he got sucked into another universe (I have been playing a lot of Steins;Gate though...) Either that or it was just a total bullshit, Deus ex machina moment ending lol.

Ricky comforting Liz when her dad died was super sweet. Low key wanna see them grow old together.

Ch. 45

LMAOOO they really just said "eff dis shit" and moved to Venus LOL. So much for "ally to humanity!" Even Ricky was like "nah...humans suck." Based ending.

No but for real, the ending for this was so dark and cynical. They literally said "we're going to bide our time on Venus until humanity inevitably offs itself out of stupidity, then we'll come back to Earth." Sheesh.

So I'm not sure what the deeper meaning behind this ending is other than "violence and greed = bad." The message about "the weak and kindhearted will always eventually overcome the strong and terrible" seemed like a metaphor for something specific (like an IRL war) but no other English speaker in existence has read this (I'm being hyperbolic) so I have no one to analyze it for me lol.

I kind of wonder if the 0-Man will even be welcome on Venus. They've been away for so long that the squirrel people on Venus are basically a different species. I wonder if they would actually come across as colonizers? That might make an interesting sequel manga...

(Love his expression in this panel. RICKY DOESN'T GIVE A SHIT ANYMORE.)

Pete reading the goodbye letter from Ricky's mom was so touching 😭. She's like "I consider you my son and I love you" and he calls her mom in his mind. Poor Pete got the short end of the stick with this ending honestly, being stuck on Earth.

[rawwkfingers]

Inferno

Some Doctor Who stories are genuinely fantastic, top-tier television that should be viewed by even non-fans in search of excellent storytelling

Some are so abysmally bad and/or cringeworthy that it's difficult to enjoy them even as a dedicated diehard fan

The majority straddle the line in a way that essentially requires the viewer to accept the silliness and, if they're able to, find a lot to really enjoy and I think this serial is the best example of that

The Primoids (a name I only discovered after briefly reading the wiki article on the episode) make absolutely no sense, to the point where it did stop my suspension of disbelief at times. There's no explanation of what they are or where the green goo comes from, just a vague handwave of a "primal power in the Earth."

This is now the third serial in a row where an arrogant and literally unbelievably stubborn scientist has such full control over a dangerous scientific experiment that he is able to disregard any and all warnings that things are dangerous, from military personnel to government agents to his own staff, while the rest of the cast just looks on and says "well, I warned him what else can I do!" and it was already old the first time it happened

I get that in this serial, it's meant to make a thematic point about the dangers of fascism and I think that could have worked if we hadn't already seen it done so many times before. The editing is still atrocious too

All that said though, I enjoyed it! The parallel universe stuff was really fun and the constant banter between the Doctor and the Brigadier is absolutely excellent. I genuinely laughed multiple times (which is saying something for a lot of these Classic stories,) especially at the end scene.

I did not get the impression at all that this was Liz's last episode so I was shocked when I read that in the Wiki article, though from what I gathered she hadn't intended to leave so early so I get why it wasn't depicted on screen. I like her a lot, the buddy-buddy relationship she had with the Doctor was different from anything we've seen before. It almost reminded me of the relationship between the Doctor and Donna a bit, or Rose, where they were in on the joke while everyone else looked at the Doctor's eccentricities and had to suffer haha

My season 7 ranking is

Doctor Who and the Silurians. I just genuinely love this serial and think it's really, really great scifi even now. It's flawed but really good

Spearhead from Space. A great introduction to the Third Doctor, lovely 70s aesthetics and a really cool villain

Inferno. All the problems I had with it aside, it was a good fun story

The Ambassadors of Death. Honestly, the fact that this is my least favorite of the season just shows how good this season was because I did enjoy this one

[ahordeofwasps]

🌑☀️⭐ for the ask game??

Thanks for the asks for the space ask game! I will answer them for Crying Wolf!

🌑 New moon - Who is your most mysterious character? Are they different from what people assume?

Probably Ogwut. He's a 10 ft tall robot with a nomadic lifestyle, and often covers himself head to toe with rags to hide his appearance. Most aren't really sure what to make of him and even he himself doesn't understand his origins. Those who don't know him will tend to make all sorts of bad assumptions about him, ranging from "a weirdo to be pitied and shunned" to "terrible demonic monster." The reality is that Ogwut is incredibly caring and is just trying to figure out both the world and himself.

☀️ Sun - Who is your most cheerful and positive character? Why are they like that?

Definitely Daisy! She has a tendency to look at a situation from all angles and will usually find some kind of silver lining or something to amuse her. This sometimes gets on the other characters' nerves as she'll find something funny about a bad situation and start giggling at an inappropiate time.

⭐️ Star - Do you have a favourite character? If so, why are they your favourite?

This is a difficult question to answer because it's hard not to get attached to all the main characters in some manner when writing. If I were to pick a favourite, I guess it would be Ogwut, Daisy, or Lux. Ogwut because he's got a heart of gold (figurative, not literal) and is the reason why Crying Wolf is a scifi novel instead of a fantasy short story. Daisy because she is an absolute delight who, despite being originally intended to be a minor villain, wound up being a very fun protagonist. Lux because after some character development he looks upon the world with a sense of wonder that is unparalleled by any other character.

[volumehypeplay]

What I'm HYPED for

Already, it's somehow February 1st. The older I get the more I believe time is a construct with how quickly months, weeks and days go by. 2023 is full of things I'm looking forward too (and many things I'm not yet aware of) so I thought, why not give you guys a little look at the games, movies and tv shows I can't wait for in 2023.

↓

Diablo IV

Probably my favorite series in gaming, is back once again and with being in the midst of reading 'The Sin War' seeing both Lilith and Inarius being the titular villains in this sequel has me extremely hyped. I have high hopes for the story, but seeing the return to the dark and macabre style, some fantastic visuals, the additions of verticality and a refined skill system lines up Diablo IV as potentially the best in the series.

↓

Stalker 2

I still remember making a PC just to be able to run Stalker, back in like 2004; being in awe of the atmosphere the game could muster. Now with Stalker 2 finally on the horizon I really hope the team manage to capture that dread and fear of walking through the ZONE and throw some awesome creature design at us.

↓

Starfield

Sometime 2 years ago I stumbled upon No Man Sky using gamepass and actually found it so much more fun than I expected. Seeing Bethesda basically put their own RPG-heavy spin on that idea has me excited. Although I was never a fan of Skyrim its now 10+ years since that game and if they can blend a great story with some fantastic survival / world building mechanics they've got me.

↓

Nightingale

Any game that gives me an excuse to be able to play with my best friend is a great game in my eyes and Nightingale looks like a fantastic spin on survival games. The crutch of this one is being able to realm walk between worlds, which hopefully gives us a ton of diversity; from building your base to the weapons and monsters that are their to ruin our day.

I think it's meant to be out in the first-half of 2023, in Early Access anyway so this is one i'll be keeping my fingers crossed for.

↓

The Invincible

I don't know much about this one, but The Invincible looks to be in the same vain as the fantastic Firewatch. It's an alternative-scifi with you playing a Russian astrobiologist thats stuck on a planet and has to get out. Story heavy games never had me very interested as a teen, but these last few years I've found some fantastic tales spun by the likes of Prey, Dishonored, God of War etc. and I have a feeling The Invincible is going to be another one of those games.

↓

Nine Sols

This is actually the only game I have ever backed and I don't regret a penny. Imagine Sekiro, but 2D, hand drawn and a rogue like - that's exactly what Nine Sols is. You play Yi, who has to take down the Nine Sols in a asian influences cyberpunk world.

Having played the demo (and some beta) Nine Sols is shaping up incredibly; the combat is looking to be outstanding for a game of this type and I hope the guys deliver on everything I've seen so far.

↓

The Ranchers

This is one of those unicorn games that apparently and hopefully will be able to do it all. Much like Raft, Grounded or Len's Island this is sort of a farming-simulator / survival game... but multiplayer. From what we've seen from the dev's in early trailers this could potentially be fantastic, with so much detail being on show. I would normally be hesitant with a game that trying to do so much, but having found a love in these more relaxed games of late I really am rooting for The Ranchers.

↓

The Finals

The only straight up FPS on my list is The Finals by the dev's behind the Battlefield series. This looks nuts. A modern, highly-destructive team FPS where you can literally mash up everything, with some incredible physics defying fights. I've missed a great shooter in the vain of something like a Quake / COD mash up and I think this might be it.

↓

Banishers: Ghost of New Eden

Ghosts. Ghost hunters. Co-op. That's all you need to know. Or just read my other write up on this here.

↓

The Killer

The undisputed KING of macabre, serial killers stories David Finicher is back and this time he's bringing Michael Fassbender for the ride. Based on an obscure French comic book, we see Fassbender play the titular Killer, whose conscience comes into play the longer he is away from his last kill. Yup, that's enough for me. I'm in.

↓

The Flash

This movie is finally coming... who'd believe it after it initially meaning to be realesed in 2018. With Miller spending a good part of 2022 doing his best portrayal of Eobard Thawne; the rumours surrounding Flash are that it's the best DC movie since The Dark Knight. I'm not one for that kind of hype, but the ground work is there. Miller (although a mad man) is clearly a fantastic actor, Keaton is back as Batman and we have Supergirl entering the fray. This could be the best CBM of the year if it lands right, and I think it will.

↓

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning

It's another MI film... whats not to look forward too? Cruise has been trying to kill himself for entertainment for a good 20 years and I don't think Dead Reckoning is going to buck the trend. Fully expect this to be awesome.

↓

Ferrari

After Bale and Damon put on such a masterclass with Ford v Ferrari, there's a lot to live up to for any car-related movie. Yet Ferrari directed by the great Michael Mann, led by Adam Driver has every chance of shaping up deliciously. I love Driver's ability to channel this suave-rage with his characters, something I think will tie nicely into his portrayal of Enzo.

↓

Killers of the Flower Moon

It's been a while since a film starring DiCaprio had me excited - so a movie about the Osage Murders led by the afromentioned DiCaprio directed by Martin Scorcese could not have come at a better time. Im a sucker for anything with the words serial-killr so I'll be there day one hoping for another masterclass by this duo.

↓

Air Jordan

Affleck is finally back. It's been years since this man has directed a movie but now he's back with his buddy Matt Damon, telling the story of a Nike salesman trying to capture Michael Jordan for the sports juggernaut.

Say less.

↓

Argylle

Directed by Mathew Vaughn (of X-Men First Class and Kingsman fame) is a spy movie, sporting Henry Cavill with quite literally the most millitant hair cut known to man. Steve Zahn would be proud.

P.S. theres nothing else out about this movie but thats more than enough for me to be excited.

↓

True Detective: Night Country

This show is a bit of an oddball. The first season is seen as a classic, the second a huge step back and the third a slow return to form; so can this new season starring Jodie Foster finally rekindle the magic that was season one? It has just about everything going for it, especially the setting; Alaska, during the Winter - a perfect brew for death and mystery. This is one I'll be crossing my fingers for.

↓

Shogun

A series set in 17th Century Japan, based on the legendary book, led by Hiroyuki Sanada? Oooh you crazy bastard I'M IN. I'm a sucker for stories like this and knowing the ever awesome KANEDA is leading this story of samurai, deception and survival it feels like it was handmade for me - and you can bet I'll be there day one.

↓

Three Body Problem

The Three Body Problem, might just be the sleeper hit of 2023 if the men behind GoT get this story right. Having read (2 of 3 books) in the series, this is quite possibly the most wild sci-fi story I have ever red. Set in China, during the 1970s (and onwards) the way this story takes such a simply concept about alien contact and flips it on a dime is incredible. Really hope this does well.

↓

···

GIF by loveyazy

Secret Invasion

I can't believe I'm actually excited for something Marvel, but this espionage thriller led by Samuel L Jackson is it. I have loved the more serious takes Marvel have attempted (The Winter Soldier) and this looks like a straight continuation in vibe and style. Adding Ben Mendehlson, Olvia Colman and more to the cast (with it being a mini-series as well) I fully believe this will be the best thing Marvel does the whole of 2023.

[oc-name-database]

Welcome to the OC Name Database! (Blog Post)

General info:

I post names for OCs, mostly for SciFi/Fantasy worlds, but they can be used in other settings too. 

My name is Jojo, I am 22 years old, and I use she/they pronouns. 

Asks/Requests and Submissions are always open. (See more below.)

Asks/Requests info:

If you need help coming up with names for an OC(s), I’m more than happy to help! Just shoot me an ask (anon or not).

In order for me to help you as best as I can, include as much information as you can think of in your ask! This can be stuff like: themes/motifs associated with them, magical powers, physical appearance (like skin/hair color), ethnicity/race, etc

Submissions: 

Here’s what to include in a submission. Please include as much as you can, as this will really help me: Name, Origin, Gender association, Pronunciation, and meaning.

FAQs:

Where can I find more info about the names you’ve posted? A quick google search that looks like this: “[name] name [meaning/origin/etymology/myth/etc]” will most likely bring up what you’re looking for!

Where do you find these names? The internet, books I’ve read (& other media), people I’ve met, and very rarely my brain. 

There’s a mistake in one of your posts. That name’s pronunciation/meaning/origin/gender association is wrong. Please let me know! Names are a very important part of culture, so please please please help me do my best to respect these cultures. 

How do I request help for names? See above.

How do I submit posts? See above.

You didn’t answer my request. Why not? Probably because I sometimes forget this blog exists and disappear for months on end! I’ll answer it eventually, sorry for the wait!!! 

What does each tag mean exactly? “Royal names” are names that have something to do with leadership/power/royalty. “Nature names” are names that are associated with some aspect of nature, be it weather, plants, or something else. “Negative connotation names” are names that have a slightly (or majorly) negative meaning, great for your villain or tragic hero. “Color names” are names that are associated with a particular color. “Misc names” are names that don’t fall into any of the previous categories. 

I just need advice on naming in general, please. See below. 

Where can I find all of the asks you’ve already answered? See below.

My question wasn’t answered here. My ask box is open! Feel free to ask!

Important posts/Previous asks:

Naming Advice (10 tips and tricks)

OC Name Ask Game

Ask - Meaning: Cute/Innocent

Ask - Meaning of the name Lain

Ask - Nickname for Dolly

Ask - Power/Magic: Turns into beasts

Ask - Power/Magic: Smoke/Fire (Male)

Ask - Superhero names/Aliases

Ask - Real life setting names

Ask - Motif: Werewolf/Hunter (Female)

Ask - Motif: Chupacabra and Goat Man (Male)

Ask - Motif: Various (Red/Apple, Horror, Cyberpunk, Gothic)

[duskkodesh]

Dusk Reviews 5: Adventures Into Fear

Welcome back! We’re up to Morb’s next appearance which for our purposes is Adventure Into Fear #20. AIF was a series which started as just “Fear” and a way for them to sell some reprinted 50′s and 60′s pre-hero Marvel comics. Think Monster and Scifi stories written by Stan Lee. Stuff from comics like Tales of Suspense, Strange Tales, or Tales to Astonish. Now after issue nine the comic became titled as we know it now and feature stories with Man-Thing. Fun fact, issue nineteen features the first ever Howard the Duck who was supposed to be a bit of throwaway satire but proved popular. Speaking of popular look at the billing they gave our boy on this cover!

Morb was actually pretty damn popular after his debut, one of the major reasons they turned him from a pretty straight antagonist to a somewhat wobbly Greek tragedy. God, I have to apologize ahead of time because I will abuse that joke.

Our writer here is Mike Friedrich, art by Paul Gulacy. In the history of classic Morb Paul is... not my fave artist. You’ll see why. The comic opens as expected. Morb is hungry, he finds a woman headed home from a party. Nom nom nom, annnnnd then guilt. 

“If she lives”? Morb, you are a freaking doctor. Is the lady alive or not? I swear he shares one brain cell with the other Marvel villains and it is often not his turn to use it. So, he turns in for a nap to give us a conveniently placed flashback of his origin story and the two Marvel team-up issues. We even get to see his very anti-climactic escape from the X-men’s lair and a bit from Vampire Tales 1 which.... again I want to do ALL of Vampire Tales together so AIF first, VT later even though VT was published alongside AIF the stories kind of run separate. 

So, a reverend and a rabbi go into a lab that has a napping vampire in it. What? There’s no punchline, this is literally what happens in our story!

Don’t worry, it’ll only get weirder from here. Morb threatens them but the cool-headed rabbi calms him and talks. Seems he knows Michael’s name and rep being a man of science himself. The pair sets out studying and trying to help Morb but time drags on and Morb gets hungry. Morb attacks but Daemond  uses a spell to control Morb and stop him long enough to reveal he’s actually dabbling in darrrrk magic. Big surprise! 

He uses one of his spells to control Morb to eat the poor rabbi. RIP. Morb at least eating kosher. Okay, I’m at LEAST sorry for that joke! Morb, having eaten at least gains sentience but not control and laments killing such a kind man who tried to help him. Daemond has uses for our vampire tho and off he is sent on a mission to kill someone. This of course is giving him anxiety (More than usual) because he has no idea WHO he’s been sent to kill. We end with him finding his target... a kid? Awwww heck. Stay tuned!

Yep! We end on a cliffhanger! Gotta get you hooked! So, there’s a lot of retread and plot framing in this issue but it’s understandable, just doesn’t really go anywhere. The art is all over the place. Some panels look great! Some not so much, overall this one is a 6/10 from me but I gave a bonus point for sudden evil sorcerer Daemond whipping out his cult robes before he proudly announces he was evil the whole time. Snappy dresser, terrible haircut!

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 12/28/21

in which we rapidly approach the end of this fucking year

this is empathetically not going to be a real end of year roundup or contain end of year reflections bc i’ve had a miserable fucking year (so far, there are several more days in which things could continue to happen)

listening Wild & Unwise by Findlay. i continually forget that if i like one song off an album i should probably listen to the whole album. there might be other songs i like hiding in there!

can’t really relate to the lyrics

He's just my type Not too handsome but he's bright And I'm too wild and unwise

but i do like when a song is just a little too much for the instruments and the singer’s voice.

and here are all the tuesdaysongs (i think) in one handy playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6l4sGKcABBJtZO5ZNI6TRP?si=KkrLzhb4SvWQFgiW1cTI1w

reading look i have been CHURNING through cheesy romance novels at a terrible rate and i don’t really have anything in particular to say about any of them. bounced off a western, bounced off the novelization of Metropolis (1927, dir. Lang) bc whew! i have a lot of patience for scifi but this one is TIRESOME in the ‘20s verbose religious allegorical way. as with many first-half-of-the-last-century-German-authors, there are certainly some Editing Choices made on her wiki page

watching got a letterboxd bc i like stats and hate making them myself. as i am writing this on monday evening, i hope to finish seven samurai. very normal viewing habits of a very normal sci fi and bideo jame enjoyer.

i did not enjoy the new residence evil when i normally enjoy these films :( it was simply incoherent. why pick THOSE parts of the video game to make cinematic? why THAT boss fight? capcom is usually very hands-off and regards the movies as their own separate canon from the games but this is a weird turn

i also watched spiderman 2 (interesting in a messy way that marvel doesn’t allow itself these days) in an attempt to go on and watch the newest spiderman, but the opening scene in the newest spiderman in that fucking apartment was frantic in a way i very much did not enjoy. waiting for a fancam of all the alfred molina scenes in that film.

playing not truly fallow but i don’t have anything interesting to say about genshin

making  i wrote a thousand-ish words of political machinations set directly after the events of the film Metropolis (1927, dir Lang). i see a blank slate of a woman and ask “is anyone gonna do something about that” while already planning how i can max out her “scheming” stat

shoutout to the three other pieces i wrote this year,

dear villainous thing (two dudes, mature-ish?, 415 words, The Big Combo (1955)) henchmen being domestic

no punches left to roll with (three ladies, many osha violations, 1212 words, Fallout: New Vegas Game of the Year Edition (2010)) what IS the proper use of a bed, huh?

one chapter of blow a kiss, fire a gun (several pairings, osha violations in the literal sense, coming up on 30k but this chapter is more like 3k, Fallout: New Vegas Game of the Year Edition (2010)) in which we have extremely poor public relations.