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thewritetofreespeech · 3 years ago

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Obey Me + Jealousy

prompt: The Demon Brothers don’t like that you’re spending time with your best friend in the human world. Loosely based off this prompt done previously.

Lucifer

It had been a long time since you had been up to the human world. Even longer since you had seen your best friend. You were so excited to see them! Laughing. Telling old inside stories. Catching up on gossip.

Although you were having a great time in the human world, your escort for the day did not seem to be enjoying all your world had to offer.

In order to get ‘top side’ Lucifer had to come with you. He was the only one able to open the portal there and back, and insisted on coming with you to keep you safe. You felt the need to remind him that the Devildom was the actual dangerous place, but it would take longer than just letting him come.

Now you kind of wish you had taken the time to argue. He was really being a major downer the whole day.

“Are you ok? You seem irritated.” Or, well, more irritated than usual.

“No. I’m fine.” Lucifer replied. Although not lending any credibility to the statement. “I’m just thinking of all the more useful things I could be doing with my time.”

You frown at his flip comment. “If you don’t want to be here, then you can leave. No one is making you stay here.”

“Fine. Since you seem so entertained by your little friend to pay any attention to me, perhaps it is best if I do head home.”

You blink a little at Lucifer’s statement. It was cold, and once again flip, as usual. But you were surprised he mentioned your friend. “Lucifer, are you jealous I’m spending time with them?”

The demon rebuttaled with a surprised look before he frowned at you. “I am not jealous.”

“Really? Cause it seems like your-“I am not jealous!” He repeated, louder and sterner this time. He let that moment linger there before he sighed and looked away with his arms cross. “I am….perhaps irritated to be ignored.”

‘Right, so, totally jealous.’ You think to yourself. But have the good sense to keep that thought to yourself alone. You suppose you could see where he was coming from. It’s hard to be the odd man out when you and your friends get together. Being so proud and prominent in the demon world, this is probably the first time it had happened to Lucifer.

“I’m sorry if you’re feeling left out. I’ll try to be more inclusive.”

“No. You’re right.” Lucifer remarked. Finally looking back at you with a much softer expression. “It’s foolish of me to think I can take all of your time. You deserve some moments of your own. I shouldn’t have intruded.” His hand reached out to cup your cheek, while offering you the faintest of smiles. “I will leave, but not because I’m angry. I want you to spend time with your friend and enjoy it, which would be best when I’m not around. Just call me when you’re ready to come home and I’ll come fetch you.” He released your cheek and took a step back. Smiling at you again before he disappeared.

You wonder, briefly, if he could feel your heart swelling with pride after you left. To think a small human like you could make the great Lucifer jealous.

Mammon

There were a lot of things you loved about Mammon.

His spontaneity. His zest for life. How nothing ever seemed to get him down for too long.

However, it was hard to remember all those good qualities when he was behaving so poorly all day.

“Mammon! Can you knock it off?!”

“What?! I’m just standing here. I’m not good enough at standing here for ya now!” The demon barked back. Not matching your whisper tone at all.

“That’s not what I said, and you know it. You’ve been a jerk all day and I’d like you to cut it out.”

“Oh, so now I’m a jerk! Well sorry sweetheart but I’m a demon. We’re not ‘upposed to be nice and friendly all the time. Sometimes we get ta be jerks!”

“Good lord, say it a little bit louder Mammon!” You hiss back at him letting practically the whole world, or at least this park, know he was a demon.

Mammon tsked his teeth and turned away from you. “Can’t do anything right.” He muttered. “Why don’t you go hang out with your friend then, if I’m such a jerk? You two seem ta be having a grand ol’ time on your own with me here. Shouldn’t make much of a difference if I’m gone.” He said before crossing his arms in a huff.

“Is that what this is about?” You ask. Ignoring his little out burst (because when he gets this way it’s just best to ignore him). “You’re mad that I’m spending time with my friend and not you?”

“No!” Yes. Totally yes.

“Mammon are you jealous?”

The demon floundered comically at the question, his mouth opening & closing like a fish as he tried to find words, before he answered. “I am not jealous!!” Great come back. “The Great Mammon does not get jealous! Ya hear! I’m just pissed because you’re spending all this time with them when I’m the one who schlepped all the way up here for ya, and used my connections to get us top side!” He turned away again and recrossed his arms. Then he muttered under his breath, “it was just supposed to be you and me today, for once.”

A sigh left you lips, and you step closer to Mammon to place your hand on his arm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin your plans. I was just excited to see my friend. It’s been so long. Plus I wanted you to meet them so I can show you off. You are my first after all.”

Those blue gold eyes got a little wide, and Mammon blushed, before he gulped once and refocused himself. “Y-Y-Yeah! Of course. Ya should be proud to show me off. It’s not everyone who gets to be seen with an all-powerful demon like me. If anyone is ‘jealous’ it should be everyone else for not having the Great Mammon by their side!”

“Of course,” you agree with a giggle. Before you lean up and give him a kiss on the cheek. “I’m lucky to have you.”

“D-Don’t ya forget it!”

Levi

“Hey, [Y/N]-chan, I think I’m gonna head home.”

You look up from your soda at Levi, who was fidgeting beside you after he spoke. “What? Why? I thought you were having fun.”

“Yeah, no. No I mean….you seem like your having fun with your friend so I don’t want to bother you. 3 is a crowd.”

“Levi, that’s not true. You’re not bothering us. I just wanted to spend sometime with my bff while we’re in town.”

“No. I get it. Who would want to hang out with a crummy otaku like me.”

“Levi, that’s not what I said. I do want to hang out with you!”

“But you have your normie friend.” Levi looked past you at the friend in question. “Look at them. Being out, talking to people like a regular person. I can never do that. You should go on without me and leave me here. You seem much happier with them anyway.”

“Levi…come on. That isn’t—” Your train of thought stops itself as it came to a sudden, and abrupt realization. “Levi, are you jealous?”

The blue haired demon responded with his trademark ‘eehhh??’ at the question, and quickly covered his face with is arm. “O-O-Of course not!” He exclaimed. Barely hiding the blush on his cheeks. “Who would be jealous of a normie?? I just I…I mean you…Y-You seem so happy with them [Y/N]-chan. A sad otaku like me can never make you that happy. So it’s just bumming me out!”

You offer Levi a soft smile, then move to squat down in front of him. “True. I am happy when I hang out with my friends. But I’m happy when I hang out with you too. No one can gush about anime with me like you can.” You reassure him. He was the Avatar of Envy after all. What did you expect?

The demon slowly poked his head out from under his arm. “Really?”

“Of course. It’s…not really a side of myself I get to show to people. They think I’m weird. But with you, I can be that part of myself. That’s the part that you have Levi.”

His face turned bright red all over again, and Levi sat there for a moment before he quickly shook his head. “D-Don’t say stuff like that [Y/N]-chan! Don’t make me fall for your normie trap!”

You giggle and stand up again to offer Levi your hand. “Come on. Lets find something we can all do together. The Cineplex is playing some old action movies we can go and make fun of.”

“Oooo! Which ones??”

The distraction of old movies to riff on, and for Levi to share all his in-depth knowledge on, was a welcome alternative for the afternoon. He even had a spirited debate with your best friend on the concepts of CGI graphics vs old school ‘cut & paste’ cinematography. Crisis on planet Earth avoided.

Satan

It was always fun to come back to the human world. Especially with Satan.

Not that you didn’t enjoy spending time with the others, but most of them could be a little....energetic. It was nice to spend a calm afternoon with the 4th brother alone for a change.

You both had stopped in a local coffee shop you loved when you ran into an old friend. You hadn't seen them in so long that you got to talking and eventually invited them to join your table. Where you had been laughing and having a grand time for a while now.

Or so you thought.

Satan hadn’t said a word the whole time you were at the table. Which was necessarily odd. He wasn’t a big talker like some of his brothers. However, you could tell that something was wrong with the way he kept stirring his cup, or how his jaw clenched ever now and then before releasing. His movements subtle, as always.

“I’m gonna get another cup. You want anything?” Your friend asked as they got up from the table, to which both of you motioned no.

“Can we go now.” Your head turned back to Satan at his cool words. “We were supposed to go to the bookstore.”

“We still have time to go to the bookstore.” You tell him. “It doesn’t close until a while from now.”

“Yes. But we agreed to be there at 1:00, and now it’s 1:30. That’s not the way this day was supposed to go.” The blonde replied. Fidgeting with his cup to try and align it perfectly on the saucer. “This day was supposed to be just you and I.”

You blink a little at Satan’s response. Initially thinking that he was miffed about the time. Now, however, you weren’t so sure. “Satan, are you jealous that I paused our date to hang out with my friend?”

The demon sat up straighter; though how you could be sure. Then he frowned. “I am not jealous.”

“No. I get it. It’s hard to be in a group if they have a lot of inside jokes. It’s ok if--“I am not jealous!” He shout. His fist slamming on the table, rattling the frail wood and cups. Alerting everyone in the shop to your conversation.

Satan hissed through his teeth and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Alright. Fine. I am jealous. We so rarely get time away from those idiots, and I was really looking forward to the bookstore with you. Now you have someone else tagging along. Is it so awful to be alone with me?”

Your heart sank a little at that. Was that really how Satan felt? “I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intention. I just wanted to catch up with my friend for a bit since I haven’t seen them in a while. I didn’t mean to disrupt our date.” The demon blinked a few times at the word ‘date’ then blushed. Muttering about how it wasn’t like that, that he was being unreasonable, that it was all fine. Still, you smile and offer to him, “let me tell them goodbye and we’ll go to the bookstore. If we leave now, we can also stop by the pet store and play with the cats if you’d like.”

Satan fidgeted in his chair. Cheek’s still a stark pink against his blonde hair. “I....would like that.”

Asmo

It was a beautiful day in the human world, and you were so excited to be home.

Being able to spend the day in your home town, with your best friend, shopping and just playing around was the best way to spend an afternoon. Who could be sad at a day like this?

“[Y/NNNNNNNN],” Asmo whined. The usually bubbly demon dragging his shopping bags behind him as he pouted behind you. “Can’t we stop for now”

“Really Asmo? You’re usually much more of a marathon shopper.”

“It’s too hot.” He quipped back. Now with more of a frown than a pout. “This humidity is wreaking havoc on my hair.”

“Why don’t I get us something cool to drink?” Your BFF suggested. Trying to stay positive all afternoon, and pretending that they didn’t hear Asmo’s bitter ‘yeah why don’t you do that’ as they took off and he sat down.

“Asmodeus,” you hiss when you were alone. “Who can you be so rude to them? What is wrong with you today?!”

“It’s not my fault!” Asmo snapped back. Looking wounded but also scratching at his chest where his pact mark was to let you know that he knew he messed up. “This was supposed to be a day for you and me! They’re the one that but in!”

“No. You did. I told you I was going top side for a while to hang out with my friend, and you invited yourself along. So now you’re ruining everyone’s day with this behavior. I really don’t get you.”

Asmo stopped scratching at his chest and pouted for real this time.

“I don’t like seeing you with them.” He confessed. “I don’t like seeing you with anyone. Your smile….it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I wanted to come along with you today because I wanted to see your smile. But seeing you happy with someone else is the worst! I don’t even care about any of this anymore. Not even my new shoes.” His foot kicked at his bag sullenly. Asmo must really be upset. “I want to go home and forget all about the human world. I want you to come home with me!”

You listen for a while before you make a confession of your own. “You’re jealous, aren’t you.” It was plain as day now. Or at least now that you realized he wasn’t just being a brat to be a brat.

Asmo turned and glared at you slightly. “Green is not my color.” He insisted before turning away in a huff.

You chuckle, then sit down beside him on the bench. “I think you look good in any color.” You tell him. Softening the demon up. “You know I care about you Asmo. But me being with my friends doesn’t mean I care about you any less. And that’s no reason to be so ugly to them. You need to apologize.”

The demon winced at the word ‘ugly’, but did seem to agree that he needed to turn this around.

When your friend came back, he quickly apologized. Blaming jet lag, or some other ridiculous believable excuse. It didn’t really matter when he turned on the charm. Gods help him if he ever set his mind to something.

Beel

He was stress eating. You could tell.

Although Beel was still shoveling food into his mouth with his usual speed and gusto, by now you could tell the difference in his eating habits. Like when he was just bored and there was food around, or when he was really hungry for something, or when he was excited to try something new. Right now, he wasn’t enjoying what he was eating. Even when he was bored or just eating to eat, Beel always seemed to enjoy it. Even if it was just a vending machine’s worth of junk.

Right now it just looked like he was doing it to take his mind off something.

“Beel? Is something wrong?” You ask softly. Still getting his attention though, and causing him to stop.

“No. Nothing ’s wrong.” He replied. His voice unusually sullen as he wiped his mouth. You knew something was wrong now. He never sounded said when he was eating. Now something was double wrong because he was lying to you.

“Beel….”

“…I don’t like your friend…” He finally confessed after a moment and long bout of staring.

You blink in surprise at his answer. Not expecting that at all. You’ve never heard Beel say a mean word about anyone before. Let alone not liking a person. “You don’t like my friend? Why? Did they do something wrong?”

“It’s not that. I just….don’t like how you are when you’re with them.” He said. Picking at the various candy wrappers he’d left littered on the table. “You seem happy.”

“Of course I’m happy. They’re my friend. I haven’t seen them in a long time, so I miss them.”

Beel flinched a little. “I know….” He seemed to be feeling bad about this now. “And I want you to be happy. I know the human world is your first home. But I’m scared that….if you like it here so much and them, that you’ll leave us again. When you’re not around it’s like this big whole in my stomach and I can’t fill it up.” His stomach growled in protest, or agreement, at his words, and Beel went back to stress eating his vending machine contents again.

Your gaze softened as you finally understood. He was jealous. He thought your friend was going to ‘take you away’ and leave him alone. That of course was silly because you’d never leave him, or the others, ever if you could help it.

You reach out your hand to stop his arm from lifting another fist full of chips to his mouth. Causing him to pause, with his mouth open, and look at you. “All this junk can’t be good for you.” You announce as you stop up from the park table suddenly. “Why don’t I take you to my favorite restaurant in town? My friend used to work there, so I’m sure we’ll get a great table and lots of yummy stuff on the house if we go.”

Beel’s eyes sparkled at the proposition. “Really??”

You giggle. The way to a man’s heart was through his stomach you suppose. Because after this, and a few unlimited fry baskets later, he and your friend were besties for life as well.

Belphie

"[Y/N], I wanna go home."

"Home?" You ask. "But we just got here." You’d only arrived at the park to meet your friend a few hours ago, and had only just started hanging out.

"Well I'm tired.” Belphie muttered.

“Aren’t you always kind of tired?” You ask, as a joke, but it doesn’t seem well received.

Belphie’s frown deepens, and he even lets out an annoyed little growl, before he turns on his heels to walk away. “Belphie! Where are you going?”

“You nap under that tree.” He announced. But doesn’t seem as thrilled as he normally is about the prospect. Napping under trees was like his third favorite nap spot. “You won’t let me go home, so I’m just going to stay there while you hang out with your friend. You won’t miss me anyway.”

The last part of his statement was muttered under his breath, but you still heard it. Was that what he was being so moody about?

“Belphie? Are you jealous I’m hanging out with my friend?”

“Yes.” He replied. Rather quickly considering, with only a moment to scuff the tip of his shoes. “I don’t like that you’re spending time with them and not me. I don’t like being ignored.”

“I’m not ‘ignoring you’.” You tell him. “I’m just hanging out with my friend for a while. I haven’t seen them in a long time. They’ve probably been lonely too.”

Belphegor huffed again and sagged his shoulders. You know you got him.

Belphie might be kind of selfish sometimes, but there was one thing he could empathize with: being alone. He was cast aside and locked out, partially of his own doing, for a long time. So he didn’t want anyone else to feel that way.

“I just don’t like the idea that you like them better than me.”

“I don’t.” You assure him. Stepping in to give him a peck on the cheek, which he adorably flinches at. “I love you both. Differently, but equal. Why don’t we think of something we can all do together then, hm?”

“I’m kind of committed to this nap-tree-idea-thing.” The demon confessed. You have to giggle.

You all don’t nap, but your friend agree to get some ice creams from a vendor in the park and sit under the tree to enjoy them while Belphie napped. It was a remarkably pleasant afternoon. You were glad you got to share it with Belphie.

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princessbatears · 4 years ago

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I'm a storyteller both by trade and by hobby, and I understand a lot about how effective television storytelling works, in particular. My background has given me a different perspective than most people with regards to the finale, particularly what happens between Din and Grogu. Normally, I don’t get involved in fandom discussions, but I was encouraged to share my take on this. Spoilers below the cut in case I miss some tags, lol.

When I watched the episode this morning, I wasn't prepared for what happened. Like many of us, I expected a terrible cliffhanger or a neat conclusion like we got in the last season. Instead, Din encouraged his son to become a Jedi, leaving himself (and the rest of us) more than a little devastated. It was brutal. But also brilliant. Din and Grogu's individual and family arcs in this season came to a close in a way more beautiful than I could have expected. At the beginning of the season, Din kept Grogu at his side and protected him, but he was determined to pass him off to a Jedi. In part, this was because he believed it was Grogu's own good, but also because he wasn't ready to accept his fatherhood. We see this in the episode with Ahsoka. Even though he didn't want to say goodbye, he was willing to thrust Grogu upon her. When Ahsoka refused, Din was genuinely relieved and finally admitted to himself that he loved him and wanted him to stay a part of his life. That was further confirmed by the lengths he went to in order to get him back from Gideon.

Meanwhile, Grogu's gone through his own arc. We learned from Ahsoka that he hid his powers out of fear. We also learned that he's very afraid of being separated from Din, who he sees as his family. It's completely understandable. He's young and been through a lot. But that fear also makes it harder for him to train, so Ahsoka rejects him. Grogu himself continues to be a little reluctant to use his powers, needing encouragement from Din (unless it's to steal cookies). When he's captured, he fights the best he can to get away, but that fighting doesn't end up doing him much good because he can't control himself. It's my impression that, by the end of the season, Grogu's realized that he needs to be able to master his powers, not just to protect himself, but to protect Din, too. He's finally ready to step into his strength and become all that he can be, which is why he decides to go with Luke.

Din did not want Grogu to go. Everything in his being screamed that. He even say to Luke, "He doesn't want to go with you." However, when Luke explains what's going on, Din realizes that he must put Grogu's needs before his own. It's in Grogu's best interest to be nurtured in the ways of the Force, as he's always suspected, but now letting Grogu looks different than it did before. It wasn't Din rejecting his love for his son or pushing the responsibility of him onto someone else. He even did several things differently from when he tried to give Grogu to Ahsoka. First, he promises they'll see each other again. Personally, I don't think this is the end of them being together, even though Din says Grogu belongs with Luke (also more on that soon). Second, Din tells him not to be afraid. He wants Grogu to become confident in himself and all he can be. Third, he takes off his helmet to show his boy his face and let him touch him. While this is a huge sacrifice on his part because others also see his face, it is proof to Grogu that they are family and that they will always be family. Fourth, Din sets Grogu down on the floor and lets him walk to Luke. This is vitally important. In the past, he's tried to physically hand him over. This time, he lets Grogu make his own decision once and for all. Grogu walks over to look and asks to be picked up, indicating he truly wants to be trained. Din recognized him as an autonomous being with his own will, and respected and encouraged that, like a good father does. Was it easy? Absolutely not, but it was the right thing to do.

I'm not sure what Season 3 will look like as far as Din and Grogu's relationship goes. Maybe Grogu won't feature as prominently, maybe there will be a time jump, maybe something will happen and Luke will bring him back? I have no idea. None of us do. However, what I do know is that heart of the show is the relationship between Din and Grogu. I believe Filoni and Favreau know this, as does Disney. Grogu has made Disney actually relevant again, he's made them an insane amount of money, and I don't think they're going to let that cash cow go any time soon. So, everybody, please don't despair. It's going to be okay! ❤️

I'd also like to take a moment to discuss Luke. My feelings on this have evolved as I'm processed the episode over the last few hours. Initially, I wasn't very happy. I felt like a lot of people do. Why does it always have to be Skywalkers? Why couldn't it be somebody—anybody—else? Why did that have to do that weird CGI thing with his face that wigs me out? (That, admittedly, I'm still not a fan of, lol.) But with some time, I've realized that Luke makes sense. There's the inescapable fact that Star Wars is about the Skywalkers. They're the central characters of this universe. If Movies 6-9 hadn't been as godawful as they were, I think many of us wouldn't resent this fact so much. We're jaded, understandably. However, I don't believe it's fair to judge The Mandalorian's choice to include him based on other creators screwing him up in a future timeline. So far, Favreau and Filoni have been nothing but respectful of the Star Wars universe and its characters, and I'm choosing to trust them with this. But that aside, Luke is likely the only Jedi in the whole galaxy who would take Grogu as an Apprentice. Ahsoka didn't want him, too scarred by her own experiences and traumas. She also comes with the baggage the Temple placed upon its students, which was, if you have any "dark" qualities, you're untrainable. Meanwhile, in the original trilogy, Luke learned how to become a Jedi even though his legacy was those "dark" qualities. He overcame his own anger and fear and started new Jedi traditions. He's the perfect person at this point in his life to teach Grogu how to master his powers. He is obviously aware of how important Grogu is to Din and he'll take good care of him until the family can be reunited.

Personally, I loved this finale, especially the last few minutes. They absolutely destroyed me on a human level, but excited me as a writer and storyteller. By shaking the show up like this, it keeps the audience on their toes and reminds us that anything can happen. Din and Grogu's relationship is why people are so invested and throwing this huge kink that creates a massive conflict that the audience is desperate to have resolved. Aside from one of them actually dying (which would have me throw the show in the garbage), very little else could create such a reaction, which is the whole point. I can't wait to see what the creatives throw at us next year! 😃

#the manadalorian spoilers #the mandalorian season 2 spoilers #the mandalorian season 2 #the mandalorian #mandalorian analysis

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astro-break · 4 years ago

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Thoughts on the third ep of Hypmic Rhythm Anima (as always, spoilers beware but not only for the anime itself but for future things covered in the Drama CD and the Manga. If you’re an anime only, those are marked with a *)

Right off the bat. Super disappointed that it isn’t a MTC episode. I wanted an MTC episode. :((((

Still got my MTC crumbs this week tho and I think I can hold out until next week which hopefully will give me the MTC episode I so desperately want (Yes, i have a division bias and i’m not afraid to show it)

Jakurai entertaining kids are just so cute. I think its very very precious.

* Also. What kind of doctor is Jakurai anyways? So far we know that he’s a councilor/therapist (helps Doppo w/ his anxiety), a pediatrician (he helped a kid), a family doctor (I think i might be wrong on this one), a surgeon (In the FP vs MTC manga he’s shown preforming surgery), a hitman/assassin (:/ yeah evil line records seems intent on retconning this one), a battle field medic (he’s state to be one during WWIII) and now he’s getting called into the orthopedic (things concerning the musculoskeletal system) and gastroenterology (working w. the digestive system) department, two things that have nothing in common with each other. And I’m sure I’m missing some. There is no way in hell this man can do all that he’s 35 for fucks sake. You’d be old and grey before you could learn and complete the credentials needed to work half of these jobs

Nice to now that theres some hints of jakurai’s past. I have a feeling that we’ll be seeing more of the detective later in the story, esp for Matenrou

Doppo being overworked as usual *sigh*. When will the man ever rest? Never... Though im a bit skeptical as to why one of his co-workers calls him doppo. this is a work environment, usually he’d be called “Kanonzaka” for the least amount of informality. seems sus to me. Though his depiction of his insecurities is nice

I love how his first reaction is to call Hifumi and as him if he’s killed anyone. Peak bromance guys.

Honestly Doppo’s method of trying to calm down is nice but not at all effective. He has the right mindset of calming down and letting his body breath, but the way he goes about it is... eh.

Tom and Iris’ argument is hilarious and I really want to see more of them and Rex! Can’t wait to see what happens with these three new characters

Iasdgfjsd;flkasjdflkasdjfkasdlvn ajsdk, MTCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

MY BPOYS OH MY GOD RIOU NEVER CHANGE

fsajghasdf i love them asdhfoiksldjfasdfj riou’s food looks so so so so so good omgggggg

Samatoki respecting the fuck outta Jakurai is amazing and I never get tired of their father-child kind of relationship (yes jakurai is a dad to TDD fight me.)

The Riou and Samatoki interactionnnnnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ah my heart!! they know each other so well and play off each others strengths. its so cute and I love how Samatoki knows his teammates well enough to know when to play each of his pieces. He isn’t just some brute who speaks through his fists, but he does use his head too. I think this is one of the reasons why he’s also high up on the Yakuza ladder since he’s not only brawny but also brainy

EAT RIOUS FOOD SAMATOKI

ah yes, Jyuto kneeing a bitch. just what I needed to see on a stressful friday thank you for feeding me

I love MTC, im very happy with the MTC crumbs. Since MTR showed up in BB’s ep last week, i really really hope that next week’s ep will be MTC

There it is. Jakurai’s “Jitsuni Kyoumibukai” line

lolololololol the sound effects for MTR is hilarious. Though please give Doppo a break, man deserves it

Jaku’s hair man. its beautiful

Again, please give Doppo a break, he deserves with the 4 joints that they attacked

They say 3 times, but they attacked 4 places?? Did they not report one of them?

Ahhhhh the DoHifu interaction on the temple grounds is both hilarious and cute. Though I can’t help but feel bad for Doppo

* Huh, Jaku did you get that from your hitman days loll

Oh man host mode. Though I like how Doppo recognizes when Host Mode is a legitimate shield that Hifumi needs and is willing to give him that shield when he needs it. God I love their dynamic]

wow... yet another female stalker for Hifumi... very original. This is pretty similar to the stalker girl from the manga and CD

Lol callback to when Doppo was in the toilet and trying to calm down.

pffft the girl is so weird. I can’t stand her or Uwabami.

The plot is so convoluted holy shit. Is this a drama now? (I’ve never watched any c-dramas or k-dramas so I’m the furthest thing from a voice of authority but this seems like a drama show plot lmao.)

This is just a drama at this point lol. Misunderstandings, plot twists and cheesy shit all over the place. Its a badly written and hilarious drama thats for sure

Someone please write a fic where instead of the hypmic universe, the boys are all in a tv drama show plot and their hijinks bc it would fit perfectly. please

Ah, Doppochin snapped~ He’s very interesting once he gets fired up and thats when I really really like MTR. Don’t get me wrong, I love them normally but its when they get down to it that really makes me squeal in delight

Oh! So i think each character gets their own personalized intro w/ their speakers, not just the leaders. Thats honestly so so so cool. The 3D didn’t get in the way of the sequence and was really flashy and smooth. I love how they show the transformation and reveal of the mic and speaker. Honestly the Anime has so many good takes on thigs that aren’t touched on often in the franchise.

The rap was honestly fire this time around. I love it and have replayed it almost 20 times. According to the ending credits its called Welcome U which is so cute for such a funny and badass song. The strong base beat and imagery were so strong and included a lot of homages to things that really matches both Shinjuku, Matenrou and the lyric’s themes and they’re really small but important details! The humor was on point without sacrificing any of the amazingly cool elements and the three distinct styles of rap were integrated in such a catchy melody!

EG) the verse All Year Round features a quick shot of the four seasons and the things most prominently associated with each season. Spring has cherry blossoms and flower viewing, Summer has festivals, Fall and Winter have food that corresponds to events that happen in those seasons.

Doppo’s line of “The flea counters w/ a bite” is so so so cute bc he’s got a little w at the end and thats jp chatspeak for a laugh and skjdfhsdjfkslad adorable

Hifumi picking up right after and asking if Doppo is okay is just. Goals. And his gratutious english works really well and is super smooth! Very very good

Also the small homage to The Champions with Hifumi’s “Jump around” line and the format where Hifumi takes separate lines than Jaku and Doppo. Its a brilliant way to sneak these references in and they’ve kept that theme going from last episode

Foreshadowing with “We’re the true leader, Matenro!” Nice touch there lol.

Lol of course its attempted murder. Still gotta keep this PG 13 even though theres swearing abound

The ending w/ mimimi..... leaves me kind of torn since i don’t like how it ended but they did provide some nice advice. i guess

lsdf;jsalkdfjsldf Hifumi please you’ve known Doppo for over 25 years, you should know better than anyone what his charm points are. and shouldn’t you be the one who understands Doppo’s appeal? smh

SCREEEEEEE THAT TITLE OF THE NEXT EP. if its an MTC ep i will scream even more bc asudhfsdkjflasd A friend in need is a friend indeed this is just pushing my Poly!MTC agenda isn’t it

Final thoughts:

Please please please let next week be MTC please please please

DoHifu are goals, both romantically and platonically

The rap was fire and I’m going to keep listening to it on repeat. First ep was a bit of a disappointment in terms of CGI and raps but these latest two eps are really picking up the slack! I really hope they continue this for the next two!

JAKURAI WHAT KIND OF DOCTOR ARE YOU PLEASE TELL ME

#hypmic #hypnosis mic #hypnosis mic rhyme anima #hypnosis mic rythme anima spoilers #hypmic spoilers

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muthaz-rapapa · 4 years ago

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PreCure stock footage

More pointless ponderings.

This is a comparison count of all the recurring attack animation sequences (meaning excluding one-time attacks) we’ve seen so far in Precure’s tv series. Done mainly because I wanted the numbers all on one page. :P

Of course, as I haven’t watched all the seasons (Futari to Splash Star) and my memory is crap, this should not be considered accurate. So any help correcting would be appreciated.

Originally, this was supposed to focus only on sub-attacks but that term’s definition seems to vary widely from season to season. So let’s not confuse ourselves with what counts as a “finisher” and what doesn’t and just stick with the general words “stock footage”.

Futari wa [3?] - Marble Screw, Rainbow Therapy, Rainbow Storm

I’m reading here on the wiki that Rainbow Therapy is “hardly used”...I don’t really know what that means, hence the question mark if it counts as a recurring attack or not.

I also don’t want to include upgraded attacks as separate entries if there are hardly any significant differences between the original and the upgraded one (like StarPre’s) but when I compare it to Marble Screw...it seems okay in my book? Since I haven’t watched this season, I’m not confident enough to make the final call so I will leave it at 3 for now.

Futari wa Max Heart [2?] - Heartiel Action, Extreme Luminario

Alright, Marble Screw Max is pretty much the same as the original with a little extra tacked onto the end. So technically, if there’s nothing else I’m missing, the count for this season should be 2. But still gonna leave room for debate.

Splash Star [3?] - Twin Stream Splash, Spiral Heart Splash (2)

The two versions of Spiral Heart Splash are distinct enough from each other to count as separate.

Spiral Heart Splash Star is a one-time, final boss group attack so not gonna include it.

Yes! 5 [7]

Individual Attacks [6] - Dream Attack, Crystal Shoot, Rouge Fire/Burning, Lemonade Flash/Shining, Mint Protection/Shield, Aqua Stream/Tornado

Group Attacks [1]: Five Explosion

Yes! 5 GoGo [7]

Individual Attacks [6] - Shooting Star, Fire Strike, Prism Chain, Emerald Saucer, Sapphire Arrow, Milky Rose Blizzard/Metal Blizzard

Group Attacks [1]: Rainbow Rose Explosion

Fresh [5]

Individual Attacks [4] - Love Sunshine Fresh, Espoir Shower Fresh, Healing Prayer Fresh, Happiness Hurricane

Group Attacks [1]: Lucky Clover Grand Finale

Not going to include Triple Fresh since it’s just a mash-up of three individual attacks.

Heartcatch [10?]

Individual Attacks [7?] - Pink Forte Wave, Blossom Shower, Blue Forte Wave, Marine Shoot, Gold Forte Burst, Sunshine Flash, Silver Forte Wave

Group Attacks [3?] - Floral Power Fortissimo, Shining Fortissimo, Heartcatch Orchestra

This is where things start to get confusing with the introduction of sub-attacks. I’ve only included Blossom Shower, Marine Shoot and Sunshine Flash because it’s obvious they were meant to be shown as a set for the initial trio while everything else was done in real time.

And after debating about the Fortissimo ones, I decided that I’ll keep Shining as its own entry for now. Not quite happy about it (Shining is just old attacks laid out on top of one another with some minor new animation in between) but it doesn’t seem entirely right to call it just an upgrade either......I dunno.

Suite [10]

Individual Attacks [7] - Music Rondo (2), Miracle Heart Arpeggio, Fantastic Piacere, Heartful Beat Rock, Sparkling Shower, Shining Circle

Group Attacks [3] - Passionato Harmony, Music Rondo Super Quartet, Suite Session Ensemble/Crescendo

...I think Suite has everyone else beat on having attacks with the longest names.

also, it’s a travesty that there is no HD video of Session Ensemble uploaded to youtube.

Smile [7]

Individual Attacks [5] - Happy Shower, Sunny Fire, Peace Thunder, March Shoot, Beauty Blizzard

Group Attacks [2] - Rainbow Healing, Rainbow Burst/Royal/Ultra

Can’t remember how often the upgraded individual attacks were used but to my knowledge, there are no stock footage for those anyways.

DokiPre [17]

Individual Attacks [14] - My Sweet Heart, Heart Shoot, Heart Dynamite, Twinkle Diamond, Diamond Shower, Diamond Swirkle, Rosetta Reflection, Rosetta Wall, Rosetta Balloon, Holy Sword, Sparkle Sword, Sword Hurricane, Ace Shot, Ace Mirror Flash

Group Attacks [3] - Lovely Force Arrow, Lovely Straight Flush, Royal Lovely Straight Flush

*whistles* Quite a jump in number of unique attacks. Just wait till HaCha.

HaCha [20]

Individual Attacks [17] - Pinky Love Shoot, Passion Dynamite, Poppin’ Sonic Attack, Lovely Powerful Kiss, Blue Happy Shoot, Arabesque Shower, Hawaiian Alohaloe, Princess Windy Wink, Sparkling Baton Attack, Ribbon Heart Explosion, Maracas Rhythm Spark, Honey Temptation, Stardust Shoot, Starlight Ascension, Oriental Dream, Sakura Blizzard Dance, Emerald Illusion

Group Attacks [3] - Twin Miracle Power Shoot, Happiness Big Bang, Innocent Purification

Oh yea, if this wasn’t stock footage-restricted, HaCha would still go home with the prize and the cake because of the sheer number of sub-attacks not listed here.

Go!Pri [18]

Individual Attacks [14] - Floral Tourbillon, Rose/Lys Tourbillon, Sakura Turbulence, Mermaid Ripple, Frozen/Bubble Ripple, Coral Maelstrom, Twinkle Humming, Full Moon/Meteor Humming, Galaxy Chorus, Phoenix Blaze, Scarlet Illusion, Scarlet Spark, Scarlet Flame, Scarlet Prominence

Group Attacks [4] - Trinity Lumiere, Trinity Explosion, Eclat Espoir, Grand Printemps

A lot of the secondary attacks are essentially the same thing but with different effects. Scarlet Spark and Flame almost look identical but the movements diverge once the attack is released so I consider them distinct from there.

Trinity Lumiere and Trinity Explosion would’ve been under just one entry, too, but the CGI animation leading up to the attack are different.

MahoPre [9]

Individual Attacks [4] - Linkle Stone Spells (Miracle ver, Magical ver, Felice ver), Emerald Reincarnation

Group Attacks [5] - Diamond Eternal, Ruby Passionale, Sapphire Smartish, Topaz Esperanza, Extreme Rainbow

I’m glad that I changed it from sub-attacks to simply stock footage. Counting the same animation sequence thrice would just make my head spin worser.

KiraPre [10]

Individual Attacks [7] - Whip Decoration, Custard Illusion, Gelato Shake, Macaron Julienne, Chocolat Aromase, Un - Deux - Tres Bien! Kirakuru Rainbow, Parfait Étoile

Group Attacks [3] - Three-2-Wonderful A La Mode, Animal Go Round, Fantastic Animale

Hugtto [13]

Individual Attacks [9] - Heart For You, Flower Shoot, Heart Feather, Feather Blast, Heart Star, Star Slash, Heart Song & Dance, Macherie Poppin’, Amour Rock n’ Roll

Group Attacks [4] - Trinity Concert, Twin Love Rock Beat, Cheerful Attack, Tomorrow with Everyone

I know Heart Song and Heart Dance can be standalone attacks but since we didn’t get to see much of either of them before Macherie and Amour got their Twin Love Guitars not long after, then I count them as one. Also, Macherie and Amour are considered as one Cure split into two anyway so there’s that.

StarPre [8]

Individual Attacks [6] - Star Punch, Milky Shock, Soleil Shoot, Selene Arrow, Rainbow Splash, Cosmos Shining

Group Attacks [2] - Southern Cross Shot, Star Twinkle Imagination

Again, how ironic is it that the season that touts the theme of imagination has the least creative stock footage across all variations in their attack arsenal?

HealPre [tbd]

Individual Attacks [4?] - Healing Flower, Healing Stream, Healing Flash, Healing Hurricane

Group Attacks [1+] - Healing Oasis

Since the secondary elemental bottles barely have any animation sequence and don’t even include the Cures in them, they won’t be counted.

That said, with the upcoming super form upgrade (new promo art has already been released), we know there will be one more group attack to be added. I suspect there might be another upgraded version of that super group attack as well so perhaps a total of 6 formal attack sequences for HealPre altogether.

Unless they plan to give the Cures individual attacks with that...needle arrow weapon whatever it is but I somewhat doubt it.....we’ll see.

~~~~~~~~~~

Season with the most attack sequences: HaCha [20] Season with the most individual attack sequences: Hacha [17] Season with the most group attack sequences: MahoPre [5]

Top 5 Seasons w/greatest total # of attack sequences: HaCha [20], Go!Pri [18], DokiPre [17], Hugtto [13], Heartcatch/Suite/KiraPre [10]

Again, if I’m missing anything, let me know.

----------------------

Updated 9/10/20

#precure #categorizing precure

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garbage-empress · 5 years ago

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Finally saw Cats, I actually enjoyed it a lot. Granted, I don't know what the "pre-patch" version of the film looked like so I didn't get that experience. I went in expecting a So Bad It's Good kind of thing and instead had an overall good movie with some obvious flaws.

Good things:

The dance numbers are great - In spite of it's reputation I hope this inspires some more CGI-heavy movie musicals for adults because it makes you feel like you're in the middle of a bunch of trained dancers

Songs are good - Jennifer Hudson singing Memory stopped the people who were laughing at every weird moment. The whole theater was silent through the song.

Idris Elba as Macavity is the fucking best.

Most of the actors put a lot of heart into their performances.

Most of the cat-people actually look good... with a couple exceptions.

Bad things:

Victoria, the audience surrogate we see the most of, is by far the worst looking cat and her actress has the same goofy expression the entire time.

Editing/Staging in the first half of the film is bewildering. I think this is a big part of why the plot has the reputation it does as being "incomprehensible." The first hour is intro song after intro song with no breathing room and it changes locations all the time. The last hour of the movie ads breaks between songs, is set in a limited number of locations, and is lit better. It almost seems like a different movie and is way stronger for it.

Not enough time with Idris Elba as Macavity. Just fucking give him an entire movie, it would be awesome

There's nothing that remotely resembles a bizarre orgy scene and calling The Heavy Side Layer a euphemism for Death is a huge stretch. At least in the movie it's clearly just a hot air balloon that takes you somewhere else. Where was all this wild content I was promised?

Picking recognizable celebrities for most of these roles was a mistake. There's a reason why Doug Jones has managed to remain a great actor for creatures: most people has no idea what he actually looks like. If you make Judi Dench a cat I can't see anything but Judi Dench as a cat. It's distracting as shit.

Too many fat jokes (too many = a number greater than zero)

The only black actors with significant plot presence are the villain and a disgraced-then-redeemed character. There's some minor "good" cats who are played by black people but they aren't very prominent. This combined with "pure, naïve" Victoria being literally white is...well...pretty racist.

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mollyamory-again · 6 years ago

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And then I wrote a really long reaction post for Endgame...

Here’s the short form: <3 <3 <3... ?? @#(*$A)(@#*!?! <3.....<3 ....?<3? <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 !!!

The super long form is below the cut...

So, I went into this movie with a lot of feelings, and I came out with a lot of feelings, and it's taking me some time to process them.

The first, and maybe the most important thing I want to say, is that regardless of my personal fannish/emotional reaction to some of the events -- the film itself was an absolute triumph. I mean - it was amazing. There were a great many things to love - and that is a list that includes some things I hated. Love/hated. Both! The fact that they could bring a series of films that spans over a decade together in a way that had people laughing and crying in the theatres, often both at the same time - it's just truly, truly awesome. It says something that they were able to build these real and true characters who feel important enough that their fates can actually break our hearts.

So I applaud that, and I hope the film industry takes a good long look at these films and learns from them. Audiences are willing to wait for the pay-off, we're willing to tackle difficult things, we're willing to fall in love with what we see on the screen if the writers and producers and directors put the effort into allowing it.

That said...

I really liked this movie overall, but I went into it really wanting two specific things for myself, and I didn't get them. In fact I kind of got the opposite of them, and a lot of my coming to terms with the movie has been coming to terms with just... not getting what I wanted. And finding a way to be okay with that.

I wanted Tony to live - and if you're back here behind my spoiler cut, you know I didn't get that one. It was really hard to lose him. He was my favorite character in this whole crazy cast. I loved that he could be so wrong sometimes, and with so much utter conviction. I loved that he could be terrified out of his mind and then just do the terrifying things anyway, because somebody had to, and he could. I loved how smart he was, and how vulnerable he was, and how he built walls of words to defend himself and define himself. I loved how hard he loved the people that HE loved, and how much he was willing to do for them. I loved how great he was with kids (and I love that he got one of his own!) and I love how that seemed at least in part because he never finished growing up himself.

So while I am wrecked that this is the end of Tony in this particular strand of the comics universe, I can't deny that it is 100% true to who he was. He was always going to be the guy who would do this, if it needed to be done. And it did, so he did it, and it broke my heart - but in the end I have to be okay with it, because yeah. That was Tony Stark, distilled down to his purest self. I hated it, but I also loved it, and more importantly I think, I bought it.

I also really would have loved to have a kind of on-screen farewell to my pairing, and I didn't get that, either. I'm a Science Boyfriends kinda gal, and there was almost zero interaction between Bruce and Tony - there was zero relevant interaction. But it is what it is - this was never going to be everything to all people, and that's one of the relationships that didn't get priority. I'm okay with that, too - mainly because its absence means they didn't do anything TERRIBLE to it, either! When it comes to my pairings, I'd far rather TPTB leave them alone than do something I don't like. That said - it would have been nice if they'd you know, exchanged a couple of lines? And it would have been SUPER nice if Bruce had been around to react to Tony's death. Getting past it, getting past it.... ;)

My biggest fear going into this movie was that it would kill my fannishness about the Avengers. I just recently rediscovered it, and I've been writing like a MAD thing. I've stayed up too late writing, I've gotten up way to early to write... I've written through nights when I was supposed to be raiding with my online pals, or watching stuff with my housemates. I've definitely done quite a lot of writing when I was supposed to be working! And it's been fun, and it's felt really good, and I just didn't want to lose it. I missed fandom and other fans, and I missed caring so much about characters and pairings. Having it all back again these past couple of months has been a blast -- so I went into Endgame a) pretty sure they were going to kill Tony and b) pretty sure that killing Tony would kill my fannish joy.

I am happy to report it did not. I'm still in love, and I'm still writing like crazy. I gave myself some pretty stern talking-tos in the lead-up to the movie, along the lines of "Are you really going to let a couple of rich white geekboys decide what happens to YOUR Tony Stark?" and in short form, "CANON IS NOT THE BOSS OF ME!" I think it helped. I'm still here, anyway!

There are a few other things I really didn't like. One - the CGI for Bruce was a horror show for me. It landed right in the Uncanny Valley, and I could barely stand to look at him on screen. Every time he showed up, it was like a cartoon character appearing in my live action show. I think that actually may have helped me with the Tony thing, though -- because it yanked me out of the movie when Bruce was onscreen, and that gave me the distance I needed to not become a puddle of shivering misery on the floor when Tony died saving the world.

Don't get me wrong - I really do like that he's able to integrate now. I like that he has control. Still, I'm not sure this is a road I ever really want to go down in my writing. I like Hulk too much to want to see him essentially killed by Bruce (which is kind of how I'm reading this.) I get that Hulk IS Bruce IS Hulk and if I were his therapist I'd be all over it. But I'm not his therapist - I'm one of his slashfic writers. And as such, I prefer him splintered and angsting over it. :)

I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about Natasha, and I'm not sure they're particularly coherent. I think if Endgame had happened exactly the way it did, WITHOUT the disgusting Ultron lines about how she's a monster because she can't have kids, I'd be fine. As it is, Ultron happened and then Natasha gave herself up for a guy with a family, and from a purely Doyle-ist perspective I find that sequence of events suspect, and deeply gross.

On the other hand, from a purely Watsonian perspective, I fully agree with what <a href="https://cesperanza.tumblr.com/post/184622436895/i-cant-believe-that-as-a-prominent-woman-in">cesperanza had to say about Nat</a>, so I'm just going to let that stand for me, too.

Probably the final thing I didn't like was fat!Thor. I do get the arguments on the other side of this, that it's cool to show even a super hero can get depressed and live off cheez whiz and get fat and disaffected. But I also think that's not all there is to this; I think you don't make Chris Hemsworth run around in a fat suit without on some level doing it for the point-and-laugh. And I find that kind of "joke" toxic and disgusting. I'm not going to go on and on about it here, but in short just - a world of no from me on that.

So what's my score so far? 2 things I wanted but didn't get, 3 things I didn't like? But on the bright side...it's now time to move along to the bright side! And the bright side is pretty damn bright.

I was incredibly happy that Tony and Steve were able to repair their relationship. Civil War was such a tough movie to watch, and while there was at least a thread of hope for them at the end of it, this resolution was a long time coming. They're so very different in their worldviews and methods, but so very alike in their absolute dedication to protecting people and doing the right thing - the friction has always made perfect sense, but getting to see them come to terms with each other ... that's something I have really wanted for a long time. I was extremely sad watching Tony just chew into Steve at the beginning of Endgame, but not at all surprised - Tony was completely done in, physically, mentally and emotionally. Just seeing Tony that physically wasted and weak was hard. Steve's reactions to it were perfect, though, just perfect. I don't think I could have asked for any more than I was given for the two of them.

I loved Tony's relationship with his daughter - in fact, I love Tony's relationship with every character below the age of majority that he's ever been on screen with. Tony may be my OTP (One True Parent) in fact - he's just so deeply interested in these kids (Harley, Peter, Morgan) as human beings. And he treats them oddly as equals, while still somehow managing to parent well for each of them. He's hilarious and snarky and caring and he connects. I don't know, I just adore it. We didn't get to spend a lot of time with Morgan, but it was obvious she adored Tony and was well on her way to growing up to be just like him, and I wholly approve.

And before I leave the topic of kids - Tony mourning Peter broke my heart, and his love for Peter when he came back knitted it back together again (that hug omg, </3 -> <3) and then Peter's breakdown when Tony was dying, finally calling him "Tony" instead of Mr. Stark or sir...there it goes, heart broken again. BROKEN.

I and the rest of the universe loved Steve wielding Mjolnir (and Thor KNEW it!). We all saw this coming from way back at the party in Ultron, and a part of what this series of movies has managed to do that I love is take moments like that, a billion movies ago at this point, and pay them off one by one. Sure, it's fan service, but because they were patient, it feels earned. I adore it.

I'm going to wrap this up for now because if I don't, it's never getting posted - I have a ton of thoughts and even MORE feelings about this movie, and I'll be posting more of them because how can I NOT. But I do want to talk a little about one of the major things that literally filled me with joy:

The return to Avengers 2012!!! <3 <3 <3

I just want to go back and live there - like, I want to build a tinyhouse with a telescope in the window and just stare at it all from the shadows forever. I could literally sit for days upon days of "what happened in Avengers 2012 around what we saw on the screen in Avengers 2012" - that could be an entire TV series and I would tune in for every freaking episode. It was SO. MUCH. FUN! From "feel free to clean up..." to "take the stairs" and "SO MANY STAIRS" to Loki pretending to be Steve and Loki stealing the tesseract and poofing out to Thor saving Tony with his hammer and both of them so jazzed about it... OMG. I just love it all, and I'm so happy they did it. I loved everything around it - I loved Bruce trying half-heartedly to smash, I loved the Sorceress Supreme up on the rooftop fighting the Chitauri, I loved Bruce getting smacked out of Hulk and Hulk on a lounge chair with a sunhat over his face. EVERYTHING. I just. <3

I went into Endgame expecting the worst for my favorite character, and I got the worst for him. But the more I think about this movie, the more I find that it's a happy place for me. It gave me what I didn't want and it made me like it. Like - a LOT. I went into it expecting/fearing that it would kill my fannishness about Avengers, and it's done the exact opposite - it's brought me back into fandom, back into contact with fans, back into thinking all the thoughts and feeling all the feelings and wanting to share them with other people who are thinking and feeling about the same thing.

I feel like this entire series of movies, this slate of characters, this universe they've built - it's a gigantic wonderful amazing heartbreaking heartmending accomplishment, and I'm just super glad it's all here, and that I got to experience it all.

(And I can't wait to write a metric fuckton of stories that ignore it! Tony may be gone in this timeline, but he's never going to die in mine, damn it!)

#avengers: endgame #spoilers #all the feelings #ugh my heart

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nightsblessed · 5 years ago

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mega-questionnaire ✿ lance

► BASICS.

FULL NAME: Lancelot Apollinaire Chavers.

NICKNAME: Lance, Blondie.

AGE: 24.

BIRTHDAY: May 5th.

ETHNIC GROUP: Midlander Hyur/Wildwood Elezen.

NATIONALITY: Gridanian.

LANGUAGE/S: Common, semi-fluent Elezen. Capable of understanding any language.

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Bisexual with a heavy male lean.

GENDER IDENTITY: Agender. He or they pronouns.

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Taken.

HOME TOWN / AREA: Lavender Beds, Gridania.

CURRENT HOME: Rising Stones. Lavender Beds.

PROFESSION: Scion of the Seventh Dawn, Free Paladin, High Serpent Commander. Baker.

► PHYSICAL.

HAIR: Blonde, about shoulder length, shaved sides. Slightly shifting shades, darker towards the roots but brighter and highlighted on top where more exposed to the sun.

EYES: Green, odd-eyed. Right eye is darker, left is lighter. Both are a saturated bright green, slightly upturned and a little rounder than almond shaped. Epicanthic folds and monolids. Long eyelashes.

FACE: Rectangular/square head. Strong jaw, high cheekbones, dimples. Long-ish nose, slight hook to the bridge, wide nostrils. Rounded chin. Pointed Elezen-like ears.

LIPS: High cupid’s bow/”uni-lip”. Wide mouth and full lips, slight pout. Very kissable.

COMPLEXION: Warm brown. Freckles, the occasional mole. A little pink across his cheeks and nose from the sun.

BLEMISHES: None prominent. Very rarely a faded acne scar.

SCARS: Misc battle scars. Distinct gnarled and faded scar on lower back. More recently, long scars across his legs and torso.

TATTOOS: Small tattoo on inner right bicep, two snakes entwined around a sprig of lavender.

HEIGHT: 6’5”. (198cm)

WEIGHT: 190lbs.

BUILD: Athletic, muscular but young. Broad shoulders and back, narrower waist, muscular thighs. Very physically fit. Think hockey players body.

FEATURES: Height, Elezen features i.e pointed ears and graceful look, odd eyes.

ALLERGIES: Lactose intolerant.

USUAL HAIR STYLE: Topknot/undercut ponytail.

USUAL FACE LOOK: Friendly smile, a little airheaded.

USUAL CLOTHING: Armor-wise, typically heavy plate or scale mail, green and bronze with fur trims and a long cloak. Civilian-wise, has a wide variety of clothing but sticks to light colors, simple patterns, and casual/sporty aesthetics.

► PSYCHOLOGY.

FEAR/S: Enclosed spaces, being crushed, isolation, abandonment. Being unable to save or help the people he loves. Fish.

ASPIRATION/S: To be a good son, help the Alliance and save Eorzea, to do right. Deeply desires to be a good husband and parent in the future as well.

POSITIVE TRAITS: Kind, compassionate, friendly, polite, overwhelmingly sweet and affectionate, charming, loyal, brave, protective, creative, nurturing.

NEGATIVE TRAITS: Stubborn, slow, clumsy, can be pushy and overbearing, overprotective, emotionally intense and sensitive.

TEMPERAMENT: Sanguine.

SOUL TYPE/S: Caregiver/Spiritualist.

ANIMALS: Deer, dog, snake.

VICE HABIT/S: Overeating, sugar in general.

FAITH: Nophica and the Elementals.

GHOSTS?: Yes.

AFTERLIFE?: Not really.

REINCARNATION?: Yes, in the sense that his aether will return to the Lifestream.

POLITICAL ALIGNMENT: Eorzean Alliance.

EDUCATION LEVEL: Highschool-ish. Decent at math, has a good head for history, but dyslexia has kept his reading and writing level generally low.

►FAMILY.

MOTHER: Georgene “Georgie” Chavers.

FATHER: Pace Chavers.

SIBLINGS: None.

EXTENDED FAMILY: Bertille, maternal grandmother. A couple aunts and uncles, a few cousins, none he’s particularly close to.

NAME MEANING/S:

Lancelot - Land, Lance, Spear

Georgene - Farmer, Earthworker

Pace - Peace

Bertille - Bright, Famous

HISTORICAL CONNECTION?: None.

► FAVORITES.

BOOK: Family cookbooks.

DEITY: Nophica.

HOLIDAY: Moonfire Faire.

MONTH: May.

SEASON: Spring.

PLACE: Gridania.

WEATHER: Sun and rain.

SOUND/S: Birds chirping, night rain, laughter, wind through trees.

SCENT/S: Petrichor, cut grass, fresh baked goods.

TASTE/S: Sweet cream, berries, toasted nuts, herbs.

FEEL/S: Down, soft fur, cotton, moss, tree bark.

ANIMAL/S: Rabbits, cats, deer.

NUMBER: 2.

COLORS: Green, yellow, white, brown.

► EXTRA.

TALENTS: Highly talented baker and chef, great still life artist. Near-prodigy level grasp of conjury and white magic. Well trained with sword and shield, very comfortable with melee combat and heavy armor.

BAD AT: Not tripping over his own feet, most battle magic, archery or any kind of marksmanship. Reading any sort of long form text, focusing on tasks that don’t interest him, sitting still.

TURN ONS: Red hair, short guys, sass and banter, a cute laugh, friendship first.

TURN OFFS: Rudeness, lack of empathy, negativity, being boring.

HOBBIES: Baking, crochet and knitting, embroidery, painting, sketching and charcoal drawing.

TROPES: Dumb Jock, Dark-skinned Blond, All-Loving Hero, The Empath, Badass Native, The Paladin, Green Thumb.

QUOTES: “I want to leave no one behind. To keep & be kept. The way a field turns its secrets into peonies. The way light keeps its shadow by swallowing it.”

► MUN QUESTIONS.

Q1: If you could write your character your way in their own movie, what would it be called, what style would it be filmed in, and what would it be about?

A1: oh wow what a question. i think i’d really like to have his stormblood arc in a movie because it’d be half action adventure fantasy shit being up fascists but it’d also have a lot of his growth as basically a soldier and a young adult and his love life, going through a cute enemies to lovers thing with his boyfriend/future boyfriend. no clue what it’d be called though but i think either live action or semi-realistic cgi/animation for sure.

Q2: What would their soundtrack/score sound like?

A2: probably pretty light and sweet instrumentals, lots of woodwinds and strings, the occasional more somber and heroic tracks. ori and the blind forest would be a good comparison, something that would evoke a lot of naturey vibes while being magical.

Q3: Why did you start writing this character?

A3: im in love with @emet-selch ‘s character avis and wanted to make him the perfect boyfriend

Q4: What first attracted you to this character?

A4: i generally really like pure of heart dumb of ass characters, soft jocks are some of my favorite characters both to read and write, so i packed a lot of tropes i really enjoy into him cuz i just wanted him to be very sweet and loyal.

Q5: Describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse.

A5: honestly i havent had a big chance to write him in more serious/hard situations but while in plotting and just thinking about him, i think he can big a big stubborn asshole and its a little annoying.

Q6: What do you have in common with your muse?

A6: fire venus. though fr i think mostly lance and i are just very affectionate and loyal! and love sweets and baking.

Q7: How does your muse feel about you?

A7: im pretty nice to him and i let him have a very good life so i think we’re very chill

Q8: What characters does your muse have interesting interactions with?

A8: again i haven’t really had interactions with a ton of characters but i do like putting him in situations with other really extroverted characters, especially around his age cuz he turns into a dumb impulsive jock instantly.

Q9: What gives you inspiration to write your muse?

A9: honestly mostly the msq, strangely enough? a lot of it gave me inspiration for him and his story so doing it on alts always makes me consider and think about what he was doing then!

Q10: How long did this take you to complete?

A10: about 3 hours before formatting and posting!

#lance tag #feel free to rip the template!

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courage-a-word-of-justice · 5 years ago

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Iruma-kun 8 - 9 | BnHA 68 - 71 | NGL 8 - 9 | ID: Invaded Sneak Preview (i.e. eps 1 - 2)

Tw: suicide for ID: Invaded, by the way (it’s only briefly in the commentary, but it’s in ep 2). Plus, ID: Invaded gets its hashtag well before its debut.

Iruma-kun 8

“Lady Redhair”? I think Amelie’s hair is orange, but you do you, Clara.

I paused at the wrong time and saw Asmodeus had bug eyes behind his glasses.

Is that the vending machine Clara attacked her bullies with…?

I wonder what rank Amelie is…

Diabolical + botany = diabotany.

Come to think of it, the Azz-Azz/Iruma relationship is similar to the Gokudera/Tsuna relationship…

So as it turns out, Clara gets her juvenile tendencies from taking care of her younger siblings. Hmm…

Aw, it’s kinda disheartening to see Clara so down. It looks a lot like Zenitsu when he doesn’t see his own abilities, or something of the sort (which I always fall hook, lin and sinker for).

I wonder what Amelie’s seduction percentage is…?

Oh, you can see Succubus-sensei in the ED…hmm.

Update: where is Clara’s dad…? *gulps if he’s passed away*

Iruma-kun 9

Azz-kun is such a proud parent…even though he’s the same age as Iruma, LOL.

Lack of ambition? Clara just proved this wrong last episode and Sabro has his own ambitions…but then again, Azz-kun wasn’t privy to such knowledge.

“Fear 1” is a pun on ikkai (first floor). (At least, that’s what I can assume from context.)

There doesn’t actually seem to be a pun when Azz mentions Execution Cannonball (shokei gyokuhou)…which, I think, is weirder than having a pun in the first place. (The later joke is that Clara says gyouki instead of gyokuhou, which is pretty far off for part of it but completely spot on for the other , so the subbers put in a phrase that matched that kind of pattern in the English as well.)

Rumour has it there’s going to be an Iruma-kun dub. I wonder how they’ll make all the puns work…?

It’s-wahahaha! It’s just dodgeball!

Huh? A high-ranking demon? Sullivan? Opera?????

LOL, you can still see the tree sprouting from one of the rooms.

The Demonitor is handing Opera the dodgeballs, LOL!

I like Opera’s nails…they’re a nice shade of purple…

Ponytail Iruma…looks a bit strange, but I’ll get used to it. I like ponytails, y’know.

Even Azz-kun’s hands are big in comparison to Iruma…

That preview was far too abrupt!

BnHA 68

The giant moving crab is actually a thing. I went and saw it one time in Ginza and again on Dotonbori, Osaka. The crab is associated with Kani Doraku, a crab restaurant.

“Amajiki” literally means something like “eats the sky”. A good name for my good boi.

The subbers didn’t even finish the word “defence”! Eesh!

Amajiki likes butterflies…? I wonder, if he ate butter, could he be a butterfly too…?

Running All Might, I see…(it’s a parody of the Glico Running Man in Osaka.)

Basically, this is what Vigilantes was for! Woot!

I love how Kaminari charges people’s phones. That’s the sort of dumb thing heroes do with their powers, since you gotta remember they’re just young dumb boys at heart as well.

The problem with a hardening power is that it sounds lewd out of context…

I wonder what Fat Gum’s first job was…?

There’s a post-credits segment…keep watching.

BnHA 69

Centipeder has such a cute voice, albeit a distorted one.

Kirishima is voiced by Masuda, so it’s fun to hear him get such a prominent role again (after Charanko in OPM s2, Touken Ranbu and Boueibu, among other roles).

“Likes: All Might” – LOL, we knew that already though.

Nighteye is Seiya Ryuuguuin: Hero Version.

There’s a post-credits segment. Keep watching.

The manga calls the magical girl series “Preyure”, so it’s weird to suddenly have the dub refer to its dub name, “Glitter Force”.

BnHA 70

Midoriya doesn’t have any bedhead…because his hair’s already messy! LOL.

“…what’s important is what you do afterwards.”

“Maybe we can catch the League…and the Hassaikai all at once!” – Yeah…that’s not going to happen Kirishima, considering the series is still going.

Come to think of it, Eraser’s goggles are the only part of his outfit that don’t really match…no wonder the idea comes from somone else (maybe saying that is a spoiler for those only following the main series and not Vigilantes, though…?).

Swordfish will become important later on…you know Tamaki’s Quirk, so you’ll see when it’s important soon.

Another post-credits segment…keep watching.

BnHA 71

One of the reasons I like Amajiki is because of his intro. Now you can see why!

Hassaikai = Hassai Group, so calling the opponents the “Shie Hassaikai” and “Hassai Group” in the same translaton is inconsistent.

“…playing into their hands.” – You can’t say that when you don’t have hands, Tamaki…

No Guns Life 8

Well, there ain’t no metaphor like the blatant one – man is the deadliest weapon to himself…or something of the sort.

Geesh! I wanna dub for this!

Well…couldn’t Olivier light the cig and stick it in Juzo’s mouth…? Or is that not “sexy enough” for the target audience?

No Guns Life 9

I’ve noticed only the women have lip flaps now…LOL. (But maybe I’m stating the obvious because my head’s a bit fuzzy from lack of sleep…)

“Medico” appears to be the Spanish word for “doctor” (as you might be able to guess). Then again, what Spanish colonies are there in the world…? Spain, sure, and South America…*googles* Basically all of South America, dangit.

Context says “madre” = mother.

Context also says “mentira” = lie, or “you’re lying!”.

Geesh, that cup size joke was such a non-sequitur that I didn’t even find it funny…

Geesh! This Colt dude is basically Sabro (from Iruma-kun)! Update: He also looks like he came straight outta JJBA.

ID: Invaded 1 – 2 (SNEAK PREVIEW!)

I thought I wouldn’t be able to access the preview, but by accessing Funimation’s videos…I can watch it!

Ohmygloooooooob, this “I’m in pieces, but I’m connected” concept is so cool! (But also hella freaky, which is exactly my style!...You do know that I’m a bit of a freak for body horror, right?)

You…probably shouldn’t be yelling at the person if they appear to be dead(!)

This would make an awesome escape game, no…?

I never knew the future looked so similar to the present.

Ooh, this gets more and more interesting! There are people watching this murder mystery.

Whose ID Well is this…? If it’s Sakaido’s, then maybe he can find out more about himself through the celebs.

The code appears to be from the Windows operting system, since C: is the default hard drive. So I’d say it might be Windows Visual Basic, actually, or C (the programming language).

Hmm…maybe that’s when the episode ws being produced.

Okay, so how I’m understanding this is that Sakaido is in the world of the murderer (of Kaeru’s) mind and he has to find her murderer to get out.

Ooh, so Sakaido is also a murderer…and as it turns out, Sakaido’s perp drills holes in the heads of their victims…scary. What I was really here to say was that this reminds me of a movie called Minority Report.

I think one of the victims had part of his head missing in the ID Well, so maybe Sakaido’s missing an elbow in real life…?

The joke is that the word for “well” in Japanese is i (井) or ido (井戸) and then ID, of course, is ID and likewise id is id (but it’s ido in Japanese). Googling ID: Invaded reveals Sakaido is written with this same kanji, plus two others (酒井戸), meaning his name is part of the wordplay too.

It’s like Minecraft, except you make the world with your entire body…LOL.

Maybe that’s (takoya) short for “takoyaki”…? Just a guess. Update: I’m right.

The licence plates say “Shinagawa”. This show takes place in Shinagawa (or the car I read the plate of was obtained in Shinagawa)!

Huh? How did Hondomachi get into the well? Do they have a drive to kill as well????

These quotes have gotta mean something, so here’s the first one: “Is it ridiculous to believe that I have been given a certain role to play for this present world?”

What’s up with the numbers in the room Matsuoka is in…? (Apparently a terrible day volunteering is enough to put me on edge and subsequently make me a master detective, it seems.)

I went back to my old Honeyfeed stories recently and I rediscovered a character that I wrote about a few years ago – Yuki, after the matching character I axed from my original plot of Half-Paid Heroes (because the story I’m referring to is the Honeyfeed version of HPH) – who was partially close-shaven like Fukuda. I gave Yuki such a character design just to set up intrigue, but I didn’t think I’d ever see a similar design to it, ever. Now, here I am.

Narihisago? What a name! I checked what “hisago” means and apparently it means “gourd”.

Is this Kaeru (the one that committed suicide), perhaps, the one in Hondomachi’s head and that’s not actually the case…?

The CGI’s a bit awkward in this show.

Is “Muku” Sakaido/Narihisago’s daughter…?

I think the old guy – the head of the cop team – uses a Mac, based on his GUI.

New quote: “Wind comes in this hole and out the other, and it makes the world a little bit clearer.” This reveals the quotes are actually from the episode.

This music which acts as the ED is nice. I’m basically sold on this show, y’know.

The original work is by “The Detectives United”. I wonder what that means…?

#simulcast commentary #ID: Invaded #no guns life #boku no hero academia #My Hero Academia #mairimashita! iruma-kun #welcome to demon school iruma kun #chesarka watches mi-k #Chesarka watches NGL #Chesarka watches BnHA #Chesarka watches ID: Invaded

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imagitory · 5 years ago

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D-Views: Aladdin (with guest input!)

Hi, everyone! Welcome to another installment of D-Views, my on-going written review series where I take a look at Disney-produced and/or owned properties, as well as occasionally non-Disney films that were influenced by Disney’s success! For more of these reviews, you may consult my “Disney reviews” tag, where I’ve discussed such films as Treasure Planet, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, and Dreamworks’ The Prince of Egypt!

Today I’ll be doing something a little different. In lieu of the live-action Aladdin remake premiering in less than two weeks, I decided it’d be best to re-watch the original 1992 classic, and I invited two of my good friends, Christina and Jen, to help me analyze it. I will note any of their input when it arises, and hopefully you’ll enjoy hearing three voices for the price of one!

Aladdin was released in the midst of the Disney Renaissance in the 1990′s, sandwiched between the landmark hits Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King. Out of Disney’s biggest blockbusters, Aladdin is easily the most “of its time” -- it relies on pop culture references for its humor and uses era-specific slang (i.e. ”NOT!” and “Made you look!”) more than most Disney films do and features a celebrity voice in a prominent role, which was quite uncommon, compared to previous Disney projects. (The best examples I can think of prior to this was having John Hurt, Peter Ustinov, and Vincent Price play villains in The Black Cauldron, Robin Hood, and The Great Mouse Detective, but...yeah, as amazing and well-renown as those men are, they weren’t insanely popular media stars of the time the way that Robin Williams was.) One could attribute this “hipper” aspect at least in part to Jeffrey Katzenberg, who was head of Disney’s animation department at the time, and Disney CEO Michael Eisner, both of whom put a lot of focus in following what was popular and marketable. (Katzenberg later put all of his attention and focus on molding Pocahontas into a historical-fiction retelling of Romeo and Juliet as he assumed a forbidden love story would be a hit, while Eisner kicked The Rescuers Down Under to the curb a year before Beauty and the Beast came out all because it didn’t break the box office opening weekend.) Fortunately the approach paid off and Aladdin was a big success, fueling two direct-to-video sequels, a spin-off TV series, and a show at Disney’s California Adventure that transformed into a full Broadway musical. Even now it’s still very well-loved by Disney fans, many of whom are now looking forward to the live-action remake coming out this month. As my followers might know, I’m still very on-the-fence about the remake myself, as I haven’t reacted very warmly to Disney’s other recent live-action remakes, but my two cohorts Jen and Christina are much less cynical about the prospect, so hopefully any commentary we might make about what we’ve learned about the remake compared to the original will be minimal. Now that our context is framed, let’s board this magic carpet of a movie and see where it takes us!

To start with, Arabian Nights is just such a fantastic musical introduction to this story! Aladdin was the last project that lyricist Howard Ashman worked on before his premature death in 1992, and like in the rest of his work, the word play in the songs he wrote for this movie (Arabian Nights, Friend Like Me and Prince Ali) is just masterful. Arabian Nights in particular just emanates “adventure” -- it was later used as the opening theme for the Aladdin TV series, and it got me so pumped up whenever I watched it, just as much as it probably excited those who first saw the movie in theaters. Fun fact: while listening to the intro, one might notice the names Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio credited as two of the film’s screenwriters, alongside directors John Musker and Ron Clements -- down the road, Elliot and Rossio would also write the screenplay for The Road to El Dorado, join the writing team for Shrek, and be the main writing force behind the Pirates of the Caribbean films.

As much as I rarely go for films that market themselves as comedies, I feel like Aladdin handles its comedy really well. From the beginning, we see the comedic, spontaneous tone in the peddler’s narration scene, and that tone is taken on by Gilbert Gottfried as Iago until Robin Williams reappears as the Genie later. It makes it so that, unlike Mulan where the comedy kind of starts and ends with Mushu, the comedy is a constant fixture in the story, never distracting from the plot and never feeling out of place.

One niche interest of mine that I rarely get to delve into is color psychology, and oh BOY, does this film give me a lot to talk about there! Aladdin’s production designer, Richard Wende, used a very simple, yet striking color palette for the film that favors blues, reds, and golds. The effect is a beautifully lush setting while maintaining a “desert” feel: any greens that appear really stick out, like when Aladdin and Genie arrive in an oasis after escaping the Cave of Wonders. It also makes it so that when the background is mostly red or gold, any blue shades draw focus, or when the scene takes place at night and is mostly shades of blue, anything red or gold likewise draws focus. This post goes into the color symbolism more deeply, but generally blue is representative of good characters, while red represents evil, with gold being a sort of middle ground. Primary colors often are used in properties marketed toward children (ex. Team Valor/Instinct/Mystic in Pokemon Go, Snow White having all three colors on her dress), so it’s understandable that so many kids from the 90′s gravitated toward this movie, but the palette never feels restricted or simple. The deep, saturated fusion of reds and blues and reds and yellows creates a lot of texture despite the limited color range, and it beautifully communicates the heat of the locations and creates a unique visual style for the film. I’ve noticed that in the trailers for the remake, this color symbolism was discarded in favor of a more “Bollywood” look, not unlike how the Beauty and the Beast remake likewise ignored the color symbolism of Belle being the only villager to wear blue (which accents how much she stands apart from the crowd) and decided to dress a lot of people in blue during the opening number Belle. I can only hope the decision means the film is just choosing to make Agrabah more like India than Arabia, rather than this just being a stylistic choice with no substance, but I think the subtle color psychology in the original film is very clever short-hand for the audience, even if they’ll likely not be able to consciously express how the color palette affected their viewing experience.

As Jafar and his stooge Gazeem come across the Cave of Wonders, I’m reminded of how awesome the Cave’s design is. It was made primarily with CG animation, yet the CGI is never distracting: on the contrary, it fuses together beautifully with the rest of the hand-drawn background. Even the sandy texture on the Cave is very well rendered. Christina also noted a neat detail I hadn’t picked up on before: the tiger head has an earring in one ear, just like the Genie whose lamp lives inside the Cave!

After the Cave of Wonders devours Gazeem, declaring that it will only allow the “diamond in the rough” inside, we meet our title character and resident “diamond,” Aladdin. Voicing Aladdin is Scott Weinger, or Steve of Full House fame, who brings such charm, energy, and personality to the role. I honestly think it’d be hard for anyone else to match the sheer likability rippling out of Scott’s voice. Accompanying Weinger and Robin Williams in this stellar cast are Broadway actor Jonathan Freeman as Jafar (who has since gone on to play the character in everything from TV shows to the Broadway musical), raucous comic Gilbert Gottfried as Iago, and three voice-acting legends -- Frank Welker (who voices Shaggy and Scooby Doo) as Abu and Rajah; Jim Cummings (the current voices of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger) as Razoul; and Corey Burton (who is best known for playing Ansem the Wise in Kingdom Hearts) as Prince Tiger-Fucker Achmed. Even Jasmine, who was voiced by the at-the-time-fresh-faced actress Linda Larkin, had her singing voice done by Broadway legend Lea Salonga, fresh off her success premiering the title role in Miss Saigon. Even though many of these names aren’t celebrities like Robin Williams, and so I would hesitate to call this an “all-star cast” exactly, it doesn’t change how much talent was accrued by Disney’s casting agents!

Unlike most main characters in a Disney musical, Aladdin doesn’t get a full solo number to call his own. Originally Howard Ashman wrote a song for Aladdin called Proud of Your Boy, where Aladdin sings to his mother (who played a large role in early drafts of the story) about how he’ll make good for her. Unfortunately the story’s focus on Aladdin and his mother’s relationship ended up taking focus away from Aladdin and Jasmine’s romance and Aladdin’s character arc to accept himself, so the screenwriters ultimately had to cut the mother character from the story, at which point the song no longer fit. The decision was very difficult for the filmmakers at the time, given that it was one of the last things Ashman wrote and it’s such a beautiful, raw song, but I ultimately think it was the right decision. Putting Aladdin on his own with no one but Abu for company and giving Jasmine no emotional support outside of her naïve, misguided father and her pet and only friend Rajah I think goes a long way to explain why they’re such kindred spirits. Aladdin and Jasmine each become the friend and support that the other needed. (This is also why Christina and I are concerned about the inclusion of a servant/friend for Jasmine, as the choice would likely weaken any rationale Jasmine could have for leaving the palace and for connecting so instantly with Aladdin.) Plus I think Aladdin’s reprise of One Jump Ahead is just as beautifully raw as Proud of Your Boy, just with a slightly different message and less words. I really feel Aladdin’s frustration and yearning for something better, and Aladdin’s singing voice Brad Kane is able to stuff so much pathos into such a short tune that a longer song isn’t even necessary. And fortunately Proud of Your Boy was later utilized in the Broadway musical version of Aladdin, so it got its dues eventually.

At the palace, we meet our heroine, Jasmine, who was Christina’s favorite Disney character as a kid and who I personally think is the prettiest of the Disney princesses. Jasmine was designed by supervising animator Mark Henn, who modeled her after a picture of his little sister, which honestly is so sweet that I can’t stand it. What I really like about Jasmine in comparison to other Disney princesses is that she is fiery, but clever: determined, but calculating: proud, yet compassionate. It’s this balance that makes her interesting: in my mind, Jasmine is the ultimate Slytherin Disney princess (with just as Slytherin of a prince!), because unlike Ariel, she isn’t reckless in her rebellion. What’s also very cool about Jasmine is that her circumstances are a perfect contrast to Aladdin, placing them in a more romantic Prince and the Pauper set-up where they envy each other, and yet they want the same thing: freedom. In fact, all of our protagonists do -- namely, Aladdin, Jasmine, and Genie. Aladdin wants freedom from his poverty. Jasmine wants freedom from her privilege. Genie wants freedom from his purpose. They all have different cages, but they all want to be free to live their own lives, and it’s through Aladdin learning to empathize with Jasmine and Genie and see their respective prisons as clearly as his own that he grows as a character. (For a video that delves into this thought process further, please consult this piece by ScreenPrism -- it’s just beautifully done!)

Throughout the film, three animals emerge over and over -- the cobra, the elephant, and the tiger. Tigers -- which we see not only in obvious examples like Rajah and the Cave of Wonders, but also as a carving in the back of the Sultan’s throne -- are generally associated with courage and heraldry, not unlike their feline cousins, lions. The heraldry aspect I think is most relevant here -- only one who is deemed worthy, namely Aladdin, may enter the Cave of Wonders and access the wealth of kings, and when Jasmine runs away from home, she leaves Rajah, a symbol of her noble heritage, behind. Elephants in comparison are associated with wisdom and more notably royal power. In the film, Abu is transformed into an elephant steed for Aladdin when he becomes Prince Ali, and even the Sultan sits in a throne decorated with a statue of an elephant. As for the cobra, it’s entirely connected to Jafar, first as his magic scepter and then as a form Jafar takes on himself. Snakes overall are associated with many things like healing, rebirth, eternity, and the dichotomy of good and evil, but cobras specifically are the most poisonous snakes on earth. Legends even claim that Cleopatra, the last Pharaoh of Egypt, committed suicide by cobra bite. I reckon that meaning is more than enough reason for it to represent Jafar.

Through the use of a bizarre storm-making machine powered by Iago running on a treadmill-like wheel that Christina, Jen, and I thoroughly don’t understand and kind of find hilariously ridiculous, Jafar is able to discover the identity of the elusive “diamond in the rough.” He then sends the guards out to arrest Aladdin so as to coerce him into aiding him in his goal to enter the Cave, but in the process gets caught by Jasmine as he’s exiting one of the secret passages. Jen brought up the lovely point that Jafar seems to be the only person who knows about these passages in the palace, even though the Sultan presumably was raised in the palace just like Jasmine was -- this isn’t necessarily a problem, but it does make both her and me want to know the story behind this! Was Jafar basically raised in the palace too? Did Jafar partially create those passages? Were they forgotten after years of non-use and Jafar came across them by chance? It seems like there could be some fun explanation here, if someone wanted to write a fic or fan theory about it.

Okay, I really don’t want to express my concerns about the remake yet again, but I just have to say this flat-out -- there is no way that Abu in the remake could be as funny as he is in the animated film. Let’s be honest, CG characters in live-action films are almost never very charming if they’re more on the cartoony side compared to the so-called “realistic” world they’re supposed to inhabit. You can have very likable, well-developed CG characters -- just look at Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia -- but he wasn’t solely comic relief the way Abu is, and Abu’s comedy in particular relies on a lot of cartoon-like squash and stretch that would be difficult to recreate in CG for a live-action movie. Best case scenario, you’d have something like Pip in Enchanted, which is only irritating and visually out-of-place sometimes, but alternatively, you might get something like Alvin and the Chipmunks (where the humor falls flat), Dobby in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (where it’s clear he was never actually there the whole time), and/or the enchanted objects in the live-action Beauty and the Beast (where the characters end up looking creepy, like something out of the Uncanny Valley). Basically if they want Abu to work in the live-action setting, it’s likely they’d have to make him more like an actual animal, which as I said would make it so he is a lot less funny.

Anyway, not long after Abu unlocks Aladdin’s shackles, Jafar arrives to bust him out, disguised as an old man. Just as Jafar’s storm-making machine makes no sense, the three of us all concluded that his disguise makes no sense. Not only does Jafar suddenly look a good foot and a half shorter, which even with him crouching shouldn’t be possible, but he’s changed his teeth with no visible dentures (which would’ve slurred his speech anyway) and he can get rid of all of the white hair and beard he put on just by ripping off the beard in a single gesture. As Jen brought up, even the Evil Queen used a potion to turn into the Hag: if Jafar had used magic, these sort of physical changes would make sense, but he didn’t.

Back to the Cave of Wonders again, and now I get to talk about one of the most revolutionary aspects of Aladdin: the Magic Carpet. Our sweet little Carpet is a perfect fusion of CG and hand-drawn animation -- supervising animator Randy Cartwright drew the outline and tassels of Carpet with so much personality and silent comedy, and rather than have to animate Carpet’s detailed pattern in every single frame as the fabric folded and contorted, the pencil tests were handed to the CG artists, who melded the pattern perfectly to the line work, making it one perfectly cohesive character. Carpet’s pattern also has allusions to different parts of the film, including the Cave of Wonders, the magic lamp, and the flames that appear when Abu touches the red gem. Even if the technology of CG animation is much more advanced now than it was in 90s, it doesn’t change how seamless the finished result is.

As mentioned, the Cave doesn’t remain safe for our hero very long. When Abu snatches up a gem after being warned not to touch anything, the whole place starts to fall apart, raging with lava and fire. Christina brought up the question of why the Cave would allow Abu inside, since he wasn’t the diamond in the rough (yes, Abu was hidden in Aladdin’s vest, but the Cave was magical, did it really not know he was there?), but I almost wonder if it was an issue of Aladdin having trusted Abu when he shouldn’t have, which would end up being the true mistake in this scenario. Regardless, the CGI in this particular escape sequence is some of the more outdated material of the film. The flight on Carpet is still kind of fun, as it probably would make for a very exciting thrill ride, but it still looks incredibly fake, especially in comparison to other CG elements used in other scenes. Honestly, I’d say this Cave chase and the tower used in the “ends of the earth” sequence later are the worst instances of outdated CGI in this movie.

And finally, at long last, we get to the big, blue guy himself, the Genie. As much as I wouldn’t say Genie steals the show, as Aladdin has such a likable hero and heroine and an excellent villain, Jen, Christina, and I will say categorically that Aladdin would not be as good of a movie as it is without Genie and without Robin Williams. The directors Ron Clements and John Musker wrote the character with Robin in mind, but thought there’d be no way they’d ever get him -- fortunately Eric Goldberg, the supervising animator for Genie, got the idea to make an animation of Genie speaking a piece of one of Robin’s comedy routines, and the animation amazingly won Robin over and got him on board. And really, it is that flawless combination of Robin’s acting and Goldberg’s animation that really makes Genie as likable as he is. Even Robin’s humor, which still is very funny, is not what makes Genie as great of a character as he is, in my opinion -- if anything, I’d say it’s how much sincerity Robin gives the role. Genie is never a sidekick in this movie, as he has his own distinct motivations and feelings separate to the main character and their goals, and Robin just makes you feel so much for Genie and his own desire for freedom. One quote of Genie’s that has stuck with me since I was a kid thanks to Robin’s beautiful delivery is “To be my own master -- such a thing would be greater than all the magic and all the treasures in all the world.” It makes it so his humor is a sign of how resilient Genie is, despite how unhappy his circumstances are, which is something I understand very well as someone who has suffered from depression and I’m quite sure Robin himself understood very well too. I think it’s why so many people found Robin so likable and felt so much for the characters he portrayed over the years.

Speaking on Friend Like Me specifically, I’m afraid I’ll have to go off on a bit of a tangent and share a story with all of you. The day that Robin Williams passed away, I was working at the World of Color show at Disney’s Calfornia Adventure. When the Friend Like Me segment came on, I danced along to the music while in the walkway outside the show, trying to keep the grief off of my face and just make others happy, the way Robin used to. As the segment ended, everyone applauded like crazy. Then, all of a sudden, we Cast Members became aware of a strange, sputtering, almost sobbing sound. One of the show fountains in the water had gotten out of alignment and it sputtered softly in the background as the next segment (Touch the Sky) began, before after a minute slowly quieting and coming to a stop. It was as if the show was crying for Robin, this person who had given so much joy to so many people. And this, among other reasons, is why I feel so very sorry for poor Will Smith, who somehow has to try to fill the shoes that Robin wore. Jen, Christina, and I aren’t very optimistic about his prospects (I still personally might have offered the role to Wayne Brady instead, given that he can sing, he has done comedy, and he worked with Robin in the past), as even Dan Castellanetta, who voiced Genie in the Aladdin TV series, was never able to match Robin no matter how hard he tried.

On the note of Genie’s motivation, as well, we hear about it in a scene accompanied by the beautiful instrumental “To Be Free.” It’s one of my favorite pieces of instrumental music from the film, which became one of Christina’s favorite songs from the Aladdin musical, To Be Free, which is a solo sung by Jasmine. As very pretty and appropriate the song is from Jasmine, I do also really appreciate the number accompanying Genie’s monologue. The instrumental comes across as more spontaneous and thoughtful, like it’s making itself up as it goes along, until it gets to the sincere, meaningful line about freedom, at which point the melody that inspired the song To Be Free's chorus starts.

Another neat touch with Genie is his use of Yiddisms, such as “punim,” meaning face. Of course, Genie’s animator Eric Goldberg is Jewish, and the idea of Genie being Jewish as well I just find so unbelievably charming, particularly when you place him in an Arabian-like setting full of (presumably) Muslim characters, given that the Sultan at one point references Allah. Therefore Genie and Aladdin’s (adorable) friendship could be thought of as a friendship between a Jewish person and a Muslim! I think that’s really cool!

We return to the palace, where the Sultan scolds Jafar for Aladdin’s supposed execution, only for Aladdin to burst onto the scene, dressed as the dashing Prince Ali. During this scene, Christina noted the fun juxtaposition of Jafar’s fashion choices compared to the Sultan, Genie as a human, and Aladdin as Ali. All of them wear very similar robes and turbans, but the Sultan, Genie, and Aladdin wear turbans with more rounded, floppy feathers, which Jafar’s feather is sharp and straight. Aladdin’s and the Sultan’s feather even flop into their faces sometimes, whereas Jafar’s is rigid as a board. As Jen likewise pointed out, Jafar’s design gives him this pointed, slender look not unlike Dr. Facilier in future Disney project The Princess and the Frog. The shoulder pads on his shoulders also serve to give him this sort of sharp “T” shape, contrasted to the more rounded and well-proportioned characters. Couple that with a black/red color scheme that contrasts the more saintly tannish-white of the other three, and it really does communicate the “black cloud” nature that Jafar’s supervising animator Andreas Deja wanted to give the character, to compliment the “Severus Snape” level of dry sardonicism Jonathan Freeman gave the character.

Even though the Sultan is very impressed by “Prince Ali,” Jasmine most certainly is not. Genie counsels Aladdin (with a few outdated pop culture references) that he should tell her the truth -- the nice thing about the pop culture references is that, really, even if you don’t get the jokes, you can still understand them, and the jokes still drive dialogue and plot forward enough that those lines don’t feel like a waste of time. I mean, I didn’t get most of the jokes as a kid, and it didn’t hurt anything for me -- I still thought the Genie was funny because of his comedic timing and odd voices. (Oh yes, and since Jen brought this up while we were watching this -- Aladdin does not say “take off your clothes” while up on Jasmine’s balcony: the line that Weigner improvised for when Aladdin is trying to shoo Rajah away is “take off and go.” Get your brains out of the gutter.)

Fortunately Aladdin is able to soften Jasmine enough that she gives him a chance, and the two go on a magic carpet ride (a.k.a. the fastest world tour ever, as Christina described it! LOL). Accompanying this scene is, in my opinion, the single most romantic song in the Disney canon. A Whole New World was the very first song Alan Menken and Tim Rice wrote together. After the loss of his good friend and most constant collaborator, Howard Ashman, Menken was very nervous about working with someone else. Fortunately, as soon as he and Tim Rice met, they came together pretty quickly while working on the aforementioned love song, which ended up taking some inspiration from their circumstances as new collaborators in its melody and lyrics. So yes, one could listen to this song and some of its lines -- a new, fantastic point of view -- but when I’m way up here, it’s crystal clear that now I’m in a whole new world with you -- unbelievable sights, indescribable feelings -- with new horizons to pursue -- every moment, red letter -- let me share this whole new world with you -- as being not just about these two characters falling in love, but also about a brand new, exciting friendship.

Aladdin and Jasmine connect, Jafar is banished from the palace, and the Sultan blesses Jasmine’s decision to court “Prince Ali” -- but yeah, just as everything looks like everything’s coming up roses, things start to fall apart when Aladdin breaks his promise to set Genie free. (Another fun story: when I first saw this scene in the Aladdin Musical Spectacular at Disney California Adventure way back in the day, I couldn’t stop myself from yelling “BOO!” from the audience. The people around me giggled. Then the actor playing Genie, without looking away from the actor playing Aladdin, raised a hand and pointed out at the audience. “You hear that?” he said. “That’s my THOUGHTS.” I died laughing.) But yes, thanks to Aladdin’s mistake, Jafar is able to take advantage of the situation and snatch Genie for himself, singing his own quasi-solo, Prince Ali (reprise). Like Aladdin, Jafar doesn’t get a full number to call his own, but fortunately he doesn’t end up needing one: Prince Ali (reprise) is more than powerful enough on its own, and it concludes with the most amazing, deranged laugh in Disney history. Really, as good as some other Disney villain laughs are, I would say that Jafar’s is easily the best.

Jafar becomes the Sultan of Agrabah, imprisoning both Jasmine and the Sultan and banishing Aladdin to the ends of the earth. Even if Jasmine’s a prisoner, though, she is no damsel: in Christina’s words, she’s the Princess Leia to Jafar’s Jabba the Hutt, clever and proud as ever and ready to do whatever is necessary to break free...even if it means kissing our villain in order to distract him long enough for Aladdin to try to snatch back the lamp. (Insert a cringe from all three of us here.) Alas, the ruse fails, and Jafar discovers that Aladdin has returned alive and well. The “Battle” track used for this climax is just epic accompaniment, easily being up there among some of the best “final confrontation” instrumental tracks in Disney history like Sleeping Beauty’s “Battle With the Forces of Evil” and The Great Mouse Detective’s “Big Ben Chase.” The visuals as well are also thrilling -- speaking as someone with acute ophidiophobia, Jafar turning into a giant cobra is pretty terrifying.

Despite all of the odds being against him, our diamond in the rough street rat nonetheless is able to outsmart Jafar, and Jafar, tricked into the form of a Genie, is imprisoned in his own pitch black lamp, possessing all of the power he longed for but ignorantly sacrificing the power of autonomy he had already. (As Jen said, and I quote, “Karma, bitch!”) I just adore how Aladdin outwitted Jafar too: not only does it really suit his Slytherin personality to win through craftiness rather than just brute force, but it also perfectly showcases the difference between Aladdin and Jafar: namely, that Aladdin knows empathy, and Jafar does not. Jafar only sees what Genie has that he doesn’t have, supreme magical power, and longs to possess it -- Aladdin sees Genie’s circumstances fully and knows that he is both amazingly powerful in a magical sense and utterly powerless when it comes to making his own choices.

Accompanying the film’s resolution is the beautiful instrumental “Happy End in Agrabah,” which dips into lighthearted whimsy, resignation, bittersweet joy and exhilaration, alongside echoes of both “To Be Free“ and A Whole New World. Aladdin gives Genie his greatest desire -- his freedom -- and in the process makes, in Jen’s words, the most selfless wish you could make...for only a diamond in the rough would make a wish for someone else, not for himself. And as Jen also pointed out, the Sultan follows Aladdin’s lead, giving Jasmine her freedom just as Aladdin gave Genie his. Our story ends with all of our protagonists earning the freedom that they’ve so longed for -- the freedom to achieve their own happiness -- through their love of each other.

Aladdin may be very “of its era” from a humor point of view, but it’s a movie that truly becomes more resonant with age. When Jen, Christina, and I were kids, we all enjoyed this movie’s flights of fantasy, humor, characters, and songs, but as adults, we can feel for these characters and their desire for freedom more than ever. We can understand how similar these individual characters are, and how even though they’re all in different prisons with different advantages and disadvantages, they all need the same key to unlock their cages -- love and empathy. However much the new Aladdin film diverges from the animated version, I only hope that they remember that core of the movie and how it is integrated into the entire story, from how much Aladdin wishes people would “look closer” when looking at him to Genie’s last words to Aladdin being that “no matter what anybody says, [Aladdin will] always be a prince to [Genie.]” And if it doesn’t, well, we still have the 1992 original...

...and Christina, Jen, and I give that movie three thumbs up!

#d-views #disney reviews #disney #aladdin #reviews #tory jen and christina watch together!!#opinion #analysis #oh boy here i go #aladdin (2019)

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augustheart · 6 years ago

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I notice you talk about Ralph often. How is he different in the comics that in cw? I know he’s horrible in the cw version and that he’s not like the comics but I don’t know the specific differences.

this is gonna be...really long, so i’m putting it under a readmore. it’s one of my favorite topics to gripe about.

ralph’s character has changed quite a bit from his first appearance (the flash #112, which came out in 1960), but the two traits that have stayed constant throughout his history are his love for his wife (sue 💕) and his love for mysteries (hence him becoming a detective). disregarding all my feelings on how powers like his can only really be effectively achieved in an animated medium and it’ll always look bad in live action regardless of the quality of the CGI and my feelings on how they changed his backstory (since it honestly doesn’t really matter and should probably be updated at this point anyway), the flash failed at adapting him on a fundamental level by not adapting sue at the same time and not adapting his intense love for mysteries.

sue is the perfect dynamic for him to bounce off of from a writing standpoint, and comics like the elongated man miniseries and convergence: justice league of america both manage to show that off pretty perfectly in a brief amount of time (four and two issues, respectively), and she was introduced almost immediately after ralph was. however, i can understand not wanting to introduce a character who married one of your regular/reoccuring characters in her first appearance right away, without giving said character time to develop on their own.

the mystery thing is... a lot less explainable. he’s a private detective on the flash, which i’m fine with, since that’s a completely natural adaptation of “guy drives around the country/world and solves mysteries in small towns”, and as far as i know he has a PI license in the comics (as far as i can remember it’s in superbuddies). but why make him a private detective and then not have him... detect things? ralph and sue are detectives. (sue’s outsolved both him and batman, by the way.) ralph gets so focused on solving mysteries that he sometimes forgets to do anything else/literally can’t do anything else until he’s figured it out. there’s no sign of this on the flash, just the fact that it’s technically his job and the occasional utilization of his less specialized skills to help out the main plot (see 4x10).

making his powers limitless was also a Mistake. plastic man is the one with nearly (i only say nearly because i’m not a plastic man fan, and while i think he’s vulnerable to heat/has a melting point i’ve never really read anything with him in it on purpose and i don’t know his weaknesses/limits) boundless shapeshifting ability. when he was first introduced, ralph’s stretching had a limit of 100 yards, but as he got more refined with his powers that limit, uh, stretched, and now i don’t know exactly what it is (but he does have one). he can’t completely shapeshift into other people, though. shapeshifting for him requires that he actually rearrange his face/body/what have you with his hands (the flash #252 and #253), and he can’t change his skin color. he can still do a lot of things, and i’d consider him a (limited) shapeshifter (especially when he’s stressed, identity crisis establishes that he can’t hold his form when he’s stressed out and secret six furthers that by saying he can’t use his powers the same way, either), but he can’t do all the stuff he did on the flash. in my opinion, it’d be more entertaining to see him fail to do that stuff, and use his brain to work around situations like that.

and now to tackle the. uh. relentless misogyny from season four. i’m not going to get into the fact that misogyny should never be used for comedy, especially not on family shows where it can influence what kids thing is acceptable, and i’m going to focus on why that’s not who he is.

so. identity crisis #2 establishes that sue is a rape survivor. regardless of if you like or hate identity crisis, or think it was done well or poorly, or is canon or not, as of right now, sue is an established rape survivor. (it’s the only thing from identity crisis that i take as canon, so you know where i stand on it.) ralph and presumably others in the superhero community helped her recover.

adapting a character who helped their wife, who they love more than anything or anyone else in the world, to the point where they are willing to kill people to keep her safe despite their unspoken rule of not killing villains as a superhero, so that they sexually harass women, is...saying that it’s a big mistake puts it mildly. it’s a clusterfuck. even if that hadn’t happened and identity crisis was never published, it’s still an extremely odd (bad) choice because of the established multiple issues where the casual misogyny of other men bothers him (see the issue of JLA when ray is about to marry jean and ollie making jokes about how marriage is a prison causes ralph, barry, and i think also carter to defend their own marriages and wives, and the issue of JLA (same run) where paco says that hank has to ask him if he wants to date his sister and ralph and sue are like “Are You Kidding Me Right Now”).

there are a few things that they got right, especially now that they’re letting hartley sawyer (who i think was an excellent casting decision, by the way) have some say in his character. in season four when he visits that girl in the hospital, and almost all of 4x18, felt like they were written by someone who actually read the comics. (another trait of ralph’s that’s stuck around for decades is his desire for children, and there are some very nice moments of him becoming a surrogate parental figure to younger heroes/younger people in general. that comic with the shiny alex ross art (justice?) says that he tutors the teen titans, too, which is hilarious.)

trying to make him a comedic character was smart, too. he’s difficult to take seriously, mostly because of his powers, and comics have been using that for decades. i think you could do a lot of physical comedy with a character like him/an actor like hartley sawyer. but making him a character who sexually harasses women, regardless of comic book evidence to the contrary, was always going to be a bad decision, one that was certainly made worse by the accusations toward andrew kreisberg. that pretty much ruined his character for most people, which i completely understand. but even without that, they failed to adapt the two things at the very heart of his character, failed to introduce him at the right time to make his friendship with barry seem natural and enduring (barry was his best man, and i could talk for Awhile about the relationship between barry, ralph, and sue), and even failed to properly adapt his powers.

good adaptations of characters make necessary changes to make them fit the setting or the story better than they did before, but basically none of the changes they made to ralph’s character fit with either the pre-established canon of the comics, or the canon of the show (considering they never explained how he’s alive again after he died in season one. making a vague reference to it in season five and saying “oh, shit, we forgot about that. uh, flashpoint?” in an interview doesn’t count). if you want a story where ralph features prominently and changes are made to his character that don’t completely change who he is or make light of misogyny and sexual harassment, read secret six (2015).

#this is sooo long i'm SO so sorry #dctv /#long post #ralph dibny #the elongated man #rape m /#ask to tag #partyforonebycrj

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measlyfurball13 · 6 years ago

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Bumblebee: A Spoiler-Free Review

There’s no doubt that many of you, when you saw that yet another Transformers film was coming out, ignored it. A few of you may have rolled your eyes. I don’t blame you- the last few Transformers movies have been mediocre at best. The infamous Michael Bay has been churning out these awful films since 2007. Prominent themes of these films feature: explosions, CGI characters that are only distinguishable by their paint jobs, cringy, inappropriate humor, and the over-sexualization of women.

I have been a Transformers fan all of my life. I grew up watching the old 80’s Generation One cartoon on DVD. I am a huge fan of a more recent cartoon named Transformers Prime; I will unashamedly admit that I write fanfiction for it. But what makes me, and millions of others in this fandom, enjoy these cartoons so much? The answer is rather simple. I’ll give you a hint: it doesn’t involve explosions and computer-generated fight scenes.

Simply put, The Transformers as a series has always been focused on its characters. This makes sense when you consider that their very first cartoon had the objective of selling toys. Generation One had simple characters with distinct personalities that had a lot of charm. More recent cartoon series have certainly improved the main storyline, but the fact still remains that the characters and how they interact are the primary focus.

The main storyline of Transformers as a whole encourages this type of storytelling. The main conflict, no matter what the media is, is between two teams of characters: the Autobots and the Decepticons. For those of us in English class, this is man vs. man conflict. This leads to these characters clashing on a regular basis, allowing them to have unique interactions with each other. Even fans who have only seen the live-action movies know, for example, of the rivalry between Optimus Prime and Megatron. In fact, someone who is otherwise unfamiliar with Transformers might only know these two names.

That’s because the Michael Bay films forgot the heart of their story.

What the previous five Transformers movies lacked was any sort of character from their Transformers. Even in the first movie, which is arguably the best as far as writing goes, fails to establish any personality in their main Transformer cast. You may remember names like “Ratchet” or “Ironhide” being tossed around in their introductory scene. You may know that Ratchet is the medic (because he’s the ambulance, see?) and that Ironhide is the tough guy with big guns, but do you know anything else? What are their personalities? What motivates them? I’ve been watching different iterations of these same characters since I could walk, but even I don’t know the answers to these questions.

Even worse, the later movies stopped trying completely. They wouldn’t even introduce a Transformer’s name before having them killed off within fifteen minutes. Only after the movie would you find out that this throwaway Transformer was supposed to be a fan-favorite character from the cartoon. As a result, you didn’t really care about the result of all these giant robo-fights. This was not helped by the fact that in the majority of these fights, you couldn’t even tell who was fighting what. And goodness. . . the sexual jokes only continued to get worse. The female characters, the little that were in those movies, were barely more than poster love-interests, with barely any character at all. You know a movie is bad when it spends more time addressing how the overage man can have sex with the (supposedly) seventeen year-old girl lead than it does telling the audience where the aliens come from.

This lazy writing and filmmaking is because Michael Bay likely saw the Transformers themselves as just gimmicks. Audiences, especially overseas, love giant robot fights. There’s a reason there were five of those horrible movies. Transformers 4, Age of Extinction made about 858,600,000 US Dollars internationally in the box office. That’s nearly quadruple the amount the movie made in the US and Canada. Even the god-awful Transformers 5 (there was a fifth one?!), The Last Knight, made bank at about 472,724,657 US Dollars abroad, nearly double the production cost. These figures allowed Michael Bay and the other filmmakers to coast by, making bad movies with no characters.

If this is the case with all Transformer movies, then should you even bother going to the theatres for Bumblebee?

The answer is absolutely yes!

With the departure of Michael Bay from the director’s role, the writing is allowed to slow down from its previous high-octane action speed. Bumblebee focuses itself on its namesake character and his relationships with the people he meets. The movie overall just exudes a passion for its characters and storytelling. Character development was very obviously put ahead of any other aspect in Bumblebee’s writing and production. The human protagonist of the movie, Charlie, is the single most likeable human character in a Transformers movie ever. Her arc is deep and satisfying, and you’re always rooting for her even in her lowest moments. She and Bumblebee’s relationship define the movie: their chemistry is incredibly strong and believable.

Charlie herself is a strong representation of a teenaged girl. This differs drastically from the franchise’s previous teenage female represented in the first two movies, Mikaela Banes. Mikaela was touted as Sam Witwicky’s (Shia Labeouf's character in the original films, if you remember,) love interest, and not much else. The movie told us that she was a car mechanic. . . but the only time we see her doing that is a shot where she lays sexually on a motorcycle. Mikaela was constantly the butt of sexual jokes and innuendos: it’s no wonder that her character was dropped by the third movie. This is where Charlie comes in. Charlie is the lead protagonist of her story. Better yet, she feels like a believable teenager. Not once in the movie is she sexualized. She’s portrayed as an actual mechanic with legitimate skill in several scenes, which is what leads her to finding Bumblebee in the first place. Her arc is by far the strongest of a female character I have seen in movies this year, and it is independent of anything to do with romance. I would go into deeper analysis, but I intended this to be a spoiler-free review. To summarize, Bumblebee treats its female characters with dignity and respect, which is a vital departure from the franchise’s, and mainstream media’s, previous treatment of woman as a whole. This kind of representation in popular media is an important step forward in equality. So even if you do not care about Transformers in the slightest, Bumblebee is worth the watch.

The films’s storytelling is also at peak perfection. It honors the Transformers lore like no other movie before: it even opens on Cybertron, the homeplanet of the Transformers. The film bends over backwards to make sure that you know that the Transformers are people, first and foremost; independent characters in their own right with their own motivations and lives outside of Earth and humans. Even the Decepticon villains that are introduced in the film are easily recognizable, with distinct personalities of their own.

Bumblebee takes the concepts and ideas that the previous five Transformers movies introduced, and then adds the heart of the franchise back into the mix. Each character has their life breathed back into them by thoughtful, genuine writing and ingenuitive designs that allow them to express emotion. While the film is certainly slower-paced than previous films, the scenes between the action will end up being your favorite. I guarantee it.

Sure, the movie is not without its flaws. Some of the side characters can feel a bit neglected. John Cena can’t act his way out of a paper bag. But these little things are easily excused when you look at the quality of the film overall. Bumblebee has so much heart and care put into it that one film critic said “The first three minutes of Bumblebee are better than all the Transformers film directed by Michael Bay.” (Báez, 2019). I can’t help but agree.

As a longtime fan of Transformers, I am ecstatic that franchise finally got a movie that represents its core values. The film allows itself to be an emotional trip with an emphasis on what really matters most: the characters, whether they be car, truck, plane, or human. Bumblebee truly returns to the roots of what makes Transformers great.

Sources:

https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/Transformers#tab=summary

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bumblebee/reviews/

#transformers #Bumblebee #bumblebee-movie

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terrell01abbott-blog · 6 years ago

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Armored Automobiles, Bulletproof Vehicles & Trucks

Battlefield's standard strengths are prominent as ever in the franchise's return to Planet War II, but it is not with out a couple of missteps. DICE has mentioned it wanted to concentrate on lesser-identified stories in Battlefield V, staying away from D-Day, Marketplace Garden, the Bulge, and other properly How to Download Battlefield V-trod battles. And on that point Battlefield V is an unmitigated good results. I complained last year that Get in touch with of Duty: WWII felt like a Greatest Hits collection of previous Planet War II games. Battlefield V steers clear of the genre's ever-present Band of Brothers influences, and is greater for it. Buildings and outposts explode in a shower of concrete or splinters of wood, which can considerably alter a match over the course of a round. 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agentdammers · 6 years ago

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Grand Torchwood Rewatch 1x12 & 13

IF YOU FALL I WILL CATCH U I’LL BE WAITING........ T I M E A F T E R T I M E

One season down...... It’s a Finale Double Whammy, just as it aired back in 2007! Crumbs of Jack Lore drop into our laps, some absolute plot bullshit takes place, an old man is there!!! fuck it let’s get this over with

content warn: pisstaking, fun having, oh! plot bullshit!, i absolutely lose my fucking mind, Owen Harper!!! I Won’t Hesitate Bitch

1x12 “captain jack harkness”

- a thought before we dive in, but man owen gets A LOT of story stuff over the course of the 2 seasons he’s in right??? like more story stuff than ianto and tosh combined. interesting

- AH FUCK!!! A VOTE SAXON POSTER. REMEMBER WHEN?

- so..... here’s a thing. “Ohhh people have heard music from a derelict building! better send torchwood in!” how... does that come about? Could it be squatters or something??? fuck it, let’s send in a Secret Government Agency! they’ll sort it out. i mean we don’t know what they do exactly but i imagine at least one of them is a ghostbuster or something lmao, whatever

- OH NO THIS CREEPY OLD BITCH!!! i forgot how scary he looked!! god, this dude must be a million, or a vampire, or likely both

- tosh’s eyes get SO BIG WHEN THAT GUY ASKS HER TO DANCE I LOVE HER SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!! she’s the best one!!!!!!

- wish i could wipe this episode entirely from my memory because that fucking reveal when the Real jack harkness introduces himself? F U C K

- speaking of tosh, finding it extremely unconvincing that she, a tech nerd, would go out with a laptop with an almost completely flat battery... like, c’mon. she would be prepared

- Gwen cooper, a fully adult woman: haha me and my friends;;;; came here 4 a dare;;; cos its spooky lol....

- the camera on this show has me fucking SCREEEAMING “He wears a cravat.” THERE’S A DRAMATIC SLOW MOTION ZOOM IN ON THIS GUYS FUCKING CRAVAT AND THEN ON IANTO’S FACE LOOKING AT IT AND ITS ALL IN FUCKING EARNEST LET ME DIE!!!!!!!!!

- the dance they’re at is called “KISS THE BOYS GOODBYE DANCE”, which is what my finishing move would be called if i was a character in a fighting game

- ianto and owen slapfighting over their shit girlfriend experiences fucking owns genuinely lmao

- tosh pops the top off a tin and then cuts her hand open on the obviously blunt fucking lid?????? jesus christ

- “I’m tired of living in awe of the rift!!!” .....................first i’ve heard of it. I love that owen is talking as though the rift has been a major fucking factor throughout the entire series up until this point, rather than a thing that’s just been vaguely fucking referenced as the reason why a bunch of weird shit just seems to happen in cardiff. no, im not standing for this. You can’t pull out the rift at the eleventh hour and then talk about it as though it’s a Hugely Important plot device when the biggest role it’s had over the stretch of the entire 11 Whole Ass episodes prefacing this was to allow the plane to come through in “out of time”. y’all have barely mentioned the rift this entire time and now you want to act like its the hellmouth??? eat my ass!!!!!!

- and continuing on that note: apparently they’ve had a machine that can manipulate the rift in the hub......... the entire goddamn time. but no one thought to MENTION it i guess!!!!!!!! pfft, why would THAT be important??? right???? right?????

this plot bullshit almost makes me feel bad for how harsh i was about “cyberwoman” but, i will admit.... despite this Absolute Fucking Nonsense, i do find the jack and tosh storyline in this episode really fun and interesting. its just unfortunate that all the stuff arrrrround that is some kind of fic scrawled in the back of a kid’s math book.

- also the size of owen’s fucking NADS in this episode!!!!!!!! “Don’t compare yourself to me.” SAYS MAN CRYING OVER THE GIRL HE KNEW FOR ONE (1!) (SINGULAR) WEEK!!!! as opposed to ianto’s longterm girlfriend being turned into a monster and eventually murdered by his own team!!!! Like, i understand that’s owen’s problem actually goes beyond that, and its not so much about diane herself but about the fact that he let himself feel close to someone again after his fiancee died but for us, The Audience, watching this as it airs... we haven’t unlocked owen’s tragic backstory yet. and without knowing all that it just makes owen look really bad and like a huge fucking tool lmfao.

- NEVERMIND THE END IS GAY AND SAD AND Y’KNOW!!!!!! i am a man of simple pleasures, at heart, and so... i’ll let it slide. jack meeting his namesake knowing that he’s going to die and them having a moment is more of the kind of emotional content we would get in episodes of doctor who, and its Just Right

- in honesty, theres a bunch of stuff about this ep that i DO like. that tosh gets a prominant role for a change, while gwen gets to do fuck all. the whole Real Jack story. owen gets shot and pops a tit out at the end. its just unfortunate thats its all wrapped up in this rift thing thats been wheeled out last minute for a Big Season Finale with no real foreshadowing or build up to it at all lmao. but, moving on...............................................................................................

1x13 “end of days”

- RHYS BUNS DETECTED, A SOUND WAY TO KICK OFF ANY EPISODE

- lovely reading voice ianto’s got..... i also like owen acting up to make sure we know that they remember him being shot in the shoulder last episode lol.

- “owen, if you open the rift you’ll break it” (owen opens the rift anyway) “owen, you opening the rift broke it” (owen GASPS IN DISMAY, ME??? REALLY?) yes bitch open your ears

- “So are we going to sit around crying into our lattes or are we gonna do something about it?” OWEN..... IS THIS. SUPPOSED TO SOUND BADASS I.... GENUINELY CANT TELL? IT SOUNDS BAD, OWEN

- jack was so likeable last ep now he’s a DICK. gwen calls him out on how he talked to owen and he’s really fucking catty at HER for no reason at all????

- i haaaaaaaaate this scene in the hospital where a Mystery Illness has all the fucking symptoms of the bubonic plague but apparently every doctor in the entire hospital never did high school level history and are all incapable of recognising it. if fucking *i* know what symptoms of the bubonic plague are im sure they didn’t need Absolute Brain Genius Owen Harper who is seemingly the only person with any sense in cardiff to come in and diagnose it. i also hate how owen just like casually mentions to the doctor yep, this is caused by people falling through time dude yknow!!! like they do!! expect more of this to keep happening probably idk!!

- “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU OPENED THE RIFT WITH THIS MACHINE WE HAVE THAT’S FOR UHHHHHHHH UHHHHHHH OPENING THE RIFT *big fuck off galaxy brain*” thats basically this episode.

- i love that owen has followed jack all this time but NOW in a crisis is the time to actually lose it and start questioning his authority bc they dont Actually know who jack is like???? you’ve been fine not knowing this entire time before??? thats not to say that jack isn’t an entire dumbass himself. he expects them all to follow him blindly and its so creepy. he’s like a cult leader, and as they all have Torchwood Stockholm Syndrome that ive mentioned in previous episode run downs they’ve all just gone along with it.

- owen having a little cry on the way out is such a Good scene bc he puts on such a brave and defiant front tho 💕💖💘💕

- i dont know why the really quick flashback to diane flying off in the plane made me lose my fucking mind, its just like “LMAO IN CASE U FORGOT: SHE WAS THE PLANE LADY. I KNOW SHE WAS ONLY IN FOR LIKE TWO MINUTES, BUT DONT WORRY ABOUT IT.”

- gwen for fucks sake!!!!!!!! not again!!!!! after all the cryptic shit and lies she’s told rhys up until this point, she now knocks him out and locks him in a cell and STILL offers no explanation. this poor fucking dude!!!!!!!!! and it’s about to get even worse for him...

- the way gwen screams “RHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEUUUUUUUURRRRRSSSSS”

- YES EVERYONE REBEL AGAINST JACK!!!!!!! FUCK THIS DUDE!!!! you’re doing what a creepy old dude who is Absolutely Definitely evil wants, but still

- why does gwen start doing shit on the computer when toshiko, the computer expert, is standing right there, like.............

- JACK TRYING TO SMACKTALK TO ENTIRE GANG LIKE HIS OWN CLOSET ISN’T CHOCKFUL OF FUCKING SKELETONS

- i forget, does anyone know jack’s immortal apart from gwen? or was it just the shock of owen actually Shooting Their Boss? the only onscreen death i can recall of his after suzie shot him was in “cyberwoman”

- god, minutes ago they were all like FUCK JACK!!!! JACK DOESN’T KNOW HOW TO SAVE US AFTER ALL!!! and now theyre all crawling back asking jack to save them all from cgi pig Ganon and its just..... a lot to happen, over the space of about half an hour.

- the ending is so anticlimatic and also why does sucking all the Yummy Life Energy out of jack make abaddon die?????????? Though in its defence... after like 3 bowls of cereal, i too am like OUCH OOF MY BONES

- aaaaaaaaaand rhys is back! will he get treated any better from here on out? i dont remember!!! guess we’ll see.

- bit much of gwen who’s actually known jack the shortest time of them all to be like NO, let ME be with him uwuwuwuuw

- ahhh!!! ianto smelling jack’s coat ;_;

- aaaand jack’s back too. AND HE GETS TO HOLD A CRYING OWEN? FOR ME? oh you shouldn’t have! this Almost makes up for all that rift plot bullshit (almost. i still know what u did.)

- ANDDDDD OH SHIT. FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE GOOD ENDING. HERE COMES THE TARDIS. FUCKING YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...............................and there it goes. one season down. sorry this one was so long!!! i love and appreciate anyone to takes the time to read these posts. thank u!!!!

#grand torchwood rewatch 2018 #LONG POST #i got mad abt plot shit A Lot during this finale

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